Lone Wolf: Our Cheeseburger is Fight!

I'd like to welcome the incomparable Hannes Jones to the Lone Wolf party!

As your voice echoes through the trees, the stranger slowly turns to face you. Your heart pounds and your blood freezes as you realize that the stranger is not human. It is a Vordak, a hideous lieutenant of the Darklords and one of the undead. A piercing scream fills your ears, and the creature raises a huge black mace above its head and charges at you. Frozen with horror, you can also feel the Vordak attacking you with the force of its mind.

Deduct 2 points from your COMBAT SKILL unless you have the Kai Discipline of Mindshield. You must fight this creature. It is immune to Mindblast.

We can't melt him with our mind? NO!!

Vordak: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 26
Cheeseburger: COMBAT SKILL 11 ENDURANCE 29
Since we can't explode him with our mind and we aren't wielding a short sword, we have a pedestrian 13 in our combat skill. Our opponent mindblasting us drops it down to an 11. Poor, stupid Cheeseburger. Here is the chart we'll be using for combat: subtract the enemy's combat skill from your own, and use the result on the following chart(s) along with a 10 sided die to determine each round's results. Let's kick some ass.

We have a cool -7 on the combat results table.

- I roll a seven. I slap him upside the head with the broad side of my sword for 5 damage; he pokes me in the eye for 4 eyeball damage. Cheeseburger 25, Asshole 21.

- Ouch. I roll a three. I flick a booger at him for 1 wipe-it-on-your-shirt damage. He wallops me in the nuts for 6 testicular damage. Cheeseburger 19, Asshole 20.

- A six. We trade blows in a non-homosexual way. He loses 4, I lose 5. Cheeseburger 14, Asshole 16.

- Yes! I roll a ten! I slap him around like a little bitch for 8 little bitch damage. He asks if he can hurt me back. I say no. Cheeseburger 14, Asshole 8.

- Another six. More hetero blowing. Cheeseburger 9, Asshole 4.

- Score! Another 10! His body disappears, some treasure flies up in the air and clangs onto the ground. Hopefully. Cheeseburger 10, Asshole 0.

As the creature dies, its body slowly dissolves into a vile green liquid. You notice that all of the grass and the plants beneath the smoking fluid are beginning to shrivel and die. A large valuable looking Gem lies on the ground near to the decaying body.

Ok, I was off by a little, but not much.

Further along the track you can see a large war party of Giaks running towards you.

If you wish to take the Gem, turn to 304.

If you would rather leave it and run, turn to 2.

Seriously? We're taking the gem! We took a shot in the balls for this!

The Gem feels incredibly hot and burns your hand. Lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

You quickly pick it up with the edge of your Kai cloak and slip it into your Backpack. A Gem that size must be worth hundreds of Crowns. But the Giaks are very close and their arrows whistle past your head as you turn and run for the safety of the forest.

Turn to 2.

As you dash through the thickening trees, the shouts of the Giaks begin to fade behind you.

Yes! We're free, escaped with the loot!

You have nearly outdistanced them completely, when you crash headlong into a tangle of low branches.

Shit.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

If you have picked a number 0-4, turn to 343.
If you have picked a number 5-9, turn to 276.

I roll a 6.

Reaching for your Axe you manage to hack your way through the tangle of wood and twisted branches to the clearer forest beyond. Your cloak is torn in several places and your right leg is badly bruised above the knee.

Lose 1 ENDURANCE point and turn to 213.

At least our Healing skill makes this a wash. Onward!

You have been trudging through the forest for nearly two hours. The nagging fear that you are lost begins to seem a reality. Apart from the occasional cry of a Kraan in the far distance, you have seen or heard no evidence that the enemy is in this part of the forest. As you descend a rocky hillock, you see something unusual in the tangled woods ahead.

Turn to 331.

Surrounded by thorny briars and closely packed roots, you see the entrance of a tunnel disappearing into the hillside beyond. It is approximately seven feet in height and just over ten feet wide. As you get closer, you can feel a slight breeze coming from the inky blackness. If the other end of this tunnel emerges on the far side of the hill, it could save you many hours of difficult climbing. But it could also harbour unknown danger.

If you wish to enter the tunnel, turn to 170.

If you would prefer to climb the hillside, turn to 280.

Decision-making time! Inky blackness or difficult climbing?