Trail of the Wolf (6 page)
The success of your mission to find and free your illustrious leader is one of vital importance. Lone Wolf's abductor is a powerful and formidable adversary, and your search will be fraught with danger at every turn. Be wary and on your guard at all times during your exploration of Gazad Helkona.
During your search, some of the material items that you will encounter will be of use to you, but some may be red herrings of no real value at all. If you discover items during your mission, be selective in what you choose to keep. Pick your four Grand Master Disciplines with care for a wise choice will enable anyone to complete the quest, no matter how weak their initial
COMBAT SKILL
and
ENDURANCE
scores may be. Completion of previous
Lone Wolf
adventures (Books 1–24) may be advantageous, but it is not essential for the successful completion of this
New Order
adventure.
Grand Master — may the light of the Gods Kai and Ishir guide you safely during your mission.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
You decide to begin your air voyage to the Shezar Hills at first light the following day. In the few hours which remain before dawn, both you and Banedon make final preparations for the long journey west. You summon to your chambers Winter Oak, a Kai Archmaster, and tell him of the mission you are about to undertake at daybreak. He is the most senior member of the garrison and you place him in command during your absence. The Kai crusaders are expected to arrive in two days' time, and it will be his duty to inform them of your whereabouts and to keep the monastery safe until you and Lone Wolf return.
Having completed your preparations, you sleep for a few hours and rise shortly before dawn. Lord Rimoah escorts you to the monastery training park where, hovering above, you see the sleek hull of
Cloud-dancer
glinting in the moonlight. Rimoah has chosen not to accompany you on the voyage. Instead, he will remain here at the monastery and maintain contact with Banedon by means of a seeing stone. One of the ship's lookouts sees you crossing the park below and he orders a boarding cage to be lowered from the stern deck. As you wait for it to touch the ground, Rimoah takes from his pocket a sigil of platinum fixed upon a loop of braided twine. He presses the amulet into your hand and insists that you wear it at all times.
‘It is an artefact imbued with Old Kingdom magic,’ he says, sagely. ‘It has protective powers that may help you when you enter Gazad Helkona. Lone Wolf possesses a similar sigil, and I am sure that it has helped him to resist Zorkaan thus far.’
You accept the sigil and slip its braided noose over your head. (Record this Platinum Amulet on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item which you wear around your neck. You need not discard another Special Item in its favour if you already hold the maximum number permissible.)
To continue,
turn to 282
.
The nearest bandit tugs at his sword. You beat him to the draw and lunge at his chest with your Kai Weapon, running him through. He sways on his feet, his knuckles white on his sword hilt; then his strength fades and he keels over backwards onto the hard stone floor. The wolfhound yelps and runs off, but the remaining bandit stands his ground.
‘Prepare to die, raven-bait!’ he spits, as he unsheathes his heavy blade from its leather scabbard.
Illustration I—‘Prepare to die, raven-bait!’ spits the bandit, as he unsheathes his heavy blade.
Wolfhound Handler:
COMBAT SKILL
29
ENDURANCE
32
If you win this combat,
turn to 252
.
The Drakkar drops his sword and crashes to his knees. Groaning in agony, his gauntleted fingers scrabbling uselessly at your feathered shaft, he topples backwards and tumbles down the stairs, felling his comrades like skittles as he careers through their ranks. The few who are not bowled over by their leader immediately open fire at you with their crossbows, forcing you to dive for cover behind the parapet. As you crouch beside Lone Wolf, a sudden shriek echoes across the observatory platform, making you glance over your shoulder in fearful anticipation.
You focus on the trio of bandits in the hall beyond as you muster your formidable psychic powers. A ball of glowing energy slowly takes shape in your mind. When you feel that you can contain it no longer, you launch it at the bandits in three rapid bursts. The men cry out in pain as your psychic attack cuts deeply into the fabric of their minds, leaving them shocked and stunned. Before they can fully recover, you kick open the iron door and burst into the hall with your Kai Weapon raised to strike.
Hammerland Bandits
(in psychic shock)
:
COMBAT SKILL
28
ENDURANCE
36
If you win this combat,
turn to 131
.
‘Thank Ishir you saved us from that hellish device, Sire,’ you gasp, and wipe away the cold sweat that has beaded upon your brow. ‘I fear I could not counter it.’
The boarding cage is winched up through an aperture in the stern deck of the
Cloud-dancer
and, as it shudders to a halt, the gate is pulled open. Eager hands help you and Lone Wolf out onto the deck, and Guildmaster Banedon salutes you from his position at the ship's helm. All along the port and starboard rails, his young crewmen are firing at the swooping Kraan with bows and Bor pistols. Their unerring marksmanship soon decimates the enemy's squadron and forces the survivors to abandon their attack. Banedon pulls the helm hard about and, with a resounding cheer from his victorious crew, the
Cloud-dancer
soars over the fortified wall of Gazad Helkona and speeds away towards the east.
Beyond the landing lies the entrance to a foul-smelling chamber, its floor littered with bones and scraps of rotting meat. Its walls are embellished with bas-reliefs showing demonic heads and bestial faces, with several humanoid creatures dancing in the background. They are partnered by scaly serpents that rise up from fissures in a volcanic landscape. To the right of the chamber you can see the remains of a granite altar that has been split asunder by some great force. Its riven fragments lie heaped before the entrance to a shadowy alcove. To the left, you see a black iron door with a peephole drilled near its centre. On the floor beside this door is a large wooden chest.
If you wish to search the chamber,
turn to 302
.
If you wish to approach the door and look through the peephole,
turn to 223
.
You crash down heavily among the bones and cadavers that litter the necromancer's hall, and a sharp pain shoots through your skull when you strike the back of your head against the hard marble floor: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 325
.
After several minutes of intense effort, the lock opens with a dull
Clunk
! Carefully, you push open the door and enter a spacious chamber that is lit by ten globes of flickering white light. They hang suspended in the air with no visible means of support. The walls of this chamber are plastered and decorated with murals that depict the armies of Darklord Chlanzor despoiling the farms and cities of the Freeland Alliance. Standing against the far wall is a throne-like chair, crudely fashioned from a huge block of black marble. Veins of fluorescent purples and greens colour its surface, and the air around it shimmers like a desert haze.
As you approach this chair, 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 chamber door. Its surface is plastered and entirely smooth; it blends in seamlessly with the painted walls.
To continue,
turn to 90
.
You crouch beside the broken neck of the Kraan and discover a tube of hide attached by a chain to its collar. You flip open the end of the tube and discover that it contains a hollow metal pipe drilled with holes.
If you possess Bardsmanship,
turn to 246
.
If you do not,
turn to 165
.
You use your Magnakai Discipline of Curing to help Lone Wolf emerge from his coma and regain consciousness. It is a difficult procedure and it costs you 2
ENDURANCE
points, but your sacrifice is not made in vain.
Warily you explore this narrow tunnel, and as you advance deeper into the darkness, you detect the sickly aroma of mould and decay. Bones crunch beneath your boots and the walls become thickly coated with a pallid grey moss. At length you are brought to a halt when the passage arrives at a dead end. You examine the mossy wall ahead, and your tracking skills help you to uncover a loose brick that conceals a length of rotting cord. You tug this cord and it triggers a hidden counterweight that causes the whole wall to revolve on a central hinge. Squeezing through the narrow gap, you enter a dark chamber that lies beyond. A few moments later, you hear the cogs of the counterweight resetting. Then the secret panel revolves about its hinge and locks behind you.
Using your infravision, you scan your surroundings and discover that you have entered a hall that is flanked on either side by a row of human skeletons. They stand at attention with their spines pressed against the stone wall, and clasped in their bony hands are rusty polearms of differing type and origin. At the far end of this hall, you can see a pair of stout wooden doors reinforced with strips of polished steel. Cautiously you advance under the sightless gaze of the flanking skeletons, and upon reaching the doors you discover that they are secured by a combination lock. A single dial with a brass pointer is mounted upon a circular plate that is numbered 0 to 200 around its bevelled edge. You place the palm of your hand against the door, and a tingle of excitement runs down your spine when you sense that Lone Wolf is being held captive on the other side of these doors.
With the help of your Kai Sixth Sense, you determine that the number which will open the combination lock is the same as the solution to the following puzzle.
If A=1, B=2, C=3 (and so on through the alphabet until you reach Z=26), what is the total numerical value of the fortress of GAZAD HELKONA?
When you think that you have calculated the total,
turn to the section of this book
that is the same as your answer.
9
If you calculate incorrectly, or if you are unable to answer this puzzle,
turn instead to 183
.
[9] The section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.