The Heart of Fire (38 page)

In this combat you roll against the warriors’
speed
. If you win a round, you can choose to strike against the warriors, the mages or the high priest. If the mages
and/or the priest are defeated, their relevant ability no longer applies. To win the combat, you only need to defeat the warriors, reducing them to zero
health
. Once the warriors are
defeated, any surviving undead (mages and priest) are also defeated.

If you manage to send these fiends back to the grave, turn to
314
.

250

You have purchased a map of Carvel. You may view this map whenever you like by turning to the colour section of this book. This special map will allow you to ‘fast
travel’ to any of the numbered entries, allowing you to visit locations more speedily than before.

If you wish to return to the map-seller, turn to
99
.

251

You are standing in a huge open courtyard, its cracked stone floor spattered with rubble. The ground is warm underfoot, gouts of steam and black smoke spewing through metal
grilles set into the rock. Around the edges of the yard the walls have been smashed apart, as if by some powerful explosion. Their fragments now hang suspended in the air like a haphazard jigsaw,
forming stairways and platforms that float eerily against a backdrop of purest, darkest night.

‘What happened here . . . ?’ you rasp, almost frightened to speak in this strange place.

‘The work of the shroud,’ whispers Polk, turning slowly on the spot. ‘Be on your guard. Trust nothing, no one.’

At that moment, you hear a peal of childish laughter. All eyes turn to an area of the crumbling walls, where a child sits on the edge of a fractured archway, kicking his legs back and forth in
the empty space. He is wearing a patchwork cloak, which sparkles like stars against the black void. ‘Look Maxi, someone came to play!’

Behind the boy, you can dimly make out a large shape. Its proportions look strange, almost a mockery of a human body. It isn’t until it steps closer that you see it is made entirely of
iron, the appearance mimicking that of an armoured knight.

‘Where is my husband?’ cries Joss angrily. ‘What have you done with him?’

The boy titters to himself. ‘You have to play my games. You want to play, don’t you?’

Suddenly, the ground starts to shake. A torrent of angry flame bursts up through the metal grilles.

‘Wait! No!’ screeches the boy, hopping to his feet. ‘Who left the furnace open? Who left it open?’

Then the floor explodes in a churning maelstrom of heat, as some gigantic fiery elemental rises up through the seared stone, its body a blazing expanse of sizzling, hissing magma.

‘Summon the doors, Maxi!’ cries the boy. ‘We gotta close the furnace!’

A glowing doorway appears behind him. The boy runs into it, disappearing the moment he comes into contact with the glowing magic. You notice that several other doorways have appeared in other
areas of the jumbled maze.

‘We’ve got to get out of here!’ shouts Polk. You spin around, only to find that the tower doors are nowhere to be seen – replaced by an endless void of black space.

‘Trapped!’ you gasp, turning back to the courtyard.

The fiery beast rears up into the air, its body forming two enormous fists of fire. Anse moves casually towards it, pulling his crucifix free from its restraints. With the flick of some hidden
mechanism, a row of knives punch out from the cross-piece, its surface suddenly glittering with inscribed runes. The paladin shows no fear as he approaches the monster.

Then everything turns to chaos.

The beast’s arms come crashing down, shattering the stone beneath its fists. You are thrown backwards by the resulting tremor, skidding across the ash and dust to the very edge of the
shattered courtyard. Above you, Anse is springing from one floating platform to the next, using them to gain height. Silently, he springs into the air, his crucifix swinging around in a
white-flaming arc. He connects with the beast’s shoulder, eliciting a bellowing scream. Then the paladin is rolling across its back, seemingly impervious to the heat, and starts pummelling
the other shoulder with his holy crucifix. The beast twists around, trying to bat him away.

‘We have to run!’ shouts Polk. ‘Anse is buying us time!’

Already the portals have started to flicker and fade. Polk makes a dash for the nearest one. Without looking back, he steps through and disappears, the portal winking out of existence a second
later. At the other side of the yard, Joss is scrambling from platform to platform, headed for the exact same portal as the boy. The glowing doorway has begun to shrink and fade, but the speedy
ranger hurls herself inside just as it snaps closed, vanishing from sight.

‘Get out of here!’ shouts a voice in your ear. For a moment you are so startled you find yourself looking around for its source. Then your attention shifts back to the paladin, who
has made a leap for one of the floating platforms. ‘I said run!’

You realise that the voice must be Anse’s.

The fire demon is now spitting balls of flame from its gaping maw. They smash into the rock walls, splintering them and sending showers of stone floating out across the strange black void. You
spot two remaining doorways that you can still reach – one to your left on a cracked dais of rock and another to your right, glimmering between two pillars of stone. You realise that, unless
you choose one of them quickly, they will disappear, trapping you here with this enraged demon.

252

You send your rock soldier forward, confident that its hardened body will be able to withstand the metal monster’s attacks. As you predicted, the buzz saws grate and
spark as they try and cut through the rock, but they cannot penetrate it. With its blades bent and crippled, the metal warrior is forced to resort to punching and kicking – but to no avail.
The rock soldier uses its own mighty fists to pummel its opponent’s body into scrap metal. Congratulations, you have chosen well and defeated ironclad. (Remove the
rock soldier
from
your hero sheet.) Restore your
health
, then turn to
228
.

253

You briefly recount what happened to the farmers – and the curse that was inflicted on the farmer’s wife. ‘It was one of my apprentices,’ says Damaris,
wincing as she appears to recall the moment. ‘Leena thought she could help, but the spell – the demon – was beyond her powers to control. We offered the husband and the boys
sanctuary. But they turned against us. Understandable . . .’ She shakes her head with regret. ‘I’m sorry. It was an unfortunate end.’

Turn to
126
to ask Damaris another question.

254

‘Oh yes!’ A delighted Joseph gives another spin in his shiny, black coat. ‘I’m going to be the talk of the town!’

‘Just be careful,’ you remind him. ‘A coat like that might get you the wrong kind of attention.’

But Joseph isn’t listening – he is already sauntering away towards the doors of the church, winking at the passers-by who are all staring at him in wonder.

You hope he doesn’t wind up in more trouble. For now, you decide to focus on your own matters. Leaving the church, you return to upper town. (Make a note of the word
Joseph
on your
hero sheet. Then turn to
77
.)

255

All that remains of Umbra is a pile of rumpled clothing and a scatter of jewellery. You also spot the skeleton of an adventurer, propped up against one of the columns. Their
mildewed vestments and tattered books of scripture suggest they had once been a missionary or pilgrim.

You find a pouch containing 15 gold crowns and one of the following rewards:

When you have made your decision, you return to the courtyard. Turn to
510
.

256

Legendary monster: Dagona the Damned

Crops wither in the fields, while the farm buildings burn, spitting showers of glowing embers through the red-black sky. Smoke is everywhere, whirling and snaking across the
hellish landscape, like a living spirit come to relish in the fiery destruction.

‘It’s Wiccan magic,’ the young pilgrim had warned, hurrying in the opposite direction. ‘The farm is cursed – forsaken by our god!’ The second had been a
priest, old and wrinkled. ‘Please, pass by, child. Leave the fires to cleanse the land of its sin.’ The last was a mercenary, armour spattered with rust and dirt. ‘I saw a demon
there,’ he said, his voice shaking. ‘You’d do well to keep going, just pass on by.’

Three warnings. Three chances.

But you did not deviate from your path, nor pass on by. Instead, you entered the blazing farmstead, determined to put an end to rumour – or a demon’s life if that’s what it
takes.

‘No more chances,’ you reflect grimly.

Ahead is the ruin of the farmhouse. A broken shell, its roof beams and boards forming a giant, charred skeleton. And sitting hunched at the edge of one of the splintered floors is a
sullen-looking creature. It is throwing stones into a heaped pile of ashes, tattered hair hanging over its soot-streaked face. There are remnants of a summer dress, clinging to its reddened skin,
torn and bloodied.

As you approach the creature looks up, regarding you with smouldering coal-black eyes. Then its face creases into a mask of hatred, lips pulling back to emit a wailing scream. It is a horrible,
teeth-grating sound that almost breaks your spirit and sends you running. But there is no escape – the creature is charging towards you, powerful strides driving it forward at speed. You draw
your weapons and prepare to defend yourself. It is time to fight:

Special abilities

If you manage to defeat this demonic fiend, turn to
301
.