### 283

Unable to decipher the code, you decide instead to attempt to dismantle the locking mechanism. Using the buckle of your belt, you work it between the gemstone lockplates and attempt to prise them away. It is a difficult and delicate procedure, made doubly so by the increasing ferocity of the storm which is tearing through the fabric of your cloak and tunic: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

After several painful minutes you succeed in lifting off the gemstone plates. But this does not release the locking mechanism; it simply exposes it to the elements. In order to force the door to open you must now physically destroy the exposed mechanism.

Temple Portal: COMBAT SKILL 50 ENDURANCE 50

Conduct a combat in the usual manner. Any ENDURANCE points lost by yourself result from the effects of prolonged exposure to the storm.

If you succeed in reducing the door’s ENDURANCE score to zero or below before losing all of your own, turn to 157.