"Alex, I heard that you killed the duergar that were at the beach," Blurg said, inspecting Alex closely. "I'm impressed that you came out of the fight without a scratch. Duergar are quite vicious."
"I just sneaked around, picking them off one by one," Alex confirmed.
"To sneak around duergar is no easy feat. I'm happy that now I can study in peace without the fear of being attacked by duergar. Why did you come to me? Did you find something on them that needs my investigation?"
Alex nodded, reached into his bag, and pulled out the dark metal piece and the book titled "Flumph Mating Rituals." "I found this book and this piece of metal in the cave Spaw opened. The metal feels unusually cold, and the book has a faint magical aura. I thought you might be able to help me with them."
Blurg took the items and examined them closely. "Interesting finds, indeed. The metal piece appears to be part of an ancient artifact, and the book... well, let's see if Omeluum can decipher its magical properties."
As Blurg handed the items back, Omeluum floated over, curious about the discussion. (What do we have here?) he asked telepathically.
Alex handed the book and metal piece to Omeluum. "I found these next to a drow corpse. Blurg thinks they might be of significance."
Omeluum's eyes gleamed as it inspected the book. (This book has an illusion spell on it. Unfortunately, the spell is quite potent and I don't have the means to dispel it. And this metal piece... it is indeed part of an ancient drow artifact. You should investigate further; maybe there are more pieces lying around.)
"Thank you," Alex said . "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a drow to hunt."
Blurg nodded. "Be careful, Alex. Nere is not to be underestimated. And remember, if you need any assistance, we are here."
With a final nod, Alex turned and left.
....
Walking out of the circle territory, Alex met Glut still sitting on a rock, inspecting his hands. Upon seeing Alex approach, Glut ran to him.
"Are you done?" Glut asked.
"Not yet. I need to get to the ruined tower and turn off its defenses."
Alex had postponed his departure because, from the memories of the duergar, he knew the ruins housed some very strong psions. Even with the resistance to psionic attacks he obtained from the duergar, he wasn't entirely sure he could resist their attacks. If they got him under control, it would be disastrous. He was doing Omeluum's quest because the mind flayer surely knew more about how to resist psionic attacks.
Glut's stance deflated. "But after this, we go."
Alex nodded. Glut seemed to cheer up. They stopped at the beach, where Alex took out the book he found on the drow corpse. His insides shifted. Concentrating for a few moments, Alex directed the antimagic field to the book. The book's appearance flickered and changed.
"What did you do?" Glut asked, looking at the book Alex was holding.
The book now had a very ornate and detailed design, featuring a black cover with an elaborate golden design that included a compass rose in the center, with a keyhole at its core. The golden design extended outward in intricate patterns, possibly indicating that the book was locked or held significant value. The edges of the cover were also adorned with decorative elements, giving the book an ancient and mystical appearance.
Keeping the antimagic field up, Alex put his palm over the keyhole. Flesh tendrils slithered inside the lock and opened it with a click. He opened the book and started to read:
---
**[The pages, apparently copied from a master tome, describe the construction and use of a grand forge in the Underdark.]**
*Among the Sharrans dwelled the gnome Silouv Yali, whose talents for wizardry were known from Candlekeep to Sorcere. Under his tutelage, the Sharrans built the Great Forge, which could heat mithral with such vigour as to turn it to adamantine. With this astonishing metal, they could mould the finest blades and armour.*
*Yet the jewel of Yali's eye was not the forge itself, but the protector he conjured from the magma to guard it - a construct said to be so mighty that no blade could fell it, and no spell could pierce it.*
---
**[Instructions for operating the Great Forge are listed underneath.]**
*Ingredients: raw mithral ore and a proper mould.*
*Place the ore and mould into their respective chambers.*
*Pull the lever to lower the hammer and prepare the ore for smelting.*
*Open the valve to allow lava into the crucible, and drop the hammer again to forge the product.*
---
"This could be useful," Alex murmured. "If I could replicate the structure of the adamantine, my arsenal would become more deadly," he thought. "Let's go," he said, putting the book away.
One step at a time.
...
After a bit more walking, they reached the tower courtyard entrance.
"I smell blood," Alex commented, pausing to sniff the air. "But not from here." He turned around and walked to a gigantic stone wall. At its base, in a pool of blood, lay a dead drow.
"It seems he fell from somewhere high," Alex noted, squatting next to the corpse. He placed his hand on the corpse and began to consume it. Glut watched with a mixture of glee and fear.
"This drow was a scout of the House Vandree," Alex said, the fragmented memories flowing into his mind. "He died when he stepped on one of those mushrooms on the wall, and it disappeared. He was searching for a way to the surface alone."
"Indeed, something seems suspicious about this place," Glut remarked. "A rotten influence lingers around here."
"Did you never explore this area?" Alex asked.
"We did," Glut replied. "But we found nothing except a tribe of kuo-toa that live next to a cove." He raised his hand and pointed to a large hole in the corner of the area. "We can get there through that hole if you want."
"Let's get this done with this tower first," Alex decided.
Alex looked at Glut. "Stay here and keep watch. I'll go inside and see if I can turn off the defenses."
Glut nodded, and Alex stealthily approached the gate, his senses heightened and ready for whatever lay ahead.
Slightly to the left, Alex spotted one of the turrets. It was floating gently in place a few meters ahead. The turret seemed to be made of yellow metal, adorned with arcane symbols that glowed with a blue light.
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As soon as Alex walked close enough, the turret suddenly turned around and started firing orbs of arcane energy. Seeing the orbs flying towards him, Alex dashed toward the turret in a zigzag pattern. The orbs slightly curved in his direction but were unable to hit him.
He jumped high, did a flip in the air, and sliced the turret in two with his blade.
Alex dashed away, taking cover behind a rock. A volley of arcane orbs struck the place where he had been standing. A turret on the bridge to the tower far ahead was the one firing them. But this wasn't the only problem—the turret he had cut in two was slowly mending itself back together.
"Fuck it," Alex muttered, sheathing his blade. He ran around the rock and dashed towards the tower, taking cover behind a fallen piece of stone. He leaped onto the tower, landing on a balcony on the right. The turrets couldn't shoot him through the tower, he hoped. He slowly opened the big doors of the balcony but immediately shut them as a turret right next to the door aimed at him. He could hear the arcane orbs smashing into the wooden door.
"Omeluum, I really hope the reward is worth it," Alex lamented. He doubted the turrets could kill him, but for all he knew, the turrets could burn his soul to death.
"I really need to consume a mage," he grumbled. "This lack of information is getting on my nerves."
He grabbed the wall and started to move along the side. When he reached the corner, he jumped, landing a couple of meters below in what seemed to be a garden. The garden was surrounded by water, but the small island was connected to the tower by a wooden door a few meters back. The small garden had a sussur tree sapling with two bluish flowers already growing on it. The garden was as unkempt as the rest of the tower. Alex turned around and walked to the door. He placed his hand over the lock and opened it.
Inside, the room seemed to be some kind of lab, judging by all the books, crystals, dried plants, and a chemistry station. He raised his foot high and slammed it on the floor.
"No traps here," Alex said as he walked to a wall. "This one is a door, but how do I open it?"
He could smash the stone wall to get to the other side, but this could trigger who knew what.
"Better look around before trying something like that."
Walking a bit deeper, he spotted a strange piece of machinery standing in the middle of the room. It looked like a huge boiler with a metallic bowl at the front that had small holes at the end. A thick pipe connected to the boiler. A small note was attached to the boiler close to the bowl.
[Put another sussur flower at] followed by a date that passed long ago.
"So this thing uses sussur flowers as fuel," Alex noted. He walked out of the lab and back to the sussur tree. Getting closer, he could feel the magic organ of the spectator fighting against the antimagic field of the tree. Even as a small sapling, the tree still had a very strong antimagic field.
Alex walked to it, took his sword, and cut a small branch. Tendrils of flesh wrapped around it, consuming it. Inside, Alex shifted, and an antimagic field appeared with him at the center. He could feel his field clashing with the sapling's, so he stepped back to give it a little room. Alex concentrated on the feeling of faerzress and magic being siphoned into his cells. This was how those plants and myconids survived in such infertile places. But this source of food had its downsides. Once completely adapted to it, the organism would perish if taken out of the Underdark. Even drow creatures with their complex genetic makeup were bound to the Underdark.
Shifting his insides back to turn off the antimagic field, Alex grabbed the flower and walked back into the lab. He placed it in the bowl and pressed a button next to it, igniting the flower in blue fire. The boiler hummed to life, and he could feel the entire tower shake a bit.
(Did something happen?) Alex asked Glut telepathically.
(Yes, the turret seems to have gone to sleep while the braziers next to the door just ignited in a blue fire,) Glut replied.
(Good, keep watch. Alert me if anything changes,) Alex instructed.
Alex started to check the room for anything useful. He found dried plants, crystals from the Underdark, and books about alchemy—nothing too amazing. Next to the machine was a set of stairs. He walked up, finding a platform built with glass and metal. Arcane runes glowed on the floor of it. Alex walked inside and spotted two buttons. One said "up" and the other "down." He pressed "up." A cloud of blue energy appeared around him, and he found himself transported to another room, still standing on a platform identical to the one below.
"It seems like whoever built this figured out a way to bypass the Underdark's interference with teleportation," he mused. Phasing out was much harder down here; it felt like swimming through molasses. When he phased in, he almost always ended up in a different place than intended. Even when he phase to by pass the outpost defence he was lucky that he landed on the platform.. Ghenk's memories confirmed that faerzress was responsible for that.
"This place looks like an indoor garden," Alex noted, seeing a few specimens of plants native to the Underdark. Even this room wasn't spared, as in one corner, the ceiling had collapsed. He pressed "up" again and found himself in the room he had almost been shot in. He walked to one of the turrets and poked it. Satisfied with the result, he walked to the big double door and pulled a lever. The door swung wide open.
(Glut, come over here.)
A few moments later, Glut was standing next to Alex, looking around.
"What do we do now? This place could hide more traps than just the turrets," Glut said.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I brought you here."
" If something is capable of killing you, I have no chance," Glut said, not very pleased.
Alex smirked and waved for him to walk onto the platform. Alex pressed "up," and this time they found themselves in what remained of a sleeping room.
Alex raised his foot and brought it down hard.
Glut looked at him, not knowing what he was trying to achieve with that.
"There are no traps in the walls or floor, at least," Alex said as he walked to a corner of the room where a desk and a few shelves stood. He found a book titled **The Roads to Darkness: An Epic Tragedy about Power, Corruption, and Loneliness**.
---
**PROLOGUE. A lonely road.**
*Thunder and lightning. Enter Soreth.*
**SORETH:**
*New sounds through damp and dark oppression break*
*Is it the foe, that foul, contemptuous heel?*
*Or art thou friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?*
*Come out of love for me, not love for blood and steel.*
*Enter Rysia.*
**RYSIA:**
*How would I know, how would I know, Soreth?*
*It's been so long, what do I know of you*
*And you of me?*
**SORETH:**
*Wait - do you hear that sound?*
*Enter Amphius.*
**AMPHIUS:**
*What's this? Those figures so familiar both*
*But still you seem so strange.*
**SORETH:**
*It's Amphius.*
**RYSIA:**
*Dear Amphius! What happened to your face?*
*It's pale as death.*
**SORETH:**
*Your eyes are black as Shar.*
**AMPHIUS:**
*And you? I saw your teeth, they're sharp as blades.*
*And what is with this road, so slick with blood?*
*What happened here? What happened to us all?*
*Exeunt.*
**END PROLOGUE**
---
**ACT I. Ten years prior.**
Alex resonated deeply with the story from the play, seeing parallels between the tragic tale of the three elven friends and his own life. He, Karen Parker, and McMullen mirrored Soreth, Rysia, and Amphius. Alex and Karen had been lovers, much like Soreth and Rysia. However, Alex's obsession, nurtured by McMullen, with creating Blacklight pushed Karen away. In the end, Alex Mercer died, and the Blacklight became him. McMullen shot himself, while Karen was the only one who survived—at least, Alex hoped so.
Alex closed the book and put it back. He turned around and saw Glut repeatedly pressing a button.
"Did you find anything?" Alex asked.
Glut, lost in his task, didn’t respond, continuing to press the button over and over.
Alex shrugged, letting the mushroom do his thing. He found a small piece of paper with a short poem scribbled on it. Next, he discovered a stone disk, unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was beautifully carved with a red gem in the middle. Tracing his fingers around it, he pressed the red gem. The disk opened, revealing strange letters inside.
"Glut, do you know what this language is?" Alex asked.
Glut stopped pressing the button and glanced at the disk before shaking his head and returning to his button-pressing.
"That button is definitely broken; there's no need to keep pressing it," Alex told Glut.
Glut showed no reaction, continuing to press the button.
Fortunately, Alex found another disk titled The Careful Art of Tir'su Ciphers, which explained how to translate Githyanki to Common. The disk he found was titled Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part One: Betrayal.
----------------------------------------
Praise be to Mother Gith, Queen of the One Sky!
So it was that we were free from ghaik shackles and turned our blades on each other. The heavens were shattered, and one great empire was divided into two. Gith traveled to the Hells to broker help for her people, her cause.
Vlaakith would have you believe Mother Gith proclaimed her our queen. Lies! Vlaakith sacrificed the Great Mother to Tiamat, the price for the dragons our kith'raki now ride.
But Gith had nurtured a son, Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, the True Heir! He knew Vlaakith's treachery, knew his mother's sacrifice. He rallied Gith's Honour Guard and declared the throne for himself. The War of the Comet had begun.
----------------------------------------
An interesting story, Alex noted, putting the stone disk back. They didn't find anything useful in that room, so Alex dragged Glut to the platform and pressed "up" again.
This time, they found themselves at the top of the tower, and they weren’t alone. A construct and four magical armors surrounded them. The armors had crossbows aimed at them, while the construct, holding a spear, walked toward them and started to speak.
"New sounds through damp and dark oppression break. Is it the foe, that foul, contemptuous heel?"
Alex recognized this phrase from the play The Roads to Darkness that he had read on the previous floor. Deciding to try his luck, he responded, "Or art thou friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?"
The construct put the spear away, bowed, and responded, "Come out of love for me, not love for blood and steel. Command as you see fit, my lord, my liege."
Seeing that the commands were in the form of poems, Alex wanted to try something.