Voyage of the Moonstone (21 page)
Read Voyage of the Moonstone Online
Authors: Joe Dever
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Lone Wolf, #Magnamund
You find and enter your room, and then you lock the door behind you. Exhausted after your ordeal at the gladiatorial arena, you unshoulder your Backpack and collapse on the bed without bothering to undress. Yet, despite your fatigue, you cannot seem to fall asleep. For more than an hour you lie staring at the cobwebbed beams of the ceiling as, in your mind's eye, you recall some of the dramatic events of your journey so far. You picture Oriah being carried away by the Itikar, the deaths of Fernant and Sergeant Dryan aboard
The Pride of Sommerlund
, and the faces of the three marines who travelled with you from Cape Kabar. The images and memories of these people help strengthen your resolve to reach Elzian and you decide that you will set out for Hikas first thing in the morning.
Before you fall asleep, unless you possess Grand Huntmastery, you must eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.
To continue,
turn to 328
.
You leave the lodging house and stand outside in the busy market square. While you are watching the city's lamplighters going about their evening duties, you contemplate your situation. You know that you are going to need to raise some money if you are to reach Elzian without incurring great delays. In fact, the success of your mission could hinge upon it. With this thought foremost in your mind, you hurry across the square and enter a rough-looking hostelry opposite. It is home to several rogues and rascals who spend most of their nights drinking and gambling. You join in one of their dice games and, using your Magnakai skill of Nexus, you manage to win 10 Gold Crowns from them before they suspect something is wrong and they demand you leave.
You go back to the lodging house where the Chai landlady is disappointed to see you return. She is about to tell you to go away when you place 3 Gold Crowns into her hand, payment for one night's board and breakfast (you may add a total of 7 Gold Crowns to your
Action Chart
: your winnings less your lodging fee).
As a precaution you recite the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Counterspell
before setting foot in the musty chamber. It proves to be a wise precaution for your spell successfully eradicates the curse that has been placed upon the idol and its precious emerald.
If you now wish to take and keep this Kutyan Emerald, record it on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item which you keep in the pocket of your tunic.
To continue,
turn to 344
.
The hostel-keeper pockets your Crowns (erase these from your
Action Chart
) and leads you up a flight of rickety bamboo stairs to a corridor which is hung with gaudy tapestries. He points to the first door on the left and then bids you goodnight.
‘What about my key?’ you say. He looks at you and shrugs. ‘No key,’ he says, and then he turns away and shuffles back down the stairs. You push open the door to find a small clean room with a bed and bamboo table.
Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.
If the number you have picked is 0–4,
turn to 293
.
If it is 5–9,
turn to 194
.
On returning to the ship, you and your party clamber aboard and the longboat is quickly hoisted back onto the main deck. Captain Raker is keen to get the ship underway and he commands his crew to unfurl every square inch of canvas to catch the prevailing winds. Within minutes of your return,
The Pride of Sommerlund
is once again back on course, forging a swift passage south through the Bukimi Channel.
The balloon lurches away from the mountainside, yet the effect of your heroic effort is dramatically short-lived. The crosswind proves to be stronger than your Kai Mastery. Cursing your ill fortune, you brace yourself against the inside of the basket as the outcrop looms nearer. Moments later, there is the sound of ripping cloth and you are jolted off your feet. Yranai falls on top of you and you lie entangled together at the bottom of the basket. Then the balloon is suddenly whisked away from the outcrop by a second crosswind.
You disentangle yourself from the old man and struggle to your feet. You can feel the balloon is rapidly losing altitude and, when you peer over the rim of the basket, you see the trees of the lower mountain slopes rising towards you at a dizzying speed. Yranai pulls himself up beside you, but when he sees shreds of cloth trailing from the punctured canopy above, he faints and collapses. Hurriedly you haul his frail body over your shoulder. Then you place one foot on the rim of the basket and get ready to make a desperate leap away from this doomed balloon as the top of the mountain pines come clearly into view.
If you possess Kai-alchemy,
turn to 107
.
If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 115
.
You take a single Gold Crown from your money pouch and toss it to the old man who catches it with surprising dexterity (erase 1 Gold Crown from your
Action Chart
). He tests its worth by biting down on its edge with his blackened teeth before tucking it safely away in the folds of his tattered
mhaktis
.
‘There's a mutiny taking place in the city of Bir Rabalou,’ he says, his creaky old voice barely audible above the crash of the surf. ‘The Funtal of the city has imposed heavy taxes on the city's merchants, and we've heard from travellers that the Trader's Guild have paid foreign assassins to come and do away with 'im.’ Suddenly the old man's face drops and his myopic eyes narrow with suspicion when he notices that you and your companions are not natives of this land.
‘Don't be alarmed,’ says Oswin, ‘we're not assassins. We're … traders.’
He smiles uneasily. Clearly he is not convinced and, without saying another word, he turns around and hobbles away across the beach.
‘Silly old fool!’ says Sligh. ‘We're wastin' our time 'ere, Grand Master. Let's be getting on.’
You nod in agreement and signal to the others to follow as you turn your horse back towards the coast road. It is a clear night and the brilliant moon is nearly full. With luck you could be in Bir Rabalou well before midnight.
Circling above a column of rocks are six large, black-winged birds. You magnify your vision and instantly you recognize them to be Itikars — giant Vassagonian eagles. The leader of this predatory group has golden markings on his wing tips that glint in the sun, giving them a metallic appearance, and when he sees the balloon approaching he veers away from the column. The others follow his lead and all six come flying towards you in a wedge-shaped formation.
They fly past overhead and stare down at the balloon with their cold black eyes. Then the leader turns about and you sense that he intends to attack you on his next pass. His companions form up behind him in a line and he leads them in a steep dive.
As he comes to within a hundred feet, he spreads his razor-sharp talons and fixes his cruel eyes on the balloon's vulnerable canopy.
If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it,
turn to 141
.
If you possess Animal Mastery and wish to use it,
turn to 168
.
If you possess a Bow and wish to use it,
turn to 326
.
If you possess neither of these skills, nor a Bow, or if you choose not to use any of them,
turn to 53
.
You slip your purchase inside your Backpack and then bid farewell to the smiling herbalist before returning to the middle of the square. Here you stop for a few minutes to watch a juggler. As you watch him perform with clubs and daggers, you are continually jostled and bumped by the crowd. You are about to move off when suddenly you feel something tugging at your back. Glancing over your shoulder, you see a suspicious young man running away through the milling crowd. He is clutching something to his chest that you feel sure he has just filched from your Backpack.
If you wish to chase after this man,
turn to 83
.
If you decide to let him go,
turn to 56
.
Your Arrow narrowly misses its intended mark. It passes below the creature's belly as it leaps into the air, and sinks into the throat of a warrior who is standing atop the forecastle.
You are about to reload your Bow and fire again at the giant spider when suddenly there is a tremendous crash.
The Pride of Sommerlund
lurches violently and you are thrown backwards across the deck.
The moment you turn around you find yourself staring into the face of a tall and powerfully built Vassagonian warrior. His eyes glow with a maniacal anger and, without warning, he closes his hands around your throat and crushes your windpipe in a vice-tight grip. Blood pounds at your temples and your vision blurs as he lifts you bodily from the floor. To break his grip you slam your boot into his stomach and he doubles up, releasing you as he falls gasping to his knees.
You stagger backwards and grab the fountain for support as gingerly you clasp your bruised throat. With croaking voice you demand the warrior explain the reason for his unprovoked attack. He answers you with a growl; then he draws his sword and strikes out at your legs. You leap over his scything blade and kick out in mid-air to catch him squarely between the eyes with the hardened toe of your boot. The warrior is flung backwards and you hear a loud
Crack!
as his head strikes the tiled floor.
The owner is sorry to see you and your companions leave the inn, but you simply refuse to accept his proposal and he will not lower his price. You collect your horses and walk them down to the beach where you find a place to pitch camp among some sand dunes overlooking the picturesque bay. Oswin settles the horses while you help Sligh and Ernan to build a fire from driftwood. While you are foraging for wood, you stumble upon some strange pink-leaved plants growing along the edge of the beach.
If you possess Herbmastery,
turn to 317
.
If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline,
turn to 228
.
You focus your Magnakai skills of Nexus and Curing upon your bitten leg in an attempt to neutralize the spider's poison and reduce the swelling. Eventually this treatment works, but only after you have suffered a great deal of discomfort and fatigue: lose 6
ENDURANCE
points.
You return to your bed and, as you sit down, you see that the spider is still alive: it is clinging to the far wall. You hurl your boot at it and it scurries down to disappear through a crack in the uneven bamboo floor. Your close encounter with this potentially deadly spider plays on your mind and you find it impossible to go back to sleep. At first light you gather together your equipment and go down to the paddock to collect your horse. The hostel-keeper calls you from the kitchen window and you wave the man farewell before you mount your horse and ride away across the courtyard.
Your Kai Sixth Sense informs you that the whirlpool is being created by a powerful entity, a creature that is hiding somewhere amongst the foliage which blankets the overhanging cliff. From its high vantage point it is pouring its evil energy down into the channel below, causing the vortex which now threatens to drag
The Pride of Sommerlund
to a deep, watery grave.
Drawing upon your New Order mastery, you summon a wind to assail the cliff-top. Instantly a gale arises which whips through the undergrowth, sending clouds of dirt and torn foliage whirling high into the air. Soon you sense that the unseen creature is being forced to retreat in the face of this barrage and, as it abandons its attack, so the whirlpool ahead ceases to spin violently.
As the waters of the channel return to normal, Raker commands his crew to unfurl every remaining square inch of canvas. They catch the prevailing winds and carry you swiftly away from this sinister place.
‘That's wrong, that's wrong!’ shouts the rogue, his eyes widening with fear.
‘He does not know the name of his own capital!’ gasps one of his companions, and his mouth drops open as he fumbles to unsheathe his sword. Suddenly it seems that everyone in the tavern is gripped by an inexplicable madness. The rogue pulls a dagger from his belt and attempts to stab you, but you turn his clumsy thrust aside with your forearm and knock him to the floor as you leap out of your seat. Two of the others try to strike you simultaneously with their swords and you duck below their blades. They strike each other and fall back, screaming and clutching at their wounds. A thrown bottle catches you a glancing blow to the head as you run for the door (lose 2
ENDURANCE
points), but you manage to pull it open and escape into the darkening street without further injury. However, to your dismay you discover that your horse Jhani has disappeared. Two men brandishing swords appear in the doorway behind you and swiftly you sprint along the street. You use your Kai camouflage skills to evade them and they quickly give up the chase.
You have never seen anything quite like these plants before and you are naturally suspicious of any properties they may possess. Erring on the side of caution, you decide to ignore them and continue with your chore of gathering driftwood for the campfire.
