Legion of Shadow by Michael J. Ward Read Free Book Online

black-bodied rats,
you find yourself facing three scruffy-looking ruffians.
    Instinctively you draw your weapon, eyeing up the largest of the three, who you assume is the leader. An ugly scar cuts across the man’s face, disfiguring his nose and mouth. He watches
you intently, licking his lips as if planning his next meal.
    At his side a spindly old woman cackles with delight. ‘Ooh, this one looks delicious. What do you say, my beloved?’ The third ruffian, an elderly man with a wild tangle of beard,
giggles in a manner that suggests he has long since gone mad.
    ‘Delicious! Delicious! Yes! Yes!’ he barks, clapping his hands together.
    The scarred leader begins to advance. ‘About time we got some food sent up,’ he growls. ‘I’m famished.’ His foot knocks into something, sending it skittering across
the floor. You give a cry of revulsion when you catch sight of it – a half-eaten human hand.
    ‘Careful, Gilbert,’ says the crone, revealing a dagger from beneath her tattered shawl. ‘This one looks smarter than the rest.’
    The scarred man tightens his grip on the spiked club he is holding. ‘Don’t worry, ma. He won’t give us any trouble.’
    A scraping sound forces you to turn. Alarmed, you see that the ladder has been pulled away, leaving you trapped in the hayloft.
    ‘Save some for me, my dears,’ calls a voice from down below. You recognise it as belonging to the man you met on the road.
    Slavering like animals, the three ruffians rush towards you. Turn to 62 .
    46
    You pass under the cloth awnings to explore the village market. Three stalls immediately catch your eye. The first is crammed full of herbs, jars and bottles. Behind it, an
elderly man is weighing ingredients on a small set of brass scales. On the stall next to him, an elegantly-dressed woman is sewing cloth. Displayed all around her are a number of fine-embroidered
garments, all neatly folded in colourful piles. At the end of the row, a rickety table has been set up, covered in a bizarre assortment of odds and ends – from wooden toys to battered pieces
of rusty armour. The stall-owner is currently rummaging in a box underneath the table.
    Will you:
    Visit the first stall (the apothecary)? — 56
    Visit the second stall (the clothier)? — 68
    Visit the third stall (the tinker)? — 175
    Leave the market? — 6
    47
    You decide to leave your torch behind (remove the word torch from your hero sheet). Swinging your legs over the side of the pit, you take a deep breath and push yourself
off, dropping into the darkness. The pit is deeper than you thought and your shoulders bang painfully against its rough walls several times as you tumble down the shaft.
    Then, all of a sudden, you are swallowed up by a freezing torrent of fast-moving water. The shock of it knocks the breath from your body as you are brutally dragged under the surface. Caught in
the river’s tow, you are powerless to stop yourself as you are buffeted along through the cold, pitch blackness. Turn to 171 .
    48
    You may collect some of the silk from Spindle’s web to take with you:
    Spindlesilk (2 uses)
    (backpack)
    Perhaps a master clothier could do something with this fine silk
    Searching the rest of the cavern, you find little of interest. You decide to leave and return to the villagers at the well. Turn to 246 .

49
    Legendary monster: Zalladell the satyr
    The path leads you down into a thickly wooded valley – the trees pressing in tightly on either side. You stop to examine the sheet of parchment that a passing traveller
gave to you. It shows a map and the location of some ruins. Apparently, local archaeologists are excavating the site and could do with some paid muscle to help with the dig. Sounds like easy money
. . .
    You leave the path, following a narrow trail into denser woodland. As you plunge deeper into the wilderness, you start to make out sounds coming from up ahead. They sound like cries for help . .
. and a scream, cut short by a gurgling