### 73

You spring forward and take a running leap at the gate. The momentum of your run carries you high enough to grab the crossbar and pull yourself astride it. You offer Melchar your hand and as soon as he grips it firmly you haul him up. As he struggles to pull himself over the top, one of Wrok’s men grabs him by the legs. A desperate tug-of-war ensues between you and the henchmen, with the unlucky Melchar in the role of the rope. Suddenly the henchmen release his legs and you and your companion tumble over the gate to land with a thud on the street outside the racetrack.

You are getting to your feet when you hear the crowd around you are laughing, but it is not until you look at Melchar that you understand why. In the struggle with the henchmen the young journeyman has lost his breeches. Red-faced with embarrassment, Melchar shouts for you to follow him as he pushes his way through the giggling citizens and enters a narrow alleyway between two shops.

Turn to 174.