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Lord Rimoah removes a sphere of crystal from a pocket of his robe and holds it up to the lantern light. It is filled with a swirling grey mist. Softly he murmurs the words of an ancient spell and the mist clears to reveal the anxious face of your friend—Guildmaster Banedon. Rimoah speaks briefly to Banedon’s image, requesting that he come to the Monastery at once.

I will be with you within the hour, says the voice of Banedon, a whisper in your mind.

Your friend is in Toran, sixty miles to the north, yet he holds true to his word. In less than an hour he arrives at the Monastery aboard Skyrider—his sleek flying ship. Two excited young Kai Aspirants bring word of his arrival to the vault and you respond by making your way swiftly to the surface. Banedon’s Skyrider is hovering above the training park, the hum of its magical engine amplified by the surrounding walls and battlements. It is dusk on this wintry evening and a shower of feathery snow is illuminated by the craft’s lanterns. A rope ladder hangs from the bow rail to the frost-hardened earth.

‘Go aboard, Grand Master,’ urges Rimoah. ‘Banedon will advise you and provide you with what you’ll be needing. I shall stay here and pray for your safe return.’

You bid a hasty farewell to your mentor before climbing the dangling rope ladder with the legendary speed and grace that sets you apart from lesser warriors. Banedon is waiting as you haul yourself aboard. He greets you with a glad smile, yet his face cannot hide his deep concern for what may await you in Ixia. You wave a final farewell to Lord Rimoah; then you retreat to the warmth of Banedon’s cabin as the Skyrider glides over the Monastery’s southern wall and ascends into the leaden sky.

Your friend Banedon has already set a course for Vadera, the principal city of Lencia, a destination which is more than a full day’s flight west of Sommerlund. Were this not the first stage of a longer voyage to Ixia you would gladly welcome the chance to visit Vadera, for you have many friends there in the court of King Sarnac of Lencia.

During the flight, Banedon details the plans which have been made on your behalf. King Sarnac himself has promised his help; he will provide you with a boat and a pilot to sail you from Vadera to Azgad Island, a desolate Lencian outpost in the Tozaz Sea. On your arrival there you will be transferred to a Lencian ice-boat, a craft specially built to withstand the power of the treacherous pack-ice which clings to the Ixian shoreline at this time of the year.

‘The ice-boat will land you on the coast of Ixia, Lone Wolf,’ says Banedon, ‘and then it will wait at anchor for you to return upon the completion of your mission.’

‘How long will the ice-boat wait for me?’ you ask, apprehensively.

‘If you do not return within seven days, the pilot has orders to set sail for Vadera without you. The Tozaz in winter is a cruel and terrible sea—no ordinary man could hope to survive there for much longer than a week, no matter how strong his ship or plentiful his supplies. Which reminds me—if you are to survive your visit to Deathlord Ixiataaga’s frigid realm, you will be needing some special protection.’

If you possess a Platinum Amulet, turn to 166.

If you do not possess this Special Item, turn to 282.