A/N: The world of Exile (Avernum) remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software, not me. Following my fun here, I promise to return to the game unharmed the following persons: Prossis-Bok, Glantris-Bok, Elohi-Bok, Vidrain, Pyrn, Mahdavi, Renee, Suzanne, Jekknol-Bok, Lorta-Bok, Wilvron-Bok, Eos-Bok, and Aichael-Bok; and places: Olgai, Tower of Magi, Barrier Tower, Harston, Fort Pyrog, and the Shrine of Crystals.
The weary adventurers reached the vahnatai city of Olgai, and with a bit of trepidation, fearing the reaction to the information they were bringing which proved a definite collusion between some vahnatai and the Empire, they entered the Council chamber again.
As Jenneke related the battle with Gaddika and the rebel vahnatai, it seemed the members of the Council were growing increasingly angry. Upon setting the letters between Garzahd and Gaddika and other documents recovered from the fortress upon the table, it almost seemed that the Council members' heads would split with their fury.
Prossis-Bok exclaimed, "Vahnatai, selling out our greatest treasures, our greatest birthrights, to the humans? Trading our people's honor for magical trinkets! They are better off dead!"
Elohi-Bok looked ready to go out and kill someone with his own hands, and he said, "Caffren-Bok must be rescued. There is no doubt of that. This ziggurat the letters mention. The map shows it to be near Fort Haledon."
More maps were brought to the table, as they began to plan.
"Fort Haledon has been awakened," Glantris-Bok said. "Its forces could attack the ziggurat, creating a diversion for a small group to slip in and get the Crystal Soul. It would be bloody, but no price is to high."
Prossis-Bok wrote something on a scroll and gave it to Jenneke. "These are orders for Fort Haledon. Should you decide to rescue Caffren-Bok for us, Fort Haledon is far to the west, beyond the Spore Tunnels," she said. "Take these orders to the commander there. He will know how to get you into the ziggurat. From there, the spirits help us all."
Jenneke made a slight bow, and said, "We intend to go up to Avernum, and make our way into the Empire-held lands now, for Fort Pyrog. We hope to return soon."
Then, with another bow, he turned, and led his companions to the chamber where the portal to Avernum was located. Bracing themselves, they entered the portal, feeling that this trip back to Avernum was even more painful than the previous one.
Emerging into the hallway of the Tower of Magi, Jenneke said, "You know, so long as we're here, it might not be a bad idea to go see that fellow Pyrn."
"Yes," said Feodoric. "As much travel as we're doing it'd be a shame to have to retrace our steps as we did at the fort, because of something we didn't know. More information is always better."
Walking into the magical laboratory, there was a mage pacing about, lost in thought.
"Sorry we startled you," said Jenneke.
"Ah yes, the name's Vidrain," he replied. "Just being jumpy at the moment."
"Why are you jumpy?" said Jenneke.
He seemed to be giving only half his attention to the group as he replied, "Being near the portal does that to you, I'm afraid. And then there's the demons."
"Demons? Where?" said Michael.
"After the portal was up for a while, a few demons came through it. They're in there now, and we don't have the strength here at the moment to flush them out," said Vidrain. "Nothing we can do until we get it."
"Tell us about the portal," said Jenneke.
"Hmm, I suppose you have the clearance to know. We have a controllable teleporter. It could be a huge weapon against the Empire. We could send attackers anywhere down here, and maybe even on the surface," said Vidrain. "Unfortunately, it's not happening yet, because using it is tricky."
"What makes the teleporter tricky to use?" asked Adrianna.
He twitched, and said, "It works off coordinates, but the coordinates are hard to calculate. You call them out when you step in, and you get sent somewhere. But figuring out what to call so you don't end up in solid rock is hard."
"So have you calculated any coordinates yet?" said Feodoric.
"We know a few of them, but not enough to do much at the moment. The coordinates are three syllables, each three letters long," said Vidrain. "And then there're those damned demons!"
"Well, we've got to use that, and we've some coordinates," said Jenneke. "So I guess we're the ones to clear out the demons."
"Good luck to you," said Vidrain.
They started for the stairs, and a guard stopped them.
"Magi Clearance is required to go up there," he said.
"We've got that," said Jenneke.
"Hmm, let me check," replied the guard, and he read it, asked for the names of those in the group, scanned again, and then put it away. "All right. You can go up. But be careful. Strong magic up there."
"Understood," replied Jenneke.
They continued up the stairs and into a narrow passage climbing up to a central room of black stone. Protective runes filled the corridor, and the air crackled with energy. There was dangerous power in the air here, and it definitely felt like someplace no one wanted to spend much time around.
They walked in, the central chamber glowed and crackled with power, all of it emanating from a huge glowing portal. It was twice their height, and dominated the room. A portal with this power could easily carry people hundreds of miles ... or blast them into a million tiny pieces, never to be reassembled again.
"All quiet, maybe the demons left," said Jenneke, and he started for the portal.
Suddenly the portal had a power surge, and a demon stepped out of the maelstrom. Seeing the group, it laughed, waved a clawed hand, and more hellspawn appeared and began to attack the group.
"Piece of cake," said Jenneke, when the last of the hellspawn had been defeated.
"Easy for you to say," said Adrianna, looking rather drawn.
"You all right, Dree?" he said. "C'mon, let's go meet with Pyrn."
They walked to the teleporter again, and no demons emerged, although hair stood on end, most notably Adrianna's long strawberry-blonde hair turning into a nimbus. A mechanical magical voice said, "Call out your coordinates, then enter."
"Ell Pit Esk," said Jenneke, taking care to enunciate much more carefully than he had before, and he moved forward.
They stepped into the portal, and it felt as though they were being torn apart—and in fact, they were, as savage, powerful magic tore them apart, flung them across Avernum, and reassembled them. Faint, weakened, and terrified, they opened their eyes to find themselves elsewhere.
The new location was a room with some sort of strange magical fight taking place, one that had been apparently going on for some time, judging by the disarray.
Inside the pentagram, a frail man in wizard's robes lay prone, his robe torn, his body covered with scratches and burns as he moaned. Outside the pentagram was a man who was a wreck, evidently without sleep for some time, having not bathed for weeks, his robes crumpled and stained.
"I am Pyrn," he said, though he diverted no more attention than that from the man in the circle."
"Are you ok?" said Jenneke.
"Demon," said Pyrn.
"What demon?" said Jenneke. "Where?"
"Demon. Every hour. All time," said Pyrn, his eyes seeming unfocused. "Must focus."
"How long have you been at it?" said Feodoric.
"Days and days and days," replied Pyrn. "Not talk. Focus."
"What are you focusing on?" said Jenneke.
"Demon will control. Strong," said Pyrn. "Must battle and battle."
"Battling for control of what?" said Jenneke.
"Should not talk. Must focus. Sometimes he controls me. Must focus. Must control it," said Pyrn, and his face began twitching, spasms racing back and forth across his face. Slowly he regained control, but wandered away.
"We had better find the information we need quickly," said Adrianna. "And get out of here. It feels all wrong."
"Excuse me," said Jenneke, "but how can we get back to the Tower of Magi from here?"
He shook his head, pained and distracted, then pointed to the northwest corner of the tower. "Hidden door. There."
"We need to find a book on teleportation portals," said Adrianna.
He regained a moment of lucidity, and looked at her. "On west wall," he said, "southernmost bookshelf. Red book."
"How can we help you defeat the demon?" said Jenneke.
"You can't. I will break its will, but it ... takes ... time," said Pyrn, muscles on his body starting to twitch randomly. "Just don't ... distract me."
"Leave them be," said Feodoric. "We got the information we need—let's get the book and go."
"Good idea," said Adrianna, biting her lower lip.
They looked carefully for the red book Pyrn had mentioned, finding there were defenses on all the surrounding books. Thissa finally noticed it on the top shelf, pushed back, and he carefully reached for it, trying to avoid the sparks coming from the other books.
It was a treatise on teleportation portals, their creation and destruction, and the dangers involved, most of it over the heads of even Adrianna and Feodoric. One ritual, however, near the back, caught their interest.
"This incantation will close a portal that has been disrupted and about to catastrophically explode," said Michael. "Near impossible. I'm going to copy it down, anyway."
"An onyx scepter?" said Adrianna. "Where would you get that? They couldn't be easy to make."
"Maybe Mahdavi will know," said Jenneke. "Whenever you're ready, Brother Michael."
Walking into the hidden door they'd been told about, they found another portal, which led them back to the chamber in the Tower of Magi they'd left a short time before.
"I sure don't want to have to do that again," said Jenneke. "Least, not as a regular thing. Now, let's go see Mahdavi."
They walked back down the stairs, glad to be in the relative safety of the Tower, and returned to Mahdavi's chambers.
"We've been to see Pyrn," said Jenneke. "What should we do next to destroy the portal?"
"Now that you've spoken with Pyrn, we know we need the onyx scepter. I can't help you with that," said Mahdavi. "We also need to find out exactly where the teleporter is. With this, I can help. You should start your search at an Empire tower north of Fort Dranlon. The Empire has a nest of mages in a tower built north of Fort Dranlon. They call it the Tower of Elderan."
"We heard about that tower when we were in Dranlon," said Jenneke.
"It was a spy we put there who found out that the Empire was building the portal. Then, alas, the spy died, badly," said Mahdavi. "Still there should be information there, just waiting for you to find it."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Jenneke, "we'll be sure to go up and look there."
As they walked out of the Tower, Jenneke said, "So, are we ready to raid Fort Pyrog?"
"I think sssso," said Thissa. "It isss time."
They rowed for a long time, finally reaching the river that turned north, and found a secluded spot to leave their boat.
"Hopefully, no Empire troops will see this while we're gone," said Jenneke.
"I think we concealed it well," said Nigel, looking back.
With some nervousness, they began walking toward enemy-held territory, and ahead saw a gate and watchtowers, and before that, an obelisk with a red rectangle on it.
"A red pass checkpoint," whispered Adrianna.
"We got one," said Jenneke.
They moved ahead until they saw the sign at the base reading "Pass Required". Wishing that they didn't have to be so meek about it, Jenneke got out the red pass.
The guard looked bored, and said, "Red pass, worms."
Jenneke handed it over, and the guard inspected it closely before returning it and waving them through.
They walked along, nervously, and managed to avoid direct encounters with Empire troops. Seeing a sign giving directions to Harston, Jenneke said, "Why don't we go over there. Next time we're at the Castle we can report."
They entered Harston, finding that all the construction was new, and many buildings were unfinished. While the average citizen was Avernite, the guards were Empire soldiers.
Walking into the first shop, they found a dark skinned woman behind the counter making notes in a lichen-paper notebook. Her skin was naturally dark, but had the pale sickly chalkiness common to Avernites, and her clothes were patched.
"I'm Renee," she said with a smile, "welcome."
"How do you fare, my lady?" said Jenneke.
"Making my way in hard times," she said. "It's rough going for a sage in a war."
"Surely, even the Empire requires the services of sages," said Jenneke.
"Only occasionally. They brought their own scholars. I'm just glad I got out of the Abyss. It got very nasty there, so I came here," said Renee. "The Empire tolerates Avernites here."
"For what sort of work?" said Nigel.
"To work, make food, run inns, you know. Help them function and kill our kind," said Renee with disgust. "Do things the soldiers can't or don't want to do."
"What happened in the Abyss?" asked Adrianna.
She looked very upset. "It got very ugly there. Many fled. The ones that didn't ..." she shook her head and said, "It went very hard for them. They bore the brunt of the Empire's desire for vengeance."
"So, how come the Empire soldiers here aren't attacking us?" said Jenneke.
"Why would they? Only people who are helping the Empire come here," said Renee. "And there are plenty of them, too."
"That's disgusting!" said Nigel. "How can anyone do that?"
"You have to see it from our point of view. Don't help the Empire, die ... simple as that," said Renee with a sigh. "And there's been too much dying lately."
"I guess you do what you have to," said Jenneke.
"And if you're going to try any heroics," said Renee, "keep your mouth shut. No one around here wants to know, and we're the ones will suffer for it when you're gone."
"We'll keep that in mind," said Jenneke.
They moved into the next shop, anxious to get away from Renee. Here a tired-looking woman with the pale skin of an Avernite sat behind the counter.
"I'm Suzanne," she said. "How may I help you?"
"Your shop isn't too well equipped," said Jenneke. "Anything we can get for you?"
She shrugged, "Not much. Just food. Yes, food is good. I'll give a good price for sacks of meal. Meat, we can get. Mushroom meal, not so easy. I'll give you forty gold for a sack of meal."
"As it happens, I've got one," said Jenneke. "Let's see if there's anything you're interested in."
They traded a few items, though Jenneke was careful to disallow trade of any weapons or protective goods, and then they hurried out of Harston.
"Gods, I wish I could just gut them all, damned pompous bastards," said Jenneke.
"Would somewhat get in the way of our job," said Nigel. "We can come back later."
They moved on, still evading Empire patrols, and reached another checkpoint, this one requiring a blue pass. Jenneke handed it to the bored guard, who handed it back with a chuckled, "Damned traitors."
"Fucking shit," said Jenneke, as soon as they were past. "Wish I could just gut him for that."
"We're too close," said Adrianna. "We need to get ... there's the fort."
They moved on, heading past the fort, and that seemed to bother the patrol in the tower, and they moved to the attack.
"I thought they accepted Avernites worked for them," said Jenneke.
"Doesn't mean they don't occasionally kill some for the sport of it," said Adrianna, sounding sickened by the thought.
The battle was ferocious, and they quickly drank some of the extra potions that Michael had brewed before they started.
"Fuck, that wasn't easy," said Jenneke. "You mean, just for fun, or you figger they got something up here?"
"Probably both," replied Adrianna.
Continuing up the road to the north, they came to a docks, and Jenneke said, "Looks like they were defending something. At least we'll be able to get the boat we need here."
"And get to take the aggravation of having to be nice to them in Harston out," said Adrianna, with a very faint smile.
These Empire troops clearly knew that no Avernite belonged here, and the battle was soon joined. Afterwards, Jenneke made a mocking bow to one of the higher ranking dead troops, and said, "Please, may we use one of your boats?" He kicked the corpse, and said, "I knew it wouldn't be a problem. Thanks ever so much."
"OK, we need to move west again," said Adrianna, once they were in the boat.
They moved west and found themselves in a field of masses of jagged rock.
"This wasn't on the map," said Jenneke, as they carefully maneuvered their way through.
"No," said Feodoric, and he pointed to the cave ceiling. "It's not natural. Empire must have done this to block the way, try to keep the passages they have to guard less."
"Makes sense," said Jenneke. "Bastards."
Finally, they found within a sheer granite wall, the secret passage the vahnatai had told them about.
"We'd have been years looking if the vahnatai hadn't told us where," said Nigel.
"Uh-oh, blood," said Jenneke, pointing to a puddle of the substance on the cave floor. "Watch yourselves." He drew his sword, and they soon found themselves engaged in a fight with the giants who were living in the caves.
"On the bright side," said Feodoric. "Even if they heard fighting back here, it wouldn't seem at all unusual."
Moving to one of the now-unattended fires, Michael began brewing again, as he said, "I need to re-supply here... and then we can get into the fort itself."
After drinking down potions and preparing, Jenneke led the way to the doors that did not look like cave doors. "This must be the way into the fort itself," he said. "Hopefully, they're not really expecting us."
As they stepped out of the giants' lair and into the central courtyard of Pyrog's Fort, they could tell it had once been the home of a mighty dragon, and now one of Empire's largest strongholds in Avernum. To the south were the main barracks. More interesting, was the building to the west. It seemed like there was some whispering coming from there, but for now, fighting off Empire troops was taking all the energy, rather than worrying about whether it was true or imagination.
Fighting their way through the barracks, they slaughtered Empire soldiers whose intent was to stop their progress, and finally, with an eerie silence in the fort, they moved up to read the sign in front of the western building: "Magical Research: magical and authorized agents only. Please ignore all voices in head."
"Then it wasn't my imagination," said Adrianna.
"Maybe it's Jekknol calling for help," said Jenneke. "Which would explain why they'd say to ignore the voices. But we can expect an even harder fight ahead."
"I am ready," said Thissa.
They fought their way through a few rooms, and began investigating bedrooms. In one room, it proved to be something different, with a pedestal holding slabs covered in vahnatai writing. Struggling to make it out, they finally discerned it to be a spell, and set to learning it. In one bedroom, they found notes referring to a "Crystal Soul Sensory Deprivation Experiment" which notes indicated had gone on for two weeks, ending with the note "subject destabilized, but not broken".
"Bastards," said Jenneke. "C'mon, we better hurry."
"Pyrog labs, authorized personnel only," said Adrianna, as she read from a sign. "This'd be the way, then."
As they started searching through the rooms, they came to one dominated by a huge marble slab. A nightmarish creature had been strapped to it, a giant held down by massive leather bands. Someone had been magically altering it.
The creature was covered with globs of chemicals, unguents, and small tattooed runes. They were causing the thing to mutate. Before their eyes, its flesh was moving, writhing in a manner which must have been painful as muscles and organs rearranged themselves. Odd lumps were forming on its body for unknown purposes. The creature did not seem to notice their entry, trapped in a hazy, agonized mental prison from which it could no longer escape.
"What are we going to do?" said Feodoric.
"It's too far gone," said Adrianna. "The only kind thing is to kill it."
"I agree," said Michael, and he brought the mace down heavily on the head of the creature, ending its suffering, though the flesh still bubbled and shivered afterwards.
In the next room, there was a massive arrangement of machinery, belching flames and sulfurous smoke, components glowing magically.
"What's this for?" said Jenneke.
"I have no idea," said Adrianna. "Let's look in the notebook."
She crossed the room and said, "They're creating phoenix eggs. When broken, they'll emit quickfire. They've made one, but it's not been going well."
"That's good," said Feodoric.
"For access, "unending flame"," said Adrianna. "Let's grab it ... I'd rather they don't have even the one."
Fighting their way past the guards, disrupting a future evil altar, and killing another of the mid-mutation giants, they reached a door with a sign "Maximum Containment. AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED".
"I'll show you my authorization," said Jenneke, drawing his sword. "Bet there's something more nasty in there ..."
"I'm sure you're right," said Nigel.
They opened the door, and then moved to the next room, dominated by a huge humanoid, wearing a suit of armor and a massive helmet. It bore no weapon, though blades stuck out of its gauntlets. It moved, and it was obvious there was no person inside, just magically animated armor.
"This'll be easy," said Jenneke, and his sword slammed against the armor. "Oh FUCK!"
The armor had split into two such creatures, now both ready to fight. The battle continued, with the creature continuing to split, but eventually, suits fell to the ground defeated, and with a massive pile of debris the battle was over, and they made their way to the next room. In the center of this room, there was a large blue crystal. The whispering was now large, and rather harsh sounding.
"That's gotta be it," said Jenneke, as he guzzled another healing elixir from Michael.
"They're experimenting, trying to explore beliefs, properties, ability to feel pain," said Adrianna, in a mixture of disgust and anger. "And they think its going mad."
"Great," said Jenneke. "The vahnatai will be pissed."
moving into the center of the room, they opened the box, and there was a large blue crystal, and in a quiet, harsh whisper, it kept saying, "Save me, save me."
"You gotta be Jekknol?" said Jenneke. "Um, gonna have to put you in a back pack until we get outta here."
As Jenneke wrapped it up and stashed it, the voice said, "Must rest. Quiet. No power. Can't help. Tormented. Fear. Must rest. Return ... me... to... shrine..." and then there was quiet.
"If you're listening," said Jenneke, feeling rather silly for talking into the air, "that's where we're headed, soon as we blow this fucking joint."
They started out of the building, and Adrianna said, "Hold on a minute!" With that, she started running to the barracks that they'd cleaned out earlier.
"What are you ..." said Jenneke, and he started off after her.
"Don't worry about her, sarge," said Nigel. "We gotta get out of here."
Feodoric said, "There shouldn't be anyone else in the fort, so what is she ..."
"I don't know," said Jenneke, and he started off after Adrianna.
He heard a mechanical male voice say, "Please confirm new password."
Adrianna's voice said, "Garzahd is a worm-eaten slime-sucking bilge rat."
The mechanical voice said, "New password accepted."
Adrianna said, "End session," and started out of the room, only to see Jenneke just beyond the doorway.
"What did you do?" said Jenneke.
Adrianna smiled, and said, "I changed the password. The golems outside will chop into bits anyone who doesn't give the right phrase."
"You mean ... oh, that's fucking good!" said Jenneke. "C'mon, we gotta get outta here."
The others were still in the courtyard, when Jenneke and Adrianna returned from the building.
"Is everything all right?" said Michael.
"Yes," said Adrianna. "Until they figure out another way, they're not getting in this fort. They'll never think to say Garzahd is a worm-eaten slime-sucking bilge rat."
"Why would they say that?" said Nigel.
"Because if they say anything different, the golems are now programmed to chop them to bits," said Adrianna.
Nigel looked at Adrianna with a definite expression of admiration and said, "That's fucking brilliant."
"And worth the bit of time it took," said Jenneke. "Now, let's get outta here."
As they started out of the secret way in, they could see a guard tower, and Thissa said, "Do you think they have sssseen usss?"
"Possible," said Jenneke. "Let's go make sure they don't tell if they did."
The fight was brief, and they were somewhat surprised to see that the archers manning the guardpost did not have any supplies other than what they carried, but continued, stashing this boat in another out of the way location, and made their way back to the red checkpoint.
The bored guard allowed them to pass again, and as they were moving toward their boat, a patrol of Empire soldiers sighted them.
The leader shouted, "Halt! Worms are forbidden in this area. Surrender to us immediately or be slain!"
"Sure, we'll surrender," said Jenneke, adding under his breath, "when the sun shines in Avernum."
Over-confident, the Empire troops came over to take the Avernites into custody, when Jenneke's sword came ringing out of the scabbard, and the rest of them drew weapons.
"Surrender, never," said Jenneke, taking his sword out of the gut of the man he had just killed, and wiping the blade clean on the dead man's cloak. "We got someone to take home."
Even without further dallying, it took nearly a month before they returned to the chamber with the portal to the vahnatai lands.
As they entered Olgai again, the Council looked expectantly at the group.
Jenneke said, "We got into Fort Pyrog." He unwrapped the recovered Soul.
"You shall have the honor of returning the soul," said Prossis-Bok. "Go to the Shrine of Crystals to the southwest, and there the Soul can be placed."
"Thank you," said Jenneke, and he gave a brief bow and moved on.
Leaving Olgai, they came to a bridge, and the guards there drew weapons at their approach.
"The Council has requested that we return this Soul to the Shrine," said Jenneke, displaying Jekknol.
The guards took a step back, leaving a passage open between them, their heads bowed as the group filed through. Finally, they entered the Shrine of Crystals, with its domed interior—the most sacred place of the vahnatai people. It was an odd building, with walls of a strange, waxy appearance, bending and warping to look grown rather than built. Around the outside of the center dome, there were seven alcoves, each alcove glinting. The dome itself was dominated by a large lake with an island in its center, and seemingly randomly placed statues and glow crystals. It was both very chaotic and disorienting as well as solemn.
The chamber had been filled with the constant sound of whispering, and then a silence as the Souls waited for the group to speak.
"OK," said Jenneke. "We have to find your spot. Um ... let us know?"
As they moved from one empty alcove, with no sign from Jekknol, they saw a scrap of chain mail in a small blood stain, Empire insignia on the mail.
"Pity, we could've told them a long time ago, if we'd seen this," said Jenneke.
They passed two more alcoves, with Crystal Souls upon pedestals, and then another with an intricately carved marble pedestal and a large dead quartz crystal on it.
Jenneke said, "I don't know ... it just feels like this is the right one." He moved forward, and put the Soul on the pedestal.
For a long time, nothing happened, and Jenneke was afraid they'd failed. Then came the voice, "Here? Where am I? What is this place? Home? ... Who says that? ... You say I'm home? ... No, home is gone. Crushed and scattered. That is what ... no, this is another trick, my people are gone ... this is a trick. Another trick. I will not listen any more." Then silence.
"They've really damaged the soul," said Feodoric. "Do you think the others can heal him?"
"I dunno," said Jenneke. "We've done what we can do."
"Do you think we could speak with them?" said Feodoric.
"Well, I suppose if they don't want us to, they'd just say to fuck off," said Jenneke.
They retraced their steps and went to one of the alcoves. As they approached, they could sense an intelligence.
Then, a soothing voice said, "I am Lorta-Bok."
"What is your purpose here?" said Feodoric.
"I am a historian. Simply observing my people keeps me interested. We vahnatai are a long-lived people," replied Lorta. "Because of our great spans of life, we tend to forget things."
"May I ask how old you are?" said Feodoric.
"I lived five hundred twenty-four years before I shed my physical form. A cruel accident took me," said Lorta. "I served as Bok for two hundred years, and should have had two hundred more."
"What kind of accident?" said Adrianna.
"Bad mushrooms," said Lorta. "I choose not to speak of it."
"Might I ask," said Adrianna, taking the cue to change topics, "how can you be forgetful?"
"Think of things you did ten, fifteen years ago, things you did when you were but five of your years. Things we did when we were a hundred seem that way to us when we are four hundred," replied Lorta. "We have much more to remember, but our memories are no better than yours. But my memory is strong. I record what my people have done and where we have been. Tedious to you, priceless to us."
"Thank you," said Feodoric.
Then, they heard another voice say, "Come closer. You are welcome here. Who are you?" It seemed to take their names, and said, "I am Wilvron-Bok, a teacher of the vahnatai people."
"What does the Bok at the end of your name mean?" asked Adrianna.
"It is a great and powerful vahnatai honorific, only given to the wisest of our kind, and to Crystal Souls," replied Wilvron.
"What did you teach?" said Feodoric.
"In life, I was exceptionally skilled in magic, even for a Bok," said Wilvron. "In this form, I choose to teach the magic I learned in life."
Adrianna and Feodoric exchanged glances, and Feodoric said, "You mean you still teach students your magic?"
"Yes, beings pilgrimage to see me. It is a great honor to them, and to me," said Wilvron. "In return, if they are worthy, I show them spells."
"It must be difficult to travel the vahnatai lands these days," said Adrianna.
"The journey is long, and not all are allowed to make it," said Wilvron. "It is also dangerous, and it honors me that souls would risk the hydras and other monsters to obtain my spells."
"We've also traveled a long way," said Feodoric. "We'd be honored if you would teach us."
"You have been given a quest. You have been sent to recover the stolen Crystal Souls," said Wilvron. "Return them to their platforms, and I will share with you the sacred magic of the vahnatai people."
"We have returned Jekknol-Bok," said Adrianna. "Is there something you could teach us?"
Wilvron agreed, teaching Adrianna and Feodoric some magic, and they thanked him and moved to the next alcove, and then thought better of speaking with Jekknol, and went to the next after that. They had a sense of being inspected as they approached.
"Greetings, I am Eos-Bok."
"Why did you inspect us?" asked Feodoric.
"I must protect myself, as I have great importance to my people," said Eos-Bok. "I dispense justice."
"Protect yourself from humans?" said Feodoric.
"All of us Crystal Souls had great powers in life, and those powers have increased since," said Eos. "Humans took us by surprise once. It will not happen again."
"So, you're also a judge?" said Jenneke.
"Not entirely. When a problem is too thorny for living Boks to deal with, they turn to me for impartial judgment. This only happens rarely, though. What happens more often is that a criminal comes to me to confess and receive my punishment."
"What sort of punishments do you give?" said Adrianna.
"When one wants to confess privately, they may be punished by me. If the living then learn of the crime, the criminal has atoned. I have thieves return goods, slanderers return the truth, and murders spend their lives trying to undo their harm," said Eos. "When one truly wants to atone, I help them do it in the best possible way. It has only failed once."
"What happened that time?" said Nigel.
"Just before the last Resting, centuries past, a thief told me he stole a ring, felt guilty, hid it behind a stalagmite outside, and came in for atonement. I told him to return it to the owner and confess to her. He couldn't face the shame of doing so," said Eos. "He left the shrine, the caves, and the tribe. He never returned. Sad. He was young. He didn't deserve the results of his weakness."
"Thank you," said Feodoric. "It helps to learn more."
As they continued around, there was another alcove with a Crystal Soul, and they heard, "Approach and kneel."
Jenneke shrugged, and led the way into the alcove, and they did so.
"I am called Aichael-Bok," he said. "Welcome."
"So, what's your position in vahnatai society?" said Jenneke.
"I continue to ponder what I pondered for two centuries before the Resting. I think on the nature of our beings," he said.
"Do you also rest during these Restings?" said Feodoric.
"We partake of the Resting, too, but differently. Our minds slow down," replied Aichael.
"So, in all that time, did you come to any conclusions?" said Michael.
"We are not crystals with souls inside them. Our spirits, when they return from the beyond, create crystal around us from nothingness. It is strange, though. It would seem possible to create a flawed crystal."
"Are many flawed?" asked Jenneke.
"Our spirits return from the beyond with the help of the living vahnatai who call us with long, elaborate rituals. However, two of the Crystal Souls brought back were flawed," said Aichael. "Poor Dahris-Bok and poor Delrin-Bok. If only they could be healed."
"What are the elaborate rituals like?" asked Michael, glancing out toward the island.
"I will not tell you of them, for they are secretly performed on the island in the middle of this dome," said Aichael.
"What went wrong with Dahris-Bok?" asked Adrianna.
"He could not stand our presence and demanded to be moved to a crypt in the lake region. He would give advice to the living in return for tribute, but if he did not get tribute, he would become angry and hostile," said Aichael. "Sad and ungraceful. But at least he helped his people, unlike Delrin."
"What happened to Delrin-Bok?" asked Jenneke.
"Delrin-Bok formed with a flaw. He blamed the living for it, claiming that it scattered his thinking. It was nobody's fault, though. It just happened. Still, it did scatter his thinking. He went mad, and had to be removed for all our sakes," said Aichael. "The poor soul lives to the west, in the spore caverns. Avoid him. He is very deranged and dangerous."
"Thank you for the advice," said Jenneke.