>TM 4 >LS 2 >PS ON >PL60 >SM6 >CP ON >FO OFF >------L-----------------------!---------------------------R â27â When you and Karvas are unable to produce a ticket, Š the guard gets angry. You say that you must have lost Š your tickets during the voyage, but this excuse does Š not impress him. He beckons to a group of his fellow Š guardsmen who are standing beside a stone hut at the Š entrance to the docking area. "You'll have to see the Š Wharfmaster," he says, brusquely, "Tell him your Š tale." The group of guardsmen come and escort you and Karvas Š to the hut where an officious man in a scarlet tunic Š is sitting at a desk, writing with a quill pen. "They've no tickets, Wharfmaster," states one of the Š guardsmen, before they turn away and close the door. Š The man puts down his pen and takes a crystal sphere Š from his pocket which he fixes into a holder at the Š centre of his desk. Then he tells you both to sit Š before him at the table and explain why you have no Š tickets to travel aboard the riverboat. Karvas Š becomes impatient with the man and he demands that Š you be allowed to leave. "I don't think you realise Š the trouble you're in," replies the Wharfmaster, Š testily. "Travelling by riverboat without paying the Š fare is a custodial offence. The punishment is one Š day in gaol for every day travelled." The man opens Š his desk drawer and takes out a slim rod of opaque Š crystal. "Now," he says, staring you straight in the Š eye, "kindly tell me why you have no ticket." You repeat the excuse you gave when you disembarked, that you must have lost your ticket during the Š voyage. The clear crystal sphere resting on his desk Š becomes milky white, and then its hue changes to Š crimson. "You're lying," says the Wharfmaster, and he touches Š you lightly on the hand with the tip of his slim rod. Suddenly a blinding white light flashes before your Š eyes and you feel yourself rapidly falling into unconsciousness. Turn to â332â