The Heart of Fire (111 page)

720

You search the hunter’s corpse, finding 30 gold crowns and one of the following items:

With the hunter defeated, you quickly scan through the available supplies. You may take up to two of the following items:

As you step from the tent, you hear a wailing cry from above. Looking up, you see the sniper topple from the watch tower. A tigris follows him over the rail, her sharp claws whipping around to
dig into the wood – slowing her fall. It is White Cloak. The agile tigris springs back to the ground, her eyes already scanning the battle for her next prey. Turn to
785
.

721

The sun has sunk low in the sky, its reddish glow fanning through the treetops. You contemplate making camp, aware that this is now your third day trekking across the forested
mountain slopes. But you sense you are getting close to the trail’s end. The warm wind now carries a hint of the sea, whilst the cawing gulls have become a more frequent sight, reeling
overhead.

You decide to make a final push – a decision that soon rewards you, as the dirt of the forest gives way to soft white sand. Elated that your journey is finally at an end, you race down the
slope onto the beach. At first, it is everything you imagined: a hidden cove of clear-blue water, sheltered by a chain of coral reefs. The beach itself stretches away to either side, forming a
perfect crescent, its undulating dunes hugged by swaying palms and barnacled rock.

Paradise. And yet, something isn’t right.

There is wreckage on the shore. Fragments of wood and rusted metal. And the remains of a ship’s mast bobbing on the waves. Gulls are pecking at bones, whilst other scavengers – rats
and wild-looking dogs – sniff hungrily through the debris. You stride warily along the beach, sand crunching underfoot as you survey the dead bodies. They have been stripped to their bones,
their few belongings now lying strewn across the beach. You wonder if some of these were other travellers – like yourself – who came looking for paradise, but found something else
instead. Turn to
690
.

722

You trek through the muggy dawn – a silent procession, winding between the towering trees of the forest. Scar-face leads the way, accompanied by a female pack member, her
face permanently twisted into a scowl. Occasionally she glances back at you, teeth bared. You sense that not everyone is happy with you joining the pack.

Grey-hair walks at your side, his head constantly turning from side to side as he silently regards his surroundings. Little has been said since leaving the river – the tigris have proved
to be a taciturn people, content to watch and listen rather than give voice to their thoughts. Knowing of the dangers that lurk here in the forest, perhaps silence is a wise defence.

Just before midday, Scar-face makes the first warning signal – raising a paw to halt the procession. The female tracker is scraping something from the groove of a tree. She holds it out to
Grey-hair, who moves to inspect her find. You peer past his shoulder to see a collection of jelly-like eggs.

‘Drecko,’ snarls Grey-hair, his claws sliding out from his paws as he regards the tree tops. You notice that the rest of the pack is now hugging the ground, looking up through the
shelves of foliage.

Then you hear a hacking cry from the trees behind you. There is an answering call from deeper in the forest. Quickly, you ready your weapons, trying to catch sight of whatever has spooked the
tigris.

‘There!’ hisses Grey-hair, pointing.

You see a dark shape gliding across a thin patch of sky. It has black, webbed wings and a scaled body. It disappears into the canopy as another series of guttural calls breaks the brooding
silence.

Several tense minutes pass, all eyes remaining on the trees. You are about to relax, believing that the tigris are being overly cautious, when suddenly the first of the beasts swoops down from
above. You catch sight of a bone-crested head and curved talons. Then one of the tigris is snarling and screeching as it is grabbed in the creature’s jaws and lifted up into the air. More of
the creatures glide in from the opposite direction, their wings casting long shadows across the ground. One of them closes in on you, looking to snap you up with its needle-like teeth. It is time
to fight:

Special abilities

If you manage to defeat the drecko, turn to
693
. Otherwise, turn to
640
.

723

For defeating Nephele, you may now help yourself to one of the following special items: