Free Shadow on the Sand by Joe Dever

slowly opens to reveal a large chamber. It is dimly lit, but in the dust that covers the marble floor you can see footprints too numerous to count. As you enter, you suddenly catch sight of a rough stone throne, facing the wall on the far side of the chamber. Behind you the door slides shut with unnerving speed.
    Turn to 289 .

237
    The jala tastes as good as it smells and, after your dusty trek through the hills, is a welcome relief to your parched throat. Restore 1 ENDURANCE point.
    ‘Do you know where we may be able to find a man called Tipasa the Wanderer?’ asks Banedon, successfully hiding his Northland accent with his expert mastery of the Ikareshi dialect.
    ‘I'm sorry, friend, but I have never heard of this man,’ replies one of the men.
    ‘You would be wise,’ interrupts the other, ‘to ask the widow Soushilla. There is little in Ikaresh that she does not know.’
    ‘Where can she be found?’ you ask.
    ‘At her tavern, of course,’ they reply, simultaneously. ‘Cross Eagle Square and you'll find it on the way to the Dougga Market.’
    You thank the Ikareshi and leave the eating house. Retracing your steps to the square, you set off towards the Dougga Market in search of Soushilla the Widow.
    Turn to 376 .

238
    You escape from the combat and sprint along the opposite passage, but the enemy gives chase, and the crunch of iron-shod boots echoes in your ears. You race down a stairway, through an arch of silver and along a balcony overlooking the lower palace.
    You glimpse the silhouette of Darklord Haakon in the hall below, his spiked fist raised. A Drakkar appears from nowhere and leaps at you, his sword raised high above his skull-like helm. There is a deafening crack, and a bolt of blue lightning streaks from a stone in the Darklord's hand and hurtles towards you. The Drakkar lunges and wounds your forearm (you lose 1 ENDURANCE point), but he is now standing in the path of the bolt. In a flash of light, the Drakkar is gone; only cinders and the rotten odour of scorched flesh remain.
    At the end of the balcony you see another arch and a staircase.
    If you wish to escape through the arch, turn to 381 .
    If you wish to escape by the stairs, turn to 317 .

240
    Itikar are wild and malicious creatures. It can take several years for a rider to tame and train one, but once trained, the giant black birds are fiercely loyal. As you approach, the Itikar senses that you are not his master and furiously attacks you with its deadly beak and talons.
    Itikar: COMBAT SKILL  17    ENDURANCE  30
    Fight the combat as normal, but double all ENDURANCE points lost by the giant bird. When its score falls to zero or below, you will have subdued it enough to be able to climb into the saddle and take control. All the ENDURANCE points you lose in the combat count as wounds and must be deducted from your current ENDURANCE points total.
    If you successfully reduce the Itikar's ENDURANCE points to zero or below, turn to 217 .

243
    Your deadly stroke hurls the Drakkar over the armoured parapet. He tumbles from view and plummets into the valley thousands of feet below.
    Turn to 306 .

244
    You can clearly see the main highway that links Chula to the capital. It crosses the desolate salt plain of Lake Inrahim by means of a causeway thirty feet high and is a useful landmark by which you can steer. Little stone houses with beaten earth roofs are grouped in small clusters along the highway, their numbers increasing as you draw nearer to the town.
    You are five miles from Chula, when you notice a dark cloud hovering several hundred feet above one of the small villages. It is a cloud of Kraan; they are moving to intercept you.
    Suddenly the Itikar squeals in pain, and a splash of feathers billows out from its wing. A Kraan has closed in from behind; it is less than a hundred yards distant. The Drakkarim rider holsters an empty bronze crossbow and draws his black sword. His bolt has passed through the wing of your mount, and he prepares