The Eye of Winter's Fury (101 page)

The width of the elevation is soon matched by its height, a vast summit of smoothed ice, sculptured by a millennia of northern winters. Its shadow stretches for miles across a tumbledown plain of boulder-strewn scree riddled with dangerous fissures and pitfalls. Progress is slow and wearisome, the chill wind lashing against you as if seeking to drive you away.

It isn’t until you reach the higher slopes that the first of the tremors hit. Skoll drops to the ground, urging you both to do the same as the earth roils and shakes, ripping fresh crevasses out of the rock. Above you, great slivers of ice break away from the ridge, spearing down into the snow at its base. The rumbling continues, but as it grows in volume you realise it is no longer the quake that is causing it – a great weight of snow has started to roll forward, gathering speed as it ripples and smokes down the slope.

‘Avalanche!’ cries Skoll, scrambling to his feet.

‘To higher ground!’ You grab Anise, pushing her towards a tumble of boulders.

Desperately, the three of you clamber over the rocks, gaining height as quickly as you can. The rumbling gets louder and louder . . .

Suddenly the white flood breaks around you, smashing flecks of snow high into the air. You cling to the rocks, body pressed tightly against them, while the raging current surges past, threatening to rip you free.

Then the rumbling subsides – only to be replaced by the bellowing
roar of some nightmarish creature. You pull yourself up onto the shelf of rock, where Skoll and Anise are standing back-to-back, their heads turned to follow the course of the swirling snow-storm. It ripples around the foot of the island then bursts skywards in a brilliant-white geyser, picking up boulders and ice from the ground. For a second the cloud hangs still in the air, then it sweeps down with a furious boom, moulding itself into a pair of colossal fists. It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	Break down : When Avalanche is defeated (reduced to zero health ), its body splits into three elementals (an ice elemental and two rock elementals). You then have three rounds of combat against these elementals. At the beginning of the fourth round, they re-join to form a new Avalanche (with 40 health ). You must defeat Avalanche again, before it will release the elementals (with the health they have remaining) – giving you three rounds to fight them before another Avalanche is formed. This cycle repeats until you have defeated all three elementals.
	Enchanted elements : Avalanche and the three elementals are immune to all passive abilities, including the passive damage from frost hound and vital artery .
	Skards’ might : Skoll and Anise add 2 to your damage score for the duration of this combat. (If you are an einherjar, you can add 3 to your damage score instead.)

(Note: When fighting Avalanche, the elementals cannot be harmed. You can only attack and apply damage to the elementals once Avalanche has been defeated each time.)

If you manage to defeat this dread behemoth, turn to
757
.

704

You pick apart the folded moth wing and hold it up to the light. As the beams dance across its silken surface, you notice glittering patterns start to form. They intensify, glowing brighter, the silhouette created by their radiance casting a long shadow on the ground. To your surprise, you realise it is a magical glyph.

You hear the snapping of wood behind you. Turning, you watch as another hollow widens outwards in the side of the trunk, revealing a shimmering bridge of rainbow light. It stretches away into the cloudy fog, its shining radiance pushing back the haze to reveal a floating island.

705

Anise steps around you, shaking her head. ‘When you boys have done posturing, we still have a problem. A very big problem.’

You follow her gaze to the dragon.

Skoll retrieves his axes, then strides towards the dragon. ‘Old one. We have need of your aid.’

The beast continues to lick at its wounds. Droplets of smoking blood spatter onto the ground.

You glance at Anise. ‘This was a mistake,’ you hiss through clenched teeth.

Scales creak as the dragon’s neck swings toward the warrior. Then its presence fills your mind. A sentience both powerful and ancient.

Blood of the brood. Of Titan and stone. Know I am Nidhogg.

The dragon’s words are like echoes, ringing back from some deep, fathomless dark.

Skoll halts before the giant beast, then drops to one knee. ‘Great Nidhogg. I am Skoll, Son of Brunil Frostgrieve, Drokke of the Skards.’

You smell of fear. Brave or foolish. I do not know which.
The dragon tilts
its head, regarding the three of you with its crimson orbs.

‘We did what we had to,’ you reply quickly, gesturing to Skoll and Anise. ‘All of us – we know what it is to suffer at the hands of the witch.’

Anise nods vehemently. ‘We have to put an end to this evil!’

Melusine.
The dragon’s eyes narrow.
My brothers and sisters
.
All fallen to her power. They were not so strong. Unable to resist.

The beast’s attention has moved to the horn that Skoll is holding, wrested from the giant’s helm. You realise the hollowed bone was once a dragon’s – the same as those that still adorn Nidhogg’s crest.

They were weak. They were not given a choice. Their fate was to fall.

Nidhogg gives a slow shake of his head. Then his eyes drift skywards.

All save one. He went to her willingly. Betrayed us all.
Anger rattles from somewhere deep within the dragon’s being.
Seethe will feel my wrath.

‘Yes, yes!’ Skoll takes a hopeful step closer. ‘Dragons. Mortals. No more will suffer – if you will only help us.’

The dragon’s neck curls round, his gaze flicking back to the horn.
Let that be my call. A single note will carry to my ears. Then revenge will be taken.

Nidhogg unfurls his great black wings.

‘For revenge.’ Skoll raises the horn.

The dragon springs forward, wings beating to give it lift. Skoll drops to his knees as the gigantic beast sweeps overhead, its shadow turning day to night.

Skoll shifts round, meeting your gaze with a look of relief and excitement. ‘Put doubts aside,’ he calls. ‘The dragon lends us his strength. Now we will be unstoppable!’

Congratulations! You have gained the
dragon’s horn
. This gives you the power to summon Nidhogg. (Simply make a note of this item on your hero sheet, it doesn’t take up backpack space.) The dragon has the following attributes (record these on the second part of your hero sheet. You will be told when to use them.):

Once your hero sheet is updated, return to the map to continue your adventure.

706

Melusine is agile, using her dancer’s grace to weave around your attacks, the two of you falling into a deadly performance of blows and counters.

All around you the chamber has started to shake, the ground bucking beneath you, stones showering down from above – yet you remain oblivious to the destruction, focused solely on Melusine, trapped in an instant where thought has become instinct. You almost move as one, gliding through stances – chasse, heel-turn, closed change – spinning and turning, back and forth. A dance at the end of time.

Melusine hums, her music filling your ears. It reminds you of a lullaby Molly often sang to you to calm you after a bad dream. Back and forth. Sidestep. Spin. Turn. Its sonorous notes weave a powerful charm, locking you into a cycle of repeated steps. You start to forget your purpose . . . lost in the dance.

But something flutters against your consciousness. A memory. A face.

The crooked smile of a kitchen girl, who stole your heart.

Movements falter as you struggle to remember. A foot slips, streaking blood across the dark stone. Blood that trails to a girl’s body.

Dance, Arran. Dance for me. My last great performance – oh, hear them applaud.

‘No!’ In an instant you snap out of the dreamlike trance.

Your weapons break rhythm, the cold steel whipping round in a swift arc. The blow passes through Melusine and continues through its stroke. You finish kneeling, the witch’s head falling one way and her body the other. Shreds of her veil flutter down around you. The final curtain.

If you are a warrior, turn to
389
. If you are a mage, turn to
744
. If you are a rogue, turn to
504
.

707

If you wish, you may purchase a locker for 5 gold crowns. You may store any extra backpack items or items of equipment in the locker during Act 1. If you swap equipment (weapons, backpack items etc.) during your adventure, you may put the item you are replacing in your locker by turning to this entry number. This will prevent it from being destroyed. You can only keep a maximum of four objects in your locker:

You can re-equip items from your locker whenever you visit this entry number between quests in Act 1.

If you wish to conduct further trade with Jackson, turn to
685
. Otherwise, return to the quest map to continue your adventure.