A/N: The world of Avernum (Exile) remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. Following my fun here, I promise to return to the game unharmed the following people: Mairwen, King Micah, Sss-thsss, Belinda's ghost, and Grah-Hoth; and places: Fort Dranlon, the slith city, the slith fort of Sss-thsss, Gnass, the Castle, and Fort Remote.
It occurred to them to wonder just how many swamps there were in Avernum, as the companions rowed back north, and then, reaching Fort Dranlon again, turned to the westward branch. Barely had they made the turn, but they saw one of the strange stone pylons that had been outside the temple, and they pulled the boat to shore.
"Maybe more sliths in there," said Ansel, remembering the group that they had killed here before. "Let's go. Maybe that tome was even closer than we all thought."
They entered the cavern, and found themselves within a huge slith farm. Cave fish and fungus were being raised in long, water-filled trenches, while dull-eyed slith civilians tended their 'crops'. At first, the entry of humans raised no notice, but the sharper-eyed guards roused the civilians with blows from the blunt end of their two-tined spears, and the battle was joined. While it seemed odd to consider it a battle, there was no question that the farmers, weapons in hand, had every intention of stopping the human encroachment, leaving the companions no choice but to fight on.
As they fought, they found a slith nursery, long trenches filled with water heated by the fires, where baby sliths played, ate, and grew—but upon the entry of the companions, the babies dove underwater and did not resurface as the fight continued against their caretakers.
Fighting on, they found a tome within a locked room. This one shocked Jynx, as she opened it to read, and discovered that it was a human book, damaged by handling by wet slith hands, but a history of Empire.
"Bah, propaganda," she said, paging to the end to see that it was a history of Empire's fight to rule over the four continents of the known world, ending with the conquest of the continent of Valorim.
As Jynx was paging through the book, Brynja was studying the walls, and said sharply, "Look here—another room hidden."
They passed through the concealed door, and tantalizingly, there was another large book on a pedestal at the far side of the room.
"Ow!" cried Ansel as he started across the room.
"Magic," said Jynx. "Tough it out and bring the book back here."
"Oooh, oh, ow ..." said Ansel, as unseen electrical forces surged through him with every step. "I think this is it," he announced from beside the pedestal. Then he took the book and made his painful way back.
"Here," said Brother Theo, taking out a potion. "This should help."
"Thanks," said Ansel, downing the potion as he handed off the book to Jynx.
Jynx looked at it, the heavy leather bound tome printed with carefully drawn gold ink slith pictograms. "I can feel the magic," she said. "I bet this is what Mairwen wanted to see." She tucked it away in her pack for safekeeping. They continued, finding another hidden room with what must have been the tribe's treasure.
"This is strange," said Brynja, looking in a box. "They're saving their own scales? They can't possibly be ... oh ..." She drew out a key carved from onyx.
"That's something," said Jynx. "Now we just need to find the door that goes to."
"Indeed," said Ansel. "Pack that up."
"What should we do about those eggs in the hatchery?" said Rudel. "They'll just grow up to be more enemies."
"Why don't we see if the sliths in Gnass would adopt them," suggested Jynx.
"Soft-hearted," said Duncan.
"I can't just kill a bunch of babies like that," said Jynx. "It'd be different if they were big enough to fight."
"She's right," said Ansel. "We'll leave them for now, and see if the Gnass sliths will take them. They can probably get those other ones that are at the bottom of the pool, too. Or nature will take its course."
Reaching an agreement, they made their way out of the decimated slith community, and then picked their way through the smelly swamp.
"Let's take the book and show it to Mairwen," said Ansel, "and then we can go west again."
Returning to Fort Dranlon, it appeared their information had been recorded and they were recognized, for the gap opened to them as soon as they were within sight of the guards.
They came into Mairwen's office, and Jynx said, "I believe we found the tome you are interested in."
Mairwen took the tome gingerly, almost as though she feared injury. "How interesting. How bizarre," she said, turning pages. "I wonder if this will help us. I certainly hope so." She looked up at Jynx and Rudel's expectant faces, and said, "Give me some time to look at this. Come back later, and I'll gladly teach you that spell."
"How much later?" asked Jynx.
"Not now," said Mairwen. "It'd be too suspicious."
"Fine," said Ansel. "We've got another task, and we'll be back later."
Although they were clearly disappointed, Ansel led the way back to the boat, and they rowed further west, finding that to the south, the area opened into a large lake, and there was another pylon covered with slith pictograms.
Drawing the boat up securely, they began exploring the island, finding their way at last to what appeared to be yet another slith fort. At least, it was now. Their experience with sliths so far was that they were not much for building constructions, and this fort was almost certainly of human construction, obtained through force by the savage slithzerikai. There was something malevolent in the air, more so than the other slith areas they had come through—the odor of sulfur, and an oppressive feel of evil. Not that there was that much time for introspection, as the sliths within clearly intended to kill the companions.
"Doesn't seem that there's a way to open that," said Ansel, looking through the barred portcullis in the room they had found.
"Maybe another way around," said Brynja, searching the walls until she found another door.
They made their way through, finding several slith priests with an imp inside a protective circle. The priests seemed to object to their ritual being disturbed, and they responded with spellfire, and the companions slew imp and priest, though the sense of evil still remained in the air.
Further searching revealed a hallway with several rooms, and the corpses of a few murdered humans. Still more searching revealed a way into twisting corridors populated by cave slimes, and eventually a hidden library with scrolls which were written in the slith pictograms, but the best guess they could make was that the content had to do with demons.
They continued, finding their way to another room protected by a rune, and then their passage was blocked by a magical barrier.
"Let's see if Mairwen will teach that spell now," said Jynx, "and come back."
They did just that, and Mairwen taught them the spell—it was arduous, and Jynx and Rudel left convinced that one did not go about casting this spell without good reason, and then they returned to the barrier within the slith fort, which still radiated evil. Returning, they found a demon behind the barrier, but still the aura of evil did not lift. Continuing to search through the slime-infested tunnels, at long last they found themselves on the other side of the portcullis, and they continued from there.
Another door, and here there was a nearly overpowering smell of brimstone. Whatever strange rituals the sliths were up to in this fort, it seemed that the activity was centered here, and whatever they had cooped up was undoubtedly dangerous.
As they opened the door, the sound of a battle could be heard, perhaps an experiment out of control. Ansel held up a hand and they waited behind the wall until the fight wore down, and then burst in on the surviving sliths and slew them. Beyond the scene of wreckage, there was a protective rune, and two tunnels which were each barred by magic barriers.
"I'll get this one," said Rudel, and he cast the newly learned spell.
Within, they found two more rooms guarded by protective runes, and within each was a demon. The demons, however, were no match for the now-experienced companions, and they soon set upon the treasure that had been guarded by the demons—a powerful spell for Brother Theo and Rudel, graymold salve, and some wands.
"Rest here?" said Ansel. "And then see if we can't get into the big fort?"
"Sounds like a plan," said Rudel. "This place would be hard to find back here."
"And there's a bedroom here. Slith priests must have been using it between experiments," said Brynja. "No dead bodies in there."
"Good," said Ansel.
After a good rest, they left the now empty slith fort, the aura of evil no longer hanging over it, and began rowing to the south. As they traveled, they came to a ruins of a building surrounded by beautifully detailed statues of humans, and they stopped to investigate.
"Those aren't statues!" cried Brother Theo in a sudden realization. "Basilisks did this."
They hurriedly got back into the boat and rowed away, as lizards began to stir within the ruins.
"We were lucky," said Brother Theo. "Basilisks can sneak up on you and turn you to stone in an instant."
"Poor souls," said Rudel.
"Well, we can't help them," said Ansel. "At least, not that I know."
"Not without risk to ourselves, and the mission we're on," said Brother Theo. "Maybe sometime when we are at peace. They cannot be harmed while they are stone, but some legends say that they will have been killed by the very process of being turned to stone."
They continued, carefully skirting the island with the fort of Sss-thsss, until they came around to the southern side and made their way onto the dock, where they were immediately engulfed in battle. After making their way through all of the first level, they found one door with a lock which was well beyond Brynja's talents.
"Look at the lock," said Jynx. "Remember that key we found? Maybe it fits here."
"That'd be strange," said Brynja, but she pulled the key from her pack and tried it—and the door swung open, revealing an ascent to another level.
"Protection, I guess," said Jynx. "Figuring that whoever was to get the key to get up there would first have to take on their other fort. They just didn't count on ..."
"Us," said Ansel, grinning. "OK, let's go quick now. They probably know that something's up."
Fighting their way in, they came at last to what was obviously a throne room, disappointingly empty.
"Where'd he go?" said Ansel.
"Let's look around," said Duncan. "Those plans looked like they were about to attack, and we better get him now. Who knows what new defenses would be up if we leave now without finishing the job."
They continued until they reached the center of the room, and suddenly the portcullis behind them slammed shut. Almost immediately thereafter, from the doors on the east and west sides, slith warriors filed in. One of them was positively enormous, perhaps as much as seven feet tall. All bone and muscle, he wore a gold torc on his head and held a spear as long as himself.
He raised his spear and said, "Ahh, humansss. Here in my lair, for I am Sss-thsss. I have been waiting for you, and now you comesss. Now we fightsss, and I avenge the deathsss of my brothersss and sssissstersss. We duel, and I get the honor of your deathsss."
"Right," said Ansel. "I'll take him, the rest of you get the guards."
And with that, the fierce battle was joined. At long last, the slith guards, and even Sss-thsss himself were dead.
Ansel reached down to take the torc from the dead slith's head. "Maybe this will be proof."
"I think perhaps," said Brother Theo, "that with this, the good sliths like those in Gnass will be able to prosper, and perhaps the war itself can end."
"Dreamer," said Duncan, grinning. "Peace in our time?"
"Well, whatever," said Ansel. "Let's go tell his majesty."
"First, let's make sure we got any good treasure," said Brynja.
"Fine," said Ansel, laughing.
Carefully searching throughout the fort, they came away with vast treasures that appeared to have been accumulated during raids on human and nephil settlements in Avernum, and made their way down to the boat.
"If we continue south," said Brother Theo, looking over his maps, "I believe we will get to the castle more quickly."
"Let's see," said Ansel, and he looked over Brother Theo's maps before setting out for the south and west of the fortress which had once been the seat of power for the evil sliths.
Finding a secure docking place for their boat, they left, finding their way back to Fort Emerald, and then they turned aside to Gnass to tell the friendly sliths there about the location of the fort they had left the juveniles at.
Proceeding on to the Castle, they made their way through the masses of Avernum troops who gave them a warm welcome, and they presented themselves in the throne room of King Micah.
"Your majesty," said Ansel, drawing out the golden torc he had taken from the head of the dead slith leader, "we have slain Sss-thsss, the king of the evil sliths."
"Amazing! A mortal foe of Avernum, gone forever," said King Micah, his tone sounding truly impressed. "We of Avernum are forever in your debt." He clapped his hands, and a servant came into the room bearing a heavy sack of coins.
"Adventurers of your skill and strength are very useful," he said. "I regret to say that I do not have any tasks worthy of you at this time. Perhaps soon, I will. Until then, best of luck to you."
"Thank you, sire," said Ansel, bowing, and he and his companions turned to leave.
They had gotten only as far as the door from the throne room, when a man in torn armor of the Avernum army staggered in.
Catching his breath, for it seemed he had been running for a long time, he managed to gasp out, "Fort Remote! Demons! They charged us from the east! Surprised us! Only I got away! Dozens of them! There was no hope!"
"Guards," said King Micah, "take this man and get him some food and rest. This is grave news indeed. Adventurers, come here. It seems that the time of Avernum's need for your help has come again."
"What do you wish us to do, sire," said Ansel, "in light of these horrifying events?"
"Please, go to Fort Remote and investigate this report," said King Micah. "Return to me when you know who attacked."
"Of course," said Ansel, and they left the throne room, this time without further excitement.
"I don't think we should tarry," said Jynx, after they had left the throne room.
"No," said Ansel, "we'll go directly there."
The journey to Fort Remote was still fairly long, though uneventful, and as they neared, they met a troop of Avernum's soldiers, who appeared visibly upset.
"Good day to you," said the commander. "You had best watch out. Fort Remote has been destroyed. By demons, most likely. We still watch the road, but we're under orders to return to the Castle immediately if we see anything."
"We're here to investigate, on orders of King Micah," said Ansel.
"Well, best of luck to you," replied the commander. "We'll be moving on. Don't care to linger anywhere these days."
"Thank you," said Ansel, and they continued to the fort.
Standing outside the ruins of Fort Remote, memories of the pleasant people they had met on their earlier trip here seemed most poignant. The fort had been attacked recently, and quite viciously. Attacked seemed almost not enough of a word, for the fort had been devastated, the walls shattered and stone melted by magical fires.
The smell of smoke still hung heavily in the air. Gruesomely tortured bodies were impaled upon the stalagmites to their north as they faced the ruins. Inside, there was just visible a ring of faintly glowing green runes. They seemed to pulse gently when watched, and were unmarred by the grime and ash, and none of the companions remembered the runes being present on their prior trip to Fort Remote, so the runes had to have been placed since then—the only question remaining was by whom.
"All right," said Ansel. "We're here to investigate, so let's ... investigate. Keep a wide berth on those runes until we've checked everything else out."
The sign which had once declared the place to be Fort Remote had been re-arranged, the horrible letters spelling out the message: "Humans will die now."
"Keep moving," said Ansel.
They made their way gingerly through the battlefield remnants, finding the shade of a woman cowering in a corner.
"What happened to the fort?" said Duncan.
"Protect me!" said the shade.
"Protect you? From whom?" said Ansel, wondering just what the dead would need to be protected from.
"From the demons," replied the shade.
"Belinda? There aren't any demons around," said Jynx, hazarding a guess as she thought they were in the ruins of the kitchen.
The shade emitted a terrifying screech, and said, "They wouldn't stop! We saw them coming! We were prepared, but they blew down the walls! What could we do? And then the killings!"
"How were they killed?" asked Brother Theo.
"Poor Mick. All of us. They couldn't fight to the death, they froze them," replied the shade of Belinda. "They took them out, and oh ... the things they did! But I was safe."
"Safe? How?" asked Ansel, not wanting to point out the obvious fact that she was dead.
"I hid here. They didn't see me," replied Belinda's shade. "So I could kill myself, and not let them kill me. I'm so cold. Please, help me."
"OK, calm down," said Brother Theo, "we'll help you."
"Help me! Please, help me!" she howled, and faded from sight.
"Wait!" said Brother Theo. "Don't ..."
"Please, help me," she said, and finally disappeared from sight altogether.
"... go," said Brother Theo.
"OK, demons," said Ansel. "We need to know more, I guess, because the messenger had at least that much information already."
Searching through the ruined fort, they found that the freshwater springs Mick had once watched had been befouled, smelling of sulfur and now with toadstools growing riot around them. In another room, they saw a corpse that had apparently been burned by an incredible amount of magical fire, such that who that one had been in life was no longer apparent, and even the magical wand he or she had been holding had been burned to ash.
After thoroughly exploring the fort, they gingerly made their way to the room where the green runes were.
"I guess," said Ansel, "if we want answers, we'll have to go there. Look sharp, I expect it'll trigger something."
In the middle of the strange runed circle, a red haze began forming. Ansel stepped closer to get a better look, and it suddenly expanded into the image of a demon twice his height, and looked down at the companions and laughed.
"Oh, this is a treat! I've been waiting for mortals to come here, so I could use them as messengers. They could tell you humans of your doom. But then I get you! The slayer of my servant! Sss-thsss was my personal pet, and now he is gone," said the demon. "Hear me now, you insects, you puny, negligible things. I am Grah-Hoth! I came back, I strike from my prison, and I will have my revenge on you. On all of you!"
"There is no appeal. There is no defense. There is no hope!" said Grah-Hoth, and then his voice took on a tone of mock pity. "But none of that applies to you. Someone else will take the message back, for you are about to die. But before you go, what do you have to say in the hope of mercy?"
"You can eat shit and die," said Ansel.
"Face us, worm, so that we can fight you fairly," added Duncan.
Grah-Hoth laughed at the challenge, and disappeared with a puff of red smoke. A deep rumbling sound seemed to come from all directions.
"Let's rock!" said Ansel, "here they come!"
And indeed, it looked quite bad, for there were more demons than anyone had imagined seeing at one place outside of hell itself.
As the battle ended, Ansel said, "You know, I think we gotta find the rest of that Demonslayer sword. Make it a whole lot easier."
"What do you think King Micah is going to say?" said Jynx.
"Only one way to find out," said Ansel. "Let's get back to the castle and report."