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You pass the hours before daybreak in a restless, semi-conscious state. You cannot sleep properly for your mind is tormented by the gnawing fear that your mission has come to an early and tragic end. You rise before dawn and try to overcome your melancholic mood by tending to the three wounded crew members. Through the use of your Magnakai Curing skills you are able to accelerate their own natural healing processes so that, when daybreak finally arrives, they are no longer incapacitated by the injuries they received in the crash.
As the grey morning light filters down through the canopy of the forest, it reveals a corridor of smashed and flattened trees lying in the wake of the crippled Starstrider. Acraban and his bo’sun make a lengthy inspection of the craft and then report their findings.
‘The glad news is that she’s repairable,’ pipes Bo’sun Gora, confidently. ‘She looks bad but her engine’s as sound as a bell. We’ve the materials and tools aboard to fix ’er stabilizers, and there’s mor’n enough timber ’round here to patch up the decks and hull.’ Acraban nods his agreement yet, unlike his bo’sun, his face remains dour.
‘Aye, she’ll fly again,’ confirms Acraban, ‘but it’ll take us close to a month to craft the parts we need to repair the stabilizers.’ He turns to Prince Karvas and says: ‘Alas, my lord, by then it will be too late to reach Seroa in time for your crowning.’
‘What if we were to seek aid from the craftsmen of Bakhasa?’ you say, knowing by instinct and a brief study of your map that this city can be no further than 100 miles away to the east. ‘Could the repairs be made any sooner with their help?’
‘Expect no help from that quarter,’ replies Karvas, coolly. ‘During my time in Mydnight I heard many stories about Bakhasa and its ruler—the Imperial Autarch Sejanoz. They were all chilling tales. They say it’s a cruel and evil place—a city without a soul where human life counts for little. If you wish to live to see your homeland again, Master Acraban, you should not seek the help of the Bakhasians. Better by far to keep your work hidden from their eyes.’
‘But, my lord,’ replies Acraban, ‘what of your kingdom? Are you prepared to surrender your birthright to Baron Sadanzo?’
‘No, never!’ retorts Karvas, suddenly angered by the wizard’s suggestion. ‘There are twenty-one days yet before the feast of Harvestmas. With the blessing of the gods, I vow I shall be in Seroa on that day to claim my ascendance.’
The Prince proposes to set off for Seroa on foot. He says that he will go alone and that you should stay here to help Acraban restore the Starstrider, returning with him to Sommerlund once the repairs are complete. Politely you refuse his proposal. You have vowed to Lone Wolf that you will carry out your mission and, despite adversity, you will not abandon your duty. It is a matter of Kai honour that you should escort him to Seroa.
