166

You draw out the Parchment stolen earlier from the dead Elessi and hand it to the guard. He eyes it suspiciously. Having read the Parchment, he hands it back and stands aside. He says something and you nod. The guard seems satisfied and you enter the palace.

The sight takes your breath away. The interior comprises just a single hall. The high ceiling is supported by hundreds of transparent columns filled with a coloured liquid that stirs sluggishly within. But it is the glittering column of light at the far end of the hall that draws your attention as it changes colour and swirls like a lazy shining whirlpool. You walk towards it and, as you grow nearer, something else attracts your attention. The pillar is illuminating a grotesque but life-like statue of an infant child sat cross-legged on the floor, its face that of an old man. The statue is about three feet high and in its open, upturned mouth rests the Threnogem.

If you wish to take the Threnogem from the statue’s mouth, turn to 71.

If you have the Magical Power of Psychomancy and wish to use it, turn to 39.

If you have the Magical Power of Prophecy and wish to use it, turn to 55.