321
You pick your way through the mass of soldiery towards the large white tent, and are tall enough to crane your neck and see the figure of Alexander, resplendent in golden armour with a battered helmet which sports a white crest. He is a short man, but very athletic, his curly reddish-blond hair framing a deter- mined face with piercing blue eyes. Nearby, a white-robed priest is fiddling with the entrails of a sheep. He looks towards Alexander whom he calls King Iskander and strongly advises him not to attack the town, saying that the omens are bad. The soldiers mutter, but Alexander replies, 'My business is to conquer cities. I do not have time to study the entrails of sheep. Leave me alone to finish my business.' Turning to his advisers he gives the word to prepare to storm the city. The army organises as if by magic, and siege ladders are brought forward on carts. There is still no sign of Speke and you are curtly ordered to join a phalanx of men near the city gates. Hoping not to be noticed, you take your place in one of the columns. Sensing that his men, war weary and far from home, are reluctant to storm another city after the bad omens, Alexander exhorts them to attack. They hesitate and he grabs a ladder and thrusts it against the wall. He scales it quickly, followed by his shield bearer and a member of his bodyguard, and is soon atop the wall. Seeing this, the Macedonians bring up ladders and crying, 'Iskander, Iskander!' they rush up the ladders, breaking them in their eagerness. Alexander, an obvious target, is pelted with missiles and jumps down inside the city, almost alone. Do you:
Run up one of the few surviving ladders in case you can prevent him being assassinated? | Turn to 405 |
Wait and leave Alexander to his fate? | Turn to 200 |