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: Sulfras, the statue, Bahk-Shah; and places: the western tunnels, Sulfras' lair, the Remote Tunnels, and the Final Gauntlet.
Returning from killing Emperor Hawthorne was almost anti-climactic, as no one else knew it had happened, and there were no signs of change from above. Deciding that the thing to do now was to investigate the exit they had heard rumors of, the companions made their way into the western tunnels.
Progressing north, the twisting network of passages made them feel uncomfortable. Too quiet, too dry, and the glowing fungus was very sparse. Wandering through the shadowy passages, trying to maintain their bearings, they felt watched. Even stalked, as though something here were hunting them, though it was hard to imagine who would dare, after Grah-Hoth and Hawthorne.
Suddenly rounding a bend, they saw a group of walking statues surrounding a strange, bent-over old man. He had glassy eyes, moving with a strange, stiff motion, seemingly unaware of who or where he was. However, he was fully aware of what he was here to do, and he moved his hand in a chopping motion, and they were under attack.
After killing him, they found no sign as to who had sent him, though he clearly had been sent.
"Almost feel bad about killing him," said Ansel. "I'm not sure he wanted to be here."
"It's not like there was a choice in the matter," said Duncan, who was still being patched together by Rudel. "He wasn't holding back."
At long last, though, they made it through the tunnels to the domain of Sulfras. Crossing a land bridge over a series of sputtering fumaroles, through the steam, the companions could see two non-reassuring rows of skulls on poles and a fortress of damp, gleaming basalt.
Then, they noticed a statue, scratching itself by the fumaroles.
"Divulge," said Ansel.
"Greetings, master! I have spied on the drake, and I have secrets to tell," said the statue.
"Go on," said Ansel.
"She seeks the scepter and circlet. For what, I don't know, but I've heard her talk of them. And her treasure, too!" replied the statue.
"What about the treasure?" asked Brynja.
"Her hidden treasure chests are all trapped! But the trap on the southeast chest is broken. She plans to fix it," replied the statue, "but thinks nobody dares steal from her."
"Thank you," said Ansel.
They stepped inside, and saw within a pit, a demon in a protective rune circle. The loathsome, leathery creature paced back and forth constantly, obsessively looking for a flaw in his prison.
"Why are you trapped in that magic circle?" asked Ansel.
Angrily, Bahk-Shah raked the invisible barrier with a claw, and said, "I am bound to welcome all comers to the home of the mighty drake."
"Which drake would that be?" said Brother Theo.
"Sulfras, mightiest of dragons. She placed me here to greet, and give warning," said Bahk-Shah, loathing dripping from his words. "There are five dragons, and I have not always been bound to Sulfras."
"Who'd you belong to before?" asked Ansel.
"Pfaugh! I did not belong to anyone. I was a servant of Erika, and for that I earned good pay!" replied Bahk-Shah. "But here, I languish." The demon looked around to make sure no one was listening, examining the walls carefully, and spoke in a low tone. "Sulfras took me when I was on one of her errands. Very rude. But she has not forgiven this slight. One of her statues is here!"
"We met," said Ansel.
"Watch out, the pillars are guardians," said Bahk-Shah.
"The pillars are guardians?" said Ansel. "What do you mean?"
The demon merely smiled.
"So, what's your warning?" said Ansel.
"Sulfras requests nobody take the east passage from her chamber without her permission," replied Bahk-Shah. "Those who disobey will die in fire."
"We'll remember," said Ansel, and he made his way into Sulfras' chamber.
Here, an enormous dragon, some one hundred feet long, sat on an active steam vent, and bared her fangs in a predatory grin.
"Why have you blocked the eastern passage from this fort?" asked Ansel.
"My purposes are my own," said Sulfras. "However, I might allow passage for those who perform certain services for me."
"Why do you want to control movement through the passage?" asked Duncan.
"I happen to live on top of it. I see no need to let you fools and insects pass for free. My siblings might, but I am no fool."
"Your siblings are kinder, then?" said Brother Theo, the journal out again.
"Fool Motrax would help you. He should die for stooping to befriend you humans! He betrays our race," said Sulfras. "At least Pyrog controlled instead of befriending. You mortals are beneath our notice, and we should treat you that way."
"So, what's in the passage?" asked Brother Theo.
"I have given my word not to say," said Sulfras.
"Given your word?" said Brother Theo, surprised. "To whom?"
"Who are you to question me, fool?" said Sulfras. "I shall not say."
"So, what sort of things are you looking for?" said Ansel.
"My actions and machinations are private and you should not presume to ask," said Sulfras in a shudder-inducing tone. "However, since you seem curious, I am looking for some assistance."
"I would like to assist you," said Ansel.
"You must, if you are one of those who want to pass through my fortress. Some humans have expressed an interest in that passage to the east. The passage I control," said Sulfras.
"Please, go on about the passage," urged Brother Theo.
"They, or at least this puny group called the Scimitar, expresses interest in passing it. Interesting things are beyond," said Sulfras. "I may allow you to pass to the east. But you must ask for permission."
"Then I formally request permission to pass through the eastern passage," said Ansel.
"Excellent. All you have to do then, is give me the silver circlet and the onyx scepter. They are rare, heavily guarded, and highly valuable magical artifacts. Do this, and I will grant you passage through my domain," said Sulfras. "A silver circlet was brought down by some pathetic humans some time ago. It seemed to have magical power, but nobody could figure out what it did. I've only heard of it, and I don't know where it is, but the mystery is of great interest to me." The temper flared, and Sulfras roared, vomiting a mighty gout of flame into the air, and she said, "The scepter, black, a single piece of pure onyx. Stolen from me! I know not who the thief is, but I know where it is! The Tower of Magi!"
"It was there," said Ansel, drawing it out from a pack. "We have obtained the onyx scepter."
Sulfras picked the scepter out of Ansel's hands with her massive claws. She muttered a few magical words, and it disappeared, and she said, "At last, my scepter has been returned to me."
"And we recovered the silver circlet for you," said Ansel, sighing as it had seemed such a nice bit of treasure.
Sulfras picked the circlet out of his hands with her claws, muttered a few magical words, and it too disappeared. She said, "Good. That task is completed."
"Now that we have returned the items," said Ansel, "may we pass?"
"Fine," said Sulfras, and she muttered a brief spell. "You may pass the eastern runes."
"Thank you," said Ansel, and he led the way out to the east.
At first, it looked like there was nothing beyond, but soon they found a secret passage and steep ascents. It had been a long, and wearying journey, and they came to a place where the path was a narrow bridge across a deep chasm.
"I don't like this," said Ansel. "Might be some nasty things living in the depths, and there's not much place to maneuver."
"Well we'll have to go across," said Jynx. "That swamp was a dead end."
As they crossed, far below, they could hear the distant echo of rushing, turbulent water. Icy winds blew past them, and the bridge was slippery with mist. When they were halfway across, a bunch of sinister, grinning orbs flew out from underneath the bridge to attack. Clearly, they had been waiting for prey here for a very long time.
Fortunately, however, the companions were well up to the challenge, and they managed to fight off these strange creatures without losing anyone over the edge of the bridge and finish the crossing. Then, the passage became quite curvy and sloped sharply upward. The temperature was changing, becoming quite cold, and the glowing ceiling fungus was almost completely absent.
Undeterred, they continued their progress through the passage. As they continued, they happened upon a skeleton wearing the ruined armor of a soldier of the Empire. However, the body had only been here for a year or two, which seemed rather odd. Could they be coming through with Sulfras' permission, or did Empire teleport all their spies into place?
At long last, they reached an opening of worked stone, and made their way into the building. Then a creature lumbered out of the shadows to their left. It looked like a giant, but with skin which was waxy and unnatural. Its eyes carried no emotion, not even the piggish anger giants felt most of the time. Whether it was an undead giant or a magical construct mattered little, for it was quite hostile to the group.
They went on, though, finding themselves passing through a gate, where they felt a soft breeze on their faces, not a cold or humid subterranean draft, but an actual breeze. The grass wasn't fungus, but actual healthy grass. Looking up, they shielded their eyes, blinded by the sunlight, and their eyes, weakened by living in shadows for so long, took a few moments to adjust to it.
"We made it!" said Brynja.
"I don't know," said Jynx. "There was no password, and it just seemed ... too easy."
"Easy?" said Brynja. "After all we've been through to get here? Maybe that thing was broken and we were supposed to give it the password."
Suddenly, though, as they stepped forward, the blue sky, so reassuring above, faded away, leaving rock. The cliff walls to the east and west curved around to meet to the north. The breeze was real, the air was fresh, but the chamber was naught but a trap, placed here to imprison seekers of the true exit, and the gate closed, and several strange giant creatures lumbered forward to attack.
Killing these things, whatever they were, they started searching, and finally found a golem-defended wheel. Turning this wheel, they found they had opened the gate, and decided to retrace their steps, and go back to where they'd defeated the first of the odd giant things.
Finding their way into a fine chamber, watching for traps, they thought they saw motion around the chair to the west, but it was a translucent wall bisecting the chamber.
From the empty seat, a disembodied voice intoned, "Approach the barrier."
As they approached the barrier, the voice intoned, "Speak the pass-phrase."
Remembering the intense effort required to obtain them, Ansel carefully enunciated the syllables, "Kro Bas Eng Kai."
The barrier disappeared, clearing the path, and the companions continued forward.
"Perform the Ritual of Safety, so the defenses may be neutralized," intoned the voice.
There was an uncomfortable moment as the companions looked from one to another, as none of them had knowledge of a Ritual of Safety.
"Fine, then. If you are, indeed, allowed to pass, you will have to struggle," intoned the voice, and the sense of a strange presence was gone, and the voice was silent.
"Shit," said Ansel. "I don't like the sound of that."
"Nor do I," said Jynx.
"Any amount of struggle is worth it," said Brynja. "To get outside again."
They continued on their way, reaching an enormous chasm, with a thin stone bridge crossing it.
"I bet anything that will collapse if we cross it," said Ansel.
"Let's look around," said Brynja. Doing so, they found a cavewood wheel, and turning that, there were some sort of sounds from the north.
"No other way, we'll have to cross it," said Jynx.
Duncan took Rudel into his arms, giving his lover a kiss, and said, "For luck."
"Good idea," said Ansel, although he gave Jynx a kiss.
"Don't even think of it," said Brynja, looking at Brother Theo.
"I wouldn't dare," said Brother Theo with a mild smile.
They managed to cross the bridge, but a section collapsed behind them, and there was no way back.
"Well, we've got to go forward now," said Ansel. "No other way out."
"I wish it weren't so dark," grumbled Brynja.
"The light keeps snuffing out too quickly," said Jynx. "I think it's better to conserve the magical energy. Never know when there'll be another fight."
After fighting their way through ledges where they were attacked from above by the giant constructs or whatever they were, and another room with barriers, they reached a huge cavern filled with stalagmites and statues. Some of the statues were moving, but before they could get a really good look at the layout, a heavy mist rose, blocking vision at a distance greater than one foot.
Finally, after fighting their way through the maze of darkness, the mist cleared, and they could see again. They were in a small building. It looked like an outpost, built into the side of a cliff. Everything was dusty, as though the place had been abandoned for quite some time, but what really drew attention was the vision through the windows to the north.
They walked through the door and looked around. Outside, on the surface ... they breathed in great gasps of fresh air, and stared gleefully at the trees and plants. Escape from Avernum was finally at hand.
"We can go back and tell Scimitar now," said Brother Theo.
"Or just stay here," said Brynja, "take our chances. We earned this escape from the pit."
"We could," said Jynx, "but there's a good fight for the people of Avernum, and we can be a real part of that."
"Then again," said Brother Theo, "if you want to leave, Brynja, we won't hold you back."
"It wouldn't be long before they'd send us back down again," said Duncan. "Assuming they didn't figure out we're the ones who offed the Emperor."
"That's true," said Jynx. "I think ... I would want to stay, but then again, I think ... the city of Spire. We could help the folk of the Abyss, not let the place be run by bandits and thugs, just people who want to be really and truly free."
"All right," said Ansel.
"Well, I'm not going back," said Brynja.
"Then best of luck to you," said Ansel. "Take care, and maybe we will meet again ... up here."
The others spent several hours wandering around the outdoors. As near as they could tell, they were many miles from the nearest town, and they could enjoy the outdoors in relative safety. At last, they could see the outdoors again. They tried to memorize every detail of it: every sight and smell, to sustain them during their long struggles in the moist, hostile caverns below. Then, reluctantly, they turned back. It would have been tempting to join Brynja to escape, to live in the sun, the fresh air, and the relative safety. But deep down, five of the companions knew they could not, for a sense of duty called to them. There were new friends, new allegiances, and much work to do. The surface would always be there, and they could hope to return.
Then, with one last look at the surface, they walked back into the safehouse.