The Buccaneers of Shadaki (16 page)

You whisper the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Lightning Hand
and wait for the familiar tingle of power to occur in your arm before you leap up and point at the creature in the doorway. There is a flash of bluish light, and then a bolt of energy arcs from your finger to hit the beast in the neck. The impact of your magical missile slams the creature against the wall of the hold, but it does not incapacitate it. Before it can fully recover, you unsheathe your Kai Weapon and rush forward to strike the first blow.

Zhürc:
COMBAT SKILL
 50   
ENDURANCE
 38

Ignore any
ENDURANCE
point losses sustained in the first round of this fight, due to the effectiveness of your Brotherhood Spell. If the Kai Weapon you wield is ‘Valiance’, you may apply the bonus gained due to its unique properties.

If you win the fight,
turn to 50
.

Despite the actions you employ to lessen the risk of injury, your leap from the balcony leaves you with bruises to your legs and shoulders, and a painfully wrenched ankle: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

You call upon your Magnakai Curing skills to help suppress the pain as you drag yourself to your feet. Then you stagger to the main doors, throw them open, and escape from the citadel as fast as you are able.

Turn to 155
.

You try to dive out of the path of the speeding dart but your reactions are too slow to avoid it hitting you in the arm. Quickly you pluck it from your flesh and inspect its tip for poison. Your stomach churns when you see that it is smeared with a noisome black fluid. Then a sudden wave of nausea washes over you, confirming your worst fears.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Deliverance,
turn to 46
.

If you do not,
turn to 236
.

Your speed and Kai reflexes keep you safe from the deadly hail of arrows that follow in your wake as you escape from the village astride the back of the winged dragon.

Turn to 102
.

You hurl yourself to one side to avoid being hit, but the blade has been cursed by evil magic. It swerves in mid-air and strikes you just above the left elbow. It rips your tunic and grazes your flesh: lose 1
ENDURANCE
point.

To continue,
turn to 77
.

Fearing that Hiojin will carry out his threat, in desperation you make one last attempt to reason with the man.

‘If I were an assassin, do you really think that I would ask the City Guard for directions to my victim's house?’

Hiojin frowns. He is beginning to have doubts about his assumption that you are a hired killer. Rather than admit that he could be wrong he begins to bluster:

‘Er, I'll have to look into this further. In the meantime you will be held here pending … er, further investigations.’

Hiojin quickly summons his men and has you taken away and placed in a solitary cell.

Turn to 33
.

Three miles from the village you discover a jungle trail. You keep to this trail and stay on the move all night, foregoing rest in order to distance yourself from the hostile natives. Shortly before dawn, you crest a wooded ridge and see the port of Masama in the distance. It lies astride a wide river that is dotted with many trading ships and fishing boats.

As you approach the port, your muddy and dishevelled appearance attracts jibes from the children of Masama. Stung by their rude remarks, you decide that you are in desperate need of a bath and so you go down to the river bank to wash away the worst of the grime. While you are here you notice that the two halves of the town are connected by a series of wooden bridges. The opposite side of the river is home to the business district. Here are wharves and warehouses and a quay that is filled to overflowing with trading ships and barges. The
Seasprite
was bound for this port, and although you cannot see her moored among the scores of ships at the quay, you decide to go there and check if Radyard and his crew are still in port.

You cross the river by bridge and enter a market square bordered by warehouses, taverns, and busy trade emporia that are crowded with foreign crews. As your keen eye wanders around this bustling scene, you try to decide where first to look for Radyard and his men.

If you wish enquire at Ljama's Emporium,
turn to 180
.

If you choose to enter the Great Masama Warehouse & Trading Post,
turn to 97
.

If you decide to try at the Freetrader's Tavern,
turn to 30
.

Following the city's signposts, you make your way to the ferry station. Nearby you find an inexpensive tavern which overlooks the waterfront. A rusting sign bolted to its door states that a room and meal here cost 2 Nobles a night.

If you can afford the price and you wish to enter the tavern,
turn to 124
.

If you cannot afford the price, or if you choose not to enter the tavern,
turn to 36
.

On returning to Grooja's hut, you find Tolshi waiting there for you. He asks you to accompany him to the ship at once for the captain needs you to help with the repairs. It is as if your silent prayers for rescue have been answered. You thank the elder for the visit to the oracle, and his wife for her hospitality, and then you leave quickly with the helmsman.

‘The captain doesn't really need your help,’ confides a grinning Tolshi, as you make your way hurriedly through the hovels of Dlash-da Ralzuha towards its torchlit harbour. ‘He just thought you'd welcome an excuse for not having to stay all night at Grooja's flea-ridden shack!’

On your return to the ship you thank the captain for sending Tolshi to rescue you, and to show your appreciation, you help the crew to patch the damaged hull. By first light the repairs have been completed and the cargo is then reloaded into the hold. Jenkshi gives Grooja and the natives some copper ingots as payment for their help, and then the crew cast off and catch the morning tide.

For two days
The Azan
hugs the coastline as it sails a southerly course to Ghol-Tabras. The weather is kind and the ship makes good progress, enabling you to enter port shortly before dusk.

Turn to 200
.

The bridge continues to sway and you find it increasingly difficult to keep your horse from rearing up in panic. Suddenly a group of native bandits emerge from the jungle behind you and they gather around the entrance to the bridge. The tallest man is carrying an axe. He grasps one of the heavy ropes which anchor the bridge, and he raises his axe threateningly. Again you hear the voice echoing from the crevice, repeating its demand that you cast all of your possessions into the gorge.

If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 247
.

If you do not, or if you choose not to use it,
turn to 60
.

Your advanced healing skills tell you that the owner of the shop is a very sick man. You sense that his illness is caused by his constant exposure to the vapours from dyes and potions that he keeps in stock. You offer to help cure him of his ailment and at first he is sceptical. In the past he has wasted hundreds of Nobles on physicians and their quack remedies, and all to no avail. It is not until you offer to treat him without charge that he has a sudden change of heart.

You place one hand on his chest and the other on his forehead. Then you concentrate on projecting your healing power into his body and you sense that toxins in his blood are beginning to disappear. Gradually his damaged internal organs rejuvenate and his skin takes on a healthy glow.

Astonished and delighted by the miraculous recovery you have brought about, the shopkeeper takes from around his neck a valuable emerald medallion and he insists that you accept it as a token of his thanks.

If you wish to accept this Emerald Medallion, record it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item which you keep in your pocket.

To continue,
turn to 58
.

You roll as you hit the hard stone floor of the entrance hall below, in order to lessen the breathtaking shock of impact.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess Grand Huntmastery, add 2 to the number you have picked.

If your total score is now 4 or lower,
turn to 132
.

If it is 5 or higher,
turn to 198
.

You hurry across the hold and run through an open bulkhead door into an adjacent cargo area which is stacked with crates of food and barrels of water. On the far side of this hold you see a wooden ladder that ascends to a hatch in the foredeck. Your Kai senses detect that there is also a concealed trapdoor in the floor of the hold, close to the base of the ladder.

Suddenly you hear the cracking of timbers and you sense that the creature has freed its claws from the wall of the cargo hold behind you. You hear the snake-like hiss of its breath and you know that you have but a few seconds before it will come rushing through the open bulkhead door.

If you wish to hide among the crates and barrels,
turn to 254
.

If you wish to climb the ladder to the foredeck hatch,
turn to 31
.

If you wish to open the concealed trapdoor in the floor,
turn to 112
.

The crew are in good spirits by the time you arrive at the Three Capstans Inn. The owner, a pot-bellied man with an oddly childlike face, welcomes the Suhnese with open arms and he orders his son to be generous with the ale. The tavern has three taprooms which are all busy, but not overcrowded, and in each area there is a minstrel and a juggler to entertain the patrons. During the course of the evening you learn that these raucous performers are all members of the owner's family.

The entertainments continue for most of the evening until the joyful mood is unexpectedly soured by the arrival of an Eldenoran crew, led by their boorish captain. These coarse, loud-mouthed thugs seem to delight in hurling cheap insults at the Suhnese. Stoically the crew ignore the abuse, quietly hoping that the Eldenorans will soon tire of goading them and leave, but then one of Jenkshi's men rails against a racial slur and in a moment of anger he yells at them to shut their foul mouths. For a few moments the tavern is filled with a deathly hush; then the Eldenoran captain lunges at him, grabs him by the neck, and lifts him one-handedly off his feet.

‘I've a better idea, y'bilge rat. Why don't I shut your mouth up instead, eh?’ he growls, as slowly he tightens his vice-like grip on the helpless crewman's throat.

If you wish to make the Eldenoran release his grip,
turn to 173
.

If you choose instead to apologize to the captain and ask him politely to release the crewman,
turn to 103
.

As you sprint towards the trail, you glance over your shoulder and see the first of the villagers come swarming over the ridge. They are armed with bows which they load and fire as they run. The trail ahead offers no protection from their arrows and so you continue running and head for the cover of the jungle beyond.

If you possess Grand Pathsmanship,
turn to 292
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 285
.

By dawn the heavy rain has ceased and you get ready to continue your trek. As you leave the cave you notice that the bodies of the kholo have disappeared. Tracks in the mud show that they have been claimed during the night by larger nocturnal predators that thrive in this untamed jungle.

The rains have transformed the hill track into a muddy ditch which makes the going difficult. Yet it is still the quickest way through this territory and you stay with the track until it comes to the bank of the swollen River Ocka. There was once a bridge at this point, but your Kai tracking skills inform you that it has been washed away during the night. You are about to set off along the bank in search of somewhere to cross when suddenly you hear a desperate cry for help. You turn and see a man being swept downstream by the river. His head is barely above the surface and you can see at once that he is near to drowning.

If you possess Elementalism and wish to use it,
turn to 48
.

If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline, or if you choose not to use it,
turn to 284
.

Gemulkin orders the crew to hoist the sails and secure the decks before the
Vargas
plunges into the heart of the raging storm. You brace yourself for the rough passage, yet you are stunned by the sheer, breathtaking violence of the storm. It pounds the decks and lifts the hull clear from the water. As the ship lurches wildly, you are thrown across the aft deck to crash painfully against a splintered hatch cover: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.

Through the blinding spray, you see the helmsman lose his footing and fall overboard. His cry alerts Gemulkin who battles his way bravely to the ship's wheel. To prevent himself from being swept overboard, he fixes his belt to the hub of the wheel and then he fights to turn his ship into a towering wave, to save her from capsizing. A mighty wave crashes against the prow and Gemulkin's courageous action saves the
Vargas
from being split it two. It rides the wave and emerges from the storm into calmer waters beyond. You thank Ishir that you have survived this ordeal, yet it soon becomes apparent that the storm is merely the prelude to an even greater threat to the ship's survival.

Turn to 230
.