The Eye of Winter's Fury (79 page)

The last thing you remember is a roar coming from your own lips. Something raw and powerful, and animal-like. Then you fall backwards, sinking into a sea of soft furs. They are comforting, warm . . . and so you close your eyes and let the darkness take you.

You awake with a start, sitting bolt upright, your hands reaching for a weapon. Sura is still watching you from her pallet bed, even though you see grey light stretching into the shelter from the tunnel’s opening. It is morning.

‘I slept?’ You shake your head, trying to clear it of the dull ache that hammers behind your eyes. ‘I don’t remember travelling . . . I usually . . .’

‘Relax, boy.’ Sura gives you a reassuring smile. ‘I merely called forth your ancestor spirit. I spoke with him.’

‘Nanuk?’ You peer closer at the old woman, wondering if you mis-heard her – looking for some hint of mockery in her smile.

‘He saved your life,’ she states, pushing herself up off the bed. She gives a tiny groan as her old bones crack and settle. ‘I did not know you were a chieftain of your own people.’

‘A prince,’ you snort. ‘My own people betrayed me.’

‘You desire revenge.’ The woman edges past you to pick up one of the staffs.

‘I do?’ You raise a questioning eyebrow.

‘That’s why he saved you. You still have work to do, southlander. Take this.’ Sura hands you the staff, then proceeds to retrieve her own. ‘Follow me, and don’t ask Sura so many questions. We don’t have much time. Understand? Now, move yourself!’

She slaps your back with her staff, forcing you to your feet. You are happy to oblige the woman – eager now to escape the stuffy confines of the shelter. Ducking through the opening, you step out into the piercing light of day. Turn to
530
.

576

Searching the remains of the fire giant, you find 100 gold crowns and one of the following rewards:

When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
705
.

577

You walk over to the nearest set of shelves, scanning the rows of spines for anything that catches your eye. After some deliberation,
you pick out three books – certain they will help pass the time during your stay at the keep.

The first is titled
Stones & Bones
, and contains rules and tactics for playing the popular game of the same name. Lazlo had once tried to teach you to play, but either you had never fully grasped the rules or Lazlo was too skilled a player, as you never won a single game.

The second is
Hergest’s Hauntings
, which contains a collection of maps and sketches of various buildings and other locations. A footnote at the start of the book explains that the author is dead, but this predicament has not hampered their ambitions – in fact, being a ghost has made it remarkably easy for them to snoop around places they wouldn’t otherwise get to visit.

The final book is a
History of Skardland
. It is mostly a collection of oral tales, rumoured to have been passed down through generations of Skards, but there is also a section at the back of the book dedicated to ‘Makers’ Runes’. You aren’t clear what these are, but they look interesting.

‘Hey, corpse stink!’ The boy calls over to you. ‘You know you can only take two books out of the library, right? Don’t think of taking more – Segg has a charm on the door. Last time I tried it I got boils on my . . . well, you don’t want to know. Couldn’t sit down for a week, just embarrassing!’

If you wish, you may now take up to two of the following:

Turning away from the shelves, you contemplate your next course of action.

578

The walk back to camp drags into an awkward silence, neither of you speaking or acknowledging one another. Instead you let Desnar lead the way across the sparkling white plains, your earlier footprints already erased by the fast-falling snow.

‘Fader! Fader!’

The voice startles both of you. From atop the hills, a child stumbles into view. He is waving with one arm – his glove and sleeve covered in blood. Your first thought is that the boy has been injured, but then you see the carcass of the animal he is dragging behind him – a white wolf, twice his size. A broken spear protrudes from the animal’s haunches.

You look back at Desnar, surprised to see the Skard beaming with admiration. ‘Himruk!’

But the moment is fleeting. The smile is lost in a horrified gasp – his voice suddenly raised in warning. ‘Himruk! Sno nada!’

Your gaze shifts to the boy – and the mound of snow rising up behind him. Too late, Himruk turns, sensing the danger at his back. The behemoth continues to rise, the powdery snow lifting and then falling back to form two trunk-like arms and a peaked head. There is a wailing screech as snow is sucked inwards, forming a huge gaping maw.

‘Himruk!’ Desnar races forward, but is unable to reach the child in time. You hear the crack of bones as the snow giant brings its fists down, crushing the boy beneath their weight. Then, with another screech, it lifts a barrel-sized leg out of the snow and drags itself forward. You draw your weapons, hurrying to aid Desnar as he attempts to take on the might of the abominable snowman! It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	‘I get knocked down, but I get up again . . .’ : (*) For every 20 health the Abominable loses, a snowman rises up from the remains and joins the combat. You must defeat all four opponents to win the combat.
	Snow joke : You must take 1 damage at the end of each combat round from each opponent currently in play. (If you have the insulated ability, you can ignore this damage.)
	Father’s fury : Desnar adds 2 to your damage score for the duration of this combat.
	Made of snow : Your opponents are immune to bleed , decay and venom .

If you manage to overcome the abominable snowman, turn to
347
. If you lose, record your defeat on your hero sheet and turn to
139
.

579

‘You come here often, honey?’ Talia steps from the shadows, hands resting on the pommels of two scabbarded swords. Her crimson coat hangs open, revealing a tight lace bodice flickering with embroidered runes. ‘Do you have the book? Good – then let’s get this party started.’

She moves quickly to the lowest step, reaching down to turn a previously hidden circular wheel. You hear a groaning, followed by the sound of rushing water passing underneath the stone floor. There is a clang, then the swish of ropes and a clatter of a pulley. Talia glances round at an area of wall seconds before it starts to rise smoothly into a hidden recess.

A rough-hewn tunnel is slowly revealed; a thin yellow mist curls languidly between the swaying cobwebs. Talia pulls a scarf from her belt and proceeds to tie it around her face, covering her nose and mouth. ‘Try not to breathe too much,’ she says, heading past you and into the tunnel.

‘Not exactly a problem,’ you reply dryly, drawing your weapons.

After a hundred metres the tunnel ends in a carved archway, beyond which is a large cavernous chamber. You can see tables littered with flasks and test tubes, a row of pallet beds, and a multitude of metal canisters, all leaking the sickly yellow smoke.

Talia halts before entering, her eyes scanning the archway of stone.
Lines of scripture have been carved into its panelled border, pulsing faintly with a soft white light. You draw back, feeling the heat of the holy magic prickle against your dead skin.

Seemingly oblivious to your discomfort, Talia turns and holds out her hand. ‘The book, sweetie.’ You relinquish the tattered volume and proceed to watch as the woman flips through the pages, her eyes scanning the print and then the words around the arch. (Remove
Judah’s Book of Canticles
from your hero sheet.)

At last she gives an elated gasp. ‘Here it is, the missing words of the canticle. Okay, let’s try it.’ She takes a step back, then gestures to the archway as if addressing an audience. ‘As by man came death, and by man the light of His truth will shine again.’

There is a moment’s silence, then the scripture flickers and fades, leaving only dark stone around the archway. Talia glances back at you, shrugs her shoulders, then steps through. When nothing seemingly untoward happens, the woman urges you to follow. Turn to
741
.

580

A black smoke starts to rise up from the stone around your feet, the air suddenly stinking of ashes and something else – an ancient, decaying evil. ‘What’s happening?’ Anise turns on the spot, watching as the sooty tendrils are lifted up on the wind.