EDGE: I, Hero Quests: Dragon Mountain

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This book is not like others you may have read. You are the hero of this adventure. It is up to you to make decisions that will affect how the adventure unfolds.

Each section of this book is numbered. At the end of most sections, you will have to make a choice. The choice you make will take you to a different section of the book.

Some of your choices will help you to complete the adventure successfully. But choose carefully, some of your decisions could be fatal!

If you fail, then start the adventure again and learn from your mistake.

If you choose correctly you will succeed in your mission.

Don’t be a zero, be a hero!

 

You are a skilled warrior, living in a world of enchantment and danger. Humans live alongside trolls, elves and dwarves, while other mysterious creatures walk in the shadows.

The Queen of Alba has asked for your help against her deadliest foes — the Red Queen of Necropolis, the City of the Dead, and her husband, Mortha, the necromancer.

The Queen told you that many years ago Solmor, the world's greatest Spellcaster, created a magnificent crown for the High King, a crown of pure gold set with four great rubies. The Ruby of Power gave its owner fighting skills; the Ruby of Seeing, the gift of telepathy and reading minds; the Ruby of Magic, powers of enchantment; and the Ruby of Death, mastery over the world of the dead.

But rulers across the world wanted the power of the Crown of Rubies for themselves. It became a force for evil and after many terrible wars, the crown was renamed the Blood Crown.

Just before his death, Solmor destroyed it and hid the rubies across the globe, so no one could find them.

But people still wanted them, and now the Red Queen and her necromancer husband are hunting for them. They already have the Ruby of Death. If they succeed in finding the others, your world will be plunged into a new age of darkness.

By your daring, you have recovered the Ruby of Power from its hiding place in the Lost Temple of the Desert. But your companion, Olderon, was not so lucky. He was killed by servants of the Red Queen.

The Ruby of Power is now in a pouch, which hangs from a cord around your neck.

You are looking for the second stone, the Ruby of Seeing. To recover it, you must travel to the mountains of the North and find the Dragon Princess…

 

Go to 1.

You fly towards the jagged peaks of the northern mountains on your gryphon, Hergal.

After many hours of flying, you see the small village of Drakensberg, one of the few places to be found in this harsh landscape. You are sure the Dragon Princess will be somewhere nearby.

How will you approach the village of Drakensberg?

If you want to fly over the village and land in the square,
go to 16.

If you wish to land unseen,
go to 31.

“I must find the Dragon Lord,” you tell the elf captain. He nods and leads you into a great hall. Your appearance causes alarm among the guards, but the elf signals for them to relax.

The elf points. “Take these stairs. They lead up to the Great Chamber. On one side of the chamber you will see a set of iron doors. The dragon lives in the hall beyond them.”

You thank the elf, and creep up the stone steps. At the top of the staircase, you see a half-open door. You slip through it, and into the Great Chamber. The room is empty except for a large stone pillar, with thick chains hanging from it. At the far end of the room you can see the iron doors — they are huge! The chamber is full of the smell of smoke and charred wood. As you walk cautiously across the floor towards the doors you can hear a deep, regular rumble. The dragon is asleep, and is snoring!

You approach the iron doors and see that they are slightly open.

To push through the gap,
go to 29.

To look for another way into the dragon’s lair,
go to 17.

The tavern is quiet, except that is for a group of dwarves sitting in the corner.

You head across to the dwarves. “May I sit with you, gentlemen?”

One of the dwarves gives you a narrow-eyed look. “Ha! You called us ‘gentlemen’. You must want something, weary traveller.”

“I seek the Dragon Princess,” you reply. “Perhaps you can help me.”

The dwarf exchanges glances with the others, who nod agreement. “My friends and I are feeling a little...thirsty. Perhaps some liquid refreshment would help to loosen our tongues.” You smile and head over to get some ale-filled flagons. You return to the table and the dwarf continues.

“They say that the Dragon Princess is held prisoner by the Lord of the Dragons, in the ruins of her own castle.”

“The Lord of the Dragons?” you say. “There’s more than one, then?”

“Oh yes,” says the dwarf, “there’s more than one. But the Lord of the Dragons is the biggest, the strongest, the fiercest. They say he is a servant of the Red Queen.”

You shrug. “Even so, I must find the Dragon Princess. Will you tell me how to reach the castle?”

“If you wish, but be warned it will take you three days on foot.”

You smile. “I have other means of getting there.”

The dwarf laughs. “We know. We saw you fly in on that gryphon of yours.” You give him a surprised glance. “Oh yes, us dwarves keep our eyes and ears open. My advice is, don’t go flying to the castle. The dragons will attack you if you do. Going on foot is the only safe way.”

If you decide to take the dwarf’s advice,
go to 44.

If you decide to ignore the dwarf’s advice,
go to 19.

As you step forward, you feel a stabbing pain. You try to move but cannot.

“What is happening to me?” you ask in a strangled voice. These are the last human words you ever speak.

Pain flows into your hands. You look at them. To your horror, you see that your fingernails are growing into talons. Scales form on the back of your hands, and flow up your arms.

You drop to all fours, and feel your neck stretch out. There is a terrible pain at the base of your spine as a tail erupts from your hindquarters. Then your shoulders burn, and sprout great, bat-like wings. You give a roar of pain — and find yourself breathing fire.

The Dragon Princess regards you sadly. “You have made a bad choice. Your lack of judgement has been your undoing. The curse that was on me, has fallen on you.”

You’ve been turned into a dragon! Your quest is over. To begin again,
go to 1.

As darkness falls, you set off towards the castle.

At long last, you reach the end of the bridge that leads to the castle gates and crouch behind its parapet. You spot movement in the gatehouse and two grotesque figures lumber into view. Your heart sinks. The gate is defended by grobblins!

These creatures are a cross between trolls and goblins. They are tough and ferocious, but stupid. You wonder if you can outwit them.

As the grobblin guards stare dumbly out across the plain, you seize your opportunity to sneak round behind them. The gate to the castle is missing and you move quickly and quietly into the castle courtyard. At the far end stands the great keep, the heart of the castle. But your path to it is blocked by a horde of grobblins who are lying about, cooking on open fires and arguing amongst themselves.

If you want to attack the grobblins straight away,
go to 46.

If you decide to look for an opportunity to distract them,
go to 20.

You leave your hiding place and move on. You have hardly taken a dozen steps before a sudden, agonising pain shoots through your whole body. You look down to see rusty sword blades sticking out of your chest and stomach.

Blood pours from half a dozen mortal wounds. You sink to your knees and darkness engulfs you.

You have paid the price for your carelessness.

Your adventure is over. To begin again,
go to 1.

You raise your sword in threat. “My quest is urgent! Give me the ruby — or die!”

The Princess raises her head to look at you. There is pity in her eyes. “The Ruby of Seeing,” she tells you softly, “is not to be won by threats.”

To carry out your threat,
go to 4.

If you wish to apologise to the princess and ask for her advice,
go to 30.

You keep shooting arrows. The dragon roars with fury as every single one hits. But not one of them penetrates its hide. You shoot your last arrow. The dragon’s head whips round and the creature snaps your arrow out of the air.

Two more dragons appear, attracted by the sounds of battle. The three great beasts dive into the attack together, each drawing a deep breath, ready to turn you to ashes where you stand.

Go to 32.

You notch an arrow to your bowstring, draw back the bow, and loose the shaft. The arrow flies true, but the Dragon Lord’s tough scales deflect it. The Dragon Lord awakes with a long rumbling growl. Its head and spiked tail uncurls as it turns its burning eyes on you.

The room shakes as the mighty beast raises its wings until it almost fills the room. Smoke begins to bellow from the dragon’s teeth-filled jaws as it prepares to attack.

If you want to stand your ground and fight,
go to 32.

If you would prefer to dodge,
go to 45.