### 185

You take a deep breath before slipping over the side into the cold dark waters of the Quarl. The current helps to speed you along as you swim submerged towards the bridge, and when you are directly beneath its central span, you surface briefly to fill your lungs with air before continuing underwater.

When you are a few hundred yards beyond the bridge, you surface again and strike out towards the left bank. Your boat has collided with a pillar and the Eldenorans are so preoccupied with recovering it that they fail to see you climb out of the river and escape into the bordering trees. Once you have put more than five miles between yourself and the bridge, you stop to rest for a few hours in the comfortable bough of an oak tree. The night passes without incident and you awaken at dawn to the shrill sound of bird song. Through the thinning canopy of autumn leaves you can see a forest track which runs parallel to the river. A distant flicker of movement catches your eye and, when you magnify your vision, you see three riders approaching from the south. Two are armed and they wear the uniforms of Eldenoran cavalry scouts, but the third is clad in a tunic of scarlet and black—the colours of the Slovian army. His hands are tied and you suspect that he is a prisoner of war. The loss of your sailboat threatens to delay your journey downriver to Tekaro by several days. Mindful of this, you decide to ambush the approaching Eldenoran riders and capture their horses.

From the cover of the trees that border upon the track, you wait until the riders are close and then you draw upon your Magnakai powers of Animal Control to command their mounts to stop. The horses slow to a halt and, despite their riders’ stinging blows, they refuse to take a step further. Silently you unsheathe your Kai Weapon. As soon as the Eldenorans dismount, you leap from your hiding place and take them by surprise.

Eldenoran Horse-scouts: COMBAT SKILL 34 ENDURANCE 34

Because of the surprise of your attack, you may ignore any ENDURANCE losses that you sustain in the first two rounds of this combat.

If you win the combat, turn to 156.