A/N: Locations such as Silvar, Fort Avernum, and Fort Duvno, the caves in between locations and the slithzerikai and the following people: Caius, Helena, Alice, and Captain Johnson (and the soldiers--but most of their dialog is mine) belong to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software, and will be put back unharmed when I'm done with my fun here. The wayfarer's lodge is still mine.
By now, the notion of morning seemed to make sense, even if the intensity of the fungal light did not vary, and morning found Jynx, Ansel, Duncan, and Rudel sitting at a table eating their breakfast.
Brynja came into the common room, and found her seat, and said, "Well, I hope everyone slept well last night." She gave Jynx such an arch look that Jynx found herself speechless--even more so with Ansel's hand dropping to give her knee a squeeze, and it took all of Jynx's self-control not to elbow the man in the ribs.
Ignoring the heat in her face, which Jynx knew probably was reflected in a blush, she said, "Where's Brother Theo?"
"Right here," said the man, entering the common room from outside just as Jynx asked about him. "Was out for my morning prayers--thought it'd be a bit longer before you were all ready."
"Fair enough," replied Ansel. "I was thinking--I know we could just cut overland on a diagonal for Fort Duvno, but wouldn't it be better to go back to Fort Avernum and follow the road up? We could use that wayfarer's station again. I know it'd be a bit of a long haul that last day, but still . . ."
"I think you're right," replied Brother Theo. "Thirty miles, according to the sign between the two forts by the road. I've only mapped out what I could see thus far, and leaving the road, we could end up far off course and completely disoriented. Maybe when I've more mapping completed."
"Didn't know you were mapping the place," said Ansel.
"When we stop for rest," replied Brother Theo. "Knowledge is very valuable, and knowledge of where we have been will help guide where we go."
"I don't understand that at all," said Duncan, "but the road is fine by me."
Finishing their breakfasts, the group left the walls of the city of Silvar, and made their way onto the road back to Fort Avernum. By now, the hissing and other such noises of the cave had faded into the background, making the place seem less oppressive or frightening than it had been on earlier journeys.
Nearing the wayfarer's station, they saw that there was a group of four men approaching from the opposite direction. In the distance, it could only be seen that they were wearing leather tunics and carrying stone swords.
"More new arrivals, or more bandits, do you suppose?" said Brynja, her fingers already on the catch of her dart case.
"Could be either," said Jynx. "Guess we wait until we've closed the distance and try to figure it out."
As they came within hailing distance, Ansel called out, "Hail, fellow travelers--what brings you this way?"
"Headed to Mertis," replied one of them, "heard that farming is better there."
They were still closing distance, and Ansel said, "We are headed back to Fort Avernum, but would stay at the wayfarer's station here. Do you wish to share a roof with us?"
The four men looked a little nervous, but the one who had spoken before said, "We would--the distance to Silvar yet is more than we have strength for."
"Very well," replied Ansel. "My name is Ansel, and these are my companions--Duncan, Rudel, Jynx, Brynja, and Brother Theo."
"Glad to meet you," said the other group's spokesman. His complexion was still quite ruddy, the mark of someone who had quite recently arrived in Avernum. "I'm Ted, and this is Rob, John, and Tom. Just ended up here yesterday."
"It does take some getting used to," said Jynx, as they started for the wayfarer's station. "This spot was apparently set up for travelers to use, and I guess no one has more claim to use it than anyone else."
Moving inside the wayfarer's station, they all sat at one table, eating a dinner together, with a light banter amongst all, despite the fact that Jynx seemed rather introspective.
As the meal came to an end, and the four other travelers selected beds in a group in one corner, Ansel came over to Jynx, and said, "What's wrong?"
"Just thinking--I know that they're probably ok and all, but I'd feel a lot better if I set an alarm around our beds. But I'll need a hair from everyone to key it," replied Jynx.
"Huh?" said Ansel, his face showing confusion.
"If I set the alarm, it'll wear off after a time--near to the time we'd be leaving anyway," said Jynx, "so I wouldn't need dispel it at the end. But without hairs, I'd be the only one who can cross the alarm line without setting it off. If I have your hair, and one from the others, the alarm line would be attuned to them as well, so that all six of us could cross when we wished--but those four couldn't."
"Sounds like a reasonable precaution," said Ansel, his expression revealing that he had most likely only understood about half of Jynx's explanation. Nevertheless, he reached up and pulled a hair from his head. "Like this?"
"Exactly," said Jynx, taking the hair, and then moving off to have similar conversation with the others in the group.
Then, with five hairs in hand, Jynx made a circuit around the six beds that they'd chosen, muttering indistinctly the words of a spell. Tired from the journey and the exertion of the spell-casting, Jynx then went to bed.
The four men on the other side of the lodge seemed somewhat nervous, one of them staying awake, then waking another in turn, through their resting time, while the six companions slept. Whether the precautions had been needed, and taking them discouraged anyone who wasn't the "person of peace" that the station invited, or whether it was a matter of everyone being a "person of peace," the night passed without incident. After a joint breakfast at one of the tables, they cleared their gear, and both groups set out again on their ways.
The next day's journey was another peaceful day of travel, ending at Fort Avernum, and finding lodging at the inn once more, where no need of alarm was required, as there were more than sufficient guards on duty and locks on the doors.
Mushroom meal bread, lizard steak, and mushroom ale made the sort of meal that the group had now learned to tolerate, even if they did not quite enjoy it.
Ansel's breath was heavy with mushroom ale when he leaned over to whisper into Jynx's ear, "Gonna come up with me?"
Jynx felt the heart quickening of excitement. Sure it couldn't be love yet, she thought, but that didn't mean that she hadn't enjoyed the things that had happened in Silvar, and as she felt her heart might pound its way right out of her chest, she knew that she would welcome another night in Ansel's bed. Rather than reply with words, though, she took a drink of her own mushroom ale while her right hand slipped under the table, finding Ansel's thigh, and then gave him a quick squeeze, her hand close enough to his groin to feel his reaction, and she smiled.
Even Brynja's rather arch look did not penetrate as Jynx followed Ansel upstairs to the room. Once in the room, he all but pounced on her, her unlaced gown falling to the ground barely a minute after the door had closed, and his clothes taking only a minute longer than that.
"Glad to see that mushroom ale doesn't dampen desire," said Jynx, her words turning into a throaty laugh as Ansel pulled her close and began nuzzling at a spot that Jynx had never considered particularly erogenous before, but the kisses at the soft spot behind her earlobe were having a definite pleasing effect.
"An' if it did, jus' need to look at you to fix that," said Ansel as he lifted Jynx from the floor and carried her with him as he flopped onto the bed.
Waking up in the morning, Jynx found herself partially pinned by Ansel when she heard the knock at the door that had actually roused her.
"Ansel, get off," she said, trying to push him--or wake him.
"Mmh-mph?" said Ansel, bleary-eyed, and then the knock--more insistent. "Oh yeah," he said, springing out of bed.
A parade of men came into the room--the first carrying a fairly good-sized wooden tub, the others carrying several buckets of water. After depositing most of the bucket contents into the tub, leaving two buckets beside the tub, they all left.
"I asked for a bath in the morning," said Ansel, giving Jynx a grin that showed he thought he was quite clever for thinking of it.
"That was a good idea," said Jynx, now that she was really awake. "Haven't had a proper bath since we ended up in this pit." Testing the water, she checked the buckets--one was hot enough that a little steam rose from its surface, and she added a bit more from that bucket.
"Tub's big enough for two," said Ansel, climbing in, then holding out a hand for Jynx.
"True, but we better hurry," she replied, "else the next knock on the door is going to be Brynja asking when we're going to be ready to go."
"Don't bother you that she acts like she knows, does it?" said Ansel, soap in hand as he started to work up a lather to spread over Jynx.
"So long as she's not catching us in the act," said Jynx, "that'd embarrass me."
"I know," said Ansel, as Jynx's soaped hands began working through the hair on his chest. "Don't know why--you're damn pretty."
Jynx flushed, but said no more. Somehow, the couple managed to stay on the task of getting clean, and made their way down to the table where the others were already eating their breakfast.
"Well, soon as you finish eating, we can get on the road," said Duncan.
"We'll be quick," said Ansel.
Indeed, in short order, the companions had set out on the road to the north, leaving Fort Avernum behind once more. No settlement of any sort was in sight when they saw a figure--one solitary creature--moving through the stalagmites toward them. As the creature came within recognition distance, they realized that they had never seen such a thing before--it was green, clad in minimal garments, and carrying a spear with two glittering tines.
Hissing, the thing rushed at them--as tall as Ansel, heavily muscled, and evidently confident in its abilities that it could overcome superior numbers. However, Duncan and Ansel managed to flank the thing, their swords cutting the beast down while only Duncan suffered a mighty gash to his leg from the spear. While Jynx and Rudel worked to dispose of the corpse, Brother Theo hurried to Duncan's side and the sides of the gash sealed.
"What was that?" said Ansel, once Duncan was looking reasonably hale again.
"My guess is that it's one of those slithzeri--um, whatever that sage called them," said Brynja. "The lizard people."
"I think you're right," said Jynx, looking over the spear that they had taken from the dead creature. "At least this spearhead is metal--one of you guys want to try using it? Or at least, we might be able to find a place can melt it down and put it to use as a dagger, maybe."
"Why not a sword?" said Ansel, "that'd be more useful."
"Need more of them for that," said Jynx, smiling at Ansel. "Only about a dagger's worth of metal here."
"OK, we take it with us," said Ansel, "but we might as well get going, because it's a long walk today. You gonna be ok, Duncan?"
"Yes, Brother Theo is a miracle worker," replied Duncan, "hardly feel like anything happened."
"Thanks Brother," said Ansel. "If you gotta be here, glad you're here with us."
Brother Theo simply smiled, and said, "We may as well push on--it does worry me that there was a slith here, since what I've learned is that their lands are much further west."
"Probably a scout of some sort," said Jynx, "which'd be why he was alone. Least this way, he won't be returning to tell them anything at all."
"Quite true," said Ansel, and the group continued on their way to Fort Duvno.