EDGE: I, Hero Quests: City of the Dead (2 page)

At that moment the soul-eater leaps at you, but you are ready for him. You smash him to the floor, where he lies unconscious. Placing the jar containing your soul inside your jacket, you head north.

You soon arrive at the Red Queen’s palace. The entrance is guarded by a squad of fearsome zombie warriors. You march up to them.

“Take me to the Red Queen,” you demand. “I have a message for her.”

The captain of the guards steps forward. “And I have a message for you. Go away!”

You shake your head. “I’m here to stay.”

“You asked for it then,” he growls and swings at you with his spiked mace. It strikes your chest, but you still remain standing. “Nice try, but you cannot kill me,” you say.

The zombies look amazed, but not for long as you take your sword and slice through them. You head into the palace and begin to hunt out the Red Queen and Mortha.

Go to 32.

You reach into the leather pouch containing the rubies and take out the Ruby of Power.

You urge Hergal towards the firebirds and pull out your bow and arrows. The ruby helps your aim and you strike home with several arrows, dropping your attackers through the sky like shooting stars.

But there are too many enemies to overcome. More firebirds join the attack. For every one you hit, another two appear, lighting up the sky with their flaming wings.

If you wish to retreat and find another way to the mountain,
go to 44.

If you want to use the Ruby of Magic,
go to 25.

You turn around and break out into a sprint across the narrow bridge, trying to get away from the warriors.

Before you can get very far, they are upon you, engulfing you in their unearthly bodies.

You try to beat them away with your sword, but the blade simply passes through their ghostly forms. As you thrash at your enemies, you lose your balance and fall from the bridge, plunging down onto the rocks far below.

You will never stop the Red Queen. To begin your quest again,
go to 1.

“I am not here for talking,” you say. With one swift movement you take out your bow, notch an arrow and shoot it at Mortha. It hits him in the middle of his chest.

There is a moment’s pause and then Mortha smiles. He pulls out the arrow and it turns to ash in his hand. Before you can react he holds out his hand, sending a bolt of energy at you. It strikes you, lifting you into the air. You hang helplessly, unable to move as Mortha steps forward.

“So that is your answer. Very well.” He reaches into your jacket and removes both the bag with the rubies in, and the jar containing your soul.

“Thank you for bringing us the rubies,” he says. “You have made the whole process so much...easier.” He throws the jar into the crowd of the undead. It breaks open, but before your soul can escape, the creatures leap on it. You cry out in pain and black out.

Go to 42.

You take out the Ruby of Seeing and a vision of Olderon forms in your mind. He is standing on the edge of a narrow gorge in the Mountain of the Lost.

Your former companion speaks. “Within this gorge is a secret entrance into the mountain. If you take any other way, you will surely die. You must take care though, your enemies are expecting you.”

“How can I defeat them?” you ask.

“Death can never be defeated,” replies Olderon. “You have to embrace it. To complete your quest you will have to give up your soul.”

Before you can ask him what he means, the vision begins to fade. “We will meet again,” Olderon says, and he vanishes.

Go to 49.

You drop your bow and with one movement pull your sword from its scabbard, swinging your blade at the draug’s neck. You hit home and the creature’s lifeless body drops to the floor.

You retrieve your arrows from the draugs’ bodies and make your way through the archway and onto a rocky ledge. You look down. Below you is the City of the Dead — Necropolis — home of the Red Queen!

You look around and see that there are two ways down to the city. To your left is a curving stone bridge that spans a chasm. To your right is a great waterfall. Next to this is a flight of steps carved out of the rock and leading down to the city.

If you wish to cross the bridge,
go to 35.

If you would rather climb down the steps,
go to 30.

You take out the Ruby of Seeing and ask it, “What should I do?”

Instead of receiving the answer to your question, a vision of Olderon appears in your head. You hear his words. “Death can never be defeated. You have to embrace it. You will have to give up your soul.”

The vision vanishes and you wonder what to do next.

If you wish to search for the palace,
go to 23.

If you want to ask for directions,
go to 19.

You decide that an all-out attack on the entrance would be foolish. It is too well guarded. You steer Hergal away to look for another way into the mountain.

You fly along the black ridges of the mountain, searching the lower slopes. Eventually you see a stream emerging from a narrow gorge. You fly Hergal towards it and see that the stream is pouring out of a gap in the mountain. You realise that this could be the way into the City of the Dead!

Go to 7.

You know that you will not be able to fight your way to the crown, so you reach into your jacket, take out the jar and open it. Hundreds of souls fly out, including your own. Mortha and the Red Queen look puzzled.

Directed by your mind, your soul flies to the crown and settles on it…

You feel a great power surging through your body — you now have mastery over all of the rubies!

Mortha realises too late what you have done. He blasts you with an energy bolt, but it has no effect — the rubies have given you ultimate power!

Mortha flies at you. You take your sword and slice through his body. He disappears in a wisp of smoke…

“Attack him!” screams the Red Queen.

Go to 4.

You step through the white light and onto the bridge. As you do so you hear a rushing noise coming from behind you.

You spin around and see the light swirling in a whirlpool of colour. The light forms into a group of ghostly warriors, shimmering and sparkling in the darkness. They move towards you with their swords raised.

To fight these ghostly creatures,
go to 24.

If you’d rather attempt to outrun them,
go to 10.

You try to untie the leather pouch, but the screeching of the banshees has already taken hold of your mind. You cannot concentrate or focus. Your fingers are clumsy and too slow. Before you can take hold of the Ruby of Magic, the pain of the banshees’ cries overcomes you. You black out and slump to the ground, leaving you at the mercy of the banshees.

To begin your quest again,
go to 1.

You head towards the figure of a gnarly old man, sitting on a bench. He is staring into a glass jar, which seems to be filled with sparkling winged creatures that look like golden moths.

Before you can say anything, the figure looks up. “Why are you here? You are not of this place…”

“I seek the palace of the Red Queen,” you begin.

In the blink of an eye, the figure leaps up and places his hand against your chest. You suddenly feel weak, as if life is being sucked from your body. You drop to your knees. “What are you?” you gasp.

He points at the jar. “I am a collector of souls. Soon yours will be here with the others. Do not struggle, embrace your death and give your soul to me.”

If you want to try to break free,
go to 38.

If you decide to do what the soul collector says,
go to 29.

As the draugs rush towards you they transform into giants. You smile at their stupidity — they have given you a bigger target to aim at!

You let your arrows fly and strike home. One of the creatures drops down, groaning in pain. To your amazement, the other draugs laugh at his suffering. These creatures are stupid and cruel!

You dispatch another of the draugs with an arrow to its chest. The remaining giant charges towards you.

If you wish to continue to fight with your bow,
go to 39.

If you wish to use your sword,
go to 13.

You turn and look towards the marble building. As you do so, you feel a blow to the back of your head. You shouldn’t have trusted the soul-eater!

You stagger forward, dropping the jar. It smashes on the ground, releasing the souls into the air. The collector begins to scoop them up in his hands.

You feel a great pressure in your chest — the collector has your soul!

“My mistress wishes to see you,” he says, crushing your soul in his hand. You feel an intense pain in your chest, before you collapse, unconscious.

Go to 42.

You remember the vision of Olderon and the narrow gorge he was standing by.

You avoid flying near to the entrance and steer Hergal towards the east and the lower slopes of the mountain.

You soon see the narrow gorge and follow the stream that runs along it. You see that the stream is pouring out of a gap in the mountain. You realise that this is the way in!

Go to 7.

You continue to walk through the streets of Necropolis.

As you walk into a great square, you hear a shriek from above. You look up and see a swarm of death wraiths riding their firebirds heading for you.

Your enemies were expecting you…

The firebirds blaze towards you, swooping down in a merciless attack. Before you can notch an arrow, a stream of blazing spears rains down on you. You try to avoid them, but it is impossible. One of the spears pierces your chest. You drop to the floor as more missiles rain down on your lifeless body.