### 286

You wait with bated breath as a line of haggard men file past your barely concealed hiding place. An escort of bandit warriors urge them forward, beating any who falter or step out of the line. Then each man is forced to take hold of a wagon and push it back along the tunnel. Soon they have all disappeared from view.

You wait, and when you are sure that the coast is clear you step back into the tunnel and press on, taking care to keep well in the shadows. You finally reach a point where the tunnel emerges into daylight. To your left, a dense copse has been cut back from the entrance, and wagon tracks lead to a timber gantry above a mound of ore. The men and the guards who passed you are now at the gantry, but they fail to see you sprint from the entrance and dive into the trees. A brief pause for breath is all you allow yourself before setting off through the trees towards Ruanon.

Turn to 200.

Text copyright © 1985 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1985 Gary Chalk.