The Heart of Fire (23 page)

If you manage to battle your way through the first wave of undead, turn to
58
.

139

You stagger across the bridge, head bowed to the fierce wind that seems intent on driving you back. Finally, trembling from the bitter cold, you reach the lonely tower,
ascending the stairs to an open doorway.

Inside, you find yourself in a small stone chamber. A man sits behind a desk, slouched in a leather seat. As you walk over, the man looks up and sighs.

‘This is the tower of mages,’ he drawls, inspecting his fingernails. ‘Are you wanting instruction in the magic arts?’

Before you can answer, the man slides off his chair and walks around the desk. His white hair is pulled back tight from his face, bound into a ponytail by a black ribbon. ‘I am Malak
Drake, secretary and understudy to the wise and great Ignatius Pyre.’ He looks you up and down, his nose wrinkling. ‘I should warn you, the testing is not easy – you
wouldn’t be the first to suffer,’ he pauses while he stifles a yawn, ‘irreparable mental and physical damage.’ His heavy-lidded eyes settle on your own. ‘Speak, then,
or take your putrid presence elsewhere.’

140

The map-seller greedily pockets the gold. ‘So, do you want the good news, the bad news or the downright ugly news?’

141

‘Well, that’s mighty kind of you,’ grins the woman, stepping forward and offering out her hand. ‘I’m Bea – and this here is Brother
Ventus.’

The man rolls his eyes. ‘Judah’s light, let’s have no secrets.’ He gives the woman an incredulous look. ‘With a tongue as loose as yours, you should have been a
bard.’

‘Oh Vent, I know a good heart when I see one.’ Bea gives you another of her open smiles. ‘I believe the One God sent this one to us.’

Your eyes haven’t left her male companion. ‘You said “brother”. Are you an inquisitor?’ you ask nervously.

He raises an eyebrow, grinning for the first time. ‘No, I’m a brother of the monastery.’ He doffs his hat, revealing his shaven scalp. You also notice glittering inscriptions
on the back of his hand.

‘And him?’ you gesture to the elderly man by the roadside. He is still muttering to himself, rocking back and forth in agitation.

Bea and Ventus exchange glances. The woman is silent, carefully guarding her words. The monk is about to speak when something catches his eye. His head snaps around quickly, surveying the
surrounding moorland.

‘They found us . . .’ gasps Bea.

Black figures pepper the rocky hills, standing stark against the grey-white sky. You count possibly thirty or forty warriors, clad in furs and rusted mail. A troop approaches, striding towards
you with a surly confidence. Their leader is a woman – her grey hair decorated with crow feathers and silver beads. Black runes glimmer against her tanned-hide robes. To her left is a giant
of a warrior with great wide shoulders. In each hand he carries a mighty axe, their runes spitting and hissing as the rainwater splashes against the steel. To the woman’s right is a short
man, thin and wiry. The hood of his fur cloak is pushed back to reveal his war-painted face. As he bares his pointed teeth, you recognise him instantly – the Wiccan who freed you from the
prison at Durnhollow.

Bea draws her swords, their inscribed steel dancing with white light. The monk tosses his hat aside, ripping open his coat to reveal padded brown robes. He lets the coat drop from his arms, his
body immediately snapping into a battle stance. Magic flares around his inscribed knuckles, surrounding his hands in balls of white light.

The Wiccans come to a halt, showing neither fear nor surprise at this show of aggression. The woman smiles, her amber eyes sliding past the others to settle on your own. ‘Sanchen,’
she nods, her feathered hair flapping in the wind. ‘We meet at last.’ Turn to
296
.

142

This is your opportunity to choose the path you wish to follow – the warrior or the rogue. The warrior is a master of weapons and armour. Although slow in combat, the
warrior compensates for this with a hardy endurance and mighty strength. If you have a high
brawn
and
armour
score, then the path of the warrior could be for you.

If, on the other hand, you have a high
speed
and
brawn
score, then the path of the rogue may be more to your liking. The rogue is a master of speed and deception. Whilst weak and
vulnerable in longer fights, the rogue excels in exploiting weaknesses and avoiding damage.

143

Grateful that the glowing fungi is providing you with some light, you scramble up the steep passageway. Behind you, the walls ring with the clatter of weapons and the scraping
of boots, as the rest of the group struggle to follow. ‘So much for the stealthy approach.’ You grimace.

Eventually the passage levels out, ending in another junction. To your left the tunnel widens, opening out into a large cavern. To the right the tunnel narrows, becoming a cramped space filled
with stones and rubble. Something glints back at you from between the rocks – a pair of eyes. Then it is gone. You hear the pad of feet, followed by a hooting cry.
Goblins.

144

Legendary monster: The black shuck

The fenlands stretch as far as the eye can see, bright pools shining like molten gold in the afternoon sunlight. Some might consider it a picturesque scene, worthy of a
painting, but not the poor traveller forced to wade through it, cold and soaked to the skin, assaulted by an endless array of buzzing black flies.

You swipe them away, desperately scanning the distant hills for some sign of habitation. It seems the map you were given has led you astray. You drag it out of your pocket, picking the wet ends
apart to peel it open. The inn is clearly marked, only a short walk from the track you were following. But that track had quickly turned into a forest, which in turn has led you to this
foul-smelling, fetid marsh.

You are about to turn back when you glimpse a bright light on the horizon. For a second you consider it might be another lost traveller, but that hope is swiftly quashed. The light is moving
towards you at incredible speed, flickering and smoking as it leaps from bank to bank. There is a black shape at its centre – a four-legged animal, wreathed in flame.

You fumble for your weapons as the beast closes in – a giant hound, covered in midnight-black fur. Around its shoulders and forelegs fire flickers from cracks in its skin, hissing and
spitting as the beast’s powerful claws splash through the muddy pools. There is no chance of outrunning this fearsome predator. It is time to fight:

Special abilities

If you are able to defeat the monstrous demon hound, turn to
231
.

145

You hand settles around something small and round. Excitedly, you withdraw your hand to find that you have discovered a ring, fashioned from three spiralling bands of wood. If
you wish, you may take the following item:

Suddenly, you hear a grumbling, creaking sound coming from the tree. Stepping away, you see that the other holes have now closed up, locking away their treasures.

You may now try and climb the tree (turn to
96
) or leave via the magic portal (turn to
46
).