The Deathlord of Ixia (9 page)

You hurl yourself to the floor to avoid the onrushing bolt of energy, but your reactions are too slow. It catches you in the back and an explosion of white-hot fire obliterates your senses. In this terrifying instant, the light that is your life is snuffed out.

Tragically, you have fallen victim to the power of the Deathstaff. Your life and your quest end here in the Crystal Spire of Ixia.

As you hurry away from the cave mouth, you look back over your shoulder to see the Ixian Mhagani illuminated momentarily by a flash of lightning. It fills the entrance to the cave, and it is howling with glee at having successfully defended its evil-smelling lair.

Denied shelter in the cave, you return to the bottom of the pass and seek cover among the circle of rocks which lie embedded in the ice on the southern face. When you are within a few dozen yards of the circle, you hear a deafening
crack!
which sets your pulse racing. With that split-second warning, a huge expanse of rock and ice breaks away from the slopes above and swiftly transforms itself into a thundering avalanche. Wide-eyed with horror, you watch as a million tons of ice, snow, and shale comes rumbling down the mountainside towards you.

Galvanized into action, you turn and run from this deadly white wall of destruction. It is almost upon you when you see a low shelf of rock near the base of the pass, and desperately you dive for cover beneath it.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you possess Grand Nexus, you may add another 2.

If your total score is now 5 or lower,
turn to 99
.

If it is 6–9,
turn to 231
.

If it is 10 or higher,
turn to 104
.

Banedon tosses the box back onto the cluttered shelf and continues with his briefing. Having satisfied himself that you have adequate protection, he turns his attention to your weapons.

‘It concerns me greatly that so little is known of Xaagon — the Deathlord's city. There is no way of knowing what unholy breed of creature awaits you there. It seems that you can be confident of only one thing, Lone Wolf: whoever or whatever inhabits that dreadful place will surely be hostile to your presence. If you are to defeat the Deathlord of Ixia and his minions, you will need a weapon of exceptional power — a weapon capable of destroying that which is already dead.’

If you possess the Sommerswerd,
turn to 339
.

If you do not possess this Special Item,
turn to 220
.

You leap among the mass of advancing undead with renewed vigour, chopping and hewing at their decaying bodies until barely a handful remain to confront you. Grudgingly they yield ground. You snarl at them, defiantly cursing the power which makes them live beyond the grave, and they pull back a few yards more as if to catch their breath before launching their next assault.

You glance over your shoulder to see how the Lencian crew are faring but your eye is distracted by something glinting brightly in the dull light. It is a key, hanging from a chain strung around the neck of a slain undead warrior. You stoop to snatch up this key and, as your hand closes around its jade-green stem, you sense that it has magical properties. (If you wish to keep this Onyx Key, record it as a Special Item which you keep in the pocket of your tunic.)

Moments later the undead renew their attack, clambering awkwardly over the heaped bodies of those you have destroyed, their eyes burning with cold fire. You retreat from this relentless enemy and evade them by descending a stair which leads down into the ship's hold. Above, you can hear the frenzied shouts of the Lencian crewmen as they are engaged by the undead Drakkarim in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Then you hear something else — the clatter of steel-shod boots on the steps, alerting you to the fact that your foes have not given up the chase. As they begin to descend, you quickly scan the gloomy hold for a place to hide.

If you possess Assimilance,
turn to 208
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 26
.

With a jolt that leaves you gasping for breath, you hit the gluey surface of a stinking subterranean bog and sink in up to your neck. In the eerie half-light you can see the chaos horde above you, clustered around the edge of the square opening through which you fell. They are like excited spectators at a pit fight waiting for combat to begin.

Suddenly you sense movement in the slime — something is brushing past your left thigh. You struggle to move but, in doing so, you cause your body to sink deeper into the mire.

If you possess Telegnosis and have reached the rank of Sun Lord or higher,
turn to 15
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 176
.

If you possess Animal Mastery and wish to use it,
turn to 337
.

If you cannot, or choose not to use any of the above Disciplines,
turn instead to 27
.

The creatures utter a chilling sound that resembles mocking laughter. Then, from pockets inside their tattered black robes, they draw silvery rods which they level menacingly at your head. Quickly you dive for cover as a trio of crackling bolts come arcing through the snowy air towards your face.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 3 or lower,
turn to 319
.

If it is 4–7,
turn to 187
.

If it is 8 or higher,
turn to 91
.

Using the Brotherhood Spell
Sense Evil
you focus on the encroaching mist and detect a strange presence. You cannot discern exactly what is moving out there, but you are certain of one thing: it is evil and it is drawing ever closer to Fort Azgad.

You warn Captain Lanza and at first he does not believe you. He chuckles, saying that it is not uncommon for new arrivals to imagine they have seen all manner of spectres in the sea mists which swirl around the fort. But then a loud, discordant bell rings out from above, and Lanza's face is transfixed with shock.

‘By the gods!’ he splutters. ‘It's the alarm bell — we're under attack!’

Turn to 181
.

You hurry across the chamber, zigzagging to dodge pillars, chunks of stone, and the many bodies of Ixiataaga's former undead slave-warriors which are raining down from the upper levels of the Crystal Spire. Aided by your Kai Mastery, eventually you reach the lowest level of the spire where the entrance hall and grand arch open out into the city. You are racing through a torrent of crystal dust towards the grand arch, the main exit, when a massive shock wave runs through the entire building. You are within seconds of escaping when, to your horror, you see the walls buckle and the grand arch begin to collapse.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 10 or less, deduct 1 from the number you have picked. If your
ENDURANCE
score is 20 or higher, add 1.

If your total is now 3 or lower,
turn to 316
.

If it is 4 or higher,
turn to 193
.

You leap over the broken bodies of the Drakkarim guards and rush to the door. To your relief you discover it to be unlocked, and when you push upon the surface of this great grey slab of metal, it creaks open to reveal your weapons and equipment stacked haphazardly upon a stone table in the middle of a small chamber.

Carefully you check your belongings and discover that they are mostly intact. However, all of your Gold Crowns, plus two items from your Backpack are missing. Erase all of the Gold Crowns from your
Action Chart
, and cross off the first two items recorded on your list of Backpack Items.

If you wish to stay and search this chamber further,
turn to 204
.

If you choose to leave the chamber,
turn to 34
.

The trio of ghastly creatures press home their attack with fearful speed and purpose. You look around for some means of evading them, but there appears to be only one way: the shimmering curtain of light you saw before you arrived here. The painful memory of your passage through it makes you abandon this idea at once.

If you possess the Sommerswerd and wish to use it,
turn to 238
.

If you do not possess this Special Item or choose not to use it,
turn instead to 125
.

Your attempt at opening the lock using only your Magnakai skill of Nexus proves to be a fatal mistake. Inadvertently, you activate a powerful necromantic spell of protection placed upon the lock by Deathlord Ixiataaga himself. You see a flash of white light as, in an instant, a surge of radiant energy comes shooting from the hole to hit you squarely in the face. Pain engulfs your mind, followed by an explosion of white-hot fire which obliterates your senses. Then, in a terrifying instant, the light that is your life is snuffed out.

Tragically, you have fallen victim to one of the Deathlord's spells. Your life and your quest end here.

You throw out your arms in a desperate attempt to arrest your fall, but it does you no good. You hit the sea face-first and slam your head and left shoulder against a ridge of solid ice that lies submerged just a few inches below the slushy surface: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.

The frigid water is shockingly cold but you are oblivious to its numbing chill. Your Magnakai skill of Nexus, and the concussion which you have sustained due to the fall, account for that. Stunned and helpless, it is only the speedy action of the crew which saves you from being crushed between the hull of the ship and the harsh, unyielding ice. With a noose of oiled rope, a couple of crewmen swiftly retrieve you from the sea and haul you back onto the deck. Dazed but undaunted, you free yourself from the rope and scramble back to the prow.

‘Hard a'port!’ you yell, waving frantically to the helmsman. He responds immediately, and within a few minutes the ship is free of the ice-bank and safe in deep water.

Some of the crew, clearly terrified by the collision and the subsequent sight of you falling overboard, are cowering along the ship's rail like frightened puppies. They stare up at the encroaching walls of ice, their eyes full of fear as they pray feverishly to the Goddess Ishir to save their souls. Then, almost without any warning, the snowy wind abates and the ship emerges from the iceberg fjord into the open waters of the Tozaz Sea. As one, the crew give a hearty cheer, relieved that their ordeal has at last come to an end. One man pulls the cork from a bottle of black rum which he has been keeping for a special occasion. He takes a mighty swig, and then hands the frosted bottle to you. Just as you are about to take a swallow, unexpectedly you hear the helmsman's voice echoing along the deck: ‘Ship ahoy!’

Fear returns to tie a knot in your stomach as you turn and focus your eagle eyes upon the distant vessel.

Turn to 195
.

Trusting solely to your natural climbing ability, you use what little purchase you can find in the wall of the pit to assist your difficult climb back to the top. The snickering horde of Chaos-creatures watch your ascent with eager anticipation. When you are within a few feet of the top, you unsheathe your weapon and get ready to fight your way out of the shaft one-handed.

Illustration IV
—The chaos creatures watch your ascent eagerly.

Chaos-horde:
COMBAT SKILL
 46   
ENDURANCE
 46

Unless you have attained the Kai rank of Sun Lord, you must reduce your
COMBAT SKILL
by 4 for the duration of this combat, due to your disadvantageous position. Unless you have Grand Weaponmastery and are a Sun Knight or higher, you may not use a two-handed weapon (i.e. Broadsword, Quarterstaff, or Spear) for this combat.

If you win the combat,
turn to 82
.