Legion of Shadow (61 page)

521

You have the honour of learning from one of the grandmasters of the profession.

‘Remember my friend,’ says Eldias, his eyes blazing with a fierce zealotry. ‘The destruction of evil is our life’s task. We cannot rest until we have cleansed the world
of the foul existence of sin and corruption.’

The witchfinder has the following abilities:

Once you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
515
.

522

You search through the many treasures contained in the chest. You may now help yourself to one of the following items:

You also find a sack containing 50 gold crowns and a
large ruby.
(If you wish to take the gem, simply make a note of it on your hero sheet. It does not take up a backpack
space.) After helping yourself to the many treasures, you rejoin Shay and then head out of the cavern, taking the tunnel north. Turn to
393
.

523

Bern issues orders to the wreekin, who hurriedly leaves the hut, returning a few minutes later with a reed basket filled with herbs. The ranger begins adding some of these to
the steaming liquid.

‘I can slow the onset of the fever,’ he says, his brow furrowed with concentration. ‘But to heal it completely I will need some black mandrake. It grows out in the swamp, on
the edge of the mangroves to the east. I need you to go and get me some – I must stay here and do what I can.’ He looks up from his work, his eyes settling on the unicorn’s horn,
resting next to the bowl. ‘I promised them that I would save their leader, in return for the horn. There is very little time – now go!’

The wreekin scatter out of your way as you hurry from the hut. With your eyes set firmly on the mist-shrouded horizon, you set out into the marsh. Turn to
537
.

524

You make your way down the tunnel that the giant ooze appeared from. After several minutes, the tunnel ends on a ledge overlooking a deep pit. At the other side of the pit, the
wall is honey-combed with natural looking holes and undulations.

The air hums with a relentless buzzing sound. Scanning the ceiling, you see several tunnels leading out into daylight. A number of giant-sized bees are using these to fly into and out of the
cave. You realise that the wall opposite must be a hive.

If you wish, you could try jumping across the pit to reach the hive (turn to
536
). Otherwise, you can head back to the cave and take the other tunnel north (turn to
472
).

525

Back at the village, the solemn crowd is still gathered around their leader’s hut. On seeing your arrival, there is a sudden wave of excited chatter as the frog-like
creatures push and jostle with each other to get a better view of what you are carrying.

With the mandrake root clutched tightly in your hands, you hurry through the crowd of wreekin and enter the hut. Inside, Bern is standing over the pallet bed, his face worn and tired. The
toadish leader looks in a worse condition, his skin now dry and cracked, and his breath coming out in ragged gasps. Bern snaps to attention as you enter, his eyes coming to rest on the mandrake
root.

‘You got it! Excellent! Over here!’ He gestures to a pot of white liquid that is bubbling in front of a fire. Taking the mandrake, he uses a knife from his belt to add shavings of
the root to the liquid. It froths and hisses as each piece sinks into the mixture.

Solandris appears at your side, her own face etched with concern. However, her attention is focused solely on the unicorn’s horn resting on the table, not the dying wreekin leader.
‘Hurry,’ she says, her voice strained. ‘We must get the horn back to the glade. We don’t have much time.’

Bern takes a cloth and uses it to lift the pot from the flames. Then he pours out some of the bubbling mixture into a bowl. Carefully, he moves to the leader’s side, gesturing for one of
the wreekin to lift up the patient’s head. Bern then forces a little of the mixture past the leader’s dry, parched lips.

‘It is done,’ he says. ‘It will only take a few hours to run its course.’ He turns and says something to one of the nearby wreekin in their strange, warbling language.
The creature hops up and down, looking happy and relieved. It then waddles out to the waiting crowd. A moment later, there is a loud cheer from the gathered villagers.

Solandris moves forward and snatches up the horn. ‘If this is done then I am returning to the grove.’

Bern nods. ‘The wreekin will let you leave. I have promised them I will stay here, until their leader is well again.’ He looks to you and smiles. ‘Thank you for your help,
friend. Now return with Solandris; I know you seek answers that only the queen can give. Farewell. I will join you when I can.’

You leave the hut and follow Solandris over to the waiting eagle. Within seconds you are airborne again, soaring high above the misty wetlands. Turn to
376
.

526

The weathered explorer appears to relax for the first time. ‘Thank the saints of Judah,’ he says. ‘My name is Hal Arbuckle; an honour to make your
acquaintance. If you find that poor lassie of mine, then tell her I sent you – and that I’m waiting for her.’

After reassuring Hal that you will do all you can, you head over to the scar’s edge. Through the smoky haze, you see rivers of lava, hissing and steaming at the bottom of the ravine. To
your relief, you also spot a number of rocky islands and ash-covered paths, that will provide a helpful route through this molten nightmare. Turn to
560
.

527

You draw your weapons and advance, to take on this deadly adversary:

Special abilities

If you defeat Inferno, turn to
568
.

528

You fall short of the other side of the pit and plummet into the darkness. Cold air rushes past you as you desperately seek to grab some kind of handhold. Then you land with a
lancing shock of pain – your right leg splintering against the jagged floor of the shaft.

Surrounded on all sides by an inky, impenetrable blackness, you begin to despair. Is this how it will end, dying alone at the bottom of this dark pit? Desperately, you try and crawl through the
darkness, scrabbling along the uneven ground. After what feels like an eternity, you finally reach the cave wall. You grit your teeth as you try and stand. It takes several attempts, but at last
you are able to pull yourself up onto your one good leg.

It is then that you feel a prickling along your arm. You quickly tug back your sleeve, to see the purple mark glowing beneath your skin. The three entwined snakes look almost alive, their
diamond patterns standing out in vivid detail.

Then, to your surprise – and horror – you feel the bones and muscle in your wounded leg sliding back into place. Within moments, your leg, that was once twisted and broken, is
perfectly healed. Tentatively, you place your weight on it and find that it is strong and healthy again. The mark continues to glow for several more seconds, then blinks back into darkness.

Your mind is racing with what has just happened. The strange markings on your arm have just saved your life. Why would Avian Dale and General Ravenwing regard it as something evil? Marvelling at
this sudden reversal of fortune, you feel your way back to the wall. It is a simple effort to find suitable hand and footholds in the pockmarked rock face. After taking a deep breath to calm your
nerves, you start your long climb back out of the pit.

The going is slow but you persevere, finally reaching the ledge. With a final grunt of exertion, you pull yourself back onto solid ground. It takes you some minutes to recover from your ordeal,
but once your strength has returned you get to your feet and head back down the tunnel. When you reach the cave with the ooze, you decide to take the passageway north. Turn to
472
.

529

Quickly and skilfully, you dispatch the mage. You may now take one of the following items:

You turn your attention back to Bern. The ranger has got back to his feet; two wreekin now lie dead in the swamp around him. As he battles with a third, you feel something
whipping around your legs, dragging you to the ground. Startled, you look down to see one of the wreekin’s nets snagged around your legs. Before you have a chance to cut your way free, the
net’s frog-like owner is upon you, stabbing with its pronged trident: