### 221

You continue for several miles in complete silence and darkness until you hear a noise faintly in the distance. You stop to concentrate your aural abilities and gradually you are able to identify the distinctive, familiar sounds of battle. The clash of blades, the dull report of Bor pistols, and the dying shrieks of men and monsters can be heard seeping through the cracked walls of this tunnel.

You press on for a further mile until the tunnel tapers and comes to a dead end. A wedge of lantern-light is pouring through a wide hole near the floor, and when you peer through it, you see a wider tunnel which passes at a right angle to the one you occupy. Lying on the floor of this new passageway are the bloodstained bodies of Drodarin warriors, entwined with Shom’zaa minions and Agarashi.

You watch and listen for several minutes. When you are sure that you can detect nothing moving in the tunnel below, you remove your Backpack and push it through the hole. Then you wriggle through this narrow gap and drop down onto the body-strewn floor. You are replacing your Backpack when suddenly your Kai senses alert you to an approaching danger.

If you possess Grand Nexus and have attained the Kai rank of Sun Knight, turn to 327.

If you do not possess this skill, or if you have yet to attain this level of Kai Mastery, turn to 241.