45

Guided by your intuition, you set off with Prarg along the forest trail heading west, and soon your tracking skills warn you that you are nearing an enemy encampment. You signal your discovery to Prarg, and he follows as stealthily you enter the undergrowth and slip past a line of Drakkarim sentries. From the cover of the dense forest bracken you observe their camp. You count more than two dozen soldiers, plus horses, wagons, and shelters. Prarg points to the emblem which adorns all of their uniforms and equipment: a black eagle clutching two fiery swords.

‘These are the Tukodak—Warlord Magnaarn’s personal guards,’ he says in a hushed whisper. ‘We would be wise to avoid them.’

You nod in agreement; then together you slip away from the camp and head north through the trees. You are drawn in this direction by something your senses have detected. It is a strong aura of energy, an evil energy which you feel sure must be radiating from the Doomstone of Darke. Within a few minutes you stumble upon a clearing where stands the majestic ruins of an ancient temple. At once you know that this is the Temple of Antah, and you sense that the Doomstone is here, lying somewhere deep within the ruins.

Turn to 100.