Legion of Shadow (96 page)

‘Hold on!’ shouts Laine. He raises his right hand and suddenly it flares with a halo of white light. From the sides of his horse, a pair of ghostly white wings appear, beating as
fast as the beast’s hooves. Then, it takes off into the air, soaring high above the snapping, howling ranks of undead.

You lower your head, bracing yourself for impact – but a sudden lurching motion forces you to lift your eyes. With a whoop of joy, you realise that your own horse has been affected by the
same spell and is now climbing skywards. Behind you, your companions are uttering similar exclamations of surprise and relief, as their mounts rise up on glittering wings.

‘A nice display of magic,’ says Lansbury watching as the ghouls below her snap and hiss in anger, making futile leaps into the air.

‘They’re not giving up though,’ sighs Janna.

Indeed, when you look down, you see that the ghouls are swarming back around, as if answering some unspoken command, and are now chasing after you.

‘The hill is defensible,’ calls back Laine, guiding his flying mount over the jagged stones that surround the hill. ‘We can hold them off while Lansbury does her work.’
Turn to
694
.

772

As you sprint towards the bone constructs, there is a piercing shriek from behind you. The wyvern that had been diving towards Janna has altered its course to tail you
instead.

You contemplate halting your charge, but one of the bone constructs is already turning to face you, its fanged mouth opening to emit a bone-chilling roar. Too late, you realise that you are
pinned between these two enemies, and will have to suffer the attacks of both:

Special abilities

If you defeat the bone construct, turn to
695
.

773

You dig your heels into your horse’s flanks, urging it towards the armoured knights. Ahead of you, Redguard and the others have already met them head on. You catch sight
of swords and shields clashing with a thunderous din, men toppling from their saddles, the flash of magic . . . then there is just swirling dust, obscuring the combatants from view.

You gallop into the dust cloud, dimly aware of frenzied melee to either side of you. A cry forces you to twist round, as a black hammer – crackling with magic – almost knocks you
from your horse. You parry the attack, turning your horse to meet the knight’s next deadly swing.

As your weapons clash, you realise that your opponent is no earthly knight. Between the thin slit in his helm’s visor, you see two red burning eyes, glowing with hellish fury:

Special abilities

If you defeat the Tor Knight, turn to
547
. Otherwise, turn to
732
.

774

You shake your head in defiance. ‘No! I will never join you!’ As you advance on the monster, your shadow mark blazes angrily with dark fire. There is a bright flash
as the shadow energies spark against Avian’s white magic – then you feel a strong jolt of power race up your arm, turning the halo around your mark into a bright glittering shield.

You have gained the following special ability:

Bright shield (mo)
: Use this ability to raise your
armour
by 4 for one combat round. You can only use
bright shield
once per combat.

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
782
.

775

Piles of mouldy bones litter the mouth of the passageway as you cut a swathe through the skeleton horde. As the final necromancer goes down to your mighty weapons, a silence
settles over the hilltop. Exhausted, you drop to your knees in the blood-splattered snow, wondering how long you will be able to keep up the fight. Already you can hear the thunderous footsteps of
the bone giants approaching.

Struggling to your feet, you take a moment to catch your breath before searching the bodies. You find 50 gold crowns and may help yourself to one of the following:

With your heart pounding in your ears, you hurry back to the stone angel, where Lansbury is still in a magical trance. Your eyes scan the hilltop, wondering where the next
attack will come from. Turn to
758
.

776

The creature beats its wings furiously, struggling to keep up as you dodge and weave about its body. Despite its strength, the wyvern is an ungainly fighter and it isn’t
long before the beast is finally brought crashing to the ground in a heap of bones and dust.

From its remains, you may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

As the dust settles, you quickly scan your surroundings, taking in the current state of the battle. Turn to
666
.

777

The key fits the lock perfectly. Trembling with excitement, you lift open the lid and look inside. Your face soon drops with disappointment, however. Instead of gold and rare
treasures, you find yourself looking down at three peculiar items, resting on a silver cushion. One is a small white bottle containing a glowing liquid. Next to it is a winged locket, fashioned
from polished wood. You open it up to discover a lock of black hair curled up inside. Lastly, you find a pair of fluffy dice, tied together with string – the significance of which baffles
you.

You may take any of the following items: