The Heart of Fire (14 page)
Special abilities
Grappling hands: If the zombies win a combat round and roll a
for their damage score, then you must lose an item of equipment or a backpack item from your hero sheet. This item is immediately destroyed.
If you manage to survive to the end of the
fifth
combat round, turn to
203
.
67
The troll is a formidable opponent, but its attacks are slow and clumsy. Your weapons quickly cut it down to size, reducing its body to shreds of shadow. As they curl away on
the smoky air, the voice whispers in your ear once more: ‘The dwarves taught us the runes. They gave us strength. Power. And so we conquered. Made these lands our own.’
The shadows start to wind and coil together, forming another shape. This one is human-sized, the outline hinting at heavy-plate armour. In one hand a warhammer materialises into being; in the
other, shadows spread outward to fashion a shield.
‘Then the eastlings came. Men with steel in their hearts; weapons of light and flame, and a false god to master us. But we Wiccans have no masters . . .’
The knight charges towards you, the warhammer crackling with dark magic:
If you manage to defeat your shadowy foe, turn to
86
.
68
‘You really are wet behind the ears, aren’t you?’ The man shakes his head with a sigh. ‘I suggest you wise up quickly to what’s going on. The
Wiccans have got themselves a new leader – some powerful dark warrior, who they say becomes a demon in battle. The inquisition had him under lock and key, but I hear he broke out. The Wiccans
trashed the place.’
‘Durnhollow?’ you add quickly, your interest piqued.
‘Yeah,’ nods the map-seller. ‘Hmm, you’re not so ignorant after all, eh?’
‘But what do they want, the Wiccans?’
The man rolls his eyes. ‘See, I spoke too soon. Look, the Wiccans used to be all over these moors, this land was theirs, but then the king’s army came. Naturally, the inquisitors
didn’t like what they saw; the Wiccans follow the old ways, see – the old magics. So the church tried to civilise them.’ He snorts with derision. ‘Like them wild lunatics
could ever be civilised, cavorting with demons and drinking blood! I ask you! So most of ’em went south, but for some reason, they’ve come back – and they’ve come back
fighting.’
Will you: |
Ask about the prince? — |
Ask for more news? — |
69
Benin clasps your hand, shaking it firmly. ‘Thank you once again, my friend. You have done a great service to the church. Here, I have something for you.’ The
priest removes a leather bag from his belt and hands it to you, grinning. ‘I made these myself. Thought they might help you on your future expeditions.’
You open up the bag to find that it is lined with small pockets. Each one contains a clay potion bottle. You have gained the following items:
Pot of healing | Flask of healing | Pot of magic |
(1 use) | (1 use) | (1 use) |
(backpack) | (backpack) | (backpack) |
Use any time in combat to restore 4 | Use any time in combat to restore 6 | Use any time in combat to raise your |
When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to
78
.
70
‘I gotta friend, out of town, who works the charms. They’re genuine magic, I swears on me good ’ealth. But no one ’ere gonna buy ’em unless they
think it’s holy – unless they think they belonged to some great saint.’ The trader scratches behind an ear with a grimy finger. ‘Look, yer don’t needs to do any
fightin’. The moors are full of tombs and caves, and places where you find . . . well, dead stuff. Like bones.’ He rattles one of the charms around his neck, which displays an
unsettling array of teeth. ‘So, youse bring me dem bones and I give yer me own kinda blessing – good honest gold. Deal?’
The trader offers out his grubby-looking hand. You shake it gingerly, agreeing to provide him with whatever you can find. (Write the word
bones
on your hero sheet.) You may now view the
charm-maker’s wares (turn to
59
) or continue exploring lower town (turn to
36
).
71
You leap over the rail of the ship, your attention focused solely on the cannon team. In alarm, you see that they are now turning the cannon to fire across the deck, heedless
of whether they will hit friend or foe. Quickly, you charge towards them, dodging the pockets of battle that are already raging across the deck.
As you near, a larger goblin intercepts you, dressed from head-to-toe in rusted chain mail. He swings a club into your side, sending you reeling back against the mast pole. Behind the goblin,
you see the gunner pushing an iron ball into the muzzle of the cannon while his spindly companion struggles to light the fuse using a tinder box.
You stumble to your feet, desperate to stop the cannon from firing – but once again, the armoured goblin is blocking your way, patting its mighty club with an ugly grin. You will have to
defeat this brutish foe to have any chance of striking against the cannon team. It is time to fight:
Special abilities
Blast off: The cannon team will fire their cannon at the start of the
sixth
combat round. (See below.)
Cowardly: If the first mate is defeated first, then the cannon team will automatically jump ship, winning you the
combat.
If you win a combat round against the first mate, you can choose to apply your damage to the first mate or the cannon team. If the cannon team are
not
defeated by the
start of the sixth combat round, then they will fire the cannon, wiping out everyone on board the ship! This means you automatically lose the combat.