to continue your journey, and yet you feel compelled to help Yranai regain his health. You talk with the Vakeros and tell them that you must leave and they assure you that Yranai is safe with them. They promise to take good care of him. They also offer to give you one of their sturdy mountain horses, an old mare called Jhani, to help speed your journey southwards. Gratefully you accept their generous offer and then you bid them farewell before you leave their settlement by way of a mountain track.
It is around noon of the following day when the track finally emerges from the foothills of the Great Masourn Mountains and joins the coast road some 30 miles from Hikas. In the distance you see a village and you ride towards it. At first the villagers seem as friendly and as peaceable as the mountain dwellers who gave you your horse, but the moment they see you approaching they immediately freeze in their tracks. Some drop the items they are carrying and others begin to tremble with fear.
If you wish to stop and talk to these anxious natives, turn to 171 .
If you decide to ignore them, you can continue riding the road to Hikas by turning to 273 .
165
From the cover of the distant isles there emerges a fearsome warship. You magnify your vision and focus upon the oncoming vessel to see that it is rigged with a scarlet mainsail emblazoned with a strange design — a serpent entwined about the blade of a silver curved sword. You relay these details to Fernant, and Oriah gasps with fright.
‘It's the symbol of Ghol-Tabras,’ Fernant says, ‘the city-state ruled by Sesketera.’ The merest mention of her evil suitor's name is enough to make Oriah faint with shock. You catch her as she falls, and then Fernant lifts her into his arms and carries her below to her cabin. Once they have left the deck, you turn your full attention to the oncoming vessel for now it is clear by its course that it intends to ram
The Pride of Sommerlund
.
Captain Raker sounds the battle alarm and his crew attempts desperately to bring the ship out of the enemy's path. Sergeant Dryan's marines hastily load their cannons and get ready to fire upon his command. The enemy vessel alters course to maintain its attacking line and, as it closes to within two hundred yards, you see that it is a formidable fighting craft. Plates of iron protect its prow and lines of warriors, clad in scarlet and silver armour, man its decks and forecastle. Then you notice a dark shape perched upon the ship's ram which protrudes from below its bowsprit. You focus upon this strange shape, but before you can determine its nature your senses are assailed by a wave of powerful psychic energy.
If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 202 .
If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 319 .
169
Your advanced healing skills neutralize the snake's deadly venom within seconds. Oriah and the others express their amazement at your apparent invulnerability, for it is well known that the bite of a Jubai will kill its unfortunate victim within one minute.
Turn to 90 .
171
You call out a friendly greeting to the nearest villager and you see his face blanch. He throws up his hands in alarm and runs headlong into the nearest undergrowth. This begins a chain-reaction among the other villagers who shriek with panic and flee in all directions. Within a matter of minutes this village has been transformed into a ghost town.
Bemused and a little unnerved by their inexplicable reaction, you pass through this cluster of empty bamboo huts and continue on along the road towards Hikas.
Turn to 273 .
174
Oriah accompanies you as you make your way quickly towards the stone steps. The marines stay on the surface and observe the riders while the two of you investigate where these mysterious steps lead. Together you descend fifty feet into the ground and arrive at a chamber that is littered with skulls and human bones. There is a carved archway near the bottom of the steps but it is sealed by a slab of grey
It is around noon of the following day when the track finally emerges from the foothills of the Great Masourn Mountains and joins the coast road some 30 miles from Hikas. In the distance you see a village and you ride towards it. At first the villagers seem as friendly and as peaceable as the mountain dwellers who gave you your horse, but the moment they see you approaching they immediately freeze in their tracks. Some drop the items they are carrying and others begin to tremble with fear.
If you wish to stop and talk to these anxious natives, turn to 171 .
If you decide to ignore them, you can continue riding the road to Hikas by turning to 273 .
165
From the cover of the distant isles there emerges a fearsome warship. You magnify your vision and focus upon the oncoming vessel to see that it is rigged with a scarlet mainsail emblazoned with a strange design — a serpent entwined about the blade of a silver curved sword. You relay these details to Fernant, and Oriah gasps with fright.
‘It's the symbol of Ghol-Tabras,’ Fernant says, ‘the city-state ruled by Sesketera.’ The merest mention of her evil suitor's name is enough to make Oriah faint with shock. You catch her as she falls, and then Fernant lifts her into his arms and carries her below to her cabin. Once they have left the deck, you turn your full attention to the oncoming vessel for now it is clear by its course that it intends to ram
The Pride of Sommerlund
.
Captain Raker sounds the battle alarm and his crew attempts desperately to bring the ship out of the enemy's path. Sergeant Dryan's marines hastily load their cannons and get ready to fire upon his command. The enemy vessel alters course to maintain its attacking line and, as it closes to within two hundred yards, you see that it is a formidable fighting craft. Plates of iron protect its prow and lines of warriors, clad in scarlet and silver armour, man its decks and forecastle. Then you notice a dark shape perched upon the ship's ram which protrudes from below its bowsprit. You focus upon this strange shape, but before you can determine its nature your senses are assailed by a wave of powerful psychic energy.
If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 202 .
If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 319 .
169
Your advanced healing skills neutralize the snake's deadly venom within seconds. Oriah and the others express their amazement at your apparent invulnerability, for it is well known that the bite of a Jubai will kill its unfortunate victim within one minute.
Turn to 90 .
171
You call out a friendly greeting to the nearest villager and you see his face blanch. He throws up his hands in alarm and runs headlong into the nearest undergrowth. This begins a chain-reaction among the other villagers who shriek with panic and flee in all directions. Within a matter of minutes this village has been transformed into a ghost town.
Bemused and a little unnerved by their inexplicable reaction, you pass through this cluster of empty bamboo huts and continue on along the road towards Hikas.
Turn to 273 .
174
Oriah accompanies you as you make your way quickly towards the stone steps. The marines stay on the surface and observe the riders while the two of you investigate where these mysterious steps lead. Together you descend fifty feet into the ground and arrive at a chamber that is littered with skulls and human bones. There is a carved archway near the bottom of the steps but it is sealed by a slab of grey
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