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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2008 All Rights Reserved
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391
You have no time to waste investigating this smoke. If it is a fire then the approaching weather will make short work of it. From the start of your journey you have had an anxious eye on the growing storms in the north and west. Although unpredictable, the rapidly building cloud fronts can easily turn upon an unwary traveller and overwhelm him with their fury. Up until now a quick, untroubled ride to Stoneholme has been your only consideration but the frontier never remains benign. The storm has quickly become your main concern and as you wait for Pallenten to finish taking her water you can see that it will be no common tempest.
Black as the depths of a pit a wall of cloud is advancing from the north, sweeping across the grasslands as it is pushed by near gale force winds in your direction. Such storms have been known to generate violent downdrafts, propelling fist-sized chucks of hail with such force that they have crushed the skulls of horses, and laid many men in their graves. To be in the open and unprotected is surely not the place to be. You will have to find shelter quickly.
Without any further delay you mount Pallenten and turn her to the south. Upon the open plain you are exposed and vulnerable, and although shelter can be found it is scattered and unreliable. At your back a tremendous bolt of lightning crashes into the earth and the hairs upon your neck react to the static charge as rolls of thunder tremor the air. Flicking Pallenten's reins you urge the great horse to even greater speed. Southwards you gallop, trying to leave the storm behind but it is impossible. The faster you travel the quicker the approaching weather seems to gain on your position. At your back the wind has reached gale force, Pallenten finding it difficult to maintain her footing as the wind blows vast amounts of loose vegetation across the grasslands.
In the maelstrom of wind and slapping rain, that now falls like icy slush against your back, you remember tales of Men who have survived these storms. In their desperation most killed their horses and lay beneath them, shielded from the lethal hail by the dead weight of their animal's still warm bodies. But they where just stories, and there is no way you could do such a thing to a horse such as Pallenten.
Then, to your immense relief, you spy possible salvation. Ahead and to your right you spot a group of farm buildings, nestled amongst a stand of sturdy pine trees and surrounded by a low stone wall. Most of the buildings have crumbled into disrepair but one structure still stands. It is a silo of some type, probably for grain and sturdily built. Here you may find protection from the storm.
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Do you wish to use this building as a shelter from the coming storm? If so turn to section 365. If you would rather continue on southwards, turn to section 394.
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This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au
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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2008 All Rights Reserved
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