War of the Wizards (14 page)

Quickly you look around. In the crypt where you and Tanith spent the night there is an alcove within the far wall. It is large enough to hold both of you and its shadows are dark enough to keep you from sight.

If you wish to hide in the alcove,
turn to 166
.

If you wish to search for a hiding place elsewhere in the gallery,
turn to 253
.

A large Flying Snake hurtles towards you. You hold up your Staff and brace yourself to receive the attack. The beast's razor-sharp talons flex and unflex as it reaches out to grab you.

Flying Snake:
COMBAT SKILL
 20   
ENDURANCE
 23

Combat lasts for only one round as the demon speeds past. If your enemy loses more
ENDURANCE
points than you, ignore the
ENDURANCE
points you lose.

If you are still alive,
turn to 306
.

Drawing out the Moonstone, you focus all the power of your will onto it and concentrate on the demon portal. A moan ripples through the ranks in the valley below, turning into a chorus of fierce, inhuman cries. Suddenly the portal erupts into an intense blaze of swirling, writhing flame. A large pair of eyes appear in the flames of the portal and a deathly voice speaks. Your Simar steed whinnies in fear, rears up, its hooves flashing in the sun and then bolts, hurtling at high speed away from you. The demon horde sweep up the side of the shallow valley in their hundreds and attack. Without your horse, you have no hope of evading them and, after a long, valiant fight in which many demons fall, you are dragged to the ground and slain.

Your quest ends here.

With a fierce battle-cry, you rush forward and, at the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point, you deal a death-blow to the nearest demon, a hairless, ape-like creature with a tough red hide. An uproar of shrieks and wails breaks out among the ranks of the beasts, and they rush away from you in fear. Some vanish into thin air, giving a hint of their dark, magical natures.

Turn to 107
.

Swiftly you twist away from your attackers and vault into the saddle in one fluid movement. The stallion springs into action and the gap soon widens between you and the demon horde.

Turn to 147
.

You and Tanith climb over the debris of shattered rock and enter the ziggurat. Anxiously you peer through the dust that is still settling around you and into the shadows beyond.

Turn to 135
.

At the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point you create a glow of light from your Staff. To your left you see a huge number of Shadakine swordsmen locked in combat with a smaller group of Guildsmen. The Shadakine are relentlessly forcing the Guildsmen back into the forest. Suddenly a hail of Shadakine arrows arcs towards you falling just short of where you stand.

If you wish to extinguish your light,
turn to 344
.

If not,
turn to 357
.

You peer into the wild fire at the slanted, inhuman eyes. They are closed; their penumbral grey lids a vague, tinted outline. Slowly, lazily, as if awakening from a deep sleep, they open revealing two great pools of impenetrable darkness; vast, eddying whorls of eternal shadow. The eyes beckon with a hypnotic stare, a cloaked welcome to hell's darkest and most desolate chamber.

‘Who dares?’ demands a slithering, deathly voice. ‘Who dares to knock upon the door to the Pit of Eternal Pain?’

You stagger back as a blast of colossal psychic power, a will of great violence and malice makes your head reel and your thoughts tumble. A burning beam of thought is thrust painfully into your mind, searching, probing, searing.

‘Who? … Who? … ’ hisses the disembodied voice. The desolate eyes are tinged with red. Savage laughter rings in your ears. ‘Can this be?’ the voice crows, scornfully. ‘Oh! but this is the sweetest, the richest, of ironies. It is the Shianti slave, is it not? Upon the errand of fools, treading the path of the foolish? And that worthless bauble of theirs, you have found it? Yes, I see that you have.’

As the voice mocks, its power over you lessens. You know that you must resist now before you are enslaved forever.

If you have 2
WILLPOWER
points and wish to use them to resist the mastery of the being in the portal,
turn to 167
.

If you do not have 2
WILLPOWER
points, or do not wish to use them,
turn to 176
.

Walking up to the huge doors, you lay your hands upon them and probe them with your mind. You have a vision of two brawny men pulling a thick rope attached to a metal weight in a chamber on the right of the archway. This must be how the door was opened. The use of this Magical Power has cost you 1
WILLPOWER
point.

If you have the Magical Power of Sorcery and wish to use it to trigger the mechanism,
turn to 83
.

If you have learnt the Higher Magick of Thaumaturgy and wish to use it,
turn to 122
.

If you do not have either of these Powers, or if you do not wish to use them,
turn to 115
.

With Tanith at your side, you stand and wait for the demon charge. It is a brave but foolish decision. The demons number almost a hundred and you cannot hope to stand against them. After a valiant defence, in which many demons are slain, you fall.

Your life and your quest end here.

Owing to the speed at which you are galloping and the creature is diving, you will have enough time for only one round of combat. If you have recently drunk a Potion of Invulnerability or have the protection of invulnerability through the previous casting of the Higher Magick of Thaumaturgy, ignore all
ENDURANCE
points lost by yourself for the duration of the combat.

Winged Demon:
COMBAT SKILL
 20   
ENDURANCE
 31

If you kill the creature in one round of combat,
turn to 178
.

If you and the winged demon are still alive after one round of combat,
turn to 184
.

At the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point, your Power of Prophecy reveals that you are standing in the middle of intense evil. Danger is close at hand. You tell Tanith what you have learned. She nods as if this confirms what she already feared.

‘We stand upon the Lissan Plain,’ she says gloomily. ‘Once a beautiful country, now inhabited by demons in the service of Shasarak.’ With a shudder, you gaze upon your new surroundings.

Turn to 239
.

With a wild flurry of blows you triumph at last, only to be confronted with many more slavering beasts thirsting for your blood. The entire horde throws itself against you. You seem doomed to fail when Tanith's cry alerts you to a movement beyond the ridge overlooking the basin.

‘My brothers; they come,’ shouts Kuna. ‘We are saved.’

Cresting the rise is a long line of tall, black-skinned warriors: men of the Masbaté. They send up a loud cry before releasing a volley of javelins into the rear ranks of the demon horde, killing many. The demons are thrown into disarray. Their anguished screams echo throughout the basin as the Masbaté charge down the slope with their swords drawn. The two forces collide and a short but bloody battle ensues. Many of the demons vanish magically. Those that remain are mercilessly slain. When the battle is over, a Masbaté warrior sheathes his sword and walks towards you.

Turn to 100
.

The power required to lift so many into the air is considerable and you have never attempted this spell before. Concentrating all your energy and thought, you will the loathsome creatures to rise. With startled shrieks they drift up, gibbering and thrashing their limbs uselessly. Beads of perspiration form on your forehead; your temples throb. The demons drift fifty feet into the air before your concentration breaks and you release your hold on them. They drop like stones, hitting the ground with a sickening thud, and dying instantly. Your shoulders sag; you feel physically and mentally drained. Owing to the large effort involved, you must lose 6
WILLPOWER
points and 2
ENDURANCE
points.

Turn to 99
.

You draw out the Gem, filling it with mental energy drawn from the Astral Plane. If you have the Magical Power of Sorcery, you use 2
WILLPOWER
points; if you are versed in the Higher Magick of Thaumaturgy, you use 1
WILLPOWER
point. The Mind Gem gives off a red glow. You use its power to reach out to the Shadakine rider and will him to you.

Turn to 186
.

You and Tanith squeeze into the alcove and keep very still. The scratch and scuffle of clawed feet tells you that the demon horde is ascending the stairs in the hall below. Soon you hear the sound of movement nearby. Peering out of the shadows you see a hunched, three-legged creature enter the chamber. A single yellow eye looks out from the centre of a broad, furrowed forehead, crested with many long feelers like antennae. The demon emits a moan of displeasure on finding the chamber empty and turns to leave. You give a quiet sigh of relief and suddenly the demon halts and begins to sniff the air, head cocked to one side with a quizzical gesture. Then it sees you and, with a feral scream, stumbles forward, its clawed hands outstretched. You cannot evade this combat and step forward into the light.

Demon:
COMBAT SKILL
 16   
ENDURANCE
 19

If you win the combat,
turn to 183
.

Using 2
WILLPOWER
points, you shake off the power that held you and push it from your mind.

‘You cannot resist, Shianti slave,’ the voice spits. ‘You know not who you defy. Know you that I am Agarash the Damned, Demonlord of Darkness. You cannot stand against me. Come, come to me. Take my place here in the Pit of Eternal Pain and I shall be freed.’

You feel the force of Agarash's will once again. It is a strength mightier than any you have ever known. You fight with a Demonlord, a servant of Naar, King of the Darkness, a force of ultimate evil. Legend tells that Agarash was once a ruler in the world of Magnamund, till he was defeated by a magical race called the Elder Magi and banished to another plane, doomed to remain there for all eternity. Agarash seeks to draw you towards the portal of fire that is the doorway to his prison.

If you wish to duel with the will of Agarash and have 5 or more
WILLPOWER
points,
turn to 192
.

If you wish to try to close the portal of fire using the Moonstone and have 5 or more
WILLPOWER
points,
turn to 209
.

If you do not have 5 or more
WILLPOWER
points,
turn to 176
.

You triumph at last but, to your horror, you see the remaining ape demons slay your Simar steed and begin to feast on its flesh. Many miles lie between you and the pass. Those miles consist of flat, rolling grassland totally devoid of cover. The demon horde draws closer, almost snapping at your heels. There is no time to stop and prepare some magic to help you. You have no choice: you turn and run with all the speed you can muster.

Turn to 210
.

You close your eyes and concentrate. At the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point you reach out with the power of your mind. You sense a dark evil: attack is imminent. You are able to ascertain that the attack will be attempted by many and that your potential assailants are not human, but possess an alien intelligence. Everything about them indicates a malevolent power, and it is likely that they have a limited knowledge of magic.

If you wish to continue in the direction you are heading,
turn to 213
.

If you wish to head towards the source of evil in exactly the opposite direction,
turn to 9
.

Looking up through a gap in the trees, you see a number of Winged Demons circling. They must be searching for you. Reluctantly you move on again, following the trail until you reach the far side of the forest. You hear the snapping of dead branches and the rustling of leaves: the demon horde is somewhere in the forest, searching for you. Your mind races as the growling and howling of the pack draws closer. It is vital that you find some way of drawing the pack on, towards the Shadakine Army that is moving towards Lanzi and the Masbaté who guard the bridge there. You estimate that the army must be halfway there by now, probably following the line of the River Dosar to protect its left flank. If you are seen at the head of the demon horde, you are sure to be attacked by the Shadakine.

Suddenly you sight a figure on horseback. It is a Shadakine warrior scouting the land. He must be an outrider from the Shadakine Army. A plan begins to form in your mind.

If you have a Mind Gem and the Power of Sorcery or Thaumaturgy,
turn to 165
.

If you are versed in the Higher Magick of Telergy and wish to use it,
turn to 133
.

If you have the Magical Power of Enchantment and wish to use it,
turn to 108
.

If you prefer to stand and reveal yourself to the warrior,
turn to 311
.