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A piece of rock smashes into the planking near your feet. It tears a hole in the bottom of the boat and a spout of water gushes into the air to rain down upon your head. You are attempting to plug this leak with a knot of canvas when an arrow clips your shoulder and knocks you down: lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

The Eldenorans cheer as your boat begins to founder. As it disappears from view beneath the centre arch, you hear their echoing footfalls as they rush across to the opposite side of the bridge to wait for it to reappear. When you emerge, the Eldenorans laugh and jeer. The water is rushing in so fast now that you decide you must abandon the boat. You turn the rudder towards the left bank and aim your sinking craft at a place where a copse of willow trees overhangs the river. As you pass beneath the branches, you clamber out and quickly take cover among the trees.

The Eldenorans soon arrive to search the boat and the surrounding area. They fail to discover you and silently you observe them from the undergrowth as they drag your half-submerged boat out of the water and sift through its meagre contents. When they tire of this, they return to their duties at the bridge. Once the coast is clear, you leave the copse and hurry away. Only when you have put more than five miles between yourself and the Eldenorans do you dare stop to rest for a few hours in the bough of an oak tree.

Before you sleep, unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

To continue, turn to 9.