Page 78You travel north with Gorhax through thick forests and across arid plains, stopping only to drink or eat what remains of the lion meat. Your companion never once leeches off your supplies; she wasn't lying about being an adept crossbowman, and she kills, cleans, and eats a few animals to sustain herself during the journey. Gorhax turns out to not know how to swim (a bit fitting how she can't swim and you can't walk; together you form the ultimate party), but you are able to convince her to flounder her way across a narrow river. She nearly drowns from the incident, and refuses to cross any other bodies of water besides brooks. By the first night, Gorhax tells you that you're about half way there. You desire to keep traveling through the night, but run into a river and it is too dark for you to see the way around it. You awake in the middle of the night (at first you think it's morning, but you realize that it's just the full moon) to a yell from Gorhax, who is rolling around on the ground a few meters from you with a leopard on top of her. You grab your axe and shield from the ground beside you and crawl quickly towards your companion. The leopard's teeth are locked on to her arm, but the grip is broken when Gorhax presses the end of her crossbow against the cat's leg and leaves a copper bolt in it. The cat rolls over on to the ground and by the time you reach it to help, the leopard is already unconscious. Gorhax clutches her bleeding arm and kicks the beast's body off of her as you bring your axe down in a wide arch, burying it in its head.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, just hurts like the Circus. You all right?"
"A bit exhausted, but we might as well get going. I don't think I can go back to sleep after that."
You butcher the corpse sloppily with your axe (you're getting quite low on lion meat) and stuff your pack full of leopard meat. You eat some of the offal as a very early breakfast, and even offer some to Gorhax. You polish off your raw leopard brain and a side of kidney with a gulp of the beast's blood, before beginning hiking again. After a few hours of hiking to the west, you spot an entrance in the ground to the west.
If you...
Venture into the cave stealthily, turn to page 84.
Pass the cave by and continue hiking, turn to page 85.
Camp out somewhere else until morning, then go into the cave, turn to page 86.
Rest until morning, then continue hiking past the cave, turn to page 87.