The Heart of Fire (88 page)

Special abilities

If you win a combat round, you can choose to strike against Cernos or his rock fists. Once the rocks fists have been destroyed, Cernos no longer benefits from their
ability.

If you manage to defeat Cernos, turn to
698
.

580

Survival is a powerful motivator, driving you to feats of strength and savagery that you didn’t know you were capable of. Your weapons are soon forgotten as you roll
through the mud, ripping and biting at the panther, caught up in your own dark rage. Finally, with arms snapped tight around the panther’s neck, you squeeze and twist, listening to the bones
crack – and the creature give its last, gargling gasp.

You slide out from underneath the panther’s body. Only then do you notice your hands, glistening with blue-black scales – each finger ending in a sharp yellow talon. You stare at
them in horrified amazement, realising that the demon curse – the transformation – is happening far quicker than you could ever have imagined. You have now gained the following special
ability:

Demon claws (pa)
: For every double that you roll for attack speed (before or after a re-roll), your hero automatically inflicts 4 damage to
their opponent. This ability ignores
armour
.

After retrieving your weapons, you turn back to the body, which is already crawling with bugs. It is only fitting that you take some token of this momentous victory before the forest reclaims
this infamous predator. If you are a warrior or a rogue, turn to
729
. If you are a mage, turn to
714
.

581

The stepped pyramid looks like some kind of puzzle or magical device. Each tier has a circular depression, designed to hold one of the clay tablets. The first three tiers have
already been filled, but the fourth remains empty. The script above the hole reads ‘volax’. You glance around at the remaining clay tablets, strewn across the floor. Most of them have
been smashed but three are still intact, displaying icons of animal deities.

582

Your decision made, you turn away from the hole and prepare to take on the bridge guardians. The arratoch lunges forward on its serpentine body, splitting the air with its
shrieking barrage. Avian spins his staff, sending bolts of magic hurtling towards its malign face.

‘We have to silence the arratoch!’ he yells.

‘I think we got bigger problems!’ Virgil nods towards the charging stone giants. Spinning his blades, he moves to head them off before they can reach the mage.

For a second you hold back, sizing up your three opponents. Then with a clamouring battle cry, you hurl yourself into the fray. It is time to fight:

Special abilities

In this combat, choose one of the golems to attack. If you win a combat round, you may strike against your chosen golem or the arratoch. If you lose the combat, your chosen golem will strike
against you. Once you have defeated both golems (Olum and Atum), you win the combat (the arratoch is automatically defeated).

If you manage to overcome these fearsome guardians, turn to
546
.

583

‘Ambition, plain and simple,’ he replies, peering over the rim of his spectacles. ‘Fifteen years I’ve been waiting for funding for this endeavour.
Always overlooked – always some excuse. Now I think they sent me here just to get rid of me!’ He chortles, looking smug at his attempt at humour.

‘Funding for what?’ you press, glancing around at the books and scrolls.

‘Didn’t they bother to tell you?’ he splutters. ‘Send you out here with no clue. Judah save us. Listen – no one to date has written the definitive work on the
Terral Jungle. Yes, yes – I know we have a few sketchy journals from the odd explorer – raving with fever for the most part and offering nothing of any academic quality. But this will
be a proper scholarly account. That is why I am here. To pen my masterwork – the one I’m remembered for.’ He lifts his chin up proudly in the air. ‘Runtis Bogglespiff. A
name never to be forgotten.’

Turn to
386
to ask the scholar another question or turn to
548
if you wish to leave and continue your journey.

584

The demon raises a fist into the air, his clawed fingers still gripping the black runestone. Bolts of magic crackle from its surface, lancing across the room to play along the
walls and ceiling. ‘The dwarves built this citadel,’ he bellows, lifting his head to survey the twisted canopy. ‘And its magic will serve me now.’

All around you the smooth black stone swells and undulates, like waves on an ocean. Even the branches are moving, threading themselves together to form a dark, writhing mass.

‘Stop this!’ you beg hoarsely, your eyes dragged from one shifting horror to the next.

The demon laughs – cold and mocking. ‘I have the key to Tartarus.’ He shakes the black runestone, gripped in his palm. ‘With the heart of fire, I will free Ragnarok and
then I will have my revenge!’

Desperately you draw your weapons, lunging forward to strike – but Cernos spins aside, striking you across the back and sending you crashing to the ground. Then he launches himself
skywards, his huge wings beating through the dusty air. You watch helpless, pinned to the ground by the violent tremors, as the demon soars through the chaotic maelstrom of moving stone, leaving
you behind to face this, his latest trap.

The chamber has become a living entity – a giant chitinous creature, supported on hundreds of spidery legs. With a final deafening crunch the beast drags its rear from the palace
foundations, the ensuing upheaval sending fractures branching through the stonework. You stagger to your feet, aware that the ground is starting to crumble away, the entire building collapsing into
dust.