The Heart of Fire (72 page)

You stagger to your feet, glancing around for any signs of the child.

Then something heavy strikes you across the back. You are flung against the crenellated wall, the world lurching in a dizzying blur. There is an angry hiss as you are hit again.

‘Just die!’

Desperately you try and crawl away, while trying to get a fix on your attacker. It is a wiry man with bedraggled grey hair spilling over his gaunt face. A patchwork coat, grimy and soot-stained,
hangs loosely off his scrawny shoulders.

‘Jacob!’ you gasp, realising that this must be the toymaker – transformed back to his old self.

‘Don’t stop me!’ he snarls, looking like some wild animal. His eyes are bulging, drool dribbling down his chin. ‘I want to go back. I want to go back to the dark place. I
want to be young again!’

He is holding a gnarled wooden cudgel, which he raises above his head, ready to bring down in a savage blow. You fumble for your weapons – but there is no need. There is a dull thud as the
man lurches forward, his mouth gawping open in astonishment. His rheumy eyes lower to the crossbow bolt protruding from his chest, its shaft painted with blood. The tower gives another violent
shake, throwing the frail man off balance. With a shriek he pitches over the side of the low wall, disappearing into the swirling cloud.

You look around for your rescuer, your eyes settling on Polk, who is clambering over the side of the battlements, his clothes smoking and torn. He drops to the ground with a pained groan, his
crossbow clattering next to him.

‘Polk!’ You rush to the warrior’s side. ‘Are you wounded? We have to get out of here!’

The warrior shakes his head, his eyes flicking to the blood seeping through his jerkin. He nods to his pack, leaning forward so that you can remove it from his shoulders. ‘Take the
box,’ he whispers. ‘The toymaker’s box . . .’

You open the pack to find a wooden box wrapped in an oily sheet. Lifting it up, you see that a scene has been intricately carved on the lid, showing a cheerful man driving a cart filled with
toys. When you look back at Polk you realise that the life has left his eyes, his head slumped against his chest.

Throwing caution to the wind, you flip open the lid of the box . . .

There is a flash of crimson as something bursts out, rippling like fire. You drop the box, stepping away as an immense bird, fashioned from paper, streams up into the sky. Its tail feathers
sparkle with magic as they stream out behind it, rippling in the dark wind. Driven by pure instinct, you leap into the air and grab hold of the tail, letting it lift you up off the tower roof and
into the storm. Everything goes black – and frighteningly cold – but you keep a determined grip on the strange bird.

Then the clouds are gone and you feel the warmth of sunlight beating against your face. Below you, the Fenstone Moors stretch as far as the eye can see – a verdant green wilderness,
pockmarked with boulders, ridges and sparkling pools of water. It is a most welcome sight.

The phoenix spirals towards the ground, skimming the hills of windblown heather. You are finally low enough to let go, landing in a crumpled heap amidst the long stems of grass. Twisting around,
you watch as the black clouds swallow the cursed tower, its walls and spires breaking up into clouds of rubble. There is a pulse of dark light, then everything seems to implode inwards, as if
pulled back into some other space, leaving behind an empty moorland. There is no evidence, no trace, that the tower was ever there.

Lying next to you is the smoking remains of the toy master’s box. You scramble over to retrieve it, finding an identical wooden box resting inside. Opening it up, you discover a purse of
gold (you have gained 20 gold crowns) and a ring fashioned from black onyx. You may take:

Shouldering your pack, you give the now-empty valley a last wary glance, before turning and heading back towards Raven’s Rest. (Return to the quest
map
to continue your journey.)

478

There is a cry from up ahead. Two figures are wrestling with each other – then there is a crack of magic as one is blown back, crumpling against the wall. As the dust and
smoke start to settle, you get your first glimpse of the two combatants. If you have the word
hallowed
on your hero sheet, turn to
740
. Otherwise, turn to
665
.

479

Your weapons sear through the gun barrels, your magic blowing the hunter backwards across the ground. As he skids to a halt he reaches for a pistol, struggling to free it with
trembling hands. You advance towards him, ready to dodge the shot – but it never comes. Suddenly, you hear a snarl from behind you – then a striped shape dives past, barrelling into the
hunter and sending the pistol skidding away across the ground. You avert your eyes as the tigris finishes off the hunter.

Black Patch rolls away from the body, breathing hard. You note several wounds marking his striped white fur. You kneel by his side, as the tigris works to focus on you with his pale, green
eyes.

‘Sheva win this day,’ he gasps. ‘Shonac would be proud of battle. Now we hunt . . . together . . .’

His body jerks and then stiffens, the light of his eyes finally dimming. You rise to your feet, surveying the wasted compound. Yes, a victory has been claimed, but at what cost?

You search the remains of the hunter. You find 50 gold crowns and one of the following rewards:

White Cloak is standing on the edge of the compound. She is the only tigris to have survived the battle. You join her – and for a while, nothing is said. You both watch the flames as they
consume the last of the wooden fort.

‘They will return,’ you say at last. ‘There will always be hunters here.’

White Cloak shifts her gaze to the jungle. ‘I am last of Sheva. My kin are no more.’

‘What will you do now?’ you ask. ‘Will you rejoin the Khana – try and cross the marsh to the mountains?’

White Cloak shakes her head, her whiskers bristling. ‘No. This is my land. I stay. And I will find new kin and bring them together. Make new pack.’ The tigris glances sideways at
you, her teeth bared in a smile. ‘Will you join me, bright claw?’

You return a grin, but raise a hand in refusal. ‘I have my own hunting to do.’

White cloak faces you, beating a bloody paw against her chest three times. ‘Then Shonac be with you, bright claw.’ You watch as she bounds away into the trees, disappearing like a
ghost back into the jungle. (You may now restore your
health
. Return to the quest
map
to continue your adventure.)

480

At last you manage to corner the spirit against one of the pillars, thrusting your weapons into its black form. With a pitiful whimper its cloaked body crumples to the ground,
then begins to melt – forming thick droplets of liquid-darkness.

You hop out of the way as the dark water races across the cracked stone tiles, towards the foot of the shaman’s staff. The liquid smokes and sparks, and then disappears – seemingly
absorbed into its glowing runes.

‘You did it!’ laughs Boom Mamba, shaking his fist in the air. ‘Fear my boom stick, Mortzilla!’

(By defeating Umbra, the shaman’s staff has gained the
shadow shift
ability. Make a note of this on your hero sheet.)

If you are a warrior, turn to
556
. If you are a mage, turn to
534
. If you are a rogue, turn to
255
.

481

‘Oh, how exciting!’ Bea claps her hands together excitedly. ‘I do love passing my teachings on to others, so they might do the same – that’s what
Saint Mary wanted us to do, after all.’

The pilgrim proceeds to teach you a basic set of inscriptions that will provide healing and protection. Using a metal tool, its length glowing with holy script, Bea shows you how to carve these
into your possessions. As you scratch the designs into the steel of your weapon, you sense some part of yourself flowing through the tool and into the glowing inscription. It leaves you feeling
faint and nauseous.

‘Don’t worry,’ smiles Bea. ‘You’ll get used to it. They only draw on a small part of the inner kha. Nothing close to what the abbots have to endure, I promise
you.’

If you wish, you may now learn the pilgrim career. The pilgrim has the following abilities:

Charm offensive (co)
: For each item with the
charm
ability that your hero is wearing, you can add 2 to your damage score. (If you
had four items with
charm
, you could add 8 to your damage score.) You can only use
charm offensive
once per combat.

Blessed blades (mo)
: (requires a sword in the main hand and left hand.) You can heal yourself anytime in a combat for the total
brawn
modifier of your two weapons. You can only use
blessed blades
once per combat.

Thanking Bea for her time, you return to the courtyard. Turn to
260
.

482

Although smoke is quickly obscuring the battle, you decide that the sniper could still present a worrying problem. If you are using
brawn
for this battle, then you will
need to climb the ladder of the lookout tower to reach him. This means that in the first round of combat, the sniper automatically wins and can apply damage – you cannot use
special abilities
in this round. If you are using
magic
, then you may fight the combat as normal:

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

If you defeat the sniper, then turn to
243
. If you are defeated, turn to
664
.

483

Another grin spreads across the shaman’s face. ‘You not want to fight spirits? They got treasure. We not the first to come here. Many, many brave warriors try to
beat this place but they all fail.’ Boom’s eyes flick to the staff in his hands. ‘None have a boom stick.’

You shake your head, concerned that time is slipping away. ‘I must pursue the demon. I can’t let him get ahead of me.’

‘So, you know where he went?’ asks Boom, raising a dark eyebrow.

You reply with a sullen glare.

‘I didn’t think so. You not find demon by running around without the answers. Mortzilla has answers. And we make him talk with my boom stick.’

You still look unconvinced. With a sigh, Boom straightens and walks over to you. ‘Hold this.’ He hands you his staff, then proceeds to remove his necklace of charms from around his
neck. ‘Without this I am nothing. I carve life into charms. Tell story of where I come from.’ He exchanges the staff for the necklace, letting you observe the silver and bone fragments
dangling from its coils. Each fragment is covered with tiny lines of symbols, almost unreadable with the naked eye.

‘Ya keep this as trust yes? Give it back when we complete spirit walk.’

You look again at the intricate script on the charms, finding it almost impossible to imagine the care and patience needed to complete such work. This is a rare and personal gift that you have
been entrusted with. You have gained the following item:

You realise it would be wrong not to repay this shaman’s trust. ‘Ok,’ you nod grudgingly, your fist clenching around the necklace. ‘I’ll help you.’ Turn to
399
.

484

You make a quick decision – and charge towards the iron golem. The creature lets go of Joss, raising its fists to meet your attack. Sharpened blades spring out of the
metal gauntlets, shining in the hellish light.

‘No!’ Joss screams and runs at you, a crazed look in her eyes. She grabs you by the arm and tries to pull you away. ‘No! Don’t hurt him! Don’t you dare hurt
him!’

The iron golem strides forward, knocking her out of the way. Joss sprawls onto her back, a fresh cut bleeding from her lip. ‘Don’t hurt him! Please. It’s Adam!’