Legion of Shadow (21 page)

‘Please, I hope you will forgive the magic food,’ says Avian, gesturing for you to take a seat on one of the high-backed chairs. ‘It doesn’t taste as good as the real
thing, but it does save on kitchen staff.’

Eagerly, you slip into the chair and begin helping yourself to a plate of honey-roasted beef. Avian watches you with a smile. ‘I see you are hungry. Good. Enjoy the feast.’ He turns
and heads back up the hall, towards a side door.

‘You aren’t joining me?’ you ask in surprise – your mouth already full of food.

‘I have some small matters to attend to,’ says Avian. ‘Please, eat your fill and then retire to your room. Just take those stairs up to the tower room.’ He waves a hand
towards an archway at the end of the hall. ‘We will talk in the morning. Farewell.’

Once Avian has left, you tuck into the rest of the feast, amazed by the rich and succulent flavours of the food. Soon, you are leaning back in your chair, surrounded by piles of empty plates and
platters. After pouring yourself another goblet of mead, you decide to head to your room – a large, circular chamber at the top of one of the towers. Surprised by how tired you suddenly feel,
you find yourself making a beeline for the comfy-looking four-poster bed. Within minutes you are fast asleep. Turn to
252
.

173

To push aside the heavy stone lid, you must pass a
brawn
challenge.

If you are successful, turn to
112
. Otherwise, you are forced to leave the tomb and take the passageway deeper into the catacombs. Turn to
1
.

174

The ratling lies dead at your feet. You search the body and find 5 gold crowns. You may also take any/all of the following items:

175

‘Wait up, wait up!’ There is a thump as the man knocks his head on the underside of the table. ‘Ugh, third time in as many minutes.’ Rubbing his
forehead, the man stands and holds out his hand. You shake it warmly, asking him what he has for sale.

‘I’m a tinker,’ says the man, stepping back and taking a bow. ‘I find things and I repair them. Let’s see . . . you look like the adventuring sort. Guess I might
have some armour you might like. Not the good stuff, like what those mighty inquisitors wear. Although,’ he makes a point of eyeing up your current equipment, ‘beggars can’t be
choosers, can they?’

He spreads out a choice of objects on the table. You may purchase any of the following, for 20 gold crowns each:

‘If yer got any bits and pieces on you, I may be able to knock something special together for you,’ says the tinker.

176

You decide not to risk exploring the flooded tunnel. Planting your feet against the nearest wall, you push yourself upwards, swimming back towards the surface of the pool. At
last, you break out of the water, coughing and spluttering for air. Wet and tired, you drag yourself onto dry land and rest. When you have finally recovered, you retrieve your torch and return to
the first junction, choosing to take the other tunnel westwards. Write the word
torch
on your hero sheet, then turn to
103
.

177

The old woman cackles to herself. ‘Tell me, do I really look capable of commanding the weather? Yes, those bumbling weather wizards can sometimes bring a little rain or
some wind, but to bring drought to the land . . .’ She begins filling another sack with spell books and bottles. ‘The weather is the work of a higher power. A changeling no less. It
wants the crops to wither – it wants to spread anger and resentment and chaos. That is what they do.’

178

You start up the hill towards the church, trudging through the scraggly grass and rank weeds. Behind you a loud grating squeal is followed by the click of a lock. Fetch has
closed the gate and locked you in. You are now all alone in the eerie graveyard.

You stride briskly towards the double doors of the church, keen to be done with this unsettling task. However, your pace soon slows as you become aware of a patch of shadow by the wooden doors
of the church. It appears to be moving . . .

In horror, you watch as the shadow glides across the nettles and grass towards you, passing straight through the weed-choked headstones in its path. As it nears, the shadow begins to grow,
spreading out like a giant net – and at its centre, an immense grinning mouth opens wide, lined with needle-sharp teeth. You must now fight:

If you defeat the shadow, turn to
43
.

179

The spiders have been defeated and their giant web has now been reduced to a few smoking cinders. You retrieve your torch and then search the bodies. You may take the following
items:

You leave the cave, following the passageway north. Turn to
231
.

180

You push open the door, toppling the pile of objects that had been stacked up to block the entrance. Stepping over the debris, you see that the rest of the room is bare –
all of its furnishings have either been torn down or dragged over to the doorway, to bolster the barricade. Whatever the room’s occupants wanted to keep out, they were clearly intent on doing
so.

Sadly, it appears that the defences did not succeed. Three skeletons lie sprawled across the floor – two adults and a child. Around the bodies, you notice hundreds of tiny claw marks raked
into the wood. Following the markings, you see that they emanate from a hole in the floor, where two floorboards have buckled upwards.

Rats, you quickly surmise.

As you turn to leave, something catches your eye. Walking over, you discover a ring, resting in the dust where a cupboard, or some other item of furniture, had once been. You may take the
ring:

181

You leave the trail, picking your way through the trees and undergrowth. The land rises sharply, becoming a series of rocky hills covered in gnarly vegetation. You quicken your
pace, aware that the sun is already beginning to set, casting an auburn brilliance over your stark surroundings.

You haven’t ventured far into the hills before you spot a thin column of food smoke rising into the darkening skies. Perhaps it belongs to the huntsman that the young girl mentioned. You
hurry towards it, the succulent aroma of freshly-cooking meat providing all the encouragement you need.

You finally reach the campsite, set in the sheltered hollow of a bleak, stony hill.

A skinned rabbit slowly roasts over a roaring fire, the dripping fat causing the flames to spit and sizzle. Behind it, you can see a covered wagon and a straggly line of trees where a piebald
pony is tethered.

As you watch, a man steps around the fire, adding more sticks to the flames. You see that he is dark skinned, dressed in the bright patchwork clothing favoured by the travelling folk. He pauses
in his task, sniffing the air for a moment. Then he suddenly straightens, his hand going to the axe at his belt. ‘Are you going to watch me all night, stranger?’ he asks. ‘Or do
you wish to join me?’

182

To push aside the heavy stone lid, you must pass a
brawn
challenge.

If you are successful, turn to
98
. Otherwise, you are forced to leave the tomb and take the passageway deeper into the catacombs. Turn to
1
.

183

You kick your legs furiously, pulling your tired body along the rocky walls of the flooded passageway. Just as your lungs are about to give out, the walls of the passage vanish
and you find yourself floating in what appears to be another pool. You propel yourself upwards, towards a faint light glimmering on the water’s surface. At last, coughing and gasping for air,
you break the surface of the pool.

Dragging yourself onto dry land you discover that you are in a small cave, illuminated by a soft phosphorescent glow. You notice that it is coming from the umbrella-shaped fungi growing along
the walls. Ahead of you, a passageway winds away to the north.

184

You enter a low-ceilinged room, dominated by a wooden table, some cupboards lined with neat rows of crockery, and a large four-poster bed. There, tucked up under a bright
patchwork blanket, is Grandma. At least, you think it is Grandma. You notice that her fingers are long and green, with claws instead of nails, and protruding from underneath the nightcap is a big,
hairy snout!

‘My, what big claws you have Grandma.’

With a snarl, the impostor rips off their bonnet, revealing an ugly, green-skinned hobgoblin! It leaps out from beneath the blanket, clutching a blood-stained sword in its hands. ‘
All
the better to eat you with!
’ it growls. You must now fight: