black shadows of the pits, a dreadful rumbling roar. Something huge is stirring deep within each of those dark forbidding shafts. As the ghoulish laughter reaches its pitch, three giant, misshapen cat-like heads rise up into the light, each perched atop a snaky body as thick as the trunk of a tree. They bare their fangs and shake off the tangle of human bones that cling to their stinking, corpse-green manes.
The sight of these unholy creatures makes you reel back in shock and utter a cry of disbelief. Your cry is lost among the barrage of screeching howls, yet the cat-things react as if they hear it and, together, they come oozing out from their dark, noisome lairs and glide slowly towards where you stand.
If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-surge, turn to 80 .
If you do not possess this skill, turn to 38 .
149
Having witnessed how swiftly you dispatched his entire Vazhag escort, the Cener chooses to escape while he can. He turns and runs along the track which leads away from the clearing, and hurriedly you give chase.
You catch up with him less than fifty yards along the track. In desperation, he tries to cut you down with another blast of energy but your swift reflexes save you from being hit. A well-placed blow knocks the rod from his hand and deflects the blast away into the trees. Cursing you, he unsheathes a dagger and lunges at your heart.
Cener Druid: COMBAT SKILL 28 ENDURANCE 28
If you win this combat, turn to 53 .
150
Beyond the door awaits an echoing hall which reeks of decay. Its walls are adorned with gruesome paintings which depict terrible scenes of human slaughter. One in particular catches your eye and, although you try hard to ignore it, you find you cannot turn your head away. It shows a pit of helpless humans, writhing and screaming in anguish as they are slowly consumed by packs of wild-eyed plague dogs. The scene shocks you deeply for the doomed humans all have distinct Sommlending features.
With difficulty you tear your eyes away and force yourself to look elsewhere in this unfriendly hall. You see columns rising to the roof, each wound round with creepers and fungi which give off an unwholesome, pallid light. Ahead you see another door, identical to that by which you have entered, and before it there stands a desk on top of a plinth of green stone. A creature sits at the desk, huddled over the open pages of a ledger upon which it is writing with a feathered quill pen. As you draw closer it stops scrawling and places its quill into a nearby pot of ink, fashioned from the crown of a human skull. The creature raises its hairless head and stares at you unblinkingly with its solitary eye.
Illustration IX —As you draw closer the creature stops scrawling and places its quill into an ink pot fashioned from a human skull.
‘Who seeks an audience with He?’ it croaks, hoarsely. ‘State your name, brother, and your purpose here.’
You are standing in the antechamber of Arch Druid Cadak's throne hall. To enter the hall itself and, hopefully, discover where the deadly virus is being cultivated, you know that you must first persuade this creature to allow you to pass.
If you decide to say that you have come from the battlefront with important news for the Arch Druid, turn to 314 .
If you wish to say that you are an agent who has just arrived from the Lastlands with vital information for Cadak's eyes only, turn to 208 .
If you possess Animal Mastery and wish to use it to exert control over this creature's mind, turn to 91 .
152
The flame-creature rises up and hovers little more than an arm's length above your head. Its tentacles lash out and you are forced to sidestep swiftly to avoid them ensnaring you. Then, as if spurred on by the frantic cries of the cave beasts, it advances upon you. For a moment it seems to swell and contract, as if it is inhaling and exhaling a huge lungful of air; then suddenly a wall of blinding white light erupts before your eyes as a blast of
The sight of these unholy creatures makes you reel back in shock and utter a cry of disbelief. Your cry is lost among the barrage of screeching howls, yet the cat-things react as if they hear it and, together, they come oozing out from their dark, noisome lairs and glide slowly towards where you stand.
If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-surge, turn to 80 .
If you do not possess this skill, turn to 38 .
149
Having witnessed how swiftly you dispatched his entire Vazhag escort, the Cener chooses to escape while he can. He turns and runs along the track which leads away from the clearing, and hurriedly you give chase.
You catch up with him less than fifty yards along the track. In desperation, he tries to cut you down with another blast of energy but your swift reflexes save you from being hit. A well-placed blow knocks the rod from his hand and deflects the blast away into the trees. Cursing you, he unsheathes a dagger and lunges at your heart.
Cener Druid: COMBAT SKILL 28 ENDURANCE 28
If you win this combat, turn to 53 .
150
Beyond the door awaits an echoing hall which reeks of decay. Its walls are adorned with gruesome paintings which depict terrible scenes of human slaughter. One in particular catches your eye and, although you try hard to ignore it, you find you cannot turn your head away. It shows a pit of helpless humans, writhing and screaming in anguish as they are slowly consumed by packs of wild-eyed plague dogs. The scene shocks you deeply for the doomed humans all have distinct Sommlending features.
With difficulty you tear your eyes away and force yourself to look elsewhere in this unfriendly hall. You see columns rising to the roof, each wound round with creepers and fungi which give off an unwholesome, pallid light. Ahead you see another door, identical to that by which you have entered, and before it there stands a desk on top of a plinth of green stone. A creature sits at the desk, huddled over the open pages of a ledger upon which it is writing with a feathered quill pen. As you draw closer it stops scrawling and places its quill into a nearby pot of ink, fashioned from the crown of a human skull. The creature raises its hairless head and stares at you unblinkingly with its solitary eye.
Illustration IX —As you draw closer the creature stops scrawling and places its quill into an ink pot fashioned from a human skull.
‘Who seeks an audience with He?’ it croaks, hoarsely. ‘State your name, brother, and your purpose here.’
You are standing in the antechamber of Arch Druid Cadak's throne hall. To enter the hall itself and, hopefully, discover where the deadly virus is being cultivated, you know that you must first persuade this creature to allow you to pass.
If you decide to say that you have come from the battlefront with important news for the Arch Druid, turn to 314 .
If you wish to say that you are an agent who has just arrived from the Lastlands with vital information for Cadak's eyes only, turn to 208 .
If you possess Animal Mastery and wish to use it to exert control over this creature's mind, turn to 91 .
152
The flame-creature rises up and hovers little more than an arm's length above your head. Its tentacles lash out and you are forced to sidestep swiftly to avoid them ensnaring you. Then, as if spurred on by the frantic cries of the cave beasts, it advances upon you. For a moment it seems to swell and contract, as if it is inhaling and exhaling a huge lungful of air; then suddenly a wall of blinding white light erupts before your eyes as a blast of
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