155

Once outside the main doors, you hurry across a wide stone bridge that spans the dry moat encircling Sesketera’s citadel. Ahead you can see a cobblestoned plaza which is flanked on three sides by municipal buildings and shops, and on its fourth side by barracks and stables. The sound of the alarm bell is beginning to awaken interest in the plaza. Faces peer from windows and you can see men running to and fro inside the barracks compound. Then the gate to the stables swings open and suddenly there appears a man on horseback. He is one of Sesketera’s guards and he comes galloping towards you with a lance levelled at your chest.

You skid to a halt and quickly focus on the rider’s horse. Using your Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control, you command the horse to jump in the air. This has the effect of startling the horse and, in its confusion, it begins to buck and twist. The rider is thrown from his saddle and left sprawled unconscious on the ground. Now you use your Kai skills to calm the startled horse. As he settles down, you leap into his saddle and escape from the plaza at a gallop.

The incessant sound of the alarm bell follows you through the early-morning streets of Ghol-Tabras. Even as you reach the entrance to the harbour, more than a mile from the citadel, you can still hear it echoing over the rooftops. You look back over your shoulder and see that you are being followed by a dozen riders. They are citadel guards and they have been ordered to stop you at all costs. As you gallop along the harbour wall, your heart sinks when you see that The Azan is surrounded by soldiers. You race past them before they have a chance to load and fire their bows, but you soon come to the end of the harbour wall where you are forced to a halt. The bridge which spans the harbour entrance is too narrow to cross on horseback and so you abandon your mount and hurry across it on foot. You are nearing its centre when you see a trading ship passing directly below. It is leaving the harbour. Suddenly an arrow pierces your cloak and makes you freeze in your tracks. The soldiers are firing at you and, to your dismay, you see that they have sealed off both exits from the bridge. As they begin to move towards you from each side, firing as they advance, you climb onto the parapet of the bridge and attempt to leap onto the deck of the passing trader.

If you possess the Discipline of Magi-magic and wish to use it, turn to 193.

If you possess the Discipline of Kai-alchemy and wish to use it, turn to 26.

If you possess neither of these skills, or if you choose not to use them, turn to 63.