292

Quickly you unshoulder your pack and remove the Cener Robe and Mask. The garment and the mask still bear the vile smell of the creature that once owned them, making you hesitate before putting them on, but you are determined to enter Mogaruith undetected and, by wearing this Cenerese outfit, you hope to achieve that aim. (Erase the Cener Robe and Cener Mask from your list of Backpack Items, but note in the margin of your Action Chart that you are now wearing them.)

Once you have donned your disguise, you crawl to a clump of dense foliage at the edge of the forest and wait patiently for your opportunity to act. Eventually your patience is rewarded when you spy two Vazhag approaching Mogaruith from the Skardos Trail. They are leading on a chain what appears at first glance to be a man, although this impression is soon dispelled when they draw closer to your hiding place.

Trailing behind the Vazhag is a creature with no free will of its own, a being that was once human but is now consigned to the twilight world of the undead. The sight of this stiff-limbed zombie, propelling itself forward on withered grey limbs, fills you with revulsion and pity. With difficulty you suppress your anger at the creatures who have caused this transformation and, as the Vazhag draw level, you emerge from the foliage and order them to stop. At once the rat-men obey, deceived by your disguise and your command of the Cenerese dialect. Nervously their red eyes regard you and they shuffle uneasily as they wait for your next command.

If you wish to ask them what they are doing, turn to 122.

If you wish to order them to accompany you into Mogaruith, turn to 210.