you spot a large stable and coach station in the gloom ahead. Under cover of the darkness, you enter and spend the night safely hidden in the hay-loft.
Turn to 32 .
66
As you raise the glowing blade, the zombie captain pulls an evil-looking dagger from inside his tattered jacket. You must fight him to the death.
Zombie Captain: COMBAT SKILL 15 ENDURANCE 15
Be sure to remember to double all ENDURANCE points your enemy loses due to the power of the Sommerswerd. The zombie captain is immune to Mindblast.
If you win the combat, turn to 218 .
67
You quickly deduce that the impostor must have escaped by the main entrance to the tavern, and if he is still in the harbour area he must be in or around the main square.
You search the buildings and alleyways round the square but there is no sign of him at all. Rather than waste more time in a fruitless search, you return to the quayside and untie a small coracle from its mooring. As you row towards the
Green Sceptre
you begin to feel uneasy that so early in your mission your enemies seem already to have found you.
Turn to 300 .
68
The guard's expression changes to a sneer of contempt. ‘I am a soldier of Durenor. Your gold will not help you here.’
Unfortunately you have insulted his honour and he intends to teach you a harsh lesson.
Turn to 306 .
69
One of the cloaked strangers removes a black staff from beneath his robes and holds it aloft. A blue flame ignites at the twisted iron tip and a searing blast of energy leaps towards you. There is a deafening crack as the bolt is turned away by Rhygar's shield.
Illustration IV —One of the cloaked strangers holds aloft a black staff and a blue flame ignites at the twisted iron tip.
‘Give no quarter,’ cries the Lord-lieutenant as he attacks the cloaked staff-bearer. His sword slices clean through the robed stranger but he remains unharmed. You suddenly realize why he does not bleed. He and his sinister companions are Helghast, fell captains of the Darklords. They have the ability to adopt human form but are invulnerable to normal weapons. The Helghast lets out a hideous scream that tears at your mind. Blinded by the sudden pain, you trip and fall into the dense undergrowth of the wooded hillside. Unless you have the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, lose 2 ENDURANCE points from this attack by the Helghast's Mindforce.
Turn to 311 .
73
The climb is very difficult, for you have only one free hand — the other holds the glowing hilt of the Sommerswerd.
You eventually reach the rim of the tower and quickly hook a leg over the narrow ledge. You are about to jump into the tower and attack when a thin voice makes you freeze.
‘How I shall delight in the irony of your death, Lone Wolf.’
The sorcerer is standing in the far corner of the tower, his left hand pointing at your head. ‘Your quest has failed, Lone Wolf. Now you must die!’
A blinding flash of orange flame shoots from his hand towards your face.
Turn to 336 .
74
Placing your hands upon his chest, you try to seal the open wound. He has lost a lot of blood and although he is sweating heavily, his skin is cold to the touch. His eyes suddenly roll open and he shouts a garbled warning.
‘Pirates … Lakuri pirates … beware the red sails … repel boarders!’
The captain is soon unconscious once more. You wrap him in blankets and place a cushion beneath his head, but he has drifted off into a sleep from which he will not awake. Back on deck, the bodies of the dead crew have been gathered together. Captain Kelman approaches you and hands you a vicious-looking black scimitar.
‘This is no pirate sword, Lone Wolf. This weapon was forged in the furnaces of Helgedad. It is a Darklord blade.’
It is daunting news. If the Darklords have allied the Lakuri pirates to their cause, the voyage to Durenor will be a perilous one. You fling the black sword into the sea and return to the
Green Sceptre
. As you set sail for the east, you watch as the
Jason Padgett, Maureen Ann Seaberg