Legion of Shadow (20 page)

Eager to get it over with, you push past her and wade into the thick mire – the dirty sludge reaching up to your waist. The girl watches you from the mire’s edge, chewing nervously
on a fingernail.

‘Hurry up,’ she shouts. ‘And be careful!’

You reach the island and pull yourself up onto the bank. After taking a moment to catch your breath, you snatch up some of the findlewort and stuff it into your backpack. Just as you are about
to slide back into the mire, you notice a series of ripples spreading out across the surface of the water. As you watch, the ripples start to move, forming an arrow-like pattern that is headed
straight towards the island.

Suddenly, there is a blinding spray of mud and pondweed as something huge lunges out of the swamp. For a second all you can see is giant teeth and black scales. Then you are frantically fighting
for your life:

160

‘You have acted with honour,’ wheezes the undead warrior. ‘And for that you will be rewarded.’ He raises a hand, and suddenly you hear a deep rumbling
sound coming from the far side of the chamber. Hurrying around the tomb, you see a hidden panel in the wall slowly revolving to reveal a secret cubby-hole.

‘I asked to be buried with all my belongings,’ says the crusader. ‘Now, choose one of my treasures as a gift.’

You may take one of the following items:

‘I will remain here,’ rasps Valadin Roth. ‘To protect the book from all who would seek to take it. Good luck, it warms my cold heart to know that there are
still honourable heroes in this world.’

Thanking the knight, you decide to head out of the catacombs and return to Fetch. You wonder how he will take the news . . . Turn to
146
.

161

You step over the dead rats and enter the room. Covering your nose, you quickly rummage amongst the broken furniture and rotting remains. You can take up to two of the following
items before the stench forces you to leave:

You may now take the staircase up to the second level (turn to
151
) or leave the farm building (return to the quest
map
).

162

The stadium erupts into deafening applause as you stand over the body of your defeated opponent.

‘I don’t believe it,’ gasps the wizard-announcer, his carpet grinding to a halt in a shower of sparks. ‘Shara Khana is no more . . . we have a new grand champion!’
He throws his arms up into the air, jumping around in glee.

You may now take one of the following items as your reward:

If you take the
Tiger’s fury
talisman and you are a warrior, you may now learn the berserker career (turn to
398
to find out more about your new abilities).
When you are ready to continue, turn to
414
.

163

The elderly man is visibly shaking, almost on the verge of tears. ‘I told her to keep her mouth shut, I told her! But she never listens to me, never listens to a word I
say.’ He grabs your arm, gripping it tightly. ‘You’ve got to believe me. It’s the witch that done it. I saw it all – two days ago, down in the village. The wife, she
stood nose to nose with the witch and gave her what for. She only went and accused her, didn’t she – said the witch not doing her job, not doing a thing to help us poor farmers
out.’ He looks up, shaking his pitchfork at the blazing hot sky. ‘It’s the heat,’ he whimpers. ‘It’s the darn heat that’s doing us all in. Loosened the
wife’s tongue it did, made her say bad things. And the witch – she was furious she was. Never heard a woman go on so . . . said she would put a curse on us. A curse on us all. And
she’s gone and bloomin’ done it. Look!’ He pulls on your arm, turning you to face the eerie, mist-laden fields. ‘Tell me, that ain’t natural. That ain’t natural
is it? Things have gone all strange. Things ain’t what they meant to be!’

164

‘Good, good!’ The man reaches into his robes and pulls out a large iron key. He fits it into the heavy padlock and twists it with a loud ‘click’.
Removing the lock, he pushes on the gate, which gives a grating squeal as it opens out onto the moonlit expanse of undergrowth and crumbling headstones.

‘Good luck, my friend. And be on your guard. Oh wait . . .’ He puts his hand in a pocket and produces an old, rolled-up piece of parchment. ‘Take this. It is a scroll of
opening. You will need it to enter the catacombs.’

Make a note of the scroll on your hero sheet (it does not take up backpack space), then turn to
178.

165

‘Shiny fings! Lots and lots of shiny fings. Give it ’ere,’ demands the troll excitedly, holding out one of his big leathery palms. You drop the gold into his
hand – then, while he struggles to count it all (‘One and two and three and . . . oh where woz I again?’) you quickly inch past him and hurry across to the other side of the
ravine. Turn to
140
.

166

The skeletons are quickly reduced to a pile of bones and grave dust. If you wish, you may now take any/all of the following items:

167

You manage to beat away the tree roots and grab the footlocker. Bruised and bleeding, you scarper through the remaining roots and make for the safety of the far side of the
room. After taking a few moments to recover from your ordeal, you kneel down to inspect the locker. To your annoyance, you discover that it is locked.

If you have a
grime-coated key
turn to
74
. Otherwise, you are unable to open the sturdy locker and must now discard it. You leave the room via the archway, turn to
154
.

168

The trail meanders south and, to your relief, you find that it takes you out of the tight press of trees into wide, golden meadows and hills carpeted with hawthorn and
blackberry.

At last, you come to the end of the trail, which leads up to the gate of a small thatched cottage. Everything about the place seems homely, from the neatly-tended garden to the white picket
fence.

You walk up to the red front door and give several loud knocks.

‘
Who is it?
’ calls a high-pitched voice from inside. You state your name and explain that the woodsman sent you. ‘
Lovely. Just lift up the latch and walk right
in!
’

You lift the latch and push open the door. Turn to
184
.

169

The door opens a few inches, before it jams against something resting behind it. Peering through the gap, you see a number of objects piled up against the door, forming a
barricade. To push it aside you will need to pass a
brawn
challenge.

If you are successful, you can enter the room (turn to
180
). Otherwise, you may explore the room at the end of the hall (turn to
158
) or leave the farm (return to
the quest
map
).

170

There is a bright flash – then you find yourself back on the hillside. ‘Master! Master!’ The bird is hopping around the body of the scholar, who is now lying
on the grass, right next to his backpack. With a groan, he sits up and rubs his head.

‘Wha . . .what happened?’ he asks.

The bird gives a warbling cry of joy. ‘Look! He’s alive!’

The man pushes himself onto his feet, swaying for a moment as he regains his balance. ‘By the heavens, I don’t know what happened. I just touched a stone and . . .’ He notices
you and scratches his brow. ‘Do . . . do I know you? I’m Perinold, I think. Yes . . . Perinold.’

‘The magnificent!’ injects the bird, strutting around proudly. ‘Now, master, you should thank this adventurer for saving your life. You were a goner there – of that I am
sure.’

Still a little befuddled by his experience, Perinold puts a hand to his belt and unfastens a pouch of money. ‘If my faithful bird speaks the truth, then I owe you a debt of gratitude.
Please take this.’ He hands you the pouch. You accept it gratefully, before bidding the scholar (and his bird) farewell. You have gained 20 gold crowns and the following rewards:

Return to the
map
to continue your adventure.

171

The flooded tunnel forms a narrow-sided chute, which suddenly flings you out into nothingness. For several desperate seconds you are in freefall, then you plunge into a deep
pool of freezing-cold water.

You propel yourself back to the surface, to find yourself in a flooded cave. The walls are covered in thick clumps of glowing fungi, their phosphorescent light giving your surroundings an eerie,
otherworldly glow.

You spot a muddy bank and swim towards it, pulling yourself up out of the pool. It is then that you notice the sparkling, glittering strands covering the nearby wall of the cave. As you lean
back, tilting your head to take in the sight, you realise that it is a large web, and it is covering the only exit from the cave.

172

As Avian strides into the dining hall, the torches along the walls light up one by one, throwing their warm glow on the magnificent oak table that stretches the whole length of
the room. Without slowing his pace, Avian clicks his fingers and there is a ‘whoosh’ as a wave of showering sparks washes across the table’s surface. You blink in surprise as the
once empty table is suddenly filled with an immense feast. There are platters of roasted meats, a greased suckling pig, bowls of grapes and berries, mountains of cake and sweetbreads. It is like
something from a child’s fairytale.