The Dungeons of Torgar
Read The Dungeons of Torgar Online
Authors: Joe Dever
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Lone Wolf, #Magnamund
You are Lone Wolf — the last Kai Master of Sommerlund. Your search for the mystical Lorestones of your ancestors leads to the grim city-fortress of Torgar, a stronghold of the Darklords.
In
The Dungeons of Torgar
, your mission is to recapture the last remaining Lorestones from the clutches of your enemy — the evil Darklord Gnaag. But be warned! Every turn of the page presents a new and deadly challenge as you battle through the depths of a fantastic and terrifying fortress in search of your destiny … or your doom!
Joe Dever
, the creator of the bestselling Lone Wolf adventure books and novels, has achieved world-wide recognition in three creative fields — as an award-winning author of international renown, as an acclaimed musician and composer, and as a games designer specialising in role-playing games.
On graduating from college in 1974, Joe Dever became a professional musician, and for several years, he worked in the music industry in Europe and the United States.
While working in Los Angeles in 1977 he discovered a then little-known game called ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Although the game was in its infancy, Joe at once realised its huge potential and began designing his own role-playing games along similar conceptual lines. These first games were to form the basis of a fantasy world called Magnamund, which later became the setting for the Lone Wolf books.
Five years later, in 1982 at the Origins Game Fair, Joe won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons World Championships in Baltimore, an event held before 16,000 people. Inspired and encouraged by his success at Origins, Joe decided to quit the music business and devote his time to writing and games design.
In 1983, after a brief spell at Games Workshop in London, he wrote
Flight from the Dark
— the first Lone Wolf interactive gamebook. His manuscript immediately attracted a frenzy of interest from three major London publishing companies, all of whom bid for world rights. Joe accepted an offer of publication from Hutchinson's (later to become Century Hutchinson Ltd; now Random House UK) and
Flight from the Dark
was first published in 1984.
This first book sold more than 100,000 copies within its first month of publication, and overseas rights were snapped up by twelve countries (including the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden). The success of Joe's first book laid the foundations for the future of the Lone Wolf series, which has sold millions of copies around the world.
The Lone Wolf series ended after 28 books and 14 years. Joe has continued to work in the games industry as script writer and games design consultant.
Brian Williams
was first noticed by Joe Dever for his work in
White Dwarf
magazine (circa issue 50) and the
Real Life Gamebooks
series by Jon Sutherland and Simon Farrell. Brian Williams was Joe's first choice of illustrators to replace Gary Chalk. Jon, being an old friend of Joe's, introduced the two. Brian was excited to work with Joe on the
Lone Wolf
series. He illustrated
The Cauldron of Fear
and almost every book about Magnamund since that time.
Internet Edition published by
Project Aon
. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the
Errata
.
Publication Date: 28 October 2012
Text copyright © 1987 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1987 Brian Williams.
Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the
Project Aon License
.
To Glen and Mads
‘I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my “millennium gift” to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai. … ’
Joe Dever
Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We are also grateful for the generosity of Rob Adams, Paul Bonner, Gary Chalk, Melvyn Grant, Richard Hook, Peter Andrew Jones, Cyril Julien, Peter Lyon, Ian Page, Graham Round, and Brian Williams for contributing their portions of the world of Magnamund to Project Aon. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:
- Transcription
- Kevin Garrett
- Illustration Transcription
- Jonathan Blake
- XML
- Jonathan Blake
Simon Osborne - Alternate Illustrations
- JC Alvarez (Action Charts)
Jonathan Blake (Extramatter Charts and Tables) - Proofreading
- Simon Osborne (Frontmatter)
Matthew Reynolds (Sections 1–350) - Editing
- Jeff Dougan
Alex Hambly
Ingo Klöcker
LeRoy McSwain
Simon Osborne
Timothy Pederick
Lawrence Ritchie
Thomas Wolmer - PDF Layout
- Jonathan Blake
Ingo Klöcker - Coordination
- Jonathan Blake
- Special Thanks
- David Davis, Benjamin Krefetz, Dewi Morgan, Rei Nakazawa, Peter Smyth, Brian Thompson, Denis Vald
You are the warrior, Lone Wolf, last of the Kai masters of Sommerlund and sole survivor of the massacre that destroyed your kinsmen during a bitter war with your age-old enemies — the Darklords of Helgedad.
Many centuries have passed since Sun Eagle, the first of your kind, established the Order of the Kai. Aided by the magicians of Dessi, he completed a perilous quest to find seven crystals of power known as the Lorestones of Nyxator, and upon their discovery he unlocked a wisdom and strength that lay within both the Lorestones and himself. He recorded the nature of his discoveries and his experiences in a great tome entitled
The Book of the Magnakai
. You have discovered this lost Kai treasure and have given a solemn pledge to restore the Kai to their former glory, thereby ensuring the security of your land in the years to come. However, your diligent study of this ancient book has enabled you to master only three of the ten Magnakai Disciplines. To fulfil your pledge, you must complete the quest first undertaken by Sun Eagle over a thousand years ago. By doing so successfully, you, too, will acquire the power and wisdom of the Magnakai, which is held within the Lorestones' crystal forms.
Already your quest has taken you far from your northern homeland. Following in the footsteps of the first Kai Grand Master, you journeyed to Dessi and sought the help of the Elder Magi, the magicians who aided Sun Eagle on his quest long ago. There you learned that for centuries the Elder Magi had awaited your coming. An ancient Dessi legend tells of the birth and rise to greatness of two
koura-tas-kai
, which means ‘sons of the sun’. One was named
Ikar
, which means ‘eagle’, and the other was named
Skarn
, which means ‘wolf’. A prophecy foretold that the
koura-tas-kai
would each come from the north to seek the counsel of the Elder Magi in order that they might fulfil a great quest. Although separated by several centuries, they would share one spirit, one purpose, and one destiny — to triumph over the champions of darkness in an age of great peril. The Elder Magi knew that you were
Skarn
— the wolf of Dessi legend — and in keeping with their ancient vows they promised to help you complete the Magnakai quest.
In Elzian, the capital of Dessi, you were tutored in the histories of Magnamund and received lessons in lore that you would have learned from the Kai masters if only they, like you, had survived the murderous Darklord attack on the Kai Monastery twelve years ago. You were eager to learn all that your tutor, Lord Rimoah, could teach you in preparation for the next stage of your quest, but grim news from the Darklands cut short your tuition. In the Darklord city of Helgedad a civil war had erupted, following your defeat of Haakon, Archlord of the Black City. After five years, the battle for the throne of Helgedad had finally been won by a Darklord called Gnaag. The other Darklords, now united behind this new leader, were ordered to amass huge armies in preparation for the conquest of Magnamund. Swiftly their Giak legions grew in number, enabling Gnaag to launch a sweeping invasion that was to catch the freelands unprepared. Several countries, after brief but futile resistance, were completely overrun by Darkland armies; others surrendered without fighting in the face of their determined might. And sadly there were others who chose to betray former friends and allies by joining the Darklord cause, in the misguided hope that they would share in the spoils of victory, following the triumph of Darklord Gnaag. One such land was Vassagonia, a powerful desert realm to the north of Dessi. Her armies mobilized and invaded the neighbouring states of Casiorn and Cloeasia, and then marched west through the republic of Anari in order to join with Gnaag's horde as it steamrollered across central Magnamund. The Elder Magi urged you to begin the quest for the fourth Lorestone at once. The enemy armies were converging on the Anarian capital of Tahou, and beneath that ancient city the Lorestone lay hidden.
Aided by Magemaster Banedon, an old friend and fellow countryman, you set off in haste for Tahou and arrived barely hours ahead of the enemy. Successfully you made your descent and discovered the object of your quest, but on returning to the surface you found Tahou transformed into a blazing inferno. Darklord Gnaag and Zakhan Kimah, the ruler of Vassagonia, had learnt of your presence and were determined to destroy you at all costs. For days their engines of war had hurled fire and rock across the walls of Tahou with devastating effect. Then a massive assault, led by the Zakhan himself, breached the west gate and gained entry to the burning city. Armed with a weapon of awesome power, the evil Zakhan sought you out and challenged you to a fight to the death. The struggle was desperate but you emerged victorious and led the Anarians in a counterattack that cleared the city of the invading foe. The allies of Anari arrived to raise the siege and in the ensuing battle the demoralized armies of Gnaag and Kimah were smashed and routed.
Your defeat of Zakhan Kimah turned the tide of war decisively against the Darkland armies and paved the way for the liberation of the lands they had taken by force. But the sweet taste of victory turned sour when you discovered that Darklord Gnaag had captured the last three remaining Lorestones of Nyxator. Lord Rimoah and other members of the High Council of the Elder Magi joined you in Tahou to help formulate a plan of action. They had already received word from Prince Graygor, the ruler of Eru, that one of his patrols had found a man near the borders of the Hellswamp. He was a Talestrian soldier who had escaped from the dread city-fortress of Torgar where he had been imprisoned after being captured in battle. He had suffered terribly at the hands of the Drakkarim — evil humans in the service of the Darklords — and when found he was so badly injured that he was almost unrecognizable. Before he died he spoke of three radiant gems filled with golden light that had been brought to Torgar from the Darklord city of Mozgôar.
‘We are now sure that what he saw was the arrival of the stolen Lorestones,’ said Rimoah, speaking on behalf of the High Council. ‘They radiate a goodness so strong that Gnaag could not hold them in the Darklands but had to move them to Torgar. There his sorcerers — the Nadziranim — are searching for the means to destroy them. The black art of the Nadziranim has grown powerful of late and we fear they may achieve the task set them by Gnaag. Therefore we must act quickly and with utmost secrecy if the Lorestones and the Magnakai quest are to be saved.’
The Elder Magi had already made preparations for your secret journey to Eru where, upon your arrival, Prince Graygor will help you reach the grim city of Torgar. The thought of having to enter the terrible Drakkarim stronghold fills you with dread, but your pledge to destroy the Darklords and restore the Kai strengthens your resolve and helps you suppress your fear.
On the eve of your journey to Eru, the Elder Magi convene a special meeting of the High Council to pray for the success of your mission. For several hours they kneel in prayer until finally they arise and intone the blessing that has sustained you in the past: ‘May the Gods Ishir and Kai protect you on your journey into darkness,
Kor-Skarn
.’