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You unsheathe the sun-sword and flames course along the blade, filling the ruins with its vivid golden light. The Prince turns to shout a warning but his adversary strikes him a cruel blow that lays open his thigh and hurls him to the ground. Although his helm hides his face, its nose-bar and chin-piece exposing little but a malicious glint in his eyes, you are sure that this is no ordinary Drakkarim warrior; the smell of evil hangs heavy around him like the stench of a rotting corpse.

He snarls a vile curse and flings his sword at your head. You fend off the spinning blade with ease but the attack has served its purpose. The warrior snatches up the shimmering iron rod and it hums with a force that reveals its ancestry: it is a stave of power forged in the furnaces of Helgedad. With a mighty yell he thrusts the stave at your chest and a blast of white flame scorches your arm as you parry the attack on the hilt of the Sommerswerd. Half-blinded by the flash, you stagger back and quickly muster your strength for a desperate fight to the death.

Ziran (with Powerstave): COMBAT SKILL 40 ENDURANCE 50

The Ziran is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).

If you win the combat, turn to 305.

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