The Plague Lords of Ruel (18 page)

For nearly an hour you follow this empty subterranean passage before your senses alert you to possible danger ahead. You can detect a musty, unwholesome smell that immediately reminds you of rotting vegetables. The further you advance into the darkness, the stronger this smell becomes.

If you wish to go no further in this direction, you can turn around and retrace your steps to the fissure by
turning to 332
.

If you choose to continue to explore this tunnel,
turn to 16
.

As you force your way through the narrow thorny corridor, you are aware that the Vazhag are now streaming into the gap, close on your heels. In desperation, you turn and force your way into the wall of tangled briar and call upon your Kai Mastery of camouflage to mask your location.

The rat-men scurry past. You hear them in the distance, burrowing deeper into the thicket, but still you remain exactly where you are. Your caution is well-placed for soon the Vazhag retrace their steps, having lost all trace of you.

The Cener blazes with anger at the failure of his minions to carry out such a simple command. With a flick of his rod you see him reduce one luckless rodent to ashes, and shorten the tail of another by a broadsword's length. Loudly he vents his displeasure and, among the oaths and vile curses, you hear him utter his intention to report to his master, Arch Druid Cadak, that there is an enemy assassin at large in the forest.

You know that he must not be allowed to make his report. If he were to reach Mogaruith and raise the alarm, your mission, and probably your life, would soon be over.

If you possess a Bow and Arrows and wish to use them,
turn to 104
.

If you possess mastery of Magi-magic and wish to use it,
turn to 144
.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 185
.

If you possess none of the above or choose not to make use of them,
turn to 90
.

The heavy chain whips towards your face, making you throw yourself to the floor in order to avoid decapitation. Unfortunately, your reactions are not swift enough to avoid being hit. The chain glances your shoulder, knocking you flat on your back with the force of its impact: lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

You scramble to your feet quickly and advance to the edge of the platform from where you watch, with grim fascination, as the gigantic acid-filled cauldron plummets into the hall below.

Turn to 220
.

Using all your stealth and natural Kai agility, you inch your way up the rocky wall of the cavern towards the window-like gap. Your ascent goes undetected by the Vazhag guards until, by mischance, your foot dislodges a pebble and sends it tumbling down to land, with a hollow
thok
, upon the head of a snoozing war-dog. The dog erupts with a savage howl and hurls itself bodily at the rock wall.

Its frenzied reaction alerts the Vazhag guards and, to your horror, you see them produce bows which they load hastily and aim at your back. Throwing caution aside, you climb towards the distant gap as quickly as your aching fingers will allow, hoping to reach it before the rat-men can open fire.

If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 326
.

If you do not possess this Discipline,
turn to 145
.

While observing the entrance and the drawbridge for over an hour, you cannot help but notice that the flow of traffic is almost entirely in one direction: out of Mogaruith and away towards the east.

Occasionally a covered wagon, drawn by a team of ox-like ghorkas and escorted by Vazhag with bandaged wounds, returns along the crowded trail and crosses the moat. The guards at the main arch do not appear to challenge these wagons; they are allowed to pass directly into the keep without slowing. You hazard a guess that they are carrying battle-wounded and you consider the possibility of getting into Mogaruith by stowing aboard the next one that appears.

If you wish to attempt to hide aboard the next wagon,
turn to 34
.

If you decide instead to trust solely to your Kai skills and experience to gain entry to Mogaruith,
turn instead to 318
.

From deep within your being you summon the psychic energy you need to construct a fortress around your mind. The evil wave crashes against this defence and breaks into a million shards that sparkle for an instant then disappear into darkness. Your psychic energy has saved you from this concerted assault upon your mind. Yet, even as remnants of the psychic attack are fading, you sense another hostile entity is getting ready to appear.

From out of the black shadows of the pits you hear a dreadful rumbling roar: something huge is stirring deep within each of those dark forbidding shafts. As the ghoulish laughter reaches its pitch, you turn to see three giant, misshapen cat-like heads rise up into the light, each perched atop a snaky body as thick as the trunk of a tree. They bare their fangs and shake off the tangle of human bones that cling to their stinking, corpse-green manes.

The sight of these unholy creatures makes you reel back in shock and utter a cry of disbelief. Your cry is lost among the barrage of screeching howls, yet the cat-things react as if they hear it and, together, they come oozing out from their dark, noisome lairs and glide slowly towards where you stand.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-surge,
turn to 80
.

If you do not possess this skill,
turn to 38
.

Drawing upon your special skills and your reserves of physical strength, you pull your lower body out of the cold lake and slowly raise your knees up to your chin. The toes of your boots find footholds between the timbers and there you hold yourself, completely motionless, while your Grand Mastery of Assimilance causes your shadowy outline to blend in perfectly with the underside of the drawbridge.

The Vazhag scour the lake's edge thoroughly. They search beneath the bridge, passing within a few paces of your location and yet, despite their keen senses, they completely fail to notice you. Disappointedly, they report their lack of findings to their Cenerese commander before clambering back onto the platform. You hear the Cener and the remaining Vazhag trooping across the bridge. They stop just long enough to open the Tzarg cage and drag out one of the croaking creatures. Then the cage door squeaks shut, a key jangles in its lock, and briskly the party marches away along the south passage.

For a full minute you remain immobile until you are sure that the enemy have gone. Then you pull yourself up onto the bridge and, without looking back, you hurry across the lake and enter the tunnel on the north side of the cave.

Turn to 306
.

With bated breath you tiptoe past the alcove, your weapon unsheathed and held ready in case the sleeping creature should awaken. Fortunately, your Kai skills serve you well and you are able to reach the archway and leave the hall without incident.

A short passage leads to a junction where a wider corridor crosses from left to right. Your skin prickles in reaction to the concentration of evil you detect in this subterranean part of Mogaruith, and silently you call upon your creator, the noble God Kai, for protection and guidance before continuing.

Instinct prompts you to turn left, and within a few minutes you arrive at a chamber where a vast staircase of black marble ascends to many levels, lost in the gloom above. Opposite this grand staircase stands a large door, carved from a solid sheet of strange green metal, the like of which you have never seen before. It gives off a pulsating radiance which washes over the empty chamber, illuminating symbols carved into the walls and floor. You focus on these symbols and, in a chilling moment of realization, you decipher their meaning.

Turn to 300
.

Your weapon strikes the creature's skull with deadly force and the shock of the impact lifts it high out of its hollowed stool. It crashes to the floor, where it wobbles back and forth grotesquely like a giant fleshy egg, before coming to rest on its side.

Turn to 23
.

Patiently you wait for the flickering light of the Vazhag's torches to be swallowed up by the dark depths of the south tunnel. When you are surrounded by total darkness once more, you leave your hiding place and venture back into the cavern. You are hungry and, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

For more than five miles you follow the west tunnel and, despite your mounting fears, you encounter nothing more threatening than a few ragged-winged bats and a frightened rock snake. Gradually, as the tunnel delves deeper into the Skardos Range, the air becomes increasingly cooler and more humid. You can smell a strong scent of water somewhere in the distance and you are not at all surprised when, as you round a bend in the tunnel, you see shimmering reflections playing upon the rough stone ceiling.

If you possess Telegnosis,
turn to 67
.

If you do not possess mastery of this Discipline,
turn to 244
.

The crackling stream of energy hits the Sommerswerd with a tremendous jolt that knocks you back a few paces, yet you manage both to maintain your grip and to stay on your feet. The sun-sword absorbs the power directed against you and transfers part of that power through your hand and along your outstretched arm. The transmuted energy revitalizes and emboldens you, (restore 3
ENDURANCE
points).

‘For Sommerlund!’ you cry, and cast this scabbard of sparkling energy back at the priest. Suddenly there is a tremendous flash, followed by a crackling roar as his golden rod is consumed in a blazing ball of flame. He screams as he is hurled backwards against the chamber wall by the force of the blast; then he falls to the floor where he lies completely motionless. You sheathe your sword and stare at his smouldering body, certain in the knowledge that he is no longer a threat.

Turn to 101
.

Beyond the door lies a secret Cenerese prayer hall, a chapel of evil where the druids worship and make sacrifice to their foul gods. Kneeling in pews before a blood-red altar are dozens of figures. They chant a soulless dirge as they read from books bound in black cloth. Around the walls hang grim decorations: skulls, flayed skins, tattered battle-banners, and other ugly tributes to the power that is worshipped and coveted here — the power of death, disease, and decay.

Illustration XII
—You look beyond the door into the secret Cenerese prayer hall where the druids worship and make sacrifice to their foul gods.

You look with loathing at the congregation. In the main they are Cenerese, but there are others among them, old adversaries whose origins you recognize immediately. Acolytes of Vashna, Drakkarim, Vassagonian outlaws, Hammerlanders, and even a few Giaks. No doubt the remnants of the Darkland armies found sanctuary here after their masters' demise.

A noise in the corridor behind warns that someone is approaching the antechamber. To avoid them, you slip inside the prayer hall and hide in the shadows cast by a column which supports the roof. Moments later, three druids enter the hall and close the door before taking their places among the congregation.

Turn to 265
.

You kneel beside the tunnel wall and wait with trepidation as the sound of the approaching group grows louder and nearer. Torchlight flickers, casting a watery yellow beam across the cavern floor; then the first of the group enters and you catch sight of their ugly forms.

A patrol of six Vazhag files into the cavern. Each one is as tall as a Sommlending youth and all are armed with crude, rusty weapons. Fragments of armour and uniforms, which once belonged to human soldiers, encase their hairy, rat-like bodies. They are no more than ten feet away from your hiding place, and they give off such a vile aroma of filth and disease that you are forced to draw upon your Magnakai Discipline of Nexus to prevent yourself from retching out loud.

They halt at the foot of the stone stairs and talk with each other in a high-pitched squeal which reminds you of rusty door hinges. All the while they repeatedly cast furtive glances along the west tunnel as if they are waiting impatiently for another of their party to catch up. Within minutes another member of their patrol does arrive, only this creature is not one of their breed: it is human-sized. However, the hooded scarlet robe it is wearing makes it difficult for you to be absolutely sure that the creature within is human.

The Vazhag cease their squealing when the hooded one raises a gloved hand and motions to the south tunnel, pointing directly at the place where you are hiding. For an instant, you catch a glimpse of the glassy green mask that is covering his face, and at once you recognize this mask: it is a
jazak
, the ritual mask of a Cener Druid.

Turn to 348
.