Wolf's Bane (23 page)

The moment you enter the new passage, the concealed panel slides shut behind you. Almost immediately, another panel slides out of the metal wall and seals off the passage ahead, trapping you in the cell-like space between. You throw yourself against the steel door and run your hands over its smooth surface, searching frantically for a means to escape. Your efforts are made all the more urgent when suddenly a loud hissing sound fills your ears; it is the sound of the air being extracted from this cell.

Gasping for breath, you turn around to search the opposite panel. Your hopes rise when you see a combination lock set flush into its surface. It is unlike the lock which secured the entrance to the temple of Avaros, but your Kai senses soon detect how it operates. The lock is inlaid with five dials in two groups. There is one group of three and one group of two. Each dial indicates a number. One dial however, in the group of two, is set to zero. By turning this dial to the correct number you will cause the lock to disengage.

Study the following sequence of numbers carefully.

When you think you know what the correct solution is,
turn to the entry
that is the same as your answer.
¹⁶

If you guess incorrectly, or if you cannot answer this puzzle,
turn instead to 303
.

Having been detected, your immediate reaction is to bolt for the exit and, as you run, arrows whistle down to splash into the mire all around your feet. Anxious to avoid risking being hit by a second volley, you increase your pace as you approach the mouth of the tunnel.

Turn to 70
.

You pass through the arch and enter a long passageway that is crafted from sheets of silver and steel. A panel of translucent mineral is embedded into the entire length of the ceiling, illuminating the tunnel with a harsh phosphorescent light. You have covered several hundred yards before you see a small alcove set into the wall. A stream of clear water pours from a pipe protruding from the alcove, and drains away into a grille set into the floor. The sight and sound of the trickling makes you thirsty for a drink.

If you wish to stop and take a drink from this pipe,
turn to 33
.

If you choose not to drink,
turn to 336
.

Naar moves from the dais and commands Kekataag to cease his psychic assault. The murderous leviathan complies at once with his fell master's wishes. For the first time since he strode into this throne hall, Kekataag turns to face Naar. His intent is to bow his huge form in dutiful deference to his master's authority, but this formality is soon forgotten when his psychic powers detect the presence of Alyss. The realization that she is here makes the warrior bellow with supernatural rage. The deafening sound galvanizes Alyss into action; she leaps towards the plinth and places both of her hands upon the surface of the Moonstone. Instantly a whirling hole appears in the smoky wall of the throne hall; it is the unmistakable mouth of a Shadow Gate.

‘Flee, Lone Wolf,’ she cries. ‘Flee to your homeland before it's too late!’

Bravely she stands her ground, her hands clasped upon the glowing Moonstone, as Kekataag and Naar advance upon her from two sides. You are deeply moved by the courage of this enigmatic being; it seems she is prepared to sacrifice her immortality that you might escape alive from this terrible place.

If you wish to obey her command and enter the whirling Shadow Gate,
turn to 282
.

If you choose to stay and fight the Dark God and his evil avenger,
turn to 343
.

Your advanced Kai senses detect faint magical energies radiating from a large chunk of rubble which lies in the open doorway to this tomb. Cautiously you move nearer to inspect the slab of stone and discover an intricate design scratched upon its surface. It has been smeared with dirt and a magical spell of shielding has been placed upon it to disguise its true purpose, yet you immediately realize what it is and you recoil from the slab, hurriedly retreating a dozen paces. It is a glyph of power: a magical booby trap that has been expertly camouflaged to keep it secret. If anyone or anything were to step upon or pass over this glyph, the energy contained within it would be released in one devastating instant.

You warn the others of what you have found and tell them to retreat with you to a safe distance. From the cover of a gravestone, several yards from the tomb, you instruct Star Lynx to pick up a rock and hurl it through the open doorway. He selects an apple-sized chunk of granite and lobs it accurately into the tomb.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have chosen is 0–4,
turn to 211
.

If it is 5–9,
turn to 53
.

Your Kai Mastery skills and your sheer will to survive save you from succumbing to a grisly death in this morass. After an agonizing ordeal, you finally reach the door at the end of the hall and haul yourself through it. Aching with fatigue (lose 4
ENDURANCE
points), you lie on the solid flagstones for several minutes until you regain sufficient strength to be able to continue your hunt for Wolf's Bane.

You can feel a warm breeze wafting along this hall and you sense that it comes from a stairwell at the far end. When you investigate it, you rediscover Wolf's Bane's footprints on the stone steps. You cast your hands over them and detect that this is not a false trail: your enemy passed this way sometime within the last hour.

Slowly you ascend the stairs and arrive at the arched entrance to a large, vaulted stone chamber. Gathered around a fountain set into its north wall are a group of six grey-skinned humanoids. They are busy drinking a clear, oily fluid that pours from the fountain's spout into a semicircular trough. All are barefoot and clad in rags, and they are each armed with a spear and a bow. The only exit from this chamber appears to be an archway set high in the north wall. There is a balcony in front of it that can only be reached by two flights of stairs which rise up on either side of the fountain.

Quietly you observe the creatures slaking their thirsts, and you try to formulate a way in which you can get past them and reach the balconied exit in the north wall.

If you possess a Bow and the Discipline of Magi-magic and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Guardian,
turn to 138
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and have attained the rank of Grand Crown (and wish to use it),
turn to 26
.

If you do not possess these skills, or a Bow, or if you have yet to attain the required levels of Kai Mastery, or if you choose not to use either of them,
turn to 121
.

The tracks lead out of the tunnel and across a clearing before disappearing into the jungle perimeter. Deeply suspicious, you peer through the curtain of vines and scan along the jungle's edge for signs of your adversary.

If you possess Grand Pathsmanship and Grand Huntmastery,
turn to 68
.

If you do not possess both of these Grand Master Disciplines,
turn to 317
.

A white-hot spike of pain penetrates deep into your chest as the onrushing bolt hits you and slams you against the moving wall of the shaft: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.

If you survive this wounding, adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

To continue,
turn to 37
.

Baron Caldar escorts you and Banedon to the roof of his castle's main tower where, hovering above, you see the great gleaming hull of the Guildmaster's skyship —
Cloud-dancer
. At Banedon's signal a cage is lowered from the stern of this magical vessel and, after bidding farewell to the Baron, you are both hoisted aboard. The crew, some of whom are survivors from his previous skyship —
Skyrider
 — are clearly agitated by your unexpected appearance; the sibilant hiss of their fearful whispers echoes softly along the deck. But immediately Banedon vouches that you are not the impostor who has terrorized Sommerlund these past few weeks and this swiftly allays his crew's suspicions. As you accompany the Guildmaster to his quarters, the mood of the men and dwarves of the ship's complement changes. Respectfully they salute you and welcome you with pride aboard their wondrous craft.

The
Cloud-dancer
sets sail and follows a southwesterly bearing for the city of Tyso, over one hundred miles distant. The night sky is clear and Javano, the ship's pilot, is confident that you will arrive within the hour. During the brief voyage, Banedon communicates magically with the elders of his Brotherhood in Toran. He informs them of your safe return and tells them of your plans to track down the impostor. In response they assure him that word of your return will be conveyed at once to the King in Holmgard, and to your beleaguered kinsmen at the Kai Monastery. This glad news does much to lift your bruised spirits.

It seems as if you have been aboard the
Cloud-dancer
for no more than a few minutes when a message arrives from the forward lookout: ‘Tyso lights due south.’ You leave Banedon's comfortable quarters below deck and accompany him to the prow rail from where you catch your first aerial glimpse of the distant city-port. The warm lantern light of hovels and taverns shimmers like a captive cluster of stars within the city's protective wall. At the Guildmaster's command, Javano begins the skyship's descent and, as the twinkling lights loom larger, you are able to make out the silhouette of a grand castle that is perched on a headland overlooking the harbour.

‘There's our destination, Lone Wolf,’ says Banedon, cheerfully, ‘the castle of Baron Tor Medar — the Seneschal of Tyso.’

Turn to 7
.

Now you can hear the creature loping towards you. The squeal of its metal joints merges with the whirring
clack
of its great iron jaw. The sound unnerves you and, for a terrifying moment, your sweat-slick fingers cannot grip the disc in your tunic pocket. Then you have it and quickly you insert it into the slot in the wall.

The door opens with a hiss. You rush forward and immediately sidestep to place a solid wall between you and the steel monster. The door slides shut and, a few moments later, you feel a shudder run through the wall as the creature slams head-first into the portal and shatters its skull.

Your swift escape may have saved your life, but in your haste to evade the mechanical wolf you left behind the key which opened the portal (erase the Iron Disc from your
Action Chart
).

To continue,
turn to 83
.

The tunnel twists and turns for several hundred yards before entering a large vault that is knee-deep in brackish grey slime. A huge black iron pot hangs suspended by a large chain in the middle of the vault, ten feet above the surface of the slimy floor. The oily chain runs around a large wheel fixed near the ceiling and drops through the centre of a slit, high up in the opposite wall. Carefully you approach the entrance to the vault and, using your Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship, you detect that the pot hides two creatures. They are lying in ambush. There is an exit on the far side of the vault, but in order to reach it you will have to pass directly below the hanging pot. Using the cover of shadows at the entrance to the vault, you look to the far exit and consider how you can reach it unscathed.

If you possess the Discipline of Assimilance and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher,
turn to 94
.

If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 225
.