The Chasm of Doom (20 page)
The bandit warrior lies dead at your feet. ‘For Sommerlund!’ you cry, as the enemy shield-wall falters and falls. Your men take up the battle-cry and hurl themselves against the foe. Swords whine and men and metal cry out in pain. The fight is desperate but swift. The bandits throw down their shields and flee the tavern, melting away into the rain-filled darkness. You rally your troops and run to the stables, but your heart sinks when you see the doors are wide open. You fear the worst.
It is noon before you are forced to call a halt. You have reached the edge of a ridge where the highway begins a long descent towards a wide wooden bridge. This is the Ruanon Bridge: you recognize its stout black timbers and the dark waters of the River Xane that flow beneath. On the far side of the bridge lie the fire-blackened ruins of an inn and the unmistakable silhouette of bandit horsemen. At the entrance to the bridge is a white signpost pointing across the bridge to the south.
You know it would be suicidal to attempt to cross the bridge: the bandit horsemen each carry a heavy crossbow slung from their saddle.
If you wish to try to cross the river further upstream to the west,
turn to 113
.
If you wish to try to cross the river downstream, to the east,
turn to 252
.
Suddenly the Tunnel Fiends that are screaming and writhing beneath your blows fade and disappear. You shake your head in disbelief and rub your eyes, but no trace of their bodies remains. You slowly begin to realize what has happened. The fungi spores are making you hallucinate; the creatures existed only in your mind and were nothing more than illusions.
Unfortunately, any
ENDURANCE
points you lost in combat are not restored — during the ‘fight’ you have collided many times with the jagged tunnel walls. You sheathe your weapon and stagger away from the fungi, eager to leave them far behind.
Quickly you pull you men into line, shoulder to shoulder across the entrance to the mine. Their shields form a wall of wood and steel to deflect the arrows now falling from the sky. As they flood out from the trees, the bandit warriors discard their bows in favour of long, curved swords. Many of them stumble and fall, but their leader beats them forward with the flat of his battle-axe. He is an ugly brute dressed in a heavy brass hauberk. As the first of the enemy smash into the shield-wall, he screams a deafening war-cry. A numbing thunder of blows rains down as the bandits hew and slice into your line. The fight is bitter but the wall holds firm, as your men bravely defend themselves.
The first wave of bandits stagger back clutching their wounds, a dozen left dead at your feet. None of your men have fallen. However, you barely have time to wipe your blood-spattered brow before their leader bounds towards you, his battle-axe sweeping the air. He batters his way through the shield-wall and attacks you. You cannot evade him and must fight him to the death.
Bandit Leader:
COMBAT SKILL
19
ENDURANCE
29
If you win the fight,
turn to 121
.
A scream of pain and terror fills the air. The sniper crashes to the ground as the jaws of a Warhound clamp tightly around his neck. Other hounds are drawn by his ghastly screams, and he is soon ripped to pieces. You look up to see a man running towards you from the barricade. He has a shield in one hand and a longbow in the other; it is Captain D'Val.
He reaches you, breathless from his run, and draws an arrow from his quiver. The Warhounds, tired of their victim, are in search of fresh sport and are turning their attentions on you. D'Val aims and fires, drawing another arrow as soon as his bow is empty. Warhounds tumble and crash to the ground around you, felled by D'Val's deadly shafts. The captain grabs you by the arm and swings you over his shoulder in one swift movement, before carrying you back to the barricade. Others run forward to help him, but the bandit archers are now in range and the men are forced back by a hail of arrows. The red shafts whistle past on all sides. Finally you reach the barricade; a wagon is pulled aside and you are carried through the open gap. Captain D'Val is close to exhaustion; he staggers and his men rush to catch him before he drops you to the ground.
The street continues past a stable with a large paddock. The enclosure is full of horses, all of which are saddled.
If you possess the Kai Discipline of Animal Kinship,
turn to 106
.
If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 236
.
The chest appears to be unlocked, but with the loss of your men still fresh in your mind, you decide to take no chances. Standing to one side, you ease open the chest with the tip of your weapon and flick back the lid. You wait with bated breath but nothing happens; whoever lives in this room must be confident that the pit trap will foil any would-be thieves, for the chest contains an assortment of loot. There are plates and goblets of gem-encrusted gold, necklaces of turquoise, pearls, and statuettes of marbled jadin, a rare and precious stone. You marvel at their beauty but decide against taking them for they are heavy and of little practical use. Then you notice a soft leather bag beneath the gold plates. When you pull it out of the chest, you immediately recognize its distinctive shape. It is a herbwarden's satchel and contains the following items:
- 2 Potions of Laumspur — Each restores 4
ENDURANCE
points - 1 Potion of Alether — Increases
COMBAT SKILL
by 2 points for the duration of one combat. - 1 Flask of Holy Water
If you wish to keep any of these items, mark them on your
Action Chart
.
Examine the far door and
turn to 131
.
Your knees and knuckles are badly bruised, but you are still alive and clinging to the wooden bridge floor. You lose 2
ENDURANCE
points. However, the slatted floor of the bridge makes an excellent ladder, and you waste no time in climbing out of the mine shaft. Your enemies scream and curse at you from the other side of the chamber, for they are now trapped there and unable to pursue you. With a wry smile you wave them farewell before entering a tunnel in the west wall.
One blow is enough to sever the writhing tentacle and free the ranger. He shouts his thanks and quickly slices the tip from another rubbery limb as it rises from the slime-stained river. Suddenly there is a tremendous crack as yet another tentacle punches its way through the bottom of the boat. The boat is lifted into the air, and you are hurled into the icy cold water.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 47
.
If the number is 5–9,
turn to 234
.
A bold plan springs to mind. You remove the Onyx Medallion from your pocket and stride boldly towards the bandit spearmen. They are so busy talking to each other that they fail to see you. Your appearance comes as a sudden shock. Acting your part to perfection, you scold them for their slovenliness and threaten to report them to Barraka himself. As their eyes fall upon the Onyx Medallion, you can almost hear their hearts miss a beat. Frantically they pull themselves together and stand to attention, awaiting your next command. You send them marching off towards the forest and then hurry away in the opposite direction, just in case they realize that they have been tricked.
Your men push open the door with their swords and quickly enter. You hear a muffled voice, and a ranger soon reappears at the door. ‘It is safe, my lord,’ he says, and stands aside to allow you to enter.
From all along the forest edge, groups of bandits emerge from the trees, whipped and scolded by their bullying sergeants for allowing you to escape. This spurs you to quicken your pace, and you cover the first hundred yards with ease. Then arrows begin to fall around you. You duck and weave, making yourself a difficult target for the archers, and gradually the falling shafts dwindle in number. You smile at their futile attempts to stop you, but your confidence is soon shaken by a pack of snarling Warhounds breaking out of the woods to your right; they are off the leash and hungry for blood. You are less than five hundred yards from Ruanon, but the Warhounds are closing in.
If you wish to quicken your pace and try to outrun them,
turn to 225
.
If you wish to stop and fight them,
turn to 36
.
You turn the key and push open the iron door. Immediately, a loud hissing fills your ears, like steam escaping from a geyser. A cat-like creature leaps at you from out of the darkness knocking you to the ground; its eyes glowing with a green fire and its fetid breath scorching your face — it is an Elix! As you struggle to free yourself from its powerful fanged jaws, more of these creatures bound through the open door and attack your men. You cannot evade combat, and you must fight this beast to the death.
Illustration XVIII—A loud hissing fills your ears, like steam escaping from a geyser.
Elix:
COMBAT SKILL
17
ENDURANCE
30
If you win the combat,
turn to 127
.
You follow the tunnel for three hours before arriving at a great hall where several tunnels, all at different depths, meet up. A series of wide stone ramps connect each tunnel to those immediately above and below. Four levels below you, teams of men are pushing wagonloads of ore. Others, dressed in red armour, stand guard over the wagon-pushers and urge them on with whips and curses.
The tunnel in which you now stand is on the highest level. You realize that the only way you can proceed is by descending the ramp to a tunnel on a lower level. To your dismay, you notice that each of the ramps is guarded by armed men. Inching forward, you peer over the edge of the ramp; two guards are sitting near the tunnel entrance below. They are laughing and giggling and pointing at an empty wine flagon that lies at their feet. After watching them for several minutes, you decide they are probably too drunk to notice you. You decide to make a dash for the tunnel.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Kai Discipline of Camouflage, add 4 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 0–7,
turn to 138
.
If your total is 8–13,
turn to 244
.