Trail of the Wolf (27 page)

The Drakkar's reactions are swift, despite the handicap of his heavy armour. Your ball of invisible energy strikes his shield and knocks it from his grasp, but it causes him no injury. He curses you as he looks down at his favourite battle-shield, now lying buckled and useless on the steps, and then he continues his determined advance towards the observatory platform.

Turn to 180
.

A swift search of this mess hall uncovers the following items that may be of some use during your mission:

• Enough food for 2 Meals
  
• 3 Arrows
  
• 2 Swords
  
• Axe
  
• Dagger
  
• Candlestick
  
• Pewter Goblet
  
• Dining Fork
  
• Bottle of Wine
  
• Torch
  

If you wish to keep any of the above items, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

To leave the hall,
turn to 55
.

Frantically you rummage through the tangle of putrid remains in search of your lost Kai blade.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Telegnosis, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you possess Grand Pathsmanship, add 1.

If your total score is now 4 or lower,
turn to 49
.

If it is 5–8,
turn to 294
.

If it is 9 or higher,
turn to 132
.

You climb the steep gully wall and crouch beside a large boulder. Patiently you wait for the screeching to cease, but the shrieks are growing louder. Fearing that you may be the prey of some unseen terror of the skies, you magnify your vision and peer upwards into the swirling black clouds. Swooping and soaring overhead, you glimpse two bat-winged creatures with scaly grey-green hides and long serrated beaks. One of these beasts is carrying a large object clamped in its mouth which the other is trying hard to wrest from its grasp. It claws at its rival's neck, forcing the creature to drop the object which plummets to the ground and splashes into the dust at the exit from the gully. The creatures continue to struggle, tearing maniacally at each other with beak and claw, until they drop from the sky. Both are mortally wounded. With grim fascination you watch as they spiral to the ground, still locked in deadly combat, and slam into the dusty soil.

If you wish to go and investigate the remains of these creatures,
turn to 43
.

If you choose to avoid them,
turn to 106
.

You are within a few feet of the breached wall when suddenly the rim of the fissure collapses beneath your feet, and you are sent tumbling into the fiery heart of the abyss.

Tragically, your mission ends here in the fractured earth of Gazad Helkona.

You draw back the rod and then release your straining bowstring to send the rod arcing down the stairwell towards the advancing enemy troops. It strikes the floor of the landing, just a few feet in front of the leading troopers, and releases its pent-up energy with terrifying effect.

Turn to 77
.

You insert the Copper Key into the lockplate and twist it anticlockwise. The mortise is stiff but the key fits and the lock opens with a loud
click
. Carefully you push open the door and enter a broad hall constructed entirely from black marble slabs. A strange amber light illuminates the upper walls and domed ceiling, cast by a dozen gold cressets fixed into the walls. Two large pedestals stand near the centre of the hall, each one topped by a horned skull. As you approach these pedestals, you hear the door slam shut behind you. Instinctively you spin around and you see that there is no lockplate on the inside of the door. Its black surface is entirely smooth, blending seamlessly with the sombre marble walls.

To continue,
turn to 250
.

The bodies of the slain Drakkarim lie slumped against the door. They keep it from closing and allow the grey half-light of Gazad Helkona to pierce the gloom of an entrance hall that lies beyond. You drag the dead warriors into this empty hall by their feet, and hide their corpses in a dark recess behind one of the pillars which support its high ceiling. Then you close the main door and bolt it shut before exploring any further.

The circular walls of this hall are bedecked with battered shields and torn banners, captured in battle during the Darklands War. Lit by the oily glow of a solitary sputtering Lantern, you can see a crude wooden table and two chairs in the middle of the hall. A pair of Bone Dice rests on the table and two Spears lie on the floor beside it. (If you want to keep any of these items, adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.)

You are scanning the walls when you notice an archway opposite the main door, leading to a flight of stone steps. Cautiously you cross to the archway and ascend the steps to a landing on the level above.

Turn to 6
.

The Skryza shrieks a deafening cry as your Kai blade steals its life away. Its legs buckle and its gross body crashes down, staining the dusty soil with the dark ichor that pours from its many wounds. Its sprawling legs continue to twitch and convulse for several minutes, even after death has laid claim to its evil soul.

As you step back from the dead spider, you hear the buzzing of giant direflies. They are swarming in readiness to return. You suspect that they must be attracted by the bitter stench of the Skryza's blood, but it is also the opportunity for vengeance that is drawing them here. For years the Skryza has trapped and consumed thousands of their kind, but now the time has come for them to wreak their revenge.

Before the direflies appear, you escape into the trees. The webs prevent you from heading directly north, towards Gazad Helkona, and so you are forced instead to go east and detour around them. For five hours you trek through the dead forest before stopping to rest on the trunk of a fallen tree. You must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points (you cannot use Grand Huntmastery in this instance, for there are no flora or fauna that you can forage for in the petrified forest of Helkona).

To continue,
turn to 239
.

You search through the foul debris that carpets the floor until you find your lost Kai Weapon (you may now erase the asterisk from your Special Items List). Then you retrieve the Sommerswerd from the ground, and for a few moments you marvel at its craftsmanship and fine balance. With this divine blade grasped firmly in your hand, you hurry to the prison-sphere and thrust its tip into a ragged tear that was made when Lone Wolf hurled the Sommerswerd at Zorkaan. Crimson sparks erupt from the rent in the sphere as determinedly you work the sword with a sawing motion. The split lengthens until you are able to reach in and grab hold of Lone Wolf's tunic. Carefully you pull your unconscious leader out of his sorcerous cell; then you sheathe the Sommerswerd in his scabbard before you heave his limp body over your shoulder. Fearing that Xaol's absence may soon come to the attention of his minions, you cast your gaze around the necromancer's hall in search of a way to escape. The doors by which you entered have been sealed shut, but your keen eyes and your Kai senses alert you to two other possible routes out of this chamber. The first is a narrow door located in the wall directly behind the throne of bones, and the other is an archway that is covered by a thin velvet tapestry.

If you wish to investigate the narrow door,
turn to 262
.

If you choose to examine the curtained archway,
turn to 177
.

You examine the door's copper lockplate and determine that this mortise could be easier to pick than the one that secures the centre door. Purposefully you set about the task, and after a few minutes the lock opens with a loud
click
.

Cautiously you push open the door and enter a broad hall constructed entirely from black marble slabs. A strange amber light illuminates the upper walls and domed ceiling, cast by a dozen gold cressets fixed into the walls. Two large pedestals stand near the centre of the hall, each one topped by a horned skull. As you approach these pedestals, you hear the door slam shut behind you. Instinctively you spin around and you see that there is no lockplate on the inside of the door. Its black surface is entirely smooth, blending seamlessly with the sombre marble walls.

To continue,
turn to 250
.

The Drakkarim hack at you with their deadly blades, but skilfully you turn them aside. The clangour of striking steel echoes noisily around the chamber as you parry and block their wild blows. The older and more aggressive of the two warriors recognizes that you are a formidable enemy and he pulls away abruptly, as if he is retreating from the fight. But then he signals to his comrade with a nod of his head and together they rush you, their swords held high in readiness to strike at your head.

Helkona Drakkarim:
COMBAT SKILL
 30   
ENDURANCE
 35

If you win this combat,
turn to 28
.

Your Kai Sixth Sense warns you of the energy bolt that is streaking towards your back, and you dive to one side to avoid being hit. It whooshes over your shoulder and explodes against the parapet at the top of the stairs, peppering you with sharp fragments of stone (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points).

Fearful that the creature is about to launch another bolt, you scramble to your feet and defiantly you turn to face this merciless foe.

Turn to 167
.

Your Kai Mastery alerts you to something lurking in the rafters of this hall. Using your infravision, you scour the high ceiling and see the unmistakable heat-picture of a Kraan perched on an iron beam. Hungrily it stares down at you with dark, malevolent eyes. You stare back defiantly, until you see it flex its talons and unfurl its bat-like wings; then a cold tingle runs down your spine. Your Sixth Sense is warning you that this ravenous predator is getting ready to attack.

If you possess a Kraan Pipe,
turn to 139
.

If you do not possess this Backpack Item,
turn to 71
.

The liquid splashes your legs and quickly sets, its gluey fibres pinning you to the ground. You unsheathe your Kai Weapon and strive desperately to cut yourself free from this web before the giant spider leaps upon you.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you possess Grand Weaponmastery (with the type of Kai Weapon you possess), add 1.

If your total score is now 3 or lower,
turn to 61
.

If it is 4–6,
turn to 265
.

If it is 7 or higher,
turn to 97
.

You summon the mental shapes of the Old Kingdom Spell
Power Word
and project this magical word at the crystal sphere:
Gloar!

A ball of concussive force hurtles across the hall, but before it strikes its mark, it is deflected away by a sudden gust of icy-cold wind. The diverted word collides with the throne and shatters the back of the seat in an explosion of dust and bone fragments.

Undaunted by this reversal, you rush towards the sphere with the intention of kicking it from its pedestal, but as you bring back your leg in readiness to strike, the dark shadow of Zorkaan falls upon you and launches a massive psychic attack from close range.

If you possess Kai-screen,
turn to 185
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 296
.

You call upon your advanced Kai skill to order the malevolent dog to go away. Its growling quickly transforms into a pathetic whimper, and then its nerve breaks and it takes off along the street at a run.

As it disappears from view, you climb the stairs to the first floor where you discover a wooden door banded with criss-crossing strips of enamelled iron. At its centre there is a polished black handle and a dial which is ringed with numbers. You examine the dial closely and determine that it controls a combination lock. By turning the dial to its correct numerical setting, you will cause the lock to disengage and the door will open.

Using your Kai Sixth Sense, you discover that the correct setting is the same as the distance in miles that you travelled aboard the
Cloud-dancer
, from the Kai Monastery to the Shezar Hills, divided by the 50 miles that you travelled on foot from the Shezar Hills to Gazad Helkona.

If you think you know the solution to this question,
turn to the section of this book
that is the same as your answer.
²³

If you cannot answer the question, or if your answer turns out to be incorrect,
turn instead to 195
.