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The noise grows louder. Suddenly the door latch rattles and a gruff voice growls out above the din: 'Break it down!'

Shards of wood and twisted iron are scattered throughout the cellar as the sharp blade of a two-handed axe explodes through the door. The hinges burst from the wall and in run your pursuers, stumbling on the tangle of shattered timbers.

You spring forward, striking left and right, and bringing two men down before they even see you. The officer, a bull-necked warrior with a flat nose, elbows the others aside and attacks. You strike first, jarring the scimitar from his grasp with a well-aimed blow to his wrist. He bellows like an ox but attacks again, a long-bladed dagger clenched in his uninjured hand.

Sharnazim Underlord: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 28

You can evade the combat at any stage by escaping through the trapdoor. Turn to 51.

If you win the combat, turn to 198.

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