Legion of Shadow (94 page)

If you manage to defeat the bone giants, turn to
730
. If you are defeated, turn to
723
.

759

The walls of the room shake, as the fearsome giant topples to the ground dead. Before the dust has even settled, you are at Caeleb’s side, helping him to stand.
Thankfully, apart from his injured pride, the burly warrior appears unharmed.

‘Thank you,’ he says, getting back to his feet.

Nyms returns to the chamber, his twin swords dripping with ghoul blood. ‘Did you miss me, people?’ he asks, with a wry grin. When he sees the dead corpse of the golem, he gives a low
whistle. ‘By the looks of it, I guess not.’

You may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

‘I don’t think we’re out of this yet,’ adds Janna, nocking an arrow to her bow. Turn to
654
.

760

You reach the front line of the battle, weaving and dodging between the claws and snapping jaws of the shadowy monsters. There are hundreds of them, each one a different
creation of vile sorcery.

Nyms appears alongside you, his twin blades making short work of the enemies in his way. ‘To the shield,’ he shouts, nodding towards the dome of magic. ‘They have a mage
hunter!’

You look around in confusion, then a momentary gap in the legion’s ranks reveals a monstrous giant of a man, armed with two crescent-bladed swords. From his ridged back, four spine-like
appendages arch over his shoulders, each ending in an unsettling array of claws and talons.

Nyms’ warning suddenly hits home. The monster is moving along the ranks of mages, lined up around the shield. Already several have fallen to the monster’s attacks and areas of the
shield are starting to flicker and fade.

You look back to Nyms, but the tide of battle has carried the swordsman away from you, his blades rising and falling angrily as he attempts to break through the surging mass and help the
mages.

Taking matters into your own hands, you throw yourself forwards, towards a tentacled creature with a ridged black carapace covering its back. You land on its shoulders, then leap again –
agilely springing from one tentacle to another, your movements now fuelled by the magic flaring and spitting from your shadow mark. Within moments you are on the other side of the legion’s
frontlines. Breaking into a sprint, you head for the mage hunter, intending to bring its savagery to a swift end. Turn to
748
.

761

As a mage you may also take the following item:

You must have the
winter’s heart
talisman equipped if you wish to learn the icelock career. As soon as this item is unequipped or you learn a new career, you lose
the abilities associated with this career.

The icelock has the following abilities:

Ice shards (co)
: If you win a combat round, instead of rolling for a damage score, you can shower a single opponent with ice shards. This automatically does damage equal
to your
magic
score, ignoring your opponent’s
armour. Ice shards
can only be used once per combat.

Ice shield (mo)
: Use this ability to add 1 die to your
armour
score for one combat round. This ability can only be used once per combat.

Once you have made your decision, turn to
300
.

762

The scout fights with a berserk frenzy, but your calm and precise attacks win the day. She slides to the ground at your feet, a scowl still etched deep into her face even in
death. You may now take one of the following rewards:

You continue to fire into the flock of crows, bringing down more of their number and scattering the remaining few. Thanks to your efforts you now have
air superiority.
Make a note of this on your hero sheet, then turn to
591
.

763

Having being issued with a steed, you follow the garrison south along the dusty road that winds through the bone fields. Redguard rides at the head of the force, resplendent in
his plate mail armour and green tabard. On his right is Inquisitor Mathis, his blond mane of hair flowing out from beneath a white conical helm, and riding on Redguard’s left is Lansbury. The
medic has swapped her trailing robes for a suit of intricate silver armour, its runed neck-guard rising up to form a high collar. In one hand she carries a white staff, in the other is the battle
standard of Redguard’s force – proudly displaying a golden dragon on a field of green.

To the south you can see the glittering dome of magic surrounding Talanost. As it gets nearer you can’t help but marvel at the sheer scale of it and the mages who must be tirelessly
working to keep it maintained. The shield stretches over the entire length of the city, sealing it in a magical prison from which there is no entry or escape. It is a sobering thought to think that
the shield is all that stands between the legion and its destruction of Valeron – and perhaps, even the world.

‘Flares! Look!’ Tulcas is pointing eastward, across the grey barren plains. A number of red pulsing lights are arcing through the darkening skies.

‘They’re not flares, that’s battle magic,’ gasps Lansbury.

As if in answer to the medic’s claim, there is a sudden barrage of light explosions, rippling across the horizon. They hang in the air like a sparkling strand of beads before slowly fading
out, one by one.

‘The war has started!’ shouts Redguard, drawing his sword from his scabbard. ‘Let’s ride!’ He urges his horse off the road, kicking up plumes of ash as he charges
across the grey plain. Without a moment’s hesitation, the rest of the force follow his lead, galloping towards the glittering frenzy that is lighting up the sky. Turn to
699
.

764

As you race through the camp, you see a dense black cloud moving across the sky. It is only when you get nearer the battle that you see it is made up of thousands of black
locusts. Columns of them are streaking down into the camp, engulfing soldiers in a whirling swarm of black bodies. One soldier races past you, his armour reduced to a few rusted fragments as the
strange locusts nip and bite at his exposed skin.

Following the swarm are a pack of purple-scaled monsters running on splayed legs. Their beak-like faces are a mass of writhing, suckered tentacles. They bowl into the soldiers, knocking them to
the ground – their stinging tentacles crackling with magic as they latch onto their stunned victims.

As you hurtle into their ranks, you realise that the tentacled creatures are not attacking you. Instead, they are concentrating their attacks on the soldiers. You glance down at your shadow mark
and quickly realise the reason; these creatures must think you are an ally and not an enemy.

Turning this to your advantage, you move behind the packs of creatures, cutting and swiping at their exposed flanks. Soon, your weapons are slick with their slimy ichor, the ground around you
littered with bodies.

Then darkness clouds your vision as you are hit by the swarm. Evidently the beasts have some rudimentary intelligence and have realised you are now a threat. You swing out with your weapons,
trying to bat away the buzzing locusts, but they are everywhere, chewing and biting into your armour. Several of the tentacled monsters are now headed in your direction, evidently looking to join
the fight. You must now fend off both of these deadly adversaries at once:

Special abilities