The Chasm of Doom (17 page)
The ceiling of the cavern is so low that you are forced to all press yourselves against the bottom of the boat to avoid head injuries. For nearly an hour the boat is swept through a maze of underground waterways before coming to a sudden halt; you are grounded upon a bank of shingle. You are in a section of the tunnel that is much higher than any you have previously travelled. To the south the river continues into the rock-face, but to the west you notice another shingle bank and a land tunnel beyond.
If you wish to row across to the other bank, abandon the boat and continue on foot,
turn to 343
.
If you wish to continue by river,
turn to 115
.
You roll aside to avoid the deadly disc, but your reactions are not quick enough to save you. The razor-sharp weapon slices into your throat, knocking you backwards with the force of impact.
Your life and your mission end here.
D'Val runs past the wagon, leading a dozen of his best swordsmen in a countercharge and driving the enemy all the way back to the barricade. None escape alive. Those who survive D'Val's swordsmen are cut down on the plain by his archers as they run towards the ruins. The shout of victory has barely died away before you are faced by a new threat.
You slip past the guards and enter the tunnel unseen. It is wide and illuminated by a line of wall torches, whose guttering flames crackle and sputter noisily. You soon arrive at a junction where the tunnel narrows and divides in two.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense or Tracking,
turn to 250
.
If you do not possess either of these skills, you may enter the left tunnel by
turning to 335
.
Or, if you wish, you may enter the right tunnel by
turning to 11
.
Two well-aimed blows are enough to dispatch the hissing Elix. The ranger has collapsed and is nearly unconscious through loss of blood. His right foot is almost severed at the ankle; you know that he has only a few minutes to live and there is nothing that you can do to help him. Your men are now beyond all help.
If you wish to escape from the chamber by ascending the stairs,
turn to 346
.
If you wish to leave by descending the stairs,
turn to 83
.
Taking great care to feel the floor ahead of you with your weapon, you advance very slowly into the dark, unaware of the eyes that are watching your every move. Hidden in the gloom are the dull, satanic orbs of a Daemonak: a macabre and ghoulish vampire. Its attack is swift and silent, painless yet deadly. Before you realize that the parasite has attached itself to your back, you have lost 8
ENDURANCE
points.
If you are still alive and you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 34
.
If you are still alive but do not possess this Special Item,
turn to 85
.
Your men look disappointed by your decision, but you are their commanding officer and they are élite soldiers of Sommerlund; they neither argue nor grumble as they follow you southward. Darkness soon engulfs the highway, and you are forced to stop and set up camp by the roadside. The men gather firewood, and a guard is posted on the horses. You are hungry and must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
The night passes without incident, and at dawn you break camp and continue along ‘Raider's Road’.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number that you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 171
.
If it is 5–9,
turn to 25
.
You glance over your shoulder to see a horde of warriors silhouetted in the light of the tunnel entrance. Their blood-curdling war-cries echo along the damp and gloomy shaft.
You soon reach a section where the tunnel has collapsed and a large mound of earth rises almost to the ceiling. Desperately, you climb the mound, claw your way through the narrow gap, and then drop to the passageway beyond. Here you discover a loose timber prop. When everyone is clear, you barge it with your shoulder; the prop splinters and tons of earth and stone come crashing down to seal the tunnel. As the dust settles, you stare into the darkness ahead. On the walls you can just make out a line of torches. Your men gather these and light them before you continue on your way.
You run half-crouched to the barricade and prise a bow from the hand of a dead soldier. You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry — a tall, dark-skinned warrior with a thin, chiselled nose, rallying his horsemen at the foot of the stone watchtower. You know you must kill him before he can regroup his troops, or D'Val and his hard-pressed men will be ridden down and mercilessly slaughtered.
Illustration XIV—You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry.
You notch an arrow and draw back the bowstring. The straining cord bites into your fingers as you take aim.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill (any weapon), add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–3,
turn to 153
.
If it is 4–7,
turn to 323
.
If it is 8–11,
turn to 39
.
You notice that the right tunnel is newly excavated, and you sense that it has yet to be completed. Rather than get caught in a dead end, you push on along the left tunnel.
You are helped tonight by a cloudless sky, for the highway is illuminated by the pale moonlight. You order three of your men to scout ahead, for you know the notorious reputation this forested highway has for sudden bandit ambushes; the densely packed trees lining the road could easily conceal an army of robbers. Before the scouts gallop away, you order them to report anything unusual they may find on the road ahead.
Within an hour, you arrive at a junction where a track from the east meets the main highway. Abandoned at the side of the road is a burnt-out wagon. You sense that something is wrong; your scouts should have reported this wagon long before you found it, and your men are worried by what may have happened to them. You know that you dare not continue your ride in case you fall into an ambush. You decide to rest at the junction and wait for the return of your scouts. Six hours later, as the sun slowly rises over the eastern tree-line, your scouts have still not returned.
If you wish to search the highway ahead,
turn to 175
.
If you wish to examine the burnt-out wagon,
turn to 38
.
If you wish to explore the eastern track,
turn to 293
.
You lead your men in single file into the forest, but in less than a minute, the trees have become far too dense for you to be able to continue on horseback. You are forced to dismount and hide your horses before continuing on foot. Then, by a great stroke of luck, you find a narrow track leading to a ramshackle boathouse at the edge of the River Xane. If it contains a boat, you should be able to cross the river with ease.
If you wish to investigate the boathouse,
turn to 68
.
If you wish to continue downstream and look for some other way of crossing the river,
turn to 130
.
You are about to order your men to make camp when a scout gallops towards you from the east. He points to a line of horsemen on the horizon. ‘Bandits!’ he cries. You estimate that there are at least two hundred of them, and they are riding in your direction.
If you have reached the Kai rank of Warmarn (you possess 8 Kai Disciplines),
turn to 72
.
If you have yet to reach this level of training,
turn to 135
.
The tunnel continues to descend for several hundred yards until you reach a wide chamber with a timber floor. Two pairs of footprints can clearly be seen in the silt covering the rotten planks; to your horror, they both seem to disappear into a gaping hole.
Inching your way to the jagged edge, you can make out two bodies lying at the bottom of a muddy shaft. You have found your scouts, but they are beyond all help. As the soft timbers begin to sag, you retreat from the edge to avoid a similar fate. Beyond the hole are two exits from this chamber. One passage heads towards the east, the other south.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking,
turn to 326
.
If you do not possess this skill, you may enter the east tunnel by
turning to 156
.
Alternatively you can enter the south tunnel by
turning to 101
.
You must rally the defenders or all is lost. You order two soldiers to help the captain and then leap onto an overturned wagon in order to see clearly the enemy advance. They have already reached the ruined perimeter of Ruanon and are now creeping forward under cover of the broken cottage walls. You shout orders to D'Val's men to defend the barricade, but the enemy are less than one hundred yards from the wall; you are afraid it might be too late to repel their attack.
You slip many times on the rickety bridge but eventually make your way across to the other side. You can just make out the jagged tunnel wall by the faint light cast by a swarm of mine flies. You press onwards, but you are now so tired that you are soon forced to stop and sleep.
Many hours pass before you awake and continue your exploration.
The door is unlocked and opens into a small room with a straw-covered floor. A large iron-belted chest rests at the foot of an unmade bed, beyond which lies another door.
If you wish to examine the chest,
turn to 302
.
If you wish to ignore it and investigate the door,
turn to 131
.
You quickly leave the hut far behind and press on through the trees. By morning, you have reached the edge of the forest. Staring out across the fields of tall crops, you see a small village lying at the base of a shallow valley. The fields are only separated by narrow tracks, which are alive with flying insects hovering in swarms.
You are walking along the track when you suddenly spot bandits ahead. They are wandering idly up the track towards you, their spears slung over their shoulders.
Illustration XV—The bandits are wandering idly up the track towards you.
If you possess an Onyx Medallion,
turn to 305
.
If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage and you have reached the Kai Rank of Guardian or higher,
turn to 49
.
If you do not have this Special Item or this Discipline and Kai Rank, dive into the tall crops and hide by
turning to 159
.