Fire on the Water (7 page)
You quickly deduce that the impostor must have escaped by the main entrance to the tavern, and if he is still in the harbour area he must be in or around the main square.
You search the buildings and alleyways round the square but there is no sign of him at all. Rather than waste more time in a fruitless search, you return to the quayside and untie a small coracle from its mooring. As you row towards the
Green Sceptre
you begin to feel uneasy that so early in your mission your enemies seem already to have found you.
The guard's expression changes to a sneer of contempt. ‘I am a soldier of Durenor. Your gold will not help you here.’
Unfortunately you have insulted his honour and he intends to teach you a harsh lesson.
One of the cloaked strangers removes a black staff from beneath his robes and holds it aloft. A blue flame ignites at the twisted iron tip and a searing blast of energy leaps towards you. There is a deafening crack as the bolt is turned away by Rhygar's shield.
Illustration IV—One of the cloaked strangers holds aloft a black staff and a blue flame ignites at the twisted iron tip.
‘Give no quarter,’ cries the Lord-lieutenant as he attacks the cloaked staff-bearer. His sword slices clean through the robed stranger but he remains unharmed. You suddenly realize why he does not bleed. He and his sinister companions are Helghast, fell captains of the Darklords. They have the ability to adopt human form but are invulnerable to normal weapons. The Helghast lets out a hideous scream that tears at your mind. Blinded by the sudden pain, you trip and fall into the dense undergrowth of the wooded hillside. Unless you have the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, lose 2
ENDURANCE
points from this attack by the Helghast's Mindforce.
You gasp with pain as the serpent's fangs sink deeply into your arm. Grabbing the snake behind its ugly head, you rip away the thrashing creature and hurl it into the long grass. But your wound is deep and inflamed by venom.
If you have a Crystal Star Pendant,
turn to 219
.
If you do not,
turn to 44
.
You slam the door shut and draw the bolt. The shop is dark but you can still make out a staircase to your right, a trapdoor in the centre of the floor and another door in the opposite wall. Suddenly there is a crash as an axe splinters a panel of the door behind you. You have been spotted entering the shop and the mob are breaking down the door.
If you decide to open the trapdoor and hide in the cellar,
turn to 11
.
If you leave the room by the other door,
turn to 54
.
If you decide to run up the stairs,
turn to 235
.
The innkeeper takes your Gold Crown and places a foaming tankard of ale on the bar. The ale is strong and fortifying. Restore 1
ENDURANCE
point to your current total.
If you wish to talk to the innkeeper,
turn to 226
.
If you want a room for the night, pay the innkeeper 2 Gold Crowns and
turn to 56
.
If you wish to enter an arm-wrestling competition,
turn to 276
.
The climb is very difficult, for you have only one free hand — the other holds the glowing hilt of the Sommerswerd.
You eventually reach the rim of the tower and quickly hook a leg over the narrow ledge. You are about to jump into the tower and attack when a thin voice makes you freeze.
‘How I shall delight in the irony of your death, Lone Wolf.’
The sorcerer is standing in the far corner of the tower, his left hand pointing at your head. ‘Your quest has failed, Lone Wolf. Now you must die!’
A blinding flash of orange flame shoots from his hand towards your face.
Placing your hands upon his chest, you try to seal the open wound. He has lost a lot of blood and although he is sweating heavily, his skin is cold to the touch. His eyes suddenly roll open and he shouts a garbled warning.
‘Pirates … Lakuri pirates … beware the red sails … repel boarders!’
The captain is soon unconscious once more. You wrap him in blankets and place a cushion beneath his head, but he has drifted off into a sleep from which he will not awake. Back on deck, the bodies of the dead crew have been gathered together. Captain Kelman approaches you and hands you a vicious-looking black scimitar.
‘This is no pirate sword, Lone Wolf. This weapon was forged in the furnaces of Helgedad. It is a Darklord blade.’
It is daunting news. If the Darklords have allied the Lakuri pirates to their cause, the voyage to Durenor will be a perilous one. You fling the black sword into the sea and return to the
Green Sceptre
. As you set sail for the east, you watch as the Durenor merchantman slips beneath the waves.
You enter a musty office where two men sit hunched over desks bowed beneath the weight of books and papers.
‘Good evening, sir,’ says one of the men, his long waxed moustache twitching as he speaks. ‘Sir requires a merchant's pass?’
Before you can reply, the man passes to you a fistful of complicated forms. ‘If sir would care to sign these, I can issue sir's pass immediately. The fee is 10 Gold Crowns.’
If you wish to sign the forms and purchase a White Pass, mark it on your
Action Chart
and
turn to 142
.
If you do not have enough money or do not wish to purchase the pass, leave this office and return to the hall by
turning to 318
.
Tearing open his bloodied robes, you are shocked to discover there is no evidence that he was your would-be assassin. All that you find are 2 Gold Crowns and a Dagger. You may take these items if you wish.
During the period of your Kai training, your masters taught you many of the languages and dialects of northern Magnamund, one of which was Szall. The creatures in this clearing are Szalls and they are screaming at you that the wounded man is not a man at all. They say he is a Helghast, a powerful shape-changing servant of the Darklords.
If you believe that they are telling the truth, check what the man has in his pack by
turning to 320
.
If you suspect that the Szalls are lying to stop you interfering with their spiteful game, fend them off with your weapon by
turning to 28
.
You dive backwards, but only just in time to avoid the falling mast as it smashes straight through the deck. You stagger upright and peer into the mass of shattered timbers. Pinned beneath the broken mast is the lifeless body of Captain Kelman.
As you stare in horror, a loud crack fills the air as the storm breaks open the already damaged hull of the
Green Sceptre
. As the ship breaks up you are hurled over the side and into the raging sea.
Gasping for air, you claw your way up to the surface but strike your head on a hatch cover. Lose 1
ENDURANCE
point and pull yourself onto this makeshift raft. If you are wearing a Chainmail Waistcoat, you must discard this now or you will surely drown. In the grey light of the storm, you watch as the broken ship sinks beneath the heaving sea. You are feeling dizzy and very sick. Hanging on to the cover with all your strength, you gradually slip into unconsciousness.
When you eventually awake, the storm has passed. The only trace of the
Green Sceptre
is the hatch cover on which you lie. By the position of the sun you suppose it to be late afternoon. In the distance, you can see a small fishing boat and beyond it, the coastline stretches out along the horizon.
If you wish to use your cloak to try to signal to the fishing boat,
turn to 278
.
If you want to ignore the boat and paddle towards the shore instead,
turn to 337
.
The power coursing through your body so overwhelms your senses that you become oblivious to your surroundings. You instinctively raise the blade above your head where a shaft of sunlight suddenly catches upon its very tip and floods the chamber with a blinding white glow. At that moment the true power of the Sommerswerd is revealed to you.
This weapon was forged long before the Sommlending, the Durenese, or the Darklords dwelt in the Lastlands. Its makers were of a race that men would now call gods. To release the power that it contains, only a Kai Lord may wield it. Should it be used in combat by anyone who is not a Kai Lord, its power will fade and be lost forever.
When used in combat, the Sommerswerd will add 8 points to your
COMBAT SKILL
(10 points if you possess the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill with swords). It has the ability to absorb any magic that is used against its bearer, and it doubles the total of all
ENDURANCE
points lost by undead enemies (e.g. Helghast) in combat. It is the only weapon in all of Magnamund that can kill a Darklord, and for this reason the Darklords are bent on thwarting your quest.
You now realize you hold the only power in Magnamund that can save your people. Slowly the light starts to fade and you become aware of Lord Axim's hand upon your shoulder.
‘Come, Lone Wolf, there is much to prepare for your return to Sommerlund.’
You sheathe the Sommerswerd in its jewelled scabbard and follow Lord Axim as he leaves the King's chamber.
Make the necessary adjustments to your
COMBAT SKILL
total now that you possess the Sommerswerd.
3
Note the powers of the sword under the Special Items section of your
Action Chart
.
Illustration V—At that moment the true power of the Sommerswerd is revealed to you.
[3] The Sommerswerd is a weapon-like Special Item. The +10
COMBAT SKILL
bonus referred to for Weaponskill is a combination of the +8
COMBAT SKILL
that the Sommerswerd grants naturally and +2 for Weaponskill with Short Sword, Sword, or Broadsword (as each of them grant proficiency with the Sommerswerd). It is not an additional bonus. When used in combat, treat it like a one-handed sword, regardless of Weaponskill bonus. The text or footnotes will always remind you to double your enemy's
ENDURANCE
point loss if it is undead.
The knight sheathes his broadsword and ushers you inside the tower. You follow him to a large room at the top of a flight of stone steps, where a log fire blazes warmly.
‘If you are who you claim to be, you must be in possession of the Seal of Hammerdal. Show it to me,’ he orders.
If you wish to show him the Seal,
turn to 15
.
If you do not have the Seal or do not wish to show it,
turn to 189
.
