A/N: The wonderful world of Exile (Avernum) remains the property of Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. Following this bit of fun, I promise to return to the game unharmed the following persons: Rentar-Ihrno, the Crystal Souls, and the haakai; and places: under the Keep of Tinraya, Keep of Tinraya, the caldera, the valley and the Great Circle.
They descended the ladder and found themselves in what appeared to be a cave full of slime and muck. Swimming in the goo were small, six-legged, squealing beasts the size of small dogs.
"They're baby alien beasts!" exclaimed Anicka as she lit a torch.
"This must be what they're bred in," said Phaedra, looking disgusted.
The small beasts fled at the sight of the adventurers.
"Bet they're going to bring momma," said Daniel.
Sure enough, moments later, three large alien beasts entered the chamber, and attacked. Anicka and her companions fought against them, and found a small passage leading to a door of definite vahnatai style, triple-locked, and covered with numerous runes of protection.
"I don't think we can go that way," said Anicka.
"And this way is blocked," said Daniel. "The beasts must swim in the water, but I don't think we can."
"It's not a problem," said Angarahad, and she moved forward, setting a hand on the massive stalagmite, and chanted a prayer.
With a soft rumble, the stone crumbled into dust.
They moved down the newly accessible passage, seeing an underground lake coated with slime on its surface, another boulder blocking their way, and a bridge with another alien beast upon it.
Anicka said, "Let's kill it and then you can take care of the boulder, Angie—I hope. I sure don't want to swim in that."
Anicka loaded a crossbow bolt, and she, Daniel with his crossbow, and Frrrrrr with his longbow brought down the beast. Angarahad then moved forward to the boulder, prayed again, and the boulder crumbled like the stalagmites before it.
From the bridge, they saw another alien beast, and decided to fire upon it from the bridge.
"No point in letting those things go," said Anicka. "We might end up facing them later otherwise."
They continued, finding the way straight ahead blocked by a closed portcullis, and a passage leading off to the right.
"Not much choice here," said Anicka, and she led the way down the passage to the right.
They picked off a few more alien beasts, and found a locked door which was absolutely impenetrable—but oddly enough, according to Daniel's map, they were able to circumvent it.
Searching the way, they found a river crossing with a few broad stones which they needed to jump from one to the next. They continued, finding more bridges, more passages and chambers blocked by alien beast guards, and finally to another stair leading to doors of a vahnatai-style building.
"I sure hope we can get through that door," said Anicka. "Everywhere we go, we keep running into doors that simply won't yield to anything—not Frrrrrr's picks, not Phaedra's magic."
"We do have that key we found," said Angarahad. "And I think it might be a vahnatai key."
"Probably," said Anicka, pulling out the key they had found in the cave near New Formello. The door's protective runes did not activate as she fit the key into the keyhole, and the door opened.
They entered the room—beautifully green tiled, a large pool, and a number of vahnatai statues. The place would be quite beautiful, if only there were not the large rumble presaging two sections of wall sliding into the floor to present a large number of alien beasts.
"Oh, damn," said Anicka, turning back to help fend off the beasts.
They cleaned their weapons warily, certain that there was much trouble ahead. Checking a door at the midpoint of the entry hall, they found two large barracks rooms, all with vahnatai beds, a few personal effects such as the cloaks and crystals, and a few razordisks, which they scarfed up, passing to Phaedra and Angarahad.
"This way, you can save some of your spells," said Anicka.
"Thanks," said Phaedra, as they searched and found their way to a massive dining hall.
The next room they found looked like it had been intended for use in meditation. Thick, plush rugs were arranged in front of blue crystals on low pedestals. The crystals looked dull and lifeless, and everything was dusty.
"The good thing," said Daniel, "no one's been here in awhile. We should be safe for the moment."
"Yeah, but who knows how long the moment will be?" said Anicka.
They found a kitchen, and then what appeared to be a jail. In one cell, there was a troglodyte—whether he was being kept for study or because he had failed to live up to vahnatai expectations was uncertain. Since he attacked immediately, Anicka's sword slashed through the air and rendered it impossible to ever hope to find a definite answer. In the next cell, there was a giant, equally hostile to them, and soon equally dead. In the final cell was a cockroach of nearly the size of a horse.
"Well, I guess," said Anicka, "they were studying them."
"How strange," said Frrrrrr. "I see no evidence they were feeding them."
"Maybe they were leaving them to starve to death," said Anicka with a shudder.
"It would not surprise me," said Daniel. "They seem not to care who dies."
They left the complex, finding themselves back in the caves, and after defeating a number of alien beasts in a cavern filled with toadstools, which Nathan scooped up to add to his ingredient bag, they saw a ladder.
Ascending the ladder, they found themselves in another chamber—green-tiled, with a vahnatai glow crystal and two vahnatai cases. Searching the cases, they took the useful potions and razordisks, and left the room.
"We're inside that tower," said Anicka, looking out through the closed portcullis.
"This wheel probably opens that portcullis," said Daniel.
"Can't think of a reason to do so," said Anicka.
"There are more beasts behind these barriers," said Phaedra. "But barriers block everything else up here."
"Can we kill them through the barriers, or should you bring the barrier down first?" said Anicka.
"I don't know," said Phaedra. "See if your bolts go through."
The bolts and arrows did, and so they picked off the alien beasts and then brought down the barriers.
"It's a breeding pit!" said Anicka, as they entered the hot, humid, foul-smelling room.
Several large troughs were in the walls, filled with greenish-gray gook, large round eggs, and dozens of baby alien beasts, no larger than Anicka's hand. The baby beasts were swimming and playing in the muck quite happily.
"OK, so they're born and grown here," said Angarahad.
"Smells awful in here," said Daniel.
"I know, I'm getting dizzy," said Phaedra. "Let's hurry and get out of here."
"Maybe if you did to it like we did to the pools in the slime pit?" said Anicka.
They dumped the coals from the brazier into the breeding pool. Undoubtedly a temporary solution, but at least it could help stem the tide for now while they pressed on for a more permanent solution.
They proceeded to do the same in the other three breeding chambers, and found a stairway down, leading into another pit with a locked door beyond all of their abilities, a strange keyhole in the door, but none of the keys fit.
"Retrace steps," said Anicka, and they went back to the toadstool cavern, and then to the last door that they had not tried in their excitement at finding a way out of the place.
They entered a large, dim hall. As their eyes adjusted, they could see who and what was ahead. There was no surprise, as they had already discerned who was responsible—they had found the masters of the fortress.
At the west end of this chamber were four Crystal Souls, each surrounded by a halo of sparkling energy. Flashes of light traveled into and out of them, as they sent commands, probably to the remaining monsters ravaging the surface.
Anicka struggled to hear, just barely able to make out the dark commands of the Crystal Souls, when an apparition floated up above them—a projection of Retnar-Ihrno.
Rentar-Ihrno's voice was sharp and cruel, and she said, "So, humans, you have found us at last. We seek our rightful revenge against this Empire, and yet, despite the rightness of our claim, you continue to oppose us. They took our Crystal Souls from us and tormented them endlessly! For this, they must pay, no matter what! By aiding them, you join in their wickedness. Now you shall pay!"
There was a flash of light, and Anicka passed out.
She woke up in a small rectangular room, no door, just a huge plug of stone blocking the exit. The room was empty, devoid of beds, chairs, windows, food, or light.
"Dan?" said Anicka. "Frrrrrr? Angie? Phaedra? Nathan?"
"Yeah, I'm here, Nick," said Daniel.
Phaedra cast a spell, holding a small ball of light in the palm of her hand, revealing the others were also present. "It seems they mean for us to die in here," she said.
Nathan began brewing potions, and a day passed. No food or water was brought into them, no one came to question them, time simply passed.
Angarahad attempted to cast a spell to destroy the stone, but it was beyond her prayers to change it. Frrrrrr diligently searched, and found not even a tiny crack.
"There has to be a way out of here," said Anicka, pacing, slamming a hand against the stone.
"I don't think it's going to give way," said Daniel. "Don't hurt yourself—we need our strength when we do find the way."
They continued searching the walls, the floors, hoisting Frrrrrr on the shoulders of Anicka so that he could examine the ceiling. Another day passed, with no food or water brought to them, no one came to question them. The corner where they relieved themselves had started to make the entire cell smell quite foul.
Another day passed with determination that they were not going to let themselves be killed so easily.
Then came a whisper, seeming from midair.
"At last, I can help you," said the whisper. "One can leave now. Have a care. Avoid extraneous buttons. Find me in the caves beyond the Great Walls."
They looked, and now there was a slight opening in the wall, and a portal.
"OK," said Anicka. "who should go?"
"I will," said Phaedra. "If we need to avoid extraneous buttons—well, I've studied the vahnatai language, so I should be able to read labels. And I have a spell that will help me sneak around."
"OK," said Anicka. "Good luck."
"Here," said Nathan, handing her a few potions. "These will keep you from harm if you must fight."
Phaedra stepped through the portal, and found herself in a muck filled cavern. Tiny alien beasts, squeaking fearfully, burrowed into the slime. While she was free, her companions were yet prisoners.
It took her some time to get her bearings, and then she realized she was on the other side of the closed portcullis that they had seen early in their explorations, and she found her way into a small vahnatai building, and around a meeting table, there were two vahnatai warriors, and she fought them, killing them quickly.
She found more alien beasts and a vahnatai spellcaster attacking her from beyond closed portculli, and she fought them, and found another meeting room, where she found a pedestal with a control panel covered with glowing buttons. Seeing the letters, some with the button saying "Dha" and others "Kaik", she thought for a moment.
"Dunno which these are," she muttered. "I'll just make them all open." With that, she pressed buttons until every one of them read "Kaik".
She left, finding that the portculli all around were indeed open, and she made her way into another room where she reached a pedestal with two small crystals that were inset, as though meant to be pushed in. One was labeled "North" and the other "South".
"Open them both," she said to herself, and pushed in a crystal.
The wall fell away, and revealed a number of alien beasts.
"Damn, extraneous button," said Phaedra, and she quickly killed them with spells, though she was very badly injured by their claws.
Phaedra managed to get back to the pedestal to push the other crystal. The wall slid away with a satisfying rumble, and she saw her companions.
"Phaedra!" said Angarahad. "You're hurt!"
"Yeah," said Phaedra. "I found a wrong button."
Angarahad prayed over Phaedra, knitting together the gashes the alien beasts had created, and once they had regathered their strength, breathing in the clean air beyond their cell, they moved on to return to the hall.
Here, the projection of Rentar-Ihrno was conferring with the Crystal Souls. As the Avernites entered, one of the Souls made a chirping noise. Rentar-Ihrno's shade turned, surprised to see them.
"What!" yelled Rentar-Ihrno. "What are you doing out?"
She looked over at the magical teleporter trap, but this time, they had entered through the other door, and the trap could not function. Rentar-Ihrno actually looked unsure as to what to do now.
Then one of the Crystal Souls said, "I, Jekknol-Bok, say that we have had enough of these interlopers. We will destroy them now." The other Crystal Souls chimed their assent.
Hoping that it would actually work, Anicka got out the Thought Crystal that they had been given in the Bunker. Activating it as the Crystal Souls began to glow, summoning the energy to vaporize her and her companions, she waited nervously.
The energy glows surrounding the Crystal Souls wavered, and suddenly faded, then disappeared—the mighty ancient beings now slept.
Rentar-Ihrno looked at them and their device in horror, and she cast a spell, and she and the inert souls disappeared.
As she faded, she said, "There will be a mighty reckoning one day, humans!"
A handful of vahnatai guards remained to attack, and they felt no compunction whatsoever about slaying them. They searched the remaining area, knowing that they would have escaped for naught if they were still blocked by the last door, and finally found a small key in a pouch hidden at the back of a case.
Returning, they found the key they had just stolen from the vahnatai opened the door that had blocked them before.
A few more alien beasts showed up, intending to stop them, and then they found the passage out, and were in the middle of a huge smoldering caldera.
"Anyone have an idea about which way to go?" said Anicka.
"Nope," said Phaedra.
Angarahad said, "I've got a spell," and she cast it. "Now we can walk on the lava and look."
"Thanks, Angie," said Anicka, and she led the way to the west. From here, they soon saw a wall to the north with a massive gate, and beyond, a blasted stretch of land.
Warily, they made their way north. The gateway was old and crumbled, and looked to have been made of human construction ages ago. Any guards here recently had abandoned it, and ahead was nothing but an icy, dead wasteland.
They emerged from the caldera into what was a huge valley high in the mountains—barren, and icy cold, with no signs of life but for the criss-crossed trails of alien beasts. And then, an assortment of the vahnatai creations rushed out from behind snowdrifts, intending to stop the Avernites right here.
First came a wave of roaches—none smaller than a medium dog. Through bolts, arrows, magical flame and razordisks, the roaches were defeated. only to be followed on by the four-armed golems of blades, fire golems, ice golems, and jeweled golems. These, too, were slain by the cooperation of the six, although not without a considerable amount of injury from fire, ice, and magical bursts, and with no time to recover, a massive pack of alien beasts descended upon them, and with difficulty, those too were slain.
They fought on, and continued searching the valley. Too late, they saw a group of vahnatai warriors wearing thick hoods to protect themselves from the sun, but as soon as they saw the Avernites, they ran to the east impossibly fast.
"They must be going to warn them we're coming," said Anicka.
"At least it tells us which way to go," said Daniel.
"Yeah, there is that," said Anicka, grinning.
As they entered the craggy valley, watching carefully for alien beasts, they saw a huge cave mouth. There was a vague tug, however, to turn north and explore.
Finding themselves compelled, they climbed into a shadowy valley, sure that some sort of reward awaited them there.
They continued, finding a deep, dark valley, full of sharp crags and broad expanses of rubble. Inn the distance, they could see a massive stone circle—each stone eighty feet high. Clouds overhead were gray and angry, filling the valley with shadows.
"I don't like this," said Angarahad.
"I can't explain it," said Anicka. "I just feel like we must go there."
"I know," said Angarahad. "I think it was a bad idea, before."
"What?" said Anicka.
"The other stone circles," said Angarahad. "I think it was a mistake to go into them."
"Too late now," said Daniel.
Uncertainly, they moved into the great circle, finding a large altar there. The altar was ancient and black, sitting in the middle of a courtyard of mossy marble slabs. Although the altar had clearly been there for a long, long time, while everything else looked new—as if finished only that morning.
Trash, old weapons, bones and such were scattered everywhere. Some remains looked like they had been alien beasts, others from humanoids of uncertain variety. The altar shimmered with power, and it seemed shadows were moving just under the dark surface.
Anicka suddenly drew her sword, feeling an almost irresistible urge to smash the altar.
"NO!" cried Angarahad. "I have another way!"
It was too late, as the sword came down upon the altar and a small hairline fracture appeared in the stone. The crack grew, and the altar developed an enormous fissure. The air was filled with hideous demonic laughter, turning into babbling, and finally resolving into one deafening, "I'm free!"
Three clouds of flame seeped out of the crack, settled to the ground and took solid form. Anicka shivered with horror—these were the lords of demonkind, the haakai, each twenty feet high, looking down on her group as though they were insects.
Sounding amused, one said, "Centuries we've been held here, sending out spells to summon others to us. Those spells formed the stone circles, and the circles were what you submitted to! Now we are free, and now our reign can begin."
The second said with a chuckle, "We hunger, and you look tasty. However, we are not ungrateful for your service. We offer you a deal. Give us your treasure—all of it, and we will spare you. Refuse, and die."
The third said, "Speak quickly, for we have much to do, and much strength to regain. Do you agree?"
"Fuck no!" said Anicka. "We killed a whole bunch of your kind in the Tower of Magi, and we'll do it again here!"
Glad that her sword was already in hand, she made ready to attack. Having been trapped for centuries, the demons were spoiling for the fight, and seemed to consider Anicka's words most amusing. They summoned aid, and the battle began.
Exhausted, they had defeated the demons, and disappointed that there was no great loot to be had, they left that valley to make their way to the wall they had seen before.