Trail of the Wolf by Joe Dever

surprise, the two leather-clad warriors unsheathe their swords and attempt to cut you down.
    Helkona Drakkarim: COMBAT SKILL  30    ENDURANCE  35
    If you win this combat, turn to 14 .

129
    You run blindly through the trees in your desperation to escape this deluge of fire. All around you, the tinder-dry wood is being ignited by droplets of red-hot lava. Trees crackle and explode, spreading the fire with alarming speed, but you dare not stop as you race ahead of the raging flames.
    After what seems like hours, the tremors cease and the hungry flames recede. Gasping for breath, you collapse on the floor of a shallow rocky basin that is ringed by fallen trees. You must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points (you cannot use Grand Huntmastery in this instance, for there are no flora or fauna that you can forage for in the petrified forest of Helkona).
    Feeling revived after your brief rest, you decide to leave the basin and climb the tallest of the nearby trees in the hope that you can pinpoint your present location. Your effort is rewarded when you see the uppermost towers of Gazad Helkona rising above the tree-line less than fifteen miles to the northeast. With luck you should reach the fortress within four hours.
    It is only an hour later when you happen upon a broad track through the forest. Its loose surface is rutted with wagon tracks, and when you look more closely, you discover evidence of traffic having passed this way recently in both directions. Bordering upon this trail are several prickly shrubs which are covered with tiny purple buds.
    If you wish to examine the purple buds, turn to 81 .
    If you choose to ignore the shrubs and follow the trail northwards, turn to 120 .

130
    Your Magnakai Discipline of Curing warns you that most of the substances stored in the vials are either poisons, narcotics, or sorcerous concoctions. From a total of eighty vials, you are able to identify only one that can be used to heal. It is Tortwich (a crystalline salt that will restore 3 ENDURANCE points when consumed after sustaining wounds in combat).

    There is sufficient Tortwich in the vial to provide you with 2 doses. If you wish to keep this curative, remember to adjust your Action Chart accordingly. 16
    To continue, turn to 30 .
    [16] The Tortwich takes up one Backpack slot.

132
    You find your precious weapon and grasp hold of it firmly by the hilt. As you are getting to your feet, you suddenly become aware of the arrival of a new and powerful evil in this hall. Instinctively you look to the crystal sphere, and your heart sinks when you see that its swirling black vapours are now oozing through the glassy surface. These sinister wisps of darkness draw together and swirl around the throne of bones like a small tornado. Then, from the core of this whirlwind, there issues a loud and hideous shriek that makes your blood run cold.
    If you have ever visited the city of Duadon in a previous
Lone Wolf New Order
adventure, turn to 255 .
    If you have not, turn to 136 .

133
    Hurriedly you retrieve the Rope from your Backpack and make one end of it into a lasso. Then you cast this loop around a rock which is embedded in the wall of the gully, and drag yourself out of the dust. The sides of the ravine are steep but the rocks and boulders which pepper its surface make it easy for you to climb. Swiftly you ascend to the top of the gully where you take shelter from the wind behind a rocky knoll. As you settle yourself into a hollow beside a pillar of jagged stone, you are startled by a loud screeching caw that echoes in the dark skies above.
    Turn to 295 .

137
    The deadly missiles smash into the parapet and whistle past your ears, dangerously close. One bolt clips the collar of your tunic within an inch of your throat, and another creases your scalp: lose 2 ENDURANCE points. Blood trickles down the side of your face as you duck behind the safety of the parapet. These Drakkarim warriors are a determined enemy, and you know that you must