275

You prepare your horses and leave the stables shortly after dawn. The streets of Bir Rabalou are quiet this morning and you reach the city’s south gate without incident. Here you gallop straight through the open gates to avoid any risk of being detained by the surly guards. They shout and curse you and loose off a few arrows in your wake, but these are poorly aimed and you escape from the city unharmed.

It is approaching noon when you arrive at a junction where the coast road splits in two. Ahead of you are the gentle foothills of the Koneshi Mountains, and beyond them you glimpse the snowy peaks of that great range rising majestically into the cloudless sky. Away to the east you can see the rugged coastline of southern Vassagonia where the cresting ocean waves break their backs upon wild and rocky beaches.

A signpost at the junction points to the east and to the south. To the east it reads, ‘Khor—100 miles / Bisutan—225 miles’. To the south it reads, ‘Koneshi Pass to Bisutan—125 miles’.

Consult the map before you decide which road you wish to travel in order to reach the city of Bisutan.

If you choose the coastal road (east), turn to 167.

If you choose the mountain road (south), turn to 152.