### 159

You lie with your face pressed close to the crop roots, your breath held and your nerves stretched as taut as bowstrings, waiting for the patrol to pass.

Hundreds of minute creatures busily file up and down the yellowed stalks. Your whole body begins to prickle as you imagine they are swarming up your legs, up your sleeves and down the neck of your tunic. When a trickle of sweat runs down your cheek, you nearly cry out and reveal your hiding place.

The bandits amble past barely inches from where you hide, totally oblivious to your presence. When you are sure they are no longer on the track, you jump up and frantically scratch at your itching skin. To your horror, you discover that your legs are covered with crawling insects feasting on your blood. Ripping your clothes off, you empty them from your boots and scrape them from your skin before hurrying off along the track. The blood-sucking insects have robbed you of 2 ENDURANCE points.

Turn to 204.

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