A/N: The world of Exile (Avernum) remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software, not me. Following this bit of non-profit fun, I promise to return unharmed to the game the following persons: Garzahd, Rentar-Ihrno, Caffren-Bok, and Mahdavi, and places: Tower of Magi, Rocky Cavern, and Garzahd's Fortress.
Once again, they stood, armed, armored, and ready for trouble, in front of the Tower of Magi teleporter, the energy making their hair stand on end.
A mechanical, magical voice said, "Call out your coordinates, then enter."
Jenneke took a deep breath, and clearly enunciated, "Vag Obb Tor." Then he walked forward, the others following him.
They appeared within a dark cave, and after their eyes adjusted, they saw that they were not the first people to have used the Tower of Magi portal to get here—a smaller magical portal stood nearby, one could hope being a means of return. Crates of supplies, each marked by the sun symbol of Avernum, could be seen here.
After carefully exploring, and finding no sign of who exactly had prepared the way, and gathering the provided supplies, they emerged from the secret passage. From here, they could see to the east a horrible, blasted wasteland of sulfur and ash. Bats and imps circled overhead, howling. To the north, past an enormous chasm, they could see an even larger black fortress.
As they drew closer, they could see a seemingly endless hell of magma, ash, and bands of roving demons in the chasm. Dozens, if not hundreds, of imps flew over the chasm, climbing, diving, and eating bats.
"Don't think we can use the orb to fly over that," said Jenneke, a little worriedly.
"That's ok, we need to go north," said Adrianna, looking very resolute.
They carefully made their way to the south end of an enormous, narrow, twisting bridge of basalt. At the other end, the awesome, terrifying fortress: smooth, angular, and black, surrounded with skeletons, skulls, and small hordlings.
"Why would any human choosssse to live in a place like this?" said Thissa.
"He is very warped," said Michael. "I can't imagine why anyone would choose to live in such a dark, terrible place."
On the ramparts of the fortress, off in the distance, they could see a lone man watching them cross. As they reached the end of the bridge, he waved what looked like a staff, and a massive magical barrier sprang up before them, blocking their path.
Before they could react, something else—or more accurately, someone else appeared on the bridge between them and the barrier: Rentar-Ihrno, the vahnatai archmage, holding Caffren-Bok. Rentar held Caffren aloft, and for the first time, the full power of one of these vahnatai elders was on display.
At first, Caffren started to glow like a small sun, and then Rentar-Ihrno started to glow—not as brightly, but undeniably. Their glows merged, and the brightness became blinding. Then a beam of light and fire flew from them into the barrier and through it, slashing into it, cutting it right down the middle.
The barrier dissipated. The glow disappeared.
Rentar-Ihrno turned to the group and said, "This is my assistance. Go now, and slay Garzahd. When he lies dead, I will aid you one more time." And with that, she disappeared.
Jenneke looked back, but could no longer see the man on the ramparts. "Let's go," he said, and led the way forward.
They entered the first chamber, filled with a pool of ice like that they had seen in the archives, a room populated with several demons and horrible twisted statues of basalt in between the pillars. Slaying the demons, they found that the room looked hideous, but the crown symbol of Empire made it seem more banal. Runes guarded the two exits from the room.
Nigel removed the blessed athame from the pouch, and crouched near the large gold rune—it flashed a hot, angry red as he neared, and he took the athame and ran the blade firmly over the symbol. Before their eyes, the magic of the ward leaked out of the scratch, making the area feel warm, but not enough to do harm.
As they moved into the next room, a water and swamp-filled place filled with rakshasi, there was the deep, booming ominous sound of the entrance gate slamming shut, mocking laughter echoing through the halls.
"Only way out is forward," said Jenneke. "We've been in this boat before." With that, he brought his blade deep into the gut of a rakshasa.
"That wasn't so bad," said Nigel, as the last of the rakshasi fell, and a moment later, the summoned demon disappeared. He moved to the rune in the other exit, and cut it as he had done the first.
The next chamber had a few demonic denizens which quickly fell to Jenneke's blade, and they continued explorations, Nigel cutting the runes separating this room from other chambers. In the next chamber, it appeared to be a center for summoning magic, with four circles to confine the summoned beings, two of them occupied by demons who were capable of attacking Avernites—and they fell to the onslaught of Demonslayer and bolts and arrows, though they were carefully saving the rarest for the battle with Garzahd.
Another chamber held a library, and Jenneke collected a number of Empire records, as he said, "They'll have plenty of use for this back in the castle."
"Glad to hear the confidence," said Nigel.
"Of course," said Jenneke. "Why shouldn't I believe we can win this?"
"So far, it is almost too easy," said Michael. "That worries me."
"I agree," said Thissa.
"Well, it's not like we can go back," said Jenneke. "OK, Nige, do your thing here."
"On it, sarge," said Nigel, cutting the next rune to reveal a warehouse.
"More smoky quartz!" said Adrianna, quickly pouring those into the pouches she wore at her waist. "I certainly wouldn't expect to run out now."
"Good," said Jenneke.
Continuing, they found another chamber with giant slugs spitting acid, and once they had killed them through the windows, found a way in to discover the slugs were defending a portal.
"Let's not step in any portals yet," said Jenneke. "I don't know if we want to go where that would take us."
The next chamber, defended by two demons, held a smaller chamber within it, and tantalizingly, they saw a portal on the other side of the closed portcullis, a lever on that side of the device, but nothing they could do from that distance to raise the portcullis.
"Bet that's where we gotta go," said Jenneke.
"We've discovered three other portals," said Adrianna. "One of them may be the right one."
"Let's try the one in the library," said Feodoric.
Following Feodoric's instinct, they found themselves in a green-tiled room with two twisted basalt towers.
"I don't think this is right," said Nigel, and he began searching, finally finding a concealed exit. "Oh, shit," he said. "Gonna be hot getting outta here."
Nigel led the way through the quickfire, and they recognized the third room they had entered.
"Let's try the one in here," said Michael. "You never know, a soul as twisted as his, it could be a hint."
Following this portal, they found themselves in a long hall with a number of closed doors, twisted basalt spires and potted plants filling the hallway, and a rich carpet, definitely of surface-origin leading to each of the doors and to the golden guardian rune at the far end of the hall.
"Let's check these rooms out first," said Jenneke. "I don't want to leave surprises behind us."
They quickly examined the rooms, finding each was a rather spartan bedchamber with little left behind, nothing which would tell anything about those who might dwell in these chambers. Shrugging, they moved to the end, and once more Nigel cut the rune so they could continue.
They moved on, finding a dining hall filled with undead and a naga, and slaying them, a more opulent bedchamber yet, and another portal, which—after pulling a lever, took them to the room where they had earlier found a room within a room, except now the portcullis was open.
Pulling the lever here, they heard the gates open to the south.
"Well, I'm not ready to leave, how about the rest of you?" said Jenneke.
"Job's not done," said Nigel.
"Let's try the portal," said Jenneke.
This led them to a room of lava and stepping stones—and demons. Fighting their way through this room, and then the next, they found another portal.
"I sense a theme," said Jenneke, and they pushed on, finding themselves facing a sign declaring it to be "Demon Walk". Indeed, lurking around the corners were many demons, and Jenneke led the way, the report of Demonslayer against the demons echoing through the twisting halls, until the last demon was dead, and they found themselves at a crossroads, with two concealed chambers, each holding a portal.
"A good person would probably make the right one correct," said Adrianna, "so I would say we should go through the other one."
"That's as logical as I can hope for in this place," said Jenneke. "Let's give it a go."
Following the way into this portal, they found themselves in a beautifully tiled ornate hall, and high above them a number of demons and golems. Struggling to keep their wits about them, they fought their way to the top of the stairs, and battled against the demons and golems until the hall was filled with blood, bone, and rubble atop the beautiful surface-wood planking and invaluable carpet runner leading to the next room.
Jenneke paused, reading the sign, "Throne room of Garzahd the Great. That's pretty nervy, having a throne room like that ... wonder what the Empress would think."
"She surely wouldn't know," said Adrianna. "But I suppose Garzahd fancies himself the true occupant of the throne."
"Yeah, well, let's make him a coffin occupant, shall we?" said Jenneke.
Despite the exhaustion, covered in blood and ichor, Jenneke led the way into the inner sanctum of the fortress, the throne room of Garzahd. From this chamber, the war against Avernum was planned.
At first, the room appeared empty, and there was a sickening moment of fear, that after all this struggle, their foes had fled, and they would have to begin anew to discover their location and try to pin them down, to slay them in the hopes that victory would then be within Avernum's reach.
Then there was laughter, mocking laughter, echoing against the walls. Slowly, bizarre and powerful creatures became visible, sitting in chairs, staring at the Avernites in contempt. Sitting at the head of the room was Garzahd, the stunted, twisted archmage who had slaughtered so many, killed even more dreams.
Garzahd's eyes were wild with anticipation, even from this distance across the hall. He was clearly overjoyed to battle this group. His skin had a reddish, reptilian hue, and his eyes glowed red, as though he had derived some of his immense power from merging with a demon.
It seemed a timeless moment, sizing each other up. Then Garzahd made a short chopping motion with his hand, and battle was joined.
Holding Adrianna's hand, Jenneke pressed forward, his only thought the stunted archmage, and then when he drew close enough, he released her hand, trusting she would use her spellcraft as he used his blade. Sounds of battle from behind could be heard, but for Jenneke and Adrianna, the room had closed to only truly hold themselves and Garzahd.
The fight continued, slowly the mental tug-of-war between Adrianna and Garzahd sliding slightly her way, and then faster and faster, the blows from Jenneke's blade nicking away at Garzahd's reserves. And then it happened. With a pop, Adrianna had taken the last of his magical energy, and then there was a moment of vacancy—an idiot drooling—and then a louder pop as Garzahd lost control of the magical energy surrounding him, and the energy turned inward, using him. The power consumed his skin with the foul odor of sulfur and burning flesh, then his muscles as the air became even more rancid, and a thousand poppings as his bones were consumed, blood spraying through the air, and then nothing was left of the man but dust and a few bits of black material.
The room expanded—the vast array of creatures held by Garzahd immediately fled with the popping sound of teleportations, and the summoned beings winked out of sight. It was only then that they saw Feodoric had been burnt to dust, and Nigel was barely clinging to life.
No longer needing to give Adrianna his full attention, Michael rushed to Nigel, casting spells which closed the worst of the rents in his flesh, and drawing a potion for Nigel to drink.
Jenneke, not minding the fact that he was covered in slime and blood from earlier fights, and even flecks of Garzahd's blood, turned to Adrianna, embracing her, kissing her with an undeniable passion, Demonslayer on the floor.
Thissa, sluggish from an ice bolt, revived with one of Michael's potions, and Michael quickly went from one to another of the companions, making sure that no one was in danger of death.
"Feodoric?" said Adrianna.
Michael shook his head. "Let's find something," he said. "He'll get burial with honors, to be sure."
Garzahd's anguished, dying scream seemed to echo still throughout the halls, the last of the remaining servants teleporting away from other parts of the fortress, and they were alone in this chamber, trapped with nothing around them but blood. There was a chiming noise, and they turned, seeing a translucent form of Rentar-Ihrno in one corner, and behind her, an opening in the wall.
Her projection began fading, and she said, "This is a good measure of our vengeance. We thank you for this help. In return, I give you your escape, and thus—your lives." And with that, she was gone.
Finding within Garzahd's treasures a crystal box of vahnatai make, they carefully gathered the remains of Feodoric, and closing the box, they went to the portal, unsure where it would take them, only knowing that it was the only way they could find to leave this place of horror.
The wrenching feeling of travel by teleportation was never worse than it had been this time, wounded as they were, and they arrived in the central garden of the Tower of Magi. A cry went up from the guards, and suddenly they were surrounded by guards and mages.
"It is done," said Jenneke, and he dropped to his knees, unable to stand.
"Jenneke!" cried Adrianna.
"He'll be fine," said Mahdavi, her authoritative voice cutting through the excitement. "Mother Clarisse, see to their wounds. We'll have baths drawn, and prepare you ... King Micah will be most pleased at your return."
"Except ..." said Adrianna.
"Feodoric," said Michael, handing the crystal box to Mahdavi. "He fought valiantly, but was overcome protecting others."
"I see," said Mahdavi, taking the box. She turned to a guard, handing him the box, and said, "Take him to lie in state in the temple."
The guard bowed, and took the box, and left, and silent apprentices came, leading the five survivors to separate chambers.
The bath that followed was, Jenneke thought, perhaps the most luxurious he had ever experienced in Avernum, and the clothes that he was given afterwards ... a gossamer silk like spider-silk, fabric finer than anything he had worn in his life, including the time before being thrown into Avernum.
Washed, fresh trim and shave, dressed in his new clothes, armor cleaned and polished, and Demonslayer likewise cleaned of all the gunk from battle, Jenneke rejoined Thissa, whose skin glowed with oil; Nigel, who looked downright uncomfortable in his new clothing, and Brother Michael, whose garb was a deep blue with a silver ankh embroidered on the chest.
"Where's Dree?" said Jenneke.
"They haven't brought her in yet," said Nigel.
"She'll be fine," said Michael. "No poison touched her during the battle."
There was a knock at the door, and Mahdavi appeared in the doorway, trailed by Adrianna, who was now dressed in what appeared to be purple velvet embroidered with the Avernite sun symbol and an arcane eye, the two symbols seemingly randomly scattered across the fabric. Her hair had been woven into a crown of French braid, tumbling loose down her back.
"Gods, Dree," said Jenneke, pulling her into his arms. "You're ..."
"You're going to be late for your audience with his majesty," said Mahdavi. "Guards will be bringing your things along. If you would please come with me to the teleporter."
Knowing better than to argue with one of the Triad, Jenneke gave Adrianna another kiss, and with his arm around her waist, followed Mahdavi.
The mechanical voice said, "Call out your coordinates, then enter."
Mahdavi said, "Ain Eff Wyx." She then gestured, and Jenneke led the way into the portal.