187

You spend the evening aboard the Starstrider in the company of your two companions. In the comfort of Acraban’s quarters, you study charts and maps of the Isle of Sheasu in preparation for tomorrow’s voyage. The northern coastline stretches for more than 200 miles and it is indented with hundreds of bays and tiny inlets. Searching this territory for Prince Karvas’ home will be a difficult task, yet, thanks to the Starstrider, not an impossible one.

Lord Zinair gives Acraban a small seeing-stone, one of a pair that he possesses. It will enable him to stay in contact with the elder magician and inform him when the Prince has been found. Lord Zinair has decided it is best that he go back to Suhn aboard The Azaktana. He has fulfilled his promise to Lone Wolf that he would escort you swiftly and safely here to Mydnight, and the time has now come for him to return to his ambassadorial duties. Before he leaves for his ship moored in the harbour, he wishes you both a swift, sure, and successful voyage.

‘I look forward to the day we shall meet again, my lords,’ he says. ‘Though I shall not be with you in body, my spirit will travel with you all the way to Seroa. Good luck and godspeed.’

You rise before daybreak and as the first rays of the morning sun creep over the horizon, you hear Acraban giving the order to commence the voyage north. From the forward deck rail you watch in fascination as the hovels and harbour of Mydnight slide gently away beneath the keel. The hum of the skyship’s engine increases in pitch as it steadily gains speed and altitude, until soon all you can see are the hills and valleys of Sheasu whirling past far below.

The flight to the north coast takes a day to complete. Upon arriving in this remote region you soon realize that the shoreline will prove more challenging to explore than had been expected. Much of the coast is forested, and there are countless miles of undercut cliffs and steep ravines that could keep entire villages hidden from the air. For two days the Starstrider follows the coastline with all hands on lookout duty, yet no human habitation is sighted. It is not until the afternoon of the fourth day of your voyage that your luck changes for the better. An eagle-eyed crewman on the forward deck spots a tiny clearing on a wooded peak overlooking a crescent-shaped bay. You magnify your vision and see, in the centre of this clearing, a single-storey house with a split log roof, surrounded by animal pens and shelters. You feel sure that you have found the Prince’s retreat and you ask Acraban to bring the skyship down within a mile of the settlement so as to avoid the risk of frightening him away. He complies, and within a matter of minutes the Starstrider is hovering above the tree-line less than a mile from the clearing. Acraban hands over command of the skyship to Gora, his bo’sun, and then you and he are lowered to the ground in the boarding cage.

After landing, you quickly discover a narrow trail that wends its way through this thickly-wooded headland. You volunteer to take the lead and you follow this track as it meanders towards the clearing. Wind whistles through the surrounding pines but the timberland itself is strangely silent; you can hear no sound from the beasts and birds that dwell herein.

If you possess Grand Pathsmanship, turn to 214.

If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 315.