337

You run with the militia along the narrow twisting streets towards the south quarter of Hikas, where the town houses of wealthy merchants command expensive views of the River Carcos. Again a shriek pierces the darkness, but this time it is echoed by a terrible inhuman howl. ‘The beast!’ gasps the lieutenant, and he turns to rally his men onwards. Soon the street ahead meets a towpath which runs along the river bank, and you slow your pace so you can turn the corner. As you do so, you see a man dressed in his nightclothes leaning from the open window of a house close by. He appears to be in shock for he is sobbing and clutching fitfully at his dishevelled hair. You stop and call to him and slowly he responds. He sees you through his tears and points frantically to several small bundles lying on the towpath beside the gangplank to a barge. The lieutenant rushes past you and hurries to the first bundle. You see him drop to his knees and shake his head in disbelief, and then he turns away and retches. You magnify your vision and see, to your horror, what the bundles really are. They are the shredded remains of two men, two traders who have been dragged from their beds aboard their barge and torn limb from limb by some nameless creature of the night.

Desperately you scan the towpath and the buildings which stand all along the river bank. Then you see something and your heart skips a beat. In the darkness of a narrow alleyway two amber eyes glint in the moonlight. You sharpen your focus and catch the faintest glimpse of a dark shape loping away.

‘There!’ you shout, and you give chase, with the city militiamen and the lieutenant following after. The passageway twists and turns like an angry snake before it ends abruptly at a junction where a wider alley crosses it from left to right. Quickly you drop to your knees and summon your tracking skills in an effort to determine which way the creature went.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Pathsmanship, add 3 to the number you have picked. If you possess Telegnosis, add 1.

If your total score is now 2 or lower, turn to 32.

If it is 3 or 4, turn to 196.

If it is 5–7, turn to 256.

If it is 8 or higher, turn to 111.