241

You follow the corridor to a curved flight of alabaster stairs and descend them to a massive chamber. The floor is constructed of steely-blue metal flecked with silver, and a hundred darkened archways line the walls. Directly ahead stand two gigantic doors of sheeted platinum, engraved with patterns breathtaking in their intricacy. The chamber is deserted, but as you cross the floor and approach the doors, you are acutely aware that any one of the arches could be hiding a legion of reptilians.

In the centre of the door there is a lock that consists of four hexagonal buttons, arranged in the shape of a pyramid, with one button at the top and three buttons in a line below it. Every time you touch a button, a glowing number appears on its surface. Your basic Kai sense informs you that this is a combination lock; if you press each button several times until the correct numbers show on all four buttons the lock will release and the doors will open.

If you know the correct number to press for the top button, and the correct three-figure number for the bottom three buttons, add both numbers together and turn to the entry that has the same number as the total.

If you know only one of the two correct numbers that you need to open the lock, turn to the entry of that number.¹²

If you do not know the correct numbers to press for either the top button or the bottom three buttons, turn to 207.