Voyage of the Moonstone (8 page)

Reluctantly the marines follow as you descend the stairs. The moment you set foot in the taproom you are surrounded by armed guards and made to hand over your Weapons (delete all normal Weapons from your
Action Chart
; you need not delete your Kai Weapon which you keep hidden beneath your cloak). Once you and your companions have been disarmed, you are herded towards the counter to join more than two dozen others who are of foreign nationality. The officer in charge of the armed guards then strides to the middle of the taproom floor and proceeds to inform you in an imperious tone that you are to be taken to the Funtal's castle where your trading papers and travel documents will be scrutinized. The others, who all appear to be traders and merchants, are outraged when they hear this decree. They protest loudly and many refuse to leave the tavern. They say that it is all just a cynical ploy by the Funtal to confiscate their cargoes.

Kol appears by your side and he whispers to you to follow him. As the Funtal's guards move in and grapple with the angry merchants, you and the marines slip away with Kol and hide in the cellar below the tavern's kitchen. An hour later, as dawn is breaking, the tavern falls silent and you emerge from your hiding place to discover that it is now completely empty.

Turn to 255
.

You spend an hour enjoying the carnival spirit of the beach festival before you return to your horse and go in search of a place to stay for the night. You ride along a street running parallel to the beach, and enter the courtyard of a large two-storey hostel with stables. A young boy takes your horse's reins and leads him away to an enclosure at the side of this brightly-painted building, and you enter the hostel's front door to find it is empty. It seems that everyone is down at the beach this evening. Then you hear a noise from beyond an open doorway and a balding man appears. He rubs his bloodshot eyes and yawns, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth. You ask if he has a room for the night and lazily he nods his head.

‘I've two types of room and service,’ he says. ‘There's Standard and there's Best. Standard costs 2 Gold Crowns a night and you don't get no food. Best costs 4 Gold Crowns and you get lots of food in the morning.’
¹¹

If you wish to buy a Standard room for the night,
turn to 216
.

If you decide to buy a Best room,
turn to 138
.

You are aware that something unusual is happening the moment you open your eyes, for you can hear the excited chattering of crewmen and marines who are pacing about the deck directly above your cabin. Quickly you rise from your bunk and go aloft to investigate the commotion and, to your surprise, you discover that the waters around the ship are stained blood red. The transformation has been caused by millions of tiny fish, a vast shoal of scarlet Trarta who, like
The Pride of Sommerlund
, have sought shelter here overnight in this secluded cove.

Captain Raker permits his men to spend an hour or two fishing for Trarta. They are a delicacy, and they will serve to supplement the crew's basic provisions of salted meat and biscuits. By noon the Trarta shoal have left in search of deeper reaches and clarity returns to the turquoise waters of the cove, revealing a new and interesting discovery. Resting on the sandy floor of the cove, twenty feet below the ship's keel, lie the remains of a Bautarian galleon. Oriah is fascinated by the wreck and she asks Captain Raker if she may be permitted to dive down and search its shattered hold. The captain has no objections, so long as she is back on board within the hour. Oriah is clearly excited by the prospect of what she may discover aboard the wreck and, as she gets ready for her dive, she asks if you would like to accompany her.

If you would like to accept Oriah's invitation to explore the sunken galleon,
turn to 343
.

If you choose to decline her invitation,
turn to 198
.

You turn and sprint back along the street, but you have taken only a few paces when you hear a Vakeros shout a single, thunderous word:
Gloar!

A concussive blast of air hits you in the middle of your back and sends you tumbling forwards to crash face-first to the ground. You strike your head on the cobblestones and badly bruise your shoulder as you somersault into the base of a street lantern-post: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

You have been struck by the effects of the Old Kingdom Spell
Power Word
. Painfully you stagger to your feet and see that the Vakeros have moved forward to surround you. As they close in, you notice that their spears are 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 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 a little.

‘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 a column in readiness to march.

‘Well, Master Kai,’ says the lieutenant, ‘you had better come with us.’

Turn to 285
.

Grudgingly you hand over 20 Crowns to the young man before you and your companions stable your horses and enter the inn. To your disappointment you discover that it is a dreary place with few furnishings and decorations to soften its grey, spartan interior. A dozen villagers sit huddled around a pair of circular tables. With an air of boredom they sip their watery ale and stare at the walls in dull-eyed silence. The innkeeper, who is the father of the toll collector, serves you each a plate of stale bread and cheese for your supper. He tries to engage the marines in conversation, but they are so disgruntled with the poor food that they deliberately ignore him. Oswin suggests that you all get some sleep and make an early start, and the others heartily agree.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Bardsmanship and you possess a musical instrument,
turn to 272
.

If you do not possess this skill, or if you do not have a musical instrument,
turn to 8
.

You are climbing the stairs to your room on the first floor when an old man bumps into you on the landing. He is wearing thick spectacles and he is scrutinizing a strange box-like device made from cubes and tubes of iron, quartz, and brass. Part of this device snags your cloak and rips it. He apologizes profusely and offers to mend the tear in your cloak. As you look into his bespectacled eyes your Magnakai senses detect a faint aura of magic.

If you wish to let him mend your cloak,
turn to 271
.

If you decide to decline his offer, you may go to your room by
turning to 213
.

The evil that lingers around this chamber makes your skin crawl and you decide to stay here not a moment longer. You and Oriah climb the stone steps and return to the marines who are now hiding among the boulders at the edge of the plateau. Ernan tells you that during your absence he has watched the riders pass by the entrance to the hill track and continue along the coast road for several miles. Just a few minutes before you arrived, these same riders came galloping back along the road towards Cape Kabar. He is convinced that they have called off the chase and have decided to return to their town.

Now that the threat appears to have passed, you and your travelling companions remount your horses and leave this plateau.

Turn to 146
.

You seat yourself near the crackling campfire and one of your fellow passengers offers you a piece of fruit which you gratefully accept. The troupe are gifted acrobats and jugglers and the performances they give are very entertaining. During their act the leader of the troupe climbs upon a large barrel and challenges the audience to answer a riddle:

‘An old, one-legged farmer, his wife, his dog, his horse, and his cows, have 103 legs between them. How many cows does the old farmer have?’

The leader is sure that nobody will answer his riddle correctly. He is so sure that he offers 10 Gold Crowns to anyone who can give him the correct answer in less than thirty seconds.

If you would like to accept this challenge, use the second hand of a clock or a wristwatch to time yourself while you work out the answer. If you complete the riddle in 30 seconds or less,
turn to the section number
that is the same as your answer.
¹²

If you run out of time, or if you choose not to answer the riddle,
turn instead to 241
.

The creature emits a desperate howl as your last mighty blow seals its doom. It lurches at you, its eyes white in their red-rimmed sockets, its great clawed arms swinging blindly. And then this supernatural horror surrenders to death and is brought crashing to the floor. For a few moments its great body convulses and then lies still. Wisps of evil-smelling gas arise from beneath the fur and you are forced to snatch your cloak to your face to deaden the sickly sweet stench of decay. You turn and hurry down the stairs in time to see the lieutenant and his militia breaking through the rubble which blocks the exit from the bell-tower. His men ascend the stairs and remove the vile, rotting remains of the Deathstalker which are placed upon a pyre outside in the tree-lined plaza. Soon the carcass of this murderous creature is ablaze and word of its death spreads swiftly across the city. The curfew is lifted and a large crowd comes and gathers around the dying embers of the pyre to cheer and rejoice in the destruction of the creature which, for the past month, has murdered their kinfolk and terrorized their peaceful city.

Turn to 28
.

You scan the distant island, using your Grand Master Discipline to enhance your innate visual skills. The shoreline appears deserted, but when you cast your gaze towards the east you notice several dots on the horizon. You alert Captain Raker and he brings his telescope to bear. After a few moments' observation he shouts an order to Paoll: ‘South by southwest, if you please, First Mate. Looks like we've got comp'ny!’

The timbers creak as the ship turns about and forges a passage through deep water. Following the change of bearing the wind is now no longer in your favour and Paoll is forced to tack against it to make progress. The distant ships are now visible and it is clear to all aboard that they are pirate raiders. Soon another two islands rise into view and the captain orders his First Mate to steer a course towards a narrow channel which separates them.

‘That's the Bukimi Channel,’ says Raker. ‘If we can pass through afore those sea dogs, we'll pick up southerly winds on the far side. Then they'll never catch us!’

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 67
.

If it is 5–9,
turn to 205
.

You dodge aside but the creature throws open her arms and deals your shoulder a glancing blow with her terrible claws: lose 2
ENDURANCE
points.

Bravely you turn to meet her attack and raise your weapon to defend yourself as she lashes out at your face. You parry her blow and counter it by launching yourself headlong into a desperate fight to the finish.

Deathstalker (mate):
COMBAT SKILL
 42   
ENDURANCE
 40

This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Kai-surge).

If you win the combat,
turn to 76
.

Your attempt to avoid being struck by the arrow is not as successful as you could have wished for. It penetrates your left shoulder and the energy of its impact is enough to bring you crashing to the ground. The archer laughs with glee when he sees you fall and, with encouragement from the slaver who is screaming at him to finish you off, he drops his bow and leaps down from the platform. As he rushes towards where you lie, he snatches his sword from its scabbard and raises it in readiness to deliver a fatal blow to your head.

Svolta:
COMBAT SKILL
 37   
ENDURANCE
 36

Reduce your
COMBAT SKILL
by 3 for the first two rounds of this fight.

If you win the combat,
turn to 212
.

Your weapon is clasped firmly in your fist when you turn around and find yourself staring into the face of a tall and powerfully built Vassagonian warrior. His eyes are glowing with maniacal anger as he comes rushing towards you with his hands outstretched, as if his intention is to strangle you. Before you can utter a sound, he slams into your chest and impales himself on your weapon.

With a yelp of pain he pulls away and turns towards the open doorway. He takes three faltering steps and then collapses and lies motionless upon the tiled floor.

Turn to 175
.

Kol is susceptible to your psychic suggestions and he obeys your mental order to turn the ship around. At first his crew are shocked and puzzled when suddenly he commands them to change course, but they do not question his decision. Silently they obey their master and within minutes the
Desert Jewel
is sailing back to Bir Rabalou.

You return to the city's harbour at dusk where you are met by a dozen of the Funtal's guardsmen who are checking ships along the quayside. Kol recognizes their officer — he is a man called Jhioua and he is an old friend of his. Eventually a gangplank is lowered and Kol steps briskly ashore to engage his friend in conversation. With the officer distracted, you now use your Kai camouflage skills to evade the wary eyes of his guardsmen and escape from the ship.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Discipline of Assimilance, add 3 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 4 or lower,
turn to 135
.

If it is 5 or higher,
turn to 4
.