The Chasm of Doom posted:

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 enters 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.



Healing: +1 EP (31/32).

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.



Healing: +1 EP (32/32).

achtungnight posted:

I vote distraction just to see what it does. After we beat this guy, I also vote we help the virgin sacrifice with her virginity problem so she never has to go through this sort of thing again.

The Chasm of Doom posted:

‘Hold your blade, Barraka. Her life is not yours for the taking!’ Your words ring out above the howling wind. The renegade noble turns to face you, his laugh as piercing as your command. He advances towards you, the flame-licked dagger held high in his mailed fist. You draw your weapon and enter the temple.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Fight

The Chasm of Doom posted:

As you raise your golden sword, the howling wind seems to rise in pitch and intensity. It claws at your mind, filling your head with terrible images of death and horror. Barraka sees you falter and strikes a cruel blow that opens a wound in your cheek. You lose 1 ENDURANCE point. But the sudden pain reawakens you to the presence of your enemy, and the combat begins.

Barraka: COMBAT SKILL 25 ENDURANCE 29

You are being attacked by a very powerful Mindblast. Unless you possess the Kai Discipline of Mindshield, your COMBAT SKILL is reduced by 4 for the duration of this combat. However, Barraka himself is a warrior who possesses formidable strength of will: he is immune to Mindblast.

The Chasm of Doom posted:

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



Healing: +1 EP (23/32).

Shadow on the Sand posted:

The Story So Far … 

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.

Tiggum posted:

New book, new Kai Discipline! We've only got two left to pick from, so it's Tracking or Weaponskill.

HOOLY BOOLY posted:

I might be misremembering the wiki, but isn't the dagger also suppose to be some kind of special weapon kinda deal? Don't think it ever really comes up though.

Leraika posted:

Grab track, stash everything Anakha said but the Holy Water, grab a Meal.

Tiggum posted:

You're going to need to pick something to get rid of if you want to take a Meal. Backpack's full.

Jackard posted:

vilkacis posted:

Oh, and now that it's come up, it's totally the Dagger of Vashna he's chewing on here, right?

HOOLY BOOLY posted:

I'll be mr.contrarian and pick Weaponskill maybe we'll get lucky!

vilkacis posted:

Leave the dagger at home because I think it might be kind of evil and it's going to be like three sections before the book goes "lose one of your weapons" and that just seems like a bad thing to randomly drop somewhere.

Added Space posted:

There's a rope that takes up two slots and a rope that only takes one slot, so I always houseruled that I could cut the rope in half to save on inventory space.

Added Space posted:

I always liked Barraka. Sure, he was trying to resurrect a demon, but he also had a decent raiding and invasion plan as his mainstay. It makes sense for him to invade since the Sommerland army has to be in bad shape after the events of book 1. Here in book 5 he gets posthumous characterization as an ambitious minor noble. He's an excellent blend of venial and supernatural threat, and he lets his work speak for him.

Shadow on the Sand posted:

For twenty-five days, the Vassagonian galley sails on a steady course for its home port of Barrakeesh, with only a brief stop at the Durenese harbour of Port Bax to break a safe but monotonous voyage.

You use your time aboard the ship to good purpose, learning the Vassagonian language from the ship’s crew. They are only too eager to teach you, asking only in return tales of your adventures in the Lastlands—for many of the sailors, these are the most exciting stories they have ever heard. By the time you reach Barrakeesh, you have both mastered their language and won their respect.



It is early afternoon when the ramparts of the desert capital are first sighted on the horizon. You push your way through the cheering crew, and join the envoy at the prow of the ship. Beaming with pride, he hands you a telescope and invites you to view the land of his birth. The sight is indeed breathtaking. You stare in fascination at the golden domes, minarets, and green-tiled roofs shimmering beneath the desert sun, and marvel at the splendour of the Grand Palace, which dominates this magnificent city. Then you notice that from every golden turret of the palace flutters a long, black pennant. You ask the envoy of the meaning of the black flags. Horror floods across his face as he snatches the telescope from your hands. ‘By the spirit of the Majhan! He is dead … The Zakhan is dead!’

As the bad news spreads through the ship, you pray that the peace treaty will be signed and honoured by the Zakhan’s successor. However, the envoy is less than hopeful.

The harbour of Barrakeesh is deserted save for a handful of citizens clad in black, and the only sound that greets you is the toll of a funeral bell, echoing through the harbour on this day of mourning. Then a horse-drawn carriage enters the harbour square, escorted by the cavalry of the Palace Guard. It halts, and a dour man in turquoise robes steps out to meet you.

‘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.’

The envoy gasps upon hearing the name of the new Zakhan. He turns to speak, his eyes wild with fear. ‘It is a trap, you must … ’

His warning is cut short by the blade of Maouk’s dagger. Suddenly, scores of black-clad warriors emerge from the shadows; they are Sharnazim, élite Vassagonian bodyguards. They close in, surrounding you on every side. You must act quickly if you are to survive this deadly trap.