### 216

To your relief you discover that the door is unlocked and unguarded. Beyond it, a torchlit corridor descends through a series of deserted chambers, each one defaced by years of neglect and decay. Rotting curtains and mouldering furniture are all that remain of a sumptuous abode, a luxurious underground retreat for the Lord of Kazan-Oud.

You are about to enter another of these chambers when the sound of muttering stops you dead in your tracks. Three spindly-limbed creatures are seated at a table in the centre of the room. They chatter excitedly in a language that is alien to your ears and point with slim, green fingers at a parchment spread out before them. They wear long, hooded robes of purple silk and appear to be unarmed.

If you have completed the Lore-circle of Solaris, turn to 244.

If you wish to launch a surprise attack on these unsuspecting creatures, turn to 295.

If you wish to try to sneak through the chamber and attempt to reach the opposite corridor unseen, turn to 343.