(I try to talk to them)
You call out a friendly greeting to the nearest villager and you see his face blanch. He throws up his hands in alarm and runs headlong into the nearest undergrowth. This begins a chain-reaction among the other villagers who shriek with panic and flee in all directions. Within a matter of minutes this village has been transformed into a ghost town.
Bemused and a little unnerved by their inexplicable reaction, you pass through this cluster of empty bamboo huts and continue on along the road towards Hikas.
You approach the gates of Hikas just as the last rays of sunlight are dipping below the western horizon. Bathed in the sun’s afterglow this ancient city-port looks warmly inviting, and you cast your eye appraisingly across the stone geometry of its protective wall, its conical towers, and its pyramidal dwellings. Every surface is embellished with runic symbols, yet few remain legible, for thousands of years have elapsed since they were carved.
The Vakeros at the east gate recognize your Kai tunic and offer you a guarded welcome. They warn you that a curfew is in force and tell you to be off the streets by dark. You pass through the gate and follow a long shadowy street that descends towards the wharves and taverns that line the banks of the Carcos River—a murky, silt-rich channel which divides the city in two. Mindful of the imminent curfew, you tether your horse to a rail and enter the nearest tavern in search of a room for the night. Inside the air is hot and stale. A small number of men and women of mixed nationality stand at the counter and sit at small tables. Their low-voiced conversations break off as you let the tavern door shut behind you with a bang.
(I head to the counter)
The men standing at the counter move away at your approach, and one of them, a bilious rogue with close-set eyes and a cleft chin, casts you a murderous glance. You ignore him and ask the innkeeper for a room and stabling for the night. He says the tavern is full and he suggests that you look elsewhere. Chalked on a board above the counter is the message ‘Rooms—2 Gold Crowns nightly’, and hanging on a line of brass hooks behind the innkeeper’s back are seven room keys. The man is lying: every boarding room in this tavern is unoccupied.
(Why are you lying?)
The innkeeper says nothing, he just narrows his eyes and his jaw sets rock-hard. Then the rogue and his shadowy companions sidle their way back to the counter and move to surround you.
‘You heard him,’ says one of the men. ‘There ain’t no rooms.’
‘Yeah! That’s right,’ sneers the rogue. ‘So why don’t you be gettin’ on your way, friend.’ And with this, he whips a dagger from his belt and stabs it into the counter. He glances at his companions and instantly they reach for the hilts of their swords.
(I protest)
Suddenly it seems that everyone in the tavern is gripped by an inexplicable madness. The rogue pulls his dagger free and attempts to stab you, but you turn his clumsy thrust aside with your forearm and knock him to the floor. Two of the others try to strike you simultaneously with their swords and you duck below their blades. They strike each other and fall back, screaming and clutching at their wounds. A thrown bottle catches you a glancing blow to the head as you run for the door (lose 2 ENDURANCE points), but you manage to pull it open and escape into the darkening street without further injury. However, to your dismay you discover that your horse Jhani has disappeared. Two men brandishing swords appear in the doorway behind you and swiftly you sprint along the street. You use your Kai camouflage skills to evade them and they quickly give up the chase.
The incident at the tavern and the loss of your horse leave you feeling angry and confused. For more than an hour you walk the dark, deserted streets of Hikas as you struggle to make sense of what has happened. You are passing a junction where the cobblestoned street joins with a larger avenue, when suddenly you hear the approaching tramp of booted feet. A stern but anxious voice calls out, commanding you to halt, and when you peer into the darkness you see a dozen Vakeros militiamen. They are armed with spears and throwing nets, and they are standing in a line abreast to seal off the avenue.
(I obey)
Warily the Vakeros move forward to surround you, their spears held out at arm’s length as if they are afraid to come too close. Their officer, a young lieutenant, steps a pace nearer and you can see that he is sweating profusely. It is a warm night but this is not the reason he is perspiring: he is terrified. Then he recognizes the style of your tunic, and when he looks carefully at your face you see the whipcord tension in his body begin to ease.
‘You’re a Kai?’
‘Yes,’ you reply. ‘I’m a journeyman bound for Elzian.’
The Vakeros signals to his men and expertly they couch their spears and form up into a column in readiness to march.
‘Well, Master Kai,’ says the lieutenant, ‘you’re going to have to come with us.’
The militia have orders to impose the curfew and arrest anyone caught on the streets after dark. As you march alongside the young lieutenant on your way to the city’s guardhouse, you ask him why such stern measures have been imposed, especially in Hikas which is considered to be one of the most peaceful and civilized cities of Magnamund.
‘The people of Hikas are living in fear of their lives,’ says the lieutenant. ‘For the past month there’s been a creature stalking our streets at night. It’s killed more than fifty poor souls, and in terrible fashion. Ripped ’em to pieces. There isn’t anyone who’s lived to tell what it looks like but everyone’s got their own ideas. Some say it’s a shape-changer that goes about at day in the guise of a man and changes into a beast at night. Others say it’s come from Gorgoron, seeking revenge on the Old Kingdom for the death of its master—Agarash the Damned. I don’t know what to think. All I know is that it walks these streets, and every night someone dies a ghastly death by its hand.’
Suddenly a terrible shriek echoes through the empty streets. A woman standing on the balcony of a tall building nearby leans over the parapet and calls out to the lieutenant. ‘Down by the river,’ she shouts, and she points over the rooftops to where the shriek was heard. ‘The fiend … it’s struck again!’
‘Quick, men!’ yells the lieutenant. ‘Follow me! If we’re swift we may catch the beast this night.’
(I head with them)
You run with the militia along the narrow twisting streets towards the south quarter of Hikas, where the town houses of wealthy merchants command expensive views of the River Carcos. Again a shriek pierces the darkness, but this time it is echoed by a terrible inhuman howl. ‘The beast!’ gasps the lieutenant, and he turns to rally his men onwards. Soon the street ahead meets a towpath which runs along the river bank, and you slow your pace so you can turn the corner. As you do so, you see a man dressed in his nightclothes leaning from the open window of a house close by. He appears to be in shock for he is sobbing and clutching fitfully at his dishevelled hair. You stop and call to him and slowly he responds. He sees you through his tears and points frantically to several small bundles lying on the towpath beside the gangplank to a barge. The lieutenant rushes past you and hurries to the first bundle. You see him drop to his knees and shake his head in disbelief, and then he turns away and retches. You magnify your vision and see, to your horror, what the bundles really are. They are the shredded remains of two men, two traders who have been dragged from their beds aboard their barge and torn limb from limb by some nameless creature of the night.
Desperately you scan the towpath and the buildings which stand all along the river bank. Then you see something and your heart skips a beat. In the darkness of a narrow alleyway two amber eyes glint in the moonlight. You sharpen your focus and catch the faintest glimpse of a dark shape loping away.
‘There!’ you shout, and you give chase, with the city militiamen and the lieutenant following after. The passageway twists and turns like an angry snake before it ends abruptly at a junction where a wider alley crosses it from left to right. Quickly you drop to your knees and summon your tracking skills in an effort to determine which way the creature went.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Pathsmanship, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you possess Telegnosis, add 1.
(i toss a 3)
You enter the right alley and the militia, who are following closely, split into two groups. Roughly half their number searches the other alley whilst the remainder stays with you.
As you are running along this narrow thoroughfare, suddenly you hear the sound of splintering timbers somewhere in the distance. A hundred yards later the alley opens out into a tree-lined plaza which is bordered by shops selling rare artefacts of the Old Kingdom, and expensive works of art. Their windows and doors are securely barred and shuttered and show no signs of a forced entry. Then your eye is drawn to a grand building on the far side of the plaza: it is a temple. Its great stone door is closed, but a smaller wooden door at the side has been torn off its hinges. You magnify your vision and see that beyond the door is a flight of stone steps which ascend to a bell-tower.
Cautiously you approach the shattered door. You unsheathe your weapon and scan the darkened stairs before silently ascending the steps. You have climbed twenty steps when suddenly you hear a hideous snickering growl and an icy chill runs the length of your spine. There is an ominous creak of stone on stone and a movement in the darkness above, and then a crashing fills your ears. Out of the darkness you see a great marble statue come smashing down the narrow stairway. It rapidly gathers speed as it tumbles end-over-end towards you.
(I do not have Kai Alchemy)