CHAPTER XLV
in which the Silver Foxes survive Glad's bad idea
Dream Catchers
The Foxes and Encis' posse make camp halfway to Carseca. Haas, in dragon form, flies in and is caught up on the day's events. While everyone is relaxing, Glad attempts to make contact with the Trader, aided by quasith from the Chracioite priest KasKas and some hypnotism from Maus. In the dream world, he offers up his spiritual construct to the Trader in exchange for safe passage, but it's not enough. The Trader wants a contract instead for 30% of Glad's quasith over the next three years. Glad finds the offer untenable and instead stabs the Trader with a spiritual construct ... an invisible sword that Maus crafted. He then has the sword explode. Sensing that Glad is in danger, Maus wakes Glad using an Endium helm. The Trader follows him to the waking world and sets and army of ghosts on the party. However, the combined efforts of the party is enough to repel the ghostly army and the Trader ends up captured.
After the battle, the foxes have an argument about what to do with the Trader. Kaskas and the others argue that they should leverage him to make more wraith steel, while Glad firmly believes that letting him would be a mistake, worried about later reprisals. Maus decides to talk to the Trader and, despite Glad's very vocal and obvious misgivings, gets Glad to hand over the dream liquid without much fuss. Encis and the other Chracioites find this ... uncharacteristic. While Maus journeys to the dreaming, Glad experiments on the Trader and collects some vials of Wraith blood, oblivious to anything the Trader has to say to him. In casual conversation, he mentions that he did feel weird just doing as commanded, invoking Encis' suspicion.
Maus wakes to the dreaming where the Weaver and a Soldier come with a caravan. The soldier knocks the Trader out and the Weaver collects his things. He warns Maus that the Foxes should expect trouble from those the Trader had contracts with. And before he leaves, he gives Maus a spirit weapon formed from the dead ghost stuff of one of their slain foes. Maus wakes to find himself assaulted by a very angry Kaskas who is only held back from Encis. He admits he put a hypnotic command in Glad and is coerced by the Sentinel into reversing the deed. The wounded are healed from the battle. The band makes camp. And in the morning they continue on.
A Pleasant Place to Live
The Silver Foxes come across three abandoned towns on the way to Carseca. No dead. No signs of struggle. Just abandoned. Glad gets the idea to use his Shul construct to trace the pillar of Shul and gets a bearing, in the area of the Serac volcano. They make camp 5 miles out from Carseca. The next morning they find the town, a disturbingly peaceful oasis in the desert. Encis and every other desert dweller is flummoxed. The town gate is guarded by a couple of unarmored hunters with simple hunting spears. The town is encircled by a rather simple wooden fence, painted with a mural. The houses have gardens and vegetation. The town looks downright civilized and idyllic. The band passes by the surprised guard to check out the town. They gather a crowd of curious onlookers. On the way to a tavern to grab a bite, one onlooker mentions that custom is to drop the weapons off by the gate. After some protestation, the band complies, mostly. The Foxes grab a bite to eat and chat with a gregarious townperson, not much noticing the discomfort of the Brenthian owner of the establishment. After, they meet up with the Mayor who invites them in to talk.
Their discussion gets fairly quickly derailed when the wary Mayor starts making demands on the nature and length of their visit. When he questions Glad's cover story and makes it clear that the town can only exist through keeping its existence secret, Glad mentions that it is already discovered and the information has already been spread. Despite the citizens overall ignorance, he knows that at least a few here, the Mayor included, know exactly the kind of people they have allied with for protection. He has no empathy for anyone profiting off of Shul and offers no concessions, instead demanding to know who the Mayor reports to and leaving the town when he finds out. As they exit, the townspeople pick up the Mayor's agitation and everyone gives the band a wide berth.
And A Good Place to Die
After camping nearby that night, they head in the direction given to them by the mayor of Carseca, in search of the Baron that rules the area. As they near closer to the volcano, they spot a fort. The band is halted by two guardsman who are hostile until they mention the mayor sent them. Some time later, a redscale calling himself Baron Lysden appears behind a portcullis. He claims to be a follower of Thisius and deflects their questioning. He tries to pass off the rumors of suppression as first dating back to Oshim's time and, when more recent occurrences are mentioned, to a group of marauders to the North. Glad cross-references his claimed credentials with Imbri, who has neither heard of a prominent Thisius follower named Lysden nor a follower of his pillar holding that area of the desert. Glad does some aerial reconnaissance and sources the pillar again, clearly some five miles from the base. He calls Thisius a liar and reveals the purpose for their trip. He and the group have questions about Shul, the base, and their intentions, but Thisius refuses to answer. A couple of dozen men line the wall, all clearly with hostile intentions. When Glad tries his hand at diplomacy, Lysden provokes him. Clearly not intimidated, he challenges Glad to stab him behind the safety of the portcullis. So Glad uses his Shul spirit sword to stab Lysden through the portcullis. Lysden is cut, but not very hurt. He reabsorbs the rest of the energy and before a fight breaks out, he calls for a duel. All those who want answers vs him a matching number of men.
Seeing that Encis was confident about taking down the garrison before, Glad gladly agrees. Re reasons the entrance to a Shul stronghold seems like as good a place as any to die. So he, Red, Maus, and Kaskas duel. The Foxes start off strongly. Maus uses his spirit weapon to send an electrical surge that incapacitates one of the fighters right off the bat but accidentally hits Kaskas too. Glad lets off one of his own that damages the shield of the fighter guarding Lysden, whose hands light on fire. Kaskas charges the shield guy and begins grappling the shield away. A fighter with a sword charges Glad. Glad fire-breathes the guy but ends up cleaved nearly in two. He passes out. The sword guy, unworried about Glad, advances on Red. Red sinks him into some sand which the two struggle with for a majority of the fight. Lysden goes to the fallen fighter and does something that leads to fire magic. Red gets hit by this and has to heal himself and continue to submerge the trapped swordsman. Kaskas grapples the guys shield away. Engages in some closer quarters combat. Maus uses illusions to rush Lysden. He stabs him with an obsidian arm that continues to do damage once embedded. But he also gets affected by body magic that makes him puke. Glad wakes, heals, and blinks behind the guy Kaskas is grappeling. Glad severs his spine. He moves to help Maus but Lysden blinks away. Instead, he sends a bolt of lightning at the now free swordsman from early. It hits its mark but is too slow to prevent the swordsman from also cleaving Red near in two. Kaskas and Lysden fight for a bit, with the latter attempting a body magic that Kaskas overcomes. Lysden yields.
Encis rushes over to heal Red. Glad takes a helm for a trophy. And Lysden finally answers questions. They learn the pillar is 20 years old. That Onish ended a continual fight in the region by making a contract with the Legionnaires some time later, but also died 15 years ago because he was not prepared to handle the dark magics he used. Lysden offers to guide them to the pillar of Shul. And he says, when Kaetro's name is mentioned, that all the Foxes would have had to do was mention they fought Kaetro and they'd have been let through. Lysden would have had no desire to fight rivals of Kaetro. Glad expresses a desire to challenge the legionnaire who ranks over Lysden once he's healed up a bit. Encis decides to challenge the Sentinel of Chracio. While he is guided to the pillar to set the terms of their duel, the rest return to Encatus to heal.
New Additions
The Foxes return to Encatus with a new recruit, a hunter Arc who joins them when they pass back by Carseca without much trouble. Only Glad is suspicious of his motives. In town, they are also greeted by a Silvestri traveler, Fraxinus. The group hashes things out, let's Encis' 2nd in command get up to date on the situation, and sets about healing its wounds. On the way, Glad demonstrates his fear inducing weapon to the newbies to "acclimate them" to what to expect from him. This results in OTHERNAME taking not much of a liking to Glad. The gang gets some decent healing form the temple of the First, but Red's injuries are too severe to heal in one go. And Haas is advised to commune with her pillar to heal her spiritual wounds. So Haas and the Foxes go on a hunt. Glad spots a large, man-eating predator bird and gives Haas the info. She and Arc stake out and wait, drawing the predator bird closer with fake cries of distress. When it descends, NAME and Haas make short work of it with a combination of archery, clawing, and brawling. Haas feels better, and every one is well fed for a night, including the orphans and poor of Encatus, whom Red serves the leftovers to. While they were out in the desert, the gang were approached by a mysterious party of likely bandits, but ignore them. Glad later has his suspicions about there activities all but confirmed by the town guard.
They then book it to the pillar of Shul to investigate while they can, before Encis' big fight. They're guided there and find a literal pillar of light emanating out of the earth. They learn the human selection process is to attune in pairs with the pair fighting a death match whereby the winner attunes to Shul. The Chitters don't have such restrictions on attuning. There are traces of blood magic in the place. And there are plenty of psychic Chitters to talk to. Haas speaks with one who attempts to keep an active link to her main open. Haas also spirit walks in the place to get a sense for the pillar. On the way out, Glad passes along a message challenging Kaitro to a duel.