delays could prove disastrous.
Mindful of the great distance which needs to be traversed you hurriedly dispatch a journeyman to Toran. He carries your request for help which is addressed to Lord Rimoah, your most trusted friend and advisor, who is presently attending to Guildmaster Banedon in his convalescence. Early next morning Lord Rimoah arrives at the monastery in person, aboard the vessel that is to be the answer to your dilemma:
Skyrider
— Banedon's flying ship.
Warmly you greet your old friend, and then you introduce him formally to Lord Floras. The two talk at length about the war in the west, and Rimoah concludes the discussion by voicing his approval of your decision to go to King Sarnac's aid. Then he offers some words of warning.
‘Be in no doubt, Grand Master,’ he says, ‘this mission you have chosen to fulfil will be as perilous as any you have undertaken in the past. Magnaarn is a cunning adversary and this stone he seeks is possessed of a deadly evil. Do not underestimate your enemy. If he should succeed in his quest then I fear the lands of the Western Tentarias will never be at peace.’
Turn to 140 .
2
As you search the smouldering ruins, you discover little has survived the fire which, at its height, must have transformed this town into a blazing inferno. The charred bones and skulls of those who died in the battle are strewn everywhere, and no attempt has been made to bury them. You are examining the remains of a Drakkarim sword when suddenly you hear Schera calling you. His voice is full of urgency. You discard the sword and hurry back to the main street to find out what is wrong.
Turn to 184 .
3
You deal the ice a mighty blow and it splits wide open. For a moment you fear you are already too late to save your guide; then suddenly his head bobs out of the icy water and you grab hold of his collar before he disappears once again.
You haul him out of the lake and lay him on the frozen surface. His skin is a deep shade of violet and his entire body is shaking uncontrollably. You know that he is in serious condition but at least he is still alive. Using your healing skills, you transmit some of your body warmth through your hands to his chest and face and, within a few minutes, he comes out of shock and his body returns to its normal temperature. Your prompt action has saved his life, but it has also drained you of 3 ENDURANCE points.
Adjust your ENDURANCE points score accordingly and then turn to 157 .
4
As the last of the trench-troopers falls lifelessly to the muddy floor of the dugout, Prarg appears by your side, sheathing his bloodstained sword.
‘Come, sire. We still have the advantage. We best use it before the Drakkarim discover what has happened here.’
Keen to maintain the element of surprise, you quickly leave the trench and rush across the remaining strip of open ground which separates you from the town's outlying dwellings. Prarg points ahead, to an alleyway that lies sandwiched between two burnt-out hovels, and immediately you follow as he rushes towards it shadowy entrance.
Turn to 178 .
5
There is a dull click and the great iron door swings slowly to reveal a dark chamber constructed entirely of polished black rock. 5 Revealed in the torchlight is a throne of rough-hewn marble, upon which there rests the skeletal remains of a warrior clad in mouldering furs. Bare bone gleams dully through a clinging mass of muscle and sinew, now shrunken to an iron-hard texture, and upon its skull there rests a helm of solid gold. Set into the face of this helm is an emerald as large as your fist.
Illustration I —Upon a throne of rough-hewn marble rests the remains of a warrior clad in mouldering furs.
Prarg approaches the throne, tempted by the magnificent emerald, but he halts the moment you warn him that the helm is protected by a magical trap. You sense that a powerful spell of warding encircles the throne; to touch the crown would activate the spell, thereby unleashing a
Mindful of the great distance which needs to be traversed you hurriedly dispatch a journeyman to Toran. He carries your request for help which is addressed to Lord Rimoah, your most trusted friend and advisor, who is presently attending to Guildmaster Banedon in his convalescence. Early next morning Lord Rimoah arrives at the monastery in person, aboard the vessel that is to be the answer to your dilemma:
Skyrider
— Banedon's flying ship.
Warmly you greet your old friend, and then you introduce him formally to Lord Floras. The two talk at length about the war in the west, and Rimoah concludes the discussion by voicing his approval of your decision to go to King Sarnac's aid. Then he offers some words of warning.
‘Be in no doubt, Grand Master,’ he says, ‘this mission you have chosen to fulfil will be as perilous as any you have undertaken in the past. Magnaarn is a cunning adversary and this stone he seeks is possessed of a deadly evil. Do not underestimate your enemy. If he should succeed in his quest then I fear the lands of the Western Tentarias will never be at peace.’
Turn to 140 .
2
As you search the smouldering ruins, you discover little has survived the fire which, at its height, must have transformed this town into a blazing inferno. The charred bones and skulls of those who died in the battle are strewn everywhere, and no attempt has been made to bury them. You are examining the remains of a Drakkarim sword when suddenly you hear Schera calling you. His voice is full of urgency. You discard the sword and hurry back to the main street to find out what is wrong.
Turn to 184 .
3
You deal the ice a mighty blow and it splits wide open. For a moment you fear you are already too late to save your guide; then suddenly his head bobs out of the icy water and you grab hold of his collar before he disappears once again.
You haul him out of the lake and lay him on the frozen surface. His skin is a deep shade of violet and his entire body is shaking uncontrollably. You know that he is in serious condition but at least he is still alive. Using your healing skills, you transmit some of your body warmth through your hands to his chest and face and, within a few minutes, he comes out of shock and his body returns to its normal temperature. Your prompt action has saved his life, but it has also drained you of 3 ENDURANCE points.
Adjust your ENDURANCE points score accordingly and then turn to 157 .
4
As the last of the trench-troopers falls lifelessly to the muddy floor of the dugout, Prarg appears by your side, sheathing his bloodstained sword.
‘Come, sire. We still have the advantage. We best use it before the Drakkarim discover what has happened here.’
Keen to maintain the element of surprise, you quickly leave the trench and rush across the remaining strip of open ground which separates you from the town's outlying dwellings. Prarg points ahead, to an alleyway that lies sandwiched between two burnt-out hovels, and immediately you follow as he rushes towards it shadowy entrance.
Turn to 178 .
5
There is a dull click and the great iron door swings slowly to reveal a dark chamber constructed entirely of polished black rock. 5 Revealed in the torchlight is a throne of rough-hewn marble, upon which there rests the skeletal remains of a warrior clad in mouldering furs. Bare bone gleams dully through a clinging mass of muscle and sinew, now shrunken to an iron-hard texture, and upon its skull there rests a helm of solid gold. Set into the face of this helm is an emerald as large as your fist.
Illustration I —Upon a throne of rough-hewn marble rests the remains of a warrior clad in mouldering furs.
Prarg approaches the throne, tempted by the magnificent emerald, but he halts the moment you warn him that the helm is protected by a magical trap. You sense that a powerful spell of warding encircles the throne; to touch the crown would activate the spell, thereby unleashing a
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