The Plague Lords of Ruel (24 page)

Banedon issues the order to his dwarven crew to set a course for Palmyrion. Then, as the hum of the craft's powerful engine rises in pitch, he ushers you into his cabin where a welcoming meal awaits. Effortlessly the
Skyrider
ascends into the moonless sky and speeds southwards across Sommerlund's forested heartland, while you endeavour to enjoy your friend's good food and company and try not to dwell too much on the daunting task that lies ahead. Together you reminisce about past times spent aboard the
Skyrider
, and recall the adventures you shared in the far-away lands of Anari and Vassagonia.

A few hours later, as your airborne voyage is nearing completion, the conversation turns to the quest in hand. Banedon tells you that you are bound for the Palmyrion city of Holona where your guide, Captain Cearmaine, is patiently awaiting your arrival. At once you recognize the name; you recall having heard tell of the captain's feats of bravery during the Darklands War where his actions won more than a single battle and earned him commendations from more than a dozen Freeland nations. Lord Rimoah has served you well, for in all of central Magnamund you could not have wished for a better guide than Cearmaine.

It is an hour after midnight when the
Skyrider
passes over the glimmering waters of the River Reloni and descends towards the flat-roofed Canatarium, the largest of Holona's eight municipal halls. There you are greeted by the Captain, a man whose proud face bears the scars of his many battles. He offers his hand in friendship and you are mildly shocked when your fingers close around a palm crafted of cold steel.

‘A keepsake from the Battle of Vellino,’ he says, raising his metal hand so that you may inspect it in the light of the
Skyrider
's bow lanterns. ‘Alas, the first was stole away by a Drakkar's axe.’

Captain Cearmaine is eager to leave Holona before sunrise. His carriage awaits to take you south to his command at Stonewatch, a military fortification which stands within sight of the Forest of Ruel. Before you leave, Banedon wishes you success and godspeed. He and his crew will be awaiting you here in Holona in readiness to return you to Sommerlund once the quest has been accomplished. You bid your old friend a fond farewell then settle yourself down into the plush comfort of the captain's carriage.

For four hours you are lost in dreamless slumber as the carriage wends its way across a hundred miles of open grassland trail. When next you open your eyes it is to the sight of a grey dawn breaking over the Palmyrion Plain, and the sound of a sentry's war-horn announcing your arrival at Stonewatch. A company of horsemen, each clad like the captain in ring-mail armour and a flowing chequered tunic of crimson and blue, emerge from the outpost and ride forward to meet the carriage. The captain acknowledges their salute and watches with pride as faultlessly they change formation to escort the carriage through the outpost's stout wooden gate. Beyond lies a drill square that, even at this early hour, resounds to the shouts of command and the measured stamp of soldiers' feet. You disembark near a watchtower and swiftly the captain ushers you inside and leads you to his quarters on the uppermost level.

You spend the day in his company and together you discuss your approach to Mogaruith while you wait for night to fall. After careful study of his maps, the captain proposes two possible routes by which you can reach the Cenerese stronghold. The most direct way is to enter the Forest of Ruel and journey due east. This is by far the shortest way, but it could also prove to be the most perilous. You recall Rimoah's account of what lurks in this dread forest and the memory alone is enough to send a shiver coursing down your spine. The alternative is to journey southwards into the Skardos Mountains and enter one of the many subterranean passages that pass through that range. If you can find your way to the Skardos trail, the secret route by which the Cenerese enter and leave their realm, you should be able to follow it all the way to Mogaruith. Consult the
map
before making your decision.

If you decide to approach Mogaruith via the Forest of Ruel,
turn to 228
.

If you choose to make your approach via the Skardos Mountains,
turn to 309
.

Confidently you draw on your Magnakai power of Nexus and focus it at the lock. You will the crude mechanism to open but, to your surprise, you sense that it is protected by magic.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-alchemy,
turn to 330
.

If you do not possess mastery of this Discipline,
turn to 92
.

You move to the centre of the hall and unsheathe your weapon in readiness to receive the approaching patrol. A frog-like Tzarg is the first thing you see. It is tethered on a chain, and its ugly face is pressed close to the stone steps. It shuffles down the stairs, snuffling and snorting like a bloodhound as it locates your scent.

Close behind it come eight Vazhag warriors, armed with swords and maces. The instant they see you they squeal with delight and fan out in an attempt to surround you. Freed from its cruel handlers, the Tzarg waddles away into the passage as quickly as it can to avoid the fight which is about to commence.

Vazhag patrol:
COMBAT SKILL
 40   
ENDURANCE
 40

You cannot evade this combat. The Vazhag attack simultaneously and you must fight them as one enemy.

If you win the combat,
turn to 83
.

With deceptive ease you reach forward and pluck the spinning blade from the air when it is barely inches in front of your chest. The Vazhag looks at you aghast, frozen momentarily by the shock of what it has witnessed, but it is galvanized into action upon the instant you send the blade spinning back across the chamber, aimed at its head.

The knife misses the creature's head by a finger's length, strikes the chamber wall, and rebounds with a dull metallic
clang
. It falls at the Vazhag's feet and is snatched up in its defence as you advance swiftly upon the creature, weapon in hand.

Fat Vazhag:
COMBAT SKILL
 18   
ENDURANCE
 28

If you win this combat,
turn to 121
.

Raising your right hand, you call to mind the thoughts of the Brotherhood Spell of Lightning Hand, as taught to you by Guildmaster Banedon, and focus the power of this spell upon the tips of your first three fingers. You feel a burning sensation. It becomes more intense until your whole hand aches with a gnawing pain (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points).

You are tempted to abandon the spell but quickly you stifle this urge and project the spell at the middle of the fleeing druid's back. There is a crackling sound, like the crumpling of dried parchment; then a bright blue light shoots from the tips of your fingers and hits the Cener like a hammer between the shoulder blades, sending him sprawling head-first into a tangle of thorny briars.

Stunned and groaning, the druid fumbles for his slender golden rod and quickly his spindly fingers locate it. However, before he can use it to retaliate, you sprint across the clearing, weapon in hand, and slay him with a single blow to the head. Curiosity prompts you to prise away the druid's green mask and look upon the face of this servant of evil. It is an ugly, disease-riddled face, human in shape yet lacking any trace of humanity.

Reluctantly you search him and discover the following items:

• Dagger
  
• Cener Robe (If kept, this item will occupy 2 spaces in your Backpack)
  
• Cener Mask
  
• 20 Lune (equivalent to 5 Gold Crowns)
  

If you decide to keep any of the above, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

Your Magnakai skills tell you that the golden rod no longer possesses any magical aura; its destructive powers vanished the moment its wielder breathed his last. You stoop to prise it from the dead druid's hand, but as soon as your fingers touch its metallic surface it disintegrates into a foul-smelling dust.

With twilight but an hour away, you leave the clearing via the gap and hurry along the muddy track beyond.

Turn to 10
.

In case there are any among the congregation who have the power to sense your presence, you draw upon your Disciplines of camouflage and mental defence to minimize the risks of being detected.

A few uneventful minutes pass until another druid enters the hall, ascending from a circular stairwell to your left. He is a tall, imposing figure, dressed in glittering blue robes edged with black velvet. The congregation rises as he walks to the altar, where he turns to face them.

‘Be seated my brothers,’ he commands, in a voice that is deep and resonant. At once you suspect that he is Arch Druid Cadak himself, but his opening address soon dispels this idea.

‘The battle against the Slovians goes in our favour. We have repulsed their puny attacks and our defences along the Storn remain intact. The Slovians are beaten. They are too weak to threaten us again. I, Kadrian, have seen the great river running red with the blood of their slain.’

Upon hearing this the congregation screech their approval until Kadrian calls for silence. Then, from a tome lying on the altar, he begins to read the opening passages of a service dedicated to Xuzargha, the Cenerese God of pestilence. The gathering fall to their knees, raise the hoods of their robes, and close their eyes in reverence as they listen devoutly to Brother Kadrian's sonorous voice.

Anxious to leave this hall, you look around for a means of escape. Two opportunities present themselves: the circular stairwell by which Brother Kadrian entered the hall, and a door to your right marked ‘Vestibule’.

If you wish to descend the circular staircase,
turn to 119
.

If you decide to enter the door marked ‘Vestibule’,
turn to 280
.

The tunnel floor is mostly solid stone but heavily littered with powdered rock and mouldering rubble. Slowly you advance, treading carefully among this debris to avoid making any sound that could betray your presence. The unwholesome stench becomes stronger the deeper you explore this eerie passageway, and you feel a warmth radiating from within your chest, as if your lungs had been replaced by two gently glowing coals. Your Magnakai curing skills are working to keep you safe from harm, for the air of this passageway is thick with a host of microscopic organisms, a virulent airborne cloud of disease.

At length the tunnel descends to a wide landing where a stone staircase plummets into darkness. Here, to your left and right, you see two small cave mouths criss-crossed with rusty iron bars. Only the slow drip of dank water punctuates the silence, but your super-senses detect that these cave-cells are not devoid of life. Huddled in the shadows are several blue-black shapes, hunched and entangled so as to form one unseemly mass upon the floor. Languidly an eye blinks open, then another, then three more. Slowly, limbs and torso disengage themselves from the mass and rise up unsteadily. For an instant you catch sight of the whole creature and you are shocked by its awful visage. A shaggy goat-like head is perched atop a snaky neck, and it wobbles repulsively as the beast staggers upright. Like its fellow creatures, its bloated trunk is riddled with disease and decay. As it shuffles drunkenly towards the bars, you see in its hellish eyes a baleful green glow. At first you feel a mixture of revulsion and pity for these creatures, but this feeling is suddenly replaced by cold fear when you notice that the green glow does not radiate from their eyes — it is reflected in them!

Swiftly you spin on your heels, your hand reaching instinctively to unsheathe your weapon. Confronting you now at the top of the stone stairs there hovers a monstrous shape, fashioned as if from shimmering green flame. Two whip-like tentacles extend menacingly from its core and a toothless fiery maw gapes like a death wound from where, if it were human, its face should be.

Illustration XVI
—Confronting you now at the top of the stairs there hovers a monstrous shape, fashioned from shimmering green flame.

Frantically the caged beasts claw and rattle the bars of their cells as the flaming creature comes gliding towards you, borne silently on moth wings of green fire.

If you possess Kai-screen,
turn to 211
.

If you do not possess this Grand Mastery,
turn to 152
.