79
This quarter of the town is now teeming with enemy soldiers, and as you hurry away from the cell window, you know that you are in grave danger of being caught unless you can find somewhere safe to hide.
At length you discover a refuge on the far side of the main square. It is an empty grain storage tower which overlooks Magnaarn’s headquarters and the gaol, and it is here that you spend a sleepless night contemplating the mission and the fate of your captured companion. Now that it appears Magnaarn has found the Doomstone, you know you should do as Captain Prarg insisted; you should try to reach Antah and confront him before he can use his newfound power against the Lencians. But you are loath to abandon your guide. You have promised Prarg that you will help him escape, and a Kai Grand Master never breaks his word. The captain has been captured as a spy, and as such, he can expect no mercy from the Drakkarim.
Soon after dawn you witness some activity in the main square which confirms your worst fears. A squad of Drakkarim engineers arrive and set to work constructing a raised wooden platform in the centre of the square.
An hour later, when their work is complete, a covered wagon arrives. The engineers unload a large lump of black oak which they place in the middle of the platform, and as you focus on this block, a shiver runs the length of your spine the moment you realize its grim purpose.
