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You hit the surface with a mighty splash and sink like a stone. Foul fluids fill your nose and mouth, causing you to cough and retch as you struggle to rise to the surface. You are submerged in a deadly cocktail of acids and toxic wastes from the dungeons of Mogaruith and, were it not for your Magnakai Disciplines of Nexus and Curing, you would have perished within seconds of entering the moat.

The Vazhag on the battlements are squealing in triumph for they are certain that you have jumped to your doom. They leave the wall and return to their duties for, in their experience, no living thing has ever survived a dip in the moat. When you do break the surface and strike out for the bank, you do so unseen. It is not until you are pulling yourself out of the moat that your luck suddenly fails you.

You are spotted by a group of three Vazhag returning from battle. Two are armed with spears and they face you on foot, but the third sits astride a captured Slovian steed. It is wielding a cavalry lance and you can tell by the way the rat-man balances it that it is skilled in its use. The two spear-wielders squeal their battle-cry and attack you simultaneously. However, this cry is quickly transformed into a duet of pain when you strike out and kill them instantly. They drop to the ground and almost immediately the rider is upon you, jabbing at your chest with the tip of its lance. You duck the first thrust, and steady yourself to meet the second as the Vazhag lancer turns and bears down on you once more.

Vazhag lancer: COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 20

If you win this combat, turn to 113.