### 20

As you leave the tavern and march with the lieutenant at the head of his column of guardsmen, you ask him if you are being arrested. After all, you have not broken the curfew. He smiles and confides in you that he was hoping you would agree to help him to track down the creature.

‘The skills and special powers of the Kai are legendary,’ he says. ‘You may succeed where we have failed. Will you help us find this beast before it kills again?’

Before you can give your answer, a terrible shriek echoes through the empty streets. A woman standing on the balcony of a tall building nearby leans over the parapet and calls out to the lieutenant and his men. ‘Down by the river,’ she shouts, and she points over the rooftops to where the shriek was heard. ‘The fiend … it’s struck!’

‘Quick, men!’ yells the lieutenant. ‘Follow me! If we are swift we may catch the beast tonight.’

Turn to 337.