[Abe Sargent]

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You dismount and climb the steps leading to the temple doors. An old man in brown robes answers your knock and invites you and Paido inside; a novice attends to your horses.

Stepping through the door is like stepping into another world. The air is sweet with incense and the flickering light, cast by a long row of squat red candles, does little to illuminate the interior. You follow the old man along a vaulted corridor, down several flights of stairs, and finally into a torchlit refectory. A delicious smell of cooking wafts from an open hatch in the wall together with the sounds of people in the kitchen beyond.

'Be seated,' says the old man, pointing to a stout oak table laid for supper, 'and enjoy our humble food. May it revive you after your travels and fortify you for the road ahead.'

Another monk enters the chamber, carrying two steaming plates of meat stew. He sets them down before you and blesses the food with the words, 'gaj kog zutag'. You are hungry after your day's journey and must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

Now, that’s either Giak or Darklord tongue, and frankly, Lone Wolf should be able to recognize it by now. I choose to eat a meal through another method (Huntmastery). The monks appear upset by my refusal to eat their stew. They enter in the company of an elderly man in their robes with a long black staff. He asks if we have eaten, but I have not eaten their food. I use Divination and it tells me this man is very, very evil. Like off the scale evil. He says to summon the brothers, and as they leave, I use my bow to take down one of the monks that are rushing to the door., but he other escapes. I choose to fire an arrow at the uber-evil one but, we’ll, you’ll want to see:

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You draw and fire an arrow at the monk's head. At the same time he spins his black staff with incredible speed and dexterity, creating a whirl of darkness. There is a brief flash as your arrow enters this spinning vortex and is smashed to fragments. Before the fragments have settled on the floor, you shoulder your bow, draw a hand weapon, and leap forward to catch your enemy off his guard.


(That’s pretty nasty. This is going to hurt without my Sommerswerd. Incidentally, I have healed all of my wounds like Kezoor, so I have that going for me. )

The sinister monk is shocked by the speed and ferocity of your attack, but he recovers his senses in time to parry your first blow with his black staff. A splash of hissing sparks lights the room as your weapon scrapes along the jet-black pole and glances off its twisted tip. You raise your arm to strike again, but you are distracted by Paido's scream of alarm. His face is deathly pale and his hands and arms are trembling uncontrollably. With a groan he collapses, scattering plates and cutlery as he hits the table and rolls unconscious to the floor.

A distant echoing whistle issues from the monk's open mouth. Steadily it rises in pitch until it passes beyond the range of your hearing. At that moment a terrible pain courses through your head. The pain and pressure grows until your skull feels ready to explode.

Do I have Psi-Screen? Nope. I take 8 EP in damage from the stupid mind wrenching attack.

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A ghastly transformation is taking place before your eyes. The monk's face is writhing and contorting as the skin tightens and grows darker. Tattered flesh drops from his sunken cheeks to hang in festoons beneath the exposed jawbone. A sickening dread fills your heart as you recognize the creature standing before you. It is a Helghast, a nightmarish agent of the Darklords. Its demonic eyes glow like red-hot coals as it shrieks and raises its long black staff.


I quaff some Laranuma now, both halves. This is going to hurt. Do I have the Sommerswerd. Nope, but the text will then assume I do not have any other magic weapons, when I could have the Dagger of Vashna, Jeweled Mace, Magic Spear, Bronin Warhammer, etc.

The Helghast fires a ball of blue flame at me. I can try to deflect it with my Bronin Warhammer, Fire an arrow at it, or just dodge. let’s not over think this, let’s just dodge.

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You hit the floor and roll behind the table, the only cover available on this side of the refectory. The fireball scorches your back as it speeds across the room and explodes against the wall with a deafening crack. You find yourself lying beside Paido, who is unconscious but still alive. His blue-steel sword rests across the back of his legs, and the hilt of a dagger protrudes from the top of his boot.

Do I have Divination and Tutelary? Yup. It tells me Paido’s sword is Magical so I grab it (In reality I’m just using my Warhammer, because the text assumes you have no magic weapons - a bad assumption). The Helghast fires another blue flame and this time I can deflect it easily off my magic weapon. I hit the Helghast with it, and it drops its staff. I see the opportunity and strike.

Gnaag Helghast CS 28, EP 40

Immune to Mindblast. Unless I have Psi-Screen I lose two CS. Okay, so I have a CS of 22 against him. Ick. Alright, let’s see what sort of damage I can do. This is a lose-able battle.

I roll a 4, 5, 9 and 6. I lost 14. The Helghast lost 21. Let’s keep going. 3, 5, 9. I lost 23. The Helghast lost 33. I have 9 left, the Helghast has 8 left. I roll a 7. 6 to it and 3 to me. I quaff the last draught. I roll a 9. The Helghast dies and I have 6 EP left. Whew.

I save my Laumspur for now.