11

Cautiously you approach the circle of boulders, leading your frozen horse by the reins. Through a gap in the boulders you see a pack of eight ridge-backed Jackals feeding on the carcass of a Durncrag Scavenger, a vulture-like bird of prey. They are engrossed with their meal until they suddenly detect the scent of their most favoured food: live horsemeat.

With a frenzied howl the wild Jackals abandon the feathery carcass and come streaming through the gap in the boulders, drawn by the scent of your horse. They seem to know that he is in a weakened state, and this fuels their fury. Your horse takes fright and tries to pull away, his hooves flailing the air perilously close to your skull, and as the first of the Jackals makes its attack, you find yourself struggling to hold on to the reins with one hand and fight them off with the other.

Vorndarol Jackals: COMBAT SKILL 42   ENDURANCE 38

Unless you possess Grand Weaponmastery and have reached the rank of Sun Knight or higher, you must reduce your COMBAT SKILL by 5 for the duration of this combat.

You may evade combat after four rounds by turning to 222.

If you win this fight, turn to 347.