Chapter 13: Revelations
"Thaïs, I need more light here!" she brings the lantern closer to your patient, Jori the dwarf, currently resting on death's door. As she does so Amena hands you another mandrake root. Nine has been guiding you in their use but you are still wasting about half the energy in them, you simply do not have the skill that Serpent does.
You crack the root open and the magical energy pours forth into your hands, already it is dissipating. As Nine explained it, healing spells are bound up in notions of sacrifice, empathy and life. You think of spring, you think of fields in bloom, of the natural world under a warm sun and you cast. Ivory strings extend from your fingers, worming their way into the dwarf's wounds. As they clean the wounds and sop up the blood they shift in tone to a light seashell, the slightest tint of pink bleeding into the spell. The strings work quickly to remove debris and to close the wound. You are left a little tired but you have much more work to do before you can rest.
Three quarters of an hour have passed since you sent Bari running off but finally Gareth and Brigit limp into camp. Seems Bari managed to find them after all. She is limping, injured, her leg bandaged and Gareth supports her with one arm. You will have to get the story later, for now you order him to clean his hands and help you with the wounded. With the help of both Gareth and Amena you manage to save considerable time. Ithapi is up and moving, even if a bit slowly, Jori and two of his companions are back in full health and you even managed to stabilize the two lieutenants that the Damned left behind.
After the day you have had, you want nothing more than to sleep but first you need answers and there are plenty of questions to ask.
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"Alright, so which one of you is going to tell me what happened?" you lean against one of the fallen pillars as Gareth and Brigit exchange glances. Part of you wants to really lay into them but you know that would do no good.
Gareth starts, "Well we were exploring the far side of the building looking for supplies..."
Brigit chimes in, "And we might ha gotten a little distracted..."
They look at one another, "We lost track of time but then we heard the explosions coming from below and we hurried back."
"Well what happened then?" you know that the answer will be nothing good.
The veteran sighs, "Well, Isolde was waiting for us... she attacked..."
"You mean Misoguinn's girl? How did his apprentice manage to stop both of you?"
A look of terror creeps onto Brigit's face, "She was fast Derryth, too fast and strong too. She moved at odd angles and her teeth..."
Brigit shakes, Gareth puts an arm around her, "She had us dead to rights Derryth. She had Brigit by the leg, bit right into her and was about to finish her off when Miosguinn showed up. He ordered her to let Brigit go, she really did not want to. She said something in a language I have never heard before. They argued, he struck her... the look she gave him... it was like she wanted to rip him in two."
Brigit looks back up at you, "He gave us this," she hands you a crumpled piece of paper on which is scribbled a short note.
To Miss Derryth ó Foghladh
I can not begin to express my shame at being unable to live up to my end of our agreement. You have dealt fairly with me, far more so than I deserve in fact, and it is my hope that you do not think unkindly of me despite my failings. Due to the courtesy you have extended to me I wish to offer you but one piece of advice.
Turn back. Destroy this letter, pretend you have never set eyes upon this place and leave those dwarves to whatever end they make for themselves. I beg you, turn back.
You have no reason to believe me or to trust me save for the fact that I have never done you wrong but I ask you to follow my advice. If you value your life and those of your friends turn back before you lose everything. There are other paths to take to reach your goal, pursue them instead.
M-
I hope you will not hold it against me if I pray we never meet again
Sound advice, you might even normally take it but those people have Serpent and you are loathe to leave without him.
"Then what happened?" you ask as you look up from the note and motion them to continue.
Gareth rubs Brigit's shoulder and looking you in the eye as he answers, "Well then they both disappeared, Bari found us shortly after and sent us down here."
"Alright then. Brigit, get some rest. Gareth, go help Tyrvard keep watch. The last thing we need is to be hit by a surprise attack," they both nod as you walk away.
There is a certain dwarf that owes you answers.
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Ari sits with Jori and the two argue over something that must be terribly important. It seems that this time he wants to do something and she is cautioning against it. The two other dwarves sit slightly back from them, they are listening to the argument but express no opinion. They notice you and Ari greets you as you approach, "Greetings Derryth, I am afraid that at the moment my Lord Jori-"
Jori raises one hand to stop her. He mumbles something in Dwarven and the three other dwarves nod, they get to their feet and leave the two of you alone.
He motions for you to sit and you do. In awkward silence you stare at one another, each passing second feel like an eternity. He pokes at the small fire before him. He seems like a completely different man, his confidence and arrogance gone, he is battered and only time will tell if he is beaten as well.
For a moment you are curious as to how the two of you will communicate given the language barrier.
Then Jori begins to speak, his tone steeped in regret, his face coloured by shame. What he is about to say must be difficult for him but what really catches you off guard is that when he speaks it is in perfect Bruig, "I am a fool... the son of a fool... and the grandson of a fool. Human, no... I hope you will let me call you Derryth. Twice now you have saved my life and I have done nothing but heap ever greater shame upon myself and my people. You have fought with us, bled with us and you have lost your friend to these madmen. I will withhold nothing more now. Ask and I shall answer."
A little overwhelmed by the dwarf's speech you ask the first thing that comes into your head, "Who are you Jori and what are you after?"
The smile he gives you is a grim one, "Two questions then? Very well I shall give you two answers, one short and the other long. I am Jori, the sixth son of Albrecht VII, King of all the Dwarves," he can sense your scepticism as he says these words and so he removes one mailed glove to reveal the royal signet of the House of Albrecht. Either he really is a prince or he killed one as the ring looks real.
Replacing his mailed glove he continues, "As to why I am here, that is a long story. My people have been allies of the Cath Bruig for thousands of years. In fact dwarven ingenuity is responsible for many of the great works that litter this city. A little over a century ago, my grandfather lost our kingdom in a war with the ghôls and their new ally Balor. The twin capitals Myrgard and Stoneheim were sacked and my people fled to the lands of men. My father came to Muirthemne to petition the Emperor for aid but none was forthcoming, and within a few short decades we were forced to flee again as Balor sacked the city above. I was little more than a child at the time but I remember the chaos and the terror and in that chaos my family lost an artefact important to my people."
He pauses to stir the fire, it reflects in his eyes, the fear of a child in a time of war, "Much as you humans have the Ibis Crown to serve as a symbol of your empire, we too have a symbol of leadership. A great maul, a hammer, encrusted with enchantments and protective runes. When my father reclaimed the throne after the Great War we began searching for it. We knew it was only a matter of time before the noble houses began asking to see it, if it is revealed that the maul is lost well..."
"So you and nine of your fellows came to retrieve it?" you ask, intrigued by the opportunities this story presents, provided it is true.
"Well, there were more than ten of us in the beginning. I set out from Myrgard with a sizable force of sixty dwarves. But it is a long journey and we were forced to constantly battle against the ghôls. Still we arrived with thirty strong souls but we were not prepared for what we would find, the shadows, the creatures, the spiders. I led the survivors to the Dwarven Quarter in search of answers but we were constantly hounded by hordes of spiders, had you not arrived when you did we certainly all would have perished."
You prod him with another question to keep him talking, "What do you intend to do now?"
"We will press on, we will avenge our dead, we will try and save your friend, we will reclaim the maul or we will die. There is no other acceptable outcome. I hope that I can count on your support in this Derryth. Should we succeed the house of Albrecht will owe you a great debt, I will owe you another debt... I failed my people, I hope that you can succeed where I failed," as he finishes his sentence his gaze drifts up to the ceiling, contemplating his future or his failures.
With nothing more to say you leave the dwarf to his thoughts. Ari scurries back over to Jori and the two of them fall back into conversation. Well, she talks and he stares into the fire.
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"Any luck with our guests?" Ithapi is guarding the prisoners. They are in stable if weak condition.
He sighs, grunts and delivers his report, "They refuse to talk, just name and rank that is it. Though every now and then they say something when they think I am not listening. Turns out they are related, sisters in fact, the older one that was wielding a sword is named Biliku, the younger one that was doing her best to murder me is called Uttu. They are captains of something called the Red Order but beyond that they refuse to speak. I have tried kind words and threats and nothing seems to work."
You frown, "So they are professional soldiers then?"
He stops for a moment considering the idea, then lets out a single short laugh, "I don't think so Derryth, they can't be more than fifteen or sixteen. They are dumb kids nothing more."
You give your ward a little punch, "Dumb kids he says. Ithapi your just a kid yourself," he cracks a grin as you start to think out loud, "So they are not professionals, maybe we can spook them into talking then..."
Yes that could work, you give him a sly smile, "Well then we will just have to do a little convincing. Go get Thaïs and Amena, I have a plan."
A few moments later everyone is present, you fish Nine our of your bag and after a few moments of surprise and the proper introductions you lay out you plan...
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You and Thaïs walk into the makeshift infirmary and she drags an old table over. You sit Nine on the table, her eyes closed.
The two girls first look at the two of you, then the head, then each other. You can hear them gulp.
Thaïs begins, "Now then girls, perhaps we got off on the wrong foot here. There is no reason why we all can not get what we want is there?"
The older girl blurts out, " Biliku, Captain of the Red Order!"
The younger girl follows her lead, "Uttu, Captain of the Red Order!"
Thaïs continues in a soothing tone, ignoring the outbursts, "Well it is a pleasure to meet you both, I am Thaïs second in command of the Lost. This is Derryth and she is our commander, an archmage of great power and ancient magics."
The two girls look at you, they are uncertain though the younger one probably remembers the beating you gave her. The older one works up the courage to continue, "She... she does not look like an archmage she looks-"
You raise your left hand and give the signal for Amena, hiding nearby, to begin. Flames burst to life on either side of you as sparks fly through the room. The girls scream. You lower your hand and Amena stops casting. Given their reaction you now know that neither of them are mages, they can not tell whether or not you are casting. Perfect.
Thaïs assumes a fake expression of fear, "Oh, girls you must not doubt my mistress she has killed for less. She is a terrible and fell mistress capable of harnessing all of the powers of darkness. Please let me help you, tell us what you know and no harm will befall you. We may even be able to spare those you care about. But if you anger my mistress she will kill you or worse!"
The older girl is putting on a brave face despite her terror, it is all you can do not to burst out laughing, "We... we will tell you nothing. We are brave, we are loyal, we are not afraid of death or of you. Father will-"
The younger girl is visibly shaking now, she squeaks and asks, "What... what could be worse than death sister?"
Well that is your cue, you step forward and place one hand on either side of Nine's head and you shout. Amena, from her hiding spot lets off another volley of sparks and flames around you. Nine opens her eyes and screams the rune on her head shifting red as she channels just a little power for effect.
The girls see all of this and scream as well, the younger one even passes out.
Thaïs makes a big production out of soothing you, "My mistress! Oh dark and fell mistress please spare these girls! They will talk, they do not wish to join your grand head collection!"
The older girl turns white as fine linen, "She... she has a whole collection?" she glances at her unconscious younger sister, "Please, please don't hurt Uttu, I will tell you everything I know!"
You scowl at the girl, snatch up the head and march out of the chamber. Now it is Thaïs' turn to really lay on the charm.
As you and Nine meet back up with Amena the head chatters away, "That was sooo much fun!" she snorts, "I have not scared someone like that in oh, probably one hundred years! You are so much fun Derryth, I am never going to leave you ever!"
Well at least she is happy...
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You sit at your command post, Jori's old office, it has been five hours since the battle and you have a lot to do before you can give pursuit. No point running off into the dark after Serpent, if you are going to do this you will do it right. Gareth, Ari and Thaïs sit across from you and give their reports, Nine is propped up in the corner humming and counting the cracks in the ceiling, it is doing nothing for your headache.
Gareth steps forward first, "Seems Bari found the two missing dwarves, they were in an adjoining building looking for supplies when they found an old dwarven mortar and a few cases of shells. I took the liberty of having them bring it over and set it up to cover the entrance to the tunnels. If they launch another attack they will be in for a surprise."
You smile at the thought of Christine taking a mortar shell to the face, "Good, what about the dead?"
Thaïs answers, "The dwaves are handling their own," Ari nods, "As for the Damned I asked Biliku and they normally feed them to the spiders but burning is fine as well. Tyrvard is working on it as we speak."
"Good, just as long as he makes sure that the smoke vents, we don't need to add suffocation to our list of concerns," you rub your temples, "Did the dead have anything on them we could use?"
Thaïs lets Gareth answer, "A couple days worth of rations each and their weapons. Some personal effects not really worth much so we left them on the bodies. On the bright side their lack of equipment means they must be based nearby-"
Ari cuts in, "They are probably making use of some of the secondary access tunnels which would shave a day or two off the trip but we won't be able to get the wagon down those. My husband has been out scouting the tunnels and we think we found the passage they took but it has recently been collapsed, we won't be able to follow them through it. There is another nearby passage that may link up to the one they took but we have not had time to fully explore it. Also if we want to take the side passage we will have to abandon the wagon I am afraid. Alternatively we could always stick to the main tunnel though it will probably put us a full day behind them at this point."
"How likely are we to catch them if we abandon the wagon?" you ask as a series of improbable plans roll through the back of your mind.
Thaïs answers this time, "Ithapi is still injured and we do have the girls-"
"The prisoners," Gareth corrects.
"They are just children Gareth!" Thaïs snaps.
"They were all children Thaïs!" you raise an eyebrow at that, "Ah sorry... sorry both of you, just a little high strung. I was coming to that point before I was interrupted, the Damned are all young. Maybe between fourteen and eighteen. None of the bodies I saw were over twenty."
You sigh, your headache is getting worse, "Damn... a shame but not really uncommon."
Gareth nods, "What is surprising is that even their officers are quite young. From what Tyrvard told me the only one that seemed to have actual experience was the enemy commander."
Ari speaks up, "Yeah I can confirm that, they had bravery but really lacked organization."
You turn to Thaïs and ask about what she learned from the prisoners, "From what the girls have told me their "order" only numbers about eighty all told and many of those that are left are children and the elderly. It seems that constant skirmishing with the other inhabitants of the old city is wearing them down quicker than they can repopulate. I think we may have broken them here, but I don't know for sure."
You tilt your head, "What do you mean?"
"Well, there seems to be some sort of rift that has formed within the Damned. That Red Order the girls were shouting about, it is one of three that formed a few years ago and it was the largest. From what they told me it all comes down to faith, each group worships their bizarre goddess in a different way. They have been involved in a simmering dispute for something like the last three years with the other two orders. They were told that a great threat was coming their way and they mobilized everything they had to resist it. The girls are quite concerned about what will happen to their order now."
You move to the heart of the matter, "What about Serpent?"
"They told me that this Christine that took him belongs to the Silver Order, the smallest of the three. She came to them and gave them the warning that caused them to mobilize and she accompanied them as a show of good faith. The Silvers seems to be comprised mostly of mages and naturally they are rather secretive though the girls believe there are less than twenty of them all told. There is also a Blue Order but they know very little about it I am afraid."
You lean back, and rub your eyes, "Well... better than nothing I suppose. Are they worth anything to the Reds?"
She flashes you a smile, "They are the high priest's daughters. They were meant to lead the Reds to glory here and ensure their future. They may be worth an awful lot."
You dismiss Gareth and Ari as Amena and Brigit enter the room and Nine begins to lecture about the finer points of blowing things up and breaking your enemy.
Time for a few magic lessons, you have a feeling you will need them and Nine even lets you pick the topic...
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With everyone ready to leave you have a few choices to make:
1.You are not going to abandon Serpent but you have a few options on how to pursue his captor:
A) Use the side passage that Bari discovered. You will have to leave the wagon but it may speed up the trip, you do not know if you can still catch them.
B) Stick to the main passage. You can keep the wagon but it will be slower going and you may meet more resistance.
C) freeform
2. Now that you have your information what do you want to do with the prisoners:
A) Kill them.
B) Use them as hostages against the Reds. (If you abandon the wagon you will have to carry them.)
C) Let them go?
D) Try to win them over and turn them into your emissaries to the Reds (you would probably have to untie them and return their weapons though)
D)freeform
3.Nine gave you a very instructive magic lesson what was it about?
A)Controlling flame and throwing fire.
B)Electricity, lightning and other shocking topics.
C)Frost and the cold.
D)Poison, acid and corrosive spells.
E) Domination, and mental control.
F) Controlling the rocks and stones of the earth
G) Something else? Freeform (she has a fairly broad knowledge of magic so just ask and I will tell you whether or not she can teach it to you).