Casually she walks towards you and reaches up to touch a finger to the frozen fiery sword clutched in the taloned hands of Wolf's Bane's winged minion. There is a gentle Pop! and the creature disappears.
Illustration IV —Armed with only a mischievous grin, Alyss sees off Wolf's Bane's winged minion.
‘I'm Alyss, and I do hate cheats,’ she says, as she wanders over to where Wolf's Bane is standing immobile. Cheekily she pokes out her tongue at him and then she spins on her heel to face you.
‘Now, perhaps you can finish what you came here to do, Lone Wolf,’ she says, and claps her hands three times. A sudden rush of noise assails your ears and your senses reel as the reality of time comes flooding back into the hall.
Turn to 296 .
75
With a loud and angry buzzing noise, the predatory dragonfly circles you twice and then dives down like a speeding hawk to make its initial attack.
Golasyx: COMBAT SKILL 49 ENDURANCE 45
This creature is attempting to stab you with the tip of its spear-like proboscis as it swoops past; therefore you need only fight this combat for one round.
If you inflict an equal or greater ENDURANCE loss upon the enemy in this single round of combat, turn to 163 .
If you sustain a greater ENDURANCE loss than your enemy, turn to 221 .
76
Using your advanced mastery, you cause the dragonfly's wounds to close up and heal. Consciousness and strength return to its battered body and the creature is able to pull out of its dive before it is too late. It swoops deep into the cavernous moat of the tower to gather speed for its ascent into the clouds. As you soar past the top of the tower, you see that the dragonfly pens have been completely destroyed by the explosion. Fire rages through the uppermost levels of the tower, and is spreading quickly to those below.
Turn to 310 .
78
You motion your companions to follow as you leave this chamber by a tunnel in its south wall. This new passage gradually descends by slope and stair through deeper levels of the catacombs. You detect no trace of the impostor and, when eventually the tunnel comes to a dead end, you curse your ill luck and turn reluctantly to retrace your steps. It is then that you sense a faint but lingering aura of Evil close to the tunnel floor.
Closer inspection reveals a trapdoor set into the flagstones. You pull this heavy hatch open and discover a circular chute and a ladder descending into darkness. Your heart misses a beat when you notice fresh tracks on the ladder's iron rungs: at last you have found the impostor's trail.
Cautiously you lead the descent into the chute, using your powers of infravision to scan for signs of movement in the damp darkness below. After several minutes you reach the bottom of the ladder where you discover a large vaulted chamber. Around its walls are positioned urns and grey stone caskets, each embellished with traces of gold. There is an unexpected air of opulence about this vault which prompts you to guess that it is a secret burial tomb.
If you have ever visited the Graveyard of the Ancients in a previous
Lone Wolf
adventure, turn to 182 .
If you have never visited this place, turn to 206 .
80
The grating rumble of heavy stone on stone heralds the sudden appearance of the impostor. Like some secret door to a nightmare realm, the entire far wall of this vault is slowly sliding open. Violent tremors shake the floor and orange tongues of flaming gas shoot from the ever-widening gap. Silhouetted in the centre of this fiery portal is a warrior clad in a parody of the robes of a Kai Grand Master. His stature and his facial features bear an uncanny resemblance to your own, yet the two of you are not entirely identical. The eyes of this impostor betray his true nature for they are black and cold; they are like two tiny windows through which you can see the evil lurking deep within his heart.
The portal crackles and roars like a blazing furnace yet it radiates no heat. You sense powerful magic at
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