187

You move deeper into the forest, maintaining a steady pace. Here, in this part of the Tozaz, the snowfall underfoot is light because of the canopy of thick branches overhead, and you make good progress. You have been walking for an hour when a shivery rustle brings you abruptly to a halt. You look up and a miniature snowslide falls from a branch overhead, covering your face and shoulders with a deluge of powdery snow. Prarg laughs as he watches you spluttering, and as you wipe your eyes, you glimpse a grey-winged bird fluttering away to the west.

‘By the gods, I’m hungry,’ exclaims Prarg, leaning weakly against a tree trunk. ‘What I’d give for a side of beef and a plate of boiled beets.’

The captain has not eaten since before you reached Shugkona and you can see that after the rigours of his capture and escape, he is sorely in need of food. Unless he eats soon he will be unable to go much further.

If you possess a Meal, turn to 68.

If you do not, turn to 282.