At the end of our last episode, Lone Wolf’s hiding place was seemingly exposed by the Darklord’s magical sword, which, of its own volition, pointed right at me!
I confirm, in response to the book’s polite enquiry, that I do in fact possess the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-Screen.
I must to make an R10 check, needing 7 or more.
But wait!
For every Magnakai Discipline I possess, I can add 1 to my R10!
[Frantically checks the R10 chart to make sure that there isn’t a -3 lurking there somewhere]
Nailed it!
Although my location is revealed, I am free from any psychic damage, as I ready myself to face another Darklord.
Aside : I mentally point out to myself that the most recent scoreboard entry reads Lone Wolf : 2, Darklords : 0 in terms of these confrontations.
It does not appear, at this time, that the Darklord is immediately aware of my true identity, but rather that he is only able to detect my presence.
Quickly coming up with a story, I mutter some story about being an emissary from Darklord Xog (!) with news of a traitor in Kraagenskûl’s inner circle. In an attempt to even the odds, I also ask to speak with the Darklord alone, so that the Vassagonia emissaries are ordered to leave.
The emissaries fix me with dirty looks as they pass, unaware that they have been spared a Kai Master spankin’.
Aside : Lone Wolf gets considerable suck-up points for addressing the Darklord as ‘O Invincible Lord of Death and Decay’.
As the other lackeys leave the room, the Darklord decides to use a more direct method to drill me for information – a blast of electric fire that purports to hold me in place!
But wait!
The Golden Amulet, given to me by my friend and slave-owner Banedon, diverts the flames, leaving me free and unharmed!
And is that a record for consecutive exclamation points!?
Going to plan ‘B’, the Darklord summons black mist from his fingers, which transforms into Crypt Spawn.
I have the choice of using either the Sommerswerd or the Dagger of Vashna (or both).
Now is when I heed Banedon’s warning, and le,ave the Sommerswerd, despite its restlessness and complaining in its sheath.
Instead, I draw the Dagger of Vashna!
The Crypt Spawn, suddenly terrified, float up to the ceiling to stay out of trouble.
Battle is joined!
Aside : Although I don’t get my normal +8 CS for the Sommerswerd, the Dagger of Vashna gives me a +7 CS, resulting in only a net effect of -1.
The Darklord is also immune to Mindblast, but not Psi-Surge.
Given that I now only lose 1 Endurance per round for using Psi-Surge, I activate its fury!
Darklord Kraagenskûl – CS : 45. E : 48
Lone Wolf – CS : 46, E : 32
Round 1!
R10 of 9!
LW – 32-0-1=31, DK – 48-12=36
Round 2!
R10 of 0!!!
LW : 31-0-1=30, DK : 36-14=22
Round 3!
R10 of 4…
LW : 30-3-1=26, DK : 22-7=15
Round 4!
R10 of 2 (this is what mathematicians call ‘reversion to the mean….’)
LW : 26-4-1=21, DK : 15-5=10
Round 5!
R10 of 3…..[sigh]
LW : 21-3-1=17, DK : 10-6=4
Round 6!
LW : 17-0-1=16, DK : 4-10=………[hic jacet Darklord!]
The Darklord falls!
I can take his sword if I want. It is, however, very much a two-edged sword (pun TOTALLY intended).
It adds 5 to my Combat Skill (and 7 if fighting a Darklord), but I must deduct one Endurance point PERMANENTLY for every round after the first in which I use the sword.
Not worth it – I leave the sword behind, giving it a casual flip with my toe.
I dash up to the roof, and see the Zlanbeast, minded by only one Death Knight guard, his back casually turned to me.
Now I want to manage this carefully, given that anything too startling may frighten the Zlanbeast, and cause it to fly off, leaving no forwarding address.
Rather than shooting the Death Knight with a Bow, or attacking him from behind, I rather remember that I am still wearing a Drakkarim set of armour and tell him he is wanted in the barracks.
My bluff needs an R10 check, although luckily I can add 5 for my possession of Invisibility and high Magnakai Rank.
My score of (7+5)=12 meets the target easily enough.
The Death Knight wearily nods and descends the stairs, presumably to (1) Firstly, discovery the corpse of the Darklord (2) Secondly,rRun for his life, instead of facing the inevitable execution for being sucked in by the fugitive Kai Master.
I approach the Zlanbeast, silently cursing the fact that Animal Control is the one Magnakai Discipline that I do not possess.
My R10 check of 6 is enough, however, to charm the (metaphorical) socks off the creature, as it allows me to mount and fly off into the west!
All I needed was a sunset (or sunrise) and I’d feel like we were at the end of Act II of a Michael Bay movie…
Dawn breaks a couple of hours into my trip, and I start to get annoyed because there isn’t some hostess on hand to bring me breakfast.
And by ‘breakfast’, I mean booze.
Humph.
At least my Golden Amulet protects me from the elements, with the book informing me in a matter-of-fact way that without it, I would have died about an hour after take-off.
Thanks, I think.
As I start to wonder about my in-flight movie options, I leave my readers hungry for more.
Base Stats : CS : 22, E : 28, GC 22 (Kika 28)
Final Stats : CS : 44/44, E : 22/32
Weapons : Sword, Dagger
Weapon-Like Special Items : Silver Bow of Duadon (+3), Sommerswerd (+8 CS), Dagger of Vashna
Backpack : Rope, Lantern, Potion of Laumspur (+4E), Meals (3)
Special Items : 1. Sommerswerd (+8 CS) (with Korlinium scabbard) 2. Platinum Amulet / Gold Amulet, 3. Dagger of Vashna 4. Shield (+2 CS), 5. Padded Waistcoat (+2 E), 6. Bronin Vest (+3 CS, +1 E) 7. Blue Stone Triangle Pendant, 8. Psychic Ring 9. Quiver (6 arrows), 10. Silver Bracers (+2 CS, +1 E) (6), 11. Crystal Explosive 12. Silver Bow of Duadon.
Kai Monastery storage :
- Backpack Items : Sack of Silver (3)
- Special Items : Map of Tekaro, Diamonds (2), Boat Ticket, Power Key, Copper Key, Ornate Silver Key, Jewelled Mace, Obsidian Seal, Brass Whistle. Quiver (4 arrows), Pass, Vial of Clear Liquid, Crystal Star Pendant, Receipt, Invitation, Signet Ring
Magnakai Rank : Archmaster
Magnakai Disciplines : Weaponmastery (+4 CS in Sword, Bow, Mace, Dagger, Spear, Quarterstaff, Broadsword, Warhammer, Axe), Pathmanship, Huntmastery, Divination, Invisibility, Nexus, Psi-Screen, Psi-Surge, Curing
Lore-Circles : Fire (+1 CS, +2 E), Solaris (+1 CS, +3 E), Spirit (+3 CS, +3 E)
Kai Disciplines : Camouflage, Animal Kinship, Tracking, Hunting, Sixth Sense, Healing, Mind Over Matter, Mindblast (+3CS), Mindshield, Weaponskill (+2 CS in Short Sword)
Current paragraph : 36
LONE WOLF PLAYTHROUGH 
You didn’t even pick Helshezag to hang in your trophy room? What is wrong with you?!
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I honestly couldn’t think of a special item (as carried by me) which I considered was worth sacrificing to take the sword…
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If you were playing a computer game with no weight or item restrictions then it might be acceptable but otherwise its just a malevolent, self harming piece of dangerous junk.
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As a kid, I thought it had the coolest name in the series. The description was quite nice too. But sure, do keep your Blue Stone Triangle Pendant, that’s cool too 🙂
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Yes, yes, can’t argue with the coolness of the name Helshezag, or its appearance. But at least the Blue Stone Triangle has been USEFUL as well as pretty. 🙂
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What did you roll in the last round against Kraagenskûl? If Lone Wolf lost 0+1 then you would need to get an 8 or more, but this would have cost the Darklord at least 11 Endurance Points, not 10. Not that that makes him any more dead.
You know, the option in §286 does say “If you possess the Dagger of Vashna and wish to use it” so you didn’t have to wield it here. If you’d fought without it, you’d have lost a maximum of 9EP (if you’d rolled a 1 in the last round of combat) without using Psi-Surge.
Also, although you were told not to use the Sommerswerd within the Darklands, it doesn’t actually become dangerous until you reach Helgedad. I suppose that even if the Darklords do detect it at a distance, there’s not a lot they can do about it, but once you’re in their capital city, they can surround you before you have time to sheathe it again.
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I didn’t check the paragraph, but my recollection is that if you whip out the Sommerswerd against Kraagenskul he tries to contact Helgedad on the Darklord-phone and you risk blowing the whole mission.
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Yes, I definitely wouldn’t recommend using the Sommerswerd here either, with a 30% chance of automatic failure, but it is theoretically possible and there are other combats within the Darklands where the Sommerswerd is a valuable asset. Still, using a mundane weapon is, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, by far the easiest way to deal with Darklord Kraagenskûl.
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No, the Project Aon footnotes make it pretty clear that the only weapons that Lone Wolf has access to that can harm Kraagenskul are the Sommerswerd, the Dagger of Vashna, and Helshezag (though the latter obviously requires disarming the Darklord). You can’t just start the fight with the Dagger of Vashna and then switch to another weapon and expect to do any damage.
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Even a thrill junkie like me who gleefully tries to select routes with highest kill counts wouldn’t dare touch the Sommerswerd here. Especially since anyone who HAS the Sommerswerd also has the Dagger of Vashna.
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Yes, it’s fortunate that the Darklords seem to have a habit of dropping their magical superweapons when faced with a Kai Lord brandishing a weapon to which they are immune. Haakon does it in book 5 and Kraagenskûl will oblige if Lone Wolf chooses to fight with a mundane weapon here. My mother would suggest they invest in a bit of Velcro to stick the weapons to their palms (whenever a character in an action film drops his gun, she’ll say “he should have a bit of Velcro!”).
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In Haakon’s case he was weakened first by the wholesome air and good sunlight and then by the unexpected deaths of his cryptspawn who he expected to gnaw on your bones.
In Kraagenskul he was toying with what was to be his next victim while Lone Wolf knew he COULDN’T go head to head so had no choice but to find someway to even the odds. Like Avenger he had to be “my weapons are everything that exists.
Btw, I used to do Sword Fencing (Foil, Epee and Saber) and thete people are disarmed so often there’s a whole ritual for dealing with it.
Btw (2). Re Haakon being weakened. If the Darklords can’t survive for long outside the Hellish atmosphere of The Darklands how did they survive long enough to conquer The Drakkarim and convert The Darklands?
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With the score now Lone Wolf 3, Darklords 0 I’m left wondering would Naar have been better off sending Horned Cyclops to conquer Magnamund instead of The Darklords.
The Vassagonians dirty looks are a reminder that people rarely realise when you’re trying to help them. But you weren’t really sucking up to D. K. (full name too long), “Mighty Lord of Darkness” and “Invisible Lord of Death and Decay” are merely two of his official titles along with others like “Your Honour” and /shudder/ “Chief Justice”.
And then there’s a crackle of electricity
https://giphy.com/gifs/animation-shock-electric-LhHFOb9SuzHaw
A hissing of mist followed by a shrieking of Crypt Spawn, first in bloodlust, then in fear. Then a mighty clash where the battle swings both ways and finally you critique his dress sense saying he wears the jacet of a hic??? Whatever turns you on as a victory celebration I suppose.
It would have been cool for Lone Wolf to go charging into battle with Helshezag (Dark Sword) in one hand and the Sommerswerd (Golden Sword) in the other but marrying the two magics didn’t work for Vonotar and I doubt it would work for you. And since D.K. disappeared its unlikely the Death Knight noticed anything (apart from two Vassagonians loitering but thats the sort of shoddy work ethic thats to be expected from damn foreigners).
And as you fly into the darkness I imagine the Zlanbeast singing to itself “I would fly 500 miles” ( that songs STILL in my head).
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Fenrir – ‘Hic Jacet’ is a Latin tag frequently used on tombstones. It literally means ‘Here lies….’
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hic%20jacet
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Hic Jacet Fenriir’s pride.
…
So I can continue to have some shreds of self respect the real me wishes to point out that Merriam Webster was also where I got the explanation of “Hic Jacet”. The silly joke came to me when I was typing and I went with it.
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