The Heart of Fire (82 page)

Virgil shifts onto his elbows, looking around in confusion. ‘Wha . . . How’d we get here?’ He pats at his head, scowling when he discovers his hat is missing.

‘It’s a long story,’ you reply, picking yourself up. For a moment, your eyes stray to the scorched, smoking earth where Lorcan had been standing. ‘More questions than
answers,’ you grumble beneath your breath.

Virgil looks around dazedly at the mounds of rubble. One hand continues to pat absently at his head. ‘Blasted demons . . .’

You walk over, offering out your hand with a dry smile. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll find the hat . . .’ (Return to the quest
map
to continue your adventure.)

546

You slice cleanly through the arratoch’s neck, its wailing scream cut short as its carved face smashes into the ground, exploding into a thousand jagged pieces. These
broken remains join the rest of the smoking rubble that now litters the accursed bridge.

Amongst the debris, you spot one of the following items, which you may take:

With the guardians defeated you hurry after Avian and Virgil, who are already in hot pursuit of Cernos. Turn to
762
.

547

You find yourself seated on a rock, overlooking the marsh. The rest of the tigris are resting nearby, talking in hushed tones. Grey-hair and Scowler stand apart from the group,
discussing something with serious expressions. Scowler shakes her head, but Grey-hair presses on – evidently trying to convince her of something.

You push yourself to your feet and approach the two tigris. Grey-hair turns as you approach.

‘Bright claw, you look troubled.’

You realise you are rubbing at your wrists, which have started to throb with a dull pain. ‘It is nothing,’ you reply, dropping them to your sides. ‘Has a decision been
made?’

Scowler snorts and walks away, standing alone to look out over the marsh.

‘Yes. The marsh is too dangerous to cross,’ sighs Grey-hair. ‘I decide Khana stay here until safe. You and scouts go ahead. Once the witch dead, we all come.’ He glances
over his shoulder, to where Scar-face is hugging the mother and young cub. You guess they must be family and Scar-face has told her the news. When the young tigris turns away, you can see the pain
in his eyes.

‘This is not to their liking,’ you state solemnly.

Grey-hair scratches at his whiskers. ‘Pack long feared this place. No one ever return.’

Scar-face walks past in silence, beckoning to Scowler. The female nods, then together they start off into the marsh without another word.

‘Look after my cubs,’ says Grey-hair, placing a paw on your shoulder. ‘May Shonac keep your claws sharp – and eyes sharper.’ Turn to
735
.

548

As you leave the mansion you see Andos waiting outside, chewing nervously on a fingernail. He jumps as you approach, then quickly peers past your shoulder to check you are
alone.

‘Here, wait up.’ He beckons you over. ‘Survive your meeting then? Better you than me but then Rotten-Runtis thinks I’m a right dolt – making me shift books and make
his smelly tea. I was one of the best mages in my year, before I got shunted off on this dead-end farce with that stinking old misery guts.’ He kicks his heels into the sand, his already-red
face turning a shade more crimson. ‘He thinks I don’t study, but I do – and I found out things in his library. Things he never told me about.’

After another check to see if anyone is around, Andos leans in closer. ‘The Lamuri were some of the greatest mages that ever lived. They had three books that they kept all their spells in.
Together they’re called
The Negra Lumaris
. The dark enlightenment. If you find them, then I’ll give yer something real special. I got access to stinky-grump’s possessions
– and he has a Dwarven eye-piece. Powerful and very old. You wear it and you can understand anything – translate runes, decipher glyphs. I used it myself a few times.’

‘What do you intend to do with these . . . books?’ you ask dubiously. ‘They sound dangerous.’

Andos shakes his head quickly, his forced laugh failing to put you at ease. ‘Oh, they’re nothing much – just mage-stuff, really. Thought they might make me look good –
impress the university. They could be my ticket out of this horrid place. Can you blame me?’

Andos gives you directions to a clearing in the forest. You agree to meet him there for the exchange. (Make a note of the number 471. When you think you have found all three books, turn to that
entry number any time between quests to receive your reward.) Return to the quest
map
to resume your journey.

549

Scar-face walks over and places a paw on your shoulder. ‘You are kin now. I believe the great spirit, Shonac, sent you to fight for us.’

The leader, Grey-hair, beats his chest three times. ‘We welcome you to Shara Khana, bright claw. Gather your strength, we leave for the marsh at first light.’

550

You have discovered rare Lamuri treasures that have been locked away for thousands of years! You may now choose up to two of the following rewards:

You also find a bronze coffer, containing 100 gold crowns. Having looted the vault you return to the main chamber, where you take the sloping ledge up to the open doorway. Turn to
595
.

551

The two severed heads crash to the ground in a spray of black blood, leaving the beast’s scaled body to sink beneath the turbulent waves. Exhausted from the battle you
lean against one of the rocks, your eyes seeking out Lorcan. The man is barely out of breath, his wounds healing instantly as purple light flares from the runes branded into his arm.

‘Now for my favourite part,’ he grins, walking over to the nearest drake head. ‘The spoils of war.’ (Each hero may now help themselves to one reward.) For warrior
rewards, turn to
745
. For rogue rewards, turn to
770
. For mage rewards, turn to
761
.

552

‘This is Boogaloo, the water spirit.’ The shaman raises his staff and points it towards the pool of dark water. ‘Weaken it and we get spirit’s
power.’

You approach the edge of the pool, your eyes cautiously scanning the layer of dirt and weeds floating on its surface. Seeing nothing untoward, you lean in closer . . .

Suddenly a huge worm-like head bursts out of the water, filled with hundreds of spine-like teeth. You twist away, managing to dodge the snapping jaws – but in saving yourself, your foot
catches on a water-slick stone, plunging you into the foul, stagnant pool. Through a flurry of bubbles, you see a long grey body coiling around you. Then you break the surface, gasping for air.

‘Watch yourself!’ shouts Boom Mamba. ‘That thing – it’s ’lectric!’

You have no clue what he means, until the creature’s skin lights up with a bright coat of magic, sending painful jolts through your body. Recovering quickly, you suck in a big lungful of
air before ducking back down beneath the fetid waters. It is time to fight:

Special abilities

If you defeat Boogaloo, turn to
577
. If you are defeated, you may return to
510
to choose a different foe to
battle.

553

The steamy haze makes the going more difficult than you anticipated. Several times you misplace your footing or your fingers slip on the smooth, slick rock. However, with
patience and determination, you manage to complete the climb, joining Virgil on the bridge. Turn to
749
.

554

Manoeuvring while in flight proves more difficult than you anticipated. Numerous times you are knocked to the ground by the wyrm’s flailing head or by a deluge of pulpy
missiles. Nevertheless, your persistent blows have succeeded in weakening it. When the wyrm breaks off to regurgitate more of its stomach’s contents, you grab hold of the chain ladders and
use them to gain height.

Once you are above the wyrm you leap off into space, weapons reversed in a downward strike. The wyrm rears back, its jaws stretching open to fire its pulpy missiles. But it is a second too late.
You drive your weapons between its eyes, then flip away as blood and brains spew forth from the gaping wound. Its body twists in a spasm of pain, then its head crashes to the ground in a storm of
paper and dust.

At last, the giant wyrm has been defeated. From its pulp-spattered remains, you may now help yourself to 100 gold crowns and one of the following rewards:

If you have the word
spooks
on your hero sheet, turn to
691
. Otherwise, you find nothing else of interest in the room, so decide to leave. Turn to
842
.