### 49

You have climbed fifteen feet to a thin ice ledge. From here you have a clear view of the fissure. You think you have caught a glimpse of someone when suddenly the ice gives way beneath your feet, and you fall headlong in a tumble of granite and snow. You prepare yourself for the shock of impact, but you plunge straight into a crevasse, hidden beneath a layer of powdery snow. You finally come to rest in a deep drift some two hundred feet below the surface.

Blinded, dazed and half-suffocated by snow, you begin to claw your way out of this icy grave. When you eventually free yourself, you are astounded by the sight that greets you. A vast corridor disappears into the distance as far as the eye can see. Huge stalactites of crystal hang from the icy ceiling, and the constant drip of melting snow fills the corridor with a strangely musical sound. You shout for help until your throat becomes dry and sore, but your guides do not hear you. You still have your weapon(s), Gold Crowns and any Special Items, but you are without a Backpack, as it is still in your tent. Looking up, you see that the hole through which you have fallen is now just a tiny speck on the roof of the passage. You notice that the strange light of the ice corridor seems to come from large stone bowls hanging from the ceiling. These are M'lare bowls, a source of eternal light discovered by the Ancients many ages ago. You soon realize that your guides may never find out where you are, and quickly resolve to follow the passage in the hope of finding some other exit. After two hours of walking, you arrive at a junction where the passage splits in two.

If you have the Kai Discipline of Tracking, turn to 342.

If you wish to follow the passage to the left, turn to 284.

If you wish to follow the passage to the right, turn to 199.

Text copyright © 1984 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1984 Gary Chalk.