### 350

As the colours fade, you become aware of a sudden drop in temperature. You now stand upon the Ljuk ice shelf at a point less than half a mile from where the Cardonal lies at anchor. Loi-Kymar and Vonotar are close by, both shivering in the chill morning air. Within minutes you are sighted by the ship's lookout and a longboat is despatched. As a wriggling Vonotar is hoisted unceremoniously aboard the Cardonal and deposited in the brig the captain is the first to congratulate you on your skill and daring.

'But how did you manage to return so quickly?' he asks incredulously. 'We were not expecting you for another ten days.'

'Let us say,' interrupts Loi-Kymar, 'that the wisdom of the Kai and the lore of the Magician's Guild can surpass the limitations of even time itself.'

A puzzled expression crosses the captain's face, but it is gradually replaced by a smile as he begins to understand the magician's curious answer.

Your journey to Anskavern is swift, but you are saddened by your memories of the brave guides that were left behind. Your arrival in the port is greeted by an anxious crowd. They fear that your early return is a sign of your mission's failure. When the news of Vonotar's capture becomes known, your warrior skills are required once again; this time in the defence of your enemy against the seething mob of outraged Sommlending that assault Anskavern gaol. Safe passage is eventually secured to Toran, where trial awaits the traitor.

Upon the dawn of the feast of Maesmarn, in the depths of the Guildhall of the Crystal Star, Vonotar the traitor is tried by his brotherhood and found guilty of his terrible crimes. He is led away in silence to the deepest chamber of the Guildhall, wherein lies the Daziarn: a portal of total darkness, the door of an eternal prison from which there can be no escape.22

You are the avenger of his crimes and it is you who cast the wretched traitor into the limbo of Daziarn. Your mission is now completed. You have survived the caverns of Kalte and freed Sommerlund from the menace of Vonotar.

But the heat of battle and the challenge of a new and desperate quest awaits you in Book Four of the Lone Wolf series entitled:

The Chasm of Doom

[22] Later books will contradict what is said concerning the Daziarn. The portal Vonotar is thrown into is known as a Shadow Gate, which in this case, is what leads to the Daziarn Plane, a realm from which no one has ever returned.

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