### 272

The hardened steel tip of your Arrow penetrates the roof of the creature’s mouth and skewers its brain. For a moment it freezes in mid-stride, seeming to defy gravity as it balances precariously on one hairy foot. Then its eyes roll back, revealing the whites, and it crashes down in an untidy heap at the side of the trail.

You bring your horse about and gallop away in case there are others of its kind lurking nearby. Beyond the plateau, the trail descends steeply towards a thick pine wood. Milky-white pools of water punctuate this section of the track, some deceptively deep, making the descent difficult and tiring. By the time you reach the wood your horse is in need of rest.

You dismount to take the weight off his back, and as you gather his reins together you notice that the flap of your Backpack is undone. On checking the contents you discover that one of your possessions is missing. (Erase the second item on your list of Backpack Items. If you have only one item on your list, erase that one instead.)

As soon as your horse is rested, you remount him and set off through the pine wood, heading east.

Turn to 300.