The Darke Crusade by Joe Dever

a desperate attempt to repel their attack. But your Discipline is not sufficiently strong enough and it fails to slow their advance.
    Desperately you struggle to unsheathe your weapon as, with eyes blazing and horns lowered in eager readiness to strike, the Gorodons come rushing in for the kill.
    3 Gorodons: COMBAT SKILL  46    ENDURANCE  60
    If you win and the combat takes six rounds or less, turn to 264 .
    If the combat is still in progress at the start of the seventh round, do not continue. Instead, turn immediately to 155 .

45
    Guided by your intuition, you set off with Prarg along the forest trail heading west, and soon your tracking skills warn you that you are nearing an enemy encampment. You signal your discovery to Prarg, and he follows as stealthily you enter the undergrowth and slip past a line of Drakkarim sentries. From the cover of the dense forest bracken you observe their camp. You count more than two dozen soldiers, plus horses, wagons, and shelters. Prarg points to the emblem which adorns all of their uniforms and equipment: a black eagle clutching two fiery swords.

    ‘These are the Tukodak — Warlord Magnaarn's personal guards,’ he says in a hushed whisper. ‘We would be wise to avoid them.’
    You nod in agreement; then together you slip away from the camp and head north through the trees. You are drawn in this direction by something your senses have detected. It is a strong aura of energy, an evil energy which you feel sure must be radiating from the Doomstone of Darke. Within a few minutes you stumble upon a clearing where stands the majestic ruins of an ancient temple. At once you know that this is the Temple of Antah, and you sense that the Doomstone is here, lying somewhere deep within the ruins.
    Turn to 100 .

46
    Stoically, you begin the difficult trek westwards through this dense timberland, following the tracks left behind by Magnaarn's troops. At dusk you reach the forest's edge and stare out across an open expanse of bare, snow-covered plain. There is no cover to be had here, but at least the approaching darkness will help keep you hidden from hostile eyes.
    As you emerge from the trees, by chance you notice something half-buried in the undergrowth. A closer look reveals it to be a large Drakkarim backpack. You flip open the buckles to search it and discover it contains the following items:
Bow
2 Arrows
Enough food for 2 Meals
Potion of Alether (increases COMBAT SKILL by 2 points for duration of one combat only)
Bottle of Wine
Bowstring
    If you wish to keep any of these items, remember to adjust your Action Chart accordingly.
    To continue your trek, turn to 103 .

47
    You share your premonition of danger with Captain Prarg and wisely he heeds your warning. He suggests you draw in the sail to prevent the wind from propelling your boat towards the raft of weeds, yet once the sail is gathered, still you find yourselves drifting ever nearer to the obstruction.
    With weapons drawn, you wait in tense expectation as the boat grazes the edge of the weed-raft. For a few seconds there is an unnatural silence; then suddenly a gurgling screech rends the frosty air. Like sorcery-conjured demons, a dozen ghoulish creatures rise up from the murky depths of the swamp amid a seething froth of bubbles. Swiftly they climb from beneath the weed-raft and slink from other hiding places among the dank thickets of the adjoining bank. Within seconds they have you surrounded.
    ‘Ciquali!’ cries Prarg, naming these ghoulish foes. He steps forward, brandishing his sword, and lashes out at the boldest of the dome-headed creatures as it tries to slip aboard. His razor-sharp blade severs its forearm at the wrist, sending a scaly webbed hand spinning into the swamp, trailing green ichor. The beast screams as it falls over the side, yet no sooner has it vanished beneath the surface when two more of its kin grab the gunwales and attempt to haul themselves into the boat.
    If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn