is a sudden and ghastly noise.
Turn to 276 .
42
Your knees shatter on impact and you drop like a stone into the darkness of the shaft, but the pain and shock soon fades into unconsciousness. As you hit the surface of an underground river, hundreds of feet below, you are unable to save yourself from death by drowning.
Your mission and your life end here.
45
You recognize gnadurn sap dripping from their spears. It is a deadly poison. You dare not risk engaging in combat with these bandits, for the merest graze from one of their tainted weapons could be fatal. Leaping to your feet, you race away from the trees and run towards Ruanon.
Turn to 307 .
46
You have barely taken a dozen steps when you are confronted by a hideous sight. The tunnel ahead is blocked by a huge and slimy creature, its skin covered with warts that glow with a greenish luminescence. You draw your weapon as it moves closer, hopping from one clawed foot to the other. Suddenly, a pair of wings sprouts from its back, and it leaps into the air. You feel your stomach contract as it hurtles towards you, its razor-fanged mouth opening wider and wider.
Tunnel Fiend: COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 10
If you win this combat, turn to 281 .
48
You sense that the left tunnel leads away from Ruanon. Without hesitation, you turn and head off towards the right.
Turn to 145 .
49
Lifting your feet high, you step into the tall crops, taking care to part them first with your hands. You allow the stalks to close again behind your back before you crouch down and hold your breath. You have completely vanished from sight; it is as if the stalks have never been disturbed.
The bandits amble past barely inches from where you hide, oblivious to your presence. When you are sure they have gone, you emerge from the crops and hurry away.
Turn to 204 .
52
A hail of feathered shafts cuts the air. The arrows strike home with deadly accuracy. Three of your men have fallen by the time you reach the mine, and an arrow passes so close to your right eye that you are blinded by its flights. You lose 1 ENDURANCE point. With a hand held to your injured eye, you stagger into the entrance of the tunnel.
Turn to 248 .
53
The door slams shut, and you spin round to see a bandit leaping at you from the shadows. His head is a mass of bloodied bandages, but he is armed and determined to fight.
Wounded Bandit: COMBAT SKILL 13 ENDURANCE 16
He fights you with his back to the door and you cannot evade him.
If you win the combat, turn to 109 .
57
‘You must save her, Lone Wolf. You must prevent the sacrifice!’ The Baron's voice is choked with emotion.
‘Save who? Who must he save?’ questions Captain D'Val, as he tries to calm the excited Baron.
‘My daughter, Madelon, of course,’ the Baron answers. Tears are welling up in his eyes and nervously he wrings his hands. Then he utters the ominous prophecy:
When the full moon shines o'er the temple deep,
A sacrifice will stir from sleep
The legions of a long forgotten lord.
When a fair royal maid on the altar dies,
The dead of Maakengorge shall rise
To claim their long-awaited reward.
‘Don't you see? Barraka has found the dagger of Vashna. He is going to sacrifice my daughter upon the altar of Maaken to release the undead of Maakengorge, the Chasm of Doom.’
‘During the Age of the Black Moon, King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of all the Darklords, Vashna, with the Sommerswerd — the sword of the sun. Vashna's body and the bodies of all his troops were hurled into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. He plans to lead the dead to victory; first to conquer Sommerlund and then all of the Lastlands,’ explains the Baron, fear in his eyes.
You stare at the Baron in stunned silence. If Barraka completes the sacrifice, all is lost. What mortal army can stand against a legion of the dead?
Captain D'Val ushers you from the chamber and closes the door. ‘I feared he was insane, and I refused to listen to
Turn to 276 .
42
Your knees shatter on impact and you drop like a stone into the darkness of the shaft, but the pain and shock soon fades into unconsciousness. As you hit the surface of an underground river, hundreds of feet below, you are unable to save yourself from death by drowning.
Your mission and your life end here.
45
You recognize gnadurn sap dripping from their spears. It is a deadly poison. You dare not risk engaging in combat with these bandits, for the merest graze from one of their tainted weapons could be fatal. Leaping to your feet, you race away from the trees and run towards Ruanon.
Turn to 307 .
46
You have barely taken a dozen steps when you are confronted by a hideous sight. The tunnel ahead is blocked by a huge and slimy creature, its skin covered with warts that glow with a greenish luminescence. You draw your weapon as it moves closer, hopping from one clawed foot to the other. Suddenly, a pair of wings sprouts from its back, and it leaps into the air. You feel your stomach contract as it hurtles towards you, its razor-fanged mouth opening wider and wider.
Tunnel Fiend: COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 10
If you win this combat, turn to 281 .
48
You sense that the left tunnel leads away from Ruanon. Without hesitation, you turn and head off towards the right.
Turn to 145 .
49
Lifting your feet high, you step into the tall crops, taking care to part them first with your hands. You allow the stalks to close again behind your back before you crouch down and hold your breath. You have completely vanished from sight; it is as if the stalks have never been disturbed.
The bandits amble past barely inches from where you hide, oblivious to your presence. When you are sure they have gone, you emerge from the crops and hurry away.
Turn to 204 .
52
A hail of feathered shafts cuts the air. The arrows strike home with deadly accuracy. Three of your men have fallen by the time you reach the mine, and an arrow passes so close to your right eye that you are blinded by its flights. You lose 1 ENDURANCE point. With a hand held to your injured eye, you stagger into the entrance of the tunnel.
Turn to 248 .
53
The door slams shut, and you spin round to see a bandit leaping at you from the shadows. His head is a mass of bloodied bandages, but he is armed and determined to fight.
Wounded Bandit: COMBAT SKILL 13 ENDURANCE 16
He fights you with his back to the door and you cannot evade him.
If you win the combat, turn to 109 .
57
‘You must save her, Lone Wolf. You must prevent the sacrifice!’ The Baron's voice is choked with emotion.
‘Save who? Who must he save?’ questions Captain D'Val, as he tries to calm the excited Baron.
‘My daughter, Madelon, of course,’ the Baron answers. Tears are welling up in his eyes and nervously he wrings his hands. Then he utters the ominous prophecy:
When the full moon shines o'er the temple deep,
A sacrifice will stir from sleep
The legions of a long forgotten lord.
When a fair royal maid on the altar dies,
The dead of Maakengorge shall rise
To claim their long-awaited reward.
‘Don't you see? Barraka has found the dagger of Vashna. He is going to sacrifice my daughter upon the altar of Maaken to release the undead of Maakengorge, the Chasm of Doom.’
‘During the Age of the Black Moon, King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of all the Darklords, Vashna, with the Sommerswerd — the sword of the sun. Vashna's body and the bodies of all his troops were hurled into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. He plans to lead the dead to victory; first to conquer Sommerlund and then all of the Lastlands,’ explains the Baron, fear in his eyes.
You stare at the Baron in stunned silence. If Barraka completes the sacrifice, all is lost. What mortal army can stand against a legion of the dead?
Captain D'Val ushers you from the chamber and closes the door. ‘I feared he was insane, and I refused to listen to
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