### 326

Warily, you agree to accept the dead priest's offer.

'So be it,' drones the Shade. 'For my part, I will give you the help you seek, since I now perceive that you are a servant of the great Shianti race, as once was I. You must turn right beyond the door of this cell and, when you reach the end of the corridor, take the left stairway. Thereafter always turn left and always ascend, until you reach the surface. In this way you will come to the inner courtyard where the gate to freedom stands. Take no other route, for death awaits you any other way.'

'What then is the price I must pay?' you ask.

'You must free the dead of this place. Step outside the pentacle and speak the forbidden tome that will release the wronged souls that have died here. The dead desire their revenge on those who cruelly murdered them. Deny them not, for your soul will be forfeit if you do.'

You are filled with dread. It is forbidden by Shianti law to free the dead upon the Earth, for once freed by the 'forbidden tome', they can never be controlled. They will roam the Earth eternally, able to act in any way they choose, whether for good or ill.

If you agree to speak the tome, turn to 87.

If you deny the dead, turn to 220.

Concept copyright © 1985 Joe Dever and Gary Chalk.
Text copyright © 1985 Ian Page.