minutes, this battle is won. The use of your Discipline costs you 3 ENDURANCE points, but it saves you from an otherwise grisly death.
Once you have fully recovered, you check your equipment before climbing the steps which lead out of this grim cellar. Turn to 172 .
228
Once the coast is clear, you run across the street and down the short flight of stone steps leading to the crypt door. Hurriedly you press your shoulder to the cold iron and the portal creaks open to reveal a cramped, rough-walled chamber, dominated by a massive wooden chair, its back mostly destroyed by fire. Through the blackened timbers you see a mouldy tapestry covering part of the rear wall. The crypt is otherwise empty.
If you possess the Grand Master Disciplines of Telegnosis
and
Grand Pathsmanship, turn to 93 .
If you do not have
both
of these skills, turn to 155 .
229
Swooping down from out of the shadows of the roof comes a huge gull-winged monstrosity. Its red reptilian skin is aglow with fine barbs, and a mass of coal-black hair streams from its bony skull. An open maw reveals a set of chisel-shaped teeth, many of which have been broken on the bones of past victims who have wandered unwittingly into this hall. It shrieks maniacally as it plummets towards your head.
Illustration XIII —A huge gull-winged monstrosity with glowing red reptilian skin swoops out of the shadows.
You drop Banedon to the floor and unsheathe a weapon just in time to defend yourself against this creature's initial attack.
Ashradon: COMBAT SKILL 42 ENDURANCE 40
This creature is immune to Mindblast and Psi-surge, and suffers only half-damage resulting from the use of Kai-surge. If you choose to use Kai-surge during this combat, halve your normal COMBAT SKILL bonus for the duration of the combat.
If you win the combat, turn to 101 .
230
As you step away from the bodies of the two Drakkarim Death Knights, you notice they both have brass keys hanging on chains from their sword belts. If you wish to keep one of these keys, record it as a Brass Key in the Backpack section of your Action Chart .
A search also reveals the following items:
2 Swords
1 Dagger
Enough food for 2 Meals
80 Kika (Kika are one-tenth of the value of one Gold Crown and they also take up one-tenth of the space of one Gold Crown in your Belt Pouch)
Bottle of Wine
If you decide to keep any of these items, remember to adjust your Action Chart accordingly.
To continue, turn to 68 .
233
Calling upon your Grand Mastery, mentally you command the three lumbering beasts to halt and, simultaneously, all three freeze in their tracks. Bewildered and frightened by the strange feelings that are coursing through their bodies, the three creatures back away into the shadows, whimpering grotesquely as they retreat like a litter of sick pups.
Immediately you seize the chance to escape and hurry past them, running through the chamber towards an open passage beyond.
Turn to 64 .
234
You summon forth the power-word of the Elder Magi and direct it at the keyhole. There is a crack like thunder and the door shudders violently under the weight of its impact. A cloud of metal shavings wafts from the keyhole and, when you place your boot to the door, you discover that the spell has worked; the lock is broken and the door swings open.
Turn to 328 .
235
Drawing on your inner strength to quell your fears of what may lie ahead, you descend the ridge and approach the great, frowning bastions of Kaag. Through the swirling dust you see a pitted road which leads to the East Gate. Its storm-blown surface is littered with corpses, bleached bones, rusted weapons, and armour. Crab-like scavengers scuttle among the debris, fighting for scraps to feed their young which nest in thousands of empty Giak skulls half-buried in the ground.
Shielded from detection by the storm and your Kai skills, you reach the breached east wall unobserved.
Swiftly you climb over the rubble, which is heaped between the huge cubes of
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