Page 101

"Let's hurry along," says Merlyn. "We don't have any time to waste in getting to Kalokathir."

So you continue walking briskly down the road. After about an hour of walking, alongside a steep, rocky hill, you hear a loud rumble. You look up at the sky, but the storm has passed and the clouds are clearing. You look at Deke and say, "Please tell me that was your stomach."

But Deke shakes his head, and all of you can see the surface of the hillside moving, the layer of rocks and pebbles that cover it slipping rapidly downward.

"Run!" Merlyn cries, and you all dash forward along the road as quickly as you can.

But none of you are fast enough to escape the rockslide. Tiny pebbles bounce down and sting your face as a first warning, and then your feet are swept out from under you, you fall, and you duck and cover your ears against the thunder as the rockslide rushes around you.

Luckily for your party, the rockslide ends almost as soon as it began. The thunder and the motion stop. You're hesitant to move, for fear of triggering another downfall, but if you don't get out you'll suffocate. So, slowly, you manage to push aside the debris above your head. It takes all of your strength, but you clear an opening to the surface. Breathing the fresh air again is wonderful.

Looking around, you see your companions struggling to do the same thing. You hope they're all okay.

Most of your body is still buried, and you can't move much more than your head and arms, and every part of you feels very painfully bruised and battered, but nothing seems to be broken. You just have a lot of work to do, to get yourself out.

You hear a distant shout. "It's over. Hey, there are people in there!"

Another voice quickly follows and says, "Don't shout! You'll trigger another one."

You twist around as best you can, and see several people climbing over the fallen rocks on top of the road. From their dress, you'd guess they are local farmers.

"It's going to take forever to clear the road again," a third person complains.

"Hey, let's get these people out," the first says. "We'll worry about our road after that."

More people emerge up onto the bed of rocks, bringing rakes, pitchforks, shovels, and other tools with them. You lose track of how many grateful "Thanks yous," you say as your body is freed from beneath the rocks. Your legs feel a bit like jelly once they can move again, but they work. You help to dig the rest of your companions out. Aside from many minor scrapes and bruises, you're all miraculously unhurt, and you're all freed within the hour.

"Where are you travelers from?" one of their rescuers asks. "You can't be from around here, or you'd know the warning signs of an imminent rockslide. This is a dangerous area to travel through."

"We started out from the village of Bray, in Gundal, this morning," Merlyn tells him, and we're on our way to Kalokathir."

"Ah, well, that's bound to be a dangerous journey. Strange things seem to be happening lately..." the man scratches his head. You nod emphatically. You've become very familiar with strange things happening.

"We're very, very grateful for your help," Deke tells him. "Can we help you clear your road again, to repay you for it?"

"Thanks for the offer," says another man, stepping up. "But this job is going to a full day's work, and, to be frank, none of you have the strength right now to be of much help. I'd advise you to continue on your journey. I own an inn in our village, just on the other side of this hill, though. Why don't you all come stay the night, and recover a bit? I'll put you up, no charge."

The offer sounds great to you. Merlyn fidgets a bit, though. "We really need to get to Kalokathir as quickly as we can," she says, looking further down the road.

You lose all your strength points from the rockslide.
If you want to stay overnight at the inn, turn to page 113.
If you want to keep walking, turn to page 120.