Chapter 2: Homeward Bound
Thaïs climbs out of the tent behind you, "So what is the plan for today, Derryth?" she asks, fidgeting with her tunic.
"Well we have to pick a route through the old city. I have been thinking and the path Brigit found yesterday seems the safest."
You really do not want to have to slip past a group of Myrkridia, if a pack mage is with them then your illusions may do you no good. For similar reasons you suppress your curiosity about the monster colony, whatever dark mysteries they are guarding will just have to remain hidden, it is simply too big of a risk.
As you cross the courtyard you spot Gareth and Serpent in conversation. As they finish Gareth enters the guardhouse and Serpent waves at you and gestures for the two of you to come speak with him. You remember what you had meant to tell Thaïs.
"About the Circle, Thaïs, the answer is yes."
Well that brought a smile to her face, she gives you a small hug and a kiss and turns to go tell Serpent. Before she goes running off however you grab her arm.
"I also need a small favour from you, we need to talk to Serpent about Tyrvard, if the two of them come to blows it will be bad for everyone."
Thaïs arches an eyebrow, "Those two? I have seen that drama play out a dozen times, just put them in a tent together and they will sort out their differences."
She has just a bit of trouble suppressing her laughter as she spits out those words of wisdom and with but a little prodding agrees to help you mediate the conflict.
The two of you make your way past the Children's tent, blue-grey smoke slowly seeps from within the tent.
"I wonder what those two are up to Derryth?"
"None of our business really as long as they do their jobs."
You will admit you are very curious yourself but they are allies. You would not like it if they were spying on you so you should extend them the same basic courtesies.
As you make your way over to Serpent you remember something else you meant to ask Thaïs. Since Serpent is here you may as well ask him too, after you greet Serpent you ask the two of them if they could help you in your attempts to better understand history, theology and the classics. They suggest that first you must understand how to learn before any real learning may take place.
"Well can you two teach me then?" Serpent seems a bit hesitant until you add, "Since I will be helping both of you with magical theory it only seems fair right?"
The realization that he is going to be part of an actual Circle changes his disposition a great deal, looking back and forth at you and Thaïs he asks in disbelief, "You mean the Circle is going to happen, I will actually be able to learn magic?"
When you nod he gives you both a great hug and for a second you think you see just a bit of the Berserk in him, but he quickly calms down.
The two of them walk off together in conversation, planning magical lessons and establishing your "curriculum". They are perhaps getting a bit too much enjoyment out of your "education" but their excitement is contagious and you can not help but smile.
You make your way to the guardhouse proper and find Brigit and Gareth in the middle of one of their deep and serious conversations. You give Brigit the good news and she damn near tackles you before running off to find Thaïs and Serpent, Gareth watches her as she goes.
Finally alone with the expedition's military expert you explain the route you wish to take, after about an hour of planning and going over the old charts the two of you agree to a plan and give the order to break camp. By now everyone knows their role and within an hour you are back on the long road into darkness...
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"Well, I will grant you that, that is one malicious darkness," Thaïs says with a whistle.
"I am less concerned with the darkness than with what may rest within it," is your only response.
The two of you are in your usual seats on the wagon, Gareth and Brigit are out front of the group with Miosguinn testing to see if it is safe to pass. The apprentice is sitting in the back staring a hole in the back of your head; you pretend not to notice. Tyrvard and Serpent meanwhile are arguing about some largely inconsequential matter, and then it all goes quiet.
Gareth has stepped across the barrier and is waving you through; you all light torches except for Miosguinn. The doctor's staff starts to give off a slight blue-grey glow as you enter the darkness. After half an hour of sheer boredom, a shadow crosses your path, or at least that is what it looks like.
You can hardly make it out in the gloom but it is getting closer to Tyrvard and when it springs out at him it is as a nightmare made real. You hardly have time to yell a warning before it is on him. The great warrior is completely unable to fight it and if not for the quick intervention of Gareth, the Berserk would probably be dead. The veteran jumps in hacking at the creature and he is soon joined by Brigit as well. The Shadow dies quickly but Tyrvard looks spent, you climb down and the three of you load him into the back of the wagon.
"That was a Mahir, a Shadow, the tortured soul of a long dead person. We fought a few in the war," Gareth explains as he catches his breath, "It was probably the Mahir that you all felt at the barrier, straining in the darkness, afraid to come into the light. If one of them gets a hold of you then you will be completely paralyzed. To get through this we will have to work together, stay in the light and always work in groups of two or higher."
Gareth's explanation does a lot to calm everyone, now that you know what they are you will just have to be careful.
Forty minutes later, two more shadows come sweeping out of the darkness. This time your group is ready and Brigit drops one with exploding arrows before it can close. The second reaches her but Gareth quickly frees her. Tyrvard is still in no shape to fight though, and to make matters worse, he refuses to let Serpent treat him.
Another hour, another group of shades, four this time. If not for Gareth's strategies and Serpent's mandrake roots it is doubtful you would have made it this far.
Eventually you come to a large round chamber with a pedestal in the middle and on it a crystal. As Miosguinn walks up to it to better examine it you hear a sound...
The sound of shadows swirling...
Behind you...
In front of you...
To all sides...
There must be hundreds of them...
And you think this is it...
This is how you will die...
And you have gotten all of these people killed as well...
You begin casting...
No point in holding back now...
Small darts of energy break against the tide of shadows...
You have used up half your Energon cubes...
Killed dozens of shadows...
And it does not matter
You turn to tell Thaïs you are sorry...
And the chamber fills with light...
The crystal glows now, as do a series of runes around the outside of the room, the shadows flee or are destroyed where they stand. You all turn to Miosguinn to see what he did but the doctor claims that he did not do a thing, the crystal lit itself when you started casting. Great, another mystery; exhausted, the group stops for the day so Serpent can treat your wounds and you and Gareth can look after Tyrvard.
You are all tired but the shadows pushing at the edge of your camp prevent anyone from getting any rest.
Tyrvard drinks, though you tell him not to, calms his nerves he says.
Gareth patrols the border of the camp, checking for weakness or signs of treachery from the shadows.
The Children go to their tent, as if the shadows that press in on you are of no concern.
And to pass the time your little impromptu Circle practices magic. It may seem ridiculous but you can not do anything about the shadows and if you keep thinking about it you will go insane. Better to focus your attentions where it will do some good. It really is a case of the blind leading the blind but you have an idea, a brilliant, crafty, mage-like idea.
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Thirty minutes later you have your company of would be archmages lined up near the Children's tent and you are showing them how to cast firebolt. Not that you can really cast firebolt anyway of course; you have the scroll but have not actually memorized it or anything. Of course your pupils are failing in grand fashion but then that is the point.
Thaïs knows the plan since you told it to her but she is the only one you trust to pull off a convincing act. After twenty minutes of failure Thaïs starts berating you and as the two of you argue out comes the old doctor to see what is going on. She is a much better performer than you are and her strength at this even covers for some of your weakness.
He takes up a position about halfway between his tent and your practice line and he just watches. The two of you continue to argue and once you are sure he is paying attention you order Thaïs to try casting the spell again. She makes a big production of trying and failing while you give her the least helpful advice you can think of.
Miosguinn watches it all and the slight smile on his face slowly turns to a frown. You are doing it wrong, and he knows what you have to do, to do it right and the educator in him is battling with the mage in him for supremacy. He wants to step in and he knows he should not, but after ten minutes of this inner contest he caves in and orders you to take up position at the end of the line.
What follows is a very informative lesson on the theory required to create energy projectiles. With a full "class" of students hanging on his every word he really gets carried away. The man may not be a natural teacher and by all accounts is a rather poor one, but like any mage he really likes to hear himself talk. Thaïs really indulges the man and makes sure to stroke his ego a little too, before you know it you are all casting energy bolts that crackle with electricity. It is not quite a firebolt but it is a good start and you think the four of you could build upon the theory quite nicely.
After Miosguinn retires for the night you and Thaïs explain what happened to a very confused Brigit and Serpent who are both quite impressed with your deviousness. You break for the evening and return to your tent, no sense letting the impending doom of you all keep you from a good night's rest.
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Gareth spent much of the night charting the runes, the central chamber is secure, that much is sure. There is also a single passage that is still warded, but it is running in the opposite direction from your target. Gareth thinks that if you follow the warded path you may find something to help you with the shadows and Miosguinn agrees, he says he had a dream about that path and that you should follow it. Without any real option you agree.
As you wind your way down the warded path you come across a large tower. In an earlier age it would have been magnificent but much of it is ruined or in one of many stages of disrepair. The runes lead right up to the outer walls and as you follow them into the inner courtyard you are surprised to see that the tower is in fact inhabited.
A thin wisp of a girl and a great beast, all muscle and tusk, come out to meet you. Gareth identifies the beast as a maul, says he fought some in the last war, they are quick to anger and generally mean spirited but not inherently evil. He does not really wish to fight the thing.
You cluster together as the girl, maybe seventeen, approaches, " Welcome honoured guests to the last bastion of civilization in an uncivilized world, I am Amena and this is Ithapi. My mistress would like to invite you in to propose a mutually beneficial arrangement," the girl gives a low curtsy and awaits your reply.
With nowhere to go you allow Amena to lead you into the tower's main hall for an audience with her mistress.
As you enter the room you are immediately greeted by a hideous sight. Seated upon a cracked throne is a being you have only read about in stories. She sits rigidly upright and greets you with a smile, the flayed skin of human beings serve as her clothes and as her mask, she is a Fetch.
The Fetch, you remember, were sorceresses from another world. They were lured into service to the Dark Lord Balor and fought alongside him and his lieutenant Soulblighter. With their allies dead the remaining Fetch are trapped in your world and are hunted by all servants of the Light. You are tempted to simply attack the creature right here and now, but without a way past the shadows you decide to hear her out.
"Welcome, honoured magesss..." it seems she is not interested in the warriors in the party but rather is only concerned with the mages, you do not know whether to be flattered or concerned.
"I require your servicesss... and you require my help to see you past the shadowsss. As such I propose a small trade between usss..."
As the leader of the expedition you step forward to discuss terms, though Thaïs is not far behind you should a more delicate touch be required.
"What do you need from us, miss umm..."
"Call me Erisss... I wish to return home, I do not like your world and I think you would be glad to be rid of one of my kind, a stranger to these landsss... I will give you all that I have should you succeed: this tower, its richesss, this child and the beast you saw earlier, just send me home, friendsss..."
You doubt you will ever consider this thing a friend, but you are willing to hear it out.
Eris tells you that she will send you with Ithapi, Amena and three people of your choosing to a nearby library to recover an incantation she needs to finally return home. When you return you will then help her cast the spell to create a gate to her world and allow her to return home. In exchange she will give you all she owns, she can not take it with her after all. She also says that she will empty the tunnels of shadows but she refuses to say how she will do it.
The rest of the expedition must remain behind as her "guests" to ensure that you do not run off, and you do not think she will take no for an answer. Though Thaïs may be able to talk your way out of this.
Choice time:
1) The Plan:
a) You agree to the plan.
b) You have Thaïs attempt to negotiate with Eris. If she succeeds you will have to brave the shadows without protection but you can leave without a fight.
c)You do not negotiate with evil mages. You will kill the fetch and take its secrets by force... hopefully.
d) Try something else..(freeform choice)
2) If you pick 1a then you have to pick three or four people to go with you, who will they be (top three or four picks will go based on the winning vote in #4):
a) Thaïs
b) Gareth
c) Serpent
d) Tyrvard (he is still not completely recovered though, he estimates he is at about 50%)
e) Brigit
f) Miosguinn
g) the Apprentice
3) On a completely unrelated note do you want to memorize the firebolt scroll (and lose the scroll) or keep it for an emergency (use it like a consumable).
a)Memorize it so you can start practicing. (lower strength, but unlimited use based on fatigue)
b)Keep the scroll in case you need it. (higher strength, but single use)
4) Thaïs has convinced Eris to let you pick an extra person if you want, the question is should you?
a)Three people
b)Four people
