The Sorcerer’s Manor – 035

You experience a sudden nausea, but it passes and you find yourself in a cold chamber of black stone, the gate to your back. In the center of the room is a large, blood-drawn pentagram. Within it, dark forces swirl and seem to be coalescing. On the opposite side of the pentagram from you, a man in black robes chants and gestures, his concentration being on the events in the pentagram. Beside him are two skeletons. As soon as you enter the chamber, they come to life and advance upon you. He looks up, startled at your entry, and he stops his chant. The power that was being concentrated in the pentagram disperses, but a dark tension remains in the room, wanting to integrate.

“How did you get in here!” He thunders. His distinct baritone deepens as his black eyes shine from under the hood. “No matter. Once you are dead, an avatar of my lord, the Worm God, will writhe forth. I am Ximon, and you have angered me greatly.”

You are at C on the room board; X and the six adjacent hexes constitute the pentagram. The six grey circles represent solid columns; characters may neither move into or fire through those spaces. The wizard is directly across the pentagram from you. A skeleton stands at B and at D. Any character stepping into the pentagram is sucked into a demonic world and is considered killed. The mage will cast 2F Fireball spells (2D6-1), until he is hit for the first time, in melee or by missile/spell, whereupon he reacts unexpectedly (028). If you survive, you can look around (047) or step back through the gate (042).

• Ximon: ST14 DX12(10) IQ15; Staff 1D6; Leather Armor 2/2; Spells: Fireball; Teleport.

• Skeletons (2): ST14 DX9 IQ9; Axe D6+2; Shield 1/0; Skeletal Body 2/0 against piercing weapons only.