steps before the staircase ends at a huge door stained black with damp and age. It is slightly ajar and, as you peer through the crack, you are chilled to the core by what lies beyond.
Turn to 200 .
91
White-hot pain explodes through your chest and neck as three black-shafted Drakkarim arrows sink deep into your body. You scream in agony as you fall to the ground, but the pain quickly gives way to a terrifying numbness that robs you of all resistance to death.
Your life and your quest end here.
92
The partisan leader listens patiently as you recount the many events that led you to seek his help. He sits staring into the fire, his eyes fixed on the flickering flames as he digests every word you say and considers their consequences carefully. At length, having heard your earnest appeal for him to guide you, he raises his eyes from the fire and holds you with their piercing gaze.
‘You speak with courage and wisdom, Kai Lord. It is rare to find these virtues present so strongly in one so young. The help you beg me to provide could cost my life, yet you offer no reward, save the thanks of some distant land and the slender promise of a better age. However, I feel compelled to help you, for in my heart I know you are the one who can deliver us from the perpetual shadow of the Darklords.’
He rises and bids you follow him as he walks to the archway. ‘Come, we must prepare for our journey. The road you wish to travel is perilous and long. We had best set off at the earliest, lest caution and common sense change my mind.’
Turn to 85 .
93
Your psychic defences alert you to deadly danger. The swirling shapes that you see are the ghosts of Cener Druids who were slain on the isle many centuries ago.
They have been drawn from their forgotten graves by the presence of their master, Tagazin, and now they come to enact the Demonlord's revenge by feasting on your life-force.
The creatures take to the air and emit a ghastly howl as they draw closer. They sense your strong psychic defences and know instinctively that to steal your life-force will not be an easy task.
If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 133 .
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 256 .
95
You smite the chain a mighty blow but you miss the rivet and the link does not break. Incensed by the boldness of your attack, and aware now of the threat it would have posed had it succeeded, the Demonlord leaps upon you and sinks his fangs deep into your chest. Pain explodes in your body but the agony is soon obliterated by the numbing chill of death.
Your life and your quest end here.
97
For an hour you sit staring at the river, mourning the loss of your brave companion. Your heart is heavy with the grief of his passing but you do not permit sorrow to become despair. You turn your eyes towards Torgar and defiantly you vow to avenge his death by retrieving the stolen Lorestones from the dungeons of that dread citadel.
Your journey along the bank of the River Torg is a long and tiring ordeal. For eight days you trudge through the black mud, cut off from all view of the lands to the north and south by an unbroken wall of stunted trees. The only inhabitants of this forsaken territory are the buzzing insects which hang seemingly motionless in the humid air. They are a constant source of irritation but at least their bite proves harmless.
On the morning of the ninth day, the muddy river bank gives way to firmer ground and the trees become less dense. Ahead you can see a barren expanse of yellow sulphurous soil that marks the beginning of the Nadulritzaga foothills. You can also see a road of broken stones disappearing into the distance.
Turn to 140 .
99
The shouts of the defenders and the metallic twang of the vanguard's crossbows echo across the causeway as you sprint headlong towards the door. A rain of boulders begins to fall, smashing around you with terrific force, but you manage to dodge these and reach your goal unscathed. Quickly you tear the
Turn to 200 .
91
White-hot pain explodes through your chest and neck as three black-shafted Drakkarim arrows sink deep into your body. You scream in agony as you fall to the ground, but the pain quickly gives way to a terrifying numbness that robs you of all resistance to death.
Your life and your quest end here.
92
The partisan leader listens patiently as you recount the many events that led you to seek his help. He sits staring into the fire, his eyes fixed on the flickering flames as he digests every word you say and considers their consequences carefully. At length, having heard your earnest appeal for him to guide you, he raises his eyes from the fire and holds you with their piercing gaze.
‘You speak with courage and wisdom, Kai Lord. It is rare to find these virtues present so strongly in one so young. The help you beg me to provide could cost my life, yet you offer no reward, save the thanks of some distant land and the slender promise of a better age. However, I feel compelled to help you, for in my heart I know you are the one who can deliver us from the perpetual shadow of the Darklords.’
He rises and bids you follow him as he walks to the archway. ‘Come, we must prepare for our journey. The road you wish to travel is perilous and long. We had best set off at the earliest, lest caution and common sense change my mind.’
Turn to 85 .
93
Your psychic defences alert you to deadly danger. The swirling shapes that you see are the ghosts of Cener Druids who were slain on the isle many centuries ago.
They have been drawn from their forgotten graves by the presence of their master, Tagazin, and now they come to enact the Demonlord's revenge by feasting on your life-force.
The creatures take to the air and emit a ghastly howl as they draw closer. They sense your strong psychic defences and know instinctively that to steal your life-force will not be an easy task.
If you possess the Sommerswerd, turn to 133 .
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 256 .
95
You smite the chain a mighty blow but you miss the rivet and the link does not break. Incensed by the boldness of your attack, and aware now of the threat it would have posed had it succeeded, the Demonlord leaps upon you and sinks his fangs deep into your chest. Pain explodes in your body but the agony is soon obliterated by the numbing chill of death.
Your life and your quest end here.
97
For an hour you sit staring at the river, mourning the loss of your brave companion. Your heart is heavy with the grief of his passing but you do not permit sorrow to become despair. You turn your eyes towards Torgar and defiantly you vow to avenge his death by retrieving the stolen Lorestones from the dungeons of that dread citadel.
Your journey along the bank of the River Torg is a long and tiring ordeal. For eight days you trudge through the black mud, cut off from all view of the lands to the north and south by an unbroken wall of stunted trees. The only inhabitants of this forsaken territory are the buzzing insects which hang seemingly motionless in the humid air. They are a constant source of irritation but at least their bite proves harmless.
On the morning of the ninth day, the muddy river bank gives way to firmer ground and the trees become less dense. Ahead you can see a barren expanse of yellow sulphurous soil that marks the beginning of the Nadulritzaga foothills. You can also see a road of broken stones disappearing into the distance.
Turn to 140 .
99
The shouts of the defenders and the metallic twang of the vanguard's crossbows echo across the causeway as you sprint headlong towards the door. A rain of boulders begins to fall, smashing around you with terrific force, but you manage to dodge these and reach your goal unscathed. Quickly you tear the
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