### 96

You climb the steps to the pulpit as swiftly as you are able and rest Paido in the recess behind its sword-shaped facia. By chance his tunic snags on a hidden lever and, as his body slumps over, the lever is pulled to one side. Suddenly the floor of the pulpit shudders and begins to descend into a secret passage beneath the hall.

Carefully you pull Paido off the platform and raise him into a sitting position, his back against the passage wall. Slowly the platform rises back into the pulpit. In the silence of this secret passage all you can hear is the shallow breathing of your unconscious companion. You lift one of his eyelids and note that the almond-shaped iris is fully dilated. Your basic Kai skill of healing informs you that he is in a coma.

If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Curing, turn to 19.

If you do not possess this skill, turn to 317.

Text copyright © 1987 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1987 Gary Chalk.