It occurs to me I've been a prick. I'm sorry to anybody who was waiting for updates on either of my stories. Fan Fic has sadly fallen by the wayside in the last year and a half between school, work, and writing non fan fic. I have NOT forgotten about it though. If you've been waiting on "Stand and Be Counted" it has been on my mind and it WILL be finished. Currently though I'm working on revamping a few short stories and finishing another one that I'll actually be trying to publish this summer. After the editing and writing on those projects are done though finishing my Starcraft fanfic is the next item on my writing to-do list. I apologize for the wait. This story in particular I have no excuse for. It's been finished for years now I just have failed to upload the rest of it. I'll be putting the whole thing up today so if you feel so inclined, read and enjoy. I know there aren't a huge number of Exile and Avernum fans out there but I think you'll like it nonetheless.
- James
A few hours later Markham and Scratch emerged from the barracks, fed and as clean as they could manage. Markham's hair and beard were trimmed and forced into some semblance of order and his heavy leather armor was scrubbed somewhat clean. His sword was sheathed at his side, though he'd left his gauntlet, bow, and quiver in his room for the meeting. Scratch was similarly refreshed in his leather vest and loincloth held up by a heavy belt decorated with several skulls. He'd left his spear in the barracks, deciding it was a bit much for a formal visit with the Captain and instead carried a large bronze hunting knife at his belt.
Across the way Sgt. Horn stood outside the Captain's office. His armor freshly shined. Dannica stood next to him. A priestess' robe over her chain mail coat which bore the image of an ornate sword over Avernum's golden sun banner. Her bun was freshly straightened and she carried a slightly curved sword sheathed on her left hip and a wicked looking mace on her right.
"Hurry the hell up you idiots! The Captain's waiting!" Horn snapped at the ranger and his friend. The two glanced at each other wearily and hurried across the courtyard to stand beside the priestess, who eyed them both with no more warmth than before.
"Now when we go in there you'll snap those weak little bodies to attention and so help me you mind that smart ass mouth of yours," the sergeant said the last with a hostile glance at Markham, his tone hinting at inconceivable discomfort should the ranger fail to heed his word.
With that Horn opened the door to the office and jerked his head toward the interior, which was well lit, with firelight shining off the walls. Dannica entered first, followed by Markham. As Scratch moved to follow he caught sight of Seth standing watch on the fort's walls. The two Sliths nodded in greeting before Scratch ducked inside the office, followed by Horn who shut the door behind them. Seth turned his attention back to the tunnels beyond the fortress walls. Making sure to keep an eye on Brent as well, who stood ten paces to his left; watching the Slith with a hateful glare.
Inside the office Markham, Scratch, and Horn snapped to attention and brought their fists to their chests in salute. The office was relatively spacious, as such things go, with a fireplace on one side of the room and several shelves on the other containing various books and scrolls. At the back of the room Captain Vidican sat behind her desk. Leaning back in a well-crafted wooden chair, she had let her long red hair down and was dressed in a pair of well made leather trousers and a simple grey tunic. Her plate armor was on a stand in the corner of the room.
As the four walked in the Captain looked up from her conversation with two men in front of the small desk. One was an older man in green robes with a large graying beard that Markham recognized as the fort Wizard, Master Warren. The other man with short-cropped hair and bright blue eyes he didn't recognize, but by his worn blue robes the ranger knew the man was an apprentice magi.
"Sergeant Horn, Sister Dannica, Private's Markham and… Ssrath-Ess" Vidican nodded in greetings, stumbling over the Slitherkai name before continuing. "You should all recognize the First Wizard, Master Warren. And this is his most promising student, Apprentice Magi Trent." The two groups eyed each other with interest, exchanging terse nods of greeting before turning back to the Captain.
Vidican took in the group in front of her appraisingly before nodding in apparent approval. "Gentleman," she said, indicating the Wizard and Sergeant, "You already know your parts in this. You may return to your preparations. I'll take it from here."
Horn saluted and Warren nodded and both murmured, "Yes Captain," before slipping out.
"And that brings us to you four," Vidican said with a rueful grin, turning back to the confused group that remained. "I'm sure your all wondering why you're here. I'll explain."
She stood and, opening a drawer in a wooden cabinet beside the desk, pulled out a large map and laid it out on the table. "Gather around," she ordered calmly. Markham and the others drew in to examine the map. Markham was the first to recognize it.
"These are the caves around the fort," he commented before narrowing his eyes at what the map displayed to the east of the fort. His eyes widened, "Those are the Nephilim tunnels!"
"So surprised soldier?" the Captain raised an eyebrow at the ranger. "Those tunnels used to house a fairly productive coal mine until the cats moved in and drove everyone out. It was a year ago but we still have maps of the tunnels from before the mines were lost."
"Forgive me Captain," Trent broke in, his voice curious as he examined the map. "But why didn't the fort garrison just drive the Nephilim out. Ganrick has been here for at least that long has it not?"
"A fair question," Vidican acknowledged, an angry expression flashing across her face. "The truth is the cat's never should have gotten in anyway. Ganrick's former commander failed to accomplish the task this fort was built for, protecting that mine. And once the Nephilim got in they managed to entrench themselves in the old mine well enough that the garrison at that time just wasn't big enough to take it back. And so the crown settled for containing them. It worked well enough for a while. The cats stayed to their tunnels and we killed off any that tried to cause trouble."
Vidican sat back and gave them all a serious look. "The war with the Empire has changed things however."
Her words had an immediate effect on everyone in the room. Markham and Dannica's jaws tightened in anger, Scratch hissed softly, and Trent's expression became very serious.
No one in Avernum took well to mention of the Empire. Not only were many of them descendants of exiles who had been thrown into the underworld by the surface realm but many were actually newly exiled themselves. The Empire had only stopped sending people down several years ago when the Emperor was assassinated by a small group of Avernite warriors who had been teleported to the surface by the Archmage Erika. Realizing the threat of the underground nation they had inadvertently created the Empire had started sending troops down into the tunnels and for the last several months a fierce war had raged between the Avernites and the invading imperial troops. It was an ugly fight with no quarter given on either side.
The Captain continued, her own face grim. "With the war going on we need every able soldier we can spare on the front. That's why I'm here… instead of fighting the bastards." Vidican's voice became slightly bitter, her desire to be on those front lines was obvious.
"Over the last month the crown has been reinforcing Ganrick's garrison, and sent me here to lead the effort to burn out the Nephilim. The idea is that once we clear them out we can bring the garrison down to the bare minimum or shut it down all together and refocus the resources on the front."
"This is all real interesting, but what do you need us for Captain?" Markham asked warily.
Vidican eyed him coolly before replying. "Horn wasn't kidding about you Private Markham. You aren't particularly blessed with the gift of tact." The admonished ranger muttered something unintelligible. "But yes, I need something rather different from you four," the Captain continued, taking her eyes from the scout and eyeing each of the four in turn. "The fact is the Army just doesn't have the warriors to spare to mount a full blown siege of the Nephilim in that damned mine. They've turned the place into a fortress, complete with a set of iron gates, and so we need to be creative." The Captain paused and grinned ruefully. "I need you four to find a way to sneak in and get the gates open."
Markham grunted and shared a guarded look with Scratch, he'd had a feeling it would be something like this. Dannica nodded thoughtfully. Trent kept his face impassive, revealing nothing. The Avernum army had a long history of using small groups of fighters to work this kind of mischief in its enemies. From it's founding the nations history had been a long grueling fight towards where it currently was and being "creative" was something of a tradition amongst the army.
Vidican wasn't finished though. "Horn and I will be waiting with our attack force in the tunnels outside. Once the gate's open we'll punch inside and clear the kitties out." Her gaze moved to Markham. "Before this happens we could use as much information about the defenses as possible." Markham's eyes narrowed at this.
"Captain you want us to sneak back out, after we've already gone to the effort of sneaking in, to give you a report?" He shook his head slightly. "That's an awful lot of sneaking and in my experience it makes it a hell of a lot more likely we'll be caught and the whole thing goes to hell."
Vidican nodded in agreement. "Your right Private. You trying to get in and out of the Nephil's caves greatly increases the risk. That's why you've got Apprentice Trent." She turned to the blue-eyed mage and nodded. "It will be your job to get in touch with Master Warren and give us the update on the cat's defenses. Warren assures me this is something your capable of. My knowledge of magic being somewhat lacking."
Trent nodded confidently. "It is Captain. All I need is a quiet spot with no interruptions and I should be able to reach the Master and give him your report."
"I guess we'll find a nice quiet closet somewhere," Markham commented dryly. Catching an annoyed glance from Dannica who muttered something quiet but which the ranger suspected was something like "insolent" or "wretch" or perhaps a combination of the two. Trent simply looked back at him and nodded, stonefaced.
"Yes a closet would do. So long as I am not interrupted for a few minutes."
"Good," the Captain said with a coy smile. "That just leaves one more job for you all."
There was an incredulous silence at this. Suddenly it was broken by a strange husky hissing noise from Scratch. Everyone in the room gave him an odd look except for Markham who recognized the sound as the Slith laughing. He grinned at his friend and couldn't help but chuckle himself.
"Of courssse. What elssse can we do for you Captain," Scratch grunted, trying to hold back his mirth.
The Captain eyed the big Slith wryly, not sure if she detected a note of sarcasm in his hissing tone. "After you've delivered the report and opened the gates all hell is likely to break loose. I want you to take advantage of the chaos and make a beeline for the cat Chieftain." She gave Markham a look he suspected was something other than complimentary. "Like it or not your some of our best fighters. Between the four of you I think you may just be able to take down the Chief. If that happens we'll have a much easier time of clearing the rest of them out."
"So to sum up," Markham remarked resignedly, "You want us to sneak into a Nephilim fortress, wander about inside a bit without getting caught and made into a side dish, find a way to open a probably heavily guarded gate, and then find the biggest, meanest kitty in the whole bunch and end him."
"Doesn't seem so bad when you say it like that does it Private?" Vidican said, a small smile creeping onto her face. "And to wrap it all up with a bow I want you…" she indicated the ranger, "… to run the show."
"What!" Markham groaned, Dannica not far behind him.
"Private Markham you have the most experience in moving around behind enemy lines. If you all are to accomplish this without ending with your heads as stake decorations you'll need someone in charge with those skills."
"Captain," Dannica broke in, shooting a withering glare at Markham as she did, "You can't possibly think this insolent, useless lizard lover has what it takes to lead warrior's into battle." She stopped, visibly calming herself before continuing. "Give me the honor of leading the mission. It won't be my first time and you will not be let down."
"Priestess Dannica, I'm aware of your previous experience. I served with your father in the Slith War and he made sure to write me before you were sent here. He's a good man and I have little doubt that his daughter inherited many of his skills." She paused and fixed Dannica with a pointed look. "But your experience was in open battle. This will require more… stealth. And my instincts are that Private Markham will be better able to lead in this. And besides…" She gave the ranger a calculating look. "… I think somewhere in there, perhaps very deep inside, there is something remotely resembling leadership ability. I'd like to see if I'm right."
"Your faith gives me wings Captain," the man remarked dryly.
"I'm glad I could help Private."
Resigned to his fate Markham glanced at Scratch. His friend merely shrugged, indicating he was at peace with matters. He turned back to Captain Vidican.
"When do we need to leave Captain."
"As soon as you can. I want our attack force heading into the tunnels by tomorrow. I'd suggest grabbing some provisions from storage and heading out after the evening meal. With that the Captain stood. "You have your orders. Carry them out. Dismissed."
Scratch and Markham saluted before following Dannica and Trent out into the courtyard. Markham looked at the others a moment before letting out a long breath.
"Well nothing for it. Do what you need to do. Pack for at least a week in the tunnels. We'll all meet back out here here after chow."
Dannica gave him a venomous look, her dark eyes flashing. "Make no mistake lizard lover. I'll follow you in this because my honor demands it, but I'll be shocked if your idiocy doesn't get one of us killed." She eyed Markham and Scratch. "Preferably you or the Snake."
"Look Priestess!" Markham snapped, unable to keep his dislike for the woman in check any longer. "I don't know how I got stuck with the most hostile holy woman I've ever come across. But I did. So you and I are going to have to work together and you bitching into my ear all the time is going to get us caught in that cat den." He squared off with her, and suddenly they both had their hands hovering near weapons. Finally Markham dropped his hands to his side and exhaled slowly.
"You do your job and I'll do mine and hopefully we can never see each other again when this business is over."
Dannica held is stare for a moment, her lip curling in distaste. Finally she let her hand drop from her weapon's belt. She opened her mouth to reply but Markham cut her off.
"And as for my friend here," he said indicating Scratch, "I'd show him a little more courtesy. You might be relying on him to keep a blade out of your back before long. Maybe you should pray about it, I hear that helps."
Scratch bared his teeth again in his imitation of a smile, though most other than Slitherkai wouldn't recognize the sarcastic tint to the expression. Eyes widening in alarm at the intimidating display Dannica's hands immediately moved back towards her weapons. Seeing that the Slith's hands stayed at his sides, however, she hesitantly let them drop. Her gaze moved back to Markham, who eyed her coldly, and finally with a growl she spun around and stalked away toward the fort's small shrine.
Markham watched the priestess go. Finally, he glanced at Scratch.
"You smiled didn't you."
Scratch suddenly found a spot on the cavern ceiling that required his complete attention.
"Maybe."
Markham chuckled quietly before turning to Trent.
"You have a problem with Sliths too?"
The mage apprentice held up his hands in supplication. "Not so long as they have no problems with me," he said. "Now if you will excuse me. I have preparations to make." And with that he turned and moved off toward the mage's quarters with a purposeful stride. The ranger sighed and turned towards Scratch.
"You think we'll live through this?"
"I probably will. I'm pretty sssure your done for though."
Markham grinned.