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A great door in the north wall of the hall swings open and through it strides a lean and elegant man, clad in a flamboyant tunic of emerald and gold. He moves with the confident grace of an athlete, yet his true age is revealed by his sagging jowls and the loose folds of skin that hang down below his dark, malevolent eyes. The gathering of officers salute their leader, Lord Vandyan, and they applaud when he climbs the steps of a marble dais in readiness to deliver his address.

‘Varetta will be ours by midnight tomorrow!’ he announces, to a roar of approval. ‘The legions of Vorka that I have dispatched to Lyris will ensure this victory. The Kai have been sighted at Quarlen but we will entrap them. Our victorious armies will march north from Suentina and cross the Slovarian Range through the North Pass. We shall cut off their supply route to Casiorn and attack their defences at Quarlen from the rear. The Kai will have but two choices: to die in Quarlen or be forced north into the abyss of the Maakengorge.’ Upon hearing this, the Eldenorans cheer their arrogant leader and praise his martial skill. However, his ambitious strategy to defeat the Kai fails to impress you for you know that Lone Wolf will be prepared for such an eventuality. You think it more likely that Vandyan’s army will perish when it attempts to traverse the treacherous North Pass.

Vandyan raises his hand and motions for silence. As the cheering dies away, he continues his address. His plans for the defeat of the Kai have failed to impress you, but when he reveals his strategy for the conquest of all Magnamund, it is then that you feel an icy chill of fear run down your spine.

Turn to 50.