29

You climb more than two hundred steps before the staircase arrives at a short tunnel which opens into a damp, cavernous hall. This huge chamber is partitioned into pens which house several giant dragonflies, similar to those you encountered when first you arrived on Avaros. High above, great oblong sections of the steel roof are open to the elements and the bases of passing storm clouds are lit up by the glow from the hall’s phosphorescent lighting. You scan the rain-swept pens for a sight of your adversary, and find him climbing upon the saddled back of a great crimson dragonfly. He urges the creature into the air and it obeys with stunning swiftness. You watch as Wolf’s Bane steers his winged mount once around the roof of the hall, and then, to your horror, you see him bring the creature to hover directly over your head. He shouts at you, but his words are lost in the buzz of the dragonfly’s massive wings. Then he leans from the saddle and casts down a metallic box before urging his mount skywards. The box lands close by, bouncing once before coming to rest near your feet. Your heart pounds when you sense that it is a powerful time bomb. A panel on the side of this device contains several illuminated numerals that are blinking intermittently. You can see by the numbers remaining that you have only 30 seconds before the bomb detonates.

If you wish to attempt to defuse this time bomb, turn to 177.

If you decide instead to mount one of the giant dragonflies and attempt to escape from this hall before the bomb explodes, turn to 190.