226

Having agreed the places where each of you will begin your search for the whereabouts of Prince Karvas, you follow Acraban to the rear deck and enter the skyship’s boarding cage. Swiftly it is winched down to the market square where you are met unexpectedly by a jostling crowd of grimy-faced street urchins. They have been gathering here since dawn to stare in wonderment at the Starstrider hovering motionless in the cloudless sky above. Acraban hurls a handful of copper coins across the cobblestones and the children scramble to retrieve them. This creates enough space to allow Zinair to push open the cage door and the three of you to step out. After agreeing to return to the skyship no later than sunset, you split up and go in search of your chosen destinations.

Unlike the urchins, the adult population of Mydnight appears less than fascinated by the imposing sight of the Starstrider hovering above their city, and few give it a second glance. This seeming lack of interest does not surprise you. For centuries this port has been a refuge for exiles from the many nations of Magnamund who, for their own individual reasons, have chosen to forsake their native lands. They are, by nature, a secretive community. Any overt interest in the affairs of another is commonly viewed with suspicion and distrust.

You retrace the route you took last night and soon find yourself at the harbour. The Azaktana is still moored at the quayside and you give the crew a friendly wave as you stride across the quayside towards The Smitheries—the city’s west quarter. This district of Mydnight is crowded with the workshops of skilled artisans and craftsmen—ironsmiths, potters, carpenters, weavers, wheelwrights, and glassblowers to name but a few. Most are honest men seeking refuge from the greedy barons and landlords of their native lands. Some have come to escape their debts, while others have found themselves brought here by some misfortune. The noise that fills this quarter of the city is almost deafening. The ceaseless hammering of iron and copper blends with the cries of sellers to create a reverberating wall of sound.

You enter a blacksmith’s shop that has an impressive display of knives, tools, and other utensils fixed to the beams which support its slated roof. You hope that Prince Karvas may have purchased items from this shop sometime in the past and you ask the owner if he knows of him and his whereabouts. The blacksmith scowls with disdain and turns his back on you. Your Kai Sixth Sense tells you that he suspects you to be an assassin who has come here to Mydnight to find and murder the Prince. He motions to his son who is working the bellows of a furnace nearby. You realize you must act quickly if you wish to allay the blacksmith’s suspicions and avoid a confrontation with his son.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-alchemy and wish to use it, turn to 14.

If you do not possess this skill, or if you should choose not to use it, turn to 260.