| 133 Negotiating the piles of rubbish that litter the floor of the King's Hall proves to be more difficult than you would have first thought. Eventually however, you reach your objective and stand before the imposing facade of a great wooden door. For a moment you listen carefully for any clue of approaching patrols but all is still silent. The hall is musty and cold, the smell of decay weighs heavily on the air. Alone in the Hall you try the door and find its hinges and locks corroded and very stiff. The handle is rusted solid and will not move. In the end you are forced to put your shoulder against the door and push. It is on your second attempt that the lock shatters and the door swings open noisily. With more pushing and shoving the door opens wider and you find yourself in a short corridor, at the end of which is another wooden door similar to the one you have just opened. Resting your lantern upon an upturned broken chair you move forward, carefully studying the curious lettering that extends around the arch of this second door. After wiping away a century of dust you find it is an Old Dwarvendim script, and it reads as the equivalent of "Custom's House". You are about to search the corridor when you feel the hairs raise on the back of your neck, a gust of air moving noticeably behind you. Slowly your hand falls to the hilt of your sword. As your fingers close around your weapon, the door to the King's Hall is slammed shut and a huge Hresh appears from the space behind the door. Shouting at you in a harsh low voice it charges, mace held high, ready to deal you a heavy blow.
| Will you fight the Hresh? If so, go to section 19. Or will you try the second door for a means of escape? If so, go to section 36.
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