### 286

‘Very well,’ you say. ‘How do you intend to help me?’

The young woman begins by confirming your suspicions. The Demoness Shamath is indeed preparing to go to the Maakengorge in response to Cadak’s summons. She will make the journey by entering the tunnel; it is a Shadow Gate which will transport her from this plane of existence to Magnamund, to the great shimmering archway through which you were hurled by the storm. She will take with her an artefact of great evil—the Deathstaff—a device forged by the Dark God Naar himself and imbued with the power to resurrect the spirit of his long-lost champion, Lord Vashna, from the depths of the Chasm of Doom.

‘Naar has laboured long and hard to create the Deathstaff,’ says the young woman. She points once more towards the crystal dais and says, ‘Can you see, Lone Wolf? It is there, resting beside Shamath’s feet.’

Turn to 63.