A/N: The wonderful world of Avernum/Exile belongs to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. Fort Emeraldand its residents:Captain Scarlet, Eleanor, Moe, Randall, Matthais, and Hodgson; Gnass and its residents: Skatha, Eath, Sss-Schai, Garthass, Bass-Astha, and Asp, will be put back in the game unharmed when I have finished my fun here.
Fort Emerald sat like a gem upon the subterranean waters, a narrow road leading to closed porticulli, but as the guards there recognized the clearly human features of the group, they opened the porticulli until the six companions were within, and then the chains rattled once more as the porticulli were closed.
Barely within the bounds of the fort, they met a serious-looking woman, her hair long, brown, and curly, with the graceful yet precise motion of a natural fighter, pacing the fort with a cool, analytical stare. She was a small person, not even the height of Jynx's shoulder, less than five feet tall, but with a wicked axe hanging from her belt.
Sensing the authority there, Ansel said, "Are you in charge here?"
"Yes, I am the commander of Fort Emerald," she replied. "Captain Scarlet."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," said Ansel, with a greater respect than he had shown most of his surface commanders. "We're pretty new to Avernum yet--what's it like commanding a small fort like this?"
"It has not been easy. I defend against the raids, and send a few sorties out in return," she replied. "I also have to keep an eye on Gnass."
Duncan said, "Have there been many raids?"
"Yes, they come fast and furious. First the ice lances, then the curses and slow spells, then the charge. Our north wall gets battered as fast as we can repair it," said Captain Scarlet. "But we hang on."
"So, where do you send the sorties?" said Ansel, wondering if it would fit with the mission they'd been given by King Micah.
"The sliths have a fort to the north, and our mages often slip up to pump firestorms into it," said Captain Scarlet. "We'll take it soon. When we do that, we'll have a straight shot at the island!"
"What's on the island?" said Ansel, thinking this was too similar to be coincidence.
"The main slith castle and their leader, Sss-Thsss, are on the island. It's to the east of their small fort to the north, and can only be reached by boat. We could win this war, if we could just get a straight shot at that castle," said Captain Scarlet. "And we will, soon."
"What's Gnass?" said Jynx.
"Town to the west, populated by 'friendly' sliths," replied Captain Scarlet. She could not keep the derision from her voice on the word 'friendly,' or perhaps was not making any effort at all. "They say they hate the sliths that attack us. But the sliths only attack us, not them. Well, this fort guards against all sliths. Maybe some of those bastards aren't twisted. I'll believe it when I see it."
"Yeah," said Ansel. "Thanks for talking with us."
Leaving the captain to her pacing, they encountered the fort's brig, and remembering that there'd been nephil in the fort up north, they slipped inside, and were rewarded with the sight of a slith within the cell, pacing sluggishly back and forth, the skin slightly blue rather than the usual green.
"How were you captured?" said Duncan, not bothering with preliminaries.
The creature turned toward them, and now the shivering could be seen, as the cold-blooded creature was clearly freezing. "I fell in battle with your vicious captain," the slith answered. "Now I wait to be avenged, warm-blood."
"Who will avenge you?" said Ansel.
"Sss-Thsss, our leader, is mightier than all of you humans combined," the slith said in a weakened voice. "Our gods are mighty. Our ally is a being of devastation." His words oozed out--he spoke the human's tongue deliberately, though the sibilant nature of slith speech colored the words. "You are killing me slowly in this pit. Your deaths will bring heat to my spirit in the afterworld."
The creature was still moving around, perhaps in an effort to keep warm, when Jynx asked, "Who is your ally?"
The forked tongue of the prisoner flickered out, and he hissed, "We follow one of the lords of darkness. I myself have groveled at his feet. Soon he shall be free, and he will lead us to mastery over the caves!"
"Maybe," said Ansel, with an expressive shrug. "I think we're done here," he added, with a glance at his companions. "Let's try to rustle up some grub and a place to crash out."
Wandering through the streets of the fort, they came to one small building designated "Mess Hall," and Jynx said, "Well, looks like that will solve the food problem, unless they only serve army."
"Only one way to know," said Ansel, and with that, he walked into the mess hall and promptly saw a rather sweaty and dirty woman who was quite buxom busily working. "So, what's your job at this fort?" he asked.
Eleanor said, "Hi--name's Eleanor. Nowadays, I cheerfully do whatever needs doing," she sighed, and said, "but I used to be an actress!"
"An actress? Where?" said Brynja.
"In the surface world. You wouldn't have heard of me, but I was going places!" said Eleanor with a grand wave of her arm. "I commanded the stage! Well, sort of. Alas, at the height of my career, I chose to appear in the wrong play."
"Which play was that?" said Jynx.
"It was a stirring portrayal of what happened to the first expedition the Empire sent down to Avernum," replied Eleanor. "Unfortunately, although everyone knew about it, nobody was supposed to. The Empire gave us a speedy trial."
"A trial, just for being in a play?" said Brother Theo, who'd been jotting notes in his journal.
"Can you imagine! The Empire does one stupid thing, and stomps on everyone who mentions it. You see, everyone in the first group who came down here died. Total disaster!" said Eleanor. "I played Mariann, consort to Karzoth! The female lead!"
"Who was Karzoth?" asked Ansel.
"Dumb name, huh? It was what he went by, probably because his real name was Stinky or something. Anyway, he was the mighty leader!" Eleanor struck a heroic pose, and in a dramatic tone said, "Bearer of the Royal Seal and the mighty blade Demonslayer! Anyway, he did something arrogant, got stupid and died. Like the Empire someday, I hope."
"The Royal Seal? Demonslayer?" said Ansel, remembering what Solberg had said. "Do you know where they are?"
"What do I look like, a sage?" said Eleanor with a laugh. "I was just in a play. I don't know anything about where the First Expedition really ended up."
"So, what sort of things need doing here?" said Rudel.
"Repairing walls. Repairing shields. Bandaging, when the priests are exhausted," replied Eleanor. "Trying to cheer people up, when all seems lost. Which is often."
"So, can we get anything to eat here, or have to use our own rations?" said Ansel.
"Best use your own stuff," said Eleanor.
"Thanks," said Ansel, and he found a seat, and the companions got into their rations.
"So, what do you think?" said Duncan.
"I think this Gnass sounds like it bears checking out," said Jynx.
"I was thinking the same," said Ansel.
A few weary-looking soldiers came into the room--it was rather apparent that they were barely able to stand after pulling their duty shift and paid the adventurers little attention as they ate. Finally finishing their meal, and deciding that Gnass would be the next 'port' of call, the companions left the mess hall, and ignoring the 'Keep Out' on the sign that led to storage, came into the large storage room, where they found the quartermaster--a balding, pudgy man slowly moving crates of supplies about the room.
"Can you sell us any of those supplies?" Ansel said.
"Captain Scarlet would feed me to the sliths if I sold any of her precious supplies to you lot!" said Moe. "You'll have to fend for yourselves."
"That's ok," said Jynx. "Why are you stacking the crates?"
"Huh?" said Moe. "Oh, I'm the quartermaster. I keep track of the supplies. And stuff. Get stuff in. Hand it out. I hate it here."
"Why do you hate it here?" asked Brynja.
"The constant attacks for starters," said Moe. "I was at Fort Remote. I liked it there. Then they transferred me."
"We heard a little about that fort," said Ansel, "where is it, exactly?"
"Far to the west. Most boring fort in Avernum. Guarding a bunch of empty tunnels. Well, almost empty--there's a big drake living in there. It never attacks, so we just wait. Much better than here," said Moe. "Here, it is dangerous. Real dangerous."
"Looks that way," said Ansel. "Listen, we need a place to rest--any rules about that?"
"Uhhh ... look around," said Moe. "I'm sure you can find some empty bunks you can rest in. Soldiers here get killed so quick, there's always an empty bed."
"Uhh, thanks," said Ansel. He made a gesture to the companions, and they slipped out of the supply room.
"OK, I guess there's nothing formal--let's see what we can find."
"Sounds good to me," said Brynja, and they made their way down the side of the fort, coming to a door which was locked--for a moment, before Brynja's 'key' opened it.
Inside the cramped room, someone had put a dresser in front of the door, and a thin, nervous man dressed in fine clothing cowered in the shadows, jumping as the door opened.
"Why you hiding?" said Ansel.
He stood up indignantly and said, "I'm not hiding. I am the Chief Fort Liaison Randall for the Castle. I travel to the different forts to see how the war goes, and report back to the Castle."
"Which forts do you go to?" asked Brother Theo.
"There are several. It keeps me busy. But this is the worst to visit. This, and Fort Dranlon. I hate it! It terrifies me. The sound of the fireballs, the screams, the hisses, the smell of blood," said Randall with a shudder. "I write my reports and get back to the Castle as soon as I can."
"So, what's the Castle like?" said Rudel, not bothering to mention they had just come from the place.
"Castle? The Castle! What other castle is there? It's safe there. I like it," said Randall, his face twitching. "But then, his majesty always sends me out again! And again! I'll be caught in an ambush and eaten one of these days! Oh, how I miss the surface."
Artlessly, Brynja said, "Why did you get cast down here?"
"I was a messenger on the surface. The Empire kept the roads nice and orderly and safe. No nephilim up there to kill you--oh no! No, no, no! They're all down here now. Trying to kill me. I didn't appreciate how good things up there were. I didn't at all," said Randall. "Then, I got a little drunk and shot my mouth off. I offended the wrong person, and now here I am. Oh, how I miss it up there."
"Guess we'll leave you to your ... uh, report writing," said Ansel, and with an undisguised look of disgust at the cowardice of the fellow, he led the way past the dresser back out.
"Where now?" said Ansel.
Jynx gave a shrug, and they began to walk around the walls, until they came to a place where a mage was busily working, apparently maintaining a magical barrier which had replaced part of the fort's walls.
"Did you create those barriers?" asked Jynx.
He smirked, and said, "Most of them. Usually, I use my considerable talents to teach the sliths who come here a lesson. I'm one of the mages of this fort."
"What lesson is that?" asked Rudel.
"I come from the Tower of Magi," replied Matthias. "I am here to demonstrate our power. The lesson is directed, of course, not only to the sliths but also to the humans that rely on us." His face wore an unmistakable expression of arrogance.
"So, barriers are your specialty?" asked Jynx.
"No, but my job is to strengthen these barriers. Sometimes I dispel one and create it anew," said Matthias. "We can't always rebuild the walls between attacks."
"Could you teach me how to manipulate barriers?" asked Jynx.
Matthias laughed derisively, and said, "Often, an upstart like you asks me to teach him how to dispel the barriers." He chortled. "My response is always the same. It is our secret, not theirs. The tower chooses some spells to keep for itself."
"So, where could we go to learn how to dispel barriers?" asked Jynx, her face setting slightly--Ansel could discern her mood, but it wasn't that obvious to those who didn't know her well.
"You will learn no such secrets from me. The secrets of dispelling barriers are very precious," said Matthias. "I've argued with that fool Mairwen now up at Fort Dranlon, but she's best ignored."
"You seem pretty busy," said Rudel. "Anything we can do for you?"
"We elite wizards rarely need help from travelers such as yourselves, but in this instance, you might help me. There is someone I need to speak with. Her name is Elizabeth. I believe that she lives near Silvar, but I am not sure," said Matthias, his bearing reeking of arrogance. "Tell her that I seek her out, and I will reward you."
"Sure thing," said Ansel, "next time we're up thataway."
Matthias made no acknowledgment, and Ansel quietly led the way out, until they found a small empty room with a few beds, and after securing the door, slept there. After their rest, they made another trip to the north side of the fort, well away from Matthias and his barriers, and found a robed man fingering a holy symbol as he stared through the arrow slit.
"Pardon me," said Brother Theo, "but why are you standing here?"
He waved at the slit. "Hodgson here. I watch for the next attack. When it comes, I defend us as best I can. The sliths are relentless. I should know--I have to stitch up the wounded after attacks. Soon, my shift will be over, and I can go to the Emerald and rest."
"What emerald?" said Jynx.
He flashed a wicked grin, and said, "It's the thing that's kept this forge going as well as it has. It was found nearby, and brought here when they found what it can do. It restores magical power! Thanks to it, each mage here can cast the spells of three. Any sliths that come here, they get three balls of fire for every one they send."
"Anyone can visit?" said Jynx, "or you gotta be army?"
"Nah, you can visit," said Hodgson.
"Do you get enough rest?" asked Rudel.
"No, not much. I don't enjoy this at all," replied Hodgson. "I'd much rather be working on my alchemy."
"Ahh, you know some alchemy?" said Brother Theo.
"Hmm, I actually don't know that much about it. I was going to try to invent a healing potion using graymold before I got called to come here," said Hodgson. "I only got as far as finding a patch of the stuff--which is no mean feat!"
"Where was the graymold patch?" asked Brother Theo.
"Well, it probably isn't there anymore, but I found a small patch of the stuff at the headwaters of the river that runs down to the big lake--the lake Cotra sits on. The stuff was far, far to the north. Took me forever to find it. If it's still there, it's northwest of Fort Dranlon. I took some of it with me, but it spoiled long ago. Sorry."
"Can I help you with your alchemy?" asked Brother Theo.
"As a matter of fact, I have been working on a poison cure. I had some aranea fangs around, but I lost them. I'm sure that they're around here somewhere," said Hodgson, then shaking his head wearily. "If you could bring me a pair, I would appreciate it."
"As a matter of fact," said Brother Theo, "I think we've got some of those. Hadn't had time to think of a use--so here, you take them."
Hodgson took the fangs and said, "Thank you very much! I am in your debt! Alas, I am poor, and can't pay you for your services, but I am most highly grateful."
"If you can spare a prayer for us in our endeavors," said Brother Theo, "that would be all the pay I need."
"I believe I can manage that," said Hodgson, who returned his weary gaze to the arrow slit.
Leaving the wall, they came to the central building of the fort, and entered. Within, a large emerald sat on a pedestal in the center of the room, surrounded by kneeling mats for meditation.
Kneeling to meditate, the glow of the crystal seemed to refresh those within the group even beyond their rest in the empty room. Finally, leaving Fort Emerald to the south, the companions came to a small island fishing village, which drew on the meager but sufficient catches of pale, slimy fish--this village remarkable for the presence of a few sliths who lived in uneasy peace with the human majority. As these simple folk had heard of the group, they invited the adventuring companions to fish stew for lunch, while they pressed Ansel and Brother Theo to tell of the adventures they had had thus far.
Continuing on their way, they came to a small village which looked unlike the others they had seen in their travels, and as they drew nearer, they could see it was populated entirely by slithzerikai. As none of the slith guards made an aggressive move, it seemed that they had found Gnass, and entered a blacksmith's shop.
Within the shop, a gigantic slith--probably the Skatha named on the sign outside, was forging a two-tined spear, his green skin bright and shiny unlike the bluish skin of the prisoner in Fort Emerald.
"You're the blacksmith Skatha?" said Ansel.
"Yes, today I forge weaponsss! My spearsss are my pride, and I love when they are used! Purchassss one, and I bursst with pride, that a human ussse my weapon. A slith spear is a mighty thing!" said Skatha.
"Tell me, what makes your spears so mighty?" asked Duncan.
"We slithsss use two point spears, not like your human one-point spearss! Make all of iron or steel! Takes great strength to make, great strength to use! It is a great honor to you that we let you have them. But you pay big price for that honor, eh?" said Skatha, his body shaking with laughter, though only quiet hissing could be heard.
"How much for that honor?" asked Duncan.
Skatha named his price, and Duncan winced, not even glancing to see Ansel's expression, and said, "I don't think I can afford the honor. You do seem a mighty warrior besides."
"Mighty I am! I know many of the secret paths of the greatest slith warriors!" said Skatha.
"Secrets? Really?" said Ansel, forgetting his tight grip on the purse-strings of the companions. "Could you teach us some of them?"
"No! A human must do a great deed for the sliths before we would share our secrets!" said Skatha. "You have done no such deed."
"Yet," said Ansel. "Thank you for your time."
Traveling through, they came to a sign denoting that the building was a slith nursery, requesting human visitors take care. Taking that as an invitation, they stepped into the small, steam-filled building where immature slithzerikai frolicked in too-small pools while braziers struggled to keep the heat in the room sufficient. The frail creatures filled the air with the sounds of playing and hissing laughter, but were clearly keeping their distance from the humans.
Seeing a delicate slith watching over the swimming babies, Ansel said, "You the mother to these little ones?"
"I am Eath," she sighed, with a slow hissing noise. "In spirit, but not by blood. I am a sage, by trade, learning, and choice. But I fled the castle of Sss-Thsss, and my tomes stayed behind. And now my mate and I wait here for the war to end, so I take care of the little ones now."
"What castle did you live in? The one on the lake?" said Jynx. "Why did you flee?"
"We lived in the castle of Sss-Thsss, north, then east, then across the water, yes," said Eath. "My advice to you--if you ever go there, the throne room of Sss-Thsss is upstairs, through a locked door. There are several onyx keys in the other slith forts. They are the keys to the castle. Going there without one is futility. We fled because we have no hatred of humans. When all of us slits came to this land, we were crazed and angry. But some of us recovered, and gained wisdom. We of Gnass are wise, and long for peace."
"When did you come to this land?" said Brother Theo. "And why?"
Eath started to chant, clearly a song she had sung many times before. "A century ago it was that we came, forced through Lost Bahssikava, forced through the tunnel for our dark deeds, our dark thoughts, our lust for blood. We reform, we think, we dream, we hope, we shed our blood lust in the dream that one day, we may return to the great home, that we may be forgiven, be taken in."
"What is Lost Bahssikava?" asked Brother Theo.
"Legend says that that is the tunnel we sliths were sent through when we were banished by our people in caves lost to us. If it exists, we don't know where it is," replied Eath.
"So, who is your mate?" asked Brynja.
"Skatha, the blacksmith," replied Eath. "He is the finest smith I have ever met. Your kind would be well to get weapons from him. Very few of the blades I have seen in human hands are any match for his."
"We'll have to save up," said Duncan.
"Being a sage, you must know about us humans?" said Ansel.
"Too much so, I think. Other of our kind want to slay you. I wanted to learn about you," said Eath. "I think you humans could be great friends to us, if our dark brothers do not fill you with too much hate."
"Probably not different than humans in that way," said Jynx. "Some are bad, some are not."
"Quite so," said Eath.
"Thanks for talking to us," said Ansel, and he stepped out of the nursery, and they saw a mighty slithzerikai with rich, dark green skin patrolling the town, with such a proud, regal bearing that he must be the chief.
As the companions left the nursery, he saw them and bowed. "I am Sss-Schai," he said. "I am the leader of Gnass. We mean peace to you."
"We are adventurers," said Ansel. "Is there anything that we could do for you?"
Thinking, Sss-Schai said, "Yessss. There isss. Near us iss a fort, to the northeast, filled with Darklingsss. It threatensss usss, and the humansss near here, too. Slay their chief, and come to me, and I will reward you assss bessst I can."
"What are you looking for?" asked Brother Theo.
"I watch over my people," said Sss-Schai, "and deal with the two great forces that surround us -- the humans and the darkingsss."
"So, what do you think about us humans," said Ansel, "generally?"
"I want nothing but friendssship and have nothing but welcome for your kind," said Sss-Schai. "You ssseem to live much clossser to the true slith idealsss than the darklingsss."
"Who are these darklings?" said Jynx. "I've heard it mentioned."
"Ah, yesss, I tell thisss tale to any human I can, ssso you can underssstand usss," said Sss-Schai. "The slithsss here are refugeesss, exilesss like yourssselvesss, from the mighty slith kingdomsss in the deeper cavesss. The kingdomsss are ruled with wisssdom and jussstice. And peace. We valued that which you humansss valued. But there were rebelsss."
"Rebels against what?" asked Jynx.
Sss-Schai's face darkened with anger. "A band who followed dark powersss, led by Sss-Thoss, grandfather to Sss-Thsss. They were expelled in the mercy of the leadersss, and came here, threatened by death should they return. Then the humansss arrived," said Sss-Schai. "Asss the war ssstarted, decadesss after we arrived, sssome of usss finally rejected Sss-Thsss."
"I bet Sss-Thsss didn't like being rejected," said Ansel.
"No, but we had to follow our own ssspirit. We had learned of the waysss of the world we had been thrown from, and sssince we could never return to it, we decided to recreate it. Ssso we came to the humansss in peace, and built thisss town, ssso that you may hear thisss," said Sss-Schai. "Pleassse, do not judge usss for what a few of usss do. There are asss many slith ssssoulsss asss slithsss."
"I see," said Ansel. "Thank you for talking with us."
They walked about the town, starting to feel a bit of surprise that the folk were, despite their odd appearances, not so unlike themselves, and came into a small house where a young adult slith was poring over a scroll with glowing eyes.
"Hi," said Ansel.
"Greetingsss. I am Garthass," she replied.
"You can read?" said Brynja.
"Yessss. You humansss have terrible ideasss about how ssmart we slithsss are," said Garthass. "We read and write and are very good at the magic artsss. Just because we live in cavesss doessn't mean we are dumb."
"Of course not," said Jynx. "So what are you looking at?"
"I study and prepare. One day, we will be called to defend oursselvesss," replied Garthass.
"Defend yourselves from what?" asked Jynx.
"Our dark slith brothersss concentrate on you humansss now. But they will come for usss asss well. We will fight them! And if not them, I fear you humansss will one day give in to your hate for us. Our little village sitsss between two giantsss, waiting," said Garthass. "But I see you are not like that. Or so I think. I have help for you."
"Help is always welcomed," said Ansel.
"I brew potionsss and scribe scrollsss. You could purchasse them now, if you like. Though I fear what humansss may one day do to usss, we help them now bessst we can, in hope that one day peace may lassst," replied Garthass.
"Could we take a look at those potions and scrolls?" asked Brother Theo.
After a few moments of haggling, they came away with a few potions, and said a polite farewell to Garthass, and continued until they came to an open house with a sign denoting "Asp, keeper of the path" and came in to see an old slith with a wise, piercing, lidless gaze, his house kept warm by a large fire as he reclined behind his desk.
"Hello," said Ansel. "This keeper of the path--what is it you do here in Gnass?"
"I am a healer, and I tend the shrine," replied Asp. "And I greet humansss who come here in peace and tell them of usss."
"What shrine do you keep?" asked Brother Theo, who looked fairly itching to add to his journal.
"On the island outside! Not all of usss slithsss worship dark beingsss. We have godsss of peace, which dark Sss-Thsss hasss turned from. Go to the shrine and bow to it, and you will feel some of what it is to be a true slith, and not a foul rebel," replied Asp. "I take care of the shrine. It isss not the Temple, but it musst do for usss."
"Where is this temple?" asked Brother Theo.
"When we slithsss came here, we built a great temple in a lovely swamp. It was good, and I helped build it, but Sss-Thsss and his defiled it when they took over. Now they worship dark thingsss, and have an altar with a hunk of a dead human's broken sword," said Asp. "It is sad. Wasss a beautiful place. The full twelve purification poolsss. Gone now."
"Peaceful sliths are a rare sight in Avernum," said Duncan.
"Unfortunately, your wordsss are too true. But living peacefully isss our dessire here. Our chief, Sss-Schai will tell of our passst, and how we came here, and of the darknesss we want to help you fight," said Asp.
"Yes, we talked to him already," said Ansel. "Thanks."
They left, and made their way to the small island at the edge of the village, crossing the well-maintained bridges. As they approached and knelt to pray, they noticed pools, and cleansed hands and feet before approaching closer.
A peaceful feeling immediately washed over the companions, and they were comforted and calmed. After their time wandering in these violent lands, it was strange to feel so relaxed. Then, a small soft voice began to speak from the altar.
"Please do not fear, humans. You must try not to hate my people. Not all of them are twisted, vicious and cruel. Just some, led by one who does not deserve to lead ..."
Before Jynx's eyes--and she was sure when she later discussed it, her companions were seeing the same thing--a vision of a gigantic slith male, seven feet tall, praying in a dark throne room as a strange red mist writhed in front of him appeared. Then, the vision disappeared.
"That is Sss-Thsss," the voice said, "and though it saddens me to say it, there will be no peace and no happiness for my people here until he falls. I sense you may be the ones who perform the final deed. Please help them. He lives in a dark fortress on an island to the northeast. Beware his might. My blessing goes with you. Farewell."
As the voice faded away, the feeling of peace and comfort also faded, and the six uneasily stood, faces mirroring one another--they had, in fact all seen and heard the same thing.
"That was different," said Ansel. "What do you think?"
"I say, let's check out the fort the chief here mentioned," said Duncan. "We can always go to Blosk and Remote later, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," said Ansel. "Ok, then--let's go."
They left Gnass to the north, following the cave wall past a slith checkpoint which seemed to be guarding against something to the east, rather than humans, and then north of Fort Emerald until they saw a sign declaring they were in "No Man's Land" and by what felt like evening, they could see a dark fortress ahead of them.
Resting before taking on a fort, they spent an uneasy night, though no actual harm came to them. Drawing nearer, they saw they were just outside a large stone fort, occupied by what seemed a large force of sliths. From what they had seen, it did not seem the sliths were great builders, and this fortress was clearly stolen from the humans who had once lived here. The outpost had clearly received a severe battering, part physical and part magical, and while huge cracks ran along its walls, it still stood as the sliths kept the fort as intact as possible, with large holes plugged with magical barriers.
"How we going to get in there?" asked Duncan.
"Ack!" said Ansel, ducking as spears came from the fort. "Carefully."
Warily moving around the fort, they came to a portion which was solely held together by magical barriers.
"Time to see if these are worth anything," said Jynx, drawing out a small green crystal that she had purchased from a wandering merchant who claimed they would bring down magic barriers. Tossing that against the shimmering magical wall, the crystal burst. For a moment, it seemed nothing more would happen, and then the wall faded into nothingness. Gingerly, Jynx ran a hand through the space, and found that it was indeed empty space.
"It worked," she said.
"Great," said Ansel. "OK, let's move in--and watch out, it's not gonna be easy."
They entered into a small room filled with garbage, and stepped through the door to find themselves in a courtyard with many sliths standing around the fires, and a short battle burst out. Hoping to get through the fort without having to take all the sliths on at once, they warily entered a small building, finding two more sliths inside, and after another brief battle, and a third one entered the room from what must be a secret door, they were victorious and quickly went through the secret door, which seemed safe enough from notice from the other sliths--though how long the bodies would be unnoticed before a general alarm was uncertain.
In a small stone box in the corner of the concealed room, they found a variety of maps, most of which made little sense, but it became clear that a huge and important slith castle was on an island almost due east from the current location. As this wasn't much news, they left the papers, but Ansel grabbed the pouch beneath the scrolls.
"Buncha gemstones," he said, and he slid it into his pack.
However, the time spent here was sufficient to have drawn a small alarm, and another wave of sliths came at them as they emerged from the small building.
"Go for broke, now," said Ansel, and they made their way over to another building, and they arrayed themselves for an expected fight and Brynja opened the door and dodged back out of the way of Ansel and Duncan.
This turned out to be the building where the slith chief was conferring with some sliths who were either priests or mages--there was a definite volley of magic running back and forth, and it was hard to identify which spells were causing the pain and sluggishness, but the companions finally prevailed, though seriously depleted in strength and rather bloody.
"Wish we had time to rest up," said Ansel, "but we better take the rest of the fort--should be easier with the chief down."
"I hope," said Jynx. "I don't think we can win another battle like that one."
This time, at least, Ansel's optimism wasn't unfounded, and they had only one more wave of less organized sliths to deal with, and were then able to rest in the fort before making the journey back to Gnass.
Once in Gnass, they lost little time in looking for Sss-Schai, and reporting their success.
Sss-Schai seemed extremely pleased, despite the fact that Ansel brought tidings of the death of many sliths. "Ah, yesss. I am not ssad that one of my mind diesss, if he is twissted and wrong," said Sss-Schai. He left for a moment, then returned with a sack filled with silver coins and a ring. "These are your rewards. Our gratitude is great. Travel safely, and with the kind looks of the gods."
"Anything else we can do for you?" asked Ansel.
"Fortunately, no," replied Sss-Schai. "We are doing well on our own. We hope that lasts."
"Well, thank you," said Ansel, and he began to lead his companions out of Gnass, stopping by a frighteningly muscular slith who was busily working on a new large, carefully detailed statue.
"Are you a sculptor?" asked Duncan.
"Ssometimesss. I work the stone. I make statues, and homes for people here," replied Bass-Astha, whose speech grew more clear--unusually so for a slith as he spoke.
"You make homes? Don't sliths live in caves?" said Brother Theo, his journal out as he was making more notes.
Bass-Astha laughed, a strange, sibilant sound, and said, "We learn that from humansss. Sliths live in warrens, but when we flee here, no warrens. So make housess. I think I am first slith to ever do so! I did not well at first. Rocks fall on our heads. But now!" He gave a grand gesture to indicate the town around him, his alien-seeming face lit up with pride.
"Stones fell?" asked Duncan.
"Yesss. Very ... very ... what is your word? Ah... embarrassing," said Bass-Astha. "I make house. Roof falls on chief's head. Takes several tries to get it right."
"So why are there so many statues around Gnass?" asked Brother Theo.
"We sliths remember the great magi and leaders of our past. And we remember them with statues," said Bass-Astha. "Paper rots and carvings fade, so sliths keep their history in many, many statues. A stonemason is much respected by sliths!"
"Fascinating," said Brother Theo, jotting this down in his journal. "Thank you."
"Well, we better get going," said Ansel. "We're on our way to Blosk now."