Free Shadow on the Sand by Joe Dever Page B

points.
    If you are still alive, turn to 316 .

252
    You whirl your feet away from the shining steel and narrowly escape being wounded as the axe bites inches deep into the polished stone floor. However, before the guard can strike another blow, you lash out and send the axe spinning from his hand. He screams, clutching broken fingers to his chest.
    You turn and run towards an open door. The air is filled with the sound of pounding feet, for the palace guard are on full alert; together with the Drakkarim, they are now bent on finding and killing you as quickly as possible.
    Beyond the door, a bridge rises at a slanted angle over an enclosed garden, joining this part of the palace to a needle-like tower of white marble. At the entrance to the bridge, a narrow stair disappears into the garden below.
    If you wish to cross the bridge and enter the Tower, turn to 396 .
    If you decide to descend the stairs, turn to 215 .

253
    Suddenly, the pain subsides, but a new horror is taking shape before your eyes. Out of the darkness, a green whorl of vapour is forming slowly into the shape of a glistening, serpent-like monster. A grey mist issues forth from the Darklord's mouth, floating towards the core of this horror, infusing it with the power of death. The serpent writhes and convulses as the grey mist fills its body, changing it from a dream-like illusion into a living nightmare. Two pinpoints of crimson glow from its eyes, as it slithers towards you.
    Dhorgaan: COMBAT SKILL  20    ENDURANCE  40
    If you possess a Jewelled Mace, you may add 5 to your COMBAT SKILL for the duration of the combat, for it is an enchanted weapon, especially effective against such a creature.
    Illustration XV —A green whorl of vapour is forming slowly into the shape of a glistening, serpent-like monster.
    If you win the combat, turn to 335 .

254
    The chill air whips past your face as you tumble towards Lake Inrahim. The Kraan-riders, the skyship, and the distant horizon all melt into a kaleidoscope of shapes and images. You fear these will be the last things you will ever see.
    You have prepared yourself for death and feel calm and relaxed. Suddenly, you feel your body engulfed by a mass of sticky fibres. There is a terrific jolt, which leaves you breathless and stunned. (Lose 2 ENDURANCE points.) The impossible is happening — you are no longer falling but rising!
    You have been caught by a net of sticky strands like a fly in a web. You rise into the sky towards the flying ship as quickly as you fell. Three bearded dwarves clad in bright, padded battle-jerkins pull you aboard an outrigger that runs the length of the hull. There's no time to express your gratitude, for the small skyship is under attack from the Kraan-riders.
    At the end of the outrigger, a dwarf is in hand-to-hand combat with a snarling Drakkar. He is losing the battle. As you rush to help him, another of the evil warriors lands in the centre of the craft, on top of the fortified platform.
    If you wish to help the dwarf, turn to 280 .
    If you wish to leap from the outrigger onto the fortified platform, turn to 361 .

257
    The creature's curved beak gores your back, impaling you upon its razor-sharp tip. You are lifted into the air and dashed against the wall with one flick of the great bird's powerful neck. Mercifully, death is instantaneous as your skull is shattered against the hard, unyielding marble.
    Your life and the hopes of Sommerlund end here.

258
    The sun-sword tingles with power as you point it at the flame which hurtles nearer and nearer, its hiss becoming so loud that it drowns the noise of battle. You brace yourself for the moment of impact. The flame hits the Sommerswerd with a thunderous noise and is held there in a ball of liquid purple fire that burns at the very tip of the magical blade. Instinctively, you whirl the Sommerswerd around your head and cast the fireball back into the sky.
    The Vordak shrieks with terror, but it is too late — its fate is sealed.