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Shards of Moonlight, A Jotun of the West adventure

Please note that the first 120 sections are contained within
the first book in this series - Shards of Moonlight.

Last Updated - 6 April 2011

121

With the Living Book's words echoing in your thoughts you run into the north, the low silhouette of the Shalamai Hills your objective. Against the dull red of the evening sky the Hills spread as a shadowed series of rolling slopes, their dark, weathered stone hiding a network of deep gullies and impenetrable thorn hedges. About you the world grows colder, the sunsset a glaring flare of orange and yellow, the sky overhead a deepening blue within which the first stars of night have already found a purchase. It is a short interlude of peace on the Moss Plains, only the growing bluster of the winds providing any companionship as you make for a point of ruddy light that flickers within the saddle of two hills ahead.

All about you the world seems at rest but this is an illusion. You know all too well that it is in the dark of night that the Moss Plains come to life, both the predators and the prey of this cold land engaging in a deadly struggle that will play itself out a hundred times over before the suns rise once again in the east. For you the night will also bring with it blood, though you will be nobody's prey.

Ahead the light flickers all the more frantically in the wind. At the campfire you will find your brother Glydenhaal and the other members of your party. Six Jotun came north from Kraal Delving for the hunt and as you think on the violence that must come your heart pounds all the faster, though in the solitude of your run back to camp the words of the Living Book remain clear and no less troubling.

In your thoughts you can only assume that the Living Book had been put up to it by Shan'dari. Since taking your first breath as a Birthling your destiny has been as Favoured Son to Agror'Delving, Chieftain of the Jotuni Delving. To become Chief has always been your expectation and your birthright. To be told that you might have a greater purpose seems unfounded though it would be something the old Shaman would put you through as a test. Tests had become all too commonplace in the years since the completion of your deskai. If you are fortunate it will be the last.

In the first hour after sunsset you make your way back to camp and find the fire a blazing pyre of thorn branches. To your surprise only Glydenhaal stands at its edges. When he sees you there is excitement in his voice.

"It is good to have you back Tuan. Did you find your answers in the words of the Old One?"

You smile and shrug your shoulders. "Sometimes you uncover only riddles Brother. Where are the others?"

Stooping to pick up a pair of spears, your brother throws one to you and points into the north.

"We have found sign, Tuan. Two Voor'cats on the hunt upon the northern borders of the hills. Large and moving quickly. Ahmetsen and Emmentaal have taken the southern edges of the slopes, Jerogin and Maul the north. If we do not delay we can take position within the valley and wait for them to drive the Voorim our way. By all accounts they have the hides for a cloak worthy of a new Chief."

You smile and weigh the spear in your hand. For hunting Voor'cat it is the best weapon but you take up your hammer anyway, strapping it to your back as you follow Glydenhaal into the shadows. Quickly you move across the slopes and crest the rise of a narrow valley beyond. In the gloom of the night you can see well enough but even for a Jotun the shadows can still hide their secrets.

For a short time you both scan the hills to the west. You can see nothing, then a hint of movement upon one of the far slopes catches your eye.

"There Brother, two cats moving upon the slope," you whisper as you follow their descent into a depression covered with a thick mat of thorn bush.

Glydenhaal smiles and sweeps his outstretched hand along the valley ahead of you. "Our Brother-Chiefs have done well. They have forced the cats into a retreat, following the old animal trails that lead into the valley below. If we are quick we can make its far end. There we will find open ground and a thick wall of thorns to give them no chance of escape."

Your brother grabs your shoulder and gives you a slight push sideways. "There Brother, I told you we would find our cats tonight. In the mood for blood, Tuan?"

You push your brother back and feel the veins in your neck pounding with the anticipation of it.

"Let us go and kill these beasts."

Following Glydenhaal you take an old path that leads along the upper slopes of the valley and then down into its eastern reaches. As good as his word you find at the valley's end a small area of open ground and a high hedgerow of thornbush. Within the bushes a temporary hide has been cut, and it is there that you both take shelter and wait.

And wait you must. Voor'cats hunt in pairs, the orange and black striped predators used to the sure kill that can be found in ambush. Long experience with the large cats has proven that they are cunning and dangerous, just as many Oera'dim having fallen victim to their claws as they have had taken from their own number. To be sure of a kill it is necessary to have the beasts driven to a point where they cannot run, and then killed quickly one after the other, before they can overwhelm their attackers and kill them instead. For you this is a final test of courage and one where you must dispatch both of the cats yourself. Glydenhaal is not with you to help, he is only at your side to hand you the second spear and vouch on your success.

In the dark you listen to the wind and begin to hear the distant sounds of your fellow Brother-Chiefs shouting, and beating upon small leather-bound hunting drums as they force the Voor'cats in your direction. For a long span of time you listen to the slow approach of the clamour, measuring how far your comrades have advanced. In your thoughts you can see Emmentaal and Ahmetsen moving along the slopes, carefully positioning themselves so that the cats cannot escape onto the Moss Plains. Both Jerogin and Maul would be doing the same thing in the north, and for them you are particularly eager that the hunt goes well. Both these Jotun arise from the Oldemai Jotun to the north-east and a good kill will give them a worthy tale to take back to their own Kraal.

It is as you consider your allies from the Oldemai that the beating stops, only the wind rustling the thorn hedges remaining to disturb the sudden quiet of the night.

"Something is wrong, Tuan." Glydenhaal drops his spear at your side and pulls his knife. "Wait here for the Voor'cats, I will go and see what has happened."

Although you do not wish to remain hidden you can see the need to do so. The hunt can still be resolved, and you must have the pelts if you are to prove that you have stood against the Voor'cats. From the shadowed hide you watch your brother disappear into the night and quickly you find the noises of the Shalamai asserting themselves around you. Upon the wind you hear the low calling of crows on the wing, and the stuttering murmur of veldflies as they take advantage of the last nights before the cold season takes hold of the plains. What you cannot hear however, is any sign of your brothers, and the longer you remain hidden the more you worry that the hunt has failed. You will not give up just yet, however. Even without the efforts of your comrades the cats may still find their way along the valley and it is important that you remain ready and out of sight. If the predators continue eastwards you will be waiting for them.

In the gloom you keep your vigil. Within the bluster of the wind you can hear little, although there arises with each ebb in the breeze the faint sounds of clashing iron. It is enough to draw you from your hiding place and stand instead in the open, listening all the harder for some sign of what is happening. About you the thorn hedges rustle against each other, a constant distraction that blankets any more distant sounds but you hear enough to know that something is going on. Carefully you move further onto the open ground and ready yourself. Although you do not turn there is movement at your right and you wait, checking the edge of your vision for any telltale movement within the hedgerows, but it is not the Voor'cats that emerge from the shadows. It is Glydenhaal and he is covered in blood.

"We are under attack Tuan! Hresh have fallen upon our brothers. I cannot determine where the Oldemai are, but I left Ahmetsen and Emmentaal hard pressed in the south."

"Then we must go to their aid, and quickly!"

"No Tuan," Glydenhaal answers, "You must be returned to camp. You are a Favoured Son and have to be protected. It is there that our brothers will go, and it is there that we will have the proper weapons needed to organise an effective response to this outrage."

Glydenhaal has your safety as his only concern but you are a Favoured Son and can make up your own mind. Will you follow Glydenhaal to the safety of your camp? If this is your choice turn to section 157. If you would rather not leave your brothers to fend for themselves turn to section 246.

122

Carefully you move around the southern curve of the crater, keeping close to its sloping edge and making no sound that might be heard above the rising flurry of the wind. Upon the western side of the crater you find the trail of the Hresh arising from its lip and then fanning out into the plains ahead. The trail is clear and moves directly for tpesh'souref.
As you check the freshness of the prints Glydenhaal grabs your shoulder, and nods towards the sky. In the glare of the suns you see two Kreel on the wing, flying in from the west and no doubt drawn by the smell of blood on the wind. Caught out on open ground there is nowhere to hide, but you cannot afford to simply wait for the reptiles to see you. If they raise an alarm within earshot of the other feeding Kreel there will be nothing that can save you.

"Run for the west, Brother." you whisper. "We must have distance between ourselves and the Kreel behind us."

Understanding your intent Glydenhaal begins to run. With all the speed you can muster you race out onto the plain, attempting to put as much distance as possible between yourselves and the feeding Kreel. Two of the reptiles can be bested by two Jotun. In a fight with seven of the creatures you will surely die.

As soon as you begin to run the Kreel ahead change course and begin a straight descent towards you. This provides you with an advantage for the Kreel are ambush predators. They kill their prey by catching them unawares, spying out their kill at great height and then beginning a wide arcing descent that increases their speed and brings them up behind their prey. Food for the Kreel never knows what hits it, until it is too late.

These Kreel however, do not have the element of surprise to provide an easy kill. They must come to ground and tear at their prey instead, bringing you down with teeth and claw, rather that the impact of a tonne of flying reptile moving at high speed. It evens the contest greatly.

From out of the deep blue the creatures descend. No call is given to their brethren for they want the kills below for their own and when you believe you have covered enough ground you stand with Glydenhaal and wait.

In a silent fall the Kreel come to earth, huge wings braking their decent as they hit the ground running. Each of the reptiles are huge, standing three metres at the shoulder, with wingspans three times as wide, and crouched in their rush to reach you it takes a moment for you to appreciate how formidable they truly are. The largest of the beasts comes for you, the smaller makes straight for your brother. With hammer in hand you stand your ground.

The Kreel before you has a combat value of 18, and an endurance of 22. If you survive four rounds of combat with this creature turn to section 146. If you succumb to its razor-sharp claws within those rounds turn to section 202.

123

Emmentaal is a Jotun of considerable size and it takes both yourself and Glydenhaal to lift him from the ground. Taking him under his shoulders you move carefully into the darkness, Jerogin at the fore, searching the gloom for any sign of the remaining Hresh. It does not take long for him to find them.

Out of the shadows Jerogin appears, his hands motioning for you to get down. Slowly you lower Emmentaal into the only cover available, a low line of thorn hedges barely high enough to provide a hiding place. In truth you do not understand the Oldemai's caution. If there are Hresh ahead then together you should kill them, and take the vengeance necessary for their impertinence, but as you find a place behind Emmentaal you see the reason for his concern.

As a rush of dark forms a crue of more than one hundred Hresh swarm over the hill ahead of you, moving with purpose into the east. All are uniformed the same as the warriors killed earlier, and as they run there is only the muffled tremor of hundreds of boots pounding at the thin moss coverage of the hillside to mark their passage. This is indeed a unit of warriors too large for three able Jotun to survive. Caution would dictate that it is best to wait until they pass.

From your low vantage you can see little of the warriors, instead you feel more the subdued vibration of their passage and it is only when you can hear nothing more that Jerogin lifts his head and surveys the ground.

"They have gone," he whispers before standing and brushing himself down.

Regaining your feet you do the same, though your thoughts have now been focused keenly by what you have seen.

"How is it that such a large crue of Hresh could have found their way into the lands of the Delving?"

You look to Glydenhaal, for he is First Hammer of Kraal Delving and responsible for the security of its borders.

"It is another mystery amongst many that have arisen on this night, Tuan. Our forces that patrol the border are thin at this time of year but still effective. For these Hresh to have found a way through I can only see many dead Jotun as the cost."

In the darkness you remain quiet and think on the ramifications of having these warriors within your borders. To let them leave the lands of the Jotun of the West alive would be an insult that would diminish the stature of your father. It is something you will need to rectify.

"We can do little until we have found Ahmetsen at least. Let us find our camp and we can then determine our next move."

Together you raise Emmentaal and return to the task of reaching your camp. It is a slow undertaking, one that takes all the strength you can bring to the carriage of your brother. In the early hours before dawn you navigate a path into the south, using the many gullies and sheltered depressions on the lee side of the hills to keep you hidden from the searching Hresh. Glydenhaal's knowledge of the Shalamai Hills proves invaluable as you eventually emerge from a line of thick hedgerows onto the open ground surrounding your camp. What you find is not what you expect.

Turn to section 222.

124

The Kreel circle high overhead and you can be sure that something lies dead upon the mosses beneath them. Turning towards the point of their curiosity it does not take long to find what it is they covet. In a shallow depression you find the bodies of two Jotun herders. One is dead, the other barely alive, both bearing the wounds of a desperate combat. The Jotun who remains alive lingers only for a few moments before dying. In those moments he answers what questions he can and confirms all your suspicions.

The two Jotun were returning from the northern outpost at tpesh'naal when they were overrun by a crue of Hresh heading south. Without weapons they were quickly subdued, the other Jotun killed outright, the Jotun before you held and tortured before being left to die. In the afternoon light the Herder dies in your arms and you lay him upon the open ground.

"This is a bad business, Glydenhaal." You say to your brother. "No questions were asked of him, yet the Hresh put him to the knife before leaving him here to die. They seem to have been in no hurry to escape and yet they move deeper into our Father's territory."

Glydenhaal shakes his head and surveys the plains to the south. "What I do not understand is why they remain here. Whatever their purpose they have been discovered, and such Hresh have no honour. Surely they would have run for the borders by now?"

You look to the plains yourself but do not answer. Upon the wide mosslands there is nothing except the carpet of red and green and a series of clear tracks that lead directly for tpesh'souref.

Will you take the time to bury these Jotun, so that they might be retrieved by their brothers and properly sent into the Underworld at another time? If this is your choice turn to section 249. If you believe that no time can be spent on ritual and you would rather move on immediately, turn to section 270.

125

For a moment you consider what you should do but it is imperative that you recover your brother from the subsidence as quickly as possible. Taking your rope from your pack you uncoil its length and throw one end down into the gaping hole. Luckily the rope reaches far enough into the chamber below for Glydenhaal to take hold, and as you brace yourself your brother begins the task of hauling himself out. It is a task however, that he cannot do alone. Half way out of the hole it becomes a steeply angled shaft without purchase, its walls a brittle cascade of dry earth and shattered stone.

"I think Tuan, that you will have to drag me out of this pit." he yells, "It gives no support for an easy ascent."

With no way out of the hole otherwise you take a firmer hold upon the rope and begin to pull your brother out. It proves to be a test of strength that you may not be equal to.

Test your Strength attribute. If you are successful turn to section 187. If you fail this test turn to section 215. If you have chosen the Strength of Gedhru talent this test is unnecessary, turn to section 187 and continue with your adventure.

126

Without hesitation you motion your brother to make for the rise, and in his wake you follow, taking your warhammer from its fastenings at your back as you run. The slope is no more than a shallow rise and you crest it at the run, unconcerned for what might lay on the other side. One Hresh or a hundred you do not care for it is time to kill them all. What you find however, proves both disappointing and intriguing.

At the centre of a small camp you find the ashes of a fire and the remnants of a Mutan, its grey, gangled body strapped to a torture frame. The Mutan is dead, its body having been ill-used in an attempt to gain information, its skin cut and burned in the rigours of its interrogation. The camp itself stands quiet, the riding equipment neatly stacked beside a weathered canvas tent identifying the Mutan as a messenger. Without a word Glydenhaal commences an immediate survey of the scene as you move over to the remains of the tortured being. It is not a sight welcomed on your lands but it is a Mutan and it fills you with anger just to look at it.

"What do you see here, Brother?" you ask.

Glydenhaal turns to you and lifts his eyebrows. "I see a riddle and a mystery all entwined here, Tuan. The Mutan is a messenger, a Korep'mutan if I known anything about these creatures, though it was not the Hresh who tortured him."

For a moment you wait for your brother to continue, but instead he pushes over the torture frame and points to a large, clear set of bootprints pressed into the soft earth beneath it. "It is a Jotun who did this, and he is not one of ours."

"And what does the rest tell you?" you ask as you look about the camp.

"Judging by the refuse scattered about the tent the Mutan has been here at least two days, no doubt waiting for a report from the shadim to take back to his masters. From the body I can tell you that he died only a few hours ago, and there is a good chance that he gave up whatever his interrogator was asking for. It is a nice job of knife-work and for a Mutan it would have been difficult to endure."

You look down at the Mutan and acknowledge that the Jotun who cut and burned its body knew exactly what he was doing. The Mutan however, poses more questions than Glydenhaal can find answers for. Who would want to torture the being, and what was its purpose in doing so? The Mutan appeared to be no more than a lowly messenger, not one of the Clavern'sigh, nor even one of the Eshalon Guild. This was a Korep'mutan, a being with no greater merit than any other of the Oera'dim, and one as shackled by the Word of Command as any Jotun or Hresh. Of greater concern however, is the question of where might be found its mount. The messengers of the Sigh do not walk, they ride, and somewhere close its mount must be waiting.

Before you can ask your brother on the whereabouts of the Mutan's steed a deep, guttural growl turns you both to the north. From over the rise beyond the messenger's creature slivers to its crest. It is an Eqkril, a six-legged reptile of the far eastern plains and a formidable assailant, even for a Jotun. Standing more than a metre and a half at the shoulder, the monster is at least five metres in length, its clawed feet tearing at the soft mosses as it looks down into the ruined campsite. Dappled in red and green camouflage the Eqkril waits for only a heartbeat before moving forward. As you reach for your hammer the beast scuttles down the incline and sniffs around the body of its dead master. For a moment it considers the lifeless corpse then turns to face you. It has death in its eyes and the idea that you are responsible.

In a bounding rush the beast lunges forward. Glydenhaal steps into the face of its charge and brings his hammer down upon its front leg, missing the limb but crushing its front toes as it runs. With a squeal of pain the monstrous lizard recoils, then sweeps its tail out in a wide arc. Your brother tries to move outside of its reach but is hit squarely behind the knees, taking his footing from beneath him and propelling him through the air and onto his back. With a sickening thud he hits the ground, his head slamming against a slab of exposed stone. Stepping over your brother the lizard moves towards you, its tail flicking from side to side. You are to be its next victim.

The Eqkril is wounded but maintains a combat value of 12 and endurance points of 10. The creature has both razor sharp teeth and a tail edged with two protruding spikes. In this battle it can attack twice in each combat round and both must be concluded before you can respond. If you win this combat turn to section 208. If you lose turn to section 321.

127

The trail leading into the east appears the most promising and you move quickly to their pursuit. The hours wear on as you keep to the path left by the retreating Hresh, the day slowly turning from clear skies to an advancing overcast. As you run you begin to see other trails converging from the north and south, joining with the main trail and broadening its path until it reaches out before you as a swath of crushed mosses. By mid-afternoon you can have no doubt that the small group you were following has now grown into a sizeable force of warriors, and with such knowledge you decide to proceed with greater caution.

Upon the wide plains you can see nothing of the shadim, though their tracks remain clear, and in your pursuit you settle into the exertion of the chase, measuring the speed you can travel against the lesser stride of your prey. If you can remain on the hunt without diversion you should catch the Hresh by nightfall.

Across the mosses your footfalls remain muffled, yourself and your brother quiet hunters awaiting the first sign of your quarry. Coming to a rise in the ground you crest the slope and are brought to a halt, a scene of death and violence arrayed before you that leaves you breathless.

Upon the moss plain beyond you find the aftermath of a desperate battle. By some coincidence the Hresh you have been chasing crossed paths with a group of Yunta Herders still abroad upon the plains, and in that meeting had fallen upon the weaponless Jotun. Before you there lies at least two dozen Jotun, and more than fifteen dead Hresh, scattered in chaotic disarray, equipment and weapons looted from the bodies.

Running to the edges of the battleground you gauge quickly the process of the conflict. The shadim had come over the crest of the hill and run straight into a camp of Herders. Equipped only with Yunta prods the Jotun were not prepared for the fully armed warriors and the Hresh gave no mercy. Some of the Hresh fell, but it could only have been an unequal contest and at its end none of your kin survived. It is a loss that leaves you wondering what must be done to avenge their deaths.

"Check the bodies." you say quietly. "See if we can find anyone still alive."

Glydenhaal takes to the task, quickly checking all of the Jotun and most of the Hresh. It is as he is moving to a small group of bodies at the far end of the battleground that he falls to earth, and instantly you do the same. For a moment you cannot see what it is that has caused him to go to ground, but then you notice four warriors cresting the rise at your back and then moving at a half-run into the east. Prostrate upon the ground you appear as one of the dead and your presence passes unnoticed, but as the Hresh continue on their way you move cautiously to Glydenhaal's position.

Your brother licks dry lips and awaits your command. You can see that he wants only one thing; to kill these Hresh.

Will you attack the Hresh? If this is your want turn to section 153. If you would instead follow them and see where they lead, turn to section 255.

128

For a moment you consider telling Glydenhaal everything the Living Book told you of the Clavern'sigh, but you know little enough of what is going on. There is a chance that these Hresh could be rohnan, warriors exiled from their own Kraals and turned to the lowest acts of banditry. Such a coincidence is unlikely but the imprecise method of their assault upon your hunting party does not point to the proficiency of the shadim of the Sigh. You resolve to tell Glydenhaal everything when you are certain.

With your brother at your back you find a path through the hedgerows and then onto the crest of a low hill that looks down upon your camp. Even from your vantage you can see that it has been discovered and searched, your belongings tossed carelessly upon the ground.

A movement to the west brings you again to a crouch, but the two forms you see are familiar. They are Jotun, one helping the other. Glydenhaal sees them also, and together you run from the hill making a line straight for your brothers. To your surprise it is Jerogin and Emmentaal. The latter wounded and in need of care.

"What has happened here?" You say, looking at a deep gash in your younger brother's chest.

Jerogin stands exhausted. "I found your brother some distance to the west. The Hresh had already ambushed myself and Maul upon the northern edges of the hunt. There were more than a dozen in their number, and in the melee we were separated. I do not know what happened to my bodyguard though there is a chance that he went after them when they broke off their attack and ran westwards. I gave chase but decided it best to return to camp. On my way back I found Emmentaal and then yourselves."

"And what of Ahmetsen? Have you seen him?" asks Glydenhaal.

The Oldemai shakes his head. "I have seen nothing of your brother. Only sign that the Hresh are searching the Shalamai from west to east. They are after something and have not yet found it."

Looking to Glydenhaal you motion him to help you carry Emmentaal. Together you convey your brother down the hill and towards your camp. In your mind you have your greatest concern for Ahmetsen. It is a difficult thing to kill a Jotun, even for the Hresh in large number, but your brother will be far more vulnerable alone upon these open slopes. Your only hope can be that he also is making his way to camp.

Turn to section 178.

129

With the Hresh moving swiftly upon the plains ahead you follow, keeping a safe distance as they run into the north-east. Quickly you move from the open expanse of the plains into a region of undulating ground, the terrain a series of sloping rises and falls that reach for some distance to the east and north. It is here that you know you must take greater caution in your pursuit.

The ground provides a perfect opportunity for ambush, and to counter this possibility Glydenhaal moves some fifty metres ahead, scouting the trail and acting as a lure to any possible hidden danger. For more than an hour you traverse the sloping ground until your brother comes to a halt and stoops below the crest of a rise ahead. Motioning for you to advance you are quickly by his side.

"What have you found, Brother?" you whisper. Ahead the terrain is a series of crests and depressions and you can see the clear line of a set of trails converging to a point out of sight some two hundred metres from your position.

"We have more company ahead. See the trails from the north and east. Two other groups of Hresh have come together here and they have been waiting for our Hresh to arrive. I would say that there could be as many as thirty warriors somewhere upon the ground ahead."

"Ambush?" you ask quietly.

"No," replies Glydenhaal. "There is no sign of a trap here. This is a meeting point, and as they have not yet moved on I could guess that they are waiting for more of their brethren to arrive as well."

As you wait below the crest of the slope there comes movement ahead. A number of Hresh arise from behind some low ground to your left and make purposefully for the larger group that remains out of sight. In the light of a day muted by overcast and mist it takes time to identify how many there are, but one of the warriors in particular takes your notice. He is uniformed as a General of the March, a rank far beyond the needs of a command that must number no more than a few hundred. You feel your heart begin to pound as you consider whether this Hresh is the Sonnengren you seek.

What will you do? Do you wish to stand and openly challenge this Hresh? If you believe this is your true course turn to section 194. If you would rather skirt the slopes to your left and try and get closer, turn to section 227.

130

Carefully Glydenhaal surveys the trails and points into the east. "They have tried to disguise their number but it is the larger group that moves eastwards. It will be with them that we should find their commander, and perhaps a measure of justice."

You nod and agree that this is the path that should be pursued. Since the beginning of the hunt you have wondered at the unusual nature of the Hreshs' tactics, however you recognise now the behaviour of the warriors as an old Hresh trick. It is their way to separate into groups then come back together at a pre-determined position later, the purpose to disguise the number and disposition of their forces. Why they are not simply making for the borders, and a quicker escape, is a question still to be answered. What you can be sure of is that whilst they linger within the spread of your father's lands they remain a target, one that can be disposed of without repercussion. If they are keeping to the battle tactics of their kind their commander will certainly remain with the larger group. If that crue leader is indeed Sonnengren then you will have your revenge.

"Come Brother. Let us run down these shadim and take their heads as proof of our success."

Together you turn to the trail, increasing your pace as your brother searches the soft ground, his eyes scanning the mosses and patches of bare earth as you run, looking for any sign that the warriors ahead might have separated further. For your own part you look to the plains and survey the horizon beyond, your gaze instead focused on what might lay hidden in the vegetation ahead. The Hresh are well known for their enthusiasm for ambush, and as you run you look for any sign that they might have left a rear-guard to test your resolve. It is in the north however, that your eyes are constantly drawn. Against the bright light of the mid-afternoon a storm builds again, the turrets of a huge line of clouds billowing upwards as the energy of the day is channelled into their burgeoning fury. It will be only a few hours before the northerly winds will find a renewed strength and begin to push the treachersa in your direction. Then you will need to once again find shelter.

With one eye on the weather you continue the hunt. Ahead the plain opens up as a wide patchwork of coloured mosses, the ground cut by areas of unprotected earth and through it all run the unmistakable tracks of your quarry extending eastwards, following the shallow undulations in the terrain. Upon these rolling plains you increase your pace, your energy focused on the chase, your thoughts firmly centered on the revenge that must be yours alone. When it comes to the final confrontation with Sonnengren it must be you who kills him, and you alone. Only then can honour be satisfied and the nahj completed.

Upon a rise in the ground ahead your brother comes to a halt. At his side you pause also and look down onto the landscape beyond. The tracks remain clear upon the plain ahead but in the mid-ground you see the cause of Glydenhaal's hesitation. No more than a league to the east the Moss Plains come to an abrupt end, replaced instead by the wide expanses of the dead lake of Dahl'nemru, its lifeless reach stretching to a new horizon of salt flats and featureless, dessicated earth. Before you the plain falls away, its soft cover of moss giving way in patches to the lake beyond and the strange forest that crowds its jagged edges.

"These Hresh may be far more cunning than we appreciate, Tuan." Glydenhaal remarks softly. "The trail makes for the Crystal Forest. If their intent is to take us into the trees it will go very badly for all of us."

You nod your agreement and look to the way ahead. The Crystal Forests have resided upon the edges of Dahl'nemru since the beginning of time, their crystalline forms a legacy of the great forces that populated the world in its infancy. It is said that the trees have imbued within their substance a small measure of the power of Elanna herself, and this power in its purest form is enough to snuff out the existence of any Oera'dim with a single touch. To go forth beneath the Forest's arching branches will be to venture willingly into harm's way. For a moment you ponder the possibility that you might need to enter the dominion of the crystal trees, but only for a moment.

"I believe, Brother, that our quarry will find as much danger within the forest as ourselves. If they are willing to take such a path then we have little choice but to follow."

Cresting the rise you trace the wide lines of tracks down the slope and back onto the flat expanse of the plain. At the run Glydenhaal takes the lead, his face flushed with the exertion of the chase. In his eyes you can see the intensity of an Oera'dim committed to the hunt, longing for the battle that will bring vengeance and blood. There is something else though, an edge to his countenance that speaks of concern as well.

"What are your thoughts, Brother?" you ask.

Glydenhaal looks to you and shrugs his shoulders. "It is nothing Tuan. As we approach the Forest I can feel their eyes upon us. It is disconcerting for any Jotun who finds the presence of such Beings so close."

You look to the approaching trees and keep your eyes to the trail. You say nothing however, for there is nothing that can be said. It is known to all Oera'dim that the Crystal Forest is a storehouse of power, but in its ancient, brooding permanence it has become also the domain of creatures that find life in both the real world and the spectral. It is rumoured that their existence is bounded by the borders of the forest, their lives spent feeding upon the residual energy that ebbs there, and for purposes know only to themselves, to travel hidden paths that take them from the world of the living into the unknown. What such Beings might want with the World Above is a question that has remained unanswered, but what is known is that they are dangerous.

Your thoughts on the dangers of the Crystal Forest are broken by the low rumble of distant thunder. Coming to a halt you look to the north and find the storm moving your way. At a distance it is a beautiful thing, its chaotic and brutal nature hidden within a series of billowing towers, brilliant white in the cool afternoon but founded upon veils of dark rain and flashing lines of jagged light. Its beauty however, is only an illusion. Like all storms of its ilk it is something that must be avoided.

Upon the lonely plain you move with purpose, the tracks of the Hresh disappearing in patches as the thick blanket of mosses is replaced by the harder terrain at the edges of the Crystal Forest. Before you the crystalline trees rise up as towering unnatural outcrops of smooth translucent stone, their trunks and branches reaching skywards in contorted and desperate lunges of shining rock. The trail does not enter the shimmering forest however. At its borders the now irregular pattern of the Hreshs' progress turns northwards, edging the fringes of the trees and not entering them. Another drumming of thunder, this time much closer, heralds a flurry of wind that carries within it a swirling dance of moss litter and grit.

"The treachersa draws down upon us Tuan." yells Glydenhaal into the growing bluster. "Shall we find shelter before it finds us here?"

You look again to the storm and know that it is only a matter of time before it will be upon you. The settlement of tpesh'maale is only a short distance to the south-east. It can provide the cover you seek if you wish to break off the hunt until the storm passes.

Will you keep to the tracks as they head north? If this is your choice turn to section 147. If you would rather make for tpesh'maale and weather the storm there, turn to section 232.

131

For a moment you consider whether you should find a more substantial shelter but there is no time, the storm bearing down upon the plains as a rushing turmoil of lightning and pounding rain. With no time to spare you run for the nearest outcrop of stone and find upon its western edge a fissure large enough to afford at least some protection. With only a few minutes left you set to work, using stones and lumps of mossy earth to fill any hole or crack that might let in the deluge to come. When you are finished you hear the first slaps of an icy rain against the rock about you. It is a muted harbinger of the tempest to come. The treachersa has arrived.

With Glydenhaal crouching at your side you wrap your travel cloak about you and push yourself as far back into the fissure as you can, waiting for the assault to come. It begins as if a shroud has been thrown upon the world, a rapid darkness that grows deeper with every breath you take. Cloud crowds the sky, the wind building until it roars about the stones as if it is a pack of predators on the hunt. Within your refuge you shift your weight but you cannot say anything to your brother. The noise of the approaching rain is a tremor that grows within the stone, itself stifled by a clamorous melee of lightning strikes and thunder. From the recesses of your sanctuary you can only watch as the treachersa unfolds.

From the north there arises a wall of hail that lashes the plain, blanketing the ground surrounding your meagre shelter as it vents its fury. Propelled by gale force winds the hail pulverises itself against the immovable sides of the outcrop, turning instantly into a mist of ice that seeps slowly through the cracks in the stone, falling upon your travel cloak in a constant flow of chilled water. Unable to do anything but endure the swirling ice you huddle as close to the stone as you can and wait for the storm to pass.

But there is something different and you sense it keenly as the storm builds in strength. Within the rip and tear of the winds you begin to feel a presence, something intertwined with the energy of the treachersa but completely alien to its nature. Only when you feel the wind direction change and the outcrop gives you a greater measure of cover do you peer out into the storm and it is then that you see them.

With each detonation of lightning the world about you becomes a blinding instant of violence frozen in its glare. Within each of these blasts you begin to see more than just the surrounding ground and the swirling walls of wind and rain, for there comes the indistinct form of a creature moving as if it is caught in the gales, no more than smoke somehow held together as it dances and revels to each thunderous blast of light.

Unsure as to what you are seeing you focus your keen senses upon a single point ahead and with the next strike the creature becomes clearer, a grotesque spectral Being that is quickly joined by more of its kind. As you watch they begin to dance but there is no joy in them. What you feel is a hatred for the living that oozes from their existence, a palpable malice that builds within them as the storm itself gathers strength.

Getting your brother's attention you both watch as the creatures continue with their revelry. It is clear from the expression on Glydenhaal's face that he has no knowledge of what they might be, but when he moves to take the haft of his hammer in hand you know that he also has felt the same as yourself. These spectral Beings are dangerous.

When the treachersa reaches its greatest power the world about you becomes a swirling melee of light and sound, rain and hail mixed in a driving torrent that buffets the ground and turns everything about you into a patchwork of sludge and growing mounds of pulverised ice. Within this relentless onslaught the Beings suddenly change, their mindless revelry turning quickly into a frenzy of destruction. Anything touched by the storm becomes a target, spectral hands grasping at stone and earth, throwing huge pieces of rock into the tempest as they reduce a boulder pile close by to a field of scattered stones.

Taking your brother's lead you reach slowly for your hammer, watching the shadowed creatures as they draw upon the power of the storm. Only once do they begin to approach your refuge but as the storm passes so do they, moving with its energy southwards, unable to survive beyond its diminishing borders. Relaxing, you lay your hammer at your side and stare out into the darkness.

"Have you ever seen such apparitions, Brother?" you ask.

"Not in my lifetime, Tuan. I have heard of such things but my memory does not provide me with anything useful. The Oldemai have a story that tells of creatures that live within the power of the greatest storms, but I have never given it any credence."

You consider what you have seen and you recognise it to be something new in the world. You have to admit that you do not like it.

The storm has gone but a dark overcast remains, the deluge replaced by mists and a drizzling rain that brings with it a chilling flurry of wind and scattering detritus. In such conditions you cannot pursue your quarry effectively and with the rigours of the day heavy upon your shoulders you fall into sleep.

When you awaken the world is a grey veil of mist. The night's tempest has passed, the day given over to a dull overcast and a persistent rain that drenches the already saturated ground. Extricating yourself from your temporary shelter, you stretch cramped and sore muscles and consider what should be your next move. Looking about the outcrop all you can see is mist, and a patchwork of pooled water and sodden mosses. Within the veils of rain you can see little else.

Looking to Glydenhaal you take a piece of Nahla cake offered from his supplies and eat it slowly, savouring the spice-rich flavours as you ponder the best way to hunt the shadim. (If required increase your endurance points by six points to account for the meal.)

"What is your counsel, Brother. Should we continue south, or make our way to tpesh'souref?"

Glydenhaal thinks for a moment then points into the south. "We still have a faint trail that leads us south and we should take it. It is better to follow a path already laid out than trust to fate to send us in the right direction. Regardless of the storm we still have tracks and we should keep to them."

Looking at the miserable day ahead you see the benefit in keeping to the trail. The storm will have delayed the Hresh as much as it has yourself, and an early start can only lead to finding the Hresh sooner.

After checking your equipment you find the tracks and continue with the chase. The morning proves a dull and wet pursuit, your trail lost and then found a dozen times as it makes its way southwards, through shallow undulating hills and temporary pools of ice-cold water. The hours pass in this fashion until a movement upon a rise ahead brings you both to ground. Looking to the hill ahead you see a line of warriors hurrying into the south-east before disappearing over its crest onto the ground beyond.

With your brother at your side you make after the Hresh. Quickly you climb the hill and are once again brought to ground when you hear the sounds of an encampment on its other side. Carefully moving to a position where you can peer into a wide depression beyond you see a force of at least forty Hresh, a number of Officers and one large Hresh uniformed as a General of the March.

"Well, what do you make of this, Tuan?" whispers Glydenhaal.

In truth you cannot say. As the crue waits more warriors appear from the north, and you can see that they are not yet organising for the day's march. They are waiting for something.

"Do you not think it unusual to have a General attached to such a small group?" you ask of your brother.

Glydenhaal shrugs. "Nothing about what has happened since the Voor'cat hunt has made much sense, Tuan. Perhaps we should be honoured by the presence of such a high-ranking Officer."

You smile and consider only the possibility that this General might be the Sonnengren you seek. There is however, a greater problem that now confronts you and it relates to the number of Hresh you have discovered.

Quickly you consider what you should do, and it becomes clear that there is advantage in not remaining too close to the Hresh for the moment. The numbers of warriors you have found changes how you must approach the nahj and provides a good reason to temper the anger you feel with a measure of wisdom. A cool head will wait and pick off all of the shadim in turn, any other course of action only leading to your death and no satisfaction for the dishonour laid upon your brother. It is not the course of action you would prefer but at this time necessary nonetheless.

Carefully you move from your vantage and withdraw to take shelter behind a large outcrop of stone. From within the upthrust of weathered rock you have the opportunity to watch the Hresh without being spotted, and with the entire crue in sight you settle down to see what they do. It is clear that they are waiting for something or someone, and you do not have to wait long to discover what it is.

From within the clouds above you hear a rush of wings and the high-pitched scream of a Kreel. For a moment you cannot see where the flying reptile is, but it comes into view as it settles to earth at the edges of the Hresh position. At least four metres in height it is a large reptile, all the more remarkable in that it is harnessed and carries a diminutive rider, a Morg.

Motioning to Glydenhaal you watch as the Morg delivers a small parcel to one of the Officers before remounting his charge and kicking it in the sides with his heels. In one ponderous lunge the Kreel beats its wings and rises back into the overcast, gone before you can say anything to your brother.

Immediately the crue breaks position, forming itself into a tightly ranked unit before making off into the north-east. You cannot move until they have passed beyond the rise ahead, but all your instincts tell you that this incursion has a purpose far greater than anything you have so far been able to uncover. For the security of your Kraal you must find out what it is.

Turn to section 165.

132

Deftly you whip at the rope and feel immediately the grapple come away from its purchase above. In a slewing dance the rope falls out of the shaft, followed by the heavy grapple as it drops in a tangle of rope and iron at your feet. It takes only a moment to gather up its length and recoil it before returning it to your pack. Whilst you work on securing your equipment Glydenhaal surveys the archway and the long corridor ahead.

"Is there any other way out of this place?" you ask as you shoulder your bag.

Glydenhaal shakes his head and motions to the eastern exit. "None Tuan. From what I can see this chamber has only the one exit. If we are to make our way back to the surface it will have to be through this arch."

Your brother takes the lead as you move out into the eastern hallway. Carefully you conduct a survey on its safety and discovery quickly that although it is an ancient delving it proves to be both solid and dry. To your surprise the air is also clean though very cold.

With the way ahead uncovered by Glydenhaal's flickering torch you move forward and find the corridor reaching some distance into the east. Quickly you traverse its smooth floor, the entire passage cut cleanly from the bare rock and faced in an intricate pattern of polished marble flags. Within the illumination of your brother's torch the way ahead shimmers in reflected light, a thousand shadows cast upon the walls as you advance.

Beneath your footsteps the floor is solid but about you the earth itself tremors to a rumbling vibration that grows as you follow the passage eastwards. There is indeed something of immense power somewhere ahead, and with the Word of Aggeron burning with a painful intensity upon your forearm you know that it must indeed be a great source of EarthMagic.

Some two hundred metres into the east the passage meets at a junction with another leading to the north before reaching out further eastwards. Beyond this junction you can see an archway in the southern face of the hall and a much larger junction at the corridor's far end. The hallway leading to the north is masked in shadow but it does not appear to reach very far into the stone. Ahead of you Glydenhaal's torch begins to sputter and flare as if it is about to give out.

Do you wish to continue eastwards? If this is your choice turn to section 250. If you would rather investigate the northern passage turn to section 174. If you have a Lightstone in your possession and would like to use it to light your way, turn to section 190.

133

The adventures of Tansen'Delving will continue shortly. Each new monthly instalment of A Murder of Crows shall expand your adventure and take you further into the lands of the Jotun of the West. Look out for the next part of this interactive gamebook on the 7th of next month.

134

Such a treasure cannot be left unattended. You cannot account for the reason why a Herder might have a sharyah in their possession but it must have been entrusted to this Jotun for a purpose. Under other circumstances the proper protocol would be to bury the talisman with the body and allow the Jotun's nimirim to recover it once the cold seasons have passed. This you cannot do now. With hostile forces in the area the Lightstone must be protected and the only way that can be done is for you to take it, and return it to the Jotun's brothers once your nahj is complete.

Carefully you take the sharyah'ka and place it around your neck, tucking the talisman into your tunic and out of sight. With Glydenhaal as witness you swear an Oath of Contract over the body and promise it shall be returned to his bloodline. (Record the swearing of this oath on your character sheet before you continue.)

With your brother's help you lay the Jotun in their graves and then watch as Glydenhaal erects a small cairn of stones as a marker. Upon the retreat of the snow of the cold seasons the Jotuns' nimirim will come to recover them and they can then be burnt upon a proper pyre. For the moment it is all that you can do.

Burying the Herders has taken time and as you collect your gear you see Glydenhaal searching the northern horizon. The wind has changed and from its new direction you can feel a deeper cold, and the smell of lightning.

"We will make the tpesh by nightfall and it will not be soon enough." He says quietly. Pointing to the horizon you can see a line of dark cloud moving southwards. It is a storm and it is gathering strength.

"Come Brother. If we are lucky we will make shelter before the sky opens up and does its best to kill us."

With your brother at your side you leave the fallen Jotun and begin to run again, but now you are the one being pursued. Overhead the first trails of high cloud are harbingers for the treachersa to come, and before its rapidly approaching face you run across the mosses all the faster.

The remains of the day wear on, your passage across the plain an uninterrupted race as you keep just ahead of the growing stormfront. In the last glimmers of daylight you find tpesh'souref within a depression between two low hills and discover that it is deserted. A quick search of the grouping of stone shelters show no sign of the Hresh but this cannot be your concern at this time. With the first slap of chilling rain upon your face you choose the most sturdy of the tpesh and disappear into its dark interior. Glydenhaal jams the wooden door to the shelter closed as a deafening drumbeat of thunder rolls across the sky. The treachersa is coming.

Turn to section 282.

135

You know that you should tell your fellow Jotun all you learned whilst with the Living Book but there are some things that cannot be divulged. Only yourself and Shan'dari know that you have the emurion'ka and you cannot afford to give any clue to the fact that you have it. The Light of the World is a talisman whose power has never been fully explored and you know that the possibility of such power can corrupt even the most loyal of souls. In answer to Jerogin's question you decide to tell only a part of the truth. At least for now.

"In my audience with the Living Book I was told many things, mostly on aspects of my past and the nature of my Chieftainship into the future. The Book gave me much to ponder, but I will say that the Clavern'sigh has a long history of antagonism against the Jotun of the West and there is every chance that these Hresh are shadim, assassins of the Sigh, sent to kill me before my father's End of Days."

Glydenhaal nods his head. "It was a fear of your Father's. This would not be the first time that the Sigh has attempted to break the line of succession within the Jotun Kraals. Indeed Tuan, your Father was in favour of this hunt so that you might be isolated in the days leading up to his Last Day."

Jerogin is not so sure. "I can see no reason for the Sigh to wish to expend so many of its shadim on the assassination of just one Jotun. Perhaps these Hresh are nothing more than bandits, their attack a coincidence regardless of who they are assaulting?"

You have had the same doubts but what Glydenhaal says is true as well.

"Regardless of their motivations," you reply, "we must get to our camp quickly. There we have medical supplies and all of our equipment. Without it Emmentaal shall not survive the journey south, and we will not have all we need to defend ourselves. Let us move quickly for it will not be long to the dawn."

Turn to section 123.

136

In the hour before dawn you defend your brother, the warriors that stand before you not about to let you live to see the sunsrise. With Glydenhaal and Jerogin fully engaged with the remaining Hresh it is you alone that must stand in defence of your fellow Brother-Chief and the battle proves brutal and bloody. Restricted by the need to remain close to Emmentaal you swing wide with your hammer and although these three Hresh would not normally be an overwhelming force they use their numbers to slowly and ruthlessly bring you down.

More than once you are struck by the edges of razor sharp scimitars, and more than once you bring your warhammer to bear upon unprotected flesh but it is not enough. The Hresh are hardened soldiers, their skills as ruthlessly efficient as any of their kind you have encountered. One of the warriors strikes deeply into your leg, cutting muscles and severing tendons, forcing you down upon one leg. Unable to regain your footing you lash out, hitting the nearest warrior in the chest, sending him sprawling across the churned earth. It is then that you are hit from behind, the cold iron of a Hresh's blade extinguishing the spark of your existence.

In this life you have found a warrior's death and a sure path to Hallen'draal. Perhaps in your next life however, you shall find better luck.

THE END

137

Carefully you edge a series of shallow slopes, keeping to the low ground as you negotiate your way onto the warriors' right flank. It quickly proves fortunate that you keep out of sight of your prey, for there are far more of the shadim than you could have expected. Beyond the rise squats more than forty of the Hresh, most now armoured and no longer the lightly equipped assassins you have previously encountered. Looking over the warriors you can see that there is much more to their presence here than simple assassination. So many well armed troops can only mean that they are expecting a high body count and have plans to do more than just fight their way home. There is something in the wind and it smells of the Clavern'sigh.

Glydenhaal pulls you back from your vantage and lifts his eyebrows. He also understands what you have seen.

"We are deep in something here, Brother, with a need to tread carefully."

You nod in agreement. To attack the shadim in such numbers would mean a certain death, and provide no opportunity to avenge Ahmetsen. It is a truth that the halls of your ancestors do not welcome the foolhardy so you will need to consider your next move carefully.

Will you wait and see what the Hresh do? If this is your choice turn to section 279. If you can see some benefit in retreating to a safer distance, turn to section 183.

138

In the darkness you consider what you should do next, the cold a close companion that numbs your extremities, drawing slowly from you any energy left after your escape from the cistern. The only way forward is to follow the tunnel wherever it may take you, but in the gloom you can see little, the way ahead a dark hole that even a Jotun's eyes cannot penetrate. Then you remember the sharyah'ka that hangs at your neck. Quickly you take it from inside your tunic and hold it before you. In a whisper you call its name, uttering the word that will activate its power.
:ka:

Immediately the tunnel is flooded with light, the length of its reach uncovered in a bright swath of illumination that seems to bring the walls to life, the stone itself glowing with a blue edge. Shivering in this glare you then begin to feel the power of the talisman change. Close at hand the walls of the tunnel take on a redder hue, radiating a heat that warms the air about you and gives comfort to limbs cramped by the icy waters of the cistern. For a moment you wait with your brother and feel this new energy warm your body and dry your clothes and pack.

"I believe I can feel my fingers again." says Glydenhaal as he rubs his hands.

You smile but say nothing. It is a curious effect of the talisman that you have not heard of before and as your brother busies himself in the drying of his equipment you reach out to touch the wall nearest to you. It radiates heat like a furnace and you draw your hand away before making contact with the stone. It is a truth that Jotun have been designed to take most punishment and recover from it quickly. A burn however, is a different thing, something that is slow to heal and complicated in its treatment. You decide to keep your curiosity contained and look instead to the Lightstone. The sharyah itself is cold, nothing to indicate the application of its power but a tracery of crackling sparks that curve about the gem in its holding. It is a beautifully made object, a work of magical artifice quite beyond your understanding and you are content to use it without knowledge of its workings. In this world such things are better left to Shamans and the Mutan of the Sigh.

When Glydenhaal has returned all of your equipment to a reasonable condition you look to the way forward. Before you the tunnel reaches into the south then turns eastwards. With the light of the Sharya'ka leading the way you move forward.

Turn to section 189.

139

You have found a way out of the ruin but it will require only a short delay to investigate the source of the power that feels so close. Only for a moment do you hesitate. Since falling into this ruin you have felt the energy here surging about you. It is in the stone, and saturated in the air itself. Since having the Word of Aggeron burned into your arm such powers have been identifiable and insistent, always drawing you towards them. It is a situation you find uncomfortable for you do not care for such magics. You prefer instead the surety that can be found in strength and hammer but your curiosity has been tested and for this one time you decide to give in to it.

With Glydenhaal at your side you make for the door and its dark archway. Standing before the pulsing stone you find it only slightly taller than yourself but it proves thick, a tentative impact upon its smooth surface enough to show that it is both sturdy and precisely crafted. Gleaming the darkest blue in the barely lit hall it is the inscription carved into its black surround that gives a clue as to what might lie beyond. With your finger you trace the words and utter them as you follow them about the arch.

:ahn thella hald dehr shan'duil es ahn cryel shada:

The words are familiar and it is up to you to decide whether you will heed them. Will you see what might lie beyond this doorway? If this is your choice turn to section 253. If you believe it more prudent to turn around and make for the shaft of sunlight and the world above, turn to section 342. If you are currently unaware of what these words in the Elder Tongue might mean they can be translated by accessing the First Book of Haer'al which is available from the Chronicles of Arborell.

140

The Voor'cat is no more than a shadow in the dark as it races towards you. With spear at the ready you brace yourself, the only way to ensure the kill to stand your ground and wait for the beast to leap. In the span of a heartbeat the cat is upon you, its clawed paw swiping at the end of the spear and turning its razor-sharp blade aside. Unable to thrust the spear into the Voor'cats exposed underbelly you take the brunt of the cat's weight as it slams into you, throwing you both backwards onto the sloping ground.

Recovering from the blow you regain your spear and find a better footing, only to find the Voor'cat once again lunging towards you. With a bare fist you punch the cat in the side and it topples into the dirt, but it will take more than a blow to bring the animal down. In a fury the predator leaps again and this time it strikes low, its claws cutting through your lower leg, tearing tendons and severing your calf muscle. In a spasm of pain you fall sideways as the Voor'cat presses its advantage, raking you from shoulder to waist with one deep clawing motion as you lay on your back. In desperation you punch out again, hitting the beast in the head and sending it spinning to the ground.

Bleeding heavily you attempt to regain your feet but it is too late. Recovering quickly from the blow the Voor'cat leaps at you, a pair of razor-sharp jaws closing around your throat. With one final lunge you stab at the cat, your spear burying itself in the predator's side but it is not enough to save you. Even as the predator dies it brings all its strength upon your neck, crushing your throat and breaking your spine. In this life you have found an honourable death, one that will grant you entry to the Gates of Hallen'draal. It must now be to a latter life you will need to look for better luck.

THE END

141

142

For only a short time can you listen to the whispered conversations of the Hresh before you must act. Anger burns like a fire within you and here is an opportunity to spill the blood of your enemy. With Glydenhaal at your side you rush from the shadows of the tpesh and run straight for the congregating warriors. In the gloom you count more than a dozen Hresh and you plough into them, swinging your hammer in a wide arc that smashes the skull of one before the remainder can organise a defence. The Hresh are not taken by surprise easily though.

Immediately they fan out upon the open ground and ready arms, but you give them little time to react. With Glydenhaal bringing another of the Hresh to account you wade into their number, your hammer crashing against armour and bare flesh. To your surprise the group does not stand its ground. Half the warriors break from the fight and retreat eastwards, the remainder a rear guard that block any chance for you to chase them down. For the moment however, you cannot care, the Hresh that remain an acceptable beginning for the revenge you shall bring down upon all the shadim.

This is a fight you cannot retreat from. Five of the Hresh remain as the rearguard, three having settled upon Glydenhaal, the other two moving to position themselves about yourself. The first of the Hresh has a combat value of 13 and an endurance of 10, the second is outfitted in armour and appears to be this crue's commander, his combat value 15, his endurance 15. If you defeat these warriors turn to section 177. If you lose this combat turn to section 209.

143

The text repeats itself, covering the walls, floor and ceiling in a haphazard progression of hastily carved words. Taking Glydenhaal's torch you play it about the chamber, but find nothing except dust.

"What does it say?" asks Glydenhaal.

You look to the walls and do not answer. You know something of the Elder Tongue though not enough to properly translate it in its entirety. You are sure however, that it is a warning but as you look more carefully at the text you begin to see a pattern on the walls, a subtle and cunning play of text and shadow upon the stonework.

Turning to your brother you direct him to stare at the wall ahead.

"Look to your front Brother, but do not focus your eyes. What do you see?"

As Glydenhaal does as you say you also look to the wall and unfocus your eyes. Although it has been obscured to some extent by age and dust you begin to see in the differences between the lines of text an image, one that you have seen before.

"I see a waterfall Tuan." Glydenhaal answers. "One not unlike the carvings in the chamber into which we fell."

You nod for you also see it. With your eyes unfocused there stands within the room a wide mural, hidden within the lines of text but available to any Being who might take the time to look. It is a representation of a vast waterfall, its waters cascading into a deep pool, which then flow out through many tributaries into the distance. It is a curious thing and something whose meaning escapes you.

"It is indeed a waterfall, Brother. I cannot tell you its purpose nor with any surety the meaning of the words we see here before us. I know only that there is no way out of this room so therefore we must move on."

Glydenhaal takes back his torch and turns to the passage. In the flickering light you follow as your brother makes his way back to the main east-west hall. There you turn eastwards and look to where you should now go.

Will you try the southern exit ahead, or will you continue on eastwards to the junction. If you wish to go south, turn to section 250. If you would rather continue on to the east turn to section 271.

144

145

The adventures of Tansen'Delving will continue shortly. Each new monthly instalment of A Murder of Crows shall expand your adventure and take you further into the lands of the Jotun of the West. Look out for the next part of this interactive gamebook on the 7th of next month.

146

The Kreel is an intimidating foe but you do not fear it. Taking your warhammer in hand you stand fast against its advance, waiting for the beast to close upon you. When it strikes you counter the blow then bring your hammer down upon its exposed neck. The reptile shudders under the impact and recoils, giving itself a moment to reassess its next meal. You do not allow it the opportunity.

Running at the beast you swing your hammer once more, crushing one of its forearms and pushing it backwards onto the ground. In a tangle of limb and wing the Kreel topples over, but it is not yet done. Sweeping one of its hind legs outwards it takes your legs from under you, throwing you sidewards into a thick moss pile. Struggling to your feet you regain your hammer just as the lizard rakes the air only a finger's length from your face. The next blow you deflect with the haft of your hammer, before thrusting its iron head straight into the Kreel's chest. In a spasm of pain the reptile falls backwards, the breath crushed from its body.

The combat is not yet over however. As you push your way out of the mosses the Kreel lunges forward again, bringing its remaining taloned claw cutting down your arm. The talon bites deep, blood welling up from the wound. Seeing its prey wounded the Kreel erupts in a blood frenzy, again lunging forward as it attempts to finally put you down. Against the assault you are hard-pressed, the creature too powerful to deter, but then the battle turns.

At the Kreel's back your brother arises from his own victory, all you see the flash of his hammer as it descends upon the back of the beast's neck. In a crushing impact the hammer breaks its spine and it falls. Before the predator can hit ground Glydenhaal is upon it, one final blow crushing its skull.

In the quiet aftermath of the battle your brother stands over the body and tries to control his breathing.

"Sorry Tuan, but I could not help myself. Forgive me for taking your kill."

You laugh and then wince as Glydenhaal helps you to your feet. A long gash runs down your arm, but it is not serious. With your brother's help you bandage the wound and look at the size of the Kreel as you regain your breath.

"I believe Tuan, that we could not have found a larger Kreel if we had climbed into the Western Mountains and chosen it ourselves."

You consider for a moment how the combat may have turned out, then take stock of where you are. You have left the trail of the Hresh in your haste to distance yourself from the other Kreel, but you should be able to regain the tracks by heading north. If you are right they should be heading directly for tpesh'souref.

"Come, Brother. Let us find the trail once again."

In haste you make your way northwards, rejoining the trail before following it further into the south-west. The tracks remains clear, but you have not yet seen the Hresh that you pursue, and as the suns of Emur move slowly from afternoon into the first hints of dusk you notice the weather beginning to change.

It comes first as a subtle drop in air temperature, then a lull in the wind that quickly grows out of the north-west. At your back there stands a line of dark cloud that crowds the horizon and all are signs of bad weather to come.

"Do you see it coming, Brother?" you ask of Glydenhaal.

"Yes, Tuan, the treachersa grows in the north. By nightfall we will have to find shelter."

Quickening your pace you continue your pursuit. In the north the storm builds, its tall towers of brilliant white cloud founded upon a shadowed veil of mist and rain. It is a truth of the northern reaches of the world that even affairs of honour must take second place to the threat of the killer storms. Upon a wide region of hard ground you come to a halt, the trail no longer visible, but it is not your only concern.

"We have lost the trail and the storm moves closer." you yell into the growing winds.

Your brother nods and searches the ground. "We should be able to find the trail further to the west, but I would counsel that we make for tpesh'souref. It is less than an hour to the south-west and will provide a safe refuge until the storm has passed. Remember Tuan, that what delays us will also delay our quarry."

The storm approaches from the north and you must decide what you will do. Will you spend some time trying to reacquire the trail? If this is your choice turn to section 184. If however, you agree with Glydenhaal and would rather make for tpesh'souref to wait out the storm turn to section 267.

147

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149

Tpesh'shalamai rests only two leagues to the south and with a strong northerly bluster at your backs you run, your senses constantly alert for any indication of danger upon the plains ahead. It is the hour after midday and the suns of Arborell stand high overhead. Even with the approach of the cold seasons you can feel their presence as a warmth that cuts through the colder air funneling its way from the northern ice caps.

"Do you expect the Book to still remain at the tpesh, Tuan?" asks Glydenhaal as you run.

It is a good question but one that has no real answer until you make the shelter and see for yourself.

"I expect that the Book will have done what is necessary to survive." you reply, "If the Hresh have already come for him then he will either fight or flee. The old Hresh certainly did not seem to me to be the type to run away from anything."

Together you make your way southwards, the small insignificant stone shelter nothing but a dark spot in the growing afternoon haze. When you reach the tpesh you find no sign of life, but much to show evidence that something has happened.

While Glydenhaal searches the tpesh's surrounds you quickly make for the small entranceway and throw back its leather covering. What you find is an empty interior, the Living Book's possessions strewn in disarray. It is not the confusion left in the aftermath of a fight however, more the quick search of someone looking for something. For a few minutes you also search the tpesh, however nothing has been left that might indicate the fate of the Book.

Returning into the light of day you find your brother standing in the mosses only a short distance to the south-west.

"What have you found?" you yell into the wind. Glydenhaal does not answer, instead he motions for you to come to him.

"What is it Glydenhaal?" you ask.

Your brother points to the ground and there, roughly carved into the mosses, exposing the umber hue of the earth beneath is a sign, and an arrow pointing to the south-west. You recognise immediately the sign to be the personal mark of Maul, Jerogin's bodyguard.

"Well, this I did not expect." you say quietly.

"And it is not all, Tuan." Glydenhaal turns back towards the tpesh and moves his arm in a wide arc encompassing all the surrounding ground. "I have searched the bare ground surrounding the tpesh and have found many tracks, all lead directly into the south and all Hresh. It is certain that a crue of Hresh came this way, searched the shelter then moved off again southwards. I estimate their numbers to be no more than forty and all are lightly equipped."

"What is more interesting is that a single set of bootprints can be found further to the west, paralleling the main group. It is either a scout, or our Living Book following the warriors further into the lands of our Father."

What will you do. Follow the tracks into the south with the chance that you might recover the Living Book, or follow the sign of Maul that would send you into the south-west? If it is to the south you wish to go turn to section 175. If you would rather follow Maul's arrow into the south-west turn to section 228.

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152

You consider for a moment if there is any value in leaving the trail. The truth is that there is much you do not understand about the events of the day and anything that might shed light upon the attack should be investigated. There could be evidence there that should not remain uncovered. Your decision made you make your way quickly towards the circling birds and find a murder of crows feeding upon the corpses of four dead Hresh. They are of the shadim, and judging by the trail of prints that leads in from the north-west they were not a part of the group you have been tracking. It is the manner of their death that proves the most curious however. All have been killed by the blows of a heavy warhammer and the nature of the bootprints left by the warriors indicate they were ambushed upon the open ground.

"A Jotun has done this." says Glydenhaal.

"I have no doubt," you reply. "Do you think it was Maul?"

Glydenhaal shrugs his shoulders and crouches down to inspect one of the bodies more closely.

"I can think of no other armed Jotun that would be abroad at this time."

With haste you search the bodies but they have already been spoiled, their equipment either taken or destroyed. Whoever committed this act had taken the time to ensure nothing from the assassins could be used.

"We can do nothing here, Brother. Let us return to the chase."

Turning from the Hresh you run to intersect the main trail. The bodies you leave for the birds.

Turn to section 298.

153

Anger, and a desperate need for bloody revenge rule your actions. The Hresh will not live out the day if you have anything to say about it, and without thought to tactic or danger you run after the retreating warriors. It takes only a few moments for the shadim to notice your pursuit, and you hear clearly the call that turns all four of the Hresh back in your direction. The warriors do not wait for you. In a rush they charge, two of their number running straight at you, the others making for Glydenhaal. There is no thought here of mercy or retreat, and you see it also in their eyes as they close upon you. The combat to come is what the nahj requires; the winner will walk away, the rest will die.

Two Hresh close upon you and neither will give ground. The first warrior has a combat value of 12 and an endurance of 10. The second a combat value of 14 and an endurance of 12. If you win this combat turn to section 207. If you lose this combat turn to section 462.

154

155

To the north you sense the possibility of a way out and take to it quickly. The hall ahead is a wide and unobstructed thoroughfare, one that reaches for some distance before terminating at a large curving annexe cut into the stone. Within its shadowed depths there rises a huge robed statue, inset into a tall vaulted chamber and towering some twenty metres over you. In the gloom it stands silent, pointing down the long hallway as if it is providing guidance to those who might travel its long reach. Shining in the half-light it appears to be fashioned of black crystal and as you consider its immense size it is Glydenhaal that notices its most unusual feature.

"Look Tuan, at its head. Have you ever seen anything like it?"

You look with a closer eye at the statue's upper body and see immediately what your brother means. Statues of the ancient world are always robed and hooded, always presented anonymously, without face or feature. What you see here is a hood thrown back, its exquisitely carved robe pulled back to uncover a crow's head, its features finely carved and lifelike. Two black empty eyes stare down at you along the line of a shimmering black beak, its feathers short and detailed upon a head that the smallest sound might bring to life. It appears as an abomination of nature, a bird's head upon the body of a creature not unlike yourselves, and you have no idea what it represents.

"This is an unexpected discovery," you whisper, unsure of what you have found. The eyes gaze down at you and in the shadows you begin to feel an uncomfortable sensation that it is staring at you deliberately. Upon your arm the Word of Aggeron itches like fire, and as you look up at the statue there comes into its form the slightest of shimmers, a deep blue glow that grows slowly within it.

"I believe, Tuan, that it might be prudent to move on." says your brother.

You survey the end of the hall and find a small doorway in its eastern wall. Beyond its threshold you can see little, but it appears to be a narrow passageway leading to the east. From its long reach you can smell moss and wet earth.

"We should go, Glydenhaal." you respond. "There can be no benefit to remaining within these ruins."

Your brother agrees but before either of you can move the ground beneath you begins to tremor, the stone shaking with greater energy as something builds around you. For a moment you wait quietly, gauging whether the vibration presents any danger to the hall where you stand. It is a tremor that grows, and as it does so the Word of Aggeron responds, the surface of your arm crackling with a static discharge that flickers in the gloom. In the shadows your arm glimmers, the ebb and rush of the power coursing through the stone a reflection of its potency. Then the shaking stops, but only for a moment.

About you there comes a great pulse of energy, travelling through the floor then rising into the statue before you. To your amazement the great sculpture moves, its outstretched arm lowering to its side as it turns to step down onto the hall's smooth stone floor. You cannot know why but for some reason your presence within the hall has triggered the release of a great power, one that has brought the statue to life, its intent unknown as you stand helpless before it. Glydenhaal grabs you by the arm and you begin to run, making for the narrow passage and a possible sanctuary beyond. You get only a short distance before the sculpture becomes the least of your concerns.

In a grinding fracture of stone the wide vaulted ceiling above begins to collapse, the enormous weight of the moving statue too great a burden for a ruin too long neglected. At its first step the floor crumbles, sending the sculpture crashing into the wall at its left shoulder, bringing down a huge piece of masonry that crushes the shimmering statue in a sparkling shower of crystal beneath its weight. Shuddering to the impact the roof caves in, starting a series of further fractures that hasten the collapse, large chunks of stone falling as rain from a grey sky.

Without looking back you run for the exit, dodging huge falls of stone as the roof collapses inwards. When you make the eastern passage you do not stop, the tremendous thunder of crashing rock pummeling your senses as you rush for a position of safety further along the narrow corridor. From out of a cloud of pulverised grit yourself and your brother fall forward, choking on a miasma that billows from the great hall at your back. Leaning against the passage's walls you clear your lungs and wait as the terrible cacophony continues, the stone beneath you shaking to the impacts of vast amounts of rock moving within the subsiding ruin. Fate however, provides no further danger. When the destruction ends you are left alive, covered in grey dust and with only one way forward.

"Well, we will not be returning that way." Glydenhaal muses quietly.

You look to the remains of the eastern passage and find that the way to the east is still clear. "Brother, I believe we should find our way out of here as quickly as we can."

Glydenhaal nods and rises from his position against the opposite wall. A gout of dust and broken stone falls from his clothes as he moves, his countenance smeared with blood from a gash to his forehead. "Tuan, I am willing to follow. I have had enough of these dark places."

Together you move on, following the corridor as it reaches a further one hundred metres before ending at a junction with another large hall. This hall is similar to that which has collapsed behind you and extends in the same fashion for some distance to the south. At its end you can see a black archway and a solid door. It is what you find only a short distance to the north that proves of greater import. Within a circular chamber there stands a wide spiralling stairway, one that reaches upwards to the world above. Sunlight shines as a beam through an opening above and to your relief you can smell the odours of the plains; wet moss and cold earth. At the centre of the stairwell there lies the carcass of a Yunta Beast, a victim of the long fall from above that must have claimed many creatures over the years. For the Yunta the stairway had proved a death-trap. For you it is a way out.

Turning to the stairs you begin to move forward but then come to a halt. Your brother waits for you but you sense something else and it causes you to hesitate.

"What is it, Tuan?" Glydenhaal asks.

It is a good question. Whilst you have travelled within these ruins you have been aware of the great power that resides here. The stone has trembled to its rhythm, your arm has burned at the hint of its proximity, but as you stand before the wide spiralling staircase you know that you are only a short distance from its source. Turning on your heel you look again to the south and the door that stands at the hall's southern reach. Before you leave this ruined place you could find out what it is that flows with such energy here, though it is a choice you would need to make quickly.

If you wish to take to the stairs and leave the mysteries of these ruins for another day turn to section 304. If the call of the power is too great and you would rather turn south instead, turn to section 139.

156

Engulfed within a melee of lightning and crashing thunder you wait out the storm beneath the hard shelter of the tpesh. Outside the unfettered power of the tempest rages, venting all its destructive energy upon the Moss Plains as you listen from the safety of your stone sanctuary. For a time you remain quiet, content to rest as the treachersa unleashes itself about you, but the fury of the storm cannot turn your thoughts away from the urgency of the nahj. Time moves forward unhindered by the treachersa and there is little enough time left before your father will meet his Last Day. You can only hope that there will be no further delays. With the stone around you vibrating to a pounding hail-storm you turn to talk with your brother.

For his part Glydenhaal is preparing a fire, collecting a supply of dry wood from a pile stacked at the furthest end of the shelter. He is also deep in his own thoughts, the constant hammering of the storm a barrier that smothers any attempt at normal conversation. Carefully you move closer to the fire so that you might speak your thoughts, but as you do so Glydenhaal stoops and retrieves a small piece of torn paper from the edges of one of the pieces of wood. Holding it to the firelight it is unmarked except for a thin line of green colour at its edge. You guess that it must have come from a wrapping, probably a ration of dried meat.

"See the colour, Tuan?" Glydenhaal asks.

You nod and take the paper from him, putting it closer to the fire to properly confirm its hue. There can be no argument that the paper has been marked in green, the colour used by the Jotun of Kraal Amdahl to identify their equipment and possessions. Since the time of the War of Tree and Leaf the Houses of the Trell'sara, and then the Kraals of the Oera'dim, have used colour to differentiate the ownership of material of war and personal effects. For Kraal Delving that colour has always been dark blue, for the Amdahl, green.

"Tell me Brother," you say loudly above the tempest, "What would a Jotun of Kraal Amdahl be doing, taking refuge on Delving lands, and eating his meals within one of our father's tpesh?"

Your brother shakes his head and stirs the fire into greater energy. "It is a mystery to me, Tuan. The Amdahl are no ally to our Kraal and the journey of one within our borders can only be considered suspect."

Glydenhaal looks up at the roof of the tpesh and then turns to you. "This is my responsibility, Tuan. The security of our borders is the charge of your First Hammer and I find myself wanting. Too many of our enemies are abroad upon our lands and it is a fault that falls squarely upon my shoulders."

For a moment you consider what your brother is saying. By taking blame for the incursions upon himself he is giving you good cause to have his standing as First Hammer taken from him and in truth you could do it with the utterance of a single command, but now is not the time. For a Jotun who is about to become Chief of his Kraal there are few who can be trusted, and Glydenhaal is one of those few.

"How the enemies of our Kraal have found their way here is a concern for us both, but my greater concern is why they are here," you reply. "It is their true purpose that lies veiled from us, and the hand that directs them I have no doubt will prove to be our greater enemy. What are your thoughts Brother?"

Glydenhaal pushes himself back from the fire's edge and squats upon the stone floor. For a moment he collects his thoughts before answering.

"There is not much that can be drawn together from what we have seen thus far, Tuan. I cannot doubt that assassination was the purpose of the shadim, but why they did not press their attack until you were dead runs contrary to their nature. To invoke the nahj then run us on this directionless chase, and not simply remove themselves from our lands makes little sense as well. On these points I must say that the Hresh are working to a plan that runs counter to their training, and to their battle instinct. It gives me reason to believe that it is not the Hresh who have instigated this attack but the Mutan of the Sigh. I would say also that the timing of the attack so close to our Father's End of Days is no coincidence. They mean to do Kraal Delving a great harm, and in the process weaken the resolve of the Jotun of the West."

"It then makes sense to say that we have all been taken by surprise here." you reply. "Consider Brother, that blame can be found anywhere if you look hard enough. We have neither the time nor the luxury to uncover it now. Let us leave any consideration of responsibility for less harried circumstances."

Your brother lowers his head in acquiescence, then returns to a study of the fire before him. In the stone shelter you wait out the storm and in short order it finds its way southwards, its ferocity spent upon the open plains. Quickly you extinguish the fire and ready yourself for your return to the hunt. As you remove the jam from the door Glydenhaal motions for you to wait.

"Tuan, I will go first. We cannot know what might wait upon the ground outside."

With purpose your brother forces open the door and you follow, the short rise to the surface bringing you out into a world much changed from that which you left behind. About you the storm has left wide drifts of melting hail, and pools of standing water that lay out to the south and west. All around you there lies in great piles the torn and tangled remains of mosses, gouged from the bare earth and thrown about in great disarray. It is a vision of sudden violence that leaves little hope of finding an easy trail, however Glydenhaal searches the ground and finds something quickly to the west of the tpesh.

"See here, Tuan. Two sets of tracks, one heading north, the other into the east. We missed them in our rush for shelter and thankfully they have survived the treachersa."

"What do you make of them?" you ask.

Glydenhaal crouches low and inspects the prints with greater care. "The trail north encompasses at least ten Hresh, all lightly equipped and moving swiftly. The trail east is more interesting. Three Hresh only and a Jotun close upon their heels. If I read these tracks correctly the Jotun is chasing them."

Your brother stands and adjusts his travel cloak against the growing wind. "What is your pleasure Tuan, north or east?"

If you wish to continue north turn to section 213. If you would rather turn east turn to section 308.

157

In the cold of the night you follow Glydenhaal for you have no doubt that the Hresh are after you. It can be no coincidence that a crue of Hresh should find their way into the lands of the Delving and the words of the Living Book become all the more potent with their attack. If the Book is right they will be shadim, assassins of the Clavern'sigh, with orders to ensure you do not live through the night hours. It is your intention that they shall not succeed.

There is one thing that is certain. When the shadim realise that you are not a part of the combat they shall break off their attack and come looking for you. With your safety in mind Glydenhaal takes to the winding network of gullies and hedgerows, negotiating a path that finds its way slowly to the south and towards your camp. If fate proves kind you will find your comrades there, and once properly equipped you can venture back into the night as one to kill those who have attempted to dishonour the Jotun of the West.

Keeping to the shallow slopes you make your way to the southern edges of the Shalamai Hills and find a faint trail of smoke rising from the vicinity of your camp. There is no movement, but a noise at your left shoulder forces both of you to the ground. Something is moving beyond the nearest ridge. With only a spear in hand you wait, expecting the camouflaged forms of any number of Hresh to crest the rise. In your careful negotiation of the Hills however, you have forgotten something. The Voor'cats.

At a loping run the predators make the rise to the west and sniff the air. Large and strong the Voorim are magnificent creatures, but they have no concern for your need to remain unnoticed. In the shadows you may not be seen, however the cats smell you out in an instant. With a sharp snarl at its mate the leading cat crouches, its tail sweeping along the ground as it sizes up its next meal. The predator fixes its eyes upon you, the other Voor'cat moving to outflank your brother. This is a fight you cannot avoid and one that you must end quickly.

The Voor'cats attack, the larger coming for you, its mate running for Glydenhaal. Your brother can look after himself, the Voor'cat before you yours to bring down alone. The creature has a combat value of 16 and endurance points of 14. Please note that if you have chosen the Hammer Focus talent it does not apply in this situation. If you win this combat turn to section 293. If you lose turn to section 140.

158

The Oer'daaki are a relentless foe but you are a Being that should not be reckoned with lightly, and these murderous vines are about to learn that lesson. Before you the spiralling tangle lunges forward, its mass a melee of grasping tendrils that strike at you, attempting to gain a hold that will crush the life from you. In reply you hack at them, severing dozens of the roots before the mass retreats then lunges once again, renewing its attack in its attempt to find a secure purchase upon you. At your back more of the plants swarm forward and as you cut down everything that comes within reach you realise that this is a battle you cannot win. There is but one of you, and possibly thousands of the Oer'daaki.

Cutting at the nearest of the clinging vines you run for your brother and strike at the roots holding him fast to the stone floor. Three powerful arcs of the scimitar release your brother from the vines' green embrace and struggling for breath he gets to his feet, dark lines of bruised and bloodied skin evidence of how tight the tendrils had maintained their hold upon him.

"Come Brother!" you shout. "Let us find our way out before we both end as plant fodder."

Glydenhaal nods and begins to run for the southern exit, dodging long lines of vinery that arc out from the walls about him, attempting once again to bring him down. Ahead the archway is a dark hole in the stone but it is no easy exit for the pulsing tangle of the Oer'daaki stands between yourself and any chance of escape. Coming to a halt Glydenhaal picks up a large piece of fallen masonry and heaves it into the midst of the tendrils. Under its weight the vines collapse backwards, their struggle to free themselves from its encumbrance all you need to run at the base of the mass and begin to cut into its thicker limbs. In a shuddering tremor the vines retreat and it is the opportunity you have been looking for. Before the Oer'daaki can attack again both yourself and your brother cover the remaining distance to the archway, leaping into its dark recesses as the roots smash at the exit. What you find beyond its threshold is unexpected.

To your alarm you discover the chamber beyond has no floor, just a smooth circular wall that descends for a good hundred metres into the earth beneath you. You have found a well of prodigious depth and in your desperation to escape the Oer'daaki have leapt straight into it. In a rush of air you fall, hitting the well's edges more than once as you follow your brother into darkness. For only the space of a few heartbeats are you left to ponder what might be found below however. In a plume of chilling water you hit bottom, the ice-cold waters spraying outwards onto the walls of a wide cistern of unknown depth. Coughing up gouts of rank fluid you call out for your brother and hear him moving along the far curve of the chamber. The cistern is completely dark, only the vague outline of an archway high above any indication of how far you have fallen. As you struggle for air you can only think that this is a poor place for two Brother-Chiefs of Kraal Delving to find their end.

If you have been using a Lightstone for illumination previously turn to section 176. If you have not turn to section 216.

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With Glydenhaal keeping watch you search the dead but find nothing of value. There is one curiosity however, and it gives you pause to stop and think more on how the Hresh made it unnoticed into your Father's lands. Wrapped about an old injury on one of the Hresh's arms you find a length of torn red cloth. You recognise it immediately as a piece of a marker flag, used by the Oldemai Jotun to mark the borders of their lands. Of all the Jotun it is only the Oldemai that do so, and you find it curious that the shadim should have a remnant of one upon them. It could only have been acquired if they had traversed the lands of the Oldemai in the far north and then moved southwards. It is a long way to travel and there are shorter and far less dangerous routes that can bring a traveller to the Delving. It is a curious discovery but an interesting one nonetheless. You take a mental note of what you have found and then turn to your brother.

Will you now return to the chase? If so, turn to section 129. If you would rather eat first before leaving tpesh'souref turn to section 200.

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163

With all the strength you can bring to the task you leap out across the abyss, its dark maw a huge mouth waiting to swallow you whole. In the cold air you can feel your legs numbing with the chill and although you give the jump all you have it is not enough. In a cloud of dust and breaking rock you hit the lip of the rift squarely upon your chest, your arms grabbing for any purchase that might stop you sliding backwards into its cold depths. Luck gives you a temporary grasp upon a piece of jutting masonry but it is not enough to hold the full weight of a Jotun. Even as you try and get a better grip upon it you can feel the stone beginning to pull away from its seating.

If you are to haul yourself out of the abyss you must find the strength to do so quickly. Test your Strength attribute once again, but this time take a further one point from its value before you roll. If you succeed in this test turn to section 486. If you fail this second test turn to section 371. Please note that if you have chosen the Strength of Gedhru talent you automatically succeed in all climbing tests and can therefore advance to section 486.

164

165

Upon the plains you make after the Hresh, the terrain returning to a patchwork of hard soil and thick mosses. On this open ground you could easily catch up the distance and attack the warriors, but for the moment you remain at their rear, following them as they make a line directly into the north-east. For a Jotun it is an easy run but as you pursue the shadim the weather begins to change, the dark overcast becoming a thickening mist that blankets the landscape and turns your pursuit into a slow hunt, one that keeps your eyes focused upon the ground ahead and the trail crushed into the mosses.

It is as you search the ground that you spy a discarded pile of clothing scattered upon some moss-bushes ahead. They are familiar to you, although you cannot be completely sure where you have seen them before.

Will you stop and examine the clothing? If so, turn to section 256. If you have no time to waste on such a diversion and wish to move on, turn to section 295.

166

Quickly you search the Hresh but they provide few answers. There is nothing to be found except their clothing and weapons but this in itself is important. It confirms in your mind that the warriors must have a campsite of their own within a reasonable march. An Oera'dim cannot travel the vast plains of the western world without rations and equipment, and it leads you to the conclusion that they must have a plan to regroup prior to leaving the lands of your father. If this proves to be the case it will make your search for Sonnengren easier. Find the camp and you need only wait for the Hresh to return to it.

As you spoil the last of the bodies you do find one item of value. It is a flashcharge, a device of the vehmin of the south that could prove useful. If you wish to keep it, tie it to your belt and record its acquisition on your character sheet.

Once you are done with the Hresh you look to your brothers and consider what should be your next move.

If you wish to follow the tracks you have found into the east turn to section 288. If you believe it necessary to ensure the safety of the Living Book at Tpesh'shalamai first turn to section 234.

167

The door is close and it will only take a few minutes to have a better look. With Glydenhaal at your side you make for the door and its dark archway. Standing before the pulsing stone you find it only slightly taller than yourself but it proves thick, a tentative impact upon its smooth surface enough to prove that it is both sturdy and precisely crafted. Gleaming the darkest blue in the barely lit hall it is the inscription carved into its black surround that gives a clue as to what might lie beyond. With your finger you trace the words and utter them as you follow them about the arch.

:ahn thella hald dehr shan'duil es ahn cryel shada:

The words are familiar and it is up to you to decide whether you will heed them. Will you see what might lay beyond this doorway? If this is your choice turn to section 253. If you believe it more prudent to turn around and make for the shaft of sunlight, turn to section 369. If you are currently unaware of what these words in the Elder Tongue might mean they can be translated by accessing the First Book of Haer'al. If you do not yet possess this tome it can be found here.

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173

The tracks to the south appear the best option. To hunt the larger group will provide a greater chance of finding Sonnengren and in doing so answering the challenge that has been placed before you. Into the south you run, Glydenhaal at your side, the low crests of the Shalamai Hills once again looming before you. With the suns now finding their way into the afternoon hours you press forward, the plains a wide expanse ahead.

Quickly you pass beyond the hills and out onto the moss plains. In a swath of red and green the mosses lay as a thick carpet upon the cold earth and within this vast flatland you hasten, following the trail left by the Hresh. It is an easy passage, the footfalls of many warriors laid out as a clear path that moves steadily deeper into the lands of your Father.

There is a great need for caution however. The plains are wide but ambush is easy, the mosses thick enough in parts to hide prostrate warriors. As you follow the trail Glydenhaal keeps his eyes on the horizon, looking for any sign of danger as you run. It is he that calls you to a halt.

"Tuan, we have company in the west."

You come to a stop and follow the line of his extended arm. In the air there is the a circling flock of crows, slowly thinning as individuals within its number dive to ground slightly west of your track. There is something dead lying in the mosses and it is gathering many birds to the easy feast that can be found there.

Will you investigate? If so turn to section 152. If you would rather continue on southwards, turn to section 298.

174

The northern passage reaches only a short distance into the stone and you take to it quickly. Unlike the corridor you have just left this path has felt the effects of age more aggressively and in parts has fractured, the walls bowing under the pressure of collapsing rock behind. Carefully you make your way forward and find a small room at its end. The room itself is empty, the walls covered in a single repeating line of text, one that appears to have been cut long after the completion of the chamber. Softly you whisper the words under your breath as you read them.

:ahn thella hald dehr shan'duil es ahn cryel shada:

Immediately you recognise the language as the Elder Tongue of the Ancient World, but most of it is unknown to you. One word however, stands out from the rest, its meaning the same in these modern times as it was when the world was still young. :shada: death. It is clear that you have found a warning but for what is not yet readily apparent.

If you wish to inspect the chamber more thoroughly and have only Glydenhaal's torch for illumination turn to section 143. If you wish to investigate the room and have a Lightstone providing light turn to section 206. If you would rather turn from the chamber, continue up the passage and try the southern corridor turn to section 250. If you would take no heed of any of these options and instead continue on eastwards to the junction, turn to section 271.

175

You understand that Maul would not lay his mark lightly but you cannot ignore the tracks that lead clearly into the south. These are fresh, no more than two hours old, and you are going to follow them. With Glydenhaal taking the lead you run southwards, the plains a broad and open vista as you follow the trail. In the clear, cool air you keep your head down, watching for any sign of the Living Book or clue as to the purpose of the Hresh.

In truth it has surprised you that following the attack upon your hunting party that the Hresh did not make straight eastwards for the border, and from there out of the reach of your Father. To find yourself now moving into the south is a strange outcome in the course of a tragic day, and as you think of your brother Ahmetsen, your resolve to kill them all grows firmer. It is with Sonnengren however, that you must answer the formal challenge. All the other Hresh are simply going to be those that stood in your way.

An hour passes on the plains before the trail veers more to the east before once again turning southwards. It is Glydenhaal that pulls you to a stop, pointing to the west. You follow his direction and find a large congregation of crows in the air to the north-west, and the larger forms of Kreel circling to the south-west. Both groups are a considerable distance away.

"What do you think it is they seek?" you ask.

"It will be something dead, Tuan. They are all scavengers when times are hard, and to have so many now flocking they must have found something big."

Whatever it is they have found lies too far to the west to investigate, your brother's notice of it no more than curiosity. Turning again to the south you continue to run, the tracks still clear and reaching far across the isolated and lonely plains. With the trail set before you there is little to do but measure your pace, keeping to a rhythm that you know will slowly overtake the Hresh no matter how far ahead they may be.

It is as you are climbing a shallow rise that you stumble upon the first of a number of dead Hresh. Bloodied and spoiled of their equipment you find three of the warriors lying in a thick patch of mosses, as if they had been hastily thrown there to hide them from any cursory observation. You notice them only because of a single crow that flutters out of the moss patch as you pass, drawing your attention and leading you to the bodies.

Quickly you search the Hresh for any clue to their origin. They are all shadi and there is little that can be drawn from them. It is the manner of their deaths however, that proves most curious. Two of the warriors have been bludgeoned with a hammer, the other of their number lying with its throat cut.

"What do you make of this, Brother? It seems two different weapons have been used here."

Glydenhaal takes the time to survey the ground at the edge of the moss patch before replying.

"All of the Hresh were killed at the edges of the trail we have been following, but there were two attackers, one Jotun, the other Hresh. A Jotun would not kill with a knife and I have found the smaller prints of a Hresh not wearing footwear to the west. It is a strange combination but a truth nonetheless."

"Could this be Maul and the Book?" you ask, your hope that the Old Hresh might still be alive.

"I cannot say, Tuan. The Jotun who threw these bodies into the mosses must have been large, for the distance they were tossed is considerable. None of us can doubt that Maul is formidable, but there really isn't anything here to identify either."

Walking out of the thick mosses and back towards the trail you consider the possibility that the Living Book is still alive. During your audience with the Book you gained the impression that regardless of his age he was a warrior still, and that he knew more about the intentions of the Clavern'sigh than he was prepared to tell you. It would be an advantage in this challenge to your honour if he was an ally.

Again you return to the trail and run southwards. A further hour passes before you must again come to a halt the tracks left by your quarry parting, a main group veering more to the south-west, a small party breaking off and heading into the south-east. You can see from the crushed mosses around you that the Hresh all came to a halt here before moving off in their separate directions. There is no real indication of which trail will prove the best to follow, although the larger group of warriors will be more likely to have Sonnengren amongst its number.

Will you continue to follow the tracks into the south-west ? If this is your choice turn to section 192. If you would rather follow the new trail to the south-east turn to section 348.

176

The freezing water stabs at your arms and legs as spears might strike in battle, the chilling liquid numbing your extremities as you make your way towards your brother.

"It is good that we have escaped the Oer'daaki, Tuan." Glydenhaal gasps in the darkness. "But it would appear that we have exchanged one quick death for the pleasures of a much slower one."

You smile at your brother's attempt at humour but you have no intention of dying here. Taking the Lightstone you intone its name and hold it in the water before you. As a gathering dawn the sharyah glimmers then bursts into life again, flooding the cistern in a blue light that reaches far into the depths of the cistern. Immediately you see large shapes circling in the water at the edges of the Lightstone's reach, their sinuous forms immense and threatening in the shadowed light. As you watch you see one of the forms detach itself from the others begin to ascend towards you.

Quickly you look to your brother but he has seen the shapes himself and is already moving, edging the cistern as he makes for a possible exit. It is not much, no more than a drainage tunnel carved into the cistern's wall about a metre above the level of the water, however it is large enough to allow the passage of a Jotun and you follow your brother's lead, swimming for it as fast as you can.

Glydenhaal is first into the tunnel, followed closely by yourself. As you struggle out of the water you can feel its level changing as if something huge is moving beneath you. It is enough of an impetus to struggle all the faster, only managing to pull yourself out of the chamber as a huge serpent-like shape reaches out of the dark liquid, then dives back into the cistern's cold depths.

"Well, what do you make of that, Tuan?" Glydenhaal asks as he helps haul you further into the tunnel.

You look back at the cistern, now nothing but a dark hole at the end of this new exit and are thankful that you did not remain there. The creature that lurks within is a Weddig, a freshwater serpent not seen in the wider world for many hundreds of years and a great curiosity to those who have an interest in them. Like many things you have seen of late you remind yourself that you must let Shan'dari know. He would enjoy the challenge of finding it again and studying it.

In your hands the Lightstone burns brightly, its power warming the stone about you as you pull your pack from your back and empty its contents over the floor. In a gush of water and equipment your gear tumbles out onto the stone. Your brother does the same and within the light of the talisman you take stock of what you have lost.

(A quick survey tells you that every piece of food or ration you may have has been spoiled by the water, any torches you might have now unusable. Most of the remainder of your equipment remains sound, but if you have any packets of salt only one has survived unspoiled. Adjust your character sheet for these losses before continuing.)

Glydenhaal looks at what remains of his pack and pushes the spoiled items to the side of the tunnel before repacking all that remains usable.

"We have lost much here, Tuan." he says grimly.

"Yes Brother," you reply, "but we are still alive, and the Fates will provide for us if it is their will to do so. "

"And what if they do not, Tuan?" Glydenhaal rejoins.

"Then we shall take all that we need from the Hresh we are going to kill." you answer. "I am sure that they will not be needing anything where they will be going."

Glydenhaal smiles and nods his agreement then waits as you move ahead. The Lightstone shines along the tunnel as you make your way southwards.

Turn to section 189.

177

The combat is swift and bloody. The shadim fight hard but they are no match for the power and reach of your hammer. At first the warriors maintain their distance, keeping at either side of their foe, testing your strength and speed. The first tries to move in, stabbing at your side but you block the blow, bringing the haft of your hammer across the side of his head and knocking him to the ground. The armoured warrior uses the distraction to lunge forward but you are too quick, your hammer swinging in a wide arc and collecting him in the chest with a crushing blow that buckles his breastplate. Quickly recovering the two Hresh again attack and in the continuing melee you kill them both, each feeling the blunt end of your weapon in a succession of hammering blows.

With bodies sprawled upon the bare earth you look to Glydenhaal and find him standing over the lifeless bodies of the other Hresh. You smile at the satisfied expression upon his face and then take a few moments to mark each with your name in their own blood. The nahj demands a proper accounting for each of these shadim and your brother does the same to his own kills.

"Will we make after the others, Tuan?" he asks breathlessly.

Struggling for breath yourself you consider what you should now do.

Will you give chase immediately after the other Hresh? If this is your choice turn to section 129. If you would rather search these dead warriors first, turn to section 161. If you would rather eat first before leaving tpesh'souref turn to section 200.

178

Supporting Emmentaal under his shoulders you move purposefully down the slope and into a wide area of thorn hedge that surrounds your camp. Through a series of animal trails you make your way south, the sky in the east beginning to lighten with the first glimmers of dawn. As you struggle with the weight of your brother Jerogin recounts in more detail the Oldemai's battle with the Hresh. In his retelling he confirms the Hresh crue's attack and then their retreat into the west. You cannot help but wonder as to why the Hresh did not persist in their assault and kill Jerogin, but there is much that has not yet been discovered of these warriors. Only time will bring with it the true measure of their intentions.

Upon the trails you advance quickly, sign of the movement of many warriors evident upon the soft mosses. When you finally emerge onto the open ground of your camp you find both destruction and death.

Turn to section 222.

179

180

181

182

183

Quickly you consider what you should do, and it becomes clear that there is advantage in not remaining too close to the Hresh for the moment. The numbers of warriors you have found changes how you must approach the nahj and provides a good reason to temper your anger with wisdom. A cool head will wait and pick off all of the shadim in turn, any other course of action only leading to your death and no satisfaction for the dishonour laid upon your brother. It is not a course of action you do not like but at this time necessary nonetheless

Upon the plains you make after the Hresh. From the undulating ground you follow the warriors, the terrain returning to a patchwork of flat ground and thick mosses. On this open ground you could easily catch up the distance and attack the warriors, but for the moment you remain at their rear, following them as they make a line directly to the north-east. For a Jotun it is an easy run but as you pursue the Hresh the weather begins to change, the dark overcast becoming a thickening mist that blankets the landscape and turns your pursuit into a slow hunt, one that keeps your eyes focused on the ground ahead as you follow the trail crushed into the mosses.

It is as you search the ground that you spy a discarded pile of clothing scattered upon the mosses ahead. They are familiar to you, although you cannot be completely sure where you have seen them before.

Will you stop and examine the clothing? If so, turn to section 256. If you have no time to waste on such a diversion and wish to move on, turn to section 295.

184

There is evidence that the Hresh halted here before moving on, but you can find no clear trail of where they have gone. For a short time you search the surrounding ground, the remnants of a camp evident in a number of hastily dug fire pits and the discarded wrappings of food rations. At the edge of one of the extinguished fires you find two rations of Nahla cake and one ration of dried Yunta meat. (You may take this food if you wish. Divide it between yourself and your brother then record your share on your character sheet.)

As you consider the dark line of the approaching storm you wonder at the unusual circumstances of the day. None of what has happened makes any sense and you can see in Glydenhaal's demeanour that he has the same thoughts. Why are there so many assassins? It is now plain that there are many groups of shadi crossing your Father's domain and by their very presence it is a provocative action for those who have sent them here. In truth you have no answers. The shadi should have just killed you outright, the blades of a few of their number striking in the shadows of the night. And why declare the nahj? A challenge of honour from warriors who have none? Such remain as questions that are yet to be uncovered.

The weather grows ever more threatening and there can no advantage in returning to the hunt until after the storm passes. Although it is an unacceptable delay it is also unavoidable. Turning to your brother you point towards tpesh'souref.

"We cannot remain on the plains unprotected, Brother. The closest tpesh is at souref and we will be hard pressed to make it there before the storm runs us down. It is prudent that we leave the trail, and pick it up again once the storm has moved southwards."

Glydenhaal nods and you set off for tpesh'souref. It is a larger settlement than most, being used for most of the year as a permanent base for Herders grazing the eastern Moss Plains. With the onset of the cold seasons it will now be deserted but the shelters will provide the sanctuary you seek. There is also a good chance that any Hresh in the area will also make for the tpesh as well. If that proves to be the case it will be a satisfactory bonus from the storm's approach.

As the suns of Emur slowly drop to the horizon you run, your passage across the plain an uninterrupted race as you keep ahead of the growing stormfront. In the last long shadows of daylight you find tpesh'souref within a depression between two low hills and discover, to your disappointment, that it is deserted. A quick search of the grouping of stone shelters show no sign of the Hresh but this cannot be your concern at this time. With the first slap of chilling rain upon your face you choose the closer of the tpesh and disappear into its dark interior. Glydenhaal jams the wooden door to the shelter closed as a deafening drumbeat of thunder rolls across the sky. The treachersa is coming.

Turn to section 282.

185

186

187

It takes time but the task is not beyond you. With what help your brother can provide you haul him out of the shaft and back into the world above. Helping him over the lip of the subsidence you fall backwards onto the mosses and try and recover your breath.

"Thank you Tuan," your brother wheezes as he also fights to find enough air to salve aching limbs and a strength that has deserted him. "It was indeed a big hole."

You laugh and agree. "It is truth Brother. I think however, that I shall leave you in the next one."

Once you have recovered your breath you rise and look to the north-east. The trail is defined upon the mosses, heading northwards in haste. Upon the wide plains you can see nothing of the Hresh however, although you know they are there. What is apparent though, is the first signs of another storm building in the north, and as you search for any sign as to where it might be going Glydenhaal comes to your side.

"Another storm, Tuan? Let us hope that Fate sends it to some other quarter of the plains."

You nod and motion in the direction of the trail. "Let us return to the hunt then. These Hresh have yet to give us the satisfaction we deserve."

Quickly you recoil your rope and move back onto the trail. With your brother now treading more carefully you both run after your prey, looking now for any sign of ambush or unstable ground.

Together you run, the day wearing on as you follow the clear path as it winds into the north-east and then veers further north. Overhead you begin to see a large number of Kreel silently gliding into the west, their flight an unhurried arc upon the shifting winds. No doubt they are returning from their hunt, eager to find shelter in the far western mountains before the coming storm hits the plains. You consider the uncomplicated nature of their existence and wonder as to whether the large reptiles hold any thought for the constraints and obligations of honour. Probably not you decide, for they are no more than beasts, but it is a thought that stays with you for some time.

Ahead the trail turns directly to the north and then angles for the eastern edges of the slowly emerging slopes of the Shalamai Hills. To your surprise the tracks make for the hills before disappearing onto their shallow rises. Doggedly you keep to the chase but as you emerge onto the plains beyond you come to a halt, your sense that these Hresh are playing with you, taking you on a chase without end. Glydenhaal stops and stands close.

"I think Tuan, that we are being toyed with. These shadim have no escape plan, they are running us in circles. It is becoming annoying."

You smile at Glydenhaal's forthright admission, but it is a truth. "I do not understand their purpose, Brother. I fear however, that there is a purpose nonetheless. If we must follow them then we shall do it diligently for there is always the chance that they are too sure of their success. Even the most careful of plans have their flaws, and I believe these Hresh have underestimated exactly how persistent we are going to be."

With the afternoon sky a ragged patchwork of wind-driven cloud you return to the chase, the tracks leaving the Shalamai and heading straight into the north. An hour from the Hills you come to a halt once again, the trail before you separating into two distinct paths. The larger of the groups has turned abruptly to the east, the lesser veering into the south-east and back towards the Moss Plains.

Which of these trails will you follow? If you wish to go east after the main group turn to section 130. If the south-east seems a better choice turn to section 224.

188

189

In the bright light of the sharyah'ka you move carefully along the drainage tunnel. It is cleanly cut into the stone, a work of considerable skill and labour that has suffered the effects of many long years of neglect. For a short distance it reaches southwards then turns abruptly to the east, and in this direction it runs more than four hundred metres before you find its end. What you discover is the threshold of a large chamber some fifteen metres in width, circular in form with a high vaulted ceiling. It is constructed as a water holding tank, smooth walls lining a large open space that must have once held a considerable amount of the precious liquid. Now it is empty and you see the reason as a large crack in the floor that extends across the length of the chamber and which opens into a chasm more than six metres wide. The only way out is a solid stone door that stands slightly ajar on the other side of the rift.

"We have to jump, don't we?" Glydenhaal asks.

You nod but look for another way forward. The walls are smooth, no handholds or purchase points evident that might provide a way over or around the gaping split in the floor. There is no way back, only starvation in this cold chamber your fate if you do not try and cross. Carefully you peer over the crumbling edge of the crack, holding the Lightstone out to gauge its depth and find only that the light from your talisman cannot reach its end. If you fall into this abyss you will die.

"Do you see any other way out, Brother?" you ask as you regain your feet.

Glydenhaal surveys the chamber for himself but can find no alternative. As you both stand in the cold chamber you sense also that there are other dangers here. A chilling breeze flows from the rift and in the confined space you can feel the cold finding its way through your clothing, your skin numbing at its touch. If you stay here too long you will succumb to its deadly embrace.

Quickly you divest yourself of all your equipment and throw it across the gap. A jump of six metres is not beyond one of your kind but it is a stretch nonetheless, and you can feel your limbs beginning to cramp in the chilled atmosphere. For a moment you hesitate, the prospect of a pointless death at the bottom of this nameless chasm an unwelcome end for any Jotun, but it is only a fleeting reticence. With all the strength you can bring to the task you run for the rift's edge.

Test your Strength attribute but take one point from your attribute to account for the effects of the cold. If you are successful turn to section 241. If you fail this test turn to section 163.

190

Standing in the passage you look to the way ahead and decide it will be best to use a far more effective light source. Glydenhaal's torch can only uncover what lies ahead for a short distance and even as you call your brother to a halt it appears to be faltering. Taking the sharyah'ka from around your neck you hold the talisman in front of you, careful to only hold the sharyah by its necklace. Such devices have been known to exhibit unusual characteristics and it is best to treat them with considerable respect.

Your brother keeps his torch alight but stands by your side as you whisper the one word that shall activate the talisman. As if aware that it is about to be brought to life the gem glimmers in the shadows, a tracery of power dancing about its surface as it waits. You hesitate for only a moment then utter the word.

:ka:

In the shadowed hall the Lightstone bursts into life, an intense glare erupting from the centre of the talisman and spreading down the corridor as if the walls themselves were alight. Along the northern passage the light grows brighter, exposing a long corridor and a small chamber beyond. Into the east you can see another arched entrance leading into the south and at the end of this eastern passage a junction with another major passageway running to the north and south as well.

"Well this is something I didn't expect." whispers Glydenhaal.

You nod your agreement but you have seen the power of these talismans before and know that you have not even touched upon its true potential. As you stand with the sharyah before you, the light stabilises and then fades to a more practical level. You are about to consider which of these corridors you should take when Glydenhaal grabs you by the arm.

"Tuan," he says softly, "look at the walls..."

You follow your brother's outstretched finger and see the first signs of something forming upon the glimmering stone surfaces ahead. At first it appears as no more than a soft blur upon the light thrown by the sharyah'ka but as it coalesces you discover that it is an image, one that flows outwards upon all the surfaces of the corridor, and it is moving.

Stepping back you steady yourself as an ancient tableau plays itself out before you. Like a reflection of lives long lost to time you see the shaded forms of a procession of figures moving along the walls, a ceremony of countless years being re-energised by the power of your talisman. Ahead and then around you there moves the memories and shadows of cloaked priests, making their way from the corridors ahead back towards the chamber from which you came. At their closest points the images are so clear that you can see the rich detail of their cloaks and smell the vague reminders of incense and sweat upon them. You notice most that none of the moving forms have faces, and from beneath hooded cowls all that emanates is a keenly felt sense of shame and regret.

"Who are these Beings?" asks Glydenhaal.

"I know not." you answer. "There is much of the Ancient World that we know nothing of Brother, and this procession of spirits must take its place amongst them. Let us find our way out of this place, and as quickly as we can."

Ahead lay clearly outlined the different corridors that lead from the passage. Although you cannot know where any of them might take you, the only thing that you can be sure of is the intensity of the vibration that grows ever more powerful as you move eastwards. With your hand upon the stone wall you can feel a pulse, a heartbeat of power that rushes through the rock in a pounding tremor. Whatever it might be it is somewhere ahead.

Where do you wish to go? Will you investigate the northern passage and the small chamber beyond? If this is your choice turn to section 174. If you would rather continue on and try the southern corridor turn to section 250. If it seems a better option to disregard these passages and instead make for the major junction ahead, turn to section 271.

191

192

The larger group seems the best option and you take to the trail at the run. In your thoughts you consider that if the Book is trailing the Hresh with Maul they will most likely have continued the hunt after the greater number of potential kills. If you are lucky you will find them both within the day.

Following the wide path of tracks you run into the south-west. Ahead you see a rise in the ground and know it as the weathered lip of an ancient crater, long eroded to a shallow depression and covered in a thick blanket of mosses. For many years it has served both herders and travellers as a shelter from high winds and unwelcome eyes, and as you approach you wonder if it might now serve as a resting place for the Hresh you seek. Looking to Glydenhaal you turn for the crater and then carefully ascend to its crest. What you find is not what you expect.

At the centre of the crater there are no Hresh taking their ease. What you find is a dead Yunta, its carcass no more than a rotting skeleton covered in pallid skin and green flesh. About its decaying form struggle five Kreel, all themselves emaciated and tearing at what remains of the beast. The flying reptiles are large, though feeling the effects of the lack of prey in the onset of the cold seasons. You watch as they push and snap at each other as they feed on the mammoth herbivore, pulling at the creature's remains, desperate in their need for food.

"We must back away from this carefully, Tuan." whispers Glydenhaal.

You agree. To disturb the Kreel will only bring yourself to their notice, and a hungry Kreel has no problem attacking even a Jotun. Five of them will tear you to pieces.

Carefully you withdraw to the base of the slope. If you are to continue after the Hresh you must circle the crater and take up the trail once again on its far side. About you the winds are growing stronger, but even in the bluster the Kreel will hear you if you make any significant sound. Test your Luck attribute. If you are lucky turn to section 239. If you are unlucky turn to section 122.

193

194

The nahj must be resolved quickly and you see no reason to delay it. Boldly you stand upon the crest of the slope and call out to the Hresh.

"Hresh'na, see me for I am Tansen, Favoured Son of Kraal Delving and aggrieved brother to Ahmetsen, Brother-Chief of the Jotuni. I see you Sonnengren, you coward. Stand and take the blow that will send you to Hallen'draal!"

It is a challenge befitting a blood feud but the response is unexpected. In the light of day the Hresh reply with jeers and insults, unwilling to meet you and your brother on open ground. Instead they disappear over the rise and are gone.

"Who are these Oera'dim?" Glydenhaal mutters to himself. "Surely they are Beings without honour. Do they not know the Code?"

You shake your head and do not answer. Without a word you run for the rise ahead and find the Hresh as a single unit running into the north-east. There is at least forty-five warriors in the crue, more than enough to kill you both if it was their intention. It would seem that the Hresh are following a plan, and it is one far greater in intent than simply killing you. You have no choice but to follow the crue and try and run them down. Together you make after the warriors.

Turn to section 165

195

Standing over Emmentaal you swear at the Hresh and cajole them to attack. The warriors however, stay beyond the reach of your hammer, carefully measuring what it is they are up against. It is a truth that a Jotun is an imposing creature, one who wields a weapon that can find flesh far beyond the range of most other handweapons, but they have their weaknesses nonetheless. Armed with scimitars the Hresh are outmatched, however they have the advantage of numbers and you cannot move from Emmentaal's side without exposing him to a quick and ruthless death. It proves a brutal and bloody contest.

From three sides the warriors test your defences, moving constantly to find a way beneath your hammer and slowly wear you down. The first Hresh to fall tries to stab low at your legs but finds instead the blunt end of your warhammer, the side of his head crushed as he falls to ground. The second is luckier, finding your flesh with its blade before being lifted from the ground and thrown as a vehmin's doll to the side, its chest and neck broken. For the third you must leave Emmentaal momentarily, the full brunt of your hammer swinging down upon its head and driving it into the earth. You hit it twice more to ensure its death before turning towards Emmentaal.

Your brother is safe but the battle is not yet over. Upon the ground is strewn the bodies of nine warriors, the remaining three now making for the northern edge of the slope. As one yourself and your fellow Jotun rush to bring them down but the nearest of the Hresh pulls a small metal device from his belt and throws it into the air. You recognise it immediately as a flashcharge.

"Cover your ears!" you yell as you dive for the moss covered earth.

Instinctively the other Jotun fall to ground as the charge explodes, a detonation of light and deafening sound shuddering against the hillside. In a plume of whistling shrapnel and acrid smoke the device does its work. Stunned by the proximity of the explosion it takes time for you to regain your feet. In the quiet that follows you search for Glydenhaal and find him standing over Jerogin. The Oldemai has been knocked unconscious by the charge and it is only as you try and lift him from the ground that he begins to wake up.

"Where are the Hresh?" you whisper to your brother.

"They are gone, Tuan." he replies. "The flashcharge was used as a means of escape and they are nowhere to be seen. I have no doubt they are close but they are using the hills to keep out of sight."

After shaking Jerogin awake you run for Emmentaal and kneel beside your brother. He is wounded though there is a good chance he will survive. Calling to Glydenhaal you begin stemming the blood that flows from deep cuts to his arms and abdomen. You do what you can but he needs a Healer.

"We must keep moving Tuan." Glydenhaal says as you tear bandages from one of the dead Hresh's uniforms.

"These Hresh have been turned aside but there are more of them in the Hills. If we are to survive this attack we must make it to our camp and get the equipment we need."

You know Glydenhaal is right, the scimitars of the Hresh and your hunting spears are poor weapons for the others if you are attacked again. With luck Ahmetsen and Maul will have found their way there as well.

After having tended Emmentaal you turn to Jerogin. "What has happened here? Where is Ahmetsen and where is your guard?"

Jerogin does not answer immediately. Instead he stands silent, listening to the wind. "I cannot say where Ahmetsen is. I came into the battle with Emmentaal fighting alone, already wounded as I chased down these Hresh here. Myself and Maul were attacked at the northern edge of our hunt, at least a dozen of these dungpiles ambushing us. I can only think their hearts were not in the attack though, the crue retreated then divided into two groups, one running south, the other eastwards. I followed these Hresh, Maul went after the others."

You listen as Jerogin details all that transpired since the beginning of the hunt. There is little that makes sense in his account of the Hresh's behaviour. A crue of warriors does not just break off an attack. There is always a reason for their actions, a plan that they follow to the last exhalation of their breath.

"And what of Maul?" Glydenhaal asks.

"I do not know where he is. I last saw him running over the hills in pursuit of the other group."

Your brother turns to you and picks up his hunting spear. "We cannot remain here. What is your wish Tuan?"

Getting Emmentaal back to camp should be your first concern but there is a mystery here. Who these Hresh are, and the manner of their attack is something on which you have your suspicions, for indeed the Living Book gave you a good reason that the shadim of the Clavern'sigh might come after you. There is just as much chance however, that these Hresh are rohnan, nothing more than warriors exiled from their Kraals and living a life of dishonour as bandits. No Oera'dim places much store in coincidence however, and there is evidence here that could prove useful. First though, Glydenhaal's question must be answered.

Do you wish to search the surrounding ground quickly to see if there is any sign of Maul? If this is your choice turn to section 211. If you would instead search the bodies of the dead Hresh for clues to their identity turn to section 273. If you would rather take Emmentaal and make for your camp, turn to section 123.

196

Carefully you follow the line of a series of shallow rises to the north, keeping to the low ground as you negotiate a path closer to the Hresh. When you find a vantage from which you can survey the warriors their true number becomes clear. More than forty of the shadim have come together, a number of officers talking in earnest with the General as you watch. It seems that they are waiting for someone, but for who must remain unknown. In the growing light of the day a call of alarm rings out across the mosses. A shout from a sentry hidden upon some high ground behind you alerts the crue to your presence and the response is immediate. Before the echoing call fades the Hresh form an offensive line, but to your surprise they do not attack.

With nothing to lose you stand and call a challenge, your words loud and clear in the morning air.

"Hresh'na, see me for I am Tansen'Delving, Favoured Son of Kraal Delving and aggrieved brother to Ahmetsen, Brother-Chief of the Jotuni. I see you Sonnengren, you coward. Stand and take the blow that will send you to Hallen'draal!"

To your earnest challenge the Hresh respond with jeers and insults, profaning your Kraal and your bloodline but unwilling to meet you and your brother on open ground. Instead they turn about and disappear over a rise at their backs. Within seconds they are gone.

"Who are these Oera'dim?" Glydenhaal mutters to himself. "They are Beings without honour. Do they not know the Code?"

You shake your head and do not answer. Appalled by the lack of attention given to your challenge you hesitate, but is only for a moment. Without a word you run for the rise and find the Hresh as a single unit running into the north-east. There is at least forty-five warriors in the crue, more than enough to kill you both if it had been their intention. It would seem that the Hresh are following a plan, and it is one of greater purpose than simply killing you. You have no choice but to follow the crue and try and run them down. Glydenhaal has already begun to give chase.

"Come Tuan, let us run down these squealing pigs and make them eat their words."

Under a sky that remains grey and misted you make after the warriors.

Turn to section 165.

197

Although it is an abandoned tpesh it is the closest shelter you can think of. Only for a moment do you consider searching any of the outcrops and rockpiles for a possible sanctuary, the treachersa is something that should not be endured anywhere but within the safety of a strong tpesh.

Glydenhaal takes the lead, for he has travelled these grounds and knows of the tpesh you seek. At the run you move quickly into the west, following the line of a shallow series of hills as you search out the old shelter. At your back right shoulder the storm tremors in its approach, the last light of evening smothered by a roiling stormfront of arcing lightning and driving cloud.

Luck is with you in that you began your run for the shelter further to the west than where you thought you were. With the first slaps of an ice cold rain hitting your shoulders you find the dilapidated structure nestled within the saddle of two hills, and make for it without hesitation. What you find leaves you searching for another alternative.

Before you the tpesh is a low, domed structure, perfectly designed to withstand the forces of any storm but one that has fallen victim to long neglect and the effects of one too many storms. Fully half of its circular roof has fallen in, the remainder still intact but covered by moss growths and a tracery of clinging vines. It is not safe.

"We cannot shelter here Tuan. The whole thing is likely to fall in on itself."

"Do we have a choice, Brother?" you shout in reply. "I would rather we have this stone between ourselves and the storm than nothing at all."

To highlight your words a massive blast of lightning hits the ground no more than one hundred metres from where you stand. In a rumbling detonation of sound a thunderclap rolls across the plain in reply, sending a tremoring shudder through the hills. Before your brother can answer the storm hits, a torrential downpour of rain blanketing the ground as a squall line of wind and pitch-black cloud rides over the plain like a stampede. You now have no time to do anything except take cover.

Climbing into the broken shelter you find a place with your brother under the only remaining section of roof. Crouching upon a shelf of stone that would have otherwise been used for seating you take your travel cloaks and cover yourself as best you can. In this manner you wait for the true power of the treachersa to unveil itself.

In a crashing volley of lightning and thunder the storm rises, a thrashing gale tearing moss from its purchase upon the plain and sending it swirling in tight vortices out of sight. In the only light that remains you can see the underside of the clouds, black and heavy with rain and hail, waiting to unload all their energy upon the unprotected land below. Tightening yourself further into the covered area of the tpesh you know that what is to come, and in a rumbling torrent of ice and wind it hits as a hammer might upon the bare earth.

From the north there arises a wall of hail that lashes the ground, filling the centre of the tpesh with ice, blanketing the ground surrounding your meagre shelter as it vents its fury. Propelled by gale force winds the hail finds its way into every corner of the tpesh, flailing at your cloaks and saturating everything you carry with you. Unable to do anything but endure the swirling ice you huddle as close to the stone walls as you can and wait for the storm to pass.

But there is something different and you sense it keenly as the storm builds in strength. Within the rip and tear of the winds you begin to feel a presence, something intertwined with the energy of the treachersa but unnatural. Only when you feel the wind direction change and the tpesh gives you a small measure of cover do you peer out into the storm and it is then that you see them.

It is when they are done that they turn their attention to your tpesh. Advancing upon your shelter the creatures have only one intention and you feel it like a burn upon your skin. Whilst the storm lasts they are going to try and kill you.

It is Glydenhaal that rises first to the challenge, yourself upon his heels as you take up your hammer and find open ground at the edge of the tpesh. About you the creatures close in and standing in the driving rain you strike out at the first that comes within reach. To your dismay your hammer passes cleanly through the Being, its incorporeal form no more than smoke about your iron bludgeon.

There is no weapon at hand that can harm these spectral forms. They exist both in your world and outside of it, your hammer ineffective as you swing at each of the Beings as they approach. If you have a Flashcharge in your possession turn to section 467. If you do not turn to section 386.

198

It is an old saying of the Traebor Jotun that one enemy in sight is worth more than any number of tracks on the ground, and as you watch the dark figure disappear over the hill you have to agree. Immediately you turn on your heels and run for the outcrop, your hope that you can chase down this shadowed figure and determine his purpose in the lands of your father. You make for the fractured shafts of stone to find a set of clear tracks at its base, leading over the crest of the hill beyond and down into a narrow defile that runs deep into the Shalamai.

Increasing your pace you follow the creature's tracks, the trail running westwards into a progression of bramble covered gullies. Within these tangles you keep hard upon the heels of your quarry until they come to a dead end upon a wide area of stony ground. At each side of this hard earth you search for new tracks and find nothing, your prey nowhere to be seen. Cursing its ancestors you turn to Glydenhaal, but he has returned to the edges of the barren rock and is studying one of the bootprints.

"What is it Brother?" you ask as you try and catch your breath.

"It is the size of the boot, Tuan. We have been chasing another Jotun, although I can say for sure that what we saw on the hillside was no kin of ours. How could it be that one of our own would not rush to join with us on this hunt? Why keep to the shadows?"

You look at the print, clearly crushed into a thin bed of struggling mosses and you cannot doubt that it was made by one of your own kind. Looking around you can sense that there are eyes upon you, though under this untroubled sky you can see nothing.

"Come Brother," you say quietly. "Let us return to the chase. Whoever may be following us will no doubt return to the task once he sees we have given up our pursuit. This is one mystery we will have to resolve another time."

Glydenhaal rises and together you make your way back along the ravine and then to the crest of the hill. From this vantage you survey the plains below and find nothing moving but a scattered herd of Yunta to the north.

"Is there a chance that the Jotun we pursued was Maul?" Glydenhaal asks.

"I cannot say," you reply. "Why he would hide himself from us escapes my understanding of our kind. I can only say that if I find it was him I will kill him myself. Come, let us find these Hresh."

Together you make your way back to the plain and then intersect with the trail. With your brother close you follow the tracks as they take a path first northwards and then again into the east. You can see nothing of the Hresh, but the crushed ground that serves as the trail tells you something of those that have made it. At one point you stop and consider a small piece of cloth that has fallen from a warrior's clothing. It is torn and faded but it is a colour patch from one of the far eastern Kraals, possibly the Tomsk. The Hresh who dropped it probably had kept it as a reminder of his days as an honourable soldier, or more likely as a trophy of an important kill. Either way he was one of a large number of warriors, moving through the mosses without regard for the damage they are leaving in their wake.

"These Hresh have no interest in remaining hidden, Tuan." Glydenhaal says as he waits at your side. "They leave a trail that tells us exactly where they are going."

You have to agree, but what it means is not yet clear. Without another word you return to the chase. Upon the open plain you pursue the shadim, keeping to the trail but as a precaution you run with your brother a good twenty metres to the north. If there was to be an ambush on this open ground it would be difficult for the Hresh to take both of you down at the same time, and spread in this fashion you also be able to identify any tracks that might lead from the main crue out onto the plains.

At the run you head into the east and by mid-afternoon the trail leads into the shadows of a large upthrust of stone that rises out of the plain ahead. It is a keln that towers more than thirty metres into the air above you, a huge piece of solid rock punched into the earth as if it has been thrown from a great distance. At its base you find the site of a large camp, though nothing remains except the cleared ground of a bivouac and a circle of holes that would have held the supports for a command tent. It would appear that you have found the Hreshs' base-camp but you have arrived too late, they have gone.

"How many?" you ask of your brother.

He considers the size of the cleared ground and replies. "At least sixty warriors,Tuan. With a command tent and support staff this must have been the base for their assault upon us. It would appear that they must have struck their tents within hours of their attack failing."

You look at the amount of effort that would have been taken to bring such a large crue into your Father's lands and wonder at why it didn't succeed. It was not the nature of the Hresh to fail, and certainly not without pressing their attack to the death of every last one of their number. None of this was making any sense. When you look to your brother you can see that Glydenhaal has had the same thoughts.

"What do you make of it Brother?" you ask as you search the horizon about you.

"I can see no purpose here, Tuan. The Hresh are operating to a plan that eludes me, their actions inconsistent with any of their kind that I have met before. It is not their nature to be so...unpredictable."

"Are there any more tracks?" you reply.

"So far I have found two sets. One small group leads eastwards towards tpesh'maale, another larger trail leads south back towards the eastern edge of the Shalamai Hills. They have split their forces and it can only be to make themselves a less noticeable target as they run for the borders."

You know that on the open plain you can run the Hresh to ground, but a decision must be made.

Will you follow the smaller group eastwards? If this is to be your course turn to section 127. If you would rather pursue the larger group to the south turn to section 173. If you would like to take the time to search the remains of the camp first, turn to section 204.

199

With the Word of Aggeron prickling like a new burn upon your forearm you stand and look about the depression. At first you can see nothing but as you search more closely you discover a small bag lying discarded. Calling to Glydenhaal you pour its contents onto the ground and find a small collection of items that could prove useful. From the bag you find four Nahla cakes, a knife, a ball of twine, a small piece of mirrored glass and a shard of Yunta bone carved as a bone needle. (If you would like to take any of these items record them on your character sheet before continuing.)

For a moment you consider what you have found but there is nothing upon the ground that could cause the uncomfortable sensation you have just experienced. You move back to search the Jotun's body with greater care, but as you do so the wind suddenly dies, its blustering energy muted. Turning to your brother you feel the change in the air as the direction of the wind shifts, the chill air from the north veering to the north-west and carrying upon its growing flurry a far deeper cold.

"Do you feel it Brother?" you yell to Glydenhaal.

Glydenhaal nods and scans the horizon. "The treachersa comes, Tuan. If we are to find shelter we cannot linger any longer here. Let us bury these bodies and be on our way."

With as much respect as your haste can allow you lay the Jotun into their shallow graves and watch as Glydenhaal erects a small cairn of stones to mark the gravesite. At the onset of the warmer season these Jotun will be found by their fellow nimirim and given the rites they deserve. For the moment however, you can do no more.

In the hours that are left in the day you run southwards, your need to find the Hresh now tempered by the greater threat of the storm that grows in the north. Upon the plains there is nothing more dangerous than the treachersa, the storms of the world that grow like rising waves on the open ocean to fall hard upon any Being who might stand unprotected before them. It is a truth of the plains that even honour must stand aside in the face of the treachersa.

By late afternoon you make the crest of a low rise and find tpesh'souref standing upon a piece of cleared ground between two hills ahead. Unlike tpesh'shalamai it is a sprawl of domed shelters, cattleyards and drinking ponds, all organised for the yarding and housing of Yunta and their Herders. A thin line of smoke rises from one of the shelters but you can see no movement. It appears deserted.

"What do you think, Brother?" you whisper to Glydenhaal.

Your brother surveys the tpesh but it is a low rumble of thunder at your back that causes him to turn instead to the north. "I think Tuan," he replies, "that we should look to our own shelter quickly. The treachersa comes and it warns us of its approach."

Looking to the north you see the thick line of a stormfront rushing across the plains towards you. As a wall of roiling cloud founded upon a dark veil of rain, the storm arcs huge bursts of lightning as it approaches, sending peeling drumbeats of thunder that tremor through the air with their power. Your need to find the Hresh will have to wait.

What will you do. The tpesh seems deserted but without a search you cannot be sure. Will you make for one of the shelters anyway and wait out the storm? If this is your choice turn to section 299. If you are not so sure that the tpesh is deserted and would rather take your chances in the open, turn to section 245.

200

Deliberately you take the time to eat, your mind now set to what you expect is going to be a long and violent day. With the bodies of the dead scattered about the tpesh you know these will not be the last, and you cannot help wondering if any number of dead shadim will be an adequate measure for the loss of your brother. With the exertion of the battle still pounding at your temples you consider that you do not care. When all but one of these warriors are dead you will take the last of their number and find out who sent them. Then their masters will also know the fierce vengeance that will be visited upon them.

As the shadows of the clouded dawn give way to the first hints of day you eat a meal and prepare yourself for the hunt. As you place what you have in your pack Glydenhaal makes for the edge of tpesh'souref and surveys the plain to the east. The trail is clear, a line of bootprints leading directly eastwards. It is time to move on.

Return six endurance to your character if you have eaten Nahla cake, or four points if you have eaten any other ration or foodstuff, then turn to section 129.

201

This is a great treasure that you have found, but one that you cannot take. It is likely that the sharyah'ka had been entrusted to the Jotun and as such must remain with him. Carefully you replace the talisman within its envelope and secret it back into its hiding place. With your brother's help you lay the Jotun into their shallow graves and cover them with earth.

As you watch Glydenhaal uses the stones he has collected to build a tall cairn. In the wide expanse of the Moss Plains the tower of stones will serve as a marker, one that can be used by the Jotuns' fellow nimirim to find them. It is all you can do for them, and when it is done you turn to the south and the direction of tpesh'souref.

"We will make the tpesh by nightfall and it will not be soon enough." you muse quietly.

At your back a line of dark cloud edges the northern horizon. It is a storm and it is gathering strength. Burying the Herders has taken time and as you collect your gear you see Glydenhaal searching the northern horizon. The wind has changed and from its new direction you can feel a deeper cold, and the smell of lightning.

"Come Brother. If we are lucky we will make shelter before the sky opens up and does its best to kill us."

With Glydenhaal at your side you leave the fallen Jotun and begin to run again, but now you are the one being pursued. Overhead the first trails of high cloud are gleaming white harbingers for the treachersa to come, and in its rapidly approaching face you run across the mosses all the faster.

Turn to section 282.

202

The Kreel has no fear, its hunger compelling it to attack. As it closes you gauge its power and see that it, like its brethren, has felt the effects of a lean feeding season. Towering over you the reptile is a formidable predator, its claws long and razor-sharp, its jaws a nightmare of dagger-like teeth. Upon open ground however, it appears an ungainly beast, more suited to the air than hard earth, and when you come together it begins with the impact of hammer on cold flesh.

Bringing your warhammer down upon the beast's extended forearm you hear a bone snap, the Kreel recoiling in pain at the unexpected strike. In desperation the reptile swings its broad wing around, sweeping your legs out from under you and throwing you to the ground. Rolling back to your feet you regain your hammer and stand fast, waiting for an opportunity to do a greater damage to your foe.

The battle is hard, the Kreel a sinuous and resilient opponent. More than once you strike out at the beast, only to find cool air and little more. The lizard however, has your measure, its size and keenly edged claws slowly wearing you down, cutting at your body until in an unguarded moment the beast strikes hard.

Lunging forward the Kreel rips its remaining claw downwards through your chest. Unable to block the blow you feel your flesh tear, blood welling from a wound you will not be able to survive. Staggering backwards you take one final swing at the creature but it is to no avail, the damage is done. Falling onto both knees you can feel your lifeblood draining away onto the cold mosses and as oblivion rushes up to greet you, there is only the consolation that such a death will give you admission to the Gates of Hallen'draal. In this life however, your nahj is over.

THE END

203

"We will take this passage, Brother. Can you feel the breeze? There must be an exit to the world above and it must be open for the air to move so freely."

Glydenhaal sniffs the air and agrees. "It is clean and cool, Tuan. If we are lucky we will be out of here very soon."

The movement of air is an indication of a way out that is too strong to ignore. With Glydenhaal at your side you step into the dark corridor and carefully move forward, following the passage as it reaches southwards into the stone. For a short time you advance, the passage filled with the smell of damp earth and growing stronger as you make your way southwards. Abruptly the corridor opens into a large circular chamber, overgrown with vines and thick woody roots that have forced their way between the stone blocks that line the walls.

Emerging into this larger space you survey what you have found and find the source of the odour. Above you the chamber rises into a vaulted ceiling, a long slit of open sky peering through a cascade of vines that hang from an oblong shaped opening at its apex. From this opening a multitude of creeping vines spread out across the walls, having taken hold of the crumbling stone and finding a solid purchase between its weathered cracks. With sunlight beaming through the slit overhead you see the chamber has only one other exit, another arch to the south. Moss covers the floor in a patchwork of green and as you look to your brother you appreciate the unexpected beauty in what you have found.

"Well we know where the breeze comes from." Glydenhaal says as he points to the opening above. "It gives us no joy though, for there is no way out to the surface here."

You nod your agreement but it is no dead-end either, your intention to take the southern exit and uncover a way to the world above. For a moment however, you take the time to look about the chamber and find nothing except your brother and the profusion of green, but as you pause you see something move at the corner of your eye.

Before you can shout a warning a thick root whips from the walls at your left and takes a firm hold upon the leg of Glydenhaal. Yelling in pain he grabs at the writhing tendril as another lunges forward, barely missing his neck. Too late you realise the danger you have placed yourself before. There is something else in the space with you and it will be almost impossible to kill.

"Oer'daaki!" your brother shouts as he struggles to remove the root that has taken a purchase upon his leg. About you the floor begins to writhe with movement as more of the murderous vines slither towards yourself and your brother. You have stumbled into an Oer'daaki pit.

One of the roots grabs at your ankle and you heave it from the ground, snapping its prehensile tendrils and sending a shiver of pain through the entire chamber. In response the Oer'daaki vines lash out, finding a grasp upon your legs and torso. Struggling against the immense strength the plants can exert you tear one of your legs free, only to watch as Glydenhaal falls to ground, more of the vines advancing upon him. Out of the melee of lunging vinery your brother rises once again, his free hand grabbing at the hilt of a scimitar he has brought with him. Before he falls once again he throws it towards you, then disappears beneath a blanket of seething roots.

Taking up the blade you lash out at the vines that have hold upon you. Razor-sharp iron slices through the grasping tendrils, severing roots and spattering green oozing sap in all directions. In a shudder of pain some of the roots retreat but others advance, moving forward in a seething wave that wishes to overwhelm you as it has your brother. Lashing out again, more of the plants fall to ground but you know it is a battle you cannot possibly hope to win, the entire chamber coming to life in a seething mass. Your only chance must be to free your brother and get out as quickly as possible.

Before you can move the ground erupts in a pulsing tangle of vines, the plants twisting into one large writhing limb that lunges forward. If you are to save your brother you must deal with this Oer'daaki first.

With only a scimitar in hand you stand your ground and face the monstrous plant creature. Your opponent has a combat value of 18 and an endurance of 60. If you survive six combat rounds turn to section 158. If you fall to the vines before completing these rounds turn to section 218.

204

You consider which way to go but realise that there is something unusual here, an inconsistency in the nature of this camp that requires further investigation. With Glydenhaal you search the bare ground at the camp's centre and the mosses that surround it. At a first glance the area of trodden ground could be as much a sheltering place for wild Yunta as it might be an encampment for the Sigh's assassins. However, as you study the ground more carefully you begin to wonder at how the bivouac has been laid out.

The shadim rely on stealth to make their kills and escape back to the Clavern'sigh. As ghosts in the night they enforce the wishes of the Mutan and ensure that those who do not obey the Word of Command are dealt with efficiently. The camp however, does not reflect the shadim's need for anonymity. Rather than being a tightly grouped collection of tents that present the smallest possible opportunity for notice this bivouac is arrayed in long spread out lines, as would be the want of warriors of the Hresh Kraals of the East. This camp was laid out by disciplined soldiers not assassins.

"What do you make of this campsite, Brother?" you ask.

Glydenhaal has also noticed the inconsistency and has found something else.

"I see it as you do, Tuan. This however, narrows the possibilities of who has rested here."

In your brother's hand is a small length of torn fabric, no more than a few fibres thick but substantial enough to see that it has been dyed orange. It is a part of the colour patch of a Hresh warrior of the Tomsk Kraal, thoughtlessly frayed and torn away and found stamped into the soft earth.

Quickly you search the ground and find two more pieces of cloth spread about the trodden earth. It is enough to tell you that there had been more than just the shadim here.

"We have a conspiracy within our borders, Tuan." Glydenhaal continues. "We were attacked by shadim, but the Tomsk are involved somehow as well. We have not yet seen them but they are here nonetheless."

You nod and consider the two trails that reach out before you. "Let us go find them then."

Which of the trails will you follow? If you wish to go south turn to section 173. If you would rather go east, turn to section 127.

205

You have your suspicions but you can see no benefit in telling your fellow Jotun all that you have been told by the Living Book. You can see however, that Glydenhaal has taken the measure of the dead Hresh and has made up his own mind as to who they might be. In answer to Jerogin's question you decide to appear undecided.

"It matters little at this time what the motivations of these warriors might be, Jerogin. They mean us ill and that requires we do all we can to ensure they are not successful. Come brothers, let us get Emmentaal back to camp and then we can look to the challenge of placing the heads of all these Hresh upon the walls of Kraal Delving."

Motioning to your brother you move to pick up Emmentaal.

Turn to section 123.

206

The Lightstone shines brightly in your hand, the chamber fully illuminated as you consider the haphazardly artificed rows of text. For a moment you stand in the room's only entrance and consider what you have found. There is no other exit, the room small and unremarkable except for the words that cover all the walls, ceiling and floor. You are about to turn back to the passage behind, when you notice the stone itself beginning to change.

"Brother," you whisper sharply to Glydenhaal, "Look to the far wall and tell me what you see."

Your brother stares at the stone ahead and as you both concentrate on its glimmering surface the entire room begins to change, the walls fading to a thin veil of mist that evaporates to reveal a vast subterranean landscape beyond. You turn to your brother and see that he also sees the same as you. No longer are you standing in a small nondescript chamber.

Before you spreads an enormous underground cavern, its walls formed as immense vaults of arching stone. Like gigantic buttresses you see stone formed as trees reaching from the depths below and spreading outwards as huge branches into the ceiling overhead. Bathed in a rushing blue light you see a waterfall, its blue waters cascading from above into a deep pool of shimmering light which then flows outwards into tributaries that reach into the distance. All about you there is a deafening roar that assaults your hearing, and the myriad reflections of a swirling play of light within the waters that sends shards of incandescence echoing through the cavern. It is a vast expression of power and it assaults every one of your senses as you are held in its grasp.

Above it all however is a voice, a booming thunder of sound that mingles with the surging energy of the waters before becoming clear to your ears. It begins in the words of the Ancient World then changes, coalescing into a single sentence that is almost too painful to hear, though understandable nonetheless.

"To gaze upon the River of Life is to find death."

In a rush of heat and sound the voice gives its message then fades back into the swirling thunder of the falling waters. It is a blast of unrestrained energy that you cannot stand for long. Stepping back from the threshold the flowing landscape disappears, the chamber returning to a quiet state as you try and recover from the after effects of the vision that had been placed before you.

"By Gedhru's Lost Daughter, Tuan. What was that?"

You try and shake the ringing sensation from your ears and turn away from the chamber. Within the passage you recover some of your hearing before answering.

"I believe Brother, that we have seen the River of Life in all its power, the Light of our Creation as it must exist in the darkest reaches of our world. It is an honour that we must remember, and in good time pass on to our kin. More importantly however we have been given a warning, one that we should heed."

Glydenhaal looks to you and you can see that he understands. The power that runs through the stone about you is the same as that you felt in the vision. The Shan'duil is somewhere close and for an Oera'dim to find himself standing before its true face leads only to death, and the absolute erasure of a Being's lifespark that comes with dissolution.

Quickly you make your way back to the main passage and consider where you should now go. A short distance ahead is the southern archway, further down the corridor a junction with another hallway.

If you would like to take the southern exit turn to section 250. If you believe the junction further to the east is a better option turn to section 271.

207

208

The Eqkril moves towards you and does not hesitate in its assault. It is a huge creature, but a Jotun is a formidable opponent and you have no intention of succumbing to its attack. It is however, a bloody battle. With both claw and tail the beast strikes and against its fury you are forced back towards the edge of the camp. Your foe is a slithering monster, one whose speed and ferocity is matched only by its formidable strength. Standing your ground you look to Glydenhaal but he remains motionless and cannot help you. In this battle you are alone.

Striking out with your hammer you hear bone crack beneath the impact, the beast faltering in its attack, causing it to retreat back into the centre of the depression. Advancing upon it you bring your weapon down upon its head, however you can manage only a glancing blow against its shoulder before the Eqkril lunges forward once again. You react immediately, bringing your hammer down upon its front leg, the limb snapping beneath the impact. In a spasm of pain the beast recoils, but then lumbers awkwardly straight at you, hitting you squarely in the chest and sending you flailing backwards into the remains of the Mutan's tent. Desperately you try to recover your footing as the lizard follows up its charge, hitting you again before swinging its tail down upon you. In that moment you see your opportunity and take it. As a razor-sharp spike stabs into the ground beside your head you thrust the haft of your hammer deep into the Eqkril's open mouth, punching a hole straight into its brain. Staggering backwards the beast rears upon its hind legs and falls sideways, dead even as it hits the ground.

In the sudden quiet after the battle you lay on the cold mosses and consider how lucky you have just been. Trembling from the exertion of the fight you regain your breath and then raise yourself from the ground. The Eqkril lays still only a short distance from you but it is to your brother that you turn all your attention. Quickly you make for where he lays and find him rousing from unconsciousness, a deep gash across the back of his head still welling blood as he rises.

"Brother," you say. "Do not move and I shall tend the wound at your neck."

Glydenhaal remains still as you wet a piece of cloth and apply it to the injury. It proves mostly superficial although the force of the blow had been enough to render him unconscious. Your brother takes only so much of the attention before he pushes you away and tries to stand. It is then that he sees the Eqkril.

"Do you think you could have found one any bigger?" he says rubbing tentatively at his neck.

You look to the creature's lifeless body and laugh. "It is a truth, Brother," you reply, "that such beasts are not often encountered upon the Moss Plains and this one is somewhat larger than the usual."

Glydenhaal looks to you and pulls his knife from his belt. "And I have heard Tuan, that these Eqkril have good meat regardless of their sour dispositions."

As you recover your hammer from the Eqkril's mouth Glydenhaal butchers the body for as much meat as you can both carry.

(If you wish to take any of the meat from this beast record it on your character sheet. Each piece should be recorded as one ration and you will only be able to take as many rations as your maximum will allow. Each ration of Eqkril meat will restore four points to your endurance.)

When your brother is done he wraps each of the pieces of meat in papers that he has found at the campsite and gives to you as much as you can carry.

"What is our way forward, Tuan?" he asks as you prepare to move on. You look about the ruined camp and know that a Jotun warrior is operating upon your lands without the knowledge of your Kraal. Under other circumstances you would hunt this foreigner down and find an explanation but the nahj must remain your only concern. With luck, you think, this interloper may well prove useful. If he does not, then you will kill him.

"We will continue into the east. The trail will be easy enough to find and the Hresh will not be waiting for us. Let us go now."

Glydenhaal smiles and follows as you run eastwards.

Turn to section 276.

209

The Hresh are skilled warriors and they do not baulk at the power and reach of your warhammer. Upon the open ground the Hresh use their speed and the ageless experience of their kind to tear at you until you fall. More than once do you find unprotected flesh with your hammer but it is not enough to bring your enemies down. Cut and weakened you topple to the bare earth, unable to do anything but watch as the remaining warriors turn on your brother. When the end comes it is swift, your neck caught upon the sharp edge of an assassin's scimitar. In this life your quest is over, the nahj unfulfilled. It will now be to another life that you must look for better luck.

THE END

210

The cold claws at you, numbing your limbs and insinuating itself into damp clothing and sodden boots. In this cold tunnel you have no light and no food, any delay a sure path to an unlooked for death at the hands of exposure and starvation. You have no choice but to follow the drainage tunnel wherever it may take you.

Motioning to your brother you move forward, following the tunnel into the south. About you the stone is chilled but clear of debris, and as you move forward you can feel your arms and legs beginning to shake off some of the numbing ache left from your encounter with the cistern. Quickly you come to a turn, which then leads you some four hundred metres further to the east. At a stone threshold you find an opening into a larger space and it is here that you come to a halt.

What you discover as you stand quietly in its dark interior is a chamber some fifteen metres in width, circular in form and capped with a high vaulted ceiling. It is not altogether lightless however, a growth of luminescent algae hanging as a thin veil of glowing tendrils of light from the curved stone roof overhead. In this dim illumination you can discern little but it is enough to identify the nature of what you have found. The room is a water holding tank, smooth walls lining a large open space that must have once held a considerable amount of the precious liquid. Unlike the cistern you have just escaped this chamber had been built only for temporary storage, perhaps as an overflow vessel in times of heavy rain. Now it is empty and you see the reason as a large crack in the floor that extends across the length of the chamber and which opens into a chasm more than six metres wide. The only way out is a solid stone door that stands slightly ajar on the other side of the rift.

"We have to jump this, don't we?" Glydenhaal asks.

You nod but look for another way forward. The walls are smooth, no handholds or purchase points evident that might provide a way over or around the gaping split in the floor. There is no way back, only starvation in this cold chamber your fate if you do not try and cross. Carefully you peer over the crumbling edge of the crack and throw a small piece of broken masonry into its depths. For a moment you wait but you can hear no impact from below. If you fall into this abyss you will die.

"Do you see any other way out, Brother?" you ask as you regain your feet.

Glydenhaal surveys the chamber for himself but can find no alternative. As you both stand and consider the length that you must jump to cross the gaping cavity you sense also that there are other dangers here. A chilling breeze flows from the rift and in the confined space you can feel the cold finding its way through your clothing, your skin numbing at its touch. If you stay here too long you will succumb to its deadly embrace.

Quickly you divest yourself of all your equipment and throw it across the gap. A jump of six metres is not beyond one of your kind but it is a stretch nonetheless, and you can feel your limbs beginning to cramp again in the chilled atmosphere. For a moment you hesitate, the prospect of a pointless death at the bottom of this nameless chasm an unwelcome end for any Jotun, but it is only a fleeting reticence. With all the strength you can bring to the task you run for the rift's edge.

Test your Strength attribute but take two points from your attribute temporarily to account for the effect that the cold has had upon you. If you are successful turn to section 241. If you fail this test turn to section 163.

211

Looking to the north you make your decision. "It will do us well to determine what has happened to Maul before we make for camp. He may well be wounded and we cannot leave him behind. Jerogin, stay with Emmentaal."

With your brother stabilised you take Glydenhaal and run for a high ridge of ground to the north. Beyond the crest the northern reaches of the Shalamai Hills lay in darkness but there is enough moonlight to spy out most of the gently sloping ground. Maul is nowhere to be seen though against the smooth cover of mosses you can see tracks, both those of Hresh and the much larger trail of a Jotun following them to the north-east.

"We shall not be able to discover his fate, Tuan." says Glydenhaal. "Maul has followed the Hresh and could be a league distant by now. All we can say is that he has not fallen here, and that leaves open the hope that he is still alive."

You nod your head in agreement but you can find nothing that makes sense here. Maul is the largest and easily the most experienced of your group. As a personal guard to Jerogin he is dedicated to the safety of his charge. Why he would leave the Oldemai to fend for himself in lands unfamiliar is counter to the charter of his duty. It is a question however, that for the moment you decide to keep to yourself.

"You are right, Brother. We can do nothing to recover Maul at the moment. Let us tend instead to Emmentaal."

Together you run back to your brother and Jerogin. Emmentaal is still unconscious, Jerogin searching the bodies of the Hresh.

Do you wish to take Emmentaal back to camp? If this is your choice turn to section 123. If you can see a benefit in first searching the bodies of these Hresh yourself turn to section 273.

212

Quickly you secure the grapple and throw the rope down into the chamber below. Luckily there is enough length to hit ground and with no time to waste you lower yourself into the subsidence and then into the exposed shaft itself. Immediately you discover the fractured and unstable nature of the hole you have lowered yourself into. The walls of the shaft have no stone facings, and against the bare earth your struggle to find a way down begins to move the dirt and broken stone about you. Carefully you check your progress, choosing each step as you find only the most secure foot and handholds. It proves a slow and laborious descent but one that you make without collapsing the entire shaft in upon yourself.

When you reach the bottom Glydenhaal is waiting, a torch sputtering in his hand. Within its weak illumination you find yourself in a surprisingly large stone walled chamber from which there is only one exit, an arched doorway in its eastern wall. Looking about you can see no furnishing or decoration of any type except for a single carved relief that covers the northern wall. It is worn and covered in dead Oerdaaki roots, however you can discern that it is a representation of what looks like a vast waterfall, tumbling from a high plateau into a deep lake beneath. For a moment you ponder the skill of its artifice and then turn to survey with greater care the way out. The archway leads into a dark corridor that reaches into the east, but you notice most the deep rushing sound that tremors through the stone, the entire chamber vibrating to an unseen power that you know must be close. Glydenhaal looks at you and motions towards the door.

"Feel the tremor, Tuan? Have you ever felt anything like it?"

You can say truthfully that you have not, though the tattoo on your forearm is almost glowing with the energy of it. "I have not Brother, but our main concern must be finding a way out of this hole. Truly you have stumbled into an ancient delve. Our hope must be that the builders of this place had the need to return to the world above and for that purpose have provided an easy exit."

You turn to Glydenhaal and make sure that he is uninjured, then walk back to the centre of the chamber to retrieve your rope and grapple. There is little chance that you can safely climb your way out using this equipment. The shaft is too unstable to afford an easy ascent and if you are to breath fresh air again you will have to find another way. Instead you look to reclaiming your equipment. If you have positioned it correctly above, a sharp whip along the length of the rope should dislodge it and send both falling at your feet.

Test your Luck attribute. If you are successful turn to section 132. If you find your luck deserting you turn to section 251.

213

The trail leading into the north appears the most recent, and with no wish to move closer to Dahl'nemru you follow Glydenhaal as he returns immediately to the hunt. About you the terrain remains flat and featureless, only the remnants of the storm any hindrance as you run northwards. In the face of a bitterly cold wind you keep close to your brother, his ability to track the Hresh complicated by a patchwork of shallow pools and meres. Within this temporary wetland the trail becomes broken and indistinct but still you move northwards before turning with the trail more towards the east. It is not long before you see the edges of Dahl'nemru ahead, and the first signs of the Crystal Forest rising against its borders.

With the afternoon hours slipping away towards evening you look with concern at the encroaching line of petrified trees. It is one place you would much rather not pursue your quarry into. Quickly however, you find that it is exactly where the Hresh are going. At the edge of the Forest you come to a halt, a clear trail of bootprints disappearing into its glittering interior. For a moment you halt, and consider what you should do. Glydenhaal has his own opinion and he does not wait for leave to express it.

"Tuan, we cannot enter the Forest. This is what the shadim want and it can only end in the dissolution of us all. There are other options and we need to consider them."

"And what would you do, Brother? Our nahj lies with all of these warriors. Should we just let them go?"

"No Tuan," answers Glydenhaal. "But we do know their methods. This chase they have taken us on can only end when all the Hresh turn towards their predetermined meeting point. You know they will do so, and with this is mind I have an alternative to entering this death-trap."

For a moment you consider if you should rebuke your brother for his temerity, but you would rather not find your way into the trees if there is another way. "What is your plan, Glydenhaal?"

"It is simple Tuan. At every tpesh we have sheltered in we have found tracks somewhere close at hand. It is obvious that the shadim have split up into many different groups and spread out across the plains. I would say that some of those groups have found their way into the north, and more than likely a meeting place at one of the tpesh to be found there as well. The nearest tpesh is tpesh'olan. If we head north-west there is a good chance that we will find new tracks and a safer path to Sonnengren."

Buffeted by the growing wind you stand before the vast crystalline trees and ponder what you should do next. Glydenhaal is right, there is indeed more than a possibility that a new trail can be found at tpesh'olan, but what you have here before you is a definite trail and the certainty of revenge if you can catch the warriors that left them. The nahj burns in your stomach like a fire but you must be smart about your decisions if you are to bring all the Hresh to account.

What will you do? If you wish to follow the Hresh into the Crystal Forest turn to section 186. If you decide to take the counsel of Glydenhaal and make for tpesh'olan instead turn to section 233. If however, there seems more advantage in turning about and following the other tracks you left behind at tpesh'maale, turn to section 332.

214

215

Glydenhaal is a Jotun of great size and the task quickly proves to be beyond you, your arms weakening as you take the full weight of your brother upon the rope. As you struggle to pull him out you can hear the shaft giving way, and you know it can only be moments from collapsing. Your brother shouts for you to let him fall and you can see no other choice. Letting loose of the rope you watch helplessly as he slides backwards, but you are not going to leave him. The Code does not allow the possibility of a Jotun turning away from his own kin, and without thinking you dive into the hole, your descent a tumbling skid into the rapidly subsiding shaft. On a wave of dirt and choking grit you fall into the dark confines of the chamber below.

Turn to section 359.

216

Apart from the faint illumination that ebbs from the archway high overhead there is little light to be had, the space you have fallen into a circular pit of cold water and impenetrable shadows. Calling to your brother you hear him some distance away, edging along a wide curving wall that appears to be made of cut and fitted stone.

"Are you alright, Brother?" you yell into the darkness.

Your brother answers, his reply echoing in the shadows. "For the moment Tuan, though I believe we may have exchanged a quick and certain death for the pleasures of one far more lingering."

You laugh at Glydenhaal's response but his words have a serious edge for you can already feel the icy grip of the water you have fallen into. In the icy embrace of the dark liquid your legs and arms are beginning to numb, and it can only be a matter of time before what energy you have will be drawn from you. Quickly you make for the nearest wall and find it smooth, although covered in a slimy surface of algae.

"Is there a way out of here?" you ask, the cold putting a tremor to the edges of your words.

"Not that I have found yet, Tuan. We are in a cistern of some fashion and there must be both inlet and drainage pipes for it to serve its purpose. If we are lucky there will be one large enough for us to find a way out."

In the darkness you can see little and hand over hand you begin moving along the edge of the cistern towards your brother. The cold works as a needle that stabs repeatedly at your legs and torso, and you cannot doubt that if you do not find a way out of this water within the next few minutes it will prove the death of you both.

Test your Luck attribute. If you are successful turn to section 266. If you are not, turn to section 309.

217

218

The vines are a relentless foe, striking at your legs and arms even as you slice them away. It is a battle of one against many, and it one that you cannot win. In the midst of the melee your sword arm is grasped by a flailing tendril, another wrapping itself tightly about your right leg. Desperately you cut down upon the roots, but even as you free yourself from their grip another coils itself about your chest and tightens like a vice upon you.

Struggling for breath you strike at the root but it too thick to sever, its surface covered in a stringy, bark-like skin that deflects the blows of your scimitar. With its hold secure the Oer'daaki gives no mercy, the root tightening about you, breaking your ribs in a series of crushing pulses that leave you gasping for air as you fall to ground. Upon the mosses you are helpless and the plants tear you apart within a roiling tangle of root and leaf that leaves nothing behind.

In this quiet place you have died, your nahj unfulfilled. It must now be to another life that you should look for better luck and greater success.

THE END

219

Morning comes as a pale aftermath to the night's tempest. Having moved into the south the treachersa's power has diminished, replaced by a thick overcast and a drenching rain that floods the plain surrounding the tpesh. In this gloom you awaken Glydenhaal and prepare yourself for the coming day. Quickly you organise your meagre equipment and take food offered by your brother. It is Nahla cake, its rich spicy smell a pungent odour that immediately fills the confines of the tpesh.

"What is our plan for the day?" your brother asks as he pulls away the temporary bracing that had held the door in place.

It is a good question. With the storm's passing the ground would be saturated, the plains a patchwork of standing water and sinking mud. The mosses however, would have kept any tracks left by the Hresh still identifiable. The first business of the day would be to ascertain where those tracks were and which would be the best to follow.

You are about to respond to your brother's question when a noise outside holds your tongue. Glydenhaal hears it too and moves quietly to your side. It is the recognisable but subtle clink of metal upon metal, a sword hanging loose upon a warrior's armoured vestment.

Outside there is little natural light, the overcast and the early morning leaving the ground about the tpesh wrapped in a veil of gloom and rain. In the greater dark of your shelter you wait, and it is not long before you hear more evidence of the approach of a large number of warriors moving towards the centre of the settlement.

From out of the mists and dark there arise more than a dozen Hresh, most lightly equipped but with some attired in the full battle armour of heavy infantry. Upon all the warriors there are no markings or other identifying colours to be seen, and as you take a firm grip upon your hammer you watch as they come to a halt upon the open ground at the centre of tpesh'souref.

Will you take advantage of the darkness and attack these Hresh? If this is your choice turn to section 142. If you would rather wait and see what they do first, turn to section 254.

220

With Glydenhaal to the fore you follow the Hall as it extends northwards. It is a wide and impressive structure, a long chamber built as a thoroughfare that must have connected the different parts of this ruin in ancient times. Of all its curiosities you find the pillars that support the vaulted roof the most intriguing. At first look they appear blank, no more that sharply carved supports, but in the light of your brother's torch they take on a most unusual aspect, and as you move quickly along the long line of pillars you begin to see them change, the play of light and shadow working to give them a texture not unlike the bark of trees. As you move forward you find this illusion growing, the arching vault overhead fanning out as branches might in a high canopy, with a thick roof of leaves crowning the vaulted ceiling. It is a curious effect, one that has you both stalled and silent, pondering the nature of its cunning artifice. Your considerations of the Hall's unusual character are cut short however, by a thunderous crash of stone some distance ahead.

Above the ever present rumble in the stone you hear first the crack of splintering granite, then a series of heavy impacts that grow quickly to the rolling thunder of a roof collapse somewhere in the gloom before you. Beneath your feet you feel the pounding clamour of vast amounts of stone falling, and for a moment you can do nothing but wait and see how far the collapse will travel. Caught in the open, and with no possibility of a safe shelter, you stand by your brother and watch as the hall ahead fills with dust and debris. To your relief the ceiling above remains intact, the collapse limited to the thoroughfare's northern reach. Glydenhaal is the first to move.

"Ahead is our only chance of a way out, Tuan. If we are to make it back to the light of day we must determine if there remains any possible way forward."

At a run you hasten northwards, the way obscured by a thick pall of dust that billows out of the hall ahead. In the choking haze you find the beginnings of a rubble field, the ground littered with crushed stone and layers of settling grit that has been thrown outwards by the collapse of the roof ahead. In the semi-darkness you can see little of what remains of the hall, but there can be no doubt that any way forward has been blocked.

"We can go no further here Tuan." Glydenhaal affirms. "And from the fractures in the ceiling it will not be long before the roof above comes down as well. We must look quickly to finding a way out of here."

With dust trickling out of breaks in the stone overhead you search the edges of the rubble field. At first there is no sign of any close exit from the hall, but as you move further into the dust haze you find an opening, a small arched passage in its eastern face. Inset between two pillars, and cunningly concealed behind a latticework of finely carved stone vines, the exit appears to be no more than a service passage but it is a way out and it is one you take immediately. Overhead there comes the cracking rumble of stone shifting, and then the dull thump of heavy masonry falling in the hall at your back. Your brother takes the lead as you disappear into the smaller passageway.

Turn to section 323.

221

Why Maul is roaming the plains alone is unknown to you but no Jotun leaves their mark lightly. To do so implies responsibility for those who might follow that direction, and also for what might happen to them. You have only been in the giant Oldemai's company for a short time but you know he has been in the world long enough to understand what a mark means. You decide to trust him and turn towards the shelter at tpesh'souref.

Overhead the suns of Arborell continue their passage westwards, but on the ground you run across the plains into the south-west. You see no sign of the Hresh, either of their fleeing number or anything else that might show that they have passed this way. As the day passes you begin to doubt the wisdom of your choice, but you decide to give yourself another hour. If there indeed proves to be no sign of the shadim you will return to the east and continue the chase without Maul's help.

On you run and soon you notice a change in wind direction, one that comes with a distinctly cooler edge. You are about to mention it to Glydenhaal when he calls instead to yourself.

"Tuan, there is something in the west."

You look and find a number of Kreel circling high overhead. There is something dead upon the ground that is calling these creatures out of their homes in the far mountains.

"What is it?" you yell into a rising bluster.

"I cannot say. But the object of their attention is no more than half a kilometre off our track."

Will you go and investigate what the flying reptiles find so interesting? If this is your choice turn to section 124. If you would keep to your course instead, turn to section 270.

222

Your camp lies in disarray, canvas tents and all the equipment of your hunt having been carelessly strewn across the bare earth. In the gathering light of the dawn you lay Emmentaal upon some discarded canvas and search out what remains of the campsite. Quickly you find the bodies of five dead Hresh lying in the bushes to the east. They are covered in blood, their wounds consistent with the heavy impact of a warhammer. Carefully you survey your surrounds and it becomes clear that at least one Jotun has put up a fight here, the ground about the dead Hresh telling the tale of a combat that leads out of the camp and towards the rising suns.

Calling to Glydenhaal you follow a trail of crushed vegetation and blood. It is your brother who finds the body, and in his voice he carries all the pain of a discovery unlooked for and unwelcome. At the run you make Glydenhaal's position and find the body of Ahmetsen lying with his back against an exposed outcrop of stone, his warhammer lying in the mosses beyond his reach. He is dead, his face covered with a piece of torn cloth, his body displayed in a manner that would make it easy for him to be found by any who might come looking for him.

For a moment neither of you speak. It is Glydenhaal who lifts the cloth and discovers the true nature of the outrage perpetrated against your brother. Ahmetsen's body has been pierced with many spear wounds, his throat cut as if he had been no more than a beast for slaughter. Across his forehead you find scrawled in his own blood the name "Sonnengren". For some purpose known only to the Hresh this Sonnengren has declared a nahj against your Kraal. It is a challenge to your honour that cannot remain unresolved, but as you look at the mutilated body of your brother you know there are more pressing matters that must be attended to first.

With Glydenhaal's help you lift Ahmetsen and carry him back to the campsite. Carefully laying him out at its centre you go to Emmentaal and tell him of the death of his brother, then direct Jerogin to collect wood for a pyre. Before anything else your brother must be sent into the Underworld so that he might find entry to the Gates of Hallen'draal. It is your hope that he will find honour in a death by combat, the dead Hresh an undeniable token of his courage.

For the first hours of the morning you prepare Ahmetsen's funeral pyre. With the help of your brother and Jerogin a suitable frame is constructed and one of the tarpaulins fashioned as an appropriate shroud for his body. With the coming of midday you burn your brother's remains, watching silently as the flames consume the remnants of his physical existence.

Shan'dari once told you that there are many reasons why an Oera'dim's body must be consumed in this way. Uppermost was the need to release the eternal lifespark that held the true essence of the deceased Being within it. The physical vessel would be consumed in the conflagration, its ashes rising into the air to eventually become one with the earth, but it was the lifespark that had to be freed to find its way into the Underworld, and thence to a new life in the proper passage of time. As you watch the funeral pyre burn you can think little of its significance though. Ahmetsen is dead, his body dishonoured and a great challenge put before you.

When the ceremony is done your party remains quiet about the ashes but there is an anger that cannot remain silent. You look to your fellow Jotun and spit on the ground.

"What do we know of this Sonnengren? Who is it that dares lay hands upon a Brother-Chief of the Jotuni Delving?"

Glydenhaal shakes his head. "I know nothing of him except what he has left behind. His scrawled name tells me he is left-handed, and because of that he is a Hresh, but considering what we have seen this is unsurprising. He is a coward who has chosen to dishonour our brother and then flee from the death that should rightly be his to endure. For whatever reason we have been attacked and he has challenged us all to find him, and you in particular Tuan. He knows we cannot ignore the nahj that has been put before us."

"What are we to do then?" asks Jerogin. "Your father's End of Days lay close indeed and as Favoured Son you must return to Kraal Delving within the breadth of six days. Emmentaal must also be brought to a Healer before he succumbs to his injuries. How do we manage this and kill the Hresh as well?"

For a moment there is silence but all look to you for leadership. There are only a few options open to you and a number of pressing concerns other than those put forward by Jerogin. With a large crue of Hresh in the area the Living Book is at risk, as are any Jotun of your Kraal still herding Yunta into the south for the winter. To have hostile warriors within your borders is something that cannot remain unchallenged. To do so with so few Jotun will be difficult, though this affront to your honour is not Jerogin's to meet. He is of the Oldemai and has no stake in the challenge. It is a circumstance you can take advantage of however.

"Jerogin, Emmentaal must be taken south and I must leave him in your care. Make your way south to Kraal Delving and find my father and tell him what has happened. The Household Arbiter must be informed that a challenge has been declared and that the nahj is now in effect. Tell them all that myself and Glydenhaal will take vengeance on the death of Ahmetsen and return with the head of the piece of dung that has dishonoured us. I do not know what has happened to your Maul but if we find him we will take him with us on the hunt."

Turning to Glydenhaal you point to the south and then to the east. "For us Glydenhaal there is a choice to be made. We can follow the tracks that lead from this camp and follow those that have made them, or head south first to check on the safety of the Book. I fear that these warriors will not want to miss an opportunity to kill one of the Old Hresh and he is an asset of great value to our Father."

Glydenhaal thinks for a moment but his answer is what you expect. "It is your choice Tuan, I will follow wherever you will lead."

What is your wish. Shall you begin the hunt for Sonnengren immediately by following the tracks into the east? If this is your choice turn to section 288. If you would rather check on the safety of the Living Book first turn to section 234. If however you would take some time to search the dead Hresh before beginning turn to section 166.

223

224

The smaller group seems the best choice at this time. With luck you will be able to run them down and kill them all before making after the main group. If the Fates are kind you might also be able to interrogate some of them before sending them to Hallen'draal. The thought of it brings a short-lived smile to your countenance.

"The smaller group shall be our quarry, Brother. Find them quickly."

Glydenhaal stands and adjusts his bags. "It will be my pleasure, Tuan."

Together you make after the Hresh, the day wearing on as you keep doggedly to the trail. About you the plains are empty, only the occasional Yunta standing head down in the mosses any movement of note as you run. Your brother focuses his energy upon the trail but as the hours pass you find your eyes turning with greater frequency towards the northern horizon. There another storm grows, its towers of gleaming white cloud founded upon veils of dark shadow and rain.

"Another storm, Brother!" you shout into the winds.

Glydenhaal turns towards the growing tempest and shakes his head. "Let us hope that it keeps its own company in the north, Tuan. There is little enough shelter here if it decides to move upon us."

Without pause you continue your pursuit, your whole being focused on the chase. About you however, you begin to feel something upon the winds that gives you cause to falter. From the cold north the gale races across the plain, an icy breath that heralds the change in season to come, but as you run there grows within the folds of its ebb and flow an energy that affronts you. It strikes you as a feeling of imbalance within the rising bluster that pulls at your skin, a tangible sensation of malice that seems to draw at your strength, giving you cause to search the surrounding plains all the more intently for some sign of its origin. What you see is an increasing number of wild Yunta, grazing upon the mosses and moving southwards as they feed. As you come to a halt the sensation passes, only the wind remaining, its cold fingers dragging at your clothing.

Catching your breath you reach for Glydenhaal and motion to the growing herd. He sees the Yunta but instead points to the south-east. From the plain ahead there comes a faint wisp of smoke, rising from beyond the crest of a shallow hill. As you watch the grey vapours rise and are then torn away by the winds.

"Fire does not come easily to the mosses, Tuan. Someone or something resides beyond the hill."

You look to the rise and know the truth of Glydenhaal's words. You smell combat and your heart quickens at its possibility, but then you look to the trail and know also that you have more than one option here.

If you wish to investigate the smoke turn to section 126. If you believe it better to keep to the tracks, turn to section 276.

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226

The tracks are clear upon the moss plain and you move forward quickly, following the trail of the Hresh as it leads along the edges of the hills eastwards. In the clear daylight the Shalamai Hills are smooth green and red slopes at your left shoulder, the brightness of the day a blue canopy overhead. It is the perfect start to the hunt but you notice nothing of the landscape. Instead your mind is focused on the chase, and the welling anger that grows within you, the needless loss of Ahmetsen a responsibility that lays heavy upon your shoulders. You run with all the speed you can bring to the chase, your mind a swirl of images as you consider how you will extract revenge from the Being who has marked your brother's body.

With the suns rising to a point overhead you follow the edges of the Shalamai. At midday the trail veers northwards, cutting through a series of gullies and shallow valleys into the eastern edge of the hills themselves before emerging onto the northern plains beyond. Focused on the chase you do not see the dark figure crouched within the shadows of a small boulder upon the Shalamai's last crest, but Glydenhaal does. He pulls you to a halt and points to the outcrop.

"We have someone against the stones, Tuan. We should run him down and discover his purpose here."

As your brother speaks the dark form moves from the shadows of the boulder and disappears over the crest into the hills beyond.

What will you do. If you wish to give chase, turn to section 198. If you believe there is bigger game to be found ahead, and you would rather keep to the trail turn to section 268.

227

For a moment you consider if you should confront the Hresh leader and resolve the challenge, but you know it will do no good. The shadim have no honour, and no respect for the honour of others. If you are to have your revenge you will have to face Sonnengren at a time when he is alone, for he will not fight without his crue about him. These Hresh are nothing but thugs and you can only expect them to act accordingly.

Instead you decide to get closer and determine the true size of their number. As you watch more of the warriors make the rise and soon there are over twenty in view. You have no doubt that there are more beyond. Carefully you indicate to Glydenhaal what you wish to do and in answer he begins to move along the lee of the incline to the west. With luck you should be able to flank the Hresh and get a clearer measure of their strength.

Test your Luck attribute. If you are lucky turn to section 137. If you fail this test turn to section 196.

228

For a moment you consider the sign cut into the bare earth and know you should follow it. Maul is a Jotun and no Jotun leaves his mark without good purpose. You do not know why he left Jerogin to fend for himself but nothing of your current circumstances is straightforward. The arrow will set you on a course into the south-west and you decide to take it. In that direction lies Tpesh'souref and it is as good a destination as any other for any Oera'dim wishing shelter overnight. If indeed the Hresh have taken the Living Book they would need somewhere to hold him until the rest of their crue could regroup.

"We will follow Maul's arrow, Glydenhaal. He would not have left his mark without good reason."

Glydenhaal nods but takes the time to destroy the mark before you go.

You understand his purpose and wait for him to remove it completely from the ground. A mark is a personal thing, and something that could be counterfeited if found still intact. You have no doubt that the message is one left for yourself alone, and you owe it to the Oldemai to erase it once it is given.

With the mark and arrow gone you set yourself to the south-west. It is an easy compass point to follow as tpesh'souref lies in a direct line between the Shalamai Hills and the Iron Hills. With the eastern edge of the Iron Hills as your reference point you run, your brother at your side.

The day wears on, your feet pounding at the spongy mosses as you quickly traverse the wide plain before you. In the cool air it is an exhilaratingly run, your breath labouring with the exertion, your heart pounding as you consider what might lay ahead at the tpesh. Lost to your thoughts you hasten into the south-west, your run halted only by Glydenhaal as he hauls roughly upon your left shoulder.

"Tuan, there is something to the west."

Crouching low you look towards the far mountains and find find nothing upon the plains.

"What is it, Brother?" Glydenhaal points into the air and sure enough you see a number of Kreel circling high overhead, obscured by the glare of the retreating suns. The large flying reptiles have found something dead upon the plains and are circling above it as a sign to their gathering brethren that a meal waits below.

Will you go investigate? If this is to be your course, turn to section 124. If you will instead keep to the path to tpesh'souref, turn to section 270.

229

230

231

232

There is no advantage that comes from meeting a northern storm on open ground. The Hresh themselves will have to find cover and because of this the weather works against both hunter and prey with equal measure. Your best option is to make for Tpesh'maale and wait out the treachersa. When it has passed the Hresh will still be upon the plain, and you can then return to the hunt.

Turning away from the trail you run at Glydenhaal's side, your path now more to the south and away from the advancing weather front. The tempest swallows the plains at your back like a ravenous beast, the Crystal Forests and the northern reach of Dahl'nemru disappearing beneath a thick veil of rain and thundering hail that tremors the ground beneath you as race for the safety of the tpesh.

"How long?" you yell to your brother.

He turns to the storm and then smiles as he increases his pace. "Not long enough, Tuan. The storm will hit before we reach the tpesh and it grows all the stronger as it advances. I suggest we run as if Lost Shabel herself is after us."

At a sprint you run, your booted feet pounding against the soft ground, the tempest a hammer driving itself into the earth behind you. Each lightning strike echoes in the world as a thunderous peel that tears at the air about you, and as the domed roofs of the tpesh rise upon the ground ahead the first squalls of the treachersa swing out of the north.

"Tpesh'maale!" yells Glydenhaal as a flailing wind gouges at the mosses about you, a wave of moss litter scudding southwards before its power. In that moment you see the open entrance to the nearest shelter and make it at the run, throwing yourself into its open maw. Behind you Glydenhaal does not hesitate, slamming the wooden door of the tpesh shut as it shudders to the first impact of the storm. Before you can say a word to your brother the structure rocks beneath a series of deafening blasts and then a pounding drumbeat of hail. Quickly you find a jam to secure the door and then turn to your brother. You cannot hear his words but the smile on his face only partly disguises his relief. Now sheltered from the deafening assault you find a place to rest along the wide curve of the tpesh and wait. For the moment you are a captive of the tempest and nothing can be done until it passes.

Turn to section 156.

233

The adventures of Tansen'Delving will continue shortly. Each new monthly instalment of A Murder of Crows shall expand your adventure and take you further into the lands of the Jotun of the West. Look out for the next part of this interactive gamebook on the 7th of next month.

234

The nahj has been declared and it cannot be ignored, but you know you have to ensure the safety of the Living Book first. A Jotun can move far more swiftly across the plains than any Hresh and you are sure that a diversion into the south-west to return to Tpesh'shalamai is worth the delay. You know also that your Father places a great value upon the Old Hresh and you owe it to him and your Kraal to keep the Book safe.

Your decision is made. Jerogin will return Emmentaal to Kraal Delving and yourself and Glydenhaal will first check on the safety of the Living Book. While your brother and Jerogin construct a litter for Emmentaal you attempt to collect as much of your equipment as you can find. The Hresh have spoiled most of your supplies and there is little of your equipment left that has not been either stolen or destroyed. What you do find you assemble upon the open ground. To start you give Ahmetsen's warhammer to Glydenhaal, his having been broken upon an outcrop of stone. The rest however, is a collection of salvaged gear from which you can choose what you believe to be most useful.

You have found a backpack that can hold a maximum of ten items. For a Jotun weight is not a consideration. Choose what you want from the following list and record it on your character sheet.

5 Nahla Cakes,
A twenty metre length of rope,
2 torches,
3 rations of dried Yunta meat,
1 packet of flints,
An iron grapple,
1 frying pan,
the usable remains of one two-jotun tent,
1 waterproof cloak,
2 bags of salt,
1 small shovel, and
a compass.

Once you have organised your gear you find Glydenhaal. He has finished with the litter and together you place Emmentaal carefully onto its triangular frame. It will not be a comfortable ride but it will allow Jerogin to take your brother into the south alone. Turning to the Oldemai you point southwards.

"Make for Tpesh'souref. There you can find food and water enough for the remainder of the journey to Kraal Delving. If you are lucky you will be able to find a Healer named Kehndu still residing at Tpesh'camat. Enough of the Yunta Herders moving south should still be in the area and I know for a fact that he does not leave the tpesh until all the herders are on their way. Look after our brother, Jerogin. He is a Brother-Chief of our Kraal and your help will not be forgotten."

Jerogin nods and then lifts the end of the litter. Slowly he moves off, taking your brother home. For a short time you watch as the Oldemai and Emmentaal disappear into a rising haze.

"And what of us, Tuan. Where do we go?" asks Glydenhaal. You turn to your brother and place your hand on his shoulder.

"I see here the funeral pyre of our brother and feel the anger that his blood has been spilled upon our own lands, but it is important we check on the safety of the Living Book first. We can outrun these Hresh on the open plains and it will take only a few hours to confirm the Book's safety. We both know that the Old Hresh is of great value to our Father. We should ensure that he is safe before we deliver justice to the dung piles that have done this to us."

Glydenhaal agrees, although you sense he would prefer to begin the hunt immediately. With your brother now safely on his way you take up your hammer and smile at Glydenhaal.

"Come Brother, let us check on the Living Book then hunt down this Sonnengren and feed his heart to the crows."

Glydenhaal nods grimly and you both run into the south-west. In the gathering daylight you are quickly lost to the vastness of the Moss Plains.

Turn to section 149.

235

236

237

In desperation you run, the roof collapsing behind you as you try to outpace its thundering fall. About you the hall fills with clouds of pulverised grit and above you can see a wide fracture opening as a jagged line in the cunningly artificed vaults. With dust choking the hall you hold your breath and continue to run but you cannot escape the collapsing ruin. Upon the smooth stone floor a slew of smashed rock throws your feet out from under you, knocking you to the floor as the collapse overtakes you. Before you can get back to your feet tonnes of falling stone crashes down, blanketing you in a deadly embrace of broken stone and cold earth.

When the dust settles there remains nothing but the pulsing tremor, only the scattering of pebbles and settling dust a mark of where you have fallen. In this life your nahj is over. In a latter life you may well find better luck, but it has not been found here today.

THE END

238

239

Carefully you circle the crater and find the trail at its western edge. The feeding Kreel remain fixed upon their meal and leaving them to their raucous feast you move off into the south-west once more. Again you find yourself and your brother alone on the plains. The trail is clear, but you have not yet seen the Hresh that you pursue and as the suns of Emur move slowly from midday into the first hints of dusk you notice the weather beginning to change.

It comes first as a subtle drop in air temperature, then a lull in the wind that quickly grows out of the north-west. At your back there is now a line of dark cloud that crowds the horizon and all are signs of bad weather to come.

"Do you feel it Brother?" you ask of Glydenhaal.

"Yes, Tuan, the treachersa grows in the north. By nightfall we will have to find shelter."

"We have lost the trail but the storm moves closer." you yell into the growing winds.

Your brother nods and searches the ground. "We should be able to pick up the trail again further to the west, but I would counsel that we make for tpesh'souref. It can be no more than an hour to the south-west and we will be able to return to the hunt once the storm has passed. What delays us will also delay the Hresh."

The storm approaches from the north and you must decide what you will do. Will you spend some time trying to reacquire the trail? If this is your choice turn to section 184. If you agree with Glydenhaal and would rather make for tpesh'souref to wait out the storm turn to section 267.

240

241

It is a prodigious leap, one that sends you sailing across the chasm and onto the crumbling edges of the rift's far side. In a less than graceful landing you hit the stone and fall heavily, your giant form skidding across the hard stone before coming to a halt against the tank's unforgiving wall. When you find your feet you call to your brother and he also makes the jump. For Glydenhaal the leap it not as successful.

You watch as your brother takes the jump and for a moment you judge that he will make the gap easily. In an instant however, you see that he has misjudged his landing point. Before you can do anything to give warning he lands upon some of the thrown equipment, the straps of one of your packs snagging his feet as he is thrown forward. In a sickening impact he hits ground, his head and chest whipping down upon the cold stone. When he comes to rest your brother is out cold.

Running to his side you check his pulse and find that he is still alive, however he does not revive easily. Jotun were designed by their creators to survive heavy damage but Glydenhaal has taken a heavy blow directly to his head. No creature can take such punishment without consequence and for your brother you can do little but wait for him to return to consciousness.

Looking about the chamber you can see only the stone doorway and it must be your way out. With all the strength that remains to you, you drag your brother from the water hold and through the doorway into a passageway that reaches into the east. Away from the chilling cold you leave your brother for a moment and collect your equipment. When you return he is already beginning to stir.

"Rest easy Brother," you whisper, "you have taken a blow to the head. Do not move if you can avoid it."

Glydenhaal is disoriented but he has enough of his wits to notice that he is no longer at the edges of the chasm.

"What has happened Tuan? Where are we?"

"I have pulled you out of the chamber for the cold would have done us both in. Rest for a moment then we must be on our way."

Your brother pulls himself up against the wall of the passageway and tries to clear his head. As you wait you ponder the nature of the ruin you have found yourself in, and the growing intensity of the tremor that runs through the stone about you. There can be no doubt that a source of great power in nearby, though you have no pressing interest in finding it. Of greater import is returning to the surface and completing the nahj. You decide that the secrets of this place will have to remain hidden, and as you wait for your brother to recover it crosses your mind that when you are Chief you might send Shan'dari here. He has a great passion for the relics of the ancient world and it would give him pleasure to hunt out the dark places of this ruin. At the very least a find such as this would get the old Shaman out of your hair for a while.

It does not take Glydenhaal long to find his feet. When you are sure that he is steady enough to travel you organise your equipment and turn to the passage. Your brother takes an old torch from a sconce and lights it, its flickering light enough to go forward. With Glydenhaal in the lead you follow the passage as it reaches eastwards, coming quickly to a small chamber and a stairway that rises from an archway in its northern wall. At the stairway's end you discover a heavy, watertight door and beyond it a further passage that widens into a substantial hall, the remnants of a grand ceremonial chamber that stretches for some distance northwards. Some twenty metres wide it rises to a considerable height overhead, its roof a barrel vaulted ceiling held aloft by a long series of immense pillars. In the light of your torch the hall reaches beyond the edges of your illumination and with nowhere else to go you move forward.

Turn to section 220.

242

The adventures of Tansen'Delving will continue shortly. Each new monthly instalment of A Murder of Crows shall expand your adventure and take you further into the lands of the Jotun of the West. Look out for the next part of this interactive gamebook on the 7th of next month.

243

244

245

You cannot be sure that an ambush does not await you within the closely spaced shelters, and to try and fight off an attack caught within the power of a treachersa can only end badly for all who attempt it. You decide to wait out the storm in the open and then search the shelters once the weather passes. Glydenhaal does not agree but he stands by his brother in all things.

"At least Tuan, if we are to face the storm let us not be completely defenceless against it." Pointing to a pile of boulders in the east he starts to move towards them. "Perhaps there is shelter to be found within this outcrop?"

Following Glydenhaal you make for the rocks and find within the pile an alcove that can provide some cover from the wind. As you settle yourself into the makeshift shelter the first slaps of cold rain hit the stone and before you can properly cover yourself the storm hits.

It is said that only a fool stands before the power of the treachersa and smiles. As you wait within the outcrop you can hear the wind building, the rumble of thunder as the storm rushes towards you not unlike a stampede of Yunta upon bare ground. Within minutes of taking cover the plain about you goes dark, a heavy rain quickly turning into a crashing deluge of icy slush and hail. Pushing yourself further into the alcove you realise quickly that it will provide little actual protection, the wind slicing in between the rocks, sending a drenching mist over yourself and your brother. It is uncomfortable but there is little you can do but wait, and marvel at the brutal assault it lays down upon the unprotected mosses.

In a crashing concatenation of light and sound, lightning arcs across the sky above you, the resulting thunder an ear-piercing detonation that sets the rock outcrop tremoring to its core. Placing your hands over your ears you crouch all the tighter and wait, knowing only that such storms travel quickly and should pass southwards upon the winds that carry them.

As you wait you look to Glydenhaal and seeing the expression upon his face slowly move your hand to the haft of your hammer. He looks both surprised and puzzled.

"What is it, Brother?" you shout against the storm. Your brother motions with his head out into the swirling rains ahead of you.

"We are not alone Tuan, I think I saw something but only in the lightning's blast does it come clearly to me. Watch and tell me what you see, for I do not believe my own eyes."

In response you stare out into the darkness, the entire plain ahead smothered in the rip and tear of the storm. One blast of lightning comes and you see nothing, then another, but on the third arcing detonation you see it too.

Within the storm there is a figure dancing, but it is no creature of flesh and blood. As a pillar of smoke might be torn apart by a strong wind the dark form is pulled asunder and then draws itself together, constantly fighting the power of the treachersa whilst revelling in its ferocity. You watch as the figure is joined by another and then a multitude come together, all rejoicing in the power that is being hammered into the world below. As each lightning blast crashes to earth, plumes of moss and dirt blossom out, and taking chunks of the smoking ground they throw the pieces in a wild abandon, fulfilling some need to partake of the storm's destruction.

There comes with the appearance of the spectral beings something else and it burns upon your arm as keenly as EarthMagic. You feel it first as a sense of power but it focuses quickly, becoming something you recognise. From the creatures there emanates an aura of malice and hatred for the living so pure and unguarded that it strikes you like a physical blow to the face. Glydenhaal feels it too.

"Tuan, I do not know what these Beings are but we cannot stay here. I fear that if they see us we will be victims to their malice and have no way to fight back. We should make our way to the tpesh and find a better shelter there."

You know he is right. Hresh you can fight, these Beings are something else altogether.

"How shall we get to the tpesh?" you ask.

Glydenhaal shakes his head. "We will run. They seem to only find form when lightning strikes the ground. If we are swift we will find a safer shelter, and if Hresh are to be found within it we will kill them all."

You nod your head and prepare yourself for the chase. If Glydenhaal is right you should make it to the tpesh before the creatures will notice you.

Before you can move another crashing blast of lightning illuminates the plain, a vast multitude of the Beings cavorting now within the storm. In the darkness that follows you break from your shelter and run for tpesh'souref, jumping a low wall of stone that edges one of the marshaling yards and making for the closer of the domed shelters. At your back another arc of lightning strikes the ground and you have only a fleeting sense of the spectral creatures turning as if to follow your progress. Before they start to move however, you make the tpesh and dive inside, your brother following immediately behind you. Glydenhaal jams the door shut as a further blast of lightning hits the ground at the entrance to the tpesh, rocking the sturdy structure but leaving it undamaged.

Saturated and dishevelled you lean back against the bench that edges the curve of the shelter and shake your head in disbelief.

"What were they Brother? Never have I seen or heard of such a thing."

Glydenhaal frowns and checks the door. "I do not know what they are but I have heard from the Oldemai of something similar, though only as myth. Old Tal'tetsen of the Oldemai once told me of a story about something he called Storm Shepherds. I thought the old fool was making fun of me at the time and made no effort to remember it. It occurs to me now that I should have taken more notice."

Moving to the door you peer through a gap in its timbers and search the ground before the entrance. You can see nothing of the creatures but you sense that the storm is moving south. With Glydenhaal making a small fire from wood left within the shelter you settle against its far wall and wait for the storm to pass. As you watch your brother you wonder on the strange appearance of the dark forms and what they might now mean to your world.

Turn to section 219.

246

You can think of nothing but the safety of your brothers and the decision is easy. Throwing your spear to the ground you unstrap your warhammer and grab Glydenhaal's shoulder. He understands without words what you intend and instead follows as you run into the west, finding a way through the valley to its end before taking to the slopes and then onto the crest of a long ridge of stone. The Voor'cats are nowhere to be seen but to your surprise you find upon the sloping ground beyond the ridge at least a dozen Hresh pressing an attack against your brother Emmentaal and Jerogin. Both Maul and your younger brother Ahmetsen are not in view.

At the run you charge down the hill. It is Glydenhaal who strikes first, throwing his spear and impaling the nearest warrior. The Hresh falls and without pause your brother scoops up its scimitar. In a wide arc the blade falls upon the next attacker, cleaving the dark form from shoulder to waist. Charging into the melee you strike out with your hammer and it is then that the nature of the battle changes.

In the midst of the fight an order rings out above the clash of iron and the Hresh reorganise. Smoothly the crue breaks into smaller groups, each group turning upon a Jotun individually. You can see that Emmentaal has been wounded and you fight your way to his side, but he has been sorely injured. As he falls to the ground you stand over him, and in the gloom defend him from three warriors that have singled you out. Around you the other Hresh press their attack against Glydenhaal and Jerogin.

Three Hresh circle yourself and the prone form of Emmentaal. You cannot flee this battle for no Jotun will leave a brother behind. In this circumstance you must fight the Hresh and kill them all before they can bring you down. The first Hresh has a combat value of 14 and an endurance of 10. The second has a combat value of 13 and an endurance of 9, the third a combat value of 13 and an endurance of 8. If you win this combat turn to section 195. If it is your fate to fall beside your brother turn to section 136.

247

248

249

The Herders deserve a better fate than to end as a meal for the circling Kreel. As you prepare the bodies you direct Glydenhaal to dig two shallow trenches, then with the task complete he collects a number of large stones to set as a marker cairn for their nimirim to find them. Taking their travel cloaks as shrouds you wrap the remains and with your brother's help begin to lift the bodies into their makeshift graves. It is as you lift the second Jotun that your arm begins to burn like fire, the Word of Aggeron reacting strongly to something made of EarthMagic that is very close.

Dropping the body to the ground you grab at your arm, a heat building upon your skin that sends splinters of pain rushing into your chest. For a moment it grows, a swirling vertigo taking hold of your balance before Glydenhaal grabs you by the shoulders.

"What is wrong, Tuan?" he asks worriedly.

You draw yourself up and feel the effects of whatever it was draining away. "I do not know Brother, but there is something close here, something that has power in it."

Do you wish to search the body of the second Jotun more closely? If so turn to section 287. If you would instead search the surrounding ground for something you may have missed turn to section 199.

250

The arch in the south wall of the passageway stands only a short distance ahead and you make for it quickly. As you stand at its threshold there comes from its dark depths the smell of wet earth and the faintest hint of a breeze, a soft movement of cool air that passes over your face and shoulders. For a moment you stand at the entrance to this new corridor and listen intently, the sounds from within echoing the pulsing rumble of the stone and the muffled rhythm of dripping water somewhere ahead. Your brother waits at your side, then asks if this is the way to go.

If you believe the southern passage may be a way out, turn to section 203. If you would rather keep to the main passages and instead make for the junction further to the east, turn to section 271.

251

You flick the rope but the grapple does not dislodge. Impatient to move on you try again and find only that your rope is firmly founded and will not budge. Cursing your luck you pull hard upon the rope for a third time and feel it move.

"Come Glydenhaal," you say. "Give me the benefit of your strength and we will have the rope."

Your brother moves to your side and puts his weight upon it. Together you drag at the recalcitrant length and feel instead the grapple dig deep and hold fast. Regardless of your care it has snagged against something and will not move. In frustration you pull hard again and then feel something move, but it is not the rope.

In a cascade of collapsing earth the shaft itself falls inwards, your rope and grapple tumbling into the chamber in the midst of tonnes of showering earth. Directly beneath the falling ceiling you are sure to be smothered but Glydenhaal acts, pulling you away from the centre of the chamber and out of danger. In a cloud of roiling grit and smashed earth the shaft slumps, a wide pile of earth all that remains.

Choking in the resulting dusted fog you find your breath and wait as the pulverised earth settles. When you can once again find your voice you look to your brother.

"Thank you Glydenhaal. It would have been a particularly pointless way to die."

Your brother smiles and moves towards the wide pile of earth that now covers the centre-point of the chamber. Somewhere within the heap is your rope and grapple.

"I do not believe we will be able to find your rope any time soon." he says.

Looking at the dirt pile you are just glad that you are not also beneath it. About you however, there is much that is uncovered as your brother lights one of his torches. Within its weak illumination you find yourself in a surprisingly large stone walled chamber from which there is only one exit, an arched doorway in its eastern wall.

Looking about you can see no furnishing or decoration of any type except for a single carved relief that covers the northern wall. It is worn and covered in dead Oerdaaki roots but you can discern that it is a representation of what looks like a vast waterfall, tumbling from a high plateau into a deep lake beneath. For a moment you ponder the skill of its artifice but then turn to survey with greater care the way out. The archway leads into a dark corridor that reaches into the east, but you notice most the deep rushing sound that tremors through the stone, the entire chamber vibrating to an unseen power that you know must be close. Glydenhaal looks at you and motions towards the door.

"Feel that Tuan? Have you ever felt anything like it before?"

"Is there any other way out of this place?" you ask as you shake the dirt from your bag.

Glydenhaal shakes his head and motions to the eastern exit. "None Tuan. From what I can see this chamber has only the one exit. If we are to find a way back to the surface it will have to be through this arch."

With your brother taking the lead you move out into the eastern hallway. Carefully you conduct a survey on its safety and find that although it is an ancient delving it proves to be both solid and dry. To your surprise the air is also clean though very cold.

The way ahead uncovered by Glydenhaal's flickering torch you move forward and find the corridor reaching some distance into the east. Quickly you traverse its smooth floor, the entire passage cut cleanly from the bare rock and faced in an intricate pattern of polished marble flags. Within the illumination of your brother's torch the way ahead shimmers in reflected light, a thousand shadows cast upon the walls as you advance.

Beneath your footsteps the floor is solid but about you the earth itself tremors to a rumbling vibration that grows as you follow the passage eastwards. There is indeed something of great power somewhere ahead, and with the Word of Aggeron burning with even greater intensity upon your forearm you know that it must truly be a great source of EarthMagic.

Some two hundred metres into the east the passage meets with another leading from the north before reaching out further eastwards. The hallway leading to the north is masked in shadow but it does not appear to reach very far into the stone. Ahead of you Glydenhaal's torch begins to sputter and flare as if it is about to give out.

252

Although the mark is important you decide instead to keep to the trail you have before you. There is too much chance that you could lose the tracks if you leave them at this time. Under a perfectly blue sky you move southwards, Glydenhaal at your side as you continue with the hunt. It is a chase that you find exhilaratingly, the physical exertion required a balm to a body designed for hard labour and heavy lifting. You think as you run that you have not done enough of either of late.

About you the plain stretches in all directions as a smooth carpet of green and red, punctuated at points by upthrusts of stone and boulder piles that stand as grey monoliths in the midst of the deep colours of the mosses. It is a landscape that one could mistake as both peaceful and safe, and one that is neither.

From the north the wind suddenly changes, a flurry of chilling air biting at your skin that immediately brings you to a halt.

"Do you feel it, Brother?" you shout against the rising gale.

"Yes, Tuan. The treachersa comes!"

Turning to the north you see a dark line of cloud, founded upon a veil of mist and rain but crowned by enormous towers of brilliant white. As a single stormfront it is racing towards you, pummeling the plains with bright arcs of lightning and the first rumbles of thunder as harbingers of its destructive fury.

"We must find shelter, Tuan. By the end of day this monster will be upon us."

Ahead of you the trail reaches southwards, and you follow it, still some hours to go before the storm will overtake you. It is a chase now tempered by the presence of the treachersa and with it growling at your back you no longer feel like the hunter, more like the pursued.

At the run you keep to the trail as it veers more into the west, and onto an area of harder ground. Here you find the rock piles more numerous, the stone formations larger and more weathered. It is a part of your domain that you have not yet had the opportunity to explore and in the darkening light of the approaching storm it has an eerie and foreboding taste to it. Glydenhaal breaks you from your consideration of the terrain with a forceful push to your shoulder. You turn to reprimand him for his impertinence when you see the object of his concern rushing across the plains towards you. The storm has quickened its assault upon the plain and is no more than a quarter hour from your position.

Towering overhead it is of a power that you have never felt before, a dark crackling wall of shadowed energy that you can feel vibrating through the ground beneath you.

"We should go no farther, Tuan." Glydenhaal shouts. "Night will be upon us soon enough, but this storm will reach us first. We should find shelter now and await the passage of this weather before we continue."

You know it to be true. Even affairs of honour must wait for the treachersa, your concern now to find a shelter that will survive the power of the coming tempest.

Will you search these outcrops for a suitable shelter? If this is your choice turn to section 131. If you would rather make for a nearby tpesh, one that should lie no more than a half hour into the west turn to section 197.

253

It is a warning but one you decide need not be heeded. "There is something here that should be uncovered." you say to your brother. He is not convinced and grabs you by the arm, his face determined that you should not go beyond this black threshold.

"This is a mistake, Tuan. You know the penalty, and the necessity that requires we stay away from the Light of Creation. It will be your undoing."

You smile at your brother and pull his hand away from your arm.

"There is something beyond this door that calls me and I am not afraid of it. The power in this place compels me forward and I must see what lies beyond. Wait for me here, and when I return we will continue with the hunt."

Glydenhaal moves to restrain you but does so without any further determination. He may be your brother but you are also his Tuan, and because of it he will not stand in your way if this act of folly is your will. Turning from the hall you look to the door and inspect it more closely. It has neither lock nor latch, its surface a smooth slab that pulses with an energy so pure you can feel it crackling against your skin. Once more you look to your brother and understand his concern, but there is something here that is connected to you. The Word at your arm burns with a cold fire, your body a lightning rod of power that flares about you as you inspect the edges of the archway. Again you test the door and find no easy entrance, that is until you stand back and take a closer look at the keystone of arch. Upon the wedge-shaped stone there is inscribed the word "emru" and knowing its meaning you give it voice loudly in the trembling hall.

In a rumbling surge the door begins to lift, its ascent into the roof above muted by the deafening sound of a great commotion, one that builds within a roaring wind that gushes over you like a scalding tide. Standing before this hot gale you do not falter nor take a backward step. Beyond the threshold there is a short passage and you take it quickly, following it in its reach until you come to a landing, and a stairway that spirals down a wide circular shaft into the earth below. For a moment you consider the stairs then take to them, sensing the source of the great energy is now very close. Overtaken by curiosity and the strange compulsion to find the focus of the power that resides here you continue on, descending the wide staircase as it curves down into the bedrock of the world.

It is a long descent. The shaft is similar to many structures of its type found in the far north; a massive well faced in smooth stone and given at certain points to the display of enormous stone murals, each of which extends around the curving walls of the decline as massive representations of the mythologies of the Ancient World. One in particular catches your attention. Upon the wall opposing your position there spreads a vast image that you recognise from the story of the Sorrows of Gedhru and Aume. At one side Gedhru crouches distraught, his arms outstretched as he places the body of Emur into the Void to give shape and form to the world as it was to be. At his side stand Aume and Emur's sisters, Shabel and Elanna, and it is to Shabel that your eyes are drawn. Maintaining a position at the rear of the mourners she displays no grief. In her eyes there is only hatred and a hint of satisfaction. It is a look that you have seen many times in the course of your life.

Turning from the stone relief you continue your descent, and as you go a further series of carvings tell the complete story of the Sorrows. It is a tale that has a lot to teach a young Brother-Chief and the similarities are not lost upon you as the steps give way finally to a wide stone landing and a further doorway, edged also in a black obsidian arch. At its keystone you again find the word "emru" and without hesitation utter it once more. It is the last thing you ever do.

As the lingering echo of your utterance fades into the vast well above you the door lifts into the ceiling, leaving you exposed before a vast cavern that shines with a brilliant, pulsing blue light. Beyond its threshold there opens a vista of open space, huge cliffs edging a deep blue river of living power that runs as a waterfall from the left shoulder of the cavern, falling in a series of cascades to a turmoil of energy below, which then follows the edges of the cliffs into a further massive opening at the extreme right of the chamber. All about you floods the power of EarthMagic, its physical manifestation coursing along the cliffs like a heartbeat, the air saturated with its essence, the stone beneath you trembling to its rhythm.

For only a moment do you remain alive, the vast power of the Shan'duil a scrouge that tears away at your body, breaking down the essence of your being until there is nothing left but dust and a flickering spark that glimmers and is then extinguished. In this life you have found Dissolution, the penalty paid for any Oera'dim that might look upon the River of Life. It is a truth of your existence that no Being created of EarthMagic can stand before the Light of Creation and find anything but absolute nullification beneath its gaze. Your nahj is over, and it must be to a future existence that you should look for better luck and greater wisdom.

THE END

254

The Hresh move quietly from the borders of the settlement onto its central ground. In the gloom of the early hours they wait as a large warrior in full battle armour talks in a low but insistent voice with a number of his shadim. Carefully you watch all that transpires. Masked by the wind and the slapping rain you cannot make out what they are saying, their words too indistinct to recognise, but it is apparent that the Hresh commanding the crue is a Being of some rank, though not Sonnengren himself.

It is for only a short time that you can watch these Hresh before the urge to do them harm begins to overwhelm you. Before you can act however, the crue commander points towards the north-east and the warriors begin to move off.

What will you do. Attack them now before they can escape? If this is your will turn to section 142. If you would rather wait until they depart then follow the warriors eastwards, turn to section 274.

255

So ends the second instalment of this gamebook adventure, however the nahj of Tansen'Delving will continue shortly. Each new monthly instalment of A Murder of Crows shall expand your adventure and take you further into the lands of the Jotun of the West. Look out for the next part of this interactive gamebook on the 7th of next month.

256

Coming to a halt you reach for the rags for they do indeed seem familiar. Caught up within the mosses they appear to have been carelessly thrown aside although none have been violently torn. A closer inspection tells you that they are the garments of a Hresh, and it is then that you recognise them for whom they belong to. They are the Living Book's.

"This is a poor outcome." Glydenhaal says as he collects the remaining pieces of the Book's clothing.

"Indeed," you answer quietly. "but it means little at this time. The Book could have divested his clothing for a purpose known only to himself, though I admit it does not look promising."

Your brother stoops to retrieve an item of cloth then pauses. Within its hasty folds he has found something. Calling to you, you move to his side and find him holding a necklace, a silver talisman in the shape of a crescent moon and star combined, held on a long silver chain. This is something you recognise also as the Living Book's. It had been around the Old Hresh's neck during your audience with him at Shalamai. Taking it from Glydenhaal you hold it up and consider whether you should keep it.

(If you see an advantage to keeping the Living Book's necklace record it on your character sheet. If you do not want it give it to Glydenhaal and he can do with it as he wishes.)

Glydenhaal organises the Living Book's clothing, packing them quickly into his bag as you return to the trail. Finding the Book's clothing is not a good sign but there is little that can be determined from its discovery. All you can be sure of is that you have no time to tarry here, the Hresh your only focus as you run on into the mists. Quickly the mosses thicken, the ground ankle deep in the clinging vegetation. About you there comes the sound of large animals moving within the fog and soon you find Yunta scattered upon the plain, their enormous bulk moving as large grey shadows within the swirling vapours. The trail however, remains clear, and although you can no longer see the Hresh the evidence of their passing proves an easy path to follow.

Quickening your pace you run through the mists. In turn you each take the lead, following the trail until a change in the ground ahead brings you to a halt. Glydenhaal does not see the loose earth and before you can shout a warning the mosses beneath his feet fall away, sending him tumbling into darkness below.

Making the edges of what appears to be a large subsidence in the earth you call out to your brother.

"Glydenhaal! Are you alright?"

From deep within the hole the response comes as a muffled affirmative. "Yes Tuan. It would seem that Hallen'draal calls for me before my time."

You laugh and peer into the shadows. At the edge of your vision you see your brother, standing seemingly uninjured and looking about a large chamber. He has fallen down a long angled shaft and then tumbled through the chamber's vaulted roof, coming to rest upon a huge accumulation of dessicated moss.

"Do you think you could you have found a larger hole?" you yell down into the darkness. You see your brother make a crude gesture in your direction but all humour aside you realise you have a problem, one that will require a hasty solution.

If you have a rope you can throw an end down to your brother and haul him up. If this seems the best option turn to section 125. If you have both a rope and grapple you can secure the rope and lower yourself into the hole to investigate what it is that Glydenhaal has found. If this is to be your choice turn to section 212. If you have neither of these items your only course is to climb down after your brother and together find a way out. A Jotun never leaves another behind and as the Code requires you must go in after him. Turn to section 422.

257

258

259

Glydenhaal rises to move on but you stop him. He senses that you have an answer to his question and waits in the darkness for you.

"It is the Sigh, Brother. The Living Book told me many things but it would seem they fear my ascension as Chieftain. I believe these Hresh are shadim, assassins to the Clavern'sigh and here to kill me."

Your brother nods and looks to the ground. "It is as we feared, Tuan. Your father knew that you would be in the greatest danger as you awaited his End of Days, and for that reason gave permission for you to come north so that you might be isolated from any attempts on your life. It would seem that the Sigh has a keener insight than we could have imagined."

Surprised by your brother's admission you stand and confront him "Should you not have told me this?"

"No Tuan, I could not. I may be First Hammer but I am subordinate to our Father. It was his wish that you not know for he believed it would alter the outcome of your meeting with the Living Book. In these matters we must all obey our Chief."

You shake your head and throw your spear to the ground. Unstrapping your warhammer you take it in hand and look to the south. "As it should be Glydenhaal. Let us find our brothers and then deal with this affront to our honour."

"What has happened here?" You say, looking at a deep gash in your younger brother's chest.

Jerogin stands exhausted. "I found your brother some distance to the west. The Hresh ambushed myself and Maul upon the northern edges of the hunt. There were more than a dozen in their number, and we were eventually separated. I do not know what happened to my bodyguard but the Hresh broke off their attack and ran into the west. I gave chase then decided it best to return to camp. On my way back I found Emmentaal and yourselves."

"And what of Ahmetsen? Have you seen him?" asks Glydenhaal.

The Oldemai shakes his head. "I have seen nothing of your brother. Only sign that the Hresh are searching the Shalamai from west to east. They are after something and have not yet found it."

Turn to section 178.

260

261

262

263

264

Standing upon the open plains you breath deeply and feel the cold chill of the coming snows upon the wind.

"It is good to be back in the world above, Brother." you declare.

"Yes Tuan. Fate has given us this boon. Should we now return to the hunt?"

You agree but turn first to the stairwell. This huge hole is a danger, its edges draped in vine and mosses, a good third of its open maw covered in a tangle of plant root and leaf litter. From any direction it would be invisible to anything but the most attentive eyes.

"When we are done with this nahj, Brother, remind me to have this hole covered and signposted. There is no good purpose to having such a danger left unmarked and open to take further victims."

Your brother nods then points into the west. "See Tuan, the trail we have been following remains close."

You follow the direction of his finger and find a wide footway of trodden ground extending into the north-east.

"Then I would say Brother, that we have spent long enough in the Underworld. Let us return to the hunt!"

Together you make after the Hresh, the day wearing on as you follow the clear path as it winds into the north-east and then veers further north. Overhead you see the first of a large number of Kreel silently gliding into the west. No doubt they are returning from their hunt, eager to find shelter in the far western mountains before the coming storm hits the plains. In the silence of the chase you find yourself considering the uncomplicated nature of their existence and wondering if the large reptiles hold any thought for the constraints and obligations of honour. Probably not you decide, for they are no more than beasts, but it is a thought that stays with you for some time.

Ahead the trail turns directly to the north and then angles for the slowly emerging slopes of the Shalamai Hills. To your surprise the tracks make for the hills before disappearing onto their shallow rises. Doggedly you keep to the chase but as you emerge from the hills onto the plains beyond you come to a halt, your sense that these Hresh are playing with you, taking you on a chase without end. Glydenhaal stops and stands close.

"I think Tuan, that we are being toyed with. These shadim have no escape plan, they are just running us in circles. It is becoming annoying."

You smile at Glydenhaal's forthright admission, but it is a truth. "I do not understand their purpose, Brother. I fear however, that there is a purpose nonetheless. If we must follow them then we shall do it diligently for there is always the chance that they are too sure of their success. Even the most careful of plans have their flaws, and I believe these Hresh have misjudged how motivated their pursuers are going to be."

Which of these trails will you follow? If you wish to go east after the main group turn to section 130. If the south-east seems a better choice turn to section 224.

265

266

Quickly you traverse the edges of the cistern, searching the stone for any sign of an opening or exit that might be used to escape the waters. It is a frantic search, one that requires a swift resolution for the cold saps the strength from your body, you legs already numb as you move carefully along the curving stone wall. Glydenhaal also searches the dark for some sign of salvation and it comes just in time. In what you believe to be the eastern wall of the chamber your brother finds an opening some two metres square, an ancient outfall from another part of the ruin. With the strength that remains to you, you haul yourself out of the water and then pull your brother bodily from the cistern. You are not a moment too soon. In a roil of gushing water a vast serpentine head emerges at the centre of the cistern, two more of the monstrous creatures following the first to the surface. As you push yourself further down the tunnel the huge beasts search the edges of their domain before falling back into the murky waters and disappearing. In the cold air you shiver, everything you own saturated or lost to the depths.

"By Gedhru's lost daughter. What were they?" your brother whispers.

For a moment you don't respond. Instead you empty your pack onto the hard stone of the tunnel and consider what you have lost.

"I believe, Brother, that the creatures are Weddig, serpents of the ancient world that I do not believe any Jotun has seen for many centuries. I can only think that the cistern we fell into was no cistern at all but an execution well, and one we must be glad we have escaped."

Glydenhaal looks back at the dark chamber and sniffs loudly. "Hallen'draal will have to wait for us then?" he says.

Together you look to the contents of your packs and find that you have lost much of what you have brought with you on the nahj. Apart from the warhammers strapped to your backs and a few items of equipment you have lost everything else, spoiled by the waters and now unusable.

Glydenhaal looks at what remains of his pack and pushes the spoiled items to the side of the tunnel.

"We have lost much here, Tuan." he says grimly.

"Yes Brother," you reply, "but we are still alive, and the Fates will provide for us if it is their will to do so."

"And what if they do not, Tuan?" Glydenhaal rejoins.

"Then we shall take all that we need from the Hresh we are going to kill." you answer. "I am sure that they will not be needing anything where they will be going."

Glydenhaal smiles and nods his agreement, then waits as you consider what will be your next move.

If you have a Sharya'ka in your possession that you have not yet used turn to section 138. Otherwise turn to section 210.

267

Glydenhaal nods his agreement and you set off for tpesh'souref. It is a larger settlement than most, being used for most of the year as a permanent base for Herders grazing the eastern Moss Plains. With the onset of the cold seasons it will now be deserted but the shelters will provide the sanctuary you seek. There is also a good chance that any Hresh in the area will also make for the tpesh as well. If that proves to be the case it will be a satisfactory bonus garnered from the storm's approach.

As the suns of Emur slowly drop to the horizon you run, your passage across the plain an uninterrupted race as you keep ahead of the growing stormfront. In the last long shadows of daylight you find tpesh'souref within a depression between two low hills and discover, to your disappointment, that it is deserted. A quick search of the grouping of stone shelters show no sign of the Hresh but this cannot be your only concern at this time. With the first slap of chilling rain upon your face you choose the most sturdy of the tpesh and disappear into its dark interior. Glydenhaal jams the wooden door to the shelter closed as a deafening drumbeat of thunder rolls across the sky. The treachersa is coming.

Turn to section 282.

268

The solitary figure upon the hills is probably no more than a scout and there is larger game ahead. You decide to keep to the trail. With your brother close you follow the tracks as they take a path first northwards and then again into the east. You can see nothing of the Hresh, but the crushed ground that serves as the trail tells you something of those that have made it. At one point you stop and consider a small piece of cloth that has fallen from a warrior's clothing. It is torn and faded but it is a colour patch from one of the far eastern Kraals, possibly the Tomsk. The Hresh who dropped it probably had kept it as a reminder of their days as an honourable soldier, or more likely as a trophy of an important kill. Either way he was one of a large number of warriors, moving through the mosses without regard for the damage they were leaving in their wake.

"These Hresh have no interest in remaining hidden, Tuan." Glydenhaal says as he waits at your side. "They leave a trail that tells us exactly where they are going."

You have to agree, but what it means is not yet clear. Without another word you return to the chase. Upon the open plain you pursue the shadim, keeping to the trail but now you run with your brother a good twenty metres to the north. If there was to be an ambush on this open ground it would be difficult for the Hresh to take both of you down at the same time, and spread in this fashion you also be able to identify any tracks that might lead from the main crue out onto the plains.

In this fashion you head into the east and find by mid-afternoon the trail leading into the shadows of a large upthrust of stone that rises out of the plain ahead, a keln that towers more than thirty metres into the air above you. At its base you find the remains of a large camp. Nothing remains but the cleared ground of a bivouac and a circle of holes that would have held the supports for a command tent. Here you have found the Hreshs' basecamp but they have gone.

"How many?" you ask of your brother.

He considers the size of the cleared ground and replies. "At least sixty warriors,Tuan. With a command tent and support staff this must have been the base for their assault upon us. It would appear that they struck their tents within hours of their attack failing."

You look at the amount of effort that would have been taken to bring such a large crue into your Father's lands and wonder at why it didn't succeed. It is not the nature of the Hresh to fail, and certainly not without pressing their attack to the death of every last one of their number. None of this was making any sense. You can see that Glydenhaal has had the same thoughts.

"What do you make of it Brother?" you ask as you search the horizon about you.

"Are there any more tracks?"

You know that on the open plain you can run the Hresh to ground, but a decision must be made.

269

270

To find the Hresh and exact the justice they deserve will not allow any further delay. With Glydenhaal at your side you increase your pace towards tpesh'souref. The day wears on, the afternoon growing into longer shadows as you move swiftly into the south-west. With the Iron Hills as your mark you run, the cold air biting deep as you think on the peculiar circumstances of what has passed. In your mind you have become firmer in the opinion that the Hresh are shadim, and that they had the numbers to overwhelm all of your party in a pitched battle. Even six Jotun fully armed could not have held out for long against a force of warriors of the size that has infiltrated your Father's lands, and that knowledge has only made their actions all the more unusual.

A Hresh given a task is a relentless foe, one that thinks nothing of the cost that might be required to complete their orders. All the Hresh you have ever known, even those few of the Denmar that your Father has held counsel with over the years, have been single-minded in their determination and need to do what is asked of them. You know that if the Hresh had been given orders to kill you then they would have scouted the Shalamai until they had found you, and then fallen upon you as a single crue. You would be dead, and there would have been nothing that your brothers could have done to stop them.

To attack in small numbers, and to do it in such a haphazard fashion, and then run without completing the mission made no sense. To mark Ahmetsen with the nahj seemed a pointless expression of hate for warriors who do not wait for their victims to find them, a challenge of honour irrelevant when you should simply have been killed. The assassination should have been precise and efficient, and it wasn't. In your thoughts however, you are pleased that they did not succeed, but you know the underlying motivations of the Hresh will remain a mystery until you can get your hands on Sonnengren.

By late afternoon you make the crest of a low rise and find tpesh'souref hidden upon a piece of cleared ground between two hills ahead. Unlike tpesh'shalamai it is a sprawl of domed shelters, cattleyards and drinking ponds, all organised for the yarding and housing of Yunta and their Herders. Smoke arises from one of the shelters but you can see no movement. It appears deserted.

"What do you think, Brother?" you whisper to Glydenhaal.

Your brother surveys the tpesh but it is a low rumble of thunder at your back that causes him to turn instead to the north. "I think, Tuan." he replies, "that we should look to our own shelter quickly. The treachersa comes and it warns us of its approach."

271

It seems a more logical path to stay with the main passage, and with Glydenhaal at your side you move on, leaving the southern corridor behind. The remainder of the passageway reaches far into the ancient stone and it takes some time to negotiate a cracked and broken floor that grows ever more precarious as you advance. When you reach its end you find yourself at a junction with a much larger corridor that stretches as a wide hall to the south and north. This hall is a thoroughfare of considerable scope, its walls adorned with a procession of wide pillars supporting a high vaulted roof that reaches overhead into darkness. Into this grand hall you proceed carefully, its breath and depth leaving you exposed upon a floor of smooth stone.

"Well this is impressive." Glydenhaal says as he surveys the long chamber.

You nod your head slowly. "Indeed Brother. But tell me, what is it you see here."

For a moment Glydenhaal stares into the great depth of the hall and then steps back as he also begins to see what you have. The hall is far more than its first appearance. Tall pillars line both sides of its length, and at first glance they appear as no more than smooth stone, but as you look more carefully you begin to see a texture upon their surfaces, a cunning play of shadow and light that gives them the look of tree bark. As you stare more closely you find your eye travelling up the trunks of these stone trees to find the vault overhead also changing, the long arcs of carved stone reaching out as branches in a forest, and in the darkness you can just make out the leaves of a thick canopy. The more you look the greater the illusion and it proves a wondrous thing, the like of which you have never seen.

"Well this is impressive." Glydenhaal whispers again. You smile and draw your eyes away from the swaying canopy overhead. The hall is a long thoroughfare, one that must have been artificed as a ceremonial chamber of great importance. For you however, it provides a choice that must be made. To the north there comes the welcome smell of wet earth and moss. To the south you can see only darkness, and the pounding ebb and flow of that great power somewhere beyond these stone walls.

What is to be your choice? Will you turn to the north and the possibility of an exit to the world above? If this is your will turn to section 155. If the south seems a more intriguing choice turn to section 455.

272

273

Nine bodies lay dead within the bounds of the battleground, all bearing the mortal wounds of a combat short in duration but bloody in its outcome. Carefully you search the Hresh, each providing nothing that might identify who they are. Their clothing is black and loose-fitting, all the insignia and colour branding that would identify their Kraal missing. Even the tattoos that should have emblazoned their right arms have been burned away, the very birthright of their existence removed as if they had given over their lives to a darker purpose. At first glance they seem to be nothing more than rohnan, the removal of tattoos a common practice inflicted upon warriors who are to be exiled, but it is the total lack of any identifying marks that makes you suspicious of their true purpose. No rohnan you have ever encountered has so completely given up the identity of their homeland.

Glydenhaal finishes his search and shrugs his shoulders. "I can find nothing. There are no markings and no equipment except for the weapons they have brought to the fight. They must have a camp somewhere within a day's march for they could not venture into our lands so lightly provisioned."

You agree with Glydenhaal. For a large force of Hresh to journey so far into the lands of your father they would need food, equipment for the march and a command crue to co-ordinate the attack. There is still the possibility that this outrage is coincidental and that these warriors are no more than rohnan, but there is nothing you see that feels right. For the moment however, you must ensure the safety of all your fellow Jotun.

"Jerogin, you can scout the way ahead. Myself and Glydenhaal will carry Emmentaal. We must make the camp as quickly as we can and certainly before sunsrise. If Fate is with us we will find Ahmetsen already there."

"And what of these Hresh." asks Jerogin. "Who are they, and what do they want?"

If you wish to tell Jerogin and Glydenhaal of your suspicions turn to section 135. If you would rather not do so until you have more understanding of what is happening turn to section 205.

274

The Hresh disappear quickly back into the rain and the shadows of the gathering dawn. You tap Glydenhaal on the shoulder and move quietly from the tpesh, the tracks left by the warriors clearly visible upon the mosses at the settlement's edge.

"What is our purpose Tuan?" Glydenhaal asks.

"We will follow these Hresh," you answer. "Their commander has the air of one who is used to commanding far greater numbers than the few warriors that are with him, and he will be eager to return to his command tent. Follow him and we will no doubt find their basecamp and Sonnengren himself."

"And what of the Living Book? Do we leave his fate unknown?"

You look to Glydenhaal and nod. "The Book will have to look after himself. If he has indeed been taken, and is still alive, he will also be on his way to the Hresh camp. If this is so then we can fulfil all of the tasks that stand before us by following them. I have a hunch Brother, that the old Hresh will not be that easy an Oera'dim to take prisoner."

Glydenhaal smiles and takes up his hammer. "Let us follow these shadim then, Tuan."

With the suns muted by thick cloud in the east you take to the plains, following the trail of the Hresh as it heads first eastwards and then veers more to the north. The shadim move with purpose and you follow at a distance, the Hresh no more than dark forms within the mists ahead.

Turn to section 129.

275

276

The trail reaches out before you and you keep to it, the need to find these Hresh all the more insistent as the day moves inexorably towards dusk. About you the wind remains a cold companion to your advance and you move with purpose, searching the surrounding plains for the first sighting of your quarry. At the run you move eastwards, and deeper into the undulating sea of the Moss Plains. Upon a shallow rise you come to a halt and use the vantage to survey the plain ahead. Glydenhaal also pauses and together you watch as a huge herd of Yunta move ponderously southwards. In their thousands the enormous beasts lumber slowly, following migration routes that have been their habit for as long as the Oera'dim have taken breath in the world.

"It is a remarkable thing," you whisper to your brother, "that such large creatures can maintain themselves on no more than the mosses that grow beneath their feet."

Glydenhaal nods and points to the centre of the herd. "Indeed Tuan. And where would we be if they did not?"

You smile and know the truth of his observation. It was the Yunta that made it possible for Kraal Delving to exist at all. These great beasts provided everything that was needed by your people, and in surplus provided the dried meat, skins and bone implements that were used as barter within the complex trade routes that connected all the Kraals of the Oera'dim together. Without them the Delving would be no more than nomadic wanderers, exiled to the Moss Plains and devoid of economic power. Indeed it has long been rumoured that the Jotun of the West were forced into these far reaches of the world because it was believed that little could be garnered here. A punishment built on the insecurity and fear of the Clavern'Sigh and a way of depleting the power of the Delving. It had been a testament to the determination of your forefathers that Kraal Delving had survived at all, and in these sparse lands had then found strength once again.

For a short while you both watch the moving herd then return to the trail. The hours pass as you keep to the tracks, following them into the east and then veering on a more northerly course. Ahead the Yunta herd thins, the main bulk of its passage already finding rest upon the mosses to the south. It is not long however, before you find yourself finding a path around the huge beasts, the trail itself disappearing beneath the large padded feet of the Yunta.

"We will have to travel due east if we are to re-acquire the trail, Tuan." says Glydenhaal. "The Yunta prints have flattened the ground and it will only be when we have passed beyond the herd that we will be able to pick up the trail once again."

Amongst the huge animals you move carefully. The Yunta are docile beasts but easy to frighten, and the storm that brews in the north gives you cause to move all the quicker. It is not unknown for even a thunderclap to send a migrating herd into a panic, and it is a truth that a Jotun can be crushed beneath one of them as easily as any other Oera'dim. Looking to your brother you see him also eyeing the approaching weather.

"Tuan, I believe we should make for the outcrop of rock that stands ahead. There we can take food and wait for the remaining Yunta to pass southwards."

It is an idea that has some merit, if more for the prospect of food than any inherent threat to life or limb. You stand and watch the approaching storm for a few moments though, and consider the cold beauty of the lands that will shortly be your domain. In your heart you sense the anticipation of your impending ascension as Chieftain of Kraal Delving, and feel also the weight of the responsibility of it. For many years you have watched your father as he commanded the nimirim of the Jotun of the West in all their multitudes, and from his example learned quietly how absolute power could be wielded with justice and sometimes lethal efficiency. In this moment of quite you ponder the idea that only time will tell if you can do anywhere near as good a job of it.

"I think Glydenhaal, that we should take our rest beside the outcrop." you say quietly. About you the scattered Yunta have grown anxious and it seems be prudent to be out of their way.

Your brother takes the lead and begins to move towards the upthrust of jagged rock, but you take no more than a few steps upon the mosses before your brother's concerns become an urgent reality. From the north a deafening peel of thunder crashes outwards, rolling across the plain as a moving wall of sound. Beneath your feet you feel immediately the impact of thousands of Yunta on the move and as you look to the north you see the real scale of the danger before you.

Over a series of undulating rises in the north a vast, flowing stampede of Yunta race towards you. This is a new herd of the creatures, one that scatters the few remaining Beasts whom you had initially held concern and crowds the mosses with their vast number. Like a wave the herd charges forward and in their mindless distress they are heading straight for you.

"Tuan!" yells Glydenhaal. "The outcrop!"

Looking to the rock you judge how long it will take to reach, and then recognise the speed of the advancing herd. In the distance there comes another crash of thunder and within its rolling tremor you run, the Yunta a tide that crushes the ground beneath them. If you are to avoid these creatures you will have to reach the outcrop before they reach you.

To outrun the stampede and find safety upon the rocks ahead will require more than speed. The ground is uneven, its frozen soil covered with thick mosses. Between yourself and the safety of the rock there stand more than a dozen Yunta, all on the verge of panic themselves as the northern herd bears down. If you are to survive the next few minutes it will require all the agility you can muster, and a small measure of luck as well. Test both your Agility and Luck attributes. If you are successful with either of these tests turn to section 141. If you fail both of these tests turn to section 324.

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From your vantage you watch as the Hresh take rest upon the ground ahead. They are unaware of your presence and they seem to be waiting for something. For a time the General talks with his officers, but there is an expectation amongst them that you recognise as frustration, as if they are being held back from a more important objective by the need to wait. When the object of their impatience arrives it comes silently from above.

A rush of air is all you hear as the Kreel glides in from the east. Too late you realise its presence and before you can move it lets out an ear-splitting scream as it flies over your position. At once the Hresh move to action and it is then that you see that the reptile has a rider who throws down a small package into the midst of the organising crue. It is quickly taken up by one of their number and passed on to the General.

Before you can rise and issue a challenge to the warriors they turn and retreat into the north-west, disappearing over the rising ground at their backs. With the Kreel winging its way back into the east you have no choice but to take up the pursuit and run the Hresh down.

Turn to section 165.

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You have found shelter but there is much that must be done to prepare for the storm. As Glydenhaal starts a fire in the shelter's central pit you carefully check the wide domed roof for any sign of crack or neglect. Especially you look for any chance the roof might collapse, for all the tpesh are old and have felt the harsh hand of the weather for many seasons. This tpesh appears sound, and as you turn to see how Glydenhaal has fared with the fire there comes from outside a deep rumbling wave of noise. With your hand against the cold stone of the shelter you can feel the tremor of the approaching storm, and in the core of your body you sense also its energy. There is power within it, and something else.

"Do you feel it Brother?" you shout above the increasing bluster of the storm.

Glydenhaal stands motionless, his form illuminated in the flickering cadence of his fire. "Indeed, Tuan. There is more than just the storm in our face here."

Taking up your hammer you move to the entrance and guard your brother as he bolsters the doorway. The door is substantial but it has suffered the years of its service badly. Through cracks in the wood you can feel an icy cold finding its way into the shelter but that is not your only concern. There is something else outside and you have never felt anything like it before.

In a pounding torrent the first rains hit the tpesh. Propelled by a growling gale the rain slaps against the outer wall of the structure. It is a hammering crash of wind and water that sends shudders through the stone. The tpesh however, has been built specifically to withstand these tempests and as you wait beside the flickering warmth of your small fire there comes the true test of your shelter's strength.

As a detonation of sound and light an arc of lightning explodes upon the ground in the centre of tpesh'souref. Thunder blasts the shelters, sending dislodged dirt and dust falling from the roof above you, only to be followed by another tumultuous assault, then another. On the back of the lightning there hastens a wall of hail that descends upon the plain like a blanket, smothering the tpesh in ice and blocking the bottom half of the doorway as the wind tears away at anything not secured.

Within the tpesh you can feel the temperature plummet, your breath emerging as vapours as the fire struggles to remain alight. Quickly Glydenhaal coaxes it to a greater energy and remains with it as you listen to the rip and tear of the storm. In the safety of the tpesh the treachersa is an impotent foe, the shelters designed as a sanctuary that have stood the test of a thousand such storms but you can feel that something is different with this one, its power coming from an energy both unfamiliar and menacing.

After the first squall of hail the rain returns, a rushing flurry of water caught within a wind that howls about the tpesh like a pack of predators. About you thunder and lightning dance in a staccato of blinding detonations and as you feel each blast shuddering through the stone around you there comes a sense of undirected malice into the air that sends a cold shiver down your back.

Making for the doorway you peer out into the storm and watch for any sign of what might be out there, lurking in the darkness. When it comes you stand back and call to your brother.

"Glydenhaal!" you shout above the storm.

He sees your concern and makes it to your side as an enormous bolt of lightning hits the herding yards. In a shower of smouldering stone and burnt earth the blast hurls detritus into the air, but in that instant you see something framed within its brilliant light. It is a shadowed form, indistinct and constituted of vapours and mist but definitely there nonetheless.

"Did you see it?" you whisper to Glydenhaal.

"Yes, Tuan," he answers. "What is it?"

You have no knowledge of what it might be, but as you peer through the cracks in the door you see more of the vaporous Beings congregating, all coming together as the storm's fury intensifies. Hidden within the tpesh you watch as more and more of the spectral creatures come into your world. Grotesque and misshapen by the buffeting gales the shadowed forms seem to be revelling in the storm's power, each blast of lightning and deafening roll of thunder a cause for an even greater furor.

It is as you watch the swirling creatures that you begin to sense a power moving about the tpesh, a malevolent energy that rises and falls with the wind and one connected directly to the mood of the spectral Beings. At the very height of the storm the sense of malice seems as palpable as flesh and it is then that the creatures attack the stone buildings around them.

In a frenzy of destruction you watch as the apparitions pull down anything previously damaged by the storm. Stone fences and outbuildings collapse beneath an assault of grasping limbs and uncontrolled hatred, their need to destroy unbridled as they tear at tpesh'souref. You look to your Brother and know that if they turn their attention to your shelter you will not be able to defend yourself. These creatures seem to be nothing more than shadow and fume yet they grasp the world about them with firm hands.

It is a concern that passes with the progress of the storm itself. Just as the storm builds to its climax so does it begin to ebb away. With the lessening of the winds the phantoms begin to disappear and in the aftermath of thick cloud and drenching rain they follow the centre of the storm southwards. When they have gone you look to the interior of the tpesh and to your brother.

"Have you seen anything like this, Brother?" you ask.

Glydenhaal does not respond for a moment. You can tell he is thinking, trying to recover a memory long forgotten.

"In truth Tuan, I do not know what they were. All I can offer is an old myth I remember, one given on a trading venture to the Oldemai. It told the story of hateful creatures called Verk'haalen, creatures that live within the power of the greatest storms, but I cannot tell you anything more. I believed the teller of the myth to be giving over a false tale at my expense and gave it no heed. I should have listened harder."

You shrug your shoulders and turn to the fire. "Whatever they are, they have moved on. Let us find sleep so that we can begin our hunt early."

Glydenhaal agrees and you both organise yourself for the night. As you rest your head the feeling of malice left by the phantoms remains undiminished. You have never seen such apparitions before and you cannot shake the feeling that they are something new and alien to your world. No matter the old myths there was something about them that was simply wrong, and you resolve to give Shan'dari all that you can recount of their strange revelry. As you fall into sleep you decide that a new day may bring with it a clearer sky and fewer surprises.

Turn to section 219.

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Only when you stood outside the entrance to tpesh'shalamai did your arm react with such intensity. Then it had been an itch that burned like an infection, now your forearm is almost numb, the pain receding but its memory keenly drawn upon your arm. With Glydenhaal at your side you apologize to the lifeless Jotun then commence a thorough examination of his clothing and personal equipment. At first you can find nothing, but an irregularity in the hem of his tunic gives you reason to pause and ask your brother for his knife.

Carefully you cut the thick threads that secure the fold and find a small envelope of finely embroidered cloth. It is vehmin made and when you open it you look to your brother in amazement. In your hand you hold a silver chain, to the end of which is clasped an intricately devised iron casement. Within the casement is a gem of pure crystal, its green substance hiding a piece of white stonewood at its core. Your arm itches like fire as you hold it up to the sunlight.

"What is it?" Glydenhaal asks quietly.

You have never seen one before but you have heard enough about them from Shan'dari to recognise it for what it is.

"It is a sharyah, Glydenhaal, and if I am correct a sharyah'ka, a Lightstone."

"A talisman of the Fallen Masters, Tuan? How could this Herder have it in his possession? Surely it is something too valuable to be held by such a Jotun?"

You nod your agreement but it is not yours to take. "Who can say how this Jotun and his nimirim came to possess it, however it is not ours to take even though its power could prove useful."

You look deeply into the green gem as it hangs before you. Such a talisman has many uses, from giving light in the darkest of places to acting as a ward in the face of dreya'dim or other spectral beings. It is not yours though, and to take it without good reason would expose you to a dispute you cannot afford at this time.

You have two courses of action open to you. The first is to return the talisman to the Jotun's clothing and bury him. In the course of time his nimirim will find the cairn and disinter the body and reclaim the sharyah. If you believe this to be the best option turn to section 201. If however, you believe that the sharyah'ka is too valuable an item to leave in such an isolated location, and you would take it for safe-keeping to return it to his nimirim yourself, turn to section 134.

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You are confident that the Book can look after himself. It is said that he has lived more than eight thousand years in the world and you know the Hresh will find him a difficult target. Although he is but one old Hresh you cannot shake the feeling that you will see him again, and if they do try to find him it will be the Hresh that shall pay a far greater price than himself. Looking to the remains of Ahmetsen's pyre you can taste only ashes and anger. This Hresh who calls himself Sonnengren has killed one of your blood then had the audacity to declare the nahj. This cannot be suffered and it will not be.

Your decision is made. Jerogin will return Emmentaal to Kraal Delving and yourself and Glydenhaal will track the Hresh into the east. While your brother and Jerogin construct a litter for Emmentaal you collect as much of your equipment as you can find. The Hresh have spoiled most of your supplies and there is little of your equipment left that has not been stolen or destroyed. What you can find you assemble upon the open ground. To start you give Ahmetsen's warhammer to Glydenhaal, his having been broken upon an outcrop of stone. The rest however, is a collection of salvaged gear from which you can choose what you believe to be most useful.

You have found a backpack that can hold a maximum of ten items. For a Jotun weight is not a consideration. Choose what you want from the following list and record it on your character sheet.

5 Nahla Cakes,
A twenty metre length of rope,
2 torches,
3 rations of dried Yunta meat,
1 packet of flints,
An iron grapple,
1 frying pan,
the usable remains of one two-jotun tent,
1 waterproof cloak,
2 bags of salt,
1 small shovel, and
a compass.

Once you have organised your gear you find Glydenhaal. He has finished with the litter and together you place Emmentaal carefully onto its triangular frame. It will not be a comfortable ride but it will allow Jerogin to take your brother to safety alone. Turning to the Oldemai you point southwards.

Jerogin nods and then lifts the end of the litter. Slowly he moves off, taking your brother home. For a short time you watch as the Oldemai and Emmentaal disappear into a rising haze.

"Will Emmentaal make the journey?" asks Glydenhaal.

"I do not know." you reply. "All I can say is that he will have a better chance under the care of Kehndu than he will here. It will be up to the Fates to decide if he survives."

With your brother now safely on his way you take up your hammer and smile at Glydenhaal.

"Come brother, let us hunt down this Sonnengren and feed his heart to the crows."

Glydenhaal nods grimly and you both run into the east, following the trail left by the Hresh.

Turn to section 226.

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Knowing that you have only an instant to recover you jump to your feet and bring your spear around to face the Voor'cat. It is quicker. Before you can brace yourself the cat lunges at you again, swiping out with its claws and raking a long cut into your upper leg. Instinctively you ball your fist and punch it in the shoulder, trying to throw it off balance so that you might use your weapon. Stunned by the blow the cat retreats, then jumps again, its jaws wide as it attempts to find a purchase upon your throat. Again you cannot bring the spear to bear quickly enough but you tire of the fight and use its thick wooden haft to push the cat aside, forcing it down the slope.

In a flurry of dirt and flailing limbs the cat regains its feet but this time you are quicker, your spear a glimmering reflection of starlight as you drive its blade deep into the predator's side. In a tremor of pain the Voor'cat drops sideways and lies still.

With your heart pounding in your chest you take a moment to recover your breath then turn to find Glydenhaal. He also has been victorious, the other Voor'cat's body lifeless upon the uneven ground. Drawing his spear from the cat's body he runs to your position.

"Tuan, we cannot tarry here. There is movement beyond the rise and it is not our brothers."

The camp is only a short distance to the south. With Glydenhaal at your side you start running, making the next rise before descending into a series of thorn hedgerows. As you make your way through your brother puts his hand upon your shoulder. Instinctively you crouch within the hedges and listen. To the west there is the sounds of a large number of creatures moving with purpose. It is the Hresh.

Dressed completely in black the warriors display no Kraal colours or insignia. Against the backdrop of the hills they move as smoothly as the shadow of a cloud upon the ground, searching the slope above your position before disappearing into the north. When they are gone you turn to Glydenhaal and shake your head.

"How many of these Hresh are there?" you ask.

Glydenhaal shrugs and looks to the south. "I do not know Tuan. It is a large force though and it makes me wonder why they are here. Do they not fear the consequences of this attack?"

You have your own thoughts on why the Hresh are here and Glydenhaal deserves an answer. If you believe your suspicions that these Hresh are assassins of the Clavern'Sigh, turn to section 259. If you think however, that it may be only coincidence the Living Book foretold your peril and it has come to pass so quickly, turn to section 128.

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You have no time to investigate, the Hresh your only focus as you run on into the mists. Quickly the mosses thicken, the ground knee deep in the clinging vegetation. About you there comes the sound of large animals moving within the fog and soon you find Yunta scattered upon the plain, their enormous bulk moving as large grey shadows within the swirling vapours. The trail however, remains clear, and although you can no longer see the Hresh the evidence of their passing proves an easy path to follow. Quickening your pace you run through the mists. In turn you each take the lead, following the trail until a change in the ground ahead brings you to a halt. Glydenhaal does not see the loose earth and before you can shout a warning the mosses beneath his feet fall away, sending him tumbling into darkness below.

Making the edges of what appears to be a large subsidence in the earth you call out to your brother.

"Brother! Are you alright?"

From deep within the hole the response comes as a muffled affirmative. "Yes Tuan. It would seem that Hallen'draal calls for me before my time."

You laugh and peer into the shadows. At the edge of your vision you see your brother, standing uninjured and looking about a large chamber. He has fallen down a long shaft and then tumbled through its vaulted roof.

"Could you have found a larger hole?" you yell down into the darkness. You see your brother make a crude gesture in your direction but you have a problem, one that will require a hasty solution.

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You cannot afford any further delay, and with the trail a clear path ahead you return to the hunt. As the afternoon wears on you follow the sign left behind by the Hresh, first south and then west towards tpesh'shalamai. Focused upon the chase you run, the winds of the north beginning to grow in power as the day passes. All too quickly the weather changes, flurries of tangled detritus gusting past your path as you keep to the trail. Within this steadily growing bluster you remind yourself that you must remain vigilant, the winds a sure sign that there are things in your domain more powerful than yourself.

"We must watch the weather, Brother. I can sense a change for the worse in the air."

Glydenhaal nods then starts to run again but comes to a quick halt, motioning for you to come to his side. Upon the ground is a large arrow, dug into the hard earth and with the word "souref" at its point. Beside the unexpected glyph is the personal mark of Maul Oldemai. The trail however, now veers southwards again, away from the tpesh and out onto wild ground.

"Well, here's an unexpected hand." you murmur to yourself.

Glydenhaal tests the sign and then stands. "This has been cut no more than two hours ago. For whatever purpose Maul has left us a message."

You look at the direction of the arrow and know it points directly for tpesh'souref. The trail leads away to the south. Which way will you go?

If you wish to continue following the tracks turn to section 252. If you would rather follow Maul's direction and make for tpesh'souref turn to section 221.

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It is said that a wise Oera'dim does not tempt the power of the treachersa, nor do they stand before such fury unprotected. If there are Hresh hidden somewhere within the shelters you will kill them and take the shelter you require. With the storm moving swiftly towards you there is little other choice.

Carefully you move down the sloping ground and make your way into the centre of the cluster of buildings. Glydenhaal does not follow you down. Instead he keeps to the north of the tpesh, skirting the edge of the shelters and out of sight. Standing upon the open ground you call loudly into the chill air.

"Show yourself Cowards and take your prize!"

The tpesh remains quiet, only the rising tide of the approaching storm any answer to your challenge. Motioning to Glydenhaal you both begin a cursory search of the shelters, their yards and outbuildings. The tpesh is indeed deserted, all the herders that would have found safety here having moved southwards. At your back the storm growls like a predator, thunder and lightning branching in huge arcs of light and sound as its squall line rushes towards you.

"It is time to take shelter, Tuan." Glydenhaal shouts into the rushing winds. About you moss litter and detritus scatters across the open ground, the sky darkening as if a great blanket has been thrown across the world. It is indeed time to take cover.

At your right shoulder you choose a small tpesh as your sanctuary. It is not the biggest but it will be easier to warm and less likely to take a direct lightning strike. Calling to your brother you make your way inside, Glydenhaal following as he jams the door shut. Against the solid stone of the tpesh you hear the slap of rain then a barrage of hail that tremors like hammer blows through the shelter. The treachersa has come.

Turn to section 282.

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It is a straightforward decision and one you take without hesitation. The shadim are to be found in the world above and that is where you must be also. Quickly you move northwards into the centre of the chamber, taking the time to survey the true nature of what you have found. The chamber does indeed encompass a tall staircase, enclosed within a circular shaft that ascends more than one hundred metres to an opening high overhead. About its edge spirals the staircase, a carefully crafted series of stone steps that reaches from a landing at its base to a similar landing along the upper lip of the chamber. At its top you can see a smooth patch of blue sky, somewhat obscured by a thin matting of plant roots and leaf litter.

"I bet you are glad that you did not fall down this hole, Brother." you whisper as you look up into the high shaft.

Glydenhaal smiles and rubs at his face. "At least there would have been no good reason to come down and get me."

You laugh and point to the remains of the Yunta carcass, its once powerful form now no more than a pile of broken bones and taught skin, a victim of an unintended pitfall and stark evidence to the dangers of these old ruins. "I think, Brother, that we should spend no further time in this place. It has delayed us long enough."

Carefully you test the stairs and find them navigable. The long years of their neglect has left them covered in detritus and more than one animal bone, but as you climb upwards you smell the odours of wet earth and cold moss and know that they will indeed be your way out. With greater haste you move along the staircase until the shaft widens into a thin landing that acts as a threshold to the plains above. With Glydenhaal at your back you climb out onto the Moss Plains and out into the light of day.

Turn to section 264.

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The trail into the east seems the most profitable. What you lack more than anything else is understanding of the Hreshs' motives and if you can run down a Jotun as well then answers may well be yours. The presence of an Amdahl Jotun on Delving lands cannot be simple coincidence, and if you can capture him there may be many answers.

"East is will be." you say to Glydenhaal and immediately he begins the hunt. In the remains of the afternoon you both run eastwards, following a broken trail onto an area of exposed and undulating ground. About you the world seems numbed, the power of the storm remaining in the bluster of a bitterly cold wind and shallow meres of freezing water and melting ice. Through this morass of sodden ground you follow your brother as he takes to the trail, and it is not long before he goes to ground below the crest of a rise in the terrain ahead.

"What is it, Brother?" you whisper. Glydenhaal does not answer, instead he crawls up the incline until he finds a vantage that gives him an unobstructed view onto the ground beyond. You follow him to the lip and look over. What you discover is a long decline of sloping ground that widens into a shallow curving depression. At its centre there lay three bodies, all Hresh and all bloodied from battle. Standing over them is a Jotun, uniformed in the armour of an Amdahl Jotun and holding a warhammer over his head. As you watch he brings it down swiftly upon the heads of all three prostrate warriors, their lives snuffed out instantly beneath the hard edge of its iron head.

"Well, that is three warriors we will not have to worry about." muses Glydenhaal.

"True, Brother, but that does not give him unfettered right of passage here." you answer. "Let us see what this warrior's business is upon Delving lands. If it proves suspect then he shall meet the same fate as the Hresh."

Quickly you get to your feet, rising to your full height as you surmount the rising ground. Ahead the Jotun turns toward you but he remains still. He is waiting for you.

Turn to section 450.

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With the cold a numbing blanket you make your way along the edge of the cistern. It is an immense vessel that must have once served a large community of Beings, but as you search the darkness for a way out you find its size is not this cistern's only danger. In the waters beneath you there comes the feeling of frantic movement in the depths, the displacement of something large rising from the darkness below, ascending swiftly towards you.

"Glydenhaal!" you yell. "We are not alone here. Something rises beneath us."

From the shadows there is no response, and before you can call out again a huge serpentine head emerges from the waters at the cistern's centre, a vast coiling body moving purposefully beneath its surface. Although shadowed within the gloom this monster can only be one thing, a Weddig, a fresh-water predator known to all Jotun though rarely seen. Unable to find your brother you hold to the edge of the cistern and watch as two more of the creatures find their way to the surface. Too late you realise that this is more than just a cistern. You have fallen into an ancient execution well, a place where prisoners of war and traitors would have been thrown for quick disposal. Against these monstrous beasts you have no defense, only the possibility of an honourable death against overwhelming odds.

Pulling your knife from its scabbard you point it at the Weddig and challenge them to combat. It is a challenge that requires no invitation. From beneath you a sinuous tail grabs at your legs and pulls you downwards, drawing you quickly to a depth that you cannot return from. There the first of the Weddig attacks, a huge mouth of razor-sharp teeth cutting you cleanly in two before you can raise your knife to strike. In this life your nahj is over. In another there lies the possibility you may find better luck but that must remain for Fate to determine.

THE END

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The Eqkril moves towards you and does not hesitate in its assault. With both claw and tail the beast attacks and against its fury you are forced back towards the edge of the camp. Your foe is a slithering monster, one whose speed and ferocity is matched only by its formidable strength. Standing your ground you look to Glydenhaal but he remains motionless and cannot help you. In this battle you are alone.

Striking out with your hammer you hear bone crack beneath the impact, the beast faltering in its attack, causing it to retreat back into the centre of the depression. Advancing upon it you bring your weapon down upon its head but can manage only a glancing blow against its shoulder before the Eqkril lunges forward once again. Before you can move aside the edge of a claw rakes down your leg and with blood running freely from a deep cut you strike back, hitting it in the side. Again the beast recoils, but then charges straight at you, hitting you squarely in the chest and sending you flailing backwards into the remains of the Mutan's tent. Desperately you try to recover your footing as the lizard follows up its charge, hitting you again before swinging its tail down upon you. One razor-sharp spike digs into the ground beside your head and it is only the haft of your hammer that saves you from its jaws. Jamming the leather-bound end of your weapon into its mouth forces it away from you, though only for a moment. Before you can fully prepare to meet the monster's next attack the Eqkril moves in close, and as you attempt to fend a further blow from its spiked tail it strikes out with a clawed fist, raking your chest from shoulder to waist. Staggering backwards you grasp at your wound and feel the blood welling up from between your fingers. It is a mortal wound, one you will not recover from.

Falling to you knees you prepare yourself for the journey that will take you to the gates of Hallen'draal. In that last moment before death you see your Brother arise behind the beast and bring his hammer down upon its head. Caught unawares the Eqkril shudders from the blow, its head crushed, its life spent. As the monster falls you feel yourself falling also, your last thought the hope that in your next life you shall find better luck. In this life however, your quest is over.

THE END

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The passage is a narrow corridor that extends no more than two hundred metres further towards the east before terminating at another north-south hallway. Peering cautiously into this new hall you find two points of immediate interest. To the north, at the end of a long northern reach there glimmers a shaft of sunlight, distance and faint but a light from above nonetheless. To the south you can see something far more curious. At that end there stands a solid stone door, enclosed within an archway of perfectly black obsidian crystal. Ornately carved, the door radiates a deep blue aura, pulsating in sync with the tremoring rhythm that has been the backdrop to your journey through this ruin. From the darkened passage you look at your brother and consider what you should now do.

At this junction you can feel the Word of Aggeron burning upon your arm, the unseen energy of this place concentrated somewhere behind the stone door. Which way shall you go? If you see merit in having a closer look at the door turn to section 167. If you would rather make for the shaft of light in the north turn to section 396.

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Time is of the essence and you can see no benefit in following the Hresh into the Crystal Forest. You turn to Glydenhaal and shake your head. "I understand your concern Brother, but we must have certainty if we are to clear the honour of Kraal Delving before our father's End of Days. The Crystal Forests are a dead-trap that we need not endure for I have no intention of entering them. We will instead return to tpesh'maale and track the Hresh that have moved into the east. If the Fates are with us they will take us to the Hresh meeting point."

Glydenhaal bows and turns back upon the trail. If he has any other thoughts on the matter he keeps them to himself.

Quickly you return to the trail, retracing your steps as you make for tpesh'maale. In the air you can sense the coming cold and it bites at your face, a stinging then numbing sensation as you run. It is however, of little concern, your thoughts and all your focus centred on finding Sonnengren before he can make his way beyond your borders. You stop only when your brother comes to a halt at the intersection of the trails at tpesh'maale.

"Do the tracks still tell the same story?" you ask your brother.

Glydenhaal re-inspects the prints and nods his head. "Yes Tuan, the trail leads east and the Jotun is definitely in pursuit."

"Then we will join him in the hunt."

In the remains of the afternoon you both run eastwards, following a broken trail onto an area of exposed and undulating ground. About you the world seems numbed, the power of the storm remaining in the bluster of a bitterly cold wind and shallow meres of freezing water and melting ice. Through this morass of sodden ground you follow your brother as he takes to the trail, and it is not long before he goes to ground below the crest of a rise in the terrain ahead.

"What is it, Brother?" you whisper. Glydenhaal does not answer, instead he crawls up the incline until he finds a vantage that gives him an unobstructed view onto the ground beyond. You follow him to the lip and look over. What you discover is a long decline of sloping ground that widens into a shallow curving depression. At its centre there lay three bodies, all Hresh and all bloodied from battle. Standing over them is an enormous Jotun, uniformed in the armour of an Amdahl Jotun, his elbow resting against a large warhammer that stands idly at his side. He seems in no hurry to leave the scene of the battle.

"Well, that is three warriors we will not have to worry about." muses Glydenhaal.

Quickly you get to your feet, rising to your full height as you surmount the cresting ground. Ahead the Jotun turns toward you but he remains still. He is waiting for you.

Turn to section 450.

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You turn to Glydenhaal and motion to the northern reach of the passage. "It is a warning that should be heeded, Brother," you say quietly. "Somewhere beyond this door can be found the River of Life and we both know the penalty that must be paid by any Oera'dim who might look upon it. Let us find a way out of here."

Together you move carefully up the passage and stand at the centre of the circular chamber. About its edge spirals the staircase, a carefully crafted stair that reaches from a landing at its base to a similar landing along the upper lip of the chamber. At its top you can see a smooth patch of blue sky, somewhat obscured by a thin matting of plant roots and leaf litter.

"I bet you are glad that you did not fall down this hole, Brother." you whisper as you look up into the high shaft.

Glydenhaal smiles and rubs at his face. "At least there would have been no reason to come down and get me."

You laugh and point to the remains of the Yunta carcass, its once powerful form no more than a pile of broken bones and taught skin, a victim of an unintended pitfall and evidence to the dangers of these old ruins. "I think, Brother. That we will be well served in getting out of here."

Carefully you test the stairs and find them serviceable. The long years of their neglect has left them covered in detritus and more than one animal bone, but as you climb upwards you smell the odours of wet earth and cold moss and know that they will be your way out. With greater haste you move along the staircase until the shaft widens onto the thin landing that acts as a threshold to the plains above. With Glydenhaal at your back you climb out onto the Moss Plains and back into the light of day.

Turn to section 264.

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Nothing you can see tells you which way you should go but you decide to follow the smaller group into the south-east. If indeed Sonnengren is attempting to flee it will be to the east and with this in mind you return to the chase. Quickly you find the trail connecting with a further line of bootprints from the north, then turning into the south once again.

From the north the wind suddenly changes, a flurry of chilling air biting at your skin that immediately brings you to a halt.

"Do you feel it, Brother?" you shout against the rising gale.

"Yes, Tuan. The treachersa comes!"

"We must find shelter, Tuan. By the end of day this monster will be upon us."

Towering overhead it is of a power that you have never felt before, a dark crackling wall of shadowed energy that you can feel vibrating through the ground beneath you.

"We should go no farther, Tuan." Glydenhaal shouts. "Night will be upon us soon enough, but the storm will reach us first. We should find shelter now and await the passage of this storm before we continue."

You know it to be true. Even affairs of honour must wait for the treachersa, your concern now to find a shelter that will survive the power of the storm.

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You hit ground hard, a roiling cloud of pulverised earth falling after you as you drop from the ceiling and land upon a wide bed of dried moss. Before you can regain your feet a shower of grit cascades in after you, completely blanketing you in a heavy layer of soil and broken rock. Struggling against the weight of the debris you try and force your way out but Glydenhaal is quickly by your side, digging away at the earth and eventually pulling you bodily from the heap.

Gasping for breath you motion to your brother to find your pack and as he digs it out of the earth you cough up gouts of swallowed grit. In some distress you clear your throat but your brother seems to find some humour in your ungainly descent.

"I would not laugh if I was you Brother." you remonstrate. "Remember that you are First Hammer only at the pleasure of your Chief."

Glydenhaal becomes silent but only for a moment. In the cool air both of you laugh as you wipe dirt from your face. You have to admit that there can be no grace in such a fall. About you however, there is much that is uncovered as your brother lights one of his torches. Within its weak illumination you find yourself in a surprisingly large, stone-walled chamber from which there is only one exit, an arched doorway in its eastern wall.

Looking about you can see no furnishing or decoration of any type except for a single carved relief that covers the northern wall. It is worn and covered in dead Oerdaaki roots but you can discern that it is a representation of what looks like a vast waterfall, tumbling from a high plateau into a deep lake beneath. For a moment you ponder the skill of its artifice then turn to survey with greater care the way out. The archway leads into a dark corridor that reaches into the east, but you notice most the deep rushing sound that tremors through the stone, the entire chamber vibrating to an unseen power that you know must be close. Glydenhaal looks at you and motions towards the archway.

"Feel that Tuan? Have you ever felt anything like it before?"

"Is there any other way out of this place?" you ask as you shake the dirt from your bag.

Glydenhaal shakes his head and looks to the eastern exit. "None Tuan. From what I can see this chamber has only the one exit. If we are to find a way back to the surface it will have to be through this arch."

Motioning your brother to take the lead you move out into the eastern hallway. Carefully you conduct a survey on its safety and find that although it is an ancient delving it proves to be both solid and dry. To your surprise the air is also clean though very cold.

Beneath your footsteps the floor is solid but about you the earth tremors to a rumbling vibration that grows as you follow the passage eastwards. There is indeed a source of great power somewhere ahead, and with the Word of Aggeron burning with even greater intensity upon your forearm you follow your brother.

Some two hundred metres into the east the passage meets at a junction with another leading to the north before reaching out further eastwards. Beyond this junction you can see an archway in the southern face of the hall and a much larger junction at the corridor's far end. The hallway leading to the north is masked in shadow though it does not appear to reach very far into the stone. Ahead of you Glydenhaal's torch begins to sputter and flare as if it is about to give out.

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In desperation you run, the roof collapsing behind as you try to outpace its thundering fall. About you the hall fills with clouds of pulverised grit and above you there opens a wide fracture that moves as a jagged line in the cunningly artificed vaults. With dust choking the hall you hold your breath and continue to run, however there seems little chance that you will be able to escape the collapsing ruin. At your back you can feel the tremendous impacts as falling stone slams into the ground, and more than once the shock of those gargantuan blows almost knocks you off your feet. It is Glydenhaal who brings to light your only chance of salvation.

"Tuan!" he shouts above the collapsing ruin. "There is a passage!"

Without hesitation you follow your brother as he angles across the floor for a small archway in the hall's eastern face. Cunningly concealed behind a latticework of carved stone it appears as no more than a service passage but it is all you have. With Glydenhaal to the fore you run for its dark opening and throw yourself inside, the world about you disappearing in a choking cloud of pulverised grit and scattering stonework. Unable to breath you force yourself onwards, stopping only when the air clears enough to inhale safely.

Bent over and gasping for air you look to your brother. "Well done, Glydenhaal." you whisper hoarsely. Your brother nods and tries to recover his own breath, the passage behind you a jumble of fallen stone and mounds of collapsed earth.

"We had better move on, Tuan." your brother advises. "This passage may very well go next and we shouldn't linger long enough to find out."

You agree and together you move carefully eastwards.

Turn to section 323.

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You turn to Glydenhaal and motion to the northern reach of the passage. "It is a warning that should be heeded, Brother." you say quietly. "Somewhere beyond this door can be found the River of Life and we both know the penalty that must be paid by any Oera'dim that might look upon it. Let us find a way out of here."

Together you move carefully up the passage and find that the light floods the base of a tall staircase, enclosed within a circular shaft that ascends more than one hundred metres to an opening high overhead. At its top you can see a smooth patch of blue sky, somewhat obscured by a thin matting of plant roots and leaf litter.

"I bet you are glad that you did not fall down this hole, Brother." you whisper as you look up into the high shaft.

Glydenhaal smiles and rubs at his face. "At least there would have been no reason to come down and get me."

You laugh and point to the remains of a Yunta carcass, now no more than a pile of broken bones and taut skin, a victim of an unintended pitfall and evidence to the dangers of these old ruins. "I think, Brother, that we will be well served in getting out of here."

Carefully you test the stairs and find them serviceable. The long years of their neglect has left them covered in detritus and more than one animal bone, but as you climb upwards you smell the odours of wet earth and cold moss and know that they will be your way out. With greater haste you move along the staircase until the shaft widens into a thin landing that acts as a threshold to the plains above. With Glydenhaal at your back you climb out onto the Moss Plains and back into the light of day.

Turn to section 264.

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The stone juts from the edge of the rift but it has no stable footing. In desperation you kick at the side of the rift and find a foothold that can take at least some of your weight. For a moment it will hold though the task before you remains the same. With the chilling wind blowing up from the depths of the abyss you struggle to haul yourself from its grasp and find instead that the strength you might have been able to apply to the climb is quickly being drawn away. As you hang in the now blustering wind there is little time left before all your energy will be gone.

In desperation you take a firm grip upon the stone and pull hard against it, digging another hole with your foot as you lift yourself a bit further out of the rift. It is a struggle that continues only as your strength remains, and before your brother can get to you the last of your energy falters. With one last heave you try and gain a purchase upon the fractured stone floor at the chasm's edge but it proves too great a challenge. Soundlessly you fall backwards and outwards, disappearing into the depths of the abyss. The last thing you see is your brother at the lip of the great crack, his calls lost to the rushing wind that now engulfs you. In this life your nahj is over. Perhaps in another you may find better luck.

THE END

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Stepping back you have no time to form a countermeasure to the assault. At your back one of the creatures picks up a large stone and hurls it, striking you across the shoulders. Turning to fend another blow you are hit in the leg, your thigh bone breaking with the force of the impact. As you fall to one knee you know that you have no hope here. The Beings are tapping the power of the storm and for two solitary Jotun that is too great a strength to overcome alone. Twice more you turn aside pieces of fractured stone but you cannot see everything. Out of the darkness another stone crashes down, finding the side of your head and sending you straight into the Underworld.

Within the violence of the treachersa you have been bested by a new power, one unseen before in the world and found only in the most powerful of tempests. In this life your nahj is over. Perhaps in another you will find better luck.

THE END

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You turn to Glydenhaal and motion to the northern reach of the passage. "I can feel great power here Brother," you say in a whisper, "but there is no profit in searching it out now. We must attend to the nahj and the light ahead is our best chance. Let us not tarry in this great ruin any longer than we need."

Together you move carefully up the passage and discover that the light floods the base of a tall staircase, enclosed within a circular shaft that ascends more than one hundred metres to an opening high overhead. At its top you can see a smooth patch of blue sky, somewhat obscured by a thin matting of plant roots and leaf litter.

"I bet you are glad that you did not fall down this hole, Brother." you whisper as you look up into the high shaft.

Glydenhaal smiles and rubs at his face. "At least there would have been no reason to come down and get me."

You laugh and point to the remains of a Yunta carcass, now no more than a pile of broken bones and taught skin, a victim of an unintended pitfall and stark evidence to the dangers of these old ruins. "I think, Brother, that we will be well served in getting out of here."

Carefully you test the stairs and find them serviceable. The long years of their neglect has left them covered in detritus and more than one animal bone, but as you climb upwards you smell the odours of wet earth and cold moss and know that they will indeed be your way out. With greater haste you move along the staircase until the shaft widens into a thin landing that acts as a threshold to the plains above. With Glydenhaal at your back you climb out onto the Moss Plains and out into the light of day.

Turn to section 264.

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You have no choice. The Code demands that you must not leave your brother behind, and in truth you have no intention of doing so. Carefully you find a purchase at the edge of the hole and then begin a slow descent. You are careful but a Jotun is a large creature and almost immediately the sides of the subsidence begin to give way. Too late you discover that the entire hole is unstable and in a crashing rush of slumping earth the hole collapses, yourself and tonnes of dirt funneling into the shaft and then out into the chamber below. In the midst of a roiling cloud of pulverised earth you fall through the ceiling and land upon a wide bed of dried moss, a shower of grit cascading in after you, completely blanketing you in soil and moss.

Struggling against the weight of the debris you try and force your way out but Glydenhaal is quickly by your side, digging away at the earth and eventually pulling you bodily from the heap.

"I would not laugh if I was you Brother." you remonstrate. "Remember that you are First Hammer only at the pleasure of your Chief."

Glydenhaal becomes silent but only for a moment. In the cool air both of you laugh as you wipe dirt from your face. You have to admit that there can be no grace in such a fall. About you however, there is much that is uncovered as your brother lights one of his torches. Within its weak illumination you find yourself in a surprisingly large stone walled chamber from which there is only one exit, an arched doorway in its eastern wall.

"Feel that Tuan? Have you ever felt anything like it before?"

"Is there any other way out of this place?" you ask as you shake the dirt from your bag.

Beneath your footsteps the floor is solid but about you the earth itself tremors to a rumbling vibration that grows as you follow the passage eastwards. There is indeed something of great power somewhere ahead, and with the Word of Aggeron burning with even greater intensity upon your forearm you know that it must truly be a great source of EarthMagic.

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The hall is an extraordinary chamber and with your brother at your side you make your way southwards. Within this place you find yourself lost in the remarkable interplay of dark stone and torchlight, the carved forest a strange backdrop to the ever present pounding that tremors the stone and sends small falls of dust raining out of the vaulted roof overhead. As you walk you survey the arched ceiling and notice more the lengths the builders of this ruin took to convey the detail of a living forest. Between the great arches you can see a canopy of leaves, and it is only when you stoop to fasten a loose tie at your boot that you find a small carved leaf lying in the dust. In all ways it is a perfect representation of a leaf, thin and arrayed with a delicate tracery of veins upon both sides. It must have fallen from the roof overhead and as you consider the extent of the hall you can only guess at the millions that must have been crafted to give the roof its almost living countenance. It is a curious illusion and one that does not lose its novelty until a sound at your back brings you to a sudden halt.

From out of the darkness there comes a whisper upon the cold air that is both familiar and filled with danger, and one recognised by all Jotun. It is the distant crack of fracturing stone, breaking as it gives way to some unsupportable pressure. Before you can move there resonates from the northern end of the hall a heavy impact of falling masonry, and then the drumbeat of a collapse that sends a cloud of grit and scattering rubble in your direction. Out of the darkness you hear the tumult growing, a stampede of falling stone that is coming your way.

Glydenhaal grabs you by the arm and pushes you forward. "Run!" he yells above the cacophony of breaking rock and you need no second invitation. Turning on your heel you run, the air about you a roiling cloud of dust that thickens as you attempt to flee its suffocating grasp. Beneath your feet you can feel the hammering impacts of massive pieces of stone as they hit ground and in that moment of flight all you can see before you is a seemingly endless hall, one that appears to have no exits. If you are to escape this collapse you will need both luck and speed in significant measure.

Test both your Luck and Agility attributes. If you succeed in either of these tests turn to section 360. If you fail at both tests turn to section 237.

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In a clash of iron you engage the Hresh, your hammer slicing through the air as the warriors split to come at you from both flanks. With your first stroke you take the scimitar out of the hand of your nearest foe but in a smooth and practiced movement the shadi pulls a reserve weapon from a sheathe at his back. Immediately you advance upon the Hresh, bringing your weapon down twice only to find the head of your hammer slam against soft earth and sodden moss. The warrior is quick, and with speed and agility finds his way beyond the reach of your hammer, only then to turn back towards you. Turning about you react instinctively as the razor-sharp edge of a scimitar slices down upon your thigh. It is a blow you barely glance aside, the haft of your hammer taking the force of the strike as you find your feet and swing it about to scatter your attackers. It works, but only for a moment.

At your left shoulder you see your brother bring his hammer down upon the shoulder of one of the Hresh, the heavy edge of his weapon crushing bone and flesh as he moves forward to finish the warrior. You triumph at his success but there is no time to watch him deliver the death blow. Around you your assailants cut and lunge, testing the reach of your hammer as they circle your position. Without fear the Hresh remain close, dodging your blows as they press their attack. In this battle you strike at the warriors, driving home the advantage of your weapon's reach, but the Hresh will not be the one's who fall on this day.

In the light of the retreating suns one of the shadim lunges low, cutting deeply into your leg. Caught by surprise you turn away from the foe before you and hit the offending Hresh squarely in the chest, crushing his body armour and throwing him backwards into a patch of thick mosses. In that moment the other warrior rushes forward and buries his sword up to its hilt in your chest. It is enough to send you toppling sideways, the spark of your existence gone as you hit the ground and lay still. In this lifetime you have been unable to complete your nahj. It will now be to a future life that you must look for revenge and better luck.

THE END

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When you open your eyes you find yourself flat on your back, staring upwards towards a sky heavy in mist and drizzling rain. For a moment you cannot remember how you came to be so cold, but as you lift yourself onto one elbow there comes a pain that lances across your head, throwing you back into a puddle of ice-cold water. Shocked by its icy hand you struggle to your feet, your thoughts fogged by pain and a curious jumble of half-remembered images. Standing helps though, and as you look about the shattered remains of the tpesh you try and put together a memory of what had happened to yourself and your brother.

You find yourself standing on open ground only a few dozen metres from the tpesh that you had sought refuge in from the storm. Moving carefully to the collapsed remnants of your shelter you find Glydenhaal unconscious, a deep gash running along his cheek and neck. Lying upon the collapsed stone that had once been the tpesh you check him thoroughly for injury but find only cuts, and the bruise of what must have been a powerful blow to the head. Shaking him roughly you manage to bring him back to wakefulness, but he takes a few moments to find his thoughts.

"By Gedhru's lost daughter, what was that?" he whispers as he finds his feet. Looking to you he smiles and shakes his head, his memory of the night before suddenly becoming clear.

"Next time Tuan," he says ruefully, "you will do well to let me know first if you are about to trigger a flashcharge. Caught me by surprise and sent the Shadowed One's running like they'd caught on fire."

For a moment you can do nothing but look blankly at your brother, then the memory begins to return. In the midst of the confrontation with the spectral Beings you had pulled a flashcharge from your bag, your intention to use it to disperse the creatures. In mid throw however, a large stone had hit you in the arm sending the charge spinning backwards and bouncing off the tpesh, landing instead between yourself and Glydenhaal. In the full face of the storm your brother did not hear your warning as you dove to ground, your last memory the detonation of the charge as it lit up the air about you.

Whatever happened next is lost to you, the charge doing the work it was designed for, to stun and render unconscious. It would seem that it had also repelled the creatures, and for that you are glad to endure the headache as its cost.

"Sometimes Brother," you say philosophically, "things do not go exactly as you might plan them, but they seem to turn out alright anyway."

Glydenhaal laughs and then searches out the whereabouts of your bags. Luckily they remain intact, their contents unspoiled by the storm.

"How much time do you think we have lost?" you ask.

""It is certainly the morning of the following day, but we are alive and our weapons have not been lost to us. I believe Tuan, that the Hresh still have something to worry about."

You smile and take some food from your bag. (The effects of the flashcharge has taken two points from your endurance, make this adjustment to your character sheet before making any addition to your endurance points for eating a meal. Please note that the flashcharge cannot kill you. If your endurance points are low, reduce them only to 1 point before continuing.)

When you are finished eating you check your equipment and prepare for the day. Glydenhaal is already waiting, the deepest of his cuts still oozing blood.

"Do you wish to wait a bit longer for your wounds to close?" you ask.

Your brother shakes his head. "They can look after themselves. Let us return to the trail and find the Hresh."
In a landscape blanketed in mists and a fine drizzle you run eastwards, your hope to intersect the trail left by the shadim and then to continue with the hunt. You know that the Hresh will have needed to find shelter from the treachersa, and because of that you still have a chance of running them down.

It takes less than a quarter-hour to find the trail, and with the wind once again at your back you return to the chase. Together you run southwards, the ground slowly changing from open plain to a terrain of shallow undulating hills. Within these slopes you move carefully, keeping low as you follow the trail south and then as it turns into the east. It is as you are about to crest a rise in the ground ahead that Glydenhaal pulls you down. Instinctively you drop to earth as your brother crawls first to the top of the rise.

Carefully you move up beside him.

"Look Tuan," he whispers, "we have found more than a few shadim here."

Peering over the crest you discover a large unit of Hresh, a number of Officers and one of their number uniformed as a General of the March. There are more than forty of the warriors in a depression ahead and far more than two Jotun can challenge alone.

"A General of the March, Tuan." Glydenhaal continues. "I wonder if we should be honoured by the presence of such a high ranking officer. Perhaps he is the Sonnengren we seek?"

Turn to section 165.

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For a moment you hang by the barest of grips upon the jutting stone, your body exposed to the full force of a chilling gale that has erupted from the depths of the abyss. Immediately you feel the effects of the icy wind upon your limbs and you know that it can only be a matter of minutes before any strength you might have remaining to you will falter.

Taking a firmer grip upon the masonry you put your life in the hands of fate and heave upwards, using your feet to dig a purchase into the crumbling walls of the rift. Against this tenuous foothold you heave upwards again, grabbing at a crack in the edge of the flooring near the lip of the chasm. With one final push you are able to swing one leg onto the smooth stone flags and it is then that Glydenhaal comes to your aid, hauling you clear of the gap and onto safer ground.

"That was a close thing, Tuan." rasps Glydenhaal. His breath is short and sparse, but it is not from any heavy exertion. You notice immediately that he has a wide bruise forming across his neck, and that he favours his left side.

"What has happened?" you ask.

Glydenhaal looks uncomfortable but his Tuan has asked a question and he must answer.

"I made the jump, Tuan, but misjudged my landing point. I fell upon one of the packs and my legs were thrown from under me. I tried to correct my fall but fell awkwardly onto the stone. I am sorry Brother, that I was not quicker to assist."

You look at your brother and shake your head. "There is nothing here that requires apology. It would seem though, that we will both come away from this place with a painful souvenir."

Against your own chest you can feel a tightening band of pain, a sure sign that you have broken ribs in your fall against the lip of the chasm. (Take two points from your Combat Value until you are able to eat Nahla cake. If you are unable to eat Nahla cake again this must remain as a permanent reduction in your fighting strength.) With Glydenhaal's help you bind your chest then look to his injuries. The fall has left him with a number of bruises but he has weathered his ungainly landing better than yourself.

Together you collect up your equipment and ready yourself to continue. The chamber has turned quickly to a deathly chill and you can see no reason to linger, the air beginning to fog about you as you exhale. With Glydenhaal in the lead you follow the passage as it reaches eastwards, coming quickly to a small chamber and a stairway that rises from an archway in its northern wall. At the stairway's end you discover a heavy, watertight door and beyond it a further passage that widens into a substantial hall, the remnants of a grand ceremonial chamber that stretches for some distance northwards. Some twenty metres wide it rises to a considerable height overhead, its roof a barrel vaulted ceiling held aloft by a long series of immense pillars. In the light of your torch the hall reaches beyond the edges of your illumination and with nowhere else to go you move forward.

Turn to section 220.

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This site, and associated books and other documents are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. The Jotun of the West gamebook adventure series is a part of the Chronicles of Arborell. Any questions regarding the Chronicles can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au

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