The Deathlord of Ixia (15 page)

Despite their misshapen forms, the moment these macabre horrors catch sight of you, they charge forwards with frightening speed. Gibbering and howling like demons, they hurl themselves upon you and attempt to slay you with fang and claw.

Chaos-horde:
COMBAT SKILL
 48   
ENDURANCE
 50

These beings are immune to all forms of psychic attack, except Kai-surge and Kai-blast.

You may evade this combat after six rounds by
turning to 235
.

If you win the fight,
turn to 190
.

The instant you set foot inside the cave entrance, you hear a noise which makes you freeze in your tracks. A ghastly half-gibbering, half-growling sound issues from the dark recesses of the cave — a warning from the creature which dwells here that you are not a welcome visitor. You scan the inky darkness and see the glint of two yellow eyes as they emerge from a fold in the rock wall. Slowly the eyes advance. You use your ability to see in the infrared spectrum of light, in order to discern the outline of this shadowy creature, but it is to no avail. You can detect no heat patterns. The reason for this is simple — the creature now advancing towards you gives off no heat because, like everything else in this wretched land, it is already dead.

If you wish to escape from the cave while you can,
turn to 206
.

If you choose to draw your weapon and defend yourself,
turn to 28
.

Guided by your Kai instincts and the night stars, you set a southerly course for Azgad Island. The Tozaz Sea is unusually calm for most of this lonely voyage, and hazards are few … until the dawn of your second day at sea.

Through the grey winter's gloom you see the unwelcome sight of the Tozaz iceberg field stretching across the southern horizon. At first it looks impenetrable, but as you sail closer you identify two breaks in the ice-field that could be the beginnings of passages through to the far side.

If you wish to steer your craft into the southeasterly passage,
turn to 188
.

If you choose to sail into the southwesterly passage,
turn to 119
.

The door to this cell is sheathed with ice and the only visible means of opening it appears to be a hexagonal-shaped keyhole. You crouch down, so that your face is level with the keyhole, and draw upon your Magnakai Discipline of Nexus in an attempt to pick the lock.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. For every level of Kai rank you have attained above that of Kai Grand Guardian, add 1 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 4 or lower,
turn to 342
.

If it is 5 or higher,
turn to 258
.

As you slay each of the insectoids in turn, their bodies return to their original wispy form. These trails of black smoke swirl harmlessly around the chamber before evaporating into the porous stone which frames the Shadow Gate. You are relieved to see the back of these hideous creatures, but your comfort is all too short-lived; no sooner have they vanished than a new horror appears in the chamber, rising up out of the stone floor.

If you have ever been to the Isle of Ghosts in a previous
Lone Wolf
adventure,
turn to 311
.

If you have not,
turn to 80
.

A few hundred yards beyond the rise, you see Tagazin moving along a track which leads to the top of a small hillock. Here, contained within an arch of ancient stone, you see a whirling vortex: it is unmistakably an open Shadow Gate.

Surrounding Tagazin are a host of winged, dragon-like creatures, with horny skins that glimmer like gold in the wan light. By the slow, laborious way in which the jackal-like Demonlord is moving his limbs, you sense that he has been injured and greatly weakened by his passage through the void.

If you have ever been to the Plane of Darkness before in a previous
Lone Wolf
adventure,
¹¹
turn to 205
.

If you have not,
turn to 227
.

The advancing creature sees that you are preparing to strike the gangplank and quickly it retreats to the quayside. You deal the plank a mighty blow, splitting it cleanly in two, and both sections collapse and splash into the harbour's freezing water. But the danger is not over.

The creature turns its icy rod around and points the blunt end towards your head. There is a brilliant flash of light and a guttering ball of flame comes speeding from the base of the rod towards your face. Your reflexes save you — you dive for cover behind a tool chest and the fireball whistles over your head to explode into the decking. Howling with anger, the creature launches a second fireball, but this one is not aimed at you — it is targeted at the ice-boat's waterline. The deck shudders and flames leap up all around, spreading with unnatural speed. Within seconds you are engulfed by roaring flames.

If you wish to escape from this burning ship by jumping into the harbour,
turn to 42
.

If you wish to attempt to reach the quayside by swinging from the rigging,
turn to 201
.

As the last skeletal warrior crumbles beneath your repeated blows, you step back and wipe the sweat of battle from your brow. A glance into the secret panel through which they emerged reveals a narrow chamber beyond. Lying on the crystal slab floor you see several items of equipment:

• Small Sack
  
• Stone Bowl
  
• Spyglass
  
• Iron Key
  
• Coil of Oiled Rope
  

If you decide to keep any of the above, record them on your
Action Chart
as Backpack Items.

You leave the chamber and hurry down the stone staircase to the archway below. The Drakkarim patrol you sighted earlier is now nowhere to be seen, enabling you to leave the barbican and enter Xaagon without further confrontation.

Warily you trek through the awesome ruins of this age-old city, where once, at the beginning of the Age of Eternal Night, a proud and mighty race reigned supreme.

You have just passed a derelict mausoleum when you are forced to halt and hide from a passing troop of Ixian warriors. You watch as they march stiffly along an ice-choked avenue towards a plaza that is dominated by a huge frozen fountain. Beyond the fountain's solid plume of water you see a broad ramp which ascends to a grand archway at the base of the Crystal Spire.

If you possess Grand Huntmastery and have attained the Kai rank of Sun Lord or higher,
turn to 9
.

If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to reach this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 122
.

Silently you climb the stairs and peer over the lip of the hatch; you are just in time to witness a scene which shocks you to the core. You see that the undead Drakkarim warriors have slain all of the Lencian crewmen and have heaped their bodies around the base of the mainmast. One of the undead, clad in a filthy grey cloak embroidered with alien symbols, utters a chilling liturgy over the corpses of the slain. You sense something is very wrong. The chill air crackles with power and sparks of evil energy whirl around their bodies. When at last the liturgy ends, you see to your horror the slain Lencians rise up and take their places alongside the Drakkarim undead.

Illustration IX
—One of the undead warriors utters a chilling liturgy over the corpses of the slain.

Revolted and angered by what you have witnessed, you vow to avenge the souls of the crew and draw your weapon in readiness to attack the host of Drakkarim undead. But before you can act, you feel a shudder run through the deck. The great vessel which has swallowed your ship is lurching to a halt. There is a dull boom, and then several portals open in the surrounding walls of the host vessel, spilling beams of white light across the deck of your captive ship. Scores of Drakkarim undead emerge from these portals and descend upon the ship like a host of hungry ghouls. You are forced to abandon your plan for vengeance — there are now far too many of the enemy. Yet all is not lost. In the milling confusion, you seize an opportunity to get away from the ship and escape into one of the light-filled portals.

Turn to 320
.

You rise once more and return to the edge of the shaft, drawing on reserves of strength and determination both to fight and maintain your levitation spell.

‘For Sommerlund and the Kai!’ you shout, as you lash out at the monstrous Chaos-creatures crowding the edge of the pit.

Chaos-horde:
COMBAT SKILL
 37   
ENDURANCE
 45

These beings are immune to all forms of psychic attack, except Kai-surge and Kai-blast.

If you win the combat,
turn to 318
.

You draw upon your newly-achieved mastery of Deliverance and feel yourself slip into the trance-like state which is necessary in order to perform a Kai Exorcism. Soundlessly you mouth the words of the evocation and feel your goodly powers, like a warm electrical current, flow out from your fingertips. Within seconds this aura sweeps through the ship and engulfs the evil entity. You sense resistance but it is short-lived; the evil succumbs to your exorcism and quickly vanishes.

You may restore any
ENDURANCE
points lost during your adventure so far.

To continue,
turn to 345
.

An undead Drakkarim soldier steps forward, takes hold of the shaggy beast's harness, and leads the wagon towards a stockpile of metallic containers. Clearly he intends to load these onto the wagon for transportation back to the submarine. Fearing discovery, you leap from the rear of the moving wagon and hide yourself among a stack of empty wooden crates. From here you observe two possible ways by which you could leave this busy cavern: by an unguarded staircase in the north wall, or through an open archway in the east wall.

If you wish to leave this cavern by the staircase,
turn to 141
.

If you choose to leave through the open archway,
turn to 7
.

With relief you sense that you have acted just in time; the creature on the jetty failed to catch sight of you before you dived below the surface.

In just a few minutes you reach the distant shoreline and break through the surface alongside a shallow stone causeway. Atop this causeway is a track, a spur of which branches off towards the tunnel entrance. With only your head visible above the lake, you cling to the causeway stones and wait patiently for a nearby patrol of undead soldiers to march past.

Turn to 169
.

You circle around the hall, keeping a watchful eye on the frozen humanoids that line the walls in case your presence here should cause them to animate. Thankfully, your caution proves unnecessary — they remain completely immobile.

As you pass by the shimmering archway, you feel nausea rising from the pit of your stomach and a wave of dizziness makes you falter for a few moments: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points. However, your dogged persistence pays off when you discover a partially-concealed panel in the wall. As you step nearer, it slides open to reveal a flight of steps which ascend to an empty chamber. Here you discover a door of opaque green crystal set flush into the north wall. Closer investigation reveals a curious lockplate positioned at its centre.

If you wish to examine this lock,
turn to 322
.

If you choose to ignore the crystal door and return by the stairs to the entrance hall below,
turn to 299
.