to 8 .
126
You help Nathor and the villagers to fight the fires which threaten to consume their humble homes, using your Magnakai skill of Nexus to good effect, and when you have saved all you can, you summon the troop together to assess the situation.
Six brigands and two Court Cavalry troopers were killed during the brief fight to secure the village. The villagers themselves have lost eight of their menfolk, with several others wounded and some missing; these are presumed to be hiding in the woods. They have retained most of their possessions but their abbey has been gutted by the fire which Holkar and his thugs started. Nathor conducts a burial for the slain villagers and his two men, during which he pledges that Queen Evaine will be informed of what happened here this day.
‘Her Majesty will see that justice is done,’ he assures the tearful gathering of peasants. ‘The bandit-realm of Eldenora will be made to pay for this crime.’
After the burial, Lord Nathor gives to the village elders a weighty purse of silver Lune and a horse which belonged to one of his slain men. It is a small token for the loss they have suffered, but one that is appreciated by the villagers. The other horse is given to you, to replace the steed that was killed beneath you during the ambush on the road.
Turn to 190 .
129
You utter the words of the Brotherhood Spell Lightning Hand and raise your right arm, pointing it towards the belly of the swooping beast. A flash of blue-white light erupts at your fingertips, and an arc of crackling energy speeds from your hand towards the creature. It veers in mid-air to avoid the bolt but its reactions are too slow to escape being hit. The bolt rips a jagged hole in its left wing and, suddenly off-balanced by the wound, the beast loses control and slams into the ground with a sickening crunch.
Turn to 215 .
130
Elector Manatine permits you the use of his private chambers, which adjoin the War Room, where you are able to get a few hours' sleep before dawn. Then, shortly after sunrise, you bid the Elector and his generals farewell and leave the city, with Captain Cearmaine, in a military coach bound for Holona. An escort of cavalry outriders accompany this armoured carriage in case you should meet unexpectedly with a unit of roving Eldenorans during your journey east. Thankfully, the journey proves swift and uneventful and, as the day is turning to dusk, you find yourself approaching the military outpost of Stonewatch.
You stay at this fort overnight and then continue on to Holona in the morning. For most of the journey you experience a sense of unease, a premonition that something is wrong, but it is not until you catch sight of the city, shortly before noon, that your fears are realized.
Turn to 157 .
131
The severe heat and poisonous atmosphere is beginning to take its toll: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
You sense that your Magnakai skill of Nexus is shielding your body from the worst effects of this hellish environment, but you cannot rely on it to protect you indefinitely. Already your tunic is smouldering and the soles of your boots are giving off wisps of blue smoke. You must escape from here soon, before you succumb to the heat and the toxic atmosphere.
However, for the moment there is a more pressing danger to be faced. The dragon-creatures that you saw earlier are now advancing rapidly towards the Shadow Gate.
Turn to 80 .
132
Queen Evaine commands the Lord Constable to take you to the citadel dungeons which are located several levels below the State Hall. Here, shackled to the dank stone wall of a rat-infested cell, is the man who was caught in a Garthen tavern plotting your murder. Limp and unconscious, he hangs by his wrists in chains, his emaciated body showing all too clearly the signs of recent tortures. A pot-bellied gaoler scoops a bucket of foul water from a trough by the cell door and revives the prisoner by pouring it unceremoniously over his head. Coughing and spluttering,
126
You help Nathor and the villagers to fight the fires which threaten to consume their humble homes, using your Magnakai skill of Nexus to good effect, and when you have saved all you can, you summon the troop together to assess the situation.
Six brigands and two Court Cavalry troopers were killed during the brief fight to secure the village. The villagers themselves have lost eight of their menfolk, with several others wounded and some missing; these are presumed to be hiding in the woods. They have retained most of their possessions but their abbey has been gutted by the fire which Holkar and his thugs started. Nathor conducts a burial for the slain villagers and his two men, during which he pledges that Queen Evaine will be informed of what happened here this day.
‘Her Majesty will see that justice is done,’ he assures the tearful gathering of peasants. ‘The bandit-realm of Eldenora will be made to pay for this crime.’
After the burial, Lord Nathor gives to the village elders a weighty purse of silver Lune and a horse which belonged to one of his slain men. It is a small token for the loss they have suffered, but one that is appreciated by the villagers. The other horse is given to you, to replace the steed that was killed beneath you during the ambush on the road.
Turn to 190 .
129
You utter the words of the Brotherhood Spell Lightning Hand and raise your right arm, pointing it towards the belly of the swooping beast. A flash of blue-white light erupts at your fingertips, and an arc of crackling energy speeds from your hand towards the creature. It veers in mid-air to avoid the bolt but its reactions are too slow to escape being hit. The bolt rips a jagged hole in its left wing and, suddenly off-balanced by the wound, the beast loses control and slams into the ground with a sickening crunch.
Turn to 215 .
130
Elector Manatine permits you the use of his private chambers, which adjoin the War Room, where you are able to get a few hours' sleep before dawn. Then, shortly after sunrise, you bid the Elector and his generals farewell and leave the city, with Captain Cearmaine, in a military coach bound for Holona. An escort of cavalry outriders accompany this armoured carriage in case you should meet unexpectedly with a unit of roving Eldenorans during your journey east. Thankfully, the journey proves swift and uneventful and, as the day is turning to dusk, you find yourself approaching the military outpost of Stonewatch.
You stay at this fort overnight and then continue on to Holona in the morning. For most of the journey you experience a sense of unease, a premonition that something is wrong, but it is not until you catch sight of the city, shortly before noon, that your fears are realized.
Turn to 157 .
131
The severe heat and poisonous atmosphere is beginning to take its toll: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
You sense that your Magnakai skill of Nexus is shielding your body from the worst effects of this hellish environment, but you cannot rely on it to protect you indefinitely. Already your tunic is smouldering and the soles of your boots are giving off wisps of blue smoke. You must escape from here soon, before you succumb to the heat and the toxic atmosphere.
However, for the moment there is a more pressing danger to be faced. The dragon-creatures that you saw earlier are now advancing rapidly towards the Shadow Gate.
Turn to 80 .
132
Queen Evaine commands the Lord Constable to take you to the citadel dungeons which are located several levels below the State Hall. Here, shackled to the dank stone wall of a rat-infested cell, is the man who was caught in a Garthen tavern plotting your murder. Limp and unconscious, he hangs by his wrists in chains, his emaciated body showing all too clearly the signs of recent tortures. A pot-bellied gaoler scoops a bucket of foul water from a trough by the cell door and revives the prisoner by pouring it unceremoniously over his head. Coughing and spluttering,
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