Siege of Sardath

:d

z2 d

z q

oa (t) l)

49 v9 5o -i

a

Puf6n Books

SIEGEOF SARDATH The loresl of Nisht in the wild north east of Alhnsia is a pla.e where nankind and mture live in ffaSile harmony But now a new and unknown aemy has appeared to threaten the whole balan.e of the reaion Skdge and terible creaturesstalk the forestdd the mdent Ef pathsare now .losed lo kavelleB No news of evenh in the distdt city of Sardathhas .one th.ough the Forestof Night for weeks In the isolated town of G.immmd on the very edse of the loonirs forest, the townspeople an bear it no longer. The Corcil has met and the decisionhas been taken.Some brave adventurer- YOU! must joumey into the Forestof Night and beyond, to find the sourceof the evil aDdhow to d€feat it! Two dice, a pencil sd an eraser de all you Feed to embdk upon the mort challensins adventure yet, which comes conpLete with its oM elabo.ateconbat system fld a sco.e sheet to recordyour proSre$. Mmy dagers lie ahead and you succes is by no meds certain Sinister enemies are tu8ed aganst you, and itt up to YOU to deode which route to follow, which dansss to risk and whlch foes to fight.

Fi8htiflI Farl asl Gan ebooks

Steve Jacksonand Ian Livingstone :6 CRfT OF M

MTIIIDL{DT

SORCEruR

WAXXIOR

'I

r: BhCK VEIN PROPHECY .' THEKETPOF T!{E UCH LORD

16 TOWEROf DESTRUCNON

Stevel:.Lsons SORCERY : KHAR'

CMORT

Present

SmcEoF

SnnDATH by Keith P. Phillips Illwhated by PeteKnifton

OF TRAP5

FIGHTINC FANTASY T[€ Inkoduclory Rol. phyjnS Cde THE RIDDLING REA\,IER Fou Thnlln3 Advmtues Thc A&nEd Fidtins Frrrsy Syrl6 DUNGEONEER An rnt.clurid ro Advded F€hting Fd*sy BL^CKSAND! Md. Adv:n si Fishhng Fatasy OLn OTTHEPIT Fidtry Fmrsy Mnltd! nTAN - Th. Fi8hlnu F.ntdy wona Tt. FiA[tlng Fmt6y Nov.l. THE TROLLTOOfi WARS Chao. Inv.de! Altan$a DEMONSTEAIER - ChAddADJKh&E R?fuM:

@

PUFFINBOOKS

CONTENTS rubl+gdbyrhee$uncrc+ Pssu6 Book Lrd,2rwngh6 Ln€, L

!€ n u er o r c*o o d m o c4 .d a 4 vrD Pc$uf BookslNz) Lrd r3? rewa4u R@dAuckland a Neu z4bnd

IN TR OD U C TION 7

I Hnnond5nqt' Middlerx Enshd AD'ENTURE

tg co^.pr.opFshrO srryehLoor rqr .ofyishra.rKerhP phiniF,1ee' r6rdbN oPyidr o P.h l(nrftm !41 MaP @Prishr

it) L@ sidat

'HEET

BACKGROUND 20

1@u

Allrshk Errved

SIECE OF SARDATH

24 pdnredn Ei3 iid bv claysLrd,sLrvs pk

E1aprin rheun bJ s6rA of Arda rhr bookc $ldNbj
INT RODUCT ION As an adventurerin the Forestof Night in north-east Allansiayou :re renownedfor your skill wilh sword and bow, and for your knowledge of the Forest. In fact, the people of Grimmund rely on you to protect them from the many dangen that exist in this wild reSron. The darger which now threatensGrimmund, and perhapsth€ whole Forest,is greater than any you lnve so hr mcountered, Before you cfl begin the quest to deshoy it, however,you must 6rst find out exactly how good an adventuleryoLrare.You will usedice to detemine your attributes,which you will then record or the AdoentweSW on pages 18-i9. You wilt also vse the AdoenhtreSheelto recondthe progressof your adventure.Either use a pencil and an emset or make phofocopiesof the ,4lomture 9heel.tot it will certainly take more than one attempt for you to save the Forest of Night.

Skill, Stamina and Luck Roll one die. Add 6 to the number rolled and enter the total in the srrr.r.box on the Adoa#we Sher. Roll two dice.Add 12 to the total and enter the result ln the srAMrNAbox.

Roll one die. Add 6 to the number rolled and enler the total in the LUcKbox

>tam1n4

Your srAMrNAwill changefrequently,sinceyou will undoubledlysuffermanywoundsandmuchexhaustion as your adventureproceeds. You will then be ableto heal these rlls using your Herb Lore - the art of healingwith herbsand mosses,EachBundleof Herbs resloresup io 4 srAMrNApoints. Howevet Lhereis another way in which you may recover srAMrNA: shouldyou manageto gel hold of one, a Potion of Shengthwill restoreyour sr^MINA to its Inifirl level. your srAMrN,{cannotbe raisedaboveits Remember, hitial va|.e If your sreurr,r ever reacheszero, then you are dead,s[op readingimmedialely.This is not theend,of course,for you may cr€ateanothercharacler andsLartthe adventureagainfrom the beginning

These are your Iniliol scores,and you must keep a pemalent record of thern Any of your scoresmay changedur;ng your adventure,but they will exceed your lnlrial scoresonly if you are given specfic inshuctionsto Lhateffect. Your sKrLLscorerepresenLs your ability as a wanior and adventurer;it sayshow well you 6gh! how well you tradc and how well you know the Forest. Your 5TAMTNA is your healthand 6tness,and your ability to survivewoundsard physicalhardship.Your ruc< represents how in tune you are with your world and your gods;a high [ucK scoremeansLhattheseforces will be with you and will come Lo your aid from time to time.

Luck One reason for your being such a greaLadventurer is becauseyou are naturally attuned to the Forest and kavel under lhe watdr6:l eyes of its gods. This attribute is measuredby your lucx score-There have beenmany timeswhen your LUCKhas tumed the tide of a batlle or madean arrow hit thaLwould olherwise havernissed.However.as your LUCKruns out it becomeslessand lesseffective.Therefore you should be careful not to squanderit, for it is diffcult to restote. In fact,one of the few suremethodsof regainingrt is to drinl a Potionof Fortune.No! only will Lhisrestore your LUCKto its Iflifiallevel it will alsoadd 1 point to its IniLial level before it is restored.You shor.rldnote, however,that in generalother additionsLoyour LucK willnot raiseit aboveits hitial value

RestoringSkill,StaminaandLuck skill Your srrr.r-score will not changemuch during your adventure.lf this does happen however, rt will usually be becauseof some temporary effect, like losing your weapon lf you do permanentlylose points of sKrLL, there are potions that will help, one of lheseis the Potion of Skill, which will restoreyour sKrLLto its your srrn carnol be rarsed Initial value.Remernber, aboveits -Irifialvalueurlessyou arespecifically toid. 6

t

arrow has missedand so does no damage.A[ this Poinl, you may us€ your LUcx to change Lhe outcorne(seebelow). 4. If your opponmt now hasa srAMrNAscoreof zeto or less,it is dead.You have won the battle and shouldcontinue with the adventure 5. If you have not fued the permitted number of aEows and have some left, you may fire another refum lo step r If you have 6red all lhe arrows you were allowed, or if you have run out of arrows, you should 6o on to the next stage of the battle as detailed in the nurnberedparagraph.

Combat During your adventue you will meet many differenb people and creatures-Some of them will attack you; with others you will take the initiative When this occurs,[he 6rst thing you shoulddo is Lorecordyour adversary'sSKILLand sreurrq.l scoresin the first vacant Monster EncounterBox ort the AdomtureSheet. Make a note alsoof any specialabilitiesor inshructions that areuniqueto bhisparticularopponenL. It ls important that these rccords are made carefully, for an encountermay last over severalnurnberedparagraphs Once you have done,Lhis,you may begin Lhebattle, eitherat a distanceor hand+o-hand.

ITandJo-handCombaL For close-quarter, hand-to-handcombai most often you will useyour sword,this is the normalweaponof Allansianadvenfurersand mosLpeopleknow how to useone-But yor{arenof mostpeople:you havegained much valuable€xperiencein the r.rseof thrs weapon and so you ale of above-avengeability For hand+ohandcombat,follow this sequence,

Usitlg Your Bou You havebeenshownhow to makeand usea bow by Sorrel,one of the Elvesof Ash Cleeve.Your bow even bearsSorrel'semblem:a smallcarvingof an owl You will be informedwheneverthereis an opporLuniLy Ior you to use your bow. You will also be told how many anows you may fire before something occr!.s Lo stop you. This will usuallybe the onset of hand-to, hand combat,in which a bow is useless.For ranged combat,usethe following sequence:

r. Roll two drceand add the total to your opponenfs skrLLscore.This is ils Attack StrenSth. z. Roll two dice and add the total to your own sKrll. This is your AttackShength 3 lf your Attack Shength is the highea you nave wounded your opponent;go to sLep4. If your opponent'sAttack Strength is fhe higher, it has wounded you; to to step 5. If the Attack Strengths are Lhesame,you haveavoidedeachobher'sblows - starta new Atla& Roundfrom step1

1. Roll two dice and comparethe total with your cuEentSKILLscore, .2.IfbhetotalislessthanorequalLoyoursxrrr, you have hit your opponent,inflicting damage,deduct 2 points from your opponent'ssrAMrNA.Go to step4. g. If the total rolled is higher than your srrrl, your

t

4. Deduct 2 points from your opponenfs sraMrNA You may use your LUCKhere to do more damage (seebelow) Go to step6. 5 Deduct z points from your own srAMrNA.you may use your LUCKhere so that you are less seriouslywounded(seebelow). 6 Malcesure you have recordedon yow AiloefiLure Sreei all adjustmenlsto the srAvrre score of yourselfor your opponent,and to your LUCKscore. 7. If either you or your opponenf has a srewrNn scoreof zero or lei\. go to step 8. Otherwise,you both fi8hl on; beginthe next Attack Round.stdrtint agamat steP1 I If your opponent'ssT-lvrNascorehasreachedzero, you have killedit and cancontinuewith the advehture. If yo\rr own sTAMTNA has reachedzero, you are dead,you must start fhe adventureagainfiom the beginning,6rst rolling the dice to createa new

or equal to yout crurent rucK score,you have been Lucky,arrdthe ouLcomewill be in yor.rrfavour,If the lotal is higherthanyour currentrtrcr score,you have beenUnluckyand will be penalized. Eachtime you Tesl yaur Luck,you must subtract1 point from your currenl LUCKscore.Thus you will soonrealizethat,the more you rely on your LUCKthe morerisky fhisprocedurewill become

UsingLuckin Combal lVhen you are fighting with your sword or a similar rveapon,yolr may use your LUCKerther Lo inflict greaterdamageon your opponentor to minimizefhe damageyour enemydoesto you. lvhenever you wound an opponent,you may l?sl LourLuck.Ifyou areLu&y, you haveinflicteda graver wound than usual - deduct a^ ertfl 2 po|.]ts fuom Iour opponent'ssrAMrNA.lf you are Unlucky, you have innicteda lighter wound than normal - deduct onLy1 point from your opponent'ssrAMrNAmstead of lhe usual-: lVheneveryoz are wounded,you may TesL your Luck it you are Lucky,the wound inflictedon you was only a glancingblow - deduct1 point from your srAMrNA tnsleadof the usual2. If you are Unlucky,the wound rs more serious deduct 1 erfn point from your

Using Luck yourLuck TesLing To find out whetherDame Luck has been favourable to you, you shouldTestyourLuck.In battles,you may sometimes do thiswjthoutbeinggiventheoption:the procedurefor this rs given below. However,most of the time you may Testyout Llc[ only when you are specifically instrucfedto do so. 'Io TeslyourLuck,roll two dice lf the fotal is lessthan

You may alsouseyour ruck to improveyou accuracy lvith the bow lf the dice roil indicatesthar an arrow

I

has missed you may Tesfyour Luck to reversethe result. If you are Lucky, the arrow will veer at the last moment and hit your opponerlt. If you are Unlucky, not only will the arrow miss the bow-string will snap, and you won't be able to rcpair it until after your opponentis dead. . if you survivethat longl

Fighting More Than One Opponent If you come acoss more than one creatue in a particularencountet you may be instructedto fight them in tum. In Lhis case, fight each one singly as detailed above. ff th€re are no instructions as [o the order to fight them in, fight them in the order in which they arelisted. If you are not instructedto fight your opponentsone at a time, then you must 6ght them atl simultaneouslyFollow this sequence, r. Decidewhich of your opponentsyou are attacking this Attack Round This will be your Chosen Adversary. 2 Roll two diceandwork out your AttackStrength. 3. Roll two dice for eachof your opponents and work out the Attack StrenSthof eachof them 4. Resolvethis Altack Round'scombat agarnsryour ChosenAdversary in fhe usualway. 5 Compareyour ALtackShengthwith that of eachof your other opponents- Any opponent who has a higher Attack Skength has hit you, inflcting the usualdaftageupon you; any opponentwho has an

equal or lower Attack Strengthhas missedyou. you cannothil any of them,sinceyou Remember, canonly 6ght onecreaturea[ a time. 6 Deduct 2 points from your srAMrNAfor eachhit you have sustainedfrom these oth€r opponents. You may use your LUCKhere so that the wounds inflictedupon you do you lessdamage;you must makea separate LUCKroll for eachhit (seeabove). you are still alive but have not yeL won the z If battle,begin lhe next Attack Round,startingagajn ar srep1. It may happenin Lhecourseof your advenfureslhat you ffnd an ally. If you do, the procedure for combat is the sameas above,ex<eplthal now it will be your opponenL(or opponents)who has to
weapon. You also have a badgack for your herbs, gold ard anythJngelseyou may find on your iourney. When you begin this adventurq your pack conLains 15 Gold Piecesand5 Bundlesof Herbs. As well as beingan adventurer, you arealsoa memDer of the Crimmund Council;probably your most im portantpossession is your CouncrlSignetRing which gives you the rights, privileges and responsibililiesof a Councillor.On it is your seal,madewith suchmagic that it is almostimpossibleto copy. ' Time

Secondly,conceminggeography,the Forestof Night rs knowr territory. There is a map of Lheareaon page 6 of the boolc Lhis representsyour intimate knowledge of Lhe Forest, so you should be able lo travel around without getLing lost. However, should you stray into the Freezeblood MounLains,you will be in unlaown territory, so it is advisableto male a careful mr.,..^"

-^ " l ^" .

Thirdly, you should make careful notes about everything you 6nd in the course of your adventures.It is possibleto completeyour missionby trial and enor, but it is more rer/arding to do so through good thinking.

The Allansianweekhas sevendays,as lisLedon your Adoentute Sheet. For variousteasons,time is crucialto

will be Stormsday . momrng.

rf you make iL through to the

Notes on Play First, make sure you have read through lhe above rules.Even if you have played Fighfing Fantasybefore, there are some new facts which you should know, a descriptionoI you6elf as an adventuret descriptions of three potions; and rules for Herb Lore and fuing

16

a7

AovpNrunp Sumr SKII,L

S T AMIN A

LUCK

COLD

]\RROWS (MAX 6)

BUNDLES OI HERBS

DAY OF THE WE EK

EQUIPMENT

SIORMSDA

MOONSDAY IIREDAY EARTHDAY WINDSDAY SEADAY HIGHDAY

MONSTERENCOUNTER BOXES itilt=

S U I/=

Stir=

Skill=

A'CU R IO U SME S S E N G E R

The cold air stings your throaLas you desperately draw it inlo your lungs; the forest trajl strealc past beneath your thundering feet. When you look over your shoulder, all you can see are the malevolent ffr treesand the dark forest closing in behind yor4 so you nrn even harder to get away. Suddenly the hees are 8one, and you 6nd yourself slanding before a huge, isolated mountain. As you watdr,a greatffssureopensup in its side,and darkness pours {rom within, staining the snow with its evil. Slowly, the gloom forms itself into an army of;etblacksoldierswho surgetowardsyou. In Lheblinking of an eye,you areengulfed. You awalcenwith a start, dispelling the nightmare. A Councilmessenger is standingover yor.r.'l am sorry to have woken you up,' he says. 'A haveller has just arrived,and Grissahas calledan emergencyCouncil meeling.' A short time later you tale your place in the Council Charnber o( the Grimmr.nd Town Hall. Grissa, the CouncilLeader,sLands up. This,' shesayr indicatinga rather travel-wornman sitting besideher, 'is Morn Preeler, an advenfurer from Zengis He has informed me tha[ our fearsare hue - it is the Forestwhich has cut us off from Sardath All those trying to get

through have either been forced Lo tum back or have diedin the attempt' And with thaL Grisq sils down Mom Preelerrisesto explarn 'The Wood Elveshave had to abandonthe Elf pathsbecausethey have been invadedby treesand spannedby the webs of Giant Spiders.And, due to ihe spawning of all manner of honific monsters and the rising of Slykl armies,kill in8 indiscriminaLely. lhe iver has berome impasable' Crissastardsup again.'I thid
'It is a new and muchdarkerenemythat LhLreatens us.I aJnnot yet surewhaLit is, but I do know that it is neither the Forest nor any of its inhabitants.We have lived in the Forest for centuries and have ourselves become part of the balance. The Wood Elves and people like Colrhyn and myself have made sure of that.'You pause.No Somethingalien lo this part of Allansiais dorngthis-' 'l thrnkyou aredeludingyourselfwiLh theseideasof a darkenemy,'saysGrissa.'We all know how muchyou love the Forest.Perhapsthis love is clouding youi judgement.If you had heardMom's story, you wouro understand.' 'If I may,' says Mom Preelerto Crissa,'I think it would be fruitful for me fo tell my story to the HonourableCouncillor-As a fellow adventurer,I believe he will understandwhat I have seen.'When Grissahesitates,he continues,?erhapsit would save the Council hme if I were to brief the Councillor in anotherrcom?' 'An excellentldea,'saysGrissa.SheJooksat you and gesturestowardsthe door. Somewhatsullenlyyou ask Mom to follow you. He picksup his pack,slingsit acrosshis back and respectfully takes his leave of the Council.You lead him along the empty coridors and up ha/oflights of stairs fo the CouncilRecessChamber.Oppositethe door is a large window. It is dark oulside and when Morn seeshis reflechor! he flinches.You shrug inwardly and sit down on one of the comfortablechairs.Your pack 22

is virtually empLy,so you don't bother to take it off Your bow and :urows arc a litfle b'rlky, however, so you unsling them and put them down besrdethe chair. Now therl Mor4' you say, lefs hearyour story ' 'lt's quite simple,'he says,sidlingacrossto you- 14hen I was havelling through the Forest,I was accostedand killed by a powerful creature.He then assumedmy form and camehere in order to kill the only person left in the Forestwho had any chanceof thwartingthe plansof hls peoplel' Tum to r

t-t

You sil there for a moment, stunned and bewildered by what Morn hasjust said.It is only when he grabs your left wrist and lears the Council Ring from your finger thaLyou realize you are in darger You leap to your fee| but Mom jumpsbackwards out of your way. 'And now thaLI haveyour Counciltung,'he says,'l will beableto impersonate you andpersuade lhe Grimmr.nd Councilto takether peoplento the Forest,whereLhey will surelydie' You edge towardshim cauLiously, not surewhatmagicheisarmedwiLh.As youdo so,asinister transfomationlakesplace.The backofhis tunicbulges, then tears as Lwo huge, bat like wings burst forth. He stretches themwideandLakes a stepforward holdingup his arms as if calling on a great powet slowly they changeto a jg[-black colour, his handsbecoming fferce talons 'On your own you might have madeit through the Forestalive,armedas you arewith knowledgeand wil. Butnow it is too late.'Hereaches out to attackyou. Will you drawyour swordand6ght him (turn to ,8r) or dodgeout ofhis way andrun (tum to ,98)?

Teslyour Luck.If yor are Luclry,tum Lo 22j . If you are Unlucky, hlm to 248. 1 You follow the walkway unLil iL comes Lo a wide staircase. This is lessunnervingto climb Lhanthe other slairway, but you are glad when lhe archway at the Lopleadsto an enclosedtunnel.However,Lhistunnel

4

t-'7

is decoratedwith shadowywall painlingswhose8ruesome effect is made worse by the urmafuralliSht coming from the surrounding ftrngi. With this sickness asa spur,you hurry [hroughinLothe next cavem. Half expecting some unknown horrot you bale a tenbaliveSlanceat your surroundrngsYou are standing at the beginningof a long walkway in a huge cavem.On your righl thereare sometall buildingsof a bizare construction, to your left,a rora/of impossibly pillars rises up besidethe cavemwall. You go slender until you come along the walkway 6or somedisLance to a stairwaywhich soarsup Lowardsthe ceiling on the pillarsyou saw before;it endsat a balconyhiSh above the archwaythrough which you came.If you continuealon8 th€ walkway,tum to 369. you climb the stairway, you eventually reach the balcony; you walk to the edgeand look out (tum to rlt).

As your watch comesto an end,Roxsir appearsfrom below.The otherstell hrm aboutlhe impostor,and he thanksyou profusely(regainr rucx point) 'Lokimur is sleeping,but I will make sure thaLhe knows how brave you have all been Now I will escort you bhroughthe tunnelsbackto lhe surface.' 'Goodbye,then,'he sayswhen you get lo the boltom of the mine shaft,'andmany thanksfor what you have done for our people.'You *lsh him good luck, then get into the cageand haul yourself ba& to the surface. Once there, you leave the cave and soon you are

t

The tracI leads you north-eastup a genfly nsing valley,with lhe north sideof the ridgeon one side and some very steepmountainson the o[her. AfLer some time, you come to a junctjon where the track meetsanoLhergoing north west up a steepslopeLoa mountainpass.It do€sn'tlook lile an easyrouLe,but it is not beyond your capabilities. ln ihe far distancefo the noih-east is a spire-shaped mountain,so high that its peak is hidden in the clouds A massivestorm is raging in thesedouds, with bright Lghtning flashes and rumblesof thunder.Will you go north-west(tum to rot), or carryon north-east(fum to 32r)? The Mirror Demonq long. cruelnailsgra'p your flesh fiercely.But insteadof trytr|8 to deskoy you. she dragsyou towardsthe shieldand you are unableto stop her from pulling you nfo her dimension.Your adventureendshere 7 You wait for some time, desp€ratelytrying to come up wifh a plan to 8et you out of thrs situation_

I

E-9 you feel strange the transfomationPotion Sr.rddenly is wearing offl When he seeswhal is happeningLo 'Humanl'and they all vou, one of lhe Gua.dsscreams, uttuck.You fight as best you can, but there are just r( over' too mdnyol them.Youradventure E As you walk alongthe Path,the tre€sloom ominously overhead.Many of the Ciant Spiderwebs have been woven much closer to the trail than usual some threadsareevensfretchedacrossthe path.lortunaLely, not hlrnters,so the Spidersin this areaare traPPers, get rn one of you caughf don't you ;re safeaslong as their webs.You walk for many hours,wonderinghow LheElvescould have let the Path gel so overgrom'

to 112. 9 The Lreesloom overheadas you walk alongColrhyn's Tradc it grows darkerard darker,until you canhardly tell what time of day it is ln the absenceof sunlight,

immenselegs, its huge mandiblesclicking huntrily Thereis jusl time to fire one arrow if you want Lo CIANT WOLF SPIDER

sKrLL 8

sraMrNA8

If you win, you leave the body of the unlortunate Spider behind you and keep on walking. Some time in lhe late aftemoon you arrive at an even narrower and darkertrackrunningsoutheasL.Do you chooseto go down this track (tum to r9z) or carry on north,€ast alonSthe mainhail (tum to 394I

rr-r4 IO

Having gained the advantage,you roll aJld twisf, graspingMorn round the neckin an effort to 8et him in a {irm hold. He s[ruggleslo free himself.Roll two drceto detenninethe Attack Strengthof yourselfand the impostor.II the resultis a draw,you both struggle, but no advantageis gained - roll again If you win lhe Attack Round,turn to 69. If Mom wins the Attack Round,he Lwistsout of your SriPand you are backon level tenns- retum Lo 2r2 and continueLhe

You walk for somedistanceuntil you reacha narrow lunnel in the cavem wall But somethingabout the tunnel feels wrong, somehow.The world begins to spin,and you loseall senseof whereyou are.Teslyorr lacf,.If you are Unlucky,yor-rfeel an rnlmse drzziness and start stagSeringfrom one side of the walkwayto the other Unableto stop yoursel{,you stumbleand fall over Lheside- your advenbure ls over. If you are Lucky,you recoverat the last momentand ffnd yourselfgazinginto what lookslike an rnfiniteabyss.If this is the first time you haveexperienced this effect,you wiil still be disorientatedfor somedays (loser sxrrr point).If you've undergonethis trial before,Lhesymptoms are not worsened.When you finally come to, you cant quit€ work out wher€ you are,exceptlhat you areon a walkway.Roll one dre;if you roll:

fisht II

'l would suggestthat you leave now,' he says.^1ou are not really of sufficienllyexalted standinglo be here.' You hesibate for a moment- fheremay be information still to be gleanedfrom ihis room or someitem fhat will help you completeyour missron.However,one of the other Dark Elves raiseshis hand and lwists his fingersrnto a weird contortion,possiblya gesturefor a spell 'Didn't you hearhim?Or would you Likeme to use force?'SeveralDark Elves turn and stare at you malevolently.Thereare far too many of them for you lo 68ht, so you leave.Turn to 29.

3-4 5-{

Tum to r77 Tum to 324 Tum to 37o

r4 ,Ai Lhatmoment a young Dark Elf comesrunning in, holding a piece of paper- 'Archduke Awlenion?' he asks. One of the elite Guards sauntersup to him and takes the message-'|usta few Wood Elveg'he comments laconically. 1bwill only fakea coupleof cohorts.'Some of the warriors preparethehselvesand hurry away excitedly to battle However, a lot of them have stayedbehind- obviouslythey don'l see the Wood

You tum away from the crumblingbody, approachthe door, and skike it threetimeswith your s$/ord.There as the door is a loud click,and you watch thank6-rlly you step out into Lhe cold As slidesinto the wall. you. Turn lo 349. night air the door closesbehrnd

I

\5-r5

r7-r8

Elvesas muchoI a threat.Suddenlyyou feel strangethe Lransformationpotion is wearing of{l When he seeswhat is happeningto you, one of Lheelife Guards screams,'Human!' and Lhey all attack. You 68ht as well as you can,but there are iust too many of them. Your adventureis over

You walk up the dark, narrow Lrackfor an hour or so, until you come Lo bhe main Forest hail. You look south-west down the tra into the Forest,wondering whetheryou shouldgo backin. But thenyou remember your drearn of the black army coming out of Lhe mountain, so you Lumnorth-east.Tum to ,94.

I6

You leave the road at once and head north-west towards the westem edge oI the Freezeblood wall, keeping your eyes fixed on the Black Flyers. Once they have gathered together into a flying formation, they circle once,before heading north-west. You chase them as fast as you c;m, but the Black Flyers gain speedvery quickly and you soon lose sight of them completely You sit down for a moment, wondering despondendywhal lo do next AfLer a while the slowly dsing sun warms you a liltle, restodngyour will to go on. Will you retum to the road and follow it into Sardath (turn to 29r) or carry on into lhe mountains,eiLhernorth (fum to r75) or no*h-west (tum to ro4!

Holding your bow high, you fue an anow at Lhe approachingGiant Eagle.It is not frighlenedby your atLackand, whether you hit it or not, it keeps on diving towards you. There is now no time to do anything bul draw your sword. Tum to 89 and {ight the ceature, remembering firsl to deduct z points from its srAMrNAif your arrowhit it. I8

You slap your hand over your mouth and pinch your nostrils closed with your thumb and forefinger. Thus protectedagainstthe spores,you run doyrn Lhetmnel until you are past lhe fungus However, after jusL a few metres,the floor suddenlygives way and you hrmble into a pit, hundredsof metres deep,with only old Dark Elf bonesand your deathwaiting for you at thebotLom.

,9-2r

r9 During the night therc is a noise near by and you wakeup instincLively. you open your eyes CauLiously andslowly tum your head-Severalmetresawaystands a Giant Spider,ils bulbousbody saggingdown beLweenits mottled red legs It leers at you with its myriad eyes,obviouslyintent on atfacking.Wrll you leap up and chargeal it (tum to 156) or draw your bow swiftly andfire an arrow (tum Lo2r9)? 20

As you walk along the rive$anl, you begin to see just how strong your dark enemy must be Even though the canopy of trees is now so dense that hardly any light shinesthrough, the dver is completely choked with unnaLuralyreeds swirling around, some seeminglyfeedingon others Lazingin the shadows aregrosslybloatedfish,nibbljngat one anolher.When you finally emerge from the Forest, you are relieved to seelhe sun shiningon the Freezeblood Mountains. However,as you walk north to Gwinir's Bridge,you begin to realiz€that Lhenightmareis nol over, for thereis a tenibledarkness hangingover SardathWith sometrepidation,you walk towardsthe toyrn.Turn Lo 29t. 2A

You tale Sreatcareas you walk Lhroughthe Forest Eventhough [hereare no giant websto look out for, ihere rs still the threal of altack by Giant Pirate Spiders.Theseceaturesdrop from treeson a single lfuead,injectingtheir vicLimswith poisonbeforethey

2t-2t

22

However,when you look around,you realizeLhatyou havenot beenas lu&y as you thought,ior thereis no other exit from thrs chamberllf you have beenhit by theChost,tum to 44. Otherwis€,tum to 92.

have a chanceto react.Severalhours Pass,without any sign of danger,and in the late aftemoon you arive at the foot of the South Guard Mountains unhindered.Theseare the last obstaclebetweenyou and Sardath Sinceyou are not a morintameetyou cannobclimb over them,so you decideto trek round

23 Berngout dt nightthi\ ( loseto Lhemountains is a nelv experiencefor you and you are a little unnervedby their immense,brooding presence,especiallyas you can see them only in dark outline againstthe night sky. After you have been walkrng for severalhours, you distinguishanotherdark shape.Thrs one is some way ahead,movjng along the road towardsyou. You stop and peer inLoLhedarknessThe cr€aturecoming towardsyou is like nothing you have ever seen,a hugeBlackMammoth,its kunk amed wi[h spikesand its tusksunnaturallytwisted Wil[ you draw your bow and shoot at it (turn io 3r9), try to hide fiom it (turn lo jj9), or draw your sword and stard your ground tum to 2jl)?

road towardsSardath(tum to 293)?

24 Testyour Lucktwice.If you are Lucky both times,tum io rz4 If you are Unluckyeithertime,tur-nto J95.

As the ghostly form of Khomu Wych drifts aPart,an icy wind blows through the bomb and lhere is a distant scream,then all is still. With renewedconJilo takea dence,you stepup to LheemPtysarcoPhagus just out Lhe you make can closerlook. ,A1the back, it faint outline oI a door You push it . . and oPens a rumbling As you slep throughinto lhe next chamber, m Luckily cave starts to lhe ceiling and soundbegins the doorway the area of the destructionis only in openingit must haveweakenedthe aSes-oldbuildint

2,t Despiteyour effortslo slop him, Morn locksan inkyblackarm roundyour throatand squeezesNow lhen,' he says,'stard up wilhout strugglingand I'11let you !ive.'You have no choicebut to comply. Once you a;e both on your feet, Mom tightenshis grip even :urther.'ln a moment,we are going to run and di"e

i

26

out o[ bheRecess Chamberwindow.lf you wanl to go on living, you'll hang on to me.' Again you have no choice-Suddenlyyou a.e running,there is a crashof glass,a whooshof air,and you are soaringup into the dark sky. In a few momentsyou are flying out of the village towardsthe River SardaLh. If you preferto do nothinS,fum to 37J; but if you want to get free,you will have to stmggleagainstlhe imposlor'sgrip Roll two dice and work out your Atta& Shength Do the samefor Mom, but deduct-z points from his Attack Strengthsincehe is Ilying as well as trying to hold you lf the resultis a draw or if you win bheAttack Round,you loosenhis arms from your neck and let yowself drop just as you get abovethe water (turn fo 3ro). If you lose the Attack Round,you are unablebo (turnto ,7r). escaPe

26 Your mind gives a little mental push and the great white winSs grow out of your back.You spreadthem wide and leapfrom the balcony.For a momenror rwo, you are totally absorbedby the exhilarationof flying, but a shout from below brings you back to your sensesand you seemany Dark Elvesnrnningto )ook at you. It is obviousthat you arenot a BlackFlyer for your wings are white and nol aLall bal-like Bows are

27-29 drawn, and arror/s fued; many of them strike home and you tumbledovvntowardsthe Dark Elves Your adv€ntureis over.

You stepup to the door and hammerout the sequence on the iron knocker.From nowherea huge,booming voiceechoesround Lhetunnel:'What is the password?' Whatwill you say: raegnr 'Chaugh'? 'Elath'?

Turn to 9r Turn to r99 Turn to 341

2g During ihe night, a Dwarf hand reachesout towards ).our neck. As it surroundsyour throat, the hand transformsinto a black claw, with lonS talons that clutchat your windpipe.The pain wrenchesyou [rom sleep,but you are unableto move or cry out Your

,'9 You walk backto the huge door and wait as it opens for you. You step through and go back down the siairway to the Junction.Some distancealong the walkway,to the left, the wariom are still training,so Iou decideto takeone of the other options.If you go skaight aheadand down the stairway,tum to 39r. If ]ou go right, you soon reach a Juncilonwnere a slairwaygoes off to the right. Will you go up these slairsto the balcony and iook out (turn io rlt) or

,2

,o-rr continue along lhe walkway to an archway in lhe wall of the cavem (tum to zz8)?

to If you decideto shoot at them,the BlackFlyers,being creaturesof darkness, will easilypick you out as soon as you have fired two anows. The first Black Flyer will then nm to atta& you and you will have lo draw your sword to defend yourself against it while the other goes on trying to open the stonedoor. If you decide to charge at lhem wilhout using your bow. you may makea free atta& on one of them (chooseyour victim anddeductz pointsfrom his sTAMINA)This adversary will then tum to fight you while the other aftempts to open the door. If you kill your first adversary, the olher will leave the door and come to avengehis companion. FnstBLACK FLYER Second BLACK FLYER

SKI LI ,

STAMINA

ro 7

5 7

If you win, tum to 262. 5t

As the Dark EIf tums his ba& on you, you realizeyou have the perfect opportunity to take him by surprise. You draw your sword swiftly and strike him on the back of the neck Roll two dice. l{ the total is lessthan or equal to your sKrLL,you kill him instantly.lf lhe LoLalis greaterthanyour sKrLL,you get jn a good hit, stunning him momentarily. However, his armour saves his life and he is able to tum and defendhimself.

ELITEDARKELF

sK rLL9

U you deleal the Dark Elf, you drag his body on to tie walkway and drop it over lhe side.Then you walk ba& to the archway and go through the door. Turn to

ror. ,2

The hader looks anxious.'l beg you lo reconsider,'he whines 'I've been waiting just outside the village for ages for someonelike you lo come along. I hoped I could fool you into thinking that I had jusf anived with fresh stock. The truth is, I haven'l sold anything for days.If it wasn'tfor [he danger,I would haveleft a long time ago and headedwesl for Zengis.BuL,alas ...' He pausesfor a mommt, then grins. 'Tell you what, I'll give you a mystery free gift if you agree to buy something.' You ask him what kind of 'mysLery giff. 'A potion,' he says.You narow yow eyes you'd guessedthat much. Tlonestly, I dont know what it is. Thafs why il's a mysteryl' He laughs nervously. Will you now agree to buy some of his potions (tum to ro5), or will you declinethe trader's offer and conLinueon your way (tum to r3oI

t3-r5 you areforced SinceLhereis no path up the mounbain, to scrarnble slopes as besLyou up its ddgesand scree can.Your handsand feet graduallybecomenumbwith the cold and you flinch every time you have to push your hand through a patch of snow to find a hold. SLrddenlythere is a flash of Lighfning and a terrible explosionof sound.For an rnstantall you can seeis a brighLwhiLeness, then,asyour sighl graduallyretums, you see a 6gure in a blackrobe standingin front of you. If you have met Thyr4 bum to 80. If you have not, will you attack the figure (turn Lo 2J9), kneel beforeiL (LumLo3r5), or lry to talk to it (tum to rr7)? 34 As you approach,you recognizethe flowersas those of LheDeathDripper.a highl) ddngerous carnivorous plant. If you were to touch iLs rooLs, th€ flowers would drip a fast-actingconLacL poisonon to you a you risk cannotafford io Lake.You turn your backon fhe plant and keep on walking north-wesl,thanking lhe teachingsof Sonelfor savingyour life Obviously lhe former owner of the sword was no[ so fortunate Somehourslater,as the sun is begmningto set you approachlhe fork in the road where the El{ village is hiddenamongthe hees.Tum to 3J2. J)

You walk all night without finding any landmarkto you go uphill, at tell you where you are SomeLimes other bimesdown. As Lhenjght wearson you become increasingly tired(deduct1 point from your STAMINA).

16 Eventually,the night drawsto an end (tick off the next day on your AdoentureSlvel), and in lhe dawn light you make out a road a short distanceaway. As you walk towards it, th€ sun comesup and you can see Lhatyou are still on the FangthaneRoad,abouthalf a kilometre from where you started.You also see a merchantwagon coming towardsyou from the east. The traveller is a Dwarf, obviously a trader from Fangthane. 'Good day to you, adv€nturer,'he saysin his lilting no h-eastemaccentYou greethim, and ask him if he'sgoing to.Sardath.'lam,'hereplies.'Can I give you a lift?' Will you accepl his offer (tum to 22o) or wam him that there is danger in Sardath and that he shouldtum back(tum to 266)?

37 safeto go down on lhe other srde,'he says,'unless you would like to fight the Toa Suo single-handed' You thankhim for his adviceand begin your descenf. Sometrmelater,you get backlo the mountaintrail in the vaLley Will you now go nolth-easitowards the spire-shaped mountain (lum to 123), or south-west iowardsthe river (ium to 24o)?

You immediatelythink of Bistort,the ForestWood Elf who gave you the SnakeRrng. When you say his name,his imageappearson the surfaceof the pool. You speakto him, bLrthe looks confusedihe canhear you but cannotseeyou. Once you have explainedlo him what is going on, you tell him whereyou are and rvhathashappened

36 Using Lhesameroute as you drd before,you find your way back to the Dwarfs' sanctuaryThe searchfor Lokimur takessome time but eventually you find him, surroundedby chaosand franticallygiving ordersto thoseround him. 'llave you retumedto fi8ht with us againstthe Toa-Suo?'he askswhen he finaLlynotices you. If you say thal you have,tum to 74 lf you say that you want to speakwith him agairl he becomes embarrassed; clearlyhe is far too busy.'lt painsme to haveto be so discourteous to so bravean adventuret' he says,'but I am responsible for many lives.'You tell him that you understand,and leave him to conLinue his work.

Excellent,'hesays 'Do what you can.We are arreaoy in the mountainsand will be with yolr soon.' you warnhim of the BlackFlyers.'Wood Elvesdo not fear Dark Elves,whetherthey have wings or not Try to gel insideand free the slaves.With us fighting from the outsideand yor-rfighting ftom the inside,we wrll hav€ them'You say that you will do what you can ^You have already done more than we could have hoped We are gratefui and our thoughts are with you.'As he says bhis,your Snakefung doLrblesits length to fourteencoils and you tell Bistort ihat his energy is reachingyou. 'Yes,'he says,Tlf rings are sensitivein that way.'

A Dwarf guardth€n escortsyou out of the mine,and leadsyou lo the south-eastside of the pass.'It is not

You bid him farewelland tell him that you will see him soon.Beforehe has a chanceto reply, his image

tt_39 fades;the smooth, cultured voice comes into your headrTo whom do you wish to speal?'Tum ba& to 99 andmakeanotherchoice. l8 The only weaponyou have to handis your sword,so you draw il as swiftly as you can and lurge at the Sorcerer.His eyes flash bright yellow and the air betweenyou crackleswith energy Beforeyou have coveredhal[ the distancebeLweenyou, you are para, lysed,staadingas sbillas a statuewith your swordoutshetched. 'So it was just foolishness,after all.'He shakeshis head,apparentlysaddenedby your weakness. 'Goodbye' His eyes flash once more and your mind goes blank Your adventureis over. ,9 'Thyra Migurn is a powerful demi-godwho lives on the spire-shapedmountain, some way east of hereStorm Mountain,we call it in your languageI would not recommendyou seeing her, for she seemsto despiseus all. She used to send sLormsto slop our mining activities,bub we promisedher that in due coursewe would re6ll all the tunnelswe had made. For a while she was appeased, but we stilLneed to sendregulardelegalionsto speakboher.It is a diffcull job and many of them come back injured by the lightningshewields' lf this is the secondquestionthat you have asked

Lokimur, tum to zj4. 1l lt is only the first, you may askanother.\4hat will it be about, What'shappenedto Sardath? Codanthus(if you know of him)? The BlackFlyers? The Toa Suo?

Tum to 97 Tum to r8r Turn to J68 Tum to ,8t

40 There are many boaLsidling in the river. As you hurtle towardsthe water,you seea smallemptlzrowing boat llng directlybeneathyou A secondlater you crash inlo it, wre&ing it completely(roll one die and deduct thatmanypointshom your srAMrNA). lf you snrvive, you glanceupwardsto seewhetherMom is still fhere. He is circlingaround,so you tale a deepbreathand float,facedown, in the water-You move downrivera little way, then lift your head for a moment to take another breath. Then you pul your face back in Lhe water After ten minutesof Lhis,you cautiouslytum your headand look up into Lhesky again.It is drfficult to tell in the darkness, but you're farrlysurethat Mom has flown away. Relievedto have escaped,br-rtglad because of what you haveleamedfrom Lheencounter, you swim Lo the bank of the river and climb out. Wel and cold, you make your way back to the Council Hall Turn to 29r. 41 Roll Lvrodiceand deductr from fhe Lotal If this value is lessthar or equalto your sKrLL,fum Lo 2rl. If it is Sreaterthanyour sKrLL,tum to ,86

42-4t

TRIPI.EX PO'ION

cor{cocTE R

illu

The laboralory is fflled with a vast array of complex chemicalapparatus.In the far cornet to your left, there is a gaping hole in the wall, leading lo a dim, torch-lit hmnel. Against the wall next to this hole is a huge potion-maldngapparatus,with ttuee hrnnelson top, lf you have any magical componmts (not induding any po[ions Iike the Mystery Potion or any of the love Potions), you may climb on to the enormous bench and try to makea potion from them.Pul one ingredient in each fumel, and then pull the lever to set the apparahrs in motion. If you write the numberof each of the componentson the funnels(in pencil so thal you can rub them out later),you will get a three-figue numbe4 turn to that paragraph. If you manage to makea potioo you will b€ told immediately.However, rf the paragraphmakesno sens€,furn to r9o. II you decide not [o tarnper with the appardtus,you searchthe room but find nothing else of any use, so you decide to leave. Will you go ba& through the door into the LibEry (tum back to 166) or enberlhe furnel(tum to roz)?

4t

With in
srr{MINA14

lf you managelo kill this fearsomecreature,you drag Fangmr,uhanned, out of the wreckageof his wagon.

45

44 But all his goodsare lost and his poor horsesaredead. All Fangnir can do for a few minuLesis moan about his loss but, once he undersLandswhat has happened,he thanksyou profuselyfor savinghis life (regainr LUCK point); now, though, there is nothing for him Lo do but make his way back to Fangthane.You bid him farewell and watch as he kudges off east,mumbling to himself You too must continue on fooL. Will you travel west towards Sardath (tum to 2r2) or tum north andheadinto the mountains(tum to ,j7!

44 A sudden sublle pain grips your body, and a great wealoess afflicts your spidt; the Louchof a Ghost car prove deadly. Your abilities as an adventurer and a warior have been reduced; deducLpoints from your sKrLL, STAMTNA And LUCK SCOTeSaS Listed in the

following table: NUMBER OF HITS

SKILL LOST

5-4 5-o 7-b

7

q-10

7.4

STAMINA LOST

LUCK LOST

2

a

4 8

2

3 4

If you have been hit more than 10 times, you are oeao If you survive this seizure, you will be relieved to leam that its effecLs areno[ permanenL. PoLions, Herbs and so on will all cure you in the normal way,

restoing your life-force rn Lhe process Now tum to 92 to {ind out whaLmanner of place it $ that you are trappedin. 4' You walk along the badly overgrown path for seveml hours,keepinga look out for Giant Spiders.Suddenly . . TestyourLuck.If you are Unlucky,you feel a rush of air and are pushed to the grormd by a hol sticky body and a massof legs.Thereis a tharp pain in your neck as a Gianl Pirate Spider injects you with its poison In just a few momentsyou are paralysedand you will be eatenal lhe Spider'sleisure.If you are Lucky, you see the Spiderbefore it drops and just have Limeto dodge out of rts way. lt hangsover the pathon a singlethread,ils myriadeyesstaringat you and its huge jaws clicking. I\rhen you draw your swor4 however, iL scuttlesnervously back up inLo the hee.You skirt round it and walk on Many hours latet as evening is approaching,you decide lo stop and makecamp,so you shakeout your blankets,eat a little food,and seLtledown to sleep.Tum to 82

V 48-49

46-4i 46

attacksfhe writhing creafureWithin secondsrf is sLill. The Spiderclampsits jawsroundthe body and haulsit high up m the tree,whereyou canseeit wrappingthe Beetlein silk to be hung for eatin8lateron.Tum to jo8.

You walk eastbetM/eenthe ndge and fhe nver urtil

and walk norlh along its bank.When you reachthe norlh side of the ridge, you see thar the stream descends from a fascinaLing, spire-shaped mountarn,so hrShthatJou Ldngei only an o, cas;onal glimp.eoi irs sharppeaL throughthe clouds.A massrve srorrnrs raging ln these clouds,with briSht lightninS flashes

and rumblesof lhunder.Will you follow the stream rowardsthe mountain (tum to rEz) or avoid it by :umin8north-west(tum lo r4t)? 4E Beyondthe ar.hway is a short corridot an enclosed spacewhosewalls and ceilingshieldyou from having to look al the insanenatureof the bottomlesscavem Tentativelyat ffrst, but then more confidenbly,you take in your surroundinSs. The corridor is roughly cawed,with strangefingi growing on the dampwalls, and the dim torcheshissand spit when drips of waler fall on them from the ceiling.About ten metresaway thereis an archwayon the [eft; a few metresfurther on, lhe corridorendsat a door. Carefullyavoidingany .ontaciwith the fun8i,you walk along to the archway rvhJci, you can now see, leads back out into the bottornlesscavern Will you go through the archway tum to 216) or carry on along the comdor and go throughihe door (tum to zo5! 49 ln the middleoi the nighLyou wakeup, only to find ]'ourselfboundby a massof thick,sticky sp]derwebs A Giant Spider rearingup on its four hind legs, is spitting threadsat you {rom som€distanceaway.As you struggleto free yourself,the Spiderskilters towardsyou, its bloated,yellow-spottedbody pulsating with excilementRoll two dice.)f the total rs greater than your srrrr., you are Llnableto free yourselfand the Spiderwill fal on yo'r before yor.rcan relaliate Thoughin no way a 6ghter,sinceit hasyou in its web

tetr

t,.

the Ciant SpittingSpidercandrop its loathsomebody on top of you and inject you with iis paraiysin8 poisor! putting an untimelyend to both your life and your mission.Howeveaf the totaLroLledis lessthan or equalto you. sKrLL,you escapefrom the la/ebsjusf as the Spiderfallson you. Tum to J2o to The whole sky is black with thick clouds; there is absolulelyno sign of the sun You can see a faint ghmmerof lighi on the horizon,but Sardathand the mountainsand forestLhatsurroundit are shroudedin darkness. Not only that: the skiesare 6lled with Black Flyers.Having suppressed Lhepeoplesof this arealor many days, they have bought their Sorcererenough time for him to createthis transformatron. The area now belongsto them You havefailed. tr

Thrssideof the passis somethinglike an amphrtheatre: a beaulifulblue,greenlale, surroundedon all srdesby steep cliffs On the north side of the lake there is anotherpass,wherethe cliffs are Jowerand slopeat a safeangle for walking. On the south side,Lhewater from the lake flows into a stream,a ragrng correnr which surgesthrough a gap in the cliffs.The several hundredmetresof descenlare much worse than the dimbing was, €very step sendsa jolt through your legs. By the time you reach the botton, you are desperate for a resLand a long, icy-coJddrink from the Iale. Havlng rested,will you now so round to the norfh side of the lake ard start cl;mbing the scree

slopeup bo the north pass(tum fo ztj) or follow a .ou8h Lrackto a bridgeat the headof the stream(tum ia 224?

The chiefof the Slykk stabshis sword into the clump of reedsin front of him and the warriorslower ther spearsThe Slyklcon his iefi stepsforward.'Rurkk,'he pointin8 to himself and rattlinS the chain of 'ays, Jriedfish headsroundhis neck 'Slykl<magic.'Instilted .rJlansiarand improvisedsign language,you parley, Rurkk hanslatingfor his chief. After several ^ith ninutesof Lhis,the chiefcroaksat Rurkkand makesa :kangefacialgesture.'Must know whereboats,'Rurkk 'YouLellRurkl ih somedetailaboutyour missionand :heeventsthat led you to undertakeit Know fhis creaturel'says Rurkk when you lell hrm about Mom Preeler.He then describesan Elf-like oeature,but with iet-bla& skin,who magicallyimpersonateda Slykk and mixed with the trjbe - until Rurkk

54 exposedhim 'Elf carry this,'Rwktcsaysand handsyou a small bundlewrappedin a pieceof leather(which you may examineat :my time by tuming to paragraph 278I Rurkk saysWill now go.' You look up, but the Slykh have vanishedinto the reeds.You must move on: will you now sailon up the lver (tum to 397),sail to the eastbankand walk norih into the forest(turn to 267),or sailto the west bankand walk south-wesrinto th€ marsh(tum to 64[

.t, As you leave lhe other two Black Flyers behind, you try to get Iulien to tell you more of his people's plans, but every question you ask is met with silence,so you abandon fhis lack and concentrate on working out where yoLr are. A long way beneath you, the foresf is still streaking past; aheadyou can seea small group of mountains Ii must be LheSouth Cuard A couple of hours later, when you have flown over the Soulh Guard to Lake Sardmere,you finally see why no one has come from Sardath: the bridge has been deshoyed and a huge arrny of Black Flyers rs attacking the town Nevertheless the citizens of Sardath led by Ydys linne'< arm). are mdnd8rnS somehow to keep them at bay. Now that you ar€ over

(SKILLz), but deduct 2 points {rom his Attack Slrength since he is flying as well as trying to keep hold of you.

If the resultis a draw or rf you win the Attack Round, you tear his arms from you and drop into lhe lake (tum to 255).If you lose the Altack Round,you may make two further atlempLs.If you still can't escape, rurnto 35r 54 'ls no matter,' he says,clutchingthe bundle to his chestHe mutlerssomethingelsein his own language, thentums away He doesn'lseemto expecta reply,so you just standtherefor a moment,watchmghim walk back along the slreet When he disappearsrourd a corner,you lum back the way you were going and walk on down the rnainroad.Tum to lj4

t5-t7 t,

Suddenlya great quanLityof Slyl:l rise up ouL of the river and advancetowards you, spearsraised.Instinctively you gesture with your bow in a threatening manner towar& the Sly!.k in front of you. The kibe stops, then one of thern moves forward a little wayBeingheavilyladenwith jewelleryand other plundea you reckonhe mustbe the hibe'schief.If you wish to you may back useyour advanLage in order to escape, of{ into lhe Forestand head north (turn to 267) - they will not attack. If you try to talk to the Slykk tum to t) ).

t6

When severaloI the Dark Elves look at you suspi ciously, you rea.lizeyou have madea mistake.The one who spoke to you says something else in his strange language,but you have no idea how to reply. lnstead. you iusl tum and rlrn.With so many warriorson your tai[, however,you have no chanceof escape.Your advenhrreendshere

t1

As you stride oui the ffrst few kilometres are bright and oleasantand the air cleanand crisD.The foreston the oppositesideof the river looksas darkasever,but the farmlandon thrs side is open and airy. As your joumey progrcsses, the tall pines mcroach on the track. You, of course, don't fear the foresfs shadowy aLmosphere,but there do seem to be more eyes peeringat you from the dark spacesbehrr'eenthe trees than you remember,ard the backgroundnoise of

J8

5fo

unknowncreatures your misgivis closer.Yor-rsuppress ingsand presson.

'Obviously you know nothrng about security,'he repLiesloftily 'You only gel in if you're on the list' Will yoLrlet him lum Logo (tum to 3r) or atta& him (turnto 2to)?

Towards midday you arive at the point where the kack coss€s[he river, You curseas you approach,for LheropeshavebeenLomdown from Lhekees on lhis side You would neverdare Lo swim Lheriver sinceit is icy coJdard infestedwith predatory6sh.However, you could try swinging acrosson one of Lhe tree creepers(tum to 8t). Otherwis€,you will have lo carry on along the riverbankinlo the dark, pafhless foresL(turn to j42).

59 Youfollowthetrackfor somedistance, walkingBently downhrllbetweenthe irrunense mountainto the north and the long, sharpridge lo the south Eventuallyyou come to anolher track which goes norih-westup a sleepslope Lo a mountainpass.Will you go northyr'est(tum to ro8) or carry on south-wesl(turn to 240)? t8 'It's my duty to checkeverybody,'hesays.'l am one of th€ Sorcerer's PersonalGuard.You know we're the Loughestwarriorsin thes€caverns,so don't try Lo

In order to dodge the Beetle,yoLrr timing must be perfect.Writ€ down a number between1 and 6 on your Aduenlure the time at which Sheefthis represents you decrdeto jump Now roll one die, this represents the time at which the Beedewould hit you If your guessis exactlyright or is only 1 lower or higherthan rhe Beetles number.tum to 46. If your Bue.. is 2 or

'But you recognizedme,'you insst. 'Surelyyou don't needlo nasleyouJtime on formalities for someone you know both by nameand by face?'

,l.

6\-42

63

more less than the Beetle'snumber,you jumped Loo early- The Beetle swervesand is able to d;hver a glancingblow (deductr point from your srAMrNA)If your guess is 2 or more higher than the Beetle,s I i

t8t) 6r The BlackMammoth lumbersto the oppositeside of the road and, for a minule or so, ieers into the vegetaLion.Then it tums round and walks towards

entered,so humansmustbe immuneto them Evenso, you hold your breathas you searchthroughthe Dark Elfs belongings.Sincehe was dressedin ceremoniaL robes,he haslittle in the way of equipment,although do find a huge set of jail€r'skeys hangingfrom -rou his bell (if ever you are askedWhat is it?',add 10 to the numberof the paragraphyou are readingal the hme and turn immediatelyto the paragraphwith that number).By now, your lunSsfeel as if they .ire going to burst,so you run out of the tunnel.Fromwhat you have seen"you are sure Lhat the slavers'camp has nolhingelseto of{eryou, so you decideto leave Turn to r23. 6, -\s soon as you slide th€ key info the lock, the huge slone door grinds oper! revealinga long walkway backin the bothomLess cavem You lower your gazeto avoid the sight of the insaneDark Elf architecture, and step out The door closesbehind you. There is a staircase at the endof thewalkway,leadingdownwards to an archway.The conidor is filled with yet more madnessThe sub;ectsof the wall paintingsaren'ttoo bad,a Dark Elf sorcererhypnotizingDwarfs,conjuring skangemonstersandarurihilating dragonswith floating spheresof blackness. Bul il is all in suchan inhuman stylethat the depthof the Sorcerer's evil is madevery plan- Half-wayalongthe corrrdorthereare two doors, one on eachside,and you can seea set of lron Keys hangingon the wall next to lhe door on the left. You decide to talie th€ keys (note them on yo[tr Alomture Sheer)Now, will you go through the door on the left

road and headsnorth into the mountainsWhen iL is out of srght,you climboui of your hidinSpla(e.walk back lo the road, aid resume your own joumey towardsSardath.Turn to 165. 62 Holdlng your breathagainstthe spores,you walk into the tunnel.Befoieyou €ven get closeto the Dark Ell

t

t 6l-4j (tum to r28), carry skaight on and go lhrough the door at the end of the corridor (turn to 164),or go throughthe door on fhe right (turn to ro9)? 64 Walkingtlrough themarshisdrfficultanduncomfortable and,no matterhow hardyou try, you cannotkeepyour feet dry You seeno sign of any Slykk,thoughyou are surelhey arewatchingyou. Sometime later,you leave themarshandmakeyour way backto the dryforestyou prefer.Afler a kilometreor so,youcometo a smargrov€ of rowan trees,with some6ne healingherbsgrowing roundtheirroois(addz to your Herbs).FortheresLof the day,youwalkthroughtheeverdarkeningforest,carefully avoidingthe websof Giant Spiders.Towardsevening you arriveat theElf pathnearAsh Cleeve.Tum to 332 65 As you approachthe bable,one of the Dark Elves looksup from his food and shouts,'Hey,soldier Fetch me some wine.' You hesitate 'Don'Lyou undersLand Allansian?'he demands.'l thought all your loL were leaming it. Or perhaps you think that serving is beneath you? You may be a Warrior Lord, but that meansnothinghere.We areHrgl Nobility.' Unsureds lo the dppropriate re5ponse. agreeto do what he ask
66 the Dark Elfs wine while you are pourinSib If you have a Love Potion and you pour it into his goblet, tum to 176.If yor.rhavea SleepingDraughl and por.rr this into his goblet,turn to 3rr If you haveneitherof these,or if you don't want to use them,the Dark Elf snatches the goblet from you and drainsthe wine in a singleswallow(tum lo rr). 6 The Eaglespreadsits wings in orcier to slow itself down, then landsgently It takesa few hopping sLeps towardsyou, thenfliesup a few metresbeforelanding again.It repeatsLhisaction severaltimes,until you .ealizewhat it is trying to say: if you wish, rt will carry you up the mountain.When you tell the Eagle tums, that you undersfand, it flies info lhe air, banl<s, then swoopsdown and plucksyou from lhe ground but you Iis clawsbile a little way into your shoulders, cansensethat ii is tryin8 not to hurt you As soonas you are in lhe air it screeches loudly and begins to circle It must be waLtingfor your nstruclions.Will you askit to takeyou to wherethe BlackFlyerscome from (tum to 22r) or to Corianthus'sCastle(tum lo

r4r)t

ffie 6j One of them moves forward slightly Being heavily laden with jewellery and other plunder, he must be the hibe's chiel He makes a gestue to lhe rest of the Slykl and they hold their 6re. Then he gesturesand croaks at you. He doesnt look threalening, but he doesn'tlook particularlyfriendly,either He handshis spear to the Slykk nearesthim and draws his sword. He points if at the ground and makes some more croakingnoises.Then he points first at you, then al himself,This rs a very delicatesiluation.requiringa careft response. Will you lay your sword in the bottom of your boat and sail towards him (tum to t2) or draw your sword and hold it in fiont oI you in the salulefor singlecombal(tum to r47)? 68 You ask lonnan about Corianthus. the Storm Ciant. 'l have heard the legend,'he replies,tut I've no idea whether it's true or not It's said that he lives in a castleon a mountain somewhereto the north oI here. but I don't lcrow where. Someof the Dwarfs probably know aboutit, but none o{ them has ever told me' It rs clear tha[ Corianthusvalueshis privac, so you decidenot to tell Joruranabout Colrhyn and the Brass Key. Tum to ,ot. 69 Even though the irnposLorstrugglesfuriously, you manageto loc-kyour arlns round his ne&. He struggles again, but you simply hghten your hold. In one swift movement, you take one of your hands from round

t 7e7r Mom's neck, grab your sword and hold it at his lhroat.You tellhim that you won't hesitateto kill him if he triesLoescape. 'You'll get nothingout of me,'he saysand,beforeyou can move your blade,he twists his head and slumps forward. Tum to 49. 7o As your final blow hits the Minor Demon, a network of cracksappean on her face and body With an earsplilting crasb she shattersinto a million piecesof glass.The shieldfrom which she emergedfalls to the floor ar:d shatlers,revealinga narow tunnel sloping upwards As the noise of breakingglassdies down, anothertakesits place:a deeprumblingsound-Realizing that the whole place is beginningto brealcup, you clamberinto the tLrnneland set off on all foursfor the surfaceAJter a few metresthe tunnelendsaLa stone slabin the ceiling You push,but it won't budge Then you rememberlhe Sign of Summoning;you tap the slab threetimeswith your swordandit slidesopen.All that you and freedomare a few centimetres sLands beLween of soilandgrassrootsandyou breakthrougheasilyAs you &ag yourself out on to the top of the mound, an icy wind springsup, and the ground begrnsto shake You leapoff the moundjust asthe entjrecrypt cavesin Kiomu's tomb is sealedfor ever Turn to 349. The tunneltwists and tums, leavingdark shadowsin the corners,and you proceedvery warily, half expect,

12-',lt hg somethingsinisterto leap out aL any moment. After severalhundredmetres,you reacha heavystone door with a hugeiron knockerset in the centre.If IsLu rs wiLhyou, LuJnimmediatelyto 256.If you are alone, you push at the door but it is as firm as the rock all add aroturdyou. lf you lnow the knockrngsequence, with the numbersLogetherand turn to the ParagraPh thatnumberIf you do nol, tum to 374 As you go west,the ridgeslop€sgraduallydownwards until rt reachesthe level of the river Here you find a landingstageand a track leadingnorth-easlinlo the mounLainsA number of rafts are moored here,but mostof them are no betterihan wrecks.One of them, however,is still in good enough condition to carry )ou, alihough it would probablysrnk if you tried fo load it up. wilL you get on this raft and punl it w€st ium to 326),or follow the track north-east(tum to ,)1 You Lakeout a sprigof Quagwart(deductr hom your Herbs),and give half to eachmonster.They sr/allowit down hungrily and gaze at you, begging for more, therreyesgrowing fiercerall the time.Then they stop looking fierce,cock their heads to one side and a quesfioningexpressioncrossestheir faces One of they sag themstartsto whimp€r After a tew seconds, resPective lo their knees and crawl back to their roadsides. They both lie there,wallowing in self-pity, and you are ableto walk confidentlypasl As you go

7415 dowr,the road. ,ou hope,despiteyourself.that trrey won t becometoo ill. Tum to 399.

newestrecrult,'BeforeRoxsir has a chancero repty, Lokimurhasgonestridingoff down the hmnel.

I 1

16-ij

76 {s you standLhereplotting their downfall,a group of abouttilteenDark Elvesemergefrom one of the side skeets.The artisanis with them 'Valethion,Chaugh,' he says 'Fflthignna crogchanCamcarneyar.' RealizinSbhatyou should ha'e been more forceful rvhenyou met him before,you glare at him. 'l have alreadytold about speakingAllansmn,'you tell him. Now I must-' 'Il's ioo lat€ for that,' saysanotherDark Elf, stepping iorwardand drawinghis sword 'H€ just said thal you are not worthy to be a CamcameyarThe real Lord Chaughwould have killed him for that.'Against so Youradvenlure is over. manyyouhaveno chance. 77 You follow the walkway for somedistanceuntrl tt rs met by anothercoming from the left Will you now 80 left (tum to 146)or carrystraiShton (tum to 156)?

V

7ry9 7E ..s you open the door, sunlight streamsinto the room -i figure runs into the shadows. Valethion, humar,' the Dark Elf. You draw your sword,waming him -ysbe quiel. 'lt's just a greeling You should say, :o Thional" in reply.' You tell him that you are not in he mood to be polite. No matler,'saysthe Dark Ell :nd he lhrows a small wooden box at the door, crockingit closed.with the sunlightblockedout, he -eapsforward to atlackyou. There is no time to use JARK ELF

SKILL 8

STAM IN A 6

J you win, you find that thereare many gamesin this room and a table wilh severalpuzzles on it Of nlerest is a squaregrid filled wilh numberedtiles except for one empty square.lf you manage to .ompletethe puzzle,multiPly your answerby ro arrd :urn to that paragraph.If it is conecl you will be told rmmediately. If the paragraphyou tum to doesnot 'o :nakesense,[um to 3o4. lf you decidenot to touch the puzzle,you leavethe GamesRoom and retum to the Observatory.Will you go through lhe door on your left into the Library trlm to 166) or go shaight on tluough the uimarked Joor (tum to rro[ 79 He smiles.You must think me very foolish if you expectme Lo fall for that trick I suPposeyou have iome kind of shieldagainstphysicalmaglcto comPle-

8e-8r

!

ment the mentaldefencesof the amulet.'He pauses, frowning.'But what?' Will you telLhrm lhat the magic thaf protecLsyou is so strong lhat he will not even be able Lo detectih presence, let alonepenetrateit (turn to 239),suddenly look panic-stricken and say that the amulet'spower is waning (tum to r2r). or tell him ihat. \ince you are delendeda6ainstphysicalmagic,his best oplion might be to attackyour mind (tum to ,r2P

Th1'ra throws back Lhe cowl of her robe revealing a ball of fiery plasmawhere her head should be 'So, brave adventurer,you have retumed.' The plasma shrmmers and chargescolouras shespeaks.'Although I shouldsay "foolish" mfher than "brave" I told you of my wrath,and you did not heedmy waming' For a few seconds,all you krow is hert and light .. and thenii is over, Er The Freezeblood Wall is too steepand treacherous a set of mountainsfor you to climb, so you must shrt round its eastemedge.After travellingfor somedistance,you observea blackshapeat fhe foot of one oi the numerousrocky crags It is noL far away, so you climbup lo investigate.When you get there,you find thal lhe shapeis, rn fact, the corpseof a Dark Elf which has beendeadfor at leasta week The creature seemsto have been stripped of i[s weaponsand armout and it was not carryinS a pack-Neverthelessa

E2

lhorough investrgationis always wo*h while Roll iwo dice- Add toSether the numberc rolled, then modifythe result,dependingon whal day il is, accordmg to the following table: Moonday Freday Earthday Windsday Seaday

deduct4 deductz nomodificaiion add z add +

lf the resulLis lessthanor equalto your sKrLL,Lurnto rj2 If the resultrs greaterthan your sKrLL,you find noihingon lhe Dark Elfs body, so you decideto leave where it is and carry on nofth into the mountans 't hlrn to r7t) 8z :\leitherlhe tracknor the Foresthasany groundcover, so your bed is rough and cold, and you don't get muchsleep(deductr point from your sraMrN^). In the blue pre-dawn(lick off the next day on your AdaentureSheet),you :re woken by the sourd of somethinS comingthroughthe trees When it appears, you instantty recognizethe Ciant Wolf Spider a weblesspredator much Eercer than the woll iL is namedafLer.It moves Lowardsyou on ils long, lhin legs,its hugemandiblesclickinghungrily.Thereis just timeboIire one anow at it if you want to. CIANT WOLF SPIDER

sKrLL 9

sraMrNA8

If you win, you breakcampand set off, eatinga little

F

8r-{4 breakfastas you go. The treesloom largeover the Elfpaft and it grows everdarkeruntil you canhardlysee the sun.Towardsmidday, the path leaveslhe Forcst and you are relieved to follow it Howevea as you walk nofth to the ZengisRoad,you graduallyrealize that the nightmareis far from over for Lhereis a tenible blacknesshanging over Lake Sardmere.Will you carry on norLhwardsinto the mountains(Lumto 286)or travelalongthe road to Sardath(turn to 29Jt

83 Although the Vampyric Mould has done yr.:u nr.r physrcaldamage,it hasmanagedto crawlup your legs and now coversa largeportion of your torso.Thereis nothing you cando to stop rt makingits way to your brain and [uming you into another Mould Zombie Your adventu€is over 84 T*f your Luck,deducting r ftom the dice roll for each hit you have taken from lhe Mammoth. If you are Lucky, the monsfernudgesyou with jts spikedtruni<

8j-{6

.:rd you flop over on to your back, Siving the most impressiono[ beingdeadthal you can,and the --ilike \{ammothis convinced.If you are Unlucky,the Mamnoth suspecLs that you are feigning dealh and is :irlally convincedonly after it has whackedyou a :oupleof timeswith its spik€dtrur* as you lie on the ground(deduct4 points from your sr^MrN^) Having :een fooled into lhinking that you are dead, the l'{arrunolhlosesinterestin you. tums northwardsand :iunders off rnto fhe mountains Once it is out of srghf.you Bel to your feel and resumeyour ioumey :owardsSardath(tum to 165).

8t )ou climb up one of the treesand reachout for lhe rearcstcreeper.Roll two dice.If the lotal is lessthan rr equal Lo your sKrLL,tum to r74. If the total is greaLer Lhanyour sxrLL,tum to 2ro. 86 Try as you may, you can find no way to open the stonedoor You racearor.rnd the now desertedquarters

a7 of the elite Guard but are unable to 6nd a route Lo the Sorceretso you reLumto the bottomlesscavem.Whm you get thereyou hear chantingcomingfrom some where above you You dare not look up, for Lheinsane archiLecture would destroyyour mind. BuLyou don't needto, for the effectof the spellis obvious:the Dark Elves have becomeenvelopedby aurasof dark power, and each wanior fights like ten. The surfacedwellers aregoing to lose,andyor'lradventureendshere.

8t-t9 any chances,you put your face back in the water. {iter ten minutes of Lhis,you cauliouslyturn your ireadand look up into the sky. It is difficultto t€ll in itre darkness,but you re stre Lhat Mom has goneRelievedto have escaped,br.rtglad of what you have teamedfrom the encounter,you swim to the bank of rhenver and climb out. Wet and cold,you makeyour $ay backto the CouncilHall.Tum to 29r. 88 One of the Slyll is lighler and faster than the other, a.ndhe soon racesaheadof his companion.You decide io Ine at him.

:ist SLYKK

SKILL 8

t you hit him, turn Lo 297 If you misshim, there rs still time to looseanotherarrow If this hifs him, turn :o 297 If you miss again,you have now run ouL o[ iime. You quickly sling your bow over your shoulder anddrawyour sword(tum to 2o7) 87 Thereare many boatsin the nver, lying idle now lhat the town has been cut off. For a moment,you think you are going to hit one,but Iortuneprevailsand you landin Lhewaier (deductr poinl from your srevlxe). If you survive,you glanceupwardsto see whether Mom is still there He is circlingaround,so you takea deepbreathand lie, facedown, in Lhewater.You float down river for a little way, ihen lift your head a fractioa taking anolher brealh Nol wanling lo tale

89 The Giant Eagle swoops in aL great speed, raking a gougein yow shoulderbeforeyou canreact(deduct2 roints ftom your srAMrNA).The bird banksand tums, _.henswoopsagain.This time you are ready for it.

CIANT EAGLE

SKILL 8

STAM IN A 1 2

If the Eagle wins two AtLack Rounds in a row, tum immediafely to g3g It yott win the fight, dld you iollow the mnnel up the mountain (tum to 296), or did ]'ou comeup by someotherroute (tum to 1E8)?

!

92

90-9r 90 As you tum to fire, the eyesvanishbeneaththe waler. You loosean arrow at lhe clumpo{ weedsand wait }few bubblescomeup, buLyou cannottell whethero: nol you hit anythinS.That is the last you seeof the shangeeyes,but you somehowfeel that someof the darknessLhathas been infestingthe Foresthas crep: inside you (lose 1 LUCKpomt) Some time towards midday, you ready your bow again, for you are entering Slykk terrilory. The reeds here are dense: than ever and it is.difficultto keepyour boat in cleawaLer Vvhile you are manoeuvring through a particularly nanow channel,a number of the slimy froSpeople rise ouL of Lhe reedson either side of you spears raised, croaking with a\ticipation. Tesl you, lart if you are Lucky, tum to 67 If you are Unluc\ rum ro r47

9r

Usrng a calmertone Lhevoice says,'You may enter. and the stonedoor opens,seeminglyby itself At the far srdeoI fhe door there is a narrow tunnel,whid you follow for about fifty metr€s It emergesat las: into a seemingly boitomlesscavern, and you are seizedby an unexpectedaltack of vertigo Once you haverecovered,you seetha! a long, nanow walkwal' exLends tsomwhereyou are standing,and you glance acloss the cavem Lo see where it goes. You are shocked by a terrifying glmpse of the Dark Elf lajr, which is of sucha wild geometryand architecture that it makesyou flinch and avert your gaze. Will yoLr force yourself to look at the lair (tum to 24) or go

{ong the walkway,keepingyour eyesdown (fum to ,88I 92 ':-ouhavefound Khomu Wych's secreftreasurehoard. :irere isn't a vasl amount,buf what there is looks raluableand someof it may evenbe magical.At first ',-ourgnoreLhetreasureand concentrate on searching :cr a way out- After a while il becomesapparentthat, i thereis any hope of escape,it lies with one of the -':jectshere.Thereare iwo gobletson a marbleslab: ::re $ madeof s ver and containsa thick blackliquid, ::re other is golden and containsa deep red liquid. ibove these,hanging on the wall, are a beautifully =shionedsiiv€rshieldand a goldenamulet.The shield =s a smooth,shiny suface, and the amuleLhas an =rgraving of a Lall, powerfulJooking humanoid with re headof an octopus.Will you, Takethe goldenamulet? Takethe silvershield? Drink from the silvergoblel? Drink from the goldengoblet?

Turn Lo2rt Tum to 275 Turn to 377 Tunt to ,93

93-4 9' ine mounLains arenot a pleasantplaceto haveto camp r! but you ar€ exhaustedfrom the day's walking, so -,ou soon fall asleep.In the middle of the night you <e woken by the squelchingnoise of a shapeless, ,.ellow blob heavingitself out of Lhefainlly glowrng feam This horrific parody of life must have been ueatedby the stream'spollutanls.Moved by a mixture ,.t disgustand pity, you decideto put the creatureout E its misery lt is slow, so you may tue up to three E:-rows aLit. \-\NTHIC HORROR

sKrLL 6

srAMrNA14

l you wi& you sawl back under your blanketsand *ettledown !o sleep Your dreamsare hauntedby the -{onor, and in the moming you wake up with a starL iick off the next day on your AdumtureSheet)If :oday rs Hrghday,lum to 5o If it is not, you follow Jrestreamr-ntilyou cometo another,smallerstreama runnel tumbling down the side of a huge, isolated nountainto the west lt hasthe sameyellowishtint of ire main stream,which to the north of nere rs ctear iVillyou follow the runnel(lum to 1r8) or leapacross :t andcarryon north (turn to rrgt 94 WhaL a sad piece of acLing,'he says.You should icrowbetfer than to try to fool me. Your earlierpanic rvasclearly genune And the secondI doubted the amuletwas fading, you jurnped on il Lrying to correct :rour mistake Well, rt di&'t work.' He pauses.Now rou have no protectionfor your mind and whatever

V 98-99

95i1 physicalprotectionyou may have is a wasteof trme His eyesflashbright yellow, and the alr betweenyou crackleswith energy Add Joo to the number of the BrainSlayerAmulet, then tum Lo the paragraphwith that number.

'l cannotbelievethat is so. I am swe that Corianthus, if he does exist,would ralher die than blght sucha beautifulplaceas LakeSardmere' He shrugsapologeti, cally.'l'm sorry that I canbe of no more help with this problem,'he says You assurehim that every clue is useful,if only to eliminatepossibilities

9t

lf this is fhe secondquestionthat you have asked Lokimur,tum to 274.lf it rc only the first, you may askanotherWhat will it be aboutl

TestyourLuck.If you areLucky,tum to r97 If you are Unlucky,tum to 258. Insteadof firing your bow, you reach quickly into your pack and tale out the large botlle of Myste4 Potion that the trader gave you. Carefullyyou take aim at your opponent,then let fly Roll Lwo dice li Lhetotal is greaterthan your sKrLL,the phial misses and smashes harmlesslyon the floor. If the total is less than or equalto your sKrLL,you hit your target,anci the powerful acrdwhich was in fhe phial splashesall over your opponenl.Roll one die and deduct that many points from your opponent'sSTAMINA.Nor\ tum backto the paragraphyou camefrom 97 'Sardalhhas been isolatedby a Leniblestorm which ftges over the whole lake. Vy'hatcausesit I don't know. The only creatureI krow who can evokesuch weatheris Co anthus,the legendaryStorm Giant,but the storiesabouthim suggestthal he is a friendto the landratherthana ravagerof rt.' You suggestthat somebodymight be forcing him to do rt.

Thyra Migum (if you know of her)? CoflanLhus? The BlackFlyers? The Toa-Suo?

Tum to ,9 Turn to r8r Turn to 168 Tum to 38t

98 ^fou do that' he says.'l'll even give you somewhere comfortableto eat if.' You ask him what he means, aad he smiles.'l like you, and I think I'll keepyou.' The Dark Elf wants you to be hrs personalservant You try variousexcusesto wriggle out of this situation but he is insist€ntand,when you tum to run, several Dark Elvesleap to their feet and draw their swords. You cannotescape 99 When you tirst look into the pool. all you can see i. your own reflection.Bul then it shimmersand fades, leaving only darkness.Gradually a pair of bright yellow eyesform on Lhesurfaceand a smooth,cultured voiceappearsin your head:To whom do you wish Lo speak?' If you havea SnakeRing,add 3o fo its number

?

and turn immediaLely to that paragraphIf you do not, whosenamewill you give: Liam Astromonius of Grimmund? Colrhynof theForestof Ni8ht? Sonelof the ForestWood Elves? Ydys Tinner, Commanderof Sardath's Army? Corianthus,bheStormGianL?

Tum fo rz6 Tum to r8j Tum to z6o Turn to j27 Tum to 35u

If you don'l wanl to speakto anyone,you say so; the eyeslhen vanish,arrdyou move on (Lumbackto 166 andmakeanolhercholce). roo The Dark Elvessnapto attention 'Lord Chaugh,'one of them says,'we were ..' His vorce trailsofl 'How did you get past the sunlight?'he asks.You rackyour brains for a plausiblereply bul, before you get a chancefo tell your story,he startslo gabbleat you in someunintelligiblelanguage- probablyDark Elf. You try to answerin Allansia+ but he is not convinced 'Take the impostor,'he shouts.You fight rhe Dark Elveswith great fury, bringing all your resourcesto bear, but lhere are just too many of them. Your adventur€is over

You walk soulh-westfor sometime, headingtowards the wesLern edgeof a lon& sharpridge.As you rouno the edge of lhe ridge, you seea river - the Sardath, wide and slow There is a landingslage here, and manywreckedbarges.One of th€mis just aboulfil {or

you to sail, although it would probably sink if you were to try loading it up Feeling that you have exhaustedall the possibilitiesof theseeasLemranSes, you decideto sailwest Turn bo,26 ro2 You walk down the torchht Lunnel,tenselyexcrtedat the possibrlity of encount€ringa Dark Elf in this gloom Afler a few hurdred metres,you come to a lunchon,with one tunnel going up to the right and anothergoing down to theleft.I trile you arestanding here,trying to decrdewhich way to go, you heartwo selsof fooLsteps, one approaching from eachdirection. You couldrun backto the Laboratory,but they might follow you. However,thereis a small,dark niche on the opposrtesid€of the tunnel,whereevenDark Elves may not be able to seeyou If you decideto hide in here, tum to 3r1. Il you woLid prefer to stand and facethe DarkElves,lum lo u87 ro3 A long corridor runs from here and it has just one exrt:a closeddoor at the oLherend-When you walk down the corridor,you are relieved[o see thal this door has a handle,so you open it and walk through And then you slop - lhe room is full of Dark Elves, ard they are elite wadiors, all wearing Lhe same type of amour as the guard For a few secondsyou hesitaleto ldke dny dclronat all thi. is a very dangeroLrs situalion One of lhe Dark Elves ihen walks up to you and looks at you with disdain.

t rot-r07 'Lord Chaugh,'you say,'from the Gianfs castle.' 'Sit there,'he says,pointinSto a chairby a stonedoor you do as Wary of makingthe Dark Elvessuspicious, you are told- The door has the word 'srucrrrrr' carvedon it and,as you sit there,you wonderwhal it mears The Dark Elf turns to the oLhersand murmurs somethingin a strante language probablya secret battle language,for it doesn'lsoundat al] like normal Dark Elf.Whateverhe said,it musthavebeensarcastic, for Lheothers laugh.Add up the value of the rings you have, then turn to the paragraphwith the same number.If you haveno ringswith values,tum Lozo1. ,o4 You travelall day throughfhe Freezeblood Mountarns, following the same route up a long, Bently risrnS valley. There is no path here, so the going is very difficult.You can seea huge,isolatedmountainat the end of the valley,but rt is impossibleto tell how iar away it is; you walk for many hours,but it doesn't seemto get any closer.To make mattersworse,the valley floor is damp and marshy, and you can only make any progressby leaping between clurnps of springy turf Each mis-stepthreaiensto break your ankle;but you are not easily beaten,and you keep gojng, igno ng the sweat which is almost freezing againstyour skin.By the time night beginsLofall the mountainstill doesn'tlook any nearer.But everything you havediscoveredindicatesthat this is Lheway you must go, so there is no point in furning back now. Indeed,you may evendecideto presson throughthe

night. If you do so, turn to 2tr. lf you wish to camp for the night, you notice a smallcrag near by where you can shelterand somedry rocks on whrch you may (turn to 286). sLeep ro5 'Excellent.'He is obviously very pleasedand hands you a large bottle contarningabout half a litre of a thick,clearliquid.'t{hat I sardbeforewasn'tquite true. it's not reallya potion at all - at least,not a pohon for drinling All I know aboubit is that it's very dangerous, so don't even open the botlle, Jetalonepour il down your throat. What I suggestyou do is throw il at somethingnasty and hope that ii doessomedamage.' You may useMystery PotionX at any trmewhenyou are allowed to fire your bow, in placeof one arrorar. When you decideto useit, makea not€ o[ the number of the paragraphyou are readingat the time and then tum to paragraph96 to find out what happens.'Now, then,'saysthe hader,'down to business.' Tum Lo263, and remember:you are obiiged to buy at least one

ro6 Beforethe Elveshave time to react,you draw your bow and hre an arrow at Sorrel.If it hits, lum to 272. If it misses,tum to 2o4. ro7 You walk all night without 6nding any landmarkto tell you whereyou are.Sometimesyou go up hill, at other timesdown As the night wearson, you grow

t roE-r09 more and more tired (deduct 1 point from your STAMINA). Eyentually,the night draws to an end (lick ofl the next day on your AdoentureSheet)and,gradwally you are able fo make out bhevaious mountains The one you were heading towards last night is still a long way ofI - you have wanderedaround so much that you have coveredless than half the distanceyou should havedone.Cursingyour stupidity,you pr€sson northwards,trying to makeup for lost time Turn to 357.

a balcony in a massivecircularroom, so you step closerLo th€ edge and look down to see v/hat iL is makinglhe noise The room below you is 6lled with Dark Elf sorcererswearinSomate robesand holding twisted,black wandsin the air. They are slandingin threegroupsof lhirteenround slrangelyungeometric magrcaldiagrams,swaying and loudly reciting their invocations The ar above each group is hear.rywith balefulpower, and thick globulesof blacknesshang over Lheirheads.

rot Althoughtheslopeup lo LhemounLain passis steep,ii is not dangerousIt is a hardslogto get to fhetop,but you accomplishiL more quickly than you might have expected. While you are brying to lale in lhe incredible you notjcea smallcaveon grandeurof the mounLains, the eastemside of the passand you walk caufiously acossto investigateYou can'Lseeanythingin thecave, but there are severaltracks on the gromd outside, possibly fhose of Dwarfs, though it does seemas i[ inexperienced handshavetriedio coverthemup.lfyou follow the tracksinto the cave,hlm to 2j2 Otherwise, sincethe mountainson eithersideof the passare too difficult for you to climb,you will have to descendagain. If you go down the north-v/estsideof the pass,fum to r 33.Ifyou go backdown thesouLh-easl sideof thepass, you eventually regain the main trail; will you now go no*h-east(tum to l2j) or south-west(lum to z4o)?

If you havea LighlningSphere,it beginsto crackle,so you takeit out of your pack.As you hold it in your hand,it glows with a bright, white light, and small flashesof energy arc out over the sorcerers,dying againstthe coagulaLion of blackpower.lf you hurl the Sphereat the Dark Elves,turn lo 233 If you don't havea Sphere,or if you don I want to use iL, tum Lo

r09 As soon as you go LhroughLhedoor, you are assailed by a hypnotic,rhythmicchanting.You are high up on

I9I

IIO

When you open the door, you suddenlyrealizeyour terriblemistake:lhereareaLleasLten Dark Elf warriors in here and they ae still furiousal being trickedby you arehuman,they aLtackwiLhouL the Eagle.Because hesilation.You defendyourselfwith greaLfury, bringing all your resourcesto bear,buL there are just Loo manyof them Your adventureis over.

Since lhe Chosl is a creatureof fhe Spirit Plane, normalweaponswon'Lharm it Only silver,which has

tr II'

a partialexistenceon the SpiritPlane,canlouchit. It is LuckyLhatyou possesssucha weapon,for otherwise the creature. you would havebeenpowerlessaSainsL

GHOST

5 Kl tL 9

STAM I N A 8

fie Ghost doesn't wound you in lhe normal way Every time it hits you, it drainsyour life-force,therefore, insteadof deducfingsr,{MlN/, jusL count how many times it hils you and keep a note for fuLure referenceYou may atiempt to run back the way you cameat any lime, by turning to r5o lf you destroy the Ghost,LumLo22.' la2

You follow lhe walkway for some distance,keePing your eyesdown *hile still tryin8 to walk as naturally as possible.Eventuallyyo'r come [o a junction;will you go left (tum to r93) or carry straighton (tuln to ,58! rr3 You throw the boneinto the middleof the road where LheLwo seaturescan reachit They eachgrab an end and shaketheir headsfiercelyFor a few momentsthey growl and tug, but then the bone snapsin two, and Lheyretire io their respectiveroadsidesto enjoy their feasL-Somewhathesitantlyyou walk betweenlhem, incieasingyour paceonceyou arepast Tun lo 199. II4

Suddenlyyou feel somethingcrawlinguP your leg: it is the Mould IL doesn'tseemto be hurtingyou, but it

is clear that its intentionsare not good. If you have the MysLeryPotion and wrshto use it, add zzo to its number and tum to the paragraphwith that number Otherwise,you must try to scrapefhe Mould off your body beforeiLcoversyou complefely-

VAMPYR]CSLIMEMOULD

SKIL L 9

Sincethe Mould rs not a singlecreaturebut a colony of microscopicbeingsbound togetherand driven by an evil sentience,you cannot do it any real harm Equally,it can do you no harm.InsLead, lhis combat represents the raceto find out whetheryoLrcanfend iL of{ before it covers your body; thereforedo noL deductany srAMrNApoinLs.If the Mould wins two Attack Rourds in a row, tum to 83 If you win two AtfackRoundsin a row, humto rJ4 II'

The morninganives(regain1 sr^MINA point and tick off the next day on your AdoenlureSheet)and you climb out from under your thick, frost-coveredblankets,the chill morning air reviving you and making you eagerto go on You shoulderyour packand seL off As the moming wearson, the river becomesmore and more choked with reeds,for you are entering Slykkterrilory You keepyour eyesopenfor any sign of the slimy foog-people, but yotr seenothing for over an hour. Then, without warnrng,two Slykk leap up o'rt of fhe reedsand on to the bank. one of them shoutsaLyou in his croakingspeechand brandishes a spear.He gestureswith it northwards,seemingalmost to point. He croaksagain,more threaLeninglyIf you

V II5

comply with the gesture and head north into the Forest,they wrll let you go (tum to 267).If you stand your ground,they will begin to advanceon you Will you make some sign of friendshipand say who you are (turn to r2t), draw your bow and loosean arrow at one of them (tum to 88),or draw your sword and wait for them to reachyou (turn to zo7)? r6 As you get deeperinto the mouniaiDthe bright liSht of day is replacedby an eerieyellow glow from the slream,makingthe siilactiLescasLsLrange shadowson lhe c€iling Somebimes Lheyeven look as f they are moving. After you have beenwalking for about half an hour, you becomeconvincedfhat some of the stalactites reallyaremoving You look up. but it is too late - they are alreadyrainingdown on you. You run. Roll one die to find out how many hit you, and deduct 2 sr^MINA pointsfor eachhit If you suwive, you reach Lhe end of the Mimic Stalaclites'teritory and 6nd yourself ab a junction where lhe streamsplits off to the right and th€ path headsleff The tunnelwherethe strearngoesis rmpass able, so you follow the path Gradually the tunnel levelsout, then lums to begin a gentledescent.You come to a coupleof tumings lo the left, bul thereare many aljenvoicesechoingfrom theselunnelsso you avoid fhem and carry straight on. The tunnel twists and tums,going downwardsfor a few hundredmekes, until you reach a healy stone door with a huge iron knockerin fhe centre-If Istu is with you, tum to 2t6. If you arealone,tum to ,74

IITI1 9

rr7 You sta* to speak,but the 68ure interrupts.'How dare you speal to Thyra Migum wrthout kneeling beforeherl'A glowing light appearsin the cowl, then a burstof lightningshootsout, hrttingyou in the chest. Roll one die and deductthat many points from your srAMrNA.If you survivethrsblast,will you now kneel beforeThyra (bumto ,rJ), or do you refuse(turn to 3to)? rrE SomehowMom managesLo get you into a posilion whereyou are ouLof balance. With this advanlage,he you twish, trying to fum on to your stomachand get you in a stranglehold. You fight to stop him. Roll two dic€ to deferminethe Attack StrenSthfor both yoursetf and the impostor(sKrLL7) If the resultis a draw or if you win the Aftack Round, you manageto twisl yourselfout of Momt grasp,ihwarting his effortsto hold you return to zr2 and continuethe fight. If you losethe Altack Round,tum to 25.

r19 You follow the sLreamfor somedistanceunLilyou see a beautifulblue greenlakeat its head,nesLlingwithin a naiural amphitheatreformed by the sunounding cliffs.Suddenlyyou are knockedto the ground by a massive, white-funedbody.You sfrikeout, but several join the attack. more of the Hobgoblin-likehumanords Your adventureis over.

r2t r2 0

The Minor Demon comes to a halt and looks in the direction of your Veiled Guardia$ being a Demon herself, she can see him. 'Isfu,' she says, 'free yourself from the bondage of this human and side with me. After all we are both Demons, LhisPatheticceature is but a mo al.' lstu laughs.You cannoLtempt me, Lix Tekax You must Imow that my service Lo this human is the final stageof my releasefrom the lvory Cube. Once my earthly{orm hasbeendestroyedin honestservice,my exilewill be over.'He leapsat her,lalonsllashing MIRROR DEMON

sKrL!8

sraMrNA10

You decide to stand well back and await the outcome. Play out the battle betwem Lix Tekax and Istu, remembenngto deduct points {iom Ishis srAMrNA sincehe is in direct combat. If Istu wins, turn to 7o. lf the Mirror Demon u/int you will have to 6nish her off. If she wins an Attack Round againsLyou, tum immediately to 6. If you destroy het lum to 70. r2r TestyoutLrck.lf you areLu&y, turn to r7r' If you are Unlu&y, tum to 246. 122

You walk for many hours, following the skeam uP an ever-steepeningvalley. There is no trail here and the ground is very rocky, so your Progress is slow and tirinS. Eventually night falls, but you shll haverit

tound the sourceof this strangely polluted water. tt is cold and windy in this valley, but there seemsto be a good shelter under somefa.llenbouldersby the sheam. Will you stop here and make camp for the night (tum to 9r) or presson north (tum to 2JtI a2,

Justas you are Ieavingthe camp,a young Dark EE breathlessfrom rurming, comesup to you, 'Thank the WhispererI have found you, Lord Chaugh,DulcePilea wantsyou to rctum to th€ castleimmediately.'Sevenl other Dark Elves have overheardhim, so you have no choice but to go along with this order. As you walk awayfrom the slavers'camp,you try to act asnaturally Dark Elven' as you can, praying that you won't say ihe wrong thing. Howevet if you retun to the castle, you are bound to give yourself away sooner or later, so you have got to get rid of thrs Dark Elf. Once you areout of sightof the camp,you attacklum. YOUNG DARK ELF

sKrL!Ji

srAMrNA 4

II you win, you hide his body, then carry on down the hack. If you weren'bforced to kill them on your way in, the Obligathsjust let you past- they are thereto keepthe wrong people out, not to keep anyone jn. When you get back to the main tmck, you tum ri8ht, headingfurther rnto bhecity. Tum lo 237.

r24-r25 r24

mind can int€rprettt You stand therefor a moment, entranced by its strangeness, feelingyourselfbecoming lost, your mind chasing through endlesspaths of unreason. But your will is strong and you are able to draw yourselfaway at last. Convincedthabrt would be foo dangerousfo look again,you decideto rely on whatyou haveseenalreadyto guide you throughthis alienworld, so you walk tentativelyalong lhe walkway, keepingyour eyes on the path just in front of you Il is unnervrngnot knowing where y
r29-r1o

126-12t

one pulling away from the olher. Will you draw your bow and loose an anow a[ one of them (hrm to rr8) or draw your sword and wait for them to reach you (Lumto 2o7! r26 If you have your Council Ring and a Four-LeafClovet tum to r5r. If you have only the Clover t:ulrnlo 221. If you haveneither,fum fo 192.

Go ba& into the conidor and though the door opposite,'hehissesat you over his shoulder'I presume you are well enough armed to fight the Sorcerer.We'll go to bhe dormilory on the left and take out the acolyLes.' He looks at sorneof the others.'Revengeat lastl' he shouts, and the Dwarfs let out a cheer, urconcemedat the noisethey are making.Following Ere Dwarfs instructions,you retum Lo the corridor and go shaight lhrough the door opposite. Tum Lo ro9.

a27

But there is still drusefor hope, a small sailingboat struggling desperatelyagainsl the weather.ILs lone sailor, dashing frantically from sail to tiller and back again,may not male iL. You look around for a means to ard him, but the only thing you find lhat will actuallyfloat is a small rowinS boat, moored to the wreckedbridge.Will you row out to help the sailor (lum to 242)or wait and hope thal he makesit on his ov!{l(tum to lr3)? r28 As soon as you open the doot you are stopped dead by the sight that greets your eyes.There are scoresof Dwarfs in here, shackledto the walls and floor with manac-lesand chains, and to each obher with neckbands and steel rods. When they see you, many of them widen their eyesin delight but keeptheir mouths firmly closed.You go to the one nearesl you, quickly unhook the lron Keys from your belt and unlock him. Now that he is freed, the Dwarf grabs the keys from you and begins to releasethe others.

r29 You walk towards the cage bul are repulsedby some gieal power.No matterwhabyou do, you cannotgeL dose to the Giant.Perhapsif you were able to speak to him, he could lell you what to do You call to him, but he shows no sign of heamg you. WhaLeveris binding LheGianl, it has cut hirn off Irom the outside world completely,and thereis no way you can get to him so, reluclantlt you give up. l{ you decideto leave the oval building, tum to 29. If you wanL lo stay and hvestigale further, will you edge round LheGiant to 0releft (tum to 238)or to the right (tum to 337)? Ito road until you cometo the lasL You walk on down lhe oLripostof Lhe village - the harbour,where all Lhe kading boats are kept. lt has a look of dereliclion about it: all the sails are ftfle4 and the food in the warehousesis beginning Lo rot. This scene drives home Lo you the importanceof your mission and the urgencywith which it musLbe completed.There is not

rtt-t14

rrt-t12 you must muchfor you to go on yet, but nevertheless you you now decrdehow travel will proce€d.Will north-easton the Grimway (turn to 57), take your boat and sail up the river (tuTl lo 269),or crossthe river and headnorth-westthrough the forest(turn to 325)? rtt In the middle of the battle,just when the Ghost is beginninglo weaken,you makea dashfor the secret door in the sarcophagus. The Ghost is still strong enough to keep uP its defence,however.A ghostly arm flarlsout and deliversa life-draininghit. Add r to the numberof timesthe Ghosthashil you, thenreturn to rrr to continuethe batLle r12 You draw your sword and lean over the stem o[ the boat A [ew deft strokesdeskoy the Bloodweed,and the rudderis freed You sailon. Howevet sinceBloodweed is dang€rousonly until it becomesgorged, killing il was unnecessary - [his one had alreadyhad your its fill of blood, which you shouldhaverealized ftom its dril-red colour.As a result of this gratuitous acf the natural l.rck that follows you through the Forestebbsa liLtle(lose1 LUCKpoinl).An hour or so later,you spot anotherpair of amphibianeyeslooking at you This time, insteadof looking back at them directly,you keep on looking forward but watch lhe eyesat the edgeof your field of vision Not realizing thaL you have seeniL, Lhecreah.rrestays in fr.:ll view Will you quicl
at it (turn fo 9o),or iust wait to seewhat it does(tum to 2947 Because of the shapeof the north-westdescent,you dont seethe boltom until you have madeyour way down lor some distance.The beautifullake and the sheerclilfs to the north quite soon becomevisible buL you don't see the huge army of white, thickly funed humanoidsunlil it is too late.Theseare Toa' Suo: resemblingovergrown Hobgoblins,they have lwo tusklikelower Lee[hprohudhg from lheir mouths They seeyou straightaway and a group breaksoff to attackyou. You run,but lhey are in thejr elementand catchup with you easily.Your adventureendshere

rt4 You are much quicker than the Mould and so are able to drive it from your body. The relief is onLytemPorary, however,for il s[mes back acrossthe Sround towardsyor! readyLoresumeits attackUnfortunately, it is not alon€now - the Zombiehascomebo its aid There is no way that you ll be able to fend off the Mould and fight the Zombie,so you run north-west (sincethe Zombieis blockingthe other way), slowing down to a walk when Lhecreaturesare out of sight. Tum to rt

rt5-r16 rl5 The sight that meets you as you look out aqoss the immensecavem 6lls you with dismay: the Dark Elves have nearly Iinished building the small city h,hich will be the base for their evil machinaLions.Beneath and to your left it is complete;further out, Dark -vou EIf artisans are stil building their shange houses and decorating them with hideous gargoyles and basreliefs.Over lo the far right, you are saddenedLo see scoresof Dwarf slavesquarryingthe rock from the cavem wall and ferrying it to the artisans in huge carts. Behind you, at the bad< of the balcony, is an archway,which you may go through into the sho* funnelbeyond(turn to 2tr). All your other optionsIeadfurtherinto the city. If you have a pair of PegasusWings, the most direct route is by flying (tum to 16) lf you do not, you will have to walk. On each side of the balcony a stairwayleads downwards. Will you go down the left stairway to a walkwaysomedistanceabovethe floor of lhe cavem (turn to 16o) or down the right stairway, which goes all the way to the botton (turn to t89F tt6 The door reverberateswith a dull thud but does not glvej the stone is not €ven chipped.Will you: Searchfor an opening mechanism? Try sayinga password? Hit the door again? Give up?

Tum to 7t Tum to 2 Tum to !2r Tum to ,49

t "7-r3E

rr7

Sailing round the wrecked bndge is easier than you thought,and you are soonsailingon up the river.The increasing dark-n€ss oI the Forestbearsout your theory that somethingevil is taking place,that the coldness you feel is not just the resultof the weatherEven the dver is beginningto look abnormal.SeveralLimesyou seea parrof largeamphibnneyespop up in Lhereeds, only to disappearjust as quickly Many hours pass, and the Forest'sdarknesstums into the chill blackness of night. Thereis a smallclearingon ihe eastbanl! so you land the boat ahd setup camp As you sit, eatinS cold rations and gazing over fhe trees on the west bank,you notice two blackshapessilhouettedagainst the starry sky They are some distanceto the west, flying southwards;alter a while, they land. If you decide to sail over to the w€st bank and track the creatures into ihe Foresl,tum to 168.Oth€rwise(write the number 178 in a circle on your ArloenLureSheet), will you settlestraightdown to sleep(tLrrnro r9t or makea fire first (turn fo r88)?

I3E Sincethe FirstSlyhkis a lot closerbhanthe obher,you fue al him. Filst SLYKK

srt!t 8

If you hit him, tum to 297 If you misshim, he is too closefor a secondshot,so you qr.rickly sling your bow over your shoulderand draw your sword (tum bo "7)

r59-r4r 439 ,oldingyour sword up fo his face you shout at him :rat you are the one who deservesthe mosl resPect iou say lhat you are a waniot riskng your life for :re spreadof DarkElf civilizalionHe beginsto tremble rnd drops his bundle A small, beautifully carved .ratueof a Gargoyle'sheadfalls out of lhe sackclolh. -ve both noble, in own ways,' he says,obviously :oncemedby your superiorshength,but still trying to ..rlvagesome honour. No need violence,'he says. TakeGargoyle' You sneer,but you pick up the figure :rld march ofi down the main road. 'Many ways of :ower,'he shoutsafteryou 'Seewhen you neednoble jving place.'Yor-rignorehis tauntsand carry on. Tum :o 354 r40 RoLltwo dice.If the iotal is lessthan or equallo your sKrLL,tum to 34 If the total is greater than your rKrLL, turnto 9J. r4r The Eaglecarriesyou up Lhemountajnat a paceso nlift that the icy air rushespast your face and chills you ,rour skin. You begrnio shiver but nevertheless ue glad that you no longerhave to makethe effort of climbing especiallywhen you seethe sheerwalls of the caslle,seeminglycaruedout of the acLualrock of lhe mounLain. After the Eaglehas landedon the roof andyou are safelyon 6rm groundoncemore,iL starts all the scrapingat the stonewilh ils talons,screeching rvhile When you takea closerlook, you seethat there

t42

whab sleeP You can.

into Sardath(tum to 293[

r/,'2 south until night falls' steadily the river You follow You ate not far ftom Sardath now, so you Pless on' When vou are abouthalf way round the eastemedge of the ireezebloodWall, you heara skangenoiselike

r4t-\44 t4a 'That, of course,is your privilege - though I think you are being unwise.' You follow Liam into the spell chamber.In the cenhe of lhe room standsan enormous ayslal mftor, shroudedin coloued mists.Liam picks up a silver sceotrefrom its stand.AII thaLremainsis for me lo performthe Signof Summoning.' He rapson the crystal three times. Without wamin& a vision appears It is a Suma, a messengerfrom the gods and answerer of desperate prayers.His voice echoesround the spellchamber,as if Lheroom were boo tiny to containit. 'Seekout the lomb oI Khomu Wych rn lhe Forestof Night Look for the Flyers and rememberwhat you have seenhere today- Without the amulet you are los[.' The mists swirl arourd, enveloping the minor. When they subside,the Sumahasgone. Well,'says Liam, you have surviv€d.I have no idea what LheSuma'sadvicemeans,but I'm sure thal all will becomeclear in the fullnessof time.' It is now Limeto leave;Liarn comeslo the door to wish you luck and watdres as you walk down the main road. Tum to 39o. r44 You apologize, mumbling that you can't help Lhem with their ri[ual becauseyou have urgent business with the diners at the other side of the room. Teslyozr Lrek- If you are Unluclq, they don't believe you and &aw long, curved daggers.When they move towards you eyes buming with bloodlust. you rcalize that

I4E

'45-r47 hghting them would be fuule and decide to do what they ask (tum Lo 258). If you are Lu&y, the Dark Elves are inclined to believe you; howevet they are not totally c6nvinced and watch closely as you walk lowards the diners(tum to 6j) r4, The ground to the north-west rises gradually for several kilomehes until it arrives at the fooL of an immense hountain However, before you reach Lhe mountain, you are confronted by a pathr in one direction it goes north-easl fowards lhe spir€-shapedmountain and in the other it goessouth'wesLWill you now go north-east(turnto 323)or south-west(turn to 59)? a46 You conlinue along the walkray Lrntil you readr a narrow tunnel in the cavem wall. You are just about Lo go through it when you realize that this is the way you came in. You tum and glance aaoss the cavem, once again catciing a terrifying glirnpse of that wild architechle You have no choice bul to fuIn around and try to complete your rnission. Will you force yourself lo look at the city before you go (turn to 24) or walk back across the walkway, keeping your eyes down (tum to 2EE)? t47 The Slyklc lamch a sudden volley of spears.Roll one die to 6nd ouL how many skike you, and deducf z sTAMrNr{points for each hit If you smivive,you try desperately to sail away from the line of fue, but

anolher group oI the frog creafures se up alongside lhe boal and begin Lo ro& il. There are too many to fight, so you must simply try lo keep bheboat afloat. Roll two drce.If the total is greaterthan your sKItL/ you are upendedinto the icy waLer.FiShtingin their own environment, the Slykt wi have no trouble in defeatingyou, putbing an end to yow quesb.If the you manage loLalis lessthan or equallo your SKII.L, you rntil break out into upright to keep the boat run. fie clearerwater and are able to let the boat Slykk could probably keepup with you if they wanLed Lo,but when lhey see thal you are on Lheretreat they let you go Tum to ,97. I4E 'Come out, you puny creature,'lhe Black Mammoth bellows,lo your greatsurprisel1l is looking skaiShtat you. 'I can see you, hiding beneaththat heather.I haven't yet killed in this form, and I would like my first blood to come from a fair fighl' You remarn completelystill it may be blufGng- but thenit takes a step towardsyou. 'l don't lhink you would enjoy being trampledto death,'il says Whelherit's bluffing or not, you don't want bo end your adventureby being crushedto dealh,so you leaPou[ into lhe road and draw your sword. B LA C K MA MMOTH

S K ILL12

STAM I NA15

Since this is such a fearsomeadversary,you may, aL any time,collapseon to the groundand pretendlo be dead (turn to 84). I{ you kill the monster, you may re$nne your jouney LowardsSardath(tum to 165).

49-rtr "2

r49 The fr.mgi in this tunnel are pale greerl with green tops and small spikes round their bases.They look fairly harmless,so you set off down lhe funnel quite confidently. Once you have gone severalmehes into Lhe tunnel, however, many of the Green Cap start dropping spores from their undersides.Even though most of them fall on the walls and the floor, some of the spores waft towards your face. Roll two dice. If the lotal is lessthan or equalto your skrrr, fum to r8. If the total is greater Lhanyour sKrr.L,hlm to rt9

of lhe exisling symbol the amulet will not only absorbany aLtackmadeon the wearer'smind but will reflect it ba& on Lhe atba&er.I hope Lhis proves usefr:l Goodbye and good luck' Before you get a chanceto say anything, the irnagefades. If you already have a Brain SlayerAmulet, you snatch the new symbolon if as instrucled.If you do not, you should make a note o{ whal lo do for future reference. You lhen lool back into the pool 'To whom do you wish to speali?'asks the smooth, cultured voice. Tum ba& to 99 andmakeanotherchoice.

r50 You Lum away from the Ghost and nm ba& to the door. You try the Sign of Summoning,but the door remains shut. From behind yoq you hear Lheghostly voice of Khomu Wych: You do not think I would let you escapethat easily, do you?' The Ghos[ floats out of its sarcophagusand begins to move Lowardsyou. Surelylheremustbe someescape. . . strrery- . su... As soon as you make contact, Liam seemsro Know what is happening.'Il is huly fortuitous thaLyou have conlacted me,' he says. 'Since you left, I have been researchingthe Brain Slayer Amulel showri me by the Suma.It was createdby an ancient seercalled Khomu Wych . . .' He rambles on for some time abotrt the history of this amulet but eventuallysaysj'It has a s]'mbol carved on lhe back. At the momen!, this means that it will absorb any menLalattacks made on the wearer. Howevet if two Xs are sqatched in front

Even lhough you find nothing on the Dark Elfs body, you do discovera numberof footprintsnearby. You follow them eastwardsfor a short distance unlil you come to an area containing several other Lracks,all leading ngrLh-westup a long valley. Theseprints were madeover a week ago, and by large numbers a Dark Elf army, perhaps.The presmce of such a force, no matter how long ago is a viLal clue Lo your mission, so you wasteno timein followingit uP.Turn to ro4.

rtl-'55 IJ ] You raise your head and force yourself io gaze upon

the wild architecture of the Dark Elf lair.lt makesyour mind re€l and you begin to lose all senseof who and whereyou are.TeslVourLuckIf you areUnlucky,you feel an intensedizzinessard slart staggeringfrom one sideof the walkwayto the other Unableto preventit, you stumbleand fall over the side- your adventureis over.If you areLucky,you recoverat the lastmoment and find yourself gazing into what looks like an in6niteabyss.If this is the 6rst hme you haveexperi, encedlhis effect,you will be disorrentated for some days (lose r sKItL point) If you've sufferedfrom this before, the symptomsare not worsened.Now tum back to the paragraphyou camefrom and coniinue

r54 But thereis still causefor hope- a smallsailingboatis strugglng desperatelyagarnstlhe weather Its lone sailor clngs singJe-mindedly to the tiller bul lets ihe sailsflap wildly jn the wind You look aroundfor a way to help,but lhe only thing you can 6nd that will actuallyfloat is a small rowing boaL,moored io the r,rreckedbridge.Will you row out and help the sailor (turn to 4r) or waif and hope lhaLhe makesit on his own (tum to Jr3t rt5 YoLrr sword slashesinto Mom's side, sending him sLaggering backwardsYou advanceon him, but now, insteado[ fighting back,he makesa run for the Recess

rt6 Chamberwindow It you let him escape,tum to 27r Ii you drveafterhim in an attemptto bring him to the ground,tum to 34o. If you swiPeat him with your sword,you will easilyhit him sincehe is not defending (you may lumself deductz porntsfrom his STAMINA If ihis hit kilis your increase this). use LUCKto try to (turn to him, ium io 249. If iL doesn't,he will escape 27r)

rt 6 you As chargelowardsthe Spid€r,it ejectsa thin skeam of sticky silk in your direction.You are closerthan iL would ideallylike, so the threadarcsover your head, missingyou completely.Thls is a CiantSPittingSPider, not one of the more ferocioushunting varieties,so, beforeyou canreachit, il turnsand scuttlesoff into the trees.You walk backto your camp,feelinggood aboul resolvinglhis encounterso well (regain1 LUCKPoinL) You lie down, wrap your blanketsaround yor! and whose settlebackdown to sleep.Turn to the ParagraPh numberyou wrote in a .i.le o yovr AdrenfuteSheet.

r5rrt8

rt9 ttl

You 6t the ivory squarestogether inlo a c|rbe so that all the carved lines are aligned.As you turn it round in your hands, you see that the shapesform a word, Isru.'lshr'you say out loud. You feel a greaLpower flow through you (regain 1 LrJcKpoint) ano oy yolu side appearsan imnense demon with fiery eyes and great talons Lhat are as potent as the finest silver sword. 'I am Isht the Twelfth and Last of the Veiled Guardians.I am invisibleto all exceptyou and other Demons I will remain wifh you and fighLby your side unlil I am destroyed: I will fight any advenary LhatI can rend wiLh lhese daws - unless you commandme otherwise.' This meansthat Istu fights only when you yourself are actually in hand+o-handcombab he does not fight if you are sLill fuing your bow, for exarnple. Since he is invisible, your opponenls will still atlack

wordly form is killed, he will be dispelled ba& to his owr magicalplane. VEILEDGUARDIAN

SKILL 12

STAMINA 15

Now tum back to the paragraphyou camefrom.

rt8 Roxsir leadsyou through m6ny funnelsand out on to a ledge above a nofth-facing cliff. You lear over the parapeLand seethe huge army of Toa-Suo.You canalso seeanoLherledge below you, where many Dwa s are

throwing bouldersdown as the Toa-Suoclimb up. Some of the enemyare able to dodge the bouldersand get up to the ledge,but the axe warriors ar€ Lhereto fend them off You step backfrom Lheedgearrdprepareto join the fight.Thereareplentyof arrowsbut only a few archers; wiLh your supedorskill, you are more Lhanwelcome If you don't have your ovr'n bow, the Dwals give you one. IL is smaller than you owrl and of inferior (deductr sxrlr point when you useil). craftsmanship Wilh it, you farelitlle betler than any of the others.If you do haveyour own bow, you havean excellentday, slayingmany Toa-Suo(regain1 LUCKpoint). As the day draws to an end, the Toa-Suoreheat. Hellura, the leader of the Dwarven archers,tells you to refill your Tum to t22 quiverarrd{ollow herbackintolhe Lunnels. 159 You mention something that only you and he know, some secret {rom your time togelher. Instead of the expecledflickerof r€cognitiorrhe gives you a blank looh followed by one of grim deLerminalion'Shoot,' he orders, and four arrows fly from the Elves Tesllour Luck If you are Unlucky, at least one of the arrowspiercesyour heart,killing you instanlly.lf you are Lucky, the Elveshave some doubt about Sorrel's verdictconceminSyour identity; they cannotdisobey an order, but they can aim Lheirshots at lessvulnerable parts of your body (roll one die ard lose that many sraMrNA points).If you survive,will you now run (hrm to 2o4) or quickly draw your bow and shooL Sorel (tum to 106l

r60-152 r60 This stairway is wider and less unnerving to walk on than those in the bottomlesscavem,especiallysince you can seewhere you are toint. As you descend the stairway spirals to the righL ending at the walkway you saw below you when you were on Lhebalcony. Will you tum left and head ftdher jnto the city (tum to 169) or tum right and walk bowardsan archway in the wall of the cavem (tum to 22t[ fir 'And how will you achievethab?'he asks. Will you just smileand say nothing (tum to 366) or tell him that you leamed the secreLof [he amulet's destructionin Khomu'stomb (tum to 27oI

Beforeyou reachthe cavem wall and the Dwarf slaves who are quarrying there, you aBive af a junction where a naEow path leads off to your right. It must finish up somewhere in the city, but you can see neither where it endsnor any tumings off it. There are high fencesalong its sides- so presumablyit is a pathway for slaver the fence being lhere fo prevenl them skaying into the city. Will you leave the main road and go down this path (tum fo 2to) or carry straighton (tum to 2r7)?

'6vft5 \6t I,iormal weaponscannot touch this creature,let alone destroy it. Without a silver weapon you have no bope but to try to run back the way you carne.Tum m rt o . a64 This room is a huge dormitory, equipped wjth some 6crty four poster beds. Most of them have their curtains drawn back but ten or so al the back of the room have their curtains drawn closed, and you can hear a gentle snoring. If you have a Lightning Sphere,it begins to qackle. so you take it out of }..our pack As you hold it in your hand, it Slows sith a bright, white light, and small flashesof energy .rc adoss to some of the statues standing between the beds C-arvedin a style sirnilar to the paintings in the corridor, they are of other Dark Elf sorceren, so there is no doubting what the Sphere desires. If you hurl it at LhesleepingDark Elves,tum to z6r. E you don t have a Lightning Sphere,or if you don't ftant ho use it, you decidethat there are too many Dark Elveshere to risk a fight, so you tiptoe out of the room and go back along the corridor Lo the two
161

you eventuallymakeit to Gwinir'sBridge exhaustion, By fhis trmethe sky is just startjngto lighten,althouSh the sun won't rise yet for an hour or two (tick off the next day on your,Aduenture Sheet)Nevertheless there is enoughlight for you to makeout a deep,unnatural darknessclinging to lhe sky above Sardalh As you crossLhebridge,you seea small,blackcloud emerge fiom the gloom.Wien iL risesaboveLheFreezeblood you realizethat it Wall and beginsto fly norLhwards, is an army of BlackFlyers.Will you follow them into the FreezebloodMountains(turn to 16) or cany on into Sardath(lum [d 29])? fi6 As soon as you inserLihe BrassKey in the lock the door openson rts own. When you removeyour key and step in, the door closesbehind you. In front of you are massesof bookshelvesand books beyond number Although fhis room rs vast, there are only two doors, one marked 'Laboratory'and the olher ObservatorylustinsidetheLibrary. lherersa mas:i'.e desieover threemetreshiglr with a chairto match.If you climb up and standon the huge chairin front of the desk,you are ablelo reachwhat is there;you find a book,a sheetof paperand a shallowdish containing mercury.Will you look at the book (tum to 279),read what is written on th€ sheetof paper(tum to j7j), or look at the dish of mercuy (tum to 99)? If you go through lhe Laboratorydoor, tum to 4z lf you go through the Observatory door, you Iind that the Eaglehas flown away, but the trapdoor is slill

open and sunlight is streaming through. Will you go throughthe door on your dght into the GamesRoom Itlm to 78), or through the unmarked door on your left(turn lo rroP t6j When the astrologerfinally emerges,iL is with a look of puzzlementon his face Eagerlyyou ask him whal 'l was visitedby a Suma,a m€ssenger happened. from the gods. He had a messagefor you.' He ftowns in concenlration.You are to look for the tomb of Khornu \{ych in the Forestof Night You must look for the fyers. Wilhout the amulet,you are lost.' You look at him questioningly 'I'm afraid I have no idea what the Suma'sadvicemeans,but I'm sureit will becomeclear in the fullnessof time.' He smiles.'Anywat it's time 1'ou were off.' At the door Liam wishes you luck and wavesas you walk down lhe mainroad.Tum to ,9o.

r58-r69 r68 You walk throughthe Forestlor severalhours,trying ;o follow a shaightline to whercyou sawLhecreaLures Iand. It is di#icult to find your way in the dark taithouLgettingcaughtin a Ciant Spids web,but you {e used to the Forest and so make unfaltering rrogress.Somelime in the middle of the night, when !.ou eshmateLhatyou must be getLingneat yoLrhear r sound:two voices,talking in a languageyou have never heard before. You creep up close and hide behinda stand of young trees In the darknessil is Cif6cultto be surebut LheyseemLobe the samesort ol creatureas the impostorwho lried to kll you in Crimmund Besidethem is a small mound, in which is .et a huge,stonedoor coveredwith lichen.They are rying to open it, but are not having much success. Will you try a surpriseatfackon them with bow or iword (tum to 30) or wait to see what will happen fum to 24rI r69 The Dark EIf stops and glaresaL you in amazement, actin8as if he were royalty and you were a beggar He demandssomethingof you in Dark Elf; even ihoughyou cannottell what he is saying,his scom6:l ione upsetsyour naturalsenseof honourand faimess, \our tempersnaps.You are far too closeto use your :ow, so you draw your sword andu eashyour indig-

DARKELFNOBLE

sK ILL 7

STAM IN A 5

'lt you wirr you quickly searchthe body, then throw it

r72 over the righfhand side of the stairway There is a dark area by the cavernwall here, where he should remainurdiscoveredfor some time.You look around furtively,buLiL appearsthat no one sawyou. The only thing you found on the Dark Elf, apart from his sword, was a smallbelLpouchconlainingthreediamondsand a key wiLhan omaLe'S'engravedon it. You put these articl€9in your pack,then carry on down the stairway to a rough irack.You follow this for aboutfifty metres unLilit comesto a junction thaLturns right- Will you carry on along the kack (fum to 237) or tum right and head towardswhat looks like a military camp(tum to 362)1 t70

Now that the GhosthasmovedouLof rts sarcophagrs, you will be able lo get thtroughthe secretdoor. As the Ghostapproaches, you setoff, you swerv€pastit, leap into the sarcophagus and push at the door. It opens and you step lhrough into the small chamber beyond.Suddenlythere is a rumbling soundand fhe ceilingbeginsto cavein. LuckilyiL is only in the area of the doorway- openingit must haveweal<ened the age-oldconskuction.Howevet when you look around, you realizethat you have not been as lucky as you thoughL,for thereis no other exit from this chamberl If you have been hil by the Ghost, turn to 44. Otherwise,tum to 92. r7r As you walk along the riverbank, you notice Lhat the river is becomingmore and more cloggedwiLhweeds

andthal the forestinsecLs areincreasingly troublesome. However, you do 6nd a small patch of Haemwort, which is excellenlfor staunchingthe Ilow of blood 'add r lo your Herbs) As evening approaches, you rrrive at the secondrope-bridge You shrug off your packand set up a campon the edge of the trail near the bridge.This siteis often usedby haders,and even though the Forestis becomingdarker it still seems safe.You settledown to sleep The moming arrives(tick off the next day on your AdoentureSheet)and yor: shoulder your pack and prepareto go on Will yor.rcontinueLo follow the river (tum to 20) or walk north-eastalong the Lraij (hlm to 9)?

172

You walk over to Lhenewcornerand askthe guardsto wait a momen[. Affecting total confdence, you con, hont the Dwarf with your knowledgethat he is an impostor.Then you stand,impassive,waiting to see whathis reactionwill be. Without waming ne graosa daggerFom insidehis tunic.TesfyourLuck.l( you are Unlucky, you don't see the dagger in time, and the assassin ends your adventureright here If you are Lucky,you do see the dagger- bul only in time to deflect iL to a less vulnerablepart of your body deduclr porntsfrom your srrvrNrl. If you survive this,the other guardsleapon the impostorwhile you staggeraway to Lendyour wound. Onceit is all qvea one of lhe Dwarfs approaches you.

I 17t-r14

115

1Ne owe you a great debt, adventuret in addihon to what you have alreadydone.'You tell him that you fight on behalfof all the good peopleof the Forest and the mountains.Well said.I am surethal you will becomeknown as a great Dwarf friend,even as far as Fangthane- if we survive'For a while you are all quiet as you watch the blacksky slowly tum to the pale blue of the pre-dawn(tick off the next day on yo.urAdoehlweSheeL) If today is Highday,tum to 1o. If il is noL,turn to 4

r7, The Sorcererbegins to laugh 'And now it doesn't matterwhat cleverdefences you camearmedwith, for your principalweaponrs Josingits power,'He shakes his headin disbelief.'Andthe cruellestjoke is rharrhrs fum of eventssuitsmy purposeperfectly.I don't want the amulet for protectionmyself I hardly need it No; I want to learn its secretsand to tum them,so LhatI may break Corianthus'sdefencesonce and for all. Onc€ the amuletis dead,that job will be childs play.'He looks at you with a disdaintulglare.'And now I will wipe your mind blank and take what is mine.'His eyesflashbrghl yellow,and the air between you crackleswith energy.Add 5oo to the number01 the Bmin SlayerAmulel and tum to the paragaph with that numberr74 your before fingers close round the creeperyou lust realizethat it is nol a normalplant at all, but Strangle Weed it will amsh the life out of you if any of its

iendrils8et a hold. Without wasting a secon4 you jeapout of the tree and on to the ground Roll two dice.If the total is less than or equal bo your sKrLL, havelandedwithout mishap.If the tolal is greater -vou ihan your sKrLL,then you fall badly (deductz points iom your srevrr,r). Now that you krow whaf to avoid, you are easily able to 6nd a tree with noncamivorouscreepers, and you swing safelyacrossthe Ilver

{s you walk along the path,the treesloom ominously overheadMany of the Ciant Spiderwebshave been lvoven much closer than usual - some threadsare evenstretchedacrossthe trail.Fortunatelythe Spiders in this areaare happers,not hunters,so you will be safeas long as you don'bget caughtin one of thejr tvebs.You walk for many hours, wondering how the Elvescould have let the path get so overgror4n.As the sun is begiming Lo set, you approachthe place wheresomeof your questionsmay be answered:the fork in Lheroad where fhe Elf village ls hidden among the kees.Tum to JJ2. ,15 Alter walkingnorthwardsfor severalhours,you reach a skeamdescending from the mountains.It is a raging lorrentof waterwith a strange,yellowishtinb it must be a tributary of the Sardath,so it may be whal is pollutingthe ForesL.You follow iL north up an eversteepeningvalley. There is no trail here and the ground is very rocky, so your progressis slow and firing. Eventually night falls. It is cold and windy in

r76 this valley, bul there seemsto be a good shelter under somefallen bouldersby the stream Will you slop here and male campfor the night (turn to 9l) or presson north (tum to 2t r)? r76 The Dark Elf snatchesthe goblet from you and drains it in a singleswallow.Then he grabsa large,meaLy Orc bone from lhe table and thrusbsit in your face.'l qLritelike you,'he says 'Have somebhingto eat'You iake the bone and put it in your pack, telling him bhat you'll save il to 6njoy later. Roll one die If the numberrolled is less than or equal to bhenumberof the potion, tum to 98. f it is higher than the number of thepotron,turn to rr

r17-178 117 some distance, the walkway reaches another -lJter 'urction Wrll you now go left (turn to rr) or carry .traight on (turn to 124)?

I7E ihe rnorninganives(regain1 srAMrN,{point and tick of[ the nexf day on your AdoentureSheel),and you Jimb out from under your lhick, frost-coveredblanieh, the chill morning at reviving you and making You climbinLoihe ;;oueagerfor the day'sadventures. ioat, and sailon The Forestis as darkas ever,and the seemLo be encroaching more and more on the -eds Twice more you see amphibianeyes watching iver. rou, but againbheydisappearas soon as you look at :hem.It is soon after the secondof these sightings -natthe boat lurchesto a suddenhalt. You let go of --netiller and look over the stern.Some reedshave :argledround the rudde4cursrng,you reachover and :y lo pull them free,but they swirl in the waLerand rrrap themselvesround your wrist. As Lhe tiny, reedlellke hairs pierceyour skin, suckinglhe biood :om your arm (deduct4 srAMrNApoinLs), you realize jerk rat the plant is River Bloodweed.You your alm :ack and the Weed flops backinto the waLer,now a julL red colour.If you have LheMystery Potion,you :ould pour it over the Weed(tum to ,7r) I{ you don't it, or if you donit wish to useit, willyou hackat -veWeedwith your sword (tum to rj2) or reachback re :rto the waber to remove the plant by hand (tum to ror)?

r79-r8r t79 The Zombieslumpsto the ground.Its body bloatsand lhe skin begins to erupt. Beforeyou can reacl the thing bursts,showeringyou with red mould spores, which immediatelystart burrowing into your skn, attackingyour nerves-You feel a suddenpaLn,and then nothing. You are now a Mould Zombie, com pletelyin thepower of theVampyricSlimeMould r80 The Dark Elf, obviouslysatisfiedby your reply, turns his headaway and goes on wilh what he was doing Wilhout wastinga second,you backout through the door and closeit 6rmJy You slump againslthe walL, breaLhing out a heavy sigh That wasvery close.Once yow heart rate is under control onc€more,you walk back down the conidor to an archway on the right At the end of the con.idor about ten metresfurther on thereis anotherarchway.Both of iheseleadba& into the bottomlesscavern.If you go right, turn to u16. If you carryslraighton, tum to ,48

r8r 'Legendshave it thaLCorianthushasa sLoreof knowledge more vast,and more ancient,Lhananythrngrn

IEI

northernAllansia.It is said that he lives in a castleon the top of a mountaincalledHam Cloud,but I know of no one who has ever climbed the mountain,let aloneseenthe castle' You askhim how to get to thismounLain 1{hen you leave here, go down the norlh-western side of the passinto a large corne with a lake.Go around the south side of the lake and across the bridge, then follow the nver southwardsEventually you will cometo a runnelgoing up the sideof a huge, isolatedmountarnto the west Thal is Ham Cloud' You're not quiLe sure about some of his technical tems, but you thinkyou canfollow whal he means lf this is the secondquestionthat you have asked Lokimur,tum to z74.If lt rs only the firsr, you muy askanotherWhat w lit be about, Thyra Migurn (if you know of her)? What's happenedto Sardath? The BlackFlyers? The Toa-Suo?

Tum to 39 Tum to 97 Turn to 368 Turn to 385

r82-r84 r82 As you follow lhe sLream, the groundbecomesjncreas, inSly steepand you find the going quitehard.But you are no strangerto hardshipand eventuallyyou reach the foot of the mountain.Unfortunatelythe streamis tumbling down a steep gtrlly which is much too hard for you !o climb, so you wander around on the mountain'slowest {lopes lo see if lhere is an ea5ier way up. A little way around,you find a path coming from ihe south-wesl. \ou followi! up the mountain. side,bul il endsabruptlyafteronly filttzmerresor so. Wrll you pressor! trJiin8 to {ind your own way up (tum to rl), or go back down to the fooL of the mountain(tum to 298)? I8 ' You are desperate now, for you have no way of

defendingyourself.You makea run for the secr€tdoor in the sarcophagus but LheGhosLsLillhasn'tmoved, so fhereis no room for you to squeeze past.A ghostly dJmflailsout and deliverca life-iraininghit. On yow AduentureSheef,mal(ea note that the Ghost has hit you once.You now have no choicebut to try to run backthe way you cam€in Tum to rjo.

rEt-r86 leave the town and head north into the mountains (tum to 8r)?

r86

They are labelled:'r: Dried Chameleonrte Blood,,!, Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Foresr' :",1 '-. PickledWhole Shapechanger S'"rrr it'";",'" cli,,t componentsof some magicalprocess,buL you don,t know what,Without consultingthe oLherCouncillors, you put thesearticlesin your own pack.While Mom is beingheld,you try to intenogatethe strangeoeature.

IE4 If only you could get acrossthe lal<eto Sardathand

'He lookedLkea Dark Elf,'saysGrissa,tut they don't have wings and talons.Still, it looks as though your darkenemytheorywasri8ht.'Tum to 29r

r87-r88

r89-r9r

r87 You walk all night without finding any landmark lo you go up hlll, at tell you whereyou are.SomeLim€s other times down. Filled wilh uncertainty,you don't daremakecamp.As the nighl wearson/ you become increasinglyfatigued (deducl r poinl from your sr,rvrNa) Eventuallythe night draws lo an end (tick ofl the next day on your AdoenlureSheeL)As the blackness of night fadesinlo the paleblue of the predawn,you malceout a bridgenearby. You immediately recognizeit as Cwinir's Bndge - you really did lose your way! As you c
r8g You try to hold your breath,bul you are not qujck enough,and someof the sporesget inlo your lungs, buming lhem and makJngyou cough.But you 5urvive the ordeal, and walk on confden[ly. However, after jusLa few metres,the floor suddenlygives way and you tumbleinto a piL,hundredsof metresdeep,with only old Dark Elf bonesand your deathawaitingyou at the bottom.

r88 You are nol some fearful Dwarl who would be more happy tunnelling beneaththe mountainsthan spending a night in the Foresbyou have ways of protecting yourself from the altentionsof nocturnal predators other than lighting a fire and leaving it dangeror.rsly unaLtended all night (lose 1 LUcKpoint). Moreover, you shouldknow that many of the qeaturesthal live in the Forest are not afraid ol fue. Testyour Luck. If you are Lucky, lum Lo 19. If you are Unlucky, tum lo 49.

I9I One of the covens of sorcererslums in unison, Lheir wands aimed in your direclion. You back away from the edge of the balcony, out of their line of fire; but the power they wield does not depend on sight, and a huge black sphere rises over the balcony. You run back into the corridor, slamming the door behind you, but the spherepassesthrough as if it wasn't there and follows you, accelerating all the time. In seconds it is upon you, engulEng you in its life-sapping blacloess. Your adventure is over.

r90 The apparatusbubblesand smokesfor a few minutes, then glugs to a halL.Perhapsyou used the wrong ingredientsor put Lhemin the wrong places.Whichever it may be, you have blockedbhe apparatusor damagedrf rn someway. You try lo clearif, bul you don't have any knowledge of LheseLhingsand so are unsuccessfulSince there is no way for you lo try makingany olher potions, turn back to 42, and take one of Lheother options.

r92-r91 r92 You walk dow.n the badly overgrown trail, thinkng aboutyour old friend Colrhyn,who usuallykeepsthis paLhopen.Even thouShthis hugelybuilt and heavily beardedman spendsa lot of his lime in the mountarns, he is the only humanwhoseknowledgeof the Foresf comescloseto your own. You are brought up short by a strangesight:a red log is lying by lhe sideof the path; wh€n you look more closely,you see Lhatthe colouris causedby a coveringof deepred mould.A you and you spin suddenhissingflom behrndstarLles around-A huge,red,Zombielikecreahueis lumbering awkwardlyalongthe path.You may escape by mnning north-east(the Zombie is blocking the other way); after a few minuLesyou leaveLheZombie far behind you, so you slow down to a walk (tum to 15) If you don't run, the Mould Zombielurch€stowardsyou, its armsouLstreLched, hissingunnaturallyIt is alreadytoo closefor you to useyour bow

MOULD ZOMBIE

SKILL 6

STAM IN A 6

Fight fhis batLlefor Lwo ALtackRoundsonly. Al the end of that time, if the Zombie is still alive, tum lo rr4 If you havemanagedLodeshoyit, Lumto r79. 191 This walkwayleadsalmostimmediatelyto a stairway, which you climb up carefully until you come Lo a smalllanding.Shaightaheadthereis an archwayand to your right is anotherwalkway Will you go straight on (fum to 4t) or tum right (tum to 3)?

196-!9j

I94-I9J

,94 The road ilself is far too hard and cold to sleepon, so you find a patch of dry heatherand pressit down into a mattress,lie down and curl up in your blanlets It's not the bestcampyou've everbeenin, but at leastit's not snownS. In the moming (lick o{f the nexl day on your Adoenlure you areshockedout of sleepby noisydattering. Sheel), You openyour eyesto seed mefthantwdgonLoming lowards you. As you stand up, the driver hails you and stops. You see that he is a Dwarf, obviously a traderfrom Fangthane. 'Good day to yora' he saysin his lilting north-eastern accent.You greel him, then ask him ij he's going to Sardath.'l am,' he replies. 'Can I offer you a lift?' Will you accepLhis offer (tum to zzo) or wam him that lhereis dangerin Sardathand advisehim to tum back (tum to 266! 19t You askher if shehasheardof Corianthus,the Storm Giant. 'Indeed,I have,'she says,but she seemssuspicious 'What do you know of hm?'You show her the BrassKey and explarnabout Colrhyn 'In that case,'shesays,'l will tell you what I know. I have visited Corianthusmany LimesLo bring news {rom distanl lands I am a sailor, you see, and I have travelledLo many placesIf you wish lo consullwilh Corianthus,you should go north hom here, following the river r.rntilyou reacha small streamleading up the side of a huge,isolatedmounlain.Persevere, and you

will reach lhe castle.' You thank Neya again. She smiles.1 will see you when I come back to Sardath to celebrate lhe successof your mtssion.' You laugh al her bravado, then you watch as she heads towards Gwini/s Brdge. Once Neya is out of srght, you tum towards LhenorLh,following her advice, and begin the trek into LhemounLainsTum to 8r.

r96 Your swordslicesinLoMom's sideand he staggers backwards. You move lowards him and raise your sword to shike hrm again Howevea insteadof slashing at you with his talons, he makes a dive lor you. Roll two dice. lf the total rs greater than your sKrLL,he grabs you round the waist, bringng you to the ground wrth a ihud and forcing you to lel go of your sword (tum to 2r2). If lhe total is less than or equal to your srIrr, then you see the altack coming and manag€ bo dodge nimbly out of his way He turns and raiseshis talons Turn back to 38r and conhnue the fight. 197 Even Lhoughit is compleLelytangled up in Lheplanl's roots, you manage at lasLto draw the sword out. Just as you pull your hand back, a drip of honey like fluid drops from one of the flowers on to Lhe ground. You curse yourself for a fool as you realize lhat this is a Death Dripper You were lucky, if that drip had touched you, you would now be dea4 food for the plant. You breathe a sigh oI relief and examine the sword. With a sho&, you recogmzeit as Sonel's This is strange,for he was a Wood-Elf and a better woods-

I98-2oo

For a while, you tinler around with some of the other gamesand puzzles,but no further secretsare reveal€d

r98 -. tt you w'rote_ somethinglike Hold up the BrassKey,, tum to 66.If you didn,t,theEagletikesno noticeof

your actio& whateverit was,and you have only just enough time to draw your sword. Tum to 89.

200

201

8azm8at you.This time,insteadof lookingbackat them directly,you keepon lookingforwardbuLyou wafchthe eyesat theedgeoI your fieldofvision.Not realizingthat you have seenit, the creaturestaysin view. W l you quickly grab your bow and shoot an arrow at rt (turn to 9o),or wart to seewhat it does(tum to 294I 202

'So, you are a {riend of those destruclive Dwarfs, are you? I despise them, delving all the time into the secretsof the mountains.'There is a suddenblinding flashand you claspyour handsover your eyes.'Go to them and tell ihem that Thlra Migum laughs at their mrsforttrnes,' When you muster enough courage to lower your handsand open yor)r eyes,you see a vast creature standingbeforeyo|I, almosta mounLainin itself.It is vaguely humanoi4 althoughits body is a constantly changingmassof energy.LightningarcsinLo the slry from ils headand torso,and huge ballsof 6ery plasma are cashing into the mounlainsideall round you. None of it is aimeddirectly at yorr buL there is so much power llyrng about that you could be wounded by accident.Testyour Luck.If you are Lucky,none of it hits you. If you are Unlucky, you are painF:lly burnedby someplasma(roll one die and deductthat manypointsFromyor.rrsr,.rvrre\ Il you survive.you race down the mounlain Lo escapeThyra's fury. As you areclambenngover the rocks,you throw a glance over your shoulder:a pulse of light is coming laom Thyrat body as shearcsup inio the clouds

A short time latea you are at the path at the foot of ihe mountain,relieved to have made it back alive. Turn Lo298. 201

You wait for some time, desperatelytrying to come up with a plan Lo exkicate you liom this situation Suddenlyyou beginto feelstrange,the transformation potion is wearingof{, and thereis nothing you cando aboutit When he seeswhaLis happeningto you, one of the Guardsscreams,'Humanl'and lhey all attack. You fight as well as you can, buL there are far too manyof thern.Your advmtue is over. 204 Your action proves you Lo be an impostor, so Sonel gives lhe order: Tirel'A volley of arrows from Lhe Elves flies asoss Lhe clearing Your adventure ends here,

205-206 205 You open the door cautiouslyand look in. This room is full of Dark Elves, all of them armed but most are just srfting around,either playing 8ames,cleaningtheir weapons,or eating and drinking. Realizingthaf you musLdo somethinSin order not to arouselheir susPi cion, you glanceround Lhe room, pretendingto be looking ior someoneYou are on the point of turning and leaving when one of the Dark Elves looks up casuallyand saysin greetinS,'Valethion,Chaugh' He gazesat yorr dearly expeclinga reply.What will you say: Tum lo j6

Valethion? lnaugn r Thionel?

Tum to rtg Tum to r8o 20,6

Alter making a bivouacoul of wood tom from the wrecks,you settledown to sleep.Beingin the dry and out of the icy wind, you spenda very comforLable night (regainj sraMINApoints). In the moming (tick off the day onyor\r Adoenture ^ext you wake up, bnght and refreshed.lf today is Slreet), Highday,turn to jo If t is nol, you sel off without delay,puniing the barSewith a long pole Onc€ it has got up a good speed,you let the currenttak€ iL so that you can rest further Gegain2 sr^MINA poinLs) As you lie on the raft, half dozing, you begin to lvonder:how is it lhat the waterhereis so clear,when rn the Forestthe iver is so overgrown.

I

2oe-2o9 SomehourslaLeryou reachthe point wherethe river tums souLhand this puzzle is solved. There is a tributary here wiLh a skangeyellowishtinge. Downstream of the point where iL joins the river, the polluted water has causedLheriver to becomeovergrown wiLh weeds The hibutary ilselJis clear,probably becauseil is flooding so fast Sinceyou are nor able to travel any further in lhe barge, you bring rt to land on Lhewest bar*, just past the junction of the two rivers,thenyou jump off and prepareto contmue your advenlureon foot. Will you follow lhe tributary north (tum lo rzz) or follow the river soufh towards Sardath(tum to r4z)?

decideto leavethe land of the Slykk and headnorth Tum to 267.

zoE The fungi in this tunnellook like giant blackpuffballs They are ominousJookingthings,so you walk along trying not to touch them However,when you have progressed only a {ew meLres, severalof themexplode, engulfingyou in a cloud of chokingbla& sporesRoll lwo dice If the total is less Lhanor equal to your sKrLL,tum to 22t- If the total is greaLerthan your 5KILL, fum to 264.

207

209

Sincethe first Slykk is fasterthan his companion,he arrives aheadof him, and immediatelygoes into a fury, screamingsomethingunintelligrblein his slrange croakinglanglage Fight him for two ALtackrounds At the start of the third Atlack round, the second Slykkarnves,and you mustcarryon the baLtleagainst themboth simultaneously SKIL L

Iirst SLYKK Se.ondSLYKK

E 6

STA MIN A

5

If you win, a lot more Slykk dse up out of the river and advance towards you You are forced to back away into the Forest. Afler a few mehes, they halt and watch you You are impossibly outnurnbered,so you

The Sorcererbecomessuddenlyfirm. 'l know I'm righlThe amulet cannot possiblyhave faded.'A look of recognitioncrosses hrsface.'You are trying to fool me you want me to attack you. So my aLtemptsto obscurethe efforls of thal cursedastrologerweren'l enough,and you haveimplemented Khornu'sALtenuatiory tuming the amulet fiom a mere shield to a reflecLor.' He smiles.'But it is of no maLter,for now I know of your achievemenL' He pauses'And I also know lhat you don't possess any secretmagic.' Evenif you haveno rdeawhat he is talkingabout,rt is too lale lo Lry to dissuadehim; you can tell he is goin8 to attack So you draw your sword as swiftly as you can Taeleomrathmardex'

When you run at him, you crash into a wall of impenetrableforce and stumblebackwards,stunnedThe Sorcererraiseshis sfaff, spraying you wrth a viscousjet of life-sappingdarknessYour adventureis

2tr

Roxsirleadsyou throughmany tunnelsand out on to a ledge abovea no h-facingclif{ You lean over the parapet and see the huge army of Toa-Suo trying to climb up The Dwarfs are tryin8 to repel th€m by throwing down rocks which have been brought up from the tunnelsbelow. Neverthelesssome Toa-Suo +ill ma-keit as far as the ledge;the axe warriorsare therc fo finish them off.

210

As your ffngersclosearoundthe creeper,Lhecreeper curls up round your fingersl You struggle to pull away,but sev€ralother creepers havealreadywrapped themselves aroundyou. It is too late to useyour bow, but you just manateto drawyour sword.

ST R A N G L E WEED

During Lhecourseof the day, threeToa-Suosucceed in clambelngup on the ledSein your area They don't all get thereabonce,of course,so you can 6ght them one at a time.Thereis no room to useyour bow.

s KI LL 8 S K ILL

6 5 7

FnstTOA SUO Second TOA-5UO Ihnd TOA-SUO

Even though you may attack the ShangleWeed, it doesn'tfight backin the normalway; it simply crushes 1 point of srAMrNAout of you every Atta& Round If you defeatthe Weed, you extricateyourself from the dead tendrilsand climb down the tree Now that you know what to avoid, you find a tree with non, camivorouscreepers and swingsafelyacrossLheriver

lf you defeat them all, the end of the day finally arrivesand the Toa-Suorekeat. When the order is given lo sLanddown, you follow the Dwarfs as they kaipseinto the tunnels,exhausledby the day's fighting.Tum to 322-

As you walk along,you notice that many of the Giant Spiderwebshavebeenwoven much closerthan usual to the trail - some threadseven stretch acrossthe Path. Bul the Spidersin ihis area ar€ trappers,not hunLers, so you are safeas long as you don't stumble inlo one of their webs Afler many hoursof walking, just as the sun is beginningfo set you reachthe fork in the road wherethe Elf villageis hiddenamongthe treesTurn to Jr2.

212

You roll aroundon the ground,armsand legsflailing, eachtrying to get a grip on Lheother. Even though you arenot usingyour sword,don't deductany poinls from your srrll sinceyou are on equalfooting wilh ihe impostor Also, since you are not hrtting each other neitherof you takesany damage- conductfhe fight as detailedbelow, but don't deductany points

I

2tt

2\4-2r'

from the srar.rrrl scoreof eitherof you. (If you have alreadyfought Morn with your sword,his srAMrNA scoremay be lessthan thaf given.) MORN PREELER

sxlLL7

STA M I N A 8

Roll two dice Lo detenine the Attack Shength {or both yourself and Mom If the result rs a draw, you fight on with neither garninSthe advantage- roll again.II you win the Attack Round, you garn the advantageand have the choiceof what to do next. Will yoLrleap away from him, grab your sword and attackhim (tum to l8{),leap awayfrom him, and bhen run (turn to ,98), or lry to g€t him in a firm hold (turn to ro)? If Mom wms the Attack Round,he gets the advantage(furn to rr8). 2\1 Trying to row in this weatherrs a terribleordeal,and you nearly don't make it With a titanic effort, you manageto pull alongsidethe sailingboat You seethat the sailor is just sitting fhere in blind pamc,so you shouta[ him in a commandingvoiceto comeand help you, and he is shakenouf of his stupor Once aboard, you fake over commandof the boat and evenfually you both makert ashore.Once there,the man rntroduceshimselfas Jonnar he thar*s you for savinghis life (regainr LUCKpoint).'l am no sailoa'hesays,'but when I saw Neya drown yesterday,I realizedthat someonehad to try to escape.'You tell him that he might well have died. 'The storm has Bot sreadily worseover lhe lasLfew days,'he says,'tonrorow you probablywon't evenbe abl€to 8et in a boat,lebalone

sailit. This was the last chance.'Youtell him you are suryrisedthat Lhe storm never lets up. 'lt does,'he says,'at nightfall,when the BlackFlyerscome.It is to defendthe town from them thal most folk remainin Sardath.' You explainaboutyour mission,and his dour expression lifts a little Then you askhim if he bows where the Black Flyers come from. 'All I know rs that, about an hour after the sun has gone down, a dark army appearsfrom over the Freezeblood Wall.' If you havea BrassKey, turn to 6E Otherwise,tum lo loJ z r4 As the Ghost emerges, you observebehindit the faint outlineof a door in the sarcophagus, a secretopening that it musl be trying to defend.At the moment, however,this is inaccessrble sincethe GhosLis in the way. If you ever want to make a run for the secret door,add zo to the numberof th€ paragraphthat you are readingaL the time, th€n turn to the paraSraph with that number.For now, tum io ,16. 2r5 'Die,humanl' You snap your head around and look up at the balcony Arother coven of Dark Elvesis there,pointing at you with therr blackwands.You run towards the part of the balconywhere Lheyare sLandingand dive for its shelteabut the power they wield doesnot dependon sight; a huge black spherefloaLsdown towardsyou By the time you seeit, it is too late;yorl are engulled in its dark, life,sappingpower. Your

216

At the top of lhe stairwayis an immensedoor, about ten mehes high and three metreswide. It opensas you wdk towards it, closinS behind you once you havesteppedtluough.This room is rouglrly the same shapeas the building,exceptthat it is abouthalf the size In front of you, there is an immensecylindrical cage with some sort of maSicaLenergy oscillating betweenits bars SLandinginside the cage, almost 6lling it, ls a StormCjant, apparentlyjn somekind of tortured trance.Behindthe Ciant are two groups of Dark Elves.The ones on the left are seatedround a table, eating and drnking, laughing and screaming, obhviousto the tormentof the ciant. The others,on the Giant's right, are standingin a circle round a magical diagram on the floor, chantin8 and swayint, performingsomedark ritual-lf you have a Lightning Sphere,it beginsto crackle,indrcatngan urgentd€sire to be used.If you throw it betweenthe two groupsof Dark Elves,tum Lo182.If you don't havea Lightnrng Sphere,or if you don'l want [o use it, no one has nobicedyou yet, so you may leave(lum to z9) If you decideto stay, will you go up to the Storm Ciant (tum to r29), walk rourd him to the left (tum to 2r8), or walk roundhim to the riSht (tum to ,r7)? 2 r7 The apparatus bubblesand smokesfor a few minutes, then a clearliquid drips out of the end into a small phial Ther€ is no use in making a potion and not usinS rt, so you pick up the phial and drink its contentsFor a momentor two nothing happens,but

2r8 then you feel your body changing.becomnSlighter. 5oon you are nothing but a creahxeof mist, and all your equipmentclattersuselesslyto the floor. you can move aboutand seeand hear,but thereis nothingyou cando. Your adventureis ove4 a new one hasbegun. 2rg You passwithin metresof the BlackFlyerbut not close enoughto grab hrm.As you hurtle towardsthe trees, you pray lhaf fhey will breakyour fall.For a moment

haulyoursellpainfullyto your feef.Beforeyou is a small mound,in thefront ofwhich is seta stonedoor,covered

2rg )ou nock an anow and roll sidewaysto fac€ the Spider,firing from whereyou lie rn orderto takeit by s JpriseAs your arrow arcsthrouShthe air, the Giant Spiderspitsseveraljets of thrck,sticky threadtowards ;.oq brndingyou and fixing you to the ground Roll o dice to seewheLheryour arrow hits If it does, :nake a note to deduct z points from the Sprder's :TAMINAif you surviveto 6ght it. Whetheror not the {row hits,you mustnow attemptto breakfree of the ;sebsbeforethe Sprdergets Lo you. Roll fwo dice.If :ne total is greaterihan your srrlr, you are unableto iee yourselfand the spiderwill fall on you beforeyou .an retaliatelt is in no way a fighter but, sinceil has \'ou in its webs,the Ciant Spilting Spidercan drop its oathsomebody on top of you and iniectyou with its raralysingpoison, putting an untimely end to both tour life and your mission.However,if th€ totaLis less ihanor equalto your srlrl, you escapefrom the webs us{aslhe Sprder Falls on you Tum to J2o. 220

Iirst BLACK FLYER Second BLACK FLYER lf you win, fum to 262.

S( I LL

STA M I N A

10 7

j 7

YoLlclimb up on to Lhewa8on, glad to have a rest iom walking.The Dwad who is calledFangnir,starts grumblngaboutthe peopleofSardath:they arealways kying to do him out of his 'honest'profit. You smile lo yourselfand let hrm rambleon, glad nol to haveto put much effort into your side of the conversation. .\Jter about a quarterof an hout you hear a strange rumblingsound comlng from the road beneathyou. You tell Fangnirto stop talking and th€n listen care:ully The soundis Srowins louder like an earthquake

approaching. Suddenlythe road itself cracks,and you shout at Fangmrto spur his horsesinto a gallop He lashesat them with Lhereins but it is too late. The soeson. "Vvhenthe last pair of Flyen report€dthat :he lomb had beendeshoyed,I thoughtI had lost the :mulef.'He laughsquietly. 'But now I see that you .rave brought it for me. Pleaseaccept my humbie 22t

and stretch your anns, pleasedto discoverLhatno seriousdamagehas beendone While you are doing thrs, the Eagle screechesat you and spreadsrti win8s Guessingthat it is Soing now, you wave an arm at it in thanks.The Eaglescreeches af you once more, lhen flies off. When you tum and look into the cave,you see that it leads to a narrow runnel going deep into the mountain.A path runs along this tumel wiih the streamflowin; be\ideit. Will you follow the tunnel (tum to r;) or leave this placeand car4r on walking up the mountain(tum to 388)? 222 'Ah' he says in an almost friendly tone, 'now I see what rt is that is making you so conident.'He pauses, looking thoughttul 'So rt was you who deshoted my

The BrainSlayerAmulet is the only objecryou nave ::at you can use against hirl But how? For the

::roveagainstyou, you will usethe amuletagainsthim r'm to 183)?

?,2r-22,4

225-226

223 You slap your hand over your mouth and Pinch your nosbrils closed with your thumb and forefinger Thus protected against the spores,you run doi4'n Lhehmnel. The furgus comesto an md after a short distanceand you reach an area Lit by torches. Two toughJooking Dwarf guardsare standinghere,buLthey don't seem at all aggressive.aVelcome,human,' one of them says 'lNould you pleaseFollow us. You are the first human we have seen for many days, so Lokimur is sure Lo want to seeyou immediately.' The Dwarfs lead you through Lheconvoluted tunnels of what looks more like an underground setLlement Lhan a mine, eventually bringing you to a chamber Dwarf is sitting behinda wherean importanL-looking large stone desk.'l am Lokimur, son of Bakulor, leader of this band of refugeeDwarfs in Lhesedangerousand hasLytimes.'He handsyou a beaulifullyfashionedRed Gem. A gift,'he says,'Lothank you for braving the mountains!o come lo us whoever you are,'Will yor.rtell him only thal you are an adventurer seelang help in finding and deslroying the BlackFlyers (lurn to 3o6), or are you prepared to give him your name and tell him thaLyou hail from Grimmundin the Forestof Night, havelling rmder'ordeff from the Grimmund Council(tum to 33r)?

of your mission and enjoy the beautiful scenery.But the illusion of calm is soon shatLeredwhen you come to another, smaller stream - a rurmel lumbling down the side of a huge,isolatedmounlainto the wesl. Its waterhas a strangeyellowishlint. IMere it joins the main stream, there are ribbons of yellow snaking €rratically souLhwards,further down, the whole stream is tainted. Will you tum west and follow Lherunnel up the sideof the mountain(turn to 3rt) or leapacoss it and continue following th€ tra& south (tum to 276)? 225

Seemingly from nowherq a name leaps into your mind: 'Krystal Erlho.' The gods must really be with you, for thrsis the nameof the secretlove of Khomu Wych ... This is not the actualpasswordhowever, sincethereisn't one,iL is but a key Loa key A voice emanatesfrom Lhedoor - the seerspeakingfrom ages past: 'Kryslal, my love, I prayed that one day you might come and join me Now we shallbe together for et€mity Give the Sign of Summoning,and enter.' Thevoiceis thensilenf.Will you: Searchfor an opening mechanism? Smashthe door with your sword (if you haveone)? Give up?

224

The bridge is a sturdy affair, evidently of Dwarven construction.You crossit, then follow the tmck ds it leadsyou southwardsalong the bank of lhe stream nature For a while you are ableto IorgeLthe desperate

Tum to 75 Turn to 136 Tum to t49

226

As you strike the final blow, a blinding light flares ouL from the woman's armour, the whole thing tums into a crackling ball of lightning, and a huge voice crashes

v 228-2ta

ou[ over th€ mountains.'So you dare Lo defeatThyra Mi8urn in combal.For that fheremustbe a prize. A boh of lightning burstsfrom the blazing sphere, arcingmto your sword.Insteado[ elechocuLing you, howevet [he power sLayswithin Lheweapon.From now on, every time you draw your sword againsLa BIa& Flyer or a Dark Elf, it will blazewith lightning power(deductI pointsper hit liom their srAMrNA insteadof the usual z). However,make a note thal there is enough power in your sword for four such battles, aiterwhith it will revertto norma, 'But now,' says Thyr4 'eilher you wiil show proper obeisanceor be forced to behold me in my true form.' Will you kneel before her (tum to 3r5), or do you retuse(tum lo Ito)? 'So you have appeared,fhally,' says Liam when you conlact him. He looks Lerriblytired and is streaked with blood and grime. You ask him what happened You cameback' he says.Well, not the real yoq an impostor He had your Council Ring, so Grissabelieved it was you An)'way, the imposbortold them what they wantedto hear.No one askedme, so I had no chanceto find out the truth,' He oausesand shakes his head in apparenLdisbelref 'Arrd th".r ,n" *u. be8an.As soon as we hil lhe Forest,it hit back.'He brealsoff suddenlyand looks to one side.'Cursethem alll They'reherealready'Thereis a crash,and you see a Clant Spider scutlling towards Liam 'Goodbye, Councillor,'he says,and the imagedisappears

)esperateto find out what is happemng,you call up :lre astrologeragain.But the smooth,culturedvoice ut says, 'There is no one of lhat. name livmg in 3rimmund' AJter a moment,it asksdcpassionalely, To whom do you wish lo speak?' Turn backto 99 arrd nakearotherchoice. 228

The archwayleadsinto a shorl Lunnelwhich is both ,ride and high and is decoratedwith shadowywalleainlingswhose gruesomeeffect is worsenedby the .rnnaturalJookinglight emanating from Lhe surround-ng fungi. However,you are soon through the tunnel and away from its sicknessYou are now backln the 'coLtomless caverryso you lower your gazeaLonceto jLs you can still see the avord insanity Nevertheless stairwaythal leadsdown from here,so you follow it ro a smallpJalformOn the right of the platformis an archway;to its left, a stairwayleadsdownwardsWill go right (turn lo 48),or left (turn to 3oz)? -1ou 229 ard !oo'r )ou dfe in .hc mon'terresumes itq charSe. combat The fight is hard and you are hopeful that you aregoing to win However,when a flighl of Black Flyersanives,there can be no doubt about the ouLcomeYour adventureis over. zto The only objectyou have that might harm the Mould is the Mystery Potion the tradergaveyou, so you pull oul lhe boltle and smashit on the monster In an

2tr

2r2

instan[a large areaof the Mould withers away into nothing.The colony is decimatedand virtuallypower less;forcedlo retreat,it shthersoff you and slimesits

you,' he says/'but the VampyricSlimeMould domi, natedmy will.' You consolehim and 8iv€ him one of your Herbs.Once he has recovereda Lttle, you help him to walk ba& along the path to hrs cabin. He lies down on his bed,.still crampedand weaL and you give him some more Herbs from his own supplies. While he is eafing them, you male sure thaLplenty more are within easyreachof his bed. Once you feel ce*ain that h€ is Soint to recoveryou tell him briefly about your mission and its urgency Now I tmderstand.'he says,but his eyesare drooping - he is in desperale needof rest-Will you presshim for rnformation (Lumto ,84) or, Ieavinghim to sleep,go northwest up the trailfrom his cottage(tum to rt)? 231

Even though he is quite old, Liam Astromonius,the

as I can,bul there is somecloud hangingover your future-Eitherthat,' a flickerof self-doubL passesasoss his face,'or there is somepower interferingwith my activities'Then he smilesstrangely 'But there is still somethingI haven'thied. It is a powerfulbut dangerousritual,especiallyif Lhegods are nol wiLh you. No non magjcianhas€ver seenit and lived' Do you insist that you must witnesslhe ritual (tum to r4r), or will you take the asbrologe/sadviceand let hirn enter hrs spellchamberalone(turn to r67! 2t2 You walk along the road for many hours,wondering whai you are going to find in SardathThe mouniains to the north look cold and forbiddinp the Forestto the south looks dark and evil. It seemsas if your Lvholeworld has been darkened Later in the day, as you are clossingGwrnirs Bfldge,you s€eyour fears for Sardathjustified:the whole lake is envelopedin a deep,unnaturaldarkness.Your heart sinks and you cometo a halt,very nearlygiving up But if the people of Sardathare Lrappedby thrs darkress,you may be ther only hope;yor.rmustgo on. Wilh this thoughtin mind,you presson towardsthe town.Turn to 293

2rt 2ti One of the covensof sorcercrstums and glaresaL )ou, but the LightningSphereis alreadyiallingtowards :hem.An instant later it hits the groun4 explodrng :nlo a massof lithting and fire For a secondyou feel irtenseheat on your face,and you closeyour eyesin shock.And then it is gone You walk backto the edge and look down All thaLremainsis a thick layer of greydusLcoveringthe ground. On the other sideof the balconythereare somesteps leadingdown to rhe floor below In a state of mild shoc( you walk over to themand go down to inspect :he damageyoLrhave wrought, hoping to find some :emainsof the Sorcererhimself.If you have a sel of Iron Keys,tum immedatelyto zr5. lf you do not, you spenda few minuteslookinSaroundbut findingnoth' ng. Suddenlya part of the wall slidesto one sideand a robed figure sleps out the Sorcerer.You stand beforehim, iriumphanLamonS the havoc you have caused,but he is unimpressed'l still have the power to lum the Lide You have brought the Wood Elves and freed the slaves,but I have a greaterpower than lou can imagine-You have destroyedmy acolytes, br.rtlhey can easilybe replacedAnd I have plumbed so many of the depthsof Corranthus's mind that I will soon be able lo force him to cover this whole land with darkness.'The Sorcereriooks al you through nanowedeyes.'And yel you standthere,apparenfly )f you unafraid Is this bravery,or mere foolishness?' arewearinga BrainSlayerAmulet,tum to 222.If you afenot, tum to ,E.

t 2t4-2rt

1,t6-2tj

214 The instant he is close enough for hand-to-hand combat the Slykk goes into a fury and atlacks you screaming somethingunntelligiblein his skange,croakrn8 language.

ior you to put it on ) Make a oA yolL/ Adoalt re ^ote Amulet and keep i,leef thal you have the Brain Slayer a record of whether you are wearing it or carrying it in 1'ourpack.Now tum backto 92 andselectanotheritem.

SecondSLYKK

236 you sfep through the archway on to yet another -\s rvalkway, you quickly lower your gaze to avoid the insane archiLecture.This walkway feels even higher ihan lhe oLhers you have been on, albhough you daren'tlook down Lo 6nd out whetheryour presenLi ment is accurate.You mee[ no junctionsas you walk alon& Justanotherarchwayat the en4 leadingto a short tunnel. This tuJmelis lit only by the weak light ihat filtersin from eitherend,so you feel at something of a disadvantage; but it soon emergesinLo the dim Lght,high up the wall of a vast cavem.The glimpse yoLr catch of the cavem as you step through reveals that you are standing on a long plalform, very near its ceiling.Fromwhat you canhear,somesort of achvily seems to be goingon a longway belowyou.With some misgivinSsyou walk towardsthe sound.When you reach the edge of the platform,you tentafiyelylook down, readyto throw yowself ba& againstthe wall shouldthis cavernbeflrll of the samemind-ynenchingarchitecLureas lhe boLtomlesscavem But the buildings on this side are just saneenoughfor you to be able to look al them MthouLhavingyour mind unbalanced. Tum lo rrt.

SKI LL 6

STA M I N A 5

If you win, a mass oI other Slykh rise up out of the river and advance towards you. You are forced to back away into the forest. Aiter a few metres they stop and watchyou. You areimpossiblyouLnumbere4 so you decide lo leave the tenitory of the Slykk and headnorth. Turn to 267.

Both Lheamr.rletand its dnin are rnade of solid gold and are very heary. The octopoidal humanoid en, graved on the {ront of the amulet is a Brain Slayer,a aeature renowned for feeding on the mental energy oI its viclims.It is wribhingin llamingformenl.On the back of rhe amuletis carvedthe q'rnbol 'lX'. When you put the amuletor! you canfeel its magic,though you can only guessat iLsfunction.Unfortunatelythe amulel is so big and cumbersomebhatit is difficult for you lo do anything like 6ghl or move stealthily (deduct2 points from your srrru this penaltycan be relievedonly by takingoff the amulet).If you remove the amuletand put it in your pack,you will not suffer its debilitahngeffects;you may put il backon againat any Limewhen you are not engagedin combat or any oLherrestrictiveachvity (lf you are askedwh€ther you are weadnglhe amulet,it wrll alreadybe Loolale

231 {fler walkingseveralhundredmekesmore,you reach ihe side of the cavem; rt rs lke a huge cliff, with

231 [unnelsand caveswhere it has been quaniedby the Dwarfs As you waLch,an open cart ceaks towards yoLr,fully ladenwith blocksof dressedstone.With a mixture of sadnessand joy, you recognizeone of the two Dwarfs pushing the cart: it is Ameggur Thugfist, a hard, experiencedofficer in Sardath'sFifth Hammer and Axe You shout at them to stop and walk up to Ameggur. ,\r'Vhatis it?'he says in an exasperatedtone. In a hushedvoiceyou tell him who you are and Lhereason you are here.He is delightedLhaLyou havecomebut quickly turns the convercationLo escapeand retdbu tion- You will have to go to the slavers'camp and steala set of keys,' he says,pointing along a rocky road. 'Go down that way, bul, beforeyou reachthe stairwaywhich goesup to the balcony,tum left The camp is along lhis lrack When you have Lhekeys, bring them straightLo me. This lot are spoilingfor a fight and,with me to lead them,nothing will standin our palh' If you haveaLeadybeento the daver camp,

2'38-49 hrm to 29j. If you havenot, you leavethe quarryand iollow the road for a kilomeheor two, then turn left, headingtowardswhat looks like a temporarymiliLary campTum lo 362. 2t8 You walk round the srde of Lhe room unLil you are lev€l with the archwayWhen you look throughhere, you are amazedby the splendourof whal you see In t\e centreof a largehall wilh SreatstairLds€s toing up and down lo olher floors,is a long table,with af least thirty Dark Elves sitting round it They are feasiingbut are showrngno signsof enjoJ.'ment; they arejust leeringover therrgruesomefood likefastidious, d€monicgourmets. One of themLumsaround Would you like to comein for dinner?'he says Will you acceptthe inviLationand go through lhe archway(tum to ,96) or say that you have other businessto attendto, then quicklymove away?If you choosethe latter courseof action,will you go towards fhe diners(turn to 65) or towards the ritual (tum to

3r7)? 2t9 He looks at you with mock sadness. 'Oh, lhat is a shame,'hesays.'Andyou weredoing so well'Suddenly his facialmusclesbecometensewith fury. 'But now you have pushedme too far with your weak decepfions.' Realizinghe is going lo atlach you draw your swordasswiftly asyou can.

Taeleornrath mardex.' When you run at hrm, you crash into a wall of impenetrable force and stumble backvards, sturned. The Sorcerer raises his staff, spmyint you wiLh a vrscous1etof life-sappingdarknessYour adventureis

240

You walk along the kail betweenth€ sheermountams to the north and lhe long, sharpridge to the south After you have travelled a few kilometres, you reach the westem edge of the ridge. The trail tums souLh here, and you foliow it as far as lhe river On the riverbankthereis a landing-stage and sevenl barges Mosl of fhe boatshavebeenrrecked, althoughthere is one that would just abouLbea your weighL If you embark slraight away and start punting down the dver, tum to 147.However,it is now getting quite late,so you couldmakecampand sail tomorrow(tum to zo6). 24r After a few momenk they abandonwhaLeverit was Lhat they were doing and step back. One of them holdsup a smallphiaf when LheoLhernods,he throws it at the door.Thereisa loud explosionand a cloudo[ smokeand you du& down lo shield yourself from the blast.When you look up again,the smokehascleared andyou canseethat Lhedoor is completelyuntouched. The two blackcreatures, however,havebeenblown to preces!You walk acrossto the mound and examinethe

door It is lust as it was when you saw it from a disLance cold, hea4' s[one,coveredwith lichen exceptnow you can see someLhingengravedon its surface:'Here within lie the remainsof Khomu Wych, Seerand Visionary.Whosoeverdesecrates this Lomb shallbe hauntedby my spint and destroyed'This is quite a threat.Nevertheless, lhere must be something vital in lhis tomb, or your secretenemywouldn'Lbe so desperaLe for it. You decidethat it is up to you to breakinto lhe Lomband get this thing beforethey do. If you think you mighLknow the passwordand wish to try it, tum Lo 2. Otherwise, will you searchfor an openingmechanism(tum to 7t) or, if you have one, breakdown the door wilh your sword(tum to 116! 242

Roll two dice and deducl j from the toLal If this value is lessLhanor equalLoyour sKrLL,tum to 3j4 If it is greaterthanyour sKrLL,tum to J86

24r-4/t4 24'

DANCEROUSFUNGI Many fungi are saprophytic, which means that they feedon the decayingmatlero[ other organisms. However,somespeciesate more pemiciouseventhan that_ These speciesactually spray a cloud of spores which kill their prey.The sporesthengrow into new individuals,whichfeedon the decayingcorpse,

Dark Elves have been known to send individuals of their own kind into patchesof the fungusfor sport or aspunishment. CneeNCrr' This is a pale-greenfungus,much like the oyster mushroom but with a green top and small spikes round [he base. It is harmful only to Rock Grubsand Giant Spiders,and so is an exc€llent species for protectingmines. Now furn backto the paragraphyou carnefrom. 244 The Dwarf nods his headvery slightly and standsup. He walks over to the newcomerquite casuallyand asksthe guardsto wait a momenL.He asksthe Dwarf a few questionsand lhen tllms dway.apparenllysatis hed. Suddenlyhe swings around.drawing a heavy war-hammer-The impostor Dwarf, realizing that he has been discovered,tries to defend himself, but he ts

245 on h$ own and is armed wilh only a dagSer.Once it is all over, lhe Dwarfs come over to you. 1r'y'eowe you a great debt, adventr.rrer, in additionto what you have already done.' You tell them that you 6ght on behalf of all the good people of the Forest and the mountains-"VVellsaid I am sure that you will become known as a great Dwarf-friend,even as far as Fangthane- if we survive.' For a while you all fall quiet as you watch the black sky dowly tum lo the pale blue of the pre-dawn (tick If today is off the next day on ygw AdoenlureSheeL\. Highday,tum to 5o.If it is not, Lumto 4 245 Sincethe creafuresinsideare averselo sunlight,there is no chanceof them looking up and seeingyou. As you watch,you seea Dark Elf runningouLof view to your lefL,and severalothersgoing to your righL You hear doors slarnand what soundlike Dark Elf curses, but they die down aftera few minut€s.This castlewas buill for a Giant, so there is a ten-metredrop bo Lhe floor of Lheroom below.If you havea rope,you loop iL round one of the battlementsand use it lo abseil down Once you have landed,you tug on the rope's end and pull it down behindyou If you do not, you haveno choicebul to jump. No matterhow agileyou may be, sucha long drop mears Lhatyou are bound to suffer some injury (roll one die and deducl thar many STAMINA points)-

The room you have enteredis nol just a meansof

246-2,47 accesslor the Eagle,it is also an obsewatory.There are star charts on Lhe walls and a huge telescope pointingup lhroughthe hapdoor But thereis nothing elsein here,so you decideLoleavethroughone of the unmensedoors.Will you go throughthe one on your left, marked 'GarnesRoom' (tum lo 7E), or the one in Font of you, marked'Lrbrary'(turn Lo 166), or will you go rhrough the unmarked door on your righL (tum to rro)? 246 The Sorcererbegins to laugh. And now it doesn't maLterwhat clever defencesyou camearmed with, for your princrpalweaponis losing its power,' Suddenly he stopsand thinks 'But how can this be?Nothing I haveleamedwould indicatethat this is possible- it is a conduitfor the powerof ofhers' iust an absorber, Will you now chargeyour look to one of confidence, telling the Sorcererfhat he is right and thal yor.r should have known better [han to try fooling him (lurn to 94), or carry on looking nervous,but say nothing(tul.nto 2o9I 241 'lt's me,' you say,and give him your name You then hand him the keys and tell him he can now Lakehis -evenge on the DarkE)res,regainr LU
t 2,48-2+)

250-25r

all theDarkElvesleftme wiLh.'Heremovesa silverband Irom roundhisfingerandgivesit to you.'May I suggesl thal you now seekout and destroy the Sorcererwho leadsthe Dark Elves Unlesshe is removedfiom the arena,I fearthat we will not be ableto defeatthem' He pointsalonglhe roadtowardsthe part of lhe city where mostofthe buildingwork is going on. 'Go down Lherea good disLance until you comelo a fencedpathwayon your left Follow this to an archwayin the cavemwall. Onceyou arethrough,keepyour eyesdown andfollow the walkway, avording all tums until you come to anotherarchway.Throughthereis LheSorcerer.'

Dark Elf,perhaps;in othersit is like nothing you have ever seen.You retdeve your Council Ring and then searchthrough his belongings.His pack conlainsj Gold Piecesand three small botLles.They are labelled: '1: Died ChameleoniteBlood',':, CondensedMis! ftom the MiLhrir ForesL', ard '7, Pickled \44ro1e ShapechangerBrain'. They are clearly components of somemagicalprocess,bul you don't know what. You pick up your bow and arrows and rehrm lo Lhe CormcilChamber. Turn to z9r

You promise Arneggur that you will do what is neededor die in fhe attempt.Then you leavehim and walk along Lhe road When you get to the fenced pathway,you turn andfollow rt. Tum to z8o

You draw your sword and leap forward to atlack the Dark Elt hoping to take him by surprise.BuLhe is one of LheSorcerer'seliLePersonalGuard and has lightning

250

ELITEDARK ELF 248 You make a wild guessat Lhepassword You speak the word in a clearvoice and waiL A few moments pas<:nolhing happens. Ll you wish lo BUes.d8ain. tum backto 2. Olherwise,will you:

S K ILL 10

STAM IN A E

lf you win, you drag his body on lo the walkway and drop it over the side.Then you walk backup to the archwayand go Lhroughthe door. Tum to ro3. 25t

Searchfor an openjngmechanism? Smashthe door wilh your sword(if you have one)? Give up?

Tum to 75 Tum to 116 Tum to ,49

249 Now that he is dead you look at Lhebody of the mutatedimpostor.In someways, it is familiar,like a

After you have been walking for an hour or so you noLiceseveralblack shapessilhouettedagainst the night sky,someway ahead.You realizealmostimmedialely that they are Black Flyers There is nowhere for you Lon]n to: but they are creatures of the niSht and saw you long beforeyou saw them.As they swoop down lowards you, you realize that your adventure is

! 252-25' 2t2 There are rnore roughly erasedtracksin here,although they are more dif{icult to make out rn the darkness. You follow them to the backof the cave,whereyou find a mine shaft descendingdeep into the ground. Thereare also severallantemshangingon hooks on the wall, so you takeone and light it. With the extra light you can now see a rickety wooden cage suspendedabove the shaft;a rope, usedto pull it down into lhe mine,is probablyatlachedto a counterweight. You stepinto the cageandpull on the rope. At the bottom of the mine shaft,the trail headsoff down a large hmnel,leadingevenluallyto a shallow pool of still watea wherethe footprintsend.Thereare three turrnelson the far side of the pool, two of which are full of shange ftmgi. The third tunnel, which is empfy,hasmore footprints,presumablyfhe continua tion of the hail. Wlich tunnelwrll you take: The lefl handone? The middleone? The rght handone?

Turn bor49 Turn lo 2o8 Turnto z9z

253 As themonsterchargesat you and bhegroundtrembles benealhits feet,you dmw your sword and prepareto do batile.It probablyweighsseveraltonnes,and you are but a puny human,waiting to be cn-rshedbeneath its bulk. BLACK MAMMOTH

s(rLL12

srAMrNA15

At any time during this combatyou may collapseon

257-2t9

25+-2t6 to the groundand pretendto be dead(tum to 84).If you kill the monster you slide your sword back into its seabbard and resumeyour Joum€ytowardsSardath (tum lo r6t). 254 Since the GianL SLag Beetle is a huge, lumbering creature,you can geL in thre€ shotsbeforeit reaches you. If all three arrows hit, the Beetle crashesto the groun4 dead(tum to 3oE).Otherwise,mal<ea note of how many do, so that you will be able to deduct the appropriate nurnber' of points from the BeeLlei srAMrNAif you fight iL For now, the Beelleis still alive and thunderingtowards you - you must act Will you useyour last secondto dodgeout of its way (tum to 6o) or draw yor.rrsword and prepare to fight (tum to 28tI 255 You plummet towards the icy water o{ Lake Sardmere and the impact knocks all Lhe breath our or you. Suddenlyyou see six or seven Bla& Flyers diving towards you. You try diving and swimming away, afterthey haveswoopedpastyou a fev/ times,slashing al you with their swords,you cannotpreventyourself fiom sinking Your adventureis over 256 A hugeboomingvoice comeslrom nowhere:'Istul So you are released.You were to remain in your puzzle until I was retumedto the Abyss' IsLuroa6 and raises his lalons 'lf you wanl to fight,' saysthe voice,'so be

M, Pnea,lhe EleventhVeiled Guardlan,will destroy ', ou and damnyou to anotherperiodof imprisonmenl :r the mortal world.' Istu lashesout; the two demons ight

PNEA

S K ILL 11

i.esolvethe battle,remembering to deductpointsfrom Islu's srAMrNAscoresincehe is directly engagedrn .ombat If Islu wrns the baltle, furn lo 36j If Pnea ;\'ins,he will turn on you, rending you to precesin ;econdssinceyou do nol havea magicweapon 257 \ow that you know your naturalfitnessand slrength ;rill carry you up the steepslope,you acluallyenjoy ihe exercise. Nevertheless, when you get to lhe top of :he pass,the mountainson eithersidelook as formidable as ever,and lhere is still no way you could climb ihem.Will you go backinlo lhe Dwarf mine (tum to 36) or cany on north-westdown the other sideof the pass(turn lo rrr)? 258 As you fumblefor the swordn the roots of ihe plant, a thick,honey-lik€subslance dripson to your hand You curseyour stupidityas you realizethat thrsis a Death Dripperandthe fluidwhichhaslandedon yourhandis a (onlacL iast-a(ting poison\our advenlure is over 259 You lunge forward with your sword, and iLs blade strikesdeeplyinto the blackrobe.Insteadof the 6gure

V

26e26r

falling or fighting back,however,bherobe collapses and falls to the ground,empty. A voice comesfrom behind you, 'Let us fight then,adventurer.'You tum. Slandingbeforeyou is a tall woman in bright srlver armour.Shehaslong silverhair and her silverswordis sheathedin Lghtning.'l am Thyra Migum, Mistressof Sukh'sTower, and I welcomeyour challenge.'With rh, f

.h.

262

.nier the room. Everyfhinghas been destroyed,the :eds,the statuesand the Dark Elves All that is left is : fine grey powder coveing the floor There are no cther ents from here and nothing remainsfor you to so you go backdown the corridorto the two -arch, AJter a few seconds'thought,you go through Joors. :heone on your left (tum to ro9)

,H-,.L . ,,^ ,,

THYRA MICURN You may yield to her at any time by tuming to 3r5. If you beather,turn to 226. 260 'Thereis no one of lhat nameLivinganywherewithin my range,' says the voice- For a moment you are puzzled,but then you rememberthat Sorrelwascalled EledomFalestren among his own people,so you try that.When the voicegivespreciselythe samereply as before,you have no choicebuL to assumethaLSorrel is dead While you are recoveringfrom thrs tenible shock the smooth,culturedvoice saysdispassionately, To whom do you wish to speak?' TLrmbackto 99 and makeanotherchoice. 26r You draw yor.rrarm back and throw the Sphereinto the middle of th€ group. For one hearLstopping second,nothing happens,then it eruph into a deafening storm of fue and lightning You clap your hands over your eyesand leap oui into Lhecorridor.After iust a secondor two, the storm is over and you re

262 As lhe last BlackFlyer hits the ground,you hearglass .mashing.\Ahen you see smokepou.ringfrom some:hing on his belt, you dive for cover.Thereis a loud erplosionand a cloud of smoke When you look up, :hebodiesof the two blackcreatures havebeenblown :o pieces,so that even Lheirswords are desLroyed. )'ou get up and walk acrossto the moundand examine :hedoor. It is just as you sawit from a distance- cold, reavy ston€,coveredwith lichen- only now you can seeLhal someLhingis engravedon its surface:'Here l ithin lie the remains of Khornu Wych, Seer and Visionary Whosoeverdesecrates this tomb shall be rauntedby my spiril and destroyed.'This is quile a ihreat. Neverthelesssomethingvital must be inside ihis tomb, olherwiseyour secretenemy wouldn'Lbe so desperatefor it; it is up to you to breakinto the iomb andget thisthing beforethey do, If you thinl you may krow lhe passwordand wlsh :o try it, tum to 2 OLherwise,wilL you searchfor an openinSmechanism(turn to 75) or, if you have one,breal<down the door with your sword (turn to r36)?

zq-264 263 t havea greatrangeof potions,'h€ tellsyou, 'although somearein limiLedsupply.'He reaches into Lhewagon and producesa placardwith a list of th€ pdces.'The Love PoLionsare excellent value, and very effective, thoughI don't supposeyou are in needof suchthings. The SleepingDmught is potenL but it does tend Lo makeyou a bit hyperactiveonceit haswom off And then there are my specialcommodities I'm afraid that the last four items on the lisl are very rare,so I only have one of each I supposeI ought to apologize for their cost as well - but, as I said, they are very special.'Buy what you wrsh from the Lst and deducl the appropriatenumber of Gold Piecesfrom your tuloenlureSheetAfter making your purchases,you bid lhe man farewell and carry on down the road. Turn Lo IJO, 264 You hold your breath!o ke€pout the spores,but you are noL qurck enough and they get inlo your throat, buming your lungs as you run down the hrnnel (deductz pomts from your srewnra). The fungus comes Lo an end afLer a little way and you reach an areailluminatedby torchesThereare two toughJookrng Dwarfs standing guard here, but they don't seem to be at all aggressive. 1{elcome,human' one of them says.Would you pleasefolJow us You are the 6rst humanwe have seenfor many days, so Lokimur is sureto want to seeyou irnmedialely.' The Dwarfs leadyou throughthe convolutedtunnels

26s

266

of what looks more like an underground settlement than a mine, eventually bdnging you to a chamber wherean importanL-looking Dwarf sits behinda large slone desk.'I am Lokimur,son of Bakulor,leaderof this band of refugee Dwarfs in these dangerous and hasfytimes.'He handsyou a beauLifully fashionedRed Gem. A gift' he says,To thank you for braving the mounLainsLo come to us - whoever you are,'Will you tell him brieflythat you are an advenLurer seeking (tum helpn Endingand destroyingthe BlackFlyers to 1o6) or give him your nameand say thaLyou are an advenLurerfrom Cdrdmund in LheForest of LheNight, travelling under orders from the Grimmund Council (lurn to 33rI 265 Roll Lwo dice. Add together lhe numbers rolle4 and then modify Lheresult dependingon what day it is, Moonday Windsday Seaday

deduct5 add r add 3

If the resultis greaterthan your sKrlr.,tum to 386 If the resultis lesslhan or equallo your s(rLL Lheboat bobs about on the wavesLikea cork but you fighl as hardas you know how to conlroliL.Severaltimesyou nearly capsize,ther; gradually,Lhestorm lessensand you ffnally make it ba& rn one piece.It is clearly uselesstrying to get to Sardathso, with somereluclance,you Lurn your back on the town. Following eiLheryour dreamor someother clue,you headnorth into the mountainsTurn to 8r.

266 He seesthat you are deadlyseflousin your waming and thanksyou lor the advice(regain1 LUCKpoint). You tell him what happenedto you in Grimmundand allabout lhe missionit hasled you to undertake. He is clearlyimpressed'Merchantslike me owe much to advenLurc$like you,' he comments.He reaches backinlo his wagon and takesfrom it a thick book. 'Sinceyou are likely to go urderground,you may

mostimportantpageis that entitled'Dangerous Fungi'. If ever you wish lo read il make a note of the paragraphyou are readingat the time, then turn to paragaph 243 You thankFangnirfor his generosiLy, you are sur€Lhe book will be invaluable He bids you farewell and trundlesaway You are now forcedto continueon foot Surethat the enemycannotlie any furtherto the east,will you head north mto themountains(tum to Jj7), or wesf towards Sardath(turn to 232)?

v 267-268

269-21o 26j

You lake great careas you walk through the Forest Even though thereare no gianl webs to look out for, there is slill the LhreaLof attack by a Giant Wolf Spider After a couple of hours you find a patch of anaesiheticmoss You collecLas much as you can without destroyingthe plant (add 2 Herbs)and then setoff again. In the late aJlemoon,you arrive aLColrhyn'scottage havingseenno sign of any Giant SpidersYou go up to the fronL door and knock.There is no answer,so you go rn You searchthe whole place,but Colrhyn is nowhere to be found and there are no clues as to wherehe might be You decideto presson with your missron,settint off north west up the track which leadsfrom his cottage.Tum to r92.

269 You walk down to ihe harbourand find your boat. It ta.kesonly a few minutes to set sail, and then your questbegins With the sun shining acrosslhe fields, the first few kilomehesmale a pleasant- if somewhat chilly - start to the day. As your joumey progresses, however the tall pinesclosein on the Grimway,Of course,you don't fear the Forest'sshadowyatmosphere,but theredo seemto be more eyespeeringat you than you remember,and the backgroundnoiseof unknowncreatures is closerLothe river. Towardsmidday,you reachthe point wherethe ropebridgeshouldbe, but it hasbeentom do\.rnfrom the eastbank and is lying in the ver. Will you try to maroeuweround it (turn lo rj7), land on the west bankand walk along the forest trail which goes northwest (fum to 8), or tand on fhe east bank and walk north eastthroughthe pathlessforestbesidethe rrver (turn lo ,42)?

You take the torch and walk to the centre of fhe magical diagram As you stand there, holding the torchhith aboveyourheadthechanting grow. louder and the flame tums cold and blue When the chanl Setsfaslerand mor€ frenzied,you graduallyfeel your llfe force begiruringto flow inlo the torch where the Dark Elves can direcLiLs power, and then you lose Consciousness Your advenLure is over.

270

He laughs.'A nice bluff, advenLurerBut you forget:I havemadea lifelongsludy of thesethings.'He sighs, 'l wearyof this futileconversaLion' Realizinglhat he ls going to atiack,you draw your swordas swiftly asyou can

27r-272 Taeleom rath mardex.' When you run at hrm, you crash into a wall of impenetrable force and stumble backwards, stunned. The Sorcererraiseshis slaff, spraying you with a Your adventureis viscousjet of li{e sappingdarkness.

Mom chargestowaids th€ window and takes a flying leap He crashesthrough lhe glass,spreadshis huge blackwings and flies off into the nighl sky You run after him, grabbingyour bow on the way, but he is already too far away for you to sLandany chanceof hitting him. You curse- he still has your Council Ring There'snothing you can do abouLthal now, so you reLumto the CouncilChamberto tell the rest of the Councilwhat you haveleamed.Tum to 29r.

The very instantyour arrow hits Sorrel,he leLsoul a horrific,piercingscreamHis scarvanishesand his skin darkensto an inky black colour. One of the Elves shouts,'Dark Elfl' and they all aLtackhim. In seconds, the creatureis dead.

When th€ exciLement has died down, Bistort,an Elf Commander, 'Dark explains. Elveshave somehowacquiredthe ability to assumeany form they wish I am aJrardlhat, rather than looking after the paths, we have spendall our energiesin seekingthem out and destroyinglhem Dark Elvesare our oldest and most despised enemy' He laughshollowly.'We nearlykrlled you because we thoughtyou were one' Bislorl hands you a Seven-coiledSnakeRing 'Pleaseaccept this tokenwith our apologres for misjudginSyoul' Suddenlya shoul comesfrom the fail look-out tree aboveyou, and you both ciimb up From above lhe foresLtreetops,you can male out two bla& shapes silhoueltedagainstthe night sky, flying south-west Evenlually,they swoop dowr somewhereto the easl of the willage 'Sorrelwas in charge of kacking the Bla& Flyers,' Bislort informs you 'He said he had seenLhemand that they werenot Dark Elves.That was clearlya lie I will dispatcha trackingparty at once.'If you decideto trackthemyourselt you tell Bistorlof your intenhons, climb down the tree,and sel off nto the For€st(tum to 168).Otherwise,you decideto stay in Ash Cleeve for the night (lum to 36o).

27t-274

2j5-276

army are on Lhe north side of Lhe mounLain'You thankhim for his adviceand begin ihe descent.You soonreachthe bottom of the slopeand find yourself backon the main path. Will you now go north-east lowards the spie-shapedmountain(turn to r2r) or south-westtowardsthe river (tum to 24oF

-tt When you get closer,the two Obligaths seem to you recognize and start sniffingat your clothes.The transfomationpofion must have given you the right smell,becausefheir spinesrelax againsttheir scales and they start nuzzling up against you. You are nervous of lhem at 6rst, but they don't seernto mean you any harm, so you pat them.Howevet Lheyare still showingno sign of letting you LhroughWill you push past lhem (tum to ,78), feed them someHerbs (tum lo 71), or try to beat your way through wrth your sword(tum to ,3rt

27t As you reach out fot the shield, a wild, horrific screamingfills the cavem and you see a creature iorming in its silvery metallicsurface:il's a screaming, slashingwoman with four arms and four heads.You smashyour swordinto Lheshieldin an attempLlo stop hergettingthroughbut only succeed in dentingil. Soon the form is completeand her long nailsare slashingat you. barely missing your face, before you realize that shehasmaterializedinto the treasurechamber.If Istu is with you, multiply his numberby 10, then tum bo the paragraph wibhlhat number.Otherwiseyou mustfighl lhe Mirror Demon.Shei6 too closefor you to useyour bow,so you altackher with your sword.

274 At that moment,a Dwarf guard comesinto the room and humes over to Lolqmur. Begging your pardon, Leader, I realize thaf you are giving counsel, but I trelieve your presence is urgently rcquired. We are again under aLtackfrom the Toa-Suo.' Lokimur tells the Dwarf that he will be there in a moment and Lhentums Lo you Will you stay and help us?'If you reply lhat you would be honoured, rum ro 74 If you say that your missionis too urgent,Lokimur says thaL he quite understandsand he wishes you good luck Once he has left to attendto the Toa-Suo attac[ the Dwarf Suard escorts you out of the mine, waminS you to hold your breath before you go tlrough the fungus h.mnel.When you arrive ba& at the surface,he leadsyou to the south-eastsrdeof the pass 'Co down Lhisway,' he says,'for the Toa-Suo

MIRROR DEMON

sKrLL I

sraMINA10

lf shewins an Attack Round,tum immediatelyto 6. If you defeathet tum Lo70. 276 You follow the streamsouth until iL meets a wide slow-movingriver. Wherethe river comesin from the east,the waler is clearand clean But afler the junclion with the skeam,wher€the river tums south,the plant

i

276 life has grown out of all confrol, completely choking the water with weeds You presso4 following the rjver south, until night falls You are not far from Sardalhnow, so you do not rest.When you are abor,rt half way round the eastemedge of the Freezeblood Wall, you hear a strangenoiselike a thousandgiant birds flying overhead.You dive for cover behind a largeboulder,thenpeer out to seewhaLis causingall Lhe noise. AJt€r a few moments an army of Black Flyersappearsover the moLrntains, silhouettedagainst the night sky They are flying towards Sardath Relievedthat you are hiddenfrom fheir view, you decide to huddle into the side of the bor:lderand get whal sleepyou can. You sleepfitfully all night, and you wale up in the moming hardly refreshedat a[ (trck off the next day on yow Adunture Sheel).lf Lodayis Highday, turn to jo If it is not, the sky is only just beginnin8to lighten mto the blue of the pre-dawnwhen you seethe Black FlyersleavingSardathandflying north over LheFreezeblood Wall. Will you go afLerlhem (tum to 16) or cany on south bo the Fangthaneroad and follow it into Sardaih(iurn to 293I

271

277 When the Dark Elf coming up from the right reaches fhe junction,he stops and salutesyou, You copy his action.Valethion, Chaugh,'he says,but Lhenstops himself.'l apologize,'he says 'l forgot we must speak Allansian' Quite severely,you tell him that a slip like that could cost him his life and fhat il is not enough to look humaa you must also act and speak Lke one. By this time the other Dark EIf has arrived. 'Lord Chaugh,'he says,salutingyou You retum lhe gesture.'How did you get out of LheGamesRoom?'he asks.Thinking very qurckly,you tell him Lhatyou discovereda seoet door inlo the LaboraLory by manipulalingone of the puzzles. ,We should report ba& wilh this inJormation,'saysthe tirst Dark Eli I nearly forgot, the knocking sequence hasbeenchangedlt's now srx,one,five, seven,eight.' They both saluleyou and set off up the tunnello the right. It soundsasif therearea lot of Dark Elf warrio$ in the tunnelto lhe right and you can't afford to lake part rn any unnecessary combat,so you decideto go to the left.Tum to 7r.

27E-2'19

278 Insrdethe bundle are six ivory squares;each is of beautifullysmoothworkmanship, with delicalecarving The engrav€dlines are filled wrth a black pigment, whichmakcsfhem standout vividly. From the strange shapesthat the lines form, you can tell that this is somekrnd of puzzle,but thereis no indicatronof how you lo solveit Whrleyou still have the ivory squares, may unlock therr secretat any time Wheneveryou want to re-exammefhem, return to thrs paragraph, frrsLmaking a note of Lheparagraphyou have come from Once you have solved the puzzle,it should becomecLearhow to proceed 279 The book is a huge volume entitled Trs Researches ol Thalion Lorasselt is far too large for you to read nowj anyway,most of it would be uselessto a warrior like yourself.However one of the pagesis marked.You open the book and begin to r€ad One secLionLn particuLar catchesyour aLtention: THE APPARATUS, The TriplexPotionConcocter is usedfor makingpotionswhrchrequiretwo solid componentsand one liquid The Lquid component is alwayspouredinto the first thistlefunnel,and the powder into the secondfunnel.The third compo' nent, which will be a solid in a largerform, should be put into the third,muchlargerfunnel You may havesomeitemswhich couldbe usedin the maling of potions,so you memorizetheseinshuclions ShouldyoLrfind sucha machinelaterin your advenlure,

280

28r

you may be able to concoclsomethinguseful Tum backlo 166andmalceanoLherchoice

280

The fenced pathway canies you right through the weirdly constructedciLy, pasl enclosedsquareswrth Lowerssiandingat stiangeanglesand sheetswhose only pulposers Lo confuseEverythingis carwedwith imagesof malevolenl-lookmg Dark Elves The fenceis tmbrokenfor the entirelength of the pathway,sr.:you

haveno accesslo the city - but you realizewith some feliefthat this also meansLhatLhebizarrecity has no accessto you! Eventuallyyou reachthe wall of the cavem,some way beneathihe balcony.There is an archwayhere,leadinglo a shorLtunnel Il is very low and narrow,and you have fo stoop Lo get Lhrough However,it soonemergesinto the botlomlesscavern, andyou loweryour Bazeto avoid thewild architecLure The flimsy walkway you are now on is slipperywilh moss,so you walk very carefully;but iL soon widens you andbecomesdry again.After a few more meLres, junction (tum cometo a Will you go right to 37o)or carryskaighton (tum to r77I 28r The tunnelsoon emergeson to a walkway,lit by the dim light of the botiomlesscavern,and you lower your gazeto avoid the nsane architectureThe walk way feelseven higher than the othersyou havebeen on, althoughyor.rdon'Ldarelook down to seeif yow feelingis accurateAnother archwayat the end leads lo a coridor Now lhat you are in a more enclosed

2a'

282 space you feel shielded from the insane charactero[ the boltohless cavem, Tentativelyat fust, but then more confidently,you look aroundat your suround ings.A few rnetreslo your left, iherc is a door at the end of th€ corridor On your right, the corridorgo€s for about ten metresto an archway-WiJI you 80 leit and through the door (tum to 2o5) or right and throughthe archway(turn to 34E)? 282

'Dark Elves?'screamsThyra, her voice echoinground lhe mountain.Therei6a brightflash,followedbya crack of thtrnder,and you are momentartly blinded. 'l loathe anddetestthesesorcerous delversinto the ground'

A short time later,you find yourselfat the path at the foot of the mountaio Elieved to have made it back alive.Tum to 29t. 2at As the Beetle'shuge bulk comesthunderingtowards jaws twitching,you Planl your yo4 its antler-shaped feetsquarelyand prepareyourselffor battle. CIANT STAG BEETLE

srILL9

l[ you win, turn to 3oE

Teslyour Luck.lf you are Unlucky,a bolt of lightnint hits you (roll one die and deduct thal many points from your srrvnre) If you are Lucky,it all misses On.e Lhe fury has died down and your vision i. restored,you seethat everythingshewas wearinghas beenannihilatedHer body is now cloakedin a blaze of lighl; sparksfly from her,causinglicks of lightning in the sky.Shelooksat you wilh menace. What do you want with Dark Eives?'she asks.You tell her aboutyour mission You will needpower,'she says,and a smallsilversphereappearsin her hand;she gives it to you 'You may use the Lighhring Sphere only againstthe darkestof Dark Elves;the ball itself wilt tell you when.' You open your mouth bo thank her,but sheholds up a fiery hand.'Go,'she says,'for my temperis not to be trusted.'Having seenher in full tury, you leavewrthor..rtdelay.

i,r"fi'nri,

STAM IN A 6

za4-z8s 2t4 Roxsirteadsyou through many funnelsand you eventually come out on a ledge above a north-facing clif{. You lean over lhe parapet and see the huge army of Toa-Suoclimbing up, The Dwarfs are trying to repel drem by hurling rocks at them Without delay, you iom in. You rnay be larger than the Dwarfs, but they havethe advantageof a lifetime of mine worl(, so they ae much skonge. than you are,and you have to work yourself to the limit. Even then, you are not able to leep up so many Toa-Suomanageto get up the cliff that the axe warriorscannothandlethem and you are Iorc€dto fieht one.

TOA.SUO

SKILf, 6

STAM IN A 9

If you winu you retum to the arduous job of rock hurling. Towards the md of the day, the Toa-Suo rekeat to the north, having failed to breach the minds defences.As you watch lhem go, a terdble exhaustion gips you (deduct4 srAMrNApoints). II you don't collapseand expirefrom overexertior!you follow the other Dwarfs as they kaipse back into the tunnels. Turll.to 122. 2sS After an how or so of hard scrarnbling,you stop for a rest.Above yot.Lthe top of lhe pa6sis cappedby a you musbpress thick coveringof snow; nevertheless, on Once you reaci the snowline you find that it is almost lmee deep and gets deeperthe fiuther you go. lust as you are getting to the top. there is movement in the snow all round vou. and a whole tribe of

286-287 Toa-Suorisefrom theirhidingplaces.They areall over Lwometresfall and nearlyas wide, wiLh thick coatsoi white fur. Against one or Lwo of them you might have stood a chance,but not againstan army.Your adven' tureis over 2t6 Not lonS afternightfalland just after you havesettled yourselJ down, you spot an army of Black Flyers comingdown the valley hom the north-wesl heading towards Sardath.Glad that you have sboppedand hidden yourself,yolr pull your blanketsclosearound you and try [o get some sleep.Your camp is not exactly comfortablebut it is dry and oul of the ic' wind, so you shouldbe able to rest quite well. Next mominSyou wake up cold and stiff (tick off the next day on your ,Ay'oenture Sheef).lI today is Higlday . tum to Jo If it is not, you drag yourselfto your feet and do a few viSorous exercisesto get your body you set off As the going, Thergafter somebreakfast, momingwearson, Lhehuge isolatedmountainactually looks as if it is getting nearerjthis is a boosl to your morale,but it alsomeanslhat the groundwill soonbe gettinSsteeper.Towardsmidday,you begin to climb the mountarnitself.Tum to ,rE. 2E7 Becauseyou are human, the Dark Elf corning up from the left shoutsa waminS as soon as he reachesthe junction. You both draw your swords,and a fierce batlle ensues This Dark Elf is a strong and skiltul

zt8-289 'rarrior and, by the time you have gainedthe upper iand ten or eleven more Dark Elf waniors have :rrived You fighf valianLlybut therearejust loo many. Youradvenfureis ovet, 2t8 li you ever changeyour mind and decideto tale a look at your surroundings, makea note of the number of the paragraphyou arereadingat Lhehme,then Lum io rj, (mal(ea note of this numberfor future reference). Fornow,you walktentativelyalongLhewalkway, keepingyour eyeson the path just in front of you. It is unerving not knowing where you are going, but 1ou forceyourselfto walk on Eventuallythe walkway meetsanother.Will you go left (tum to 3t8) or riSht turn to rr2B 289 As soon as you iift the amulet{TomaroundKhornu's neck,the body beginsto crackand mrmble as several centuriesof decay caichup with it If you decideto male your escapefrom the crypt before the process has6nished,tum to rz- If you do not, a few moments passand then lhere is nothing lefi but a ffne layer of duston the floor. Suddenlyan icy wind blows uP out of nowhere,penetratingthrough to your very bones and an A faint light appearsinside the sarcophagus, aweinspiring6gure forms within: it is lhe Ghost of KhornuWych. Roll two dice If the total is lessthan or equalLoyour sKrLL,tum to zr4. If the total is greater thanyour sKrLL,furn to 316

2P-r9r 290 You reachover Lograb Fangnir'stunic,buf the ground rocksatain and you are thrown into the back of the wagon Fangnr slumpsforwardout of your reach,and you are forced to leap off without hrm you hit the gound heavrly,roll, and tum to look to the wagon. The monster which car.rsed the eruption is a manyarmed,writhing creaturewith hard, shiny scales.Its massivetentacleshaveburst throughLheroad and are now draggingthe Dwarf, his wagon and all his goods

29r Grissareconvenes the Councilto discusswhat you are Soing to do. The Councillorslistenin respectfulsilence while you tell them about ihe imposter.Now you have no chorcebLrtto believein my dark enemy.I would love to marchthroughthe Forestwith an army and wrpe this enemy out, but Mom told me himself that this is preciselywhat he came here to achieve The Forestis now so contaminated with evil Lhatwe would never makei! through.'The Councilmembers acceptyour plan bo go alonebut insis! thar you warr for daylight and use ihe few remaining hours of darknessLo recuperate.Grissasendsyou some food and a Healer to tend any wormds you may have (regainup Lo6 sraMrN^ poinLs). Once the sun is up (tick off the ffrst oay on your

292

Atutenture you gathertogetheryour equipment Sheef), and leave lhe CouncilHall. Most of the Conncillors have gone [o their beds afher all-night discussions, bui Crissais there to see you ofl She gives you a iour leaf clover Tor lu&,' she says.You thank her and say farewell.lf you visit the town astrologerbefore ieaving Gimmr.rnd, tum to 23r . Otherwise, tum to 190.

292 The tunneLgoes on for a long way, twrsting and hrming,arld eventuallyyou loseall senseof direction, but still the trail of fooLprinlsleadsyou on. At last the tunnel comesto an end in a small cavern Th€ kail petersout here,but you enter anyway.Once iry you stopand stare,momentarilyconfused:you are backal the bottom of the mine shaft whereyou camein If you want to retraceyour footsLeps to the cavemwith the pool and the three tumels, Lum backto 2j2 and chooseanotheroption. If you give up looking around and leave the mine, you step into the cageand haul yourself up the shaft. You are stajrdingonceagainon the top of the mountain pass SinceLhemounLainson either side of the passar€ too sheerfor you to climb,you will have to descendagain If you go down the north-westsideof the pass,tum to r33. If you go backdown the southeastside,you eventuallyget backto the main track. Will you now go north-east(tum to r2r) or southwest(turn lo 24o)?

29r-29J 29' >ardath,buill on slills over Lake Sardmere,is ihe :radingcentreof the Freezeblood Mountainsand the :orestof Night Built centuriesago by the rough men :nd Dwarfs who came to this region Lo exploit its :nany resources,Sardathhas become an imporiant outpost in the spreadof civilization lhroughout northem Allansia.As you walk along fhe road it looks as if dl this might come to nothing. The whole of Lake Sardmereis shrouded by a strange swirling storm, rilh the town at iLs cenhe;from what you can see, Sardathitself looks completelydead.The bndge lhat qossesthe lake has been deshoyedand most of the :oats have beenwrecked.If today is Fireday,tum to r27 If it is Earthday,tum to rt4. Otherwise,tum to r84 294 {fier a few minubes,the eyes vanish beneath the rater You look aroundbut can seeno sign of where :he creaturewent Towardsmidday, you ready your ':ow again,for you are enteringSlyhk tenitory. The :eedshere are denserthan ever and it is difffcult to keepyour boat in clearwater.While you aremanoeuving through a pafticularlynarrow channel,a group of the slimy ftog-peopleriseout of the reedson either sideof you, spearsrarsed.Tum to Q. 29' I've already been there,'you tell Arneggur 'And I .an't retum, becausethey lhink I have gone up Lo Corianthus's castleto join someonecalledDuke Pilea.

296 If I were to go there again, they would become suspiciousI understandhow much you desireyour Ireedom.but if I am killed m,anymore will become

v

297-299 297 ieing his companionfelled by a single anow, the ;econdSlykk stopsdeadin his lracks.This givesyou ime - if you want to and if you have one - to nock :rother arrow and point it at him (tum to ,8o). If you jon't have anotherarror4/,or if you don't wish to do :nis,you sling your bow over your shoulderand draw ;;our sword. Seeingthis, ihe Slykk'scouragereturns rnd he resumes his charge.Turn !o 2r4. 29E \othing you have learnedso far points eitherto the routh or to the east,and the mountainslying to lhe rorth of here are impassableto someoneo[ your rexp€ri€nce,so you decideto follow the mountain :railsouth-west, This leadsyou down a gentlydescend rg valley,n'ith the sheermountainsto the norfh and : long ridge to the south.Aftcr a long walk, your rath crossesa trackgoing north-westup a steepslope :owardsa mormiarnpass It doesn'tlook like an easy :oute, but it rs not beyond your capabilitres. If you .ary on south-west,tum io 24o.If you go north-west rp to the pass,do you have a Red Cem (turn to 2j7) cr not (tum to ro8)? 299 l'our renownedluck savesyou againas you land on :he backof one of the BlackFlyers,thoughwith such :orce that he is knockedout of control- You bofh rlummetfor a momenttherei. d rushol noi.ea: you crashthroughthe trees,then you hii the ground The impact kills the Black Flyer outright, but his body your fall Roll one die and deductthat many cushrons

3ar-3o3

loo

points from your srAMrNA. Before you is a small moun4 in the fronL of which is a sfone oc,or,coverco with Lichen.This must be the placethe crealureswere malcingfor. Suddenlyyou rememberlhat two of thern are slill ln lhe sky aboveyou. You look up and can just see their silhoueltesagainst the slars. Iulien is flying back Lo his Sorcererlo tell him of his success, but the other one is descendrng. In secondshe lands and walks towards you, drawing his sword. Even though you still haveyour packwith your Herbsand gold, you may have droppedyow sword when you were fighting wilh Iulien in Crimmund.II you did so, you must deductz ponts from your Attack Strength. Your bow and arrowsare backin the CouncilRecess Chamber

BLACKFLYER

sKtLL 7

When he sees what is happ€ning, one of the elite Cuards screams,'Humanl' arrd they all attack You I]ght as best you can, but lhere are just loo many of ihern Your adventureis over, ,oI

lValking in the mountains at night can be extremely razardous,even if you are an experiencedmountaineer. You know very little about the FreezebloodMoun:ains, so you are almost sure to get lost Roll one die 1fyou roll, 1-2

5-4 54

Tum to 3t Tum to ro7 Tumto r87

STA M I N A 7

Ifyo win,tum to 262. 300

At that moment,a young Dark Elf comesrunningin, holding a piece of paper. 'Archduke Awlenion?'h€ asks. One of the elite Guardssauntersup to him and iakes the message'The slaveshave brokenfree,'he stales 'lt will take only a couple of cohorls' For a few minufestherers a lot of bustled. the wa.riorsprepare themselvesand exiLhastily to do batlle. However a lot of lhem havesLayedbehind- obviouslythey don't seethe Dwarfsas that much of a threat.Sr.rddenly you feel strange- the lransformation potion is wearingoffl

to2 This stairway is as narrow and lreacherousas any of ihe previous walkways you have been on: you descend it with aIr uneasy compromise between caution and a desre not to arouse suspicron.At the boltom of the slarway there is another walkway W lyou now go ri8ht (tum io 77) or left (turn to lj8)?

to3 Youexamine thedoorverycare6rlly, feelingacross its surfaceand round rts edges After a while, you work out that it shouldslde to the left. When you try to move the door sideways,howevet rt won t budge You searcharoundagain but are unableto frnd any way oi openingit. Will you:

304-to5 Strikeit wrth your sword(if you haveone)? Try sayinga password? Give up?

to6-joj Turn lo 136 Turn lo 2 Turn to 349

to4 You placethe numberson the puzzleand sLepback, waiting to see whaf will happen.There is a sudden flashand the whole tablecrumblesto dust.Whatever thepuzzlewasfor, you w l neverfind oul

,06 A look of angerdouds Lokimur'sface.'I understand your urgency, young humarl but ihere can be no reasonfor completelyabandomngcommoncourtesyI know that humansareby therrnalurea hastyfol( but I would have thought that anybodyaniving at a new placewould introducethemselves wifh the appropriat€ Your mind wandersas Lokimurproceedsto grve - -' iou a lengfhy leclureon lhe etiquetteof geLtrnS counselfiom Dwarfs When his tone beginsto mellow, you startpayingmoreattention.'Therefore,' he says,'l will relent{rom what would be my nornal, somewhat violent courseof action,and give you whateverhelp I canNow then.. 'Turn Lo274

You look aroundfor a while,experimenlingwith some of the gianl+rzed gjamesand puzzles,but nolhing happens,eitherBood or bad,so you leavethe Games Room and retum Lo the Obseryalory.(Note: having exhaustedall the possibililiesin this room, yor.rmay not return here unlessyou are specificallyinstructed to ) Will you now go ihough Lhedoor on your lelt jnto the Lrbrary (tum to 166) or go straight on throughthe unmarkeddoor (tum lo rro)?

307 At that momenla youngDarL Llf comesrunninSrn holding a piece oI paper. 'Archdule Awlenion?' he asks.

,ot You thank Jonnanfor his help and ask him what he intendsto do now 'l am only a lrader,'he says,'soI would be a hindranceLo you. Anyway, I promised that I would Bo Lo Fangthaneto summonhelp It's a long way, and we've alreadylost a day because Neya was droiarred.BLrtat least it's somelhing.'You t€li lonnanlhat indeedit is Shouldyour missionfail, there is now a smallhope thal all may not be losl Jonnan seLsoff towardsGwinir'sBndgeand you too must be on your way, tum to 8r

One of Lheelite GuardssaunLers up to him and takes 'The slaveshavebrokenftee.It will only the message. takea coupleof cohorls,'he says.For a few minutes thereis a lot of bustle as Lhewarriorspreparelhemselves,and run excifedlylo battle.However,a lot of them have stayedbehrnd- obviouslythey don't see the Dwarfsas that muchof a threat Suddenlyyou feel stmnge the hansformationpotion is wearng offl When he seeswhat is happening,one of the elite Guards screams,Tlumanl' and they all attack You fight as best you car! but there are just too many of them.Your adventureis over

! t08-3ro 308 You rest lor a few moments,perhapstreatingyourself with some of your Herbs.Then you sel off again .{fter a coupleof hours' steadywalking,you catcha ghnt of light coming ftom the treesahead.As you approach,you can see that lhe sun is striking something aL the base of a skange shrub, which is about ihreemebrcstall with a wide, thick barkedtrunk and palm-likeftonds,interspersed with yellow star-shaped flowers As you geLcloset you seeLhatit rs a sword, entangled in its roots,lhat is glinting.If you try to get lhe weaponou| Lumto r4o If you prefernoL to, you leaveit and carry on north wesL.Somehoursrater,as ihe sun is beginningto set,you approachthe fork in ihe road where the El[ village is hidden among the irees.Tum lo 3r2309 ln the instart that the Sorcereris waiting for you to succumbto his attack, you draw your sword and lunge at him. But he is too quick for you: 'Faeleorn rathmardex' Beforeyou reachhim, you crashinLoa wall of rmpen€trableforce and sh,rmblebackwards,stunned.The Sorcererraiseshis sfafl sprayingyou with a viscous et of lile sappingdarkness. Your adventureis over. t10

\ ou plummeidown towardsthe river.screamrng rn a nixture of fear and elation Testyour Luck.lf you ate l-ucky,lum to 87.If you areUnlucky,tum to 40

5rr-1r2 31r The Dark Elf snaLches the goblef from you and drains it in a singleswallow.Then he carrieson laughingand stuf{ingbits of meat inLo his facefor a few mtnutes, but soonhis eyelidsbegrnsto droop and he collapses into what lookslike a drunkenstupor.The Elf on your right looksat the deepingDark Elf in disgust 'And he always boasted that he could hold his drink.' He laughsand tums Lo you. 'Take hirn over lhere and throw him on one of Lhecouches.' After lifting the ELfacrossyour shoulder,you carry him away from Lhetableand lay him down. Once th€ olher Dark Elveshave forgottenaboutyou and have gone backto lheir gorging,you take the opportunity to searchthrough his belongings You find :r4 gold coinsand a large key with an ornale 'S' engravedon it While you are pulting lheseitemsin yow pack,the Dark Elf gn:nh - the SleepingDraughtis wearingoff You decidefo leavebeforehe wakesup. Tum to z9 tr2 'l seeit now,'he says,You want me to makea mental attack.But what possiblereasoncould you have for doing tha8' He ponders.'Of course Khornu'sALtenuation, turning the amulet from a mere shield lo a reflector Then my aLtemptsto obscurethe efforts of that cursedasLrologer weren't€nough.'He smiles.But it is of no malter,for now I know ofyour achievemenL He pauses-'And I also know thaLyou don't possess any secretmagic'You can tell he is going to attack, so you drawyour swordasswiftly asyou can.

3rt-314 Taeleomrath mardex' lVhen you run al him, you cash into a wall of impenetrableforce and stumblebackwards,shrnned The Sorcererraises his staff, spraying you with a viscousjet of life-sappingdarkness. Your adventureis

1\3 You watch and wait, willing the sailorto succeedbut noLwantingto takeany risk yourself.Suddenlya huge gust oI wind racesacross[he water. The sails fill, and ihe boat heelsove4 thena hugewave capsizes it. You scanthe raging surfaceoI the lakefor severalminutes buLno one emergesThe sailoris losl You can see no other sign of Life from Sardath,and you realizethal, if you wanl to makeconracr,you are golng to have to row all the way acrossin the boat you found (lum to 345) If you decideagainstthis couse of action,there is nothing more you can do here:you decideto leaveSardafhand headnorfh inlo the mountains,following your dream of the dark army,and maybeoLherdues(turn to 8r)

t r4 At thal moment.a yourg Dark tlf come. rurminSin. holding a piece of paper 'ArchdukeAwlenion?'he One of the elite Guardssauntersup to him and takes the message. When he readsit, he lookswonied, 'The

trt'-tr7

3r5 slaveshavebrokenfree,and we are being attackedby Wood Elves I will needall four cohorts.'Thewarriors prepareLhemselves and mn excrtedlyto battle In just a few minutes theyaregone,exceptio'ore guard potion Suddenlyyou feel strange- the transformation s happening to is wearing offr When he seeswhat 'Humanl' you, the eliLeGuard screams, alrd then attacksHe is too quickfor you to useyour bow

ELITEDARK ELT

SKIL L 1 0

STA M I N A 8

If you win, you hurry over to the door that has 'SAUCRIERE' carvedon iL If you have an 'S'Key, tum to 63. If you do noL,tum Lo86. tr5 you lower yourselfLoyour knees. RelucLantly 'Now lhen, mortal,' the creaturesays,'who are you andwhat do you want wth Thyra Migum?' You tell her that you are arr adventurerfrom Crimmundrn lhe Forestof Night. You should have stayed rn the Forest where you belong.'You canheargreatfury rn her voice,although clearlysheis trying to suppress rt. lf you apologizefor Lrespassing on her mounLainand leave immedGlely, sheallowsyou Loget backdown to the pathunharmed (tum to 298).If you pe$ist in talking to her,will you ask her if there are any Dwa/s left ahve in the mountains(Lumto 2o2)or askher if sheknowswhere the BlackFlyerscomefrom (turn lo 282!

t\6 Ii you havea silverweaponof somekrnd,lum ro rrr Otherwise,turn fo 163

The apparatusbubblesfuriouslyfor a few minuiesand some pafts of its complex tubing rattle and shake. EvenLualiy a clear liquid dlps out of the end into a smallphial Feelingsome trepidation,you dflnk the potion.You imnediatelyexperiencean itching sensaiion and a tightnessin your muscles.Va ous parls of your body warp and hvrsi, as if trying fo hansfom rnto somethingelse,but no de6niteshapetakeshold Perhapsthis is the very magic that the Dark Elves have been using to impersonateoLherspeciesSuddenly you have an idea. yvithout wasting another second, you mn backthroughlhe LibraryandObserva, tory inlo the GamesRoom As soon as you see the body oI the Dark ElI, you feel a great pressurebeing released.You are now one of them (wheneveryou cometo the phrase'becauseyou are human'do not readon, deducL1r: 6om the numberof tre paragrapn you arereadingand tum mmediatelyto the paragraph wiLh lhat number).However, for your dFguise to wor( you will have lo hrdeyour twin's body, so you decideto leave if in the Library If the Dark Elves haven'tgot in thereso far, it mustbe impregnable. As you leavethe CamesRoomandent€rthe Observalory, the suniighLfeelsvery hot on your skin,but you are slill essenliallya humar!so you reachthe Librarydoor mharmedTum to 166.

tre-32o ,IE You ascendthe sleepeningmountainstdefor some time, losing pace as the climbing gets harder until, evenfually,you are forcedto resf.As you are gazint up towardslhe mountain'speak Lo seehow far away it still is, you becomeawareof a shadowyform in the sky aboveyou Your lhoughtslum imm€diately!o the BlackFlyers.As Lheshapedrawscloser,however,you realzethat it is a Giant Eagle,flying straighttowards you lf you do something to show that you are friendly, wdt€ down on your AdaenLweSheetwhat thabis, ihen tum Lo r98. Otherwise,will you &aw your bow and shoot at it (turn to 17) or draw your sword and attackit as it dropsdown to land (turn to 89)? 319 -{s soon as the Black Mammofh gets within range, lori loose an arrow at it. The monster stops in its ira&s, raisesifs trudq and lets out a terriblebellow. yourLuck,adding2 to the dice roll if your arrow TesL hit. If you are Unlu&y, tum to zz9 lf you are Lucky, the call is not answete4and the creafureresumesits charge;tum to zt3, rememberingto deductz points Iromrts srAMrNAif your shotwas successful, ,20

Still a liltle sticky from the webs, you draw your sword and thrusL it towards the Spider'sbulbous oody. CI A NT S P I T T I NGS P I DE R s K rrL g s r ^ M r N A 6

I

320

The Giant SpiLtingSpideris noLas aggressive a hunter as, say, the Giant Wolf Spider,so it will run away info the trees if you survive long enough to reduceits srAMrNALo2 points.If you do manageto drive it off, thereis nothing to be gainedfrom following it, so you lie down, curl up in your blankets,arrd drift back to sleep.Tum fo the paragraphwhosenurnberyou wroLe in a circleon your,4r1,enlureSheet.

t2r-322 32r Once again you hear a dull thud but the door does not give,[he sLoneis still not chipped.Will you, Searchfor an openingmechanism? Try sayinga password? Hit fhe door again? civ€ up?

Turn to 7, Tum to 2 Turn to ,E7 Tum ro j49

t--

On the way down into the mine. lou bump into Koxsir,who is coming up lo meet you. ,Lokimurtold

'l don't think that would be very wise,,says one of them-'The BlackFlyersrule the mountainsat night.

T 32t-124 There are patrols n the air continuously, and Lhey usually send a force to atta& the rnine - although they are conductinga terror campaignrather than a propermilitaryassault.' By this iine everybodyis getting ready to sleep,Lo recover from the day's fighling You, ioo, are exhausted,and lhe Dwarf's adviceis good, so you find yoursellan empty pallet to sleepon. Will you go up to ihe duty officer and volunteer Lo take a watch during the night (tum to 144) or seltlestrarghtdown to sleep(tum to 28[ ,

325 doesn'tbudge. Instead,a small hole opensat about head height.When the gr.rardon the other side sees you, he mutters someLhingto himself, and you hear the soundof bolts being drawn.Having openedthe door, he just standsthere,leaningarrogantlyagainst the frame.'l know yor!'he says 'lL's Lord Chaugh, isn't it? Oh yes,I remembernow. You'restationedup in the Giant'scastlewith the other scum.'He laughs 'l'll;ust go and seeif your name$ on the list'W l you let hm lum to 80 (turn lo 3r), ask him why he hasto check(turn to 5E),or atlackhim (tum to z5o)? t-)

t2t As you walk lowards the spire-shapedmountain, you gazeup at ils prodigiousheightand its peak,shrouded by dark rnist. From within these clouds come bright lighlning flashesand rumbles of thmder. It is an awesomesight.By Lheiime you reachthe fool of the you are beginningto realizejusLhow fierce mounLain, the storm is. Surely nothing could live wilhin that unbndledfury?You continueup the steepeningpath, but rt endsabmptly after only some6fty melres.Will you press ory trying to End your own yray up (tum to 33),or go backdown to lhe foot of the mountain(tum to 298)? t24 Evenlually the walkway leads you to an archway Unl*e the olher archwaysyou haveseen,Lhisone has a door in it - but one wthouL any lo& or handleLo openit. With a shrug,you give the door a push,but rt

The lver actsas a defenceagainstthe Gianl Orb-Web Spidersthat live jn the Forestto the west. They are the reason that the Grimway lakes such a roundabout rou[e Havmg decidedto braveLhemore drrectroufe, where there rs no bridge,you mtie your smallboat and row acrossthe river Onceacross,you setit adrift - Spiderscan't row, but you don't yet know what otho dangershave arisen.As you walk through the Forest,more eyesseemLo be peeringat you from Lhe darkspacesbetweenthe treesthanyou rememberand the backgroundnoiseof unknowncreaturesis louder. Everywherethereare the websof GizntSpidersFortunalely this speciesis a kapperratherlhan a hunler,so you are safeas long as you apply all your skilts to avoiding th€ almost invisiblewebs After you have been walking for several hoLrrs,you hear someLhing rurming towards you. It is large and has many legs but it can'l be a Giant Spider,for they seldomleave their webs. Then you see il, charging ihrough the

326-11,7 hees: a Giant Stag B€etle with an mormous, black armoured body and hugely overgrown iaws like a stag's antlers - but it's much more ferocious than any stag.Will you dodgeout of its way (tum to 60),shoot at it (tum to 2t4), or fitht it with your sword (turn Lo 2Et? ,26 You punt Lhebargeurtil you havegot it up lo a good speed,thenyou let the currenLtakeit so that you can resl (regain2 sraMINApoints).As you lie on the raft, half dozing,you begin to wonder:how is it that the water here is so cleat when in [he Forestthe river is Somehours later you reachthe point where the river tums soufhand this puzzleis answeredfor you. At this point a tributary wrth a skange yellowish tint joins the river ftom the north. Whatever may have causedthis discolo tion, it seemsto be affecting the dver, for the waterdownstrearn is chokedwith weeds.The tribuLary itself is clear,probably becauseit is flowing so fast. There is no way you are going to get any further in the barge,so you land it on the west bank,just past the junction of the two dve6, then you jump ashore and preparefo continueyour advenlureon foot. Will you follow the tributarynorth (tum to rzz) or follow Lheriver southtowardsSardath(tum fo r4z)? t27 'l amso relievedto hearanoutsidevoice,'saysthe warrior when yor.rcontacthim, tven ifit is insidemy head.'

j2E-j29

You talk for sometime aboutwhat hashappened, and of your plansto stopit'By day, thereare terriblestorms,'hesays,'sothat the Lakeis unnavigableAnyway, only a very few would leave Sardathvolunlarily Most electedto stay and defendthe town from the BlackFlyers.They are fierce fightersand have considerable measureof advantage, attackingfrom the air. But we are alsoa strongpeopie and so far have held them of{. But we cannot last forever.We arerelying on you, Councillor,to tum the tablesin our favour' You wish Ydys good luck, but his imagehas already faded,and the yellow eyesare appearing.'To whom do you wish lo speak?'saysthe smoofh, cultured voice.Tum backLo99 andmakeanotherchoice. ,28 The Dark EIf looks at you in horror and screams: 'Humanl'The shout echoesoff the cavem walls and reverberaLes all over the ciLy.You run, but scoresof Dark Elves leave lheir homes to prjrsueyou You

t29 The amulel hums with power as it absorbsthe Sorcerer'sattack, and flashesyellow, There is another crackleof magical energy and the Sorcereris left staringaheadthroughpwe white eyes.He is alive,but mindless. You tell him to lie down on the floor,and he obeysyou. But when you tell him to usehis magicto levitatehimself,he just hes there dumbly. With his

t30-t3r

3t1

mind destroyed,all hrs magicalabililies have gone. domarry You draw your swordand leavethe Sorcerer's st ding out on to the walkway in the botLomless cavem Tum to 4oo,

330 As you plummetdown through the sky, you spread your armswide in a desperate atiemptto sieeryourself lowardsone of the descending BlackFlyers.You have seenWraith Apes attackingadventwerswith gliding leaps;withoul their winglike skin-flaps, however you cannof hope to con[rol your descent.You will jusi have to trust that your gods are with you- Tesflo1tr Laclc. If you areLucky,tum to 299.If you areUnlucky, LuJnto 218

lrr

yourselfin the most Dwarflike manner You inLroduce you know Lokimursmiles.'Youare a very courLeous and u*asty human,'he says, tul lhese are hasty times, so I think we should discusslhe situation wilhout delay' You agree,and explain to him the naLureof your missionand what has befallenyou so far In his lum, Lokimur explainshow he gathered

together all the mining folk into ihis one mine for lheir mutual protection You congratulatehim on hrs work and ask him if th€y have suJfered many altacks fiom the BlackFlyers.'Yes,'he replies,trut only by night, of courseBy day they sendpa&s of Toa-Suo.' You were going to askhim for his help,but now you realizethat he hasother concems.You askhim inslead if he can give you any nJormationihat might be of help lo you. 'Of course,'hesays,'but sadly there is very little time for propercounsel.What do you need to know?'Will you askhim about: Thyra Migurn (if you know of her)? What'shappenedto Sardath? Conanthus(if you know of hm)? The BlackFlyers? The Toa-Suo?

Tum to 19 Turn to 97 TuIn to r8r Turn lo 366 Turn to 38j

tt2-313

tr 2

You stop and wait, knowing that the Elvesmust be awareof your presenceand that they will come to greet you in their own good time. Very few humans have had much contact with the Elf village and you are the only one ev€r [o havebeen kainedby an Elf. When you, and adventwerclike you, were trying to open up the Elf-paths,Sorrel,whose Elven name is EledomFalestien, befriendedyou and tauShtyou nof to fear the Forestbui to understandand respectit. He also showed you how to use a bow, how best to kack, and how to heal yourselfusing herbsand mosses.lrt refum, you taught him swordplay A scar acrosshrs right eye is tesLimonyfo thi6. As you stand there, thinkingof your old friend,a smallbandof Elvessteps out of the kees with Sorrelat their head.You raise your hand in greeling and move to app'roach. 'Hold,' shouts Sonel. 'Go no further impostor, we know what you arc.' You stand there for a second, baffled Sorrellifts hm hand and the Elvesraise their bows. You must act quickly or die. Will you shoot Sorrel (tum to 106), try to prove who you are (turn to rt9), or fum and run (tum to 2o4n 313 Whenyou drawyour sword,the creatuessta* leaping into the air, makinga noise like Lhebarkingof dogs. You slashat one of them, but it snatchesat your sword with its gleamint teeth, tugging on it and shaldngits h€ad.When you pull the weaponfree,the blade is twisted and cover€dwith teeth-marks.An

tt4

.We Dernath.ihe otheraaswerr. wereordered ,Hello ro practlseour Allanslan,remembe. Yes' saysDemath..l forgof.Then he loots puzzled. you goint? | was jusr comin8 ro ioin .::t-*1."':.."

,llll.jl]1i

." *^ Demarh. andrheybothsetoff up

,6-tt8

3t9-140

3t6

You dodge to one side,trying fo find a way pasbthe Ghost.To have madeyour move early and surprised it would havebeena eood idea- if the Ghost wasn'L actuallystandingrighbin front of the secretdoorl As it is, fhere is no way you can get through If you have a silverweaponof somekind, turn to rrr. Otherwise, turn to 16l

357 Slowly and cautrouslyyou make your way towards the strangeritual,wary ofwhat youmight encounler.One of the Dark Elves suddenly spins round and glares at you with demomc eyes You flinch, and he laughs sofrly 'ExcellenL,'he says.'Takethis torch andstandin the centre ofthe diagram ' You hesitatelor a momenl and the Dark Elfbareshis cruelly sharpenedteeth.Will you do as you areasked(tumto 268)ormale someexcuse(tum fo r44! ,8 From your expedencesin the ovalroom, you know that a large number of Dark Elves ae in there and lhat they are exceptionallysirangeand dangerous.There may slill

bethingsyou wouldlike to accomplish in thisroom,but therisk of relurni^gto that grisly placewould be very 8reat.\r'{iththesethoughlsin mind,you decideio avoid the oval building, so you take the turnng to the right andgo down the slairwayTum to ,9r.

tt9

The Eagleswoopsdown and ils lalons take a deep grip on your flesh Even though you struggle to free wings lourself,it [ft. you into the sky.its enormous strugglingto overcomethe extra weight.l^hen it has limbed.everalhundredmeke.,rt hoversfor a moment and screeches, as if callingto somebody.Then it drops you, and you plummettowards the rocksbelow a fall whichyou will nol survive

140 Dropping your sword, you take a few running steps, ard then leapaLthe retreatingimpostor Roll one die If you roll r-2, Mom is just thal little bit too quickfor ] ou and you misshim, collapsingto th€ floor (Lumto z7r). If you roll 3--6, you manageto grab him and rring him cmshng to the ground(tum bo2r2).

,4r-t4z t4r Fangnir'sbody goes limp as you tug at hrm, and he hits the ground with a thud You quickly pull him to the side of lhe road,drop him, and then turn backto the wagon.The monsterthat causedlhe eruptionis a many-armed, writhing creaLure with hard,shiny scales. Its massivetentacleshavebursLthrough the road and arenow draggingthe wagoninto its cavehousmouth. You rhink about fighfing the ChthonianTrappeabul it seemsto want only the wagoryso you decideit is nol worth the risk. Once the creaturehas done its worsl, it disappearsback into lhe ground, leaving devastationin ils wake l4lhen you return to the Dwarf, he is bewailingLheloss of all his goods buL, once he fully realizeswhat has happened,he thanks you profuselyfor savinghr life (regain1 LUcx point). 'Nevertheless,' he moans,'this trip has been wasted, and I shall have to walk all the way back to Fangthane,' He hardly seemsto hearyou bidding him farewellas he trudgesbackalong the FangthaneRoad,grumbling and moaning to himself You Loo must contrnueon foot. Will you carry on wesl lowardsSardath(tum to 2r2) or fum no*h and go into the mountains(Lumlo tt'7)? 342 You walk along the nverbar& for severalhours. There areno webshere-but thatonlyincreases thepossibility of therebeng other and greaterdangers.Nevertheless, theseremoterpartsof the Forestdo havetheirrewards: rarehealinStubersgrowrngat lhe river'sedge You dig upa few andput themrnyourpack(addz to your Herbs).

34t-t44 Mary hours passand bheForest'sdarlqessdescends into the chill blackressof night. There is a small clearingnear the riverbank so you set up camp As you sit, eatingcold rationsand gazingover the trees on the westbank,you noticetwo blackshapessilhouet' ted againstthe star-filledsky; they are somedistance to the west and are flying southwards. AJter a while, they land You would like to invesLigaLe them furthet buL this is impossiblesincethe river lies betweenyou and them.Thereare no Lreecreepershereabouts, and it would b€ foolhardy to risk swimming across,so closeto Slykkterritory rwrile the numberr rs in a circleon yoor Aduenlure Slrerl). Will you setflestraight down fo sleep(turn lo 19) or makea fire firsl (lum to r88I t4t The voicereachesthe limits of humanhearing.'lmpostorl Suddenlyyou are assailedby a flurry of blows kom invisibletalons You try to strike backbut it is almostimpossible. Evenwhenyou do, rt hasno effect, for this guardianis a Demoryimperviousto anything but magicalweapons.Your adventureis over. t44 The offrcerthanksyou and explainsthaLhe operates an overlappingrota. 'Go to sleepnow,' he says,'and the Dwarf you are to relievewill wakeyou when it is your turn.' You wish him a good night, and go back lo your pallet. Some time during lhe night, you are woken by a very tired-lookingDwarf. Even though it is not yet moming, you are fairly refreshed(regain r

,45-146 sr^MtN point). You are to replaceme on the lower ledge of the north diff,' he says.'Everything should be quietnow. we were attackedby a smallfight of Black Flyersearlieron but wereableto 6ght themofi.' When you get to the ledge,you find the orherguards hauling someoneup on a rope. 'A refugee,'one of themsays.'He'salmosLdeadfrom exhaustion' When the Dwarf is finally broughton to the ledge,he 'I thoughtI'd never6nd sanctuary,' he gasps. collapses. Two of the guardsdrapehis armsover their shoulders and walk with hirn back into the mine You are suddenlystru& by recollectionsof Morn Preelerand oLhermpostols you have seenor heardof: this could so easilybe a trap Will you chaltengethe Dwarf (tum to ry2) ot whisper your suspicionsto the guard nearestyou (tum to 244F t45 The stormis tenible It is difficultevento get into the boaL,bul you manageiL and set out acrossthe lake It is a desperate struggle,and the town is som€distance away With every metreyou row, the wind and waves get worse Will you presson (tum to 386) or lum back(turnio 26t)? 146 You walk along the overgrownpath for severalhours, watching ior Giant Spiders.Stddenly ... Testyour lrrt. lf you areUnlucky,you feela rushof air and are bowledover by a hot, sticky body and a massof legs. You feel a sharppain in your neckas the Giant Pirate

541-148

349

Spder injects you with ils poison. In just a few momenLsyou are paralysedand will be eatenat the Spider'sleisure If you are Lu&y, you see the Spider lust beforeit drops,and you manageto dodgeoul of rts way. When you draw your swor4 il scuttlesback up inlo the tree You skirt round it, and walk on

are back in the botLomlesscavem, so you lower your gaze to avoid the wild geometry of its construction. Neverlhelessyou can jusl see that, straight ahead,the plalform leads to a sLairway going down while, to your left, it leads lo a walkway. Will you go left (lum to ,) or straight on (turn to lo2)?

Many hours laLer,as evening is approaching,you anive at the secondrope-bridgeand sel up a camp near by. This site is oflm usedby hadersand, even though the ForesLis becomingdarker,it still seems safe.You setLledown to sleep.

349 It is the middleof the night. You are very tired and a litlle stiff from the cold so you makecampaLthe base of the moundand settledown to sleep-

The momng aoives (regain2 srAMrNApoints and tick off the next day on yorlr AdoentuteSheet).Nter a quick breakfast,you prepareto leave.Will you carry on along the trail (tum Lo 9) or Iollow the river (tum to 2o)? t41 You punt the bargeunlil it has got up a good speed, then you let the cunent lale il so LhaLyou can rest. After a while, darknessfalls.You lie down and listen to the gentlelappingof lhe waLerYou have travelled so far and undergonesuch hardshipsthat you are unable to slop yourself falling asleep Strange,dark seatureswith bat like wingspahol thesemountainsat night, and they have perfectnight vision.You never wakeup. t48 When you step through the archway and on Lo the smallplatform beyond,you realizeat once Lhatyou

Later the next day (regain1 srAMrNApoint and hck off the next day on your AdoentureSheel)you wake up, hardly re{reshedat all. You have dreamLof Col rhyn, and now you are sure he is in some kind of danger, so you decide to travel north as quickly as possible.The Forestis as dark and as colcias ever out, as you marchturthernorth, the Ciant Spiderwebsget fewer and further beLweenTowards fhe end of the day,you arriveaLLhesecondrope bndge and setup a campnear by. This site is ofLenusedby tradersand, even lhough the ForesLis becomingdarker,it slill The morning arnves (regain2 srAMrNApoints and tick off the next day on your Afuienture Sheef), andyou feelrefreshedby your sleepon a soft bed of trampled fems. This time you didn't dream perhaps the dreamsof last night were just some sort of strange aflereffecl of Khomu'stomb, and noL a true waming at all Will you now continuealongthe tnil (tum to 9) or follow the river (tum to zof

35J-tt5

t50-352 t50 Suddenly there are bolts of Lghtnjng flashing every, where and such noise that you are deafened You have aroused ihe great fury of Thyra Migurn, Mistrcss of Sukh's Tower, lhis is som€lhmg LhaLno mortal can survrve Your adventurels over. ,5r Iulien carles you across the lake and over LheFreeze, blood Wali into the FreezebloodMountains. Eventually you com€ Lo a castle on the top of an isolaled peak, wilh many Dark Elves slationed on the rampa*s- As soon as you land, several of ihese creaLuressuround you. Your adventureends here ,52 As soon as you speak his name, Corianthus's fac€ appearsin the pooi, contorted by pain 'Cannot speak'he says, as if through clenched teeth BuLhis lips are not moving he is obviously Lrsingthe pool to communicate ielepathically. 'Must devolc all energy to resisLance. Destroy the Sorcerer belore my will is broken. You cannot free me ' You ask lhe Giant if he has any advice on how to defeat the Sorcerer,but he doesn'l seem to hear you His image fades and the pool clears AJler a few seconds, the yellow eyes appear, and the smooth, culLured vorce asks its quesLion 'To whom do you wish to speak?'Tum back to 99 and make another choice.

J)J

You lollow the tunnelfor about 6fly metresunhl rt emergesinto a seeminglybottomlesscavern For a moment,you are seizedby an unexpectedattack of vertigo, but rt soon passesand you see thaLyou are standing on a long narow walkway. You glance acrossthe cavem to find out whereit goes,and you catcha lenifying glimpseof the Dark Elf lair It is of sucha wild geometryand architeclLrre Lhal iL makes you flinchandaverl your gaze.Wil[ you forceyourself to look at the lair (turn to 24) or go along the walkway,keepingyour eyesdown (turn to 2EE)? tt4 Thefurtherdown the roadyou go, the moreunffnished the buildingsbecomeand the greaterthe proportion of slavesdoing the work, carryingmaterialsand buildLngwalls and pillars.But there are also more davedrivers,and other Dark Elves ae on lhe scaffolds, inspectingthe work and whrppingthoseDwarfs who deliberately makemistakes- Dwarfsneverbu d badly by accrdent.Some distanceahead,you can see the cavemwall and hundredsof slavesswarmingroundit, all chained lf only you could releasethem,all these Dwarfs would make an exc€llentarmy - as long as lhey were direcledby a good mihtary leader If you havea SmallGargoyle,turn to 162 Olherwiseturn to 76 J))

The Slykk on the Chiels right stepsforward.T{urkk' he says,pointing lo himselfand rattling the chainof

ttl-ttE

t55 dried fish heads rouad his neck, 'Slykk magic' In stilted Allansianand improvisedsign language,you parley,persLrading him that you meanno harm.Rurlik translatesfor his chiel who qoals at him and ma]es sev€ralstrangefacial gestures.'Lower bow,' Rurklc saysto you. You comply immediately,and at anoLher gesture hom the Chief the Slyl:k lower their spears 'What you want?'saysRurkk. In somedetail,you iell him about your missionand the eventsfhat led you to mdertal<e it 'Know this creaturel"saysRurkk when you tell him aboutMorn Preeler.He then lells you thal something like an Elf, but with iet-blackskin,magicarynrperson ated a Sly}:kand mixed with the tribe - until Rurkk exposedhirn Once he has finishedhis story, Rurkk shows you a small br.rndle.Tlf had this.' he says. handrngit to you. (You may inspecfth€ bwrdleat any tirne by tumng to 278.) Rur|,k says,Will now go.' You look up, but the Slykk hav€ vanishedinto the reeds.You must move on Will you now sail on up the river (tum to ,97), sail to the eastbank and walk north into LheForest(turn to 267)or sail to the west bankandwalk south-westinfo the marsh(tum to 64[ 316 You draw your sword and lunge at the man as his wagon drawsalongsideyou. With unexpectedagility he ducksout of the way of your blade.He's spenta lifetimedodging unsatisfied customersand has devel oped lightning-fastreflexes.Before you can attack again,he leapsto the other sideof the cart and draws

a glassphial from insidehis cloak il has a whrte fog swirling aroundinside iL. You dare atta& an honest traderl'he snarls.'l took you to be an honourable adventurer,not a cowardly thug. Let this be a lesson.' He throws the phlal on to the ground, where it you are envelopedby a choking mist. The smashes; mist dissipates quite quickly,but not beforeyou have suf{eredits ill-effects.Roll four dice I{ the toLal is higher than your srAMrNA,then Lhepoisonousmist has hurt you Roll one die and deduct that many pointsf;om your srAMrNA.I[ the total is lessthan or equalto your sr^MrNA, Lhenyou are skong enough to fight off the effectsof lhe mist and so tale no damage.If you manageto surviv€lhe poisonousfog, you look up and down the road, but the trader has gone.There is no point in pursuingihe incident,so you presson with your missionTum to r3ott/

You walknorth for sometimeover the springy,marshy turf,followinga gentlerndine Eventually,you cometo a wide but fairly shallowriver - the Sardath.IL is not flowingvery fast,soyouareabletowadeacrosswithout any difffculty On the far side, however Lhe terrarn steepens sharplylo a rocky,snow-capped ridgeandyou are forced to makea detour.Colrhyn probablycould haveclimbedtheridge,butyoudon'thaveLheexpertise. Will you go west (turn to 72) or east(tum to 47)? t58 You follow the walkway as lar as an archwayin a plainstonewall. But somethingabout Lhisarchwayis

559-16

t6'

wron8, as if you would have to cross a greal gulf to reach it The world begins to spin and you lose all sense of where you arc. Tesl your Luck. \f you rc Unlu&y, you feel an intensedizznessand begin to staggerfrom one side of [he walkway to the other Unableto controlyourcelt you fall Loyour kneesand pitch over lhe side- your advenLure endshere.Ii you are Lucky, you recoverat the last moment and find yor.fselfgazingdown into what looks like an infinite abyss If this is the first time you have experienced this effect,you will be disorientatedfor days (lose r sKILLpoint).If you've sufferedfrom thrseffectbefore, the s]'rnptomsare not worsened.When you finally you can't quite makeout where cometo your senses, you are,exceptthat you are on a walkway Roll one die.If you roll.

34 j4

Tum to ?? Tum to r12 Tum to 146

319 When severalof the Dark Elves sLareal you suspi ciously,you realizeyou havemadea misLake. The one who spoketo you sayssomethingelsein his strange language,bul you have no idea what to say nowl instead.you turn and run. But wifh so man' warriors on your tail.you haveno chanceof escape. ,6o Bistort arrangesfor you to be lodged in the guard house in the look-ouf tree and. after an excellent

you settledown to sleep.In supperof Elvendelicacies, the moming (regain2 sr^MrN^ pointsand tick off the next day on yow Adodturc sr&f), Bistort retums to wake you. He tells you that hLsconhdenceis high, althoughthe hackingparty hasn'tretumedyeL.'Even though they are a problem Lo everybody,'he says, 'the Dark Elvesare our responsibility, especiallyin the Forest We are searchingfor th€ entranceto their undergroundcity, although it may not be here. It could be benealh the lake or the mountains,so I you leavethe Forestto us and continueyour sug8esL searchnorthwards.' You lell him abouLyour strangeniShtmare,sayinS that it seemsto point to the crty being beneaththe mountains. 'l am not sure that it is safe to trust dreams in these strangetimes,'he says,'unlessyou know what their sourceis Nevertheless, it is a possibrlihy.' Beforeyou your supply of anows, and l€ave,Bistort replenishes grvesyou 3 Bundlesof Herbs.Will you now go northvr'eston LheElf-path(turn to 4t), north through the ForesL(tum Lo zr) or north-eastalong the other Elfpath(Lumto ,46)? 36' As you sail o& the weedsgraduallygrow thickerand moreunnaLural-looking. AIter aboutan hour, the river becomesimpassable, so you manoeuvrethe boat to the north east bank and disembark.You then continue on foot, followingthe river-Tum to 20

t62-63 t62 About thirty metres along the road and still some distanceoutsideLhecamp,two huge,dogJile monslers are chainedup, one on eithersideof the track-These are Obligaths:they have immenselypowerful limbs, leelh thal gleammeLallically, and shiny,pointedscales which se like hacklesas you approach. If you havean Orc Bone and wish to give it Lo them, tum Lo rrj. Otherwise,tum to 273 t6, You walk lowardsthe stonedoor, but lstu sLopsyou There is a Warding,' he says 'l,{ntten in a magical form that only Demonscan see is a synbol which preventsme from passingthrough,but you may go on. He walksup to ihe doo-andheaves it open.using hs supernatural sirength.'l will stay hereand pretend to be the door's Guardian.Sinceno one can seeme/ they will think that the voiceis Pnea's'You thankthe Demonfor his help,then step Lhnough the door inlo a Becauseyou are human, the Dark Elves' lair will becomevery dangerous. The 6rst time you are spoken to by a Dark Elf,you shouldignorewhat the texl says and tum immediatelybo 128 (makea note of thls on your Ak:entureSheet).loufollow the tunnelfor about fifty metresrurtil it emergesinto a seemmglybotLomIess cavem. For a moment, you are s€izedby an unexpectedattack of verligo, buL it soon passesand you see that you are standing on a long, narrow walkway You glanceacrossfhe cavem to find out

t64-t6j

j66-161 a(cessfor the Eagle,if is also an observatory.There are star charts on the walls and a huge telescope pointingup throughth€ trapdoor.But thereis nothing elsein here,so you decideto leavethroughone of the irnmense doors.Will you to throughthe one on your left. marked'GamesRoom rttlm to 78r.or the one in kont of yorr rnarked'Library' (tum to 166), or will you go lhrough the unmarked door on your right (tum Lorro)?

Strikelhe door with your sword (if you haveonel Try sayrnga password? Cive up?

You heardoors.f"-m"j5"f.a

366 The Sorcerer'seyes nanow. 'ls it possiblethal Khomu Wych had evenmore secrelsthanI havediscovered?, Tum to 116 Tum to 2 Turn Lo349

If you tell him that you found irsfructions in Klomris tomb which would endow the amuletwith awesome s€lf-destructive power,LumLo2r9.

whaf soundLkecruses it and nullify its powers. Of coffse, it would function normallyif I attackedyour mind.' Will you Lellhrm that, if he believes that, he should try such an attack lum [o rr2i. or suddenJy look panir-stricr<en ano say lhaltheamulel's poweris wanjng(um fo r2rJ?

The room you have enferedis not jusL a means of

368 nothing teniblehappens,just a sLrangetingling sensa Lion running down your spine lr'y'henyou push your hand insrdeyour shi* to find out what is happening, you feel a soft, featheryridge on either side of your back the beginningsof wings, perhaps.To lesl this theory,you give a Littlementalpush and a huge pair of while, PegasusWrngs burststhroughyour clothes You strelchthem wide and flap them Wilh ease,you riseuntil you cantouchthe ten metre-highceiling You hover for a lew minufesand then land for the momenLthere is no advantaSeLo be gainedfrom flying When you give a liLtlementalpull the Pegasus Wings withdraw Retumto 4z andmakeanotherchoice. 368 As you probably know, lhe Black Flye$ are, in fact, mutated Dark Elves It is my belief thar they are building an underground ciLy somewhere in these mountainsI haveno ideahow to 6nd it, but I do know that someDark Elf architecture candnve you insaneif you look at it too closely.'He reachesinto a leaLher belt-pouchand talesout a smallcrystalball.'My greatgrandfatherwas an expert on Dark Elf architecture.He saidthis would protect the mind of anyonelooking at it, thoughonly from a distance)ust hold it in front of your eyes' He handsthis family heirloomlo you with Sreat ceremony,saying thal he will expect you to refum it lo him f you survive.Male a note on your Adpent'ure Sheetthat,it you evertakethe option to look at the Dark Elf lair and are askedto TesLyour Luck,you don't have lo: Justfollow the Lucky option, wiLhout deductingany pointsftom your LUCKscore.

t69-37o If this is the secondquestionLhat you have asked Lokimur,furn to zj4. lf lt is only the firsl you may askanother.WhaLwill it be about: Thyra Miglrn (if you know of her)? \r'y'hat'shappenedLoSardath? Corianthus(if you know of him! The Toa-Suo?

Tum to 39 Tum to 97 Tum to rEr Tum to J85

,69 After going along the walkway for somedistance,you reacha junction Straightaheadof you are many Dark Elf warrion,appa.enllyergagedrn lrarninSo. some other military activity They haven't takenany nohce of you so far, but it would be foohsh lo lempt providence,so you decideto keep well clearof that direcbion.To your lefLa stairwayleadsup to a huge oval bu ding lo your right, Lhereis anotherstairway, this time leading down lo the floor of Lhe cavem, whereyou can seea lot of building work in progress. If you have already spokenwith any of the Dark Elves n the oval building,tum to trS. If you havenot, will you go left (tum to z16)or right (turn to 39r)? 110 The walkway rs met almost immediately by a stairway going downwards.You follow thrs to a platform whereanotherwalkway goes off to the right and an archwayleadsstraight ahead But when you look at the archway,somethingabout it is wrong, as if you would haveto crossa greatgulf to reachit The wo d beginslo spin and you loseall senseof whereyou are.

t7r 172

you are Lucky, you recoverat the last momenr ano find yourself gazing down into what looks lile an

anow at it (turn to 90) or just waiLto seewhat iL does (iuln to 294)? 372 'Corianthus shouldIsrowwhdt rs Soingon.,shesays. knowsmuchot whatgoeson in thesemounlains. -ne Youaskher who he is-'Coridnthusis the Stonn Ciant who lives in the castleon Ham Cloud.,Shereaches

1-2

Tum to rj Tum to r77 Tum to tz4

3-4 5-o

37'

of your mission-' You laugh at her bravado,and watch as she heads towards Gwinir's Bridge. Once Neya is out of sight, you tum north and begin the trek into the mounrams. Tum to 8r.

373-374 Onceyou areflying over the shadowyforesc,you asx Mom who he really is. 'l am Iulien, a Dark Elf Lieutenant- althoughnow I shouldreceivea promotion for capturingyou, as now your peopleare sureto go into lhe ForestLo Lheirdeaths'You realizethaLhe is right and that in part you have already failed (deductz points fiom your rucr) You ask hirn what will happento your people.'The Sorcererhas made bheGiant Sprderscome out of therr hiding placesand invade the Elf-paths,and the Wood Elves have too many of their own problemsto do anythingabouLit.' You askhim what he means,but he won't answer.He beatshis wings even faster,carryingyou throughthe dark sky at an incrediblespeedAfter a while,you see two black figures flying towards you. Before they reach you, they start to spiral downwards If you do nothing,furn to 53.If you try to breakfreein orderto land on Lheback oI one as you fly over il, you will have to wrestle free of Iulien's grip. Roll two drceand work out your Attack Skength. Do the same for Iulien,but deducl : points from his Afta& Strength sincehe is flying as well as trying to keephold of you. If the result is a draw or f you win LheAttack Round, you manageto Learhis armsfrom you and let yourself drop towardsone of the darkcreatures (hrm to JJo).If you lose lhe Attack Round, you are unable to escape in time and areforcedto stop struggling(tum to j3). 374 A huge voice booms out in the languageof the Dark Elves.AL ftst its tone is questioning, but you haveno

37t-76

t7Tt18

l7t L.rear Archelantes,

Excuse me a moment.There,sa noisein the labora tory. I1l just go and check. And thal is whereit ends.Whatever Coriarthusfou.rd rn the taboratory,he neverrefumedto finish his letter. I (lrn backto 166ard choosearother option. 7'76 You Feela tenible panga;'havingto let the DwarFdie (rose1 Lucx point).but the Chthotuan Trapperrs trJst

Firt OBLIGATH Second OBLIGATH

SKILL

5 4

379-180

j8r-382

If you win, you anangethe two bodiesto look as iI they killed each other, fhen you carry on down the road.Turn to ,99.

MORN PREELER

t79 There aresomebor,rldersand a large palch of heatherfor coverby lhe sideof fhe road.]ou quicllyget behind themandJie still.keepLng yourbreath shallow. Afterafe*

the total is lessthanor equalto your sKrlr.,fum Lo6r. If hhetotal is grealerlhanyour sKrLL,burnto r48. 380 The Slykk staresat you apprehensively, then glances b€hindhim. If you decideto hold your fire, rum ro ,r. If you preferto shoothim, roll two diceand checkthe total againslyour sKrLLto seewhetheryou hrt. If you

SKILL 7

STAM IN A 8

384

t8t draw your arm slowly back, then launch the Sphere past the Storm Cianl, to a point betweenthe two groups of Dark Elves For one heart-slopping second, nothinghappens.Then thereis a suddenblazeof lighL and you clap your hands over your eyes.A volley of deafeningexplosionsfollows, and then nothing. \44ren you look again,all that remainsof lhe Dark Elvesis a cloud of 6ne grey powder Fortunately the Storm Giant is r.rnaifecte4whelher lhe cage protecLedhim, or he is immuneLo Thyra'spowea you don't know You are just glad that he is unharmed.You walk towardshim to seewhetheryou canfreehim, but you are repulsedby some great power. No malter what you try to do, you cannoLget dose to him. What has happenedhere?'demandsa Dark Elf voice kom the archway. For a second you are Lalen by surprise, but Lhen you explain that a lerible power flashed out from Lhe Giant and killed them all 'Oh, well,' he says, 'they were all drunken scum any'way. Bul you had betLergo and inform the Sorcerer.'You hesitate.'Go!' he shouts By now, other Dark Elves have joined him, so you are forced to leave.Tum to 29. 383 'You fool,' he replies.You obviouslyknow nothing about lhe amulet. It is merely a de{enceagainst magic of the mind.' He shales his head.1 weary oi this fuule Realizingthat he is going to atta&, you &aw your sword as swiftly as you can.

l/a

Taeleomrath mardex.' When you run at him, you crash into a wall of impenetrable force and stumble ba&wards, sfunned. The Sorcererraiseshis staff, spraying you with a viscousjet of life,sappingdarknessYour adventr.ue is

384 Even though he has suffered a great deal, Colrhyn is nof one to give up. He is finding it difficult to stay awake,bul he is deLermined to lell you as much as he can.'If anyoneknows what is going or! rt is Corianthus.' This is a name you have not heard before 'Corianlhusis a Stom Giant who lives in a casLleon the top of Ham Cloud. He is the greatesLscholarin north-eastAllansia.His librariescontainvascamounrs oI ancient lnowledge, and his hawks gather news for him from Lhefarthestlands.His greatestfriend is lhe Giant Eagle.'With some difficulty, Colrhyn reaches down lo his belLand unhooksa greatBrassKey 'I am one of the few to whom he hasentrusteda key Lohis library. Show ib to CorianLhusand he will know that I sentyou' You takethe key and put it in your pack. There is much I could tell you aboul the mountains, but I am Looweak.'He sighsand closeshis eyes You iell him that you will have lo rely on your wits. Al leasLLakesome equipmentand Herbs,'he says,and lhen his headsinlc into fhe pillow; in secondshe is in a deep sleep. You take his climbing rope and 4 Bundles of Herbs, and you refill your quiver with anows You may also replaceany weaponsyou have

385 lost- Now feeling much better prepared and more positive about your quest (add r rucx point), you creepout of his cabin and set off north-eastup the trail.Turn lo rj.

t86 If this is the second queslion that you have asked Lokimur,tum to 2j4.lf 1t is only the 6rst you may askanother.What will it be about. Thyra Migum (if you know of her! WhaL'shappenedto Sardath? Corianthus(iJyou know of him)t The BlackFlyers?

38t The Toa Suoare not native to this area They normally live in the icy wasfes to the north of the lcefinger Mountains,but the BlackFly€n seemto haverecruited some of their number to fight for them during the day' You ask him what their weakressesare 'It is more profitableto talk about their strengths Alone, they are not much skonger than a Hobgoblin The Foblem is that they fight in large groups, working as a perfect unit with no thought for individual safety. Evm one such as you would stand no chance.Your best defenceis to avoid them' You thank him for this Srim adviceand ask him how you may achieve this. ,\Ne beli€vethal they come in from the north, so you shouldbe safeas long as you don'L go too far in that direction I'm sorry that I can't help you

Turn to 39 Tum to 97 Tum to r8r Tum to 16t

3E6 The waves crasharoundyou; the driving wind and rain lash into your face.You ffght the thrashinghatel but it is iu.t too mLrch. Suddenly lhereis a swell.you lry to keepthe boat upright,but it flips over and you are plunged into the icy water. As you go under for the last time, you realizethat you have failed.

taT389 3E7 Sinceyou have already skuck the door twice without pause,this third strike completesthe Sign of Summon ing, the secretcode of Khomu Wych's tomb. There is a loud click and lhe door slides open. When you step inside,the door closesbehindyor.rand you gazeupon the dead seer'srichly adomedcrypt. At the back of the chamber,leaningagainstthe wall, is a beautifully carvedsarcophagus. Thereis no fronl to it, so you can see the mummifiedbody of Khornu standinginside As well as the life-preserving bandages,the body is dtaped in robes bearingastrologicals)'rnbolsand it w€arsa large golden amulet.Thereare no exits from Lhis room. You walk up to the body of the seer and examine it very carefully. The robe is clearly of no specialinterest, but the amulet might be. If you reach into the sarcophagusand take it, tum to 2t9. Other wise you will have to leave(tum to r2).

,Et

Climbing is very hard work because,for every Lwo metresyou ascen4you slidebackone.The day passes in what seemslike an etemal Lorment and you are hardly awareoI the lenible cold or the falling of night. Suddenlya shout comesfrom above you and you look up. Gliding towards you is a whole night of Black Flyers.They swoop down on you with murdd in Lheir eyeg,Your adventueis over, ,89 When you are about half-way down the stairway, you otaerve a Dark Elf coming towards you sauntering

t9r

390 alongas if he had nothingbut contemplfor the world. He is tall and slenderand is dressedin tight yellow trousers,with carefullysited holes that expose the smooth, dark skin of his calf and thigh. A sword hangs ftom the blackbelt round his waist,but it looks more omamental than functional His lacket is of a very strange desig& with a long sleeve on one side and a hrgh, capped shoulder on the other. But the arm that protrudes from this is unmuscledand delicate.His face alsohasa delicatelook especiallysinceit is coveredin you, he says an intricatemake-up As he approaches to you in d disdainfultone lt's in Dark Elf, somebhing so you don't laow what he is saying.Howevet he doesn't seem to expecLan answer- he just Pushes pasbyou, obliviousof your obviousgreaLerskengthIf yt ; :.ach out an arm to stop hi4 tum to 169- If you let him go past, you carry on down the stairway to a rough hack. You follow this for abouf 6fty mehes until it comesto a iunction tuming right. Will you carry on along the hack (hrm !o 237) or turn right and headtowardswhat lookslike a military camp(tum to

t62n ,90 You walk towards the outskjrts of the village, trying to decide which route to take into the Forest. Even though you have seen the enemy, you still know neith€r what it is nor where it comes from. As you cometo lhe beginningof the foresl kail, your reverie is brokenby the datteringwheelsof a wagon raLtling along the road towards you. This is curious- you As he thought the Forest had become impassable.

approaches, the driver of lhe wagon shouLsto you: 'Goodmoming,traveller,Are you interestedin buying any of my polions and magicalcure-alls?' If you are suspiciousof the tradet it might be wise to try a surpriseattackon him (tum to 356).Otherwise,you must make some reply. Will you say fhat you're not really interestedin buying potions (tum to J2), or will you ask hirn what he's got and how much it costs (tum to 26r)?

t9\

At the foot of the stairwayis a long road, it is w€ll conslructed but is litteredwith rubblefrom thebuilding work which is going on, When you geL on bo the road, you follow jt, ignoring the rnany side tumings which lead into the heart of the city, In these skeets there are dozens of Dark Elves on high scaffolds, building twisted housesand passageways or carvinS hideoussLatues and gargoylesThey are attendedby Dwarf slaves,who are being whipped and made to work by DarkElf slave-drivers. As you walk along,a Dark Elf artrsanemergesfrom one oI lhesestreets,holding a smallbundlewrapped in sa&cloth He stopsyou and startsgabblingin his own language.Sinceyou have no idea what he is saying,you demandthat he speakAllansian. Why am I have to speak this low tongueT he says, looking angry and insulted.'l am stonemason, highbom artist.Not warrior.It is lower thanme' Will you apologizeto him (turn to y4) or pretendto be angry and threalenhim wiLhyour sword(lum to r39)?

t92 ,92 'So you are not dead?'says Liam when you contact hirn 'The whole Council thought that you must be and decidedto eo aheadwith their own ideas.'He siehs.'And thafi how the war began'Knowing lhe F&est as you do, and whaLit has becomerecendy, you are drsmayed at this news You ask Liam what haooened.'As we hit the Forest,'he says 'so il hit baii.' He breaksoff and looks to one side 'Curse Lhem alll They'reherealready.'Thereis a crash,and you see a Giant Spider scuttling towards Liam. 'Goodbye, Councillor,' he says,and the imagedisappears Desperateto know what'shappening,you call up the astrologeragain.But the voice just says:'Thereis no one of that name living in Grimmund' AJter a moment, it says dispassionately,"To whom do you wish to speak? Tum ba& to 99 and make another choice.

t9t-t94 393 This goblet is filled with the blood of a Red Dragon Substancessuch as this are often usedby seels to s€e into far lands: using their mental powers, they can nullify its poson and hamessits strength.You, however have no suchabilitier and so you sufferits full effects. You double over rn inhensea8ony, moaning and retching (roll one die and deduct that many points from your sr,{MrNA).Once you have got the red poisonout of your system,the pameasesand you can go on. Now hrm back Lo 9z and select another item. t94 You follow Colrhyn'sTrackas il leadsyou out of the oppressiveForestand into the welcomeopennessof the gently rising heather slopes.You are saddenedto feel this way about the Foresf but are even more determinedto put thingsright By the time you reach the road, night is beginning to fall and fhe mountains to the north look cold and forbiddinS as the sun's last rays reflect off their snowy peaks. lf you decide to makecampby the side of the road for the night, tum lo r94. lf you presson, will you go along the Fangthare Road towards Sardalh (hJm to 2j) or north inbo the momtains (hrm to lorF

t95-196 19' You raiseyour headand forceyourself[o gazeat the wild architeclureof the Dark Elf lai4 it makesyour mind reel,and you begin to lose all senseof who and whereyou are.TesfyourLuck.\fyou areUnlucky,you feel an intensedjzzinessand start to staggerhom one side of the walkway to the other. Unable to stop yourselt you stumbleand pitch over the side - your adveniureis ended.If you are Lucky,you recoveraL the last moment and 6nd yourself gazing into what looks like a bottomlessabyss.Even though you have survivedthis tenifying experience,you will shll feel disori€ntatedfor days(lose1 sKrLLpoinL).Obviously, the only way you are 8oin8 to get throughthis place is by avoiding looking at your $moundings and keeping your gaze 6rmly fixed on lhe ground immed! ately in front of you tf you ever change your mind and decide to take a close look at the Dark Elf lair, make a note of the number of lhe paragraphyou are readingat the time, then tum to rj, (ma}(ea note of this nuhber for fuhire reference) For now, you walk tentatively along Lhe walkway, keepingyour eyeson the path just in fronLof yoLr.lt is unnervingnot knowng where you are going but you forceyourselfto walk aheadEventuallythe walkway you are on meetsanoLherWill you go lcft (turn to 3t8) or right (turn to rr2)? 196 A placeis madefor you and you sit down. However, as soon as you have settled,a massof tentaclesburst

197 oul of the chair and writhe round your body. You struggle,but they just get tighter. One of the Dark Elvesleanstowardsyou 'l am not a warrior' he says,'so I'm afraidI haven't learntasmuchAllansianasyou Perhapsyou fiisunderstood my rnvitalion.I believeI shouldhave askedif you would like to come as dinner.'He smilesat you mirthlessly, andbeginsLosharpena long knife. .

t97 You sa your boal carefully,neSotiatingthe diflicult marshywatersof the SlyLl territory. Once you are clearof the marsh,you begin to relax. As you progress, the river grows more and more choked with unnafuralJooking weeds, and strange eyes peer out foom the depths - not SlyLk eyes, but other shanger things lt's a good job that you are in a smallboaf,for a larger merchanLvesselwould not be able to get through As evening approaches, you anive at the secondrope-bridge You land the boat and sei up camp near by This site is often usedby tradersand, even though the Forest is becomingdarker,it still seemssafe.You settledown Losleep. The moming arrives(regain2 sraMrNA poinLsand tick off the next day on your AdoentureSheef),and you are ready Lo slart off again.Will you get back in the boat and sail on up the river (tum to ,6r) or leave the boat and walk north-eastalong the hail (tum to 9)?

39E199

,99

39t

Foiledby your swift thinking,Mom screamsrn sorne r.rnrecognizablelanguage and charges after you- Roll h^'o dice for yourself, and two dice for Morn. If Mom's total is the htgher, he catchesyou in the corridor, diving on you and bringing you to the ground (turn to 2r2) If the resLrltis a drard,or your total is the higheayou manageLogeLdown the stairs andinto the CouncilChamber(tum to 186) loo

As you walk into the slavers'camp,you becomevery aware oI Lhe large number of Dark Elves wardering around. V{hen one of them comesup and salutesyou, you have no option but to speakto hirl You ask him what he wantsMy Lord Chaugh, I am Baliel, the Chief Slaver. I am conducting a sacriffcialceremony,and I need someone of high rank bo witnessit.' I[ would arouseBaliel's suspicionif you wereto refuse,so you follow him into a short Lunnelin the wall of the cavem. There is another Dark El{ here, staring at the skange, dark balls of ftrngus that are Srowing on the walls and floor of the tunnel 'As you see,'says Baliel,the Elf Baneis growing weal andneedssustenance. LiebhifhasvolunLeeredto sacrificehimself' He turns to the stranSe martyr. Liethif, your name will now carry the title of Thane as witnessedby Lord Chaugh.' Liethif bows to the Dark Elf and walks into the middle of the fungus. !\rhen he has taken just a few steps,many of the fungal balls burst, eiecting huge clouds of spores,

Liethif brcathesthem in deeply, then lies down ro expire. Baliel saluteshim a:rd you copy his gesture. Once it is all over, Baliel thanls you curtly for your help, then leaves. If you enter the fungus tunnel to searchLielhif's body, tum to 6z Otherwise, from what you have seen,you are sure that the slavers'camp has nothing to offer you, so you decide to leave. Tum Lo

r2r.

400

Everywhere, Wood Elves and Dwarfs are fighting Dark Elves.They havetom down a lot of the archilectureandyou find you cannow look aroundin comfort. You walk along Lhe walkways, striding through the battle, delighting in what you have achieved A grave threat has beenlifted from the peoplesof north-east Allansn, and ib is unlilely that the Dark Elves will retum for someLime. All at once you see a massiveform squeezingitself through one of the archwaysthat lead to the marn city When he rises Lo his {ull eight metres,you realizethat this mustbe ConanthusHe edgeslowards you on what to him must be a knife edge 'Are you the adventurerfrom Grimmund?'he asks in a deep booming vorce When you admit thaL you are, he picksyou up and holdsyou at eye level 'Thankyou,' he says.You have releasedme {rom a fate so tenible thal I had wishedfor deathfor many days.Now I am glad to be alive We are ce*ain to win the baltle, so let'syou and I go up to my castlearrdcelebraLe.'

lrlo4 Fithli"g Fontasvm Pulfx

THI TROLLTOOTHWARS Steee lackah Il stdted with an mbush When BalthusDirss bloodlustingHill Goblins mount $en raid on the strongah @Evan,Iittle do they realizewhal draMtic consequences lheir actionswill have,For that caravancamescu..elwo . a nystical helb from Edster Allansia, d$tined for non€other rhanthe eril sorceror,ZhaiiadanMairtwd - betw€er two forc€swell mal.hed for evil - k soon lo ensuc. Will Ballhus Dnet chaotics or zhnadan Mad! udead prove vic, tonols? Th€ answq is here, n the tust FiEhting fantasy novel

DEMONSTEALIR Mitc

Catuisfle

It
DUNGEONE!R Mar

Gtscaisne and Pete Tanlvh

Now you nd your Fiends ca create yorr oM lantasy nowiesl ImaAine lhat you de the dnector md you iiiends are the cast of he.oes Will you send theo to batUe with the evil wizard or raover the Dragoni hodd? The .rhoiG is youis, dd Dr,jdd,,,r mkes the ex.iting world oI fmtasy roleplaying accessiblein a tho.ouahly

ELACKSANDI Marc GBcoigne nni Pete Tanlw Spnwling like the corpse of sone giant creature,Port Bla.kand is a lestering den oI pintes and b.igands Unforseen dangd turk aosd ev€ry street comer ad in every ddk alle'ryay Devious plols ad c.in6 are hatch€d in ev€ry tavein Thieves md asassns slip through the shadows Ancient nyst€n€s luik in lhe cellds and ser€s lut the inlmous City of Thiewess also hom€ to erckmmt dd advenlure beyond compa.el The second volme in the Advanc€d Fidtins sttted Nith Dubgeo"ed.

Fanrasy setus which

FIGHTING FANTASY The Inhoductory Role-playing Gme

OUT OF THE PIT FightinS Fantaly Monste.s

St've l^ckak

Stevelackson qkd lan Lioin4stone Froh the drk€st cohel' Irom the d€€Fl pools dd irm lhe dung@r thought only to eGt in niAhhw6 (ft the FiEhting F.nt.ry nonsrers - tfe dDwnfall of Ddy a brav. wMor. Two hun&.d md 6fty of these loarhloR deatures flom rhe wild {d danEerousworlds of FiShtin8 Fanhsy de col{r€d her jomc {e old .dv.6anes, h.ny you have yel to neer , erd 6f th€n .1.Fib.d in mirur€ &r.[ An ndisp€$able glde fd Fidring

Thriling adv€ntures of sword and 3orery com€ to lile in the fidt in8 Fntay Cd€b@ks, wheE the rcad4 i5 th€ h€rc. dicin8 with death dd dehons in Frch of vilains, treas@ or ft€€dom. Now YOU Gn cr.rte ydr om Fi8htinA Fantasy adventres and send your fti€nds off on dangerou! FGsionsJIn thh .ledy writt.n haid book there are hink on devisina conbah, nonsteB to 6., kick and ta.tie, 6 wcll d two mini{dv6tu6.

THE RIDDLINCRIAVER lrck*n .Steoe Fou Fighhg frtay epircdet to be play€d .s sPa6t€ adventws or 6 stas6 d d €?ic adv6twe, Th' Rildlifls ReM k . nval wo.thy of the most ddinS advdtu.€B Hb nind s inscrut.ble but th€ft is no doubt about th€ .iaos he phns to unleash oD rhe wond He zrl b€ stopped, d$pile the haards of the taskr A Iolldw up lo Esl,llris Fent$!, Th. Inllodt.toty Rtk-pblirg CoM, s lhrt yd @n
TITAN The Fi8htinsFantasyWorld 9@. J$kon otul lan Uninsstow editedby Marccas.oiSne You met the monstes h O!1 o/ l&r P - now decr the ret of th. Fighting Fantasyworldr No advdture. shouldte withour rhi, et gud. lt Mtans everylhDg vou need ro Ind, @v€mg ht6l the tubulmt history of the wdld, fion its @.tion and @rly dviliz, ations - th.ough the devastatin8Wr 6f the Wizdds b th€ pr.lht.day wildeh*s and darhy wheie the delicatebalanceb.twe.n Good ad Cha .ould at any Dommt b€ overtuhed