The Eye of Winter's Fury (36 page)

229

The sprites fall to your weapons as the final candle flame winks out. The room is thrown into darkness, the dusty air filled with smoke and the acrid stench of sulphur. Slowly the edges of your surroundings sharpen into focus, tinged by the same brilliant light as before.

Segg starts to raise his fingers, to relight the candles. You pre-empt him, sending a wash of magic spiralling around the room. One by one, the candles ignite, each capped with a bright green flame. Their deathly pallor illuminates Segg’s surprised expression.

‘Impressive,’ he states, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’d say that brings your training to an end.’

Congratulations – you have learned the path of the mage. You may now permanently increase your
health
by 10 (to 40). You have also gained the following special ability:

Recharge (dm):
You regain a speed or modifier ability that you have already used in combat – allowing you to use it again.
Recharge
can only be used once per combat.

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
388
.

230

For defeating the entire coven, you may help yourself to 50 gold crowns and one of the following rewards:

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
523
.

231

You flee back into the trees, the sound of brutal carnage and the inquisitor’s roars of pain providing all the incentive you need. Your own wounds stab with pain, forcing you to stagger as the trees and branches blur into a haze.

For a second – a heartbeat – you feel yourself slipping away, to that dark place you have always dreaded. You can feel its chill inside of you, its black hooks pulling you in, dragging you back to the dreams, the nightmares . . .

‘No!’ Somehow you manage to find your pouch, hands fumbling as you push the dragon leaf into your mouth. Biting down on the bitter leaves, you feel their familiar warmth surge through your body, forcing away that dreaded chill.

And for a while, they numb the pain.

Grappling through the wall of branches, you emerge on the banks of a fast-flowing stream. Ahead, a lip of granite juts out into the white-frothed shallows, forming a series of pitted stones that stretch to the far bank. You splash into the waters, almost losing your footing as the force of the rushing tide churns around your ankles. Clambering onto the nearest rock, you use it as a stepping-stone, hopping from one surface to the next, until you have reached the far bank.

A sudden howl lifts over the roar of the water, followed by a chorus of wails.

You glance back, startled to see a group of wolves sitting by the shoreline. Their heads are tilted back, calling to their pack mates.

You are running once again, dragging your now flagging limbs up the slope and back into the forest. The ground is harder here, ridged with bands of stone. Through the wiry tree-limbs, you spy high walls of grey rock. The air hangs heavy with musk and decay.

You break from the trees, stumbling into a wide clearing – hemmed in by a tumble of slate boulders. Bones litter the floor, hundreds of them – small ones, large ones, skulls, spines. They crack underfoot as you turn in a slow circle, scanning the rocks and the trees behind you. Another howl rends the air, but you cannot determine the direction.

Then you see them, slinking out from the undergrowth, heads hung low, tongues lolling from between glistening canines. You back up into the bone-strewn ravine, realising that the wolves have you trapped, penned in by the walls of stone. Another step and something pushes hard against your back; you half-turn to see the broken rib cage of some enormous animal poking out of the mud, its bones picked clean, shining bright in the gloom.

A deep, reverberating growl.

Your eyes lift to the nearest wall of slate. Standing on the topmost rock is a huge black shadow, its body seemingly swallowing the light. Only the creature’s eyes seem to hold any semblance of life, golden orbs smouldering with hunger.

You realise this must be the alpha male, the leader. You stare back at him, too afraid to move, too afraid to do anything but wait. Already you can feel the warmth of the dragon leaf starting to fade; tiredness and pain begin to return with a vengeance.

It’s over . . . too tired to fight it . . . too tired . . .

Your eyelids flutter. Unconsciousness, darkness . . . you hear the dreams calling, whispering, growing stronger; the coldness of that other place settles around you like a shroud.

You lurch forward dizzily, slipping on loose bones, just as the wolf kicks off from the rock and springs into the air. Turn to
5
.

232

Using your weapon you prise open the lid, jerking back in surprise when you see a skeletal hand scuttling around inside the box, grasping and clawing to get out.

‘Ugh, that’s disgusting,’ cries Anise, pulling a revolted expression.

The hand suddenly makes a leap for the edge of the box, its bony fingers closing around the rim. Then, with another hop, it lands on the floor, skittering across the ground like a spider.

233

Your weapon splinters the Skard’s javelin, your foot catching him in the chest and driving him back to the ground. He reaches out, fingers closing around the black wand still lying in the dirt. He mutters a curse as the wand starts to glow.

Then Henna’s sword comes slicing down in a brilliant arc of steel. You turn away from the blow, not wishing to see it land.

‘Funny. With a face like yours, I didn’t think you’d be so squeamish,’ grins the female knight, lifting her bloodied sword to rest against her shoulder.

Mitch crawls out from hiding, covered head to foot in dust and grime. ‘Is he dead?’ he asks nervously, staring at the corpse as if it might leap up at any second and attack.

‘Without a head, I’d say it’s a safe bet,’ you reply grimly.

‘Is that the last of them?’ He looks anxiously to Henna.

She nods. ‘I think so. Took down the other hunter. His dogs too.’ She winces as she lowers her sword. ‘Think I may need a healer though – and a good bath.’

You take a moment to search what remains of the Skard. If you wish, you may now take one of the following rewards:

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
360
.

234

‘I should probably offer you an apology.’ The elderly mage sighs, running a hand through his fine, white hair. ‘I was concerned for your well-being. You have to understand that.’ He lifts his eyes to look at you, both pity and regret written on his lined face. ‘This . . . what happened to you, I have seen its like before.’

You shift uncomfortably, waiting for him to continue.

‘Powerful mages can store a part of their essence, their soul, in an object. This can allow them to return to their body – even after death.’

‘I am no mage,’ you protest. ‘I don’t see how—’

Segg waves you to silence. ‘That’s just one way; one that I have seen myself. But you – I feared that you had something else inside of you, something that wanted to use your body. That is why I thought it better we . . .’ His eyes flick to the flames, crackling in the brazier. His message is clearly understood.

‘But something changed your mind.’ You press him cautiously, the heat in the room suddenly feeling more oppressive.

‘Everard believed in you, even when I did not. And now, I harbour no doubt that you
are
Prince Arran. That makes you the sole remaining heir to the throne of Valeron.’

You snort dismissively. ‘Do you really think they would welcome me back with open arms – kneel and swear allegiance to
this
?’ You glare down at your transformed body, the firelight making the pallid skin look even more alien. ‘Perhaps you should have burned me, stopped me before—’

‘Enough of that!’ Segg fixes you with a fierce-eyed stare, the fire in the room flashing high in anger. ‘Command respect, Arran, and the people will follow. Do not pity yourself or what you have become. This is a second chance for you – use it wisely.’

235

You dart past Willow’s scratching claws then feint in the opposite direction, wrong-footing her. Too late, the sprite’s eyes widen – realising her mistake. The whirling swarm of leaves slice straight into her, cutting through the bark-skin body and shredding her wings to ribbons. She stumbles to her knees, amber sap bubbling from her many deep wounds. Before she can recover you raise your weapons, reverse their blades, then spear them into the sprite’s wounded form – pinning her to the ground.

The creature’s body cracks and crumbles, then spills across the ledge in a spray of amber and splintered wood. You may now help yourself to one of the following rewards:

With your way now clear, you race up the walkway towards the summit of the colossal tree. Turn to
597
.

236

You slump against the rock, your limbs aching with exhaustion. But it is not over yet. The crunch of stones announces the approach of
one of the Skards. You stagger to your feet, eyes fixed on the narrow tunnel.

After several tense moments, the hunter appears around the corner, an axe in one hand and a bone knife in the other. His matted hair hangs across his face, framing a twisted sneer of contempt. With a bestial roar, he leaps over the bodies of his fallen dogs, looking to exact his brutal revenge. It is time to fight:

If you manage to best this savage hunter, turn to
317
. If you lose the combat, remember to record your defeat on your hero sheet. You may then attempt the combat again or return to the map.

237

‘We were part of an expedition . . .
are
part of an expedition,’ corrects the woman. She makes a gesture behind her, to the widening canyon. ‘We came to investigate the caves to the north. There is evidence of a much older structure. We believe it has some connection with the Titans.’

You look back to the single tent – and the few boxes and sacks of supplies coated in thick sheets of ice. ‘How many of you are there?’ you ask, frowning.

‘There were nine of us,’ says the man briskly. You notice that his hand has not left his knife. The fingers are trembling, blackened by frostbite. ‘We were due to return to the coast, take our ship back to the mainland, but then one of our team found the rock. So we . . .’ He trails off, a sudden despair evident in his baleful eyes.

The woman, Reah, takes over. ‘The rock is unlike anything we have seen before. Our leader went back in, with four of our team – to try and find a way into the deeper caves, to see if we could find out more. They didn’t come back.’

238

The tentacles hang uselessly from the beast’s bulbous body, streaking the rock with an oily film. You continue to rain blows against the head, your magic blasting through the thick pulpy flesh. The kraken gives a last mournful-sounding wail, then it slumps to the floor of its cave, ink oozing from its shattered mouth.

Congratulations! For defeating this monstrous beast, you have gained the following special reward:

Kraken oil

(backpack)

You don’t want to let

this one slip away!

You sail past the kraken’s body, making for an opening that leads inside the mountain. The
Naglfar
has taken a beating, but the ship is already healing itself thanks to the dark energies that bind it together. The sailors once again clamber over the rigging, trapped in their endless existence as slaves to the corpse ship.

Once the landing platform is extended, you gesture for Anise and Skoll to leave the ship. Before joining them, you turn to the first mate. He pushes his dreadlocks aside, revealing a disfigured face, his nose and mouth dragged askew by a terrible scar. One eye stares back, the other is an empty hollow.