Amanita (Chapter 33)
Template:Amanita nav The sun was already up when the sound of snoring woke me. My skull was pounding and my mouth tasted like a plumber's handkerchief. I pried an eyelid open, and the bottom of an unfamiliar table slowly came into focus. Over my head, an ale cask, one lonely drop hanging from the tap, hung over the edge of the table. Two beefy brutes, one spear-bald, the other with a head of hair you could knit a coat from, were under there with me. Baldy had his mouth open, like he'd been all set to catch the last drop, but he fell asleep first. Now he was just drooling on me. I shook my head and wiped the crud away from the corners of my eyes, then winced when I realized my bladder was about to explode. Three guesses what I got up to last night. At least I still had my clothes on.
After taking care of the necessaries, I went to hunt up some grub. I don't know any good hangover cures -- believe me, I've tried everything -- but getting something on my stomach besides booze is a good first step. Harrogath's chief cook wasn't on duty at the moment, so I stopped by Malah's. She was awake and looked sober, which put her at least one up on me, and had some goat jerky and fresh-brewed herb tea on hand. A word of warning: do not try to eat Barbarian jerky when you've got a hangover. The stuff is tougher than boot leather, and trying to bite hard enough to get a piece off when your head is already throbbing is a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
"Is everything all right?" Confusion hovered around Malah as she watched me pound the dried meat with the butt of my crossbow.
"Just trying a little brute force," I grunted, then stopped. These people must have iron teeth, the stuff won't even crush. I thought about it for a minute, then dunked it in the tea to soften. Stupid. Force is no substitute for finesse.
Malah shrugged, and casually tore off a hunk using two of her remaining five teeth. "We were very happy to welcome you to our gathering last night. You impressed the menfolk greatly when you won the drinking contest."
I blinked. "I did, huh?"
"Against our strongest warriors, yet! You are such a slender thing, I had to wonder how you could hold so much."
"It's the evil life I lead. I'm good at holding my liquor, but I usually hold him by the ears." The jerky was softening up by now. I took it in both hands, dug my teeth in, and finally managed to tear off a piece big enough to be worth eating.
Malah hemmed, and decided to change the subject. "Have you found any sign of Baal, out there on the mountain?"
"Nope, he's made himself hard to find. I've gone around to a plateau on the east flank, but it dead-ended. I figure I'll start above the foothills and go around to the west. It's either that or start climbing one of those cliffs."
"There will be no need. I know the place you speak of. If you search the base of the cliff, you will find a cave which leads to a maze of tunnels under the icy cap of Mount Arreat."
I cocked an eyebrow. "You think he's in there?"
"I am sure he is not. But... what he seeks lies beyond." Malah sat down, and stared into my eyes with deep seriousness. "Our people have many secrets about this mountain. The ice caves are but one. They have kept our people safe when your people attacked Mount Arreat in the past, so you must understand what it means to tell you of them now."
I bowed my head, letting the gravity of the situation speak for me. "I understand. You must keep your silence about what, exactly, lies beyond."
The old woman's prune-like face wrinkled into a smile, and she patted my hand in silent agreement. I was amazed Cain hadn't already blabbed that we know about the Worldstone. He's a nice old geezer, but getting him to shut up is a full-time job. Then a memory suddenly lit up in Malah's mind, bringing anxiety and suspicion with it. "Actually... there is another matter, which I hesitate to speak of..."
"What is it?"
"Our great elder Aust had a daughter, Anya. She is a strong young girl, wise beyond her years, with a spirit like no other. Before he died, her father was guiding her along the path of the elders, and none know as many of the secrets of our people as she."
"Huh. I got the idea your elders were all men."
"That is not so. Hush, now. You are aware of her father's death, along with all the other elders save Nihlathak. They gave their lives to save us, and seemingly just in time: Baal's forces gathered outside Harrogath and began the siege within hours of their deaths. Anya confided in me that she felt Nihlathak was somehow responsible for her father's death and the demons' quick arrival. I counseled her to confront him face to face with her suspicions, as has always been our way."
Uh-oh. "And she disappeared?"
Malah's eyes went wide. "That very night. I heard her shouting at Nihlathak in his home, and never again afterwards. Nihlathak says she left the city to go out onto Arreat's slopes, seeking what was left of her family. Do not believe him! He may also tell you he is sure she is dead. Anya would never die so easily! My heart tells me she is still alive, and Nihlathak has done something terrible which only she knows."
I nodded, and lied. "I'm sure she's alive. I'll look for her."
Malah grabbed my arm, squeezing through the plate, and stared into my eyes, trying to make me believe. I guess I'm not as good a liar as I thought. "Anya is alive! The wisdom of the elders is in her. Save Nihlathak, only she knows the secrets of Mount Arreat! Only she has been..." She stopped short, and bowed her head. I decided not to pry.
"Don't say any more. I'll find her."
My first stop was Nihlathak's house. No one answered when I knocked, so I opened my mind a bit and peered around inside. No thoughts met mine. The house was empty. I opened my mind more, lightly touching drunken dreams and waking worries as I let myself drift over all of Harrogath. Plenty of thinking, but none of his. The last elder was gone. Where could he go, on a mountain crawling with demons? It was suspicious, but I've been wrong before. I put Nihlathak in the back of my mind and headed for the waypoint.
The cave entrance was well hidden. Viz-Jaq'taar are trained to find concealed things, and it took me three passes to find the damned thing. Inside, the caves were all ice, so cold my exposed face instantly went numb. The walls glistened in delicate blues and purples by the light of a few scattered torches, which couldn't even come close to melting anything. The floor, though was a maze of cracks and impact shatters, and broken ice was everywhere. Something big had come this way. I walked softly.
Around the first corner, I found my first enemies. The Viz-Jaq'taar know about Succubi, you occasionally run into them in the lair of a particularly perverted wizard. Outside of the usual bedroom power games, they're mostly decorative. Only a moron would send them into combat. So, when I looked around a corner and saw a swarm of airborne airheads coming my way, I wasn't too concerned. Behind them was something I wasn't familiar with. They were big all right, white and hard and shiny, like ice come to life. They were also slower than molasses in January, so I had no problem keeping my distance and pegging them repeatedly, once I got the demon bimbos out of my way.
Around the next corner was something much worse: a pack of bull-men. They smelled me as soon as I saw them, and the chase was on. These bulls were very strong, and not nearly as stupid as I would have liked. They didn't scare or confuse easily, and I had no islands to snipe from. My only advantage was speed, and a loop of tunnels I could lead them around without exposing myself too much. The occasional mind slap stopped them long enough for me to get away, but it took them so long to die I was mentally exhausted, even after drinking two mana potions.
Bull-men were rare in the caves, lucky for me. Succubi were not. There must have been hundreds of them in there freezing their g-strings off. If all of them belonged to Baal... he must be hung like a field mouse. Can we say "overcompensation," anyone? They weren't even loyal. It hardly took anything to turn them on each other, and they responded very well to a mental slap. Too well, maybe: some of them never went back to attacking me. They just followed me around, moaning softly, with this weird look in their eyes. Ok, they'd attack anything that came near me like a bat out of Hell, that wasn't so bad... but that moaning was just plain disturbing.
I had two of them whimpering along behind me when I found an ornate burial urn. I pried it open, hoping for gold or maybe a magic item, when another pack of Bull-men appeared out of nowhere. The Succubi attacked, and in three seconds, I was two short of a threesome and running like a scared rabbit. Running away, stopping to fire behind me, has worked in the past, but this time I made a wrong turn and ran into more Succubi. This, I suppose, is the kind of situation where the local tough-boys tend to die. I've found some of their bodies. After a moment of reflection (during which I am glad to say I did not soil my armor) I decided to turn this obstacle into an opportunity. I slapped those sluts silly, then ran through them while they went after the Bulls.
Some ice-beasts were behind the Succubi. After a little more effort on my part, they were all fighting each other. It was a thing of beauty. Blood and ice were everywhere, axes flying, claws ripping, freezing breath blasting, and none of it anywhere near me. I strolled around the edges of the melee, sniping to my heart's content. When the screaming stopped, the biggest, baddest Bull-man was the last one standing. I put a bolt in him, he considered his position, and obligingly kicked the bucket.
The deepest part of the caves was down on the mountain bedrock. Trickles of melting ice had pooled on the rock, flowing out into streams. It made me feel good to think I was responsible for some of that. There were Succubi near the water, but also some pure white Bigfoots, and Zombies. The Zombies looked like they were made from frozen bodies that never had a chance to rot. I even sensed some slow mental activity in their iced-up brains. They had greatswords and armor, and remembered enough about fighting to know to charge archers. Still, dodging them wasn't too hard. The problem was that it took five or six shots to keep them down. Maybe being half-frozen makes them even more poison-resistant than usual, but I haven't had anything take that long to die since Diablo.
Deep under the ice, right up against the side of the mountain, I found a half-frozen pond, the biggest puddle in the area. Some kind of stone platform was out in the middle, and between me and it was a nasty pack of Bigfoots. Knowing how demons usually work, it was pretty obvious they were guarding something. If I ever have a treasure to hide, I'm going to set up a maze of killer traps and monsters, then hide it under the entrance sign. No one will ever find it. I finished off the Bigfoots and some stray Zombies, but there was nothing on the platform but a pillar of ice. Something in the ice was... red. I took a closer look.
A human shape was inside the pillar. Whoever it was, they couldn't be alive. As numb as I was, I could feel cold radiating off the thing. I spit on it, and the glob tinkled off, frozen solid while it was still in the air. Why would someone be frozen like that? Maybe it's some ancient Barbarian king, laid to rest lo these many centuries ago, to awaken and lead his people into battle when the enemy comes. Hmmm... why not? I leaned close to the pillar, closed my eyes, and opened my mind.
Hello?
All hail mighty King Barbaricus!
Anybody home?
Anybody?
...
Somebody?
Somebody?
... ? ...
Yes, somebody
Wake up, somebody
Wake up, somebody ?
Wake up, somebody
I know it hurts
It's cold and dark
But you have to wake up !
I'm here for you !!!
You're angry? !! *@* !!
Calm down, open up !! #$* !!
You don't know how !! %&@ !!
to send thoughts !!! #%@)# !!!
Just calm down and !!!!!@@@@@! !!!
let me see who you are !!!&!!!*^^ !!*!!!
I SAID CALM DOWN !!!!##!%! **!@&#$!#^! !
QUIT FIGHTING ME!! !!!!*#**()&^( $%@^%# @^!!!@!!^!
If you don't stop, I'll leave.
That's better ??
Just relax,
find your center,
and open up !
I won't hurt you
I need to know what
happened, but you don't
know how to tell me !!!
Don't try. Just let me in
I know I'm a stranger
who's stranger than most
Please, trust me
I walked into Malah's hospital. "Malah? We need a Tepida potion."
Malah stared at me. "Where have you heard of such a thing?"
"From Anya. We need it now, please."