Legion of Shadow (17 page)

If you succeed in defeating the huntsman, turn to
228
.

125

You step over the body of the ratling and approach the remaining ruffian, who is now back peddling towards the farmhouse. ‘Yer killed the boss! Yer killed the boss!’
With a cry, he turns and races into the house, slamming the door closed behind him.

You decide that the cowardly thief can wait. Returning to the dead ratling, you search the body. You find 5 gold crowns and may take any/all of the following items:

Make a note of the word
leader
on your hero sheet.

126

Avian leads you across the courtyard, into a large hall lined with weapon racks and suits of practice armour. A number of target dummies, fashioned from straw and sackcloth,
hang suspended from the criss-crossing beams.

‘Now is your chance to show me what you can do,’ says Avian, nodding towards the nearest target dummy. ‘If I am to train you, I need to observe your strengths and your
weaknesses.’

You eye up the target dummy, wondering exactly what it is you are supposed to do. Noting your hesitation, Avian chuckles to himself. ‘Don’t be afraid of it. It’s an equal
match, don’t you think?’

Drawing your weapons, you march towards the inanimate dummy, with the intention of beating the straw and stuffing out of it. However, as you approach, the dummy springs to life, kicking and
flailing with its arms and legs. As you duck and dodge the flying limbs, you see that the dummy has come loose from its rope binding.

Avian’s laughter fills the chamber, as the strange automaton glides towards you, seeking to pummel you with its spinning arms and legs.

Special abilities

If you defeat the target dummy, turn to
107
. Otherwise, turn to
136
.

127

It is a miracle, but you managed to defeat the ghouls. You may now take any/all of the following items:

Once you have regained your strength, you turn your attention back to the door. Perhaps the scroll of opening that Fetch gave you will deactivate the glyphs. Turn to
197
.

128

The man stops shuffling the cards and places them down on the table.

‘Hmm, looking to make your fortune, eh?’ He rests his chin on his hands, offering you a crooked smile. ‘Well, if it’s treasure you seek, that graveyard would be a good
place to start. Haunted good and proper it is – the locals won’t go near the place, even the priest. They say it’s cursed. Something to do with an old legend about a book, buried
beneath the church.’ He chuckles to himself. ‘Could all be nonsense stories. I mean, the heat is making the locals a little, you know,’ he taps his forehead, ‘crazy.’
He picks up the cards again. ‘But still, there has to be a reason why that place is always locked up tight. Protecting themselves maybe . . . but when I sees a lock it usually means
there’s something important on the other side.’ He gives you a mischievous wink. ‘Now, enough ghost stories. Fancy a game of cards?’

129

‘Home? I’m not going home!’ snaps the girl, stamping her feet. ‘I can’t go home!’ When you demand to know why, she lifts up her basket,
revealing the freshly-picked mushrooms inside. ‘I’m making a potion,’ she says. ‘A love potion. The witch gave me the recipe – all I need now is some findlewort then
I’ll have everything I need!’

She stomps off across the clearing, heading towards a tangled line of trees. You hurry after her, explaining that there isn’t time for making potions. The sunlight is fading fast –
it will be dark soon and the goblins could be back; not to mention her worried father waiting for her at home.

But the girl does not appear remotely bothered by your concerns. ‘I’m not going home,’ she declares. ‘With the potion, I will get exactly what I want. The huntsman will
fall in love with me and we will be together forever! Now,’ she stops abruptly, pointing a finger under your nose, ‘are you going to make yourself useful and help me find some
findlewort, or what?’

130

The door swings open, releasing a horrible, eye-watering stench. By a sheer effort of will, you force yourself not to flee. Instead, you hold your ground and peer into the
gloomy space beyond. Part of you wishes that you hadn’t. The room is full of rats. Hundreds and hundreds of them, scuttling over tables and cupboards, riffling through rotted food and what
looks like human remains. It takes only seconds for you to realise the terrible danger you are in. With a deafening rush of skittering paws, the black bodies swarm towards you:

If you defeat the rats, turn to
161
.

131

The runes above the door begin to glow with a pale radiance. Then there is a deep rumbling sound as the door itself begins to lower into the ground, revealing a small room
beyond, lined with shelves and wooden chests. Turn to
548
.

132

You provide the clothier with the ragged cloak and a length of spindlesilk (deduct these two objects from your hero sheet). Using these materials, the clothier creates the
following item, which you may now take:

If you do not want this item, then the clothier agrees to pay you 20 gold crowns for the garment. Once you have made your choice, turn to
68
to look at
more of the clothier’s items, or turn to
46
to leave.

133

The changeling is dead. As its immense, smoking body slumps to the earth, a peal of thunder echoes across the skies. You look up to see grey storm clouds starting to swirl and
gather overhead. It appears that the demon’s death has finally broken the spell of drought that once assailed the land.

You may now take one of the following rewards:

As you leave the village, the first rains for many months begin to fall. Return to the
map
to continue your adventure.

134

After several metres, the passage turns sharply to the left, opening out into a small, low-ceilinged room covered in yellow mould and lichen. A stone tomb lies at its centre,
bearing the effigy of a praying knight. In the far wall an archway leads through into another green-lit passage.

135

As you begin counting out the coins, a sudden thought occurs to you. This troll doesn’t appear to be the most intelligent and quick-witted of foes. Perhaps you could trick
it by only handing over some of the money.

136

The target dummy knocks you to the ground, leaving you bruised and winded. Avian snaps his fingers and the dummy freezes in mid-air. He offers out a hand and helps you up.

‘Well, I’ve seen better,’ he says, evidently disappointed with your performance. ‘Clearly you still lack focus. To master your powers you must concentrate on your
strengths.’ Avian snaps his fingers a second time, and a sword suddenly flies out from one of the racks. He snatches it from out of the air, performing a deft series of whirling moves as he
spins to face you. ‘Now, I want you to fight me – and I’ll teach you how to become a true fighter.’ Turn to
99
.

137

You draw your weapon, declaring that you have found the witch guilty. The old woman’s eyes widen in surprise. ‘You’re going to kill me? But it’s the
Speaker that is the cause of all this. He is the one you should be threatening!’

138

You sprint over to the stairs and start to climb them. The way is dark, almost pitch black. Slipping on a stone, you find yourself falling forwards, flat onto your stomach. You
barely have time to right yourself before the ghouls are upon you. Thankfully, the confines of the staircase means that the ghouls can only fight you one at a time. Even so, this will be a tough
battle. You must defeat this foe three times in a row. You are unable to restore your
health
between fights (except by using potions):