A/N: Exile (Avernum) is still his (Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software), not mine. I'm just having my fun here, and I promise to return, unharmed, to the game the following persons: Bott, Iglit, Bon-Ihrno, Sera, and Forla-Te; and the city of Avit, the tests of Speed, Strength, and Mind. Yes, I prefer the original Exile on this point to the test of Patience in Avernum.
After the difficulties of their journey down the river, the trip across the open cave to the city of Avit was easy, the miasma of uncertainty and fear being the only blight. As they came into the city, a farmer was tending long, crooked rows of mushrooms. Gray skin was creased and pale, back heavily bent. While his clothing was of the same sort of luminescent stuff as the other vahnatai they had met, his garb was dirty and creased.
The town itself was still clearly under construction, with bits of building materials and tools scattered about. The buildings looked quite different from human constructions, made with sheets of blue crystal material, with rounded corners, looking like colorful crystalline growths rather than typical buildings.
"Me Bott," he said, straightening his wrap as he stood at the approach of the strangers.
"Uh, hello," said Jenneke. "I'm Jenneke, my companions Thissa, Nigel, Feodoric, and Michael. You're a farmer?"
"Fahr murh? Not know," replied Bott. "Me make food. Only me awake now, to make food for lots. Much work. But food you to buy, if want."
"Yes," said Jenneke, knowing they had lost what food they had started with and not eaten, "we'd like to buy some food."
As Jenneke and Bott exchanged mushrooms and coins, Nigel said, "You're the only one here who makes food?"
"Yes, yes, all us being waked, but me only food maker, and work and work, and not get full pay for it," replied Bott. He looked around slyly and said, "So when me find secret, me deserve it be mine, and not to Tekora-Tel go, yes, yes? Me tell secret for only fifty shiny things, yes? Fair for me so hard working, yes?"
"Uh, who's Tekora-Tel?" asked Jenneke, not wanting to get themselves into some situation that would accidentally get them all killed.
"Tekora-Tel our leader, she tell me to be working and food making, as it me duty," said Bott. "But me do more work, and me should get more. Fair, yes, yes? Me!"
"Yeah, tell us your secret," said Nigel, counting out the coins from his stash.
Grabbing the money, he stashed it in a pocket in his wrap as he said, "Me find scroll! Magic! Hidden in rubble behind me house in southwest! Good magic! You may take."
"Thanks," said Jenneke, sounding faintly relieved. As they continued into the city, he said, "Nigel, didn't know you were holding out on us."
"Hey, sometimes I want stuff," said Nigel. "I earned it, no big deal."
A vahnatai woman was ahead, pacing the half-done streets of this city, seemingly lost in thought. However, as the group of humans entered, she stopped, and turned to them.
"Greetings, humans," she said. "I am Iglit."
"Greetings and salutations," said Jenneke, returning the greeting. "And what is it you do for the vahnatai?"
"I am a Ponder. And right now, I am pondering the problem of the humans," replied Iglit.
"What is a Ponder?" said Feodoric.
Her voice was soft, high-pitched, though her accent was quite good, as she replied, "It is rough translation of our word for it to your language. A Ponder is a person who watches and advises. The advice need not be taken, but very often should be."
"I see," said Feodoric. "I suppose we humans can cause problems occasionally."
"Our vahnatai council has started to attack you humans by putting up magic barriers. We feel this attack is hasty, and may be at the wrong humans, so we want to bring you before the Council for questioning. You are the first humans we have brought here," replied Iglit. "Right now, they unwisely refuse to see you, saying you are not of us. But I thought of a trick."
Internally, Jenneke groaned, thinking that they had made this dangerous journey for nothing if the council wouldn't see them to let them make their case. Aloud, he only said, "We can be tricky if need be. What do you propose?"
"A full member of our tribe may always see the Council. A not-member of the tribe may become a full member by going through the tests. We have argued that nothing in the laws say a not-member has to be vahnatai, so you may join us by being tested," said Iglit. "It is clever, and tricky. But if you pass through the tests, you may see the Council."
"Uhhh ... tests?" said Jenneke. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what sort of tests?"
"There are three tests. They are used to earn position in our tribe, and to redeem those who we find to be crimes," said Iglit, pausing with a look of concern that she might have used an incorrect word. "Go ask Forla-Te about the tests. She will help you. She is not happy about the bringing of humans here, but unlike some, she sees the wisdom of the Ponders."
"Thank you," said Jenneke.
He looked to the center of the village, where a narrow stone bridge arced over the river to a small island, and meditating under an unusually tall cavewood tree, they could see the ancient vahnatai who had made the dramatic appearance in Formello.
"Let's go over there," said Jenneke. "I think we saw him before."
They crossed the bridge, and the vahnatai rose, and made a bow of greeting as he said, "I am Bon-Ihrno. Welcome to the land of the vahnatai."
"I've seen you before," said Jenneke. "Why did you call us to come and see you?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Oh, so much work. Learning your tongue, learning of your people," he said, seeming to struggle to speak the language, though he was quite competent with the tongue, "struggling for peace. It is all so hard, after the theft."
"That does sound like a lot of work," said Jenneke. "What sort of things do you still need to learn about our people?"
"After the Resting, when we found of the theft and learned of your people, we all had to learn so much so fast. Some, on how to attack, some on how to talk to you," replied Bon-Ihrno. "There is much we do not understand about you humans. We do not know how many tribes you have, or how they behave towards each other. Our magic is stronger than yours, but we do not know how much. We do not know your beliefs or your morals. We are learning, though. But not as fast as we should be."
"Why were the vahnatai people Resting?" said Jenneke.
"Ah, yes. Every millennium or so, despite our best efforts, we vahnatai use up the food in the caves. When this happens, we are able to magically hibernate, to give everything time to recuperate. We only just woke from our last Resting a year ago," replied Bon-Ihrno. "When this happened, we discovered a horrible theft. Three of the Crystal Souls were gone!"
"What is a soul crystal?" said Nigel.
"Not soul crystals, Crystal Souls. It is not a crystal with a soul inside it, it is a soul taking crystal form. A soul of an honored leader, a Bok, staying with us in physical form to provide comfort and guidance. They are our race's greatest prize," replied Bon-Ihrno. "To have stolen them is one of the greatest crimes against us one can commit."
"How did the theft happen?" asked Jenneke.
"When we ended the Resting, we rebuilt the home of the Souls of our greatest Boks. Not long after, three were stolen, the guards slain by human weapons!" said Bon-Ihrno, quivering with anger. "This taught us of humans, and it was then the Council called for your doom. It is because of this that I had you come here. You must go to the Council to be scried."
"Do you believe that peace is possible between our races?" said Jenneke.
"Some say peace is impossible, since humans took our leaders' Souls and killed their guards, but I want peace with the humans not responsible. Just because some of you may be evil doesn't mean you all are," said Bon-Ihrno. "Alas, to some, this is a radical, foolish view."
"I see why you might blame us," said Feodoric. "What will going before the Council accomplish?"
"I believe there may be many types of humans, with many beliefs, and using our magics to destroy all of you is, for now, wrong. If we could get the Council of Three to question you, then the truth could be known, and we could act with wisdom," replied Bon-Ihrno. "Their magics are awesome. If your people are not to die, you must prepare. We have gifts for you."
"What sort of magics can the Council perform?" asked Feodoric.
"The Council, our overly hasty rulers, created the barriers that choke your lands. They even now prepare disease spells, which will ravage and decay your people, and enormous shockwaves, which will bury them in giant cave-ins," replied Bon-Ihrno. "If you stole our Crystal Souls, it is what you deserve. It would be justice. But if not, it would be a great crime."
"How should we prepare?" asked Jenneke.
"The Council, rulers of our tribe, sits in Olgai. We have found a way to get them to see you. Go speak with Iglit about it," replied Bon-Ihrno.
"We met Iglit," said Jenneke. "She said something about trickery and tests."
"Yes, that's right," said Bon-Ihrno. "We can also make you a guest of the vahnatai, enabling you to travel our lands safely. It also enables you to speak our tongue. For this gift, you must perform the Ritual of Welcoming. Go to the Chamber of Meditations to do so."
"What's the Ritual of Welcoming?" said Jenneke.
"A very simple, highly magical ritual we have modified so you can take part in it," replied Bon-Ihrno. "It will mark you so that you can travel in our lands free from attack."
"Yeah, during our journey here, we were attacked by several groups of vahnatai," said Jenneke.
"We are not all of one mind. Some of us have different regard for aliens, as some of us call you—humans, nephilim, and slithzerikai alike. And some would prefer that politics not be muddied by the idea of peace with you," replied Bon-Ihrno.
"So, how did you learn our language?" said Feodoric. "And how did you send your image to Formello?"
"We vahnatai, we are a magical race. It is needed for us to survive in the caves for many years," replied Bon-Ihrno. "Our magic is strong. We walk paths humans do not."
"We would learn of your magic, if we could," said Feodoric.
"That may be possible. Or maybe not," said Bon-Ihrno. "Go to Egli, to southeast. There, on island, you might be able to persuade some to teach you of our powers."
"So, you're one of the older vahnatai?" said Nigel.
"Yes. My age is ... you aliens have something called a year. I believe that my time spent in waking is over two hundred of your years. Such is the greatness of my age," said Bon-Ihrno. "As is our custom, I do not count the years I spent in Resting."
"On our way here," said Feodoric, "we passed the tomb of someone called Dahris-Bok. Does that sound familiar?"
"A Crystal Soul, the spirit of one of our revered leaders. It was good of you to pay homage to him," said Bon-Ihrno. "This impressed us. We were thankful for your honor. But now, time is short, you must make haste to prepare to see the Council."
"Thank you," said Jenneke, and he led his platoon back over the bridge and up the street. "I saw this sign earlier," he commented, and opened the door.
The air within this small, low building was heavy with incense. To the south were two small fire pits, burning a mix of lichen and mosses. To the north were three pools of colorful liquid. On the floor, a vahnatai male sat cross-legged on a prayer mat. He opened his eyes, revealing unsettling pure gray eyes.
Still looking at the pools, he said, "I am Sera. Welcome."
"Uh, sorry to disturb you. May I ask what you are doing?" said Jenneke.
"I am a Ponder. And I wait," he spoke, but his eyes remained facing forward, his mouth barely moving, in fact his entire body was perfectly still, save that which had to move for speech.
"You wait?" said Jenneke. "For what?"
"For you. I keep the pools prepared for you. There is a vahnatai ritual which you can be performing," replied Sera. "It is our Ritual of Welcoming, which we use to mark those from other tribes as being our guests. I can teach you, so you can be welcomed by us."
"Yeah, we heard about that," said Jenneke. "So, what's involved in this ritual?"
"The ritual is skimming your fingers in a caress across all the waters, going from the darkest hue to lightest, as you are now going from the dark of being outside us to the light of our acceptance," replied Sera, with a nod to the pools as though motioning them over there.
"OK, boys," said Jenneke, "let's do this ritual." He walked down the steps.
At the bottom of the steps, a small basin had been set into the floor, the depression covered with an intricate pattern of polished tiles—a beautiful example of craftsmanship. Within, there was a small amount of dark purple liquid. Jenneke reached in to touch the liquid. It was slightly warm and sticky. He pulled his fingers out, and wiped them off on a trouser leg.
Trying to disguise his concern that nothing seemed to have happened, he moved to the next pool as Thissa mimicked Jenneke's action at the first pool. The second pool was like the first, save that the basin here was half-filled with a dull brown liquid. Jenneke repeated the action as before, feeling no different than he had when he had started.
The last pool, as Jenneke approached, seemed different only in content—near full of a glowing milky-white fluid. As he touched his fingers to the surface of the fluid, an almost electrical tingling sensation crawled up his arms, into his torso, and then through his entire body, feeling like spiders walking all over, inside.
For lack of better word, he felt rearranged, even though there was really no definite discernible difference in his appearance. But now, vahnatai words he had heard started to make sense, connections forming between the vahnatai language and his own.
"Whoa," said Jenneke.
"Be warned," said Sera, as the others of the platoon were still making their way from basin to basin, "that this ritual will not protect you from the consequence of evil deeds you might commit in our lands."
"I'll remember that," said Jenneke. "Thank you."
Finally, they found the building where the warrior Forla-Te was to be found. She was formidably armed, with pointed razordisks strapped across her chest, and a heavy, two-handed waveblade strapped to her back.
At the sight of them, she gave a definite sour look, and said, "I am Forla-Te, commander of Avit."
"Greetings, warrior," said Jenneke.
The pale gray of her face darkened slightly. "I am supposed to be helping to you, not liking," she said, her words slow and awkward. "I must be acting like you weren't stealing."
"We haven't stolen anything from the vahnatai! We didn't even know the vahnatai existed until recently," said Jenneke.
She smiled grimly. "I said not things about humans stealing." Her voice turned bitter as she said, "To say humans stealing is interfere with peace. That would be wrong."
"You want peace between our peoples, right?" said Jenneke.
"Yes, peace," she said, spitting the word out as though it were poison.
"Commander, are you aware that we found a book of human magic in the possession of some hostile vahnatai?" said Jenneke.
"We were aware," she said, after a moment of thinking. "We watched every step of your journey here. We saw that. It upset us. To think some of us were in league with the aliens. Upsetting. Still, we were glad that you brought it to our notice."
"So, Iglit said you could help with our tests," said Jenneke.
She looked angry that she had been asked. "Yes. I must telling you of three tests. They are all south and southeast: of strength, speed, and mind. When in it, only one of your can entering and pass through. Are dangerous," said Forla-Te. "Remains to see if you can survive our testing."
"Thank you," said Jenneke. "How many tests are required?"
Forla-Te's face twisted in definite fury, and she said, "You must do enough. There are three. You will know when the Council will see you. I hope they give you justice."
"Uh, thanks," said Jenneke. He led the others of the platoon back out of the barracks.
"OK, I'm not really sure—are we supposed to go to Olgai and keep trying, doing these tests until they say ok?"
"We could just do them all," said Feodoric, "and then we'll know we've done enough."
"That's a thought," said Jenneke. "OK, let's go."
They walked out to the south of Avit. Here, the cave ceilings were lower than those of Avernum, the glowing fungus was dimmer, and the flora was different. As they traveled, they met a heavily armed patrol of vahnatai guards, marching in careful formation. They clearly saw the human platoon, and began running swiftly toward them.
"Shit," said Jenneke, "they move fast."
One of the vahnatai shouted, "Identify yourselves, aliens! Now, or suffer our wrath!"
Jenneke raised his hands, stretching them out to show they were empty, as he said, "We have performed the welcome ritual in Avit. We mean you no harm."
They stopped short, looking amazed, and broke into frantic whispers amongst themselves.
The leader finally turned and said, "Fine, then. You may pass. If you have been allowed to wander our lands, we will not interfere." Then, with a quick gesture, his men began to move away, giving a backwards glance that communicated loudly that the group was not truly trusted.
Shortly thereafter, they discovered a small passage, which led to a cave, within which was a room tiled with the green tiles, and a portal at one end. As they entered, the portal flickered greedily.
"Test of the mind," said Jenneke, reading off the sign.
A disembodied soft voice said, "Here lies a test of the vahnatai. One of you may enter. Choose wisely, else death is certain."
"OK, test of the mind," said Jenneke. "Feodoric, you figure you're up to that?"
"Yes," said Feodoric.
"Good luck to you," said Jenneke.
"Thanks, sarge," said Feodoric, and he disappeared through the portal.
Jenneke shook his head, and said, "I guess we wait. Nigel, you got those dice?"
After some time had passed, Feodoric re-emerged from the portal.
"Interesting test," he said. "There were riddles of all sorts in there. You needed to answer one to open the way. Deceptively simple and peaceful, but there was a little aggravating part, where every step would make walls appear and disappear, and it took a bit of doing to find the way on through."
"Then I'm very glad you didn't get stuck in there," said Jenneke. "So that's mind. Strength or speed next?"
"Strength, I figure," said Feodoric. "Or speed. I guess whichever we find first. I'll recommend that I do the test of speed, for I have magics that allow me to haste myself—well, any one person, but I have to be present to cast it."
"OK, you got speed," said Jenneke. "And when we find the strength test, that'll be mine."
"Whatsamatta, sarge," said Nigel. "Feeling useless?"
"Nah," said Jenneke, "just that I should do any test that I'm capable of. It's only fair, taking as much risk as I ask of the rest of you."
The test of strength was found first, and Jenneke went in, finding that he simply never sheathed his sword, although he did try some experimental throws of the razordisks, and actually managed to strike the foes more often than he missed by the time he finished the test.
"That wasn't so bad," said Jenneke. "Now, let's find the speed test."
Once again, while Feodoric was inside, the others set to dicing, whiling away the time. Feodoric emerged, his clothes singed.
"The fire moved faster than anything I've ever seen," said Feodoric. "I ran my best, but there were some goblins... I'm not sure if they were real or illusions, but their blades were real enough."
"Well, since you got out in one piece," said Jenneke, "I guess we should go see the Council."
Michael said, "Here, Feodoric, I brewed this up while you were in there."
"Nice work," said Feodoric, draining the potion. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."
"As we all are," said Jenneke, grinning.