>TM 4 >LS 2 >PS ON >PL62 >SM6 >CP ON >FO OFF >------L-----------------------!---------------------------R ä323ä The faces of your three companions are covered by an Š unsightly red rash. Each man is suffering a headache Š and they feel nauseous and dizzy, yet these Š discomforts fade after you attend to them using your Š Kai curing skills. However, try as you may, you Š cannot relieve them of the vivid rash that has Š erupted all over their faces, hands and feet. With dismay, the three men resign themselves to the Š fact that they have contracted Bita Fever. Although Š their lives are not at risk, the inflammation of their Š skin is causing them great discomfort. Their only Š hope of easing the persistent irritation is for them Š to reach Bisutan and find an apothecary who may be Š able to concoct a lotion to soothe their purulent Š skin. You ride all day under a clear sky and a blazing sun Š and stocially the marines suffer their pain in Š silence. Their only relief is the protection afforded Š by their cool, flowing mhuktis. It is late in the Š afternoon when you catch your first sight of the Š great city of Bisutan, which is located upon an Š island in the estuary of the River Khorda. A titanic Š stone bridge carries the coastal road over the Š shimmering waters of the Khorda towards a towering Š gatehouse which is flanked by two massive stone Š dragons. It is not the custom of Bisutanian's city Š guards to stop travellers without good reason, for Š here the merchants of all Magnamund meet to haggle Š and trade and barter their cargoes. They allow you to Š pass through their great gate, but one sharp-eyed Š young guardsman with promotion on his mind notes the Š strange pallor of your companions and he demands that Š they halt. "Bita Fever," proclaims a gruff old guard sergeant, Š and he demands that they dismount at once. He summons Š five spearmen from a nearby guardhouse and when they Š arrive he orders that your companions be taken to a gaol on the far side of the great bridge. You protest Š but the sergeant is adamant that they should spend a Š month there in isolation until the symptoms of the Š fever have disappeared. He assures you that they will Š be treated well, but they will not be permitted any Š visitors during their isolation. As they are escorted Š back across the bridge at spear's length, they wave Š you farewell and urge you to continue your journey Š without them. You wait until they have disappeared Š from view and then you wheel your horse about and Š enter Bisutan alone. Turn to â250â