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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2001 - 2007 All Rights Reserved
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287
 After a moment of hesitation you urge Pallenten forward. Before you the gates of Kal Murda lay broken and rotten, their hinges long rusted away, their shattered beams silent yet powerful testaments to the violence of their destruction. Around many a camp fire you have heard the legends and stories of this place, and it is with no small trepidation that you find yourself joining the road that leads into it.
As you pass under the arch of the village's eastern gates you are able to get a clearer impression of what the village must have been like before its destruction by the Horde. Unlike most fortified settlements Kal Murda was not particularly big, probably no more than 300 metres from east to west and set out upon the plain as a perfect square of high walls and higher watch towers; all encircled within a complex arrangement of defensive ditches and pitfalls. Upon Pallenten's broad back you can see the streets coming together at a central market square, around which lay the trading houses and civic halls of the community. All now lay in ruins.
Carefully you guide Pallenten into the town and immediately ask yourself why you are not riding around this settlement rather than choosing a path through it. It would be just as easy to find a way around the high walls but your curiosity cannot let you leave such a legendary place unvisited.
In its heyday Kal Murda had been a thriving focal point of trade, vibrant and busy, servicing most of the surrounding agricultural regions, and recognised as a vital link between the Stone Kingdoms to the west and the larger towns and cities of Central Kalborea to the south. Riding down the main boulevarde towards the Town Hall you find the remains of many large villas and townhouses. There must have been many wealthy merchants that would have used the advantages of this settlement as a base for their trading enterprises, and the success of these townsfolk could still be seen in the remains of the well paved and guttered streets that serviced them. This was all however, before the coming of the Hordim.
As Pallenten trots cautiously along the roadway all you can hear is the echoes of her hooves clattering on the cobblestones and the low rush of the wind as it finds its way through the deserted streets. The village is eerily quiet, a strange expectant edge to the air as you guide Pallenten into the central market. Stopping for a moment you look to the sky and find that the storm is now too close to be avoided. The dark wall of cloud and rain hangs in the north, a menacing veil of gloom that rushes towards you. You have no doubt that this storm is a Treachersa, and you will not survive it unprotected. Before you can move Pallenten on a gust of wind rips through the streets, lifting grit and detritus in its wake, spinning loose dirt and leaves in a dance that heralds the power of the impending storm. You shake your head as you feel the wind rising, a squall of rain and lightning hard upon its heels.
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It is time to decide what you should do. A quick survey of the main square determines that only the broken remains of the Town Hall may provide any protection from the approaching storm. If you wish to confirm if shelter can be found there turn to section 441. If you would rather leave Kal Murda as soon as possible turn to section 495.
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This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au
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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2001 - 2007 All Rights Reserved
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