Mydnight's Hero (8 page)
For several minutes you struggle to unlock the door but without success. When you hear the sound of footsteps approaching from the temple hall, you are forced to abandon your efforts and return to the street. Once outside, you glance up at the open second-storey window and you resolve to gain entry that way.
If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 228
.
If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 175
.
You call upon your mastery of the elements to summon up a whirling cloud of dust to blind the guards. As it engulfs them, they fall to their knees and cover their faces to protect their eyes from the stinging grit, leaving you and Karvas free to gallop through the open gate and escape across the plain that surrounds Jaroc.
You close the safe and call upon your advanced Kai Mastery to electrically charge the surface layer of air that is in contact with its steel door. Karvas watches you preparing this booby trap with a mix of curiosity and fascination. You tell him that in future, if any person or object should touch the door, then the power will discharge itself with an explosive force sufficient to destroy the safe and ignite the surrounding books. Your explanation makes Karvas smile. Clearly he relishes the thought of Sadanzo falling foul of this trap at some later date.
Your work done, you turn away from the safe and hurry to leave this evil library. But, as you approach the arch which leads to the adjoining chamber, you suddenly hear a noise which makes you stop dead in your tracks.
You are halfway through the portal when the missile strikes you between the shoulder blades. The impact numbs your senses and sends you somersaulting across an alleyway outside the warehouse: lose 5
ENDURANCE
points.
Although you have been hit squarely by the projectile, your Backpack has prevented it from penetrating your body. The impact has, however, punched a hole in your pack and destroyed four of the items you are carrying. (Erase from your
Action Chart
any four items you have recorded on your list of Backpack Items.)
Your landing on the ground is cushioned by a carpet of rotting refuse and canvas sacking. Stunned by the force of the missile's impact, you are only dimly aware of Prince Karvas as he grabs the front of your tunic and lifts you to your feet. With his help you make a hurried escape along the dark passageway towards an adjoining torchlit street.
In desperation to save the Prince's life, you unsheathe your Kai Weapon and strike the horn clean out of the Inquisitor-major's hands. Your blow cleaves his accursed horn in two and sends its sundered halves spinning through the air. The Inquisitor-major bellows with rage and orders his men to attack you. Frantically they level their lances and make a haphazard attack.
Hunting party:
COMBAT SKILL
47
ENDURANCE
40
You may not evade this combat. You may, however, add 5 points to your
COMBAT SKILL
after three rounds of combat, for this is when Prince Karvas is able to join in and fight against the hunting party.
If you win the combat,
turn to 186
.
The trader pockets your bribe and bids you follow him to a smaller room at the rear of the warehouse. In the quiet privacy of this adjoining room he tells you all he knows about Prince Karvas of Siyen.
‘This man Karvas does not live here in the city,’ he says. ‘He did for a while, when he first came to Sheasu ten years ago, but then a young woman arrived and they got married. They live on the north coast of the island somewhere. I've not seen them since the day they left Mydnight.’
You thank the trader for his information and leave the warehouse. Outside, on the quay, you resolve to explore the tangle of alleyways that make up the city's eastern quarter in the hope of finding someone else who is willing to tell or sell what they know about the Prince. Unfortunately, your efforts garner no further information. As the sun begins to settle on the horizon, you finally abandon your search and hurry back through the darkening passageways towards the market square.
When you and Karvas are unable to produce a ticket, the guard gets angry. You say that you must have lost your tickets during the voyage, but this excuse does not impress him. He beckons to a group of his fellow guardsmen who are standing beside a stone hut at the entrance to the docking area. ‘You'll have to see the Wharfmaster,’ he says, brusquely. ‘Tell him your tale.’
The group of guardsmen come and escort you and Karvas to the hut where an officious man in a scarlet tunic is sitting at a desk, writing with a quill pen. ‘They've no tickets, Wharfmaster,’ states one of the guardsmen, before they turn away and close the door. The man puts down his pen and takes a crystal sphere from his pocket which he fixes into a holder at the centre of his desk. Then he tells you both to sit before him at the table and explain why you have no tickets to travel aboard the riverboat. Karvas becomes impatient with the man and he demands that you be allowed to leave.
‘I don't think you realize the trouble you're in,’ replies the Wharfmaster, testily. ‘Travelling by riverboat without paying the fare is a custodial offence. The punishment is one day in gaol for every day travelled.’ The man opens his desk drawer and takes out a slim rod of opaque crystal. ‘Now,’ he says, staring you straight in the eye, ‘kindly tell me why you have no ticket.’
You repeat the excuse you gave when you disembarked, that you must have lost your ticket during the voyage. The clear crystal sphere resting on his desk becomes milky white, and then its hue changes to crimson.
‘You're lying,’ says the Wharfmaster, and he touches you lightly on the hand with the tip of his slim rod. Suddenly a blinding white light flashes before your eyes and you feel yourself rapidly falling into unconsciousness.
You call upon your mastery of Old Kingdom magic and utter the ancient power-word
Gloar!
at the creature's torso. The concussive power of your word batters against its chest, making it shriek with pain, yet it does not deter it from continuing its hungry advance towards your horses. As it stalks closer, you see that it is drawing in great gulps of air to inflate its chest. Its rib cage expands and suddenly there is a sharp popping sound. You gasp with fear as dozens of horned spikes shoot out of its skin and come hurtling towards you like a volley of deadly darts.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 1 to the number you have picked.
If your total score is 4 or less,
turn to 96
.
If it is 5 or more,
turn to 269
.
You hurry past the gate guards and through the open archway into a flagstoned concourse.
You are about to enter a seemingly empty avenue which bisects the city's west quarter, when an armed soldier suddenly appears from out of a darkened doorway. He raises his spear and commands you to halt.
If you wish to obey the soldier's command,
turn to 325
.
If you choose to ignore his order, you can attempt to escape by running away.
Turn to 82
.
You rush into the small bakery and your sudden appearance startles the baker's wife. She gasps when she sees your soaked and slime-smeared features, and nervously she snatches up a knife and threatens to use it if either of you come a step closer. You can understand her reaction; after your dip in the citadel moat, you and Karvas look more reptilian than human.
‘Calm yourself, good lady,’ you say, in as soothing a tone as you are able to muster. ‘My companion and I may appear a little wretched but we mean you no harm.’ The woman is not convinced. She raises the knife in her trembling hand and begins shouting hysterically for her husband. Moments later, a portly man in a white smock and cloth hat emerges from an open doorway at the rear of the shop. He is brandishing an iron skillet and comes at you like a charging bull.
‘Hold there, Barwick!’ shouts Karvas, and to your astonishment the baker skids to a halt and drops his iron pot to the floor.
‘Prince Karvas … is it you?’ he stammers. Karvas uses his sleeve to wipe some of the slime from his face, and then he gives the baker a broad smile.
‘Yes, Barwick, it is I.’
‘Thank Ishir,’ gasps the baker, and he falls to his knees. ‘We have prayed that you would return home and save us from Sadanzo. We of Cavalia have suffered his tyranny for too long. He is an evil man and we fear that he will bring ruin to Siyen when he is crowned king. But now our Prince has returned to stop him. Ishir be praised!’
The sound of horses galloping to a halt outside the bakery alerts you to the fact that you and the Prince are still in great danger. The baker bolts the door and then urges you and Karvas to follow him as he hurries out of the shop, past his baking ovens, and through a rear door that leads to a walled yard scattered with chickens. He pulls open the door of an outbuilding and he offers you and Karvas the two young horses that are stabled inside. They are his most valuable animals and Karvas is impressed by the man's generosity.
‘I'll not forget this, Barwick,’ says Karvas, as you and he quickly saddle the two colts. The baker pulls open one of a pair of gates at the rear of his yard. Proudly he salutes you as you steer your horses through the gap and gallop away along a passageway that leads to one of Cavalia's city streets.
‘We don't welcome spies here,’ growls the blacksmith. He nods to his son and the brawny young man snatches an iron from the furnace. Menacingly he levels this glowing rod at your face and very slowly he moves towards you. Hurriedly you apologize to the blacksmith and leave the smithy.
On returning to the quayside you resolve to explore the tangle of alleyways that make up the city's eastern quarter in the hope of finding someone who is more willing to talk about the Prince. Unfortunately, your efforts garner no useful information. As the sun begins to settle on the horizon, you finally abandon your search and hurry back through the darkening passageways towards the market square.
Wizard Acraban and Lord Zinair are already waiting aboard the
Starstrider
by the time you reach the market square. The magician orders the boarding cage to be lowered and you are winched up to the skyship. They are disappointed to hear that your search for information has been in vain. Fortunately, Lord Zinair's efforts have been more fruitful.
‘Prince Karvas is not here,’ he says. ‘He lived here when he first came to Sheasu some ten years ago, but a young woman called Amarelda arrived soon after and they were married, here, in the harbour. They left Mydnight the day after their wedding and settled somewhere on the northern coastline. It has been more than a year since they last visited the city.’
Turning to Acraban, Zinair says: ‘I propose we travel north at first light and commence a search of the northern shoreline. I suspect it will be easier to espy their retreat from the air than to attempt any search by land.’
Acraban nods in agreement. Then he passes word to his young crew to prepare the
Starstrider
for a voyage north at first light.
The farmer seems bemused by your refusal. His fee is very reasonable, especially when compared to the charge you would be expected to pay for crossing the river at the Voshno Bridge. When he tells you that there are no other river crossings for 30 miles in either direction, you ask if he would accept something other than cash in return for the use of his raft. After a few moments' thought, he says that he would accept either 1 Weapon or 1 Backpack Item.
If you possess sufficient cash, you can still pay the farmer a fee of 8 Lune, or 2 Gold Crowns. If you do not have enough money, you must give him either 1 Weapon or 1 Backpack Item of your choice. (Make the appropriate changes to your
Action Chart
.)
The farmer ferries you and your horse across the river, and then he goes back to collect Karvas and his mount. Once the Prince is safely across, you bid the cheerful man farewell and ride away from the river, heading east. You notice that Prince Karvas is smiling as he rides across this lush river valley and you ask him why he is so happy. He explains that the Ioma is the political boundary between the realms of Lunarlia and Siyen, and having crossed the river you are now on Siyenese soil. After ten years in exile he has, at last, returned to his homeland.
Dusk is turning to darkness when you come to a road that traverses the plain to the east of Voshno. Your horses are tired and so you decide to camp for the night in a small wood that borders this road. Before you rest, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery).
To continue,
turn to 125
.
You tug on the reins and swivel in the saddle to avoid the onrushing shaft. Your speedy reactions save you from being struck in the body, yet the arrow tears a strip of skin and muscle from your shoulder before it shatters into the ground: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
Karvas leaps onto his horse and you toss him the reins. With a cry of elation, you wheel your stallion about and spur him towards an avenue on the west side of the square. You and the Prince gallop side by side along this broad thoroughfare as fast as your horses will carry you, trampling any Bakhasian who is foolish enough to stand in your way. The road leads directly to the city's east gate where a bell is tolling loudly. A crowd of militiamen have gathered at the gate, summoned from their beds by the alarm, but they are without their officer and in the chaos and confusion they have forgotten to close the gate. They scatter in all directions as you thunder along the avenue towards them and you are able to escape through the open archway without challenge.
Whooping with excitement, you race away from Bakhasa along a dusty trail that heads towards the foothills of the Dammerdon Mountains. You glance to your side and see Prince Karvas punch the air victoriously. Clearly he is as excited by this daring escape as you are, for there is a grin fixed to his sweat-streaked face that stretches from ear to ear.
Your strong Bhanarian stallions carry you swiftly into the foothills and never once do they falter in their stride nor slacken their impressive pace. Only when you can no longer see the lights of Bakhasa do you let them slow to a canter. For more than an hour you travel the trail as it meanders through pine-covered hills and shallow valleys. The night sky is clear and the way ahead is illuminated by bright starlight. When you come to a shallow ford across a fast-flowing stream, you stop here awhile to let your horses drink their fill.
Unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 323
.
