### 178

Your killing blow brings Xaol staggering to his knees, gasping hoarsely. He drops his serpent staff and the instant it leaves his grasp, it shrivels up into a tight ball that hisses, smokes, and bubbles. Xaol falls to one side, his gaunt shaven head striking the bone-littered floor with a dull thud. Through blood-flecked lips he utters a curse, vowing one day to return from beyond the grave to wreak bloody vengeance upon you and the Kai. Then his dark eyes flicker and glaze over, and his thin frame convulses for a moment and falls still.

You leap over the withered remains of the necromancer and his cursed staff, and rush towards Lone Wolf. Slowly your master raises his tousled head and fixes you with his steely blue eyes. You sense that he has been greatly weakened by his ordeal. He has suffered much since his abduction, yet he has found the strength within himself to resist his cruel tormentors. Inspired by his resolute courage, you ask how you can free him from the prison-sphere. Lone Wolf mouths a reply, but you cannot hear him. Using your Magnakai Discipline of Divination you try to detect telepathic communication, but you sense that it is futile. No mind speech can penetrate the milky grey walls of Lone Wolf’s hovering prison. Then your leader glowers at the crystal sphere that is fixed atop a pedestal beside the throne of bones, and instantly you fathom his meaning. Slowly you mouth the words: ‘Must I destroy the sphere?’ Lone Wolf nods approvingly. Fired up by his directive, you raise your Kai Weapon and approach the crystal sphere. But before you come to within striking distance, a powerful gust of freezing air hits you in the chest and sends you reeling backwards to the floor.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

If the number you have picked is 0–3, turn to 204.

If it is 4–6, turn to 7.

If it is 7–9, turn to 238.