Desperately you urge the horse forwards, but the combined weight of you and Lord Nathor conspire to slow its progress. Before it can carry you through the gatehouse and onto the drawbridge beyond, the portcullis comes crashing down, sealing your only means of escape. Then a second portcullis descends, preventing you from returning into the castle keep. You are caught, trapped like fish in a barrel in the narrow corridor between these two gates.
This area is called the murder hole
, and, as you soon discover to your cost, it is an apt description of what can occur in this dreadful place. Within seconds of your capture, the walls above are ringed by guardsmen, each armed with bows which they aim at you and your companion. At a given signal they open fire, pouring volley after relentless volley of arrows into your defenceless forms.
Tragically, your life and your journey home to Sommerlund end here, in the murder hole of Castle Tranius.
+Suddenly an explosion of white light fills your vision and the taste of blood fills your mouth: you have been hit in the head by an armour-piercing arrow. Mercifully, death is virtually instantaneous.
-Sadly, your life and your journey home come to an abrupt end here, in the cold, dark waters of the River Reloni.
+Suddenly there is a tremendous
Tragically, on the threshold of victory, your life and your quest end here on the Plane of Darkness.
+You are halfway across the ford when alarm bells sound on both sides of the river.
Deserter at the ford!
goes the cry from the Eldenoran fort. Enemy spy approaching!
shout the Slovian guards.
Moments later, a hissing cloud of arrows and bolts descend on you from both sides and your horse is killed instantly in the crossfire. It crashes head-first into the water and you are thrown out of the saddle to land heavily amongst the rocks which lie strewn along the Slovian bank. You try to rise but suddenly an explosion of white light fills your vision and the taste of blood fills your mouth: you have been hit in the head by an armour-piercing arrow. Mercifully, death is virtually instantaneous.
-Sadly, your life and your journey home come to an abrupt end here, on the Slovian banks of the River Storn.
+You press yourself as flat as you can against the sheer rock-face of the ravine, but a heavy boulder glances your shoulder and you lose your precarious grip. Frantically you scrabble for a handhold, but already you are falling backwards amidst a cloud of choking dust and loose shale. With a sickening thud, you smash head-first into the boulder-strewn ground at the base of the ravine.
-Tragically, your life and your journey home come to an abrupt end here in Eldenora.
+You hear the hiss of the crossbow bolt in flight, and then suddenly an explosion of white light fills your vision and the taste of blood fills your mouth: you have been shot in the base of the skull by an iron bolt and, mercifully, death is virtually instantaneous.
-Sadly, your life and your journey home come to an abrupt end here, in the timberlands of southern Eldenora.
+Suddenly, you are gripped by spasms which paralyse your leg and stomach muscles. Incapacitated by cramp, you are unable to prevent yourself from sinking rapidly to the bottom of the River Storn.
-Tragically, your life and your journey home to Sommerlund end here.
+You tumble head-first down the slope and knock yourself unconscious on a jagged outcrop. Minutes later, the halo of energy which surrounds the Shadow Gate begins to crackle fiercely. The surge of energy has great significance, for on the Plane of Darkness, Naar has just consigned his newest champions to the Shadow Gate through which you escaped from his realm.
As the first rays of the dawn sun spread across the surrounding rocks, the first of Naar
Tragically, on the threshold of victory, your life and the future of Sommerlund end here.
+Suddenly an explosion of scarlet light fills your vision and the taste of blood fills your mouth: you have been hit in the head by a crossbow bolt. Mercifully, death comes instantaneously.
-Sadly, though, your life and your journey home come to an abrupt end here, in the cold, dark waters of the River Reloni.
+