Voyage of the Moonstone (13 page)

Warily the Vakeros move forward to surround you, their spears held out at arm's length as if they are afraid to come too close. Their officer, a young lieutenant, steps a pace nearer and you can see that he is sweating profusely. It is a warm night but this is not the reason he is perspiring: he is terrified. Then he recognizes the style of your tunic, and when he looks carefully at your face you see the whipcord tension in his body begin to ease.

‘You're a Kai?’

‘Yes,’ you reply. ‘I'm a journeyman bound for Elzian.’

The Vakeros signals to his men and expertly they couch their spears and form up into a column in readiness to march.

‘Well, Master Kai,’ says the lieutenant, ‘you're going to have to come with us.’

Turn to 285
.

You find your room at the end of a corridor on the first floor and you are pleased to discover that it is clean and well furnished. You fall asleep within minutes of lying down upon the feather-mattressed bed, yet it seems as if you have barely closed your eyes when, two hours later, you are rudely awoken by noises in the taproom below. The clomp of iron-shod boots and the hubbub of angry voices make you leap from your bed and reach for your weapon. Quickly you gather your equipment and cloak and ease open the door to your room. Outside in the corridor you see your companions; like you they have been awoken by the commotion downstairs.

‘It's the City Guard,’ whispers Oswin, who is peering down the stairwell. Then the tavern-keeper appears and he comes rushing up the stairs. His face is red as a beetroot and he is shaking with fright. ‘The … the Funtal of Bir Rabalou's men are here,’ he says, his voice wavering. ‘They've had word that there are assassins abroad in the harbour and they're checking all foreigners. You're to go down to the taproom at once.’

If you choose to comply with the tavern-keeper's request to go downstairs to the taproom,
turn to 33
.

If instead you choose to ignore his request, you can search for somewhere to hide from the City Guard by
turning to 2
.

With the old magician draped over your shoulder, you leap from the basket and plummet towards the ground. As you fall, you utter the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Levitation
and instantly the spell enables you to control the speed of your descent towards the trees below. You see the balloon smash into the timberland and, as you descend through the upper branches of this pine forest, you brace yourself in readiness for the moment when your feet touch the ground.

Unfortunately, when you cast
Levitation
in mid-air, you did not anticipate that the increased weight of Yranai would have any effect on your control of this spell. It is not until you are within twenty feet of the ground that you realize you are coming down too fast. You attempt to compensate but it is too late and you strike the rocky soil with a tremendous jolt that knocks you unconscious.

Turn to 341
.

Together with Paoll and a party of five armed marines, you row ashore in the ship's longboat. With weapons drawn, you and your search party sift through the ruins of Khadro's encampment but find few items of any practical value. There are several tracks which have been made by the creatures you glimpsed earlier, but they all lead away into the surrounding jungle and you can no longer detect their presence.

Mindful of the risk you are taking simply by being here on the island, away from the ship, you signal to the men to return to the longboat. As you are descending the beach, you trip accidentally upon something half-buried in the black sand. Closer inspection reveals it to be a fist-sized ball of iron that has been crafted into the shape of a human skull. (If you wish to keep this Iron Skull, record it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item which you carry in the pocket of your tunic.)

To continue,
turn to 217
.

Shocked by this mental intrusion, you dig your heels into Jhani's flanks and urge the old mare to the gallop. The elder dodges aside as your horse bolts forward and the Vakeros guards along the palisade loose off their arrows. They whistle past you on all sides yet, in the near-darkness, fail to find their mark. Keeping yourself pressed low against your horse's neck, you steer her around the perimeter of the palisade and into a field of tall bamboo where you quickly disappear from sight.

It is dark when you finally rein Jhani to a halt. You dismount and tend to the hundreds of tiny cuts and abrasions she has sustained to her legs, caused by the sharp bamboo stalks. Rather than push on in the dark and have your horse sustain more injuries, you camp here for the night. Unfortunately, the bamboo fields of Dessi are notorious for their infestations of biting mosquitoes, and you spend most of the long night fending them off: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. Also, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose a further 3
ENDURANCE
points.

In the early morning light you are able to lead your horse out of the bamboo field and find your way back onto the road to Hikas.

Turn to 186
.

It is noon of the following day when eventually you emerge from the Koneshi Mountains and catch your first exciting glimpse of the great city of Bisutan, seated upon an island in the estuary of the River Khorda. With an air of expectation you follow the mountain road as it meanders down through sagebrush hills until, at dusk, you finally reach a titanic stone bridge that spans the shimmering waters of the Khorda. This mighty bridge has for centuries carried a flow of traders to and from a towering gatehouse which is set into the city's protective wall.

It is not the custom of Bisutan's city guards to stop travellers without good reason, for here the merchants of all Magnamund meet to haggle and trade and barter their cargoes. With a courteous smile they allow you to pass through their great gate and enter their magnificent city.

Turn to 250
.

You enter the right alley and the militia, who are following closely, split into two groups. Roughly half their number searches the other alley whilst the remainder stays with you.

As you are running along this narrow thoroughfare, you suddenly hear the sound of splintering timbers somewhere in the distance. A hundred yards later the alley opens out into a tree-lined plaza which is bordered by shops selling rare artefacts of the Old Kingdom, and expensive works of art. Their windows and doors are securely barred and shuttered and show no signs of a forced entry. Then your eye is drawn to a grand building on the far side of the plaza: it is a temple. Its great stone door is closed, but a smaller wooden door at the side has been torn off its hinges. You magnify your vision and see that beyond the door is a flight of stone steps which ascend to a bell-tower.

Cautiously you approach the shattered door. You unsheathe your weapon and scan the darkened stairs before silently you ascend the steps. You have climbed twenty steps when suddenly you hear a hideous snickering growl and an icy chill runs the length of your spine. There is an ominous creak of stone on stone and a movement in the darkness above, and then a crashing fills your ears. Out of the darkness you see a great marble statue come smashing down the narrow stairway. It rapidly gathers speed as it tumbles end-over-end towards you.

If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 85
.

If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 98
.

You tumble across the decking and slam head-first into the gunwale. The impact opens a gaping wound across your forehead and leaves you feeling stunned and nauseous: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. Using your basic Kai healing skills you manage to staunch the flow of blood. The pain and sickness swiftly recede and you are able to stagger back to your feet.

Turn to 139
.

You continue your ride along the jungle trail and make good progress, although you are haunted all the while by a profound sense of unease. You attribute these feelings to the sight of Gorgoron. You have heard many dark tales about this chasm which, until now, you had dismissed as nothing more than fanciful ghost stories. Having seen the chasm with your own eyes you are no longer so ready to disbelieve them.

At sundown you reach the palmy fringes of an ancient settlement that surrendered to the jungle centuries ago. The moon rises like a silver shield in the cloudless night sky and you make camp at the side of the trail, sheltered beneath a canopy of mosses and vines. The jungle is alive with the tiny noises of its nocturnal creatures. They seem to make your horse unusually nervous, until you soothe him with your Magnakai skills of Animal Control. You are tired after your long ride through this humid rainforest and soon you drift off to sleep. It seems as if you have only just closed your eyes when you are stirred to instant wakefulness by the sound of a ghastly howl.

Turn to 200
.

You watch with bated breath as the riders pass by the entrance to the hill track and continue along the coast road. You are beginning to suspect that they have disappeared for good when unexpectedly they turn about and come galloping back along the road towards Cape Kabar. When they ride past the hill track without stopping you feel sure that they have decided to call off the chase and return home to their town.

Now that you are confident that the threat has passed, you tell Oriah and the marines to remount their horses. It is time to leave the plateau and continue the long ride south.

Turn to 336
.

With the old magician draped over your shoulder, you leap from the basket and plummet headlong towards the ground. You see the balloon smash into the timberland barely moments before you hit the upper branches of this pine forest. The old man is torn from your grasp and you lose consciousness as you crash through the branches of the trees.

Turn to 163
.

You inch open the door and see a tall, lean, grey-haired old man standing outside in the corridor. He wears the silvery grey robes of a magician and his broad facial features are unmistakably Kakushian.

‘Forgive me for disturbing you at this hour,’ he says, politely, ‘but I felt compelled to make your acquaintance. My name is Rhous. I am journeyman to the Magicians' Guild of Nikesa. I sensed a
power
within this room and I thought, perhaps, that you might be a fellow student of sorcery. Am I correct?’

Your Sixth Sense tells you that this old magician is genuine — he is who he claims to be. Your common sense tells you that he is also incredibly nosey!

If you wish to tell him to go away and leave you alone,
turn to 137
.

If you choose to talk with him further,
turn to 310
.

You follow a shoal of yellow-tailed fish into the gaping hole in the hull and discover scores of boxes, bales, and casks lying scattered within. Most of the cargo sealed inside these containers is no longer of any use or value, yet inside one rotten casket you discover an item that gleams like new. It is a golden crown, embellished with rural scenes of a distant land that you recognize to be Siyen. (If you wish to keep this Siyen Crown, record it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item.)

Through the hole in the wrecked hull you glimpse Oriah ascending to the surface for air. Satisfied that there is little else of value aboard this wreck, you leave the hold and return to the bow of
The Pride of Sommerlund
.

Turn to 93
.

His staff wavers and the tip moves very slightly so that it is no longer pointing at the hilt of your Kai Weapon; it is now pointing at the pocket of your tunic in which you keep the ring. The elder's expression transforms once more, this time from a frown into a broad smile. Suddenly he seems pleased to see you and he steps aside to allow you to ride past the palisade.

Turn to 347
.

You say farewell to the three marines and wish them a swift and safe journey home to Sommerlund. Then you leave the tavern with Kol and make your way quickly to his ship which is moored at the end of the quay. Two of the Funtal's guards are patrolling the quayside but they do not challenge you as you board Kol's vessel. They only seem interested in foreign traders who are entering the harbour rather than those making a hasty departure. The Vassagonians who man the
Desert Jewel
seem a friendly crew, and they welcome Kol's return with cheerful humour. He in turn treats them like sons and it is clear from the way they converse that he is a very popular owner.

The ship sets sail at noon and sails swiftly southwards with a benevolent wind filling its triangular sail. Kol expects the
Desert Jewel
to take a day and a half to navigate the two hundred and sixty miles of coastal water between Bir Rabalou and Bisutan. He suggests that you relax and enjoy the voyage, yet despite the fair weather and jovial company you are disturbed by a growing sense of unease. You spend your time on deck for the holds and cabins are filled to the brim with cargo. The only shelter from the sun which scorches the open deck is a makeshift spread of canvas near the stern. You are lying here in the shade when, late in the afternoon, you sense a storm brewing on the horizon.

If you possess Grand Pathsmanship
and
Telegnosis,
turn to 288
.

If you do not possess both of these Grand Master Disciplines,
turn to 129
.