Beyond the Nightmare Gate (5 page)

The Chaos-master agrees to your request and Tanith comes running towards you. She looks at the Jahksa uncertainly, disturbed by his awesome presence. The Jahksa sneers at Tanith and looks back with eyes that burn with hatred.

Now the Master tells you his terms. He demands that your request to be reunited with Tanith be extended to include the Jahksa. For the Jahksa is named ‘Grey Star’, too. It bows, a sly smile playing across its lips.

Turn to 249
.

You shrug off the grasp of the Elessi and raise your Staff to strike. Owing to the surprise of your attack, a few well-aimed blows are all that is required to dispatch the Elessin; your attack costs you 3
WILLPOWER
points. Only one Elessi remains. He backs away and places a small, silver pipe to his lips. Immediately, a terrible screaming fills your head and you gasp with pain as the shriek of the pipe claws at your mind.

Add together your current
WILLPOWER
and
ENDURANCE
scores.

If they total 20 or less,
turn to 271
.

If they total more than 20,
turn to 284
.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
and add this number to your current
ENDURANCE
points total.

If your total is now 20 or more,
turn to 59
.

If your total is less than 20,
turn to 65
.

Carefully, you pick your way around the tower, but you are unable to find a door and soon find yourself back where you started. Bemused, you sigh and frown in puzzlement. ‘If someone bothered to write that inscription, they must have bothered to make a door,’ you say to Tanith.

‘It must be hidden,’ she replies. With a shrug, you turn back and stare at the Crystal Tower once more.

If you wish to read the inscription again,
turn to 132
.

If you wish to search for a door on the left side of the tower,
turn to 143
.

If you wish to search for a door on the right side of the tower,
turn to 206
.

If you have the Magical Power of Prophecy and wish to use it,
turn to 347
.

If you have the Magical Power of Psychomancy and wish to use it,
turn to 70
.

You sense that the Jahksa has summoned an Elemental wind against you. He must be unconcerned for his own safety and bent on your destruction whatever the cost. The use of this Power has cost you 1
WILLPOWER
point.

If you have the Magical Power of Elementalism and wish to use it,
turn to 27
.

If you do not possess this Power, or if you do not wish to use it,
turn to 165
.

If you wish to attack the Jahksa,
turn to 148
.

At the cost of 2
WILLPOWER
points, you weave a shimmering wall of sorcery around yourself. The Elessi raises his jewelled crozier and carries out the sentence. Nothing happens. The Elessi looks at you in amazement; the power he sought to bring to bear on you has failed.

Turn to 322
.

You have landed in a large field. In the distance you see the hazy outline of a city, gleaming in the sunlight. You take out the Gyronome and its tone confirms that you are in the Realm of the Singing City. Several people are running towards you from the city; they are fair haired, have strange, circular ears, and are dressed in short, white togas. They are calling to you in a language you do not understand.

They soon reach you and chatter enthusiastically as they point excitedly at both the Ethetron and the sky. You smile and nod and try to communicate with them the best you can. Their soft voices have a flute-like sound and their language, incomprehensible though it is, possesses a lilting, musical quality that is pleasing to the ear. They are Elessin and they are asking you to accompany them.

If you wish to go with the Elessin,
turn to 45
.

If you decide that it would be wiser to refuse,
turn to 66
.

Immediately ahead, the bank of rolling cloud is fast transforming into a violent storm. Quickly, it surrounds the Ethetron. The Jahksa has summoned against you the Elementals that have served you so well in the past. You close your eyes and call out in the sibilant tongue of the Elemental spirits.

Within the depths of your trance, four figures stand before you representing the principal Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

If you desire the aid of the Fire Elemental,
turn to 41
.

If you desire the aid of the Water Elemental,
turn to 54
.

If you desire the aid of the Earth Elemental,
turn to 73
.

If you desire the aid of the Air Elemental,
turn to 88
.

The sentence is death. Before you can react, the Elessi lifts his jewelled crozier and a searing pain fills your head. The terrible noise drills into your brain, bursting your ear drums and hurling you to the floor in agony.

Your life and your adventure end here.

You bend down and examine the inscription and read:

‘A life that's spent at odds with death,
Can dull the mind — the broadsword's edge.
But even-tempered swords and heads,
Fall easy where the foolish tread.’

While crouching, you catch sight of the ceiling. A dense mass of swords are suspended, points downward, in the air above your head. You feel sure that there is a connection between these swords and those inscribed in the flagstones.

If you wish to step on the flagstone directly ahead of you that bears two swords,
turn to 349
.

If you wish to step on the flagstone to the left that bears one sword,
turn to 318
.

If you decide to step on the flagstone ahead and slightly to the right that bears one sword,
turn to 234
.

There are many crevices and projections in the wall and you climb it with little difficulty. Unfortunately, the other side of the wall is smooth and falls sheer, twenty feet to the ground below.

If you possess a Rope and wish to use it,
turn to 58
.

If you decide to jump,
turn to 155
.

At the cost of 2
WILLPOWER
points, you hurl a flaming bolt at the screeching eagle that is rushing towards you. Your attack devastates the bird in an explosion of golden feathers and magical flame but somehow the eagle manages to stay airborne. You raise your Staff and prepare to engage the eagle in close combat.

‘Wait, Grey Star,’ says Tanith, her voice hard and forceful. ‘I can handle this.’

If you wish to allow Tanith to deal with the eagle,
turn to 150
.

If you decide to ignore her command,
turn to 137
.

Above your head, where the sky should be, the blue waters of an ocean roll, rippling with foam-crested waves. Below, green hills and fields shift and move like water. The Ethetron rocks violently. You are no longer able to choose between up and down, left or right. Mountains stand upon their peaks; towns and cities drift past; night becomes day, and day becomes night in quick succession; a huge fist rears up, poised to strike, and then passes through you like a phantom. All around you is the sound of crazed laughter.

If your current
WILLPOWER
score is 12 or more,
turn to 67
.

If your
WILLPOWER
score is less than 12,
turn to 104
.

Anxiously you search around but there is no indication that this realm contains any peculiar features. Then a strange symmetrical shape, quite unlike a star, catches your eye. You steer the crippled Ethetron towards the object and, when you are close enough to recognize it, you give a gasp of joy. It is a Trianon, a creation of the Shianti; instinctively you know that this must be the place where the Moonstone is hidden.

Suddenly, a fearsome shriek distracts your attention from the ancient Shianti tomb. The starlit sky is now full of terrible creatures.

Turn to 75
.

At the expense of 1
WILLPOWER
point you cause the tip of your Wizard's Staff to glow with a dull light. The feeble light merely confirms that you are in the midst of an impenetrable blackness, devoid of all sound and movement but at least the light holds your terror at bay.

Turn to 60
.

Tanith takes out the Dragon Key and begins to chant. The Jahksa realizes what she is doing and aims a blow at her. With a lightning reflex you are able to jolt his arm and spoil his aim. A cloud of magical fire explodes a few feet from Tanith but she does not flinch as she nears completion of her spell. The sound of leathery wings and the looming shadow of a dragon now threaten your dark twin. He curses and swiftly his body becomes transparent.

Turn to 273
.

You raise your Staff. Drear makes no attempt to defend himself, and you strike him with a mighty blow that costs you 1
WILLPOWER
point. As the magical fire of your attack breaks the silence of the Neverness, Drear vanishes without a trace. Tanith regains her senses abruptly and shakes her head to clear her mind. ‘I was almost his to command,’ she says with shocked disbelief.

‘Come,’ you reply, ‘to the Crystal Tower. We are sure to learn something of the Moonstone there.’

Turn to 50
.

Quickly, you draw out the Mind Gem and attempt to master the Elessi, but he is a powerful telepath and easily resists your power. Unperturbed, he carries out the sentence.

Turn to 28
.

With a curt nod you keep walking, praying all the time that your bluff will work. The guard says nothing more and, with a sigh of relief, you walk unhindered into the city.

Turn to 175
.

You reach out and touch the statue. To your surprise, it feels warm and life-like. You concentrate your Power of Psychomancy (at the cost of 1
WILLPOWER
point) and, as you focus your power upon the statue, a violent surge shudders through your body and a terrible, inhuman scream echoes momentarily in your brain. The force of the blast throws you backwards to the floor and you lose 1
ENDURANCE
point.

You stare at the statue with a mixture of horror and loathing: it is alive!

Turn to 346
.