The Darke Crusade (7 page)
Guided by your instincts, you take the Silver Rod from your pocket and insert it into the lock. It is a perfect fit. Silently the lock disengages and the door swings open to reveal two Tukodak guards, both standing with their backs to you. One feels a draught and glances over his shoulder, but before he can draw a weapon or warn his comrade, you leap forward and silence them with two swift and deadly open-handed blows to the napes of their necks.
You crash down upon the unsuspecting lancer and send him tumbling from the saddle. Then you seize control of his startled horse and take off across the square. With your left hand you unholster the lance and bring it to bear as you gallop headlong towards the mass of Drakkarim soldiers who stand between you and the platform.
Unfortunately, you do not cast the spell quickly enough to block the Drakkar's arrow and it hits you squarely in the upper chest, knocking you flat on your back: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.
Bravely you take hold of the arrow and wrench it from your chest. Then, using your innate healing skills, you manage to staunch the bleeding. For nearly an hour you lie in the bottom of the boat staring at the grey sky, allowing the river to carry you downstream, and when eventually you pull yourself upright, you find that the Drakkarim renegades are no longer in sight.
Your voyage continues without further incident until, later in the afternoon, you catch sight of a town on the horizon. You check your
map
and discover it to be Konozod, a fortified Drakkarim stronghold. As the river carries you closer, you magnify your vision and see that it is built upon the left bank of the Shug. A huge stone bridge spans the river, and beneath this you see that the waterway is blocked by a barrier of chained logs.
If you wish to allow your boat to drift towards this barrier,
turn to 314
.
If you decide to avoid the barrier, you can put ashore and continue on foot by
turning to 231
.
After several unsuccessful attempts to open this lock, you abandon the door and leave the chamber. You are fearful of what may happen if you stay here any longer and so you retrace your steps to the place where you first emerged from the collapsed passage. You pause here for a few minutes to catch your breath; then you continue along the tunnel until, once more, you find yourself standing at the edge of the chasm. You scan this vast and dismal fissure, hoping to find a way to escape from this grim subterranean prison.
If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 340
.
If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 138
.
Uncertainty haunts your thoughts as you race across the desolate no man's land that lies between the inner and outer defences of Shugkona. Soon you catch sight of these outer defences. They comprise a line of man-sized wooden casks filled with earth, behind which there stands a squad of Drakkarim archers. Their bows are loaded and aimed, ready to fire.
Quickly you steer your horse away from the road and set off across rough, snowy ground towards a distant line of trenches. Fortunately, the defences at the northern perimeter are much weaker than elsewhere. The trenches are empty, the guards having left earlier to watch Prarg's execution in the main square. However, the rough terrain soon takes its toll upon your already tired horse. He is near to exhaustion, and as you approach the trenches, you fear he is not strong enough to make the jump.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Animal Mastery, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher, add 1.
If your total score is now 3 or less,
turn to 246
.
If it is 4–7,
turn to 87
.
If it is 8 or higher,
turn to 165
.
‘Quickly, Prarg!’ you shout, as the advancing pack spreads out, attempting to surround you. ‘Stand back-to-back. Whatever you do, don't let them separate us or we're done for!’
The captain obeys your command and, as the first of the snarling war-dogs comes leaping through the air, you steel yourselves to receive its manic attack.
Wild Akataz Pack:
COMBAT SKILL
38
ENDURANCE
50
These war dogs are especially susceptible to psychic attack. Double all bonuses you would normally receive should you decide to use a psychic attack during this combat.
If you win the combat,
turn to 286
.
The slime-smeared steps are narrow and steep and seem to go on forever. You ascend, settling into a steady climbing rhythm, and after a long while you come to a rot-infested door on which your fumbling fingers discover a corroded metal latch. It opens into a dim and lofty chamber, vaulted by massive pillars of marble which are slick with moisture. The ground is carpeted with mottled green fungi, some specimens standing even taller than yourself, and the humid air is thick with spores.
Slowly you make your way across the chamber to an archway which is flanked by stone pillars, carved to resemble two huge open books. Around the base of these book-like pillars you notice several clumps of fleshy fungi which you recognize at once. They are called Floroa and are very nutritious. Eagerly you pick and swallow a handful of these Floroa — restore 3
ENDURANCE
points — before leaving this chamber. (If you wish to take some of this fungi with you, record a single dose on your
Action Chart
as a Backpack Item. Consuming this at a later time will restore 3
ENDURANCE
points.)
To continue,
turn to 333
.
The sight of Prarg being held hostage by these ruthless Drakkarim fills you with frustrated anger, but you dare not show it. The slightest provocation could result in the captain's death. Instead, you call upon Warlord Magnaarn to show himself; you do not have to wait long for his response.
You slay the Death Knights and bundle their bodies down the stairs to delay the other Drakkarim. Then, with fear running cold in your veins, you hurry across to a window on the far side of the tower. Outside, directly below, you see a Drakkarim lancer sitting astride a warhorse. His lance is sheathed in a tube-like scabbard fixed to the rear of his saddle and in his hand he holds aloft a heavy-bladed cavalry sabre. He is cheering those who are entering the tower and he is completely unaware that you are barely a few yards away.
Swiftly you climb onto the window ledge, draw your weapon, and then leap onto the unwary lancer below.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 3 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is now 4 or less,
turn to 153
.
If your total score is now 5 or more,
turn to 28
.
You follow Prarg to the top of the steps, and as you race along the body-strewn battlements, you see the fighting which is raging both inside and outside the city. The battlements end at a tower where a flight of spiral steps ascend to a circular landing. Here you wait in the shadows until a troop of Drakkarim pass by. While you are waiting for them to disappear, you look out of the tower through an arrow slit and see the waters of the Gulf of Lencia, and the conflict that is raging across the coastal plain.
‘The King's Crusaders breached the city gate three days ago,’ whispers Prarg. ‘They were close to taking the city when Magnaarn and his armies arrived. His newfound power shattered the Crusaders, but even though they were broken by it, not all were ejected from the city. Those you saw fighting at the keep are trying to hold on until our allies arrive from Kasland. The fleet is expected at any time. Magnaarn must be slain. He and the sceptre have become one entity — he is now a puppet of a far greater evil.’
A shudder runs down your spine as, for the first time since you entered Darke, you feel the presence of the Doomstone. Fear returns to haunt you, the fear that the evil gem will sap your strength, as it did when first you encountered it at the Temple of Antah. If this is still so then Magnaarn may prove impossible to defeat.
Prarg senses your anxiety and he offers some words of advice and hope: ‘The taking of Darke has weakened the Warlord — he's paid a terrible price. He has been forced to retire from the battle in order to recover his strength and he is presently at his weakest. Now, Sire, is the time to strike.’
Beyond the landing lies a corridor which leads to a junction where another passageway crosses from left to right. You look to the right and see that the way is blocked by a heavy steel door. Prarg utters a curse under his breath, and then he explains his anger.
‘That way leads directly to the Palace Tower. Magnaarn is hiding there, in its uppermost chamber.’
Anxiously he glances along the opposite passage and furrows his brow. ‘Perhaps we can get there by another route,’ he muses.
If you wish to investigate the closed door,
turn to 220
.
If you choose to look for another way of reaching the Palace Tower,
turn to 182
.
Suddenly you sense that Prarg is walking directly towards a patch of thin ice. You shout a warning but it is already too late. A loud
crack
echoes across the lake as the surface shatters and, in a terrible moment, your companion disappears feet-first into a seething pool of icy grey water.
If you possess a Rope,
turn to 211
.
If you do not,
turn to 346
.
You let fly your Arrow and send it deep into the creature's throat. For a few moments the Ciquali looks at you as if unaffected by the Arrow; then its eyes roll backwards in their sockets and stiffly it falls backwards over the gunwale to sink without trace beneath the slimy water.
As one, the remaining Ciquali flee from the boat and disappear as quickly as they had come, slipping back to the cold, dark safety of their hiding places beneath the surface. Silence returns, and for a long moment you stand alert, suspecting trickery. Then slowly you relax; they have gone.
Aided by your healing skills, Prarg makes a speedy recovery from the battering he sustained in combat with the Ciquali chieftain. The boat, too, has survived the attack and you are able to continue without further delay. As soon as you pass the obstruction, you hoist the sail and catch the prevailing wind which propels you northwards along the channel beyond.
You are hungry after your encounter. Unless you possess Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 322
.
The fight for control of Konozod is swift and bloody. Within the hour the town is under Lencian control, its Drakkarim garrison having been put mercilessly to the sword. However, not all of the enemy perish in the battle. To Captain Schera's dismay, several manage to escape across the river and flee to the west on horseback. He is anxious that they may return with reinforcements to retake the town.
A food store is discovered and, whilst the starving Lencians satiate their hunger, you talk with Captain Schera about the events of the last few weeks which have led to this meeting. Your learn from him that after you were interred in the Temple of Antah, Warlord Magnaarn waged a major offensive against the Lencian army. Having reunited the Doomstone with the Nyras Sceptre, he has, as King Sarnac feared, forced the Nadziranim sorcerers of Kagorst and Akagazad to help him. Their combined skills have wrought great destruction. They attacked and drove through the Lencian lines like demons in an offensive which was swift and deadly. A week ago, Captain Schera and his regiment were cut off and captured in the fighting around Hokidat, after which they were marched here and imprisoned. He considers himself lucky to be alive, for the Drakkarim rarely take prisoners. Then you ask what news he has heard about the war since he came here.
‘There's much confusion,’ he says, wearily. ‘I've heard talk that most of the mercenaries in Sarnac's pay have deserted us. Some have even joined the enemy. The Drakkarim taunted us, saying that our army had been smashed. They said the remnants had been pushed into the Tentarias, but I dismissed this as lies. One thing is sure, though: Magnaarn intends to raise the siege of Darke. It has become his battle call — “On to Darke!” This cry was on the lips of his troops during the battle at Hokidat. I saw him during this battle. He was leading his army personally, and he was wielding his accursed sceptre, dealing death to all who tried to stand in his way. He possesses a great and terrible power, and I fear that we may now be unable to put an end to his evil ambitions.’
If you wish to ask Schera if he knows anything about Captain Prarg,
turn to 97
.
If you do not,
turn to 236
.