The Deathlord of Ixia (7 page)

You utter a prayer to the Goddess Ishir to watch over your soul as you get ready to engage the attacking skeletal warriors.

Ixian Undead:
COMBAT SKILL
 46   
ENDURANCE
 55

You cannot evade this combat and must fight to the finish.
⁷

If you win the combat,
turn to 152
.

You sense that the wisps of black smoke are a manifestation of several evil beings, each possessed of a strong psychic presence. Fearing attack, you quickly draw upon your Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen to construct a defensive wall to protect yourself from the possibility of psychic assault. It is a wise precaution, but one that proves ineffective against these powerful entities.

Moments after your psychic wall is in place, the wisps streak across the chamber and encircle your body. They accelerate to a dizzying speed before launching a massive wave of psychic energy at your mind. This tidal wave batters your Psi-screen and leaves you trembling with psychic shock: lose 8
ENDURANCE
points.

Illustration II
—Six large, spindly-limbed black insectoids, each with a ghoulish head …

As your shocked senses slowly return to normal, you see that the wisps of smoke have now solidified into six bodily forms. They have taken the appearance of large, spindly-limbed, black insectoids, each with a ghoulish head from which composite eyes stare at you with evil intent. Chittering excitedly, the six creatures come stalking forwards, hungry for the kill.

If you wish to attempt to evade these hideous insectoids,
turn to 98
.

If you have a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 244
.

If you choose not to evade them or make use of a Bow,
turn instead to 115
.

You shrug aside the warnings of your Sixth Sense, assuming incorrectly that they relate to the danger posed to your safety by the advancing skeletal warriors. Unfortunately, you make a costly mistake. As your hand closes around the silvery rod, it discharges a second blast of energy which hits you squarely in the stomach and lifts you bodily off the floor with the numbing force of its impact: lose 10
ENDURANCE
points.

If you survive this severe wounding,
turn to 306
.

You crouch down amongst the foul-smelling debris which litters the floor of the hold, watching with bated breath as a dozen undead warriors enter by the stairs and begin a systematic search. Your Kai camouflage skills make you virtually invisible to the eye, but these undead Drakkarim no longer have eyes — they are using powerful psychic probes in an effort to locate you.

If you possess Kai-screen and have reached the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher,
turn to 267
.

If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Kai Mastery,
turn to 2
.

You reach down into the mire and unsheathe your weapon, but it has only just cleared the scabbard when a terrible pain knifes through your lower right leg. The unseen pit-beast has clamped its powerful jaws around your calf and is attempting to drag you below the surface of the bog. Desperately you stab blindly with your weapon at the creature's head in an attempt to cut yourself free from its vice-tight grip.

Suggaz:
COMBAT SKILL
 40   
ENDURANCE
 44

If you win this fight,
turn to 67
.

As the evil yellow eyes of the creature slowly draw closer, you are suddenly engulfed by a fetid corpse-like stench which makes you retch and recoil.

If you possess the Sommerswerd and wish to use it in your defence,
turn to 219
.

If you do not possess this Special Item or choose not to use it,
turn to 89
.

Using your advanced knowledge of Brotherhood magic, you recite the words of the spell
Slow Fall
and step into the gaping hole. Easily you glide down through the dust-choked air to land on the floor of the hall, fifty feet below.

Turn to 62
.

Using your Kai camouflage skills to minimize the risk of being seen, you climb down from the viewing platform and grab hold of a steel hawser which is securing the stern of the alien submarine to the jetty. Slowly you make your way along this great steel rope until you reach the jetty, where hurriedly you take cover among a stack of wooden crates and barrels. The jetty is teeming with undead soldiers who, under the direction of some spindly, black-clad creatures, are busily transferring materials to and from the open mouth of the submarine. Getting past them in order to reach the shore looks, at first sight, a near-impossible task. You are contemplating a swim to the shoreline, when suddenly you notice a means by which you could achieve your goal without getting wet.

Turn to 207
.

You raise your weapon as the first of the Drakkarim undead come within arm's reach. Then, with frightening speed, they leap upon you from all sides.

Undead Drakkarim Search Party:
COMBAT SKILL
 40   
ENDURANCE
 40

These beings are sensitive to all forms of psychic attack; double all normal bonuses.

If you win the fight,
turn to 324
.

The bodies of the ghastly creatures undergo a swift and gruesome transformation upon the instant you deal them the
coup de grâce
. Their torsos implode with dramatic effect, and they barely have time to cry out in agony as their twisted remains hit the floor and crumble to dust.

You sheathe your weapon and step away from the foul-smelling mounds of dust. Then you hurry out of this black-floored chamber by a short passage which leads into an adjoining hall. This vaulted, oblong shaped hall is illuminated by flickerings of electrical fire which arc between two freestanding pillars at the far end of the chamber. Beyond the pillars you can make out the shadowy entrance to another chamber; it is the only other exit from this hall.

You realize at once that to pass between the pillars could prove to be fatal: the power arcing between them is as great as the lightning storm which is raging in the skies above Xaagon. Yet there may be a way of avoiding contact with this raw power. You notice that the two freestanding pillars do not go all the way to the ceiling — there is a gap, a little over two feet wide above them.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 136
.

If you wish to attempt to climb one of the pillars and squeeze through the gap in order to reach the adjoining hall,
turn to 297
.

If you decide to throw caution to the wind and run between the pillars,
turn to 211
.

The moment you smite Tagazin with your single, devastating blow, his body shatters into a million frozen pieces which cascade to the ground like an opaque crystal waterfall. You step back from his smashed and scattered remains, and glance skywards in time to see the second wave of Lavas come screaming out of the clouds. The sight makes you start and you take to your heels. You sprint the remaining few yards towards the Shadow Gate, and before the leading Lavas can block your escape, you dive headlong into its spinning core.

Turn to 200
.

You drag the bony bodies of the two undead Drakkarim guards into the chamber and close the door before continuing your exploration. You proceed warily, moving like a shadow through a series of dingy, ice-caked corridors that wend their way deeper into the bowels of this vast alien vessel. You encounter a confusing maze of empty holds where the walls are braced with gleaming crystal girders, and pass through countless low-ceilinged chambers that despite the biting chill, reek of death and decay. Eventually you come to a junction where the narrow corridor splits in two directions.

If you wish to take the left branch of this corridor,
turn to 106
.

If you decide to take the right branch,
turn to 292
.

The hideous creatures howl with glee as they fall upon you, like starving vultures descending upon a corpse.

3 Cabalah:
COMBAT SKILL
 53   
ENDURANCE
 54

These undead creatures are immune to Mindblast, Psi-surge, and Kai-surge.

You may evade this combat after four rounds by
turning to 41
.

If you win the fight and you used the Sommerswerd,
turn to 173
.

If you win the fight without using the Sommerswerd,
turn to 293
.

Quickly you make your way across the hall, zigzagging to dodge pillars, chunks of stone, and the many bodies of Ixiataaga's former undead slave-warriors which are raining down from the shattered stairwell above. Assisted by your Kai Disciplines, eventually you reach the lowest level of the Crystal Spire where the entrance hall and grand arch open out into the city. You are racing through a torrent of crystal dust towards the grand arch, the main exit, when a massive shock wave shakes the entire edifice. You are within seconds of escaping when, to your horror, you see the walls buckle and the grand arch begin to collapse.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
points score is 14 or less, deduct 1 from the number you have picked. If you
ENDURANCE
score is 24 or higher, add 1.

If your total is now 3 or lower,
turn to 316
.

If it is 4 or higher,
turn to 193
.

The moment you slay the second wave of undead, a third wave presses forward. They clamber awkwardly over the heaped bodies of those you have destroyed, their bony hands brandishing rusty blades and their eyes burning with a cold, devilish fire.

Seizing your only chance, you retreat from this onrushing horde and evade them by descending a stair which leads down into the ship's hold. Above, you can hear the frenzied shouts of the Lencian crewmen as they are engaged by the undead Drakkarim in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Then the clatter of steel-shod boots on the steps alerts you to the fact that the Drakkarim have not given up the chase. As they begin to descend, you quickly scan the gloomy hold for a place to hide.

If you possess Assimilance,
turn to 208
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 26
.

You have taken only a few dozen steps in pursuit of the sickly Demonlord and his golden-winged escorts, when your presence is betrayed by the aura of goodly light your body is radiating whilst on this plane of existence. A wave of alarm spreads through the escorts when they detect your aura, and many of them take to the sky. Directed by a vengeful Tagazin, they circle around you and come diving down to attack you with beak and claw.

Lavas:
COMBAT SKILL
 52   
ENDURANCE
 52

If you win this combat,
turn to 105
.

Drawing on your Kai Mastery, you focus on the encroaching mist and detect strange movements in the ultraviolet spectrum of light. You cannot discern exactly what is moving out there, but you are certain of one thing: it is evil and it is drawing ever closer to Fort Azgad.

You warn Captain Lanza and at first he does not believe you. He chuckles, saying that it is not uncommon for new arrivals to imagine they have seen all manner of spectres in the sea mists which swirl around the fort. But then a loud, discordant bell rings out from above, and Lanza's face is transfixed with shock.

‘By the gods!’ he splutters. ‘It's the alarm bell — we're under attack!’

Turn to 181
.