344

You pull Paido to his feet and help him along the causeway, leaving behind the dead Rahgu and the stinking cloud of gas. The volcanic spur soon comes to an abrupt halt, its jagged edge overhanging a sprawling tangle of reeds, marsh thistles, and black moss. The pools of dark water are few, but the hazards are more than ever before.

‘The brown patches,’ says Paido, his voice hoarse from the effects of the gas, ‘are quicksands.’ He points to where the marsh weeds are sparse and the ground pale and sandy. You stand and count the little tan-coloured patches but give up when you reach fifty.

If you wish to try to cross this quicksand bog, turn to 21.

If you decide to return to the junction and take the west spur, turn to 175.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination, turn to 142.