Free Wolf's Bane by Joe Dever Page A

of the hall. She has half completed the complicated design when suddenly she becomes agitated.
    ‘Must hurry,’ she mumbles, ‘must, must hurry.’
    Suddenly the fire in the hearth flares brightly. The flames begin to grow and whirl and slowly change colour.
    ‘It's no good!’ cries Alyss, tearful with frustration. Angrily she casts her chunk of crumbling limestone at the roaring flames and then leaps to her feet and comes rushing to your side. ‘It's too late!’ she screams, her voice now barely audible above the unnatural crackling of the fire. ‘Naar is summoning his champion!’
    Pick a number from the Random Number Table .
    If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 273 .
    If it is 5–9, turn to 67 .

99
    The shock wave from the blast sends you tumbling backwards into the chamber. Moments later something heavy falls across your legs, pinning you to the ground. You reach down to pull yourself free and discover that the object that is lying across your legs is Black Hawk. Dazed and trembling, you roll his limp body over and then hurriedly check to see if he is still breathing. Thankfully you discover that he is alive, although he has sustained serious injuries. His hand and sword arm are badly burnt and he is in a state of deep shock.
    Using your Magnakai Curing skills, you are able to stabilize his condition and bring him out of shock (in doing so you expend 3 ENDURANCE points). As you help him to his feet you look around and see that the others have been knocked flat by the blast. They too are now struggling to pull themselves to their feet. Fortunately their physical injuries are minor; their innate Kai skills appear to have spared them from serious injury. However, you sense that your inability to detect that the wall was an explosive illusion has taken its toll on their confidence.
    ‘Our prey is far more cunning than I feared,’ you say, ruefully, ‘but we are Kai and we shall rise to the challenge. Our enemy possesses strong magic and he is capable of masking it well. Yet he chooses to use it to wound and weaken our party, not to kill us. Why this should be I do not know. But from now on we cannot entirely trust our senses to protect us. We must proceed with the utmost caution.’
    Beyond where the illusory north wall once stood, you can now see a small antechamber which is wreathed in acrid blue smoke. Gradually this smoke dissipates to reveal a shallow plinth upon which lies a bronze urn. This heavy object rests on its side and a quantity of pale grey ash has spilled from its hinged lid. Cautiously you approach the urn and see that there is an inscription engraved on its side. From this ancient script you learn that the ashes are the last remains of Baroness Garrulen, the wife of Hul — third Baron of Tyso. Glinting half-buried in the ash, you notice a ring encrusted with crimson gemstones. (If you wish to keep this Ruby Ring, record it on your Action Chart as a Special Item.)
    You are righting the urn on its plinth when you hear Steel Hand calling you. He has found something among the rubble which litters the floor at the rear of the antechamber.
    Turn to 35 .

100
    You are eager to confront your enemy, but you are wary of walking into a trap. At first glance he appears to be alone in this circular hall, but then you notice something curious about the hall itself. At the four points of the compass there are rails attached to the walls. Small horizontal platforms are attached to these rails and they move along them in a continuous procession. At the north and the south these platforms ascend through holes in the ceiling; at the west and east the platforms descend through similar holes and continue through other holes cut in the floor. You suspect them to be elevators and your suspicions are confirmed when suddenly an armoured warrior appears; he is standing on a descending platform and he passes through the hall and continues travelling downwards to a level somewhere below.
    Wolf's Bane is