### 77

Following the landlady’s written directions, you make your way through the streets of the city to a wide concourse which ascends to a knoll called Zakhan’s Mount that overlooks the south gatehouse. Through the open gates you can see the mighty bridge which spans the lower fork of the River Khorda. Beyond lie the Bavari Hills shimmering in a heat haze, and towards the horizon are the Great Masourn Mountains which appear like a jagged purple frieze joined to the sky.

Standing in line before the south gates is a caravan of wagons drawn by sturdy douggas, the sand horses of the Dry Main. Many wagons are piled high with merchants’ goods destined for Bavari—a rich cargo watched over by a dozen armed outriders in the pay of the caravan’s owners. You approach a line of trestle tables set up near the leading wagons where passengers may purchase a seat aboard the caravan for the three-day journey to Bavari. Chalked upon a slate is the price of the fare: 7 Gold Crowns.

If you possess 7 Gold Crowns, turn to 253.

If you do not possess 7 Gold Crowns, turn to 164.