One Kai Left: The Lone Wolf Dynasty

[Abe Sargent]

After five minutes of climbing, I reach the next level and a tunnel heads off towards the south. I take it, and go a short distance when I discover a lever in the wall and hear a sudden noise in the distance as a guard moves down the tunnel toward me. I pull the lever, enter the secret tunnel, the door closes, and after the guard passes by, I notice I cannot get back out so I have no choice but to follow this path.

The tunnel emerges into a large path. A dark skinned warrior guards the entrance to a ratty old bridge. On the other side of the bridge is another tunnel continuing. The guard is distracted by whittling. I can use Camouflage, use Mind Over Matter, or just attack. I use Camouflage. As I move, the guard turns his back to me for a split second, and I launch an ambush. I pick a number and add 3 if I have Hunting or I am Guardian Rank. I get an 11. I kill the guard, and find 3 crowns, a sword and a meal. I take the crowns, eat the meal hurriedly, and move on.

I hear some movement behind me and I dash across the bridge and down the tunnel. I find a lever in the all and suspicious, I check it for traps but find none. I pull it and a portcullis crashes down behind me and I break the lever with a rock.

I am hungry and must eat a meal, but since I did about five minutes ago, I am counting that. Plus, the text never says I can’t use Hunting in caves and mines, although it might be poor form to think I can. After eating I follow the tunnel for several miles before it arrives and a long, deserted gallery.

[Abe Sargent]

A line of empty ore wagons are parked along a stretch of mine. Above the arched tunnel is a flight of wooden stairs. I am hidden in the shadow and watch the gallery for 30 minutes and am sure no one is here. I can use the wagon track, climb the stairs or use Tracking AND reached the rank of Aspirant. I do that and it tells me that the condition of the track, ore carts and floor mean this is a regularly used section of the mine. I can feel a fresh breeze and thus I determine that Ruanon is west. I follow the wagon track west.

I pass several ore wagons that have a familiar mark on them.



This is the mark of Baron Oren Vanalund, of Ruanon. This confirms I am going in the right direction. As I continue I hear whip cracks in the distance. I can hide in the shadows of the tunnel wall or duck into an ore cart. I hide in the shadows, so I can run back if I am spotted and have better view of the area. Various bandit warriors arrive and lead slaves. The slaves take the ore carts and move them back, so I am glad I wasn‘t in one. I wait for awhile until they are gone from view. I follow the track and emerge into the light as I leave the Maaken Mines behind and reenter the Ruanon Forest.

And thus begins one of my favorite sections of passages in all of the series. Instead of my normal paraphrasing, expect me to quote them all, much like I think Izulde has been doing with Grey Star.

[Abe Sargent]

The trees are alive with bandit patrols, but your quick wits and Kai skills prevent you from being seen by them. Eventually you reach the edge of the copse. You find yourself staring out across an expanse of open plain towards Ruanon. The sight that lies before you is very disquieting.

Much of the mining town has been burnt to the ground. The blackened ruins of what were once shops, cottages and taverns are now little more than smouldering mounds of charcoal. You are beginning to fear the worst, that Ruanon has been totally destroyed, when a gentle breeze clears the haze of wood smoke hanging like a grey curtain over the ruins. Inside the perimeter of ruined buildings, a barricade has been thrown up around a tower of stone. Above the tower, a tattered flag still flies bringing renewed hope; it is the sun-flag of Sommerlund edged with a band of white braid--the cavalry standard of the King's Guard Regiment.



The sudden crack of a twig makes you freeze. You glance behind to see three bandits creeping through the trees towards you. The wide steel tips of their spears glint. They seem to be coated with a clear, sticky fluid.


(I use Hunting to identify what is on the tips of their spears.)



You recognize gnadurn sap dripping from their spears. It is a deadly poison. You dare not risk engaging in combat with these bandits, for the merest graze from one of their tainted weapons could be fatal. Leaping to your feet, you race away from the trees and run towards Ruanon.

From all along the forest edge, groups of bandits emerge from the trees, whipped and scolded by their bullying sergeants for allowing you to escape. This spurs you to quicken your pace, and you cover the first hundred yards with ease. Then arrows begin to fall around you. You duck and weave, making yourself a difficult target for the archers, and gradually the falling shafts dwindle in number. You smile at their futile attempts to stop you, but your confidence is soon shaken by a pack of snarling Warhounds breaking out of the woods to your right; they are off the leash and hungry for blood. You are less than five hundred yards from Ruanon, but the Warhounds are closing in.


(I can fight or try and run faster. Outrun Warhounds. Well, might as well try, I can always turn back and fight if it fails.)

You try to ignore your aching legs and the fear that knots your stomach by forcing your concentration on the sun-flag, a fluttering symbol of hope in the distance. Your face is streaked with sweat, and your lungs feel as though they will burst, but you dare not slacken your pace; the thought of Warhound fangs closing and tugging on your skin is all you need to drive you forward.

At four hundred yards, you can see that the barricade and watchtower are inhabited, but at this distance the faces you can see are only a line of small, pink dots on the walls. At three hundred yards, you run into some gruesome remains, where the corpses of bandits lie twisted on the ground, most killed by arrows. Many have lain in the open for weeks; a flock of startled carrion crows rise shrieking from their feast as you race through the bodies. You turn away in disgust.

Suddenly a new sound drifts across the plain: the sound of cheering. The beleaguered defenders have spotted you and recognized your green Kai cloak. Two hundred yards to go. You have just passed the ruins of a burnt-out cottage when you feel an agonizing pain tear through your left thigh. An arrow has pierced your leg, and you pitch forward into the mud and ash.

Crouched in the ruined cottage, a bandit sniper raises his bow and takes careful aim at your head.

(I pick a number and roll a 9)

A scream of pain and terror fills the air. The sniper crashes to the ground as the jaws of a Warhound clamp tightly around his neck. Other hounds are drawn by his ghastly screams, and he is soon ripped to pieces. You look up to see a man running towards you from the barricade. He has a shield in one hand and a longbow in the other; it is Captain D'Val.



He reaches you, breathless from his run, and draws an arrow from his quiver. The Warhounds, tired of their victim, are in search of fresh sport and are turning their attentions on you. D'Val aims and fires, drawing another arrow as soon as his bow is empty. Warhounds tumble and crash to the ground around you, felled by D'Val's deadly shafts. The captain grabs you by the arm and swings you over his shoulder in one swift movement, before carrying you back to the barricade. Others run forward to help him, but the bandit archers are now in range and the men are forced back by a hail of arrows. The red shafts whistle past on all sides. Finally you reach the barricade; a wagon is pulled aside and you are carried through the open gap. Captain D'Val is close to exhaustion; he staggers and his men rush to catch him before he drops you to the ground.

A circle of unshaven faces are staring down at you. A soldier cradles your leg as another snaps the shaft buried deeply in your thigh. But before you can even cry out in pain, he has drawn the arrow from your leg with one swift tug. 'You are very lucky, Kai Lord,' he says, as he bandages a handful of Laumspur to your aching limb. 'The wound is clean, and the bleeding is but slight.'

You lose 4 ENDURANCE points, but the soldier's quick thinking and skill has saved your leg from infection. With great care the soldiers carry both you and Captain D'Val into the stone watchtower.



Man I just love that section.

[Abe Sargent]

Anyway, as I normally do, here is the quoted section that gives away massive parts of the plot, like I did with the Loi-Kymar section in the third book or the King Alin in the second book:



I was hoping the King would send a large search party,' says Captain D'Val wryly, now having fully recovered from his exhaustion. 'I was beginning to tire of this town.'

You rise from your straw bed, and offer your thanks to the captain. His brave and timely action saved you from certain death. ''Tis nothing to compare with you, Lone Wolf. Your bravery is legend. Your presence here is worth a hundred men.'

He asks you about your mission, and you recount the events that have led you to this meeting; the ride south, the loss of your company, your passage through the Maaken mines and the bandits.

'Yes, the bandits--Barraka's men,' retorts D'Val, his gruff voice conveying his contempt for them and their leader. 'It seems we have both suffered at his hand. A month ago, he and his Vassagonian renegades ambushed my troop on the Ruanon Pike. We were sorely outnumbered and the fight was indeed bitter. But we broke free from them and escaped here to Ruanon. We have been beleaguered ever since and praying for help to arrive. We have enough weapons to resist them, but we have barely enough food and water to survive.'

You ask what has become of the people of Ruanon. 'Most are now slaves. Barraka has taken the mines and he uses the Ruanese as forced labour. Other than yourself, only one man has escaped from the mines and survived the Warhounds and the bandit snipers. That man is Baron Oren Vanalund. Come, I shall take you to him.'

D'Val leads you to the topmost chamber of the watchtower and pushes open an iron-shod door. The sight that greets you fills your heart with sorrow and pity

[Abe Sargent]

As you can tell, the Baron has been deeply affected by this. He has lost everything, his castle, his lands, his family, his people and more. His sons were killed and daughter taken captive. Here is one of his sons, dead.




The pathetic man just says the same two lines over and over again:


When a fair royal maid on the altar dies,
The dead of Maakengorge shall rise.


If I have a Scroll, I am to go to a certain passage, so I do. I read the scroll out loud, and as I do, the Baron stands and intones it with me:

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 Baron looks at me and implores me to save her. I must prevent the sacrifice. Captain D’Val is way behind and is asking a lot of questions. “Save who? Who is he talking about?”


Quote, and the last one for a while, I swear:

'My daughter, Madelon. Barraka has found the Dagger of Vashna. He plans to sacrifice my daughter upon the altar of Maaken to release the undead of Maakengorge.'

The Baron explains that during the Age of the Black Moon, King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of all the Darklords, Vashna, with the Sommerswerd, the sword of the sun. His body and the bodies of all his soldiers were hurled into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. 'He plans to lead the dead to victory first to conquer Sommerlund and then all of the Lastlands,' he says in despair.

You stare at the Baron in stunned silence. If Barraka completes the sacrifice, all is lost. What mortal army can stand against a legion of the dead?

Captain D'Val ushers you from the chamber and closes the door. 'I feared he was insane, but your Scroll confirms my worst nightmare. He speaks the truth!'

As the dreadful significance of the verse begins to sink in, your thoughts are broken by the shrill blast of a war-horn. Captain D'Val strides over to an arrow slit and peers out across the plain. As he turns to speak, you notice that his face is ashen grey. 'The bandits . . . they're launching an attack!'

[Abe Sargent]

I am offered a chance to return D’Val’s sword and I choose to do so. He is excited and takes it. He proclaims it is a sign of good fortune for the coming battle. Okay, here we go. Another of my favorite sections of the books is about to begin.

I follow D’Val down to the battle site. A rolling sound like thunder fills the air. Vassagonian Cavalry are pouring onto the Ruanese plain. In front of the troops, they have rows of the Ruanese peasants, and D’Val’s men simply cannot fire their arrows at the enemy because they are being used as a shield. Suddenly a hidden catapult launches a massive black rock which explodes in the air and bursts into flame raining fire and tar onto the Sommlending soldiers. Many of our soldiers are killed before the fires are put out.



The barricade is poorly defended because the fire rain split the defenders. I hear D’Val call out my name and see his cloak and tunic ablaze. I have three options, help D’Val, help the defenders, or if I have the rank of Warmarn, I turn to a certain section. I am a Warmarn.

My experience tells me that we have to rally the defenders or all is lost. I order two soldiers to help the captain while I head out to stop the gap myself. The attackers have already reached the perimeter of Ruanon. They are creeping forward under cover of broken walls. I order D‘Val’s men to defend the barricade, but the enemy is so close.

[Abe Sargent]

The bandits break cover and charge. I give the order to fire. Arrows from the King‘s Royal Guard tear into Vassagonian troops. In many places the bandits are turned back, but in others, they reach the battlements and I charge forward to attack and Vassagonian Warrior.

Vassagonian Warrior - CS 18, EP25

I roll a 2 and deal 10 and take 2. I roll a 6 and deal 16 and take just 1. Dead Vassagonian.

D’Val runs past me and leads a group of men into the Vassagonians. He drives the enemy back. We shout out a victory chant when another sight is seen.

A mantlet is being pushed across the battlefield. Arrow shaft soon decorate it like a pincushion, but it continues to advance.





Suddenly a robed figure dashes out from behind the mantlet fires a spell off just before being taken out by an arrow. A guttering ball of flame engulfs the compound hurtling bodies of defenders and attackers alike in every direction. Behind it the enemy cavalry is using it as a edge to charge in and drive us apart.

[Abe Sargent]

They have poured past our barricade and into the compound and one is charging at me.

I choose to stand and fight.

Vassagonian Horseman CS 20, EP 28

I get just one round. I roll an 8 and kill him. The book tells me if I deal more than I take to turn to a certain passage. The text says I unhorsed the horseman, so I am going to assume that I killed the horse. He staggers to his feet and sees me and charges leading with a scimitar. I can flee or fight. I choose fight.

Bandit Horseman CS 17, EP 24

I roll a 4 and deal out 12 while taking 2. A second four follow and I take a total of 4 damage while killing the horseman.

I run half crouched to the barricade and I grab a bow from the corpse of a dead soldier. I have spotted the leader of this thrust, a swarthy Vassagonian officer. He is barking out orders to his men and they are rallying. I need to take him out.




I pull back the bow and aim. Roll a die. Add 2 if I have Weaponskill. I get a 6. The arrow flies true and hits, but misses vital organs piercing his shoulder. He screams loudly, but is still alive. I move to nock another arrow but the dead soldiers quiver is empty. I run to a sergeant-at-arms still firing his bow and instruct him to shoot the leader. The arrow kills the bandit leader and their cavalry leader dies.

We hear Captain D’Val’s booming voice crying for a rally. He has gathered a wedge of soldiers and pushes back into to the Vassagonian forces. The shield-wedge of the Sommlending hews through the enemy and the remaining soldiers join it increasing its size and power. Finally a Vassagonian herald breaks free and sounds the retreat.



Their forces in retreat, we manage to kill many of their number with bow and sword, axe and hammer. The enemy has withdrawn and we hold the ground. We begin the task of rebuilding the barricade and tending to the wounded. My own wounds are tended to, though they be minor.

However, Captain D’Val and I know that this is but a temporary victory. The real battle is at Maakengorge and in stopping the sacrifice of the Baron’s daughter. In three days’ time, when the moon is full, Barraka will sacrifice the woman.

[Abe Sargent]

50 miles south of Ruanon lies the gorge. Before I leave, I am offered some small items. I take a rope that only takes one space in the backpack in exchange for my current one, a spear, and Laumspur, giving me four doses.

The good news is that with the enemy in retreat and chaos, the chance of me sneaking to Maakengorge is much higher. Dusk arrives at Ruanon. I use the cover of darkness to make my way from the broken city. The highway is choked with soldiers. I can go through the trees on the right or left of the highway. I choose left.

The guards are not much interested in guarding, and I move about fairly well. As I do, I come across a hut. I can go it, or keep going south. I choose to skip it. Why bother with exploring. I have a mission that is amazingly time sensitive.

I press on through the trees. By morning, I have reached the edge of trees and move into a large plain with wheat growing. Flying insects flit about the crops. I spy some Vassagonians moving down the road and I have three options, do I have an Onyx Medallion, do I have Camouflage AND Guardian rank, I can just try to hide. I use my skill since I do not have the Medallion.

I part the crops carefully and allow them to close over me and I lay on the ground. I have completely vanished from sight. The Vassagonians pass mere inches from me and never notice.

[Abe Sargent]

I bypass a village in order to keep out of sight. Like in Ikaya, stealth is called for. I enter a small copse of woods again and drink from a stream. I use Hunting to find a meal and I keep going.

As night falls, I enter the city of Maaken, the ruins of the old city where Ulnar slew Vashna with the Sommerswerd. I can hear the cry of Maakengorge in my ears, as the lost here cry for freedom. I haven’t slept in almost two days, so I sneak a little now since I arrived one day early.

I awaken and it is drizzling. Dawn has arrived. I spend five hours investigating and observing until I have figured out just tow possible entrances. There is a door to a crypt that is guarded by two soldiers. There is also am unguarded marble stairs. Since I have plenty of time, I decide to take the unguarded stairs, in order to keep up my unknown presence.

The rain makes the area dark and there is mould everywhere. I am asked for a torch, the Firesphere, or I can leave or push forward into the black. I use my Firesphere. I gasp as I spot a Daemonok, a vile and powerful evil creature that was watching me and now decides to swoop down and attack me.



I am asked if I have the Sommerswerd. I do. (If you do not, you die, fyi). As the light of my sword lights up the room more, a look of terror lights across it. I swing and it is all it can do to avoid my blow and fly out of the room through a hole in the ceiling. It does not return.

I can continue along a corridor or leave and go back to the guarded entrance. I decide to continue now that the watchdog is out. The corridor ends at a flight of steps and at the bottom of that, a short passage leads north. There appears to be a cavern just past the passage, and there is a balcony here that overlooks the cavern. I can go to the balcony, or go to the cavern. Always look before you leap, so I go to the balcony.

[Abe Sargent]

Quote:

An empty feeling grips your stomach as you stare upon the altar and inner sanctum of the subterranean temple. Your Kai senses burn as if every nerve in your body is screaming a warning to flee from this evil chamber. Huge braziers of molten metal encircle a black altar upon which lies fair Madelon, the daughter of Baron Vanalund. She seems to be entranced--her breathing is slow and shallow. Beyond the altar lie two massive doors, a gigantic skull engraved upon their black stone surface. Out of your view, another door opens, and a procession of red-cloaked priests enter the temple. Their heads are covered and they each carry strange amulets of black stone. They file past the altar, depositing the amulets in a circle around the young girl's body and then file out again in total silence. Then you hear the sound of a distant drumbeat; it grows louder and nearer. The measured steps of steel-shod boots resound in its wake. Barraka is approaching.






Barraka carries the stench of death and decay about him. He strides into the temple, his boots of Gourgaz hide covering both legs and feet, and slams shut the huge stone door with frightening ease. He stands in silence before pushing open the huge black doors engraved with the menacing skulls. Suddenly a gale force wind sweeps through the temple and your ears are filled by a terrible scream. Beyond the open doors, a pier of stone juts into the abyss of Maakengorge: you are staring into the chasm of doom.

Barraka turns away from the windswept pier and walks slowly towards the altar. From a hidden scabbard he removes a twisted black dagger and holds its stiletto blade to the light. An evil blue flame runs up and down the black steel spike, flickering in the ice-cold winds of Maakengorge. The sacrifice is about to begin.

[Abe Sargent]

I can draw my weapon and attack, or try and distract him. I choose to distract him. I tell him to hold his blade. Barraka turns around surprised at first and then laughs, giving me time to close. He moves towards me with the enchanted dagger. I draw my weapon. I need to kill Barraka and who knows what he can do to me while my attention is turned. I am asked if I have the Sommerswerd, and I do.

As I raise it, the howling wind from the Gorge increases in intensity. They can feel it end. Barraka draws a long and sharp scimitar. He manages to cut my cheek and I lose an EP> Then he launches a deadly Mindblast, but I have Mindshield. Otherwise I would have lost 4 CS for the combat. Barraka is immune to Mindblast:

Barraka CS 25, EP 29

I have just a difference of +2. I roll a 1 and he takes 4 and me 5. I follow with a 7 and he takes 10 and me 1. A 5 is next with 8 and 2. I roll a 6 and he takes 9 and I take 2. Barraka falls to the Sommerswerd. As Vashna fell here to the Sommerswerd long ago, so does him who would bring back Vashna.



Quote:

As Barraka dies, the wind suddenly rises in pitch and intensity, filling the temple with a mournful cry of despair. You feel the chill, malevolent spirit of Darklord Vashna engulfing you in an icy embrace, but you sense that he is powerless to harm you. The sacrifice has been foiled; he is doomed to lament for a victory that might have been.

Lying on the black temple floor is the Dagger of Vashna. As you pick it up and tuck it into your belt (mark this on your Action Chart as a Special Item), the evil blue flame flickers and dies. As long as you possess this evil blade, Darklord Vashna and his legion of dead warriors will remain imprisoned in the chasm of doom.

You free fair Madelon from the altar and carry her through the corridors of the temple that lead up to the surface. As you emerge into the moonlit ruins, an astounding sight greets your eyes. Barraka's warriors are running from the ghost city in all directions, closely pursued by an army of cavalrymen. The light of the full moon and the guttering torches that these horsemen carry, illuminates the sun-crest that bedecks their tunics. Word must have reached Holmgard for they are the Sommlending army, led by King Ulnar himself. Your countrymen praise your courage and daring, their strident cheers drowning the cry of Maakengorge, for once again you have proved yourself a true hero of Sommerlund. As you deliver Madelon into the waiting arms of her father, his overwhelming joy fills you with a sense of great achievement. You are indeed worthy of the title 'Kai Lord'. You have succeeded in your perilous quest, but the epic saga of Lone Wolf--last of the Kai Lords--is far from complete. A new and deadly challenge awaits you in Book 5 of the Lone Wolf series entitled: Shadow on the Sand.

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, review of The Chasm of Doom, which is by far the best book in the series so far, although with a caveat. Well two. First, it still has random syndrome. For example, if you have not played through the previous books, you can kill Barraka with the Holy Water. However, you only get the Holy Water if you A) choose to camp at the Temple Ruins and B) choose to be friendly to the black robed monks instead of killing or capturing them. That’s not easy to get. Also, all of the combats here are hard. There was no fight where they had a CS of less than 17, and many had higher. Imagine starting and rolling a 14 CS. Ouch. Killing Barraka would have been nigh impossible.

I love this story for he most part, but this book, while the best with the coolest parts like the siege and the running from the caves and the rhyme, and great building tension, it also has the most typical plot lines. Sacrificing on an alter? With a magical dagger? Has to be a princess? At a full moon? I throw a rock to distract a guard? The non-white guys are all bad? An disappearing sage who leaves a cryptic message? There are times when plot points feel very conventional.

So yes, best book so far by far, but it still has issues.


End of The Chasm of Doom

[Abe Sargent]

I love Shadow on the Sand, and it is better than Chasm in several ways, with better plots, story, and really fun stuff happening. I love it.

Here’s the Shadow on the Sand story

You are Lone Wolf--last of the Kai Lords of Sommerlund, and sole survivor of the massacre that destroyed them during a bitter war with your age-old enemies, the Darklords of Helgedad.

It is midwinter in your northern homeland and a mantle of snow lies knee-deep in the streets of Holmgard--the capital--when you are summoned from your monastery in the hills by a messenger bearing a scroll, signed and sealed by the hand of King Ulnar. You are surprised to read the King's message, for it is a request for your help in solving an urgent problem of what he describes as 'great diplomatic importance'. It seems a strange request to make of a warrior lord, whose skills are better suited to the field of battle than to parleying with foreign envoys. However, you obey the summons and upon your arrival at the capital, all is made clear.

The Zakhan of Vassagonia, the imperial ruler of this desert empire, has sent his most trusted envoy to seek a treaty of peace between your two countries, and you have been asked to sign the treaty on behalf of your country. The reason for this is easily apparent.

Less than a year ago, a renegade noble of Vassagonia called Barraka led his army of bandits in an attack upon the Sommlending province of Ruanon. This mining town and much of the surrounding land was overrun and destroyed. Many Sommlending lost their lives, and many more were enslaved and forced to labour in the mines of the Maaken Range. When the regular convoy from Ruanon failed to arrive at the capital, the king sent you to investigate. A great battle ensued in which you defeated Barraka in mortal combat. Without your courage and skill, the safety of Sommerlund and all of the Lastlands would have been placed in grave peril.

'Your majesty, the Zakhan is gravely embarrassed by Barraka's foul treachery, and is most anxious that our friendship and trust be restored. He begs that you send the Kai warrior, Lone Wolf, to sign a treaty of peace with him at the Grand Palace in Barrakeesh,' whimpers the Zakhan's emissary, as he kneels at the feet of King Ulnar.

The king rises from his throne, barely able to conceal his distaste for the fawning envoy. He turns his gaze to you and bids you follow him to the privacy of an antechamber.

'I have no liking for this desert realm, Lone Wolf, but I like the prospect of war even less. The Zakhan is old and frail, and has no son to claim his throne when he dies. Barraka was but one of many ruthless nobles who wait like jackals for the chance to seize power, and I fear they grow too impatient to allow the Zakhan to die a natural death. The treaty may not guarantee peace with Vassagonia once the Zakhan is dead, but it will at least buy us precious time to strengthen our southern border.'

The king leads you to a window and points towards the harbour, barely visible through the falling snow. A Vassagonian galley lies anchored close to the harbour wall.

'Go to Vassagonia, Lone Wolf. Sign the treaty and return quickly. Even with the promise of peace, I fear the shadow of war will fall upon us before the year is out.'

You wave farewell to Holmgard on this bleak midwinter's day, feeling sure you will return before the thaw. But as you watch the spires of Holmgard disappear in the falling snow, you have no inkling of the shadow that awaits you in Vassagonia.

[Abe Sargent]

The Chasm of Doom was the final book to take place in Sommerlund. Now you are going to Vassagonia, and you will journey father and farther out with each new book.

I begin with, you guessed it, a Map of Vassagonia

[Abe Sargent]

I decide to rock Animal Kinship as my 9th and final Discipline. I take an extra Shield for Safekeeping, potion of Laumspur, and 2 meals and I gain 11 gold.



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, Southlands
Fur Blanket
60 Gold Crowns
1 Meal
2 Potion of Laumspur - +5 EP
2 Potion of Laumspur - +4 EP
Fur Backpack
Bone Sword
Effigy
Distilled Alether +4 CS
Concentrated Graveweed
Kalte Diamond
Ragadorn Dagger
Magic Spear
Holy Water
Brass Key
Iron Key
Whip
Sommlending Cavalry Spear
Quarterstaff, Royal Guard
Scroll of Prophecy
Shield




Keeping:

Crystal Star Pendant
Blue Stone Triangle
Sommerswerd
Dagger of Vashna
Firesphere
Map of Vassagonia
Shield
Silver Helmet
Chainmail Waistcoat
Padded Leather Waistcoat
2 Meals
4 Potions of Laumspur: 4 EP
Rope
39 Gold Crowns

[Abe Sargent]

Lone Wolf, Savant Kai Lord


29 CS
32 EP


Sixth Sense
Healing
Tracking
Weaponskill
Mindblast
Mindshield
Camouflage
Hunting
Animal Kinship



Here we go

[Abe Sargent]

For 25 days the galley that left Port Bax sails until it nears Barrakeesh, the capital of Vassagonia. During my time on the ship I have learned the Vassagonian language very well, and also regaled the Vassagonian sailors with tales of my deeds as the Last of the Kai. I have earned their trust and respect by the time we arrive.

The envoy for the Zakhan is proud of his city and hands me a spyglass to observe the spires and bannerets of their city. Everything is as he describes it, but I see many black banners flapping over the town.





I am him what they signify, and in shock, the envoy grabs the spyglass from my hand. The envoy curses, and then tells me that the Zakhan is dead. The bad news passes through the ship quickly.

We arrive and the harbor is largely deserted except for a few citizens wearing black. I can hear the toll of a funeral bell. A horse-drawn carriage arrives and moves to the ship. It halts, and several of the Palace Guard emerge as well as a man in turquoise robes.

'A thousand greetings, Lone Wolf, I am Maouk, and I welcome you to our city on behalf of my master, his most sublime magnificence, Zakhan Kimah.'

Upon hearing the name of the new Zakhan, the envoy gasps and turns to me. He starts to tell me it is a trap, but Maouk’s dagger pierces his chest and he is killed before my eyes. Suddenly, dozens of troops begin to appear from the various shops and alleys nearby. The trap has been sprung. I have three options: I can stand and fight against overwhelming odds, surrender, or retreat back to the ship.

[Abe Sargent]

Now, the first half of Shadow on the Sand is basically following one of two paths. You are captured or surrender, escape and find Kimah. Or, you run free for a while, shake any pursuit, then something happens to force you to break into the palace, and you find Kimah. Both are fun. One is a lot faster. I am going to play this with fun.

I choose to run back on the ship.

Maouk shouts to take me alive. The men on the ship have yet to see what is happening. I don’t want to get them in trouble, so I choose to dive overboard immediately. I stay submerged for as long as I can, until my lungs are about to burst. I can see their troops, Sharnazim, moving about all over the place. I gulp another breath and dive, swimming fifty yards under the water.

As I move, I spy a lot of refuse here. Clinging to one of them is a Bloodlug, a gelatinous underwater creature of some power. I am asked if I have Animal Kinship, which I do. Using my discipline, I am able to send the Bloodlug elsewhere so that I do not have to fight underwater. I watch as it devours a small squid.

[Abe Sargent]

I surface near a covered skiff. I doubt the Bloodlug was the only scavenger in the water in this junked harbor. I haul myself aboard the skiff and hide under the leather cover and woven rushes. The swim has me breathless from holding my breath for so long. The Sharnazim are searching the water for any sign of life. I need a diversion. If I have Mind Over Matter, I can provide one. Otherwise, I cannot easily.

Looking for another way, I search the baskets and items on the boat until I find a nice wooden case, and inside is a Jakan, a bow used for coastal hunting. I nock the only arrow and raise the Jakan. I spy a small, white-walled shop with a row of green glass items. I take careful aim and fire. I roll a die and add 2 for having Weaponskill. I get a 9.

The plan works The arrow cuts through the air. The smashing glass echoes throughout the harbor. I decide to take the Jakan with me, in case I can find more arrows. Several of the black-clad troops are ordered to search the area, pulling them off harbor survey and scanning. I creep from one boat to the next until I reach a stone flight of steps. At the top I enter a maze of crooked alleyways. I am about 20 feet from safety when someone notices me and shouts out.

[Abe Sargent]

I sprint along the deserted alleyway and make for freedom. I climb a staircase, dash across a square, and continue to try to put distance between me and Maouk’s men. As I race across the square, I see three exits, and I need to pick one - I can enter a gate, an alleyway, or take a straight pathway through the arch. I can also use Tracking, which I do. It tells me that the alley is a dead end. The gate could be locked, you never know, so I take the path.

I enter a wide street and find myself in one of the markets. The market is crowded with people, unlike the section I just left. Everybody is wearing black sashes, and I pass by a stall where they are selling them, so I buy one for two crowns and put it on. When in Barrakeesh, do as they do. I dodge into a narrow passage with eating halls and taverns, and the smell of food is overpowering and delicious. I spy a poster than reads The Zakhan is Dead - Long Live the Zakhan. I can stop to read the rest, or continue along the passage. I need info, so I pause.

The poster is written in Vassagonian script, but I can read it. It says:


His most illustrious majesty, Zakhan Moudalla the Exalted, has passed into the realm of the Majhan. May his spirit never die! By the grace of the Council of Kadi, the Funtal of Kara Kala and the Judicar of Barrakeesh, it is decreed that Kimah, Emir of Ferufezan, Protector of the Dry Main, shall by right claim the throne of Vassagonia. Through the unity of the Seven Cities, he will lead his people to greatness.

Long may he reign!


I witness some soldiers pushing and following me and they knock over a fruit cart. The owner curses the soldiers and their clumsiness and the soldiers take off his head right there. Well, now I know they are the bad guys and not just people following orders. I will have no compunction killing them.

[Abe Sargent]

I turn and run down the passage. It ends at a tree lined plaza. My fair skin and green Kai cloak are a bit of a sore thumb, so I need to find some cover. To my left is a small dwelling with a curious wooden sign over the door with the sign of the fish. To my right is a tavern called The Hunted Lord, which strikes me as appropriate. I can go to one, the other, or use Healing. Healing tells me that the dwelling is a home dedicated to The Redeemers, a group of monks and pilgrims I met before. The Redeemers helped me once before, perhaps they will do so again.

The house smells strongly of incense. There is a narrow hallway lined with cushions for meditation and introspection. A man dressed in head to toe in black appears and walks towards me. Suddenly, I hear Maouk’s men enter the plaza outside and quickly turn around. The Redeemer sees my glance and points me to a cellar door. I choose to enter it. I have no other options, although I prefer to leave myself an out when possible.

I rush into the cellar and bolt the door. I see some rope and a tinderbox here and I can take either, but I have rope and a Firesphere, so nah. The Sharnazim have entered the building and begun searching everywhere. It is only a matter of time before they find the cellar door and me. I look around and see an iron grille in the center of the room with a stench arising from it. I decide to pull off the grille and jump down.

[Abe Sargent]

Quote:

A slippery ladder disappears into the dark, stench-filled shaft. You gulp a lungful of air and climb down, locking the trapdoor behind you. When you finally reach the bottom of the shaft, your worst fears are confirmed.

You have entered the Baga-darooz, the main drainage sewer of Barrakeesh. You recall one of the crewmen aboard the galley, an old man nicknamed 'The Stink' because he smelled so much, having been sentenced to one year's imprisonment in the Baga-darooz for a crime he did not commit. Peering along the gloomy tunnels, you wonder how he survived for so long in this dank, filthy sewer.

Suddenly your thoughts are disturbed by the sound of splintering wood. Chunks of shattered timber rain down upon you as the Sharnazim force open the trapdoor. The heavy iron grille glances off your shoulder as it falls; you stifle a cry of pain, but you lose 1 ENDURANCE point due to the wound.

This section of the Baga-darooz is a junction where three channels meet. You must quickly decide which channel to take, for Maouk's men are now descending the ladder.

I have three options. Left, right, straight, or use Tracking. Tracking tells me that the right channel is sluggish, suggesting it is going north. The vast tide of sewage goes to the coast and the sea, so north for right, and the coast. Left, then, goes south and back into Barrakeesh proper. I should be able to find many ways out of the Baga-darooz and into the streets. Straight is west. It is the least fetid and cleanest of the three channels. The west channel leads to an aqueduct that provides fresh and clean water to the city. So, south, north, or west.

I choose west. Clean is good for me. As I go, I see huge cockroaches through the ceiling, and it is still thick with grime and debris. I hear some sudden splashes behind me that suggest that Maouk’s men are here. I suddenly hear a strange sound I had not expected to hear here. The sound of scaled skin slithering over stone. I can just make out the creature coming toward me. I can use Animal Kinship and do.

It tells me the reptile is a Kwarez, a giant creeping reptile. They are native to the Maakenmire swamp leagues away from here, but it must find the sewers close to its home environment. It’s giant claws are getting closer. It is very susceptible to psychic attacks. My Animal Kinship quickly persuades it that I am not appetizing at all, and it loses interest in me. It turns and keeps moving towards where Maouk’s men are. I keep going, and I hear the scream of one of his men dying.

[Abe Sargent]

After a long time of pushing through the mire, the smell begins to subside. Eventually I reach a junction where a larger tunnel crosses my path. I can go forward, left, right or use Sixth Sense. It tells me a lair of Kwarez is to the north. I can go forward, or turn south. I choose to turn south in order to throw off my pursuers again.

I reach a domed sewer-vault. I chute descends from above into the vault. I keep advancing when suddenly I notice that the floor disappears. I can try to swim in this very filthy water or I can try to catch my rope on a long bar on the side of the chute and swing across. If I do that, I lose my rope, and I don’t want to lose it yet, I may need it later.

As I dive through and into the putrid water, the oily refuse begins to fill up my nose and ears. I eventually make my way through the sewage to the other side, but that was very uncomfortable. I begin to shiver, but it is not the filth that has shot fear into my heart. I cannot feel my left arm. The whole arm is numb and lifeless.

I have contracted Limbdeath. The wound has become infected with the Limbdeath microbes, one of many deadly diseases found in the Baga-Darooz. None of my Kai skills can stop the loss of my arm. In 24 hours, it will be destroyed. Only one cure in the world will help, the Oede Herb. I lose 3 CS permanently until I can fix my arm. Additionally, although the text does not tell me too, I cannot use a Shield either, so I really lose 5 CS. I press on. I have too

[Abe Sargent]

The temperature rises steadily as I continue to advance and soon I am sweating profusely. Am I nearing a forge? I see a chamber ahead filled with steam and I notice that the floor gives way after just a few yards. Below is a tar-sorkh, a mud geyser quite common in Vassagonia. It looks like this geyser has been pout to good use, proving steam to heat a large number of homes in two giant circular chimneys heading into the ceiling. The only way out is those chimneys. I can try to climb the right one, or the left. I choose the left.

I start moving up but the scalding steam hurts my skins and lungs and I lose an EP. I hook my fingers into a jagged crack and try to draw myself upwards, when a bolt of fear hits me. I have disturbed a nest of Steamspiders.



Steamspiders - CS 10, EP 25.

I cannot attack them due to the lack of am arm, so I have to just crawl past. I take 6 damage in doing so.


I reach a point where the shaft stops being vertical and has begin to curve. The steam has cleared, but the heat is still oppressive. My entire body is very sensitive. All hope of signing a peace treaty with the new Zakhan is gone. My concern is merely to escape. I notice a square vent badly rusted and decide to kick it in. Success after a few kicks and I leap through.

[Abe Sargent]

Then I laugh. I arrive at the one place I most needed to be. The public baths of Barrakeesh.


I enter a large vestibule and a man in white robes reading hears me approach and squints his nose.



'By the Majhan!' he cries. 'You smell worse than a Baknar!' He hurls a towel at you and points to the door. 'Take my advice,' he whines, his fingers pinching shut his nostrils. 'Don't get undressed--your clothes need the bath as much as you.'

I wince as I expect him to notice I am not a local, but he just goes back to reading. He is apparently bad enough in the eyesight that he does not even notice. There are many open chambers with perfumed water, heated, splashing in and out. I jump straight into the cool water with my clothes on. I notice a large perfumed jar of purple oil. I can swallow it, rub it, ignore it, or use Healing. Healing tells me it is Larnuma oil and I rub it on my skin and it is nice and relaxing and I heal 2 EP. I am fully healed.

I head out into a hot and arid ante chamber and my clothes dry very quickly. I find a hall with many people assembled and taking. This is the public forum of Barrakeesh as he people here are very proud of their public baths. They are mostly talking about the new Zakhan, and few favorably. I can see why.

I keep the towel in my backpack.

[Abe Sargent]

Hurrying down the steps away from the Bath Hall, I enter the Saadi-tas-Ouda, or the Square of the Dead. The flagstones are jet black and various pikes across the square have heads in varying states of decay of criminals along with the crime committed. There are thieves, pirates, murderers and traitors. However, I see a sight that chills me.



Impaled on a pole in the head of the Vassagonian envoy whose only crime was, um, nothing. Around him I see the heads of the entire galley crew that brought me here from Port Bax. On every one of their foreheads is branded the word Traitor.

Anger roils inside of me. Despite my current condition, I intend to see justice done.

As I continue, I see a sign that marks an Herb Warden. Since I need Oede, I decide to head in.

She welcome me and asks how I can help. My arm is beginning to turn a blue tinge. I say I need Oede herb, and she looks sadly at my arm.

I cannot help you,' she says sorrowfully. 'Oede is now a very rare and precious herb. I would have to sell my shop and all my possessions in order to buy just one small pouch of Oede. There is only one man in Barrakeesh rich enough to possess this herb--the Zakhan.'

She tells me that the north gate guards can be bribed, but only the Zakhan has it. She pulls out some healing items to see if I want any. I do not, I have four Laumspur pots already. I thank her, and she wishes me luck.

[Abe Sargent]

Quote:


Your desire to leave this treacherous city is overcome by your fear of losing your arm. You must get the Oede herb, even though it means you will have to enter the very place you are most anxious to avoid--the Grand Palace.

The alley follows a tortuous route through the Mikarum, finally leading you to the 'Horm-tas-Lallaim': the Tomb of the Princesses. Beyond the tomb, the Grand Palace rises like a massive white pantheon.

You suddenly recall a legend told to you by your Kai masters long ago: 'The Nemesis of the Black Zakhan'. The Black Zakhan was a brutal tyrant, the cruelest of an evil lineage that ruled over the desert empire long ago. The barbaric excesses of his reign have never been forgotten in the Lastlands. The Grand Palace was built by his army of slaves, prisoners from countries he had conquered in war. The palace became his obsession; he personally oversaw its entire construction and punished the workers personally if there was the slightest delay. He butchered his subjects indiscriminately and in the most terrible fashion. His favourite form of execution was for the victim to be sawn in half from head to foot until the body fell in two pieces. However, it was the mass execution of the slaves who built the Grand Palace that made him infamous. He slaughtered every slave worker so that his enemies could never learn of the secret treasure chambers he had had constructed. Among the slaves were his only daughters, Kebilla and Sousse, who openly opposed their father's cruelty and tried to prevent the executions. In a blind rage, he ordered that they should be the first to die.

It would have been better for the Zakhan, and for Vassagonia, if he himself had died that day. He lived for another two years, but his mind was unhinged by guilt, and he was tortured by self-loathing and despair. In the Grand Palace, the silence of the night was frequently broken by the Zakhan's moans and cries, as he wandered from room to room looking for his daughters. When he died, he was laid beside them, here, in the Tomb of the Princesses.

From where you stand, you can see two entrances to the Grand Palace; a spike-topped gate in the north wall, and an arch in the west wall, blocked by an iron portcullis. The palace is usually heavily guarded, but there are very few guards today; most are searching for you in the city.

Joe Dever regularly spends a few sentences or a paragraph fleshing out his world, so I thought I’d show you one here. I choose the north gate. I keep in the shadows and approach. I have three options. If I have both Camouflage AND Hunting, I can use them in tandem. Otherwise I can try to attack or bribe. I decide to use my skills.

I manage to slip by and enter the palace gardens. I have to eat a meal now, so I do. No Hunting in the palace and the city. I have one meal left. I pass through exotic plants and herbs. There appear to be two paths from the gardens into the palace - the Palace Kitchens or the Vizu-Diar, the trophy hall. I can also use Tracking and/or Sixth Sense, which I do. They tell me the Kitchens is the slave part of the palace, so go to the Vizu-Diar.

[Abe Sargent]

I reach it without being seen. In here are souvenirs of Royal Hunts, and most are reptilian, to reflect the harsh desert environment of Vassagonia. I hurry out the other side into a finely decorated corridor. It leads to a large hall with several guards. I manage to hide behind some statues and then sprint stealthily up a distant stair. At the top I see two doors - one with a book on the right and one with a mortar and pestle of the left.

I do the book first, and hope for info while I am here. Instead, I find a library with a Copper Key and a Prism. I take both. I then go to the other door because there are no other exits from this library. I open it up and begin to survey the interior. I am so taken with the search for Oede that I totally miss the giant cat-creature and its normal hissing steam sound. The Elix pounces and I draw the Sommerswerd. I have fought Elixes before, so I get +2 to my CS. I roll a 9 and kill it automatically.

The exertion of combat is more than it should be. Limbdeath is taking over. I see a Gold Key on the Elix’s neck and I take it. It opens a strong room. I enter it, and on top of a shelf is a box with the precious and very rare Oede Herb. I press the beautiful golden leaves against my shoulder, and it beings to heal within seconds. In under a minute, my arm is healed. I have enough Oede for another dose. I exchange it for a meal.

Oede Herb can heal a lot of injuries that usually have few to no cures. It can also be ingested for a 10 EP life gain to heal some mega damage. I pull the Elix corpse into the Strongroom and notice there is a door on the other side, and the Gold Key opens it too.

[Abe Sargent]

The door is a secret passage to the bedchambers of the Zakhan. The place is opulent with platinum and opal and a door of solid amethyst. I see a Quarterstaff, and I can take it. It is very fine, and I would guess it is the Zakhan’s Quarterstaff. I grab it for my other weapon slot. After moving through a few rooms, I arrive at a landing that overlooks a massive room that occupies much of the lower palace. From the top of the landing, I see a sight that is indescribable:



Quote:


Upon a raised platform, carpeted with scarlet fur, sits the Vassagonian Emperor, Zakhan Kimah. He is robed in gold but devoid of all ornamentation. In his hand is an orb of black metal, and in his eye an ice-cold cruelty that chills your spine. The Zakhan is a man of awesome countenance, but he pales in the shadow of his companion.

Before him stands the cause of your terror. A helm as black as death itself hides the face, but the stench of decay and a hideous sepulchral voice betray the identity.

'Give me Lone Wolf!'

It is the fell voice of a mortal enemy--a Darklord of Helgedad. As the Zakhan rises to his feet, you notice a flicker of doubt, or perhaps of fear, dim his cruel gaze, but he is quick to mask it. 'He will be brought to you at sunset in exchange for the Orb of Death. It is agreed.'

'You have the Orb,' echoes the chilling voice. 'Give me Lone Wolf!'

The Zakhan hides his fear well, but time is not on his side. The game of bluff he is playing is deadly. However, the fact that he has not yet been discovered is evidence of his powerful will, for you sense the Darklord is persistently clawing and probing at his mind.

'You will get your Northlander, Lord Haakon,' says the Zakhan, his voice curt with anger, 'when you tell me why your servants defile the Tomb of the Majhan. You claim to have no need for gold and jewels--why then do you plunder the graves of our ancestors?'

A deathly quiet fills the hall; only the unnatural hiss of the Darklord's breath disturbs the silence. 'This land, this insignificant speck of sand, harbors two small thorns that prick our skin. We seek to remove them both--forever. The fledgling Kai, Lone Wolf, is the thorn that denies us Sommerlund. The Tomb of the Majhan hides the other thorn that threatens us--the accursed Book of the Magnakai.'

Your heart pounds as the words echo in your head. The Book of the Magnakai! Suddenly, the reason why you have been enticed into a deadly trap becomes clear, and the sinister truth is revealed.

The Book of the Magnakai is one of the oldest legends of Sommerlund. With the wisdom of the Magnakai, Sun Eagle, the first Kai Grand Master, instilled the disciplines into the warriors of the House of Ulnar, the bloodline of your king, that were to save your land from devastation at the hands of the Darklords. The Book of the Magnakai was lost hundreds of years ago, but its wisdom was kept alive, handed down through generations of Sommlending warriors so that they could share the strength to resist their eternal enemies, the Darklords of Helgedad.

If the Darklords discover and destroy the Book of the Magnakai, the secrets will be lost forever, and when you die, the Kai will become extinct. However, if you discover the Book of the Magnakai first and deny the Darklords their prize, all the wisdom of the Magnakai will be revealed to you. Through its wisdom you will become strong, strong enough to reach the ultimate achievement for a Sommlending warrior--to become a Kai Grand Master.


Now we begin the second part. Shadow on the Sand actually has two parts, and we have finished Book I. Now we enter Book II.

[Abe Sargent]

Suddenly I catch sight of two Drakkar soldiers clad in black armor who have spotted me. One is holding the leash of a razor-fanged Akataz, a nasty leathery war-dog. He releases it at me. I can fight or run. Normally, I’m all over fighting, but I’ve got the Zakhan AND a Darklord down there, so I’m, thinking running is the right thing to do here.

As I tear out of there, I hear a terrible cry from the Darklord to Kill Me! The Drakkarim are running at me and I near some stairs. The Akataz has almost reached me but as it lunges I move and it hits a pillar and I kill it while it is distracted. Darklord Haakon raises his fist and launches an eldritch bolt of power at me. Meanwhile, one of the Drakkar has arrived and moves to attack. He lunges and hits me for 2 EP but gets fried by the bolt.




At the end of the hallway are stairs up and an archway. I choose the stairs. I need to get off this floor. The stairs ascend to a parapeted walkway with a door in the tower. Suddenly a guardsman comes out of the door fumbled for his sword. I can cut him down or push him aside and move on. I attack him. I grab him and toss him over the wall. I can continue to climb or enter the door the guard came out of. I choose to go through the guard door.

[Abe Sargent]

I am in a narrow corridor. All of the palace guards AND the Drakkarim are searching for me intently. I reach a door on the other end that opens into a balcony. There is a stair that descends to a bridge that goes over to another tower. I can descend the stairs to the gardens or to the bridge. I choose the bridge, because I bet the grounds are the first places to get searched right now.

I arrive at the small marble tower. Two flights of marble stairs meet me. I see Drakkarim entering the bridge. I have to go up, down or use Sixth Sense. My sense tells me that palace guards are coming up the stairs to my landing, so I go up.

The stairs are high and steep. The Drakkarim are just a dozen or so steps behind me, so I push myself. I get to a platform where a huge kettledrum is used by the palace guards to send messages. I can try to roll it down the stairs or just keep going. I choose to send it back. The copper drum crashes down easily, it was not supported well. It makes a big noise as the enemy screams and squelches. I scattered my pursuers and yet I am trapped at the top of this tower. I am asked if I have rope. I do.

I try to lower myself to the gardens, it’s the only thing I can do. As I lower myself, a few enemy soldiers get to the top of the tower and saw my rope in half, and I drop into the gardens. I am instructed to pick a number and I get a 4. I fall okay, into some water. It is a sculptured pool. Everybody watched me fall and are converging on the gardens. I can follow a winding path, climb the stairs to a small door or use Tracking. Tracking tells me the path goes to the Zakhan’s private Arboretum, while the portal goes to a private chamber in the upper palace. I decide to stay on ground level and head to the Arboretum.

[Abe Sargent]

The track here goes deeper and deeper and I escape notice for a while. However, I soon spy a party of Drakkarim led by a figure in red. I am asked if I have the rank of Warmarn or more, which I do. It tells me the creatures is a Vordak, a undead lieutenant of the Darklords with mental powers. It begins to search for me with its mind. I am to roll a number and add 2 if I have Camouflage and 3 if I have Mindshield. I roll a one and get a 6 result.

I have been detected. The Vordak shrieks and points to me while the Drakkarim charge me. Do I have the Sommerswerd? Yup. I run a bit, and then run into the Vordak, and I raise my blade. I strike one blow shattering the Vordak’s skull. The Drakkar hesitate and I charge them and cut them down. All dead.

I run to put some distance between myself and the group I just killed, for when they are invariably discovered. Soon I find a group of vines that go up. There appears to be no obvious exit from the Arboretum. I can keep looking, or just climb the thick vines up to a walkway above me. I choose the vines. I need to put distance between the Arboretum and me since I left behind a gift.

I arrive a corridor leading to a grand stairway. Up the stairs is a statue of the obese ex-Zakhan Moudalla, who’s girth allows me to hide as some soldiers come by. I continue and I discover a hatch with roof access. I decide to head up and hopefully get away from these patrols. I might get a vantage point to see how to get away.

[Abe Sargent]

However, as I see through a bell-tower, I see a very good escape plan, maybe. Perhaps. I have found a line of Itikar pens. Itikar are large black bird steeds used by Vassagonians as flying steeds. I watch as a rider and Itikar land, the slaves take the rope, and more. I am asked if I have a blowpipe and sleep dart, but I do not. I leave the shelter of the bell-tower and make my way towards the Itikar. At first, sneaking around is easy but the roof loses a lot of its cover as we get nearer.

I must cross the final section unseen. I am asked if I have Mind Over Matter, and I do not, so I have to roll a die. I get a 13 after adding for Camouflage and Warmarn. I kill him easy. I choose to search his body and find 8 crowns and Brass Whistle, which I take. Drakkarim have arrived on the roof, so I need to finish this.

I get to the saddle of the Itikar and it flashes its large talons at me. I am asked if I have Animal Kinship, or if I have an Onyx Medallion. I do have Animal Kinship, so I use it. I am able to communicate with it easily and assure it I am no harm. It will let me ride it. I undo the anchor rope and begin to fly away.

It does not take long before I’ve gotten the hang of ringing the Itikar when you add my Animal Kinship to the mix. One Drakker is slashed in two by the Itika’s talons as we leave:



We quickly leave Barrakeesh behind. That’s not a problem. However, we do have problems. A group of Kraan with Drakkarim on their backs is closing in. See, the Darklords have Kraan and the Vassagonians have Itikar, so simply having a flying steed is not as much as you might think. They are over a mile back but closing quickly. I am currently over Lake Inrahim. There is about an hour left in the day. I can head south or east. I choose east. I want to put maximum distance between Barrakeesh, not turn parallel to it.

I see and follow the main road that leaves to Chula, because I want to get there. It makes for a nice base. I am about five miles away when a Kraan and Drakkar get close enough to me to make a pass. We will have one round of combat:

Drakkar Kraan-Rider - CS 20, EP 28 I roll a 7 and deal 18 and take none. Because I dealt more than I received, I turn to a section that says I slice into both mount and rider and the fall back to the ground after spinning wildly. They managed to wound my Itikar and it is losing blood badly. We could crash any minute. Then I see a sight that renews my faith in miracles

[Abe Sargent]

Quote:

Emerging from a bank of clouds on the skyline is a flying ship. It is a small craft, no bigger than an Unoram river barge, with two triangular sails swept back either side of its curving prow. In the fading twilight you can make out a long pennant that flutters from its mast. A faint humming reaches your ears. Your first reaction is disbelief; what you are seeing must be a trick of the light or some fiendish illusion created by the Darklords. However, as the ship floats nearer, your senses tell you that it is indeed quite real.


(I am asked if I have the Crystal Star Pendant, which I do)


Standing at a fortified platform in the centre of the strange craft is a blond-haired young man with deep, brooding eyes. Instantly you recognize him: it is Banedon, the young Sommlending magician who gave you the Crystal Star Pendant at the ruins of Raumas, after you saved his life in a Giak ambush.

You are so stunned by his unexpected appearance that you fail to notice the blood seeping from the Itikar's mouth; the creature is near to death. Suddenly, the great bird lets out a pitiful and agonized caw, its wings stiffen and its head falls limp as the last flicker of life escapes from its torn body. It pitches you forward, and your stomach heaves as you plummet towards Lake Inrahim.

(I am asked to pick a number, I get 2.)

As you tumble earthwards, a blur of colour flashes before your eyes as the Kraan-riders, the sky-ship and the distant horizon all melt into a kaleidoscope of shapes and images, which you fear will be the last things you will ever see.

You have prepared yourself for death and are calm and relaxed, when suddenly you feel your body entwined by a mass of sticky fibres. There is a terrific jolt, which leaves you breathless and stunned. The impossible is happening; you are no longer falling, but rising!

A net of clinging strands has caught you like a fly in a web. You rise up into the sky towards the flying ship as quickly as you fell. Three bearded dwarves clad in bright, padded battle-jerkins pull you aboard an outrigger that runs the length of the hull. However, there is no time to express your gratitude, for the small sky-ship is under attack from the Kraan-riders.

At the end of the outrigger, a dwarf is engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a snarling Drakkar. He is obviously losing. As you rush to his aid, another of the evil warriors lands in the centre of the craft, on top of the fortified platform.

I can choose to help the dwarf or leap to the platform. I choose to help. As I near him, he sees me and simply tosses the dwarf overboard. Angered, I pull my sword and engage.

Drakkar CS 18, EP 25

I roll a 0 and auto kill the bastard.

I find out the dwarf, unconscious, is hanging in the same netting that captured me so I pull him back aboard.

[Abe Sargent]

I look around and see Banedon skewered by a spear in his left arm. I run to help him.

Drakkar CS 18, EP 25

I roll a 2 and he takes 10 and me 2. I roll a 3 and he takes 11 and me 2. I roll and 2 and kill him. I took 6.

As I kill him, another Kraan-Rider swoops in to attack and fires a crossbow aimed at my body, but I hear a sharp metallic sound as Banedon erects a shield around us and the bolt is deflected. I free the spear that pins him. It appears he has been promoted to Journeymaster based on his new robes. I take him to the helm - a crystal sphere with hundreds of facets set on a slim and glowing silver rod. I hear an explosion.



The smoke clears on deck and I see a smiling dwarf with a tube of smoking steel and a Kraan with a hole in its wing flies off. At first I think them magical staves but then I notice all of the dwarves are carrying them. The noise and smoke scares off the remaining Kraan. These are the dwarves from the mountain kingdom of Bor, famed for its inventions.

Banedon steers the ship to the Dahir Pass and I am asked to pick a number, which is 5. As the Bor dwarves begin to throw off the corpses of the dead, one Drakkar jumps to life and screams and charges at me, weapon drawn. He throws his axe at me and then follows it. If I have Hunting or Sixth Sense, I am to go to a certain passage that tells me my skill enabled me to dodge. He is shot by a dwarf’s stick and pushed off the edge of the ship.

[Abe Sargent]

Thunder crackles and I see Banedon is looking weak. Do I have Healing? Yup. I mend some of his muscle and bone with my skill, and he feels much better. The dwarves claim to help him the rest of the way. They put some new bandages and tonic on Banedon’s arm. I begin to tell him my story.


Quote:


'The future of Sommerlund rests in our hands, Lone Wolf. We must stop Darklord Haakon from destroying the Book of the Magnakai. I have heard tell of the Tomb of the Majhan from the nomads of the Dry Main. They say it is a terrible place, a place of horror and death--for what little there is left to die there. It lies beyond the Dahir, near the oasis of Bal-loftan. That is all I know, for the Majhan hid their tombs well and what few traces remained have long since disappeared beneath the shifting sands of the Dry Main.'

Your face conveys the disappointment you feel upon hearing these words.

'However, all is not lost,' says Banedon, undaunted. 'There is a man who can guide us there. His name is Tipasa Edarouk--'Tipasa the Wanderer'. It is he who we must seek, for he is the only man who has ever entered the Tomb of the Majhan and lived to tell the tale.'

Banedon takes over the helm as his extraordinary ship, the Skyrider, as the dwarves call it, speeds through the gathering darkness towards the Dahir Pass. Visibility diminishes with each passing minute until, finally, you can see no further than the outriggers. You feel uneasy; if the Skyrider veers but a fraction off course, you will be smashed to pieces against the mountainside.

'Do not worry, Lone Wolf,' says Nolrim, the dwarf with the velvet satchel. 'The Captain will see us through.'

Banedon stands with his hand resting lightly on the glowing crystal, relaxed as if in a trance. His eyes are closed and a crackle of energy, like fine white lightning, traces an intricate pattern over his forehead and temples.

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, so I have some nice info here, and we have a plan to get to the Tomb of the Majhan. I join the dwarves for dinner and I gain 3 EP from the delicious repast. I am offered some of their notorious brew, I decline and they are not offended because they have seen the effects of their Bor-Brew on men before.

I ask them how they came to be with Banedon.


Quote:

You learn that the dwarves were once the crew of a more conventional vessel, a merchantman that sailed the Tentarias of southern Magnamund. The Tentarias is a vast expanse of lakes and land-locked seas, which connect to form a continuous canal stretching nearly three thousand miles. They were created, as was the Rymerift of Durenor, by a massive landslide. Three years ago, the dwarves' former captain, a dwarf named Quan, lost his ship, cargo, and crew whilst gambling at cards; it seems the unfortunate captain was unaware of Banedon's true profession until it was far too late. As a result, Banedon became the dwarves' captain, and ever since they have adventured with him across the lands and skies of Southern Magnamund. The Skyrider itself was given to Banedon by the Magicians of Dessi, in return for his help in defeating the Gagadoth--a monstrous creature that terrorized their land, over which their own sorcery could not prevail.

The Skyrider was traveling from Dessi on its way to Barrakeesh when you appeared. The dwarves have overheard your talk with Banedon and are excited by the prospects of a new adventure. They seem undaunted by the deadly dangers that it will certainly involve.

[Abe Sargent]

I finally fall asleep in a bed way too small for me, but the rest is peaceful and relaxing, so I gain 2 EP but I am at full. I gather my belongings, go on deck and I am pointed to some Kraan-Riders. We are in a mountain valley and surrounded by rocks. I am asked if I have a Black Crystal Cube, and I do not. We manage to outrun the Kraan with Banedon as the navigator and pilot. Finally, we arrive at Ikaresh. This is the home of Tipasa the Wanderer. We land, and Banedon and I move out together to find Tipasa. I roll a 6.

We pass by a cave and I ask that we enter. Inside we find a beautiful caving system, and at the end is an emaciated figure in a blanket. As we near him, the man raises his face to look at me. No one has entered his cave for quite some time, I use Healing to find out more about him. His face is full of green putrescent sores and sallow yellow eyes and baggy grey lips. He has vaxelus, a disease of withering and death that attacks the pores and the skin and the nerves themselves. He has been banished. I have two choices, and I choose to place the second dose of Oede Herb on the ground between me and him.

He is quite suspicious at first, but soon he recognizes the leaves of the rare herb. He breaks down in joy and asks how he can ever repay me. I tell him no repayment is necessary and we move to go, but he searches in his rags for someone and pulls out a beautiful jewel-encrusted mace and beseeches me to take it. I mark is as a special item.

We pass by a house on our way to the city and pass by a house where a man touches his head as a sign of welcome and bids us to enter his house. I agree after using Sixth Sense which tells me his offer of welcome is genuine.

The man welcomes us, introduces himself, and pours three cups of a green wine and tells us to drink. I choose to do so and the warming effect of this Kourshah restores my EP. He sees my expression and offers to sell me a bottle. I buy one for 5 crowns. +4 Ep when I drink it.

We leave his house and arrive at Ikaresh. We arrive at a square from where there are three exits: Dougga Market, Avenue of Eagles, or go west towards the main square. I take the fun sounding Avenue of Eagles. We pass by an eating-house, and I can go in or continue. I decide to continue. I am asked by a woman for a coin and I decide to give it to her. She tells us where Tipasa is but my Sixth Sense tells me she is lying. I challenge her and she runs.

We continue along the Avenue of Eagles and pass a weapons shop where I can buy a Sword, dagger or broadsword. I pass. I have something a little better already. We arrive at a fork and I go right. We arrive at Dougga Market. There is a tavern here or we can keep going, so I keep going. We pass under an arch and the street widens and there are stables, merchants and we can continue. I ask a merchant and he makes it clear that I have to buy a pink and orange sackcloth waistcoat for 5 crowns. We get directions.

[Abe Sargent]

It’s a plot page, so here is it is in quotes:


There is no reply to your first knock. You are about to knock again when the door opens a few inches and the red-rimmed eyes of an old woman stare out from the darkness. 'Banedon!' she exclaims, her voice hoarse and shaky. 'Thank the gods it is you.'

She ushers you both inside and locks the door. The house is sparsely furnished and what little is there is either damaged or broken. 'They have taken him, Banedon, they have taken my husband--the men with the faces of the dead. Ten days ago. They came like shadows in the night.'

She breaks down, her frail body wracked by sobs. Banedon comforts her as best he can, but you sense he shares her bitter loss. The Drakkarim have taken Tipasa, of that there is little doubt. By now they will have made him tell everything he knows about the Tomb of the Majhan.

'We will find him, I promise,' says Banedon, wiping the tears from the old woman's face, 'but you must try to help us if you can. Tipasa always kept a diary of his travels--do you have it still?'

A flicker of hope shines in the old woman's eyes. 'Yes, it is here. He told me to hide it when the evil men came for him.'

She kneels at an empty fireplace and pries a loose brick from the chimney; a leather-bound book drops from its hiding place into her hand. She gives it to Banedon who studies the yellowed pages, his face lined in thought. You notice that the book is full of cryptic symbols, numbers and pictograms.

'They are drawn by the night stars,' says Banedon, tracing his finger along the astronomical drawings. 'They hold the secret, I know, but without my star charts we cannot hope to find the tomb. We must return to the Skyrider at first light. There I shall be able to make some sense of this book.'




You have little sleep that night as you lie thinking about the quest that lies before you, haunted by the fear that the Darklords may already have found the Book of the Magnakai.

You rise before dawn and breakfast on a meal of sheep's butter and dried milk cake, before bidding farewell to Tipasa's wife. The trek back to the Skyrider passes uneventfully, and by noon you have reached the rocky crag where the craft is moored. Nolrim is the first to greet you, but he cannot hide his disappointment that you have returned unaccompanied.

'Do not worry--the answer lies here,' says Banedon, holding up Tipasa's diary. 'Prepare to set sail.'

As the Skyrider rises into the clear blue sky, Banedon hands over the helm to Nolrim and bids you follow him to his quarters at the prow. For three hours he pores over his charts, making calculations, checking instrument readings, and racking his brain for the solution that will pinpoint the Tomb of the Majhan.
'It's no use,' he says, tired and exasperated. 'I cannot fathom these numbers.'

As you peer at the pages of Tipasa's diary, suddenly you realize that they are written in code. What Banedon had assumed to be positions of stars is a code to three numbers that give the precise location of the Tomb.
Consult the map to help you discover the location of the Tomb of the Majhan.

The first of the three numbers is equal to the number of oases on the trail between Ikaresh and Bir Rabalou. The second number is equal to the number of cities in Vassagonia. The third number is equal to the number of islands off the coast of Cape Kabar.

When you have broken the code, write the numbers in order and turn to the entry number that they indicate

[Abe Sargent]

The first number is obviously 3. As is the last number.

Assuming that if the map, a flag is a city, the middle number is 6. Let’s try 363.

Nope. The next guess is a 7 because Kuchek is much bigger than the other markers for towns, so let’s say it is a city too.

Yes, 373 is it.

We will be there before dawn. Once again, we set the Skyrider down and Banedon and I make off to try and get the Book of the Magnakai.

I have to eat a meal on our way, and its my last.

[Abe Sargent]

Quote:

You and Banedon set off before the dawn, anxious not to waste either time or the protective cover of darkness. Now, as the great golden disc of the sun rises in the sky, for the first time you can see your goal. A massive excavation has exposed the heart of this scorched land, delving deep around the tombs of its forgotten ancestors. Thousands of Giaks, spiteful and malicious servants of the Darklords, labor unceasingly to remove rock and sand from this quarry, forced by Drakkarim to drag their backbreaking loads up ramps to the rim of the crater.

Close to the edge of the crater, an encampment of black tents surrounds a large domed canopy. Lying in the shade of this construction is a huge flying creature--an Imperial Zlanbeast. Its presence here can only mean one thing: Darklord Haakon has arrived. The thought chills your blood, but you draw comfort from the labor of his slaves. That they continue to labor is a sign that their mission has yet to be completed: the Book of the Magnakai has yet to be found.

It is impossible to approach the crater unseen; you will have to wait for darkness before you attempt to enter the Tomb. During the long wait, it is agreed that Banedon should attempt to find Tipasa. It is likely that he is being held captive inside the encampment--the Darklords would be unlikely to kill him before discovering the treasure they seek.


We wait until cover of night. I easily sneak past a few Giaks here and there, since they are overworked. I arrive and see a Drakkar on guard. I am asked if I have Mind Over Matter at the main entrance to the tomb. I do not. I am asked if I have Graveweed, and no I did not carry any from Kalte. So, I have to creep up and overpower him. I roll a number and add for various skills. I get a 5 which turns into 10. I snap his neck and succeed.


Quote:

As far as the eye can see, a long, straight, sandstone corridor slopes away into the distance. Torches crackle and splutter on the walls, illuminating the pictograms engraved in the yellow stone.

At regular intervals, rough-edged slabs protrude into the main corridor. You stop to take a close look at one of these slabs and the floor beneath it and come to a frightening conclusion. They are obviously traps, no doubt set off by the Giaks when they cleared this corridor of sand. Rather than instructing the Giaks to avoid them, the Darklords must have deliberately used their slaves to set them off. Once the traps had been sprung, the squashed bodies were cleared away and the slabs chiselled through to the next section. Pit traps in the floors seem to have been neutralized in the same way. Set off by luckless Giaks, they would have been filled in with the dead bodies and levelled off with sand. The thought of this heartless barbarity fills you with revulsion.

Just over a mile along the corridor, you eventually arrive at a large stone door. The stone surround bears evidence of chisel-work, but the door itself is rock solid.

You notice a faint beam of light descending from a hole in the ceiling. It creates a small circular pool of light, a little to one side of a similar hole in the floor. In the wall near to the door there is a triangular indentation, no larger than a Gold Crown.

[Abe Sargent]

I have both a Prism and a Blue Stone Triangle. I insert the Blue Stone Triangle and it is a perfect fit. The stone opens and I pass in.

Quote:

The throne begins to revolve. A terrible howling fills your ears, changing almost instantaneously to the growling of a harsh guttural language, the like of which you have never heard before. Words and sounds that the mouths of men could never be shaped to speak roll through the chamber like thunder. It is the dark tongue, spoken by Haakon, Lord of Aarnak, Darklord of Helgedad.

He rises from the throne, the ghastly voice still echoing from his unnatural mouth. A spiked fist opens to reveal a glowing stone; blue flame smoulders around its surface, and you can feel the currents of power that radiate from its core. Suddenly, his words change and you hear a tongue you know so well--Sommlending.

'Look on your doom, Kai Lord!'

There is a deafening crack, a surge of power, and a fireball of blue flame hurtles towards your head.


Do I have the Sommerswerd? Yup. I deflect the bolt of energy but the blade is impacted from my hand and flies away. I can try and retrieve it, stay where I am, or try to move to a new hiding place. I choose the latter. I don’t want to go where he can just fire bolts at me until doomsday. He blasts a pillar while I dodge and I take 3 EP from the blast. I have 29 left. I am attacked by a powerful Mindblast. Do I have Mindshield? Yup.

He stops attacking me when he sees me protected, and he summons a foe from mists and magicks.



This is a Dhorgaan, a mystical snake of energy. My Jeweled Mace is patricianly good against this foe and gives me +5 CS for this fight.

Dhorgaan CS 20, EP 40

Looks like Mindblast does work on it, a surprise. I have a +6 bonus. I roll a 6 and it takes 11 and me 1. I roll another 6, 22 and 2. A 4 follows, 31 and 4. A 1, 37 and 8, and finally a 2. I am down to 18 EP. I rolled poorly.

As I kill the Dhorgaan, Darklord Haakon reels as if he was struck himself and he drops his stone. I use Sixth Sense. The stone is radiating pure evil, but if I can turn it against Haakon…

Quote:

With the leap of a tiger, you snatch the glowing gem barely a second before Haakon's spiked fist slams into the floor where the jewel lay. You turn to face your enemy, the gem held high in your hand, its blue beam glinting on the Darklord's black armour. He shrinks beneath its glare and falls to his knees, a repulsive sucking noise issuing from his helm as he slowly begins to fade.

A sudden crack makes you start with shock, but you are no longer in danger. The glowing gem has vanished from your hand; like its master it has left this dimension, never to return.

You examine the floor where Darklord Haakon fell, but there are no signs of his body. The atmosphere is strangely calm and peaceful, as if a great and evil shadow has been lifted.

You turn and walk to the throne where Haakon sat, waiting for you to appear. Beyond it lies a portal, an ancient inscription carved deep into the blood-red stone. Below the carving is set the impression of a human hand. Instinct and intuition guide your hand to the door; the carving fits around it like a glove.



Silently the portal slides back to reveal your destiny--the Book of the Magnakai. Set on a pedestal, the book lies open, its secrets revealed to your eyes alone. As you lift the sacred book, the very air throbs with the vibration of the force locked within its sun-gold cover. With a pounding heart you close the book and hurry from the chamber.

By the time you reach the foothills of the Koneshi, Banedon has successfully completed his mission; he and Tipasa are waiting for you. As they see you appear, clutching the Book of the Magnakai, they can barely contain their excitement.

'This night of triumph,' says Banedon, jubilantly, 'will herald a new dawn of hope for Sommerlund. The Kai are reborn.'

The quest is now over. You have found the Book of the Magnakai and freed Magnamund from the shadow of Darklord Haakon. But for you, Kai Master Lone Wolf, the story has only just begun.

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, let’s review my favorite of the 5 Kai books, Shadow of the Sand.


Now, sure it does have a few plot points that are a bit cliché like the whole Treasure in an Ancient Vault, or The Guide is Not There and His Wife Gives Us His Journal. However, it is a lot fresher than what you would normally expect from heroic fantasy. They flip the script in the first section, and then flip it again midway, and the result is something neat. It’s very long, at 400 sections, and gives you a great long story. It also uses all of the disciplines well. I never had Mind Over Matter, but here I wish I did, because you used it so many times, as well as Animal Kinship, Mindshield, Camouflage, Tracking, Sixth Sense, Healing, Weaponskill, Hunting, etc. Only Mindblast is never used in text, but it is used in fights.

Anyways, TOUGH for beginners, even if you do have a Jeweled Mace. However, too easy for those who have the Sommerswerd. The final battle, I remembered after I won and I went back and looked, is actually harder if you have the Sommerswerd because Haakon summons something more powerful and then you have to fight Haakon instead of just zapping him. However you kill him, instead of banishing him.

I am not a fan of the introduction of dwarves to Magnamund. Every other creature is a unique creation of Joe Dever except for dwarves (and eventually dragons and vampires too). I’d prefer he keep away from the clichéd creatures like dwarves, since he does with almost everything else.


Anyway, great book, probably my fave of the series in terms of skill balance and plot and such.

End of Shadow on the Sand

[Abe Sargent]

Say hello, not just to the next book, but to the next series, the Magnakai series, books 6 - 12. Say hello to the Kingdoms of Terror.




You are Kai Master Lone Wolf--last of the Kai Lords of Sommerlund and the sole survivor of a massacre that destroyed your warrior kinsmen during a bitter war with your age-old enemies, the Darklords of Helgedad.

Three years have passed since your triumph over the Darklord Haakon at the Tomb of the Majhan, and for the northern realm of Sommerlund, these have been three years of peace and prosperity. Since Haakon's defeat, the power of the Darklords has waned. Rumours abound that a civil war rages in Helgedad, as the lesser Darklords fight for power and dominion over the city. However, it is a widely held belief in Sommerlund that your discovery of the lost Sommlending treasure, The Book of the Magnakai, is the real reason for their power struggle.

The Book of the Magnakai is legendary in Sommerlund. With the wisdom of the Magnakai, Sun Eagle, the first Kai Grand Master, instilled the disciplines into the warriors of Sommerlund that were to protect your land from devastation at the hands of the Darklords. The Book of the Magnakai was lost hundreds of years ago, but its wisdom was kept alive, handed down through generations of Kai so that they too could share the strength to resist their eternal enemies.

When you discovered The Book of the Magnakai, you gave a solemn pledge to restore the Kai to their former glory and so ensure the security of your land in the years to come. You returned to your homeland and, in the seclusion of your monastery in the hills, set about the study of the Magnakai Disciplines. It was an exacting task--a trial of physical strength and mental fortitude. The seasons came and went, but you were unaware of the passage of time, lost in your quest for the knowledge and the skills of your warrior kin. Three years of determined study pass, revealing the secrets of three of the Magnakai Disciplines. However, the others cannot be learnt by study alone, and in order to fulfill your pledge to restore the Kai, you must complete the quest first made by Sun Eagle over a thousand years ago. When he had finally completed his quest, he recorded all his experiences in The Book of the Magnakai, but the script has faded with the passing years and now few words remain to guide you.

'Seek and find the Lorestone of Varetta, for this alone holds the power and the wisdom . . .' are the few words you can still decipher of the Grand Master's chronicle.

Although the verse is brief you are not without hope, for you recognize the name Varetta. It is one of the oldest cities of Magnamund, lying in the Stornlands beyond the Maakengorge, far to the south of Sommerlund. You realize that you must set out upon the quest without delay, for the war in Helgedad will not last indefinitely, and the Darklords swore long ago to conquer your country and destroy your people. As soon as their civil strife is resolved, the victorious lords of evil will turn on Sommerlund and summon the creatures of the Dark Realm to thwart your quest. You must therefore act quickly and with secrecy, for your life and the future of Sommerlund depends on your success.

And so, guided by the words of your ancient mentor and with the shadow of the Darklords ever present, you set out on the quest for the Lorestone of Varetta, unaware of the wonders and the horrors that await you in the Stornlands.

[Abe Sargent]

Here is the map of the Stornlands:

[Abe Sargent]

Magnakai Disciplines:

Unlike the previous books, I begin the adventure only knowing 3 of these skills. I am going to cut and paste them for you:

Weaponmastery

This Magnakai Discipline enables a Kai Master to become proficient in the use of all types of weapon. When you enter combat with a weapon you have mastered, you add 3 points to your COMBAT SKILL. The rank of Kai Master Superior, with which you begin the Magnakai series, means you are skilled in three of the weapons in the list below.




The fact that you are skilled with three weapons does not mean that you begin the adventure carrying any of them. However, you will have opportunities to acquire weapons during your adventure. For every Lone Wolf book that you complete in the Magnakai series, you may add an additional weapon to your list.

Animal Control

This Magnakai Discipline enables a Kai Master to communicate with most animals and to determine their purpose and intentions. It also enables a Kai Master to fight from the saddle with great advantage.


Curing

The possessor of this skill can restore 1 lost ENDURANCE point to his total for every numbered section of the book through which he passes, provided he is not involved in combat. (This can only be done after his ENDURANCE has fallen below its original level.) This Magnakai Discipline also enables a Kai Master to cure disease, blindness and any combat wounds sustained by others, as well as himself. Using the knowledge that mastery of this skill provides will also allow a Kai Master to identify the properties of any herbs, roots and potions that may be encountered during the adventure.

Invisibility

This Magnakai skill allows a Kai Master to blend in with his surroundings, even in the most exposed terrain. It will enable him to mask his body heat and scent, and to adopt the dialect and mannerisms of any town or city that he visits.


Huntmastery

This skill ensures that a Kai Master will never starve in the wild; he will always be able to hunt for food, even in areas of wasteland and desert. It also enables a Kai Master to move with great speed and dexterity and will allow him to ignore any extra loss of COMBAT SKILL points due to a surprise attack or ambush.


Pathsmanship

In addition to the basic skill of being able to recognize the correct path in unknown territory, the Magnakai skill of Pathsmanship will enable a Kai Master to read foreign languages, decipher symbols, read footprints and tracks (even if they have been disturbed), and detect the presence of most traps. It also grants him the gift of always knowing intuitively the position of north.


Psi-surge

This psychic skill enables a Kai Master to attack an enemy using the force of his mind. It can be used as well as normal combat weapons and adds 4 extra points to your COMBAT SKILL. It is a powerful Discipline, but it is also a costly one. For every round of combat in which you use Psi-surge, you must deduct 2 ENDURANCE points. A weaker form of Psi-surge called Mindblast can be used against an enemy without losing any ENDURANCE points, but it will add only 2 extra points to your COMBAT SKILL. (Psi-surge and Mindblast cannot be used simultaneously.) Psi-surge cannot be used if your ENDURANCE falls to 6 points or below, and not all of the creatures encountered on your adventure will be affected by it; you will be told if a creature is immune.


Psi-screen

Many of the hostile creatures that inhabit Magnamund have the ability to attack you using their Mindforce. The Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen prevents you from losing any ENDURANCE points when subjected to this form of attack and greatly increases your defence against supernatural illusions and hypnosis.


Nexus

Mastery of this Magnakai skill will enable you to withstand extremes of heat and cold without losing ENDURANCE points and to move items by your powers of concentration alone.


Divination

This skill may warn a Kai Master of imminent or unseen danger or enable him to detect an invisible or hidden enemy. It may also reveal the true purpose or intent of a stranger or strange object encountered in your adventure. Divination may enable you to communicate telepathically with another person and to sense if a creature possesses psychic abilities.

[Abe Sargent]

Additionally, there are Lore-Circles. Let me quote that for you:

Lore-circles of the Magnakai

In the years before their massacre, the Kai Masters of Sommerlund devoted themselves to the study of the Magnakai. These skills were divided into four schools of training called 'Lore-circles'. By mastering all of the Magnakai Disciplines of a Lore-circle, the Kai Masters developed their fighting prowess (COMBAT SKILL), and their physical and mental stamina (ENDURANCE) to a level far higher than any mortal warrior could otherwise attain.

Listed below are the four Lore-circles of the Magnakai and the skills that must be mastered in order to complete them.

Circle of Fire: Weaponmastery & Huntmastery

Circle of Light: Animal Control & Curing

Circle of Solaris: Invisibility, Huntmastery & Pathsmanship

Circle of the Spirit: Psi-surge, Psi-screen, Nexus & Divination

By completing a Lore-circle, you may add to your COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE the extra bonus points that are shown below.

Lore-circle Bonuses

Circle of Fire: +1 CS +2 EP

Circle of Light: 0 CS +3 EP

Circle of Solaris: +1 CS +3 EP

Circle of the Spirit: +3 CS +3 EP

All bonus points that you acquire by completing a Lore-circle are additions to your basic COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE scores.

[Abe Sargent]

This adds a new element to the game, as does this:


Improved Disciplines

As you rise through the higher levels of Magnakai training you will find that each of your skills will steadily improve. For example, if you possess the Discipline of Divination when you reach the Magnakai rank of Scion-kai, you will be able to 'Spirit Walk' and leave your body in a state of suspended animation as you explore your immediate surroundings unhindered by physical limitations.

The nature of these additional improvements and how they affect your Magnakai Disciplines will be noted in the Improved Disciplines section of future Lone Wolf books.


In later books, getting improved disciplines will make some of these skills a lot better. For example, Nexus will be able to extinguish fires by will of mind alone or Curing can neutralize all poisons, venoms and toxins or Animal Control can summon woodland animals to serve as guides or to attack their foes.

[Abe Sargent]

What do I take?

I can still use my old skills. I still can use Mindblast, Weaponskill with a QStaff, Healing and Hunting. With that in mind, here are the ones I most want: Pathsmanship, Divination, Weaponmastery, and Huntmastery. Psi-Surge is too limiting with it’s negative life loss. Psi-Screen is too weak. Nexus and Animal Control are iffy. Invisibility is not on my radar right now, and Curing is too similar to Healing. Weaponmastery will jump my CS by three because I can finally use the Sommerswerd with mastery. It does not stack with Weaponskill. I can take Weaponmastery with Bow, Sword and Dagger, and all three weapons I have I am skilled in. Divination and Pathsmanship are great at getting information and always have been. Huntmastery allows me to leave behind meals forever, and that’s cool. Plus, it makes me good at avoiding ambushes and such.

After consideration, I decide to take Weaponmastery, Pathsmanship and Divination.