The Chasm of Doom (4 page)

Your men secure the boat to a rusty iron ring before following you up the stone steps towards the archway. As you reach a narrow ledge at the top of the granite staircase, you hear strange sounds drifting from the darkness ahead, like the hissing of a jet of steam. It lasts for a few seconds before the crack of a whip and the voice of a man cursing bring it to an abrupt halt.

If you wish to enter the tunnel,
turn to 151
.

If you decide not to enter the tunnel, you can return to the rowing boat and continue along the underground river by
turning to 240
.

A wave of panic knots your stomach as the bridge drops away beneath your feet. You dive forward and just manage to grasp hold of the slatted wooden floor. But the worst is yet to come. Your grip is slipping, and the bridge is about to crash into the far wall.

If you wish to tighten your grip and brace yourself for the shock of impact,
turn to 112
.

If you decide to leap clear of the swinging bridge into the unknown depth of the mine shaft,
turn to 342
.

The warrior staggers back and tumbles over the ramparts into the raging battle below. His feathered mount ascends and flies away, its hideous caw piercing the storm-black sky.

Lying upon the gore-stained floor is a beautiful Onyx Medallion, which was torn from the warrior's armour as he fell. If you wish to keep the Onyx Medallion, place it in your pocket and mark it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item.

Leave the watchtower by
turning to 59
.

You have covered less than twenty yards when you reach a solid rock-face. It is a dead end. The tunnel has only just been recently excavated, and you can go no further in this direction. You must now return to the junction.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 97
.

If the number is 5–9,
turn to 190
.

Fifty miles south of Ruanon, the ruined city of Maaken teeters on the brink of Maakengorge. A cold sweat breaks out upon your brow as you contemplate the difficulty of your mission, for you are separated from your goal by fifty miles of enemy-held territory. But there is still a flicker of hope; with the enemy in confusion and retreat, your chances of success will be far higher now than before battle.

Before you set off on your perilous mission, Captain D'Val offers you the choice of the following equipment and provisions:
¹

• Enough food for 3 Meals
  
• Rope
  
• Potion of Laumspur — Restores 4
  ENDURANCE
  points when swallowed after combat
  
• Sword
  
• Spear
  

Make the necessary adjustments to your
Action Chart
before
turning to 140
.

The show finally comes to an end, and you make the necessary preparations for a night's sleep. At dawn the next day, you and your company bid farewell to the travelling players and continue on your way to Ruanon.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 171
.

If the number is 5–9,
turn to 25
.

Your rangers spread out and move stealthily forward under cover of the large boulders. When you are almost close enough to reach out and touch the enemy, you give a piercing whistle — the signal to attack! In unison, your men rise up and strike. Two bandits die instantly, their skulls cloven in two by ranger swords. A third turns to run, but he is felled from behind and swept away in the foam-flecked water. Your target is a formidable looking warrior; great bracers of steel encase his wrists and a grim necklace of shrunken skulls adorns his leather battle-jerkin. You strike first, but his reactions are lightning-fast. He turns your blow aside with his spear and lunges at your face.

Illustration I
—Your target is a formidable Bandit Warrior.

Bandit Warrior:
COMBAT SKILL
 17   
ENDURANCE
 28

If you wish to evade combat at any time, you can dive into the River Xane by
turning to 31
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 146
.

You have ridden less than a hundred yards when you notice fresh hoof prints in the dust of the winding track.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking,
turn to 264
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 134
.

You reach the door and quickly make your escape. The land behind the tavern is steep and heavily forested. Two of your men follow, but they are both badly wounded and cannot keep up with you. You turn to shout encouragement, only to witness their deaths as they are brutally stabbed to the ground. The bandit murderers wipe their blades and sprint towards you.

If you wish to run straight into the forest,
turn to 123
.

If you wish to try to change direction as soon as the trees hide you from your pursuers,
turn to 169
.

A spear tip has grazed your forearm. It is a mere scratch, yet your arm has become numb and useless. You strike back at your assailant, hoping to catch him as he pulls back, but your blow is weak and poorly aimed. Your vision is becoming a blur; you cannot coordinate your movements. Blind terror engulfs you as you suddenly realize that the bandits are using poisoned weapons.

A spear catches you beneath the arm and another sinks into your chest. As darkness engulfs you from all sides, the last sight you remember is the triumphant grimaces of your murderers as they stab you to death.

Your life and your mission end here.

You recognize the hoof prints of a Sommlending cavalry horse. There are two sets of tracks, and you are sure that they were made by two of your missing scouts. You decide to follow them eastwards in the hope of finding your men.

Turn to 150
.

You instantly recognize these amulets. They are the symbols of a Holy Order known as ‘The Redeemers’, a silent order of pilgrims devoted to a lifetime of prayer and healing. You apologize for your hasty reaction. The holy men both nod their shaven heads in forgiveness.

Your men have pitched camp beneath the marble canopy, and preparations are soon underway for a good night's sleep. You are hungry and you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

Turn to 233
.

An arrow hisses overhead; a scream of agony fills the air. The bow slips from the archer's fingers as he sinks to his knees, the arrow lodged deep between his startled eyes. The clack of fangs and the soft swift pad of stealthy feet tell you that the Warhounds are closing in. 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 Guard Captain D'Val. He reaches you, breathless from his run, and draws an arrow from his quiver. D'Val aims and fires, drawing another arrow from his quiver as soon as the first is loosed. The Warhounds tumble and crash to the ground around you, felled by D'Val's deadly shafts. Eight lie dead before his quiver is empty.

The captain grabs you by the arm and, swinging you over his shoulder in one swift motion, carries you back towards the barricade. Others run forward to help you, but the bandit archers are now in range and your men are forced back by a hail of arrows. The red shafts of the enemy whistle past on all sides. You reach the barricade, a wagon is pulled aside, and you are carried in through the gap. Captain D'Val is close to exhaustion; he staggers, and his men rush to catch him before he drops to the ground.

Turn to 341
.

After half an hour, one of your men reports sighting a track ahead. The narrow dirt path leads off to the east and the west.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking,
turn to 264
.

If you wish to follow it east,
turn to 134
.

If you wish to it west,
turn to 191
.

You fumble in your Backpack to remove a Torch,
²
and in doing so, you drop one other item from your Backpack into the crevasse. (If you were only carrying a Torch, you have lost a Weapon instead.)

You eventually manage to light the new Torch and make your way safely across to the other side of the bridge.

Continue along this tunnel and
turn to 157
.

You reach the door, but only to find it locked.

If you possess a Brass Key,
turn to 282
.

If you do not,
turn to 105
.

You leap across the warrior's dead body and enter the watchtower. Running up the wide stone stairs, you reach a landing on the first level where two soldiers are firing their bows through narrow oblong slits in the wall. Suddenly one of them cries out in pain and staggers back, an arrow sunk in his chest.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Healing, you can help this wounded soldier by
turning to 238
.

If you wish to continue up the stairs to the watchtower roof,
turn to 223
.

If you wish to pick up the wounded archer's bow and man his position at the arrow slit,
turn to 207
.

After journeying through the rich wheat fields of southern Sommerlund, the view that lies before you now looks especially bleak and colourless. The landscape is flat and desolate, only relieved here and there by a ragged copse of stunted firs or mound of broken earth. (You have entered the Wildlands south of the Pass of Moytura and cannot use the Kai Discipline of Hunting to hunt for food in this desolate area.) During the afternoon, storm clouds gather above the peaks of the Durncrag Mountains to the west, and the roll of distant thunder warns of imminent rain. It is early evening when your scouts find the ruins of an old temple, less than a mile from the highway.

If you wish to set up camp for the night in the shelter of the ruins,
turn to 290
.

If you wish to avoid the temple and continue,
turn to 141
.

As you run towards the ladder, the dreadful screams of your dying men claw at your ears, as they are eaten alive. You stop and stare back into the tunnel. The Stoneworm is now barely twenty feet away and is slithering towards you at a terrifying pace. You know that you will never reach the ladder in time to escape. In desperation, you raise your weapon and prepare for combat. The creature is immune to Mindblast.

Illustration II
—The Stoneworm slithers towards you at a terrifying pace.

Stoneworm:
COMBAT SKILL
 15   
ENDURANCE
 38

If you win the combat,
turn to 321
.