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From the top of the shaft you look out across the sprawling ruins of Antah. You have emerged upon the flat roof of a mouldering stone crypt situated a few hundred yards from the tower by which you first entered the subterranean temple. A chill wind howls in the surrounding trees and overhead the darkening winter sky warns that night is fast approaching.
The ruins are completely deserted. The undisturbed blanket of snow which lies thick upon the ground, hiding all tracks, sorely reminds you that fifteen precious days have elapsed since your internment. You think of Captain Prarg and wonder if he is still alive, and an empty feeling gnaws at your stomach when you pause to consider the fate which may have befallen him and his Lencian countrymen now that Magnaarn is in possession of the Doomstone. You are fearful, but you are not entirely without hope. Magnaarn believes you to be dead; it is a belief that you could use to your advantage. After all, by his own admission, did he not say that you were the only threat to his victory?
Carefully you descend from the roof of the crypt and make your way through the forest to where, two weeks earlier, Magnaarn's Tukodak guards were encamped. In this clearing there are no visible remains of their campsite, but diligently you sift through the ankle-deep snow, looking for clues to where they may have gone.
(I have Grand Pathsmanship)
Aided by your Kai skills, you uncover some tracks frozen beneath the snow. They were made by horses and wagons and are a little over a week old. There are far more than you expected to find here, and you can tell at once that they were not all made by Magnaarn's entourage. Before he left this site and headed west, he was joined by several hundred reinforcements.
During your search you also discover some scraps of food which you eat immediately: restore 3 ENDURANCE points. Having satisfied your curiosity, and your rumbling stomach, you decide to leave the campsite and follow the tracks westward.
(I possess Animal Mastery AND Grand Guardian)
Having decided to follow Magnaarn's tracks, you are now faced with the unwelcome prospect of a tiring foot-slog through the Tozaz forest, unless, of course, you can find some other means of speeding your journey. Using your Kai mastery, you scan the surrounding woodland and send out a silent call for help A few minutes pass, then a wild dog appears. He is soon joined by a handful of other creatures: a young grey-skinned boar, two feral snow-cats and an ape-like Rhudun. Unfortunately, none are large or sturdy enough to carry you any great distance.
Then, from out of the snow-laden undergrowth, bursts forth a wild stag. It is a magnificent animal, as large and as strong as any stallion. Subdued by your commands, it approaches and tilts it antlered head to allow you to climb upon its back. Obediently it responds as you steer it through forest, heading westwards in the wake of Magnaarn's troops.
Shortly after dusk you come to the banks of the River Shug, close by a small settlement of log huts which are grouped around a derelict ferry post. You dismount, and with a slap to its rump, you send the stag trotting back to its forest home. You watch him disappear towards the distant tree-line, then you turn back to the river and approach the huts on foot.
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