A/N: The world of Exile (Avernum) remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. I promise to return to the game unharmed the following persons: Churdan, Feral, Carroll, Glydden, Kelda, Vorgar, and Jordan Bojar; and places: Delan, Delis, Colchis ruins, Silvar, and Jordan Bojar's tower.
The companions continued walking down the road, pleased by the turn of events, and found that they were near a place called Delan, while Delis was another twenty-five miles away. They walked into the town, finding that no one had much objection to Frrrrrr—at least, no objection that they seemed to be voicing, and made their way to the bar.
The bartender smiled at their approach, getting a bottle of mead ready as he looked over the well-traveled group. "Name's Churdan, welcome," he said. "What'll ya have?"
"What can you provide us with?" asked Anicka.
"Well, our main business here is thirst management. We make the finest mead in Krizsan province. You can also get a room if you want, only five coins," replied Churdan.
"How much for the mead?" said Anicka.
"A round of mead for your band is only two coins, and believe me, it'll get ya where you're goin'. Just ask for a drink when you're ready," replied Churdan. "Of course, you should be careful. Some folks have been sorta affected by the stuff."
"How are those folks usually affected?" asked Daniel.
"Some of my more ... uh ... frequent customers said they saw a sprite north of town," said Churdan. "What a bunch of goofs!"
"A sprite?" said Nathan, sounding incredulous.
"Faerie creature. Hasn't been one of them around here for years and years and years," said Churdan. "Thank goodness."
"Why do you say thank goodness?" said Phaedra.
He grimaced, and said, "You must not know much about the faerie folk. Well, I'll tell you this for nothing. The wise don't deal with their kind. They don't know how to live up to their end of a bargain."
"Well, we'll take our chances with the mead," said Anicka.
While the mead was indeed excellent, making them feel a little wobbly, Churdan said, "By the way, want some advice?"
"Sure," said Anicka, her words only slightly slurred. "What's your advice."
"People in small towns keep to themselves. Most of them won't wanna talk to you," said Churdan. "Always be sure to talk to the innkeepers, though. They'll know what's going on!"
"Thanks," said Anicka. "Uh, we better take a room for the night, too."
"Sure," said Churdan, taking the coins. "Whenever you're ready."
An Empire soldier, looking quite seedy and having enjoyed more than one mug of mead, came over, buying another round for the group, and said, "Lo. I'm Feral. How you doin?"
"Not so bad," said Anicka, thinking that Feral did look a bit like a rat ... and he smelled like dirty animal as well. "Why are you in here and not on patrol?"
"Well, I'm waiting here for my unit to get me, so we can go hunting for slimes. I'm really looking forward to it," he said, and rolled his eyes. "I got a lot out of my last patrol, but don't want to try to repeat the experience."
"Where's the rest of your unit?" said Daniel.
"They're days late. They may have gotten eaten by slimes. Be a shame," he said and took a swig of mead. "Good stuff, this." He belched loudly.
"Don't you think you should excuse yourself?" said Angarahad trying to discreetly fan the air.
"Excuse me," he said and belched again, adding a fart for good measure.
"So you like hunting slimes?" said Anicka.
"As horribly dangerous, violent, pointless work goes, it's above average," said Feral.
"So, what happened on your last patrol?" asked Anicka.
"Yeah, the last time I was on patrol, we found a bunch of escaped horses. We split 'em up among us, and then I won a few playin' cards. It was great! Horses are really rare now," said Feral. "The slimes love to eat them."
"How can we get some horses?" said Daniel.
He grinned, and said. "Horses are really valuable these days. If you're interested though, you might be able to obtain some." He scratched his crotch and said, "I've got some horses out back, I'll sell 'em to you, only five hundred coins."
"Ow," said Anicka. "We don't have that much."
After a night of drinking and eating the delicious food of the surface, they retired to the room they'd paid for, and then deciding that the idea of checking out a sprite sighting was more interesting than slime hunting, they headed north. As they traveled through the hills, though, they ran into a bunch of goblins, spying on a tunnel into a nearby hill, apparently not having noticed the Avernites.
"Hey, just like old times," said Anicka. "Let's go."
As they wandered, they had just dispatched a group of slimes when they encountered some local militiamen on patrol. The militia moved closer as though they wanted to warn the group.
But then, one shouted, "Watch out! A nephil! Get it!"
"Crap!" said Anicka as the Empire troops drew weapons, and despite the help they'd given the other group, Anicka drew her own and the battle was joined.
Even though it was self-defense, none of the Avernite band was that happy about having killed several citizens of Empire. Fortunately, there were no witnesses, and they hid the bodies and cleaned the weapons and moved away.
"This is going to be a problem," said Anicka. "If they're going to attack us like that."
"Maybe we should go to Delis, and that Glydden could put out word that'll help us," said Angarahad.
They found Delis, and went into the inn. The innkeeper here was quite warty, and did not appear to enjoy his job, and certainly wasn't impressed by the group.
"I'm Carroll," he said. "Whaddaya want?"
"That depends," said Anicka. "What do you have?"
"Well, I got the captain's room open for five coins. I got grog for three coins a round," said Carroll. "You're just lucky I'm servin' landlubbers."
"Landlubbers?" said Anicka. "Why would you call us that?"
"Yeah, what of it? This has been a town that lives by shipping. But with all the monsters, no boats are goin' anywhere. So we gotta serve people who don't make as honest livings," said Carroll, spitting on the floor. "But we don't have to like it."
"What would you consider an honest living?" said Daniel.
"On the sea! That is the place for a man!" said Carroll. "Not in dungeons and lairs like some sort of scavenging worm! The slimes, roaches ... all that? Where ya been? Avernum?" he paused, and said, "Of course, ya may not know. There's been a who lot less problems with the slimes lately."
"Well, we have been in Avernum," said Anicka.
"I thought as much," said Carroll, nervously. "Just don't cause trouble."
"We didn't plan to," said Angarahad. "We were told to look for a Glydden here?"
The priest sitting at the bar drinking prodigious quantities of grog said in a voice untouched by the amount of drink, said, "Hail to you. I'm Glydden. I'm captain here. Been here for five years, since I served in the Avernum campaign." She eyed the group carefully.
"What was the Avernum campaign like for you?" said Anicka, who'd been a young child during the war, and didn't remember a time before that.
"It was a long, bloody business. I got nothin' against the worms. It's nothing personal. But I'll gut any one of them who messes with my boys," she said, watching them carefully.
"You send out many patrols?" said Daniel.
"I have to in these times, what with all the filth running around," she said watching them coldly. "They're good lads, out day after day, wiping out slimes. And anyone else who gets in their way, if you catch my meanin."
"As a matter of fact," said Anicka, "I think it was one of your patrols we helped out when they were jumped by slimes."
"Well," she said, "I never thought I'd see the day one of my troops was saved by an Avernite. You've my gratitude, friends. And if you're fighting the slimes with us, I have a bit of advice for you."
"We're taking all the advice we can get," said Anicka.
"Stay on the west side, follow the south shore. We seen this tower that has slimes working for brigands," she said with a nod. "That's right. Slimes actually enslaved to brigands. Someone should check that out. They might learn something interesting."
"So how does the fight against the slimes go?" said Anicka.
"Badly. My soldiers are out everywhere, hunting for the foul creatures," said Glydden. "We kill fifty and they kill one of us, and we come out the worse for it."
"So, what kind of town is Delis?" said Daniel.
"This is the big seaport for stuff being shipped to and from the north," said Glydden. "Sometimes I think there's more than just shipping going on."
"What else besides shipping would be going on?" asked Phaedra.
"Not my job," said Glydden with a head shake. "Don't know nothin' about it."
"Well, thanks for the tip," said Anicka. "We'll be sure to check it out."
Following that tip, they made their way back along the southern coast.
Anicka said, "You know, we're going to have to come up with some way to make more money. I'd like to buy those horses—it's really getting old."
"Have you even seen a horse?" said Phaedra.
"No, but it can't be harder than dealing with the giant lizards," said Anicka.
"But how are we going to make more money?" said Daniel. "Twenty-five gold a day, and needing to spend some, it'll take us forever to earn enough for those horses!"
"It will take only twenty days," said Angarahad.
"Yeah, and so for twenty days, we just hang out collecting our per diem and doing nothing?" said Daniel.
"We'll think of something," said Anicka, who was worried that their purse was getting a bit thin after another night in Delan.
Finally, following up on the leads that they'd been given, they found a narrow pass in the hills between the mountains and shore. A band of brigands were guarding the area, and they moved to block the pass at the approach of Avernites.
"That's weird," said Phaedra, "they've got slimes with them, but the slimes aren't attacking them."
"Remember those one farmers said something about that," said Anicka. "Brigands and slimes working together. Let's treat 'em like slimes."
They fought, the slimes and brigands neither one being much of an opponent, and continued on, finding another band of brigands guarding the next stretch. Like the first, they were accompanied by the brightly colored slimes. This band was likewise not difficult to defeat, and they made their way to an old, crumbling fortress with a multitude of small, polished agates set into its outer walls. If it did not have skulls on the ramparts and tiny globs of brightly colored slimes slithering everywhere, it would be quite lovely and welcoming. The sign read: Beware: This is the domain of Jordan Bojar the arch-mage!"
"Great, the fruitcake the mayor of Krizsan told us about," said Anicka.
"Really," said Daniel, reading a newer sign, "Those entering unwelcome will be trapped inside and fed to the slimes!"
"I don't think we're going to be welcome," said Anicka. "Stay on your toes."
As they progressed inside, there were more and more little bits of slime, and suddenly, there was a loud ringing noise as the corridors echoes with shouts of alarm.
"Well, shit," said Anicka. "They're not going to even give us a chance to be friendly like."
"Didn't expect them to, did you?" said Daniel.
They fought their way past archers, past slimes and bandits, and then suddenly there were loud grinding noises which sounded like they were coming from somewhere ahead and behind them, and before they could leap away, the whole floor folded away, dropping them into a slippery, filthy chute.
"Nasty," said Anicka, picking a piece of slimy trash off her armor. "Everyone all right?"
"Yeah, fine," said Daniel. "At least the junk broke our fall."
"Figure that's what they meant about trapping and feeding to slimes?" asked Phaedra.
"Quite likely," said Anicka. "But I betcha there's a way out. We just have to find it."
They explored, finding an empty temple, and then saw a sign, "Warning, the guardian is extremely dangerous. It will attack you and can kill you before you know what's happening. Don't go down here without Bojar."
"Yeah, well, we didn't get much option," muttered Anicka.
"There is another tunnel we didn't check," said Angarahad.
"We'll check this first," said Anicka.
The smell coming from the cave ahead was a combination of rotting flesh, old cheese, and garlic, with a thin layer of a clear mucous-like substance and several dried and bent spines, each about a foot long.
"I think we should go back," said Frrrrrr.
"Too late," said Anicka, dodging a spine, "we've been spotted!"
They fought the spiny worm—a great hulking creature of twenty-five feet in length, and with great difficulty, overcame, as Nathan provided Frrrrrr with some potions.
They entered a magical laboratory, with esoteric clutter of all sorts in every corner, strange, constantly changing smells wafting through the air, and small blobs of slime covering the floor.
"Interesting," said Anicka. "Think the nutjob is making the stuff?"
"That'd certainly make it easy," said Daniel. "I hope so."
Within a peculiar room containing a large stone chair edged with gold leaf, carved agate runes slightly glowing on the floor surrounding the chair, a secret door opened and a middle-aged bearded male poked out his head, and seeing the group, muttered a command and disappeared.
"Get him!" said Anicka, but the runes flashed again, and the room was filled with slimes. "OK, get the slimes, then."
The slimes fell easily, and they found the door, aided by having seen it open before, and fought their way past burning magical barriers and slimes to defeat the madman, Jordan Bojar. Peeking into cauldrons, they jumped back, repulsed. A slimed was cooking—one color per pot. It wasn't easy to tell whether he was making them or rendering down slimes found elsewhere. Either way, it was nauseating, and a thin layer of glass coated the insides of the cauldrons.
Moving beyond the nasty sight, they reached Jordan Bojar's bedroom and library. Bookshelves were mostly bare, but there was a large book which appeared to be a journal—at least it had some recent entries.
With growing excitement, Phaedra began reading the notes, which gave a detailed account of who Jordan Bojar had been, what he did, and how he was able to create and control slimes. Apparently, he had been a traveling mage of no great importance who, when traveling to Krizsan, saw a large cave while camping in some mountains. He investigated and found that it was full of the slimes. Hiding himself with spellcraft, he entered and found the cavern was a huge factory for producing the slimes. They were born and grew up in enormous pools of green goo, and he had taken a sample of this goo and took it with him.
He said little else about the slime pit except that it was in some mountains not far east of the town of Colchis, and that the slimes were controlled by a huge 'alien slime' whatever that might be.
From there, Jordan Bojar had come here, grew the slime sample into his own pool, and used it to create slimes for his own purposes. One small side note was that the pools were very vulnerable to heat, and could be destroyed by intense fire.
"He was certainly courageous and brilliant," said Nathan. "Pity he was such an evil guy."
"Yes, that knowledge could have helped the others wipe out the slimes," said Anicka. "No matter. We'll use it and see if that doesn't help bring an end to the plague of slimes."
"There's just the problem of getting out of here," said Frrrrrr.
"There must be a way, or he wouldn't have been coming down here," said Anicka.
Leaving the lab behind, they came to a large cave dominated by a huge pool of green goo. The pool constantly bubbled, hissed, and emitted puffs of dangerous looking gas. Every surface of the cavern was covered with a thin layer of slime. A tiny ocher slime crawled out of the green pool, slid around and then flowed back into the larger pool.
"OK, want to see if we can take it out?" said Anicka. "Phaedra, you want to try? Intense fire sounds like magic to me."
"All right, stand back," said Phaedra, and she cast a spell.
With a green spray and an intensely satisfying splattering noise, the slime pool flew apart as Phaedra's fireball struck it. The bits of goo tried to ooze back together again, but the heat hardened their surfaces. A bizarre keening echoing through the tunnels was also coming from a baby slime at the edge of the destroyed pool.
"The slimes are dying," said Angarahad. "It seems destroying their creator kills them."
As it became quiet again, Anicka said, "Well, that's good to know. Now to find Colchis and this other place with the slime pits and the alien slime."
"Not a problem," said Angarahad when the gas dissipated, "there's a stair there."
Climbing the stair, they found themselves in a throne room of some sort, with a lever in the floor. Pulling that lever, they heard some gears, and found their way out.
As they continued east toward Krizsan, they met a militia group, which introduced themselves, saying they were from Krizsan. They did not comment on the obvious Avernite origins of the group, but warned to be on the lookout for slimes.
"Where's Colchis?" said Anicka.
"Colchis? About sixty miles thataway," replied one of the men, pointing east.
"Thanks!" said Anicka, with a slight groan. "OK, it's a long way ... guess we better get going."
The militia gave a confused look at Frrrrrr, but did nothing against him.
In Colchis, they found the place a complete ruin, except for a surprisingly reinforced room at the rear of a ruin of a stable. Within, they found a ghost, seeming to be struggling to remain in the place, wavering and warping before their eyes, so that nothing could be told about the sort of being it had been.
"Why are you here?" said Anicka.
The words were a whisper, "Help you."
"Help us with what?" said Anicka.
It speech trickled out, one pained word after another, "Your foes are strong, and you are the only force up here to battle them. I wish to give aid, but can do little. I made this room to wait for you. I have found gifts."
"What sort of gifts, where?" said Anicka.
It wavered, and said, "Two things are hidden in this ruin, one in the pillar, one in the anvil. They can make one of you an avatar against the slime. Now I must depart, before I am discovered."
"Wait! Who were you? What happened to you?" said Daniel. "Why are you helping us?"
It seemed to try to say something else, but faded away, leaving the room otherwise empty.
"So, you going to take the spook's advice?" said Daniel.
"Not much harm in looking there, is there?" said Anicka. "Not sure what we'll find."
Anicka led the way to the pillar in one ruined room, and inspecting the base, found a hidden compartment, and within, a small necklace.
"What is it?" said Daniel.
"A necklace," said Anicka. "Maybe we should get a sage ..."
"Never mind that, there's a whole buncha slimes just popped up!" said Nathan. "We need you."
Anicka pocketed the necklace and joined in the attack. After this, they found a slight depression under an anvil, and underneath an opening which held a leather helmet. This time, there were no bubbling slimes out of the ground.
"Let's go back and find a sage somewhere, find out if we can trust this stuff or not," said Anicka.
Heading back, they came to the small town of Silvar.
"Silvar?" said Anicka. "How ..."
"Maybe they named ours after this one," said Angarahad.
"I suppose it's possible," said Anicka, and she led the way into a bar.
The innkeeper was a rotund woman with long, dark hair reading a book.
Anicka cleared her throat, and Kelda looked up and said, "I'm Kelda. Welcome to my inn."
"Hi, um, how fares this place?" said Anicka, and her face took on a momentary panic as Phaedra tugged on Anicka's arm and whispered, "Dervish!"
"Not too well," said Kelda. "Not much business, what with all the slimes. I'll give you a good room for only three coins, and wine for one."
"Slimes been a real bother?" said Anicka, nervous.
"Ever since the slimes started appearing, it's been nothing but constant attacks. Oh well, at least we didn't end up like Colchis," said Kelda. "The poor village was only twenty miles east of here, hit by even more slime attacks than us. Constant. Humans abandoned the place, and the slimes took over. Nothing but ruins there now."
"Why did Colchis get more slime attacks?" said Anicka.
"Not sure. Nobody knows why they got attacked more than us. One thing I've heard, though, the farther west from here you go, the less slimes there are," said Kelda.
The man in the plate armor, markings on his breastplate signifying that he was a Dervish, looked over at them, and said, "I am Vorgar."
"Uh, hi," said Anicka, eyes wide. She had heard of dervishes and the things they had done in Avernum during the war. "You're an Empire dervish?"
"Yeah, one of the elite," said Vorgar with a nasty look at Frrrrrr. "The best of the best. So you'd better leave soon if you know what's good for you. Any nephilim in this town are likely to end up impaled on a sword."
"So are you, uh ... stationed here?" said Anicka.
"Yeah, I have been placed here to fend off the slimes. It's one of my easier assignments," said Vorgar. "Compared to when I served in Avernum and was part of a unit ambushed by a vahnatai and worm patrol."
"Worms?" said Phaedra. "That's a pretty rude term."
"Oh yeah?" he said, standing and put his hands on the pommel of his sword, "Well, worms, I'm not going to stop saying it. You have a problem with that, worms?"
"Yeah, I do," said Daniel.
"That's enough!" said Kelda. "You young folk, get outta my bar. I'm not going to be having a brawl in here."
"Now what are we supposed to do?" said Angarahad, now that they were back on the streets of Silvar, hurrying out of the town. "Don't you know, a dervish could've cut us to shreds?"
"I didn't like what he called us," said Daniel. "And I don't think he's all that special. I hear that quite a few dervishes died in the war."
"Doesn't mean we should be picking at the sore spots," said Nathan. "It's ... Dan, we're supposed to be keeping a low profile. Bashing a dervish, or getting bashed by one isn't going to help Avernum."
"All right, all right," said Daniel. "But one of these days, he'll be sorry."