### 214

High above, crouched in their hiding places around the rim of the gorge, a company of partisans watches you succumb to the aroma of the flowers. When they are sure that you are unconscious, their sergeant leaves his position and descends by rope into the gorge, his nose and mouth covered by a pad of Golta leaves to counter the intoxicating scent. He had intended to bundle you on to your horse and lead you from the gorge to where the mountain air would revive you, but on reaching your body his suspicions are aroused. The ring and uniform you wear indicate that you are a Pathfinder with a message from Prince Graygor, but the weapons you carry, and your fair hair and Northland features are not those of an élite Eruan soldier. He rolls you over on to your stomach and is horrified to discover Halgar's Bullwhip tied to your backpack, its copper-studded coils stained with his blood. He knows that Halgar would never have parted willingly with the weapon, for it had made him as respected a fighter as his brother, Sebb Jarel. Anger, fuelled by shock, stirs the sergeant to a fit of rage. He is convinced that you are a Drakkar, an assassin sent by Baron Shinzar to murder the brothers Jarel. With a cry of anguish he unsheathes his sword and delivers a fateful blow that commits you to everlasting sleep.

Your life and your quest end here.

Text copyright © 1987 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1987 Brian Williams.