to 164 .
If you refuse to part company with the Suhnese, turn to 121 .
109
The two-day voyage to Nhang passes swiftly and without incident and you arrive at the port early on the morning of the third day. The entrance to Nhang harbour is noted for its eighty fearsome stone statues, known as ‘The Warriors of Nhang’, which stand in two lines and form a double colonnade out into the sea. Their ferocious granite faces glare down at you unmercifully as the
Embassage
sails between them and docks at the quay.
Before you disembark, Captain Leonghi warns you to be on your guard while you are in the city. The natives still harbour loyalties to the memory of Shasarak, and recent uprisings have led to the imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew. He advises you to go directly to the city of Tiklu and seek out his cousin Gemulkin. He, too, is a merchant captain and he regularly plies a trader between Tiklu and the Port of Suhn. Leonghi gives you a scroll (record this Special Item on your Action Chart as Leonghi's Scroll; you keep it in a pocket of your tunic). It is a letter of introduction which bears his seal, and in it he asks his cousin to take you to Suhn.
You thank the captain for all his help and then disembark onto Nhang quay. You leave the port area and follow The Street of the Full Moon — the main thoroughfare which bisects the city and ends at its West Gate. Your first impressions of Nhang are mixed. The striking design and construction of its buildings amaze you, but the dismal mood of its natives and the large number of street beggars leave you with the feeling that the city could erupt at any time.
You pass many hundreds of shops and they all appear dingy and uninteresting until you happen upon a triangular building, created by a fork in the road. It has no sign stating its business, but by the nature of the various goods displayed in its window you judge it to be an emporium.
If you wish to enter this shop, turn to 156 .
If you wish to continue walking along the street, turn to 281 .
110
You meet with Melchar as planned, and after a meagre breakfast at the inn, you follow the crowds who are making their way through the streets to the Caeno racetrack. This magnificent establishment dominates the city's eastern quarter and it has provided the venue for this spectacular derby for more than a century. Unlike the famous horse races held in Slovia and Lourden, the Caeno Derby is run by guanza — large bipedal lizards that are bred and trained throughout the Southlands. Huge sums are bet on the big race and the owner of the winning guanza stands to collect a purse of 100,000 Nobles.
On entering the racetrack you and your companion make your way through the crowds to the parade enclosures. Melchar is keen to bet on the favourite — Forlu-zhan — but he wants to view the other runners before placing his wager with Wrok the Bookmaker. Having satisfied himself that the favourite will win, he goes off to the betting ring while you stay at the enclosure and watch the guanza lope past. As Forlu-zhan passes by, your Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control tells you that something is wrong. You sense that the favourite has been drugged with a mild tincture of graveweed and that he will be incapable of winning the race. Quickly you hurry to the betting ring to stop Melchar placing his wager. He is about to hand over his money when you catch up with him and tell him what you know. Melchar cancels his bet and Wrok the Bookmaker glares at you with undisguised hatred. He signals to a group of his henchmen and swiftly they surround you both. The moment the race begins you and Melchar are grabbed from behind and manhandled out of the betting ring. Wrok's henchmen bundle you into a tack room below the public stands, but before they can lock the door, you draw your weapon and attack them.
Wrok's Henchmen (6): COMBAT SKILL 38 ENDURANCE 36
If you win this combat, turn to 206 .
111
Your Kai senses alert you to danger as
If you refuse to part company with the Suhnese, turn to 121 .
109
The two-day voyage to Nhang passes swiftly and without incident and you arrive at the port early on the morning of the third day. The entrance to Nhang harbour is noted for its eighty fearsome stone statues, known as ‘The Warriors of Nhang’, which stand in two lines and form a double colonnade out into the sea. Their ferocious granite faces glare down at you unmercifully as the
Embassage
sails between them and docks at the quay.
Before you disembark, Captain Leonghi warns you to be on your guard while you are in the city. The natives still harbour loyalties to the memory of Shasarak, and recent uprisings have led to the imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew. He advises you to go directly to the city of Tiklu and seek out his cousin Gemulkin. He, too, is a merchant captain and he regularly plies a trader between Tiklu and the Port of Suhn. Leonghi gives you a scroll (record this Special Item on your Action Chart as Leonghi's Scroll; you keep it in a pocket of your tunic). It is a letter of introduction which bears his seal, and in it he asks his cousin to take you to Suhn.
You thank the captain for all his help and then disembark onto Nhang quay. You leave the port area and follow The Street of the Full Moon — the main thoroughfare which bisects the city and ends at its West Gate. Your first impressions of Nhang are mixed. The striking design and construction of its buildings amaze you, but the dismal mood of its natives and the large number of street beggars leave you with the feeling that the city could erupt at any time.
You pass many hundreds of shops and they all appear dingy and uninteresting until you happen upon a triangular building, created by a fork in the road. It has no sign stating its business, but by the nature of the various goods displayed in its window you judge it to be an emporium.
If you wish to enter this shop, turn to 156 .
If you wish to continue walking along the street, turn to 281 .
110
You meet with Melchar as planned, and after a meagre breakfast at the inn, you follow the crowds who are making their way through the streets to the Caeno racetrack. This magnificent establishment dominates the city's eastern quarter and it has provided the venue for this spectacular derby for more than a century. Unlike the famous horse races held in Slovia and Lourden, the Caeno Derby is run by guanza — large bipedal lizards that are bred and trained throughout the Southlands. Huge sums are bet on the big race and the owner of the winning guanza stands to collect a purse of 100,000 Nobles.
On entering the racetrack you and your companion make your way through the crowds to the parade enclosures. Melchar is keen to bet on the favourite — Forlu-zhan — but he wants to view the other runners before placing his wager with Wrok the Bookmaker. Having satisfied himself that the favourite will win, he goes off to the betting ring while you stay at the enclosure and watch the guanza lope past. As Forlu-zhan passes by, your Magnakai Discipline of Animal Control tells you that something is wrong. You sense that the favourite has been drugged with a mild tincture of graveweed and that he will be incapable of winning the race. Quickly you hurry to the betting ring to stop Melchar placing his wager. He is about to hand over his money when you catch up with him and tell him what you know. Melchar cancels his bet and Wrok the Bookmaker glares at you with undisguised hatred. He signals to a group of his henchmen and swiftly they surround you both. The moment the race begins you and Melchar are grabbed from behind and manhandled out of the betting ring. Wrok's henchmen bundle you into a tack room below the public stands, but before they can lock the door, you draw your weapon and attack them.
Wrok's Henchmen (6): COMBAT SKILL 38 ENDURANCE 36
If you win this combat, turn to 206 .
111
Your Kai senses alert you to danger as
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