Amanita (Act III)
Template:Amanita nav "Don't feel bad, you have proven yourself too many times in our eyes," Atma said. "There are few who could have done even this well."
"Yeah," Geglash hiccuped. "It makes me look twice as bad!"
"Nah, don't worry about it," I said. "The target flew the trap, happens all the time. All it means is this'll take longer. And I know they know they're being chased."
"Can you be sure of that?" Atma asked. "I realize you must anticipate risks, but could it be that Diablo and Baal are unaware of you?"
"Not a chance. They left Duriel to meet me, didn't they? But I know they'll stay together, and head for Kurast. The three of them have to get back together."
"That must be prevented at all costs. Strange, you have been here only a short time, yet I cannot imagine our city without you."
"Oh, sure," Geglash whimpered theatrically. "Without her, there wouldn't be a city, while I was hiding in a mug of ale! Rub it in, why don't you?"
"I think she means I've left a permanent imprint of my ass on this barstool. Now, I gotta get going, time and tide won't wait. Well... maybe one more for the road." I dropped a last five on the bar and reached for the cigar box.
"Oh, no you don't." Atma swatted my hand, shoved my money back, and put two boxes, still sealed with silk ribbons, in my hands. "And I'll hear no back-talk. Besides, with the port open, I can replace these. Where you are going, I have a feeling things won't be so easy."
"If there were ships coming from the Amazons... you know, I don't think any more ships are coming from the Amazons for a while."
"It doesn't matter. Now, I asked a ship's captain named Meshif to sail you to Kurast, and he has agreed. He is waiting for you by the dockside."
"Atma, these boxes must cost a hundred each..."
"Hey, quit acting like such a hero and take 'em already!" Geglash snorted. "Ahh, you're all right, but you gotta leave us little guys somethin' to do, ok?"
"Uh... yeah." I tucked the boxes under my arm and left. "See you around."
Damn it, I was being "such a hero." It's okay to joke about it, but don't lose focus and start acting the part. When someone offers you free stuff, take it. Down at the docks, Cain was already waiting for me, next to a ship with a tall guy who looked quite piratical. No parrot, though, and he never said "arrr" even once.
The trip across the Twin Seas was quick and uneventful. I caught up on my sleep. Once we got to the river Argentek, things got worse. I heard Kehjistan was a jungle, but there's such a thing as taking things too far. Trees with nasty meaty leaves twisted up to the gray sky, draped with vines clinging like the clutching fingers of the dead. The mosquitoes ranged from midges that could crawl inside any clothing, to things we had to beat off with the oars. The only sign of Kurast we could find was a set of piers jutting into the water.
We docked, and I told Meshif to wait while I checked things out. There were people on the docks, mostly milling around with a lost look in their eyes. A little man with eyes the color of seaweed was the first to approach. He was short and thin, with a crimson toga big enough for three of him dangling off one shoulder, but the hand that wrapped around mine had fingers like pieces of tool steel.
"Welcome to Kurast, traveler. I am afraid this is the off-season, and all the tourist traps have been closed until further notice. Your wits, if you have any with you, will be more in demand, for sanity is in shorter supply than gold."
"Hi there, I'm Amanita. Sorry, but I think I have more gold than sense."
"Your presence here makes that self-evident. I am Hratli, smith and enchanter. My work is to weave magic and steel together. You and your abundant supplies of gold will be most welcome. I don't have many customers these days."
"Why is that?" I asked, wondering if I should offer this guy anything to keep him talking. He seemed to be doing fine without my help.
"The Children of Zakarum made the land their own, and in turn surrendered it to the jungle which has run riot. Zakarum's purge of that which does not fit their teachings has lost all sense of moderation. The rivers run red with blood, and warriors of the light crusade far and wide, spreading hatred and fear. Foul creatures never before seen in these lands roam free, and evil jungle tribes now have the Que-Hegan's favor."
"The who?"
"Sankekur, Que-Hegan of the church of Zakarum."
"Oh, the one with the tallest hat."
He smiled thinly, and nodded. "The one with the tallest hat. That is a good one, I must remember that. Sankekur is widely believed to have been possessed by Mephisto, the demon lord he swore to contain. It is a sign of the church's loss of perspective that he has taken his oath so literally."
"Sounds serious. What about the rest of the church?"
"For years, only the High Council of Zakarum has been privileged to see Sankekur, and even they are not the men they once were. Some priests remain, and the most fanatical warriors of the light."
"The hardest core, eh?"
"I find that they have the persistence of zombies, but without the charisma. Few of the rank and file worshipers remain." He paused for a moment. "Not that any are allowed to leave peacefully, of course."
"You found them washed downstream, I take it?"
"Some of them. I imagine few Zakarumites remain, though with the jungle hell surrounding the city heart, that offers no advantage. Our forces are few, and only the protective dome I have raised to shelter our few meager huts prevents our annihilation."
"Yeah, I don't see many people around here. How much control does the church have over the jungle?"
"Enough to make it grow, and send endless waves of jungle spawn against every attempt we make to reclaim our homes. As entertaining as it is to speculate about the Zakarum, I have grown weary of it. Let us speculate about you."
I grinned. "Sure, Sherlock. What do you think?"
"I surmise that you have come here to do battle, and while you may hope to make this a profitable venture, mere loot is not your main goal."
"Let's see... I'm wearing battle gear, check... there are easier places in the world to raid, check... right on both counts, but not surprising."
He smiled, eyes narrowing. "You have a friend here, whom you wish to see."
I blinked. "Natalya's here?"
"On the southern docks, by the fire. I do not think she is expecting you."
She was there.
Natty, I'm here Amy! I'm here
Whoa, that was hard What happened?
I had to go through all
of Aranoch in four days That's a big, dry
I never want to see dirty mess
another mummy again. I see you! Nice
Yeah, they're green. armor. And weapon
I hate green. Doesn't suit you
Have you sensed anyone else? Some. There's crazy
sorcerers all over the place,
I'm afraid. even worse than usual
You think they're
targeting us? Probably not. We're targeting them
They're just turning on us
They go crazy And we respond like we're supposed to
They're insane enough They're always hard targets
to be unpredictable and they're not acting
like they're supposed to
Did you find Inella? No. The harems were an abattoir
I found Hashep in the desert
Damn it. She was good Better than me.
I'm a coward. I run
You're still here away a lot
Whatever works... Speaking of work...
Oh, yeah. This place
is lousy with sorcerers Fleeing Viz-Jun?
Just the Iron Wolves
a rich bunch of mercenaries Rich mercenaries. Wow
They're pretty pricy They'd have to be
and managed by a
pip-squeak in
leather lingerie Oh, be still my heart
Do they go into the jungle?
When they're paid enough Mercenaries...
Sorcerous mercenaries Worst kind
Full of themselves
The mercs in Lut Gholein Were they sorcerers?
No, they were just guys Can't be that bad
But they were mercs through and through
So... what's the deal here? We have the jungle.
First things first The jungle is first
What about the church? The church is history
It might not even exist
Right. The jungle Everything outside this dock is jungle
There used to be houses, farms, everything
A city The city of Kurast. Now its all jungle and swamp
On this dock, most of the survivors are mages
There's the Iron Wolves
drunken, spoiled, pampered mercenaries to a man
There's Hratli. He's ok
I met him We could actually use his kind of talent
Then there's Alkor the alchemist
Used himself as a guinea pig for too many potion tests
Oh, brother Tell me about it. And then there's Ormus.
Ormus? That Taan? The very one
He's still alive? Alive and insane
Is he dangerous? He's always been dangerous!
I mean, is he going
to crack up and go buggo He's already buggo
anytime soon? But not actively hostile yet
Whoa. How many Viz-Jaq'taar
has Ormus taken out? I dunno. I want to take him
out right now.
But we might need him
Say it ain't so... He's powerful. We might need him
But this is Ormus... I'm afraid he might be a spy for Mephisto
He probably would! but I've got no evidence
Screw evidence! You know what he's done! I can't
risk it
Ormus was practicing forbidden magic
He was but wars make for strange bedfellows
blood sacrifice is Yes! I know! But we don't have enough allies
to start getting picky now!
This stinks so bad I'd feel better if you told me
this was just a social call
No. Diablo and Baal escaped
from Aranoch together We are officially in deep sh!t.
They have to come here to meet up with Mephisto
Yep. Someone's got to
break up the family reunion Yes. Who's it going to be?
Can we go in together? I don't trust Ormus alone
No, but what are our options? We need to cover him
Stalking horse gambit?
If he's going to do anything,
That's risky give him an obvious target
Especially to the "horse" Yeah, I know
Anything we can do is going to be risky
We're between a rock Stalking horse is simplest
and a hard place Complicated plans fall apart
So who gets to be the horse?
I'll flip you for it No martial arts!
I meant a coin Suuuuure you did
I lost the coin toss. I guess I wasn't interested in sleeping peacefully anyway. The central portion of the dockside was built around a stepped pyramid. Cain had already found his way over, and was deep in conversation with some sorcerer wearing a pot helm and breastplate. Mages usually aren't strong enough for anything heavier. On the other side of the pyramid was Ormus. That couldn't be anyone else. If you ignored the tattoos and tiny scars on his chest and arms, his body was perfect: muscular, tall, and straight as a steel rod. He might have been 35 or 65. He was ageless. The only hair on his head was his black eyebrows, overhanging eyes that were far too deep, without expression, without soul.
At my approach, he made sweeping motion with one of the most beautiful hands I have ever seen, and intoned, "You now speak to Ormus. He once was a great mage, was Ormus. Now he lives like a rat in a sinking vessel. You have questions for Ormus?"
I did not look into those eyes. My mind was locked tight. "No, no questions."
"Then you must ask those questions of yourself. Ormus senses conflict within you, and in all would-be heroes. With patience, you will find the answers you need."
Typical fortune-cookie stuff, and about as accurate. If I wanted to be a hero, I'd already be one. There's plenty of people who'd say so. "Yeah, thanks. Just passing through."
"Ormus does not make himself clear? Then speak to Alkor. Alkor could always explain things much more clearly than Ormus."
The big house on the north end of the pier had a banner by the door, showing a big gray wolf head on a mustard-yellow background. Inside, a dozen or so mages from various clans were sitting around, throwing dice, joking, eating, and generally misbehaving. By a table, counting coins out into piles, was a short woman in a leather bikini. She had a small, neat face with large eyes, and milk-smooth skin she'd tried to roughen up with a tan. The bikini suited her well, though she looked like she'd wear it even if it didn't. Otherwise, the only feminine thing in the room was a full-length mirror with a clean sweep of floor in front of it.
The last house on the pier was a tiny shack full of tiny bottles, rotting animal parts, and a noisome odor. I almost mistook the resident, Alkor the alchemist, for a large monkey. His face was aging and saggy, full of disgust for life and the thickening effects of liquor. But it had a hard cheerfulness I liked, and his eyes were bright as drops of dew.
"Hi there. You look like someone interesting."
Alkor squinted at me. Bad vision is not a good thing for an alchemist. "You're new here, aren't you? You must be, you do not know to leave me alone!"
"Now, why would I do that? Ormus said you could explain things pretty well."
He let out a sharp screech that ended in a wheeze. It might have been laughing. "Ah, Ormus and his silly riddles. He has been talking that way for years. I think it is because he has nothing intelligent to say."
"You've known him for years, huh?"
"No one knows him. Who would want to?"
"Well, he's got a world-wide reputation..."
"For what, babbling? Even I can do that better -- you listen, tall skinny girl: 'consider the dewdrops, which do not toil, yet vanish by late morning! How like the dewdrops are the lives of worthless men! Doodle doodle dee, wubba wubba wubba!' How was that?"
"Um... that was... really stupid."
"You catch on quick, skinny girl! I would say more, but thinking like Ormus gives me a splitting headache, which I must now attend to." He took a bottle off the wall, apparently at random, and drank the contents without even looking at it.
"I think I'll leave before that stuff kicks in. See you around!"
"Not if I see you first, or cannot see at all. Good day!"