Legion of Shadow (87 page)

You throw your arms around your horse’s neck, clinging on for dear life. Then the danger of your situation hits home. Quickly, you slip free of the stirrups and push away from the flailing
animal. You land in a roll, as the panicked beast crashes down amongst a group of skeletons. Narrowly, you avoided being crushed beneath your own mount.

There is no sign of Mathis or the others. The ghoul is now charging towards you, crunching the bones of the fallen skeletons beneath its splayed hands and paws. You ready yourself to take on
this immense undead creature alone. Turn to
720
.

715

Back at the camp, you are quickly swamped by a crowd of young soldiers, full of questions. You give a piecemeal account of the battle as you hurry past, following Lansbury into
the war tent. Word of your return has clearly reached the ears of your superiors also. Inquisitor Mathis is leaning over the map table, with a face like thunder. Beside him, Redguard is pacing
nervously.

‘Ancient relics will not win this war,’ Mathis roars, before either of you have even had a chance to speak.

Redguard quits pacing and glances over at you. His disappointment is clear. ‘You disobeyed my order to stay within the camp, Lansbury. Explain yourself.’

‘Sir, I had to try,’ she implores, stepping up to the map. ‘Look, with both of these statues operational, we could dominate the bone fields. The undead would not be able to get
a foothold here.’

Redguard’s brow wrinkles as he studies the map. ‘What is their range?’

‘I can’t say for sure,’ she shrugs. ‘A couple of miles, maybe more.’

The captain gives a start. ‘A couple of
miles
?’ He glances over at Mathis. ‘That would seriously restrict the enemies’ movements. It would mean Zul’s army
would be forced to use the cover of the valley. We could dictate where they strike.’

The inquisitor snorts, thumping the table with a gloved fist. ‘Zul is a genius. What is there to stop him from turning these weapons back on us?’

Lansbury raises a hand, shaking her head. ‘Nothing I have read has suggested they are capable of harming anything other than undead. In the shadow war, the legion raised them in their
thousands during the final assault. Those weapons were the mages’ answer.’

‘Fortuitous for us,’ adds Redguard, his eyes fixed on the inquisitor.

Mathis grinds his teeth together, his fingers tightening their grip on the table. ‘I already have reinforcements on their way. Until then, no one is leaving this garrison.
Understand?’

Lansbury bows her head and nods glumly. ‘As you wish,’ she mutters. ‘I just hope, by the time they arrive, it isn’t already too late.’ Return to the quest
map
to
continue your adventure.

716

The creature writhes and twists, its tentacles slamming against the stone floor and ceiling as it enters its death throes. You duck beneath its flailing limbs, pushing yourself
back through the water to avoid getting knocked unconscious. Finally, the tentacles stop moving, hanging lifeless in the water amidst a black cloud of ink and blood.

After scanning the room for any further signs of danger, you proceed to the edge of the shaft. Manoeuvring yourself around, you take hold of the sides and push yourself down into the murky
darkness. As you head deeper into the structure, your eyes start to adjust to the dim light. Amongst the reeds and algae that have attached themselves to the walls, you see a number of floating
objects. You may help yourself to one of the following:

After several hundred metres, the shaft angles to the right, depositing you in a large round chamber. Turn to
587
.

717

As the undead horde reaches the base of the hill, it quickly fragments, clearly looking to assault the hill from different sides. Thankfully, it looks as though no one is
commanding the force or issuing orders – therefore, it quickly descends into a confused rabble, with separate regiments scrambling to attack at their own pace and speed.

The pack of snarling ghouls are the first to make it to the top of the hill, appearing from the north exit. (Remember which rod you placed here, as it will help you with this battle.) The
creatures scamper forward, using their arms and legs to propel themselves along the ground. Behind them, packmasters dressed in furs and leathers, crack their whips, driving their beasts into a
frothing rage:

Special abilities

At the beginning of each combat round, choose the opponent that you wish to fight, rolling against their attack speed. If you win the combat, you must direct your damage
against your chosen opponent (unless you have an ability that can strike more than one opponent, such as
ignite
). If you lose the combat, both opponents get to strike against you. If it is a
draw, the round ends as normal.

If you manage to defeat this first wave of attackers, turn to
778
. If you are defeated, turn to
723
.

718

The tremors are the result of a giant creature, which is stomping through the tight press of soldiers, snarling with rage. It stands on two enormous hoofed feet, its scaled body
shimmering with purple light. In one hand it carries a spiked black mace and in the other a whip.

‘A Lord of Pain!’ you hear one of the men shout. ‘Stand firm! Stand firm!’

You start towards the beast, intending to help Ravenwing’s men, but then you skid to a halt as an immense black shadow passes overhead. Looking up, you gasp in horror as an orb-like
monster floats towards the battlefield. It has the appearance of a giant eyeball, surrounded by tentacles. From its single eye a beam of black light lances through the air, slamming into the
defenders and sending bodies hurtling in all directions. You must now decide which boss monster you will fight.

719

All around you, dust continues to choke your vision as Redguard and his men battle the remaining knights. Turn to
734
.

720

The ground trembles as the enormous ghoul hurtles towards you, its powerful claws leaving deep trenches in the dirt. You suspect that the glowing bracelets around each of its
limbs are what the necromancers are using to control the beast’s movements:

Special abilities