The Curse of Naar by Joe Dever

suddenly recall where it was that you heard his name spoken. It was many years ago, while you were still an initiate at the Kai Monastery, and your old tutor, Storm Hawk, was lecturing your class about the Drakkarim: the barbarian race of humanoids whose conquests in Northern Magnamund preceded the rise of the Darklords of Helgedad. Zantaz was the name of the warrior-god whom the Drakkarim worshipped.
    Feeling a little unnerved by what you have discovered and remembered, you close the Tome and slip it back into your pack. You sense that the Moonstone is not to be found here in this domain of tunnels, and so you resolve to escape from here as soon as possible. But if you are to do so successfully, it seems you will first have to find and defeat Zantaz, the warrior-god of the Drakkarim.
    You get to your feet and continue along the tunnel which leads out of the empty cavern. You follow this passageway for several hundred yards until you arrive at a junction where another tunnel crosses your path from right to left. Cautiously you scan the tunnel in both directions and notice that away to your right, little more than twenty yards distant, is an open archway. Although you can sense no living presence, the angle of view and the darkness of the interior prevent you from determining what lies beyond this archway. To your left, your tracking skills reveal that the tunnel leads eventually to a dead end.
    If you wish to investigate what lies beyond the arch, turn to 260 .
    If you decide to ignore the archway and continue your exploration of the main tunnel, turn to 23 .

34
    Your swift construction of a defensive mental barrier helps to deflect much of the combined psychic energies that are ranged against you. However, one of Shamath's searing bolts pierces your defensive wall and grazes the fabric of your mind: lose 2 ENDURANCE points.
    To continue, turn to 54 .

36
    As the Ghazoul breathes its last, you step away from its bloodstained carcass and turn your attention to the portal. You are eager to examine its surface in an attempt to find a way to open it. Using your advanced Kai skills you are able to decipher enough of the runic text to discover the secret code which keeps it secure. Confidently you press a section of the surface and it moves inwards with an audible clunk! Moments later, the portal creaks open and you hurry through before it slams shut with a resounding boom.
    Turn to 210 .

41
    You focus on the runes that have been chiselled into the floor. They are similar to those you encountered on the portal to this subterranean labyrinth when first you entered. You feel your pulse quicken when slowly you are able to decipher part of their meaning:
    ‘Ye who seek entry to the Hall of the Künae, renounce all falsehood and trickery for thou art transparent beneath our gaze. Pay homage to the Lords of Decay lest thy soul be devoured by the insatiable horde of Nemagog. Place gold within the circle for thy wish to be fulfilled, base metal without for thy fate to be sealed.’
    With caution guiding your every step, you cross the floor of the chamber and examine the engraved surface of the portal after a gentle push confirms that the door is locked. You had hoped that the runes which cover this great metal portal would reveal how it can be opened, but to your dismay they merely catalogue (in sickening detail) the evil accomplishments of the Künae. Then you discover three small slots: one circular, one square, and one triangular in shape.
    If you possess any Gold Crowns, turn to 109 .
    If you have no Gold Crowns, turn to 65 .

45
    To your dismay you sense that the dragon is immune to your psychic commands. It does not signal to the accompanying Lavas, as you had feared, but it does begin to lose height. Rather than continuing its flight towards the construction area, it banks towards an area of broken rocks and derelict dwellings located close to the edge of the chasm.
    Turn to 161 .

46
    From beneath the coating of moss which