by Allan Joyal
“I’m going to find the brimstone that the dungeon provides,” Xalesin said.
Dared stood up and moved between the wizard and the mountain. “Look, it’s wonderful that we have a wizard interested in the mountain. And it’s clear you have some skill, but I have to strongly advise that you not attempt anything more regarding the dungeon today.”
“Like it’s dangerous,” Xalesin said scornfully. “You probably… Hey, where did that golem go?”
“That wasn’t a golem, and that is a huge part of why I advise you to come with me to the tavern so we can talk,” Dared said.
“It had to be a golem. There was no other way to animate a stone figure like that,” Xalesin insisted.
“You really need to study and learn before you take action,” Dared said. “I’ve tried to save you from yourself. Now if you have any of your men around, they can come to the tavern and we’ll talk. I’m not going to remain here to argue with you.”
“I’ll just walk up the mountain,” Xalesin said arrogantly.
“If you do, you’ll die. Faestari was quite clear. She said if you enter her domain, she will act,” Dared said as he started walking towards the town gate.
“Who?” Xalesin said.
“The dungeon,” Dared called out over his shoulder. “That golem you saw is actually an avatar of the spirit that controls the dungeon. And I assure you, if she decides she wants you dead, it will happen very quickly.”
Xalesin looked up at the mountain and then ran through the snow. His feet were sinking to his knees as he rushed to catch up with Dared. “Wait! We need to talk!”
Chapter 23: Fairview’s Unhealthy Interest
Dared ignored Xalesin as he passed under the archway and entered Montgar. A couple of Joward’s apprentices were in the hallway, working on securing the wrought iron portcullis door that had not been installed before the first storm. One of the young men saw Dared and paused to salute.
“Sir,” the young man said. “We’ll have this in place before the next storm.”
Dared nodded. “Thank you for your hard work and service. I understand the other one is working?”
“Yes. We managed to get that in place before the storm. Joward made sure the mechanism was operating smoothly earlier today. We don’t have doors, but we can prevent strangers from entering freely,” the one man said.
“Carry on then,” Dared said. “We don’t seem to have much to worry about, but it will add another layer of protection to have both portcullises working.”
Xalesin had gotten out of the snow. He rushed forward to catch up with Dared as the man entered Montgar. “What is this place?” the wizard asked.
“The village of Montgar. Right now, we’ll have a population of about sixty during a storm. But the quarrymen leave if they believe the skies will remain clear for several days. Next year they plan to have a settlement near the escarpment they are exploiting,” Dared said.
“Fifty?” Xalesin asked.
“Twenty guards, ten builders, another fifteen people who work in the town and then we have between fifteen and twenty adventurers staying in the inn,” Dared said. “It might actually be twenty-five adventurers. I don’t keep track.”
“How can a village survive out here?” Xalesin asked. “I’d expect you’d have trouble with bandits or monsters.”
“The dungeon appears to have attracted any nearby monsters, and it doesn’t allow them to raid the village,” Dared said. “Bandits would have to know that the village exists and we founded it only about two hundred days ago. Right as the spring started to turn into summer.”
“You did all this in just two hundred days?” Xalesin asked as he looked around the village.
The guard had asked for the adventurers to help and the group had worked hard to clear paths between buildings. From where Dared stood he could see the large barracks built from logs resting just to the right of the gateway. Standing only a short distance away was the temple to Veshtyra. To the left the bare foundation for the manor house was a mute reminder of the planned expansion. Beyond the temple was the small wooden shop that served Colasmel. Dared smiled thinking about the man’s reaction when informed that the plan was to rebuild a combination shop and lab out of stone in the next year. Then in the distance the two-story stone building that was a both inn and tavern rose. There were a couple of additional temporary wooden shelters.
“It’s not that much,” Dared said. “Some of these buildings will be replaced in the next year or two. We concentrated on putting in the inn first and then on the walls.”
“No keep?” Xalesin asked with a sneer.
“The foundation has been placed, but the plan is to build it next year,” Dared said. “But why does that matter to you? Or are you now scouting for those men you claimed you have.”
“There are those who will pay a high reward for information regarding this place,” Xalesin said.
“Several of them are on the Fairview council,” Dared said confidently.
“I am not going to say,” Xalesin said. “I’ve told you what I’m concerned with. I want the brimstone that your adventurers are finding in that dungeon.”
Dared stopped walking and looked at the wizard. The wizard walked several more steps before realizing that the young lord had stopped. He came to a halt and looked at Dared. “What?”
“I’ve tried to tell you that there is no brimstone to be found, but you’ve refused to believe me. Would you like to see the kinds of treasures the adventurers have been bringing out?” Dared said.
“Like you’d know. I’ve realized you are just some lord’s bastard. You’ve probably never set foot in the dungeon,” Xalesin said with a snort of disbelief.
“Ah, but I know where the adventurers sell most of the treasure they bring back. Why don’t you follow me?” Dared said. He turned and started walking to Colasmel’s shop. He could hear Xalesin scrambling on the icy ground trying to keep up.
“You should have been wearing better boots,” Dared said as they approached the door to the store. He could see a faint column of smoke rising from the small chimney.
“No one told me to expect snow that is this thick,” Xalesin said angrily.
“You need to ask better questions then,” Dared said as he opened the door and stepped into the store.
“Welcome!” a cheery female voice called out. “I’m afraid we haven’t had time to make anything new. Do you have a request? Dared!”
Dared looked up and could see Jerisa standing behind the narrow wooden bar that was used to protect and store the vials and bottles that were for sale.
“I don’t need anything,” Dared said as he felt Xalesin enter. “However, I have met this man who appears to believe that the dungeon provides brimstone as a treasure.”
“Brimstone? Which version? If we are talking about that yellow powder that burns well and can be used in many tintures, its far better to visit a volcano. If he’s asking about the demonic rock that sometimes can be found near fire nodes that have been corrupted, I don’t know of any place where one could find it,” Jerisa said.
“The yellow powder is easy to find in fire aligned dungeons. And that dungeon has a fire node,” Xalesin insisted.
Jerisa nodded. “True and by all reports the fire node was the home of a fire mephit.”
“What?” Dared asked. “Where did you hear that?”
“Do you remember when that idiot brought those wizards and tried to burn a hole through the side of the mountain?” Jerisa asked.
“You and I were in the inn when it happened. We had to stay away after that wall of fire was thrown up,” Dared said.
“Yes, but I talked to several of the witnesses. Salene doesn’t like to say much since she feels like she should have stopped that monster calling himself her father, but the spell the wizards were using had its potency boosted by a fire mephit. The fire mephit hated Faestari because she threw it out when it tried to talk to her,” Jerisa said.
“Faestari threw someone out?”
Dared asked. “Are we talking about the same dungeon spirit? I thought she was always friendly.”
“I haven’t met her, but doesn’t she have that water nymph helping her?” Jerisa asked.
“Hey!” Xalesin shouted. “I thought you brought me here to I can see the items found in the dungeon.”
Jerisa looked at the man. “I have a few here. Most of the more valuable fungi have already been used to make potions. What are you looking for?”
“Brimstone,” Xalesin said again. “I need it to finalize an enchantment I’ve spent nearly five years developing.
Jerisa shook her head. “I have spider eyes, spider venom sacs, several life and earth aligned fungi. I also have a few strands of spider silk and some of the adhesive you find on spider webs.”
“Spider?” Xalesin asked.
“There are quite a few spiders on the first two floors of the dungeon,” Jerisa said. “At least that’s what the adventurers tell me when they come here to sell what they find. The spiders have all been enhanced with mana, and their eyes and venom sacs are great for several potions. I can offer you several vision potions.”
“Can you do a potion of true sight?” Xalesin asked.
“We have one,” Jerisa said. “That one is twenty gold.”
“Twenty?” Dared said with a gasp.
“It would have been eighty back in Ridnek. And the raw materials would probably have been seventy if a wizard cared to make it himself,” Jerisa said.
Xalesin reached to his belt. He picked up a pouch and opened it.
“Fifteen,” he said.
Jerisa laughed. “That barely pays for the materials and this was made by a master alchemist. It will last half a day. Nineteen.”
Xalesin scoffed. “When I need true sight, I need it only for a few moments. It sounds like your master alchemist should have worried more about using too many materials. Sixteen.”
“Eighteen and three silver,” Jerisa said. “We need to be able to afford the glass products we use.”
“Seventeen and two,” Xalesin said. “That’s my final offer.”
“Done,” Jerisa said. She reached below the counter. First she set up a small wooden rack and then placed a vial of some shimmering orange liquid.”
Xalesin whistled in surprise. “I’ve seen potions before, but they usually appear muddy.”
“Old materials that weren’t properly prepared,” Jerisa said. “The spider eyes we use to form the foundation of the potion are in a cleaning and preserving solution within a day of being removed from their former owners.”
Xalesin placed eighteen gold coins on the counter. Jerisa swept them into a pocket of an apron wrapped around her waist and then produced eight silver coins from underneath the counter. “Any other potions you might need?”
“Can you do any protection ones?” Xalesin asked.
“We have a couple of stoneskin ones. One grows a stone coating over your skin, which can be uncomfortable, but is very durable. The other hardens your skin, but some people complain that movement becomes difficult once it takes effect,” Jerisa replied.
“How?” Xalesin asked. “I never heard of this area being great for herbs, especially magical herbs.”
Jerisa pointed towards the mountain. “The dungeon is the source of most of the materials we use at the moment.”
“I heard it was a source of brimstone,” Xalesin said. “And that you stole this land from Fairview.”
“I stole nothing,” Jerisa said with a huff. “And I’m offended by the insinuation that I might be a thief.”
“Fairview might try to claim that they have a right to this land, but they never sent anyone. Their ability to collect taxes ends at Oersteglen, and with how stingy their council is I doubt their military could march here. The soldiers would never agree to leave the trade routes and caravanseries undefended,” Dared said.
“I also hear that they claim you are somehow involved with the raids in their southwest,” Xalesin said. “They offered a chest filled with gold to anyone who might provide proof.”
Dared shook his head. “Great. I’ll have to talk to Faestari about that.”
“Who’s this Faestari?” Xalesin asked.
“You met her,” Dared said.
“She was there?” Jerisa said. “I thought she would avoid the mountainside after what happened to Roquel’s family.”
“I believe Xalesin here was using some spell that Faestari could detect. She was watching him,” Dared said. “And I’m not sure Xalesin realizes who he was talking to.”
“Since he asked who Faestari is I kind of doubt it,” Jerisa said. “I so want to meet her.”
“Who is Faestari?” Xalesin asked again. He swung a fist down against the counter. “You keep acting like I should know.”
Jerisa looked at him. “How much do you understand about dungeons?”
“You’ve never been in one,” Xalesin said. “You’re just some woman working her husband’s alchemy shop.”
“Father’s,” Dared said with a cough.
Jerisa smiled serenely. “My three best friends are all adventurers. One was part of the first group to successfully enter the dungeon up on the mountain and live. The other two were part of the first group to meet the spirit that controls all of the mana within the dungeon.”
“No one ever meets the spirit that controls a dungeon. At best you meet a voice of the dungeon that will pass on information,” Xalesin said confidently.
“For any other dungeon that might be true,” Jerisa said. “But after hearing the entire story that Salene passed on, I believe that Faestari is real.”
“Who is Faestari?” Xalesin asked.
“Well, the tale that Salene had was that several generations in the past, a small family in a secluded valley was attacked by wizards. The wizards attacked because they believed that the elven woman in the group was actually a dungeon spirit. The attack was not completely successful as they failed to capture the spirit, but the elven woman and her human husband were killed,” Jerisa said.
“How does that relate to the dungeon,” Xalesin asked.
“Give me time to finish,” Jerisa snapped.
The young woman stepped around the counter and looked the wizard in the eyes. “The story after that was that the daughter of the couple disappeared. However, some wizards believed that the daughter had the power of a dungeon, and they sought after her. When this dungeon woke at first the Kindred and other groups did not believe it. There was no great ruin or cave system to form the lair of monsters. There had been no great battle to produce the mana required to wake a dungeon. How could a dungeon be here? Then, someone thought, perhaps the dungeon was the spirit of that little half-elven girl.”
“You mean?” Xalesin said as his face turned white.
“That golem you were arguing with was actually an avatar of the dungeon,” Dared said. “And her warning at the end wasn’t idle. She can and will engineer your death should you attempt to enter her caverns.”
“Why?” Xalesin asked.
“I expect that she doesn’t like or trust wizards,” Jerisa said. “Wizards destroyed her mother. They captured the spirit of her father. The people who witnessed the fight she had with the wizards who attempted to bore into her mountain say that she released a spirit when she broke one of the crystals they were using and the spirit knew her. Wizards have represented attacks on her.”
“But I truly need brimstone,” Xalesin said.
“It’s available in Fairview,” Jerisa said. “Check with any of the better alchemists. They might not have much, but some would be available.”
“Do you have any?” Xalesin asked.
Jerisa shook her head. “What brimstone my father had was used to create some tintures and tonics we use to help with the preservation of the items we purchase from adventurers. That’s why I know more can be obtained from Fairview. My father has communicated with the alchemists there about getting more. But they are charging too much so my father is hoping we can t
alk to some travellers in the spring.”
“Fairview is pushing to isolate you,” Xalesin said. “They won’t prevent someone from travelling here, but they have made it clear they are going to tax and tariff any goods traded with your people.”
Dared sighed. “How long did you talk to their council? You know far too much to be just a travelling wizard.”
“I don’t travel,” Xalesin said pompously. “I am a great wizard, casting spells to bring prosperity to villages, protection to kings and joy to the people. Towns have paid to maintain my dwelling and research.”
“And yet you are here,” Dared said. “Obviously something went wrong in Zathmorlu.”
“My experiments there proved a few things,” Xalesin said firmly. He looked around the shop as if checking for listeners. “But the council there did not agree with my methods. Now I seek a new city. Fairview’s council was interested. But I could be persuaded to come here.”
Dared shook his head. “We already have a resident wizard.”
“We do?” Jerisa asked.
“Betrixy,” Dared said. “Her plans are to found a new wizard’s school. She was adventuring as a means to prove her skills and to obtain the funds she’ll need.”
“She never said,” Jerisa said.
Dared nodded. “She doesn’t talk about it. I found out during a meeting of the adventurer’s council during the winter storm. Gee’if mentioned it and asked if I was willing to set aside some land inside the village walls for the school.”
“Are you going to?” Jerisa asked as Xalesin glared at Dared.
“I thought there wouldn’t be enough space inside the walls, and after some discussion Gee’if agreed. We have mapped out a plan to add to the walls north of the current layout. It would happen after we get the manor house started,” Dared said.
“Started?” Jerisa said with an angry trill.
“I forget you haven’t sat with me when Joward and I discussed the plan. He’s going to start out by putting in three rooms. There will be an upstairs sleeping chamber and downstairs area set aside for crafting and cooking. We’ll have a servant sleeping area in that room. After that we’ll have a room for dining and entertaining,” Dared said.