Nightshift is cool! Glad you're enjoying it and would love a review!
And as you asked, sir:
Grey Star Book 2: The Forbidden City
Richard's great writeup covers book 1 where Grey Star finally discovers the lost tribe of the Kundi who know the location of the Shadow Gate, an evil portal beyond which lies the Moonstone, a magic macguffin that will enable the defeat of the Wytch-King Shasarak. Standard fantasy setup there! This book starts with Grey Star solving the Kundi riddle and the Kundi agreeing to help him. They're down to smash Shasarak, but the problem is that the Shadow Gate is a portal that moves about (a bit like the fortress in Krull) and it will next appear in the dead lands of Desolation Valley. I've got two weeks to reach this charming spot.
The Kundi are full of noble-savage stereotype and volunteer their shaman, Urik, to accompany me. He's a mix of native American / old nutter type characters who is prone to speaking wisdom is broken diction and cackling at odd times, but he does actually chat a fair bit during the adventure, and you get quite attached to the old chap. Anyway, there is no time to waste so we set off out into the rainforest whilst he tells me how daft I am for carrying provisions.
(I should note that having played book 1 already I have a big willpower boost, and also an extra magic power. I chose Sorcery, as it seems to be one you're constantly prompted about, and one I avoided in book 1 as its supposed to be willpower-draining but now I have tons of that)
Eventually we get out of the forest and Urik uses some cool Kundi technique to call a giant bird which starts flying us, by means of some harnesses he makes out of vines, across the impassable terrain below and to its nesting grounds in a swamp. En route we get shot at by some soldiers, but I use my new Sorcerous powers to shield us against the arrows. Our completely conspicuous means of travel means the Shadakine are now hunting us through the waterways of the swamp however, so we keep low and quiet through the undergrowth as we try to avoid their patrols.
Sneaking through the swamp we hear an animal in pain and move to investigate. The creature is a young Chaksu, a sort of giant lizard much prized for its tough hide and also slightly telepathic (which makes hunting it for its hide pretty messed up). Urik immediately moves to tend its wounds, but by now the Shadakine have arrived. We choose to take a stand rather than flee and abandon the Chaksu and Urik unleashes some razor-edged boomerangs as we take on the search party. Which the first bunch defeated the second wave, wary of our attacks, send in their deadly giant hounds. These fights are surprisingly nasty for the first ones in a book and the first time I tried this I was killed by the dogs due to some unlucky rolls. Second time around I won through, battered and bleeding, only to find a third wave now surrounding us. Things look totally banjaxed and the Shadakine are having a gloat when suddenly a pair of adult Chaksu burst into the clearing and smash them all up. Saved! The giant Chaksu give me some wooden pipes and say they will come help me when called and Urik is impressed.
After a breakfast of delicious scavenged fungus (Urik again) we have a choice of two routes through the swamp: one slow and safe, one direct and perilous. I take a chance here and go for the slow route - I'm pretty beat up, and I imagine the Shadakine will be on the direct route (and there's quicksand and stuff, apparently). This takes us a couple of days, but between my alchemy skills and Urik's bushcraft we avoid any perils and emerge near the city of Karnali. On the road here a long line of enslaved people are trudging along under Shadakine whips. We're observing when out of the foliage a bunch of guys charge out and attack the Shadakine and Urik just goes for it and rushes in too. The Shadakine move to place the slaves between them and the attackers, using them as shields, but I can see that their chains are all linked together if I can break the end of the link they'll be free and the bad guys exposed. The key link is protected by the slave master and as I approach him he uses his magic mind-control gem to bring up a gigantic slave with a huge sword to protect him. Thinking quickly I channel my sorcerous powers to block the mind-gems control and the big guy turns and kills the slavemaster, enabling me to break the chains, free the other slaves, and bring about the Shadakine's defeat. I also pinch the mind gem!
With the slaves free the leader of the rebels, a dude called Sado the Long Knife whose name makes him sound incredibly dodgy, asks me to help attack Karnali as otherwise the Shadakine there will come out and exact terrible revenge for his raid. Urik is well up for this so I am too! Sado's got tunnels under Karnali and that's where we go. He says the city is under the control of a guy called Kiro, a war-ward whose garrison has the city under its heel and any disobedience sees cruel retribution against the citizens. He reckons I could swing the battle in their favour. Whilst we're talking some guy tries to pick my pocket! Sado apologises and explains his army is made up mainly of convicted criminals and other ne'er do-wells but he's confident we can strike a blow here with my aid.
I think Sado is hoping I'll blast the garrison with my magic, but I have a better idea: I take the Chaksu pipes and give them a play at the swamp edge. Sure enough a load of Chaksu come out, and I direct them to attack the gates. The gates are duly subjected to giant lizard attack, and whilst the main garrison is so occupied, Sado, Urik and I lead their troops up through the tunnels in a guerilla warfare strike against Kiro's base of operations. On arrival it's quickly evident that the Shadakine are boosted by magic: their ragged lines begin to form up with autonotom-like efficiency and I detect the power a Shadakine wytch. Using my sorcerous powers I'm able to pinpoint the witchcraft and through the astral plane I can see the wytch hunched over a Kazim stone, no less, as used by the villains of book 1 - the wytch straining to use the power of the stone over so many minds below. There is another in the room: Kiro himself, looking nervous in the presence of foul sorcery. I've a couple of options here but decide to use my own powers to amplify the mind stone and mess things up. The wytch looks a bit powerful for me so I go after Kiro. His mind is weak and I fill his brain with murderous urgings, causing him to strangle the wytch before she can react. With their magical backup gone the Shadakine quickly capitulate and the garrison falls to Sado.
With the occupiers dead or banged up, Karnali is in full on party mode. I tell Sado of my plan to head into the Deadlands and he is horrified but offers me his good wishes and some gear to take along. Urik is a bit contemptuous of our efforts: he says the Shadakine will simple come and take this city back, which only makes our mission more important, I suppose. We leave the city the next morning, and soon have a new friend in tow - the giant slave I freed with the mind-stone back on the road. His name is Samu and like Urik he's a bit stereotypical, being a big noble tribal warrior dude, but he's also awesome. He tells me how his people got crushed and enslaved by the Shadakine and now he is out for blood - and the best way to achieve this is to help me on my quest.
Second part to follow as Urik, Samu and I brave Desolation Valley and the titular Forbidden City. It's all been plain sailing so far - only one death, and no mistakes or errors that I can see. But already my flagrant use of magic is starting to put a dent in my willpower....
And as you asked, sir:
Grey Star Book 2: The Forbidden City
Richard's great writeup covers book 1 where Grey Star finally discovers the lost tribe of the Kundi who know the location of the Shadow Gate, an evil portal beyond which lies the Moonstone, a magic macguffin that will enable the defeat of the Wytch-King Shasarak. Standard fantasy setup there! This book starts with Grey Star solving the Kundi riddle and the Kundi agreeing to help him. They're down to smash Shasarak, but the problem is that the Shadow Gate is a portal that moves about (a bit like the fortress in Krull) and it will next appear in the dead lands of Desolation Valley. I've got two weeks to reach this charming spot.
The Kundi are full of noble-savage stereotype and volunteer their shaman, Urik, to accompany me. He's a mix of native American / old nutter type characters who is prone to speaking wisdom is broken diction and cackling at odd times, but he does actually chat a fair bit during the adventure, and you get quite attached to the old chap. Anyway, there is no time to waste so we set off out into the rainforest whilst he tells me how daft I am for carrying provisions.
(I should note that having played book 1 already I have a big willpower boost, and also an extra magic power. I chose Sorcery, as it seems to be one you're constantly prompted about, and one I avoided in book 1 as its supposed to be willpower-draining but now I have tons of that)
Eventually we get out of the forest and Urik uses some cool Kundi technique to call a giant bird which starts flying us, by means of some harnesses he makes out of vines, across the impassable terrain below and to its nesting grounds in a swamp. En route we get shot at by some soldiers, but I use my new Sorcerous powers to shield us against the arrows. Our completely conspicuous means of travel means the Shadakine are now hunting us through the waterways of the swamp however, so we keep low and quiet through the undergrowth as we try to avoid their patrols.
Sneaking through the swamp we hear an animal in pain and move to investigate. The creature is a young Chaksu, a sort of giant lizard much prized for its tough hide and also slightly telepathic (which makes hunting it for its hide pretty messed up). Urik immediately moves to tend its wounds, but by now the Shadakine have arrived. We choose to take a stand rather than flee and abandon the Chaksu and Urik unleashes some razor-edged boomerangs as we take on the search party. Which the first bunch defeated the second wave, wary of our attacks, send in their deadly giant hounds. These fights are surprisingly nasty for the first ones in a book and the first time I tried this I was killed by the dogs due to some unlucky rolls. Second time around I won through, battered and bleeding, only to find a third wave now surrounding us. Things look totally banjaxed and the Shadakine are having a gloat when suddenly a pair of adult Chaksu burst into the clearing and smash them all up. Saved! The giant Chaksu give me some wooden pipes and say they will come help me when called and Urik is impressed.
After a breakfast of delicious scavenged fungus (Urik again) we have a choice of two routes through the swamp: one slow and safe, one direct and perilous. I take a chance here and go for the slow route - I'm pretty beat up, and I imagine the Shadakine will be on the direct route (and there's quicksand and stuff, apparently). This takes us a couple of days, but between my alchemy skills and Urik's bushcraft we avoid any perils and emerge near the city of Karnali. On the road here a long line of enslaved people are trudging along under Shadakine whips. We're observing when out of the foliage a bunch of guys charge out and attack the Shadakine and Urik just goes for it and rushes in too. The Shadakine move to place the slaves between them and the attackers, using them as shields, but I can see that their chains are all linked together if I can break the end of the link they'll be free and the bad guys exposed. The key link is protected by the slave master and as I approach him he uses his magic mind-control gem to bring up a gigantic slave with a huge sword to protect him. Thinking quickly I channel my sorcerous powers to block the mind-gems control and the big guy turns and kills the slavemaster, enabling me to break the chains, free the other slaves, and bring about the Shadakine's defeat. I also pinch the mind gem!
With the slaves free the leader of the rebels, a dude called Sado the Long Knife whose name makes him sound incredibly dodgy, asks me to help attack Karnali as otherwise the Shadakine there will come out and exact terrible revenge for his raid. Urik is well up for this so I am too! Sado's got tunnels under Karnali and that's where we go. He says the city is under the control of a guy called Kiro, a war-ward whose garrison has the city under its heel and any disobedience sees cruel retribution against the citizens. He reckons I could swing the battle in their favour. Whilst we're talking some guy tries to pick my pocket! Sado apologises and explains his army is made up mainly of convicted criminals and other ne'er do-wells but he's confident we can strike a blow here with my aid.
I think Sado is hoping I'll blast the garrison with my magic, but I have a better idea: I take the Chaksu pipes and give them a play at the swamp edge. Sure enough a load of Chaksu come out, and I direct them to attack the gates. The gates are duly subjected to giant lizard attack, and whilst the main garrison is so occupied, Sado, Urik and I lead their troops up through the tunnels in a guerilla warfare strike against Kiro's base of operations. On arrival it's quickly evident that the Shadakine are boosted by magic: their ragged lines begin to form up with autonotom-like efficiency and I detect the power a Shadakine wytch. Using my sorcerous powers I'm able to pinpoint the witchcraft and through the astral plane I can see the wytch hunched over a Kazim stone, no less, as used by the villains of book 1 - the wytch straining to use the power of the stone over so many minds below. There is another in the room: Kiro himself, looking nervous in the presence of foul sorcery. I've a couple of options here but decide to use my own powers to amplify the mind stone and mess things up. The wytch looks a bit powerful for me so I go after Kiro. His mind is weak and I fill his brain with murderous urgings, causing him to strangle the wytch before she can react. With their magical backup gone the Shadakine quickly capitulate and the garrison falls to Sado.
With the occupiers dead or banged up, Karnali is in full on party mode. I tell Sado of my plan to head into the Deadlands and he is horrified but offers me his good wishes and some gear to take along. Urik is a bit contemptuous of our efforts: he says the Shadakine will simple come and take this city back, which only makes our mission more important, I suppose. We leave the city the next morning, and soon have a new friend in tow - the giant slave I freed with the mind-stone back on the road. His name is Samu and like Urik he's a bit stereotypical, being a big noble tribal warrior dude, but he's also awesome. He tells me how his people got crushed and enslaved by the Shadakine and now he is out for blood - and the best way to achieve this is to help me on my quest.
Second part to follow as Urik, Samu and I brave Desolation Valley and the titular Forbidden City. It's all been plain sailing so far - only one death, and no mistakes or errors that I can see. But already my flagrant use of magic is starting to put a dent in my willpower....