The Heart of Fire (104 page)

Your foot knocks into a broken sword hilt, sending it clattering over the loose rock. Both combatants freeze, looking in your direction.

‘Sanchen!’ wheezes Murlic, struggling for breath. ‘Save me.’

The monk scowls, glaring at you with contempt. ‘Do not try to stop me, bright claw.’

666

The magic stones burn with a fierce light as they seek to heal the lich and maintain its magics. However, they cannot keep pace with the ferocity of your attacks, each blow
ripping through the rotted bandages and splintering the brittle bones beneath. With their magic finally spent, the runes flicker and then die, leaving the lich to crumble to the ground –
finding its own death at last.

For defeating the lich, you may now take one of the following rewards:

If you are a mage, turn to
778
. Otherwise, you decide to leave the tomb and head up the stairs. Turn to
889
.

667

The ruins end at a deep ravine, crossed by a raggedy-looking rope bridge. You take comfort that someone has at least provided a means of crossing – although, after
studying the rotted wooden slats, most of which are missing, and the thin vines holding it all together, you start to wonder if this bridge is really a disaster waiting to happen.

668

You cross the courtyard, stepping around the corpses of the poisoned undead. Ahead looms the second Lamuri ziggurat. You wonder what secrets it holds – and whether it
will bring you any closer to discovering the whereabouts of the demon. Turn to
626
.

669

Inside the compound, it is already a scene of chaos. The fire has spread fast, obscuring much of your surroundings in a thick black smoke. Roars and screams fill the air,
whilst indistinct bodies rush back and forth, many locked in ferocious combat.

Quickly, you assess your options. On your left is what appears to be a weapons cache; spears and crossbows are stacked up next to a series of crates, some of which have been broken open,
spilling bundles of arrows across the ground. Behind them is a canvas tent, the flaps pinned open to reveal a table covered in bottles and flasks.

‘Watch out!’ A body hurtles out of the smoke, knocking into you. As you swing around, ready to strike your attacker, you are surprised to see it is White Cloak.

‘High tower!’ she snarls.

Something tears past your shoulder, thumping into the dirt. It is followed by another series of thuds as the ground where you were standing is peppered with crossbow bolts. You look up to see a
hunter in the nearest lookout tower – already loading another set of bolts into his repeater.

670

The tower is supported by two gargantuan columns of rock, rising up on either side of the bridge. An arched beam connects them midway along their length, its centre-piece a
circle of runed stone. As you approach the circle starts to tremble violently, its surface wrinkling and swelling as if something behind is struggling to get free.

Avian raises his staff. ‘Back, arratoch. We mean you no harm. We seek safe passage into your makers’ city.’

The contortions become faster and more erratic, the unseen force hammering and punching at the stone until it has beaten out a cruel-looking face.

‘Your city has fallen, arratoch. The twin thrones lie empty; the sworn kings have gone. Let us pass. I free you from your oath.’

The face crumples into a scowl.
What speaketh you of oaths and kings?
Its malign visage cranes forward on a long snake-like neck.
Barahar remade me. Only demons have dominion here!
The creature’s mouth cracks open, and from its depths comes a wailing high-pitched scream. You stumble back, covering your ears.

‘What is it?’ you cry.

‘An alarm!’ shouts Virgil. ‘It’s summoning guards!’

The twin columns start to swell and ripple, as if the rock has become clay. It flows into invisible channels, rapidly forming itself around the contours of two giant-sized warriors. They have
the appearance of dwarves, with grooved beards and runed armour – and moulded into each of their fists is a giant double-headed axe. Within a matter of seconds the newly-fashioned guards are
stomping onto the bridge, leaving gaping hollows in the rock behind them.

Avian casts his eyes around desperately, then hurries over to a section of the ground. He taps his staff against it, revealing a glowing rune etched into the stone. ‘Here!’ he
shouts, struggling to be heard over the shrieking guardian. ‘We can go underneath them!’

You rush to Avian’s side, as he taps the ground again. The glyph and the surrounding stone spark with magic, then disappear as if they were just an illusion. The resulting hole reveals a
set of stairs, leading down to a lower platform. Avian jerks back as if startled, wrinkling his nose. A second later, you catch the stench drifting up from the hole – stagnant and
rotting.

Virgil turns away, shaking his head with disgust. ‘What smells bad, usually is bad.’

Avian tugs your arm, then gestures to the hole. ‘Your decision – but decide fast!’

671

You enter a small store room, stacked high with clay and stone tablets. At its centre is a podium, fashioned from a complex weave of red and black granite. Its top-piece is a
pair of hands, cradling a carved stone idol.

Searching through the tablets you discover that most are simply historical records, written in a combination of dwarvish and common. However, you do manage to uncover a number of useful runes
and glyphs. You may now choose one of the following rewards:

Virgil is standing next to the idol, tilting his head to inspect it. ‘This is carved from the heart of a rock demon.’ He leans away, his nose wrinkling as if from a bad smell.
‘And still strong with magic.’

Intrigued, you walk over and examine the idol. It is carved to resemble a dwarf, with a ring-braided beard and a coat of runed mail. The surface is pitted black stone with glowing veins of red
crystal. If you are a mage, you can unlock the idol’s power by turning to
750
. Otherwise, you return the idol to its podium. After a final check of the
room’s contents, you resume your journey. Turn to
842
.

672

The beast rears back, its black-stone body reshaping itself into another horrific image – an immense worm, its mouth a circular chasm of diamond-hard teeth. It sweeps
down through the dust and smoke, smashing through the rocky pinnacle with its cannonball head. (You must fight this next stage of the combat with the
health
you have remaining. Your
abilities are restored and can be used again, as normal.)

Special abilities

If you manage to defeat Sitadell, turn to
683
. If you are defeated, this battle must be restarted from an earlier point. Restore your
health
and return to
584
.

673

As you back away your foot knocks into something. You glance around quickly to see Scar-face spread-eagled on his back, a knife wound to his chest. Lying next to him is a
black-bladed dagger, still glistening with blood.

‘No!’ You step away from the body, your eyes fixed on the dagger. It is the same one from your dream . . . the one you used to kill Virgil. ‘I didn’t mean . . . I
didn’t know it was him!’ you protest.

‘Oh, it’s a little late for excuses!’ The woman’s laughter rings in your ears as the robed creature advances. ‘Remorse. Fear. Anger. All my favourite
appetisers!’