335

You climb the steep gully wall and crouch beside a large boulder. Patiently you wait for the screeching to cease, but the shrieks are growing louder. Fearing that you may be the prey of some unseen terror of the skies, you magnify your vision and peer upwards into the swirling black clouds. Swooping and soaring overhead, you glimpse two bat-winged creatures with scaly grey-green hides and long serrated beaks. One of these beasts is carrying a large object clamped in its mouth which the other is trying hard to wrest from its grasp. It claws at its rival’s neck, forcing the creature to drop the object which plummets to the ground and splashes into the dust at the exit from the gully. The creatures continue to struggle, tearing maniacally at each other with beak and claw, until they drop from the sky. Both are mortally wounded. With grim fascination you watch as they spiral to the ground, still locked in deadly combat, and slam into the dusty soil.

If you wish to go and investigate the remains of these creatures, turn to 43.

If you choose to avoid them, turn to 106.