Difference between revisions of "Xanthippe (Chapter 9)"

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-The cleansing of the sewers (so to speak) made everyone in town very happy.  Greiz moved his men away from the sewer entrances, and Atma convinced the town's merchants to let the wheels of commerce run a little more smoothly for Xanthippe.  And just in time, too; the sewer fiend had a Tir rune.  Andarial had an El rune, and Fara (the new blacksmith) had a morning star with two sockets, much heavier than the saber and better suited to crushing undead bones.  With all those skeletons, a saber's light blade just wasn't enough.  A "Steel" morning star would be great for skeletons and mummies.  This was probably her "test" upon coming to a new town, so Xanthippe went to tell Jerhyn she had passed.
-"Others attempted to rid us of that fiend before this," Jerhyn said.  "Often, we found them floating in the bay, with pieces of their bodies missing.  Others, we never found at all."
-"It was stitching together some kind of suit out of pieces of human skin.  I don't think all of its parts were original equipment, either."
-"Drognan tells me that you have not spoken with him.  It would be a wise of you to do so.  He would know much better than I what to make of this."
-"It's dead.  What else matters?"
-Jerhyn looked uncomfortable.  "It may matter, I fear, for I must ask something of you."
-Raising an eyebrow, Xanthippe asked, "Ask?  Cannot a lord order those in his lands?"
-This seemed to surprise Jerhyn.  "I remember, now, that you were in Lut Gholein when my father was sultan.  There are many things about my father which I did not admire, even in my youth, and I have no desire to be like him now.  You will not be ordered, or compelled in any way.  I can only ask you, beg you if needs be, to help my city."
-Xanthippe considered this.  Seeing this bejeweled young man begging for help from a whore's daughter might be fun.  "And... how may I help your city, great lord?"
-Jerhyn relaxed visibly.  "I am sure that the dark wanderer who came here from the west must be... Diablo himself!"
-What a genius.  "And?"
-"He must have come here to search for his brother's tomb.  Ages ago, the Horadric mage Tal Rasha took the essence of the dark lord Baal into himself, to wrestle against for all eternity.  If Diablo finds the tomb where both were imprisoned together, he may free his brother, and both great evils will be free to roam the land."
-That would be very bad.  Xanthippe was willing to forgo the pleasure of watching a sultan humiliate himself for more information. "Where are Tal Rasha and Baal entombed?"
-"There is a set of tombs in a small valley, the Valley of the Magi, with 7 tombs.  Six of the tombs are false, filled with traps and deadly magics.  But so much time has passed, that no one knows where the valley is any more, or which of the tombs is the true tomb."
-Diablo would be looking for the tomb too, and had a head start.  If she was going to catch him, there was no time to waste.  "Thank you, Lord Jerhyn.  I will speak with Drognan immediately."
-Drognan was outside his little shop, watching her approach with a faint smile.  "Greetings, young sorceress.  I have been expecting you."
-"Well, hi.  Of course you have.  Jerhyn dropped enough hints."
-"You were always a willful child.  Even running your grandmother's errands, you could not constrain yourself to the path she gave you.  When told to run to the market, you walked there around the houses.  If she told you to go straight down the street, you would jump from roof to roof.  Oh yes, I recognize you.  I am not so old as to begin forgetting."
-More smugness; Xanthippe gritted her teeth.  "Fine.  Three cheers for you.  What do you know about Tal Rasha?"
-"The greatest of the Horadrim, Tal Rasha was known for his unmatched --"
-"The condensed version, please."
-"Tal Rasha chose to embody Baal, knowing it would mean wrestling against his will for the rest of eternity.  Both were buried in a secret chamber, whose location has been hidden from all.  When the wanderer came here, he asked after the tomb."
-"Wouldn't Di... I mean, he know where it was?"
-"The brothers were separated in the mortal realms, and none could know the fate of the others.  The wanderer was lost, which gives me hope that he may be defeated here.  There are many tombs scattered across the desert, and if he must search them all, it will buy all of us much-needed time."
-"One last question: which of the seven tombs is the real one?"
-"That knowledge was deliberately lost.  How it might be found again, I do not know."
-Smug, and completely useless; that describes mages to a tee.  Even that short exchange left Xanthippe boiling mad.  How was she going to find this tomb first by random searching?  Unlike demon lords, she needed to sleep, and eat.  It just wasn't fair!  Yeah, like whining about it would do any good.  Better get started; another mercenary might be a good investment.  She went to see Greiz.
-"Nice to see you again," Greiz said gruffly.  "Didn't see most of the heroes who went after that thing more than once."
-"Some people say I'm like a bad rash.  Just won't go away.  I need another man."
-Greiz smirked. "You've come to the right place.  What are you looking for in a man?"
-"I need staying power, a man who knows how to protect himself and me."
-Greiz smirked more.  Elzix looked over, obviously listening in. "You're sure you wouldn't want one more skilled, or a quick recovery time so he can get back in faster?"
-"No.  If he's behind me, he's gotta be able to go the distance."
-"Behind you, huh?  Most women want the man in front."
-"So I'm weird.  He's gotta go in hard and fast, and follow orders too."
-Turning away, Greiz surveyed the men he had up on the wall.  That's what it looked like from behind, anyway; actually he was biting his knuckle, trying not to laugh.  "Hey, Waheed.  This young lady here wants to see you."
-Waheed came down.  "Yes, sir.  What am I supposed to do?"
-Greiz gestured to Xanthippe. "This is... uh..."
-"Xanthippe."
-"Yeah, Xanthippe.  She looks like she swings a mean stick, and needs a man who knows how to handle his.  I figure you're the right one for the job."
-Elzix piped up, "Wasn't there a kid here who got sold to gypsies named Xanthippe?"
-"I dunno, I don't hang around town any more than I have to," Greiz replied.  "Good luck, I think you're gonna need it."
-He didn't explain which of them needed the luck.  Outside of town, the desert was full of demonic vultures, and the little scuttling cliff leapers were attacking people in packs.  They never used to do that.  Right by the entrance of town was a tomb, where Xanthippe used to play "tomb raiders" with her friends when she was little.  She was always the "raider" then, and now, there were some real walking dead in there to raid.  The mummies broke easily with her new bashing implement; avoid the corpse gas, and you'd be fine.  If only Waheed could remember that; he wasn't the sharpest spear in the armory.
-Further out in the desert was another tomb, actually a complex of them.  The burials went deep into the earth, and the whole place was just lousy with skeletons, mummies, and big greater mummies like the sewer fiend.  At the bottom of the tombs was a special chamber, with a Horadric Cube.  Oooh, the Zann Esu had a book describing the Horadric Cube, that was a wonderful thing to have.  All kinds of transmutations used the cube, the recipes filled whole volumes.  Since Cain was a Horadrim mage, maybe he'd know a few useful ones.
-"You have quite a treasure in that cube."
-"Yeah, these things are legendary.  What recipes do you know?"
-"All require certain ingredients.  For instance, 3 chipped gems and a magical sword will make a new sword, with different enchantments and 3 sockets for your use."
-"Coolness!  Hey, how about potions?  Making antidotes in the field would be great."
-"Three potions of healing, and three potions of mana, will make a potion of rejuvenation."
-Xanthippe started going through her pack.  "That's handy.  How about scrolls?"
-Cain looked startled.  "Where... where did you find that scroll?"
-"Huh?  Oh, the sewer fiend had it."
-"That must have been Radamant, the keeper of scrolls!  This is a record from the expedition which captured Baal!"
-Xanthippe blinked. "That might be something useful?"
-"Let me translate it... ah!  In Tal Rasha's tomb, the innermost chamber is protected by a seal, which can only be opened by using a Horadric staff.  To prevent their theft, the staves were all broken into shaft and headpiece, and hidden in the desert."
-"Okay... so we need to find the valley, the true tomb, and a staff to open the tomb?"
-"If you intend to find Tal Rasha, yes..."
-"Sure I do.  I have a plan.  Don't worry, I won't tell you.  But you're going to love it."

Difference between revisions of "Xanthippe (Chapter 9)"

Latest revision as of 08:05, 12 February 2017

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