can prove him wrong. A hush descends as the passengers await his first puzzle.
‘If one-and-a-half geese lay one-and-a-half eggs in one-and-a-half days, how many eggs will three geese lay in eight days?’
If you can answer the Count's riddle, turn to the entry with the same number as your answer. 9
If you cannot answer the riddle, turn to 141 .
[9] If you decide to make a guess, the section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.
128
‘Leave us,’ commands the black-robed figure, ‘and summon the brothers.’
The refectory door slams shut, and you hear the sound of a metal bar being drawn. There is a hiss of steel against leather as Paido unsheathes his sword. He levels the blue blade at the sinister monk and narrows his cat-like eyes. ‘What do you want with us?’ he says, his voice sharp and threatening. But the monk offers no reply. He stands motionless, his eyes fixed firmly on you. Paido repeats his demand, but his voice sounds weaker. The sword trembles in his hand and, with a groan, he collapses, scattering plates and cutlery as he hits the table and rolls to the floor.
Turn to 238 .
129
After your encounter with the Taan-spider, you are both in need of a rest. You stop to recover your strength; you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. Paido is optimistic that you will reach the temple by sundown if you can avoid encountering any more of the Danarg's hostile inhabitants.
Turn to 220 .
131
Your senses reveal that Paido's sword is magical — it has the power to kill the enemy you now face.
To retrieve this weapon and use it against the Helghast, turn to 47 .
134
The sword strikes you squarely between the shoulder blades, sending you tumbling from the saddle. You fall awkwardly, driving the blade deeper into your back. For countless seconds you lie staring at the sky, unable to move, feeling nothing. Before the anaesthesia of shock wears off you are surrounded by enemies who show no mercy.
Your life and your quest end here.
136
You follow the stream until it enters a long corridor of towering trees that descend towards the bank of a swift-flowing brook, a tributary of the River Syad. You stop here briefly to bathe your faces in the icy water and to stare at the mass of blue-green giant trees that fill the western horizon.
‘The Mordril Forest,’ says Paido, a note of trepidation in his voice. ‘It was once a wondrous forest, a place of light and goodness. The trees grew strong and the birds and beasts were the fairest of any forest breed. But the Mordril has grown dark and dismal of late. The Danarg encroaches, feeding its sickness to the soil and poisoning the saplings and the creatures that dwell there still. It is a doomed forest, doomed to become part of the Danarg swamp.’
You remount your horse and cross the brook. As you climb the opposite bank you notice a set of freshly made tracks in the soft earth.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship, turn to 256 .
If you do not have this skill, turn to 342 .
138
Your sense of time slips away as you trek through the seemingly endless expanse of bleak grey trees. Slowly you become aware that you are on an incline, and as your passage becomes steeper, you notice large outcrops of pitted volcanic rock.
‘We're approaching the Danarg crater,’ says Paido, his quietly spoken words echoing loudly through the eerie forest. Suddenly you recall the words of Lord Rimoah during your period of preparation in Elzian: ‘The Danarg occupies the crater of an ancient and massive volcano. Once it was a lush jungle of fertile vegetation, but now it is a cancerous wound that poisons all who dwell there … ’
By noon you have climbed to the lip of the crater and begun your descent. Gradually the tall, straight trees of the Mordril Forest thin out giving way to twisted trunks and stunted saplings as the land sinks deeper and deeper. Imperceptibly the forest ends and the swamp
‘If one-and-a-half geese lay one-and-a-half eggs in one-and-a-half days, how many eggs will three geese lay in eight days?’
If you can answer the Count's riddle, turn to the entry with the same number as your answer. 9
If you cannot answer the riddle, turn to 141 .
[9] If you decide to make a guess, the section corresponding to the correct answer will have a footnote confirming that it is indeed correct.
128
‘Leave us,’ commands the black-robed figure, ‘and summon the brothers.’
The refectory door slams shut, and you hear the sound of a metal bar being drawn. There is a hiss of steel against leather as Paido unsheathes his sword. He levels the blue blade at the sinister monk and narrows his cat-like eyes. ‘What do you want with us?’ he says, his voice sharp and threatening. But the monk offers no reply. He stands motionless, his eyes fixed firmly on you. Paido repeats his demand, but his voice sounds weaker. The sword trembles in his hand and, with a groan, he collapses, scattering plates and cutlery as he hits the table and rolls to the floor.
Turn to 238 .
129
After your encounter with the Taan-spider, you are both in need of a rest. You stop to recover your strength; you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points. Paido is optimistic that you will reach the temple by sundown if you can avoid encountering any more of the Danarg's hostile inhabitants.
Turn to 220 .
131
Your senses reveal that Paido's sword is magical — it has the power to kill the enemy you now face.
To retrieve this weapon and use it against the Helghast, turn to 47 .
134
The sword strikes you squarely between the shoulder blades, sending you tumbling from the saddle. You fall awkwardly, driving the blade deeper into your back. For countless seconds you lie staring at the sky, unable to move, feeling nothing. Before the anaesthesia of shock wears off you are surrounded by enemies who show no mercy.
Your life and your quest end here.
136
You follow the stream until it enters a long corridor of towering trees that descend towards the bank of a swift-flowing brook, a tributary of the River Syad. You stop here briefly to bathe your faces in the icy water and to stare at the mass of blue-green giant trees that fill the western horizon.
‘The Mordril Forest,’ says Paido, a note of trepidation in his voice. ‘It was once a wondrous forest, a place of light and goodness. The trees grew strong and the birds and beasts were the fairest of any forest breed. But the Mordril has grown dark and dismal of late. The Danarg encroaches, feeding its sickness to the soil and poisoning the saplings and the creatures that dwell there still. It is a doomed forest, doomed to become part of the Danarg swamp.’
You remount your horse and cross the brook. As you climb the opposite bank you notice a set of freshly made tracks in the soft earth.
If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship, turn to 256 .
If you do not have this skill, turn to 342 .
138
Your sense of time slips away as you trek through the seemingly endless expanse of bleak grey trees. Slowly you become aware that you are on an incline, and as your passage becomes steeper, you notice large outcrops of pitted volcanic rock.
‘We're approaching the Danarg crater,’ says Paido, his quietly spoken words echoing loudly through the eerie forest. Suddenly you recall the words of Lord Rimoah during your period of preparation in Elzian: ‘The Danarg occupies the crater of an ancient and massive volcano. Once it was a lush jungle of fertile vegetation, but now it is a cancerous wound that poisons all who dwell there … ’
By noon you have climbed to the lip of the crater and begun your descent. Gradually the tall, straight trees of the Mordril Forest thin out giving way to twisted trunks and stunted saplings as the land sinks deeper and deeper. Imperceptibly the forest ends and the swamp
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