### 189

The courier screams as he falls but is dead before his head hits the cobblestones. You waste little time dragging his body into the shadows. You don his loose robe and raise the hood, concealing your tunic and your face. In the pocket of the robe you find a scroll: the pass needed to enter the Grand Palace.

The dead courier's horse has bolted and fled, but your appearance at the gate on foot does not seem to arouse any suspicion. The guards inspect the scroll with bored indifference and allow you to pass through the gate into the palace gardens beyond.

Turn to 137.

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