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Breathless from the exertion of combat, you step back as the Elix finally collapses and dies. Slowly, its glass-green eyes mist over and become opaque like hard, cold jadin. Around the creature's blood-spattered throat hangs a Gold Chain and Key. You quickly discover that the Key opens the steel door of a strongroom at the far end of apothecary.

High upon a shelf, just inside the door, you find a small box that contains what you seek--the Oede herb. Within seconds of pressing the beautiful golden leaves to your wounded shoulder, a tingling sensation engulfs your whole arm. The numbness soon fades, and both your arm and shoulder are free of the horrific Limbdeath microbes.

Sufficient Oede herb remains in the box for one further application. It is a powerful substance that can be used against many deadly diseases or alternatively can be used to restore 10 ENDURANCE points if swallowed after combat. If you wish to keep the Potion, mark it on your Action Chart as a Backpack Item. You should also restore the COMBAT SKILL points that were temporarily lost due to Limbdeath.

After dragging the dead Elix into the strongroom, you lock the steel door from the inside. You notice that there are in fact two doors to the strongroom: the one by which you entered and a smaller door set into the opposite wall. The Gold Key opens the lock of the new door, which leads to a narrow staircase beyond, dimly lit by flaring torches in wall brackets.

The climb is steep and arduous. You suspect that these steps are part of a secret route to the strongroom, and your suspicions are only confirmed when you arrive at what appears to be a dead end. A closer examination reveals a narrow bronze door set flush to the wall, plain in appearance except for a tiny key hole close to the floor. As you insert and twist the Gold Key, you are quietly confident that the bronze door will open.

Turn to 67.

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