The Heart of Fire (103 page)
A grunt of pain draws your eyes to the foot of the pedestal. Quito is laid on his back, fingers grasping for his bag. His whole body is shaking as if gripped by some terrible fever. You hurry to
his side, spotting a black snake – no longer than your arm – winding away between the pews.
‘Bla . . . black taipan,’ stutters the thief. His arms are now drawn into his chest, his limbs set rigid. ‘Antidote in . . . pack.’ He makes a feeble nod towards his bag.
You immediately put a foot to it, nudging it well out of reach.
‘And why should I help you?’ you ask, scowling. ‘I wasn’t aware camaraderie was part of your code. Remember when you tried to stick me with a dagger, then feed me to a
rat?’
The thief’s neck arches back, his throat clicking dryly. ‘I need . . . book. Thought you . . . here for it . . . also.’
You glance up at the spell book, lying open on the lectern. ‘Worth risking your life for, eh?’ You gesture to the man’s rigid limbs, which have now gone into spasm, entering
the final stages of the poison. ‘And you assume I’m the forgiving sort?’
Will you: | |
Use the antidote and help the thief? — | |
Let him die and take the book? — |
662
The valley widens into a bowl-shaped canyon, dominated by a vast pool of water. Sulphurous smoke crawls across the lake’s surface, an occasional belch of bubbles rising
up to spout boiling steam into the air. You find the stranger, Lorcan, standing at its banks. As you move to join him you spot a number of carved rocks arranged around the pool. The largest has
been smashed in two, but the others are still intact, shielded by cones of magic.
You look back at the bubbling pool, then at Lorcan. ‘So, this great monster we’re supposed to defeat. Did you forget to send the invite?’
Suddenly, the waters rush up in a broiling explosion of steam and smoke. You glimpse scaled skin and bright, crimson eyes.
Lorcan sweeps back his cloak, revealing elaborate armour and weapons humming with magic. ‘Concentrate on the shrines,’ he shouts above the roar of crashing water. ‘I can
re-weave their magic, but you need to break the drake’s protective shields.’
You barely hear his words – your attention is rooted on the two reptilian heads swaying above you. As one, they open their gigantic maws and suck in the seared air with a keening cry. Then
a torrent of fire streaks past their rings of teeth. You both race in opposite directions as the flames slam into the ground, super-heating the stone to shards of black glass.
You spin around, catching Lorcan’s crazed expression. ‘The shrines!’ he snarls, dodging the monster’s snapping heads. ‘It’s our only chance!’
You must now fight the following team battle alongside a hero from
The Legion of Shadow:
Special abilities
Headstrong: At the end of each combat round, both heroes must take 5 damage from the drake’s fiery breath.
This ability ignores
armour
. (If a hero has
fire shield
, then they are immune to this damage.)
Deadly bite: Once a hero takes health damage from Issakhar’s damage score, they are automatically inflicted
with
bleed
and
venom
, taking 3 damage at the end of every combat round.
Fire shrine: If the fire shrine is activated (see below), then all heroes are immune to the drake’s flames
and no longer suffer damage from the
headstrong
ability.
Water shrine: If the water shrine is activated, each hero restores 2
health
at the end of each combat round
for the duration of the combat.
Air shrine: If the air shrine is activated, the hero with the lowest
speed
may increase their
speed
by 4 for the duration of the combat.
Lightning shrine: If the lightning shrine is activated, both heroes’ weapons are imbued with lightning. This
adds 1 to each die rolled for damage score, for the duration of the combat.
Magic shrines: The shrines cannot be harmed by
barbs, bleed, disease, fire aura, thorns, thorn cage
and
venom
.
In this combat, one hero must be attacking Issakhar at all times. If a hero chooses to attack the shrines, they do not need to roll for attack speed – they automatically
win and may roll for damage as normal. When a shrine has zero
health
it has been activated, and the above benefits apply. Abilities that strike multiple opponents, such as
cleave
and
black rain
, can be used to apply damage to all opponents (shrines and Issakhar).
If you manage to defeat this ancient beast, turn to
551
.
663
The accursed spear quivers and shakes, its runes suddenly emitting a blood-red glow. From the corpse a spectral light rises up into the air, forming the ghostly shape of a
panther. Then it sweeps towards the spear, spiralling around blade and shaft. The runes flash and spark as the spear continues to tremble – then, with a distant, echoing howl, the
spirit-light is gone, absorbed into the weapon’s dark runes.
Congratulations, you have gained the
spirit of the panther
. (Make a note of this on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the quest
map
to continue your adventure.
664
You jolt awake, coughing and choking on wood smoke. Then you feel a flash of pain shooting along your spine. Frantically, you push the charred wreckage from your body, gingerly
testing the movement in your legs. Thankfully nothing is broken – most of the pain is coming from your back and head.
You lever yourself into a sitting position, dizzily surveying the smoky wasteland. Most of the compound is now a soot-blackened ruin – and of the tigris and hunters there is no sign. Many
bodies litter the ground, one of them being the Sheva leader. It is hard to determine if there was a victory here – both sides have suffered heavy losses.
After salvaging a health potion to ease the pain, you retrieve your belongings and start back through the forest. Return to the quest
map
to continue your adventure.
665
Murlic is lying on the ground, his half-painted face speckled with blood and dust. Standing over him is the monk, Ventus. White balls of magic pool around his fists as he
prepares to drive them into the defeated Wiccan.
