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The passage leads directly to a huge hall constructed of fiery red granite. It is lit by scores of braziers placed at regular intervals around the walls, and the atmosphere is heavy with the stench of ash and sulphur. Tapestries woven of metal thread adorn the far wall, making it gleam dully in the scarlet light. They depict scenes of evil grandeur: vast molten landscapes, like the surfaces of suns, all furiously ablaze.

Cautiously you step into the hall, passing between two great pillars which flank the entrance. The air is scorchingly hot (although you have experienced hotter places here in Kaag) and your senses are dulled by it. Far off in the distance, through the rising heat, you glimpse a tunnel which descends to a lower level of the citadel.

You are contemplating avoiding this hall by turning back and retracing your steps to the junction, when suddenly you hear the sound of flapping wings high above. You look up and a shiver runs the length of your spine when you see two malicious eyes staring down at you from the shadows of the roof.

If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 21.

If you do not possess mastery of this Discipline, turn to 191.

Text copyright © 1991 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1991 Brian Williams.