The Masters of Darkness (6 page)

Your Kai senses warn you that if you were to invert the tube, the acceleration of power inside the orange tank would lead to an immediate and devastating explosion. Rather than risk your life and your mission by tampering with the tube, you decide instead to remove some of the fabric that insulates the cables running close to the tank. The effects of this sabotage may not be felt until the vessel has been at sea for some time, but when the cables eventually disintegrate, it will rob the juggernaut of all its power. Should this happen during one of the Kaltersee's frequent storms, then an iron-hulled craft this large would be sure to capsize and sink without trace.

Turn to 223
.

Drawing on your advanced Magnakai skills, you cause your facial characteristics to become harder and more brutal in appearance.

‘Loga ok okak sheg!’
(Free me you dog!) you growl in Giak, mimicking the Drakkarim accent to perfection. In the confines of the corridor, your assailant is easily deceived into thinking that he has assaulted one of his fellow marines by mistake. The moment he releases his grip, you spin around and attack with your bare but deadly hands.

Drakkar (surprise attack):
COMBAT SKILL
 12   
ENDURANCE
 26

You must fight the first two rounds of combat unarmed. Only at the start of the third round are you able to unsheathe a hand weapon.

If you win the combat,
turn to 253
.

Using your advanced Kai skill, you focus your hearing on what is being said by the suspicious-looking group. To your dismay you hear them plotting to ambush and kill you. They are followers of Darklord Taktaal, arch-rival of Darklord Ghanesh, whose colours you are wearing. They plan to murder you in retaliation for the death of one of their own, who was poisoned by Ghanesh's minions.

You watch them out of the corner of your eye, and, as soon as they turn away their heads, you hurry into a tunnel that has been avoided by the other passengers. The speed of your action catches the group by surprise; none of them sees which tunnel you take and you escape with ease.

Turn to 170
.

Your greatly enhanced ability to see into the distance, and in the dark, enables you to recognize at once that the cave-like opening in the side of the mountain is a perfectly smooth archway. It has been carved from the rock purposefully, and is not a natural fissure or fault.

If you wish to inspect the opening more closely,
turn to 143
.

If you decide instead to return to the Giak outpost and attempt to gain entry,
turn to 86
.

You swing clear of the rigging and leap astride the Xargath's neck, but it senses your presence and twists and bucks like a wild stallion to unseat you. Grimly you cling to its scaly hide, stabbing repeatedly at its ears and spine in the hope of disabling it before it breaks free. In desperation it tries to dislodge you, using its massive foreclaws to scratch at its neck in an attempt to hook you away.

Xargath:
COMBAT SKILL
 10   
ENDURANCE
 100

This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
²

You can evade combat at any time by climbing the mainmast and hiding in the crow's nest:
turn to 277
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 66

Icy winds tear at your mask and armour as you soar thousands of feet above the southern foothills of the Gourdanak Mountain Range. Were it not for the protection of your Golden Amulet, the bitter fury of these winds would have frozen you to death within an hour of leaving Argazad, yet you feel nothing, save exhilaration and a nagging fear of what awaits you in Aarnak.

Dawn breaks during the second hour of your flight, and in its dull grey light you glimpse the landscape as it speeds past below. To the south lies the Naogizaga, a vast plain of ash and slime-filled rifts; to the north lie the snow-capped peaks of the Gourdanak Mountains; and ahead lies an unwelcoming vista, a desolation of stunted, poisonous vegetation and hilly crags. You are tired and hungry after your perilous ordeal in Argazad, and must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

To continue,
turn to 10
.

Through narrowed eyes you watch as the shape draws slowly nearer. A tingle of apprehension chills your skin when you recognize it. Emerging out of the twilight gloom comes a wagon laden with barrels and boxes, drawn by six ox-like creatures. Two Giak soldiers sit on the front seat — a driver and a guard. Behind them ride four horsemen — Drakkarim escorts, judging by their size and the cut of their black leather armour. The driver cracks his whip and you notice his eyes fix on the place where you are hiding.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility, add 4 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 0–3,
turn to 118
.

If it is 4 or more,
turn to 304
.

With breathtaking suddenness, the pain in your shoulder melts away and you feel yourself falling into an inky black void. You fight to remain conscious, but it is a fight you cannot hope to win, for the deadly viral poison has worked its way into your heart and its insidious effect has committed you to an everlasting sleep.

Tragically, your life and your mission end here on the streets of Helgedad.

You brace yourself to receive the enemy as they swarm around you, howling with primal fury, their teeth bared and their faces contorted with rage. The Drakkarim officer screams,
‘Darg!’
and they hurl themselves recklessly upon you.

Drakkarim Assault Squad:
COMBAT SKILL
 33   
ENDURANCE
 48

If you win the combat,
turn to 28
.

The Black Cube is a Nadziranim power crystal, a deadly explosive charge devised by the Darkland sorcerers. Since you picked it up, the cube has become increasingly unstable, and now, as you take your first steps into the Imperial Armoury, it explodes with devastating effect. The blast triggers the Crystal Explosive that you had intended to use to destroy the Transfusor, and, in the resulting explosion, you, and this entire section of Helgedad, are blown to smithereens.

Your life and your mission end here.

The first mate, whose name is Davan, helps you to splint the captain's broken legs and construct a makeshift stretcher on which to carry him to his cabin. Having done what you can to make the captain comfortable, you return on deck to survey the damage.

Over half the crew have been killed or injured in the attack, and the ship itself is badly mauled. The mainmast is down, the sails are shredded, and there is a gaping hole that stretches along the port beam to within a few feet of the waterline.

‘We can patch up the sails and work the ship on a skeleton crew,’ says Davan, peering over the shattered rail, ‘but if we catch a storm this far out to sea, we're done for.’

Turn to 330
.

A section of the boom-sail strikes your face, opening a nasty gash across your forehead: lose 4
ENDURANCE
points. Stunned by the blow, you react sluggishly to the burning canvas now draped over your body. In a matter of seconds the flames and smoke have completely engulfed you, yet your clothes do not ignite and you feel absolutely no pain, save the wound to your head. Without haste or urgency you cast the blazing sail aside and emerge unburned.

Turn to 101
.

The Giak snatches the coins from your hand and grunts his approval.
‘Dez ar ok!’
he says, and leads the way. (Delete from your
Action Chart
half of the Kika you possess.)

You follow him through a maze of garbage-choked streets, past rusting tenements and squalid huts, to an iron tower at the heart of the city. Unlike all else, this tower appears to have been unaffected by the corrosive atmosphere: its surface is dull yet free from decay. The Giak speaks with another who guards its open entrance and immediately he stands aside, allowing you to enter the tower's gloomy ground floor.

Turn to 346
.

You are within a few feet of the crevasse, craning your neck to see into its lightless depths, when suddenly a thin, snaky tendril rises out of the darkness and stabs at your chest. There is a flash and a terrible pain spreads through your body, radiating to your limbs and leaving you numb and nerveless: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.

If you survive the attack,
turn to 55
.

‘Orgadak dik!’
growls the leading Drakkar, when first you appear before them. Then he glances at his men and hisses the command:
‘Taag dok!’
They leap forward and attack you simultaneously.

Drakkarim Escorts:
COMBAT SKILL
 26   
ENDURANCE
 34

If you win the combat,
turn to 182
.

You press yourself against the wall. Keeping to the shadows and using your camouflage expertise, you hide from the approaching Ligan.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Magnakai Disciplines of Invisibility and Psi-screen, add 4 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 0–5,
turn to 348
.

If it is 6 or more,
turn to 70
.

Your greatly improved Magnakai skill enables you to see a string of dark shapes on the distant horizon — enemy ships. The five squat, ugly-looking vessels all lack sail or masts, or any other visible forms of propulsion, yet each moves at a constant and rapid pace. Quickly you inform the captain of what you can see and urge him to change direction, for the
Intrepid
is now heading on a collision course with the vessel at the centre of the enemy line.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you have completed the Lore-circle of the Spirit, add 3 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 0–5,
turn to 204
.

If it is 6 or more,
turn to 129
.

You escape from the enemy and hide in a narrow alley, where you wait in silence. When you are sure that you are not being followed, you continue through the streets of this evil metropolis.

The way ahead is lit momentarily by an exploding fireball that showers this sector of the city with a rain of sparking cinders. In the brief light of the explosion you now see that the street along which you are walking is a cul-de-sac that ends abruptly at a square tower.

A creature, its face and body enveloped in a shroud-like robe, stands guard at the entrance to this ponderous building, clutching in its vulture-like claws a stave of iron that crackles with magical blue flames.

The sound of howling screams echoes in the darkness behind you, warning that you are being pursued. Rather than turn and face your pursuers, you decide to take refuge in the tower, but to do so you must first deal with the guard.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 324
.

If you do not,
turn to 156
.

You aim and fire, sending your Arrow clean through the breast of the first bird and clipping the wing tip of the second as it whistles skyward. It shrieks in alarm, but rather than take fright and fly away, it banks over and dives for your eyes, determined to exact revenge for the death of its mate.

If you have at least one Arrow and wish to fire at your feathered attacker,
turn to 107
.

If you have no Arrows, or if you choose to defend yourself with a hand weapon,
turn to 268
.