The Eye of Winter's Fury (16 page)

	Blind the eye: ( * ) To win the combat you must defeat the sentinel eye by reducing its health to zero. However, you can only attack and apply damage to the sentinel eye once the wings and the three proboscises have been defeated. Otherwise, it is immune to all damage effects.
	Proboscis strikes: If you take health damage from a proboscis in regular combat, you must also apply its effect (see deadly ascent). For example, if you lost a combat round to the fire proboscis you would take damage from its damage score – and also roll an extra die for its fire effect.
	Wing buffet: If the sentinel wings and at least one proboscis are still in play, roll a die at the end of each combat round. If the result is or less you are knocked back to the ground and must start your ascent again (see deadly ascent). or more, there is no effect. (This ability only comes into effect once you are in regular combat with the sentinel.)

If you manage to defeat this ocular menace turn to
588
.

86

Quest: The Dread Gulf Dare

(You must have the keyword
kitchens
on your hero sheet before you can begin this quest.)

Anise puts a hand on your arm, steering you along the narrow tunnel. You surrender to her direction, no longer able to focus, the pain and cramping in your limbs only getting worse.

‘We’re almost there,’ she insists, her voice pitched low.

You try to answer, but a jolt of pain causes you to bite down on your tongue. All around you the walls glimmer with magic, their holy scripture forming dizzying whorls before your blurred vision.
How did I get talked into this
? Ahead of you, a line of torches splutter blue flames along the low-ceilinged passageway. The bright procession stretches as far as the eye can see.

‘I have to go back . . .’ you gasp at last, batting at the air. ‘The walls . . . the scripture . . . it burns . . .’

‘We’re here now, shush!’ Anise swings you round, to a small archway in the wall. You would have easily missed it, still hobbling along the tunnel – to who knows where.

You duck down, entering an even narrower passageway. At its end it opens out into a small room, where a solitary guard is slumped in a chair, head resting on the table. He snores loudly, his breath blowing crumbs across his half-eaten plate of food.

Behind him an iron portcullis has been raised, leaving an open archway to the chill night air.

‘Good, the sleep powder has worked,’ whispers Anise, moving to one of the torches along the wall. There is a clatter of metal as she struggles to lift it out of the sconce. As you go to help her, the guard murmurs in his sleep, snorting out a long deep breath. For a moment, you both freeze, watching him – waiting until his breathing becomes regular again.

Anise gives a sigh of relief. ‘The recipe was one of Segg’s,’ she says, lifting the torch free. ‘He won’t rise ’til morning.’

‘This was a bad idea,’ you reply, gripping your pounding head.

‘Oh come on, grumpy.’ Anise snatches your arm and turns you to face the open doorway. ‘It will be fun.’

You allow yourself to be guided by the kitchen girl, out through the postern gate and onto a ledge of cracked rock. It winds around the edge of the rift, joining with a jagged causeway that criss-crosses its way to a lone tower, standing ominous and silent against the twilight sky.

Where the ledge meets the causeway, you see two figures waiting for you – one holding a torch similar to Anise’s. In the circle of blue light, you can dimly make out a scarecrow-thin figure in robes and a taller companion, broad and muscular.

As you near, the robed figure steps forward, pulling back their cowl.

‘What the – what you bring corpse-stink for?’ The stranger exclaims in a whiney high-pitched voice.

You recognise him instantly as Harris, Segg’s young apprentice. The boy clutches a large leather-bound book to his scrawny chest, continuing to glare at you with a petulant frown.

‘Hey, you never said
she
was coming!’ The taller companion lowers his torch, thrusting it forward to illuminate both your faces. The male is only a few years older than Harris, clad in a thick fur cloak and a weathered coat – both straining to contain his brawny physique.

‘I had to,’ snaps Harris. ‘I needed her to slip the powder to the guard.’

The larger warrior snorts. ‘I ain’t spending a night with a Skard.’

‘You don’t have a choice, Brack,’ says Harris, glaring up at his companion. ‘Or I’ll tell everyone you wimped out – you failed the dare.’

Brack looks about to argue, then falls into an angry silence.

‘What is this dare?’ you ask, looking from one to the other.

‘Oh, did your girlfriend not tell you?’ pipes up Brack, eyes narrowing at Anise. ‘We gonna spend a night – a whole night – out there, across the Dread Gulf.’ He turns and points to the lone tower, perched precariously on the spit of rock. ‘We’re spending a whole night in the Necromancer’s Tower.’

87

Most of the other racers have also opted to steer clear of the snow. However, in order to avoid the fractures and broken areas of the ice-sheet the sleds are forced to bunch together. You soon find yourself hemmed in on both sides by fellow racers. The competing dog-teams snap and bite at one another, harnesses quickly becoming tangled as the fight grows more intense.

You will need to take a challenge test using your
toughness
attribute:

If you are successful, turn to
581
. Otherwise, turn to
460
.

88

You push open the double-doors and enter the hall. A dozen men are seated at the trestle tables, tucking into bowls of warm porridge.
Most of them look tired, eating in silence. Others lean close, sharing hushed stories, occasionally breaking into low hums of laughter. You suspect these must be the night watch, fresh back from duty. Anise is hurriedly rushing between the men, refilling mugs and clearing dishes. She catches your eye for an instant, then continues to attend the soldiers.

If you have the keyword
gains
on your hero sheet, turn to
277
. Otherwise, you see no reason to stay here, so return to the main courtyard. Turn to
113
.

89

‘Ahh, you do have a kind heart,’ says the bard, nodding. ‘And for that, you should be rewarded.’ She reaches down to her belt and unfastens a pouch of gold, then tosses it to you. Opening it up, you find 50 gold crowns inside.

If you are a rogue, turn to
618
. Otherwise, Talia blows you a kiss and then departs, leaving you alone in the secret laboratory. Turn to
747
.

90

For defeating the mage, you may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
141
.

91

The palace library held a number of books written by the Botany Society, one of which was filled with sketches of various fungi. You remember that some species are deadly and poisonous, whilst others can prove delicious to eat, and may even have special magical properties. Uncertain as to which category these strange toadstools will fall into, you cautiously edge closer to the nearest one, wrinkling your nose at the sulphurous smoke oozing from its tip. You can’t imagine this would be good to eat, but appearances can sometimes be deceptive. Gingerly, you reach out with a finger and prod the toadstool cap . . .

Suddenly the air around you explodes in a mass of whirling, yellow spores. You stumble back, half-blinded by the assault, dimly aware that the rest of the toadstools have started to pump similar plumes of yellow spores into the clearing. Staggering through the haze, you try and spot a means of escape, but your blurred vision has left you disorientated. You knock into one of the toadstools, reeling away from its slimy surface only to blunder into another. They are all around you now, creaking and squelching closer – looking to trap you at the centre of their deadly ring of death.

Desperately, you look around for a means of defending yourself. Next to the scattered bones, you spot a broken branch of willow. With no other option, you hastily pick it up, brandishing it like a club. You have now gained the following item: