The Plague Lords of Ruel (21 page)

You focus on the metal pin and summon forth all your psychic power, condensing it and directing it towards this piece of iron in an attempt to disrupt its structure from within. Faint cracks appear in its surface as the bombardment exacts its toll.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If your current
ENDURANCE
score is 25 or higher, add 2 to the number you have picked. If your
ENDURANCE
score is 15 or lower, deduct 2.

If your total score is now 3 or less,
turn to 328
.

If it is 4 or higher,
turn to 141
.

Mindful of how near you have just come to being detected, you hurry to the section of wall from where the druid appeared and search for a way to make it open once more. You discover a lever and, within seconds of pulling it, the concealed panel glides inwards allowing you access to a secret passage.

The narrow passageway descends by steps and slopes to a chamber which is lit by two large black candles, fixed into holes in the surface of a marble slab. On a nearby table lie the following items:

• 2 Arrows
  
• Enough food for 2 Meals
  
• 2 Daggers
  
• 1 Sword
  
• Mirror
  
• Rope
  

If you wish to take any of these items, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

Opposite the slab there is a door which opens into a narrow corridor. You step through and follow this corridor to a room where stands an imposing door made of sheeted copper, inlaid with a filigree of gold and silver. It is the only exit from an otherwise drab and gloomy chamber.

A closer inspection of the door reveals that it is surrounded by an airtight seal. Furthermore, there is no keyhole, bolt, or handle. However, your keen eyesight is drawn to a pattern in the door's centre panel which, thanks to past experience, you recognize to be a sophisticated combination lock.

The gold inlays form three rows of three numbers within a grid of silver lines.

Below these numbers, in ancient Cenerese script, is carved the message:

‘Declare ye the true number to pass this way’

Study the grid of numbers. When you think you know the answer to the riddle,
turn to the entry
which bears the same number as your answer.
⁸

If you cannot solve this puzzle,
turn to 132
.

Shortly before midnight, you and the captain ride out of Stonewatch on two fine Slovarian steeds. It is another moonless night and the plain is shrouded by darkness, yet you have no difficulty in seeing the terrain that lies ahead. Using your natural Magnakai skill of Huntmastery, every flowing contour of the grassy plain is revealed to you. The captain is not so gifted, but the special spectacles he wears fully compensate for his lack of night vision. They were a token of gratitude from the Arch-Chief of Chaman for his services in defence of the city of Gleesh during the war against the Darklords, and often they have been of use to the captain when scouting his country's border with Ruel.

In less than an hour you arrive at a grassy knoll which overlooks the dense, forbidding wall of trees that is the Forest of Ruel. You are dismounting when something causes you to halt mid-way. You perceive a scent being carried on the night air: it is the heavy, cloying stench of decay.

‘There is great evil here,’ says the Captain, observing your reaction. ‘You would not be thought faint-hearted were you to return with me to Stonewatch.’

‘I will return to your fortress, Captain,’ you reply, your voice quietly resolute, ‘but not until my task at Mogaruith has been completed.’

The captain smiles and raises his steely hand in a salute to your brave determination. ‘Very well, my lord. So be it. Until that glad day dawns I shall pray for your safety and success.’

Then he brings his horse about, takes yours by the reins, and bids you a final farewell before heading back to Stonewatch. ‘May the gods watch over you and deliver us swiftly from the darkness of Mogaruith.’

You return his salute and watch as he gallops away with your steed in tow. Then, when finally he disappears, you turn to observe the gloomy forest perimeter. At first, the tangle of underbrush and trees appear to be so interwoven that they form an impregnable wall. Yet, at length, you see that there are two points where entry is possible. The first is where a sickly stream emerges from the forest to feed a stagnant, scum-encrusted pond; the second is where a tree has fallen and torn a hole in the thorny briars.

If you wish to enter the Forest of Ruel by way of the stream,
turn to 155
.

If you choose to enter through the gap created by the fallen tree,
turn to 84
.

The inquisitive Tzarg passes within a few feet of your hiding place, but your Magnakai skills save you from detection. Eventually it waddles into the passageway from which you entered the hall and hurries off with an excited group of Vazhag close on its heels, all of them now convinced by the Tzarg's actions that it has picked up your trail.

Patiently you wait until the sound of their footsteps has faded before you emerge from your hiding place and leave the hall by the stairs.

Turn to 75
.

Using your camouflage skills to mask your passage, you enter the forest and follow the track into the deepening gloom. Your senses come alive to the evil that permeates every root and branch of this forbidding place and, as darkness closes in, your fears are heightened by a sickly mist which seeps out of the ground. Its corpse-like chill leaves you shivering, despite all your efforts to shield yourself from its clammy touch.

You are a Grand Master and night no longer restricts your vision. As the track ascends towards a wooded peak, you see the outline of a ruined stone watchtower perched atop a rocky knoll. You sense that the tower is deserted and, keen to escape from the mist, you climb towards a crack in its granite base. You crouch to enter the jagged breach and, in doing so, you disturb a host of crab-creatures nesting within. In a frenzy they scuttle away from the tower, disappearing among the surrounding rocks in the blink of an eye.

Aching with fatigue, and mindful of the perils which still lie ahead, you settle yourself into a corner of the rubble-strewn tower and try to snatch a few hours of sleep. This night your slumber is disturbed by strange and unwholesome dreams, formed from the fears suppressed by your conscious mind. You are hunted by phantom shapes which take the form of friends and fellow countrymen. Kai initiates under your tutorage and simple Sommlending folk, their heads bowed and their faces pitted and disfigured by plague, drift past you in a seemingly endless procession.

You awake with a start, your pulse racing and your forehead glistening with beads of sweat. At first a sense of hopelessness washes over you, brought on by the vivid memory of your nightmare, but as your consciousness returns, so too does your inner strength. You perceive the dreams as a warning of what will happen should your quest fail, and this realization strengthens your resolve to reach Mogaruith and thwart the Cener's evil plan.

You have slept for several hours and, physically at least, you feel refreshed (restore 3
ENDURANCE
points). In the half-light of early morning you gather together your equipment and weapons in readiness to resume your perilous journey to Mogaruith.

Turn to 160
.

An agonizing pain shoots up your left leg, forcing a scream from your lips. With fearful trepidation you glance down and see that a Vazhag arrow has found its mark. The shaft has skewered your calf: lose 5
ENDURANCE
points.

You draw upon your healing skills to deaden the searing pain just long enough so that you can reach down and snap the arrowhead from the shaft. Then, as swiftly as you can, you withdraw the shaft and cast it down into the hall.

A wave of nausea leaves you trembling, but the sensation soon passes and, aided by your determination and your healing skills, you force yourself to resume the ascent towards the winch.

Turn to 103
.

Your Arrow misses its mark and arcs harmlessly into the trees, allowing the druid to effect a hasty escape along the forest track. Cursing your luck, you run across the clearing and give chase.

You have been on his trail for less than a mile when you sense danger ahead. The druid has managed to reach another patrolling pack of Vazhag, much larger than his own escort, this one led by six of the druid's brethren. He informs them of your presence and, using their corrupted form of herbcraft, they cause the undergrowth to close in upon you and hold you prisoner. Marshalling all your skills, you manage to cut your way free of its grip, but not before the druids have mustered reinforcements from Mogaruith.

They attack you mercilessly with the full might of their evil craft. Courageously, you defy them, but their combined power is far greater than even a Grand Master can withstand. With the names of your gods and your country on your lips, you finally meet your doom here in the Forest of Ruel.

Walking across the age-blackened drawbridge towards the spiky arched tower of Mogaruith is an unnerving experience. It is as if you are walking along a blackened tongue towards the gaping throat of some gigantic dragon. On either side the bubbling moat releases foul fumes which fill your nostrils with a terrible sugary stench that clogs your lungs and blurs your vision. You draw upon your Magnakai skills and your vision clears, but the sight which lies ahead looks no more inviting than it did before.

At the tower you are challenged by a troop of Vazhag guards. Using your Magnakai Disciplines of Animal Control and Pathsmanship to aid your deception, you inform them that you have come to deliver the zombie to Brother Croumah at the Hall of Sacrifice. Immediately, the guards scurry aside, bowing subserviently as they part to allow you entry to the great keep of Mogaruith.

Turn to 224
.

You insert the gleaming key into the keyhole and twist it clockwise. There is a faint
click
and, as you push, the wall glides inwards then moves away to your right. It reveals a small well-kept chamber, its walls lined with shelves containing hundreds of stoppered jars, each one neatly labelled.

The jars contain all manner of compounds and elements, from worthless dirt to precious gold dust, and many herbs besides. You search along the shelves and take down half a dozen jars whose contents you recognize:

• Laumspur (Enough for 5 doses) Restores 4
  ENDURANCE
  points when swallowed after combat.
  
• Alether (Enough for 4 doses) Increases
  COMBAT SKILL
  by 2 points for duration of one fight only.
  
• Gallowbrush (Enough for 2 doses) Induces 10 hours' sleep and loss of 2
  ENDURANCE
  points per dose.
  
• Sabito (Enough for 2 doses) Enables user to breathe underwater.
  
• Laumwort (Enough for 3 doses) Restores 2
  ENDURANCE
  points if swallowed before or after combat.
  
• Oede (Enough for 1 dose) Very rare and valuable. Many healing properties. Cures serious diseases. Restores 10
  ENDURANCE
  points if swallowed before or after combat.
  

If you wish to keep one or more of the above jars, remember to record your choice on your
Action Chart
. Each jar contains all of a given herb or potion in a concentrated form created by the Cener Druids (e.g. all five doses of Laumspur are contained in a single jar). Each jar counts as one Backpack Item.

Apart from the secret door by which you entered, you notice that there is a narrow passageway which leads out of this room.

If you wish to leave the room by this passageway,
turn to 214
.

If you wish to leave by the secret door and retrace your steps all the way back to the west passage,
turn to 271
.