The Eye of Winter's Fury (113 page)

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The beast continues to gain height, spearing straight into the heavens. ‘I was too late,’ you realise hopelessly. ‘The seals were broken. Jormungdar is freed.’

Suddenly the body jerks backwards, then begins to thrash madly. It
is all you can do to simply cling onto the spine while you are thrown in all directions, the sky and ground lurching back and forth.

The air is split by an almighty screech – one seething with anger and torment. Another flick of the body. You realise the demon is wrestling against something; seeking to free itself.

You look to Skoll with a questioning frown.

The warrior shakes his head in confusion.

A shudder runs along the body, then the beast starts to plunge downwards, hurtling through the clouds. The crimson wasteland streams towards you – its hills and valleys swarming with ant-like specks.

An army.

Horns and whooping calls rise up from the throng, accompanied by a screeching cacophony of high-pitched caws. Battle standards flap in the wind, their structures of bone towering over the glittering brightness of raised spears. And overhead a flock of birds sweep in at incredible speed, their curved beaks flashing plates of razor-sharp iron.

Leading them is a white-feathered eagle – Habrok.

‘They came!’ shouts Skoll, laughing in jubilation. ‘They answered my call!’

The land rushes up, closer and closer.

Jormungdar shows no signs of stopping, his gargantuan body curling like a dark rainbow over the land – overshadowing the vast Skard army. As you get closer you can make out sleds pulled by packs of dogs and wolves; the winged helms of einherjar; painted warriors astride giant boars; shamans glowing with auras of green magic . . .

So close now you can make out their panicked faces.

The beast’s scaled body slams into the earth, the resulting shockwave ripping through rock and stone and blasting a cloud of debris across the wasteland.

Hundreds are caught amidst the deadly rain, dying in seconds – a bloody haze left in their wake. But as the dust settles, horns take up the clarion call once again. Lines of warriors rush in, leaping over fallen comrades, sending spears and rocks showering against the scaled hide. Habrok and the eagles dive, their shrieks merging with the wind’s keening wail. They set upon the demon with a hungry vigour, their beaks and talons ripping through scales, tearing at flesh.

You hold on tight as Jormungdar starts to rise again, its body coiling back towards the rift. It gives another earth-shattering screech as it thrashes and beats against the ground, gripped in the throes of some violent seizure.

‘It can’t free itself!’ You shout back to Skoll. ‘One of the seals must have held!’

‘Then we have a chance!’ The warrior reaches back to his belt, tugging loose his axe. ‘The head . . . get to the head!’

Your eyes follow the curved spine of the beast, past humps of bone where long fleshy appendages whip back and forth, their vibrations filling the air with a discordant rattle. Beyond them a wall of spines form a daunting collar, each barbed tip dripping with a black steaming venom.

Then there is the head itself.

You stare at it in disbelief, your spirit quaking at its immensity – a serpentine horror of chitinous scales and curved horns, its jaws stretched wide to display glittering fangs the size of mountains.

Below you, the Skards continue to pepper the body with spears, occasional balls of flame erupting against its flanks. From the beast’s fanged maw, a black stream jets out across the milling chaos. At first you take it for some venomous spittle – but the blackness moves with a volition of its own, spreading out and then falling on the Skards like rain.

There are terrible screams.

In horror, you realise the black cloud is alive – a deadly swarm of winged creatures. They move quickly across the army, their black claws taking apart armour and flesh with equal abandon. As they continue to feed, you notice a magical glow flickering around the demon’s body. Spears that were once embedded deep into its flesh start to tremble, then pop out of the wounds. The ruptured skin closes quickly, scales growing back to form a coat of luminous blue armour. It seems with every death caused by the dark swarm the demon is able to heal itself.

You rise shakily to your feet, taking a moment to find balance as the body bucks and shifts beneath you. Then, with weapons bared, glowing bright with magic, you are running – leaping and dodging around the spiked ridges, making for the beast’s head.

While Jormungdar’s body remains trapped, the demon is not at
full strength – affording you a slim chance of besting this world-ending adversary. It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	Black miasma : At the end of each combat round, Jormungdar heals 5 health (this cannot take him above his starting health of 120). Once the black miasma is defeated (or Jormungdar is reduced to zero health ), this ability no longer applies.
	Dread rattles : While the dread rattles have health , you cannot play any speed abilities. Once the dread rattles are defeated, you no longer suffer a penalty and you may use speed abilities as normal.
	Spine collar : (*) At the end of each combat round you must take 2 damage, ignoring armour , from the creature’s deadly spines. Once the spine collar is defeated, this ability no longer applies and Jormungdar’s armour is lowered by 10 for the remainder of the combat.

	Allies’ abilities
(Each of the following abilities can be used once during this combat.)
	Rousing blast (mo) : The einherjar horns boost your spirit and fill you with renewed strength. You may increase your brawn or magic by 4 for one combat round, and restore 4 health .
	Habrok’s flock (mo) : The birds’ persistent attacks distract Jormungdar and provide you with a welcome respite. Use this ability to immediately restore one speed or combat ability that you have already played, allowing you to play it again.
	Storm of spears (co) : The Skards launch their spears at the beast. Use this ability instead of rolling for a damage score. This inflicts 2 damage dice to each opponent, ignoring armour . Roll separately for each.
	Naglfar and Nidhogg : If you have the captain’s conch and/or the dragon’s horn you can summon these allies to aid you in the battle, giving you access to their associated ability ( nail gun and/or dragon’s breath ) once each during the combat.