90
You are in combat with a Vassagonian horseman who is now unhorsed and fighting on foot. You cannot evade this warrior and you must fight him to the death.
Bandit Horseman:
COMBAT SKILL 17 ENDURANCE 24
COMBAT SKILL 17 ENDURANCE 24
If you win, turn to 249.
The combat:
Combat Ratio: 15 + 2 (Silver Helm) + 2 (Mindblast) + 2 (Kai Shield) – 17 = 4
Round 1 Roll: 1
Player Endurance: 18 – 4 = 14
Bandit Horseman Endurance: 24 – 5 = 19
Round 2 Roll: 7
Player Endurance: 14 – 1 = 13
Bandit Horseman Endurance: 19 – 11 = 8
Round 3 Roll: 7
Player Endurance: 13 – 1 = 12
Bandit Horseman Endurance: 8 – 11 = -3
Lone Wolf kills his 40th fascist in 3 rounds while taking 6 ENDURANCE points of damage in the process.
249
(Illustration overleaf)
(Illustration overleaf)
You run half-crouched to the barricade and prise a bow from the hand of a dead soldier. You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry. He is a tall, dark-skinned warrior with a thin, chiseled nose. He is rallying his horsemen at the foot of the stone watchtower. You know you must kill him before he can regroup his troops, or D’Val and his hard-pressed soldiers will be ridden down and mercilessly slaughtered.
You notch an arrow and draw back the bowstring. The straining cord bites sharply into your fingers as carefully you take aim.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill (any weapon), add 2 to the number you have picked.
If your total is now 3 or lower, turn to 153.
If it is 4-7, turn to 323.
If it is 8 or higher, turn to 39.
249. You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry.
Lone Wolf does not have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill. Rolling the die yielded a 5.
323
You release the arrow and it whistles through the air to bury itself deeply into the mail-clad shoulder of the bandit leader. You hear his scream of pain ring out above the din of battle, but even though he is badly wounded he still attempts to rally his soldiers. You stoop to take another arrow but, to your horror, the dead soldier’s quiver is empty. Looking up you see two dismounted Vassagonian horsemen clambering across the barricade towards you. You throw down your bow and run to a large water cask that is being defended by a stout Sommlending sergeant. The ground around the cask is carpeted thickly with enemy dead.
‘Shoot the leader!’ you command, pointing towards the enemy officer. The sergeant turns, aims and fires a bow with one swift and fluid movement. The arrow arcs through the battle-smoke and pierces the officer’s shiny breastplate. Slowly his cruel eyes flicker and close as he slips from the saddle with the shaft lodged deep in his heart.
To continue, turn to 148.
148
‘To me! To me!’ Captain D’Val’s voice booms out above the battle noise. ‘Rally to me, Sommlending!’
The brave captain draws about him a shielded wedge of soldiers and charges into the flank of the horsemen. They reel and buckle as the shield-wedge hews its way through their company. A Vassagonian herald, his crimson armor torn and his face flecked with blood, breaks free from the battle and sounds the retreat. You watch as the surviving bandits spur their mounts to the gallop, desperate now to escape through the ragged hole in the barricade. Gripped by panic and fatigue, they ride through their own foot soldiers who are advancing to support them. The infantry falter under this unexpected onslaught and quickly their ranks collapse as the cavalry ride them down.
Captain D’Val leads his soldiers to the barricade and directs a lethal volley of arrows into the shattered infantry. It is the last straw. They throw down their weapons and flee in panic from the clouds of arrows raining down on them from out of the smoke-filled sky.
A battle-cry, proud and strident, pursues them across the plain:
‘For Sommerlund, for Sommerlund!’
Turn to 137.
148. A Vassagonian herald breaks free from the battle and sounds the retreat.
137
All around the barricade the enemy are retreating in disorder. Bandit war horns announce the withdrawal, exhorting their defeated warriors to flee the battlefield. A jubilant Captain D’Val emerges from the war smoke, his eyes shining like bright jewels beneath the rim of his battered helmet.
‘We have triumphed, Lone Wolf. We have vanquished the foe!’
All around you, the captain’s guards are rebuilding the barricade and tending to their wounded comrades. It sorrows you to see Sommlending dead, but you take heart at how few they are beside the enemy’s losses.
The captain ushers you to the watchtower where your wounds are cleaned and dressed with Laumspur. The herbs restore 6 ENDURANCE points.
‘We have beaten this foe, though I fear it is but a temporary reprieve,’ says the captain, his face now composed and somber.
‘The sacrifice of Baron Vanalund’s daughter must be stopped if we are to avoid catastrophe, for our strength will not avail us against any foe freshly risen from the grave.’
The words of the verse flood into your mind and a chill runs down your spine as you realize what may lie ahead. In three days’ time, when the moon is full, Barraka will sacrifice the Baron’s daughter at the buried temple of Maaken, a sacrifice that will unleash the dead of Maakengorge. You know you must do everything possible to prevent the sacrifice from taking place.
To continue, turn to 12.
12
Fifty miles due south of Ruanon, the ruined city of Maaken teeters on the brink of the infamous Maakengorge. A cold sweat breaks out upon your brow as you contemplate the difficulty of your mission, for you are separated from your goal by miles of enemy-held territory. There is a small flicker of hope from which you draw some comfort. With the enemy in confusion and retreat, your chances of success will be far higher now than they were before battle.
Before you set off on your perilous mission, Captain D’Val offers you the choice of the following equipment and provisions (if you do not have a Backpack, you are outfitted with one by Captain D’Val):
• Enough food for 3 Meals
• Rope
• Potion of Laumspur (this restores 4 ENDURANCE points when swallowed after combat)
• Sword
• Spear
Remember to make the necessary adjustments to your Action Chart before turning to 140.
Here’s the recap: Lone Wolf slaughters the bandit horseman, who deals 6 ENDURANCE damage before giving up the ghost as Lone Wolf’s 40th dead fascist. Lone Wolf then wounds the leader of this fascist group with a bow and arrow from a dead soldier and asks a fellow communist to finish the leader off. Captain D’Val manages to rally the communists and win the battle. Lone Wolf restores 11 ENDURANCE points from his Healing Kai Discipline and the medical attention he receives from the watchtower personnel. Now, Lone Wolf has the option to get additional gear from Captain D’Val before he begins his mission to save Baron Vanalund’s daughter. Please make your votes on what gear to acquire and drop before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.
ACTION CHART
KAI DISCIPLINES:
1. Sixth Sense
2. Healing: +1 ENDURANCE point for each section without combat
3. Hunting: no need for a Meal when instructed to eat
4. Mindblast: +2 COMBAT SKILL points
5. Mindshield: no points lost when attacked by Mindblast
6. Animal Kinship
7. Mind Over Matter
8. Tracking
WEAPONS:
1. Broadsword
2. Sommerswerd (In sections where it is specifically mentioned, +8 COMBAT SKILL and double damage against undead)
BACKPACK:
1. Laumspur Potion (+4 ENDURANCE)
2. Alether Concentrate (+4 COMBAT SKILL for one fight)
3. Long Rope (Slot 1)
4. Long Rope (Slot 2)
5. Concentrated Laumspur Potion (+5 ENDURANCE)
6. Meal
7. Brass Key
8.
SPECIAL ITEMS:
• Kai Shield (+2 COMBAT SKILL when used in combat)
• Kai Gold Key
• Crystal Star Pendant (Reroll one number per adventure, unused)
• Silver Helm (+2 COMBAT SKILL)
• Ticket
• Red Pass
• Padded Leather Waistcoat (+2 ENDURANCE)
• Firesphere
• Blue Stone Triangle
• Scroll
BELT POUCH: 23 Gold Crowns
COMBAT SKILL: 15
ENDURANCE POINTS: 23/24
RULES:
• When in combat, stop to ask whether to use any items or abilities if ENDURANCE is less than 11 or Combat Ratio is less than -4
FASCIST KILL COUNT: 40
RESURRECTIONS USED: 1
NOTES:
• Visited the Ruins of Raumas
• Survived the perils of the Graveyard of the Ancients
• Visited Gorn Cove
• Bridge password is ‘sunset’
• Applied Baknar oil
• Visited a hut on ‘Raider’s Road’
