Thanks again to those who reviewed the previous chapter, and apologies for the incredibly slow update.
Chapter 25 - Fight or Flight
Cora noticed that Madame Elista's hair was thinning, as she leaned forward in her chair. In spite of the older woman's frail body, there was a dynamism about her which stemmed from a sense of inner conviction.
"It's difficult for me to talk to you like this without the help of my familiar, so I'll get straight to the point, lest we're interrupted. When you eventually confront the Valsharess, I think it's likely that the arch devil Mephistopheles will be stationed somewhere close by her. I want you to get as near to him as you possibly can. You have something he needs, and once you bring it to him, everything will fall into place."
"What do I have, and what exactly will fall into place?"
"I'll try to explain more, but in truth you don't need to know every minor detail as long as you do as I suggest. You can trust me, my dear."
Cora heard an almighty creaking sound, followed by the slow repetitive thud of metal footsteps on stone: she realised she was dreaming, and that was enough to pull her back to the relative discomfort of her bedroll in the side room where they were currently resting.
Or trying to.
She wanted to go back to sleep, to slip back into the dream so that she could quiz the soothsayer. She also knew that once she started thinking she had no hope of getting back to sleep in a timely fashion: she let out an involuntary groan of frustration.
"Nightmare?" whispered Valen, who was resting nearby.
She opened her eyes. "Not exactly, but it was a strange dream, because it felt very real," she answered, shifting a little closer to him so that she could talk quietly. "I seem to be having a run of them lately. This time I was talking to someone I met shortly before I went to Waterdeep. She's a soothsayer, of sorts."
"Does she claim to see visions of the future, like the Seer?"
"In a way. She isn't a priestess, as far as I could tell: I believe she's some kind of mage. She tells fortunes in return for coin, rather than helping a specific group."
"She told yours?"
"Oh yes. She said I would be going on a long journey." She could see the quirk of his eyebrows as she spoke: she should have known that he would be sceptical.
"Suitably vague."
"Don't knock it - she told me I would meet a drow with honourable intentions, long before I heard of the Seer. In this dream, she talked about the upcoming battle, and gave me a piece of advice. She said I must get as close to the Valsharess's captive arch devil as possible."
Valen frowned. "It's the opposite to the advice I would give. Did she say why?"
"That's the trouble - I woke up before she had the chance to explain. I don't know...perhaps Mephistopheles would help me fight against the Valsharess?"
"Even if you were certain of her meaning, how could you ever trust an arch devil?"
"I don't know," she admitted, "but I trust her. Everything that she told me so far has come true."
"Mephistopheles would never help us, unless it was for a price that none of us would be willing to pay."
"He would get the chance to pay the Valsharess back for trapping him. Isn't that enough of a motive?"
"Perhaps, but it's also worth considering that all devils detest our kind, and vice versa. Even being in close proximity will be enough to spark a fight."
She said nothing: she didn't want to bicker over it when they had been getting on so well lately. It was rather like dealing with some of the more upright Helmites she had known: there was no point in disagreeing with someone with such passionately-held beliefs.
As for her own views...she didn't honestly know what to think any more. All that she had ever heard about devils suggested that they were invariably evil, just like demons: her religion told her that both groups were worthy of contempt. Yet unlike Valen, she did not want to believe it was possible for her to hate instinctively, spurred on by the uncontrollable impulses of her blood.
"Is something wrong?"
She decided not to tell him: it was probably a baseless fear. "I was just lost in thought for a moment there. Thinking about religion, mostly."
"I sometimes forget that you're religious. You hardly ever speak of it."
"That's because my faith has been with me for as long as I can remember, and it feels as natural as breathing. It's the converts who tend to talk about their beliefs more. Besides, I know you're not a believer: I wouldn't want to bore you."
He propped his head up under one hand. "You don't bore me at all, but I'm probably not the best one to talk about religion to. I was thinking...we never seem to get the chance to talk much, on these journeys. I know about your past love, and the fact that you were fostered by a paladin, but little else other than that."
"Up until the time I went to Drogan's Academy, and even after that for some time, my life was pretty uneventful. Probably too much, as I always had a restless streak. I knew I wanted to explore more of Faerun, although I never thought of venturing beneath it. I was like that even from a young age. Fully of silly ideals."
"Silly? Why do you say that?" he asked.
"I read too many tales about perfect knights with shining swords, mounted on beautiful white steeds. I used to daydream about taking part in heroic quests in the company of other like-minded souls." And the most impeccable knight of all would fall in love with me. "I suppose I have the sword at least. I've never been able to learn to ride, and I didn't think of all the other drawbacks to a life of adventure."
"The endless walking?" he prompted, grinning.
"Not just that. I haven't had a decent meal since I left the Yawning Portal. I knew exactly what I was eating, and that seems like a luxury now."
"I could point out the ingredients the next time we eat, if you like."
"On second thoughts, I'd rather not know," she said.
"Maybe you're better off that way. If you left the Underdark tomorrow, I doubt you would miss anything."
"I don't know... I would miss some of the people I've met here."
"Most of them have tried to kill you," he said.
"That's certainly true..."
There was a small pause in the conversation. Valen's free hand traced a loose pattern over the floor tiles while Cora wondered what he was thinking. He must know that I meant him, surely?
"I understand how it feels to be in a strange place and feel that everything is alien," he said finally. "My time on the surface wasn't easy: I understood nothing of the people and their ways. I misjudged one situation badly, and that was the time when I was forced to kill a paladin in self-defence. I stayed as far away as I could from settlements after that."
"It's a pity you didn't have a guide, rather like your role within this group. You needed someone who could take you aside and tell you when you're being an idiot."
The idling of his fingers stopped abruptly. "You think I do that to you?"
"Well, just occasionally - and half the time I'll admit I deserve it."
"I wouldn't say that: I know I have been less than patient at times. Being with you makes me curious about the surface all over again. I don't know how long I will need to stay in Lith My'athar to clean up after the battle, but if all was well... would you mind having me along?"
"You mean... you don't want to stay here? I'd love to take you to the surface," she said, delighted and flustered all at once.
"I'd like that very much," he said, "although I wonder if I would cause problems for you. You can pass for human, but I can't do the same."
"You know me - I'm not afraid of trouble, and I've grown sick of wearing gloves even in the height of summer. Besides, I'm not sure we need to disguise ourselves. If I put a stop to the Valsharess I'll be hailed as a hero in Waterdeep, along with everyone else I'm travelling with. No-one will care what race we are - they'll be too busy queueing up to buy us a drink!" She knew she was gabbling, but she couldn't stop herself.
"You're ever the optimist," he said, touching her lightly on the cheek, "but I'm beginning to find it strangely infectious."
"Sinth Thesti!"
Deekin shouted the words loudly enough to make Cora flinch, shaking her out of her happy haze. She turned around to see the little kobold sitting bolt upright. "What's wrong, Deeks? Did you dream about golems?"
"Deekin see hundreds of them getting up from ground in his dream, but it gave Deekin an idea," he said excitedly. "Remember we picks up a book with old language in it?"
"There's always a book containing an ancient language in places like these. It's practically a requirement."
Deekin reached for the book, which was close at hand. Evidently he had been doing some bedtime reading before resting. "Look, Boss. Sinth gots a number next to it. So has Thesti."
"It's just a list of words, isn't it?"
"Then why be the numbers not in order?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of code?"
"Exactly, Boss! Big room nearby has funny machine we nots knows how to use - maybe there be a connection?"
She thought about it for a moment, then deciphered what Deekin meant. "The room containing iron golems and a couple of consoles? I remember the panels have numbers on them - do you think they can help us control the golems?"
"Maybes. Deekin nots makes any promises, but he thinks the chances be good."
"So do I. Sometimes I think you're secretly a genius."
After checking to see if the Seer's stone was still safely lodged into position, Cora got up and led the others outside. As usual they had to fight their way along the corridor, and once they reached the middle room they encountered more opposition. Finally, with the door firmly closed and the iron golems lying prone on the floor, the group approached the console. When Deekin tapped in the numbers, the creature who had revived the golems time and time again appeared before them. Before the golem controller had the chance to utter those hated magic words once more, he exploded: they barely avoided getting hit by shards of broken metal. Deekin fidgeted with the controls a little more: another number conjured up a massive guardian golem with similar results.
With the golems and their controller all silenced, the party were able to venture down to the lower level of the building, but not without pausing by the door. If the predominant sound on this floor had been the slow, ponderous clank of patrolling golems, the noises from beyond the door were loud and frenetic.
"Do you think they're running around in there?" said Cora.
"Either that or having a bloody good scrap," said Tomi.
"Surely not," she said. "If they were all created here, why would they fight one another?"
"They're far too busy fighting intruders like us," said Valen. "Some of the duergar that we met outside could be on one of their scavenging trips."
"You thinks they be playing football with one of the spare golem heads?" suggested Deekin.
"I don't know, but here goes..." Cora pushed open the door and saw a group of flesh golems and metallic golems, engaged in a furious battle.
"I knew I should've made a bet of it," Tomi muttered behind her.
0-0-0
"Umm, Boss? Remember when we met a golem who said he was Halaster's son? You think this one be his scary older brother?"
Cora remembered meeting Berger, the guardian golem from Undermountain. He seemed like a rather battered stuffed toy compared to the towering hulk of livid flesh which now stood before her.
If he resembled a patchwork demon, Aghaaz's words were more reminiscent of a priest. "We are the children of Alsigard the Maker, who gave us the gift of life itself," he intoned. "Being the strongest, the Maker saw fit to anoint me his high priest, to deliver his word and his will to his other children."
Cora listened as he continued in similar vein. She had heard a different version of events from another self-appointed golem leader, Ferron. He said Aghaaz was a tyrant who was determined to keep all of the golems trapped within the dungeon centuries after their Maker had disappeared. She had felt some sympathy for his plight: she thought that such a long and purposeless internment would be hard for any intelligent being to tolerate. Now Aghaaz was speaking of such an existence as if it was an honour.
"When Alsigard gave you his instructions...how long ago was this?" Ferron had told her that Alsigard had disappeared some 500 years ago.
"Hundreds of years, but the amount of time is far less important than our constancy and our devotion. There are those who seek to undermine us...the duergar who steal the remains of our fallen brothers, and the heretic golem called Ferron, but we remain stalwart against them."
"I've met Ferron," she said. "He doesn't see himself as a heretic."
The change was immediate. Aghaaz's posture visibly stiffened. "You spoke with the heretic, the one who would defy the word of the Maker and betray his purpose by leaving this place? Do you believe his lies?"
"It doesn't matter what I think," she said carefully, "but we found a journal which was written by Alsigard himself, which might be of interest to you." She turned to Deekin, who handed her their latest find. With great care, she turned the dusty pages, trying to find the right quote.
"Alsigard wrote about his need to withdraw from the golems, not because he didn't care about you, but because he wanted you to..." She trailed off as she noticed a blossoming of warmth next to her heart.
It can't be the Seer's signal. It's only my body heat affecting the stone. "Alsigard wanted you to make your own decisions independently of him. That's why he chose to disappear, because he feared you would always act like servants whilst he was still around. It's all written down in here."
"Give me the journal," said Aghaaz, but as she handed it over his huge hands unceremoniously ripped it into pieces without even a cursory look.
"Didn't you want to see the proof?" she asked.
"This is a blasphemous forgery. Alsigard the Maker gave us his word and he would never contradict himself."
"Never?" asked Valen. "Do you believe that any man is so completely incapable of change?"
"Why would the Maker change, when he is perfect? His will is immutable and I shall crush those who oppose it." His molten gaze settled on Cora. "Tell me - do you side with the heretic, or with me?"
Cora hesitated, trying to weigh the situation up. Although she had defeated many golems on the upper floor, none of them had been so numerous in just one room, and their attack patterns were completely predictable. She wasn't sure that the same would apply to the sentient creatures here. "I should tell you that we are allied with the Seer's forces in Lith My'athar. We are preparing for war, and Ferron has offered to bring his golems to fight alongside us, if we help him."
"I will never give up the Power Source, if that is what he wants. However, I will match the offer of assistance in battle if you bring me Ferron's head."
"I'll think it over." She wanted to conduct herself differently than usual: she wouldn't rush in, putting her friends in danger. Instead she would talk it over with the others, and if they decided to fight Aghaaz she would return here here in a far better defensive position, with Ferron at her back.
"You must make your decision now. You are either our ally or our foe, and there can be no middle ground." Aghaaz's voice was calm but completely implacable. For one who spoke so eloquently about a life of service, he appeared well accustomed to being obeyed,.
It was then that she felt the flaring of heat from the stone pressed against her skin. It's for real. I can't fool myself this time. Panicked, she said the first thing that came into her head. 'I'll help you," she lied. She only wanted to get away.
Valen gave her a questioning look, although he said nothing: Cora she knew she must look like a turncoat. "I'll explain on the way out," she said before turning back to Aghaaz. "I need to hurry."
Aghaaz was saying something else in reply, but Cora was already backtracking, all the while feeling the pulsing warmth from the stone. She heard the ponderous thud of footsteps: Aghaaz and his followers were following her through the maze of passages, matching her own swift pace.
I thought they'd stay behind. What do I do now? She knew there was a risk she would be overheard, but she had to say something to the man striding along by her side.
"Valen - it's the stone. It's hot." If it gets any hotter, it's going to burn me.
"The Seer's signal?" he said, alarmed. "We have to leave, now."
"I know - that's why I said what I did." Just ahead of her, Tomi pushed the door open. Ferron and his metallic golems were massed in the central room, waiting for them.
Before she could explain anything, Ferron spoke out. "Why is the tyrant following you?" You promised to assist us in our struggle for freedom. Surely you have not changed your mind?" Although his expression was unchangeable, Cora thought she heard disappointment in his voice. It reminded her of her foster-father.
Behind her, Aghaaz made a low, rumbling laugh. "She has seen the folly of your ways, heretic."
"No!" Cora cried. "Aghaaz, I'm sorry, but I wasn't honest with you." she told the flesh golem. "I don't want to fight Ferron. I wish I could explain but I have to-"
Aghaaz charged at her like an enraged bull.
Run.
She dashed rightward, but a few clay golems were moving to block her exit. Glancing back, she saw that Valen had engaged Aghaaz, swinging Devil's Bane tirelessly while other golems piled in to attack him from behind. She had to join the fight: she could not follow the Seer's call.