84

You are some distance from the east bank when the boat stops abruptly; it has run aground in the shallows.

‘Curse our luck,’ grumbles Prarg, peering over the side. ‘I was a’hoping we’d be fortunate enough t’keep our feet dry.’ Wearily he searches through the provisions and produces a heavy rope, one end of which he proceeds to tie around the stem while you stow away the oars. Then, together, you slip into the cold knee-deep mud and begin the laborious task of hauling the boat towards dry ground.

Eventually you reach dry ground where you set up camp on a promontory which offers the best view of the surrounding swamp. The upturned boat becomes your shelter from the elements, but you both are sorely aware that it will not protect you from the creatures that inhabit this morass. Prarg volunteers to sit the first watch, and hungry for sleep, you bow to his request. But it seems as if you have only just closed your eyes when you are awoken by his hushed and fearful voice:

‘Awake Sire, I think we’ve visitors!’

You rise in an instant, your hand reaching in reflex for your weapons as your senses try to locate the threat. In the middle-distance, emerging from a bed of tall, frost-heavy rushes, you catch sight of three large and scaly reptilians. From horn-tipped snout to barbed tail they are twenty feet or more, and, despite their enormous weight, they move with impressive lizard-like grace.

‘Gorodons!’ says Prarg, his voice full of horror. ‘Quickly, Sire, we must get away while we still can!’

Hurriedly you right the boat and drag it through the cloying mud towards the river. Your escape is painfully slow and your mounting fear rapidly approaches sheer terror when, in unison, the pursuing Gorodons give vent to a chorus of croaking growls At once you sense that these huge carnivores are ravenously hungry, and the prospect of a feast upon warm-blooded prey is driving them into a frenzy.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

If the number you have picked is 0–4, turn to 279.

If the number you have picked is 5–9, turn to 51.