The Eye of Winter's Fury (74 page)

The fading sunlight shimmers across endless rows of emerald-green scales, layered to form a bright mantle of armour. Their shadowed contours highlight the muscled curves of its powerful body, tapering back over hundreds of metres into a coiled tail of dizzying spirals.

Awe turns to fear . . . then rage. Your link with Nidhogg makes you party to his feelings, and his surge of hatred is almost overwhelming.

Seethe!

Nidhogg is headed straight for his nemesis, a blustery roar issuing from his mouth. The other dragon lifts his horned snout, displaying a single slanted eye which sleepily widens into glowing crimson.

Brother. I have been expecting you.
The voice is a sibilant hiss.
I knew Melusine would never break you. Not like the others. Always the stubborn one. Always the fool.

Seethe releases his hold on the rock, his wings remaining tight to his body as he stretches into a dive. Nidhogg doesn’t slow or deviate from his path – the two dragons are careering straight towards one another, their collision inevitable.

‘Nidhogg! No!’ Desperately you try and regain control, but the dragon has blocked you from his mind, leaving you beating against an impenetrable wall.

The two enemies crash together in a tangle of bodies, tails lashing furiously, claws raking and tearing through flesh. Blood showers around you like rain.

You betrayed us. Your own kin!
Nidhogg’s jaws clamp around the other’s neck, fangs scraping over scale and bone.

You cannot win, little brother. Her magic has made me stronger.

The mighty green digs his claws deep into Nidhogg, twisting his heavier body and dragging you straight into the side of the mountain. You jump free, sliding and rolling through a flurry of red dust to finally land on a narrow plateau jutting from the mountain’s face. Anise and Skoll tumble next to you, quickly finding their feet as the two dragons continue to wrestle and claw in the dirt. The green already has the upper hand, pinning Nidhogg to the ground, belching a steaming spray of acid over his body.

The black dragon squirms in pain, his hacking, guttural cries echoing back from the mountain’s gullies. His mind barriers fall – and then you feel his pain.

You collapse to your knees, gripping your head as the searing heat rushes through you, threatening to burn away your very being.

You can dimly hear Anise’s voice somewhere close. ‘Arran? Arran, what is it? What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Nidhogg.’ Skoll shakes you, pulling you to your feet. ‘They are still bonded. They share each other’s pain.’

Another wave of agony spears into your mind. You can taste the dragon’s blood, the smell of sulphur rising from his burnt flesh. A hot blinding flash. Then the dragon’s consciousness starts to fade, his life force ebbing away.

Skoll shakes you again, as if trying to wake you from a bad dream. ‘Break the link. You must let go!’

‘No!’ You shove the warrior aside, staggering towards the two flailing shapes. With each faltering step, your strength returns. Another stride and you are running. You leap onto the nearest of Nidhogg’s wings, using it to gain height, scrambling across the burnt scales to straddle his ridged spine. Your weapons ring from their scabbards as you meet your adversary’s crimson gaze.

Seethe throws back his head with a mocking laughter.
Oh, how you have fallen, little brother. To rely on a human to fight your battles.

Quickly, you reach out with your magic, taking control of Nidhogg’s body.

You are weak!
Seethe slashes down with his claws, but you are already moving, guiding Nidhogg’s actions. Together, you twist aside, whipping a razor-sharp tail across Seethe’s belly. The green lurches back, surprised by the retaliation.

Nidhogg gives a throaty roar, his vigour returning.
This is not weakness, Seethe. This is loyalty. Let us remind you of what that means, brother!
It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	Poison spray : At the start of every combat round, Seethe sprays poison. This inflicts 1 die of damage, ignoring armour , and reduces Nidhogg’s stability and toughness by 2.
	Fire at will : You may use your dragon fire ability in this combat.

(Note: If Nidhogg’s
stability
has been reduced to zero, you can no longer use his associated ability.)

If you manage to defeat this corrupted dragon, turn to
430
.

543

You notice a number of treasures tangled up in the drake’s parasitic tentacles. If you wish, you may now take one of the following rewards:

You hope, with the death of the corrupted Titan, the explorers and Caul are now finally at peace. After giving the frozen trapper a final nod of farewell, you head into the glacial tunnels – following them back to the surface. (Return to the quest map to continue your adventure.)

544

Skoll crouches down, then begins to draw lines in the snow. ‘There were nine. Old Gods from the time before time.’ He makes nine strokes with his finger. ‘They taught the dwarves the magic. The same magic they gave to my people.’ He starts to draw a circle around each line, one after the other. ‘The Titans grew old and frail, so they made new bodies out of stone. Then they put their spirits inside, making them immortal.’

Skoll leans back, looking down at the nine circles. ‘Then came the cataclysm, when the earth shook. A great demon from the underworld had awakened – Jormungdar. The serpent’s coils tore through the land. It would have destroyed everything, but the Titans and the Dwarves built a prison. They used their magic to trap Jormungdar inside, deep within the ground. But to make something so large, so
strong, came with a cost. The magic ripped a hole in our realm, a door to the shroud. The Well of Urd. To stop the demons coming through, eight of the Titans sacrificed themselves.’ Skoll crosses out eight of the circles. ‘They hold the demons back to this very day, giants of stone that can never move or break from their task.’

‘And the ninth?’ you ask, noting the final uncrossed circle.

‘If all the Titans had sacrificed themselves, the well might have been closed forever. But Fafnir did not help his kin. He desired life, to remain ever-living.’ Skoll breathes a sigh as he brushes away the marks. ‘My people sing ballads of his deeds, fighting side-by-side with the Dwarves against the evil that came from the underworld. They are good songs, but I do not know the truth of them. I fear the choice that Fafnir made, to betray the other Titans, may have doomed us all.’

Return to
602
to ask another question or turn to
326
to end the conversation.

545

‘Every tribe has a chieftain – and the chieftain wears the halstek, the symbol of our ancestors.’ Sura’s gaze drifts to one of the staffs lying amongst the blankets. Its ivory top-piece has been carved to resemble a bear’s head, its jaws stretched wide in a vicious snarl. ‘Desnar has challenged you for the halstek. Without it, he cannot truly lead us.’

‘Then he can have it,’ you raise your hands in submission. ‘I don’t want to lead. Who would follow me? Desnar is a Skard. He should have it.’

Sura is silent, regarding you thoughtfully as she tongues her gums. Then she speaks. ‘You are a dull blade, southlander. No good to anyone. But we can sharpen you, yes.’ She nods, her eyes continuing to appraise you. ‘Desnar is not a man to respect. He is hard. He is cunning. But he does not have what you have . . .’ The woman leans close, her eyes lifting to meet your own. ‘Nanuk.’

546

If you know the password, then assign a number to each letter based on its position in the alphabet (a=1, b=2, c=3 and so on). Total the individual numbers and turn to the relevant entry number. If you are successful, read on. Otherwise, you have given the wrong password. You can either try and bluff your way through (turn to
451
) or leave and return later (turn to
426
).

547

A few metres from Bullet’s corpse, you find a selection of traps and knives scattered across the ice. A quick inspection confirms that they are still serviceable. Evidently these must have been the trapper’s tools – and with their previous owner now deceased, there is nothing stopping you from laying claim to these grisly items.

If you wish, you may now learn the trapper career. The trapper has the following special abilities:

Best laid plans (pa):
Before a combat starts, decide which type of trap you will lay (you can only lay one trap per combat). Roll a die to give you a trigger number:

*	Snap jack: Your trigger number is the number of rounds your trap will take to snap closed. (If you roll a then your trap will activate at the start of the fifth combat round.) When it does, a single opponent of your choosing automatically takes 10 damage, ignoring armour .
*	Cluster mine: Your trigger number is the number of rounds your trap will take to go off and the maximum number of opponents affected. (If you roll a then your trap will set off on the third round and affect three opponents.) Each affected opponent of your choosing takes 1 damage die ignoring armour , and their armour is then reduced by 1 for the remainder of the combat.
	Vital artery (co + pa): Instead of rolling for a damage score after winning a round, you can use vital artery . This inflicts 1 damage die to a single opponent, ignoring armour , and does a further 1 point of damage at the end of each combat round for the duration of the combat. You can only use this ability once per combat.