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: Olga, Sinbar, Mickie, and Mayor Bernathy; and places: Kuper, Kneece, Hectar, the Filth Factory, and Shayder.
Traveling away from the roaches, they found a path leading up a mountainous way. It seemed that the path had been deliberatelyhidden.
"It's lucky we found this," said Nathan. "A little more overgrown and we might've missed it altogether."
"There might be a good reason why no one goes there," said Angarahad.
"And it might be a place where a lot of alchemical ingredients can be found," said Nathan. "Couldn't we try to go there?"
"Oh, why not," said Anicka. "Maybe we'll find something else that will help us deal with roaches."
They followed the long winding path then, and came to an isolated vale, where there was a stone circle. Huge, carved stones covered with abstract designs loomed over them. The place was nearly fully overgrown, and clearly ancient. The sky above the circle seemed clearer and sunnier than anywhere else, and the air seemed fresher.
Anicka started to enter the circle, and Angarahad pulled on her arm.
"I don't know," said Angarahad. "I've just got a bad feeling about this."
"Why?" said Anicka. "There's nothing harmful to be seen. C'mon."
"I don't know," said Angarahad. "It's just ... well, you don't know who made this, or what power is behind it."
"Worrywart!" said Anicka, and she continued in.
They moved in, despite Angarahad's misgivings, and one by one they found themselves compelled to look at the altar in the center, despite the fact that it was a featureless stone and the other stones had interesting designs. Then, the idea that it would be a good idea to kneel and pray there seized Anicka, and she did so, barely conscious of the fact that the others in her group had done likewise. Without thinking, she reached forward and touched the cool stone, and her hand brushed against Daniel's, as his brushed against Frrrrrr's, and Frrrrrr's against Nathan, and Nathan's against Phaedra's, and Phaedra's against Angarahad's. For a moment, the stone seemed to throb with power, and had she been standing, Anicka would have felt weak in the knees, dizzy and light-headed before the feeling passed.
Without a word, they stood, and left the circle, hiking back the way they had come. Anicka looked back, and saw the circle had disappeared altogether, with just a patch of bare ground left behind.
As they hiked, Angarahad said, "I don't know what happened up there, but ... it's like a door opened in my mind, and something I learned but couldn't remember, now I can remember."
"I just wish there'd been some nice herbs," said Nathan. "I guess we'll have to look elsewhere."
They reached the base of the path, and a band of roaches caught up with them and attacked. From behind the roaches, they could see a trail of devastation: torn up plants, gnawed off tree bark, dead small animals.
"These things seem to be programmed to destroy everything," said Frrrrrr.
"Well, let's stop them," said Anicka, and the battle was joined.
Mercifully, this battle was short, and between Angarahad's prayers and Nathan's potions, they patched themselves up and continued until they found the road again, and made it into Kuper. Avoiding entanglements with the Empire troops, they went to the docks, where a stocky woman looked them over, smiling happily at the prospect of customers.
"Greetings," said Anicka. "What do you do here?"
"I run a ferry over to Kneece. The tickets are only thirty coins," said Olga, and at the gasp of breath, she said, "Expensive, I know, but the journey is tricky."
"What do you know of Kneece?" said Angarahad.
"Kneece is an old ruined town, surrounded by jagged rocks. I don't know if anyone lives there or what. All I know is that people pay enough to go over that just selling a few rides there makes some good money," replied Olga.
"So, you just run the ferry to Kneece?" said Anicka.
"I fish too, but people seem to like to go to Kneece occasionally," replied Olga. "Adventurers. Anama. I don't know why."
"Well, I guess we're in that group," said Anicka. "We'll take some tickets."
"Here you go," said Olga. "When you're ready, just go down the middle dock, and I'll take you over."
"I think we're ready now," said Anicka, and she led the way down the dock to Olga's rickety fishing boat.
Olga quickly and efficiently hauled the group across the channel to the ruined town of Kneece, and said, "I keep an eye on the city. When you want a ride back, go to the end of the middle Kneece dock and wait. I'll be along shortly."
Getting out of the boat, they started into the ruined town as Olga rowed away.
"Man, what happened here?" said Daniel, looking around at all the rubble.
"I don't know," said Anicka, "but there might be someone living in that black building in the middle. It seems to be the only thing that's not wrecked."
"And here's the reason for the wreckage!" said Phaedra. "Giant lizards!"
"Thanks for the warning," said Anicka, drawing her sword to meet this threat.
As it turned out, a drake was nesting in a southern building, and with great difficulty they slew the drake, the other lizards, and finally when the hissing around them was quiet, they entered the open gate of the black walls in the middle of the ruin.
Moving down the passage, they found their way blocked by a magical barrier, but when Phaedra touched it, she said, "We'll be able to go through, it just might hurt."
"Might hurt!" said Anicka on the other side. "I hope it's worth it, coming in here."
They continued to an open portcullis blocked by a thin, shimmering energy field, delicate and translucent.
"Well, I guess in for a penny, in for a pound," said Anicka, and she led the way through this barrier field.
Nerves on edge, they passed through the barrier, which rippled and parted to let them through. As near as they could tell, there were no ill effects.
Suddenly, there was a gentle, soothing chime, and out of thin air, a voice said, "Your approach has been approved. Please proceed in safety. If you give peace, you will receive peace."
"Oookay," said Anicka.
Opening the door, they immediately were met by a lizard with a small chain around its neck, and it stared at them for a moment before saying, "I'm called Faithful."
"How is it that you can speak?" said Daniel.
"I'm a familiar," replied Faithful. "I'm a magical, long-lived, intelligent animal guardian to Purgatos. It take up most of my time. Oh. And hiss."
"Purgatos?" said Anicka, thankful they had found the person Arkley had mentioned.
"My wise and all-powerful master," replied Faithful without a trace of sarcasm in the voice.
"Is it boring for you?" said Phaedra.
"Yes, I have a hobby," replied Faithful. "I go out and chat with the other lizards."
"Talk about anything interesting?" said Anicka.
"This island has many, many giant lizards on it. I'm not sure why. It makes little sense. But they make good conversation," replied Faithful. "They know a great deal about the weather, which stones are best for basking on, and where to find the tastiest meat."
"OK," said Anicka. "Well, we actually came to visit Purgatos, so thanks for talking with us."
Inside the small cozy house, there were a great many supplies, and a heavy scent of incense in the air. A withered old man watched them carefully with a pair of wands at his belt.
"I am Purgatos," he said, scratching his nose thoughtfully.
"What happened to Kneece?" said Daniel.
"This city was a magical center before the Anama came to Bigail. Much powerful spellcraft took place here. Then the Anama came, and suddenly our supply shipments started 'disappearing'," replied Purgatos. "The mages abandoned the place, and a bunch of giant lizards moved in."
"Why do you live in this abandoned town?" said Anicka.
"I'm the only person left here. The solitude suits me," replied Purgatos. "I prefer to live in seclusion."
"Why have you chosen a life of seclusion?" said Anicka.
"I am avoiding the tentacles of the Empire," said Purgatos. "The Empire's control is not something I can adjust to, so I had to pick a place far from them. There are few choices. Avernum is too cold for me. This island will do, until the inevitable occurs."
"What inevitable event do you foresee happening?" said Phaedra.
"The Empire will come here someday and suffocate all free thought," said Purgatos with a sigh. "But i know that hearing the complaints of an old man is not the reason you journeyed here."
"No, we came seeking information," said Anicka.
"News of you precedes you everywhere you go," said Purgatos. "I can tell you about Kneece or the Anama, if you wish. But I suspect you are most interested in the problem of the cockroaches."
"Well, yes," said Anicka. "But what do you think of the Anama?"
"The ruination of Kneece was their fault. I despise them. Avoid them if at all possible," said Purgatos. "By the way, they have a huge treasure in their temple somewhere. I hope someone steals it."
"We just might help ourselves to that treasure, if it's worth the bother," said Anicka.
"Oh, it is," said Purgatos, grinning wickedly. "But you didn't hear that from me."
"So what do you know of the cockroach plague?" said Anicka.
"I do a bit of scrying and ethereal wandering. I know how the monsters are created," said Purgatos. "There's a small difficulty, though."
"How are the cockroaches being created?" said Anicka.
"The cockroaches are being made in a huge underground factory which creates filth for them to grow in and eat before they go out to cause havoc. The Filth Factory is hidden somewhere on the Isle of Bigail," said Purgatos. "I have put a good deal of effort into finding out where, and still I have no idea. Therein lies the main difficulty."
"What difficulty?" said Daniel.
"Recently, someone came to me. Don't ask for more details. I choose not to give them. This being told me that when you came, you should be helped," said Purgatos. "I have developed a device which I believe could destroy the factory. However this would only be useful if the place was found. If you found it, I would make the device a gift to you."
"Well, we met some giant friendly roaches," said Anicka, shuddering, "and they told us how to find the place. Can we have the device you developed?"
"Wonderful," said Purgatos. He went into the next room and brought out a reddish, egg-shaped crystal. "This is called a Phoenix Egg," he said as he handed it carefully to Anicka. "It's quite rare. Take it to the lowest, most central level of the factory, break it, and run. Fast. And good luck to you."
"Thank you very much," said Anicka.
Leaving Purgatos' private sanctuary, they waited on the docks for nearly an hour, getting increasingly nervous until Olga showed up again to take them back to Kuper. Once back in Kuper, they set out again, hoping that they would find the place that had been described by Filth Spreader.
It had been a couple days of travel, and as they journeyed, they encountered a small group of Anama priests, accompanied by a group of well-armed guards. They all looked exhausted, and they greeted each other, trading news. The Anama explained that they were traveling from town to town, curing any diseased villagers they found. Their work had so exhausted them that they did not even preach about the Anama faith. Instead, as they moved on, they mentioned that they hoped that the group would be able to locate a potion which could cure disease to help with the difficult cases.
"Wait," said Angarahad, digging in her pack. "I've got one."
"Thank you," said one of the priests after testing it, enthusiasm in his voice. "We will be able to save a few lives with this."
"No problem," said Anicka.
As they reached Hectar, they realized they had gone too far, and were about to stop to consult the map when they met an Empire soldier, clearly ill with pale skin, small sores on his cheeks, and a frequent cough.
Looking at the group with instant and extreme dislike, he coughed, and said, "I'm Captain Sinbar."
"Hi," said Anicka. "My name is Anicka, my companions, Dan, Frrrrrr, Angie, Phaedra, and Nathan."
"I lead the troops in this area, taking them on patrols," said Sinbar. He gave them a close, appraising look. "Where are you from?"
"Why do you ask?" said Anicka.
Sinbar replied, "Everyone's talking about how there are Avernites up here somehow. We soldiers are awfully interested in this."
"What would you do with an Avernite?" said Anicka.
"Not all of us are as sick as me, and we all lost friends in the war with Avernum. We get our hands on one of those worms, and they'll pay, but good," said Sinbar. "You hear me?"
"Yeah, and some of us lost family in the war," said Nathan. "And a lot more. And we are Avernites. What do you have to say to that?"
He didn't look at all surprised, but being too weak to fight, he said, "We knew it. We knew you were. Everyone talks about it, about the Avernites, about how you'll help us."
"Really?" said Anicka. "People think that we'll help them?"
"They're fools! Some of us know you caused the plagues, but most think that you are our hope. They won't admit it, because they fear punishment, but they do think that. I hate them," said Sinbar, and he turned away as a coughing fit overtook him.
"At least that didn't end in a fight," said Anicka. "Let's go."
They left and made their way south again, and once they could see the water again, stayed close to the shoreline as they continued north, and here they found a large group of the giant, nasty cockroaches blocking the path ahead, clearly standing guard.
"Not typical roach behavior," said Nathan.
"Reminds me of those slimes," said Phaedra. "Bet we're close to that filth factory."
Anicka shuddered, and said, "I'm sure you're right."
The battle was joined, and after dispatching the last of the filthy little vermin, they each took care to give their weapons a good, thorough cleaning. They continued, confident that they were on the right path, and another band of roaches, fewer in number but larger and nastier, blocked the way ahead. After this battle, they gave their weapons another, even more thorough cleaning. Some of those roaches seemed to have been exceptionally filthy.
Continuing, the hilly area looked ordinary, except for the higher incidence of dead roaches. However, there remained the sound of distant hissing of giant roaches—many giant roaches. After a careful search of the area, they discovered the entrance the friendly roaches had mentioned, a narrow shaft, ten feet wide, burrowing down at an angle into the solid rock. The walls and floor were covered with slime, and twin odors of smoke and rotting trash wafted out of the entrance.
"I think we found it," said Anicka.
Having passed through the illusionary wall hiding the entrance, they finally stood at the entry to the Filth Factory, the massive fortification apparently built to create the cockroaches which had made life on the Isle of Bigail a living hell.
From within, there were many noises: the rumbling of strange machinery, the bubbling of nasty substances, the ever present hissing of roaches, and a constant, hissing flow of magical energy. The scent of rotting mulch hung heavy in the air.
"I think I'm going to puke," said Anicka.
"If we want to end the plague," said Angarahad, tying a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, "we have to go in."
Angarahad passed out the kerchiefs to the others, and they took a moment to tie them on, hoping to shield themselves from the worst effects of the smell of this horrible place. A large stone stairway had been caved in, tons of rock blocking the passage.
"We'll have to find another way," said Anicka, remembering what Purgatos had said.
"This is weird," said Daniel. "When I first looked at this, it didn't make any sense."
"Filth creation chamber number one," said Anicka. "How many of them are there?"
Fighting off the giant fungi, they continued, fighting past more roaches, and then they came to another large chamber, with a magically shifting lettered sign declaring it to be the second filth creation chamber.
"To control room?" said Anicka, reading off another sign. "Let's go."
Inside the room was a magical portal, and on their approach, a voice said, "Only a single being is allowed in the Control Room at one time. Please pass through when ready."
"OK, so who's going?" said Anicka.
"I will," said Angarahad.
Angarahad went through the portal, and found within a manual describing how the filth factory worked, and she took notes, both on how the machinery worked and the shielding and magical protection involved.
She ran back, and through the portal, and said, "Not much time, hurry," and with that, she led the way to a room where power crystals were dark, but the humming suggested they would soon re-activate. Just after getting to the other side, they found a corpse with one scrap of paper reading "Elsner" the only identifiable object.
"Guess we found another one," said Anicka.
They continued, searching through the area, still puzzled over how the letters shifted into legibility, but they created a forced explosion with filth in the hopes that they would then be able to get past the barriers as Angarahad explained the situation.
Following the way back, they found their efforts had been successful, and they came to a portal. Finding little other likelihood of getting through, they decided to enter the portal, and found themselves at the base of a blocked stair.
Finally edging down a newly created passage, they made their way through the concentric rings of filth, and surprisingly, found a broken power crystal, near which were several huge withered scales, each a foot long.
"We'll see what they make of this in Fort Emergence," said Frrrrrr, putting the scales in his pack.
At last, they had reached the core of the roach pit. Here, the freshest, most potent of the decomposing swamp mulch oozed to the surface and spread through the trash walls with a hint of methane in the air.
"I guess this is where we're supposed to use it," said Anicka, pulling the Phoenix Egg from her pack. "Hope it works as promised."
"Same here," said Daniel, looking doubtfully at the small crystal. "Think it can really burn the place down?"
"Here's hoping," said Anicka. "You guys run!"
With that, she hurled the crystal into the slime. At first nothing happened, and she was afraid she had wasted the device, or that it was hopeless and they were doomed. Suddenly, a column of flame erupted, flames racing along trash walls, igniting even the damp, decomposed roots and moss. The hisses of panicked, dying roaches rose above the other ambient noises, and the fire was growing.
"Run!" cried Anicka, taking her own advice and starting to move quickly away from the flames.
They ran from the Filth Factory, flames and searing heat on their heels. From within, there was a series of explosions. The huge magical machines that ran the place were starting to explode. Finally, there was a massive, pained grinding noise, and a shockwave which threw them all to the ground. With a final series of explosions and a blinding gout of flame, the Filth Factory collapsed.
"Ow! Get off!" said Anicka from beneath the pile-up.
"You need a bath," said Daniel, ignoring the fact that he was covered in filth and ashes.
"So do you," said Anicka. "Let's get to Shayder."
Exhausted, they made their way back to the city, and entered the office of Mayor Bernathy.
"We've destroyed the source of the roach infestation," said Anicka, and she related how they had found the filth factory and used magic—well, she admitted it was a magical device—to destroy the place.
"We're safe at last," said Mayor Bernathy, smiling. "You've done us a great kindness." She removed a ring from her pouch, and said, "I own few things now. This is the best. Wear it proudly." She coughed and shivered, and added, "Much remains to be done. Perhaps we can start to work with the Anama. Thank you again, and good luck to you."
"Thank you, your honor," said Anicka, and she led the way over to the inn.
"Can we get a room and a bath?" said Anicka.
"I'll see what I can do about the bath," said Mickie. "You can get the luxury rooms—haven't had a cockroach in'em for weeks."
The rooms were, despite Mickie's promises, barely adequate, but at least the roaches seemed to be no larger than the usual measured-in-inches variety.
After a mostly unrestful night, they started back across the Isle of Bigail to get back to the Krizsan province so that they could make their way back to Fort Emergence.
"You don't suppose Anaximander's going to be upset we didn't come back and tell him?" said Daniel.
"Why should he be?" said Anicka. "Honestly ... we're not children who need to be told what to do every little step of the way. We're smart enough to figure out what needed to be done, and we did it. And if he's got a problem with that ... well, he can deal with the next problem himself!"