by Bill Ricardi
After weighing our words, Louise said, “You say that the Company of Glass doesn’t have the ability to summon or control fire elementals. That was not what we believed they were doing. We normally control the elementals. Someone or something is wresting control from us, making them go wild. We assumed that disruption was coming from your mercenary company. Now that we have been told otherwise, we must seek a different answer.”
Leeson followed that information down the logical path. He said, “You didn’t burn all of those caravans, did you? It was the uncontrolled elementals.”
The Mother of Magma admitted, “We may have burned one or two because of this feud. But not in the numbers that you’re speaking of, no. You seem to have a vested interest in these elemental issues. You will help us investigate, yes?”
Toby said, “Of course. If you will call your people off.”
“Agreed. And you must get word to this commander-guy of yours. I’ll contact my agents in the field and let them know that our efforts shall be redirected. The Company of Glass has their truce until we can discover the cause of all this. Then we shall sit down and speak of our… deeper areas of contention.”
The more powerful witches were called in to help with this campaign of information. What interested me was that the men were not called ‘warlocks’, nor were the orcs called ‘hegvena’. There was no distinction between races and genders; every member of their adopted tribe was a ‘witch’.
With the help of the chaos magicians, several Max’s Messages went out. To Kev, to Max, and to a few chaos witches who had been planning retaliatory strikes against the Company of Glass.
When we finished, the Mother of Magma gave her people new assignments, primarily defensive and investigatory. As they filtered out of the yurt to do their tasks, Louise called out, “Tanya. A word.”
The familiar red robed witch who had escorted us in paused. She turned and walked over to Louise for a whispered conversation. It got heated. The whispering grew almost loud enough to hear before the Mother of Magma put an end to it by saying, “You will do this. You know why.”
The witch in red allowed her head to drop. She gave the slightest shrug, and then a sullen nod.
Louise turned back to us and said, “My daughter will accompany you for the next few days. She is wise in the ways of the elementals, and can help you find them. If any of my people have anything to report, they will contact her. I assume that you have skins of tin and leather. Don them for this journey.”
Tara said, “I’m afraid we cannot until we’re normal sized again.”
Louise peered at the two minotaurs. “I was wondering. If your height had been a defect of birth, I didn’t wish to mention it.” The Mother of Magma shrugged. “From this point on, wear your metal suits before you are Reduced. You ride into danger. That much I can attest to. Tanya will be reporting back to me regularly. Do not disappoint us.”
Tanya, our apparently unwilling companion, started to walk out of the living room. “Come on then. Get dressed at least, I won’t stare at… all of that for the entire journey.” She paused and looked directly at Leeson. “Except this one perhaps.”
Her mother seemed to agree, “I would certainly stare at that one.” she called out.
A blushing Leeson hurried into the foyer to put his desert wrap on. The rest of us followed at a more reasonable pace.
Once we were ready to travel, we managed to coax our camels out of the pen, where they had been spitting and fornicating no doubt. Mine simply wandered out when the gate was opened and stood there, staring off into space.
As the other four wrangled their mounts, I had a quiet word with Tanya. I stated, “She wasn’t using mental contact, I would have felt it. Nobody in this land knows how close I am to Leeson. So tell me. How long have you been watching us?”
Tanya said, matter of factly, “Since an hour outside of the city. You should be more careful who you buy sand tents from.”
I grimaced. It wasn’t surprising that we didn’t notice a native chaos witch in her own environment. But there was someone who would still take it hard. So I said, “Don’t mention that to Ames.”
She replied, “I shan’t.”
To say that Tanya was standoffish over the next day and a half would be a colossal understatement. The red garbed witch took meals alone, didn’t engage in idle chatter, and looked far more at the pages of books than at the faces of her companions. When we rested, she wouldn’t share my Zone of Comfort. Even when we were riding for the night, Tanya was only interested in getting to the last reported elemental sighting. When we found nothing, she started to lead us to the next potential spot without any expression of hope or disappointment. Conversations were brusque, factual, and all business.
Until Pandemonium was mentioned.
When Leeson started talking about possibly mapping fire elemental movements to the wandering patterns of beasts in Pandemonium, the floodgates opened. Tanya wanted to know everything.
“What did this elven Pandemonium portal look like?”
“What sound do the three legged demon dogs make?”
“Were the Shadows hot or cold?”
“Did you try using a compass in Pandemonium?”
“Did the feathered Prince squawk like a bird?”
Suddenly Tanya was riding knee to knee with Leeson. Ames had to take the lead, so distracted was the chaos witch in her question and answer session with the overwhelmed young man.
But it wasn’t a one way knowledge exchange. Tanya’s second hand knowledge of Pandemonium was impressive. She was able to explain the way ‘kingdoms’ are shaped, the relative flow of time in the realms of every major Pandemonium lord, and all of the food sources available on a scale of how bad the side effects were.
One part of their conversation stayed with me in particular. Tanya said, “I have not been to Pandemonium. But I was present when the elders opened their portals. You see, there is a rite of passage before one becomes an elder witch. A ceremony kept amongst our people. Arrangements are in place, understandings going back hundreds of years. But it is still quite dangerous. Someday I will step through. And whether or not I survive, it will be the greatest moment of my life.”
Twice during their long conversation, I found myself ‘there’. The steady plodding of my damnable camel and the surrounding darkness were perfect catalysts for my episodic flashbacks. I caught myself the first time, in deep remembrance of the rescue mission itself. The second time that I drifted off, it actually felt like I was reliving the ‘debriefing’ party. Tara nudged me awake before I fell off my camel. The concerned expressions on the faces of both of my minotaur friends told the tale: Either Ames or Benno had warned them about my lapses. Apparently my little secret was no longer a secret to anyone I cared about. I supposed that was a good thing.
When we stopped for the morning, Tanya’s attitude towards us completely reversed itself. She offered to cook a warm breakfast in my magic pot, even sharing some of her fresh provisions. The result was a savory potato and carrot stew made with some of the rabbit bullion that I had brought. Sunrise conversation consisted of more extraplanar topics, including my brush with undeath. Afterwards I started my ritual to provide our normal temperate zone. But this time, Tanya’s tent had been moved close enough to take advantage of it.
At sunset of our third day with Tanya, she received another report of elemental activity. But this one was different.
“It’s close.” the red robed witch explained. “An hour to the Northeast, on the tall dunes next to the ruins of the Colosseum. The fire elemental was still there this time. One of the more powerful witches saw it and he had a Message spell at the ready.”
The relatively diminutive Toby said, “A fresh lead for once. Let’s ride hard and catch this one.”
As much as I disliked my mount, I had to admit that a camel could really move if pressed. Once Tanya got her steed into a quick jog, all the rest of the animals kept pace. It was a somewhat jarring ride compared to the horses on Lees
on’s estate, but comparable to what a frisky, spirited giant wolf could inflict on their rider. At least we all stayed in the saddle.
I called over, “Once we get close enough, how long will it take you to get control of it?”
Tanya shouted back, “A minute. It isn’t like your summoning ritual. This elemental is here and free. I need only to perform a fire charm on it. You keep me safe while I do that, and it will be ours. Then we find out where it has been.”
We made good time, arriving at the reported spot in perhaps 40 minutes. But disappointment filled our hearts once again. Looking to the top of the dunes there was no fire elemental, only the final shimmers of light cast by the setting sun.
Leeson suggested, “Let’s go up and have a closer look. There should be some recent signs right? A glassy trail maybe?”
I nodded at the same time that Tanya did. I was the one who spoke up first, “They burn quite hot, there may be some kind of indication as to where it went.”
But as it turned out, the top of the dunes was as far as we needed to go.
Looking down the North side of the dune revealed our quarry. It glowed a bright orange-red in the early night air. The fire elemental was a living bonfire with arms and legs, slowly trekking towards the nearby ruins. If it noticed us in any fashion, it certainly wasn’t reacting violently. Had the thing been humanoid, I would have said it was taking a leisurely stroll.
Or perhaps it was just after some tourism. The ancient Colosseum was one of the mysteries of the Glasson Desert. It was briefly mentioned in texts from around the time of the First Great War as a place of honorable battle, of art, and of culture. But any modern examination of the sections left standing gave no hints as to who built it, who owned and ran it, and what sort of events were held in it. Over time, the massive stone arena couldn’t resist being retaken by the desert. Presumably it was once a much taller structure, but only three stories of the pillars, walls, and stone seating remained above the shifting sands.
Tanya murmured, “I can do it from a short way down if the elemental keeps going at that pace. If it turns on us, distract it.”
Tara said, “I think my summoned hammer will give it something to play with, should the need arise.”
We dismounted from our camels, who frankly seemed nonplussed by the raw display of elemental power happening right in front of them. We took the time to set out some food for the beasts on just the other side of the dune, so that they would be kept busy and sheltered from any fiery battle that might ensue. Then the six of us half-stepped, half-slid down the next dozen paces worth of sand dune. I heard the words of a spell being uttered.
But it wasn’t Tanya uttering them.
The red garbed witch dove flat, sliding down the dune a little bit in the process. We all quickly followed suit, trusting the native mage’s instincts. On our bellies in the sand, we watched the scene unfold before us.
The sound of spellcasting seemed to be coming from the South entrance to the Colosseum. It went on for nearly a minute before the meandering fire elemental suddenly flared, as if dry tinder had been poured into its belly. Quickly, the creature walked across the sand towards the ruined structure, casting a large globe of heat and light in a radius around it.
When the elemental neared the Colosseum, its natural illumination betrayed the two figures waiting for it. The first was a spear carrying human, wearing only a tattered loincloth. The second was a robed elf that looked far too young to have those grey streaks in his long blond hair. Both of them possessed tanned skin that looked stretched, almost leathery from so much exposure to the heat and the sun. The elf turned and walked inside of the ancient structure. Human and fire elemental followed at his heels.
Ames whispered, “What in the infinite hells just happened?”
Tanya’s voice was shaking. Whether from anger or fear was undetermined. “He took it. He took control of one of our elementals. Those men are not from these parts. They do not belong here.”
Toby murmured, “We’re about to lose what little light we have left. Enlarge us and let’s get down there while we still know that the way is clear.”
Soon the minotaurs were back to their full, impressive size. It meant that we would need to rest again if we wanted to ride camels, but the potential danger of the situation meant that being at full strength outweighed mobility concerns. Leeson reported that he had only one minor spell left, another Enlarge. The rest of his complement of spells were more powerful and involved, which meant he was relying on me and Tanya for spells that required faster casting times.
Preparing for the worst, we left our heavy wrappings just outside of the archway. From what I recalled, I knew that the southern Colosseum entrance would have towered above us a thousand years ago. Now, Toby’s horns were only a half pace from scraping against the curved stone. Quickly and quietly, Ames and Tanya led the way.
We followed Ames’s paw gestures, splitting up so that three of us were secreted behind each of the massive pillars at the mouth of the tunnel’s exit. From there we could observe the puzzling activities happening at the center of the Colosseum.
It was a cult. That was the only word that came to mind. The dozens of gathered entities were of every race and stature, and yet they had many things in common. They were unwashed, burnt by the sun, and emaciated. Each and every set of eyes was crazed, filled with pain or with hatred. I remember reading an ancient text. It said that the power of hope is only overpowered by the iron chains of hopelessness. I hoped that ancient philosopher was wrong.
The elven mage who captured and controlled the fire elemental was leading it into the center of the arena. The ranks of cultists closed around them. There was no chanting, no invocation, no prayers. Just a low moan, or droning. Each of the dozens of gathered unfortunates took up the exact same note. The eerie resonance sent a shiver up my spine. It sounded like…
“The Hum.”
That was Tara’s pained whisper. I glanced over at the opposite pillar, and saw Toby gritting his teeth. Whatever was happening, it produced a very real effect, and my friends were feeling it. I was about to ask if we should do something, when there was a cacophonous rending sound.
All eyes were drawn towards the fire elemental. It was hovering several paces off the ground, ‘screaming’ in crackling bursts. Then reality seemed to fracture. The elemental was rended into bits. What cinders remained seemed to be enveloped in purple-gray motes and banished from this reality.
For a pregnant moment, there was only darkness and silence.
Then the earth opened.
The entire center of the Colosseum drained of sand, as if a plug had been pulled in a giant bathtub. The cultists stepped back quickly, retreating to the perimeter of the arena before they fell victim to the results of their ritual. The earth started to tremor.
Leeson finished his first spell. He was now easily as tall as Toby after Enlarging himself. The giant human frantically waved us over, wanting to cast another spell of preparation before we were discovered. We quickly gathered around.
I remember when the elven wolf rider, Yarith, cast her Haste spell on me. My heart leaped, my pulse surged. Leeson’s rendition of the spell had the same potent kick. We were all twitching, hyperactive. The human was already flowing into his third spell. But the rest of us were out of time.
Two of the cultists who were backing away from the devastation saw our little huddle. They cried out and pointed. One reacted with anger, pulling a cudgel from her hip. The other reacted with fear, climbing up into the stadium’s stone seating and putting as much distance between us and themself as possible.
As the alarm went up, that pattern continued. Several of the cultists fled the arena, while a minority took up arms and started to approach our position. We were fine allowing the cowardly ones to leave. No matter how disturbed they were, slaughtering noncombatants wasn’t what we signed up for.
The ones brave or foolish enough to confront us moved along the perimeter of the Colosseum floor, avoiding the s
inkhole that they had created. The ones in the lead slowed, waiting until they had the strength of superior numbers before confronting us.
I took the opportunity to cast my Light cantrip on a recently fallen piece of masonry situated out in front of us. The illumination extended to the lip of the arena’s southern entrance. We could pull back into the darkness of the tunnel if necessary, while leaving our foes exposed in the light.
The minotaurs executed little preparation rituals of their own. Tara summoned her icy blue Divine Warhammer, her prayers to Melflavin answered. Toby, having become one of Aro-Remset’s most beloved servants, invoked a blessing that I had heard of, but never seen in person. The paladin bellowed upon finishing his short prayer to the god of fair battle, as Aro-Remset’s Divine Strength washed over him. He was surrounded by a rose-tinted aura as his muscles bulged. For a short time, my friend would have the power of a giant rather than a minotaur.
That said, the odds didn’t look great. As Toby and Tara lined up between the two pillars, cultists streamed in from both the left and the right, staying wide to avoid the hole that they created in the center of the arena. There must have been over a score of them, mostly unarmored, but nearly all armed.
Fleeing would have been an option if not for the bright glow that we saw in the distance.
The elven cultist was already leading in the next fire elemental at the North entrance of the Colosseum.
“Boost me.”
Tanya was eyeing the stands. I hesitated at the thought of sending our new ally in by herself, but I didn’t see much of a choice. Someone had to stop the crazed elementalist, and the chaos witch was likely the most qualified. I cupped my gloved hands and lifted when the young woman stepped into the offered boost. She scrambled up to the stone benches. Taking advantage of the Haste spell, Tanya sprinted along the bottom ring of seats. She was halfway to her target in just a few seconds.