Let's Play Lone Wolf

[Lupus 14]

Do we have a broadsword with which to to honorable battle. No. Screw it unsheath the magic Sommersword thing and incinerate him with magical fire of death.

[CowsGoMoo 267]

Gut him like a fish.

Or well, no, that's kind of icky, not to mention, very messy.

Just stab him. Let's just keep it simple.

[Αμφίονας 41]

My vote does not matter at this point. Just staying that there is the danger of being surrounded or flanked by more riders while we take our jolly time to finish this one off.

I would vote to retreat, if it were to make any difference.

[pi4t 6]

Noo! Another forum post, eaten by the accidental pressing of the back button!

90

You are in combat with a Vassagonian horseman who is now on foot. You cannot evade him and must fight him to the death.

Bandit Horseman: COMBAT SKILL 17 ENDURANCE 24

If you win, turn to 249.

Combat Ratio = 26-17 = 9

Our E total = 20/26

Bandit Horseman's E total = 24/24

Round 1

Random number = 0

We take 0 damage = 20/26

Bandit Horseman is instakilled = DEAD!

Well, that went fairly well.

249

You run half-crouched to the barricade and prise a bow from the hand of a dead soldier. You have spotted the leader of the bandit cavalry—a tall, dark-skinned warrior with a thin, chiselled nose, rallying his horsemen at the foot of the stone watchtower. You know you must kill him before he can regroup his troops, or D’Val and his hard-pressed men will be ridden down and mercilessly slaughtered.

You notch an arrow and draw back the bowstring. The straining cord bites into your fingers as you take aim.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill (any weapon), add 2 to the number you have picked.

If your total is now 0–3, turn to 153.

If it is 4–7, turn to 323.

If it is 8–11, turn to 39.

Random number = 9+2 = 11

Wow, we're rolling well today (and if we now get a string of bad rolls, you can blame me).

H+1 21/26

39

The arrow arcs through the smoke-blackened sky and pierces the officer’s shining breastplate. You hear his scream of pain ring out above the din of battle and watch as his cruel eyes flicker and close. He swoons and slips from his saddle, your arrow lodged deep in his heart.

Turn to 148.

Hah!

H+1 22/26

148

‘To me! To me!’ Captain D’Val’s voice booms out above the battle noise. ‘Rally to me, Sommlending.’

The brave captain draws about him a shielded wedge of soldiers and charges into the flank of the horsemen. They reel and buckle as the shield-wedge hews its way through their company. A Vassagonian herald, his crimson armour torn and his face smeared with blood, breaks free from the battle and sounds the retreat. You watch as the surviving bandits spur their mounts to the gallop, desperate to escape through the ragged hole in the barricade. Gripped by panic and fatigue, they ride through their own foot soldiers who are advancing to support them. The infantry falter and collapse as the cavalry ride them down.

Captain D’Val leads his men to the barricade and directs a lethal volley of arrows into the shattered infantry. It is the last straw. They throw down their weapons and flee from the clouds of arrows raining down on them from out of the smoke-filled sky.

A battle-cry, proud and strident pursues them across the plain: ‘For Sommerlund, for Sommerlund!’

Turn to 137.

For Sommerlund, and the Kai!

H+1 23/26

137

All around the barricade the enemy are retreating in disorder; bandit war-horns announce the withdrawal, exhorting their defeated warriors to flee the battlefield. A jubilant Captain D’Val emerges from the war-smoke, his eyes shining like jewels beneath the rim of his battered helmet. ‘We have triumphed, Lone Wolf. We have vanquished the foe!’

All around you, the captain’s men are rebuilding the barricade and tending to their wounded comrades. It sorrows you to see Sommlending dead, but you take heart at how few they are beside the enemy’s losses.

The captain ushers you to the watchtower where your wounds are cleaned and dressed with Laumspur. The herbs restore 6 ENDURANCE points.

‘We have beaten this foe, but I fear that it is but a temporary reprieve,’ says the captain, his face now composed and sombre. ‘The sacrifice of Baron Vanalund’s daughter must be stopped if we are to avoid catastrophe, for our strength will not avail us against a foe freshly risen from the grave.’

The words of the verse flood into your mind and a chill runs down your spine as you realize what may lie ahead. In three days’ time, when the moon is full, Barraka will sacrifice the Baron’s daughter at the buried temple of Maaken, a sacrifice that will unleash the dead of Maakengorge—the Chasm of Doom. You know you must prevent the sacrifice.

Turn to 12.

We gain 6E = 26/26

We also won the battle.

12

Fifty miles south of Ruanon, the ruined city of Maaken teeters on the brink of Maakengorge. A cold sweat breaks out upon your brow as you contemplate the difficulty of your mission, for you are separated from your goal by fifty miles of enemy-held territory. But there is still a flicker of hope; with the enemy in confusion and retreat, your chances of success will be far higher now than before battle.

Before you set off on your perilous mission, Captain D’Val offers you the choice of the following equipment and provisions:

Enough food for 3 Meals

Rope

Potion of Laumspur—Restores 4 ENDURANCE points when swallowed after combat

Sword

Spear

Make the necessary adjustments to your Action Chart before turning to 140.

We'll need to decide what, if anything, to take. Remember to say what to drop if we want to take anything.

These are our current backpack items:

Backpack Items:

1)Pickaxe

2)Potent Laumspur Potion (+5E)

3)Meal

4)Rope

5)(Rope)

6)Meal of Larnuma (+3E)

7)Laumspur Potion (+4E)

8)Meal

And weapons:

Weapons:

1)Darklord Sword

2)

As you can see, we could at least replace our rope with the new one, which takes up only one backpack slot (and take another item in the new space), and take another weapon.

140

Dusk soon enshrouds the beleaguered outpost of Ruanon and you use the cover of darkness to cross the body-strewn plain towards the south. An old highway trails off to Maaken but it is choked with Vassagonian warriors. They stand about in sullen groups, tending their wounded and brooding on their defeat; however, even demoralized and dejected, they are still a deadly foe. It will be too dangerous to risk passing through their ranks, so you must use the forest to conceal your passage.

If you wish to venture through the trees to the right of the highway, turn to 70.

If you wish to pass through the trees to the left, turn to 314.

So, which items do we take (if any), and which way do we go?

[CowsGoMoo 267]

Replace the rope, and take a spear. We have one extra slot in our weapons inventory, don't we?

Also, let's head... left. Left seems like a good bet.

[Lupus 14]

Take spear. Leave double rope. Take single rope and potion.

And go left

[pi4t 6]

We drop a Rope

(We drop a Rope)

We gain a Rope :)

We gain a Spear

We gain a Potion of Laumspur

314

The forest is patrolled by bandits, but they take little interest in their guard duties, and you find it easy to avoid them in the dark. Then, by chance, you come across a small log cabin hidden deep in the woods. A candle flickers at the window, and the door is ajar.

If you wish to enter the hut, turn to 53.

If you do not wish to enter the hut, continue your mission by turning to 258.

Investigate the hut? I have to admit I haven't got the slightest clue what will happen, I think I've always gone right here.

[CowsGoMoo 267]

Enter the nice cozy hut.

Maybe some unforeseen event will happen, and somehow, entering the cabin would've saved you from death!

[Αμφίονας 41]

Enter the hut.

The worst scenario is us crushing a bandit's birthday party.

And I doubt they will believe that we are here to perform a magic trick.

[pi4t 6]

Ooh, a birthday party! Perhaps there'll be presents, and a birthday cake!

53

The door slams shut, and you spin round to see a bandit leaping at you from the shadows. His head is a mass of bloodied bandages, but he is armed and determined to fight.

Wounded Bandit: COMBAT SKILL 13 ENDURANCE 16

He fights you with his back to the door and you cannot evade him.

If you win the combat, turn to 109.

Combat Ratio = 26-13 = 13

Our E total = 26/26

Wounded Bandit's E total = 16/16

Round 1

Random number = 7

We take 0 damage = 26/26

Wounded Bandit takes 18 damage = DEAD!

...

That was easy. Now for the cake.

109

You roll the dead bandit over with the toe of your boot and make a quick search of his body. You discover the following items:

3 Gold Crowns

Dagger

Sword

You may take any of the above items. As you are leaving, you notice a trapdoor in the floor. Opening it, you see that it leads down to the cellar of the building.

If you wish to search the cellar, turn to 347.

If you wish to leave the hut, turn to 258.

There was no cake.

Must...resist...urge...to...say...meme.

Well, our belt pouch is full, but we can swap our spear and/or darklord sword for the dagger or sword.

Also, are we leaving now? Or investigating the cellar. I don't think there's cake there...

Oh, and merry Christmas, all.

[Lupus 14]

Merry cristamass.

Let's explore the cellar hole thing.

The bandit has been a right Scrooge and we may be rewarded by the christmass ghosts with cake and preside.

And swap spear for dagger. Hard to use spear in caves

[CowsGoMoo 267]

Maybe there's a Christmas cake down there!

Go down the cellar!

[Αμφίονας 41]

We are going Pantheon style. Do not swap anything.

I am certain he has a wide variety of alcoholic drinks needed to be consumed down there.

We will help ourselves since he does not seem eager to bring out any of it.

[pi4t 6]

0-4 we swap the spear for the dagger, 5-9 we don't.

9.

Ok, on we go then...

347

You are at the bottom of the cellar ladder when the trapdoor slams shut and you hear a bolt slide across and lock. You hammer on the trapdoor desperately trying to escape, but your captors cover the trapdoor with a heavy oak cask and keep guard in the room above. Four days pass before the lock slides back, but the hands that open the trapdoor are bony and fleshless.

Your life and your mission end here.

...

Ok.

The cake, it would seem, was indeed a lie.

Death Count +1: 4

Back we go, then...

109

You roll the dead bandit over with the toe of your boot and make a quick search of his body. You discover the following items:

3 Gold Crowns

Dagger

Sword

You may take any of the above items. As you are leaving, you notice a trapdoor in the floor. Opening it, you see that it leads down to the cellar of the building.

If you wish to search the cellar, turn to 347.

If you wish to leave the hut, turn to 258.

We get a very strong sense that we shouldn't enter the cellar, and purging all thoughts of cake from our mind, we leave the hut.

258

You quickly leave the hut far behind and press on through the trees. By morning, you have reached the edge of the forest. Staring out across the fields of tall crops, you see a small village lying at the base of a shallow valley. The fields are only separated by narrow tracks, which are alive with flying insects hovering in swarms.

You are walking along the track when you suddenly spot bandits ahead. They are wandering idly up the track towards you, their spears slung over their shoulders.

If you possess an Onyx Medallion, turn to 305.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage and you have reached the Kai Rank of Guardian or higher, turn to 49.

If you do not have this Special Item or this Discipline and Kai Rank, dive into the tall crops and hide by turning to 159.

We do not have an Onyx Medallion, but we do have Camouflage (and have, of course, reached that rank).

49

Lifting your feet high, you step into the tall crops, taking care to part them first with your hands. You allow the stalks to close again behind your back before you crouch down and hold your breath. You have completely vanished from sight; it is as if the stalks have never been disturbed.

The bandits amble past barely inches from where you hide, oblivious to your presence. When you are sure they have gone, you emerge from the crops and hurry away.

Turn to 204.

204

You bypass a village with orange-wood cabins and stone walls, and climb through the tall fields towards a wooded ridge. Beyond the ridge, you enter thick forest and discover a bubbling freshwater stream. You drink deeply and realize how hungry you are. You must eat a Meal here or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

As night falls you reach the city of Maaken. The gaunt, weed-infested ruins of this shattered city are spread like a vast graveyard and bathed in the eerie light of a near-full moon. A sound fills the air like the wailing of lost souls; it is the cry of Maakengorge.

It has been nearly two days since you last slept and fatigue begins to overwhelm you. Drawing your Kai cloak about your shoulders, you settle down to sleep; you will need all your strength for the daunting task that lies ahead.

Turn to 142.

Hunting prevents us from having to eat a meal from our backpack.

142

Dawn arrives, rain-swept and gloom-laden. A pall of drizzle hangs over the ghost city and the gruesome discord of the wailing winds of Maakengorge makes you feel uneasy. You watch and wait, your Kai cloak drawn close about your shoulders to keep out the chill, damp air.

It was here, during the Age of the Black Moon, that King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of the Darklords—Lord Vashna. In mortal combat upon the very brink of the abyss, the Darklord was slain by the Sommerswerd. It is said that his death-cry when he fell will echo through the gorge until the day he rises to wreak his vengeance on Sommerlund and the House of Ulnar. Your stomach contracts at the thought that this could be that very day.

For five hours you observe and take in every detail of the ruined city. The first line of the strange verse keeps repeating itself in your mind. ‘When the full moon shines o’er the temple deep … ’ The temple must be underground and there must be an entrance to it—but where?

You study every crack in the broken ground and eliminate all but two possibilities: a crypt door guarded by two Vassagonian warriors and a flight of marble steps descending into the earth between two columns of fractured pillars.

If you wish to try to enter the temple through the guarded crypt door, turn to 183.

If you wish to try to enter the temple via the unguarded marble stairs, turn to 270.

So, guarded door or unguarded stairs? Of course, if they are both entrances, then it does beg the question of why the stairs are unguarded...

[CowsGoMoo 267]

The unguarded path, is always the BAD path.

If something is too easy to be true, then it's definitely not true. That's life for you! Let's go and beat up some guards! We're Lone Wolf, and Lone Wolf NEVER dies! Well... Except for that ONE time... a few moments ago, when the cake was like a lie... and those other three times... when we... THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!

We don't die, so we gotta take all the risks.