Legion of Shadow (4 page)
The boy gives a pained gasp as he struggles to raise one of his hands. With a trembling finger, he points to your head. ‘You took a blow. Right before you killed those men.’
You draw back, inhaling sharply. ‘I . . . I did that . . . back there?’ Images of the charred, ruined bodies flash before your eyes. ‘How?’
‘Some magic,’ whispers the boy. ‘It came from the . . . that mark on your arm.’
You flinch, clutching your arm protectively against your chest. The boy smirks at your reaction. ‘You never mentioned it. I guess it was something you didn’t want me to know
about.’
‘And this?’ you ask, looking down at the black-fletched arrow.
‘Assassin spitted me,’ he grimaces. ‘He was the only one to get away. Their leader . . . I think.’ Where the arrow shaft meets the skin, you can see green poison bubbling
out of the wound.
The boy reads your fatal expression.
‘I know, it’s . . . too late for me.’
Your shoulders sag. It is a grim thought – that this dying knight is the last remaining link to your past, to your previous life that is now forgotten. ‘We know each other?’
you ask hesitantly.
‘We met yesterday,’ rasps the boy. ‘We were both travelling the same road . . . to Tithebury Cross.’
You shake your head. The name means nothing to you.
‘I’m an academy knight,’ the boy wheezes. ‘Just graduated, top of my class. I was going to apprentice . . .’ He stops as a wave of pain forces him to shudder. You
put out your hand, gripping his shoulder and willing him to go on. ‘I was going to apprentice with Avian Dale. The great Avian Dale . . .’ For a moment there is a flicker of life in his
eyes, his pain forgotten as he stares wistfully up at the dark sky. ‘It was my instructor’s idea. He said I was the best in my year . . . Avian doesn’t accept just anyone. I was
special . . .’ His face sours as he looks down at the arrow shaft. ‘Now that life is over.’
Suddenly, from somewhere back in the forest, you hear a piercing shriek. You glance nervously over your shoulder.
‘Harpies,’ grimaces the boy. ‘They hunt in packs. The scent . . .’ He lifts his hands, revealing palms soaked with his own blood. ‘It will draw them here. You must
go.’
‘But I can’t just leave you. I must find out . . .’
‘My pack. Fetch my pack.’
The boy tilts his head. Following his gaze, you see a brown backpack lying at the base of one of the trees. You quickly retrieve it, surprised at its lightness as you lift it out of the mud. The
boy gestures for you to open it. Inside, wedged between a bundle of clothes, is a rolled-up sheet of parchment.
‘Take it,’ whispers the boy. ‘It’s my letter from . . . the academy.’
Unrolling the scroll, you see that it is covered in neat, flowing script. It is addressed to an Avian Dale, outlining the merits of a young academy knight. It ends in a green seal of wax,
displaying the insignia of a winged dragon. ‘I can’t take this,’ you protest, shaking your head.
The boy gives a wheezing cough, his body jerking painfully with the effort. ‘It is . . . no good to me. Take it. Start a new life. He’ll never know.’
A screech draws your attention skywards. Black shapes are circling overhead, their spindly, feathered bodies silhouetted against the full moon. Harpies. Something inside you is urging you to
flee . . . the mark along your arm tingles as if sensing the same danger.
You roll up the scroll and stuff it into the pack. When you look over at the boy, you see that his head is now resting against his chest, his eyes closed. Death has finally taken him.
‘I will find the assassin that did this. I promise.’ You reach down and take the boy’s sword. It is a well-balanced blade, the hilt and pommel studded with gems.
You have gained the following item (remember to add this item to your hero sheet, adding 1 to your
brawn
score):
The apprentice
(main hand: sword)
+1 brawn
Another bird-like screech tears through the night. There are answering calls from all around you, worryingly close. Quickly, you shoulder the knight’s pack and then start
running.
You find comfort in purpose, keeping to a fast pace as you weave between the withered trees of the dark forest. After what feels like an age of battling through the cloying mud and driving rain,
you spy a cave in the hollow of a hill. Having found shelter, you sit and await the dawn, shivering with more than just the cold.
* * *
The wooden signpost points southwards, where the marshy forest gives way to green rolling hills. ‘Tithebury Cross. 3 miles.’ You take a deep breath of the warm,
morning air. ‘A new life. A new start.’ Peeling back your sleeve, you look down at the purple mark, glowing beneath your skin. Does this strange mark hold the key to your past?
And what of the future.
You scan the letter of introduction once again; a letter recommending a talented knight to apprentice with one of the grand masters of the profession. ‘Avian Dale.’ It should have
been the young boy – this was his future, his dream . . .
‘It is . . . no good to me . . . take it. Start a new life. He’ll never know . . .’
No one will ever know. Carefully, you roll up the letter and return it to your pack, before setting off down the long, dusty road towards Tithebury.
Choose your quest from the map and then click on the links provided after each map to jump to your chosen location.
Act One – Tithebury
Act Two: Mistwood & Blackmarsh
Act Three: The Bone Fields
1
The passageway ends in a square room filled with rubble and earth. Part of the left wall and ceiling has collapsed – pushed inwards by a series of enormous tree roots.
Lodged between them is a small iron footlocker. Across the other side of the room is an archway, beyond which you can see a pale light falling on a stone tomb.
2
There is a cheer from the assembled villagers as you re-emerge from the darkness of the well – cheers that quickly trail off one by one, as the onlookers notice the body
you are carrying. Two of the men offer to take it from you, lifting it over the side of the well and laying it gently on the grass. You are then helped out of the swaying bucket, relieved to be
back on solid ground again.
The white-robed priest walks over and kneels beside the body. With trembling hands he draws back the cloth and looks upon the face of his son.
‘What . . . what happened?’ asks one of the younger farmers, a tremor of fear in his voice.
‘Burrower wurms,’ says the priest solemnly. He rises to his feet, his expression grave. ‘That acid is what they use to eat away the rock. Something must have disturbed them
– or drawn them here.’ He gives a heavy sigh, then reaches for the purse at his belt. ‘I offer you my thanks, adventurer. You brought my son home to me.’ He hands over the
purse of money. (You have gained 10 gold crowns.) ‘Now we have a better understanding of the dangers that we face.’ He looks to each of the villagers in turn. ‘Together we will
exterminate this threat to our village and repair our well.’
The farmers look fearful but resolute. Your bravery has clearly served to bolster their spirits. You wish them luck in their task before returning to the village. (Return to the
map
to choose
your next quest.)
3
‘Excellent! We’ve not a moment to lose – come on!’ The bird takes to the air, heading south towards a cluster of rocky hills. You do your best to keep
up, jogging across the broken, uneven ground. Soon, you are clambering over jagged rocks and boulders to reach the top of a steep-sided mound.
At its summit, you find yourself surrounded by a circle of tall, weather-beaten stones. A discarded backpack lies in the middle of the circle, its contents spilling out onto the grass.