The Heart of Fire

by Michael J. Ward

  Hex of pain: At the end of each combat round you must lose 1 health from the magic runes etched into the floor of the chamber.

  If you are able to defeat this deadly foe, turn to 493.

  420

  The three ancestral spirits whirl around the shattered weapon, remaking it anew. If you are a warrior, turn to 461. If you are a rogue, turn to 526. If you are a mage, turn to 514.

  421

  Bill opens a trunk and lifts out a sun-faded jerkin and a pair of muddied boots. ‘Don’t let appearances deceive you,’ he says, noting your look of disappointment. ‘Both these are enchanted – got me out of a few scrapes.’ He places them down on the hammock, then continues over to the window. ‘If neither of them take your fancy, then I suppose I could always talk to Nelson, see if he’d be up for parting with his club. I’d wager you have the strength for it.’ He glances back at you, grinning through his beard. ‘And the lunacy.’

  You may now choose one of the following special rewards:

  Nelson’s column

  Safari cams

  Bug grinders

  (main hand: club)

  (chest)

  (feet)

  +1 speed +3 brawn

  +1 speed +2 armour

  +1 speed +2 brawn

  Ability: knockdown

  Ability: vanish

  Ability: compulsion

  Bill also hands you a purse, containing 100 gold crowns. After making your exchange, you bid the hunter farewell and leave. You may now explore the rest of the camp (turn to 744) or return to the quest map.

  422

  The cramped room is awash with a feverish red light, emanating from the open forges ranged along the walls. At the centre of the room is a black anvil, where a hulking brute is beating at a sheet of metal with a giant hammer. It looks like an ogre, but its skin is black and scaled, its crimson eyes glowing as bright as the forge fires.

  The creature senses you, looking up from its work with a rumbling growl. Then it lifts the hammer across its broad shoulders and starts to advance. It is time to fight:

  Special abilities

  Flame wrapped: At the start of each combat round, roll a die. If the result is or less then a flame sprite leaps out from one of the furnaces, wrapping itself around the hammer and imbuing it with fire. This adds 1 to the Forger’s brawn each time.

  Knockdown: If you suffer health damage from the Forger, you are knocked off your feet, lowering your speed by 1 for the next combat round.

  If you manage to defeat this monstrous foe, turn to 23.

  423

  You awake to find your arms and legs bound in wraps of cloth. Everything is moving, swaying – you are being carried or dragged through a forest. You catch the smell of pine and the sound of boots sliding on loose stone. You try and turn your head, but the constant swaying makes you feel sick. Closing your eyes, you slip back into tormented dreams, filled with grasping thorns and dark demons.

  When next you wake, you are shivering. The cold must have woken you. Above your head there is a low ceiling of rough-hewn rock, pockmarked with fissures. Struggling to recall what happened, you push yourself onto your elbows, surprised to see bandages wound tight around your chest.

  The rustle of cloth. A scuff of a boot.

  You look around to see a girl – around ten years old. She is dressed in filthy-looking rags, her bright eyes narrowed as she glares at you from the shadows.

  ‘Sanchen,’ she whispers, chewing at the ends of her pony tail.

  A quick glance at your surroundings confirms that you are in a small cave – part of some larger underground network. A narrow shaft of light breaks through a cleft in the ceiling, illuminating your makeshift bed and a table covered with ointments and poultices. As you rise to your feet, the girl gives a squeal and runs off, taking flight down a side tunnel. You hear voices, then footsteps. A woman appears, ducking to enter the cave. Her blond hair is braided, her simple dress smeared with clay and dirt.

  ‘You are awake,’ she says, talking slowly and in a thick accent. ‘The spirits favour you.’

  ‘Where am I?’ you croak, wincing as you try and stand.

  The woman moves to your side, offering support. ‘You came with Damaris. You’re the Sanchen. Our guest of honour. If your strength has returned, then you should join us.’

  Memories suddenly come flooding back – the fight on the moors, the Wiccan woman with feathers in her hair. You glance down at your bandages, remembering the blast of magic from Benin’s staff. ‘You . . . you’re a Wiccan?’ you ask, startled.

  ‘My name is Eva.’ She smiles. ‘Come. Damaris wants to speak with you.’ Turn to 485.

  424

  The witchfinder frowns, as if the question has caught him off guard. ‘You mean the female and the warrior?’ He shrugs his shoulders, as if the matter is of no consequence. ‘They fled the field of battle, both of them – assumed you were dead I think, and with two demons ripping shreds out of each other, I don’t entirely blame them.’

  You shake your head, the full weight of what happened suddenly crashing down around you in a jumble of frightening, confusing memories. ‘They were hoping to find answers – something to help with their war. They never guessed . . .’ You choke on your words, torn by grief. ‘A demon . . . the forest was a prison. The custodian tried to warn me.’ You meet the witchfinder’s gaze. ‘What will happen now? To Carvel? To the moorlands?’

  Virgil brushes your concern away with a nonchalant snort. ‘The Church and the Wiccans . . . that is not a squabble to be solved by the likes of you or I. Besides, we have greater concerns now. Their bickering has only served to put the entire world in danger. By opening up the forest, they have released a most terrible evil – one that must be stopped before it is too late.’

  Return to 494 to ask another question, or turn to 433 to continue.

  425

  The tree house has a low ceiling, which you discover quite quickly when you knock your head several times on its slanting beams. Reminding yourself that this was built for children, you stoop your shoulders in order to explore the interior. In the middle of the room is a tree-stump table, surrounded by stools and benches. You spot three names carved into the surface of the table – Jacob, Joss and Adam. The last name has been crossed out. At the other side of the room is a trunk. You open it up, to find a childlike stash of odds and ends inside. Most of these are toys, like wooden soldiers or balls and hoops, but you also discover some potions and ointments, which you may take:

  Mother’s medicine

  Jacob’s special mix

  Secret brew

  (2 uses)

  (2 uses)

  (1 use)

  (backpack)

  (backpack)

  (backpack)

  Use any time

  Use any time

  Use any time

  in combat to

  in combat to

  in combat to

  heal 4 health

  raise your speed

  raise your brawn

  by 1 for one

  by 2 for one

  combat round

  combat round

  With nothing else of interest in the tree house, you climb back down the tree – stepping through the magic portal to continue your journey. Turn to 46.

  426

  Damaris scowls, her fists clenching at her side. ‘They came from the east, with their swords and their pride and their infallible faith. They had no care for my people or the old magic. If we didn’t renounce our ways and worship their false god then they imprisoned us, or put our homes to the torch. Our most sacred sites were destroyed or defiled. Those of us that didn’t surrender were forced to flee – to become what you see now, stragglers with no place to call home.’ Damaris takes a deep breath, calming her anger. ‘If you poke a hive for long enough, you’re going to get stung.’ She glares at you defiantly. ‘We intend to be the swarm that brings them to their knees.’

  Turn to 126 to ask Damaris another question.

&
nbsp; 427

  A portal flickers into being and from it an immense creature steps out into the chamber. Fashioned from chunks of black rock, the giant has a roughly humanoid appearance, its stumpy arms ending in boulder-sized fists. With a grating rumble, it stomps towards you, an angry fire burning from its hollow eye sockets. You must now fight:

  Special abilities

  Body of rock: Your opponent is immune to bleed.

  If you have one of the following and wish to use it, turn to the relevant entry number: metal soldier (turn to 460), paper soldier (turn to 451), rock soldier (turn to 407). Otherwise, you must fight this opponent yourself. If you win, you must continue with the health that you have remaining (turn to 444). If you are defeated, turn to 464.

  428

  Damaris strides over to the creature. She makes a quick inspection of the body before turning away in revulsion.

  ‘The dwarf . . .?’ asks Murlic, keeping to a safe distance.

  The witch nods, her eyes scanning the rest of the chamber. ‘Once perhaps . . . ah, I believe that is what we came for.’ She crosses the room to a large stone casket, set within a circle of runes. They still pulse with a faint glow, but at a gesture from the witch they crackle and spark and then fade to nothing. ‘I’ve broken the weaves.’ She puts her hands to the heavy lid. ‘Conall.’

  The giant warrior moves to her side, putting his immense strength to the task. The rumbling of stone is magnified a hundred-fold, as the lid is slowly pushed back. At last the interior is revealed – and both Damaris and Conall stagger backwards, covering their faces.

  You can feel it from where you are standing. A fierce heat washing through the chamber. But whereas the others seem to be driven back by its intensity, you find yourself unmoved. Instead, you cautiously advance, much to the surprise of Damaris who is cowering behind her raised arms.

  ‘Stay back!’ she cries in warning. ‘The magic . . . it will burn you!’

  You are already standing over the casket, looking down at the hammer-shaped object resting on a bed of glowing coals. Somehow you can feel the heat prickling against your skin, but there is no pain. You reach into the casket and take hold of the hammer, your hands settling around the grip. You smell burning flesh as your skin comes into contact with the super-heated metal, but it feels distant – like you are looking down at someone else’s body, not your own. You lift the relic, admiring the intricately carved head-piece.

  ‘What is it?’ snarls Murlic, backing away to the edge of the chamber.

  Conall is urging Damaris to do the same, but the witch pays him no mind, her amber eyes wide and staring. ‘It’s powerful . . . very powerful . . .’ she gasps.

  Suddenly, the panels that encase the head of the relic snap open and a bright white light pours forth, filling the room with dazzling radiance. You lift the object above your head, holding it aloft like a torch, as its light blazes like the heart of a sun.

  ‘This is demon magic!’ growls Murlic, shading his eyes.

  Damaris is uncommonly quiet as she regards you with a mixture of awe and fascination.

  ‘This will take us into the forest,’ you state, looking up at the relic. ‘This is the key.’

  Damaris removes her cloak, gesturing for you to wrap the relic within its folds. ‘Then the forest is our next destination,’ she asserts. ‘We should prepare. What we find there will change the course of this war. Of that, I am certain!’ (Congratulations, you have retrieved the relic from Duerdoun. Return to the quest map to continue your journey.)

  429

  ‘Dustin was only a child when he was brought here – a monk found him wandering the Pilgrim’s Road. Since then, the monastery has sheltered him; protected him from a world that would label him an outcast.’ The dean looks fondly on the old man, who is now tapping the sides of his head, making childish whining noises as the scribe urges him to continue. ‘They wouldn’t know he was special. It took Dustin only a week to read all the books in this library . . .’

  You glance around at the endless rows of dusty tomes. There must be hundreds and hundreds of books packed inside the library. ‘That’s impossible,’ you snort, shaking your head. ‘It would take a lifetime and even then . . .’

  The dean smiles. ‘That’s only part of his gift. Dustin can recount every word – from any book, from any page. He remembers everything he sees. He doesn’t always understand it – but he sees the words. He sees the numbers. He remembers everything.’

  Will you:

  Ask about ‘the truth’ they seek? — 394

  Ask about the war with the Wiccans? — 491

  End the conversation? — 496

  430

  The accursed spear quivers and shakes, its runes suddenly emitting a blood-red glow. From the corpse a spectral light rises up into the air, forming the ghostly shape of a serpent. Then it sweeps towards the spear, spiralling around the blade and shaft. The runes flash and spark as the spear continues to tremble – then, with a rattling hiss, the spirit-light is gone, absorbed into the weapon’s dark runes.

  Congratulations, you have gained the spirit of the serpent. (Make a note of this on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.

  431

  With Anse’s help you are finally able to extinguish the elemental’s fury. Among its smouldering remains, you discover one of the following special rewards:

  Furnace fire

  Firewalker’s boots

  After burn

  (main hand: wand)

  (feet)

  (ring)

  +1 speed +1 magic

  +1 speed +1 brawn

  +1 armour

  Ability: sear

  Ability: turn up the heat

  Ability: turn up the heat

  You turn back to the hall, intending to help Joss, but the chasm has expanded, cleaving the hall in two. As the violent seizures continue to shake the chamber, more of the stone breaks away – reducing the hall to a series of crumbling islands. There is no sign of Joss or Maximus – or the ladder that Jacob used to escape. Turn to 469.

  432

  ‘Watch the shadows,’ warns Boom Mamba, his eyes sliding sideways from pillar to pillar. ‘Umbra is a shadow spirit. Fastest of them all.’

  You advance warily along the promenade, moving from bright sunlight to cool shadow as you pass each of the columns. The shaman has held back, crouching down next to his staff. ‘I start the enchantment – so we trap Umbra when he die.’ He closes his eyes, mumbling words in a strange tongue.

  Then you catch something blurring at the corner of your eye – a cloaked figure moving impossibly fast. It hops from one shadow to the next, making barely a whisper of noise. It is closing quickly on the shaman, black claws distending from its fists.

  Shouting for the spirit’s attention you charge forwards, trying to head it off. But as you swing your weapons, you find yourself hitting only air – until your wild swing takes a clump of stone out of one of the pillars.

  A rustle of movement to your side.

  You twist just in time to parry the shadow spirit’s attack. Then it has gone again, flitting away from one pillar to the next. As you scan the ever-shifting shadows, you realise that this will prove a challenging battle. It is time to fight:

  Special abilities

  It’s behind you: At the end of each combat round, roll a die. If the result is or less then Umbra has shifted behind you delivering a devastating backstab attack. This causes 10 damage to your hero (you may use armour to absorb some/all of this damage).

  If you manage to defeat this elusive trickster, turn to 480. If you are defeated, you may return to 510 to choose a different foe to battle.

  433

  You spot your weapons and belongings in a corner of the room. Wincing against the pain, you slide your legs off the bed, your eyes starting to sting from the incense burning on the nearby table.

  ‘I have to go . . .’ you insist, pulling away the rest of the blankets.

  ‘No,’ stat
es Virgil firmly. He looks to his companion. ‘Would you leave us, Modoc?’

  The tattooed man bows, before crossing the room to the single exit. When he opens the door a blast of sand and dust billows into the room, carried on a hot wind. You glimpse a barren plain, scattered with gorse and weathered rock. Then the man steps out and closes the door behind him.

  You look back at the witchfinder uncertainly. ‘Are you holding me prisoner?’

  He folds his arms. ‘I’ll get to the point. And I suggest you listen. Cernos has gone south. I can’t be sure what his motives are – but he is headed into the Terral Jungle. And that is where I am sending you.’

  ‘Sending me?’ you retort angrily.

  ‘I said listen!’ snaps the witchfinder. ‘There’s a connection now, between you and the demon.’ He gestures to your scarring. ‘And that makes you the perfect demon hunter.’

  You start to protest but Virgil halts you with a raised palm. ‘Most prophets are also empaths. You are susceptible to the thoughts and impressions of others, picking up on emotions . . . ideas. I won’t deny you have some talent at seeing future events – but what led you to that forest was the demon itself. Like Allam before you – the demon can impress upon you its own thoughts, guiding you, making you see what it wants you to see.’ The witchfinder walks over to a desk, where a pile of papers lie scattered next to a leather bag. ‘I daresay your own powers resisted it at times . . . but now, you and the demon have a link. And that will help you to find Cernos and discover his intentions.’