### 288

Quickly you take the incendiary from your Backpack, prime its crude detonator, and hurl it at the hanging cauldron. There is a splash of oily yellow flame as it impacts and smashes against the lip of the iron pot; then, in a terrifying instant, the two reptilians are consumed in a roaring ball of fire. You watch with shocked fascination as they shriek their last and tumble from the pot to splash, like two fiery meteors, into the mire.

You turn your eyes away from the terrible sight and, to your amazement, you see the portal beginning to rise of its own accord. You wait until it has risen a few feet and you are sure that no enemy awaits you on the other side; then you duck under the heavy iron plate and hurry into the tunnel beyond. As you run, you hear the portal slamming shut behind you with a dull reverberating boom, sealing away the smouldering remains of your two would-be assassins.

Turn to 115.