The Heart of Fire (53 page)

Remember that Sir Bastian will only stay with you for
one
encounter. If you wish to use his services again you must hire him for 40 gold crowns. When you have made your decision, turn to
199
to explore more of Raven’s Rest, or return to the quest
map
to continue your journey.

357

Damaris points to a black smudge on the horizon. You squint, trying to make out what it is. At first you assume it is some dark lake or patch of rocky scree, but then you see
the golden sunlight catching on hundreds of sharp, barbed edges.

‘The forest of thorns,’ you gasp.

Damaris nods. ‘There is something at its centre. Something ancient and powerful. I sense it is of the old magic – of the old times. And I believe that it could help us win this
war.’

You glance at the witch, frowning. ‘A weapon?’

Damaris shakes her head quickly. ‘No, it is living, that much I can sense.’

‘Then why not just . . . go there and find it?’

Damaris snorts. ‘The forest is impenetrable. No blade or magic can fell those cursed trees.’ She turns and raises her hand. There is a dull grating sound as a secret panel in the
wall slides open, revealing a set of worn stairs. ‘Come, follow me.’ Turn to
497
.

358

‘We all Shara Khana,’ states Scar-face, patting his chest then pointing to the rest of the pack in turn. ‘Not have names like skins. We all pack. All Shara
Khana. That is our name.’

You look back towards the rock shelf, where more members of the pack are appearing from the forest. It is a paltry gathering – only a dozen tigris, eight males and four females. The only
child that you can see is the one you helped to save, still clutched protectively in their mother’s arms. ‘Is this all that is left of your pack?’ you ask, bewildered.

Scar-face fixes you with his round, yellow eyes. ‘Hunters take the rest. That is why we leave. To save Shara Khana. I believe that is what Shonac would do.’

359

You are perched on the edge of a stone bench, glaring at the angelic statue opposite. The winged figure is beaming down at you with a radiant smile, arms open wide in welcome
invitation. It doesn’t really seem to belong in the cold, featureless corridor of the church.

It has now been several hours since you arrived back with Benin. The priest immediately retired to his chambers with a medic and another priest to prepare the antidote. Since then, you have
heard no word regarding the cure or the bishop’s condition.

Tired and frustrated, you finally get to your feet – preparing to leave. It is then that the double doors at the end of the passageway fly open and an inquisitor appears, striding
purposefully towards you. He is dressed in thick plates of white and gold armour, a glimmering sword scabbarded at his side.

Panic rises in your stomach, your hands dropping to your own weapons. Your first instinct is to run – after all, it was the inquisitors who imprisoned you in their dungeon at Durnhollow,
seeking to find answers to your strange prophetic powers. But you hold your ground, trying to relax your tensed muscles; trying not to look like a guilty escapee.

As the inquisitor nears, his sullen face creases into a broad smile. ‘Come, the bishop will see you now.’

Breathing a sigh of relief, you follow the inquisitor back down the hall. The doorway leads through to a set of stairs that wind up to a short landing. There you are taken through another set of
doors into a plush chamber, dominated by a four-poster bed. Propped up amidst a sea of pillows and blankets is a thin elderly man with wispy white hair. A tray with soup, bread and fruit rests on a
table next to him.

As you enter, he claps his hands.

‘Ah, praise be to the One God, here is our brave hunter – the kind soul who aided my dear Benin.’

‘I am pleased to see you are well,’ you smile, halting at the end of the bed. You bow your head in reverence, not entirely sure what the correct formality is for such meetings.

The bishop gestures to the far wall, where a stone altar is set beneath an arched window. A cloth has been laid across its surface and a priest is now carefully arranging a number of items on
top of it.

‘We have some small treasures from our vault that I can off—’ His voice trails off into a fit of coughing. Another priest is immediately at his side, offering a cup of
water.

The inquisitor takes your arm. ‘The bishop is still unwell. Come, choose a reward and then we can leave him to his rest.’

You walk over to the altar and examine the three items. You may now choose one of the following:

Once you have made your decision, the inquisitor escorts you to the main entrance of the church, where Benin is waiting for you. Turn to
69
.

360

You awake with a thumping headache, your clothes soaked with rainwater and mud. Painfully, you try and sit up, every muscle of your body protesting. It takes several minutes
for you to remember what happened, how you came to be here . . . Then realisation dawns.

Quickly, you scramble to your feet. Your backpack has been emptied out onto the track, its contents lying scattered in various pools of mud. Fearful of what the robbers might have taken, you
frantically take stock of your supplies and equipment.

To your annoyance, the robbers have made off with half your gold, one item of equipment and one backpack item. (You must remove these from your hero sheet.) Wincing with pain, you stuff your
remaining gear back into your pack and hoist it onto your shoulders. Things could have gone worse, you reflect grimly. Perhaps the robbers had a conscience after all.

‘Crazy land, crazy people,’ you mutter, rubbing the bump on the back of your head.

Across the track, the wooden signpost points away into the thickening gloom: ‘
Raven’s Rest – 1 mile
’. Hoping it will bring you better fortune, you set off in the
direction of the settlement. Turn to
199
.

361

You set out your plants and herbs on the table top. A few of the bottles already contain a milky-looking solution, labelled ‘elixir base’. To make the cure, you
will need to decide which ingredients you will use and in what order they will be added to one of the bottles.

362

The words on the parchment spell out the same phrase again and again:
paper, scissors, stone. paper, scissors, stone . . .
As you stare at the dark lettering it starts
to move, swirling into hypnotic spirals. You try and tear your eyes away, but you are mesmerised by the whirling currents, which drag you closer and closer to the parchment . . .

Then, all of a sudden, the ink coalesces into a black fist which slams into you, throwing you backwards. You find yourself tumbling through the room, upsetting a shelf and sending books and
paper showering across the floor. From the splintered remains of the table, a dark shape is starting to form, like threads of shadow being spun and woven together.

There is a sickening squelch. You feel something cold and wet running past your hand. Glancing down, you are horrified to see that the ink from the scattered pages is now running across the
floor, moving in snakelike patterns towards the dark monster.

‘I live!’ thunders a voice, rattling the remaining shelves and sending more books toppling onto the floor. You watch with growing dread as rivers of ink spill out of their bindings,
joining those that are already flowing into the monster, allowing it to grow bigger by each passing second.

You realise you must defeat this demon as quickly as possible, before it becomes an unstoppable giant! It is time to fight:

Special abilities

If you manage to defeat this black-hearted villain, turn to
303
.

363

You hurry after the goblin, the others following closely at your heels. By the time you emerge from the tight cleft into a larger cavern, your ears are ringing with the
strange, hooting calls. They are now coming from the top of a steep slope, where you can discern shapes moving behind a row of boulders and rocks. At the foot of the slope, the ground is littered
with piles of rotting corpses. From the spindly legs and shell-like carapaces, you guess they were once ant-men.

‘Argh!’

You hear a cry behind you. Turning, you see that the captain’s armour has got caught in the narrowing of the passageway. He is struggling to free himself, face reddening with the effort.
Behind him, Surl is pushing and shoving in an effort to break him loose.

You spin back to face the slope. Something big is moving at the summit, grunting as it shifts its heavy weight against one of the boulders. You hear the scraping of stone, then suddenly –
with a bellowing cry – the creature sends one of the boulders bouncing down the slope. The rock moves fast, barely giving you time to dodge aside, as it crashes into the cave below.