### 188

Your immediate peril stops you dwelling too much on the reason why these riders should try to abduct Cyrilus. However, it does occur to you that he is neither wealthy nor powerful and so a poor prospect for a rich ransom.

As you reach the bottom of the wooded crag, a stone church and graveyard loom into view at a point where the highway turns sharply to the west. Blocking the road, on a charger as black as midnight, sits a scar-faced young man. His eyes, set in a white and disfigured face, burn with a cold dark glow. You recognize him immediately. It is Roark, the lordling you defeated at the Barrel Bridge Tavern.

If you possess a Silver Brooch, turn to 31.

If you do not have this Special Item, turn to 14.