### 177

You unsheathe your weapon and advance towards the stairwell, using your Kai senses to guide and hide your stealthy approach. When you reach the threshold of the open entrance you scour the surrounding archway for traps, but detect nothing untoward. With caution you move inside and discover the interior is slick with moisture that glistens like sweat on the smooth, glassy walls. A wide stone ramp descends from the entrance to a sealed portal which is engraved with runes. You cannot immediately decipher them but you sense that they are evil in design and possess some destructive power locked within their jagged forms. They cover every square inch of its surface.

You have begun a detailed examination of the portal in the hope of fathoming some of its secrets, when you suddenly hear a noise above and behind you. Instantly you spin on your heel and reach for your weapon, but the outline that you see silhouetted in the archway at the top of the ramp is so shocking that you are unable to close your trembling hand.

Turn to 268.