beginning to smash down around you as he carries you valiantly to the top of the mound and gallops over the far side. You are half-blinded by dust, but still you are able to dodge a falling boulder which threatens to break your back before you reach the safety of the open trail beyond.
Here you rein in your horse and turn him about so that you can take stock of the damage which has been caused by this second rockfall.
Turn to 11 .
88
You leave the ship and walk across the quayside to the Good Cheer Inn. It is an old timber-framed tavern which looks deserted at this early hour. A bell tinkles as you push open its heavy door, attracting the attention of a doe-eyed innkeeper who is mopping last night's spilt ale from the floor. You ask if he has seen Captain Raker.
‘You must be the journeyman who's sailing south.’ The answer comes from the top of a staircase, Moments later a broad-shouldered man with a golden beard and sharp blue eyes comes striding down the stairs. ‘I'm Raker,’ he says, as he struggles to pull on his leather jerkin and fix the belt of his heavy-bladed cutlass. ‘Hey, Squin. Go rustle me up some grub. I'm so hungry m'stomach thinks m'throat's been cut.’
As the innkeeper goes away to fetch breakfast for the captain, he asks if you want some food as well. After having ridden all night without once stopping, you answer: ‘I'll have whatever the captain's having.’
‘Good man!’ booms Raker. ‘I ain't fond of eating alone. Here, let's sit ourselves down and fill our bellies before we set sail.’
Turn to 127 .
89
The sun grows warmer as noon approaches and the parched hills around Bavari melt away into a lush savannah of tall grasses, broken occasionally by swathes of loamy soil. The air has become humid and the fertile landscape is rich with fauna. In the distance, the verdant foothills of the Great Masourn Mountains appear in stark contrast to the brown arid wastes through which you have travelled these past few days.
As night falls you find yourself approaching a village which sits astride the border with neighbouring Dessi. It shelters behind a tall palisade which is patrolled by several Vakeros, the indigenous tribesmen of this realm. They are an ancient race whose lineage can be traced back to the Age of the Old Kingdoms, yet the Vassagonians consider them to be primitives and often pour scorn on their simple ways and their tribal culture. Some of Vassagonia's more ruthless leaders have in the past waged war upon the Vakeros with the aim of stealing their fertile land, but all of these wars have ended in costly defeat for Vassagonia. Dessi is ruled by the Elder Magi whose mastery of Old Kingdom magic is unparalleled and, over many centuries, they have taught the secrets of their battle-sorcery to the Vakeros. Armed with magic, they have kept their land and their culture secure from the ravages of their aggressive desert neighbour.
Since the demise of the Darklords and the fall of Zakhan Kimah — the despised Vassagonian ruler — peace has returned to the border regions of Dessi. Yet, as you approach the palisade, you see that the Vakeros guards are wary and suspicious. One of their elders approaches you and, with a staff of twisted black wood, he signals that he wants you to halt. Your Sixth Sense detects that his staff possesses magical properties; he is using it to assess if you are a threat to his village.
If you possess an Iron Skull, turn to 237 .
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 332 .
90
Sligh hisses a warning that the riders are returning along the coast road. Quickly you take cover in the gully and wait with bated breath as the sound of their horses' hoofbeats gets louder. When they ride past the gully without stopping you breathe a little easier, for you feel sure that they must have decided to call off the chase and return home to Cape Kabar.
Now that the threat has passed, you signal to Oriah and the marines to remount their horses. It is time to
Here you rein in your horse and turn him about so that you can take stock of the damage which has been caused by this second rockfall.
Turn to 11 .
88
You leave the ship and walk across the quayside to the Good Cheer Inn. It is an old timber-framed tavern which looks deserted at this early hour. A bell tinkles as you push open its heavy door, attracting the attention of a doe-eyed innkeeper who is mopping last night's spilt ale from the floor. You ask if he has seen Captain Raker.
‘You must be the journeyman who's sailing south.’ The answer comes from the top of a staircase, Moments later a broad-shouldered man with a golden beard and sharp blue eyes comes striding down the stairs. ‘I'm Raker,’ he says, as he struggles to pull on his leather jerkin and fix the belt of his heavy-bladed cutlass. ‘Hey, Squin. Go rustle me up some grub. I'm so hungry m'stomach thinks m'throat's been cut.’
As the innkeeper goes away to fetch breakfast for the captain, he asks if you want some food as well. After having ridden all night without once stopping, you answer: ‘I'll have whatever the captain's having.’
‘Good man!’ booms Raker. ‘I ain't fond of eating alone. Here, let's sit ourselves down and fill our bellies before we set sail.’
Turn to 127 .
89
The sun grows warmer as noon approaches and the parched hills around Bavari melt away into a lush savannah of tall grasses, broken occasionally by swathes of loamy soil. The air has become humid and the fertile landscape is rich with fauna. In the distance, the verdant foothills of the Great Masourn Mountains appear in stark contrast to the brown arid wastes through which you have travelled these past few days.
As night falls you find yourself approaching a village which sits astride the border with neighbouring Dessi. It shelters behind a tall palisade which is patrolled by several Vakeros, the indigenous tribesmen of this realm. They are an ancient race whose lineage can be traced back to the Age of the Old Kingdoms, yet the Vassagonians consider them to be primitives and often pour scorn on their simple ways and their tribal culture. Some of Vassagonia's more ruthless leaders have in the past waged war upon the Vakeros with the aim of stealing their fertile land, but all of these wars have ended in costly defeat for Vassagonia. Dessi is ruled by the Elder Magi whose mastery of Old Kingdom magic is unparalleled and, over many centuries, they have taught the secrets of their battle-sorcery to the Vakeros. Armed with magic, they have kept their land and their culture secure from the ravages of their aggressive desert neighbour.
Since the demise of the Darklords and the fall of Zakhan Kimah — the despised Vassagonian ruler — peace has returned to the border regions of Dessi. Yet, as you approach the palisade, you see that the Vakeros guards are wary and suspicious. One of their elders approaches you and, with a staff of twisted black wood, he signals that he wants you to halt. Your Sixth Sense detects that his staff possesses magical properties; he is using it to assess if you are a threat to his village.
If you possess an Iron Skull, turn to 237 .
If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 332 .
90
Sligh hisses a warning that the riders are returning along the coast road. Quickly you take cover in the gully and wait with bated breath as the sound of their horses' hoofbeats gets louder. When they ride past the gully without stopping you breathe a little easier, for you feel sure that they must have decided to call off the chase and return home to Cape Kabar.
Now that the threat has passed, you signal to Oriah and the marines to remount their horses. It is time to
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