Free The Curse of Naar by Joe Dever Page B

this fiery domain within the Plane of Darkness. It continues at length to describe the creatures that are enslaved to him, which include the Lavas, the Zarthyn, and the Chugotha. But most interestingly it reveals his secret name ‘Zheva’ which can be used to bind him and tells of a magical item, the Scarab of the Wingless Dragon, which can be found in the ‘nest of fire’ and which can be used to effect an escape from his realm.
    You close the Tome and slip it back into your pack. From your makeshift shelter you command a view over the surrounding landscape in which there is nothing that remotely resembles a nest or a tree. All you are able to discern with any clarity is the blazing fire-storm which is now sweeping across this charred land. Fearful of what could befall you when the fire-storm reaches this exposed flank of the crater, you continue your climb and seek cover within the crater itself.
    If you have ever visited the city of Tahou in a previous
Lone Wolf
adventure, turn to 194 .
    If you have never visited this city, turn to 339 .

87
    You sense a sorcerous resistance to your Counterspell , but the power of your Brotherhood magic proves strong enough to overcome this reaction. There is a sharp crackling noise and spiders of fiery blue electrical arcing appear all around the circular slot. Then they flicker and fade and you suddenly hear another sound, a grating squeal. Anxiously you watch as the great portal slowly swings open.
    Turn to 343 .

88
    You pull yourself to your feet and listen to the ore train as it disappears into the distant gloom with a sound like dying thunder. When you can no longer hear its rumble, you walk back along the tunnel to the junction where a new passageway branches off to the left. Your gnawing desire to find the Moonstone prompts you to explore this tunnel and you follow it for several hundred yards until you reach a dank and empty cavern. Streams of ore-rich water run down the walls of this chamber, staining them a rusty shade of brown. You are hungry and you decide to stop and rest here for a while. Unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, you must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
    While you are resting, you decide to consult the Tome of Darkness to see if it has any useful information about this strange subterranean complex.
    Turn to 33 .

89
    Even though you decline to accept the sword which Rimoah and Ardan have painstakingly crafted, they show no disappointment. They accept your decision without comment or question. Rimoah returns the blade to the table and takes up a sigil of platinum which is strung upon a loop of braided cord.
    ‘Grand Master will you accept this amulet? It possesses powers which may help you survive the challenge of your coming ordeal.’
    ‘Very well,’ you reply, and take the amulet from your advisor's outstretched palm. (Record this Platinum Amulet, which you wear around your neck, as a Special Item on your Action Chart . You need not discard another Special Item in its favour if you already hold the maximum number permissible.)
    As you tuck the amulet inside the collar of your robes, Lord Ardan picks up a small package from the table that is wrapped in a silk handkerchief. Carefully he unfolds the patterned silk square to reveal a book which is bound in jet-black hide. A wave of nausea makes you swallow hard as your natural Kai instincts detect that the origins of this book are wholly evil. Ardan offers it to you and, reluctantly this time, you take it from him.
    ‘It was discovered a decade ago in Northern Dessi,’ he says. ‘A party of our brethren found it on the Isle of Khor. It was found buried in the ruins of Kazan-Oud.’
    Carefully you open the stiff black cover and, to your surprise, you discover that the inner pages comprise several sheets of pliable metal. They have the feel of parchment but they sparkle and glimmer like plates of polished steel. You turn through the pages and note that every one appears to be