A/N: You know the drill: the world of Exile (Avernum) belongs to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software, not me. I promise to return to the game unharmed the following persons: Ko, Marian, Motrax, Ostoth, Enla, Linda, Clodeca, Oth-Ihrno, Rentar-Ihrno, Lith, Seno, Abra, Bohen, and Goosenargh; and places: Motrax's lair, Tower of Magi, Olgai, Egli, the Resting Cell, and the Lava Dome.
The trip from the gremlin grotto to Motrax's cave was reasonably uneventful, and after exchanging greetings with Ko, Marian, and Motrax, they made their way down the stairs to an area guarded by golems and marked restricted to those of Magi clearance.
Opening the door, they found a short corridor with a large glowing symbol painted on the floor in the exact middle of the passage, impossible to pass in any way other than stepping over it.
"Probably a means of checking clearance," said Adrianna. "Since the golems did nothing."
"Hope so," said Jenneke, and he led the way, walking over the rune. It glowed brightly, and he reached to scratch the tickling in his right hand, and then the light faded. "Guess we're all right," he said, and opened the door on the other side.
Here, a pale, bent spider of a man hunched over the table, his spindly claws rearranging pieces of paper. His head snapped around to see who had entered.
While old, he was also quite agile and very alert, and he snapped. "I'm Ostoth. What do you want?"
"I'm Sergeant Jenneke, and my wife Adrianna," said Jenneke, "and the rest of my platoon—Thissa, Nigel, Feodoric, and Brother Michael. We're sorry to bother you, but may I ask what you're doing?"
"I'm here to question the lizard. What else?" said Ostoth, who seemed to be precariously balanced between a desire to help and irritated at the interruption. "I'm very glad to give you information we've obtained, if I think you should have it."
"Tell us about Motrax," said Jenneke. "What sort of information are you asking for?"
"The lizard's name is Motrax. Dragon. Age – between eight and nine hundred years. Estimated remaining lifespan – one to three months. If that. Maybe days. We have to get from him what we can, while we can."
"Have you tried to save Motrax's life?" asked Feodoric.
"Of course. It is too valuable an information source to do otherwise. However, we don't have the knowledge or magic which can affect a dragon," said Ostoth. "Unfortunate in the extreme. So I ask him about the underworld, trying to find out things about these caves that can help us against the invaders. If there's anything interesting, then troops can be teleported there to investigate. We've found a few things, but I can't tell you about them."
"You do mean the Empire?" said Jenneke. "The invaders? Right?"
"Of course," said Ostoth. "The invaders of the Empire hold half of Avernum to the west, but nobody fully knows the layout of these caves. There must be something down here we can use against them."
"How do you teleport troopssss around?" asked Thissa.
He looked at him suspiciously, and said, "I know you have at least Magi Clearance, but that's it. Look. There is a portal in the Tower of Magi that can send soldiers places, places all over Avernum. But that's all I feel safe telling you. Don't try to find out more."
"We've used it," said Jenneke. "What research are you working on?"
"Oh, many things. It's difficult. It's so hard to keep track of information. There is a tablet I was working on, just a month ago, but it disappeared."
"What happened to the tablet?" asked Jenneke.
"The dragon had borrowed the tablet to read it. Then the next day, he had forgotten where it was. It's around somewhere," said Ostoth. "After that happened, we didn't spare any more reading material for it. Not if it was just going to lose it!"
"Still, Motrax seems very lonely and unhappy," said Adrianna. "Can you do anything to make him more comfortable?"
Ostoth stared at her, and there was an uncomfortable silence. Finally, he said, "Motrax is a dragon. Dragons are, by nature, unpredictable and dangerous. Our energies are spent on obtaining information which can make Avernum safe, and on keeping humans isolated from the creature, and thus safe. Making a dragon comfortable, as you put it, is not a priority."
Jenneke said, "I see. Well, we heard that you can help us find Angierach."
He nodded. "Ah yes, Angierach. Empire outpost. Place of magic and torment. You have to go there, do you? Bad luck. I can help. I found the teleporter code to get there before I came here. It's in my quarters in the Tower of Magi," said Ostoth. "The key to my chambers in the Tower is in my quarters here. You can have it. If you're going to Angierach, you will need lots of help."
"Thank you," said Jenneke, and he led the way back to the room marked with the name of Ostoth.
In the dresser, in addition to the neatly folded clothing, there was a key on a leather thong, crafted from a single piece of feldspar.
"Guess this is it," said Jenneke, handing it to Nigel, who pocketed it. "Let's go."
Continuing on, they came to a small, but very well-equipped laboratory. Cauldrons bubbled and splashed to the south, and flasks and pipes crowded a long table running down the center of the room. The lab was dedicated to making large batches of potions. In the middle of a cloud of acrid smoke, they could see a short, heavy-set woman, carrying and maneuvering several vials with agile, practiced hands.
"Hello," said Jenneke. "What's your name?"
"It hardly matters," she replied. "Call me Enla. You are adventurers, yes?"
"Yeah, we're adventurers," said Jenneke. "Why is it important?"
"I am running low on potion ingredients, and I need to produce a number of haste potions for a major operation. Some drakes, a very small number, develop a single black fang. I need one, and will pay well," said Enla.
"What are those vials for?" asked Michael.
"Mostly making potions for the Avernum army," said Enla. "I also try to heal Motrax. And I question him."
"Can you really heal Motrax?" said Feodoric.
Adding some moss to a vial the contents fizzed, and she said, "Motrax was horribly wounded in an Empire attack. He barely held off the invaders. The wounds are weakening him. I'm trying to save him so that he can answer our questions."
"So you only keep him alive to answer your questions?" said Feodoric.
She looked annoyed. "Of course. I question him about the vahnatai. They're probably a horrible menace. He says he doesn't remember anything about them, but I don't believe it. It'll take time, but I'm sure I can get something valuable from him. Don't question him too much. We need him to save his strength."
"We heard you might know Garzahd?" said Adrianna.
She looked up at them, actually paying attention, and said, "Yes, before I was exiled, I knew him. He frightened me. He also wanted me. When I refused him, I found out how much power he had. The political kind. I ended up here. I hate him. I don't know anything about him, really. All I know is that he has a knack for research."
"How much of a knack for research?" said Adrianna.
She nodded. "When I knew him, he was working on this new sort of magical barrier. It is very difficult to create and very strong. It could only be brought down by being next to quickfire," said Enla. "Garzahd is down here now. If you're in an Empire fort and find a strange barrier, try quickfire—but be careful."
"How can we create quickfire?" said Adrianna.
"You? I doubt you would be able to without years of study. You will have to find a mage who can create it. I can't, and I don't know of any humans who can either. You will have to look elsewhere." She thought, and said, "You can always try the vahnatai. You're on good terms with them, and they know how to do a lot of things we don't. You would need to find a very powerful vahnatai mage."
"I see," said Jenneke. "Thank you for your time."
They continued, and found a room lit by grim red light from a pair of firepits. The foul smoke was almost suffocating. To the north, they could just see a large pentagram, fortunately empty, while a single figure moved back and forth through the smoke.
The woman there was physically young, though mentally her experiences had aged her so that her young body was topped by a worn, weary face and gray, sparse hair.
Nodding at them, in a flat voice, she said, "I am Linda. Of the Triad."
"What do you do here?" said Feodoric, trying to disguise his horror.
"I am of the Triad," said Linda.
"Triad?" prompted Adrianna.
Her voice was monotone, detached, as she said, "We ran the Tower of Magi. I was just sent here. Just sent for a little while. I will find what went wrong."
"Went wrong with what?" said Adrianna.
"At the Tower, we did a summoning. It didn't work. The demon had to be killed," said Linda. "But it can work again. Against the Empire. I will find out how."
"Sounds dangerous," said Adrianna. "What kind of demon?"
"Adze-Haakai. I can say the name now. And I don't hear him anymore. Saying the name is safe. Safe," said Linda, seemingly unaware of them. "We lost control though. When we caught him. He had to be killed. They killed him. The next time it will work. If only I had the Scepter. If only we had it. We didn't know what it did. Now we do. Hold it out and touch a dimensional rift with it, and it closes. The rift does. Very powerful. It heals space. If only I had it. But it's gone. Years ago, the people who killed the demon took it away. I don't know where. It's gone, gone, gone."
"Why have you been put here?" said Jenneke, not wanting to mention how they had had and used the scepter, recognizing it from what Linda said.
"They put me here to do summonings. We will use the creatures against the Empire. But they don't trust me. I can't actually bring anything big here. They won't let me. I hate them. They hate me. I hate them. I want my power back. And I will get it," said Linda, her voice still perfectly calm and flat. "I will rise up again. And I will make them forgive me." She smiled coldly and turned away.
Shuddering, they left Linda to her contemplations, and left Motrax's cave.
"I guess it's time to go back to the Tower," said Jenneke. "Think we should go to Egli?"
"Where's Egli?" said Adrianna.
"Down in the vahnatai lands," said Jenneke. "That's where Rentar-Ihrno is supposed to live, and I guess if we're looking for a powerful vahnatai mage, she'd be the one."
"That sounds like a good idea," said Adrianna. "Best be fully prepared for Angierach."
"I agree," said Michael. "And we will be able to perhaps look for that mushroom that Julz wanted."
South of Formello, they found their journey hampered by a few raiding Empire troops, but dispatched them quickly enough—the Empire troops seemed surprised to find that these were not the more typical barely-drilled militia of the region.
Making their way at last to the Tower of Magi, they stopped first at the chamber of Ostoth. The door was very heavy and securely locked. The lock was made of feldspar, a strong, shiny black stone, and covered with strange and threatening-looking glyphs. Nonetheless, the feldspar key unlocked the door easily.
Looking within, they found very little of interest—a notebook which appeared blank. Mostly blank, at any rate, for scrawled on the inside back cover were the words: "Angierach: Owa Tai Fol"
"That sounds ominous," said Nigel.
"Yeah, why should that be a surprise?" said Jenneke, watching Michael scrawl down the information. "Let's go down to Egli, then, and see about learning how to use quickfire."
They made their way to the portal, and then out of Olgai, coming to a small dock, with a vahnatai ferryman standing by a boat.
"Round trip, five coins," he said.
"Excellent," said Jenneke, handing over the coins and helping Adrianna into the boat.
The others followed, and the ferryman carried them across the water. The journey was awkward and silent, as the ferryman clearly did not have a high opinion of humans or sliths.
Once in the community of Egli, however, a vahnatai approached them. He wore the typical glowing robe, and apparently little else, carrying a double armload of scrolls.
"Welcome! I heard of your arrival. I am Clodeca," he said.
"What are those scrolls?" said Feodoric.
He showed one, a list of different sorts of fungi, with notes about descriptions and magical properties. "Beastiaries. Biological notes. And so on. Knowing of the flora and fauna of these caves is a matter of great import for us," said Clodeca.
"So what sort of research are you engaged in?" said Jenneke.
"Nothing of great import," he said. "I am still only an apprentice here.
"So, what are you studying?" said Adrianna.
"I'm a new apprentice, not a crystal to my name. For now I spend my time on these herb catalogs," he said.
"What are crystals used for?" asked Jenneke.
"We vahnatai perform most of our magic through crystals, which we store power in and draw power from. The more powerful we are, the more crystals we gain, and vice versa," explained Clodeca.
"How long will your apprenticeship last?" asked Adrianna.
"I am progressing quickly. My teachers are happy with my skills," replied Clodeca. "So my learning will probably only take twenty years or so."
"I'm interested in the herb catalog," said Michael. "What sort of herbs are there?"
He emitted a vahnatai sigh—a long, painful hiss of air from between clenched teeth. "In the storerooms here, we have samples of every herb, lichen, mold, moss, mushroom, and other plant ever found in these caves, powerful or not, rare or not," said Clodeca. "I keep track of what is where and how fresh. It is both time-consuming and worthless. Looking for anything?"
"Actually, yes," said Michael. "Do you happen to have borgia toadstools?"
He looked through the scrolls for a few minutes. "Yes, just as I thought. We do have borgia toadstools, not too fresh, but still usable. They're in the northeast storeroom, in the back. The small, beige, speckled, dried ones."
"You have other things for potions?" said Michael.
"Oh, as much as I want to help you, I can't give away anything like that," said Clodeca. "We're having troubles reclaiming our lands from the hydras and chitrachs after the Resting. We need the potions for our warriors. Apologies."
"That's ok," said Jenneke. "Brother Michael here just likes to talk recipes and techniques whenever he gets a chance. Thanks for talking with us."
They continued, finding the borgia toadstools, and tucking them away for a later return to Patrick's tower, happened upon a vahnatai woman sitting cross-legged, staring deep into a large, glowing crystal.
"Hi!" said Jenneke, startled.
Motes of light floated from her into the crystal. Other, smaller motes floated back while she ignored the intrusion.
"Umm," said Jenneke, confused and looking at the others.
"Let's go," said Adrianna. "You don't want to interrupt."
"OK," said Jenneke. "I just wish we could find Rentar-Ihrno ..."
"Let's just keep looking around," said Nigel. "She sounds important enough that people should be able to point us in the right direction.
They entered an office, where an aged vahnatai was sitting, polishing an intricately carved piece of smoky quartz, wearing a silver headband, with dull, dusty gray skin with black flecks.
"Greetings," he said. "I am Oth-Ihrno, the leader of this settlement. I welcome you to Egli."
"Great, thanks," said Jenneke. "Can you help us?"
"I am the Ihrno here, the ... the speaker of Egli," said Oth-Ihrno. "Bon-Ihrno has spoken to me, saying we are to offer you help and information."
"We are honored to meet you, sir," said Jenneke. "We could use any information you might have."
"Bon-Ihrno thinks you are beings of honor, and though I am filled with anger at your kind, I am filled more with respect for Bon's judgment. We can offer you knowledge of our magical ways, and help with understanding us," said Oth-Ihrno. "However, I cannot guarantee Rentar-Ihrno will help you, I am afraid."
"We'd like to learn some vahnatai magic," said Adrianna.
"Seno has agreed to teach you a small amount of our magic, both out of a desire to share and so you can grasp some of our power. Be sure to speak with Lith. He can tell you of the importance of crystals to us," said Oth-Ihrno.
"And about Rentar-Ihrno?" said Feodoric.
"Rentar is the greatest of the Ihrnos awake. She created the barriers in your land, and she has no love of humans at this point. She has agreed not to harm you," said Oth-Ihrno, shaking his head, "but i don't think she will give you much aid."
"Still," said Jenneke, "we would like to speak with Rentar-Ihrno."
Oth-Ihrno paused and thought, "She has asked me not to help you speak with her, and I have agreed." He thought some more, and added, "But if you asked others here, they might be able to tell you how to reach her. I am not the only one who knows."
"Are you all right?" said Nigel. "You have black specks on your skin."
"It comes to all of our kind with age," said Oth-Ihrno, "does not the skin of your kind change with age?"
"Usually just wrinkles," said Jenneke. "Thank you for your help."
They moved on, finding a short vahnatai male walking around reading a scroll, managing to avoid obstacles despite appearing utterly absorbed in the scroll he was reading.
"Welcome, humans. I am Seno," he said.
"Greetings, what might your job be here?" said Jenneke.
"I am an instructor here," said Seno. "I teach the magical arts to visitors."
"What do you teach?" asked Adrianna.
"I instruct visitors in the powerful vahnatai magical arts. In return, we of Egli request a donation to continue our researches. Let me know if you wish to purchase skills," said Seno. "By the way, to use the spells I can teach you, you will need a soul crystal."
"And where would we get a soul crystal?" said Adrianna.
"And what is a soul crystal?" asked Feodoric.
"As to where, go speak with Lith, he is Egli's crystal-smith," said Seno. "Do not confuse a soul crystal with a Crystal Soul. A Crystal Soul is a valued vahnatai soul, made into physical form to guide us after death. A soul is a crystal magically altered to accept and store the vibrations and energies of life. It is possible to take part of the life force of another creature and store it in a soul crystal. It does not hurt the being touched in this way, and the life energy can then be studied."
After concluding their talk with Seno, they found someone willing to point them in the right direction for Rentar-Ihrno, and found their way within. Inside the chambers, a small, demonic creature was scuttling underfoot, smelling of sulfur and bad cheese.
"What's your name?" asked Jenneke.
The demonic creature displayed a crude hand gesture.
"I'll bet," said Jenneke, laughing. "What are you running around for?"
"I run errands! And you better watch it!" said the demon.
"Watch for what?" said Jenneke.
"Or Rentar-Dumbo will turn you to slugs!" said the demon, "ha!"
"Yeah, so what sort of errands have you done?" said Jenneke.
The creature just expelled gas in his direction. Waving a hand to remove odor, Jenneke led the way to a door. On the other side, a vahnatai lady wore robes of incredible radiance and richness, with a bearing of utter confidence—and irritation.
"I am called Rentar-Ihrno, aliens," she said, "why have you disturbed me?"
"Greetings to you. After returning two of the Crystal Souls," said Jenneke, "we should have proven ourselves worthy of an audience."
Rentar-Ihrno thought on this for a moment, examining them carefully, evaluating their skills and character. Finally she said, "Well, then. You may be correct at that. You are not of your Empire. The people on the surface world are those who committed the crime against us. You, I will listen to. You may ask me for assistance, though I may not give it. Also, you may enter my chambers through the north doors instead of through dusty back passages."
Thinking how like Erika this one was, Adrianna said, "You are a powerful wizard. Can you teach us how to create quickfire?"
"I can create quickfire, but I can control it, and you can't. You could create it, but it would likely destroy you," said Rentar-Ihrno. "Still, it's your life. To the east and then far to the north, there is a ruined fort, on the shore of a lake of lava. There is a magical tome there. It is several sheets of mica, bound with wire, guarded by a scattering of demons. Bring it to me, and I will aid you."
"Very well," said Jenneke, "we'll do that."
Taking leave of Rentar, they went to the crystal smith, Lith, who set aside his work. Crystal dust in the air made their eyes water and redden.
"That looks like hard work," said Jenneke.
"I am a crystalsmith. It is hard, but necessary and honored work," he said, holding up a blue stone to the light to apparently inspect his work.
"What is the blue stone for?" asked Jenneke.
"This will one day be part of a cabinet in which aging or ill vahnatai are frozen. Similar cabinets now hold most of our tribe, but not for long," said Lith, and he smiled as he looked at his work with pride. "Some call them coffins, as a joke, but they are as much the opposite as they can be!"
"What does a crystalsmith make?" asked Jenneke.
"I create soul crystals and Crystal Souls, the core of vahnatai magic," said Lith. "Crystal Souls are the physical manifestation of our spirits: they are what was stolen. Soul crystals are what we store life energies in. To ever perform any of our special magics, you will need one. One called Abra said he would give you one, but he had to leave. Maybe you should find him."
"Where could we find Abra?" said Jenneke.
"He had to go to the east to reawaken more vahnatai. Difficult, but rewarding work," said Lith. "You might explore the caves there."
"All right," said Jenneke. "Have a nice day."
With that, Jenneke led the way out, and said, "I guess we have to go exploring around a bit, but we've done about all we can here in Egli ... for now."
"I agree," said Thissa. "Let usss go eassst to find thissss Abra."
Exploring, they came to a cavern which stretched for several miles to the southeast. Dotted all along its length were burial mounds, some in tight clusters, some alone. There was a grim aura about the place, as though some foul spirit came to inhabit this place during the vahnatai's centuries of sleep.
"Let's check this out," said Jenneke.
A large band of undead guarded the corridor. They were corpses of long dead vahnatai, brought back to life by some unpleasant force, shambling forward to attack as the group neared.
The long, grim corridor ended at a thick, iron door set in the wall, covered with runes. All around were skulls, brown stains, and other signs of very dark goings-on. Chanting could be heard through the door. Staring at the door was enough to make one feel ill. Some sort of powerful defensive magic had been placed here, but the dark energy was definitely coming from beyond this door.
Jenneke reached to touch the door and it flew open. There was a sudden, powerful burst of wind, pulling them in. Inside, they saw a large cluster of undead, performing a ritual on bodies stolen from the cairns. A tall, skeletal figure glowing with power, led the ritual. When it saw the group, it howled a command, and the creatures attacked. After the fierce battle, the lich's corpse started to dissolve. The bubbling mass emitted a cloud of acrid, greasy smoke, and they staggered out of the crypt, choking and gagging. After a few hours, the smoke cleared enough that they could consider exploring inside again.
Having slain the evil creatures who took over these caverns, they inspected the lair, finding an astonishing variety of gold and trinkets, and a scepter hanging from the lich's belt, which Jenneke took.
"Well, that's something," said Jenneke, "but no Abra. Guess we keep exploring."
"It doesn't feel quite so awful here," said Michael, "so at least we accomplished something."
"Yeah, that's always a good thing," said Jenneke, who felt much more light-hearted with the return trip through this valley than he had on the way down.
"This Resting certainly seems to make it difficult," said Adrianna. "How would they manage to avoid these things from just overwhelming them so they never woke up?"
"Good question," said Feodoric. "On our first trip here, we had to go by river, and there was a cave where there were a whole bunch of them that were supposed to be Awakened. But the ceiling crashed in, and bugs had a pretty good nest in there ... they'd killed off the vahnatai who had come in originally to do the Awakening."
"Sssso if we had not come assss we did, who knowssss how long before sssomeone noticcced they were missssing?" said Thissa. "Issss very ssstrange to have ssssuch vulnerability."
"But they probably won't tell how they plan around it," said Adrianna. "And it's probably not a good idea to ask about it."
"Definitely not," said Jenneke. "Well, let's check this cave out."
Just inside the cave, a vahnatai warrior was sitting near the fire, sharpening a razordisk. She looked up at them grimly as the group approached.
"Who are you?" said Jenneke.
"I'm Bohen," she said, watching them carefully.
To one side, there was a mage sitting there, meditating and moving his limbs in elaborate, hypnotic patterns which revealed the many-jointedness of the vahnatai.
He opened his eyes and looked at them, and said, "Welcome, aliens. I am Abra."
"We reawakened the vahnatai in a place much like this one," said Feodoric.
"Did you?" said Abra. "It's nice to know that someone can succeed where we have failed. Even if that someone is an alien."
"What are you doing?" asked Adrianna.
"I prepare to meet my doom," he said, in an appropriately grim tone.
Glancing around quickly, but without seeing immediate danger, Jenneke said, "Doom from where?"
"You see that door over there?" said Abra.
"Yes?" said Jenneke.
"Beyond it are some controls I need desperately to get at," said Abra. "There are also hydras, dozens of them."
"Controls for what?" said Nigel.
"Don't ask me what for. All I can tell you is that they would cause you great harm were you to try to use them," said Abra.
"I take it you need to get past the hydras?" said Jenneke.
"Yes, it is my duty to sneak past them and use the controls, even if it means my doom. I prepare myself now," he said, and looked at them slyly. "Of course, with your assistance, my job would be easier. There would be a reward."
"Duty to whom?" said Michael.
"The vahnatai must be awakened. We need our strength to deal with the humans," said Abra.
"Only the humans who stole from you, right?" said Nigel.
"There may be war with all of the aliens soon. We will be ready," said Abra.
"Could we help you with the hydras?" said Jenneke.
"These icy caverns to the north are occupied by a huge hydra nest. The most dangerous nestlings are two ice hydras. Kill them, and the nest would begin to disperse. Then we could sneak in," said Abra. "Kill them, and I will give you a soul crystal."
"Why are you sitting out here like this?" said Feodoric to Bohen.
"I'm guarding Abra," replied Bohen. "And he's trying to make my job harder."
"How is Abra making things harder for you?" asked Feodoric.
She stopped sharpening the razordisk long enough to jerk a long, multi-jointed thumb at the nearby mage who was once again lost in thought. "Abra, my charge. There's more hydras in there than I've ever seen. We must sneak in there to perform the awakening. We could use some help."
"Chitrachs and hydras are wandering around here?" said Michael.
"Yes, the friendly denizens of these caves," replied Bohen.
"What are you guarding against?" asked Feodoric.
"Have to protect him from chitrachs and hydras, while we go awaken our brethren," said Bohen. "And things aren't getting easier."
"Where do you need to go to awaken your brethren?" asked Michael.
"Hundreds of them are asleep in there," said Bohen, pointing to the north, "in the big blue crystals."
"We'll see what we can do," said Jenneke.
Stepping inside, the caverns were icy cold. Frost covered everything. Scales and claw marks were everywhere, and lizard reek hung heavily in the chill air. Hisses echoed through the caverns.
Killing hydras, grabbing the meat as they went along, Jenneke and his platoon made their way to the largest chamber, where the two ice hydras were nesting, and with arcane and divine fire, the hydras were quickly brought down.
"That was almost easy," said Jenneke.
"Let's go collect the soul crystal before he thinks second thoughts," said Adrianna.
Re-emerging, Jenneke said, "We have killed the two ice hydras."
"Something happening I want to happen. It is a strange feeling," said Abra, sounding surprised. He stood, smiled, and pulled a soul crystal out of his pack, and handed it to Jenneke, who passed it to Adrianna. "You are now the first humans to be able to use our magic. Power to you." With that, he began to ready himself for entering the caves.
"Thank you," said Jenneke, and he led the group out of the grotto.
Once they were well clear, he said, "Do you really think he'd have reneged?"
"I don't know," said Adrianna. "Just something ... the way he said that there might be war against all of us ... even with all we've done for them?"
"Not to mention the fact," said Feodoric, "that some of their own were just as much involved in the theft as Empire. In fact, I'll bet it was the rogue vahnatai who made it possible in the first place ... keep the guard down until too late."
"You're probably right about that," said Jenneke. "But then, that'd mean they'd have to admit they were even more wrong than they already have ..."
They continued trekking into the north, in caves that were filled with chasms and concealed passages. To the northeast, they could see a long finger of stone protruding out over the massive chasm. There was a stone platform at the north end. The pathway to the platform was guarded by a group of massive, scaly humanoids. They appeared to be arguing amongst themselves, and thus far had not noticed Jenneke's platoon.
"They'll notice us if we keep going, I'm sure," said Jenneke. "We can try to lay low ... but ..."
"We do need to go," said Adrianna.
After defeating the demons who had mistakenly thought that Jenneke's platoon resembled food, they found that there was no easy crossing, the ceiling too low for flight. Finding a previously overlooked passage, they found a way to six stone platforms that appeared to be struggling to fly southeast, held by thick rusted chains. Breaking the fragile chains, the platforms flew off—and when they returned, they found that the six platforms seemed to be forming a sort of moving bridge.
"Let's try it," said Jenneke, taking Adrianna's hand to steady her.
After the first two hops, it became easier, and they soon found the crossing complete. The air in the new cavern was humid, stagnant and pungent. The light from the glowing fungus on the ceiling was exceptionally bright, revealing walls and floor glistening with mold and lichen, the ground dotted with rank mounds of decomposing plants. While the vahnatai caverns had been chilly, this region was warm, and sulfur was heavy in the air. Hulking shapes could be seen moving amongst the uneven ground—red, scaly, and huge.
"I think we just found hell," said Jenneke. "Stay on your toes, everyone."
One of the massive patrols—a group of hydras, screeching hungrily, barely held in check by a huge demon, approached.
The demon cried out, "You have entered the realm of Kordaddis, fools," and it pointed to a massive caldera in the northeast. "He demands a payment from all who intrude here. Bow down before me, and I will spare your lives. Resist, and we will slay you utterly."
"Who's to say we won't kill you?" said Jenneke. "I'm not bowing down to some two-bit wonder-imp."
With those words, battle was joined, and true to Jenneke's word, the guard patrol of Kordaddis soon lay dead.
"Two-bit wonder imp," said Feodoric, laughing as he gave a dead demon a kick. "Hope the big daddy doesn't hold too many hard feelings about this."
"He should've picked better than wonder-imp," said Jenneke.
Finally, they stood at the entrance of a huge, basalt dome, lit by glowing veins of green glowing stone embedded in the walls. There were a series of rooms circling around the north wall of the dome, each at the top of a spire of stone, each higher than the one behind it. The lowest was at the northwest, the highest in the southeast.
"We just gotta figure out how to get up there," said Jenneke, pointing. "Bet that's where we'll find the book Rentar-Ihrno wanted."
As they explored, they found an imp standing behind a table, polishing a long, twisted, wicked-looking sword.
With an unctuous smile and bow, she said, "I am Goosenargh. Welcome to my humble shoppe."
"What are you working on?" asked Jenneke.
"I make fine imp weapons for Kordaddis," she said, displaying the weapon. "I take great pride in them."
"So, who's Kordaddis?" said Jenneke.
Looking around, she seemed assured there were no spies, and said, "That old stiff? That pompous imp with delusions of grandeur? He runs this place. For now. He only rules because he's hidden himself so well."
"Yeah," said Jenneke, dropping to conspiratorial tone. "Where's he hidden?"
"Hidden very well," she said, leaning close. "But I can tell you how to get to him. You need to get into the room north of the hordling pit. There's a hint for how to do it, I hear, hidden under one of the bodies in the hordling pit," said Goosenargh. "Why don't you look? If you can kill Kordaddis, you'll be rich!"
"Just how rich are we talking about?" said Jenneke.
"Gems, gold, magical tomes! You'll never know until you go!" said Goosenargh.
After a few more fights, they learned Goosenargh hated the word "fish" and Jenneke went mercilessly saying "fish" until the imp revealed the way to start the ascent.
"Thanks for the help," he said, causing Goosenargh to whine piteously about how much trouble she'd be in. After a long struggle, they carefully entered the highest room in the dome. There was a huge brass throne, but no one was there ... the whole place eerily empty.
"Bet wonder-imp is about to play a trick," said Jenneke, drawing his sword. "Everyone ready?"
"Yes," said Adrianna.
"Too quiet," said Thissa, readying his spear. "Let'ssss go."
As Jenneke approached the bookshelves, there was a rumbling "Ahem!"
The throne was no longer abandoned, a haakai seated in the throne, flanked by several hydras and a pet basilisk.
"I am Kordaddis, lord of this tower," he said. "Normally, I'd give you a chance to grovel and beg for your lives, but today I'm just too busy. Kill them."
"Ah, Wonder-imp," said Jenneke, "we were wondering when you'd come out to play!"
Making short work of the servants, they turned to Kordaddis, who eventually fell to the ground, and his massive corpse burst into flame, greasy smoke choking the air. They moved back, undeterred from the bookshelves this time, to find most of the contents worthless—years of sulfur, heat, smoke, and hordling claws had rendered them beyond use. In one corner, though, was a crude book made of several sheets of mica.
"I guess this is what she wanted," said Jenneke, taking it and fitting it into his pack. "Thought it'd be more impressive looking."
They left the dome, and as they continued back to the south, they encountered a guard patrol which, recognizing them, backed away before engaging in a full-fledged flight.
It was with some relief that they returned to the cleaner air of the vahnatai caverns, and made their way to Egli.
Returning to Rentar-Ihrno, Jenneke said, "We got the tome for you."
Rentar-Ihrno took the tome, and looked for a moment as though she intended to renege, and then said, "I am a being of honor, and your reward is here." She passed her hands over a tome, and handed it over.
Adrianna and Feodoric studied this for a few moments, while the others looked on awkwardly.
Rentar-Ihrno looked as though she might be eating glass as she said, "Should you need to see it again, return."
"Thank you," said Jenneke, with a bow. "We'll be on our way, then."
After beating a hasty retreat from Rentar-Ihrno's chambers, Jenneke said, "So, you figure we're ready to take on Angierach?"
"Definitely," said Adrianna. "Although I would recommend a little rest somewhere safe first."
"Naturally," said Jenneke, grinning.