57

‘You must save her, Lone Wolf. You must prevent the sacrifice!’ The Baron’s voice is choked with emotion.

‘Save who? Who must he save?’ questions Captain D’Val, as he tries to calm the excited Baron.

‘My daughter, Madelon, of course,’ the Baron answers. Tears are welling up in his eyes and nervously he wrings his hands. Then he utters the ominous prophecy:

When the full moon shines o’er the temple deep,
A sacrifice will stir from sleep
The legions of a long forgotten lord.
When a fair royal maid on the altar dies,
The dead of Maakengorge shall rise
To claim their long-awaited reward.

‘Don’t you see? Barraka has found the dagger of Vashna. He is going to sacrifice my daughter upon the altar of Maaken to release the undead of Maakengorge, the Chasm of Doom.’

‘During the Age of the Black Moon, King Ulnar of Sommerlund killed the mightiest of all the Darklords, Vashna, with the Sommerswerd—the sword of the sun. Vashna’s body and the bodies of all his troops were hurled into the bottomless abyss of Maakengorge. He plans to lead the dead to victory; first to conquer Sommerlund and then all of the Lastlands,’ explains the Baron, fear in his eyes.

You stare at the Baron in stunned silence. If Barraka completes the sacrifice, all is lost. What mortal army can stand against a legion of the dead?

Captain D’Val ushers you from the chamber and closes the door. ‘I feared he was insane, and I refused to listen to his words. But the events of the last few days confirm my worst nightmare. He speaks the truth!’

As the dreadful significance of the prophetic verse begins to chill your spine, your thoughts are broken by the shrill blast of a war-horn. Captain D’Val strides over to an arrow slit in the wall and looks out across the desolate plain. As he turns to speak, his face is ashen grey. ‘The bandits—they’re launching an attack!’

If you possess Captain D’Val’s Sword, turn to 327.

If you do not possess this weapon, turn to 289.