The Gaming Den

184 Creeping up slowly, you draw close to the sleeping guard. His bulbous head is resting on the table. In the Gartak's mouth there is a gnawed-off haunch covered in spittle. Yo grab the clay jug and smash it against the back of the Blackpelt's head. With a low groan, he tumbles from the chair and sprawls at your feet unconscious.

In triumph you clench your fist at Leonar. He, however, stands where he is, his features distorted into an expression you do not recognize. He stares blankly past you and toward the exit. With an uneasy feeling, you turn around.

Standing in the doorway is an Ugarith with white shoulder-length hair. The torchlight dances off the fine steel of his plated armor. His pitch-black skin and dark eyes seem to swallow all the radiance in the room. His sharp claws resting on his hips, he begins to speak in a low steady voice.

"Please refrain from any further escape attempts. We don't want anything more to get broken besides this nice jug and the Gartak's skull."

If you want to surrender, turn to 165.
If you want to attack, turn to 186.

186 "Let him be, Aonus!" Leonar demands from a safe distance.

"Go back to your cell, Sun Soldier, before I have you thrown into the hole," the Ugarith replies, his voice heavy with raw annoyance.

As the two fighters face off, you prepare to attack.

Turn to C10!

C10 As quickly as possible, you are trying to grasp your surroundings, when suddenly you find Aonus already standing in front of you. Bewildered, you stare into his silvery eyes not knowing how he has done it.

The giant laughs and points his longest claw at you provokingly. "Well now, time to prove why our master thinks you are so good!"

Aonus' voice makes a shiver go down your spine. Your instincts tell you that this warrior is more than his shadowy appearance reveals.

AONUS, UGARITH-CHAMPION

ATTACK	16
DEFENSE	14
RESISTANCE	?

If your vitality falls to Critical, turn to C63 at once.
If you manage to score a hit against Aonus, turn to C53.

C53 "I am impressed," Aonus expresses his respect, though with a smug undertone impossible to miss. Then he disappears before your eyes into the shadows of the cell. You look for him in confusion – just as the reawakened Gartak did before – but then Aonus suddenly appears at your back, pinning you with a single motion. You know this hold.

"It is enough," the white-haired Ugarith whispers grandly in your ear, rubbing his rough cheek against yours before stunning you with a single blow to the neck.

Return to the 1st chapter with section 228.

228 You awake with your head throbbing. Someone splashes ice-cold water in your face. You hear a firm voice saying "Listen to me! If you don't want to be helped, that is your decision. But I don't intend to run after you like a serving girl. Either come with me now, or rot here!"

Aonus grabs you by the collar with both claws and pulls you to your feet.

Turn to 281.

281 Readily, you extend your claws to Aonus as a sign that you will not resist being led away. "This is all very decent of you, but I don't think it will be necessary," the Ugarith remarks calmly. With a gesture, he bids you to follow him but does not restrain you in any way.

And so you leave the cell area through the connecting door to another circular corridor connecting many other sections of the dungeon. Everywhere sobbing and lamentations can be heard. When you reach the guards' common roo, Aonus dismisses the Gartak, who leaves, snarling at you one more time. No sooner has the stinking creature disappeared than Aonus' aloof behavior towards you changes, assuming an almost brotherly tone.

"You know, I think, that climbing will take a while." With these words he opens a heavy iron door leading to an open stairway with countless steps carved directly into the rock.

Turn to 113.

113 Step by step, Aonus leads you up the Night Tower. After some minutes you reach an oversized brass door supported by massive iron beams. You can hear the rush of the sea behind it. The smell of salt water is even more intense. You must be very close to the docks!

"Behind this lie the sea passage and the mooring point." Aonus is visibly amused by your curiosity. "At the moment, no ships are at anchor. The whole fleet is in action."

If you want to continue following Aonus, turn to 208.
If you want to attack him and try to escape, turn to 251.

Aonus suddenly appears at your back[...]

"nothing personnel, kid," the white-haired Ugarith whispers grandly in your ear

208 Without speaking again, Aonus leads your further along the dismal ascent. Sometimes you walk past lookouts that have been driven horizontally through several feet of the Tower's thick outer wall, thus more often resembling cramped narrow tunnels. In the darkness of the night you can barely see anything but the silvery shimmering waves in the distance. It seems that the Night Tower stands in the middle of the open sea.
>Impressive! But this bastion cannot have been built by human hands.<

If you want to attack Aonus and try to escape on the stairs and through the corridors of the night tower, turn to 262.
If you want to follow him, turn to 289.

289 After nearly an hour you've climbed hundreds of stairs and passed dozens of doors without Aons showing any signs of exhaustion.

"Before you meet the master you should wash and get proper clothes." He leads you to a small chamber and provides you with new clothing sewn of the finest fabrics.

Write down the Fine Gown (Clothing, Cloak) instead of the clothes you have worn so far.

Turn to 243.

243 Finally you reach a richly-decorated door made of precious wood. The large ornate knocker is a stylized dragon's head made of silver, in whose open maw there is a large ring.

"Enter! Master Calderel will be here shortly!" With these words, Aonus takes out a dragon-shaped key and puts it into the maw, thus activating some magical mechanism. The dragon's head glows red; it opens its mouth and releases the ring. Pushing the door open, Aonus directs you upstairs without a word.

If you want to walk through the door, turn to 225.
If you want to walk down to the last door, turn to 183.