| 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. The storm has quickly become your main concern though. Black as a demon's pit the 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 winds, that can propel 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. 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 is finding it difficult to maintain her footing as the wind blows vast amounts of loose vegetation and tree litter over the plain. In the maelstrom of wind and slapping rain, that now falls like icy slush against your back, you remember tales told of Men who have survived these storms. 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 that to such a horse 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 and fallen 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.
| 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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