by Allan Joyal
“Two of them are married,” Faestari said firmly.
“You don’t even know why people get married,” Aylia said dismissively. “Are you going to talk to them?”
“I should,” Faestari said. “It’s clear they came to talk.”
Aylia dove into the pool. “I’ll meet you there!”
Faestari closed her eyes as the image vanished. She walked her avatar to her alcove and lay down. “That water nymph needs to calm down sometimes,” she muttered as she closed her eyes and shifted her spirit.
Faestari had left her granite avatar in a small closed alcove she had formed in the side of the mountain. She woke it and opened the door to the alcove. As she stepped out onto the mountainside, she could hear the men talking. “I can’t believe that Joward thinks he can keep building during the winter.”
“Not any new foundations, but that was why he worked so hard to get certain work done. He thinks if we can keep the snow from piling up over the foundation for the manor house that they’ll be able to work on the walls,” Dared replied.
“Ice buildup will be a problem,” Faestari said. “I have to limit what changes I make to the area near the cave entrance. Ice tries to form in any cracks. I’m sure you’ll have the same problem building up walls. A layer of ice between your stones will cause the structure to collapse come spring and the thaw.”
“Well, that answers that question,” Dared said. “I’m sure she knows more about the weather around here than I do.”
“But that’s only one question,” Gee’if said. “I’m still wondering if we can adventure during the winter.”
“My creatures would welcome visits,” Faestari said with a smile. “I won’t melt the snow that builds up over the trail, but the dungeon itself will remain open.”
“So, if people hike up to the entrance they can go in?” Kalacho asked.
“That’s the standard agreement,” Faestari said as she moved to sit down. She noticed that Gee’if was carefully stoking a small fire in the pit.
“We thought we’d allow you to save some mana,” Gee’if said. “I’ve heard about that other dungeon. What are you going to do?”
Faestari just stared at the fire for a moment. “I expect it will have to be killed. Dared saw it come to attack me. I’ve been told that it attacked others a bit more successfully.”
“Dungeons can attack each other?” Kalacho said. It was clear he did not believe the young elven woman.
“Not with the kind of weapons you think,” Faestari pointed out. “We are spirits and creatures of magic. If you heard the story about the new dungeon, it constantly claims that all mana belongs to it and tries to steal mana. The first time it arrived here, the attack was unfocused, but I was able to recognize the mana patterns used and block them. Other dungeons have been hit with more focused attacks.”
“Why?” Kalacho asked. “I mean, why would it attack. You’ve just said no other dungeon can directly threaten it.”
“I think the process of waking it was a bit abnormal. Rather than a gradual rise in the local mana caused by humans fighting creatures, it seems to have been fed by a desperate band of kobolds and then woke when they started fighting another subterranean race,” Faestari said.
“How?” Kalacho asked.
“I’ve visited the domain of the other dungeon. The entrance to the caves where it lies is outside its domain. And there was no sign that any human had visited the region in years. But once I entered, I encountered a vast number of kobolds. It was far more than I have in my caverns,” Faestari said.
“Distressing,” Kalacho said. “Kobolds are a pain to eliminate. Should we try to travel to the dungeon to clear it? I think between Gee’if, myself and Roquel we might be able to find the heart crystal.”
“I’m trying to avoid that decision,” Faestari said as she turned to look towards the other dungeon. “And I’m hoping the storm will make it so that I don’t have to make a decision for a few tens of days.”
“How bad will the snow and ice be?” Dared asked.
“I’ve only been aware of the mountain for a few years,” Faestari said. “In the years I’ve been here the drifts at the summit of the mountain end up deep enough that if you had a tall man stand on the shoulders of another tall man, he’d still not be able to see over the top of the snow.”
“What about down here?” Dared asked worriedly.
“Still deep,” Faestari said. “The mountain isn’t that tall compared to the valley. The wind does move the drifts around a bit more, so you can get areas with little snow and massive mounds that could cover the inn.”
“I hope we have enough firewood,” Gee’if said.
“We should get three more full wagons of wood later today. Narhert and his family made a run to the sawmill to bring in everything they had available,” Dared said. “And they’re going to stay out there to keep cutting wood.”
“They are?” Kalacho asked.
“They built their camp on the leeward side of a rock outcropping. They have good shelter against the wind and say they are insulated against the cold. Plus, they have their own firewood stockpiles. Some of them are saying they’ll set out traps to catch some of the local mammals,” Dared said.
“There are some that have fine fur coats,” Faestari said with a nod.
“How do you know?” Kalacho asked.
“They do run across the surface of the mountain. I never brought any into the caves because they weren’t needed,” Faestari said.
“How is it you beat me here?” Aylia asked playfully as she walked up. Her hair had a few ice crystals in it. “And did you realize that the stream is already starting to ice over?”
Faestari nodded. “I can feel how cold it is. The storms almost always announce they are coming with a drop in the local temperature. As for beating you here. Were you checking on Koristal’s temple?”
Aylia looked down as she walked over to stand next to Faestari’s chair. “How did you know?”
“Because it is a place of peace in a world that has little of it,” Faestari said.
Dared looked surprised as Gee’if leaned forward. “Do you have any concerns about the temple?”
“Only that it really needs to be a little better insulated against the cold that is coming,” Faestari said. “I don’t worship. It’s hard for me to see a god as a higher being considering the power I can wield within my domain. But I respect Cuan Bi.”
“That makes too much sense,” Kalacho said. “So, you are a god?”
Faestari started laughing. It was a strange deep groaning laugh of stones rolling down a hillside. “To my kobolds, I am, but I’m no deity. I am a dungeon. A spirit that gains mana from creatures living and dying near its heart crystal.”
“She could be a god,” Aylia said reaching out to put a hand on Faestari’s shoulder.
“I don’t want to be,” Faestari said. “Why be something I’m not. I was raised to be a human girl. I was raised to love and care.”
Faestari frowned. “And now my family is gone and I just have my creatures. They are fun to watch, but…”
“Is that why you’ve been willing to save and talk to us adventurers?” Kalacho asked. “I mean, you are so unusual in that. No other dungeon talks to adventurers.”
“I think you’ll find that more are willing to occasionally speak,” Faestari said. “I talk to a couple of powerful dungeons and they have noticed that what I’m doing is working. They aren’t sure why.”
Faestari looked back at the entrance to her dungeon. “I’m not sure either.”
Gee’if laughed. “It works because you do care. The creatures you have defend the caverns as they should, but they do it with a care for themselves and for you. They seem to understand that you’d be distressed if too many of them die.”
Faestari shrugged. “I don’t even know the names of any creature other that Aylia.”
Aylia giggled. “I’m the one who helps her come up with new challenges.”
“I’m not
sure we need more,” Faestari said. “Few adventurers push that deep into the caverns.”
“How deep?” Dared asked. “If you don’t mind telling me. I won’t tell anyone else.”
Faestari looked at Gee’if and Kalacho. The two veteran adventurers both shrugged. “I would,” Kalacho admitted. “Its part of being part of a guild like the Impaled Cats. You trade survival information so that all members can be more successful.”
“And I think it will more interesting to watch the adventurers work their way deeper,” Faestari said.
“Well, I know I’m not very close,” Gee’if said. “We always turn back as soon as we start to tire which means the deepest we’ve been, is the courtyard of that dwarven fortress.”
“The creatures who defend that area are nasty,” Kalacho said. “We’ve learned to bring extra water to rinse off the acid that some of the beetles use.”
“Isn’t that too much?” Dared asked.
Faestari shrugged. “There are three dangers that I consider too much. I’ll only use those if I feel an adventurer is a direct threat to me.”
“Those are?” Gee’if asked.
Kalacho laughed. “She won’t tell you. You’d know how to protect yourself from them.”
“Actually, I’m willing to tell you,” Faestari said. “I believe none of you will ever threaten me.”
“I know I’m not interested in harming you. Your caverns have been an amazing challenge to starting adventurers and the Impaled Cats have prospered here,” Kalacho said.
“Betrixy plans on asking if Montgar would welcome her founding a wizard’s school. She’s a bit worried though because it would require at least three large buildings to start,” Gee’if said.
“Joward already warned me that I should expect him to have to expand the walls we laid out several times. He tried to provide space for growth, but the buildings we have planned won’t fit inside the current walls,” Dared said with a laugh.
“I like Betrixy,” Faestari said. “You do realize she is pregnant.”
Dared nodded. “We suspected. Salene is probably going to be pregnant soon; if she isn’t already. It’s part of why we have stopped adventuring so much. Betrixy is also taking the time to work on her plan for the school.”
“Are you willing to help my younger adventurers?” Kalacho asked. “You and Jyxton have more delves than anyone here. You don’t go deep, but everyone has noticed your success.”
Faestari just watched as the two adventurer group leaders negotiated for Gee’if to help in the training of the young adventurers with Kalacho. They went on for a while until a quick-freezing gust of wind reminded them of where they were.
“Oh,” Kalacho said. “I guess I can promise to keep quiet about your defenses you were talking about.”
Faestari nodded. “You’ve all seen one.”
“We have?” Dared asked. “When? Oh, wait. I remember hearing that one of the wizards that tried to bore through the mountain was bitten by a spider and died almost instantly. Is that one?”
Faestari nodded again. “My first creatures were spiders I upgraded. There are four types now. That one is the most dangerous. They can be found all over, but I forbid them from attacking anything other than the rats.”
“Rats?” Dared asked.
“My monsters need to eat. I have several special colonies of rats that exist solely to feed the rest of my creatures,” Faestari said.
“I never saw that in the other dungeon’s I’ve visited,” Kalacho said.
“I’m not sure other dungeons do anything to feed their creatures. If a dungeon wanted to, the mana they receive could be fed to the monsters, preventing them from ever needing to eat. It would mean the dungeon gains mana slower, but…” Faestari said.
“Wow,” Kalacho said as he sat back in the chair, he had been sitting in. “You know I never thought about it.”
“None of us do,” Gee’if admitted. “But that was just one special danger. Can we hear about the others?”
“I have a serpent that is just as deadly as the spiders. The skin is magical and always blends in with the ground the snake is lying on. You’ll never see one unless it moves,” Faestari said.
Dared winced. “That is not designed to encourage people that you are safe.”
“I don’t allow them to strike needlessly. And you have to be near the dwarf fortress before you are in places they regularly roam,” Faestari pointed out.
“And the last?” Kalacho asked.
“One of the mushrooms growing in the deeper dungeon has very fast acting spores. If a human breathes them in, the spores will sprout in their lungs and quickly kill them. The group that tried to kill me lost two of their people to those. One because he ran into it, but the other because the bug-headed humanoids brought it into their fight,” Faestari said. “But the only reason that they used it was because I wanted those adventurers killed.”
“They deserved to die,” Gee’if said. “Well, they didn’t deserve to die, but they had no business entering your caverns intending to kill you. That was self-defense. The spirit Roquel summoned admitted that.”
“Hey, how is Roquel?” Kalacho asked.
“Her four descendants are keeping her busy. I’m surprised they haven’t tried to delve yet,” Dared said.
“They that bad?” Gee’if asked.
“Two have been trying to use some kind of weaponless fighting style. Roquel is having a hard time explaining the dangers of doing that. The other two would probably be fine now. I think they are better trained than some of Salene’s family was,” Dared said.
“That’s not saying much,” Kalacho said. “Salene and Koristal were the two best in that group.”
“And the only ones still alive,” Faestari pointed out sadly. “I thought Luniri might do well, but her heart wasn’t in it.”
Gee’if nodded. “Salene told me about that. She actually enjoys the challenge, but her adopted siblings all wanted to retire. The sad thing is that their so-called father kept them so poor they never could afford to leave him.”
“And then he killed them off in a final and futile attempt to gain power he didn’t deserve,” Faestari said.
The three men nodded. Dared was about to say more when the first few snowflakes drifted across the open area between the chairs.
Kalacho immediately stood up. “I can see its time to head somewhere warm. How long will this storm last?”
“The first one tends to last over a day,” Faestari said. “Many of the early ones are fierce. It’s the later ones that become short and sharp. If everyone takes shelter this one shouldn’t be particularly dangerous.”
Aylia sighed. “I should go. Unlike her majesty who can allow the ground to absorb her, I have to return a more normal way. I prefer to use the stream, which means I need to go before it completely freezes over.”
“You won’t keep it running?” Dared asked worriedly.
“It doesn’t freeze solid,” Faestari said. “But the top inch or so will freeze over and snow often covers it up. Why?”
“We still use it for some of our water needs. We should probably get some wells dug,” Dared said.
Faestari pointed to the north. “Just north of your town there is water only a short distance below the ground. It seems to be part of an underground network coming from the mountains west of mine. That would be the best place to dig if you want a well.”
“You can feel it, when its outside your domain?” Kalacho asked.
“It touches my domain,” Faestari said. “Remember my domain goes down under the earth quite a bit.”
Dared shook his head as he stood up. “Someday I’d love to know all your secrets.”
Faestari laughed as she stood up and started to walk her avatar to the alcove where it normally rested. “Never, a girl needs a few secrets.”
The group broke up, with each member heading off. Aylia was rushing to the stream as the three men headed back to the town along with the guard. Dared had decided to bring everyon
e in before the heavy snow started to fall.
Chapter 20: The Trajedy of Madness
Faestari’s prediction regarding the storm proved to be a major underestimate. The storm seemed to linger over the valley for days. When the clouds finally began to dissipate due to a lack of water remaining in them, six days had passed and the snow reached the top of the inn.
The humans in the town were happy for a day without the snow and wind as they doggedly dug out new paths to everything. Joward even insisted that the manor house foundation be cleared. He claimed to be very happy with the condition of the floor once enough snow had been removed to allow an inspection.
Faestari had spent the last half of the storm worried. The lingering clouds felt like they were being held back and she checked the flows of mana in the air. She quickly found strange looped flows that had been holding back the progress of the clouds. The flows had originated southeast of her mountain.
“More problems from that new dungeon,” she thought as she examined the threads. She could see that her enemy was using some wide weaves to catch the clouds passing directly over his dungeon and then holding the mana until he could guide the storms over her mountain.
The threads had finally parted on the sixth day when the clouds had run out of water. Faestari had been watching the area outside her domain carefully checking to see if the other dungeon had sent a raiding party. She was so distracted by the possibility that at first, she failed to feel the change in mana as a group of adventurers entered her domain.
She was still so distracted that it was only once Aylia splashed her avatar with a deluge of water that had been her left arm that she brought her spirit back to her heart chamber.
“What?” she asked worriedly. “The other dungeon is still trying to find a way to attack me. I was watching to see if he’s sent more of his creatures.”
“There is more snow on the ground than anyone wants to walk through,” Aylia said firmly. “But that’s why I alerted you. There are people on the mountain, and they are close to the entrance.”
“What?” Faestari asked. “Where did they come from.” She could now feel the six people as they approached the arched stone entrance to the caverns. There was a moment she realized that the mana of two of the adventurers was familiar.
