A/N (Disclaimer): The Empire, Emperor Hawthorne, Fort Avernum, Andrew, Tor, Thairl, Acacia, Warrick, Janice, Diane, and Dunbar, as well as the locations mentioned by Thairl, belong to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. There are also unnamed people or otherwise non-interactive characters (such as guards) who are present in the game but have been provided names and personalities herein.
Not being able to fit in was a crime in Empire. There were other crimes, the usual sort--murder, arson, and other various crimes against other people. Such were the hard crimes--sentences for which were harsh and generally fatal. Hard miscreants inevitably died. Rebelling, being peculiar in some way, or speaking out against the Crown were called 'soft crimes'. And for these soft crimes, the punishment was considered just, appropriate, and most of all, lenient. That is, considered lenient by those who fit in with society--those who got to live out the rest of their lives above ground.
Avernum. The very word sent chills down the spine of most sane people. Avernum was a series of caverns, far below the surface of the world. It was a dark, subterranean prison, a place where those guilty of 'soft crimes' were sent for the rest of their lives, far from the light of the sun.
What was it like there? Nobody on the surface would admit to knowing, even if they did know. All the average person knew was that it was dark and unpleasant, and that it was a place to be regarded with only fear. Some people believed that there was no air, warmth, or food, and death came with merciful speed. Others believed that there was enough of such necessities to enable Avernites to endure a miserable, worm-like existence--at least until the monsters got them, for whispered word of the fate of the First Expedition was still sometimes passed about. And a few believed that Avernum was a paradise. A subterranean land of pleasure and relief, and of freedom from Empire's iron rule. People mad enough to believe Avernum a paradise soon ended up there themselves.
No one knew which might be the truth, but the judge's words had been final. The trial had been so short that, later, Jynx could not even recall such details as who was present--a scant five minutes, and life as she had always known it was over. Was it her fault that her mentor was a mage who had gotten caught trying to assassinate a governor? No, but in Empire, in the time of Emperor Hawthorne, such would have been enough to put Jynx's neck on the executioner's block. She had earned the dubious mercy of being sent into exile by accommodating one of the sleazy interrogators, her crime softened.
"For your crimes, you are to be banished to Avernum, never to return," her judge had said, and armored men--faceless under the helms which showed only eyes, mouth, and a hint of nose--had carried her out of the room.
"Not many for the pit today," said one of the guards, looking over the group--now numbering six, as he herded them into a cart.
Another of the anonymous-appearing soldiers shackled each of the six to the cart, and then with a lurch they were off, traveling through the night until they reached a small stone building as the first pink began to lighten the sky.
"That's it?" said Jynx aloud, stifling the urge to laugh.
A guard came over, unshackling a red-haired man--Rudel, Jynx remembered, his crime being passionate with Duncan, a dark-haired man who had said nothing during the entire journey, though he occasionally looked to Rudel, glances which seemed to communicate something to Rudel, though not to anyone else. Rudel was taken into the small stone building, and a moment later, the guards returned for Duncan, and he too was taken into the building.
Next, they took Brynja--the mayor of her town had been the butt of her jokes--but the sparkle in her green eyes was not diminished despite the disheveled appearance of her dark brown hair. A moment later, Brother Theo--blond and handsome, somehow he had come out on the short end of a political conflict in his monastery. And then Ansel, a soldier whose failings in minor disciplinary matters had earned him the disfavor of his superiors and exile. And then the soldiers came for Jynx.
"Take a last look," said the one at her right, "last you'll ever see the sun."
She looked, hoping to remember the sights, but all too soon, they had entered the small building. A single room, and the door snapped shut behind them as they entered. At the far end, an archway crackling with a magical energy more powerful than anything Jynx had seen before. They came closer, and a knot of fear occupied her stomach.
"Please, no," she said, looking from one guard to the other, wondering in desperation if she could buy them off as she had bought off the interrogator.
A third guard, who had been waiting inside, stepped behind her, and Jynx felt the cold, sharp tip of a spear against her back as the unseen man said, "Move on." His voice was bored, as though he were used to the terror that people felt when actually facing the portal.
"We got her," said the guard at her right, and with a nod to the man on her left, they started forward, then pulled her back slightly before flinging her forward--the momentum carried Jynx helplessly into the portal.
Red, green, purple, yellow, black, and a thousand other colors swam before her eyes. Perhaps she even lost consciousness for a moment, and then suddenly, with a pop, she emerged to stumble onto rocky ground. Her vision began to clear, and Jynx looked around at the world of Avernum for the first time. A slightly raised, rocky hill, and standing nearby, her companions from the cart.
Ansel stepped over and said, "Here, need a hand? Seems they enjoy that kind of thing." He gave a disgusted look back at the crackling portal behind them.
"Thanks," replied Jynx, her eyes watering slightly as she surveyed the abrasions on her hands, and then her surroundings. Wherever she was, it appeared to be inside a fort of some sort, made of huge blocks of stone, roughly mortared together. Wood must be rare down here, she thought, noting that only the doors appeared to be made from it. There were a few trees nearby, strange things, more fungus than wood. It wasn't as cold as Jynx had expected--in fact, it was downright moist and warm, and she caught a whiff of sulfur in the air, suggesting volcanic vents were common.
Even though they were now far, far underground, it was still possible to see fairly well. The stone roof far above was covered with a thick layer of glowing fungus, which bathed everything in a sickly greenish light.
There were people present, too--thin, pale people going about their business, evidently previous victims of the portal. Most paid little attention to the newly arrived group, but one, a small man at the base of the hill, watched them carefully, seeming to be waiting. They've made a life for themselves, as we will have to, thought Jynx, and she looked to the others, a blush crossing her face as she realized that she had just thought of them as a group that would continue together--and the fact that Ansel's hand still rested on her waist.
"C'mon," said Ansel. "We might as well get away from the portal and figure out what we're going to do next."
He said 'we,' too, thought Jynx, still acutely aware of the arm around her, his hand still resting almost possessively on her waist
The small man was pale, the green fungus being all that seemed to give light in this place, and as the group approached, he gave a slight bow.
"Greetings," he said, "my name is Andrew, and on behalf of King Micah and your fellow inmates, I welcome you to Avernum."
"Huh?" said Ansel, and Jynx fleetingly thought that while he was far from the most articulate of men, he did have a certain degree of good looks, his hand finally dropping away from her waist.
"Avernum," said Andrew with an apologetic smile. "It's where we are--a name we have chosen to remind ourselves of our hopes to one day return to the surface. In days of old, Avernum was the name of the underworld, where lost souls were sent to be punished. Sort of makes sense. I'm here to ease the considerable shock of being cast into the underworld of course. So--welcome to Avernum." He paused, seeming to think for a moment before adding, "Also, I'm here to say where you can get information about Avernum, and supplies."
"What kind of information?" asked Jynx, whose head was still spinning from the journey.
"Thairl is the town sage," replied Andrew. "He lives and works in the building just a little bit to the southwest. He's a bit glum but then who can blame him, but he does his job well. He will answer your questions as best he can, and he does know more about the lands than most anyone else in the fort here. Of course, you'll want to see Tor first--he'll give you a few supplies to start you on your way."
"Supplies?" asked Duncan, his voice registering surprise. "Why would anyone want to give us supplies?"
"To prevent certain problems, new arrivals are sent to Tor to get modest supplies to support themselves until they find work. He's in the building to the south. We've found doing otherwise results in desperate, dangerous, and violent new citizens," replied Andrew. "This way, you'll have a fair chance. What you do with it when you leave here is your business."
"Has anyone ever tried to get back?" said Rudel, looking back up the hill at the portal again.
"Yeah, once," said Andrew, with a bit of a shiver. "Messy business--you might want to ask Acacia about that, she was there at the time."
"In that case," said Ansel, "I guess we should be going. Uh, thanks."
Andrew gave another bow and said, "Believe me, I understand the mixed emotions of being here."
And so the group--thrown together by chance--made their way from the portal to a small building where they were greeted by a rather burly looking man whose skin was marked with the paleness of the others who had been in this place for some time.
"Greetings," said Tor, "you must be new here--you have that look about you."
"Yes," replied Jynx, "and Andrew said that we would be able to get supplies here?"
"Indeed," replied Tor, and he vanished into another room. "Will you be traveling together?" he called from within the other chamber.
"Uh, yeah," said Ansel, looking around at the others, "at least I think so."
Duncan and Rudel nodded, and Rudel said, "For now, the strength in numbers--I mean, if we change our minds and want to settle somewheres, we can."
Brynja nodded, and then Brother Theo. Jynx caught the look in Ansel's eyes, and nodded her assent.
"Yeah," said Ansel, a little more firmly than before.
"Very well," said Tor, re-emerging with a pouch, a satchel, some stone daggers, leather baldrics, several darts, and two bronze helms and shields. "Money in here," he gestured to the pouch, "food in here," and he gestured to the satchel, "and some other supplies." He grimaced, as he began making some notes, and said, "I know it's rather crude stuff, but you'll find that metal and magic--it doesn't come easily down here, and you gotta make do with what you got. This is the starting allowance all new arrivals are given to help them get established. We want you to become productive citizens of Avernum as soon as possible. Good luck to you."
"Thank you," replied Jynx, slipping on one of the baldrics and finding a handy sheath for the stone knife in the lower fringe of the garment.
Ansel took another baldric--Tor's experience seemed to have helped him select appropriately sized baldrics for the company. Within minutes, everyone was outfitted in the leather baldrics, and Ansel took the satchel and pouch, and at last they left Tor's supply depot.
"Anyone got an idea where to go from here?" said Ansel, once they were outside again.
"I'd say we should see Thairl," replied Jynx. "The more we find out here, the better we can think about what to do from here."
"Besides," added Brynja, "my stomach still hasn't settled from that portal. We got the rest of our lives in this place, might as well take a little time to learn something about it."
With a nod, Ansel led the way over to the house that Andrew had pointed out as Thairl's abode.
"Ah, so our benevolent overlords have seen fit to cast a few more souls into this cess pit," said the man with grizzled hair and a sardonic expression. "Then they come to me, and I tell them just how bad things are here. Normally, I'd be cheery, but today I'm just not in the mood. Well, since you're here, I suppose Andrew sent you to get some information about the place. How can I help you?"
"Well, being new here," said Jynx, "I guess I don't really know where to begin--what can you tell us about?"
"Oh, many things. For example, our lovely neighbors, the nephilim and the slithzerikai. Or on nearby towns, or your chances for escape, or how you get supplies, or on the local politics," replied Thairl. "If you're looking for a chance to escape, the chance is nill. None. We are doomed to live here until the monsters get us."
"Such despair," observed Brother Theo, the vaguest hint of disapproval in his tone. "What sort of monsters?"
"Well, there are the kitties to the north and the sliths to the west," replied Thairl, "along with various goblins, lizards, and all sorts of other unsavory creatures. You wish to know more of them?"
"The kitties, I've heard of," said Duncan, "but what are these sliths?"
"Lizard men," said Thairl. "Relentless and vicious--we've been at war with them for decades. They live to the west, and my advice is to stay far away. They only seem to live below ground, and are intelligent, powerful fighters--very magically talented. We've been able to manage no more than a stalemate. The kitties, of course, are transported to some other location--we don't know where, but those that our overlords do not kill end up down here where they can continue to try to kill us off."
"I hadn't expected to see buildings down here," said Jynx. "Are there a lot of them?"
"There's a few," said Thairl. "Back when Erika and Micah were transported down here, things got a little better. Not much, just a little. There's the great cities, and of course the Castle--you'll want to see that sometime, if you live to get there. Silvar is off to the west, and Fort Duvno is up to the north. Way north, there's the great city of Formello, and further west is the city of Cotra--right on the edge of the fighting with the sliths. Then there's the Tower of Magi, down south. And Mertis, and Dharmon, Blosk, and Almaria." He jabbed a finger at various points on a map on his desk as he named them. "We've got a government now--King Micah and his council--council is the mayor of our six largest cities: Formello, Dharmon, Blosk, Cotra, Almaria, and Silvar. Responsible for maintaining our defenses--as though it matters." The look of gloom came over his face again, and he said, "The monsters are bound to get us all, anyhow."
"Uh, well, thanks for the help," said Ansel. "I guess we should go think about where we want to go from here."
And so the group left Thairl the sage to his gloom, before they could be drawn into the same depressing traces as Thairl's thoughts. Stumbling about, they came to an area that might only be described as a park, no matter how insane that thought seemed to be. One man scurried about, carrying a shovel, his hands stained with lichen, as another woman looked almost dreamily into the pool of water there.
"Hi," said Ansel, as they crossed paths with the man, "what's your name?"
"Hello," he replied, sounding downright cheerful in the wake of the meeting with Thairl. "I'm Dunbar--gardener extraordinaire." He smiled, and said, "Trying to maintain a sense of beauty about the place--you'll see, it's a beautiful place."
"It's certainly not like what I expected," said Jynx. "All these plants ..."
"Yeah, we've bred some pretty weird plants down here. All sorts of mushrooms for food and fodder. Those weird twisted trees for what little wood we have. And so on. Mages make the plants, I grow 'em. Thank Erika Redmark for most of it," said Dunbar. "They say she's the one who put the glowing fungus in place--without that, we'd have no life here to speak of. And some of the early ... settlers .. discovered mushrooms that wouldn't kill us, and then Erika turned some of the lichen into the cavewood you see. My job's a lot easier--just keep things growing."
"You eat the mushrooms?" said Brother Theo.
"Yes, and not much else," replied Dunbar. "You'll get sick of 'em before too long, but they're food, and that's what counts."
"How do the trees grow down here?" said Rudel.
"Amazing, aren't they? The roots dig into the rock and the leaves absorb moisture from the air. They get light from the fungus above," replied Dunbar. "I can't figure out how the scrawny things stay alive, but they do!"
"I've never heard of trees like these," said Rudel.
"That's because they were created down here," said Dunbar. "Wizards live in a tower to the south or something. All the wizards go there. They do all the standard weird stuff with demons and such, but they make plants too. Without them, we'd all be dead."
"You've certainly done well, keeping the stuff growing," said Brynja, and Dunbar positively beamed at her approval.
Duncan, in the meantime, had edged over toward the woman sitting by the pool, and she looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the sort of pensive unhappiness that had been reflected in the eyes of most of those they had met within the fort.
"Hiya," said Duncan, settling next to her. "I'm Duncan. What's your name?"
She gave him a tired look and said, "I'm Diane--Tor's wife. You've just arrived?"
"Yeah, we met your husband already," said Duncan. "You come out here often, then?"
"When I'm not cooking," she replied, with a sad smile. "So, you've received your arrival allotment."
"Yes," replied Rudel, who had let Dunbar get back to his gardening and sat down next to Duncan. "It's nice of you all to give us some stuff."
"It makes things better," said Diane. "Before--everything was like the Abyss."
"The Abyss?" said Jynx, joining the others.
"Yes," replied Diane. "Some of the people who are sent here really are criminals, and they get sent to the Abyss."
"I thought that ending up here would be the end of that kind of thing," said Jynx.
Diane's eyes grew cold as she said, "If you want to, you can always go join them there. The rest of us--we're trying to build a society here, and some people just ... There've got to be some laws, and some consequences for breaking the laws, or we'll have everyone at each other's throats and they'll ..." her glance shot upwards for a moment, "get just what they really want."
Ansel shifted uneasily from one foot to the next, and said, "Just kinda a shock, hearing that there's an exile within exile. Anyways, I'm getting hungry. Where's a good place to eat 'round here, so we don't have to go cutting into our rations just yet?"
"There's the inn," said Diane, "and most new arrivals do stop there before deciding where they want to go."
"Thanks for your time," said Ansel, his arm around Jynx's waist again, and before she could protest his familiarity, they were moving away from the park, with Duncan and Rudel close behind, followed by Brother Theo and Brynja.
"For what it's worth," said Duncan, as they walked along, now out of earshot of Diane, "I think you're right--it's just not right to go and act the same way as they did." He gave a daggered look upward to emphasize the word 'they'.
"Yeah, but no reason to get ourselves penned in," said Brynja. "Might as well not talk about it--'less we go to the Abyss ourselves. But I'd rather wait and see if there's a way where we can come back out later if we want to."
The inn was a small building, and only two patrons were there when the group entered, together with a cheery woman wearing an apron.
"Hiya," said Ansel. "What's on the menu?"
"Ah, newcomers," said the woman, grinning. "Have a seat. You can get some mushroom ale, and mushrooms with mushroom sauce--enough for the lot of you for just one gold coin."
Ansel looked in the money pouch and said, "Uh, is there anything else?"
"Well, you can get some cheese and lizard steak with mushroom sauce, two gold coins," she replied.
"Yeah, we'll have that," said Ansel, and he sat down at the table, across from a young woman whose skin still showed the color of having been exposed to the sun, her face red and puffy from crying. At the other end of the table was a woman dressed in armor, a halberd resting against the wall near her.
As the others found seats, Ansel looked at the armored woman, and said, "What's that symbol?"
"This?" she replied. "It's our symbol--the seal of Avernum. It reminds us of where we came from, and where we hope to return to."
"So, you're a soldier here?" said Ansel.
"Yes, I'm the guard captain for the barracks here at Fort Avernum," she replied. "We got a bunch of good men here, and when the Nephilim come for us, we'll give 'em a good run. We work best on defense."
"Why are the Nephilim attacking you?" asked Brother Theo.
"They were thrown down here by the Empire, just like us, and they've always hated humans," she replied. "We haven't attacked anybody. We just want some caves to call our own. Not good enough for our foes. They won't rest until every human is on their dinner plates."
"You're defending this fort?" said Duncan.
"Yeah, it's a tough job, but important. If the Nephilim take Fort Avernum, newly arriving humans fall into their hands. And then ..." she replied, drawing her thumb across her neck and made a charming noise. "I have little hope for peace, I'm afraid."
"Uh, you wouldn't be Acacia then?" said Ansel.
"Yeah, I am, why'd you want to know?" replied Acacia.
"Andrew said you'd seen someone try to go back through the portal," said Ansel.
"Yeah, and a mess that was. Lucky no one got killed," she said, stabbing at a piece of lizard steak. "I was there--someone tried to use one of those strange blue crystals to alter the portal. It was a mad idea, and it didn't work. We made the fool leave, before he got us all killed."
"What was the fool's name?" asked Jynx.
"Oh, I can't remember," said Acacia. "He said he was heading up to Formello, though. They're welcome to him. People who trifle with unknown magics are dangerous to everyone around them."
"What are these strange blue crystals?" asked Rudel.
"When the first people arrived in Avernum, they found a few of these bizarre crystals. When you looked into them, they talked to you. Most of them are lost, but there are still a few around, if you look hard. Some of them even teach interesting things," said Acacia with a shrug. "Or so I've heard."
Meanwhile, Brynja had taken a seat beside the woman who was trying to stop crying, and said, "You just get here, too?"
"Yes," said the woman, her tone curt.
"You're looking less happy than most we've met," said Brynja. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Probably not," she replied. "Name's Warrick. I've been here a few weeks, asking people if they have heard of the one who was sent down before me. My sister, her name was Anastasia, and she was sent here a few years ago, and I don't want to leave until I know where she is."
"We're planning to do some traveling," said Jynx. "We meet anyone called Anastasia, we'll see if it's your sister, and let her know you're looking for her."
"Would you?" said Warrick, a smile lighting up her reddened face.
"Yeah, sure," said Ansel. "Least we could do."
Smiling, Doda--the innkeeper--came out, bringing them plates of mushrooms and lizard steak, and mugs of mushroom ale. Taking a bite, Jynx found the meat stringy, and the mushroom ale tasted so strange that she almost spit it out.
Grinning across the way, Acacia said, "It's an acquired taste." Then she picked up her halberd and said, "And I better get back to duty."
The meal was finished in relative silence as the new arrivals experienced the food which would be considered "good eating" in Avernum. Remembering Thairl's miserable pronouncements, Jynx thought, And if it's not the monsters, it'll be this mushroom ale that kills us.
Once the meal was finished, they left the inn, and made their way on out of the walled confines of Fort Avernum. In the dim green light, they could look out through a mist and saw a huge forest of the strange fungal trees. A dark river flowed by to the south. Although they were far underground, it wasn't a quiet and peaceful place--sounds echoed well in the cavern, the humid air seemed still, but in the distance, dim sounds of hissing lizards, flowing water, and the unnerving growl of distant humanoids could be heard. Leaving Fort Avernum, there were two roads--one traveling westward and one traveling northward.
"Which way do you suppose we should go?" said Jynx.
"Let's try Silvar," said Ansel, pointing to the westward road. "Big enough place to be on this council, ought to be big enough to hear some rumors to point us on our way."