The Masters of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

engulfs your body and you feel your chest constrict as Gnaag withdraws his hellblade. Darkness engulfs your vision and your ears are filled with a ghastly sound — the mocking laughter of Darklord Gnaag. He raises his infernal sword, Nadazgada, and prepares to deliver the blow that will seal your doom and destroy the hopes of those who oppose the empire of the Darklands.
    Your life and your mission end here.

4
    Your senses tingle: someone is about to attack you from behind. Without turning to see who is approaching, you twist aside, and your would-be attacker crashes chest-first against the rail. He is a Drakkarim marine armed with a stiletto dagger, whose needle-thin blade glows wetly crimson in the flickering light of the fire. Maddened by the pain of the fearful burns he has sustained on his face and hands, he screams a curse and leaps at you wildly, determined to drive his dagger into your chest.
    Drakkarim Marine: COMBAT SKILL  19    ENDURANCE  23
    Owing to the frenzy of his attack, he is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
    You can evade combat after two rounds by leaping into the sea: turn to 58 .
    If you win the combat, turn to 91 .

7
    You pull away from your adversary and retreat towards the middle of the ship. There, a group of Kirlundins have drawn up in a circle and are holding their ground behind a wall of shields. You join them and take command as a second wave of Drakkarim clamber over the side and come howling across the deck. With a noise like thunder they fall upon the group, their swords and axes drawing sparks as they rain down upon the shield-wall with numbing force. The shock of their impact drives the Kirlundins back, opening gaps in their defence through which the strongest Drakkarim hurl themselves recklessly. One breaks through close to where you stand and stabs at your neck with his blunted sword.
    Illustration I —A Drakkarim marine stabs at your neck with his sword.
    Drakkarim Marine: COMBAT SKILL  23    ENDURANCE  27
    Owing to his state of battle-frenzy, this foe is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
    If you win the combat, turn to 294 .

8
    ‘Ok zee okak!’ whispers a Giak scout, a sneer spreading slowly across his ugly grey face. He has scrambled onto a boulder and, using his infravision (the ability to see warm objects radiating in the dark), he has caught sight of you crawling towards the cliffs. Your Sixth Sense informs you that you have been spotted. To continue to crawl is futile, so you scramble to your feet and sprint towards a V-shaped cleft that marks the start of a steep trail. You have taken less than a dozen strides when three squat shapes loom out of the shadows ahead: they are Giaks, armed and ready for combat.
    Giaks: COMBAT SKILL  19    ENDURANCE  27
    Unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery or Divination, deduct 2 points from your COMBAT SKILL for the first two rounds of the fight.
    If you win and the fight lasts three rounds or less, turn to 311 .
    If you win and the fight lasts four rounds or more, turn to 252 .

9
    You dive aside, but you are hit by the whirring tip of the sword, which slices through your cape and lays open your shoulder: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
    Gritting your teeth against the sharp pain, you grab the rear of the cannon and revolve it on its mounting until it points directly at the advancing Drakkarim marines. Their faces freeze with terror when they find themselves staring into the muzzle of their own formidable weapon. ‘Death to the Darklords!’ you cry, and pull the firing lever.
    Turn to 285 .

10
    The day is but an hour old when suddenly it begins to get darker. A ceiling of black cloud spreads across the sky, fed by billowing plumes of noxious gases that pour from the cracks and craters of the southern wastes. Violent electrical storms rage in these plumes and a thunderous rumbling, like the growling of an angry giant disturbed from sleep, echoes in the bowels of the lifeless earth.
    A redness in the