A/N: I still make no money from the wonderful world of Avernum/Exile, which remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. I promise to return to the game unharmed the following persons: demon, Adze-Haakai, Kelner, Linda, the Undead Wizard, Grah-Hoth, Nizzrek, other demons, ghosts, and Khoth; and places: the Tower of Magi, Skarragath, Grah-Hoth's prison, the ruined Skarragath, the abandoned bandit fort, and the ruined Empire fort.
The long journey to the Tower of Magi had been uneventful enough, and they entered the tower. The guards took little obvious notice of them, although the palpable unease throughout the tower was still apparent. Heading up into the garden, they waited until the coast was clear, and found their way into a small, hidden room. A sign on the wall suggested that they were indeed on the right track, for it read: Danger! Restricted Area! Stay away!
They made their way on into a magical laboratory of extreme potential and power. So much power here that even the apprentices were barred from this laboratory, and yet here were the group of adventurers, only a few of whom knew anything practical about magic. Protective glyphs had been carved into the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. While there was definitely magical energy here, there was more—a palpable feeling of danger and evil.
After beating off the attack by a few imps, they found a protective circle, and in the center of the circle was a tall, imposing demon, which grinned at the group as they entered, looking surprisingly confident for a creature which had been captured.
"What are you doing here?" said Ansel, trying to contain his disappointment that they weren't being attacked so that he could use the newly restored sword.
"Waiting for mighty Adze-Haakai beyond to break his bond, and blast you all. It will happen soon. You will all die!" said the demon. It seemed to catch sight of Ansel's sword, and turned away from them. "I am a prisoner here."
"You are a prisoner?" said Brynja. "Why are you here?"
"Ha! Fools! I am here to devour you! Adze-Haakai is out of control, and when he fights his way free, all Avernum will pay! You can mock me now, but your time will come," said the demon, which had been feigning fear. It then began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Right," said Ansel. "We're here to take care of Adze-Haakai, and then it will be your time which has come."
They left, and found a room where a chest was protected by a few imps. Once those were slain, they opened the box to find a tiny dagger, too small to use as a weapon. It was covered with small, intricate glyphs and symbols, clearly an item of considerable magical power, with a blade of amazing sharpness.
"Think this is that blessed athame we were told about?" asked Ansel.
"I'm sure of it," said Brother Theo. "We better take it. No telling when it'll be safe to return after we're finished here."
They found a hidden stair, with a magical barrier. Unlike other barriers they had seen before, this one was nearly transparent, though it threw off sparks as they approached. Brother Theo raised the crystal key that they had gotten from Solberg, and the barrier wavered, crackled, and then faded. A burst of foul-smelling wind came from the passage beyond.
"Guess we're still on the right track," said Ansel, giving a crooked grin to his companions.
The passage to the west as they passed the stairs was utterly black. Light failed to penetrate it, even the magical lights summoned by Jynx, Rudel, and Brother Theo. Insane screams and moans came from the darkness. Continuing along in the dark, there was a single gold rune, embedded in the floor. The power emanating from it was enough to make hair stand on end, but it seemed that there was no choice but to continue onward. Continuing onward, the magic-using members of the group felt drained of their reserves, and they paused outside several lava-filled rooms to quaff a few potions to get the energy to continue forward.
At last, they reached the chamber where the mighty demon was imprisoned, and after a fierce battle, Ansel struck the final blow, slaying the demon Adze-Haakai. Its body began to decay into dust even as it hit the ground. In moments, they could feel the curse start to lift. The rooms here were still dark, but the oppressive energy was slowly fading away. The box in the center of the room clicked, drawing Brynja's attention.
"I guess we can take this treasure," said Brynja.
"I think we earned it," said Ansel. "The sword is terrific. I'm ready to take on that Grah-Hoth!"
"We've got a few things to find before we're ready for that," said Jynx, laughing.
Brynja opened the chest, finding inside a beautiful scepter carved from a single piece of onyx.
"I think I'll keep this," said Brynja.
"I wonder what it's used for," said Rudel. "I've never seen anything like that."
"Nor I," replied Jynx. "We'll figure it out. But we'll not go around trying to lure demons with it."
"Hey, want to see what that other demon has to say now?" said Ansel.
"Don't get over-confident," said Brother Theo.
"It still has to be in that circle, right?" said Ansel. "We'll just talk to it ..."
They walked back down, finding the maze still had its light-quenching qualities, and found the weak and defeated looking demon in the protective rune circle.
"So, why are you here again?" said Ansel.
"I was brought here as practice. And to get information. Then they called Adze-Haakai. And you destroyed it," said the demon, getting on its knees and cringing. "Please, have mercy on me. I bow before your brute strength."
"Oh, all right," said Ansel. "We'll let you go ... this time. Just don't give me reason to regret the generosity."
They left, and found Kelner, still staring into the pool, but he looked decidedly pleased to see them.
"I guess you know that we destroyed the evil demon," said Ansel.
Kelner silently handed Ansel a note, which said: "I have resumed my vow of silence, now that my apprenticeship can continue safely. I thank you for your help. You have done a great deed here. Good luck to you—Kelner." He then bowed and returned to staring into the pool.
Emerging from the back of the tower, they encountered Linda again, now slumped in a chair, looking distracted.
"We got rid of that enormous demon for you," said Ansel. "Are you pleased?"
She shook her head slowly and said, "I ... Something is not right. I brought it here. You say it is gone, but I still hear it. Or something that sounds like it. And now they say, that is, the humans say, things."
"Voices in your head?" said Ansel. "That sounds really bad."
"Not so bad. They say that the demon just drove me mad. That is a relief considering the other things they say," said Linda, wiping away a tiny bit of drool.
"Things? What things?" asked Brynja.
"They say that I must leave. I must go away. I am not welcome in the Tower, in the Triad. One day, they say they will make me go, when it is safe for me to travel," said Linda. "This is your fault. Because of you, I must leave. Leave me now."
Negligently, Linda waved her hand, and the companions found themselves standing outside the Tower of Magi.
"I think we'd better wait before we go back in," said Jynx, once she had gotten her bearings.
"True," said Ansel.
As they left, they began to investigate a sulfuric cavern, and found on a broad ledge over the lava, a remarkable sight. Clearly a battle of horrifying magnitude had taken place here, yet the battle was not over, it had merely been magically frozen in place. The battle had been between demons and humans, mainly wizards. The demons outnumbered the humans, most of whom were dead, while a fireball hung motionless in the air. How the battle had been going, however, was a moot point. The combatants stood motionless, a thick layer of soot covering them. However, one person, who appeared to be a mage on the border of the frozen area, held a crystal wand.
Unable to resist, Brynja moved to take the wand, but the moment she touched it, the battle came back to life, and in a blink, the demons finished off the pathetic human resistance before turning on the newcomers to the fight. The fight ended, a century or more of combat, but the wand and the other belongings of the humans crumbled to dust, and there was nothing to tell who they had been or why they had been fighting the demons.
Leaving here, they found another volcanic series of tunnels, and a ruined fort within. Supposing that this would be the one they'd heard about, they made their way there across the lava. Entering, they were at the lowest point in a twisted, shattered landscape near a turbulent pool of lava. Looking up, they could tell that this huge cave had once contained a fort, a mighty edifice of basalt. Then, somehow, it was shattered. Spires of ruined wall emerged from the smoldering volcanic rock below. Hideous pillars were barely visible through the soot.
After an arduous fight against demons and imps, they found a hidden cavewood wheel which required the gold key which Patrick's password had given them, and this allowed them to find their way into a room where a pillar was in a pit, surrounded by runes.
"We'll have to jump down," said Ansel, "and figure out how to get back up later, but there's got to be something with that pillar. It's too well hidden for there not to be."
"Right," said Jynx. "All the same, it doesn't hurt to get ready for something bad."
They approached what appeared to be a pillar, but upon getting closer, they could see it was a man, dressed in rags, frozen in stasis and covered with soot. It wasn't clear, however, whether he had been dead or not when frozen. A golden medallion with the sun symbol of royalty hung around his neck.
"I think this is what we need," said Ansel. "That is, if we're going to get where we need to to get Hawthorne."
"So, take it already," said Brynja.
With a good hard pull, Ansel freed it from the body and pocketed it. As he did so, they heard a buzzing from all around, as though something had been summoned.
"You were right," said Ansel.
After the fight was over, the battered companions spent a few days recovering at the nearby merchant camp. Continuing their travels, they made their way to the top of a subterranean fumerole, capped with a large pool of eminently deadly lava. After a few moments, an image could be seen floating over the lava, soldified and moved closer, floating nearer, then the image shook and floated away again.
"Wait," urged Ansel, and they watched as the shape resolved into a gigantic, fanged demon, floating over the lava, restrained by gigantic golden chains.
The demon looked them over with disdain, and said, "Begone, mortals, and leave me to my humiliation. Return when you have the power to defeat Grah-Hoth. Until then, you are of no use to me."
Ansel said, "Ah, but we believe we do have such power. We just slew Adze-Haakai."
"Pah," said the demon. "Do not come back until Grah-Hoth has been freed from his prison." Having said his piece, he floated away, leaving them alone.
"Free him from his prison," said Ansel. "Sounds like a piece of cake."
"A veritable walk in the park which is Avernum," said Brynja.
Finally, they made their way back into the Abyss, and to Skarragath. Here, they found a fortress defended by a number of surprisingly non-hostile shades. They saw a throne, and Ansel knelt there, as though a king were seated, as there was a pad there seemingly placed for the purpose.
As he did, the image of a much younger King Micah appeared in the throne, and began to speak. "I don't know who you are. I don't know what allegiances you hold. I only know this. You should not be here. A horrible force lies beyond this place. Should it be freed, all of our young nation will suffer. But we realize that, for some reason, one day it may be necessary for someone to pass. Be sure that it is necessary. And be sure to perform the ritual to deactivate the guards."
With that, the image disappeared, and the throne was once more empty.
"Nobody at the castle told us about a ritual," said Brother Theo, paging through his journal.
"Maybe they forgot about it," said Brynja.
"That's odd," said Jynx, "but I don't think that they would've left something like that out."
They found one wheel and turned it, and found that it had opened one portcullis. Deciding the other door must lead to the other wheel, they went through, finding a solemn journal listing the dead—all around forty years ago, who had died defeating Grah-Hoth, concluding with the solemn warning that more would die if Grah-Hoth were freed.
In the next room, the skeletal remains of a human stood in front of a stone chair, wearing a tarnished iron crown. Heat radiated from its frail form, and it seemed to be watching them intently from empty eye-sockets.
"Who are you?" said Ansel. "Why are you here?"
"I was a wizard. I died long past, in the war against our prisoner," said the undead wizard.
"Tell me about the prisoner," urged Ansel.
"Once, long ago, there was a war against an army of demons and foul spirits. With others, I led our troops, and I fell, a gout of haakai flame shattering my chest," said the undead wizard. "I am here now, forever trying to keep the unknowing from freeing the demon lord Grah-Hoth."
"How is the demon lord imprisoned?" asked Duncan.
"Beyond this place lies the tower where the mighty demon lord Grah-Hoth lies imprisoned. It is unlikely you could free him," said the undead wizard, "but if you did, your mind cannot encompass the consequences."
"What sort of consequences?" asked Brother Theo.
"We could not kill him. I am sure you can't, either. He wishes to fill Avernum with his foul brood, and the humanity of the caves would serve as his cattle. Do not let this happen! Leave now, before you do unimaginable harm," said the wizard. "I beg you, in the name of Avernum. Go. Now."
"But Grah-Hoth is attacking Avernum from within his prison," said Ansel. "He must be destroyed."
"No. No, I tell you. No matter how much harm he does inside his prison, he will do far, far more outside of it. In his prison he must stay."
"I'm afraid we don't agree," said Ansel, and he went on to find the cavewood wheel, and when it, too, had been turned, the benign undead guards attacked.
Throwing off this attack, they made their way through another cavern, until they found the prison itself, and the bottle. Steeling themselves, they cut the seal with the athame. At first, there was disappointingly no reaction, and then there was a sudden burst. Then, with a spine-vibrating screech, an enormous, clawed, flaming monstrosity appeared, floating above the bottle. The creature was a solid twenty foot pillar of muscle and claws, stretching its arms, clearly glad to be freed from its prison.
"Thank you mortals," he said, speaking with a mixture of contempt and amusement. "Thank you. I could wreak great havoc from inside there, but that was nothing compared to what I can do now. I will not kill you yet. But one day, I believe you will come to me. And when you do, I will pay you for your service in full!" Then he roared, shattering the bottle with a carelessly tossed bolt of lightning and disappeared.
"I sure hope we did the right thing," said Ansel.
"We did," said Jynx. "Let's go see what that one demon had to say. Anything will help."
They returned to Skarragath, and were stunned by what they saw ahead. The fort had been decimated. It looked as though it had received a punch in the center from a huge fist, blasting a tunnel through the whole structure, and charring the rock. Rubble is strewn everywhere, and smoke hung heavy in the air.
The statues had changed since the companions were here last. Inside the mist, hisses and snarls could be heard. Obviously, leaving the fortress was not going to be the simple matter that they had thought.
After fighting many large demons, they were surprised to see a tiny imp sitting on the huge throne where they had first met the undead wizard. It idly tossed little balls of flame from one claw to another.
"What are you?" said Ansel. "Why are you here?"
It squealed with delight. "I've been left to give you a little message. Just a liiiittle message! Heee!" said Nizzrek, and it grinned, displaying many tiny, red razor-sharp teeth.
"Out with it, then," said Ansel.
"Mighty Grah-Hoth cordially invites you to visit him in his new fort," replied Nizzrek
"He does? Why?" said Duncan, suspiciously.
"So he may freeze you," replied Nizzrek.
"Why would he do that?" asked Ansel.
"So that he could subject you to the full one thousand torments of the damned, one after another. You will beg to be given the chance to betray all of Avernum, if only to receive a moment's respite from your suffering," said Nizzrek.
"Yeah, so where's the new fort?" said Ansel.
Nizzrek rolled around in the throne, twitching with excitement and amusement. "Northwest. Beyond the lake of lava! He summons you there for a fair fight. You better go, or you're doomed!"
"Yeah, right," said Ansel. "Grah-Hoth is the one who is doomed."
Nizzrek screeched, a hideous piercing noise that was painful and unsettling all at the same time. "No, nooo. He's going to kill you ALL! ALL OF YOU! He will have his revenge. He will freeze you where you stand, and we will abuse you for years and years. You will all die, and die slow."
"Whatever," said Ansel, brandishing Demon slayer. "We will kill him, like we're about to kill you."
"And he will evade your blades, like I am about to," said Nizzrek, and he laughed again and disappeared. Only his voice remained for a moment longer, "Soon, your torment begins!"
"I'm shaking in my boots," said Ansel to thin air.
They returned to the place of the chained demon.
"I am Astar, once lieutenant of Grah-Hoth, now imprisoned here by him for trying to slay him. I wish revenge, and wish you to be my tools. Thus, here me well. Grah-Hoth's fortress is far, far to the northwest. Beyond a chasm and many rivers of lava. To reach the fortress, you must learn how to fly. I don't know how you humans might do that. His fortress was ruined, and I know not what shapes he might rebuild it in, but humans as strong as yourselves should have no trouble finding your way in."
"Well, I guess we got a long trip ahead of us," said Ansel.
"Nothing but time, down here in this dump," said Brynja. "Let's go."
They returned to Skarragath, and turned north, finding their way into a cavern with huge pools of standing water, where heat from several fumaroles had created an environment where algae and slime flourished. At least, that was the only way to explain the disturbing filth and horrible smell. The light from the fungus on the cave ceiling was bright here, giving an excellent view of the hostile environment ahead. They entered another cave. Once upon a time, there had been a fort here, an impressive structure hon from living rock, protected by massive stone walls. Then some being of incredible power came here and razed it to the ground. Gigantic claw marks, charred walls, and solidified rivers of once-melted stone marked the wrath of the beast.
"Grah-Hoth's work?" asked Jynx.
"Could be," said Brother Theo.
They searched through, finding the place full of eyebeasts, snakes, and bats. Then, suddenly, they found their way into a room untouched by the devastation. They had seen the symbol of Empire, an oddity to be filed away for later. In a desk in this room, they found a well-preserved piece of vellum, which appeared to be a plan for an underground fort located just to the west of a large chasm.
There was a note attached to the plans, and Ansel read aloud, "We must be careful of the giants. Their castle is dangerously close. Fortunately, they have no way of crossing the chasm. Move the dragon's scroll there as soon as possible. The mages there may have more luck deciphering it. It may have information on the being trapped inside the crystal." Then he said, "It's signed Elith."
"Fascinating," said Brother Theo, jotting these things down. "Giants? Dragon's scroll? I think we're onto something. Khoth is supposed to be missing a scroll, and returning it might be the favor we need to get him to teach us that ritual."
"But what's up with a being trapped in crystal?" said Jynx.
"I have no idea," said Brother Theo. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open."
Then, as they traveled, they saw an orb, and almost without thought, looked in. Staring deep into the mists, they swirled, changed color, and resolved into an image.
Within the orb, an old wizard, wearing rich, black robes and bearing a staff tipped with a large diamond stared at the orb, examining them carefully before speaking. "Ah, I was wondering when I would hear from this orb again. It would seem that the loss of this fort is complete. Enjoy your victory. It will be brief, I promise you. Hear me now, worms. I am Garzahd. Remember my name. One day, there will be war between us and you, and I will lead the army that disperses and crushes you. Remember what you have wrought. There will be war."
Garzahd waved his hand, and the orb shattered, the mist dissipating slowly into the air.
"Garzahd!" said Jynx. "That ass! If we're lucky, maybe we can off him when we get the stinking emperor."
"Know him?" said Ansel.
"Just by reputation," said Jynx. "It's enough."
"Well, we should check this place a little more thoroughly," said Rudel. "There's a lot of stuff in here that doesn't make sense."
They continued, finding yet another hidden room, and barely visible in the shadows, a ghost.
"What happened to this fort?" asked Ansel.
"I couldn't hide. It caught me ... caught me. It had its... its revenge," replied the ghost in a barely perceptible whisper.
"Revenge for what?" asked Ansel.
"We took its scroll. Sacred scroll, for protect ... protections. The serpent came for us all. So strong ... strong ... so strong," whispered the ghost. "It brought flames."
"Brought flames? How?" said Brynja.
"So hot. But so fast. I watched myself burn ... burn ... pain ... burning ... burn," whispered the ghost, the whisper fading in and out.
"What serpent?" asked Brother Theo.
"Dragon. Khoth. Mighty dragon. Thought was weak. Hated Empire so we thought was weak. We took its scroll," whispered the ghost. "Sacred scroll, for protect protections. For penetrating secret of crystal."
"Crystal?" said Brother Theo.
"Blue magic crystal, with spirit inside. Found in cave near giants," whispered the ghost. "Cave where we built new fort."
"A crystal with a spirit inside?" persisted Brother Theo.
"You must not know of it. Is secret, powerful secret," replied the ghost, "and of it I say no more."
"There's a secret fort near the giants?" asked Ansel.
"Oh, fool, fool I am, for telling you secret fort is near giants," whispered the ghost.
"What happened to the scroll," said Jynx.
"Taken, taken to new fort," replied the ghost with a tiny whimper. "Had it been here, we might have lived. Lived, oh yes, lived."
"Where is this new fort?" said Jynx.
"New fort. Secret. Control Avernum. Cannot tell ... tell you," replied the ghost.
"Thanks for your time," said Ansel, gesturing 'let's go' to his companions.
Outside the fort, Ansel said, "It's just like they said in Scimitar. When we finish with this demon, we're going to have to strike, and fast."
"One task at a time," said Jynx. "But now we've got a definite lead for that. You got it all marked down, Brother Theo?"
"Of course," said Brother Theo, and he stowed his journal carefully away.
Emerging from the smelly passage, they were greeted with an even more hellish vision than elsewhere in Avernum. The new cavern was a blasted wasteland of mounds of pumice, volcanic ash, and sharp, jagged obsidian. The aroma of rotten eggs was nearly asphyxiating. In addition to the sound of bubbling mud and venting steam fumaroles, there were hisses, howls, and roars of strange creatures.
As they walked along, they encountered a lone, wandering human wearing tattered robes. One look revealed that the harsh landscape had made him quite mad. It was rather amazing that he was still alive.
As they drew closer yet, he ranted, "Came for the demon, I did! Came to battle Grah-Hoth! But his mind ... it touched mine. Oh, the power! Oh, the ancient knowledge! Now I see how wrong it is to fight him. How wrong it is for you to fight him. Tell me you will not. Tell me you will never defy his majesty!"
"Actually, we will battle all evil in Avernum until our dying days!" declared Rudel.
"Foolish adventurers! I will dispatch you as a mercy! Otherwise, Grah-Hoth's torments will curse you eternally," said the mad wizard. "You'll thank me later!"
The man waved his arms, and monsters formed out of the rock, and the battle was joined. In the end, the madman was defeated, along with his creations, and the companions continued until they approached a narrow land bridge, and a crowd of spirits rose up in front of them, floating out of the solid stone. Each appeared to be an adventurer, brutally killed some time long past. They watched, waiting for the group's first response.
"Let's see if they're going to say anything that helps our cause," said Ansel. "Hello. Who might you be?"
"We are the doorkeepers of Khoth. The mighty dragon beyond will consider allowing you to approach him. Pass beyond, so that you may be tested," said one of the shades. "And do not steal, like we did in our foolish lives, or your fate will match ours." With that, the shades sank back into the stone.
"Should we go now?" said Ansel.
"Better to wait," said Jynx. "I think we took the wrong fork on our way to Grah-Hoth."
"Very well," said Brother Theo, who'd jotted down the information. "We'll be back, then."
Turning, they came down another passage, where a massive basalt fortress blocked the corridor with a pair of twisted, closed iron gates, blocking further progress. Suddenly, the gates opened, and a huge band of demons and other strange creatures emerged, waiting for the companions to approach. They jeered, daring the companions to defy them.
"We ready?" said Ansel.
"As ready as ever," said Jynx.
"You betcha," said Duncan.
"Then ... charge!" said Ansel.