103

The bullet clips your left shoulder and pitches you into the trees on the far side of the plateau (lose 3 ENDURANCE points). The land drops steeply, causing you to tumble head over heels through the scrub and bracken. When eventually you come to a stop, you are covered from head to toe with scratches and other minor abrasions (lose an additional 2 ENDURANCE points).

Painfully you stagger to your feet and force yourself to continue your descent. Soon you reach the stream that you discovered during your climb, and you stop briefly to bathe your wounds and to try to determine if you are still being followed. The surrounding trees seem unnaturally quiet, and it is easy to imagine that an assassin lurks behind every trunk.

Your strength returns and with trepidation you continue, leaving the trail to follow the water as it flows west towards the Swisshelm Mountains. You cover twelve miles without incident and by early evening you arrive at a small bridge where a road, running north to south, crosses the stream. You check your map, but the road is too minor to be listed. You are hungry and must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

If you wish to leave the stream and follow the road, turn to 43.

If you choose to continue along the stream, turn to 175.