The Forbidden City Read online
The Forbidden City
You are the Wizard Grey Star. Your quest is to retrieve the legendary Moonstone and with its power throw down the evil Wytch-king. You must find the Shadow Gate — doorway to the magic realm where it lies hidden. When the moon is full, the Shadow Gate appears — in Desolation Valley beyond the Mountains of Morn, where you must dare The Forbidden City.
The Wytch-king will try to track you down. His slaves will dog your every step — the cruel warriors of Shadaki, the phantom spirit of the Deathgaunt and the dark horror of the demon Kleasá. Only your Magical Powers and the might of your Wizard's Staff can protect you in a terrifying adventure of madness, magic, and menace!
The World of Lone Wolf is an exciting adventure series in which you are the hero, you make the decisions, and you fight the combats using the unique systems included in the book.
Ian Page was born in London in 1960. Since the age of sixteen he has pursued a successful career as a singer/songwriter. With the band Secret Affair, he had a string of chart hits to his credit including Time for Action and My World. His interest in the fantastic worlds of ‘Sword and Sorcery’ dates back to his early teens, and to his love of the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien and Michael Moorcock. It was in 1979, when Joe Dever introduced him to role-playing games, that his involvement in the world of Magnamund began. He contributed greatly to the development of the southern reaches of this fantastic world, and worked closely with Joe on several other role-playing games projects that include TV and radio appearances.
Ian has since re-entered the music industry with a band known as The Affair.
Joe Dever, the creator of the bestselling Lone Wolf adventure books and novels and editor for the World of Lone Wolf series, has achieved world-wide recognition in three creative fields — as an award-winning author of international renown, as an acclaimed musician and composer, and as a games designer specialising in role-playing games.
On graduating from college in 1974, Joe Dever became a professional musician, and for several years, he worked in the music industry in Europe and the United States.
While working in Los Angeles in 1977 he discovered a then little-known game called ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Although the game was in its infancy, Joe at once realised its huge potential and began designing his own role-playing games along similar conceptual lines. These first games were to form the basis of a fantasy world called Magnamund, which later became the setting for the Lone Wolf books.
Five years later, in 1982 at the Origins Game Fair, Joe won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons World Championships in Baltimore, an event held before 16,000 people. Inspired and encouraged by his success at Origins, Joe decided to quit the music business and devote his time to writing and games design.
In 1983, after a brief spell at Games Workshop in London, he wrote Flight from the Dark — the first Lone Wolf interactive gamebook. His manuscript immediately attracted a frenzy of interest from three major London publishing companies, all of whom bid for world rights. Joe accepted an offer of publication from Hutchinson's (later to become Century Hutchinson Ltd; now Random House UK) and Flight from the Dark was first published in 1984.
This first book sold more than 100,000 copies within its first month of publication, and overseas rights were snapped up by twelve countries (including the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden). The success of Joe's first book laid the foundations for the future of the Lone Wolf series, which has sold millions of copies around the world.
Joe has continued to work in the games industry as script writer and games design consultant.
Paul Bonner is the illustrator of the World of Lone Wolf series of gamebooks. His childhood love of ‘folk-tales, fairy-stories, The Hobbit, Scandinavian tales, myths, and sagas’ led Paul Bonner to spend four years at Harrow, a London art school, on an illustrating course of study.
His artwork for the World of Lone Wolf series is among his earliest professional work. He subsequently started freelancing for Games Workshop and later accepted a full-time position. He worked there for a few years before moving on to produce full-colour artwork (which Games Workshop had not required from him). He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark and again began to work as a freelance illustrator.
* * *
Internet Edition published by Project Aon. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the Errata.
Publication Date: 28 October 2012
Concept copyright © 1985 Joe Dever and Gary Chalk.
Text copyright © 1985 Ian Page.
Illustrations copyright © 1985 Paul Bonner.
Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the Project Aon License.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Of the Coming of Grey Star
The Story So Far …
The Game RulesMagical Powers
Equipment
Rules for Combat
Sage Advice
Numbered Sections
The Shadakine Empire
Action Chart
Combat Rules Summary
Combat Results Table
Random Number Table
Errata
Footnotes
Table of Illustrations
Project Aon License
Grey Star the Wizard - 02 - The Forbidden City
Ian PageJoe Dever
Paul Bonner
Concept copyright © 1985 Joe Dever and Gary Chalk. Text copyright © 1985 Ian Page. Illustrations copyright © 1985 Paul Bonner.
Dedication
For Julie
Acknowledgements
‘I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my “millennium gift” to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai. … ’ Joe Dever
Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We are also grateful for the generosity of Rob Adams, Paul Bonner, Gary Chalk, Melvyn Grant, Richard Hook, Peter Andrew Jones, Cyril Julien, Peter Lyon, Ian Page, Graham Round, and Brian Williams for contributing their portions of the world of Magnamund to Project Aon. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:
Credits
Transcription
Ryan Cross
Illustration Transcription
Jonathan Blake
Simon Osborne
XML
Jonathan Blake
Jeff Dougan
Simon Osborne
Thomas Wolmer
Replacement Illustrations
JC Alvarez (Action Charts)
Jonathan Blake (Extramatter Charts and Tables)
Christopher Lundgren (Map and Small Illustrations)
Proofreading
Simon Osborne
Editing
David Davis
Ingo Klöcker
Benjamin Krefetz
LeRoy McSwain
Simon Osborne
Timothy Pederick
Coordination
Jonathan Blake
Thomas Wolmer
Special Thanks
Marc Cassel, Thomas Frost, Kayvohn Kazemi, Michael Kelly, David Ratliff
Of the Coming of Grey Star
Ancient days they were when first the Shianti set foot upon the land that men call Magnamund. Long had they journeyed through the void, homeless wanderers in search of a pace to call their own. And so it was that when the Shianti first looked upon the face of the land, their hearts were raised in wonder. They saw a world of nameless mountains, untamed forests, and lands both wild and free. Here they chose to cease their wanderings and to devote themselves to the study and appreciation of this newfound land.
To the delight of the Shianti, the race of man first emerged at this time and they watched his early struggle towards civilization with eager concern. Like gods, the Shianti seemed to the minds of primitive men. Tall and proud, shining with a radiance that spoke of magic and arcane mystery, the Shianti moved among them and with their powers of wizardry, aided man in his development.
As the centuries passed, man fell to worship of the magical Shianti and the power of these wizards grew even stronger. With hungry hearts they sought to unlock the mysteries of knowledge, sending their minds into other planes of existence and strange worlds beyond the sphere of the material plane. Their foresight was now unmatched and the power of their thought was mighty indeed. It was at this time that they created the Moonstone. Woven of the very fabric of the astral plane of Daziarn, this translucent gem was the greatest achievement of Shianti wisdom. It was the binding force of all Shianti magic, containing the combined might of all their wizardry, the sum of all their knowledge. The Golden Age of the Shianti had come and the Moonstone was the instrument of their dominion throughout all Magnamund. Man stood as little more than a shadow, blinded by the shining white light of Shianti glory. But, in creating the Moonstone, the unwritten laws of nature had been transgressed. For the Moonstone, like the Shianti themselves, was something outside of man's own world; it defied the natural order laid down by the creators of Magnamund and disrupted the balance that the gods had designed.
The Goddess Ishir, High Priestess of the Moon and mother of all men, showed herself to the Shianti and spoke to them of the destiny of man: ‘The children of this world must claim their inheritance. Their time has come and they must learn to stand alone. They are lost in their worship of you and the day draws ever nearer when they will covet the power of the Moonstone.’
And the Shianti said: ‘Forgive us, Great Goddess, for we intended no harm. We love mankind even as you do. We have sought to do good and protect your children from harm.’
But Ishir replied, ‘Of this there can be no doubt, but this world is not your realm. Man must be free to pursue his destiny alone, and you must leave, for you trespass on his domain.’
The Shianti were filled with sorrow. They feared a return to the void and to their lonely wandering, and pleaded with Ishir that she might allow them to remain. Ishir was filled with pity for them. She spoke again, saying, ‘If you are to remain, you must obey my command. You must take a vow never to interfere with mankind's fate. As a token of good faith you must lay aside the Moonstone, and return it to the plane where it belongs.’
Solemnly, the Shianti agreed. The vow was sworn before Ishir, and the Moonstone was returned to the Daziarn. The Shianti then moved south to the Isle of Lorn. They encircled their new home with a web of enchantments, magical mists, and mage winds to prevent man from ever finding their place of refuge in the Sea of Dreams. Knowledge of the Shianti faded with time, save in southern Magnamund where it became enshrined in legend, and the worship of them endured. Priests of the Shianti religion preserved their teachings and patiently awaited the day when the ‘ancient ones’ would return, bringing with them lasting peace and the blessing of a new golden age.
Two thousand years strode by and man advanced as Ishir had foretold. He built great cities and cultivated the land; his kingdoms rose and fell; he made war and loved and laughed and became master of his fate. But a new power was emerging in the province of Shadaki. There Shasarak the evil Wytch-king ruled. The black necromancer commanded an army of brutal soldiers and had a devoted following of men who upheld his religion of demonic worship and sacrificial rites. Devotees of the Shianti and other religious cults were persecuted in a merciless purge. Ruthlessly, the Wytch-king destroyed all his opponents and began a terrible war with the peoples of the neighbouring provinces. From the ruins of war Shasarak shaped the Shadakine Empire, subjugating whole nations to his evil rule. As the provinces fell to his might, the Shianti looked on helplessly, bound by their vow to the Goddess Ishir never to interfere in the affairs of man.
On the night of the crowning of Shasarak as Overlord of the Shadakine Empire, a great storm broke upon the Sea of Dreams, a storm that raged with unnatural intensity. Lashed by wind and rain, illuminated by wild lightning, the waters heaved and danced in fury to the thundering music of the storm, unchecked by even the enchantments of the Shianti. When finally the tempest died, the Shianti looked out in amazement on the shattered hull of a ship drifting towards their shore. Never before had this occurred, for the enchantments and mage winds had kept them secure from the curiosity of man by forcing him to sail close to his own land.
The Shianti went quickly to the ruined ship where they found only one survivor — a baby. They perceived the sudden arrival of this human child as a sign of great portent, and they conceived a plan by which they might lawfully aid mankind. They named the orphan child Grey Star, because a star is the symbol of hope in the Shianti faith, and because of the silver streak in the child's jet-black hair. In the shadow of the wrath of the Goddess Ishir, they raised the child as one of their own and taught him their secrets. Diligently they set about their instruction, for their aim was to provide a saviour for mankind. Armed with the might of Shianti wizardry and wisdom, their hope was to create an adversary equal in power to the evil Wytch-king of Shadaki, for they realized that only with the death of Shasarak would man once more be free to determine his destiny.
The Story So Far …
You are Grey Star, trained in the ancient lore of a Shianti Wizard. For sixteen years you dwelt in safety on the Isle of Lorn, the hidden realm of the magical Shianti race, until Acarya, High Wizard of the Shianti sent you upon a dangerous quest to save your own people, the race of man, from Shasarak, the tyrannical Wytch-king of Shadaki. Held by their ancient vow to the goddess Ishir, the Shianti are unable to leave their island and come to the aid of man themselves. As a human, no such promise prohibits you from leaving the island and you have been sent to recover the Moonstone and use its power to throw down the Wytch-king.
The Moonstone, an artefact possessing the combined force of all Shianti power, is hidden on the Daziarn plane, which can only be entered by finding one of its portals. You seek the Shadow Gate, but it never remains in one place for longer than a day and is invisible to human sight. For this reason you began to search for the ‘Lost Tribe of Lara,’ a race of magical, but primitive creatures called the Kundi. They possess the gift of Astral Vision, enabling them to see magic portals and gateways to other planes and dimensions. Once, the Kundi inhabited the forests of the Mountains of Lara. When Shasarak's Shadakine army first invaded the free provinces of the south, they came by way of the Mountains of Lara, through the Morn Pass. The Shadakine armies were constantly ambushed and delayed by the Kundi as they made their way south, and the Kundi always eluded them, disappearing into the dense forest before the Shadakine could retaliate. Finally, in desperation, the Wytch-king burnt down the mountain's forests and the Kundi were forced to flee from his wrath and disappeared. Only the vision and the guidance of a Kundi man will enable you to enter the Daziarn plane and find the Moonstone, and less than a month ago you began your search.
Voyaging across the Sea of Dreams, you came first to the city of Suhn, the largest port in the Shadakine Empire. There you befriended a cheerful merchant named Shan Li, a widely travelled man with a wry sense of humour. Your questions about the Lost Tribe, enemies of the Shadakine Empire, aroused much suspicion. You were taken to the dungeons of the House of Correction, the Shadakine prison of Suhn and subjected to the truth
say of Mother Magri, Shadakine Wytch and Law-giver. With the power of the Kazim Stone, she attempted to read your mind, but you were able to preserve the secret of your quest.
It was with the help of Tanith, a young, beautiful girl, learning the ways of wytchcraft in the service of Mother Magri, that you made your escape from the House of Correction. Her courage and intelligence were invaluable as you escaped the pursuit of the Shadakine. With Shan as your guide you eventually turned south and headed toward the region known as the Azanam, for it seemed likely that the Lost Tribe might be found there. But the vengeance of Mother Magri was not so easily avoided. Using the power of the Kazim Stone, she summoned a Kleasá, a demon shadow that feeds upon the soul and will of others, since it has no soul of its own. Neither your Magical Powers, nor the might of your Wizard's Staff seemed able to defeat the Kleasá and it had almost destroyed you when Tanith cast a spell and called the demon against her. She was totally consumed by the Kleasá and both disappeared in flame. Her brave sacrifice saved your life.
With a heavy heart, you and Shan continued south, entering the arid desert of the Azagad Gorge. Here, Shan fell, poisoned and consumed by a Quoku, the flying amphibian indigenous to those parts. After a desperate chase through the tunnels of a Cave Mantiz nest (giant insects that lair within the cliff) you eventually reached the jungles of the Azanam, and there, high in their towering treetop home, you found the Lost Tribe of Lara. But your arrival was met with great suspicion: the Kundi did not believe that you had been sent by the Shianti. In the house of Okosa, the Kundi King, Urik the wise, their strange, eccentric shaman and elder of their tribe, challenged you to prove you were truly sent by the Shianti by answering a strange riddle:
‘Wise Shianti and Kundi man,
Look eye to eye in tree,