### 83

You detect a strong presence of evil lurking somewhere nearby and you warn Prarg of what you sense. Cautiously, the two of you leave this chamber by a passage which leads to a flight of black stone steps. You ascend the steps to a domed chamber which is sheathed with dull black stone. Heavy velvet hangings of ebony hue cover most of the walls, and all of the furnishings are upholstered with the same morbid cloth. The sensation of evil is stronger here, so strong that you feel as if you are slowly suffocating.

'It's here . . .' you whisper, your hand reaching for your weapon, 'The Doomstone. I can feel its presence!'

Suddenly there is a movement away to your left and a blast of white-hot energy comes roaring towards your face. You dive aside in time to avoid it, but the bolt rebounds from the steel-hard wall and glances off the back of Prarg's head, knocking him unconscious.

Turn to 161.

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