EDGE: I, Hero Quests: City of the Dead (3 page)

So near, but so far! If you wish to begin again,
go to 1.

You rush at the creatures, swinging your sword — but you simply pass through their ghostly bodies!

You step off the bridge and turn to face them, ready for a fight to the end. To your surprise, the warriors do not follow you. They stand with swords pointing at you.

You take out the Ruby of Seeing. “How do I pass these creatures?” you ask it.

The answer forms in your mind.
You cannot, for no living thing may cross the bridge.

You will have to head for the waterfall.

Go to 30.

You reach into the leather pouch, pull out the Ruby of Magic and point it at your enemies. A bolt of energy erupts from the ruby, engulfing the firebirds.

You shield your eyes from the blazing inferno. The light dies away and you open your eyes. Nothing remains of the creatures.

Putting the ruby away, you stare into the distance. You can see swarms of wraiths and other nightmarish creatures flying towards the entrance into the mountain and the Red Queen’s city.

If you wish to use the Ruby of Seeing,
go to 12.

If you wish to continue flying towards the mountain,
go to 49.

“I have tasted the power of the crown,” you say. “I will keep it for myself. I will become all powerful!”

You laugh, but as you do so, you feel a great pain in your head. The rubies are burning into your skull. You try to tear the crown off your head, but you can’t.

Olderon looks on in horror. “Why is this happening?” you cry.

The Ruby of Seeing reveals the answer —
Only a person of true honour can wear the crown.

It is your last thought as the crown melts and you drop to the floor, dead.

Your greed has been your undoing. Try to rescue your honour by going
back to 1.

You make your way to the gates. The skeleton guards point their weapons at you.

“Greetings,” you begin, “I bring a message for your Queen.”

One of the skeletons nods and points at the gate.

You smile. That was easy, you think. But as you step past the skeletons, you feel a ripping pain in your back.

You look down and see the point of a spear sticking out of your belly. You drop to your knees and pass into blackness.

Go to 42.

You take out the Ruby of Magic and the Ruby of Power, and speed towards the entrance.

The four-headed dogs detect you and begin to howl. The trolls spot you and sound the alarm. You notch arrows and let fly, one after the other. The Ruby of Power guides your aim and you hit your target every time.

But to your horror, you see that the arrows are not killing your enemies.

The trolls unleash the dogs and they charge at you, their jaws dripping with poison. You suddenly realise why your enemies are not dying — they are already dead! You switch your attack to the Ruby of Magic. You blast the undead creatures into atoms, but this delay has cost you the element of surprise.

Hundreds of death wraiths, riding skeleton eagles, fly out of the entrance. The air is filled with missiles: spears and arrows, as hell is unleashed on you!

You try to escape, but Hergal is hit several times. Your faithful companion lets out a death cry and she plummets to the earth.

You hit the ground and the rubies fall from your grip.

Go to 40.

You recall Olderon’s words about letting go of your soul and realise what you have to do. As the soul-eater pulls your soul from your body, you reach for the Ruby of Power.

The collector pulls a small ball of light from within your chest, opens the jar and places it carefully inside.

At that moment you snatch the jar from him and strike him. He falls to the ground, looking at you in amazement. “Why are you still standing?”

“Because of this.” You show him the ruby. “It has given me a power beyond my own.” You point at your soul in the jar. “Thanks to you, I am now the master of my soul. I am not fully alive, nor dead. As long as my soul is safe, outside my body, I cannot be killed. I think that will help me to defeat the Red Queen. Where is her palace?”

The soul-eater points towards a black marble building. “She is there…”

If you don’t trust the soul-eater,
go to 8.

If you do,
go to 21.

You make your way to the steps and begin to climb down. The spray from the waterfall soaks you, but gives you cover from any prying eyes.

You continue downwards, treading carefully on the slippery rock steps.

Halfway down the cliff something seizes your ankle. You look down and see a tentacle wrapping itself around your leg. Before you can react you are pulled through the waterfall into a cave.

In the dim light you can just make out the outline of a creature from your worst nightmare. It is a devourer!

You are being pulled towards its open mouth, with its rows of razor-sharp teeth. Struggling for your life, you manage to pull your sword from its scabbard.

If you want to slash at the tentacle,
go to 48.

If you want to wait until you get closer to the devourer’s body,
go to 2.

You rip two small pieces of cloth from your jacket and push them into your ears, blocking out the noise of the banshees.

You pull out the Ruby of Magic and destroy the fearsome creatures with a bolt of energy. In the blink of an eye they are reduced to dust. Your way to the Mountain of the Lost is clear! You remove the cloth from your ears and continue on your way.

If you used the Ruby of Seeing earlier,
go to 22.

If you didn’t,
go to 47.

Inside the palace there are dozens of armed guards, but to your surprise they stand aside and let you pass.

Eventually you arrive at two blood-red wooden doors. You fling them open and enter a great hall. The hall is full of undead creatures of all forms, shapes and sizes.

At the far end of the hall sitting on two great thrones are Mortha and the Red Queen. In front of them is a black marble plinth. On it rests a golden crown with a ruby set into the metal. You realise that this is the Crown of Blood, and the ruby is the Ruby of Death.

The Queen smiles. “Welcome, adventurer. We have been expecting you!”

Mortha stands and holds out his hand. “You have brought the missing Blood Crown rubies to our city. So let me make you an offer for them...”

If you wish to attack Mortha,
go to 11.

If you wish to listen to him,
go to 45.

You know that the Ruby of Power will help you. You take out your sword and rush at the skeletons.

The guards are taken by surprise as you hack at their bones, instantly reducing three of them to splinters. The remaining guards fight back, stabbing at you with their pikes, but you avoid the blades and chop at their bones.

Soon all the skeletons lie in a pile.

You move towards the gate, but as you do so, you hear a scraping noise. You spin around to see the skeletons’ bones moving and reattaching themselves together.

In seconds, the bones re-form into one giant, six-headed skeleton!

If you wish to fight the skeleton,
go to 6.

To head through the gates,
go to 43.

What are these beings, you wonder? The Ruby of Seeing gives you the answer.
These are draugs — undead creatures that can increase in size at will and possess unnatural strength. They delight in causing pain and suffering.

The draugs spot you in the light cast by the Ruby of Seeing. They let out a great roar and move towards you. Their bodies fill the width of the passageway.

You decide to deal quickly with these creatures, and take out the Ruby of Magic. You point it at the draugs, but nothing happens. You wonder why. Again, the Ruby of Seeing gives you the answer.
Magic does not work in the land of the dead.

What a great time to discover that, you think as the foul creatures get closer. You’ll need to use a different tactic.

If you wish to attack quickly,
go to 3.

If you want to use the Ruby of Power first,
go to 46.

As you make your way towards the stone bridge, you see a transparent white light shimmering in the darkness. You grip your sword and move carefully forwards. A low murmuring of voices strikes up, but you can’t see anyone or anything ahead of you.

If you wish to continue towards the bridge,
go to 17.

To head back to the steps next to the waterfall,
go to 30.

You decide that Mortha is right and you will never escape from Necropolis, but at least you and Olderon will live. It is with a heavy heart that you take the rubies from the pouch and hand them to the necromancer.

Smiling, he takes the rubies and puts them into the settings on the crown. Then he places the crown onto the Red Queen’s head. She stands triumphant.