You unsheathe a weapon and attempt to parry Gnaag
As the name leaves your lips, the tip of the crystal shard glows bright amber. Instantly the guard reaches for a lever in the wall, and before you can prevent him, he pulls it, setting an alarm bell clanging. In a matter of seconds, the courtyard is awash with a nightmare legion of snarling, screaming, snapping horrors. They fall upon you, and although you slay many, they overpower you eventually and haul you in chains before Darklord Gnaag. With cruel glee, he orders you to be cast into the Lake of Blood, where your endless suffering will feed its unholy flames for all eternity.
-With breathtaking suddenness, the pain in your shoulder melts away and you feel yourself falling into an inky black void. You fight to remain conscious, but it is a fight you cannot hope to win, for the deadly viral poison has worked its way into your heart and its insidious effect has committed you to an everlasting sleep.
-The Black Cube is a Nadziranim power crystal, a deadly explosive charge devised by the Darkland sorcerers. Since you picked it up, the cube has become increasingly unstable, and now, as you take your first steps into the Imperial Armoury, it explodes with devastating effect. The blast triggers the Crystal Explosive that you had intended to use to destroy the Transfusor, and, in the resulting explosion, you, and this entire section of Helgedad, are blown to smithereens.
-You are halfway across the gap when the thin ledge collapses beneath your feet. Desperately you claw at the sheer granite wall but your fingers cannot find purchase, and you fall backwards, toppling to your doom on the rocks far below.
-Having completed their task, the engineers pack away their tools and climb down from the work platform that surrounds the orange tank. Patiently, you watch them leave the dry dock before climbing the platform ladder and planting your Crystal Explosive beneath the tank. You prime the device and turn to leave, taking care not to appear anxious or in a hurry, but as you reach the bottom of the ladder you are confronted by three Drakkarim guards, accompanied by a figure dressed in a hooded red robe. Your stomach churns when you glimpse his skeletal face, for the creature is not human
The undead being begins to probe your mind with its psychic power and it shrieks in terror when it discovers who you really are. Instantly, you spring into action, drawing your weapon and striking out at them before they can do likewise. The Vordak drops with its skull shattered and a Drakkar staggers back, clutching desperately at his torn throat. The remaining two, having drawn their blades, now lunge at your chest in unison. You parry their attack with ease and send them both to their doom with one sweeping slice. With the explosive set to detonate at any minute, you run towards the exit, barging aside any who cross your path. You are within ten yards of the dock gates when an alarm bell wails and a troop of Death Knights appear in a line before you. Koga!
At that moment there is a blinding flash of white light and suddenly everything seems to be happening in slow motion. You see the Death Knights falling backwards, their cloaks and leather armour sprouting tongues of flame. Buckled steel plates, twisted girders, and the bodies of screaming slaves cartwheel past you, trailing sparks as they tumble like fiery meteors. The heat and the shock of the explosion tears into your back and plunges you head-first into a black, unfeeling oblivion. Your act of sabotage has completely destroyed the ironclad juggernaut, and half of Argazad harbour, but it has cost you your life and sealed the doom of Magnamund.
-Stunned and dazed by the impact, you fail to sense or see the four Giak soldiers creeping towards you, their bows drawn ready to fire. The hiss of their black arrows freezes your blood moments before the tips burrow into your chest. Pain hits you like a wave breaking against your body, but the agony soon fades and you slip swiftly into a sleep from which there will be no awakening.
-A chilling numbness spreads through your body, starting at your neck and coursing rapidly to your hands and feet. You try to scream but no sound issues from your paralysed throat as your legs give way and you collapse onto the deck of your tiny cabin. You have fallen prey to the bite of a deadly Plaak, placed here by a rival Ligan in a bid to assassinate an old rival.
-Kraagensk
Your mission ends here.
+You try to fend off the speeding arrow, but it passes over your outstretched arm and lodges deep in your skull. For a split second you feel nothing. Then a starburst of pain rips through your head and a swirl of colour obliterates your vision as you pass swiftly into the timeless oblivion of death.
-Holding your breath, you unsheathe your weapon and press yourself to the cliff wall. You plan to take the approaching Giaks by surprise, cut your way through them to the summit, and then escape before the pursuing group can catch up. It is a bold manoeuvre and one that does not allow for the night-sharp eyes and cruel cunning of the Giak commander. From his position atop the cliff he watches your every move.
Koga!
Dulaga zaj!
The noise and fury of your combat alerts two guard patrols, one at either end of the corridor. They rush to investigate, and, when they see what you have done, they seal off the corridor and sound a general alarm. Within minutes, the tunnels are filled with snarling, snapping, screaming horrors. The guards then open the corridor and set them upon you.
You fight valiantly, slaying many before you are eventually overwhelmed and taken in chains before Darklord Gnaag. With cruel glee, he orders you to be cast into the Lake of Blood, where your endless suffering will feed its unholy flames for all eternity.
-While you languish in the cell, the Death Knight sergeant conveys your equipment to his commander, Darklord Kraagensk
It is Darklord Kraagensk
You haul yourself over the rim of the nest and discover the lookout: he is huddled on the floor, shivering with fright. He mutters something but his words are lost in the noise of the destruction raging below. Then the ship rolls violently and you grab the mast to stop yourself from being hurled into the sea. The Xargath has freed its head and is now wreaking havoc amidships, tearing the Intrepid asunder with its claws. The massive head rises once more, trailing broken timbers, and lunges for the mast. With an ear-splitting crack it bites it clean in two and, in a flashing instant, you are sent tumbling from your perch to crash upon the debris-strewn deck. Death is instantaneous.
-The instant you strike the killing blow, Kraagensk
Quickly you leave the chamber by a stair that leads to the roof. The Zlanbeast, Kraagensk
Without the magical protection afforded you by the Golden Amulet, you soon succumb to the hellish temperatures and poisonous atmosphere of Helgedad. As your skin begins to blister and your lungs become paralysed, you fight desperately to hold on to life, but it is a fight you cannot hope to win.
-You spring forward and strike a blow that would have decapitated a mortal creature. But the moment your weapon hits Taktaal
You try to dodge the spinning blade, but you trip over the body of the dead Drakkarim gunner and the sword hits you squarely in the chest. White-hot pain engulfs you like a raging fire, burning your body and numbing your limbs. It reaches its zenith, and then disappears as, reluctantly, you surrender to death.
-The tube proves difficult to remove from its mounting, but you manage to prise it loose with a strip of steel which you find lying at your feet. You invert it and reconnect its copper cables, but the moment that the last cable is brought into contact, there is a blinding flash of white light and you are engulfed by a blast of flame and twisted metal. Your act of sabotage has set off an explosion which has completely destroyed the ironclad juggernaut and half of Argazad harbour, but it has cost you your life and sealed the doom of Magnamund.
-(239) Replaced men, then
with men, and then
.
(240) Replaced backpack
with Backpack
and reordered the first and last choices at the end of the section. Replaced bow and
with Bow and
. Added This reduction is permanent.
in harmony with the recent Mongoose Publishing edition.
(241) Replaced early-morning
with early morning
. Replaced fog. A
with fog, a
. Replaced kuri-storm
with Kuri-storm
, as this presumably refers to sub-tropical storms found in the Kuri Sea to the south of Durenor.
(242) Replaced Mentora or more
with Mentora or higher
.
(243) Replaced Pathsmanship, and have
with Pathsmanship and have
.
(242) Replaced Mentora or more
with Mentora or higher
. Replaced Pathsmanship, and have
with Pathsmanship and have
.
(245) Replaced this weapon
with this Weapon
. Replaced bow
with Bow
. Replaced arrow
with Arrow
.
(246) Replaced the dead Liganim
with the dead Ligan
to reflect standard usage.
(247) Replaced Magician
with Magicians
.