The Chasm of Doom (23 page)

BOOK: The Chasm of Doom

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346

For over five minutes you climb the spiral staircase before reaching the next level, where a mine tunnel leads off towards the south. You have covered less than a hundred yards of the dank passage when you discover a lever, set high up on the left-hand wall. A sudden noise in the distance betrays a guard patrol marching towards you. Without a second thought you pull the lever and a stone panel slides back to reveal a secret tunnel. You enter quickly to avoid the guards. Once they have passed by, you try to leave but find that you cannot re-open the stone panel from the inside. With a growing feeling of despair, you turn and follow the secret tunnel.

Turn to 335
.

347

You are at the bottom of the cellar ladder when the trapdoor slams shut and you hear a bolt slide across and lock. You hammer on the trapdoor desperately trying to escape, but your captors cover the trapdoor with a heavy oak cask and keep guard in the room above. Four days pass before the lock slides back, but the hands that open the trapdoor are bony and fleshless.

Your life and your mission end here.

348

Less than fifty yards along the tunnel wall you notice a lever. Your Kai instincts make you naturally suspicious of this unusual feature, and you scour the floor looking for evidence of a trap. You find nothing, but a glance at the roof reveals the underside of a wide portcullis hidden between two beams.

You pull the lever and the portcullis falls, sealing off the tunnel behind you. To make sure you will not be followed, you smash the lever with a wedge of stone before continuing along the tunnel.

Turn to 185
.

349

Judging by the smoothness of the stone floor and the condition of the ore wagons, you deduce that this gallery must service a major section of the mines. A fresh breeze can be felt blowing out of the west tunnel, and you sense that you must be near the surface.

Ruanon lies due west, the same direction as the ore wagon tunnel. You take a deep breath and emerge from the shadows, cross the gallery, and quietly enter the archway beyond.

Turn to 55
.

350

As Barraka dies, the wind suddenly rises in pitch and intensity, filling the temple with a mournful cry of despair. You feel the chill, malevolent spirit of Darklord Vashna engulfing you in an icy embrace, but you sense that he is powerless to harm you. The sacrifice has been foiled; he is doomed to lament for a victory that might have been.

Lying on the black temple floor is the Dagger of Vashna. As you pick it up and tuck it into your belt (mark this on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item), the evil blue flame flickers and dies. As long as you possess this evil blade, Darklord Vashna and his legion of dead warriors will remain imprisoned in the Chasm of Doom.

You free fair Madelon from the altar and carry her through the corridors of the temple that lead up to the surface. As you emerge into the moonlit ruins, an astounding sight greets your eyes. Barraka's warriors are running from the ghost city in all directions, closely pursued by an army of cavalrymen. The light of the full moon and the guttering torches that these horsemen carry, illuminates the sun-crest that bedecks their tunics. Word must have reached Holmgard for they are the Sommlending army, led by King Ulnar himself. Your countrymen praise your courage and daring, their strident cheers drowning the cry of Maakengorge, for once again you have proved yourself a true hero of Sommerlund. As you deliver Madelon into the waiting arms of her father, his overwhelming joy fills you with a sense of great achievement. You are indeed worthy of the title ‘Kai Lord’. You have succeeded in your perilous quest, but the epic saga of Lone Wolf — last of the Kai Lords — is far from complete. A new and deadly challenge awaits you in Book 5 of the
Lone Wolf
series entitled:

Shadow on the Sand