230

You race through the gatehouse arch just moments before the heavy portcullis comes crashing down. Without daring to look back, you urge your horse across the wooden drawbridge and along the open track that lies beyond. The angry shouts of the gate guards echo from the battlements but so too do the unexpected sounds of clanking chains and baying hounds.

You have covered more than half a mile when you chance a glance over your shoulder. To your dismay you see that you are being pursued by a snarling pack of wolf-like creatures with drooling fangs and eyes that gleam menacingly in the darkness. An icy chill invades your heart. These are no ordinary hunting hounds—these are hellish beasts born of a dark sorcery.

Soon you reach the tributary bridge that is lined with statues, and you catch sight of the twinkling lights of Scade about a mile beyond. The feral pack are closing fast and you know that your encumbered horse cannot outpace them indefinitely. You must do something to delay them, if you and Nathor are to escape in one piece.

If you possess the discipline of Magi-magic and have reached the Kai rank of Grand Thane, turn to 322.

If you possess Kai-surge and have reached the Kai rank of Grand Thane, turn to 281.

If you do not possess these skills, or if you have yet to attain the necessary level of Kai Mastery, turn to 195.