The Heart of Fire
Page 53
Will you:
Attack the sniper? — 482
Investigate the weapons cache? — 588
Search the supplies tent? — 597
670
The tower is supported by two gargantuan columns of rock, rising up on either side of the bridge. An arched beam connects them midway along their length, its centre-piece a circle of runed stone. As you approach the circle starts to tremble violently, its surface wrinkling and swelling as if something behind is struggling to get free.
Avian raises his staff. ‘Back, arratoch. We mean you no harm. We seek safe passage into your makers’ city.’
The contortions become faster and more erratic, the unseen force hammering and punching at the stone until it has beaten out a cruel-looking face.
‘Your city has fallen, arratoch. The twin thrones lie empty; the sworn kings have gone. Let us pass. I free you from your oath.’
The face crumples into a scowl. What speaketh you of oaths and kings? Its malign visage cranes forward on a long snake-like neck. Barahar remade me. Only demons have dominion here! The creature’s mouth cracks open, and from its depths comes a wailing high-pitched scream. You stumble back, covering your ears.
‘What is it?’ you cry.
‘An alarm!’ shouts Virgil. ‘It’s summoning guards!’
The twin columns start to swell and ripple, as if the rock has become clay. It flows into invisible channels, rapidly forming itself around the contours of two giant-sized warriors. They have the appearance of dwarves, with grooved beards and runed armour – and moulded into each of their fists is a giant double-headed axe. Within a matter of seconds the newly-fashioned guards are stomping onto the bridge, leaving gaping hollows in the rock behind them.
Avian casts his eyes around desperately, then hurries over to a section of the ground. He taps his staff against it, revealing a glowing rune etched into the stone. ‘Here!’ he shouts, struggling to be heard over the shrieking guardian. ‘We can go underneath them!’
You rush to Avian’s side, as he taps the ground again. The glyph and the surrounding stone spark with magic, then disappear as if they were just an illusion. The resulting hole reveals a set of stairs, leading down to a lower platform. Avian jerks back as if startled, wrinkling his nose. A second later, you catch the stench drifting up from the hole – stagnant and rotting.
Virgil turns away, shaking his head with disgust. ‘What smells bad, usually is bad.’
Avian tugs your arm, then gestures to the hole. ‘Your decision – but decide fast!’
Will you:
Descend the stairs? — 603
Fight your way past the guardians? — 582
671
You enter a small store room, stacked high with clay and stone tablets. At its centre is a podium, fashioned from a complex weave of red and black granite. Its top-piece is a pair of hands, cradling a carved stone idol.
Searching through the tablets you discover that most are simply historical records, written in a combination of dwarvish and common. However, you do manage to uncover a number of useful runes and glyphs. You may now choose one of the following rewards:
Rune of wisdom
Rune of nightmares
Glyph of life
(special: rune)
(special: rune)
(special: glyph)
Use on any item to add the special ability wisdom
Use on any item to add the special ability fear
Use on any item to add 2 health
Virgil is standing next to the idol, tilting his head to inspect it. ‘This is carved from the heart of a rock demon.’ He leans away, his nose wrinkling as if from a bad smell. ‘And still strong with magic.’
Intrigued, you walk over and examine the idol. It is carved to resemble a dwarf, with a ring-braided beard and a coat of runed mail. The surface is pitted black stone with glowing veins of red crystal. If you are a mage, you can unlock the idol’s power by turning to 750. Otherwise, you return the idol to its podium. After a final check of the room’s contents, you resume your journey. Turn to 842.
672
The beast rears back, its black-stone body reshaping itself into another horrific image – an immense worm, its mouth a circular chasm of diamond-hard teeth. It sweeps down through the dust and smoke, smashing through the rocky pinnacle with its cannonball head. (You must fight this next stage of the combat with the health you have remaining. Your abilities are restored and can be used again, as normal.)
Special abilities
Wrath of the worm: At the end of the eighth combat round, Sitadell will have destroyed the entire rock you are standing on, plunging you to your death. This automatically loses you the combat.
Body of rock: Your opponent is immune to barbs, bleed, disease, fire aura, piercing, thorns, thorn cage and venom.
If you manage to defeat Sitadell, turn to 683. If you are defeated, this battle must be restarted from an earlier point. Restore your health and return to 584.
673
As you back away your foot knocks into something. You glance around quickly to see Scar-face spread-eagled on his back, a knife wound to his chest. Lying next to him is a black-bladed dagger, still glistening with blood.
‘No!’ You step away from the body, your eyes fixed on the dagger. It is the same one from your dream . . . the one you used to kill Virgil. ‘I didn’t mean . . . I didn’t know it was him!’ you protest.
‘Oh, it’s a little late for excuses!’ The woman’s laughter rings in your ears as the robed creature advances. ‘Remorse. Fear. Anger. All my favourite appetisers!’
Desperately, you ready your weapons and prepare to take on this nightmarish opponent. This fight will be more difficult without the aid of your tigris companions:
Special abilities
Mental daggers: You must lose 2 health at the end of each combat round.
Delirium: If you take health damage from the succubus’ damage score you are immediately inflicted with delirium. If you win a combat round, roll a die. If the result is or then your attack misses its mark and you cannot roll for damage. If the result is or more you can roll for damage as normal.
If you manage to defeat the succubus, turn to 717.
674
Using your chosen reagents you craft a trinket of purest midnight, its fathomless depths flickering with the spirit of an imprisoned phoenix. If you wish, you may now lay claim to:
Fade, splinter of shadow
(talisman)
+1 speed +4 health
Ability: charm, trickster
If you wish to craft another item, turn to 755. Otherwise, return to the map to continue your adventure.
675
The thief turns down a side aisle, its mocking laughter taunting you to follow. As you skid round the corner, you hear the imp’s merriment turn to a screech of pain. The thief is lying on its back, shaking its head as if stunned. In front of it the passage ends in an iron portcullis, barring access to the room beyond. Runes have been carved into the black metal, several of which are still glowing with a soft red light.
‘Nowhere to run?’ you grin, brandishing your weapons.
The imp flips back to its feet. With an angry hiss it lunges forward, a black curved dagger spinning into each of its palms. It is time to fight:
Special abilities
Steal your glory: The imp’s speed, brawn and magic match your own. The imp will use the highest damage attribute (brawn or magic) when rolling for damage score.
Vanishing trick: The protective runes have weakened the imp, stopping it from using its teleport ability. However, if the imp is still alive at the start of the sixth combat round it will have regained its power and will use it to escape – automatically losing you the combat.
If you manage to defeat this devious scallywag within five rounds, turn to 642. Otherwise, turn to 829.
676
You find yourself in a rubble-strewn hall. A set of stairs curve away to another storey of the building, but the way i
s blocked by fallen stone. The only remaining exits are an archway to your right, leading through into a brightly-lit room filled with stone benches, and a blasted hole in the far wall, where the twisted remains of a bronze door lie crumpled amongst the charred debris.
Will you:
Investigate the lecture room? — 661
Head through the blast hole? — 731
677
A bright column of sunlight is being focused down the shaft. The mirror stands directly beneath it, but the light is falling past onto the surface of the stone plinth. You walk forward to inspect the mirror, discovering that the top stone is loose from the base and can be rotated.
Without hesitation, you turn the mirror so that the beam of sunlight is correctly hitting its surface. The angle immediately redirects the beam, channelling it towards the centre of the double doors, where a carving of a blazing sun starts to glow. A second later and there is a rumbling, grating sound from behind the wall – then the doors slowly turn inward, revealing a secret chamber. Turn to 688.
678
After a tiring battle the tigris is finally defeated. You push its heavy body off your own to find the hunter staring down at you, his rain-slick knife dripping with blood. For a moment, his expression is unreadable and you wonder if your life is once again in danger – but then the hunter breaks into a beaming smile, tucking his knife in his belt and offering out a hand.
‘I’m Jerem,’ he says. ‘You fight well.’
Taking his hand, you struggle back to your feet. ‘Your friend . . .’ you state, glancing back towards the forest.
Jerem, shrugs his shoulders. ‘His luck ran out, that’s all.’ He looks down at the corpse of the tigris. ‘Come, help me get this one back to the boss. Would have been better alive, but still – not a bad night’s work. Young male. Shara Khana pack.’ He catches your eye, flashing another smile. ‘Boss will be very impressed.’
If you wish, you may now help yourself to one of the following rewards
Bloodied claws
Tracker’s chestguard
Tigris paw
(main hand: fist weapon)
(chest)
(talisman)
+2 speed +2 brawn
+1 speed +2 armour
+1 speed
Ability: rake
Ability: critical strike
Ability: evade
Jerem takes his knife and disappears into the undergrowth, returning moments later holding a staff of cane. After stripping away the stray leaves, he quickly sets about tying the animal’s wrists and ankles to the rod using vines. Then Jerem takes one end, directing you to take the other. Together, you lift up the carry-beam with both hands, the corpse of the tigris dangling between you. ‘Camp’s not far,’ says Jerem. ‘Let’s go, before more tigris come.’ Turn to 744.
679
Congratulations, for defeating Nephele while hexed you have won the following rare item:
Blood-sworn gauntlets
(gloves)
+1 speed +4 brawn
Ability: unstoppable, blood-sworn set
(requirement: hexed)
Once you have updated your hero sheet, return to the quest map to continue your journey.
680
You hesitate, not wishing to pick a side in the fight – unsure whether anything you are witnessing is real or part of some elaborate fantasy.
‘What are you waiting for?’ splutters Benin. ‘The Wiccan are our enemy!’
You shake your head. ‘No, friend. This is not what it seems . . .’
‘Wise move,’ growls Murlic – suddenly speaking with a guttural, female voice. ‘You are strong, bright claw.’
‘No!’ Benin shrieks with rage, fists clenching at his side. ‘You were supposed to kill her!’
Suddenly your surroundings start to blur, sweeping into ribbons of ochre light. Then you lurch forwards, as if pushed by some invisible hand, to find yourself inside a ruined building, its roof open to the misty marshland sky.
Where Murlic had been standing there is now a female tigris. She is panting heavily, looking exhausted. ‘The witch,’ snarls Scowler. ‘We must fight her together!’ Turn to 445.
681
Virgil slays the last of the spectres, its sickly-green body reduced to tattered shreds. The dwarf staggers back, clutching at his wounds. There is no blood, only a thick black slime, oozing between his rotted fingers.
‘You betray me . . .’ spits the dwarf. ‘Let Barahar take you and be damned!’
He dives past you, looking to grab one of the potion bottles from the table. But you are faster – your weapons swinging round to catch him mid-step. The dwarf gives a shriek, then his body explodes in a black shower of ash and slime.
‘A death long overdue . . .’ Virgil picks a string of gloop from his coat, flicking his fingers in an attempt to get rid of it. ‘Told you it’d be messy.’
You walk over to the bottles, intrigued to discover what the dwarf was after. You may now take one of the following items:
Spectral slime (1 use)
Molech Tov’s cocktail (1 use)
(backpack)
(backpack)
Use any time in combat to heal 10 health
Use instead of rolling for a damage score to inflict 6 damage, ignoring armour, to all opponents
If you have the key word clean up on your hero sheet, turn to 752. Otherwise, turn to 847.
682
The hat and gloves float off towards the back of the shop. They disappear through a small doorway, returning a few minutes later carrying a shimmering grey cloak. The ghost places the cloak on the dusty counter, then pulls it open to reveal the items that were wrapped in its folds – an ivory-and-gold shield and a wide-bladed dagger.
You may purchase any of the following for 450 gold crowns each:
Cloak of the undying
Light-forged bulwark
Doom’s harbinger
(cloak)
(left hand: shield)
(main hand: dagger)
+2 speed +3 health
+2 speed +4 armour
+2 speed +5 brawn
Ability: greater heal
Ability: defender
Ability: doom
(requirement: warrior)
(requirement: rogue)
If you wish to make further purchases, return to 557. Otherwise, you thank the ghostly proprietor and resume your journey.
683
As the worm dives towards you, intending to smash through the stone, you throw yourself into the air, tumbling across its ridged back. The worm bucks and squirms, flinging you free, its own purchase on the rock slipping away.
You fall together, reeling through the dust and smoke – the jagged remains of the building blurring past you.
Suddenly the worm’s gaping maw spirals into view. There is little you can do to slow your momentum. The worm lunges, swallowing you whole. For the next few seconds you are sliding through darkness, the rough walls of the beast’s belly ripping at your armour. You strike out with your weapons, but the hard rock jolts them from your grasp. As you continue your hellish descent, the walls start to close in . . . seeking to crush you to pulp.
Then a miracle occurs. From the scaled skin on your arms barbed spines burst forth, punching through your clothing. At first, they spark harmlessly against the walls – but once they flare with dark magic, they start to slice through the rock. You sight daylight – a thin sliver which quickly widens.
At last you are free, tearing yourself out of the beast’s stomach and hurling yourself into the smoky air. You smash through walls and floors, your diamond-hard skin taking the brunt of each impact. Then you finally crash down into a courtyard, the impact blowing a vast crater across the earth.
There is a moment’s reprieve, before an immense shadow obliterates the sky – dropping at speed.
The worm.
As its stone body nears the ground it starts to break up, becoming fragments of razor-sharp obsidian. You dive for cover, shelterin
g behind a carved pillar as the shards rain down, hammering their points deep into the rock.
Then there is silence.
You slump against the pillar, exhausted from the fight. But you find little comfort in your escape. You look down at the hooked spines, bristling along your arms. Your demon-side has saved you once again. But at what cost?
You have gained the following special ability:
Demon spines (co): When your opponent’s damage score causes health damage, you can immediately retaliate by inflicting 1 damage die back to them, ignoring armour. You can only use demon spines once per combat.
You retrieve your weapons before searching through the debris. Amongst the remains of the worm you find one of the following rewards:
Stone of the Sitadell
Obsidian shard
Prickle pair
(talisman)
(necklace)
(gloves)
+1 speed
+1 speed
+1 speed +2 brawn
Ability: disrupt
Ability: piercing
Ability: barbs
(requirement: warrior)
(requirement: mage)
(requirement: rogue)