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Despite the great damage you are inflicting on the Magdi, the enraged beast refuses to die. Try as he might, Urik is of no use—his old limbs and physical weakness make him incapable of hand to hand combat. He can only watch with fear and apprehension. His concern is so great that he fails to notice the band of Shadakine warriors stealing up on you through the dense undergrowth. As a result, you are quickly overpowered by the gloating Shadakine and, at a word from their tall sour-faced captain, the Magdi obediently ceases its attack.
‘Not much of a catch,’ sneers the captain, ‘but good sport, eh?’ Your Staff and Backpack are taken from you and your wrists and ankles are tightly bound with leather thongs. ‘And this is a pretty toy,’ he says, weighing your Staff in his hands. ‘But tell me, who are you, boy? Speak!’ You remain silent. ‘Lost your tongue, have you? Well that can be arranged, permanently!’ He gives you a stinging blow across the face, smiling grimly. Urik struggles angrily against the restraining hands that hold him. ‘Be still “monkey-man”,’ he scowls, ‘or you’ll be tasting some of the same.’ He returns his hateful gaze to you. ‘What are you then, boy? What do you know of the Freedom Guild? You are their spy perhaps? You serve the rebel army, do you not?’
Still, you remain silent. You have no knowledge of the Freedom Guild he has mentioned but the thought that there exists a form of organized resistance to the evil of the Shadakine Empire is a comfort. With a look of disgust, the captain turns away. ‘The Warward, Kiro, will find out all he needs to know on our return to Karnali,’ he says threateningly, ‘and Mother Niya’s truthsay is hard to refuse.’
You are unable to repress a shudder as you are reminded of the truthsay of Mother Magri and her awful Kazim Stone when first you came to the traders’ city of Suhn. The Wytches of Shadaki are among the most powerful of Shasarak’s servants, upholders of his corrupt law in all the major cities of the Empire.
‘Move, you scum!’ the captain shouts at his men. ‘We must reach Karnali as soon as possible.’ He glances sideways at you, one eyebrow raised. ‘There’s more to this strange pair than meets the eye,’ he says under his breath.
You and Urik are carried by slave bearers, slung to long wooden poles like hunting trophies. Your ankles and wrists are constantly bound and you are offered the barest of scraps of food and a minimum of water. By the second day of travelling, you have lost 3 ENDURANCE points and you begin to wonder if you will survive the journey as you linger in a weak, semi-conscious haze that makes the casting of any spell impossible.
