War of the Wizards

by Ian Page

  Two Demons of the Plains: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 20

  If you win the combat, turn to 163.

  289

  You close your eyes, sinking into the trance state required for the summoning of the elementals. Chanting in their secret tongue, you send the essence of your need into the Elemental Plane, reaching out for the brute strength of an earth elemental. A long pause ensues after completion of the chant: Earth spirits are notorious for their slow wits. Then there is a faint tremor in the ground beneath your feet. With an explosion of rocks and soil, a huge figure rears up before you. Its body is shaped like that of a muscular human, but it is angular, sharp, and hard like rock. It is a Stoneghast. A thing of granite rather than flesh, it clambers out of the chasm it has made to reach you and stands above you, a towering fifteen feet in height. Taking great pains to make your command as simple as possible, you point at the stone door of the ziggurat. ‘Smash!’ you shout clearly.

  Illustration XVI—With an explosion of rocks and soil, a huge figure rears up before you.

  Wordlessly, the Stoneghast turns and walks towards the door with large, thunderous strides. In accord with the simplicity of its nature, the elemental walks straight into the door, shattering it as if it were glass. The task completed, it dives headlong back into the chasm. The earth moves to cover the Stoneghast's passing and, with a ripple, settles back into place. The use of this Power has cost you 1 WILLPOWER point.

  Turn to 156.

  290

  You step back and duck down in the undergrowth. The officer charges after you but does not see you hidden behind a bush. As he stops and looks around, you leap up and hurl him to the ground with a colossal killing blow. You hear Sado shouting in the distant darkness. You follow the sound of his voice.

  Turn to 242.

  291

  At the cost of 2 WILLPOWER points, you raise a Shield of Sorcery, forged from the energy of your will. The toad-like demon careers into it, forced to a halt with an astonished cry. When it has climbed back to its feet, it stands before the magical shield, tentatively touching the barrier with its hands. Suddenly all four of the demons vanish but almost immediately they reappear behind you, grinning maliciously. The sorcerous shield before you has been rendered useless. With an animal shriek the demons pounce.

  Turn to 264.

  292

  Quickly you don the uniform. You cast an appraising eye over the riderless Shadakine mount that stands nearby.

  Turn to 250.

  293

  With a fearsome battle-cry you hurtle down the stairs and the pack scatters in all directions before you are able to inflict a single blow. The light from the Moonstone begins to fade as the power of the incantation wears off but it hardly matters now that you have cowed the hellish beasts into submission. Suddenly the horde begins to gloat unpleasantly and you halt. At the far end of the hall looms a tall shadow.

  Turn to 270.

  294

  You prepare to do battle with the demon host and decide to take advantage of the protection your Theurgic Potion offers. You swallow the dark, bitter liquid and slowly your body begins to glow with a strange blue light. Remember that the effects of the Potion will fade in a few hours. Delete the Potion of Invulnerability from your Action Chart. You may keep the empty Vial in your Herb Pouch or your Backpack. Mark your Action Chart accordingly.

  Turn to 134.

  295

  Tentatively at first you probe the strength of the doors with a field of mental energy, seeking out the weakest spot. Then, with a tremendous effort of will, you hurl a charge of mental energy into the stone itself. There is a rumbling as the doors vibrate with magical energy, and then a resounding crack as one of the doors fractures and falls to the ground in a cloud of dust and rubble.

  Pick a number from the Random Number Table. Subtract 1 from the number you have picked. If the result is zero, pick again; otherwise, this number is the total number of WILLPOWER points you have used in your assault upon the door.

  Turn to 156.

  296

  As though the demon can read your mind, he throws himself at you before you are able to unleash an attack at him. Your own hatred of what he represents has betrayed you; now you must fight him to the death.

  Ipagé Demon: COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 20

  If you win the combat, you may pass through Shasarak's door and turn to 39.

  297

  As you approach the building, its huge size becomes apparent. It is a magnificent structure, a towering ziggurat. As you stand before it, you realize that it is very old. The stone is weathered and overgrown with weeds and the cornerstones have been worn to ragged curves by the wind. It looks deserted — an ideal place to shelter for the night if only you could find some water. Tanith walks up and examines a section of the wall. It is inscribed with symbols.

  ‘This was once a building belonging to the Masbaté tribe,’ she says. ‘They built it long ago.’

  You listen with interest. The Masbaté were the original inhabitants of the Lissan Plain. The present-day king of the Masbaté, Samu, a noble and fearless warrior, accompanied you when you sought the Moonstone. But he was a king without a kingdom, for Shasarak slew all the Masbaté, unleashing the peril of a demon plague to roam the Lissan Plain. It is said that those demons roam the plain still. You find the existence of the building curious, for the Masbaté were a nomadic tribe, crossing the plain according to the seasons and the needs of their cattle. Why should they build anything so permanent?

  If you wish to explore the ziggurat of the Masbaté, turn to 225.

  If you prefer to continue to search for Lake Dolani, turn to 234.

  298

  The following morning you talk with Samu in his private chamber. You enquire after the fates of the old Kundi man, Urik the Wise, and Hugi the Thief, who also accompanied you on your quest for the Shadow Gate. You learn that Urik returned south to rejoin his people in the forests of the Azanam. Hugi, much to your surprise, returned to fight alongside Sado of the Long Knife with the Army of the Freedom Guild. Samu journeyed north from Desolation Valley to revisit his old country, the Lissan Plain. By chance he stumbled upon the surviving members of his people, who lived within the small belt of land around Lake Dolani and Lake Iss. It seems that the demons of the Lissan Plain are reluctant to cross water and so the lands beyond the rivers of the plain remained unstained by their presence. Only one pass leads out of the plain to the country that surrounds it beyond the mountains and the Masbaté held this pass against the demons. Under Samu's newfound kingship, the last survivors of the Masbaté were reunited and formed a new, though smaller, realm around the southern lakes of Lissan. They created for themselves a home within the mountains, using it as a place to hide from the malevolent eye of Shasarak. They have fought unceasingly with the demons of the Lissan Plain, which Shasarak left to roam at will after the last of the Masbaté were thought to be slain, for the Masbaté still hope to regain the whole of the plain.

  ‘Their numbers are much reduced, compared to the great host that defeated us of old, though many hundreds still remain, especially the more powerful and cunning of their kind,’ explains Samu. ‘And there is a power that eludes us yet, the power that allows them to remain in the world. There is a magical gate within the hills near Lake Tilos, the gate that allowed them into the world. It was Shasarak who opened this portal for them and they are able to travel through it to their demon plane as they wish. Whenever they are attacked by a Masbaté force likely to defeat them, they can transport themselves to this portal instantly. While such an escape route remains open to them, we can never hope to defeat them entirely.’

  While Samu speaks, a plan begins to form in your mind, a plan that would rid the Masbaté of the demon plague forever and provide an answer to the problem of delaying the Shadakine Army long enough for you to warn the Freedom Guild of the overwhelming force that marches against them. You remember how the Moonstone opened a corridor from the Daziarn plane to the real world. Surely it
must be able to reverse the process and close the portal in the hills east of Lake Tilos.

  ‘If it were not for the demon plague,’ Samu continues, ‘and the threat it offers, we of the Masbaté would have joined forces with the Freedom Guild long ago but our wives and children must be protected. We could not leave them to the mercies of the demon plague. It is our belief that when the demons cross water they lose their ability to transport themselves to their portal. But if we warriors were not here to withstand them, they would have no need to use that power.’

  ‘Worry no longer King Samu,’ you say, as a plan crystallizes in your mind. ‘I will close the demon portal and, with the help of your brave warriors, I will lure the evil demon host to the Shadakine themselves.’ You explain the plan. You will journey to the Hills of Tilos and, using the Moonstone, attempt to close the portal. Such an action is sure to attract every demon of Lissan against you. Then you will flee to the pass in the Kashima Mountains with the demon horde in pursuit. You will time this action so that you are able to lead the demons into the rear of the Shadakine column as it approaches the bridge that crosses the River Dosar at Lanzi.

  ‘But how can you be sure that the Shadakine Army will not have crossed the bridge at Lanzi before you reach them?’ Samu asks.

  ‘The Masbaté must hold the bridge against the Shadakine until I can lure the demons against them,’ you reply.

  Samu nods in understanding. ‘And who will go with you to the portal?’

  ‘I will go alone. All of the Masbaté will be needed to hold the bridge. My Magical Powers and the Moonstone will protect me. They must.’

  Suddenly the door of the king's chamber is thrown open. Tanith stands there, white-faced and trembling. ‘She has found me, Grey Star,’ she says in a quavering voice. ‘She has searched and she has found me!’ Tanith looks weak; she can barely stand. Her eyes have a terrible haunted look.

  ‘Who … who has found you?’ you ask, fearing the answer.

  ‘Mother Magri, my old mistress, the Shadakine Wytch of Suhn. She has searched for me with the Kazim Stone and she has found me. Long I resisted her as she tried to probe my mind. She beckons, Grey Star, she calls, I cannot resist her much longer.’

  While Tanith remains, she is of great danger to you, for in seeking Tanith Mother Magri will discover that you have returned to the world. As a servant of the Wytch-king, Shasarak, Mother Magri and her power over Tanith imperils your life and your entire quest. Tanith, it seems, has realized this already.

  Turn to 10.

  299

  Only one hundred feet lie between you and the Masbaté, who are spreading out into battle formation, preparing to charge the demon horde. You will never know the outcome of the battle. Only one hundred feet from salvation the pack of evil beasts falls upon you, dragging you to the ground.

  Your life and your quest end here.

  300

  The entire day passes without any sign of the Shadakine. The army are well ensconced in defensive positions around the edges of the forest. Your sleep that night proves extremely restful, restoring 4 ENDURANCE and 3 WILLPOWER points. The following day there is still no sign of the Shadakine Army. A tense, uneasy silence descends on the men: they are anxious to fight. That night you are awakened by the crooning call of voices that beckon you.

  Unable to resist, you rise and follow the sound deep into the forest. As you walk among the impenetrable shadows, you hear, mingled with the calls, the mournful creak of trees, whose branches have been stirred by a newly-risen wind. You become aware of a sickly yellow glow deeper in the wood. You walk towards it, treading a path that leads up a steep hill of craggy, moss-covered stone. At the top of the hill are seven hulking shapes, tall as trees, wreathed in yellow light. The light reminds you of the yellow light of the Kazim Stones, instruments of truth and torture, power and possession, belonging to the Shadakine Wytches. A wave of panic grows inside you. The crooning is emanating from the tall forms within the halos of light, only now the words of the song are distinct:

  We are the Kazim, masters of truth,

  Wielders of power, steadfast in sooth,

  Lost are our stone hearts to the evil of the night,

  Clutched by the dark one, stealer of light,

  We wait for the Grey One, foe of the dark,

  Heralding battle, to regain our hearts.

  If you wish to charge up the hill and attack the tall shapes there, turn to 339.

  If you wish to go to the top of the hill and investigate the tall shapes, turn to 254.

  301

  You defeat the Shadakine officer with a deceptive, sweeping blow aimed at his body. You then charge at the backs of the Shadakine, taking them by surprise. Their attack falters, and the men of the Freedom Guild surge forward, driving the Shadakine before them. You hear Sado shouting to his men, attempting to rally them to him. You and the men of the Freedom Guild follow the sound of his voice.

  Turn to 242.

  302

  You come to an abrupt halt, wheeling your Staff around like a scythe. The crazed beasts are taken completely by surprise and you press home your advantage, hacking and slashing at them ferociously. You must fight them as one enemy.

  Three Reptile Demons: COMBAT SKILL 24 ENDURANCE 25

  If you win the combat in three rounds or less, turn to 56.

  If you win the the in four rounds or more, turn to 319.

  303

  Using 2 WILLPOWER points you fire at the chariot, aiming for one of the wheels. The wheel explodes into flames and the chariot collapses in a great cloud of dust. The men inside are hurled screaming into the air. With a satisfied nod, you turn and follow Sado and his men. Back at the camp, you see that the Guildsmen, while well ordered and ready to depart, are delaying moving to the forest. Sado shrugs. ‘They are afraid of the forest,’ he says.

  Turn to 343.

  304

  At the cost of 2 WILLPOWER points you hurl a ball of flame into the sky. But the nervous prancing of the stallion spoils your aim and the attack is wasted.

  Turn to 235.

  305

  Using 2 WILLPOWER points you fill the Moonstone with power. As its swirling mists part, you are confronted by the haggard face of an old woman. You give an involuntary shudder; Mother Magri is staring straight at you.

  ‘Seek and ye shall find,’ the old crone jeers. ‘And find her I have. Won't you come now, little one? There's plenty of room for you, my sweet.’

  Abruptly the image disappears. Tanith must have been drawn back to Suhn already. There is nothing you can do for her now. You can only hope that she can survive Mother Magri's clutches until you can find a way of saving her.

  Turn to 282.

  306

  While another Winged Demon is ascending to a height from which it can dive, you turn and urge your steed to one last great effort towards the forest. At the forest's edge the plain is dotted with bushes and trees, preventing the Winged Demons from attacking. With a happy sigh you enter the leafy sanctuary of the woods. You dismount and lead the stallion along the curving trail that runs through the heart of the forest. You find a well hidden clearing, where you can rest for a few moments and plan the last stage of your task.

  Turn to 170.

  307

  He brings down his Staff, aimed to split your skull with a crushing blow. You bring up the Moonstone to meet it and the blow is deflected. Shasarak cries out with frustration. Although the Moonstone has absorbed the attack, its light is now extinguished and Shasarak turns to attack once more.

  Turn to 345.

  308

  You raise your Staff but Samu, a veteran warrior, swerves the falling arc of his blow into a side swipe that slices around the line of your defence. Only when you are slain does Samu realize the tragedy of what he has done, destroying the last hope of the Freedom Guild with one fatal blow.

  Your life and your quest end here.

  309

  As the winged forms circle overhead, you trace a zigzag pattern on the ground
as you run. They swoop and dive and circle once again, but your mind is quicker. A huge, winged ape plummets towards you. Its claws find your flesh and inflict a livid wound in your shoulder. You lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

  If you are still alive, turn to 62.

  310

  A keening howl echoes round the hall, filling your ears, skull, chest, and limbs and grinding the essence of your being to dust. Shasarak's might floods along the Staff, battling against your power, but you do not let go — will not let go — as your body trembles and shudders as though it will burst.

  Add together your current WILLPOWER and ENDURANCE totals. Subtract Shasarak's score of 10 from this. (Do not adjust your Action Chart.)

  If your score totals more than 0, turn to 5.

  If it totals 0 or less, turn to 2.

  311

  You stand at the edge of the forest, waving your arms to attract the rider's attention. He turns and heads towards you. At first he moves at a trot but, as he comes closer, he spurs his mount into a gallop, lowering his spear and pointing it at you.

  If you wish to attack the horseman at long range with your Staff, turn to 318.