weapon and hold it poised to strike. The creature is close: you can sense it getting ready to attack. There is a rustle of fur. Swiftly you raise your legs to avoid the sweeping lunge of two hairy, clawed paws. Then you strike a blow that carves a crimson wedge from its ugly snout. The creature gives a gurgling scream and scrambles through the hole, driven by pain and its blind lust for revenge.
Agtah: COMBAT SKILL 21 ENDURANCE 27
This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
If you win the combat, turn to 289 .
156
Having listened to your explanation the giants react with scepticism, but, despite their doubts, they are clearly fascinated by your appearance and the sound of your voice. ‘We are the Yoacor,’ says the leader, proudly. ‘We are the Lords of Yanis — the Shining City — and masters of the Abaxial of Czenos. Come, we will take you to our realm where you may tell your strange story to the Beholder. He will divine its worth.’
He beckons you to approach his dragonmount and you step forward. The thought of being left marooned in this wilderness is all you need to persuade you to obey his command.
Turn to 205 .
159
A wave of psychic energy rushes through your mind, washing across your thoughts, searching for some sign of hostile intent. You resist the intrusion and the wave quickly recedes.
Turn to 314 .
162
Your killing blow almost severs the Tazgar's head and sends the vile creature spinning wildly into the trees amid a spray of its own foul blood. Without waiting to discover if it was the only one of its kind, you sheathe your weapon and hurry away from the clearing.
Turn to 138 .
164
You walk beside the Beholder along a corridor which leads to a vast, circular gallery. At its centre stands a towering, bell-shaped vessel made out of transparent, glass-like material and filled with a huge, seething ball of fire. Its brilliant light illuminates some strange equipment standing against the walls and cluttering the tables, but little of its heat radiates into the room. You pass on until you come to another gallery which is floored with shining steel like a gigantic mirror. The domed roof is lost in the dim shadows, but at its centre you notice a tiny, disc-shaped portal. The Beholder glances at a row of crystals embedded in the wall and they glow in response to his psychic commands.
‘I am called the Beholder,’ he says, his thin voice echoing loudly in the emptiness of the dome. ‘I observe all that transpires in the Daziarn. I saw your arrival upon the Zhamin Plateau and I know from whence you came. So few of your kind survive transference that I abandoned all hope of meeting you. Indeed had you not met with one of my hunting parties your bones would now lie bleaching upon the sands of that arid plain. It seems that you are by nature a survivor.’
Suddenly a swirling column of light appears, projected from the disc in the centre of the dome. It casts a pool of brilliance in the middle of the gallery and gradually widens until it encompasses the whole floor.
‘Come, observe, and perhaps you will learn the nature of your new world. For you will need to adapt if you are to survive here … for the rest of your life.’
Turn to 268 .
166
As you run across the tangled and broken ground towards Baylon's tomb you are assailed by two Agtah wielding large chunks of masonry. Swiftly you dispatch them with two well placed blows and reach the tomb unscathed. There you find that the lock which secures the door is similar in design to that of the Grand Sepulchre. As before, there are three groups of symbols and one blank square, although the symbols inscribed here are quite different from those that confronted you at the Grand Sepulchre. They look like this:
By inscribing the correct symbols in the soft surface of the blank square you will cause the door to open.
If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship or Divination, turn to 197 .
If you possess neither of
Agtah: COMBAT SKILL 21 ENDURANCE 27
This creature is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
If you win the combat, turn to 289 .
156
Having listened to your explanation the giants react with scepticism, but, despite their doubts, they are clearly fascinated by your appearance and the sound of your voice. ‘We are the Yoacor,’ says the leader, proudly. ‘We are the Lords of Yanis — the Shining City — and masters of the Abaxial of Czenos. Come, we will take you to our realm where you may tell your strange story to the Beholder. He will divine its worth.’
He beckons you to approach his dragonmount and you step forward. The thought of being left marooned in this wilderness is all you need to persuade you to obey his command.
Turn to 205 .
159
A wave of psychic energy rushes through your mind, washing across your thoughts, searching for some sign of hostile intent. You resist the intrusion and the wave quickly recedes.
Turn to 314 .
162
Your killing blow almost severs the Tazgar's head and sends the vile creature spinning wildly into the trees amid a spray of its own foul blood. Without waiting to discover if it was the only one of its kind, you sheathe your weapon and hurry away from the clearing.
Turn to 138 .
164
You walk beside the Beholder along a corridor which leads to a vast, circular gallery. At its centre stands a towering, bell-shaped vessel made out of transparent, glass-like material and filled with a huge, seething ball of fire. Its brilliant light illuminates some strange equipment standing against the walls and cluttering the tables, but little of its heat radiates into the room. You pass on until you come to another gallery which is floored with shining steel like a gigantic mirror. The domed roof is lost in the dim shadows, but at its centre you notice a tiny, disc-shaped portal. The Beholder glances at a row of crystals embedded in the wall and they glow in response to his psychic commands.
‘I am called the Beholder,’ he says, his thin voice echoing loudly in the emptiness of the dome. ‘I observe all that transpires in the Daziarn. I saw your arrival upon the Zhamin Plateau and I know from whence you came. So few of your kind survive transference that I abandoned all hope of meeting you. Indeed had you not met with one of my hunting parties your bones would now lie bleaching upon the sands of that arid plain. It seems that you are by nature a survivor.’
Suddenly a swirling column of light appears, projected from the disc in the centre of the dome. It casts a pool of brilliance in the middle of the gallery and gradually widens until it encompasses the whole floor.
‘Come, observe, and perhaps you will learn the nature of your new world. For you will need to adapt if you are to survive here … for the rest of your life.’
Turn to 268 .
166
As you run across the tangled and broken ground towards Baylon's tomb you are assailed by two Agtah wielding large chunks of masonry. Swiftly you dispatch them with two well placed blows and reach the tomb unscathed. There you find that the lock which secures the door is similar in design to that of the Grand Sepulchre. As before, there are three groups of symbols and one blank square, although the symbols inscribed here are quite different from those that confronted you at the Grand Sepulchre. They look like this:
By inscribing the correct symbols in the soft surface of the blank square you will cause the door to open.
If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship or Divination, turn to 197 .
If you possess neither of
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