Free The Eye of Winter's Fury by Michael J. Ward Page A

the same to you, I’ll settle for a knife.’
    Caul tugs one of his blades free, then steps forward to hand it over. ‘Ain’t much left. I think we can assume they’re dead.’
    ‘I know. But I want a trophy.’ You set about cutting through the flesh and scales, extracting whatever magic and armour you can find. If you wish, you may now take one of the following rewards:
Tangled tentacles
Scaled pauldrons
Hive mind
(gloves)
(cloak)
(necklace)
+1 speed +1 brawn
+1 speed +1 brawn
+2 magic
Ability: webbed
Ability: shoulder charge
Ability: recall
(requirement: mage)
    When you have updated your hero sheet, turn to 115 .
    41
    On reaching the top of the tower, little more than a flat stone platform circumventing a peak-slatted roof, you are met by a scene of both horror and destruction. One of the fortress walls has fallen inwards, spilling chunks of rock across the courtyard. The whole west end of the main hall has also collapsed. Dust hangs heavy in the air – and so does the miasma of blood.
    Over the wall and through the breach, black-scaled bodies spill into the yard. Reptilian monsters of all sizes and shapes, some wielding mighty swords and axes, others using whatever they can get theirhands on – splintered wood, rocks, human body parts . . .
    ‘What are they?’ you shout to Segg, who is looking down at the scene with the same wild-eyed disbelief. ‘Did they cause the quake?’
    ‘Nisse . . . they’re Nisse,’ gasps the mage. ‘Creatures of the underworld.’
    Winged shapes soar overhead, filling the smoke-hued sky with hellish shrieks. You try and follow them as they pitch and dive through the air, swooping on the beleaguered soldiers below. A group of the beasts peel off, their black leathery wings beating the air as they drive their ungainly bodies towards you. They look like spindly lizards, with two webbed feet and a long tail ending in a forked prong.
    ‘Drakelings,’ you hear Segg mutter.
    The elderly mage raises his hands, fingers pointed skywards. The air shifts, becoming waves of yellow, then amber, then red. Like a shimmering tide, the magic rushes up into the clouds, quickly forming two sleek arcs. As they continue to gain height, they gradually pull back to reveal a long, blazing neck and a bird-like head.
    A phoenix.
    The firebird dives towards the reptilian monsters, flames billowing from its open beak. It collides with the largest drakeling, sending them both spinning and flailing across the courtyard.
    ‘We must destroy as many as we can!’ Segg fires bolts of magic into the oncoming swarm. The nearest flyer is hit, its black wings trailing fire. But still it comes at you, jaws snapping open to vomit a steaming deluge of black bile. You dodge aside, surprised to see the stone where you were standing cracking and popping as it is melted to slag.
    ‘Acid!’ you warn Segg. ‘Watch yourself!’
    You summon magic to your hands, hoping you have the skill to take on these deadly acid-spitting reptiles. It is time to fight:
Speed
Magic
Armour
Health
Drakeling
3
2
2
20
Drakeling
3
2
2
20
Drakeling
3
2
2
20

 
Special abilities
Acid spray : The drakelings are covering the tower with their deadly acid, leaving you little room to manoeuvre. At the end ofthe first combat round, roll a die. If the result isyou have been hit and must take 4 damage, ignoring armour . In each subsequent combat round, the chance to be hit increases by 1. In round two, you are hit on a roll ofor, on round three,toand so on.
Pyromania !: Segg and his phoenix cause 2 damage, ignoring armour , to each drakeling at the end of every combat round.

    If you manage to defeat this monstrous swarm, turn to 520 .
    42
    ‘You sound both surprised and concerned, my dear.’ Sylvie gives you a sideways glance. ‘Do you think poor Sylvie can’t look after herself – that she needs a man around her home to keep her company? Hmm? Is that what they fill your ears with these days?’
    You flounder for an apology, wondering how you