### 13

Expertly you move through the undergrowth without making a sound until you come to the edge of a small, rocky clearing. A group of ten hooded men stand in a circle around an altar stone. Their leader, a tall thin man wearing a hideous mask of green glass, spins a golden rod around the head of a gigantic toad-like creature spreadeagled on the altar. Lightning writhes like a sparking serpent around the creature's body, and as the chanting rises in pitch, the beast's body floats upwards, hovering in mid-air a few feet above the altar.

Suddenly, the leader shrieks with anger and turns in your direction. He has somehow detected your presence, and you feel his blazing fury. He points the golden rod towards you, and a charge of energy snakes through the air.

If you have a bow and wish to use it, turn to 56.

If you do not have a bow and wish to flee, turn to 182.

If you wish to draw your weapon and prepare for combat, turn to 295.

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