The Legacy of Vashna (26 page)

You let loose your Arrow and watch as it clips the man's thigh before arcing away into the night. You hear him yelp with pain, but the wound is superficial and it does not prevent him from making a safe landing on the rooftop opposite.

You dash along the street, your eyes fixed on the limping archer as he makes good his escape from the inn. You are twenty yards ahead of him when the street makes a turn and you find yourself face-to-face with a solid brick wall; you have come to a dead end. You are about to retrace your steps when suddenly you notice a rusty iron staircase away to your right. It is a crude fire-escape ladder and it leads all the way to the roof of a linen warehouse. Quickly you climb the ladder, your weapon drawn in readiness to intercept the wounded assassin the moment he appears.

Turn to 95
.

The Vakovarians search the inn thoroughly. They fail to find you on their first sweep, but when they return to search again, one of them discovers your hiding place when he accidentally treads on your foot.

You react quickly and with fatal effect. A blow to the throat silences the brigand for good and prevents him from ever warning his confederates that you are here. They do not notice that he is missing and they leave the inn to go elsewhere. By the time they realize they are one man short, you have searched and hidden his body and made good your escape from the inn.

Among the items you discover on the brigand are the following:

• Bow
  
• Quiver with 4 Arrows
  
• Dagger
  
• Short Sword
  
• 13 Gold Crowns
  
• Rope
  
• Small Sack
  

After leaving the inn, you make your way down through the ruins towards the lake, taking care to avoid other Vakovarians who are out looting. The burnt-out shell of a meeting hall offers you an unobstructed view of the quay and its flagstoned square. You hide here, invisible among the charred roof timbers, and watch as a curious scene unfolds on the quayside.

Turn to 163
.

The brigands are clumsy in their eagerness to reach the copse, presenting themselves as easy targets to your Bow. Every Arrow finds its mark until their leader calls off the assault and they take cover among the boulders. Now the trees echo to the sound of steel bolts ripping through branches and ricocheting off stone; once more these brigands have begun firing at you with their crossbows.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
(0=10). The number you have picked is equal to the number of Arrows you have fired at the brigands (adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly).

If the number you have picked is greater than the number of Arrows you have in your Quiver, erase them all and
turn to 268
.

If after having deducted the relevant number of Arrows, you still have one or more left in your Quiver,
turn to 167
.

You draw on your Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen to keep safe your identity from the Elder's mind probe. You sense that his psychic power is strong and you fear that your defences may not be sufficient to repel him.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Assimilance, add 3 to the number you have picked. Also, if you possess Grand Nexus, add 2; and if you possess Kai-alchemy, add 1.

If your total score is now 8 or less,
turn to 160
.

If it is 9 or more,
turn to 181
.

You ride slowly through the clammy fog which carpets the cobblestones of this ill-smelling lane. Clamped against the walls of the surrounding buildings are oil-soaked torches which serve to illuminate the signs of wine shops and taverns. They are crudely painted with emblems — a bloodied battle-axe, a winged horse, a watery sun rising from a broken skull. There is not one that resembles a crooked sage and you are beginning to lose heart when suddenly you hear the sound of drunken revelry coming from a two-storey building at the end of the street. Its oaken doors hang open and the vivid orange glare of its roaring hearth spills invitingly into the dank night gloom. Although it has no painted emblem, you sense at once that you have at last found the Crooked Sage Inn.

At your approach, a sallow-faced stable boy limps from a wooden hut which is leaning precariously against the side of the tavern wall. For one Gold Crown (erase this from your
Action Chart
), he takes charge of your horse and shows you to the taproom door.
¹⁶

Turn to 21
.

Your punch lifts the Elder clean off his feet and sends him tumbling over the side of the boat. A cry goes up along the deck, a shout of alarm that one of the Elders has fallen overboard. Scores of acolytes rush to the rail in response but there is nothing they can do. The longboat is travelling so fast that he is already hundreds of yards behind the stern and cannot be seen amidst the churning water.

Fortunately, none of the acolytes saw you throw your punch; they all assume the Elder fell accidentally. However, those who were seated near you have now become uncomfortably curious about who you are. To avoid their attentions, you move to the stern where you find a score of acolytes kneeling in prayer.

Turn to 124
.

You rush towards the crystal dais, feinting and weaving to avoid the oncoming Automatons. But the machine-like warriors move closer together and, by the time you reach them, they have closed ranks and you run straight into their solid wall. You will have to fight them. These beings are immune to all forms of psychic attack (except Kai-blast).

Shamath Automatons:
COMBAT SKILL
 38   
ENDURANCE
 60

You may evade combat after four rounds by
turning to 153
.

If you win this fight,
turn to 240
.

Bayan says farewell to his wife, warning her to stay hidden here with the child until he returns. She thanks you once more for curing her son and she wishes you a safe journey; then Bayan leads you to another hovel where he has hidden a donkey. It is a stubborn, flea-bitten old ass, but it serves Bayan well as the two of you follow his secret trail into the foothills of the southern Durncrags.

It is a long and tortuous route but it is also a safe one. At dusk you come to a cave whose entrance is hidden by clumps of loose brushwood. Bayan and his family have used it several times over in the past few weeks and they have stocked it with a buried cache of roots and berries. These, together with some live game which you catch at a nearby stream, make for a filling and nutritious meal which you both enjoy before settling down to a long sleep.

You may restore your
ENDURANCE
points score to its original level. To continue,
turn to 64
.

The creature roars with anger as it overcomes your mental commands and rushes forward. You raise your weapon and bring your horse about to face this fearsome beast's attack. The instant he sees the creature he panics and rears up on his hind legs, neighing with fright, his hooves scrabbling frantically at the air. You bring him under control using your innate Kai skills, but in so doing your attention is diverted from the attacking beast as it moves in and swipes at you with its clawed paw.

Black Corvayl:
COMBAT SKILL
 46   
ENDURANCE
 58

Reduce your
COMBAT SKILL
by 10 for the first round of this fight only.

If you win the combat,
turn to 210
.

You leave the cave at first light and continue your lonely trek towards Lake Vorndarol. Before dawn, an icy wind swept down from the north and spread a thick blanket of frost on the trail, freezing the mud beneath. To your surprise, the going is easier and swifter than expected and, by noon, you find you have covered more than thirty miles.

During your ride you have watched the land slowly changing. The trail is now steeper and granite outcroppings have begun to appear, tinged with moss and interspersed with pine trees and grey-green underbrush. You are approaching an area littered with huge granite boulders when suddenly your Magnakai Pathsmanship skills alert you to danger; you sense there is an ambush ahead.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–1,
turn to 182
.

If it is 2–9,
turn to 241
.

While you enjoy your impromptu meal, you stare at the shimmering waters of the lake, now some ten miles distant, and contemplate with dread what may await you when you get to the east shore. Then, unexpectedly, your Sixth Sense warns you that danger is much closer at hand and instinctively you reach for your weapon. As your hand closes upon it, a fearful roar erupts from the bushes on the other side of the trail. Suddenly the foliage is torn open by two great hairy paws and a black, bear-like hulk comes charging across the trail towards you, its fanged jaw open as if to bite.

If you possess Animal Mastery and wish to use it,
turn to 15
.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 198
.

If you have neither or choose not to use them,
turn to 257
.

Although you are unable to sleep, you take some comfort from the fact that there is no storm this night. You leave the grove at first light and follow the rushing stream until you happen upon a shallow bend where the water is fordable on horseback. You cross here, make a wide detour, and then return to the trail a mile beyond the Vakovarian's encampment.

The trail gradually descends towards the burnt and derelict hovels of Vorn, clustered in squalid disarray around a greystone quay. Vakovarian bandits occupy the ruined hamlet and you decide it wise to leave the trail in case they have posted a lookout. A copse of stunted firs offers you a good hiding place for your horse. You tether him here, and then gather some grasses and roots for him to eat while you are away scouting the hamlet.

You have no difficulty entering Vorn unseen. From the first-floor ruins of a burnt-out inn on the outskirts of the hamlet you make a careful observation of the Vakovarians. They seem to be systematically looting the ruins and transporting their ill-gotten booty to a fishing boat which is moored at the quay. You are watching this boat closely when suddenly your concentration is broken by the sound of a yapping dog.

If you possess Animal Mastery,
turn to 281
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 2
.

‘I bid you welcome, Northlander,’ says the fur-clad stranger, taking you aback with his friendly tone. ‘ 'T'as been many moons since I've seen a welcome face in this godforsaken land. What beckons you here?’

You answer with caution in case he is trying to trick you, and simply reply that you are a hunter.

‘A hunter, eh?’ he says, smiling. ‘Come, now. You be no hunter, least none like I know. And I should know seein' as I'm a hunter m'self.’

You use your Kai senses to assess this man's purpose and realize that he is speaking the truth. He really is a hunter and he intends you no harm.

‘Very well,’ you say, ‘I admit I'm not a hunter, at least not in the way you think. I've come here to find out what is going on at the Maakengorge. I want to know why Vorn was destroyed and what is causing the storms. But what of your purpose, master hunter? What quarry is there here that's worth battling these accursed storms for?’

The hunter tells you that he has travelled all the way from Karkaste, in the realm of Lyris, to hunt for Black Corvayl. The fur of this beast is worth a small fortune in the markets of Casiorn and the Stornlands. He says the storms and the Vakovarian brigands have made things difficult for him; he has been in these mountains for more than a month now and has only two pelts to show for his trouble.

The hunter, whose name is Fyrad, invites you to join him at his camp in the hills. It will soon be dusk and the icy winds are getting colder, so you gladly accept his offer of food and warm shelter.

Turn to 175
.