The Plague Lords of Ruel by Joe Dever Page B

rest.
    Once your pulse has settled, your fear of being followed prompts you to continue along the leafy passage without further delay. You progress in a near-darkness which is broken only by a few scattered rays of grey light that creep through the ceiling above. At length the tunnel ends and you emerge into a clearing where stand the derelict remains of an ancient stone dwelling. You approach it warily, sensing the presence of magic, yet inside its shattered walls you find nothing but mould and clumps of sickly black grass. Then your skills of Divination tingle afresh as the presentiment of sorcery increases. Suddenly you realize that the source of the magic is not here in this ruined hut: it is approaching the hut.
    Through a crack in the stones you see a gap appear in the wall of trees opposite and a group of Vazhag enter the clearing, their ratty faces sniffing at the heavy, humid air. Among their number is one who is not of their breed. He is human in size and stature, though his hooded scarlet robes make it difficult to be sure. For a moment you catch a glimpse of the glassy green mask covering his face and at once you know that this being is a Cener Druid. In his hand he carries a rod of gold that is radiating the aura of magic which you detected when first you entered the clearing.
    The Cener calls his pack to a halt. They cease all movement and watch in quiet awe as he raises his golden rod and uses it to make a slow, deliberate sweep of the clearing. Hurriedly you draw on your Magnakai skills of Invisibility and Pathsmanship to shield you from detection as the Cener sweeps back the rod and levels it directly at the derelict hut.
    Waves of psychic energy flow across your mind. Steadily they grow in intensity, probing and testing your defences to breaking point.
    If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 44 .
    If you do not possess this Grand Mastery, turn to 298 .

118
    The tunnel continues for more than a mile before it descends, by means of a steep staircase, to another passageway over one hundred feet below the first. Here the air is full of fine dust and you can hear small scratching sounds coming from inside the walls.
    In the dark distance, you see clearly a score of crab-like creatures grouped in circles on the tunnel floor. Their shells are bone-white and you hazard a guess that these strange crustaceans have probably never been exposed to the sun. At your approach they scuttle up the walls with surprising speed and disappear into funnel-shaped holes that riddle the ceiling.
    Confident that the crabs have taken fright and fled, you advance along the tunnel towards another staircase, the top of which you can just discern in the far distance. You are passing beneath the crab-holes when you hear a faint hissing noise and suddenly you feel droplets of sticky clear liquid spattering your head and shoulders. Then wisps of grey smoke arise from your cloak and you feel a searing pain, as if a fistful of red-hot needles were being stabbed repeatedly into your scalp. You are being attacked by a powerful organic acid and it is rapidly eating its way into your flesh!
    If you possess Grand Nexus, turn to 249 .
    If you do not possess this Grand Master Discipline, turn to 329 .

119
    Stealthily you make your way towards the stairwell and descend the steps without being seen. The circular stairs spiral down more than fifty feet to a chamber directly below the hall, empty save for a line of red robes and masks which hang from pegs driven into the marble wall.
    If you are already wearing a Cener Robe
and
a Cener Mask, turn to 158 .
    If you possess only one or neither of these items, turn to 77 .

120
    The creature's ghastly visage is the very stuff of nightmares. From its bear-like torso there protrude four tentacles and two powerful legs, all sheathed in shaggy scales. The limbs are surmounted with horny talons which glint menacingly in the gloom. Its head, set with huge fishy eyes, is bulbous and disfigured by disease. It rests