Thaddeus (Chapter 13)

Template:Thaddeus nav An abomination is the sacrifice of the wicked,

Much more when brought with evil intent.

Out of sight and hearing, envy rends them

With scourges of desire for harm and infamy.

-- Visions of Akarat, c. 15, v. 15-19

After Lysander's shop was extinguished, and his more hazardous wares cleaned up, Thaddeus went to sleep. He felt tired, so it was probably night; the sun had been invisible since early afternoon. Before he returned to the inn, he made one stop. The party at the bawdy house he'd visited earlier was more subdued tonight; the strange night must be putting people off their normal nighttime routine. Looking in the door, he saw the woman he'd insulted speaking with an older woman, perhaps the head of the house.

"Excuse me, please."

"Oh!" the old woman said, "what a surprise! You're welcome here, of course! Business is off tonight, so you can have --"

"May I speak with your..." Thaddeus caught the young woman's arm before she slipped away. "Her, please."

"Excellent choice, master! Almost all the rooms are open --"

"I just want to speak with her, please." After a moment's thought, Thaddeus got his purse and shook out a small pile of gold coins. To judge from both women's reactions, he was being very generous. "I want to apologize."

The older woman beamed. "Apology more than accepted! You may insult us with your presence anytime you like, master Paladin!"

"Thank you." The young woman had stopped struggling, so he let her go and went with her to a corner of the room. "Young lady, I am sorry for the assumptions I made, and the way I spoke to you. There was no call for such rudeness."

"Yeah, sure," she replied, glaring suspiciously. "What else?"

Thaddeus was confused; he thought he'd been clear about what he wanted, and all he wanted. "Nothing else. I'd hoped that would be enough."

"That's a lot of money to say you're sorry you're a pompous jerk."

Thaddeus thought the nasty names were best ignored. As for the money, he had a lot, even after donating his Rogue's Pass treasure to the Sightless Eye. Most of it was theirs anyway, and they'd need it far more than he. In the deserts, he'd found much more on the ancient dead, and most of his expenses were taken care of by Lord Jerhyn. "I don't know what the usual charge is in here."

She looked dubiously at him. "You've pretty much rented me for a week, you know."

Thaddeus nodded. "I have other plans for the week. You may do as you wish."

Sneering, she said, "Oh, now I'm supposed to go all gushy and throw myself on you?"

"No... why would you?"

"Because all the 'nice' guys think that if they do something nice for me, I'll like them and give it up free."

"But I don't want 'it' from you."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you prefer boys, then?"

As hard as it was, Thaddeus did not frown. Of course, she was trying to goad him. He'd hurt her feelings and she wanted revenge; not a good motivation, but an understandable one. "Romance is not on my mind just now. Minstrels have sung of a night that lasts forever, but now that I'm in one, I don't like it very much."

"Uh, yeah." She looked out the window. "I guess it is really weird."

"I do want to go to bed. Alone; I need to do my work in the morning."

She nodded. "Hey, uh... I'm sorry about the pompous jerk part."

Thaddeus smiled. "But I am a pompous jerk. You're not the first person to say that, or tell me I have a funny-shaped head. Who am I to fly in the face of public opinion?"

"Um... okay..."

"Now, if you want to take the week off, by all means do so."

"Not much choice if there's no business. You've got your vow of chastity, I know."

Again, a vow of chastity; why does the untutored laity always assume that? Correcting her might be taken the wrong way, so Thaddeus said, "I do need to sleep, really sleep. This night must end soon."

"Yeah. See you around."

The next morning, Thaddeus wondered if he'd overslept: no sun came in the window to wake him. The darkness gave everything a timeless quality, so he had no idea how much time had slipped away since yesterday. Out in the desert, the ruined city was full of plague-ridden Zombies and the thin, four-armed giants. Fara identified them as Desert Raiders, a race of nomads who roam the deepest deserts. They are cowardly by nature, but will attack lone travelers if they think they won't meet strong resistance. Fighting a few at a time involved more chasing than fighting; they weren't as cowardly as Fallen Ones, but once frightened, they weren't bloodthirsty enough to come back without allies. They grew bolder if Thaddeus pretended to be afraid, so he could herd a large group together into an open area by "fleeing" them. The effect of Blessed Hammer on such groups was devastating.

The ruined city held a great deal of wealth. Death had come suddenly, by some quick stroke of great evil. No one had been buried, so it occurred to Thaddeus that the whole city could be seen as a huge graveyard. Still, he collected loot; Jerhyn might need the money to help Lut Gholein recover from its losses. His treasury was probably nearly empty by now. While exploring a peculiarly large underground vault, Thaddeus reflected on pillaging. The desire for gold drives many mad, and they forget themselves. Greed drives many to despoil graves, breaking the covenants the living keep with the dead. Thaddeus was looting the dead; did it really make a difference that these dead walked, and were trying to kill him?

Something odd happened when Thaddeus found a small stick on the Zombie of an old man. Made from the spine of a small animal, it was doubtless some sort of Necromancer wand. While he was looking at it (with some distaste,) a pale hand appeared out of the darkness and plucked it away! A note then appeared in a puff of light:

O vigilant one:

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that! Don't you worry, I serve a higher power, who is indeed looking out for what's best for you. You see, I hold things for people, taking items of power from those what got 'em but can't use 'em, and giving them to those what can! That wand was useless for you, but some Necromancer may want the whole Sander's set, which you have just completed. Congratulations!

While the note didn't satisfactorily explain things, Thaddeus purposefully did not worry about it. He didn't know enough to make a decision about the Mule. Hopefully, the first sign of the Mule's true nature wouldn't be a fatal experience. In a small valley near the city of the dead, Thaddeus found what had to be a Viper lair. It looked like an old temple, or perhaps a tomb, with huge, ostentatious statues of intimidating serpent men flanking the entrance. Before going in, Thaddeus visited Lut Gholein once more.

"While I was in that city," Thaddeus told Fara as she hammered a dent out of his shield, "it occurred to me that I was pillaging the dead in unprecedented numbers."

"From what you have told me," Fara replied, "that is nothing new for you."

"That is true, I have looted the dead many times. The scale of this place saddened me, though. So many, men, women, and children. The desecration was so much worse."

"It is a great sadness when the young are cut down; sadder still when they come to such an end as this. They have little need for their wealth now. If they could be aware - and we should thank the Light they cannot be - I am sure they would understand."

"Isn't it the excuse of every tomb robber, that the dead do not need their wealth?"

"A truth put to foul ends, as an excuse for greed." Fara stopped her work for a moment, staring into space. "If you learn nothing else, know that there is nothing which cannot be corrupted. No ideal, no matter how high-minded, cannot be used as an excuse for hate and destruction. In the mouth of evil, the most gentle sentiments are instruments for terror."

Thinking back on the Rogues, Thaddeus nodded. "Must evil always win?"

"No," Fara said. "I might have thought so once, but no longer. Corruption comes from hidden places, for it needs time to work unopposed. Given time, nothing, absolutely nothing, is too pure. But all corruption contains its own destruction. Evil will, after its first burst of strength is spent, devour itself."

Thaddeus smiled. "What should we expect from those who hold greed, the lust for power, and bloodlusting anger as virtues?"

Fara looked up at the heavens, smiling with great calm. "The chronicles of Zakarum tell of many battles between Heaven and Hell. In most, Hell's strength seems overwhelming. They strike suddenly, viciously, where good is at its weakest. All seems lost. But as an answer to Hell's fury arises, their strength vanishes. The lords of Hell become consumed in squabbling; their forces work against each other; their troops flee any determined resistance. They are swept away, we mourn the sadness they brought, and pledge vigilance anew."

"Which grows lax as the generations pass, and the scars on the land heal over."

Fara shrugged. "The common men must live their lives. The crops must grow, the cattle need tending. Not all can live in vigilance against a threat that will not come in their lifetime. And even the vigilant can be... misdirected. Turned away from the true threat."

Thaddeus nodded. "I had also wanted to ask you about the Claw Vipers. Tell me, what do you know of them?"

"They are cold-hearted serpents, with arms like men, and evil eyes. When I was in Kurast, I saw a few of them."

"They are from Kehjistan?" Thaddeus asked.

"No, they are native to Aranoch."

"I have seen many creatures native to Kehjistan here in the west, in the service of evil. You have seen western creatures in the east?"

"A few. What have you seen here?"

"Giant Spiders and Fetishes, infesting the monastery of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. There are also Saber Cats here in Aranoch."

"Fetishes and Saber Cats are native to the jungles, yes. Giant spiders are common in the east. Their webs are collected and woven into subtle garments, light yet terrifically strong."

"Yes, I believe Lysander mentioned them. When I fight the Vipers, what must I fear?"

"They are rumored to engage in necromancy. In combat, they strike with their claws, or the poisonous spine on their tail. Their touch chills the body, I have heard, though perhaps that is an effect of their poison."

No one else knew much more about the Vipers, so Thaddeus went in to find out for himself. Immediately, a horde of Skeletons came out of the darkness; this seemed to confirm the accusations of necromancy. Behind them, a few Greater Mummies and a pack of the Vipers waited. Backed up to the temple entrance, Thaddeus couldn't make good use of the hammers, so he bashed his way through the Skeletons by hand and charged the Mummies. The Vipers might be more dangerous, but the Mummies were raising their skeletal cohort again, so they'd just have to wait.

That was his first mistake; the Vipers charged Thaddeus, placing themselves between the Mummies and him. For snakes on a smooth stone floor, they moved very quickly, and their touch was chilling. Most summoners, especially necromancers, like to hang back and let their minions do the dirty work, but these serpents were braver. The pack surrounded Thaddeus, striking quickly enough to interrupt his attempts to cast Blessed Hammer. Behind him, the Skeletons began rising right and left. Even one of the Mummies shambled forward to breathe a cloud of poison. Snarling imprecations, Thaddeus zealously bashed in heads and crushed bony limbs, grabbing potions from his belt when he had a moment's pause to do so.

The nearest Greater Mummy died amid the fury of blows, leaving an opening for Thaddeus to charge the other one. Slamming the monster back into the wall, Thaddeus pounded it about the body without mercy until it snapped in off at the waist. To his amusement, the legs wandered around for a while as Thaddeus finished off the Vipers. He'd never seen an undead do that before. Eventually, all the skeletons were smashed to bits, and Thaddeus paused to rest. True to what he'd heard, Claw Vipers were fond of jewelry. Their bodies were draped with baubles, most of them valueless. Some of it was worth something, and the biggest of the Vipers carried a magical amulet.

The amulet was not a Horadric staff headpiece, but Thaddeus did find another which was, on a fearsome Salamander deeper in the temple. It didn't match the staff he'd found, though. All in all, there were nearly a dozen magic rings and five amulets in the temple, all decorating some serpent or hanging from rude shrines. Cain told Thaddeus to look for an altar, the probable focus for the magic being used to blot out the sun. There were two shrines on the upper level of the temple -- neither dispelled the darkness. One shrine was placed very, very interestingly, right next to a set of stairs leading down to a lower level. The shrine granted high resistance to lightning. He didn't need it, but Thaddeus wondered: is lightning going to be a problem down there? Is this another sign?

Below the main level of the Viper temple, a small chamber of horrors awaited Thaddeus. The walls were hung with people, gutted and partially stripped of flesh. As he advanced, a small group of powerful-looking Vipers came to meet him. At least there didn't seem to be any of their undead servants down here. On his first strike, Thaddeus knew destiny was working behind the scenes as much as ever: the chief of the Vipers was lightning enchanted. When he found out who was responsible for this, Thaddeus was going to have a word with them. Maneuvering around the close confines of the room, Thaddeus dealt with each Viper one at a time, leaving the lightning spitter for last. It was fast, and hit hard, but hitting it back would only make matters worse until he was ready to deal with it alone.

The chamber was small, with a low pit in the center. An blood-drenched altar lay in the pit, half-buried in rotting flesh. As he killed the remaining Vipers, Thaddeus noticed the matter in the pit of decay was moving on its own. By all the Light, what were these things making in here? No time to think of it now; Thaddeus killed Viper after Viper until only the chief was left. The Viper chief looked at Thaddeus. Thaddeus looked at the Viper chief. It attempted to grin; at least, the expression looked more silly than threatening. Then it ran and hid in the corner. Thaddeus picked up his maul, charged, and bashed in its head.

Around the Viper pit, over a dozen human bodies hung from the walls. More slumped in iron cages, obviously starved and tortured to death. The pit was full of rot and blood, rippling in waves around the jewel-festooned altar. Something was coming to life in there. Muttering a prayer, Thaddeus gingerly leapt on top of the alter (he couldn't bring himself to even touch the filth in the pit) and started kicking the jewels and carvings away. A groan came up from the pit, and shudders went through the roiling corruption. Finally, with enough desecration, the altar broke. A great shiver went through the pit, and silvery lights floated up out of the filth, swirling around Thaddeus. They looked so clean and pure, coming out of that mess. Gently, the lights swirled up to the ceiling through the darkness, and in a bright burst, went through the stone. Sunlight, glorious sunlight, shone down onto the altar.

The sun was out in its full glory; it was almost noon. Everyone in Lut Gholein was overjoyed, even the ones who normally only come out at night. The jewelry from the Viper altar was valuable, and some was magical. The only piece of value was an amulet, socketed for a staff. The staff Thaddeus had in his footlocker was a perfect match.