The Valley of Gad
You have chosen to be a prisoner owned by the Archveult. He is the undisputed lord of the Valley of Gad and has lived in his castle for three hundred years. When he began his reign of terror after slaying the old king, his subjects renamed his home Castle Remorse. He is feared and hated by all people.
His appearance alone is enough to terrify even the stoutest of heart. He is a Firedrake, one of the elder races of Orb that live north and east of the Mountains of Undying Solitude, but he is also an Archveult, a rare thing even amongst the powerful Firedrakes. The Firedrakes are a naturally cruel race but he has taken their lust for cruelty to the greatest lengths and is never happier than when demonstrating his superiority over his pathetic human subjects.
He stands eight feet tall and his fierce head is topped by a bony spiked carapace like that of an ancient giant reptile. His eyes are smoldering pits of fire and when he is angered they ignite, burning with a deep red flame that also bursts out over the blue scales of his body. He has large blue wings which, when spread, cast an awesome shadow.
You know nothing of the Valley of Gad save that it is ruled by the Archveult and has a city called Askelon. You know that it is ringed by mountains but that there is a way out of the valley at the western end, at the town of Gap. There are rumors of other less well guarded ways out of the valley, but you know nothing of them as yet.
The Hunt
It is spring. The month of Weir has just begun but you feel little joy for as a slave you have been taken to a place that is infamous throughout Orb as a hell as bad as any in the lower planes. The man who led the caravan in which you were but a piece of helpless baggage, a harsh warrior named Kritos Bloodheart, revelled in telling you your coming fate. At this time of year the ruler of this valley indulges himself in his favorite pastime, the annual hunt. One slave is set free from the standing stones near the castle and hunted down like an animal. If found, the slave is torn to pieces by the Archveult's Hounds of Hell, giant dogs with flaming breath, which came from the nether planes, and were a gift from a Demonlord. If the slave escapes the valley he will go free. But the slaves seldom escape.
Bloodheart has scoured the slave pits of Upanishad for slaves and has brought three back to the Valley of Gad. The Archveult will mercilessly hunt down one of these slaves until at last, exhausted and broken, the slave will beg him to end their wretched life. The doors to your cell are opened: it is Bloodheart and his guards. You are chosen as the one to be taken before the ruler of the valley.
Slaves
You must choose which of the three types of quarry you wish to be: priest, barbarian, or thief. As you have been bought as a slave by the Archveult, you must tell him your choice.
The Priest
Languishing in your dank cell you rue the day that you - an intelligent young priest of the temple to Avatar in Pokeel - decided to travel to Segesvar. You went in search of a sage who knew of an ancient prayer, much used there in times past, to find the favor of Avatar but while you were there, an innkeeper drugged your ale. A good and zealous man, you were ill-prepared for life in the slave caravan that took you to the market of faraway Upanishad. You vow that the innkeeper who duped you will pay, should you escape the valley. Kritos Bloodheart paid a high price for you in the slave pens, for he knew you would give the Archveult good sport.
Dressed only in your torn white robe and manacled, you are dragged by the castle guards into the Archveult's presence. Flame plays over his blue-scaled body and his voice is deep and resonant.
'He looks weak,' he complains.
You try to speak, but you have been gagged, lest you cast a spell. All that comes out is a muffled gurgle. Kritos cuffs you into silence.
'He is a priest, magnificence, he knows spells, he nearly escaped on the road from Upanishad. He speaks the Word of Helpless Palsy and has the Touch of Harm, and,' he chuckles, 'he has Avatar the One on his side.' There is a gale of laughter as he says this.
'Oh Avatar, where are you now, free thy servant from thisevil place of torment,' the Firedrake mocks. There is silence in the chamber. 'Your god has deserted you,' he cries, and with that he claps his hands and you are dragged away, head held high and contempt in your eye for the cruel Archveult.
The Barbarian
Almost a year ago you left your home town near the city of Strand in the Great Valley Reaches. Like many northern barbarians before, you found that your strength and ferocity were highly valued in the softer southern lands. But your dreams of becoming a captain in the army of one of the manmarcher cities was shattered when you were tricked into becoming a gladiator. You have won all your contests but your success only makes you the more highly prized. You fled the manmarch but were tricked again by a beautiful courtezan whose kisses sent you into a deep slumber. When you awoke you were destined for the Arena of Death in Mortavalon, but Kritos Bloodheart has met your price and now you are the Archveult's slave.
When you are led before the ruler who owns you, your arms are tied to a yoke, as if you were being prepared for crucifixion. You are stripped to your loincloth, revealing the bruises you gained while trying to escape.
'I had to pay a small fortune for this one, magnificence," says Kritos. 'He was to be sent back north to become a gladiator in the Arena of Death at Mortavalon. He is the strongest man I have ever met and still barely more than a boy.'
You growl a curse at the Firedrake, overcoming your fear, but at a sign from Kritos, pressure is applied to the yoke and you are slowly forced to your knees, grunting all the while with the effort of trying to avoid abasing yourself before him. He claps his hands and you are taken away. The Firedrake did not even deign to address you. Soon you are sweating with rage in the dank clammishness of your cell once more.
The Thief
The cold damp of your cell reminds you of your folly. Three tendays since, you were striving for control of a chapter of the Thieves' Guild of Upanishad but you had made too many enemies. When Kritos Bloodheart came to the city and let it be known that he was interested in unusual slaves your enemies leaped at the chance to remove you from the city. You were knocked unconscious and sold to Bloodheart, then kept bound hand and foot during the long journey to the Valley of Gad.
At last Kritos Bloodheart comes to take you from the cell. Before the leg irons are struck off, you are chained to two hulking guards who stand on either side of you. Then you are taken into the presence of the ruler who now owns you.
'I have saved the fairest till last, magnificence,' says Kritos. There is a murmur of appreciation from the guards.
'It's a woman!' the Firedrake exclaims. 'They are weaker than the men.'
Kritos does not look unduly troubled by his master's displeasure. 'Not this one, magnificence, she is a skilled swordswoman and, until she was delivered into our hands, was a master in the Thieves' Guild of Upanishad.'
You note every detail of your surroundings, hoping for a chance of escape, but Kritos has ensured there is none. The guards force you to your knees and invite her to beg for mercy, but you reply: 'It is you who will beg for mercy out in the wilderness, Firedrake.'
He smiles and orders you to be taken back to the dungeons, confident that he will force you to change your tune.
Escape
You will have to find a way out of the valley. There is a large gate in the fortified walls enclosing the valleyat its western entrance, by Gap town. This is the only known exit, but it is, of course, heavily guarded. Gap town and the wall all belong to the Archveult.
Other exits must exist, but finding them may not be easy.
Your first decision is to choose your character. The relevant character sheets are below.The Archveult's Allies
Your opponent has three allies or henchmen: Kritos Bloodheart, the Captain of the Archveult's guard, an evil and bloodthirsty warrior; Ka-riim, the Hashishin, the Archveult's assassin; and the Demiveult, a large winged reptile which some say is a Firedrake in its larval form, while others believe it is a product of the Archveult's genetic experiments.
In any case, the Archveult will have placed his allies somewhere in the valley and you may encounter them. Beware, the ally will inform the Archveult of your location before attacking you!
The Priest
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-2 Strike (until you find a weapon).
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Poor Swimmer
Spells
Spells: (Spells are lost once used, Vancian style.)
Paralysis x2 (Auto-wins a combat against a human.)
Heal x4 (Restores 1 wound level, cannot be cast in combat.)
Cause Wounds x5 (Once per combat, fight at +1 Strike, ignoring all other modifiers.)
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-2 Strike (until you find a weapon).
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Poor Swimmer
Spells
Spells: (Spells are lost once used, Vancian style.)
Paralysis x2 (Auto-wins a combat against a human.)
Heal x4 (Restores 1 wound level, cannot be cast in combat.)
Cause Wounds x5 (Once per combat, fight at +1 Strike, ignoring all other modifiers.)
The Barbarian
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Stunned/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-1 Strike (until you find a weapon).
+1 Damage.
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Good Swimmer
Strength
Stamina
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Stunned/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-1 Strike (until you find a weapon).
+1 Damage.
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Good Swimmer
Strength
Stamina
The Thief
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-1 Strike (until you find a weapon).
+1 Strike (with a weapon).
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Weapon skill
Stealth
Average Swimmer
Contacts
Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead
Combat:
-1 Strike (until you find a weapon).
+1 Strike (with a weapon).
Equipment:
Nothing.
Special Abilities
Weapon skill
Stealth
Average Swimmer
Contacts
The Beginning
You are returned to your cell, but the first ray of hope shines at sunset. Before they come to take you to the standing stones, one of your fellow prisoners shakes a powder all over you, explaining that it has magical properties which will confuse the hounds as they try to track you. You are now ready to begin your flight from Castle Remorse, unarmed, with no more than the few scraps of clothing left to you.
Ra's chariot lights the sky, but the coming of dawn does not lift your spirits. You havespent the night, without furs or cloak, chained to one ofthe strange circle of standing stones near the western end of the Valley of Gad. Behind you towers the Archveult's castle and even now you hear the unearthly baying of the Hounds of Hell. As the sun climbs the sky you can see more of your surroundings. A grisly exhibition of trophies adorns the stone monoliths, the heads of the Archveult's previous victims. Some are too decayed to tell even if they were once human, but the more recent ones have been crudely embalmed. Last year's victim appears to have been a young woman, the one before a large man with a barbarian's plaits still swinging in the wind, his face a mask of agony split by a terrible wound. Suddenly the chains fall away from your wrists and a mouth opening up in the face of the grey stone which faces you speaks, 'Run, run for all you are worth, you cannot escape me and my Hounds of Hell. You have a few hours grace before I take up the chase.'
The stones are on a conical hill-top. Behind you the dark towers of Castle Remorse deter all attempts at escape to the east. A track leads north towards high ground and a road of beaten earth winds south towards a range of hills. To the west lies a rising swell of rough moorland.
WAIT TWICE
• Search the standing stones and surrounding area? (29)
• Head due west across the moor? (49)
• Take the road south? (69)
• Take the track north? (89)
