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With fearful disquiet, you take your first faltering steps into the dead forest of Helkona. This timberland reeks of sulphurous decay, and the perpetual half-light of the Darklands lends it a fearsome aspect. Guided by your Kai tracking instincts, you forge a northerly course through this poisoned maze of twisted trunks and thorn-guarded scrub, until you are halted by a violent tremor that makes the ground heave and split. You grab at a knotted bough to stop yourself from falling, but the rotten wood crumbles in your hand and you are knocked off your feet. Close by, a fissure opens in the dusty ground, and from its depths there emerges a host of giant black flies. They take to the air and swarm above you, their ghost-grey wings buzzing loudly. You sense that they are hungry and are preparing to launch an attack.

Illustration XIV—From the depths of the fissure there emerges a host of giant black flies.

If you wish to try to evade this swarm of hostile giant flies, turn to 310.

If you decide to stand and defend yourself, turn to 68.