254

The chill air whips past your face as you tumble towards Lake Inrahim. The Kraan-riders, the skyship, and the distant horizon all melt into a kaleidoscope of shapes and images. You fear these will be the last things you will ever see.

You have prepared yourself for death and feel calm and relaxed. Suddenly, you feel your body engulfed by a mass of sticky fibres. There is a terrific jolt, which leaves you breathless and stunned. (Lose 2 ENDURANCE points.) The impossible is happening—you are no longer falling but rising!

You have been caught by a net of sticky strands like a fly in a web. You rise into the sky towards the flying ship as quickly as you fell. Three bearded dwarves clad in bright, padded battle-jerkins pull you aboard an outrigger that runs the length of the hull. There’s no time to express your gratitude, for the small skyship is under attack from the Kraan-riders.

At the end of the outrigger, a dwarf is in hand-to-hand combat with a snarling Drakkar. He is losing the battle. As you rush to help him, another of the evil warriors lands in the centre of the craft, on top of the fortified platform.

If you wish to help the dwarf, turn to 280.

If you wish to leap from the outrigger onto the fortified platform, turn to 361.