Within the hour, you find yourself standing beside Lord Rimoah at the deck-rail of the sleek flying ship Cloud-dancer, watching the Kai Monastery melt away into the distance as the craft soars into an azure sky. The weather is fresh and clear, and you are blessed with a strong tail wind that will assist your long journey south to the land of Bhanar.
Rimoah has already charted a course for Sunderer Pass, and as his young Toranese crew attend to the running of the skyship, you settle back into the plush comfort of the captain’s cabin and discuss with him the details of your mission. After a delicious supper, you retire early and rise late in order to be best prepared for the task ahead.
By noon of the next day, you have already crossed the Tentarias and entered into Southern Magnamund. You spend much of the early afternoon standing at the bow rail, lost in your thoughts as an endless panoply of rolling hills and grasslands pass silently beneath Cloud-dancer’s gleaming keel.
When the forbidding peaks of the Darkwall Mountains are sighted on the horizon, Rimoah takes charge of the helm and steers the skyship on a southeasterly bearing to avoid them. These mountains mark the northern boundary of the Doomlands of Naaros, and Rimoah is anxious to avoid this notoriously stormy region. Skilfully he navigates a course around the eastern boundary of the Doomlands until, late in the afternoon, you see the snow-capped tips of the Southern Dammerdon Mountains soar into view.
Rimoah passes the helm back to his bo’sun, and then he hurries to join you at the bow rail. ‘Keep your eyes peeled, Grand Master,’ he says. ‘Sunderer Pass is a narrow gorge. It’ll be hard to spot from here.’ Aided by your ability to magnify your vision, you are the first one to see the tiny pass. Rimoah praises your keen sight and he signals to the bo’sun to bring Cloud-dancer around to the southern slopes of the Dammerdons, to a place where the pass emerges from the mountain range. Here you notice a pale cross of sun-bleached boulders laid out on the dark, dusty ground. It is a sign Rimoah has been hoping for, and excitedly he calls for the bo’sun to steer the skycraft towards it.
Cloud-dancer is brought to hover directly above the cross. You leave the rail and accompany Rimoah into a boarding cage located at the stern, and together you are winched to the ground. As the cage touches down, you push open its iron gate and step out. Your pulse quickens when suddenly you see four shadowy figures emerging from the surrounding rocks.
Instinctively you reach for the hilt of your Kai Weapon, but Rimoah stays your hand. ‘Hold, Grand Master. These are not our enemies—they’re our friends.’
The four gaunt, grey, grime-encrusted figures leave their hiding places and move slowly towards the cage. It is not until their leader smiles and reveals his white teeth that you realize they are human. The many weeks that these Siyenese rangers have spent in the hell of the Doomlands have exacted upon them a heavy toll.
‘Greetings, Lord Rimoah,’ says the leader. ‘I am Captain Gildas of the King’s Ranger Regiment, and these are my men—Sergeant Paviz, Ranger Durasso, and Ranger Yalin. We’re glad you’ve arrived before the enemy, though by no more than a few hours at best.’
Captain Gildas looks at you and bows his head reverently. ‘We’re honoured by your presence, Sir Kai. I was lucky to be in Seroa last year when Karvas was crowned King, and I witnessed your knighthood in the Palace Square. We Siyenese will be forever in your debt for ridding us of that usurper—Baron Sadanzo.’
You thank the Ranger Captain for his compliment and tell him that you have come here with Lord Rimoah to help capture the Claw of Naar. ‘It is vital that Sejanoz be denied the Claw,’ you say earnestly, ‘… at all costs.’
‘Fear not, Sir Kai,’ he replies with confidence. ‘We have laid a trap to ensnare the enemy and their foul relic. They’ll not get out of Sunderer Pass. Come, we shall show you what we have prepared, but first you must conceal your skyship before the enemy arrive. Look over there, Lord Rimoah,’ says Gildas, pointing to a distant ravine. ‘That gully is deceptively deep. It will swallow your ship without trace. You must hide it there. But first, may ask a favour?’
Rimoah nods in reply.
‘Our provisions are exhausted. We have some water, but we’ve had nothing to eat for days. Can you spare some food before you depart?’
‘Of course, Captain,’ replies Rimoah. ‘I’ll have the bo’sun drop provisions this instant.’
Rimoah climbs into the boarding cage and is winched up to the rear deck of Cloud-dancer. Within minutes, the cage descends once more, laden with food and water. With a gleeful cry, Gildas throws open the cage door and he and his men leap upon the provisions like ravenous wolves. What little they fail to consume immediately they stow away in their empty backpacks for later.
As Cloud-dancer moves off to seek cover in the distant ravine, Captain Gildas leads you to the mouth of Sunderer Pass and shows you the preparations that he had his men have made in readiness to ambush the enemy squad
Above the narrowest section of the mountain pass, the rangers have rigged a great wooden platform heaped with boulders and rocks. A length of rope has been tied to a prop which supports this platform, and it trails back to a hiding place overlooking the pass. ‘One pull on this rope,’ says Sergeant Paviz, flashing a wicked grin, ‘and the whole lot’ll come tumblin’ down on their heads!’
Captain Gildas tells you that the enemy squad is expected to traverse the pass before nightfall. He posts Ranger Durasso as lookout atop a high peak, and while you wait for the enemy to show, you pass the time in conversation with the captain.
Slowly the sun sets beyond the western horizon and a blanket of cloud rolls across the sky from the north, bringing with it a chill night wind. Then you hear Durasso whistling: it is the signal that the enemy have been sighted. Quickly you look down into the pass below and notice a group of dark figures moving along the mountain track.
(I use Grand Hunting)
You magnify your vision and see that the approaching figures are Bhanarians. Armed with swords and spears, they are all clad in black quilted tunics edged with gold braid and emblazoned with the tiger’s-head emblem of Autarch Sejanoz. They are clearly a unit of Imperial Guards from the Autarch’s court in Otavai. As the squad of twelve guardsmen draws nearer, your Kai Sixth Sense tells you that something is wrong. These are élite soldiers of the Autarch’s personal bodyguard, yet they seem to have forgotten basic military practice: they have placed no scouts at the head of their squad to check that the way ahead is clear
(I have Grand Hunt with a high enough rank)
You draw upon your improved Discipline of Grand Huntmastery and focus your vision upon the advancing squad, but you cannot detect anything unusual there. It is not until you cast your eyes to the blanket of cloud above that you discover the cause of your disquiet. Hidden from plain sight, yet clear to your improved infravision, you see a host of flying creatures soaring overhead. The sight makes you swallow hard. They have lean and sinewy bodies that are studded with hundreds of spikes, and their slitted eyes emit a cold, bilious light.
You warn the rangers of their presence and swiftly they take cover among the boulders, hiding themselves from above. Your swift action saves you from being detected by the winged beasts, but as the last of their number passes overhead, you witness something that makes your heart skip a beat