The Heart of Fire
Page 63
802
Between the high-stacked shelves you see a ghostly figure pacing back and forth. It is a dwarf, a braided beard hanging down over his plain robes. His body is almost completely translucent, its outline shimmering with a faint green light. He continues to pace, muttering to himself and wringing his hands in agitation. He shows no sign of having noticed you.
Will you:
Talk to the ghost? — 859
Attack the ghost? — 813
Ignore it and continue? — 866
803
Congratulations, for defeating Erkil while hexed you have won the following rare item:
Volcanist’s hood
(head)
+2 speed +3 magic
Ability: overload, volcanism set
(requirement: hexed)
Once you have updated your hero sheet, return to the quest map to continue your journey.
804
You head south out of the tainted marshland, finding yourself back amongst the thick jungle and its thrumming chorus of insects. After an hour the land starts to rise, taking you through lush clearings of ferns and bright flowers into a set of fog-shrouded hills. These gradually become steeper until you are finally forced out onto a ledge of crumbling rock. Trying to ignore the vertiginous drop, you ease yourself along the narrow path, following it round to its cloud-capped summit. If you have the word explorer on your hero sheet, turn to 504. Otherwise, turn to 756.
805
You decide to leave the looters to their ill-gotten gains, believing that the vault will hold greater reward. There is only one problem – getting into it. After studying the strange patterns, you move closer to the wall and give one of the panels an experimental push. It gives slightly at your touch then slides forward, pivoting out of its original position. To your surprise, you discover that each panel is on some sort of grooved axle and can be rotated clockwise – all save for the middle panel, which remains locked in place.
‘Dwarven thinking.’ Virgil scratches his chin. ‘The answer is usually a number, which needs to be spoken. Then the door opens. If you get it right . . .’
If you are able to solve the puzzle, then ‘speak your answer’ by turning to the relevant entry number. If you cannot solve the puzzle then, reluctantly, you are forced to give up – the vault’s secrets remaining frustratingly hidden. Turn to 797.
806
Congratulations! You have created the following item:
Self-published tome
(left hand: spell book)
+2 speed +3 armour
Ability: trickster
If you wish to create a different spell book, you can start the process again (turn to 850). Otherwise, you may now leave the chamber and continue your journey. Turn to 866.
807
As you advance, the smell grows worse – a pungent, stagnant odour that makes you start to gag. It is accompanied by a loud crunching underfoot. You crouch down, taking a closer look at the white crispy substance that covers the ground and crushing some between your fingers.
‘Bats,’ sniffs Grey-hair with revulsion. His eyes flick to the ceiling, where you hear the whisper of wings.
You sniff the white goo and suddenly flinch away, realisation dawning. ‘Bat guano,’ you scowl, quickly wiping your hand against your chest.
‘Good for earth. Bad for smell,’ grins the elderly tigris, his whiskers bristling around a sly smile.
A few metres ahead the tunnel widens into another cave. At its centre is a rectangular mound, too angular to be a natural formation. Scar-face scrapes the guano from its surface, then beckons you over.
‘Dwarf stone,’ he says, pointing to the runes carved into the surface. You note that there are four square tiles set into the lid, each one showing a different glyph. There is an empty depression where you assume there was once a fifth tile.
If you have the rune stone, turn to 470. Otherwise, your attempts to break into the stone container prove in vain. You rejoin the others and continue into the opposite tunnel. Turn to 513.
808
Congratulations, for defeating Ixion while hexed you have won the following rare item:
Volcanist’s vestment
(chest)
+2 speed +4 armour
Ability: reaper, volcanism set
(requirement: hexed)
Once you have updated your hero sheet, return to the quest map to continue your journey.
809
The smooth surface of the door suddenly ripples like water, forming itself into a pair of narrowed eyes, a hawkish nose and a wide-lipped mouth. ‘Halt!’ it speaks in common. ‘Who goes there?’
You start to draw your weapons, but Virgil puts a hand to your arm urging restraint. ‘This arratoch is harmless. A door guardian, nothing more.’ He turns back to the enchanted visage, protruding from the marble. ‘We seek to pass. Did your master provide a means of passage?’
The guardian takes a moment before responding. ‘Answer my riddle, and you may enter.’ It then proceeds to reel off a dwarven children’s rhyme:
Deep, deep, seven sleep, kings under the hill.
Twenty yards and ten again,
Two hundred dwarves were marching then,
A fathom more, but four less when,
They fell into a dragon’s den.
How many feet are we?
If you are able to solve the riddle, then speak your answer by turning to the relevant entry number. Otherwise, the guardian refuses to let you pass. You have no choice but to leave by the south exit (turn to 854) or the east exit (turn to 839).
810
You scurry from one building to the next, hugging the walls, keeping to the shadows. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear the keening wail of the wind demon. It is still searching for you, hounding your steps.
For nearly an hour you have traversed the subterranean city, its buildings all sculptured from the same black stone. A few have still held traces of their former residents – dusty animal skins on the floor, stone benches and tables, a few pots and tools, writing etched into tablets. Nothing that has proved useful or brought you any closer to finding the sword.
‘How will we find anything in this place?’ You glance back at Virgil. The witchfinder has resorted to one blade to light his way, fearing the brighter glow from its twin will draw unwanted attention. He scans the skies with a worried frown.
‘I am starting to lose my faith, I’ll admit.’
The street you are following curves around the side of a sculptured pillar, bringing you to a raised courtyard. Its centre dips away into a bowl-shaped crater, where ash has been piled into peaked mounds.
‘They burnt the dead,’ Virgil concludes grimly. ‘A final act before the survivors fled.’
You remember back to the Lamuri ruins and the swarms of undead that had infested the temples and buildings.
‘A wise choice,’ you remark. ‘But it hasn’t erased what happened here. I can still feel it . . . the evil is everywhere.’
Across the courtyard looms a domed building of red-black granite, with a tattered banner flapping above its bronzed doors. The cloth is heavy with dust and grime, but you can still make out the faded sigils sown into the cloth: a hammer and a flame.
‘The sacred union,’ states Virgil. ‘The dwarves always had two kings to rule, in every city. One the hammer, the other the flame.’
You glance at him, confused.
‘Their society was built around two ideals. Might and strength on the one hand, learning and magic on the other. Together they believed it united them, made them strong. But those divisions . . . well, you know your history . . .’
You recall reading of the great dwarven wars, when their cities were torn apart by civil strife and bloodshed. Tartarus had been spared such an event, the city having been abandoned long before the wars. Little consolation for its former inhabitants, you reflect grimly.
‘At least this building has some character about it,’ says Virgil, lightening the mood. ‘Let’s see w
hat’s inside.’ Turn to 378.
811
The dwarf ’s stone-hard skin turns your blades and magic, its weight adding further strength to each of his own attacks. Your second sight can barely keep up with the onslaught, his axe nicking your leg, his blade slicing across your chest. A loose stone turns beneath your foot, forcing you to stumble. In that instant, the dwarf sees his chance to finish the fight – but your misstep has given you a fortuitous opening. As the dwarf raises his weapons to strike, you thrust under his guard, piercing through his stone chest. For an instant the dwarf stands frozen in mid-step, eyes wide in astonishment. Then his stone body crumbles around your weapon, dropping to the ground into a pile of grey dust.
Virgil staggers over, nursing a shoulder wound. ‘That’s one way of deposing a king, I guess.’ He looks back at the obsidian throne. You follow his gaze to the skeleton that is now seated there, its bones webbed with grime. ‘I think the magic trapped his spirit here,’ sighs Virgil. ‘To keep his oath, to defend these halls. Let’s hope he is finally at rest.’
If you are a warrior, turn to 834. If you are a rogue, turn to 794. If you are a mage, turn to 716.
812
For defeating Ixion, you may now help yourself to one of the following special items:
Spoke of the wheel
Crucifixion nail
Singed footpads
(main hand: sword)
(ring)
(feet)
+2 speed +4 brawn
+1 brawn
+2 speed +3 brawn
Ability: deep wound
Ability: sweet spot
Ability: sidestep
If you are hexed then you have gained an extra reward, turn to 732. Otherwise, return to the quest map to continue your journey.
813
The dwarf gives an astonished shriek as your enchanted weapons penetrate its ghostly form. When you draw them out, its squat body collapses into wisps of green light, which go flickering away like embers on a breeze.
‘Well, aren’t you the mighty hero . . .’
You look back at Virgil, who is eyeing you with a smirk.
You shrug your shoulders. ‘I gave it freedom – who would want to remain bound to this cursed place?’
He lifts an eyebrow. ‘That was just a harmless servant, performing the same task he was given thousands of years ago.’ He edges past you, glancing warily at your bared weapons. ‘Perhaps not the reward for loyal service our friend was hoping for.’
He leads the way down the corridor, past more of the neatly-stacked shelves. You wonder if the ghost’s task had been to keep them in order – a task that it couldn’t complete for some reason. You notice several spaces on the shelves where books are missing. Turn to 866.
814
You take a bite out of one of the mushrooms, then wait tensely for any effects to become apparent. After several minutes, you grudgingly conclude that it doesn’t have any special properties. Then, suddenly, you feel a tingling race along your arms and legs as your muscles start to expand with a powerful surge of strength. Eagerly you taste another of the mushrooms, discovering that this one heightens your already exceptional abilities, making you feel quick and alert. If you wish, you may now take any/all of the following:
Blood bonnet (2 uses)
Fungal fingers (2 uses)
(backpack)
(backpack)
Use any time in combat
to raise your brawn by 2 for one round
Use any time in combat
to raise your speed by 2 for one round
Pleased with your finds, you leave the cabin and continue your journey. Turn to 618.
815
With the wind demon hurtling ever closer, you draw your weapons and charge the ghostly Lamuri warrior. It is time to fight:
Special abilities
Tiger’s pride: If Shonac is still alive at the end of the fourth combat round, he transforms into a spectral tiger. This raises his speed by 1, and his magic and armour by 4 for the remainder of the combat.
Ghost of a victory: You cannot use cutpurse or pillage to gain gold/ items from this combat.
If you manage to defeat Shonac, keep a record of your health and remaining abilities, and turn to 298. If you are defeated (or reach the end of your twentieth combat round), then the wind demon has outrun you. Restore your health and return to 630 if you wish to tackle the challenge again.
816
Congratulations! You have created the following item:
Self-published grimoire
(left hand: spell book)
+2 speed +3 magic
Ability: regrowth
If you wish to create a different spell book, you can start the process again (turn to 850). Otherwise, you may now leave the chamber and continue your journey. Turn to 866.
817
You scramble back up the rocks, to take in the view of the canyon below. While the mist obscures much of the landscape, you can still make out the course of the rivers and deltas cutting through the forest. You carefully add these details to the scholar’s map. Make a note of the key word south view on your hero sheet. You may now return to the quest map to continue your adventure.
818
For defeating Nephele, you may now help yourself to one of the following special items:
Crystal plate
Frostspike boots
Frozen heart
(chest)
(boots)
(talisman)
+2 speed +4 brawn
+2 speed +2 armour
+1 speed
Ability: overpower
Ability: barbs
Ability: shatter
If you are hexed then you have gained an extra reward, turn to 679. Otherwise, return to the quest map to continue your journey.
819
The moment you open the cage door the winged creature is upon you, cawing and screeching as it seeks to rip you apart with its teeth and talons. You must fight:
Special abilities
Winged assault: It is difficult to outmanoeuvre this agile combatant. You must lower your speed by 1 for the duration of this fight.
Delirium: After the drecko makes a successful attack that causes health damage, 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.
(NOTE: You cannot heal after this combat. You must continue this quest with the health that you have remaining. You may use potions and abilities to heal lost health while you are in combat.)
If you manage to defeat the drecko, turn to 660. Otherwise, turn to 664.
820
The ledge curves round the dark spire of rock, widening into a bridge that spans the chasm and the shimmering magma lake below. At its opposite side, the dwarf city continues – its walls, smooth and undulating like melted tallow, rising up into a myriad of towers, columns and grey stepped terraces.
The goblins have now reached the bridge, their small hunched bodies swallowed by its vastness. You are about to pursue when a familiar wail reaches your ears. Virgil pulls you down behind a boulder.
‘Our friend returns.’ He sheathes his blade, extinguishing its light.
A second later and a black cloud fills the cavern, howling with the pained cries of the damned. The goblins skid to a halt, pointing and gesturing towards the looming shadow. For a second, they seem torn by indecision – to head back or continue to the other side. They choose the latter, throwing themselves into a sprint.
‘They’ll never make it,’ remarks Virgil dryly.
You follow the wind demon as it spins across the city, its reckless momentum ripping through columns and towers, shattering walls and smashing through the sides of buildings. The broken chunks shower through the air, most of them swallowed by the demon’s gaping maw to be ground to dust inside its whirling stomach.
With an ear-shattering shriek, the demon
flips into a dive. As it speeds back into the chasm a clawed hand pushes out of its flanks, grabbing the side of the bridge. There is a loud echoing crunch as the claws dig deep into the stonework, halting its descent and flipping it around onto the topside of the bridge.
The demon lands on two splayed feet, staggering slightly as it finds its balance. Dust and smoke billow from its flared nostrils, laboured breathing thundering in the sudden, expectant silence.
The goblins stand frozen like statues, their necks craned back to take in the frightening visage. Then, as one, they turn and run, bawling in terror as they scramble back across the bridge. Their efforts prove futile – the demon sweeps its black fingers in a wide swathe, picking them up in one swift pass. You can hear their screams as the goblins are flipped into the air, then sucked into the hungry, crushing vortex.
Virgil shifts next to you. ‘We should go back; find another route, before it’s too late.’
You glance sideways at him, reading his fear.
‘But we have to cross,’ you state harshly, trying to sound more confident than you feel.
The witchfinder glares at you beneath his brows. ‘Your demon-side makes you rash.’