### 137

With all your will, you command the snake to come no closer. Its great eye burns you with an icy stare, the black slit pupil shrinking and dilating with every beat of its evil heart. It sways above you, hesitating to attack, as your Kai mastery plants seeds of doubt in its mind, blocking its primeval desire to savage and consume your warm-blooded being. As the monstrous head sways from side to side, you catch a glimpse of a small tunnel in the opposite wall, previously hidden by the snake and its nest. The sight of this possible means of escape momentarily breaks your concentration: the snake lunges forward to attack. Only the speed of your reactions saves you from its venomous fangs. Reluctantly, it retreats at your command and settles in the centre of the chamber, its head resting on its coils as it settles down to sleep.5

If you wish to attack the snake, turn to 219.

If you decide to skirt around it and enter the tunnel, turn to 260.

[5] If you have any arrows in your Quiver, they have fallen out in your fall, and you must erase them from your Action Chart. (cf. Section 7).

Text copyright © 1986 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1986 Gary Chalk.