### 25

You both drink long and deep: the large bowl is almost empty before your thirst is sated. When you have finished you walk to the far end of the hall. Two flights of stairs lead up to a large platform. At the rear of the platform a vast and elaborate frieze has been carved from the wall. In the centre, a woman stands with arms outstretched in a gesture of welcome. She is wreathed in light and, standing all around her, are rows of men and women of proud bearing. This building must be the work of the Masbaté. The woman is a representation of the Great goddess Ishir, High Priestess of the Moon, mother of all men, and the building is some form of temple or shrine.

Another flight of steps leads from the platform to one of the many galleries that line the temple's walls. Cautiously you both mount these steps, passing through a doorway that opens on to one of the galleries. The fading light from above does not illuminate the high archways that lead off the gallery, and, at the cost of 1 WILLPOWER point, you cause a light to glow from the top of your Staff. You peer through an archway to see a large chamber, its high ceiling lost in shadow, its corners shrouded in cobwebs. In the middle of the chamber stands a long pallet of grime-encrusted marble. With a start, you realize that a human form rests upon the pallet, but your panic soon subsides, for it is a dead man, a giant, with a huge broadsword clutched to his chest with withered hands. A necklace of blue stones hangs around his neck; a circlet of silver crowns his head. The brown, shrunken flesh has been partly preserved by some process of mummification, but the garments the corpse wears have all but mouldered away.

Inspection of the remaining chambers on this floor confirms that this is an ancient Masbaté tomb. Each chamber is a crypt, in which the Masbaté have laid their dead to rest with their weapons of war and personal effects. The tomb of the Masbaté was probably served by guardians before Shasarak summoned the plague of demons that eventually destroyed the Masbaté tribe. Tanith arms herself with a long dagger from one of the chambers. She also takes a sling and a number of stones. You may keep any of the following items that you find in the various chambers:

- Coil of Rope (Backpack Item)
- Sword and Sheath (hung from the belt)10
- Spear (held in the hand)
- Dagger and Sheath (hung from the belt)11
- Water Bottle (hung over the shoulder by a strap)
- 4 unlit Torches (each Torch counts as one Backpack Item)
- Tinderbox (Backpack Item)

Remember to mark any items that you keep on your Action Chart.

The light from the shafts has faded completely. Night has fallen. You are both very tired and, after further exploration, you discover an empty chamber and both settle down to sleep.

Turn to 200.

[10] If you wish to take the Sheath, record it as a Special Item on your Action Chart.

[11] If you wish to take the Sheath, record it as a Special Item on your Action Chart.

Concept copyright © 1986 Joe Dever and Gary Chalk.
Text copyright © 1986 Ian Page.
Illustrations copyright © 1986 Paul Bonner.