The Captives of Kaag (12 page)

You rejoin your physical body barely seconds before the creature attacks, but the suddenness of such a swift transition leaves you trembling with psychic shock: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

Shakily you draw your weapon as the boar-thing comes bounding towards you, its mouth agape and its great curved tusks glinting evilly in the fire of the moat.

Gnagusk:
COMBAT SKILL
 41   
ENDURANCE
 45

If you win this combat,
turn to 325
.

Skilfully you tail the group, using the cover of doorways and debris to hide your presence as you move through a maze of streets and alleyways. At length you reach a wide avenue bisected by a dead river of salty, acid water. The group cross this foul stream by a bridge, and then enter a two-storey, flat-roofed building which is guarded by other Giaks, wearing similar orange-patched uniforms. In the distance you can hear the faint sounds of battle.

Patiently you observe the building and its Giak guards. The front door appears to be well defended, but there is another entrance, at the end of an alley which runs alongside the building, that looks to be unguarded. An iron stair ascends to this entrance on the upper floor.

If you wish to investigate this second entrance,
turn to 273
.

If you do not wish to approach this building, you can leave this section of Kaag by
turning to 171
.

Directly across the street from where you are hiding, you see a square, flat-roofed tower, one of several which encircle the outer edge of the concourse. A flock of screeching Kraan are feeding on slabs of maggoty meat which have been left there by the Drakkarim guards. Once they have eaten their fill, they take to the air and return to their cave-like pens, located high up on the citadel's outer wall. Some of the returning Kraan are ridden by Drakkarim and other guards who steer their mounts towards landing platforms which jut like great steel tongues from the entrances to the pens.

It occurs to you that if you were able to mount one of the feeding Kraan, you could attempt to enter the citadel by the very same route.

Emboldened by your plan, you resolve to put it into action. Patiently you survey the feeding tower opposite and note that there are two ways to gain access to its roof. You could climb a staircase that runs directly from the street to the roof, or you could attempt to scale its wall.

If you possess the Discipline of Grand Pathsmanship,
turn to 237
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 149
.

Hurriedly you replace your Arrow and shoulder your Bow. Sensing victory within its grasp, the creature emits a gurgling shriek and comes bounding forwards. You get ready to meet its advance but, when it is only ten feet away, it suddenly opens its mouth wide and spews forth a stream of white-hot liquid fire.

If you possess the Discipline of Grand Nexus,
turn to 333
.

If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 287
.

The further you explore along this tunnel, so the sense of impending doom becomes greater. Although the plain grey walls, ceiling, and floor of this passage appear featureless and ordinary, you are soon brought to a halt by the overwhelming presentiment of danger. Instinctively you reach for your weapon, but before your hand tightens around it, a slick syrupy sound draws your eyes to the arched ceiling above.

Fear stabs like an ice-cold spike in your heart when you see three jelly-like discs peel away from the roof and come plummeting down towards your head. Each of the rubbery discs has two sets of snake-like fangs which trail sticky yellow venom. At once you recognize these deadly creatures: they are Plaak, live instruments of assassination employed by the Nadziranim.

Desperate to avoid their venomous fangs, you hurl yourself backwards and crash heavily to the ground. Breathlessly you unsheathe your weapon and get ready to defend yourself as the loathsome Plaak bounce off the floor and come arcing through the air towards your chest.

Plaak:
COMBAT SKILL
 39   
ENDURANCE
 20

These creatures are immune to all forms of psychic attack.

You may evade this combat after three rounds by
turning to 138
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 285
.

You step warily into the glimmering column of light and immediately feel yourself begin to rise. Bands of darkness flick past with growing rapidity, each one marking a passing level of this mountainous citadel. Then you feel yourself slowing to a halt. The column fades and you find yourself standing on a metal dais in the centre of a domed chamber. Ahead you see a great door, forged of Kagonite, and beside it there is a narrow staircase leading downwards.

As you approach the door, you notice the lock which secures it. It is inlaid with a series of numbers and, at once, you recognize that they are component parts of a combination lock. One number in the sequence is missing. By tapping the correct number upon the blank square, you will cause the lock to disengage.

Study the following sequence of numbers carefully. When you think you know what the missing number is,
turn to the entry
that is identical to your answer.
⁸

If you guess incorrectly, or if you cannot answer the puzzle,
turn instead to 43
.

With a manic cry, the creature lunges at your head in an attempt to impale you upon its shovel-like teeth. You sidestep the attack and lash out at its throat before it can dodge your blow. You strike and open a gash in the leathery hide, but it is shallow and does not deter the beast from launching a second attack.

Zavaghar:
COMBAT SKILL
 52   
ENDURANCE
 60

If, during this fight, your
ENDURANCE
score falls to below 12 points, do not continue the combat.
Turn instead to 105
.

If your
ENDURANCE
remains at 12 points or above and you win the combat,
turn to 248
.

You draw upon your Magnakai skill of Kai-screen to mask your presence here in the ruins, but the Vordak detects a mental resistance where there should be none. It shrieks an unearthly cry and at once the troop of Giaks respond by drawing their swords and charging towards your hiding place.

Confident of success, you emerge from the shattered building and challenge your enemy — six Giaks and their Vordak lieutenant — to combat on the street bordering the square.

Vordak & Giak patrol:
COMBAT SKILL
 37   
ENDURANCE
 40

If you win this combat,
turn to 79
.

A wave of nausea drops you to your knees and at once you sense that the ghoulish creature has infected you with a virulent virus, which passed into your body the moment it scratched your face. Hurriedly you draw on your Magnakai Discipline of Curing in an attempt to counter this insidious threat, but already the virus has spread throughout your bloodstream. Shaking and sweating profusely, you keel over and fall flat on your back as a second wave of nausea and weakness robs you of your strength to resist.

If you possess some Oede,
turn to 306
.

If you do not,
turn to 49
.

The Arrow hits the centre of the sphere, but the shock of impact is not sufficient to dislodge it. The power wall imprisoning Banedon remains intact and you are forced to try some other way of freeing him.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian,
turn to 69
.

If you possess Magi-magic and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian,
⁹
turn to 108
.

If you do not have either of the above Disciplines or have yet to reach the required Kai rank,
turn instead to 338
.

Defiantly you face the Helghast, your weapon at your side. The creature looks upon you and sneers, revealing two sharp fangs which protrude from its lower jaw. It emits a chilling cackle, full of hatred and contempt, and its eyes blaze like hot coals as it confidently quickens its gait. You focus on its ghastly visage and muster all your strength to summon a pulse of psychic energy. The pulse forms an invisible ball of power which speeds across the hall and slams into the head of the approaching Helghast. The concussive force of this psychic attack lifts the creature bodily into the air and sends it tumbling, like some hideous rag doll, backwards into the flame-filled moat.

As the last shriek of the doomed creature echoes through the hall, the two Drakkarim stumble to a halt and stare down into the all-consuming fire. Nervously they glance at each other, fearful of suffering a similar fate, but years of fierce battle discipline soon override their anxiety and, like two automatons, they raise their swords and continue to advance towards you.

Drakkarim Veterans:
COMBAT SKILL
 30   
ENDURANCE
 35

If you win this combat,
turn to 340
.

Soon you arrive at a circular chamber. There is a huge hole in the roof and another hole, equally large, in the middle of the floor. Carefully you approach the perimeter of this hole and stare down into a deep, dark shaft. It passes through countless levels of the citadel, below and above. The edge of the shaft is overgrown with ivy-like creepers, and a tangle of thorny vines hang down from the levels high above.

If you wish to climb these vines to another level of the citadel above the one you are currently on,
turn to 288
.

If you choose to ignore the shaft and continue along an adjoining tunnel,
turn to 59
.

You utter the words of
Counterspell
and instantly the wall of crackling energy is dispelled. Moments later the Liganim wands explode with a tremendous flash, killing their wielders. Unfortunately for them, your
Counterspell
reversed the latent energy of their wands, causing them to overload and self-destruct.

The noise of the dual explosions freezes the escaping Ligan dead in his tracks. He spins around in the archway, his ugly face transfixed into a mask of sheer terror as he watches you come racing towards him with your weapon poised to strike. The sight is too much for his weak heart which ceases to beat moments before you land your blow.

Turn to 207
.

Your Arrow drills into the warhound's shoulder, but it does not stop the beast's attack. Oblivious to the pain it leaps upon you, knocking you down, its fang-filled jaws snapping within inches of your unprotected face.

Akataz (
wounded
):
COMBAT SKILL
 20   
ENDURANCE
 22

This war-dog is especially susceptible to psychic attack. If you can and wish to use a psychic attack during combat, double all bonuses to which you are entitled.

If you win this combat in four rounds or less,
turn to 13
.

If you win and the combat lasts five rounds or longer,
turn to 264
.

You notice that only one of the five Kraan is equipped with a saddle and reins. You focus on this beast and use your Magnakai skill of Animal Control in an attempt to subdue it. The other four abandon their feast and take to the air as you approach, but the target of your attention remains on the roof, eyeing you nervously.

You have approached to within an arm's length of the reins when suddenly the Kraan takes fright. It beats its wings frantically in an attempt to knock you away, and then propels itself into the air. You leap for its neck and hold fast as the spawn clears the tower and takes to the sky. Desperately you try to swing yourself into the saddle as the creature hovers haphazardly, fifty feet above the concourse.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 20 or higher, add 2 to the number you have chosen. If your
ENDURANCE
is less than 10, deduct 2. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 1.

If your total score is now 3 or less,
turn to 16
.

If it is 4 or more,
turn to 249
.

The guard finally loses his patience. He draws his dagger and, with a lunge, he tries to slash open your satchel, causing you to pull away and draw your own weapon. The guard recognizes that it is not one that a Drakkar would wield, and instantly he shouts out in alarm: ‘Intruder!’

The two silver-plated warriors raise their spears and a blaze of sorcerous energy erupts simultaneously from their tips. Crimson fire lances towards your body to pierce your chest and abdomen, the impact knocking you headlong to the floor in agony. Biting back the pain, you stagger to your feet and retrieve your weapon in time to fight off the merciless guards. But the alarm has been raised and, within minutes, the thoroughfare is flooded with Drakkarim and Giak soldiers. You fight bravely and dispatch more than fifty of the enemy, but eventually your strength fails and you are overwhelmed and beaten by the denizens of Kaag.

Tragically, your life and your quest end here.