Chapter 11 - Blistering Heights
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"You're -sure- you want to go to the Heights?" Stella asked, as I made my intentions known to my gathered group.
"That's the plan--but how?"
"Forget the -how-. It's a dangerous city, Blistering Heights...," Stella explained.
"It's situated right on the isle of Fire--in the heart of the caldera," Bernadene explained, "No ship ever sails nearby, except the pirates on the high seas. If we Walked on Water to get there, we'd burn to a crisp before we ever found the town..."
"There's also the Sorceress...," Knell warned.
"Yes...Lydia mentioned something about that earlier," I recalled.
"About a year ago--she arrived in town and immediately set to work subjugating all the demons and devils that pillaged where they may. At first they hailed her a savior--but now they say she commands them all at her whims."
"No mere mortal like you or I could command the greater devils and tyrants," I explained, "'tis only the extent of a lay wizard's power to command the lesser demonic forces. A frightful prospect, but we have engaged worse horrors right here in Swamp Town." I tried to assuage their fears.
"If you insist--I'll go with you. But let's try to keep a low profile until we know who we're dealing with, okay?" Stella asked.
"Yes--that seems safest...but we're still left with the 'how'."
"Oh--didn't I say forget the 'how'?" Stella smiled.
"It's Foursday! Nature favors us this day...with a Nature's Gate, we can travel by the light of the stars straight to the Heights on this day even without a Town Portal spell. It's the only safe way to get in and out of that city now."
"All this time you've had a Nature spell for travelling long distances?!" I asked, "Where else can you get from there?"
"All kinds of places...the cities..the castles of the Lords of Alignment...a different place each day of the week."
"Agh! Oh well, it's just as swell. I -did- say we were going to do a lot of exploring."
"Take us there now. Stand close together, everyone--I'm using a prayer of Protection from Fire, but it'll likely only mitigate the heat."
True to Stella's word, the glimmering Nature's Gate revealed an image of the magically protected Blistering Heights on the other side of the portal--and, steeling ourselves for what may come, we gathered forth and went through all at once.
The mirror portal passphrase for Blistering Heights is "REDHOT" and another easy way to get there at lower levels. The graffiti for it is actually in Swamp Town, but I didn't take a screen cap of it.
"Intruders! All soldiers, capture the invaders IMMEDIATELY!"
We heard a sharp, womanly tongue bark the order before the glimmering effects of the portal had even totally dissipated. The Sorceress must have been keeping a very keen eye on the comings and goings of anyone entering the city. There went our plan for keeping a low profile.
Well-muscled and trained Fire Lizards swarmed about us from every corner of the city.
"Try not to let their fire breath startle you! Trust in the prayer of Fire Protection and stay calm!" I rallied my allies.
True to my blessings--the scorching heat of the lizard's natural weapon was softened a fair bit, though not completely ameliorated. Between Stella's swordplay and Knell's oversized pike, we slew the group of lizards that had descended upon us immediately.
"Reinforcements! FIND THEM and seize them immediately!" came the magically projected call of the sorceress.
"Now what, genius?" Bernadene steamed, "We find a mirror portal and run or pick a spot to hide? Nature's Gate won't get us out of here for another day!"
"Neither!" I exclaimed, "We're obviously a bit more than the sorceress expected. Now's the perfect time to strike while we're hot and take her by surprise!"
"You heard the man, let's get to killin'!" Knell approved of this course of action in all haste.
After overpowering the fire lizards at the entrance we paused for one brief moment outside the door.
"Even a lesser demon is still a formidable enemy. Aim for them first over the lizards. Ready---go!"
Beyond the numbers of Fire Lizards who stood in our way came the Sorceress's majordomo--not a lesser demon as I had hoped but a Greater Demon, straight out of the pits of hell. I made a quick point to use some magic gems and grant as many allies as my magic reserves could handle the blessings of Heroism to give us a much-needed boost for this fight. The magic of the major demon's cursed spear carried a poison that could paralyze any of us at the slightest wound, and I had my hands full using my prayers to cure the immobilizing affliction whenever the demonic menace scratched one of my allies.
Finally--with a curse in the demonic tongue, the demon fled through a portal of its own creation back to the stygian abyss that spawned it.
Rounding the corner, we burst into the back section of the HQ, expecting to confront and attack the Sorceress before she could bring the full force of her powers against us....but instead...
"Y...You!"
I =KNEW= her! And yet, it had felt like so many ages ago it was like suddenly staring at a shadow of the past.
"F..Faulkner, is that really you?" she said--suddenly lowering her mage's staff and undoing the ley lines of her spell.
"Alicia!"
Despite myself--despite the little care I had for her or my other companions back on Varn save my brother--I found myself so filled with a sense of familiarity...of relief, that despite my better judgement I dropped my weapon and left my companions staring in confusion as I closed the gap between her and I..
And felt myself fill with joy when she likewise came out to meet me, and we fell into each other's safe embrace.
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"I knew from Corak's notebook that you never made it with the others to CRON....but since you were nowhere to be found near Fountain Head, I presumed you had never made it to Terra, either."
"We must have been separated between then and when we arrived here. You must have landed near the Hidden Valley around the same time Corak was passing through and discovered you on his way to the Pyramids...I landed here. In Blistering Heights---cut off from the rest of the isles."
"It must have been jarring for you...,"
"Jarring doesn't even begin to describe it. The War of Alignments didn't ignore the Fire Island, you know--it just made bringing a shred of peace back to it that much more difficult. When I arrived--the demons, devils, and lizards were tearing this place apart after there were no more soldiers left to keep order..."
"But you---a stranger from another world, stepped in to fill that command void. It's a dangerous game, elf--making negotiations with demons and devils."
"Hrmph. You're one to talk, oh proudly 'Evil' cleric--making all those whispered deals with the Dark Almighties."
"I'm trying to eschew those old habits now that we're a long way from Varn. One never knows when a holy man needs friends in high -and- low places..."
"You've grown a lot since Varn, Faulkner. Instead of sharing your brother or Sam's lead, you've had to strike out on our own will with your own direction. And look where it's brought you...in the midst of this war-weary world, you've managed to attract a whole new crew of adventurers. They're all here for their own reasons, of course. But they're all following -you-."
I felt myself flush with a little pride. Alicia didn't say such things to flatter me, but only to reconnect with a friendly face and point out the emergent truth. One soul at a time, I had traveled across Terra and emerged as the leader of the party. From nothing--I had done the clerical thing and assembled a flock of many colors and motivations and instilled in them an 'esprit de corps' through our shared danger and experience.
"But your reasons...yours and mine; they're the same, Alicia. You and I both know that Sam and Volkmeir are still out there somewhere. And that maybe...just maybe, Corak knows how to get us there."
Alicia nodded grimly, watching me intently. She knew where I was going with this--but was waiting for me to ask anyway.
"Will you, too, follow me Alicia? Across these strange isles with the hope that we may find them again?"
Alicia extended her hand and took mine in it, gripping firmly--and I hers, as a sign of our trust in each other.
"We -will- find them again, Faulkner. Let my magic aid us however it can."
At last---with myself and my five allies, we were a full party again.
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"All right, Ladies. Let's see what the Heights has to offer us." I declared as we continued our little uninvited inspection of the city.
"In these kennels, we coralled a clutch of minidragons that wandered in from the surrounding isle." Alicia explained.
"Now that I'm taking a 'leave of absence' as Sorceress of this place, we'd better cull them, 'less the devils return and decide to use them to terrorize the citizens."
There was an added prize for such dangerous tasks--all dragons, even miniature ones such as these, have a penchant for hoarding gold and gems. Putting down the wild beasts netted us not only valuable experience for later engagements with their larger bretheren but also went a long way to refilling some of our spent gold.
There were other treasure boxes to be found, too--both here and in other Fire Lizard-laden places around the city. But their divine locks were a little out of Lydia's league--we would have to come back when we were more experienced to raid them of their gold.
Back in Alicia's "Demon HQ" office, she introduced us to the spirit of Ornean, the warlock imprisoned in the single unlocked treasure box there. Pleased to be of service--so long as we did not disclose the nature of any of his dalliances with the demons, he offered us free membership into the local Eagle's Guild
Shrouded in origins unknown, the Eagle's Guild was the most premier magister's guild in all of Terra. What was -no- mystery however, was that their premium selection of spells had no comparison. All the secrets of the covenants with Almighties and arcane spellbooks could be laid before us if we had the gold and experience to show for it.
You can find scrolls for different spells in various parts of the world that can teach you them. However--unlike in MM2, every spell -is- also available from the guild as well, although the higher level ones tend to be pretty pricey and my 4007 gold is precariously low. Luckily, I've been stashing away gold throughout this playthrough in the bank in Fountain Head that has picked up some substantial interest.
The cavern below Blistering Heights was not a natural formation. According to Corak's Notebook--there was at one time in Cron's history an aberration of nature--a terrible death spider with the size and crafty mind that equalled the most mighty of dragons. After the war with the Elementals, the spider found it's final resting place here--where it's large body and spindly legs formed the many thin and tapering passages around us.
Cracks of fulminant magma opened here and there on the unsteady ground, unprotected from the same enchantments that guarded the city above. Alicia could sweep up harmlessly over some of them with her Jump spell, but others were situated in corners that were harder to avoid. In those cases, I simply had to use my prayer of Fire Protection and move quickly.
From the burning miasma below, Fire Stalkers assaulted us. These beings--like ghosts, are incorporeal and only manifest as these shades from the plane of elemental fire. Our weapons were of no use here--but with my prayer of Cold Ray, Stella's similar nature spell, and Alicia's multiple and varied combat magic, we were able to cast them back into the realm they came from.
But first--we treated ourselves to the most divine of foods available to man on this planet. The Vittles served in this enchanted place did not come cheaply--but the sublime taste and nourishing nature was beyond compare and description. It left us feeling invincible in the face of danger--and would keep longer as rations than the specialties of any other city.
Suddenly--the mysterious world of Terra feels less imposing than before, and victory feels like a challenge we can, and will win.
I was wondering when Alicia would appear! And then I got so caught up following the other characters that I forgot about her, and it came as a surprise. Good work as always.
ReplyDeleteThanks so kindly. :3 I'm delighted that anyone would call my work interesting!
DeleteI didn't initially plan it that way, but once it started leaning that way I thought it was totally cool that Faulkner is rolling with an all-lady squad.