300

The stench of the circular pit is almost unbearable. The floor is covered with a brackish green slime in which a host of flea-infested rats are scratching for food. In the dim half-light you watch with a mixture of fascination and revulsion as these vicious rats burrow nose-first into the evil-smelling mire, pausing only to fight when one of them uncovers the prey that they are hunting for: glistening, black-bodied worms.

Using your Magnakai skill of Nexus, you are able to free your hands from the cords that bind them. Escape from this pit is now foremost in your mind. Beyond the wall you can hear the sound of rushing water and, when you move to where the sound is loudest, you discover a panel partially concealed by slime. A closer inspection reveals it to be an opening to a circular chute. You are working on a way to prise open this panel, hoping it will lead to a way out of the pit, when suddenly there is a grating rumble high above. A column of bright light invades the gloom and, squealing with fright, the rats burrow frantically into the slime to avoid it.

‘Well well, if it isn’t Grand Master Lone Wolf himself!’ booms a man’s voice from the top of the shaft. ‘How good of you to come to Duadon in person. You have saved me the further expense of having you hunted down and brought here in chains.’

Quickly your eyes grow accustomed to the light and you see, peering over the lip of an open trapdoor at the top of the shaft, the sneering face of a young man. His pointed beard and moustache are trimmed to perfection, and his dark eyes twinkle with a cold malevolence that places a chill in your very soul. His skin is unusually pale and, judging from the wealth of gold embellishment that bedecks the neck of his velvet tunic, you feel sure that he is Prince Lutha, the self-appointed ruler of this city.

‘What do you intend for me?’ you ask aloud, but silently you are dreading his answer. The Prince does not reply directly; he simply utters a soft, chilling laugh as he extends his right hand. On his index finger you see a glowing ring of green crystal and, in a moment of terror, you realize that it is an artefact of pure evil, fashioned by, and imbued with, the power of the Dark God Naar himself.

If you possess the Sommerswerd and wish to unsheathe it, turn to 267.

If you possess Magi-magic and have attained the Kai rank of Grand Thane, turn to 9.

If you possess Assimilance and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher, turn to 172.

If you possess Kai-alchemy and wish to use it, turn to 306.

If you do not possess any of the above Special Items or Grand Master Disciplines, or if you have yet to attain the relevant levels of Kai Mastery, turn to 287.