One Kai Left: The Lone Wolf Dynasty
 

Hello folks and welcome to my newest dynasty. Part of the fun of this is that it is something I can do from work, as well as from home if I choose.

During the 1980s, game books were a popular fan that drove sales in children’s book departments. It had series like Choose Your Own Adventure to a variety of other books that used intellectual properties like Marvel Super Heroes, Middle Earth, Car Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and more.

There were generally three sorts of game books. The first were plot game books like Choose Your Own Adventure - you read a story, and as you go, you make choices and turn to different pages. These are simple books in the genre.

The second are books that are games. These often involve another person, and you use the book as a medium for a game. Examples of such include White Warlord/Black Baron and such.

Finally, there were game books that used plots along with various rules to have statistics, items, and often had combat that had to be resolved in order to advance the plot or get past a room. These were inspired by the Final Fantasy series. For example, in the Car Wars series, you had one or more cars, various types of guns, ammunition, special items, personal armor, personal items, armor of the car, and more to resolve fights. The most popular series of this sub-theme was Lone Wolf.

There are also a few that blend other types, like Be an Interplanetary Spy, which has a very loose plot, and then you have to do various tricks and games with the eye to advance that plot by going to the right section.

This was a super popular genre. The Choose Your Own Adventure books published over 200 titles and over 250 million books.

With the game/plot game books like Long Wolf being the upper echelon of difficulty, it is impressive that a unique IP was able to win out over other IPs like Middle Earth, Conan, Tarzan, Doctor Who, D&D, and more. In a sea of game books that included either the heavy hitter CYOA or the various IPs, it was the new and interesting Lone Wolf that ruled the roost with 10.5 million books printed. It came out of a very crowded field to bring the best writing, illustrations and game mechanics to the books. No series was as dear to my heart as it, although I certainly loved the Middle Earth and Car Wars series too (they were more complex than Lone Wolf).


For more info on game books, there is a great web resource that has almost every one ever published in English:

Demian's Gamebook Web Page

I *love* this series.

I just wish the Grey Star Wizard series would have been longer than 4 books.

Alright, now let’s talk about Lone Wolf.


Many are the people who have read and enjoyed the Lone Wolf books. What to know something? You still can! Over the past decade, a group called Project Aon has published the Lone Wolf books online after getting permission to do so from Joe Dever, the author and creator of Lone Wolf.

I will begin with the first book, Flight from the Dark. I will keep reading until I get bored, die, or move on to something else. If I die, I intend to restart the book. Some books are hard, let’s be honest. I will honestly take my rolls, and if that means my character is a bit weaker, or has some problems with a foe, that’s the breaks.

Note that I have played many of these books a ton of times, especially the first five. Fire on the Water, the second book in the series, is the book I have read the most in my life, probably over a dozen times.

Why not read them once more?


You can find Project Aon here:

Project Aon: Main / Home (browse)


With this dynasty, I will go over my items, my choices, my battles, and the story. You can see it unfold as I do. Please note, this will be VERY spoiler heavy. If you intend to read the books, you might want to read the book first, and then come back to that book in the thread and read through my take. For some, you may not want to read/play them, just follow along. Other may have already done so, and may love the blast from the past. This is also nice as a free and fun way to keep your self entertained for a while.


This may, just may, be the last time I will ever read these books in my life. Let’s enjoy it together!

I loved the Grey Star one too. They are free online too.

Here is the preamble from Flight from the Dark, which sets things up quite nicely.


In the northern land of Sommerlund, it has been the custom for many centuries to send the children of the Warrior Lords to the monastery of Kai. There they are taught the skills and disciplines of their noble fathers.

The Kai monks are masters of their art, and the children in their charge love and respect them in spite of the hardships of their training. For one day when they have finally learnt the secret skills of the Kai, they will return to their homes equipped in mind and body to defend themselves against the constant threat of war from the Darklords of the west.

In olden times, during the Age of the Black Moon, the Darklords waged war on Sommerlund. The conflict was a long and bitter trial of strength that ended in victory for the Sommlending at the great battle of Maakengorge. King Ulnar and the allies of Durenor broke the Darklord armies at the pass of Moytura and forced them back into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. Vashna, mightiest of the Darklords, was slain upon the sword of King Ulnar, called 'Sommerswerd', the sword of the sun. Since that age, the Darklords have vowed vengeance upon Sommerlund and the House of Ulnar.

Now it is in the morning of the feast of Fehmarn, when all of the Kai Lords are present at the monastery for the celebrations. Suddenly a great black cloud comes from out of the western skies. So many are the numbers of the black-winged beasts that fill the sky, that the sun is completely hidden. The Darklords, ancient enemy of the Sommlending are attacking. War has begun.

On this fateful morning, you, Silent Wolf (the name given to you by the Kai) have been sent to collect firewood in the forest as a punishment for your inattention in class. As you are preparing to return, you see to your horror a vast cloud of black leathery creatures swoop down and engulf the monastery.

Dropping the wood, you race to the battle that has already begun. But in the unnatural dark, you stumble and strike your head on a low tree branch. As you lose consciousness, the last thing that you see in the poor light are the walls of the monastery crashing to the ground.

Many hours pass before you awake. With tears in your eyes you now survey the scene of destruction. Raising your face to the clear sky, you swear vengeance on the Darklords for the massacre of the Kai warriors, and with a sudden flash of realization you know what you must do. You must set off on a perilous journey to the capital city to warn the King of the terrible threat that now faces his people. For you are now the last of the Kai--you are now the Lone Wolf.

The Game Mechanics


In this game, numbers are determined by rolling a d10. Initially, you selected a number at random from a Random Number Chart which had all of them printed on it. You were to close your eyes, move your pencil about, and let it drop on a random number. However, a d10 just makes more sense and it is a lot easier.

You have to keep track of two stats. The first is Combat Skill, which shows your prowess in battle. The other is Endurance Points, which is basically your hit points.

Here is how combat goes. Find the difference between your Combat Skill and your foe’s. Then each round you roll the die and consult a chart based on your roll and the difference in skills. This tells you how many EP you and your foe(s) lose. Then, if you are both still alive, you continue rolling dice until one is dead, or the text tells you to stop. (There are times when it may say, if you take your foe to 10 or less Endurance Points, go to Section XXX).

I have the possibility to Evade in some sections. If I do, I roll once more and only I take damage, then I flee and go to the section indicated.

To begin the game, you roll the die twice, once for each skill. You add ten to CS and 20 to EP to generate your skills. The EP score is a cap, so you need to keep track of your max and current EP.

Let’s do that now:

My rolls were 8 and 6, which is 18 CS and 26 EP. That’s really strong, and I’ve played through this tons of times before. Now, you can win no matter what your initial EP and CS are, but I’d prefer to have a bit harder of a go at it. Let’s cheat a bit and reroll my CS. Heh, I rolled 8 again. Okay, one more time. 5. Perfect. Let’s take it.


Initial stats:

15 CS, 26 EP

The RNC was too easy to memorize IMO.

Inventory


Okay, your will keep track of several items through the game mechanics. First of all, you have room for up to two weapons, but you can use only one at a time. These take up weapon slots.

Next up is backpack. You have eight slots in your backpack for various items. The most common use for your backpack is meals, tools of adventuring, or herbs and potions. You have a belt punch that can hold up to 50 gold crowns, the unit of coinage. Finally, you can keep track of special items that are stored elsewhere.

Now, in Book 8, they will introduce a limit of 12 special items per person, but many special items will say they do not count against that limit, like tickets, rings, a scabbard, etc. The goal is to reduce the number of special items getting carried around all of the time, so I will introduce this rule early for Lone Wolf. Just 12 special items, but I will disregard things like jewelry, and small items.

I am also instituting an Abe Rule. I can carry small items in my backpack if I choose, if they would make sense to do so. For example, in addition to a broad sword and mace, I could toss a dagger in my backpack as a spare weapon just in case. I would rule a dagger would take up just one space. However, it would be unable to be retrieved in combat, and just be there as an extra.

I will also use the Safekeeping rule initially. I can store items in Safekeeping for future stories, but not be accessible during an adventure.

There are also some armor rules. No more than one shield, one helmet, etc. However, many armors are compatible with each other, like a padded waistcoat and chain mail (which were often worn together in the Middle Ages). There is an official chart as to what can be worn with what.

During the adventure, I will be instructed to eat a meal. If I do not have one, and cannot use a Kai Discipline to get one, then I lose 3 current EP. These cannot be restored by the Healing Discipline.

True. Plus I would cheat when I was a kid,

Kai Disciplines

You are just an initiate in the Kai Order. As such, you have only mastered five of the ten Kai Disciplines. Now I have to choose which of these ten I have. Each has different advantages. Let’s take a look.


Camouflage - This skill represents your ability to blend into various surroundings and hide from prying eyes. Rocks and trees and other cover is necessary in order to hide effectively. You can also pass close to enemies within being detected, and can adopt an accent of the local people with ease.

Hunting - This gives you basic hunting skills like stalking. In addition, when I am instructed to eat a meal, I can hunt for one instead of using one from my backpack. I cannot find game in the wastelands and deserts, but elsewhere is fine.

Sixth Sense - This skill gives you a chance to feel danger or extra perceptions of information. It is the basic divinatory skill to gather information about your surroundings, items, and people.

Tracking - This allows you to follow another. It also helps in determining the correct path to take when in the wild.

Healing - This skill gives you some basic information of first aid and healing techniques. Additionally, for each numbered section I go to without combat, I can heal one EP lost due to combat or similar means. It will not heal EP lost to missed meals, mental attacks, physical strain, exposure to the elements, and such.

Weaponskill - If I take this skill, I roll a 10 sided die and I am assigned a weapon. I have skill in that weapon. Whenever I use it in combat, I get +2 to my CS. Since you begin with the axe in your hand, that’s a useful roll, but you really want the 40% chance of rolling a sword, short sword, or broadsword for the long term.

Mindblast - This is a psychic attack that can really knock foes for a loop. It adds +2 CS to fights unless your foe has Mindshield, or they have no mind.

Mindshield - Many of the most powerful minions can use psychic attacks, and this will protect you from their use of Mindblast.

Animal Kinship - This skill gives you some knowledge of basic animals, and allows you to communicate with them.

Mind Over Matter - This allows you to move small objects with your will alone. It requires concentration, so it has no use in combat.


Let’s talk about these. If I get a low CS, I would almost always take Weaponskill and Mindblast in my first five, to help alleviate it. However, note that Mindblast never works on the big fights, so it seems like you never want it when you need it, only have it for the smaller and mid-range stuff.

Mindshield only gets used a few times in each adventure, but it is useful on the big fights, when you want it. Mindshield helps when Mindblast often does not, and vice versa. Mindshield, if I recall correctly, can also be used to keep you from being found by psychic scrying.

If you want to make a flavorful Kai, you could focus on the Psychic, or on the Warrior. For example:

Mindblast
Mindshield
Sixth Sense
Mind Over Matter
Animal Kinship

vs.

Weaponskill
Camouflage
Healing
Tracking
Hunting

However, I find a more cuisinart approach to be the best.


If you look at the skills, you will notice that Sixth Sense is really the only divinatory skill out there. Sure, others will tell you thins like Tracking and Animal Kinship, but its Sixth Sense that gives you info. It’s my #1 skill.

What the other four are vary from what I want to do to what I want to do.

In order to stave off death, I want Healing. It can enable you to win the otherwise unwinnable.

The rest is really a matter of choice. Hunting is a good skill initially, but the 3rd and 5th books take place in the arctic and the desert respectively, so not much hunting there. Book 2 has a lot in the Wildlands, no Hunting there either. It’s great for Book 1 though. Similarly, Tracking is money in the first book, since you are outside for most of it. That quickly is reduced by caves, caverns, and more in other books. Weaponskill has a 40% chance of being a money skill or a wasted skill during Book 2. It’s really only good in Book 1 and most of Book 2 if you don’t get sword of some sort.

Camouflage, Animal Kinship, Mind Over Matter have their uses, but none are massively powerful. I’ve talked of the others.

So, let’s do Tracking, the 40% chance on Weaponskill and Mindblast.

Let’s roll for Weaponskill. Here we go….Quarterstaff. Yuck. A waste in a couple of books.

The Kai Order was founded over 1200 years ago by Sun Eagle as a order devoted to the teachings of Kai, God of the Sun. The Kai have been the protectors and guardians and warrior elite for Sommerlund for as long as memory provides.

Peace has held over the land for ages, but the Darklords have attacked elsewhere building their power base. Now, in one surprise strike, they have destroyed the Order, and it is Lone Wolf’s duty to inform the King.

All I have is my Axe, Kai Cloak and Tunic, a Backpack with one meal, a belt pouch with 18 gold crowns, and I move to investigate the ruins. Within I find two things - a Map of Sommerlund, and a random item that I roll for now…

Oh yes, I rolled a 4. Chainmail Waistcoat. I put it on and my EP jumps +4.


The Map:

I am leaving the ruins of the monastery. The massacre of the Kai is almost complete, save for myself. I know I need to leave. As I do, I have two choices, a right path into the woods, or a left path into the same. If I have the Kai Discipline of Sixth Sense, I can instead go to a different section, which I choose to do.

My Sixth Sense warns that servants of the Darklords are scouting out both paths in order to see if any Kai survived. Instead of hitting the obvious paths, I want to smash into the undergrowth. The south is the obvious direction towards Holmgard, the capital. However, I can also go Northeast into heavier brush. I want to hide, and going in the non-obvious direction into deeper brush makes perfect sense.

After a half an hour, I hear the sound of wings beating, and turn up to see a foul flying creatures called a Kraan, bred in the dungeons of the Darklands, with mountain Giaks riding it, scouting for Kai like me. Giaks are the grunts of the Darklords, hardy, and powerful, but often lacking in higher level skills and intelligence. Luckily, I am in the deepest brush, and I am able to hide until the Kraan flies past.

After about a quarter of a mile, I begin to hear thunderclaps and harsh noises. The trees open out to a clearing with some ruins, called Raumas, an ancient temple. I see a war party of more than 20 Giaks assaulting the ruins, and among them is a young theurgist wearing the sky-blue starred robes of the Magician’s Guild of Toran. He launches another bolt of lightning into the Giaks.

I see a black garbed Giak larger then the rest and seemingly ordered the others in their attacks. On his order, five Giaks move as one, with spears raised, and charge the magician. While he faces tehm with more magic, a sixth Giak sneaks behind him with a cruel looking sword, and is about ready to ambush him. I have several options:

Shout a Warning
Run Forward and Attack the Giak
Pick Up a Chunk of Temple Marble and Throw it at the Giak.
Turn and Leave



The third option makes the most sense. I can still charge if it misses, and it is a lot better than a random stranger charging out of the brush at a magician already under assault.

I am sent to a section that requires me to roll a die. I roll a 4 and turn to the given section. The marble cracks into the Giak’s skull and it dies, falling to the ground.

After seeing me enter the clearing, axe in hand, the lead Giak shouts to his remaining troops and they flee the ruins, shouting at me as they do. The magician did well. Over 15 Giaks are dead.

We shake hands. He is quite exhausted and tired and thanks me for my aid.

His name is Banedon, and he is a young apprentice in the Magician‘s Guild of Toran, although quite capable as you’ve seen. He has been sent to the Kai Monastery with critical news, and pulls out a letter.

You open the letter. The Guildmaster of the Magician‘s Guild has discovered news of a possible attack on the monastery and dispatched Banedon to give the Kai the news before they fall. Unfortunately, the Darklords were faster than the Guildmaster believed, and the Kai fell before they got the news, with Banedon less than a mile away from the Monastery.

Banedon believes the Magician’s Guild has been betrayed from within. What he tells you:

“One of my order, a brother called Vonotar, had explored the forbidden mysteries of the Black Art. Ten days ago he denounced the Brotherhood and killed one of our Elders. He has since disappeared. It is rumoured that he now aids the Darklords.”

You inform Banedon that the Kai have already fallen. You are the last of the Kai. Sorrowfully, Banedon reaches into his shirt and pulls out a Crystal Star Pendant. He tells you it is a signed of the brothers in his guild, and it is a token of good luck. Lone Wolf slips the Pendant on (special item acquired).

Banedon leaves to inform his guild what happened, and I go my way.

This brings back memories.

I hope good ones!

Yes...good ones. I suppose I should have specified. :D

I'll be reading.

Shortly after I leave the clearing, I notice some ugly eyes glowering at me from the brush and suddenly a black arrow fires at me. Giaks are ambushing me! Perhaps they are the same ones from the clearing. As I race through the trees, the Giaks continue to pursue. The trees thin out, and there is a rock outcropping. I have two choices: make for the rocky hill, or break back into the forest. I choose to break cover and head for the hill, perhaps I can get the high ground and gain an advantage.

The hillside is loose and slippery. I see two Giaks follow me from the woods. About halfway up the hill side, I see a small cave. I have three options:

If I have Camouflage, I can use it
I can enter the Cave
I can climb to the hop of the hill

I avoid the cave. The plan was to get high ground. I continue to climb.

As I climb, I see a Kraan circling the top of the hill and peak above. I can choose to face and fight the Giaks now, with the high ground advantage, or head to the top of the peak where the Kraan is. I turn around and face them.

I get a +1 to my CS when fighting them for the tactical advantage. I will fight them one at the time. The first has a CS of 13, EP of 10, and the second 12 and 10.

I roll a 6, and the difference is 4. I take 2, and it takes 10 and dies. The second is up. With a difference of 7. I roll a 8 and it takes 16 and dies, without me taking anything. My axe cleaves it easily.

I win, and I take an EP from cuts and scrapes on the hillside, but gain one EP back for Healing. I arrive at the base of the hill and can go either north or east. East takes me closer to Holmgard, which is in the southeast, so let’s go that way. That’s another EP healed.

I walk for over an hour. I do not see the Kraan anywhere but I keep a vigil. I am very hungry and eat my meal. I heal the final EP and am back up to full strength.

The path ends at a large clearing. In the clearing is a large treehouse suspended from a massive oak tree. There is no ladder, but there are many footholds. I can either climb the tree and search the house, or press on.

Thinking that a tall vantage point would help me get my bearings, I decide to climb the tree.

I push open the treehouse door and spy a old hermit, huddled in the corner of the house in fear.




He relaxes when he sees my Kai cloak. He tells me the area is full of Giaks and Kraan, and he‘s seen over 40 Kraan flying to the east. He scuttles around and quickly gives me enough fruit for a meal, and I put in in my backpack. He also produces a fine Warhammer, and tells me to take it, since my need is greater than his. If I had weaponskill in a Warhammer, I would. The text allows me to only swap weapons with one in my possession, because I need to leave him with a weapon to defend himself. I thank the old hermit and leave.

Two hours pass and I wander around. Am I lost? As I descend a rocky hillock, I see something…curious.

Surrounded by thorns and roots, is an old looking cave. It’s big, with a wide mouth and a lot of room inside. As I near, I can feel a breeze from the other side. Passing through the cave would allow me to shave a lot of time off my scaling these hills. It could be dangerous too.

I can enter the cave, or climb the hillside. I decide not to risk it and go up the hill. As I continue my climb, I see about ten Kraan approaching from the west. This is a difficult climb, and if combat happens here, it will be tough to fight. I can keep climbing, or go back to the tunnel. I choose to go back and enter the tunnel.


The tunnel is quite dark and cold. I place one hand on the cave wall and I advance. Smells of decay. Suddenly, a Burrowcrawler drops from above and attacks me.



It is trying to kill me with its tentacles. It has a CS of 17 and Ep of the same. Little tentacled worm creature is immune to Mindblast and I still haven’t found a quarterstaff, so I have a CS of 15 for this battle. I also lose 3 CS because I do not have a torch, so my CS is actually 12. Dangereuse.

I roll a 0, which is a 10. It takes 9 and I take nothing. I follow with a 4. It takes 3, and I take 5. A 6 is rolled - 5 to it, 4 to me. Just enough to kill it, and I took 9 damage.

I kill the slimy beast, but the dark and the attack have caused me to panic a bit. I grab my belt from its jaws and move quickly throughout the rest of the cave, it’s death cry in my ears. Within a few minutes, I plunge out of the cave and rest for a bit. After I recoup my energy, I realize I am still wearing my belt. I am holding a belt of a former victim. It has a dagger and 20 gold crowns on it, and I take both, and then push on eastward.

The forest begins to thin out, and I finally hit a road. Traveling on the road are many refugees from the new war fleeing south with carts, wagons, and whatever they can get. I have two options:

Join the Refugees and Get News
Continue South Under Cover of Trees

Going out into the open would normally be a Bad Thing, but I hope in this press of humanity, I go missed, and information right now is needed. I choose to Join the Refugees.

The people here are hungry and tired, weary and war-torn despite the short duration of the war so far. The Darklords struck unexpectedly. I hear the beat of wings and someone shouts out “Kraan!” Many scurry for cover, but a wagon in front of me with children in it has jammed it’s wheel, and the children scream in panic. I can help them or flee for cover.

I help them.

I sprint towards the wagon. People are running everywhere in panic and the Kraan attack. Three Giaks jump from the back of a Kraan and approach the children. I have to either fight the Giaks, or flee to a nearby farmhouse.

I fight. I have gained 4 EP back from the passages I went through and Healing.

I fight the Giaks as one enemy with 15 CS and 13 EP. I roll a 5 and dole out 7 while taking 2. A 9 kills them with 12 more damage, while I take nothing. I am at 23 EP.

I win, and I can run to the farmhouse or to the woods. I choose farmhouse.

I kick in the door and Kraan fly around. Against a fireplace is a Warhammer which I take, and drop my Dagger into the backpack. I have three choices:

Stay in the farmhouse
Search it more
Flee back to the forest

I search it more. I manage to scrape together enough food for a meal.

After an hour, the Kraan vanish and the refugees leave cover. As we prepare for cover, I hear hoofs in the distance. Many hoofs. I see cavalry bearing the arms and crest of the King’s Guard coming down the road. I can try and stop them or just continue along the forest edge.

These are powerful allies, so I call out to them. The officer calls his men to a halt and asks my business. I tell them of the loss of the Kai. He is saddened by the news, and offers me a horse to ride along with them to Prince Pelathar, to inform him of what is going on. I accept the horse (I have a chance to decline).

I ride with the cavalry, and after a while we see and hear signs of battle looming. We ride into it, as Sommlending fight against the monsters of darkness. I see Prince Pelathar fall to the ground while fighting a huge monster known as a Gourgaz when an arrow pierces his side. The Gourgaz is wielding a huge black axe.



I can either choose to defend the Prince or head into the forest and try to evade the battle. I rush to defend my Prince.

I regained 4 EP in the meantime and have 27 EP left. These Gourgaz are quite powerful. CS 20, EP 30, and immune to Mindblast, and me without a quarterstaff. Still. I pick up the Prince’s Sword and use it.

I roll a 1 and take 6, while it takes nothing. I follow with a 7 and it takes 6 while I add 3 more damage. An 8 follows and I take 2, it 7. It has taken 13 and me 11. A 2 deals 1 to it and 6 to me. 14 and 17. Then a 5, for 4 each 18, 21. I have just 6 EP left while it has 12.

I do not have an option to Evade. I have to duke this out.

I roll a 7, and it takes 6 and me 3. Here is how the math breaks down. I kill it, and survive, only on a 8, 9, or 0. I die on a 1-6. On a 7, we both die. Okay, one die roll, here we go, …8. Rolled it naturally. Whew.

I am at ONE life. Healing saved my life. The lucky roll that got me a Chainmail Waistcoat saved me.

The giant Gourgaz is dead at my feet. The Prince is injured and dying. The soldiers form a protective guard around him. The Prince sees the color of my cloak, and then…

The dying Prince looks up into your eyes and says, 'Kai Lord, you must take a message to my father. The enemy is too strong, we cannot hold him. The King must seek that which is in Durenor or all is lost. Take my horse and ride for the capital. May the luck of the gods ride with you.'

The battle continues to rage as I mount the horse and make for the capital.

I ride the magnificent horse for some time, and must eat a meal. The path stops at a junction, and there is a wooden sign that had information, but it has been hacked down. I can use Tracking, go left or go right. I use Tracking.

It informs me that the tracks on the right path are made by Doomwolves and go off to the Durncrag Mountains. The left path moves to Holmgard. With this info, I go left.

After about three miles, I spy five Doomwolves with Giak riders. They are going in my direction, but one turns back and moves my way. I can either fight him, or hide in the undergrowth. I try to hide. It works and the Doomwolf and rider leave. I can now try to move deeper into the forest or try and kill the Doomwolves and Giaks. I have healed 5 EP and have 6. Attacking four Giak Riders and steeds would be suicide. I choose to push further into the growth.

The horse and I push on deeper into the forest. The light is fading fast as Day ends. The road and Doomwolves are far behind us. I can press on ahead or bear left, in the direction of the original path. I choose to bear left, since that is the way to Holmgard.

I eventually arrive at the main road between Toran and Holmgard. With a major road to ride, and with a great steed, I estimate I will reach the capital by morning. As we press on, night turns too dark to continue to ride safely, so I pull the horse into the brush, and grab some sleep in the boughs of a tree.

The cry of a Kraan and the morning sky end my slumber. I am not sure if I have been spotted or not, so I decide to head out immediately. We head south.

After several miles of no enemies, I cross a ridge and see the capital from there. However, there is one major obstacle to yet face.

The tall-grey white walls and spires of Holmgard and the fluttering flags can be seen in the distance. However, between me and the capital is a large black army moving towards it. There is no way I can approach Holmgard the normal way. After some spying, I can come up with three ways to circumvent the army:

1). A highway off to the left will get me there at full gallop in an hour and goes around the army. However, I am in the open the entire time and vulnerable to Kraan attack.

2). A wide river drifts off towards the city. I can abandon the Prince’s Horse, and swim the river hoping it will cover me until I reach Holmgard.

3). I can enter the Graveyard of the Ancients. This crumbling, decaying, and horrible crypt area is far away from the eyes of the enemy, but there could be a lot of baddies in there.

All have disadvantages. Exposure for an hour. Swimming the river, which is near the army. Entering a vile area.

By now, I know that the enemy knows of my survival. Too many of their troops have seen me. Therefore, even the risks of the Graveyard seem worth it to avoid an entire army.

I choose to enter the Graveyard of the Ancients.

A strange mist clouds and obscures the Graveyard as I approach - perfect cover. I have to leave behind my horse, and a chill, both physical and spiritual, enters my body as I enter the Graveyard.

There are vile gases and noxious fumes, plus this nasty thorn called graveweed that tears into my clothes and flesh. As I move around, the ground suddenly collapses and I fall!

I fell 15 feet but am just winded. I appear to be in an underground tomb. I can’t climb out. There is a sarcophagus here, and an arched tunnel out. I can open the sarcophagus, leave by the tunnel, or use Sixth Sense.

I use it and it tells me this place is very, uber evil. I flee quickly. The walls are dank, slimy. The air is stale and the cobwebs thick. I reach a junction and can choose either north or south. I go south, which should be towards Holmgard.

I enter a room with a strange greenish light illuminating everything. There is a granite throne here. In front of it is a winged serpent curled in the shape of a S. I can sit in the throne, observe the serpent, or look for an exit.

I decide to look for an exit, but there is no way of opening the stone portal I found. I head back. Sit on the throne or inspect the serpent? This smells of a trap. Do one, and the door opens. Do the other, and something bad happens. I decide to sit on the throne, because it seems the more unlikely thing to do, and therefore less likely to be punished. The serpent slowly moves forward and opens its mouth, dropping a Golden Key on my lap. The exit opens and I move through it.

Another portal opens as I approach after a few minutes, and then snaps closed behind me as I move through it. The corridor opens up into a big hallway, and I find a stone staircase going up. Up! I move up and find a giant door at the top, with a weird locking mechanism. There is a keyhole, there is also a key pin. I can:

Use Mind Over Matter
Pull the Pin
Insert the Golden Key

I use the Key.

I hear a click - it works. The door will not open, so I pull the pin. Now it opens. The half-light of the Graveyard greets me, and the mist begins to swirl at my feet. There is a lot of graveweed at this long disused entrance, and I get cut in many places. As I move out I hear a sinister laugh from the necropolis and I run as fast as I can the rest of the way.

After a short period of time, I put the Graveyard of the Ancients behind me, and approach the fieldworks around Holmgard. At first, my muddy and torn appearance is met with suspicion, but as I near, someone recognizes my Kai cloak. The guards cheer me on. I splash through a shallow stream and arrive at the gate of Holmgard. Exhausted by the ordeal of fleeing from the Kai Monastery to Holmgard, I faint as I reach the gate.

A few minutes later I am revived and lean on the shoulders of the King’s men as I enter Holmgard. A sergeant, blood-stained and battle-weary approaches and asks where my fellow Kai are. Holmgard is sorely pressed and they are needed. I inform him of their massacre, and he brings me a horse to ride to the King and deliver the news.

I reach the main gates and stare as always at the high battlements, which have never fallen. I follow the officer and then great crowds rush to and fro. I decide to follow the officer rather than leave him behind. We rush for the castle and the officer turns me over to a man dressed in the king‘s colors of purple and white. I choose to follow him too, rather than flee. We enter the main hall, then a library. A hidden passage is revealed when he pushes some books and he beckons me to follow. I choose to.

Ten minutes pass and we move down the corridor. Soon we arrive at a lush opulent bedroom. He beckons me to wait and goes on. I eat, bathe and change into some white robes. He returns to take me to the King.

I enter the Chamber of State.



Quote:


You enter the Chamber of State, a magnificent hall decorated lavishly in white and gold. The King and his closest advisers are studying a large map spread upon a marble plinth in the centre of the chamber. Their faces are lined with worry and concentration. A silence fills the hall as you tell of the death of your kinsmen and of your perilous journey to the citadel. As you finish your story, the King approaches and takes your right hand in his.

'Lone Wolf, you have selfless courage: the quality of a true Kai Lord. Your journey here has been one of great peril and although your news comes as a grievous blow, the spirit of your determination is like a beacon of hope to us all in this dark hour. You have brought great honour to the memory of your Masters, and for that we praise you.'

You receive the praise and heartfelt thanks of the entire hall--an honour that brings a certain redness to your young face. The King raises his hand and all the voices cease.

'You have done all that Sommerlund could have asked of a loyal son, but she is greatly in need of you still. The Darklords are powerful once more and their ambition knows no bounds. Our only hope lies within Durenor with the power that once defeated the Darklords an age ago. Lone Wolf, you are the last of the Kai--you have the skills. Will you journey to Durenor and return with the Sommerswerd, the sword of the sun? Only with that gift of the gods may we crush this evil and save our land.'

End of Flight from the Dark

Okay, let’s analyze the first book. Weaponskill was completely useless. I never even found a Quarterstaff, let alone had the ability to use it.

I was asked once if I had Camouflage, twice about Sixth Sense, once on Tracking, once on Mind Over Matter, and that‘s it. I could have won this with just Sixth Sense and Healing and Mindblast, and probably just Healing and Sixth Sense.

Okay, let’s move to Fire on the Water, the next book in the series.

Good stuff Abe. Can't believe you survived with 1 hp.

Sixth Sense is also a must have skill for me. I also like hunting because it's not just useful for meals, I believe it also gives you options for sneak attacks or better distance attacks in later books (can't recall exactly).

So what happens if you die in book 2? Do you go back to book 1 or back to the start of book 2? If you go back to the start of book 2, do you keep what you had from book 1?

Just curious, because I never really knew what I was supposed to do. I usually played that if I died in a book, I just went back to the beginning of the one I died with along with whatever I had when I started the book.

Thanks, glad you liked it! I play that way too, start over from the beginning, and then keep what I had from the previous book.

Safekeeping:

Golden Key
Prince’s Sword
Kai Axe
Burrowcrawler Dagger
Warhammer from Farmhouse



Keeping:

Crystal Star Pendant
38 Gold Crowns
1 Meal
Chainmail WC
Map of Sommerlund

Alright, Flight from the Dark is considered by most fans to be the weakest of the books in the series. You can play through it quickly, and there are some issues with game balance and such. Now we are starting to hit the nail on the head with Fire on the Water, and Joe Dever is almost hitting all cylinders except for the Deus Ex Machina about to be introduced, so it’s not super-great or anything.


The introduction from the book:


In the northern land of Sommerlund, it has been the custom for many centuries to send the children of the Warrior Lords to the monastery of Kai. There they are taught the skills and disciplines of their noble fathers.

In olden times, during the Age of the Black Moon, the Darklords waged war on Sommerlund. The conflict was a long and bitter trial of strength that ended in victory for the Sommlending at the great battle of Maakengorge. King Ulnar and the allies of Durenor broke the Darklord armies at the pass of Moytura and forced them back into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. Vashna, mightiest of the Darklords, was slain upon the sword of King Ulnar, called 'Sommerswerd', the sword of the sun. Since that age, the Darklords have vowed vengeance upon Sommerlund and the House of Ulnar.

You are Lone Wolf, a young Kai initiate who was learning the secret skills of the Kai Lords. Two days ago, your peaceful country was plunged into war when a vast Darklord army suddenly invaded Sommerlund and completely destroyed the Kai Monastery. All the Kai Lords were in attendance for the feast of Fehmarn, and all were killed as the monastery was surrounded and destroyed, the walls collapsing in on the assembled company. You, the only Kai Lord to survive the massacre, vowed then to avenge their deaths. You knew your first task had to be to warn the King, for without the Kai Lords to lead her armies, your country, Sommerlund, would be unable to mobilize in time to drive the Darklords back.

Your journey to the capital was perilous indeed. The enemy had overrun much of the country and were marching upon Holmgard, the capital itself. But despite the many dangers, you fought your way through to the capital and delivered your warning to the King's court. There you were greatly praised for your skill and bravery but told your mission was not complete: with the Kai Lords dead, there remained only one power in all of Magnamund that could save your people from the Darklords--the Sommerswerd.

After the defeat of Vashna, the Sommerswerd had been bestowed upon the allies of Durenor as a mark of trust and allegiance that exists between the two kingdoms. In return, King Alin of Durenor gave Sommerlund a magnificent golden ring bearing the royal arms of Durenor. This ring is known as the Seal of Hammerdal. At that time, King Alin vowed that if ever the shadow of the west should rise again to threaten Sommerlund, Durenor would come to the aid of her ally.

The King has given you the Seal of Hammerdal. Your quest is to travel to Durenor to fetch the Sommerswerd back. But meanwhile the enemy have broken through the outer defences to the capital and are preparing to besiege the city wall. As Captain D'Val of the King's Guard leads you to the Royal Armoury to equip you for your mission, the King's words keep coming back to you:

'Forty days, Lone Wolf. We have strength to stand against them for only forty days.'


Note that Flight from the Dark takes place in only two days, and this adventure begins the same day. Within two days, the armies of the Darklords have burned Toran, destroyed the Kai, and begun a siege on Holmgard itself. Holmgard has never fallen in over 1000 years, but it will fall in less than two months if my mission is not successful

That was an epic fight you had against the Gourgaz. Impressive that you survived and that you managed to zip through Book 1 so quickly. :D

Book 1 is quick, and the Gourgaz bastard always gives me problems. I can't tell you how many times it has killed me.

I am given the Seal of Hammerdal as a special item. Captain D’Val also gives me a pouch of 19 gold. I top up my pouch at 50 gold crowns and move the extra to Safekeeping.


I can choose a new discipline for Lone Wolf to know, after having already finished one adventure. After some consideration, I have it down to Mindshield and Camouflage. I decide to rock Mindshield. I missed the enemies in the last book that use Mindblast, but they are all over this book.

I am allowed to take two items from the armory. After some looking, I decide to take a Quarterstaff, so I have my Weaponskill weapon finally. I also take a shield, which is a special item that adds two to my Combat Skill.


Here is what I have:

Crystal Star Pendant
50 Gold Crowns
1 Meal
Chainmail Waistcoat
Shield
Quarterstaff
Seal of Hammerdal
Map of Sommerlund

30 EP
19 CS, 21 w/ Mindblast

Sixth Sense
Tracking
Healing
Weaponskill
Mindblast
Mindshield


The map from the previous adventure is used for this one as well, as it shows all of the Lastlands.

I have this one! And the next one.

Though I was heavily into gamebooks at this time, I must confess that this series was one of my least favorite. That doesn't mean that I won't be following along. So I wish you well. :popcorn:

Thanks!

I will be sailing out of Holmgard aboard the Green Sceptre. Captain D’Val and his guards escort me down to the quay, where he tells me I am to meet Ronan the first mate. I am to find him at the Good Cheer Inn. Within a few moments I find the inn but the doors are locked and the windows shuttered.

Suddenly, a hand reaches out of the darkness and pulls me into the shadows. I can either draw my weapon and attack or try to pull free of his grasp. I decide to sling my staff.

As I twirl my staff about, ready to strike, my assailant cries out that he is Ronan. I divert my blow and he is sweating profusely and a bit scared. He seems nervous, and apologizes that he did not mean to startle me. I move into the tavern and sit with him at a table in the darkness. Only a few mice with some cheese provide any distraction from Ronan.

Ronan tells me that Captain Kelman is ready to take me aboard, but I must prove I am the Kai Lord. He asks to prove my identity. I have six options. I can use Animal Kinship, Mindblast, Weaponskill, Mind Over Matter or Healing. I can also refuse his request or have the highly unusual skill set of Tracking, Sixth Sense, Mindshield, Camouflage and Hunting which would mean I couldn’t prove myself.

I choose Mindblast. I look into his eyes, and he suddenly falls backwards, clutching his hand in pain as if he had picked up a red hot coal. His eyes widen in amazement. He cries out that I am indeed a Kai Lord.

“Or should I say you were!”

With that, the door crashes open and three harbor thugs crash in with weapons ready. I have to fight them as one enemy. I can evade after two rounds of combat if I wish.



CS 16, EP 25

With staff, Mindblast and shield I have a 21 CS with a difference of +5, pretty good. I roll a 7 and they take 12 and me 0. A 6 follows and they take 11 and me 1. Then I roll a 1 and they take 6 and me 4. They are dead and I took 5 damage.

The sailor who claimed to be Ronan has disappeared. I search the bodies of the sailors and find nothing except a tattoo of a serpent on their left wrist. Well, it appears my journey is already known. I leave the tavern by the side door and find the body of a sailor in the alley. After inspecting it, I find tag bearing the name Ronan. Here then lays the real Ronan, cut down just to get to me.

I can either try and hunt down the imposter or take a boat to the Green Sceptre. I decide to hunt down “Ronan.”

I spend some time looking for him, but to no avail. It’s just too easy to hide here in the Quay. I untie a small boat from its mooring and head out to the Green Sceptre.

As I near the ship, a sailor is yelling at me, thinking I am a stowaway or perhaps a poor refugee seeking free passage. I tell him who I am and what happened at the tavern and the ladder is lowered for me. I find the Captain Kelman with his bright red hair and he orders the ship to begin preparations for sailing to Durenor.

He ushers me into his cabin for the full story, and then talks about ill omens. He is saddened by the loss of his first mate and we do not have the element of surprise like we had expected. As I leave his cabin I can see the spires of Holmgard in the distance fade away. I am asked to roll the dice and move to the indicated passage.

I roll a 2.


The following morning I am woken by the cry of a ship off the starboard bow. I climb onto the deck to see exactly what is going on. I can see the coastline of wooded Sommerlund in the distance, and we see a merchant ship that appears to be badly damaged flying the flag of Durenor upside down, which is the naval sign of distress. The ship is low in the water.

I am instructed to roll a die again and again head to the indicated passage. I get an 8.

I urge the captain to pull alongside the ship to see what we can do, but he refuses to do so, and barks out orders to the sailors to continue their duties. I suppose my mission is important, but I feel we should help others when we can, especially allies like the Durenese.

After three days at sea, I am told that if I have the skill of Healing, all of my wounds are healed.

Shipboard life is dull, boring. This really isn’t the place for the Kai. On the fourth day, I am talking with an injured sailor when I notice that the hold is smoking. I have three options:

Yell Fire
Enter the Hold
Warn the Captain

Well, if the fire is that big, no sense going in there, and why waste time trying to find the captain? I yell “Fire”


Panic strikes the ship, and sailors move into a routine commonly practiced but rarely engaged. Buckets with water and moistened blankets are the weapons on this war. After some time, the fire is quelled but the damage is severe. The food stores are destroyed and the ship is weakened.

The captain approaches me with a bundle wrapped in a blanket and tells me to come to his cabin immediately.


After we close the door, the captain unfurls the bundle on the table. There is a large jug and some oily rags blackened by the fire.





This was an act of sabotage. The fire was deliberately set by a traitor among the crew. In a food store there is oily rags and a jug of oil? No way. We stare at the damning information as if unsure what to do next when a cry breaks our concentration:

“Ship Off the Port Bow!”

The captain grabs his sword and telescope and leaves his office. I can do two things, follow him, or make a quick search of his cabin. I decide just to follow him out, I don’t want to be suspicious.

Captain Kelman is at the edge of the ship with a spyglass and points out the vessel. It is not flying a flag, and it has a weird hull shape. He has sent a longboat out to investigate her, and as it nears the strange vessel, a fog quickly rolls in, obscuring everything. I am asked to choose a random number and move to that passage. I roll a 9.

Everything disappears. After a bit, the crew start to whisper about ghost ships and cursed voyages. The Captain announces that we are eight hours from Ragadorn, and we will have to put in there for repairs and refitting.

Privately, he takes me aside and tells that it could take longer than a week to fix everything, so I might be better off finding my own transport one we dock at Ragadorn. The men begin their tasks with an extra step, knowing that this voyage is just a few hours from being done. I am to arrive at Port Bax and then talk with Lord-lieutenant Rhygar, the Sommlending Consul, who expects me.

I only have 40 days to complete my journey and return.

Dawn breaks and a fierce, unnatural storm arrives with it. The ships is violently rocking to and fro. Within moments, the floor of my cabin is awash with water. I gather up my stuff and head out. As I do, the captain sees me and grabs my arm, telling me to turn to my cabin. As he does, lightning cracks and hit’s the mast, and tears it, with a tattered pole falling towards us.

I have to pick a number. I roll a 2.

I dive backwards but only just miss the falling timber, and I actually take one damage from the shards flying at me. However, Captain Kelman is not as quick. His body is crushed beneath the mast.

For a few moments time passes and I cannot move or react. Then the ships cracks with a sound that would awaken the dead. The already damaged hull of the Green Sceptre has been split by the storm, the crashing waves, and the tossing about.

I am hurled into the see and begin to sink due to my Chainmail Waistcoat. I shed it in order to float. Miraculously, I manage to find a floating piece of the ship in the bobbing sea - a hatch cover. It is my lifeline. I see the ship sink and no other survivors, although the storm may cover them or send them away.

I fall asleep on the hatch cover and awaken a few hours later, adrift in the sea. I can see the shore in the far horizon, and nearer is a fishing boat. It looks to be late afternoon. I can try to signal the boat, or just try to swim for shore. I decide to try and signal the boat.

I wave my cloak about hoping to be seen. I roll a die and get a 7.

It appears that the fisherman are either blind or have no intention of rescuing me. They choose not to answer my waving cloak. Without any other option, I make for the shore myself.

Within a short while, I have paddled myself near the shore, and then slip off and swim the rest of the way. Land! My fingers dig deep furrows into the sand as I again rejoice in the union of man and land. I am exhausted and quite hungry. I take stock of my possessions while laying against a sand dune. I lost my quarterstaff, everything in my backpack which was just a meal, but not the pack itself, and my Chainmail WC. I still have my gold crowns and other special items.

I spy some trees with a purple fruit, and I have three options. If I have Hunting I can use it to identify the fruit, I can eat them, or refuse to eat them and lose 3 EP. It’s close, but my severe hunger and exhausting win out, and I choose to eat the fruit. It is Larnuma fruit, a very tasty meal, and good for the spirit when you are shipwrecked! I pick enough for 2 meals.

I see a coast road heading east or west. I can choose my direction. I don’t know where I am, and I want to get to Ragadorn, even if it is west of here. However, since I don’t know which way to go, it makes sense to me to head east, in the direction of Durenor.

Three hours pass and exhaustion is beginning to take its toll as darkness ends the day. I have to sleep. I have been told that the Wildlands have wild dogs that hunt in the evening, so with that warning, I head into a tree’s branches for the night’s rest.

My sleep is undisturbed and soon I spy a wagon traveling down the coast road from the west to the east. I decide to flag it down. The coachman tells me it is bound for Ragadorn, and fare is three crowns inside, or one on the roof. I choose inside and pay three crowns.

It is nice and warm and I see two women and a man. The man is snoring away, and one of the women offers me a seat beside her.



We should reach Ragadorn in six hours. I am given a lot of history of Ragadorn by the woman, including information on the current ruler, a wicked man named Lachlan. During the journey I must eat a meal.

Eventually I arrive at Ragadorn. The coaches pulls up to the west gate, and an old sign tells me welcome. The smell is awful and I get the feeling this is a dingy city. There are three roads I can choose to walk:

Westgate Lane
East Bank Walk
Axe Lane

I need to resupply myself while here, since I have no weapons. Axe Lane sounds the best option for weapons so I take it. The people of Ragadorn appear to be a gloomy group of people. This place sucks. There is a rain that makes everything grey and wet and miserable. I reach a junction where Axe Lane ends and Black Knight Street goes north, or Sage Lane goes east, towards the east gate and out of here. I take Sage Street.

As I walk, I pass by a store selling some items. I decide to nip in and purchase:

Fur Blanket
Dagger

Total spent - 5 gold crowns

They did not have quarterstaffs for sale, so once again I am screwed with my sucky staff roll. They were selling 6 of the nine weapons, but not mine. Ick.

After pushing through this dismal street, it hits East Trade Lane, and I move along it.

I find the Ragadorn Stables and Coach Station here near the East Gate of Ragadorn. A coachman is by a sign that tells that the journey to Port Bax is 7 days. I approach him to try and buy a ticket. It is 20 gold crowns, so I pay the money and I am handed a ticket, which is a special item. I have 22 gold left. The coach is empty and the seat very comfortable. I stow my equipment and fall asleep.

A short while later I am awake and the coach is moving and there are five other passengers. I have to roll the die. I get a 0.

After a few hours, we stop at the Shrine of Kalanane, built upon the grave of King Alin. All around it grow clumps of Laumspur. I can choose to pick some, so I do. I have picked enough for a meal, and it also will heal me 3 EP when I eat it.




As I journey, I get a chance to meet my coach-mates.

Ganon and Dorier are two brothers, and both are knights of the Order of the White Mountain, a warrior group that tries to make the Wildlands safe by killing the more dangerous monsters including bandits. They own a castle and land near Port Bax.

Halvorc is a merchant. He was recently beat up by the soldiers of Lachlan in Ragadorn and is now trying to escape after having his money and stock confiscated.

Parsion is a priest, and a Sommlending like myself who has journeyed so far on coach.

Viveka is the final person, a mercenary and adventurer. She sells her services to the highest bidder and is returning to Port Bax after a successful adventure in Ragadorn.

My cover story is that I am a simple peasant from Sommerlund. The people in the cabin appear to be ignorant of the fact that war rages now in Sommerlund.

At dusk we arrive at an inn. It is 1 gold crown for coach passengers and 3 crowns for everybody else. As we leave, I am asked to show my ticket, and do so. I pay two gold crowns, one for a meal from the inn and another for the room. 20 left.

As I am in the Wildlands, no meals by Hunting, not that I have it anyway. The Wildlands are really only inhabited by Szalls, small, weak and cowardly versions of Giaks.

Sleep goes by without drama, and two days pass. However, on the ninth day of my quest, an unfortunate event occurs and I am to roll a die to find out what. I roll a 4. As we wind through the hills of the trade route, we spy a blocked area where rocks have fallen over the route near steep cliffs. The driver goes out to clear it and I go out to help him. Within a few moments, I hear a sound of more rocks and sep out of the way just as some large boulders fall from the cliffs. The driver is killed. Flashbacks to the death of Captain Kelman haunt me for a few moments.

If I have Sixth Sense I am to go to a passage, so I go there. I sense that I was the intended victim of this attack. Someone is trying to kill me!

The six of us stare at the corpse of the coachman for a few moment before Parsion the priest says we should bury him. We nod and begin the heady task.

Afterwards, Halvorc volunteers to be the driver since he has traveled this route many times before. We all agree. The priest hopes that we are not blamed for his death. Dorier and Ganon tell him that it was an act of the gods, and since lies are never spoken by true knights, their claims are taken gratefully by Parsion.

We arrive in Gorn Cove, a small village on the route to Port Bax. Outcasts, thieves and Szalls are the main inhabitants. The villagers are suspicious at the death of the driver, but the knights and the priest assuage their fears. We stay at the only inn, the Forlorn Hope. Not an auspicious name. I pay a gold for the room.

The innkeeper of the Forlorn Hope is a thin older gentleman with one eye. I am in room #2. We agree to meet in a hour to discuss the plans for the rest of the trip.

The hour has almost passed us by when I get a knock on my door. The innkeeper arrives with a tasty smelling stew, and says it is sent to me with the complements of one of my traveling companions.




He leaves quickly and I am unable to ask which one. The food smells hot and delicious and I have not eaten a meal yet. I must eat a meal now, or lose 3 EP. If I have Hunting, I can go to a certain chapter. Otherwise, I can either eat the stew, or my own food.

I am being stalked and there was an attempt on my life suddenly, out of the blue, food arrives out of the blue? That’s crazy stupid. I eat my Larnuma fruit meal instead.

I take a small nap, and when I awaken, I see that two rats ate my stew, and have died. It was poisoned! Shock turns to anger as I know one of my traveling companions is an assassin. Time to arrive at the assembly and find my assassin!

All of the others are there, including he one who would see me dead.



Here they are. I have five options, because I have decided to attack without warning in order to take out my assassin. I can choose any of the five riders. Who is the spy?

Well, I feel like I can safely eliminate the brothers. If one or both are spies, they choose an unfortunate masque, because the Knights are bound to do a lot of things, and a lot of spy-ish behavior would be seen as out of place by the Knights. Plus, there are two of them, so it’s not like one is making up their identity . Sure, it’s possible that one has been subverted or mind controlled or something, but there are better options.

Viveka is also easy to dismiss, simply because there is nothing mentioned about her at all. Perhaps the quiet is a clue as to her assassin identity, but the other two have more interesting issues.

The first hole I see is Halvarc, the Merchant. Being a merchant and claiming you lost everything that makes you a merchant is very convenient? It allows you the freedom to not have to do any merchantly things. It sounds like a made up story. Now, him knowing the way does support the idea he is the merchant, but it is knowledge that could have easily come from many other places including setting up ambushes.

The other is Parsion. Now, I only have one thing on Parsion, but it is suspicious. He claims he is Sommlending like me, and left and traveled by coach. I meet him in Ragadorn days and days after the war began in Sommerlund. How does my own countryman not know of the war? Now, if had berthed in a place for a few days rest or layover waiting for a coach then that would account for it. However, it is something.

Halvarc has a convenient story, but that’s all. Parsion has actually something against him. Therefore, I would order them in order of suspiciousness Parsion-Halvarc-Viveka- The Brothers. Who do I attack? Parsion. Kai guide my choice though.


The priest does not seem to be surprised by my attack and draws a black sword from beneath his robes. CS 16, EP 23.

I roll a 5 and dole out 9 while I take 2. A 2 follows and he takes 6 and me 3. A 9 ends it as he is daggered for 14 damage. I took 5 damage total.

I search his body and find the evidence I need. Inside his pockets is a near empty vial of gnadurn sap, the deadly poison added to my food. There is a scroll written in Giak outlining who I am and where I am going. He carries a Darklord blade, forged in the fires of Helgedad, the infernal city of the Darklands. Finally, I find a serpent tattoo on his left wrist, exactly like the harbor thugs that attacked me in Holmgard. I confiscate 23 gold crowns, giving me 42.

The other travelers stare in horror at me. Before I can explain, the front door of the Forlorn Hope crashes open and six town guard arrive, led my the innkeeper who is screaming at me. They move to attack me. I can fight them or flee. They are just town guard trying to do their job, so I decide to flee. I take the Black Sword as a backup weapon.

I burst out of the rear door. Behind the tavern is a small wheelwright‘s shop, and horses hitched to a hay-cart. I can use Camouflage, steal a horse and ride, or hide in the shop. I hate to steal and run, but I have the whole town guard looking for me, plus my former traveling companions, which include two Knights and a mercenary, may join them. I am not hanging around and hoping.

I take the horse and begin galloping down the road to the east. Soon I spy a signpost that says Port Bax is 50 miles away. We get closer. In order to put distance between Gorn Cove and myself, I ride all night. As dawn breaks, it appears that the Wildlands are beginning to fade as moors and fens replace the dry cracked Wildlands and a forest can be seen on the horizon. This is Durenor Forest, and I can again use Hunting for meals.

I must eat a meal, and I estimate that I am a day from Port Bax. I decide to lose the 3 EP because I don’t want to eat my only meal of Laumspur. I am at 27 and that will not be healed with Healing.

I arrive at a fork and can go left towards the coast or right towards the forest. I choose to stick near the coast, because it is easier to follow.

It follows a high ridge for many miles. After some time, I pass a Szall village, but they ignore me for the most part, except for some children who run near by, chant at me, and throw some stones. The road descends into a valley, and the land here had not been marked by man or Szall. A short while later, I hear cries for help beyond a copse of trees. I can leave the road to help, or keep galloping. I decide to leave the road.


I spy a group of Szalls jumping excitedly around the body of a man pierced by a strange spear and wounded, crying for help.



As I near, it appears he is a Knight of the White Mountain. The Szalls appear to be celebrating his impending death. I can try and attack the Szalls or use Healing to help. I do use my skills, but the Szalls begin to tear at my cloak and pull me away. I do not have Camouflage, so I can not tell what they are saying. Thus, I draw my dagger and move menacingly at them. They are cowards and quickly flee. Within a moment I can turn to help the man. I have two choices. Remove the spear or search his pack for items. I choose to remove the spear.

The carved spear is made of metal, yet mysteriously light. It is carved with intricate runes and magic emblems. As I remove the spear, the man gives off a great sigh, and then a powerful, mind piercing shriek tears into my soul and I lose 2 EP.

The man jumps to his feet while I am reeling. A terrible change overcomes him and he shape shifts to change color to a dark, undead, being with powerful mind-numbing eyes. This is a Helghast, one of the greatest creatures that serve the Darklords, and they are so powerful that only magical weapons can harm them. Luckily, I am holding a magical spear.

Wounded Helghast: CS 22, EP 30. Each round I lose 2 EP from his Mindblast, unless I have Mindsheld, which I do. He is immune to Mindblast.

I have a -5 ratio, and that almost killed me against the Gourgaz in the first book. It could have been a lot worse though. Let’s see what happens.

I roll a 3 and take 5, he takes 2. Not a good start. I follow with a 5 and he takes 4 and me 4. I cannot evade and must finish this battle. I roll an 8 and he takes 7 and me 2. He has lost 13 and me 11. I roll a 5 and we each take 4 again. Whew, a 0 follows and he takes 9. He has 7 EP left, and I have 9. I roll a 6 and he takes 5 and me 4. My final roll is a 9 and he dies. I have 5 EP left. He is dead. There is no way I would have survived this without Mindsheld.

I keep the Magical Spear. It counts as a Special Item, but I can use it in combat like a Spear.

I search his pack and find an evil looking dagger with a black blade and a scroll with the word Kai on it. I turn to leave and find that the Szall’s have taken my horse. Well, now I am taking their spear.

I have been walking for almost two hours when I come across a large wooden tower in the forest. I can go towards the watchtower or try to sneak around. I choose to keep going.

I am less than 20 years away from the watchtower when I am challenged and my business is demanded. I have reached the border of Durenor. I can use Sixth Sense, so I do. It tells me he is a loyal Durenese Soldier. I choose to show him the Seal of Hammerdal rather than try and lie.

He stares at the ring in awe. The legends about this ring are eons old. It is said that of all of the lost treasures of the Durenese, this is the one they would not want returned. Its presence bodes ill tidings. The guard’s face falls as he realizes the significance of this meeting. He sets me on the right path and tells me which branches to take.

A short while later, I take the left track and then go over the deep Rymerift River over a stone bridge at the other side is a sing pointing me towards Port Bax. Just 3 miles away.

At dusk on the 10th day of my quest, I arrive at Port Bax. Like a diamond set in a sea of green velvet, the towers of the city shine and sparkle in the evening light. To the north is harbour and the Durenese war fleet. I enter the city and see City Hall. I can choose to use tracking, so I do. It tells me that the Sommlending Consulate is in the naval quadrant of Port Bax, so I move in that direction.

At the end of the avenue, I reach some gates. Port Watchtower, Harbor Authority can be seen on a sign above them. I approach the gate where soldiers are, but I am turned back because I do not have either a white or a red pass. The gate itself is red.

I turn back and head to the watchtower building. There is a door marked Red Pass, one marked White Pass, and one to turn back. Since the gate is red, I enter the Red Pass door.

Behind is a man wearing a Duranese Naval Officer’s uniform. He’s pretty snarky. He demands to see access papers and proof of my commanding officer’s authorization. In order to shut him up, I choose to show him the Seal of Hammerdal.

Shock splashes on his face, and without a word he beckons me to follow. We move up some stairs, and within a few moments, arrive at a desk where I am issued a Red Pass immediately.

I arrive at the harbor guards, and this time I have a Red Pass. They salute me and allow me to continue along my way. Within a few seconds, I can make out the shining flag of my country, Sommerlund, flapping against our Consulate’s building. I smile at the banner of home and make for the building. The guards recognize me and within a few moments, I am greeted by tall grey haired official who thanks the gods for my arrival.


I meet the Lord-Lieutenant Rhygar, a knight in heavy chain mail in service to our King. Born of a Sommlending mother and Duranese father, he was a natural choice for envoy, and has become a legend in the city after helping to fight off the Ice Barbarians of Kalte. He orders a fine meal for me immediately. I gain 6 EP from it. We will leave in the morning and go to Hammerdal together.

Early the next day I am escorted to the stables. Three of Rhygar’s best men and himself will be joining me on the final 230 mile ride to Hammerdal. We leave Port Bax behind and I am asked to pick a number.

The dice say 1. For three days we ride for Hammerdal. In the distance are the Hammerdal Mountains which protect the capital city. It is the morning of the 14th day of my mission. We are about to leave our camp when a group of six hooded horse riders approaches, blocking our exit. Rhygar orders them to move as we carry the King‘s Dispatch, but they refuse and do not speak.



He orders his men to draw their swords and charges in. I have three options, follow Rhygar, make for the woods, or use Sixth Sense. My keen Kai senses tell me that they are very evil. I shout out a warning to Rhygar and his men but they are already engaged.

As they charge the cloaked riders, one draws a black staff from under its robes and spits blue flame towards the Sommlending warriors. They arrive and begin to cut with their swords but the enemy is unfazed. Because they are Helghasts. Six Helghasts are attacking our men, and I have the only magical weapon. The leader sends a powerful Mindblast my way. I have two options: run or fight. I can kill one Helghast, but six? That’s stupid. I run.

I jump into the think brush and abandon my horse. A few minutes later Rhygar arrives and pushes me to run with him towards the mountains, as we leave his men behind, fighting futilely against the Helghasts.

We run for 6 hours. The Helghast are on the highway so we are forced to make our way through wood and rock. Each time I stumble, Rhygar pulls me up. His stamina is incredible. By night we arrive at the entrance to the Tarnalin, three tunnels through the mountains to Hammerdal. There is no more running off to the side. We have to go back on the beaten path for the rest of the way. Each tunnel is over 40 miles long. Rhygar hands me some food to eat and I do. He tells me that he will hold off the Helghast here and for me to continue along. I have two options, leave him my Magical Spear, or keep it.

I don’t want to be selfish, but I have no way of harming a Helghast without the Spear, and who knows if they are in the tunnels or not. I need it. Sorry Rhygar, I’d love to give you a path to victory, but I have to remember the big picture. The Kai are dead. Only the Sommerswerd can defeat the Darklords, and only a Kai can wield it, so I have to get it.

The tunnel is over one hundred feet high and wide. Usually it is alive with traffic and yet now it is dead. As I continue, I pass an overturned fruit cart, and then arrive at a fork. I can go left or right, or use Tracking. I use Tracking and discover that the left tunnel is quicker by two miles, and that recent bootprints head off into both the right and left tunnels. I choose left.

As I go, I eventually find a passenger wagon to the right side of the tunnel. Around it are three dead bodies of Duranese soldiers. I can go it, go past, or use Sixth Sense, which I do and detect a strong aura of evil from the wagon, and I get a new chance to go back and take the right tunnel. I do that.

The right tunnel has some steps cut into the wall and a platform at the top. I can climb the platform, go on, or use Sixth Sense, which I do, Once again, I sense great evil. Well, I have to confront it sooner or later. I climb up the stone steps to the platform. As I do, I hear a blood-curdling cry and see the blood red soul-piercing eyes of a Helghast again. I draw my magic spear and level it at the Helghast as it charges me. It impales itself on my spear and we tumble to the ground and I take 2 EP. I can choose to run or try and drive the spear into it killing it. I do the latter and kill it and retrieve my magical spear. Dead Helghast. I wipe the tip on its smouldering robe.

I run down the tunnel as fast my legs will take me. Almost three miles pass before I see a group of wagons in the distance that are set up like a barricade. Soldier in red uniforms line the barricade. As I get closer, they dispatch a group of ten soldiers to meet me.

These are soldiers of Durenor, and there are ten of them, so I raise my hands rather than attack scared soldiers who are my allies. They demand to know who I am and hat my business is. I tell them, and they don’t believe me until I show a certain Seal. They have a horse drawn carriage behind the line and I am ushered in and the knight and I are taken down Tarnalin.



The Knight is Lord Axim of Ryme, commander of King Alin‘s personal bodyguard. They had a run in with the Helghast and him and just ten men survived. I must eat a meal in the coach, and I choose to eat my Laumspur. Will my journey finally be successful?

The morning of the 15th day of my quest brings us to Hammerdal. It’s white spires against the mountains is breathtaking. It does not need fortifications because it has the mountains.




We speed through lush farmlands, towers and streets, until we arrive at the King’s Tower at the centre of Hammerdal. At the end of the day, I will become a part of the oldest legend in the Lastlands when I take the Sommerswerd.


Quote:

King Alin IV sits alone in his domed tower, viewing his mountain domain through one of the many portals of tinted glass. You and Lord Axim are formally announced as you enter the chamber, and you respectfully bow to his Majesty. Then, Lord Axim removes the Seal of Hammerdal from your finger and walks over to the King's side. For nearly an hour they talk, their sombre faces reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

There is a short pause of silent meditation, and King Alin suddenly rises from his throne and addresses you for the first time.

'Alas, the Darklords have woken once more, and once more does Sommerlund come in search of our aid. I had prayed that my reign would be remembered as a time of peace and fulfillment, but in my heart I knew it was to be otherwise.'

The King removes a golden key from the pocket of his white robe and inserts it in a marble dais standing in the centre of the chamber. A gentle humming fills the room, as the stone cover slides back to reveal the hilt of a golden sword.

'Take the sword, Lone Wolf. It is foretold that only a true son of Sommerlund can release the powers that lie within its blade.'

As you grasp the glowing hilt, a tingling sensation runs up your arm and radiates throughout your body.



As you notice, I no longer have the Seal of Hammderdal. I am asked if I have Sixth Sense, and if I do, to move to a certain passage.

The Sommerswerd fills my senses with light and knowledge and ability. This weapon was forged long before the Sommlending or Duranese were a part of Magnamund. To release its powers, only a Kai Lord can wield it. Should it ever be used in combat by someone who is not Kai, the powers will wane and leave it. Like the magical spear, it counts as a weapon like special item, and can be used in combat. When used, skills in Short Sword, Sword or Broadsword will give you an additional +2 with Weaponskill, but I have quarterstaff. I get +8 Combat Skill when I use it. It absorbs any magic used against me. It deals double damage to undead enemies. It is the only weapon in Magnamund that can kill a Darklord* (Later you find out that it is the only Good aligned weapon that can do so, but the Darklords have forged weapons that can kill each other too). I am the only person left who can wield the Sommerswerd, and it is the only way my people will be saved. I sheath the Sommerswerd in its scabbard.

It takes 14 days to muster the Duranese army and ready the war fleet. As each day passes, I am reminded of the perils of my homeland. I am the guest of the King of Holmgard. I am given a Potion of Laumspur will heal 5 EP when I quaff it. I am visited daily by the best servants and more in Hammderdal, and I am completely healed, rested, and ready for more fighting.

One day when the Herbwarden come to work on my wounds, he brings unfortunate tidings about the death of Lord Rhygar who’s body was found by the Tarnalin. I am asked if I have Sixth Sense, and I do. It tells me that I already knew, and I just realize it. My Sixth Sense is enhanced by the presences of the Sommerswerd. I am practicing with it to get better used to its weight.

On the morning of the 33rd day of my quest, Lord Axim and I ride to Port Bax. The place has changed a lot in two weeks. Preparations for war are complete, and the giant war fleet is ready to leave. We will set sail abroad the flagship Durenor, Admiral Calfen’s personal vessel. An hour later and we have left Port Bax behind and I am asked to roll the die. My result is a 3.

For three more days and nights we sail for Holmgard and Sommerlund. Although the days pass uneventfully, it is like some sort of invisible drain is on the spirits of the men, as their eagerness and confidence begins to erode, and Admiral Calfen is worried.

The next day, the sorcery seems to be lifted, but something darker approaches.

A veil of sea fog approaches and it is quite thick. We near the Kirlundian Isles. We can make out some strange and dark shapes in the sea fog. Soon they grow into the shapes of ships. “Prepare for Battle!” is cried across the war fleet, but as the ships come fully into view, the entire Duranese army is shocked at their sight. These are death-hulks. They are the sunken ships in the sea, and have been risen from the grave to fight once more. They have been summoned by a great and powerful wizardry to keep me from reaching Holmgard in time to save my people.




Their sinister flagship is aimed at ours, and it rams us, tearing into our vessel. We are ordered to abandon the vessel by Admiral Calfen. I can either try and jump to their vessel’s deck, or jump into the water and try to swim to another Duranese ship. I have the Sommerswerd, so I jump to their vessel’s deck.

I land on rotting timbers and drop to the deck below, where a large mass of slow zombies presses about me. They are immune to Mindblast, are undead, and are about to eat my blade.

Zombie Crew CS 13, EP 16.

I roll a 9 and they automatically are killed instead of taking damage

I lose an EP from the stench of the ship. I can climb up, leave the hold through a door or use Sixth Sense. There is supposedly an evil creature of some power behind the door approached, and if I climbed up I would be vulnerable to attack, so I turn and await my foe. I strike just as the door opens and it takes one hit form the Sommerswerd. Revealed is a now wounded Helghast

Wounded Helghast CS 22, EP 20

It is undead and totally immune to Mindblast. I roll a 4 and it takes 8 damage, doubled to 16, while I take 2. On my second attack I roll a 2 and hit it for 12 while I take 3. I have taken 6 total EP so far.

I move up a flight of stairs onto the deck of their flagship and see fierce battles all around. All of the sudden I see a tower on the rear of the flagship I am on fire a gout of flame into a Duranese ship and soldiers are set on fire.



I can jump overboard to hit up the tower. I choose to go to the tower. Two zombies try to block my entrance but I cleave them with my sword. I am at the foot of the tower and see a hunched over figure in crimson robes launch fire across the water with magical powers. I am asked if I have the Crystal Star Pendant, have Tracking, want to jump overboard, or climb the tower and attack. I choose the Crystal Star Pendant option.

This is Vonotar the Traitor. This is the renegade wizard from the Magician’s Guild of Toran that Banedon told me about. He is a master of the black arts and a major foe. My Sixth Sense tells me that Vonotar is the one behind everything. He raised the black death hulks from the seabed. He sent the various minions to assassinate me. I can approach and try to take him out, or jump overboard.

I’m going up the ladder. With the Sommerswerd in one hand, the climb is difficult. I reach the top just to hear him say that he will enjoy the irony of killing me himself. His left hand spits forth a powerful bolt of magical energy but I manage to align the Sommerswerd with it and it is absorbed. That ability of my blade just saved my life.
Vonotar curses me and pulls out a gem. He breaks it and the tower is full of an acrid smoke. After it clears, I can see him paddling away in a row boat. And here I expected some secret teleport or something. I can choose to jump in the water and try to chase him, or fight my way back to a Duranese warship. I choose to chase him.

Their flagship is burning, so jumping overboard makes sense. As I swim, another attack comes from above as a wing of Kraan arrive to attack us. One plucks me from the see but a Sommerswerd to the belly forces it to drop me onto the deck of the Kalkarn, a Duranese warship.

Lord Axim can be seen, battle-tested and grim, but tearing through the undead ranks. I join him and soon we clear the Kalkarn of the enemy. He shows me that the other undead warships have also lost or started to sink. This battle is over. Probably Vonotar’s leaving had something to do with it. Within a few minutes, all of their vessels have sunk.

70 warships left Port Bax and only 50 arrive at Holmgard as the Duranese have won a great battle. Despite the loss of Admiral Calfen and the flagship and many troops, the men are in high spirits as we sail into the Holmgard harbor.



It is dusk on the 37th day of my journey. The spires of Holmgard are a welcome sight, but the siege continues. We will not approach tonight and fight under the moon, but will instead arrive at dawn tomorrow. Dawn arrives and I move to Holmgard, destiny in hand.


Quote:


Holmgard has suffered much since your departure. Many of the shops and houses you remember passing on your way to the quay, are little more now than heaps of ashes. The Darklords' army with their evil engines of war surround the walls, and the flaming arcs of fireballs shooting through the air continually light the night sky as they rain down on the streets below. The people fight the fire as best they can, but they are hungry and exhausted and close to surrender. At first, as it enters the harbour, the fleet is mistaken for the enemy and cries of despair can be heard all along the quay. But as the first of the soldiers set foot in the city and unfurl the royal arms of Durenor, the news of your return spreads quickly. The cries of despair have changed to a chorus of cheers: 'The Kai Lord has returned.'

You are standing at the top of the great watchtower, high above the main gate of the city, when the first light of dawn creeps slowly over the horizon. Thousand upon thousand of the black-clad enemy are massed around the city wall, huddled like beetles in the trenches that cover the plain. In the midst of this horde, a great red tent has been erected bearing the symbol of a broken skull. It is the mark of Zagarna, Lord of Kaag, a Darklord of Helgedad. His great ambition is the destruction of Holmgard; his fiercest desire to lead his army to victory over the House of Ulnar and claim Sommerlund for his own.

But victory is not to be his this day. Raising the Sommerswerd high above your head, a shaft of dawn sunlight catches upon the tip of the golden sword and a brilliant flash of blinding white flame runs the entire length of the blade. The power of the Sommerswerd electrifies you. Your senses reel and now your body reacts instinctively. You lower the Sommerswerd and point the blade towards the tent of Lord Zagarna. There is a mighty roar as the power of the sun-sword is unleashed in a searing white beam. The tent explodes and a brilliant fireball of white flame mushrooms skyward. A long and terrible cry rends the air. It is Lord Zagarna. The leader of the evil army is no more.




Gripped with fear and panic, the vast black army rise up and run in chaos from the city wall. The impossible has happened, their invincible master is slain. Again the Sommerswerd has returned to defeat them. The army and the allies of Durenor ride out of the city gates in pursuit of the panic-stricken enemy as they run blindly towards the Durncrag Mountains. The victory is yours. Holmgard is saved and the murder of the Kai has finally been avenged.

End of Fire on the Water

Comments:

I like fighting Vonotar, but I hate that I couldn’t find the this time. It’s awesome to fight your old allies.

I have two problems with Fire on the Water usually - too many random rolls determine outcomes that are significant, and it introduces the Deus Ex Machina of the Sommerswerd. It also initially has the issues with the Tarnalian, the magic spear and Rhygar, but this is a cleaned up version. Originally, if you had the Magic Spear, and gave the spear to Rhygar, you died, period, no chance of survival. A revised version made it so that if you didn’t have the Magic Spear at all, you died, period, no chance of survival. Both were rough. One meant you had to keep the spear, and the other meant you had to go left at the fork along the coast instead of heading to the forest, and then choose to help the cry, choose to ignore the warnings of the Szalls, and if you had camouflage, you would know it’s a Helghast and leave, and if you searched its pack then you would leave too. That’s a lot of ifs ands or buts involved in getting the magic spear. Both issues have problems, so Project Aon fixed it so that there are paths to victory whether you have the spear, don’t have it, or give it away.

Oh, and I also don’t like how, in the passage that describes the food brought by the Innkeeper at the Forlorn Hope, it has you recalling the quote by Captain Kelman that enemies and spies are everywhere. It tells you that the food is tainted, and I am not a fan of that.

So, Fire on the Water - vast improvement in storytelling and length. You can read through and fight through Flight from the Dark in no time. Fire on the Water - not so much. Plus, there are a ton of Helghasts everywhere, so it’s not super easy or anything, and you can random dice die in many places, like when the mast falls on you on the Green Sceptre or whatnot.

The next book is The Caverns of Kalte


In the northern land of Sommerlund, it had been the custom for many centuries to send the children of the Warrior Lords to the monastery of Kai. There they were taught the skills and disciplines of their noble fathers.

You are Lone Wolf, and you are now the last of the Warrior Lords of Sommerlund. One year ago, the ancient enemy of your people--the Darklords of Helgedad--suddenly invaded Sommerlund and completely devastated the Kai monastery. All of the Kai warriors were in attendance for the feast of Fehmarn, and all except you were massacred.

You fought your way to Holmgard, the capital of your country, where the King sent you upon a desperate quest for help. Your mission was fraught with great danger, for Sommerlund had been betrayed by one of its own magicians--Vonotar the Traitor. His agents sought to kill you at every opportunity, but your skill and strength defeated their evil aims. You returned to Holmgard at the head of a great fleet--the allies of Durenor--and destroyed the Darklord army that besieged your capital.

Much of Sommerlund was ruined by the war. The rich farmlands were laid waste and many towns were razed to the ground. But the Sommlending are a tough people and were undaunted by the enormous task that lay ahead. They set about the rebuilding of war-torn Sommerlund with such determination that now, one year later, few of the scars of war remain visible.

For the crucial part that you played in the victory, the King has bestowed upon you the rank and title of 'Fryearl of Sommerlund', a rare honour for one so young. The ruins of the Kai monastery and much of the surrounding lands are now 'Fryelund' under your protection.

Work to rebuild the monastery was about to commence when disturbing news from the north prompted the King to summon you to the capital. Many merchants, returning from the summer trading expeditions to Kalte, told of the fall of the Brumalmarc--the leader of the Ice Barbarians. The description of the hunchbacked magician who has succeeded the fierce Brumalmarc fits only one man--Vonotar the Traitor.

After the defeat of the Darklords, Vonotar escaped to the frozen wastes of Kalte. He made his way to the ice fortress of Ikaya where, through deception, he tricked the cruel Brumalmarc into adopting him as his magician. It was a mistake that was to cost the barbarian leader his fortress and his life.

The news that Vonotar still lives spreads like wildfire throughout Sommerlund. Thousands of Sommlending surround the capital and demand that Vonotar be made to pay for his treachery. So great is the outcry that the King is obliged to promise that the evil traitor will be brought back to Holmgard, and made to stand trial for his crimes.

For you, Lone Wolf, the King's promise is the start of a quest that will pit you against a hated foe, deep within the hostile Caverns of Kalte.

One of the things I am given is a Map of Kalte, which you can find here:

I decide to take Camouflage as my next discipline. I am unable to use Hunting anywhere in this book for meals, and Mind Over Matter and Animal Kinship have uses, but I’d rather have the ability to hide than the ability to talk to animals when push comes to shove.

In addition to the Map of Kalte, I am given a pouch with 16 crowns and that is all I am taking with me. The rest are left behind for safekeeping. I doubt I’ll need gold crowns much on this journey. I also have a choice of two items to take, and I decide to grab the Padded Leather Waistcoat which gives me +2 EP and another Pot of Laumspur, this time healing 4 EP. I’m leaving it behind though, because we have a ton of supplies with us, including duplicates of everything just in case we lose a sledge, so it’s not like I need any supplies.



I am doing the following with my items:




Safekeeping:

Golden Key
Prince Pelethar’s Sword
Kai Axe
Burrowcrawler Dagger
Warhammer from Farmhouse
Red Pass
Coach Ticket
Black Sword of Parsion
Map of Sommerlund
Fur Blanket
49 Gold Crowns
1 Meal
Potion of Laumspur - +5 EP
Potion of Laumspur - +4 EP



Keeping:

Crystal Star Pendant
Sommerswerd
Magic Spear
Dagger
Map of Kalte
Shield
Padded Leather Waistcoat
16 Gold Crowns

Lone Wolf, Guardian Rank of Kai:

28 EP
27 CS w/ Shield, Mindblast, & Sommerswerd

Sixth Sense
Healing
Tracking
Weaponskill
Mindblast
Mindshield
Camouflage

Here we go.


We set out from Anskaven on the Sommlending warship Cardonal. Food, water, ice equipment and Kanu-dog teams were loading onto the ship before we left. Only the most senior members of the crew knew what the voyage was for.

The plan is for me to set ashore at the Halle Bluff, which you can see on the map. There the ship will drop anchor and await my return. An elite team of trusted guides will take me from the Bluff to Ikaya, the Ice Fortress. Their job is to get me to and back from Ikaya, my job is to penetrate the defenses of the Ice Fortress and find and capture Vonotar if possible, and kill him if not. This is the traitor to his own people that is responsible for the death of many of my fellow Sommlending. Our mission cannot take longer than 30 days, because the Pack Ice will begin to form and endanger the return.

For six days, our journey is uneventful, and on the seventh we only have a small ice storm and spot the island of Tola. However, as we approach, the ice storm grows stronger and as the day continue, the ship is forced off course and lands at the Ljuk Ice Shelf instead of the Bluffs. We unload here, because it would waste a day to travel back to the Halle Bluff.

We have a choice of routes from here. We can go up the shorter but rougher trek to Cloudmaker Mountain, and from there across the Viad Glacier. Or we can take the longer but easier trek through the Hrod Basin and into Storm Giant Pass to Ikaya. Each should take about ten days, and the choice is mine.

I choose to take the shorter, more direct route, but harder. That way, if something goes wrong, there is less mileage to cover.

Our teams organize into two sledges, each with six Kanu-dogs and me and my three guides, Fenor, Dyce and Irian. The Kanu-dogs are well suited to this mission, bred for operation in the Kalte Wastes. The guides are the best we could find and dedicated to the success of this mission. They are expert trappers, guides, survivalists, and more. I am on a sled with Dyce, and each has enough equipment and food for the journey, so in case we lose a sled, we can get there and back.

You can see very far in this glacial landscape, and I can see the Viad Glacier and mountains even here. We make great progress the first day, and camp inside a circle of ice pillars that were created by the constantly moving ice shelf. Our tents are secure and our dogs fed when suddenly Irian calls out:

“By the gods, a Baknar!”

Baknar are very large creatures that hunt and forage in Kalte coastline and usually eat fish or birds in the sea coast, but it appears to want Kanu-dog tonight.

I have three options - use Hunting, Animal Kinship, or Fight it. Well, obviously, I have to fight.


[img]http://www.projectaon.org/en/xhtml/lw/03tcok/ill5.gif[img]


The Sommerswerd hums in my hand, even at night. I cannot evade the Baknar and must fight it to the death of either it or me.

Baknar: CS 19, EP 30

I roll an 8 and deal 14 damage while taking none. A 4 follows and 9 to it, 2 to me. A 1 deals out 6 and I take 4. It has 1 Ep left. I roll a zero and kill it. I took 6 total damage and am at 22.

The beast dies and a horrible stench wafts from its body. Even the dogs shrink away from the foul-smelling Baknar. Irian doesn’t and pulls out a dagger and slices into its carcass. Why would we want to skin this foul creature? Ick. Irians skins it from neck to groin, opens it up, and scoops out handfuls of its oil and cheerfully smears it on his face and body. He tells me it will protect against the cold.



I can choose to apply the oil, or avoid smelling awfully. I choose to apply the fat/oil substance of the freshly killed Baknar - double ick.

I initially hold my breath and apply the foul oil, but I quickly begin to feel warmer the more I apply. I also notice the smell disappearing slowly. All of the guides have applied the Baknar Oil, and only the dogs seem to object, and they whine and hide their noses in the snow as I pass to head back to my tent.

The following morning Fenor prepares a nice hot breakfast, a welcome sight to greet you in this icy wasteland. I eat a bowl of steaming stew gratefully. The morning is beautiful and we make quick time. By nightfall we have reached Syem Island ahead of schedule. Syem Island is a pinnacle of granite that juts out of the ice 400 feet. We make camp tonight on the leeward side to avoid most of the wind.

I am asked to roll the dice. I get a 4.

The next day snow clouds appear in the sky around Syem Island. We arrive at the edge of the Viad Glacier in a few hours. Bits of ice jut out at every angle and present a most unusual obstacle. We have to walk the sledges in a few places, and try hard to get to the smoother going of the regular glacier in a bit.

We cover about a half of a mile through this before we come across a major crevasse in the ice. It is only a few feet wide but it is miles long. We tie a rope around everyone in order to help us get to safety. The hardest part will be getting the dogs and sleds across. Luckily, we manage it alright.

Finally we come to an even larger crevasse over 8 feet wide. Our sledges are ten feet long and ought to be able to be used as bridges to cross the fissure, but if the ice give sway, it’s bye bye Kai Lord. We can either try and use the sledges as bridges, or we can jump across with the Kanu-dogs, and then pull the sledges after us. I prefer the latter choice because it seems like everything is in my control. The first one hopes the ice holds, but I have no way of knowing it, but the second is a jump under my control and pulling under it as well.

Dyce makes it over but Irian slips and has to be pulled up by Dyce. Now it is my time. I am asked to roll the dice, and add two if I have Hunting. I roll a 8. It takes nearly an hour to cross, but everything and everyone is okay. We have finished the ascent of Viad Glacier today, and camp in a small bowl in the ice.

I am asked to pick a number. I get a 2.

For three days and nights we fight our way across the glacier. Falls, bruises, razor sharp ice, cuts, sprains and the constant cold sap at our strength. However, we are lucky to have avoided a blizzard and count that as a definite blessing.

We reach the shelter of Cloudmaker Mountain. The mountain is over 13,000 feet high and we camp in her shadow is a perfect fissure.

Later that evening, after we are camped, I go out to take a piss, and I spy a faint glow of torchlight in the rocks above. I can choose to use Sixth Sense, investigate, or go back to camp. I use Sixth Sense. It tells me there is someone or something in the fissure, but I cannot tell their intentions, so I head out to explore.

I climb fifteen feet deeper into the fissure when suddenly the ice gives way and I fall way down. I tumble over 200 feet into a huge pile of snow and I begin to suffocate. I eventually manage to extricate myself and look around. I still have my special items, gold, and dagger but I have lost my backpack, since it is still in my tent above. I cannot carry any backpack items until and if I find a new one.

I look around to see where I am. The light of this area seems to be given off by strange bowls hanging from the ceiling. These are M’Lare bowls that were discovered by the ancients long ago as a source of light. My guides will never find me and will probably call off their search after a day or three.

A vast corridor with icy stalactites of significant size greets me, and for two hours of walking I continue to wonder at the splendour of Kalte. I reach a junction and I can go right, left, or Tracking. Tracking tells me that I am directly beneath Cloudmaker Mountain. The tunnels are east or north, I choose east.

After a mile or so, the tunnel opens up into a beautiful grotto with melt water cascades and a silvery mineral in the rocks creating pretty displays and reflections. The grotto has no other openings except for a cave under one of the cascades that I can enter if I so choose. I do choose.

The cave is cold and dark. I go about sixty yards when I hear animal noises. I can use Animal Kinship, draw my sword and charge, or creep closer. It’s dark, so I am going to assume the benefit of non-friendlies, because I may not have the chance to see if they are or are not such.

I have surprised a group of four Kalkoth and kill two of them before the other two turn and face me. I fight them one at a time.

Kalkoth One CS 11, EP 35
Kalkoth Two CS 10, EP 32

I have a huge CS advantage. Should be easy. I roll a 0 and kill the first automatically without any sweat. I roll a 9 and bisect the other.

I am told that if I take any damage, I am to immediately go to one passage, and I can evade, and I can kill them. I kill them without a scratch, so I go there.

I notice one of the creatures has a Blue Stone Triangle on a chain around its neck and I take it and put it around mine. I wipe my blade on the Kalkoth hide and move on.

After a few hundred yards I enter a hugely giant cavern that spreads out in every direction farther than I can see. It appears that I have entered the Caverns of Kalte. I am looking at an uncharted world rarely seen by any, and rumored by myth. These places were built by the ancients before my people every existed. The M’Lare bowls continue to light the way.

I trek through this cavern for six hours in a northerly direction. I finally arrive at a swiftly moving melt-water river with some ice chunks in it. I can see a tunnel leading off on the other side. The only way across is to jump from one chunk of ice to the next. I am instructed to pick a number and add 2 if I have Hunting. I roll a 6.

I quickly make it across and follow the tunnel for an unknown number of hours. I pass fissures and more, but nothing else, the tunnel just continues. I am in a daze an nearly asleep on my feet when the smell of cocking food awakens me. I move down the tunnel and spy a side chamber. I choose to enter.

I see two men huddled for warmth around a cooking fire coming from an odd sphere.





The men look old and a bit crazy, but the food is delicious looking and I am very hungry and without any meals or even a backpack to put meals in. I can approach them politely and ask for some food, attack them, or carry on. I choose to approach them politely.

As I enter, they jump up scared and run away. I can hear their screams of fear echo down the passageway. I devour the cooking animal very quickly and finally have the warmth of food in my belly. I also notice the odd sphere. The fire is coming out of two halves of a sphere. I pick it up and it is cool to the touch. I close the sphere, open it back up, and fire is still there. This is quite an interesting device, and I decide to take the Firesphere (a special item).

I continue along the tunnel for another mile but soon sleep begins to overtake me and I sleep. I awake refreshed but I have no idea what day it is, or what day it is. Mile after mile passes and I see ice halls, crystal rooms, and finally the ledge of a great chasm, which I follow. After a while on the ledge, I glance back and notice a giant two headed snake. I am asked if I have Tracking and/or Animal Kinship. I do have one.

Tracking tells me this is a Javek, a deadly poisonous ice snake that moves quickly. I will be unable to outrun it. However, like many ice creatures, it is afraid of fire. I am asked if I have the Firesphere or I can just attack the poisonous snake. I pull out the Firesphere and place the halve son the ground between the Javek and me. The Javek writhes about and tries different angles to get to me, but it cannot get past the Firesphere on this ledge. After some time, it gives up and moves back into the darkness. Once I am sure it is gone for good, I collect the Firesphere and continue on my way.

The chasm and ledge, after miles, eventually open into an icy but scaleable rock face. I can try to scale the rock face, or I can descend into a hall that has opened up. I choose to descend. This is faster than above with all of its ice traps and such and I am going north still.

Shortly after I discover a fork and I can go left, right, or use Tracking to identify some tracks in the snow and ground. I use Tracking and identify the tracks as a Baknar, but I cannot tell which way it currently is. I decide to go left.

After a short walk I arrive at a massive ice hall full of stalactites and stalagmites. The floor is covered with animal bones and tracks and the northern wall is bricks, mortar, and a door. Suddenly hope fills me. These must be the foundations of Ikaya, and I will have a chance to enter from the deep dungeons, far away from prying eyes.




There is a ramp that leads to the door. I can cross the icy hall or try to examine the bones. I examine. I try to find something before I eventually make out a bone box. I pick it up and I have a choice of opening it. I choose to do so and find a beautiful and very large diamond, which I add to my belt pouch. It would be worth thousands of Gold Crowns.

As I move up the slippery stone ramp towards the door, I hear a sound of cracking ice from behind me and I turn and see a large mound of what I thought were crystals move. They unfurl into a giant serpent and it begins to approach me. I can run to the door or fight the serpent. I’d rather just get the fight over with now.

This more than a mere snake, it is a Crystal Frostwyrm. I cannot evade. This powerful creature is immune to Mindblast.




Crystal Frostwyrm - CS 15, EP 30.

I roll a 2 and take 3 while I deal 9. I follow with a 9 and it dies.

The creature shatters and begins to dissolve into the ice. As this happens, I see a silver key among the fetid organs. I decide to grab it, but the stomach acids coating it deal 1 EP to me, and then I pick it up with my cloak.

The fortress door is completely smooth and there is no latch, and no keyhole. However, there is a small triangle shaped depression. I am asked if I have a Blue Stone Triangle, and I do. I press it into the granite and the door begins to open, and then halfway open, it stops and begins to close, so I grab the Triangle and jump through into Ikaya.

Ikaya is much warmer than the outside, and I can actually take off my mittens and lower the hood of my cloak. That alone feels good. The M’Lare Bowls continue to light up Ikaya. The stone passage I am in goes up to a small landing leads to an archway, beyond which is a room with ages of refuse in it. A large lever is beside the archway. I can pull the lever, enter the room and search, or continue east along the passageway.

I enter the room and search, and after a while, I turn up an old fur backpack and a length of rope so long it takes up to slots. I take both.

I now head east along the passageway, since the lever just opens and close a door into the refuse room. I eventually hit a flight of broad stone steps that ascend northwards to a large landing some thirty feet up. How long will I remain undetected? I actually have surprise on my side right now. I am hungry and must either eat a meal or lose 3 EP. I have to lose the EP which is not healable with Healing, because I have no meals.

I can go east or west. I go eat and run into a fissure and choose to return and go west rather than fling my rope around an M’Lare bowl and try to swing over. Less than five minutes later I arrive at a large stone door with a lever. I can pull it or continue along the corridor. I pull it. It creaks open and I see a room with an old stench that shows it has been undisturbed for centuries. On an old stone table is a sack with four ancient bottles. I can choose to examine them, or leave.



I examine them. I can use the pack as a backpack but I already have the old fur one. There are Red, Orange, Green and Black potions. Which one do I want to investigate?

Let’s start with Red:

I wipe the grime off, unstopper it, and I am asked if I have Healing, which I do. Healing tells me this is distilled Laumspur than will heal 5 EP when swallowed. I restopper it and take it.

Let’s go with orange. The stopper is jammed and it takes a while to get it loose. I am asked if I have either Sixth Sense or Weaponskill. I do, so my skills tell me this is distilled Alether. If I drink it before a battle, I get +4 CS for that battle. I add it to my backpack.

I choose green next. I am asked if I have Animal Kinship or if I am the rank of Aspirant or higher, and I have that rank. This is the aroma of concentrated Gallowbrush, or “Sleeptooth.” It is a very powerful sleeping potion, and my Kai Masters use to use this on injured horses in order to treat them. I keep it.

Last is the black potion. This stopper is sealed with wax, and I have to risk the thin glass in order to break the seal. I can choose not to do it, or to continue. I continue. It is very delicate and I am asked to roll a number and add 3 if I have either Mindblast or Mind Over Matter. I add 3 and get a 8 total. I manage to crack it in the right place and the odor is quite foul and pungent. I am asked if I have ever visited the Graveyard of the Ancients, which I have. Using my previous experience, I know this to be concentrated Graveweed, a poisonous concoction. I take the deadly poison, because you never know.

I only have space for two more backpack items, but I look and feel like an apothecary now.

I continue along the corridor. The walls of this area has strange carvings like tornadoes on them. Odd. I keep moving until the corridor reaches a sharp turn to the right. Another stone door faces me and I can choose to continue or to pull the lever. I pull the lever. Inside is a small room with a granite chest, which I choose to investigate.

I see the faces of grotesque and more creatures adorn the corners of the chest. One face has a keyhole. I can try the silver key, or leave.



I try it. The lock is clicked and the key disappears as the chest opens. Here is a magnificent Silver Helmet.



I can use Sixth Sense, put it on, or leave it here. I use my extra perceptions and discover it is a powerful magical helmet, and not evil at all. I decide to put it on and I discover that it increases my CS by 2. Where most armor increases EP, this one increases CS instead. I keep the Silver Helmet on, and happily continue my explorations.

I climb over a hundred steps before I arrive at a landing. I am asked to pick a number and add 3 if I have Tracking, Hunting or Sixth Sense. I roll a 2, add 3 ,and just barely make the cutoff. My skills allow me to discover a small lever in the wall. I pull it. A narrow archway with billowing mist and smoke greets me. It is very cold too. I am asked if I have both Sixth Sense and the rank of Guardian, which I do.

I will quote what I learn:


You can sense the presence of a powerful life-force beyond the misty arch. As you concentrate, you suddenly recall a tale told to you when you were a small child, 'The Legend of the Vagadyn Gate'. This was a tale of Ice Demons and how they once fought a war to be able to leave their world and come to Kalte. They were formless creatures, without shape and substance, and existed as pure energy in another dimension, beyond the confines of space and time. The Ice Demons discovered the Vagadyn gate, a sort of door between their world and Magnamund; they fought each other to enter this gate, unaware of the fate that awaited them. The Ancients had also discovered the gate. As the Ice Demons passed through the Vagadyn, their spirits were imprisoned in crystals by the cunning Ancients, who harnessed the power of the Ice Demons to build Ikaya. The M'lare bowls that light the fortress each contain the spirits of lesser Ice Demons trapped within. You also remember that the tale warns against destroying the crystal prisons: if an Ice Demon is released it will seek to claim the body of its rescuer.


I enter the misty arch. This is a hidden temple of the ancients. The chamber is ill-lit and cold. The floor has slabs of quartz and granite on it, and there is an alter on the north side with a strange statue on top. There are stairs on the other side. I can approach the stairs, use only granite flagstones, or only quartz. I choose to just walk over there.

As I do, a crackle of energy lances over the statue and it begins to move. I can attack it now, wait to see what happens, or run for it. I choose to wait. It rises from the altar and moves towards me. I can run or attack it.




I swing at it with the Sommerswerd and it breaks easily. The temperature in the room drops significantly and I am saved from icy cold damage by Baknar Oil. A wind is released from the statue and begins to form around itself, swirling and mounting in pressure.



I have released an Ice Demon and it is intent on killing me. I am asked if I have the Sommerswerd, Firesphere, want to flee or want to attack. The wind buffets me, and as I raise the ultimate weapon of the light, it recognizes its own doom and screeches in terror. I strike at the very heart of the cyclonic ice demon and the wind dissipates, flinging its death scream across the room. You see, I was forewarned, but I was also forearmed. I figured I should just kill it and banish it back so that someone else doesn’t accidentally die to it.

I choose to search the altar rather than immediately leave. I see that two stone buttons have risen from the altar. I can try to push them, leave, or use Sixth Sense. My Sixth Sense tells me that if I press them in the right order, I should get something good. However, there is a chance for a trap. I choose to play with the buttons. I can use Mind Over Matter to push them, but I don’t have it. I can push left then right, right then left, or both together. I go left then right, in the order you would read. A secret compartment opens and I pull out a strange effigy of a tentacled creatures.




I keep it as a special item. I try the buttons again but they are locked. I leave and pass through an archway on the other side, pulling a lever there to close off the temple. The temperature is warming up again and I can see light at the end of a dark passageway, and there is a portal close to the floor with a corridor ten feet down. I can take the passageway or the portal down. Let’s go back down. I jump through the portal.

I twist my ankle slightly in the fall and give out a small yelp of pain and lose 1 EP. I see an Ice Barbarian seated about 30 feet away and he is moving towards me. I can charge and attack him, use Camouflage, or run for the north corridor. I use Camouflage.

The stone walls and their carvings cast odd shadows and I use that to my advantage to hide. I am asked to roll a die and I roll a 2. He does not see me, and I can choose to tiptoe away or ambush him from behind. I choose the latter. Because of my quickness and ambush, I will not lose any EP in the first two rounds of battle.

Ice Barbarian - 17 CS, 29 EP

He is immune to Mindblast. I roll a 7 and he takes 14. I roll a 2 and he takes 8 and I take nothing because of the ambush. I follow with a 1 and he takes 7 and me 4. Another 2 kills him off and I took 7 damage and I am at 18.

I kill him and I can take his Bone Sword and Gold Bracelet. I can use Sixth Sense. It tells me the Gold Bracelet is a powerful piece of magic. Gold is out of place here because the Ice Barbarians use tooth and bone and leather for their needs. There are no mines on Kalte. Jewelry is of not interest to these practical people. My Sixth Sense leads me to suspect this was worn by force. I choose not to put it on.

I continue on and discover a door in the corridor. I can look in the room, or continue on. I look in through a spy-hole and see a robed man inside of a pentacle traced on the floor. I can go it or continue. I choose to go in.

As I go in, he asks who is there. He looks up and recognizes my Kai Cloak and praises the gods. He is Tygon, a merchant from Ragadorn who was kidnapped by the Ice Barbarians and now awaits audience with their new leader. He asks to be freed. I recognize the pentagram as a common circle of biding that can be easily broken from the outside. I can either freed him, or leave him, or if I have visited Ragadorn I can ask him some questions about the city. I choose to ask him.

I can ask him who the name of the ruler is, what is the name of the tavern in Barnacle Street, or the name of the river that divides Ragadorn. I choose the former. He says Killean.

Now, that’s actually wrong. Lachlan has been the ruler there for four years, and Killean before him. But if Tygon has been here for four or more years, that would be right. Of course, if he was here for four or more years, he wouldn’t be still waiting Vonotar’s audience, and Vonotar has only been here for less than a year himself. There’s no way the old Ice Barbarian chieftain would have imprisoned someone behid a magical circle. Something doesn’t add up here. I choose not to free him. He cries out to me as I leave.

As I continue, I come across another prisoner. This must be the jails, and that’s why the Ice Barbarian was down here, probably a guard. The spy hole for this door reveals and old man huddled in the corner with blue robes. I open the door to his cell.

Quote:

'Upon my soul, a Kai Lord!' he exclaims, his eyes now wide with astonishment.

'How I've prayed for freedom, for deliverance from this infernal place. And although hope never deserted me, I never expected such an illustrious rescuer.'

In the middle of his excitement, the old man is suddenly disturbed by a fit of coughing that leaves him pale and exhausted. It is a few minutes before he can speak again. 'My name is Loi-Kymar. I am an elder of the Magicians' Guild of Toran,' he says, slowly removing a small crystal star pendant, the symbol of the guild, from beneath his tattered robes. The guild is known as the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, and the magician shows his pendant as proof of his identity. You ask him how he came to be imprisoned here in Ikaya, many hundreds of miles from his native Toran.





'Vonotar, that unspeakable wretch, is responsible for my plight. Days before the Darklord invasion of Sommerlund, he betrayed your Kai masters to win power--the black power of death and darkness. However, he failed to play his part in the war plans his evil masters had laid. The Darklords do not tolerate such weakness--mercy has no place in their brutal minds. In the bitterness of defeat, they sought to destroy Vonotar for his crime of failure. Vonotar knew that I possessed the only means to effect an escape from their vengeance, for my Guildstaff has the power of teleportation. He tried to steal it and flee to the safety of Ikaya by himself, but he learnt that its power is not for all men to share; only I am blessed with its secret. He was angry and would have murdered my kinspeople had I not agreed to bring him here, so I had no choice but to do so.'

'Ever since, I have been a prisoner in this cell. Vonotar has tortured my body and my mind, but I have not divulged the secret of my Guildstaff, which he now keeps in the Hall of the Brumalmarc. For if I were to tell him, my life would no longer be of any value.'

You tell Loi-Kymar of your mission and of the events that have led to your meeting. He offers to show you a route through Ikaya to the Hall of the Brumalmarc where Vonotar now resides as ruler, and if you can retrieve his Guildstaff, he promises to teleport you to the coast in time to rendezvous with your ship.

For the first time since you fell into the caverns of Kalte, you feel confident that your mission can now succeed.

Loi-Kymar tells me that he has memorized the corridors and secrets of Ikaya by listening. He has learned more from his cell than Vonotar has with all of his magery. We go through several secret doors and down multiple passages before we end up in the kitchens. We are at a secret door that enters the kitchens, and a big bowl of stew is being brewed while some hungry Ice Barbarians prepare for their meal. I can use the Graveweed, Sleeptooth, or launch a secret attack. I decide to use the sleep potion. After all, I have learned the Ice Barbarians are mental slaves of Vonotar, so I want to kill as few as possible.

I pour the potion into their stew, and after a few moments, they are ready and move to get some, hungry to hot stew food. After a few more minutes, the Ice Barbarians are all snoozing happily. The kitchen is well stocked with herbs and Loi-Kymar prepares a selection and feeds them to me, and I am healed 6 EP. I am back to full at 28 EP.

He tells me we are on the same level as the Hall of the Brumalmarc. Two Ice-Barbarians stand guard by large jewel encrusted doors. He takes three jars from his pockets that he squirreled away from the kitchens and mixes them together. Blue smoke begins to emerge, and I need to deliver it near the Ice barbarian guards. I can use Camouflage, Mind Over Matter, Hunting or just try. I use Camouflage. I use some cloth to plug my nostrils and move the bowl near the Ice Barbarians with my skills. They collapse to the floor and we can approach the Hall completely undetected. I steel myself for an attack and push open the doors.

This is a vast chamber with crystal blocks as decoration. Vonotar the Traitor is on a crystal throne entranced by study and oblivious to us. We truly got him, completely and totally surprised. Loi-Kymar sneezes and Vonotar looks up.

Upon seeing us, he gasps and fumbles for his black staff. He looks like a criminal caught in the act. I unsheathe the Sommerswerd and charge towards him but he is far enough away that he is able to summon a really large guardian, a Akraa’Neonor. This huge tentacled monster has a central eye and slithers towards me. I can use my Sommerswerd, pull out the Effigy, or just attack it with a regular weapon.

I pull out the Effigy. I grab it from my pocket and it begins to glow. The creature is mesmerized. Loi-Kymar orders me to use it against Vonotar, and I mentally command the Akraa’Neonor to capture Vonotar, which is does with ease. Within seconds, we have captured a struggling Vonotar, who finally faints. I try Vonotar up and strip him of all of his rings, trinkets and jewelry.

Loi-Kymar raids the Hall until his finds his Guildstaff. After a few moments, he begins to use it to teleport all three of us to the boat.


The final section:


As the colours fade, you become aware of a sudden drop in temperature. You now stand upon the Ljuk ice shelf at a point less than half a mile from where the Cardonal lies at anchor. Loi-Kymar and Vonotar are close by, both shivering in the chill morning air. Within minutes you are sighted by the ship's lookout and a longboat is despatched. As a wriggling Vonotar is hoisted unceremoniously aboard the Cardonal and deposited in the brig the captain is the first to congratulate you on your skill and daring.

'But how did you manage to return so quickly?' he asks incredulously. 'We were not expecting you for another ten days.'

'Let us say,' interrupts Loi-Kymar, 'that the wisdom of the Kai and the lore of the Magicians' Guild can surpass the limitations of even time itself.'

A puzzled expression crosses the captain's face, but it is gradually replaced by a smile as he begins to understand the magician's curious answer.

Your journey to Anskaven is swift, but you are saddened by your memories of the brave guides that were left behind. Your arrival in the port is greeted by an anxious crowd. They fear that your early return is a sign of your mission's failure. When the news of Vonotar's capture becomes known, your warrior skills are required once again; this time in the defense of your enemy against the seething mob of outraged Sommlending that assault Anskaven gaol. Safe passage is eventually secured to Toran, where trial awaits the traitor.

Upon the dawn of the feast of Maesmarn, in the depths of the Guildhall of the Crystal Star, Vonotar the Traitor is tried by his brotherhood and found guilty of his terrible crimes. He is led away in silence to the deepest chamber of the Guildhall, wherein lies the Daziarn: a portal of total darkness, the door of an eternal prison from which there can be no escape.





You are the avenger of his crimes, and it is you who cast the wretched traitor into the limbo of Daziarn. Your mission is now completed. You have survived the caverns of Kalte and freed Sommerlund from the menace of Vonotar.

Alright, let’s look at The Caverns of Kalte

This is the first title in what will become a very common theme as Joe Dever, bless his heart, simply cannot write a good title. The Titles will be THE blank OF blank, and the second black will often be a adjective of nastiness. The next book, The Chasm of Doom, then The Kingdoms of Terror in book 6, The Jungle of Horror, the Cauldron of Fear, the Prisoners of Torgar, The Prisoners of Time, and The Masters of Darkness round out the first 12 before we have The Plague Lords of Ruel, The Captives of Kaag, The Legacy of Vashna, The Deathlord of Ixia, The Curse of Naar and that ends the series with Lone Wolf.

Anyway, the book is okay. Is the first time you get bonuses for rolls for having certain skills, and that makes the random number system feel a lot more fair from Fire on the Water.

I don’t like how the book is the only place in the series where you can lose by not dying. If you get to Vonotar without Loi-Kymar, you lose. If you do not have the Effigy, you have to fight the powerful guardian creature he summons, and it has 50 EP and has a high CS. Now, its undead, so your Sommerswerd can kill it quickly, but if you do not have the Sommerswerd of the Effigy, you have to fight it, and if you can’t kill it in 7 turns, which is virtually impossible, Loi-Kymar bites it and Vonotar escapes and you lose. That’s a bit unfair. You either have to have the Sommerswerd or the Effigy, but if you press the buttons in a different order, you lose if you don’t have the Sommerswerd. That’s pretty random. Even if you had Weaponskill, found the Silver Helmet AND used Alether, you would have to have a really high initial CS to have a chance of dealing 50 damage in 7 turns. If you have an average 5, that’s just 23 CS and you have a +1 CS ratio. That is doable, but if you have a 13 or lower initial, or you can’t identify or find the Silver Helmet and/or Alether, or you already used the Alether, you are dying. Plus, if you have not played through previous books, you have not been to Ragadorn, and you may easily free the Helghast, and without the Sommerswerd, you die to it automatically. Thus, although most of the book is fine, although the few fights are generally harder like the Baktar or the Ice Barbarians, you may have some serious difficulty later if this is your first book. It really assumes you won in a few places, or else you need to get lucky with the buttons, and the Helghast.

Sometimes, this really feels like Get a Lot of Items R Us. I found Blue Stone Triangle, Firesphere, Silver Helm, four potions, rope, weapons, Effigy, diamond, you kind find a few other things like Gold Bracelet, Blue Disc, Doomstone, etc. Anyways, here we go to the next one.


End of The Caverns of Kalte

The next one is the Chasm of Doom.

3 for 3

Yup. Once you get the Sommerswerd, the next few books are easy.

Ruanon is a remote mining province to the south of your homeland, Sommerlund. Nestling between the sullen peaks of the Durncrag and Maaken mountains, the people of this province have long prospered from their toil in the ore-rich mines, living and enjoying their wealth under the protection of their lord--Baron Vanalund.

The gold and gems that are mined at Ruanon yield an important source of revenue to your homeland. The heavily guarded convoy of wagons that leave the province and journey to the capital has become a regular monthly routine; a routine that had never been broken until one month ago when, suddenly, all contact with Ruanon ceased. A troop of one hundred cavalry from the King's Guard were immediately despatched to investigate the whereabouts of the missing convoy. Their commanding officer, Captain D'Val was ordered to report back to the King as soon as contact was made, but he and his men have not returned: they too have disappeared without trace.

The King has summoned you, Lone Wolf, last of the Kai Lords, to his citadel at Holmgard. Your quest is to find Captain D'Val and his men, discover what has happened to the missing convoy, and to uncover the veil of mystery that now hangs over Ruanon. The King has gathered a company of border rangers, a unit of élite scouts, all of whom are skilled in horsemanship and outdoor survival. He has ordered these fifty men to accompany you in the hope that, with your leadership, they may succeed where the larger and more visible force failed.

As you and your men enter the Royal Armoury to equip yourselves for the long ride ahead, you glimpse a black crow perched on a window ledge high above. It flies away, but not before a shiver has run down your spine: in Holmgard, the crow is a bird of ill omen.

I am given a Map of the Southlands.

Alright, I am taking Hunting as my next skill. Easy peasy.

I can take up to six items from the Royal Armory, so I take a Chainmail Waistcoat, 2 potions of Laumspur (+4 EP), two meals and a staff.

The Chainmail Waistcoat is, officially, compatible with the Padded one. Awesome.

I also get a bag of 10 gold.

Let’s take a look at what I have:

Safekeeping:

Golden Key
Prince Pelethar’s Sword
Kai Axe
Burrowcrawler Dagger
Warhammer from Farmhouse
Red Pass
Coach Ticket
Black Sword of Parsion
Map of Sommerlund, Kalte
Fur Blanket
49 Gold Crowns
1 Meal
2xPotion of Laumspur - +5 EP
Potion of Laumspur - +4 EP
Fur Backpack
Bone Sword
Effigy
Distilled Alether +4 CS
Concentrated Graveweed
Kalte Diamond
Ragadorn Dagger
Magic Spear




Keeping:

Crystal Star Pendant
Blue Stone Triangle
Sommerswerd
Quarterstaff, Royal Guard
Firesphere
Map of Southlands
Shield
Silver Helmet
Chainmail Waistcoat
Padded Leather Waistcoat
2 Meals
2 Potions of Laumspur: 4 EP
Ropex2 slots
26 Gold Crowns



I have 7 of the max 12 Special Items. I don’t consider the Triangle, Pendant, Map to count against the total.

I have 7 of 8 backpack slots filled with Rope, Meals, and Potions

I have just 26 gold crowns.

I am carrying a staff in the weapon slot. Actually, after consideration, I’m moving the Magic Spear to Safekeeping. That gives me room for 6 special items, not 5.

Lone Wolf, Warmarn Kai Lord


29 CS with helmet, shield, blade and Mindblast
32 EP with two waistcoats


Sixth Sense
Hunting
Tracking
Healing
Weaponskill
Mindblast
Mindshield
Camouflage


You might recall Captain D’Val from the beginning of Fire on the Water as the guy who got me equipped and ready and got my boat ready.


Alright, here we go, The Chasm of Doom awaits.

For three days I lead my 50 elite rangers southward without any trouble. The lush plains of southern Sommerlund are the first stage of my voyage, but they are a welcome sight. We are riding our horses towards Ruanon and answers to the lost gold carts, the lost men, and the lack of contact.

The Southerners welcome our presence but we can hardly stop as our urgent mission calls. We neither want to burden them, nor scare them. Before noon on the fourth day we arrive at the Pass of Moytura. We soon arrive at the notorious Ruanan Pike, a road once mighty but dilapidated in several places, passing on the edges of the Wildlands, and subject to raiders and Giak raids. We move into a cautious position as we continue to ride. Hours later, one of my rangers notices a spiral of wood smoke from the local wood. Do we hit it up, or keep going?

I decide to go there. We need information, and if anyone lives there, perhaps they can give us some. I take an escort of five rangers and approach a hut. As I near the door, I hear a voice say, “Come in Lone Wolf, I’ve been expecting you.” I can leave, enter, or draw my weapon kick in the door and enter. I draw my weapon. I kick in the door and a lot of dust flies about. The voice says he is alone and I have nothing to fear. I enter.

The interior is dimly lit. I see an old man seated at a table and looking up at me. I don’t recognize him. He is moving his hands across a large crystal sphere. I inquire as to how he knows my name. “The stars foretold our meeting long ago Lone Wolf.” He asks me not to be alarmed by his knowledge, as he wants to aid me. He hands me a small scroll with the following verse:

When the full moon shines o'er the temple deep,
A sacrifice will stir from sleep
The legions of a long forgotten lord.
When a fair royal maid on the altar dies,
The dead of Maakengorge shall rise
To claim their long-awaited reward.





The man has fallen into a trance and fails to answer my questions. As I watch, he begins to fade. I can keep his scroll as a special item, and I choose to do so.

I can ask them for info, or let them go on their way. They may be a good source of info, so I stop them.

I signal the driver to stop, and as they do, a small stout man with a bright pink tunic plunges out of the front wagon and shouts and curses at the driver, until he sees us. Then the idiot starts shouting Bandits! And Robbers! He works himself into such a rage and riot that he manages to knock himself over.



I am told by others that the man, Yesu, is simply afraid of the Pike so much that his nerves have got him. I find out that they are from the land of Cloeasia to the far east. They played at Eshnar but the people were quiet and listless, so they travel to Holmgard for a better audience. They offer to camp with us for the night and do some entertaining. Having 50 Sommerlund rangers in this dangerous land probably helps them out too. I agree.

The minstrels set up a small stage and announce the title of their play The Brave Warriors of Sommerlund. During the performance, I notice something odd. One of the players is using a real sword, and not just any sword, but only those issued to cavalry officers. After the play I approach him to question him about the sword, but he gets nervous and makes a dash for the darkness of the wagons. I can pursue, let him go, or use either Hunting or Tracking to find him. I decide to use my skills.

I find the wagon he is in with my skill and I go up the ladder to the door. He is hiding underneath a blanket. How quaint. I sit down and ask him how he came by such a sword. He tells me that he bought it in Eshnar from the Innkeeper of the Pick and Shovel. He tells me to take it if it is my sword. As I look at it, I see that it was inscribed with “Captain Remir D’Val - King’s Guard Regiment.” I do take it, and it will count as a weapon.

I accept food from the camp upon my return and then retire for the evening. Sleep is delicious and I am asked to pick a number at dawn. I get a 0. We officially enter the Wildlands part of the journey, and no Hunting for meals for a while. The landscape of Summerlund is gradually replaced with the Wildlands, familiar territory to me. As the day continues, we see storm clouds gather in the distance over the Durncrag Mountains. We discover the ruins of an old temple less than a mile from the road. Do I camp the night there for shelter or press on?

We arrive at the ruins for shelter and see two black robed figures underneath the canopy of the temple ruins. Our men address them but they do not replay. I order them to come out and identify themselves, and they do not move. I can: Order my men to attack them, try to capture them alive, sheathe my weapon and approach them with a sign of friendliness.

Look, I really find this whole thing suspicious, and I remember the Helghasts that attacked Rhygar outside of Tarnalin, but I can’t go about my own country attacking random strangers in robes. I sheathe my weapon, realizing I may be giving them a chance for an ambush. They slip back their hoods to reveal shorn heads and smiles. They appear relieved. They still do not talk, but they hold out fish amulets as identification.




These are a group of pilgrims and monks called The Redeemers. They are devoted to a lifetime of study and, of course have vows of silence. One of them hands me a small earthenware flask of Holy Water, a backpack item. I thank him and take it. We pitch a camp under the marble canopy and I eat a meal because I cannot hunt here.

We are awakened at night by voices crying out that we are under attack! An arrow whistles through the darkness, and we leap up and begin to attack the Bandits after we form a circle to protect ourselves in the relative darkness lit only by our fire. I manage to find the Bandit Leader after he cuts down to of my men. I cannot evade.

Bandit Leader: CS 17, EP 26

I roll a 9 , and with my large CS that is an auto kill.

The ruins echo with the sound of battle. These are well disciplined bandits, and not ordinary rabble. We charge through them in order to keep them from taking our horses. However, by the end of the battle, we have just eleven horses left. Reluctantly, I select ten rangers, and send the remaining alive back to Holmgard. I am asked to pick a number. I get a 2.

I hated the Caverns of Kalte. It always seemed that it was a super-easy book or a super-hard one.

After many hours of riding, we reach a highway junction that says Eshnar is 40 miles, and Ruanon south 60 miles. Now, obviously I am scouting to Ruanon, but I have Capt. D’Val’s sword in Eshnar, so diverting is not necessarily a stupid idea. Plus, as you’ll recall, the Troubadours said the people there were acting oddly. Oh, and I can use Hunting again now.

However, despite the reasons to go to Eshnar, there is one main reason to go south. We are supposed to. Sure, strange things are happening in Eshnar, but Ruanon is where the gold is being stopped and the people have disappeared. So its to Ruanon we go.

It is dusk when we arrive at the head of a forested valley. We have covered 20 miles. I can set up camp here, at the edge, send some men ahead to scout for bandits, or push everyone ahead despite fatigue and hunger. I decide to set up camp now, and the valley will wait until the morrow.

Luckily, the night is fine. We enter the valley and choose to send three scouts ahead because this is a perfect place for an ambush. The trees are packed too tightly together. We arrive at an overturned wagon, burnt out. The scout should have returned when they saw this, but there is no sign of them. I can search the wagon, ignore it, or check out a small track that goes into the hills from behind the wagon. I order the wagon searched.

There is nothing inside, but he wagon is blackened and the metal partly melted. This is the wreck of a Sommlending cavalry wagon. Whatever is in front of us can scorch a cavalry wagon badly. We turn up just in time to see these crazy large metal discs fly through the air and three more of my men fall dead, leaving me with just four rangers. We bury the dead, and now I have two choices - continue along Ambush Lane or take the track up the mountain.

I decide to take the track, but I fear an ambush at this very spot is suppose to make us take that track. After we head up it, I notice some tracks in the ground and I use Tracking to identify them as Sommlending Calvary horses. I choose to follow the tracks. I soon arrive at the opening of a mine. As I get close, they horseman dismounted and the harder dirt allows more distinct prints and they appear to be two of my missing scouts. They go into the mine, and I choose to follow them in after dismounting as well. I shout into the mine but get no response.

Yeah, it's pretty straight forward too.

The mine is dark and there are unlit torches on the wall, we each grab one and light it. We follow the footprints to a collapsed section of the tunnel, and they go on top of the rocks and squeeze into the tunnel. I can follow or call off the search and retreat. I choose to follow. We just manage to squeeze through the gap. The mine tunnel descends for several hundred yards. We reach a room with a timber floor and the footprints go to a collapsed section in the middle. We approach and I see two bodies of my scouts laying at the bottom of a muddy shaft, dead. The timbers are creaking so we retreat. I can go east, south, or use Tracking.

My tracking tells me that I have entered the Maaken Mines via a disused passage. For hundreds of years the ore from these mines has been a boon to the economy and infrastructure. There are now a labyrinth of tunnels that have been built over the centuries. However, all I have to do is find a section of the mine still in use, and I can sneak into Ruanon. Not a bad plan at all Tracking. And since Ruanon lies to the south, I take the south passage.

We spend over two hours in the south tunnel. Eventually we arrive at a large cavern. There is a underground river that apparently carved it out, and our miners tunneled into it. It looks like there is another passage on the other side of the cavern and there is a boat tied up. I have two options. Take a boat across the river, and then go to the other tunnel. Or, I could take the boat into the river and ride down the underground river south. It just makes sense to keep heading south.

As we drift down the river I have my four men huddle down. The ceiling is dropping huge ore-stained drops of water into the river and I don’t want to get too much of the discolored water on my clothes, incase they stain and make it harder for me to hide.

After a mile we arrive at a small grotto and there is a flight of stone steps that rises out of the river. We can continue down the river, or investigate these curious stairs. These stairs are odd, so I order us to disembark here. My four men secure the boat. As we reach a narrow ledge up the stairs, we hear the hissing of steam, and then the crack of a whip and someone yelling. I can go up and investigate or go back to the boat.

I go up. We end up entering a small tunnel off the stairs and the ledge. We occasionally crush a bone underneath our heel as we walk cautiously and grimace. No one responds. We reach a section where the tunnel curves and reveal reflections of torch light on the stones. We see two guards standing at a well inside of a sunken and lit chamber. I can signal my men to attack or try to lure them here and capture them. Well, we have secrecy on our side, so let’s keep it. We make a scraping noise, and as they approach, we attack in force, grab them, shut their mouths, and tie them up. I can question them, search them, or move on. I try to ask them questions but they refuse to say anything.

I order them searched and here is what we find:

4 Gold Crowns
Spear
Broadsword
Iron Key
Brass Key
Enough food for 2 Meals
Potion of Red Liquid

I take the crowns, keys, the liquid is Laumspur, and an extra meal. That gives me a full backpack.

In the well chamber there is a large iron door. There is also a spiral staircase. I can go up or down the staircase or investigate the door. I choose the door. Next to the door is a whip, which is oddly a backpack item. I can take it. I drop a meal in order to do so. I use the Iron key on the door. Immediately a loud hissing like steam can be heard. A large cat like creature called an Elix pounces. It has glowing green eyes, and more pound through the door and attack my men. I draw my sword to attack the first one that came out.




Elix: CS 17, EP 30

I roll a 5. I take one, it 14. I roll a 3. Me 2, it 11. Finally I finish with a 2 and take an extra 2 damage to kill it off. My EP is 27 of 32.

Two of my men lay dead, with their throats torn out. One ranger is pinned to the floor and the other by the stairs. I choose to help the one fighting on the stairs. I hack apart his Elix and his foot is severed by the Elix, and he will die in a few minutes. The other man died too. That was the wrong door to open. I have no men and nothing was in the room. Go up or down. Let’s go up.