Wolf's Bane
Frustrated by your defeat of his minions, the Dark God Naar plots a bitter revenge. From the depths of his lair upon the Plane of Darkness he creates and sends forth an evil champion who is the very image of yourself.
In
Wolf's Bane
, you must hunt down and destroy your evil alter-ego before it lays waste to your proud reputation and your homeland of Sommerlund. Will you find and defeat this evil mirror-image in time? Or will you fall foul of the Dark God's plans and be destroyed by your likeness?
Joe Dever
, the creator of the bestselling Lone Wolf adventure books and novels, has achieved world-wide recognition in three creative fields — as an award-winning author of international renown, as an acclaimed musician and composer, and as a games designer specialising in role-playing games.
On graduating from college in 1974, Joe Dever became a professional musician, and for several years, he worked in the music industry in Europe and the United States.
While working in Los Angeles in 1977 he discovered a then little-known game called ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Although the game was in its infancy, Joe at once realised its huge potential and began designing his own role-playing games along similar conceptual lines. These first games were to form the basis of a fantasy world called Magnamund, which later became the setting for the Lone Wolf books.
Five years later, in 1982 at the Origins Game Fair, Joe won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons World Championships in Baltimore, an event held before 16,000 people. Inspired and encouraged by his success at Origins, Joe decided to quit the music business and devote his time to writing and games design.
In 1983, after a brief spell at Games Workshop in London, he wrote
Flight from the Dark
— the first Lone Wolf interactive gamebook. His manuscript immediately attracted a frenzy of interest from three major London publishing companies, all of whom bid for world rights. Joe accepted an offer of publication from Hutchinson's (later to become Century Hutchinson Ltd; now Random House UK) and
Flight from the Dark
was first published in 1984.
This first book sold more than 100,000 copies within its first month of publication, and overseas rights were snapped up by twelve countries (including the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden). The success of Joe's first book laid the foundations for the future of the Lone Wolf series, which has sold millions of copies around the world.
The Lone Wolf series ended after 28 books and 14 years. Joe has continued to work in the games industry as script writer and games design consultant.
Brian Williams
was first noticed by Joe Dever for his work in
White Dwarf
magazine (circa issue 50) and the
Real Life Gamebooks
series by Jon Sutherland and Simon Farrell. Brian Williams was Joe's first choice of illustrators to replace Gary Chalk. Jon, being an old friend of Joe's, introduced the two. Brian was excited to work with Joe on the
Lone Wolf
series. He illustrated
The Cauldron of Fear
and almost every book about Magnamund since that time.
Internet Edition published by
Project Aon
. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the
Errata
.
Publication Date: 28 October 2012
Text copyright © 1993 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1993 Brian Williams.
Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the
Project Aon License
.
For Caroline Thomas, Margaret Conroy, & Sue Mongredien
‘I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my “millennium gift” to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai. … ’
Joe Dever
Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We are also grateful for the generosity of Rob Adams, Paul Bonner, Gary Chalk, Melvyn Grant, Richard Hook, Peter Andrew Jones, Cyril Julien, Peter Lyon, Ian Page, Graham Round, and Brian Williams for contributing their portions of the world of Magnamund to Project Aon. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:
- Transcription
- Kenny Wong
- Illustration Transcription
- Jonathan Blake
- XML
- Jonathan Blake
Jeff Dougan
Simon Osborne - Action Charts
- JC Alvarez
Jonathan Blake - Proofreading
- Robert Hartley (Sections 141–350)
Brett Taylor (Sections 106–140)
Kenny Wong (Frontmatter and Sections 1–105) - Editing
- Robert Hartley
Ingo Klöcker
LeRoy McSwain
Simon Osborne
Anders Österberg
Timothy Pederick
Keith Sheldon - Coordination
- Jonathan Blake
- Special Thanks
- Jan Charvát, James Durrant, Benjamin Krefetz, Sam Seaver, Christopher Turner
You are Grand Master Lone Wolf, the sole survivor of a massacre that wiped out the First Order of the Kai — the warrior élite of Sommerlund.
It is the year MS 5080, thirty years since your brave kinsmen perished at the hands of the Darklords of Helgedad. These champions of evil, who were sent forth by Naar, the King of the Darkness, to destroy the fertile world of Magnamund, have themselves since been destroyed. You vowed to avenge the murder of the Kai and you kept your pledge, for it was you who brought about their downfall when alone you infiltrated their foul domain — the Darklands — and caused the destruction of their leader and the base of his power that was the infernal city of Helgedad.
In the wake of their destruction, chaos befell the Darkland armies who had been poised to conquer all of Magnamund. This disorder escalated into a mutinous civil war, which allowed the Freeland armies of Magnamund time in which to recover and launch a counter-offensive. Against the odds, a swift and total victory was secured over the feuding Darkland armies.
For ten unbroken years, peace has reigned in Sommerlund. Under your direction, the once-ruined Monastery of the Kai has been rebuilt and restored to its former glory, and the task of teaching a New Order of Kai warriors the skills and proud traditions of your ancestors is also well established. The new generation of Kai recruits, all of whom were born during the era of war against the Darklords, possess strong latent Kai skills and all show exceptional promise. These skills will be nurtured and honed to perfection during their time at the monastery so that they may teach and inspire future generations, thereby ensuring the continued security of your homeland in future years.
Your attainment of the rank of Kai Grand Master brought with it great rewards. Some, such as the restoration of the Kai and the undying gratitude of your fellow Sommlending, could have been anticipated. Yet there have also been rewards which you could not possibly have foreseen. The discovery that within you lay the potential to develop Kai Disciplines beyond those of the Magnakai (which were thought to be the ultimate that a Kai Master could aspire to) was truly a revelation. Your discovery has inspired you to search for the wisdom and power that no Kai Lord before you has ever possessed. In the name of your creator, the God Kai, and for the greater glory of Sommerlund and the Goddess Ishir, you have vowed to reach the very pinnacle of Kai perfection — to attain all of the Grand Master Disciplines and become the first Kai Supreme Master.
With diligence and determination you set about the restoration of the Kai Monastery and the training of the New Order recruits. Your efforts were soon rewarded and, within the space of two short years, the first raw recruits had graduated to become a cadre of gifted Kai Masters who, in turn, were able to commence the teaching of their skills to subsequent intakes of Kai novices. The Kai Masters rose readily to their newfound responsibilities, leaving you free to devote more of your time to the pursuit and perfection of the Grand Master Disciplines. During this period you also received expert tutelage in the ways of magic from two of your most trusted friends and advisors: Guildmaster Banedon, leader of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, and Lord Rimoah, speaker for the High Council of the Elder Magi.
In the deepest subterranean level of the monastery, one hundred feet below the Tower of the Sun, you ordered the excavation and construction of a special vault. In this magnificent chamber wrought of granite and gold, you placed the seven Lorestones of Nyxator — gems of Kai power which you had recovered during your quest for Kai knowledge. In this vault, bathed in the golden light of those radiant gems, you spent countless hours in pursuit of perfection. Sometimes alone, sometimes in the company of your two able advisors — Banedon and Rimoah — you worked hard to develop your innate Grand Master Disciplines, and grasp the fundamental secrets of Brotherhood and Old Kingdom magic. During this time you noticed many remarkable changes taking place within your body: you became physically and mentally stronger, your five primary senses sharpened beyond all that you had experienced before, and, perhaps most remarkably, your body began to age at a much slower rate. Now for every five years that elapse you age but one year.
In the years since your victory over the Darklords, peace has reigned victorious and the peoples of the Free Kingdoms have rejoiced in the knowledge that the evil which once threatened to destroy them has been banished from the face of Magnamund. Men have readily exchanged their swords for hoes and their shields for ploughs, and now the only marching they do is along the ruts of their freshly furrowed fields. Few are the watchful eyes that scan the distant horizon in fear of what may appear, although there are still some who maintain their vigilance, for the agents of the Dark God Naar come in many guises and there are those upon Magnamund who wait quietly in the shadows for the chance to do his evil bidding.
Already your newfound skills have been tested against Naar's agents and you have, on each occasion, acquitted yourself admirably. Yet your continuing victories have enraged the Dark God and inflamed his lust for vengeance. Three years ago, you and your new Kai kinsmen achieved a glorious victory over a host of deadly Lavas. These dragon-like horrors were sent by Naar to destroy the Kai Monastery and lay waste to Sommerlund, and yet, despite their supernatural strength, they were defeated in battle by the sheer courage and skill of the New Order Kai who fought magnificently under your leadership.
After the ignominious defeat of his minions, Naar retreated to the Plane of Darkness to plot and scheme anew. Victory at the monastery had won for you a respite in the Dark God's war against Sommerlund and the Kai. The following three years were peaceful for your homeland, yet elsewhere on Magnamund the agents of Naar continued their insidious work. On several occasions your special skills were sought by envoys from foreign realms whose leaders were desperate to rid themselves of Naar's minions. Courageously you undertook many of these dangerous missions and, by succeeding where no other mortal could, you brought fresh glories upon yourself and your fellow Kai.
In the summer of MS 5080, during a return voyage by sea from a successful quest to distant Dessi, an act of sabotage very nearly wrecked the sailing ship that was transporting you home. Only fair weather and skilful repairs by the Sommlending crew saved the ship from being lost in the Gulf of Durenor. When the damaged craft limped into its home port of Anskaven, more than two weeks late, the reception you received was far from welcoming. The normally cheerful seafaring folk of this busy port were in a strangely sullen mood. Clearly they all recognized you, yet none cheered as you disembarked on Anskaven quay. The crowd was quietly hostile. Before you could determine their reasons, the uneasy silence was shattered by a troop of heavily-armoured cavalrymen who came galloping along the quayside, their gleaming swords drawn. The crowd scattered as the horsemen drew up in a circle around you. Their leader, a nervous young lieutenant whose coat bore the black eagle and three hearts motif of Avan Caldar, Baron of Anskaven, curtly ordered you to lay down your weapons. Not wishing to provoke these city troopers, you obeyed the command and allowed them to escort you to Baron Caldar's castle where you felt sure their inglorious mistake would be swiftly punished.
Baron Caldar formally received you in the Great Hall of his castle. You had met previously on many state occasions at King Ulnar's court in Holmgard and had always held each other in high esteem. Yet Caldar, flanked by more than a dozen armed bodyguards, could barely bring himself to conceal his contempt. He spoke to you as if you were a hated criminal. You asked why you were being treated in such a manner, but your pleas fell on deaf ears. Without further explanation, he ordered that you be taken immediately to the dungeons and placed in irons.
Later that evening, using your mental Kai Disciplines to help loosen the tight-lipped resolve of a dungeon guard, you learned the reasons for your apparent fall from grace.
‘You first arrived in Anskaven by ship eighteen days ago, as expected,’ said the gaoler, in response to your psychic commands. ‘Baron Caldar met you personally at the quayside and gave you a horse and six of his best troopers to escort you to Toran. During your ride to that city, they say you murdered his men and burnt their bodies. On arriving at Toran, you tried to assassinate Banedon — the Guildmaster of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. He survived, yet much of the Guildmaster's Hall was destroyed by your doing. To cover your escape from the city, you poisoned the wells causing hundreds of deaths. At first it was said that a Helghast had adopted your likeness to gain entry to the Guildhall, but Guildmaster Banedon refuted these claims. He is convinced that you are possessed by the spirit of Naar. The Guildmaster dispatched the Toran militia to spread this message across Sommerlund. A few days later at the forest village of Durnfallow, near Tyso, the Fryearl of Durnfallow was murdered and his manor house was torched to the ground. The villagers say they saw you riding away from the blazing ruins, howling like a crazed wolf. The people are terrified by the thought that Naar has corrupted you — their greatest hero — and turned you against your own. They are scared and they are demanding swift justice. King Ulnar has bowed to their will; he has sent all of his Border Rangers to Tyso with orders to find and kill you on sight.’
The news of your alleged crimes comes as a bitter blow. You are sure that it is all the handiwork of an agent of Naar, and you resolve to find and vanquish this impostor at the first opportunity. However, as you cast your eyes around the damp walls of the castle dungeon, you can only pray to Ishir and Kai that the Baron and his guards will believe your story and allow you a chance to reclaim your honour.
