The Heart of Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

’em.’ She rubs the cloth vigorously over the bar. ‘Saints, Wiccans, they all as bad as each other.’
    Return to 52 to ask the bar woman another question.
    6
    Your metal soldier charges into the paper monster, slashing it to shreds with diamond-sharp fists. Congratulations, you have chosen well and defeated papyrus. (Remove the
metal soldier
from your hero sheet.) Then turn to 208 .
    7
    You duck beneath a crackling bolt of magic, bringing the butt of your weapon up across the woman’s forehead. The blow should have stunned her, but instead she merely
staggers away, hissing the words of yet another spell. As you ready yourself for a fresh barrage of magic, you are surprised when the woman throws up her arms, her gaze shifting skyward. There is a
flicker of magic about her body and then she is gone.
    You hear a flutter of wings and a deafening caw. Suddenly black feathers and yellow eyes rush at your face. With a cry you throw yourself backwards, slashing at the air. However, your desperate
blows fail to connect with anything solid. For several moments you are fending off sharp talons and beating wings . . . then the attack ceases.
    Twisting around, you see a ragged-looking crow soaring away across the foggy moorland. A single black feather flutters down to land on the grass at your feet. You may now take the following
item:
     
    Crow feather
    (talisman)
    +1 magic
     
    With the witch defeated, you are able to study the candles and runes more closely. Turn to 191 .
    8
    The bustling gates of the town are clogged with carts and wagons. Two sombre-looking guards are doing their best to perform rudimentary inspections, poking through the
newcomers’ belongings and questioning their purpose in town. However, the tight-packed throng of animals and people make it easy for you to slip past the guards and into the town of
Carvel.
    Beyond the walls you are greeted by a ramshackle jumble of slate roofs and grey stone buildings, spread out around an immense outcropping of rock. A crooked lane winds back and forth along its
face, leading up to a further huddle of buildings at its summit, their black outlines cutting a jagged silhouette against the storm-heavy sky.
    All around you the cobbled lanes ring with noise, echoing back from the narrow streets and alleyways. Most of the people are pilgrims, but you also notice military-types – mercenaries and
adventurers – bristling with weapons and armour. An occasional inquisitor pushes through the crowds, moving quickly on some urgent errand. You keep your head bowed, looking to blend in as
best you can.
     
Will you:
Explore the lower town? — 36
Follow the crooked street to upper town? — 17
    9
    ‘Why not take a look?’ Lazlo gestures to the shuttered window. Following his instruction, you slide off the bed and make your way across the room. ‘I hope the
view is to your liking.’
    A cold wind ruffles your hair as you push open the shutters and lean out over the sill. For a moment your breath catches, a sickening wave of vertigo almost forcing you to lose balance. Gripping
the sill, you steady yourself to take in the sight.
    Carvel stretches below you like a tiny crescent of doll’s houses, slate roofs sparkling with freshly-fallen snow. Across from you, the spires and domes of the church rise up from the stone
plaza – an impressive building at ground level, but from this towering vantage point its beauty is easily surpassed by the sweeping vista of plains and mountains that stretch to the
horizon.
    ‘The castle,’ you gasp.
    You lean further over the windowsill to see the sheer black stone of the building dropping away to meet a distant courtyard below. You draw back, feeling giddy from the height. ‘How did I
get here?’
    Lazlo joins you by the window, his eyes following a circling eagle. ‘I have a secret entrance to this place, at the foot of the rock. Most of it, you’ll find, is old dwarf tunnels
and caves. Easy once you know your way . . .’ He