The Eye of Winter's Fury (55 page)

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
479
.

378

The girl is a determined fighter. Unable to block her frantic attacks, you take a blow to the head. The next thing you know, you are falling
backwards – the cold ice rushing up to meet you with a thwack! The landing is painful, but not as painful as watching your sled pull away. The girl gives a victorious wave as she guides your craft round the final bend, passing between the fluttering banners that mark the finish line.

Without a sled you have been disqualified from the race – and receive no prize. Blue Angel is the official winner of the ice sled tournament, leaving you with nothing but a bruised ego. Replace the keyword
veteran
with
underdog
. Return to the map to continue your adventure.

379

The decay only gets worse, carpeting every surface in sight until you are stumbling through a constricted tunnel of green fungus. In the room ahead, you see something moving – a nightmarish mass of fetid mould, its bulbous peak scraping the ceiling. Various items are caught up in the folds of its corpulent flesh, including a broken shield, a sword and a dented helm. You suspect this creature is the source of the pestilence that has spread throughout the tower.

With a sense of impending dread, you enter the room – its only exit blocked by the rotting mound. As your boots sink into the muck that surrounds it, the creature starts to tremble and shake. Suddenly a pair of skeletal hands burst out from its body. They are followed by a grinning skull, then a mould-encrusted ribcage.

The skeleton makes a grab for you, its bony fingers settling around your arms and gripping them like iron. As you try to fend off your bony assailant the mould starts to produce festering tentacles, each one ending in a slime-dripping mouth. They creep towards you, branching and multiplying into hundreds of snapping maws while the skeleton continues to hold you fast, stopping you from escaping. It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	Many mouths of Moulder : At the end of each round that Moulder is still alive, roll a die. If the result is or less, you must lose 1 health from the beast’s deadly tentacles.
	Skelly’s grip : You must lower your speed by 1, until Skelly is defeated.

If you manage to defeat this putrid duo, turn to
476
. 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.

380

Next to one of the beer barrels you find a sleeping drunk, his clothes dirtied and tattered. He is lying in a pool of spilt ale, drool dripping from his mouth. Every so often he gives a loud snort, mumbling to himself in his sleep.

Tied to his belt is a purse of gold, which you may take if you wish. (The purse contains 20 gold crowns.) If you have
Hergest’s Hauntings
in your backpack, turn to
406
. Otherwise, with little else of interest in the cellar, you decide to leave and return to the taproom. Turn to
80
.

381

You take the acorn that Ratatosk gave you and push it into the soil. At first, nothing seems to happen. Then, as the cold stinking sludge slides up around your neck, you hear a loud popping, cracking sound.

Suddenly wiry branches start to rise up out of the earth, splitting and forking as they climb up the shaft. Within seconds you are looking at a makeshift ladder, offering a possible escape route from the slimy mire. However, the pull against you is strong, dragging you deeper and deeper . . .

You will need to pass a
speed
challenge:

If you are successful, turn to
117
. If you fail, turn to
7
.

382

You hand the carved staff back to Sura, then approach the Skard. He lifts his chin defiantly at you, an ugly scowl pulling at the myriad of scars that cut across his face.

‘Framlin das!’ he spits, his nose wrinkling as if from a bad smell.

You look down at him. A growl rumbles in your throat.

For a tense moment, you wonder if a fight will ensue. But Sura quickly intervenes, speaking something in Skard. Her tone is brusque, commanding. The warrior furrows his brow, then mutters a grumbling curse before spitting into the snow. He turns away, showing you his back.

You give Sura an uncertain glance. She regards you with her usual unreadable expression. ‘Wait,’ she breathes.

You hear the clink of iron. The man is unfastening something, his abrupt movements making his anger evident. He holds out the weapon, refusing to look your way, saying nothing.

‘Go on,’ insists Sura.

With a shrug, you take it from him, surprised by its lightness as you coil it into your hands. On one end is a leather arm band, which evidently tethers the chain to your body. You proceed to fasten it around your arm, tightening each of the many straps that hold it in place.

‘Thank you,’ you reply, wondering if the Skard will understand. ‘Will you teach me . . . ?’

The man tilts his head, looking back at you from the corner of his eye. With a contemptuous sneer, he marches over to the mound of snow. Once there he replaces the bone targets, then steps away to a safe distance.

Pulling back your arm, you spin the chain above your head, feeling the weight and rhythm of its clawed end. Then you let fly, releasing the links – trying to keep your aim as straight as possible. Your first
few attempts land wide of the mark, drawing mocking laughter from the Skard. But you persist at the task, pouring your magic into the weapon to help guide its course. Gradually, you start to hit the targets, your speed and aim improving – until you are not only able to hit them, but also snatch them up out of the snow with the cupped claw, drawing them back into your waiting palm.

Sura chuckles with approval. ‘Good. If we’re not to make a shaman of you, at least we gain a reaver.’

The Skard shakes his head, spits again into the snow then heads away, shoulders hunched – clearly looking defeated by your impressive show.

You have gained the following item:

Bleak reach

(left hand: grapple)

+2 speed +2 brawn

Ability: hooked

(requirement: rogue)

The reaver has the following special abilities:

Take the bait (co):
(requires a grapple in the left hand.) If you win a combat round, you can attempt to grapple your opponent with the link chain. Roll three dice and add the
speed
modifier of your grapple to the result. If this total is equal to or more than your opponent’s
speed
, you are successful. This immediately inflicts damage to your opponent equal to your total (three dice plus the
speed
modifier), ignoring
armour
. It also reduces their
speed
by 2 for the next round of combat only. This ability can only be used once per combat. If you fail, you cannot roll for a damage score and the combat round ends. (You may use abilities that let you reroll dice to try and alter the outcome of your result.)

Spirit breaker (co):
Once you have successfully used
take the bait
(see above), you can play a spirit breaker. This can be used in any subsequent combat round, instead of rolling for a damage score. This inflicts three damage dice, ignoring
armour
, and reduces your opponent’s
armour
by 2 for the remainder of the combat.

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
197
.

383

You help lift the sack onto the back of the cart. As the sun starts to dip towards the horizon, you leave the canyon and head back to the keep. (Make a note of the keyword
trader
on your hero sheet.) You may now return to the map to continue your adventure.

384

Caul spits into the palm of his hand, then holds it out. ‘Looks like you can handle yourself,’ he grins, nodding to your weapons. ‘I’d wager we’d be a good match for whatever these caves decide to throw at us. I’m in.’

You take his hand and shake it. ‘Good. We should start by finding your belongings. Which way should we go?’ You look around, scanning the chamber for exits.

Caul steps past you, heading for a narrow opening in the far wall. ‘This way, but stay sharp. There’s death here, my friend – things gone bad.’

You follow his lead, hands clamped tightly to your weapons. ‘I don’t fear death,’ you reply bluntly. ‘It’s the living I’m more concerned with.’

Caul glances back at you, the green light reflected in his eyes. ‘Oh, you think so?’ He flicks his dagger into his hand, then heads into the tunnel. ‘You’re in for a few surprises.’ Turn to
765
.

385

As the passageway curves to the right, you notice a yellow-green lichen covering the walls, snaking between the cracked stonework. It grows denser as you continue, until you finally come upon a thick growth spread across the ceiling with the skeleton of a guard hanging suspended within it. The mould has almost entirely covered his body, creeping over his sagging skull and pushing into the vacant eye sockets. You sense a strong magic around the growth.

386

‘Got any nice boxes?’ he asks, his rheumy eyes looking over your person. ‘I can open anything – no lock can keep ol’ Sam Scurvy out. But know this – I take half of what’s inside. That’s ma price.’

If you have a
locker
and wish to open it, turn to
641
. If you have the
hunters’ chest
and wish to open it, turn to
8
. Otherwise, you decline Sam’s offer of help. Turn to
563
.

387

You go into an immediate dive, taking yourself out of range of the towers’ defences and putting you straight into the path of the winged creatures. As they near, you realise they are much larger than they first appeared, with teeth-lined beaks and long bony crests that sweep back over their scaled bodies. Cawing and shrieking, the devilish birds set upon you in a berserk rage. It is time to fight: