DOCTOR WHO AND THE FACE OF EVIL Read online

  Setting the controls for Earth, the Doctor is surprised when the Tardis lands in a primeval forest. Has the Tracer gone wrong or has some impulse deep in his unconscious mind directed him to this alien planet? In investigating the forest, the Doctor meets and assists Leela, a warrior banished from her tribe, the Sevateem. Through Leela, it gradually becomes apparent that the constant war between the Sevateem and the Tesh has been instigated by the god they both worship, Xoanon.

  Xoanon, an all-powerful computer, is possessed by a desperate madness—a madness that is directly related to Doctor Who, that causes Xoanon to assume the voice and form of the Doctor, a madness that is partly caused by the Doctor and that only the Doctor himself can rectify!

  The Doctor must not only do battle with Xoanon, but also must escape from the savage practices of the Sevateem, and the technically mind-controlling destructive impulses of the Tesh.

  ISBN 0 426 20006 3

  DOCTOR WHO

  AND THE

  FACE OF EVIL

  * * *

  Based on the BBC television serial by Chris Boucher by arrangement with the British Broadcasting Corporation

  * * *

  TERRANCE DICKS

  published by

  The Paperback Division of

  W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  1 The Outcast

  2 The Invisible Terror

  3 Captured

  4 The Face on the Mountain

  5 Attack

  6 Danger for Leela

  7 The Test of the Horda

  8 Beyond the Wall

  9 The Tesh

  10 The Summons

  11 Xoanon

  12 The Trap

  13 The Last Battle

  14 Recovery

  15 Departure

  A Target Book

  Published in 1978

  by the Paperback Division of W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd.

  A Howard & Wyndham Company

  44 Hill Street, London W1X 8LB

  Novelisation copyright © Terrance Dicks 1978

  Original script copyright © Chris Boucher 1977

  'Doctor Who' series copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1977, 1978

  Printed in Great Britain by

  The Anchor Press Ltd, Tiptree, Essex

  ISBN 0426 20006 3

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  1

  The Outcast

  The Sevateem were holding a trial.

  The big Council hut was packed with elders and warriors. Andor, Chief of the Tribe, sat on his throne of shining metal. Around him stood his Councillors, Tomas, Calib and Sole. In the shadows behind the throne waited Neeva, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Speaker of the Law.

  It was a colourful, barbaric scene. Light from a ring of smoking torches made the great Council hut bright as day. It glinted from the weapons of the savage skin-clad warriors and the strange regalia of the elders. It blazed fiercely on the prisoner who stood before the throne, flanked by crossbow-carrying guards.

  The prisoner was a girl called Leela. She was tall, with brown hair and dark eyes, a broad clear forehead and a firm chin. Her arms and legs, exposed by her brief skin costume, were brown and smoothly muscular. She stood before her accusers wary but unafraid, like a captured wild animal.

  Calib had taken on the role of prosecutor. He was a wiry, thin-faced man, his handsome features marred by an air of cunning. He turned dramatically towards the Chief, as he concluded his speech of accusation. 'You are our leader, Andor, and you know the Law. There can be but one punishment for such an offence as this. She must be banished.'

  There was a growl of agreement from the crowd. Yet some were silent, out of sympathy for the prisoner. The sentence of banishment was a sentence of death. The offender would be cast out, into the Beyond. Who could hope to survive without the protection of the Tribe?

  Andor tugged thoughtfully at his grizzled beard. He was a stocky man in his fifties, a grim experienced warrior. He had fought his way to the throne by strength and ruthless cunning. There was no succession by right in the Tribe of Sevateem. The shining throne, handed down from the Old Time, belonged to the man who could take it—and keep it. He turned to Sole, his Chief Councillor, and said, 'What say you, Sole?'

  Sole, a man much like Andor himself, stared grimly ahead. 'You should not ask, Andor. The Law is the Law.' Andor had expected such an answer from his old friend—even though Leela was Sole's daughter.

  Andor looked at the prisoner, who returned his gaze proudly. Such a pity, he thought. She was a fine strong girl, one of the bravest and fiercest of his warriors. Soon she would have married and had fine sons and daughters to serve the Tribe. Andor had noticed that Tomas, youngest of his Council, spent much time with Leela. Now the girl had condemned herself, by her own rashness. 'The Council is agreed,' said Andor gruffly. 'Leela must be sent Beyond.'

  Impulsively Tomas stepped forward. 'No, Andor, pardon her. She is young.'

  'Do not beg, Tomas,' said Leela fiercely. 'What I said was truth.'

  Neeva stepped out from behind the throne, into the torch-light. He was a small man, with a smooth, ageless face. His head was shaved to denote his priestly rank. His ceremonial. robe hung from his shoulders. It was a strange, silvery garment, all in one piece, with arms and legs and a round helmet at the neck. It was a sacred relic of the Old Time, and Neeva wore it draped over his shoulders like a cloak.

  Neeva was a figure of great authority in the Tribe, second only to Andor himself. There was a respectful hush as he spoke. 'The girl is a blasphemer. She has profaned the holy purpose of the Tribe of Sevateem.'

  Leela seemed determined to condemn herself. 'Holy purpose? To die for nothing in another useless attack?'

  'The god Xoanon demands she be cast out,' said Neeva angrily. 'He told me this!'

  'Liar!' snapped Leela. 'There is no Xoanon!'

  There was a shocked murmuring from the Tribe. Neeva spread out his hands. 'Blasphemy,' he said triumphantly.

  Andor looked at Leela's proud face, and at the impassive features of her father. There was nothing he could do for her now. She had condemned herself before all the Tribe. Yet there was one faint hope of life he could offer her—life or a quicker death. 'Leela! Will you take the Test of the Horda?'

  Silently Leela shook her head. Better the unknown terrors of the Beyond than death in the Pit of the Horda.

  Andor looked round the crowded hut. 'Will any take it for her?'

  No one moved or spoke. Many warriors had looked with favour on Leela. But life was precious, and after all, there were other women. Andor looked at Tomas, who dropped his eyes in shame. Even his love was not strong enough to face almost-certain death.

  'I will take the Test.' Sole left his place and came to stand before the throne.

  'No,' shouted Leela. 'You'll be killed—'

  'Be silent, daughter,' commanded Sole. 'You have said enough.'

  Andor raised a commanding hand. 'Test him!' Two guards led Sole away.

  Leela could face the prospect of her own death unafraid, but the thought that her rashness would destroy her father was more than she could bear. She fell to her knees before the throne. 'Andor, please. Don't let him... Call them back!' She looked up at Neeva. 'Great Shaman, Speaker of the Law, I was wrong to speak as I did. Forgive me, please, please...'

  Andor leaned forward on his throne. 'Be silent, girl.
Your father is a warrior. Do not shame him.'

  There was a long, long silence. Leela got slowly to her feet, brushing tears from her eyes as if ashamed of her outburst.

  The silence was broken at last by a brief scream of agony from the outskirts of the village. Leela bowed her head, touching throat, left shoulder and left hip in a ritual gesture. Many others in the Council hut did the same.

  Andor rose and pronounced sentence. 'Outcast of the Tribe of Sevateem be gone from us.'

  Neeva's voice rose in a kind of chant. 'Spawn of the Evil One, return to your Master!'

  'You have until sunrise,' said Andor sternly. 'If, by then, you are still within the Boundary, you will be thrown to the Horda.'

  Leela turned and walked away. The crowd drew apart to let her pass. She was unclean now, accursed, an outcast from the tribe.

  Tomas stood silent, head bowed in shame. He should have taken the Test of the Horda. Yet what would have been the use? Not one in a hundred survided the Test. Besides, Leela was guilty, she had blasphemed the Law of the Tribe. Tomas looked up and saw Neeva deep in conversation with two of his acolytes—young warrior priests who had been chosen to serve him. The warriors hurried out of the hut clearly following Leela. Tomas watched them leave, and then set off after them. Perhaps he could still do something for Leela after all.

  In a forest clearing, not very far away, a strange, wheezing groaning sound broke the silence and a square blue shape materialised beneath the mighty trees. A door opened and a tall curly-haired man stepped out. He wore loose, comfortable clothes with a vaguely Bohemian air. A broad-brimmed soft hat was jammed on the back of a tangle of curly hair, and an incredibly long scarf dangled round his neck.

  The Doctor stood staring rather bemusedly about him, as if not sure where he was, or what he was doing there. The most recent events seemed vague and remote in his mind. He'd defeated the Master's diabolical scheme to destroy the Time Lord planet of Gallifrey. Then he'd set course for Earth. Or had he? Had his fingers sent the TARDIS to some other destination, guided by some impulse deep in his unconscious mind.

  The Doctor looked around. He was in a small clearing in a huge primeval forest. Giant trees towered around him in all directions, cutting off most of the light from the sky. The trees were festooned with dangling vines, dense shrubs and bushes filled the space between tree trunks and there was a deep, soft carpet of leaves beneath his feet. 'Not Hyde Park, I think,' muttered the Doctor. 'Could be a nexial discontinuity, I suppose. I really must remember to overhaul that Tracer. I'll put a knot in my hanky...' He groped in his pockets and produced a red-spotted handkerchief—with a knot in one corner. 'I wonder what that was for?' The Doctor scratched his head, feeling that things were getting away from him. It was as if some long-buried memory was trying to push its way to the surface. Somehow this place was familiar...

  The Doctor shrugged. If he had brought himself back here for some purpose there was only one way to find out. 'Little look round, Doctor?' he murmured. 'Why not?'

  He set off into the forest then stopped with an obscure feeling of something missing. Of course! Sarah Jane Smith. She should have been beside him as usual, grumbling about their unexpected arrival in a strange destination, and the dangers they were sure to meet. The Doctor gave a rueful smile. Sarah was back on Earth now, like Harry Sullivan and the Brigadier. It had been the Doctor's own decision to take her back. Time Lord law had prevented him from taking her to Gallifrey. Besides, it was more than time that she took up her own ordinary human life again. Yes, the Doctor decided, he'd acted for the best. But as he walked through the forest, he couldn't help feeling a little lonely...

  Leela moved cautiously ahead, crossbow at the ready. She was still inside the Boundary, but despite this all her hunter's instincts were on the alert. There were noises not far behind her. Disturbed shrubbery whispering back into place, the crackle of dry leaves underfoot. Tiny, almost inaudible sounds, but to Leela they told a clear story. Something was tracking her.

  She came to a kind of natural road through the forest. It stretched at right angles in front of her, barring her way. Leela hesitated. She had to cross it—but the moment she stepped into the open she would be exposed to her pursuer. Since there was no alternative, Leela took a cautious step into the open. Higher up the glade to her right, someone else did exactly the same thing. It was one of Neeva's temple guards, crossbow in hand.

  For a fraction of a second they confronted each other in mutual astonishment. The guard whipped up his crossbow. Leela's bow was aimed and ready, and she fired first. The guard reeled back and fell, a crossbow bolt through his heart.

  With the instinct of long training Leela instantly reloaded her crossbow, slotting in a new bolt and forcing back the heavy metal spring that powered it. Just as the spring clicked into place she heard a rustling to her left. A second guard had stepped from cover. Now positions were reversed. His weapon was aimed and ready, hers still pointing downwards. Even as she raised her bow to fire Leela knew she was doomed. There was the twang of a crossbow spring—and the guard fell face down, a bolt between his shoulder-blades.

  Tomas stepped forward, bow in hand.

  Leela stared at him. 'Tomas! What are you doing here?'

  He stepped over the body of the guard and came towards her. 'I've come to take you back.'

  'You know I can't do that.'

  'Don't you see?' interrupted Tomas. 'I saw Neeva send those guards. He doesn't trust his own prophecies. We can tell the Council, discredit him.'

  'It wouldn't make any difference... not now.'

  'Leela, you can't cross the Boundary.'

  'They haven't left me much choice.'

  'But you'll be killed. There are phantoms in the Beyond.'

  'Feast-fire stories,' said Leela scornfully.

  'There's something there,' insisted Tomas. 'No one who crosses the Boundary ever comes back.'

  Leela was silent for a moment. For all her bravado she knew Tomas was right. Then she said resolutely, 'Well, whatever's there I'll face it. I can take care of myself.'

  'Then I'll go with you.'

  Leela looked affectionately at him. She was fond of Tomas and didn't blame him for refusing to take the Test for her. By speaking out against Xoanon she had outraged his deepest beliefs, and she was touched by his offer to join her in exile. But it was too late to turn back now—for either of them. 'No,' she said fiercely. 'Go back to the Tribe. I'm going now. Goodbye.'

  She moved away, and Tomas stood staring disconsolately after her. Leela crossed the ride, then turned back for a final word of warning. 'Beware of the devious Calib. One day he'll get so cunning even he won't know what he's planning!' She disappeared into the trees on the other side.

  Tomas gazed after her a moment longer, then turned and began his journey back to the village.

  Somehow Leela knew when she came to the Boundary. It was nothing you could see or touch. Rather it was something you felt, a kind of tingling in the air. It didn't prevent you from going on, but it made every instinct scream to turn and go back. It took all her courage to press on, but she persisted, and a moment later the feeling faded. She had crossed the Boundary. She was in the Beyond.

  Leela looked round, half-expecting monsters to spring out of nowhere—but nothing happened. The forest on one side of the invisible barrier looked exactly like that on the other. But somehow it felt different, she decided. It was silent, menacing. It seemed to be waiting. Uneasily she moved on.

  Leela had no plan in mind. Since no one had ever returned from the Beyond she had no idea what to expect. Presumably there was game in this part of the forest too, so she would be able to survive. Perhaps there was some other tribe that would take her in. If she tried to return to the Sevateem they would kill her. Neeva would see to that. By attacking the god Xoanon she was attacking him, and Neeva had acted with typical ruthlessness to dispose of the threat. His attempt had failed, thanks to Tomas. But Leela knew she would not live long if she ever returned within Neeva's reac
h.

  Then she heard the noise of pursuit. Not furtive rustling sounds this time but the arrogant crashing of some great beast too powerful to need to conceal its presence. She started to run, and the sounds,came after her. She broke into a panic-stricken flight, and the trampling sound followed her through the forest.

  She came to another glade and ran across it. On the other side, she paused and turned round. She had to know what was hunting her. Judging by the volume of the noise it was making the creature must be enormous, towering above the trees. Leela turned and saw —nothing. But the sound was still there, and coming closer. She saw branches thrust aside, undergrowth trampled flat by the passage of some enormous bulk. Then a line of colossal footprints appeared, moving across the clearing towards her. She was being hunted through the forest by an invisible monster...

  2

  The Invisible Terror

  The trouble with forests, decided the Doctor, is that they are undoubtedly rather monotonous. The vine-festooned trees stretched away in every direction, their spreading leaves combining to make a dense green roof. A kind of straggling trail led through the low-lying bushes. The only sound was the crackle of dry leaves underfoot. Occasionally a clearing gave a brief glimpse of the sky, and beyond the clearings were yet more trees.

  The Doctor considered returning to the TARDIS and trying some other planet. But he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that there was some purpose in his coming to this place. He strode on through the silent forest, hoping that this purpose, if there was one, would soon be revealed.

  He heard someone moving towards him. The Doctor stood still, and waited. A tall brown-haired girl in a brief costume made of animal skins came haring through the trees. She tripped over a projecting tree-root and tumbled at his feet. Instinctively the Doctor moved forward to help her up. When she saw him looming over her she gave a gasp or horror.