Legion of Shadow Read Online Free

apprentice
    (main hand: sword)
    +1 brawn
    Another bird-like screech tears through the night. There are answering calls from all around you, worryingly close. Quickly, you shoulder the knight’s pack and then start
running.
    You find comfort in purpose, keeping to a fast pace as you weave between the withered trees of the dark forest. After what feels like an age of battling through the cloying mud and driving rain,
you spy a cave in the hollow of a hill. Having found shelter, you sit and await the dawn, shivering with more than just the cold.
    * * *
    The wooden signpost points southwards, where the marshy forest gives way to green rolling hills. ‘Tithebury Cross. 3 miles.’ You take a deep breath of the warm,
morning air. ‘A new life. A new start.’ Peeling back your sleeve, you look down at the purple mark, glowing beneath your skin. Does this strange mark hold the key to your past?
    And what of the future.
    You scan the letter of introduction once again; a letter recommending a talented knight to apprentice with one of the grand masters of the profession. ‘Avian Dale.’ It should have
been the young boy – this was his future, his dream . . .
    ‘It is . . . no good to me . . . take it. Start a new life. He’ll never know . . .’
    No one will ever know. Carefully, you roll up the letter and return it to your pack, before setting off down the long, dusty road towards Tithebury.
    Choose your quest from the map and then click on the links provided after each map to jump to your chosen location.











1
    The passageway ends in a square room filled with rubble and earth. Part of the left wall and ceiling has collapsed – pushed inwards by a series of enormous tree roots.
Lodged between them is a small iron footlocker. Across the other side of the room is an archway, beyond which you can see a pale light falling on a stone tomb.
    Will you:
    Go through the archway? — 154
    Examine the footlocker? — 93
    2
    There is a cheer from the assembled villagers as you re-emerge from the darkness of the well – cheers that quickly trail off one by one, as the onlookers notice the body
you are carrying. Two of the men offer to take it from you, lifting it over the side of the well and laying it gently on the grass. You are then helped out of the swaying bucket, relieved to be
back on solid ground again.
    The white-robed priest walks over and kneels beside the body. With trembling hands he draws back the cloth and looks upon the face of his son.
    ‘What . . . what happened?’ asks one of the younger farmers, a tremor of fear in his voice.
    ‘Burrower wurms,’ says the priest solemnly. He rises to his feet, his expression grave. ‘That acid is what they use to eat away the rock. Something must have disturbed them
– or drawn them here.’ He gives a heavy sigh, then reaches for the purse at his belt. ‘I offer you my thanks, adventurer. You brought my son home to me.’ He hands over the
purse of money. (You have gained 10 gold crowns.) ‘Now we have a better understanding of the dangers that we face.’ He looks to each of the villagers in turn. ‘Together we will
exterminate this threat to our village and repair our well.’
    The farmers look fearful but resolute. Your bravery has clearly served to bolster their spirits. You wish them luck in their task before returning to the village. (Return to the map to choose
your next quest.)
    3
    ‘Excellent! We’ve not a moment to lose – come on!’ The bird takes to the air, heading south towards a cluster of rocky hills. You do your best to keep
up, jogging across the broken, uneven ground. Soon, you are clambering over jagged rocks and boulders to reach the top of a steep-sided mound.
    At its summit, you find yourself surrounded by a circle of tall, weather-beaten stones. A discarded backpack lies in the middle of the circle, its contents spilling out onto the grass.
    ‘Hurry! Hurry!’ squawks the bird, alighting on one of the stones. ‘I’m sure we