Shadow on the Sand (26 page)

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Authors: Joe Dever

Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Lone Wolf, #Magnamund

BOOK: Shadow on the Sand
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393

You run headlong through the foliage, the piercing scream of the Vordak tearing at your mind. Unless you possess the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, lose 2
ENDURANCE
points. Suddenly, a Drakkar looms out of the trees ahead, his black broadsword held high above his masked face, ready to strike a deadly blow.

Drakkar:
COMBAT SKILL
 16   
ENDURANCE
 25

Deduct 2 from your
COMBAT SKILL
for the first round of combat due to the surprise of the Drakkar's attack. You can evade combat after three rounds.

If you wish to evade combat,
turn to 228
.

If you win the combat,
turn to 255
.

394

The Drakkar shrieks a cry of horror and lets the broadsword slip from his fingers. He claws at his death-mask, fumbling for the latch which opens the black steel visor. As it clicks open, a mass of writhing insects tumbles from the helmet. The Drakkar screams like a madman as the creatures slither and crawl around inside his armour, stinging and biting his skin. In his crazed panic, he topples over the parapet and falls to his doom thousands of feet below.

Turn to 306
.

395

As far as the eye can see, a long, straight, sandstone corridor slopes away into the distance. Torches crackle and sputter on the walls, illuminating the pictograms engraved in the yellow stone.

At regular intervals, rough-edged slabs protrude into the main corridor. You stop to take a close look at one of these slabs and the floor beneath it and come to a frightening conclusion. They are obviously traps, no doubt set off by the Giaks when they cleared this corridor of sand. Rather than instructing the Giaks to avoid them, the Darklords must have deliberately used their slaves to set them off. Once the traps had been sprung, the squashed bodies were cleared away and the slabs chiselled through to the next section. Pit traps in the floors seem to have been neutralized in the same way. Set off by luckless Giaks, they would have been filled in with the dead bodies and levelled off with sand. The thought of this heartless barbarity fills you with revulsion.

Just over a mile along the corridor, you eventually arrive at a large stone door. The stone surround bears evidence of chisel-work, but the door itself is rock solid.

You notice a faint beam of light descending from a hole in the ceiling. It creates a small circular pool of light, a little to one side of a similar hole in the floor. In the wall near to the door there is a triangular indentation, no larger than a Gold Crown.

If you possess a Prism,
turn to 233
.

If you possess a Blue Stone Triangle,
turn to 245
.

If you have neither of these items,
turn to 298
.

396

Inside the cool marble tower, two flights of spiral stairs meet at a landing. You detect the sound of distant running feet, gradually growing louder. It is coming from one of the spiral staircases, but which one? Suddenly, a band of Drakkarim warriors appear; they are crossing the bridge that leads to the tower. You must escape.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense,
turn to 266
.

If you wish to ascend the spiral stairs,
turn to 322
.

If you wish to descend the spiral stairs,
turn to 360
.

397

Greedily, she snatches the coin from her begging bowl and tests it between her blackened teeth. Once satisfied the coin is real, she nods her head and waits for your questions.

If you wish to ask her if she is Soushilla (only if you have heard that name before),
turn to 307
.

If you wish to ask her if she knows where Tipasa the Wanderer can be found,
turn to 314
.

398

The guard raises a hand to the back of his neck and removes the tiny dart, but before he realizes what has happened, he keels over unconscious, spread-eagled on the landing platform.

You can hear the clatter of running feet echoing across the palace roof: the Drakkarim have arrived. You must act quickly if you are to avoid them.

If you wish to search the body of the sleeping guard,
turn to 207
.

If you wish to ignore the guard and rush into the Itikar pen,
turn to 224
.

399

Banedon lowers his staff, the trace of a wry smile on his pain-racked face. ‘Alas, I was too slow to protect myself, Lone Wolf,’ he says, glancing at his arm. You kneel at his side and free the spear that pins him to the floor. The wound is serious; hastily you staunch the bleeding with strips of cloth torn from his dark blue robes. You recognize the robes, for they are the attire of a Journeymaster. It seems that young Banedon has achieved distinction among his brother magicians since last you met.

‘It appears that we are fated to meet in their company,’ he says, still watching the Kraan-riders anxiously. ‘Help me to my feet, we must escape before they drag us from the sky.’

You support the magician as he grasps the ship's helm — a radiant crystal sphere with hundreds of glowing facets set on a slim silver rod. No sooner has his hand closed around the crystal than there is a tremendous explosion.

Turn to 323
.

400

You examine the floor where Darklord Haakon fell, but there are no signs of his body. The atmosphere is strangely calm and peaceful, as if a great and evil shadow has been lifted. (If you lost the Sommerswerd in the confrontation with the Darklord, you may now retrieve it.)

You turn and walk to the throne where Haakon sat, waiting for you to appear. Beyond it lies a portal, an ancient inscription carved deep into the blood-red stone. Below the carving is set the impression of a human hand. Instinct and intuition guide your hand to the door; the carving fits around it like a glove.

Illustration XXIV
—Set on a pedestal, the book lies open, its secrets revealed to your eyes alone.

Silently the portal slides back to reveal your destiny — the
Book of the Magnakai
. Set on a pedestal, the book lies open, its secrets revealed to your eyes alone. As you lift the sacred book, the very air throbs with the vibration of the force locked within its sun-gold cover. With a pounding heart you close the book and hurry from the chamber.

By the time you reach the foothills of the Koneshi, Banedon has successfully completed his mission; he and Tipasa are waiting for you. As they see you appear, clutching the
Book of the Magnakai
, they can barely contain their excitement.

‘This night of triumph,’ says Banedon, jubilantly, ‘will herald a new dawn of hope for Sommerlund. The Kai are reborn.’

The quest is now over. You have found the
Book of the Magnakai
and freed Magnamund from the shadow of Darklord Haakon. But for you, Kai Master Lone Wolf, the story has only just begun.

Your destiny lies along the path of the Grand Masters. To learn their secrets and attempt the first exciting quest of the Magnakai, begin your journey with Book 6 of the
Lone Wolf
series entitled:

The Kingdoms of Terror

The Empire of Vassagonia
Action Chart

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