The Chasm of Doom (14 page)
Discarding your torch as you emerge into the early morning sun, you signal to your men to gather round. Only a small fraction of your original company remains, and you must now decide the best course of action. However, as you are about to address them you are rudely interrupted.
You order your men to prepare graves for the two corpses before returning to the shelter of the marble canopy. You are hungry and must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. You mount guard around the ruined temple and preparations are made for some much needed sleep.
You try to row the shattered boat towards the far bank, but as the oars dip below the surface they are wrenched from your grasp. Wide-eyed with horror, you watch as a ranger is dragged screaming into the dark river by a thick slimy tentacle. Suddenly, there is a tremendous crack as another tentacle punches its way up through the hull. The attack is so violent that the rowing boat is lifted into the air, and you tumble head over heels into the icy water.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 234
.
If it is 5–9,
turn to 47
.
You emerge from the tunnel, curse your delay, and press on along the other passage as quickly as possible.
You soon reach a junction where the track meets the main highway. Abandoned at the side of the road is a burnt-out wagon.
If you wish to examine the wagon,
turn to 337
.
If you decide to ignore the wreck, you can continue your ride south along the highway, by
turning to 297
.
You are less than five feet from the door when a bandit warrior comes rushing in. Instinctively, you step aside but not in time to avoid the serrated tip of his halberd. The cold steel sinks into your chest, and you stare down in horror as blood begins to flow and pain spreads through your body. Your wound is fatal and you die within seconds of hitting the floor.
Your life and your mission end here.
The snarling Warhounds bound towards the barricade, their gaping eyes glowing crimson in the light of battle. Leaping from the bodies of the dead and dying, they launch themselves at the Sommlending defenders. All around you, soldiers are being torn from the line, bowled over by the leaping Warhounds. You back away as a howling dog crashes through the wall of sacks and barrels, but before it has risen, you move swiftly forward and dispatch it with one blow to the head. Another Warhound claws your back and pitches you forward into the collapsed barricade, but before you can free yourself, yet two more dogs have sunk their fangs into your leg.
Illustration XI—The snarling Warhounds bound towards the barricade.
Vassagonian Warhounds:
COMBAT SKILL
17
ENDURANCE
30
If you are still alive after two rounds of combat or if you have won in the first two rounds,
turn to 311
.
You are winded by the blow to your chest and flung backwards into the icy cold water. You surface, but barely in time to catch a breath before a tentacle coils around your legs and drags you down.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
, and note this number down in the margin of your
Action Chart
. (In this case 0 = 10 instead of zero). This number represents the number of combat rounds that you can endure underwater before you begin to lose additional
ENDURANCE
points due to lack of oxygen. If you have the Kai Discipline of Mind Over Matter, you can add 2 to the number you have picked.
Giant Meresquid:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
37
Fight this combat in the normal way. If the fight lasts longer than the number of rounds you can endure underwater, you will lose an additional 2
ENDURANCE
points for every round of combat thereafter due to lack of oxygen.
If you win the combat,
turn to 32
.
You hear the thud of a heavy drawbar sliding back, and a burly man dressed in a leather jerkin appears at the tavern door. ‘Welcome to my humble inn, my lord. Pardon my suspicion, but this is a very dangerous area; one mistake can cost us our lives.’
You signal to your men to stable their horses, and you follow the innkeeper into his tavern. The bar looks more like an armoury than a drinking hall. Quivers of arrows stand beside each of the iron-studded window shutters, and racks of spears line the far wall. The place is deserted except for three young men who all bear a strong resemblance to the tavern-keeper. One of them has his head swathed in bandages.
You ask the tavern-keeper how much he will charge for your men to billet here tonight and are quite surprised to hear his reply. ‘Nothing,’ he says, moving tables aside so that your rangers can sleep upon the tavern floor. ‘Your presence here tonight will be worth more than gold to us. We've been attacked by bandits every night since the last full moon.’
As the last of your men return from the stables, the doors are closed and barred. It has started to rain and your men seem greatly relieved to be inside where it is warm and dry.
If you wish to question the tavern-keeper about the nature of the bandit raids,
turn to 239
.
If you wish to question him about any news that he may have heard about Ruanon in the last month, then
turn to 266
.
If you do not wish to question the man further, you can prepare for a night's sleep and
turn to 324
.
A bolt of lightning gashes the stormy sky, illuminating the figures of the bandits as they creep into the stables. Crouching on the balcony, you signal to your men to prepare themselves. Dropping onto the stable roof, you discover to your dismay that the clay tiles are wafer-thin and splinter beneath your weight; you crash straight through the flimsy roof into the hay below. Luckily you are unharmed by the fall and quickly regain your feet, but a bandit stands barely inches from your face, his sword raised to strike.
Bandit Warrior:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
23
You cannot evade combat.
If you win,
turn to 217
.
You toss a rock along the tunnel to attract the guards' attention. It works! Within seconds you can hear footsteps approaching. You attack. The guards barely have time to gasp as your men leap out of the darkness and overpower them. Once disarmed, their hands are tied and they are herded back into the well chamber.
If you wish to search them,
turn to 268
.
If you wish to question them,
turn to 76
.
If you wish to leave them and continue on your way,
turn to 64
.
The guards are not fooled by your bravado — they draw their weapons and attack. You must fight them as one enemy.
Crypt Guards:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
30
If you win the combat,
turn to 229
.
You soon enter a chamber divided by a deep mine shaft. Spanning the shaft is a wooden bridge at the entrance of which a swarthy warrior stands guard. He has been alerted by the screams of your pursuers, and as soon as he sees you, he runs towards a rope that hangs from the ceiling, leaving the bridge unguarded. Your pursuers are nearly upon you.
If you wish to sprint across the bridge,
turn to 271
.
If you wish to attack the guard to prevent him from reaching the rope,
turn to 56
.
The trees are alive with bandit patrols, but your quick wits and Kai skills prevent you from being seen by them. Eventually you reach the edge of the copse. You find yourself staring out across an expanse of open plain towards Ruanon. The sight that lies before you is very disquieting.
Much of the mining town has been burnt to the ground. The blackened ruins of what were once shops, cottages, and taverns are now little more than smouldering mounds of charcoal. You are beginning to fear the worst, that Ruanon has been totally destroyed, when a gentle breeze clears the haze of wood smoke hanging like a grey curtain over the ruins. Inside the perimeter of ruined buildings, a barricade has been thrown up around a tower of stone. Above the tower, a tattered flag still flies bringing renewed hope; it is the sun-flag of Sommerlund edged with a band of white braid — the cavalry standard of the King's Guard Regiment.
The sudden crack of a twig makes you freeze. You glance behind to see three bandits creeping through the trees towards you. The wide steel tips of their spears glint. They seem to be coated with a clear, sticky fluid.
If you possess the Kai Discipline of Hunting or if you have ever visited Gorn Cove,
turn to 45
.
If you wish to fight the bandits,
turn to 133
.
If you wish to evade them, you must run across the open plain towards Ruanon — eight hundred yards away.
Turn to 307
.
The fungi are soft and dry, and they taste dreadful! You retch and choke as the dry, powdery fungi absorb all the saliva in your mouth. You are hit by waves of nausea that make you panic, and desperately you claw at your tongue trying to scrape the fungi from your mouth.
There are six heavily armed guards and you must fight them one at a time.
Guard 1:
COMBAT SKILL
18
ENDURANCE
23
Guard 2:
COMBAT SKILL
15
ENDURANCE
24
Guard 3:
COMBAT SKILL
15
ENDURANCE
21
Guard 4:
COMBAT SKILL
16
ENDURANCE
25
Guard 5:
COMBAT SKILL
14
ENDURANCE
24
Guard 6:
COMBAT SKILL
14
ENDURANCE
22
You can evade combat at any time by leaping from the bridge.
Turn to 342
.
If you win the combat,
turn to 237
.
As the guard falls dead at your feet, you spin around in time to see three of your pursuers enter the chamber. They are clad in heavy armour, and each of them carries a vicious-looking halberd.
If you wish to fight them,
turn to 108
.
If you wish to escape across the bridge,
turn to 271
.