The Heart of Fire (116 page)

Once you have made your decision, you leave the storeroom and continue your journey. Turn to
842
.

751

As you contemplate changing course, to make for the river, your eyes catch on a symbol scored deep into the trunk of a tree. You move closer to inspect it, recognising it as
one of the sacred symbols used to represent the One God. Assuming it is a marker of some kind, you press on into the trees, soon spotting another symbol carved onto a mossy boulder. You realise
this could be a pilgrim trail – marking the route to a shrine. Either that, or a trap to bait you.

Will you:

752

The ghostly dwarf sweeps down the stairs and into the hall, his whole body trembling with excitement. ‘
Oh yes. They’re all here. The last of the
books!
’ He hovers over to the nearest shelf, pulling out a hardback covered in glowing black scales. ‘
Ah here – oh, would you look at this! Who would put the Lone Lister
black series with the original Preposterous Perils? He hadn’t even discovered red crystallite yet.
’

The ghost takes his books and leaves the hall, returning a few minutes later with a beaming smile. He floats over to you and takes a bow. ‘
Minion one-one-three-eight, at your
service
.’

You look between the ghost and Virgil in confused shock. ‘What’s this? He wants me to suggest my favourite reads?’

The witchfinder grins. ‘He has completed the last task he was given. Now he assumes you will give him his next.’ He shrugs his shoulders. ‘Might be useful to have your own
personal porter.’

By completing the ghost’s quest, you have gained the following:

Magic porter
: You may use the magic porter to access your storage locker on Emerald Isle (if you purchased one during Act 2). As before, if you swap equipment (weapons,
backpack items etc.), you may put the item you are replacing in your locker (space permitting). This will prevent the item from being destroyed. You can re-equip items from your locker between
quests.

When you have updated your character sheet, turn to
847
.

753

‘How about starting now?’ you grin, eyeing the craftsmanship of the thief ’s blades. ‘That was your work, back in the courtyard, wasn’t it? A
dozen undead, against . . . just you.’

Quito nods hesitantly. ‘You want to learn?’

You spin the daggers, testing their weight. ‘Providing it doesn’t end with a knife in the back.’

Quito proceeds to teach you some of his profession’s tricks. If you wish, you may now learn the thief career. The thief has the following special abilities:

Backstab (co)
: (requires a dagger in the main or left hand) If you or an ally play an
immobilise, knockdown, stun
or
webbed
ability in combat, you may automatically
backstab
the affected opponent, inflicting 2 damage dice, ignoring
armour
. If you have won the round, you can still roll for a damage score as
normal.

Cutpurse (pa)
: Each time you successfully complete a combat, roll a die to discover what item you find:

or
A purse containing 20 gold crowns.

or
An elixir of invisibility (1 use – backpack
item. Grants the ability:
vanish
).

or
A flask of healing (1 use – backpack item. Use
any time in combat to restore 6
health
).

When you have made your decision, turn to
701
.

754

Three monkeys step out from an alcove further up the stairs. They are tall and grey-haired, with a stoop to their scrawny shoulders. Their pale faces seem almost human, with
grey whiskers trailing around their mouths and deep set eyes glinting beneath a low brow. As you advance they raise their blackened fingers and begin hooting in a strange language. Suddenly blue
lightning crackles across their hands, spreading up their arms and coating their furred bodies in a mesh of light. Magic, you realise in surprise. One of the trio swings its glowing fists, sending
bolts of lightning streaking through the air. You duck beneath the attack, feeling scorching heat rake across your back. Then you surge forward, taking the stairs two at a time as you look to close
the distance with these three deadly mages. It is time to fight:

Special abilities

(
NOTE
: You cannot heal after this combat. You must continue this challenge with the
health
that you have remaining. You may use potions and
abilities to heal lost
health
while you are in combat.)

If you manage to defeat these mystical monkeys, turn to
517
. Otherwise, you have failed to assault the temple. Restore your
health
and turn to
449
.

755

You can use the forge to craft your own magical items. For each item you wish to craft, you will need two reagents (listed below). If you have these reagents, you can make the
associated item – however, each reagent can only be used once. When a reagent is used, it must be removed from your hero sheet. To craft an item, simply turn to the relevant entry number next
to its description: