160

Your senses tingle with a premonition of danger—you are sure that the watchtower and huts conceal an enemy, lying in ambush. You tell Banedon your fears and he looks ahead, his keen eyes narrowing, but the pass is dark with the gathering dusk and he cannot detect anything unusual about the settlement, except that it appears deserted.

‘If we avoid the pass, we’ll have to make a wide detour and rejoin the highway at a place deeper in the hills,’ he says, scanning the shadowy highlands. ‘Even if we don’t get lost, we’ll be lucky to reach Tahou before nightfall.’

If you wish to avoid the settlement and make a wide detour, turn to 335.

If you decide to gallop through the pass despite the risk of an ambush, turn to 92.