The question of what to do with the armor (which, according to P-69, is a poorly and dangerously modified Miloxi artifact) is a tough one. Karl puts the idea of keeping it for study forward; but P-69 warns them that it might sicken those nearby, so even keeping it is risky. And the shardmind already explained that destroying it was likely to spread sickness around... so what?
The answer steps forward from the brush surrounding the camp: a familiar face, dwarven, garbed in leather armor colored green and brown in strange patterns that help him blend into the surrounding vegetation.
“Nom!” says Shar with relief.
“Greetings.” He spreads his hands, then stares at P-69. “I see you have a... new friend.”
I am PHUQ-69, shardmind of the Miloxi empire.
The dwarf gives a respectful bow. “I am Nom. I must admit that I have never seen anything quite like you. Our... instruments... indicate that you are not composed of radiocrystal yourself...”
Of course not! P-69's telepathic broadcast carries a hint of surprise at the notion. Although my kind were originally created using radiocrystalline energies, the Miloxi were capable of manipulating many types of lattice and lattice-like structures, some of which were merely the inorganic seed for a life-spark to later-
“What the rock man means,” Karl growls, “is that he's with us.”
“Of course,” Nom answers, “and I mean it no harm. Him?”
I have no inherent gender. Yet calling me 'it' seems to devalue my existence. After a moment's consideration, P-69 states, I think I shall identify as male.
“Him, then,” Nom says. “In any event, though I am quite intrigued by him, your new friend isn't why I have come.” He gestures at the armor.
That is very dangerous, P-69 starts to explain, but Nom interrupts him.
“I know. I work with a group that is dedicated to removing the dangers such things present. We are the Crystal Breakers. Perhaps you have encountered us before?”
“He's pretty fresh out of the bottle, so to speak,” Shar states. “From what our friend told us, he was in some sort of stasis for... well, since the Miloxi era.”
“Long ago.” Nom stares speculatively at P-69 again. “Very interesting. Nonetheless, it's not what I am here for.” He gestures at the armor again. “Do you have any objection to my group taking charge of this thing?”
Kane barks a laugh. “I damn well don't want to get fused into it. None of us are planning to use it, and leaving it here just means another enemy might find it and use it against us. I care not- take it.”
Shar nods. “I think we can all agree that Kane's right. We don't want to keep it or to leave it lying around.” Nobody disagrees; she continues, “Take it. Be rid of it.”
Nom bows to them. “This is twice, now, that you have assisted my group. We shan't forget it. My superiors are already considering how to thank you properly.”
***
The next few weeks are peaceful compared to the last few. The threat of the Double Javelins has been severely reduced, though not completely eliminated. The lands claimed by Shar and Shifty are safe for the moment, or at least as safe as at any time during this troubled era.
But peaceful and safe are not the same as trouble-free.
Upon returning to Overland, our heroes find a gallows, with two of their soldiers hanging dead from it. It seems that their lieutenant, Lentor, felt the need to instill harsh discipline, and this has riled up the citizenry. After investigating the situation- according to Lentor, the hangings were justified and necessary given the behavior of the two, who endangered some of the locals with cowardice during a clash with the Javelins- the party decides that, while hanging them might have been extreme, it sent a signal that prevented any more trouble. Lentor was justified, and despite the rumblings of the crowd, he won't be punished.
The one place the Double Javelins seem to continue to harass and harry the inhabitants is Woodcut. Cleaning up a group of orc raiders that they encounter along the way, the party heads there, finding many of the fields burnt. Famine is a real threat. But the Javelins have melted away; the loss of their camp and the armor-bound juggernaut may have finally broken them.
The party recruits more soldiers, arranges for food relief to be sent from Grumbleford and Goldwash to help the citizens of Woodcut. All in all, things are looking fairly good.
But as they travel back toward Goldwash one day, they stumble upon a group of what they first take to be humans, who immediately attack them. The battle proves surprisingly difficult, and when our heroes examine the bodies, they find that the “humans” are not human at all, but rather, some sort of serpent-human blend. Scales, forked tongues, serpentine eyes... The signs vary from individual to individual, but it's clear enough for Karl to pronounce, “These guys are yuan-ti.”
“What's a yuan-ti?” asks Sepia.
Kane prods one of the bodies with a toe.
“They're an ancient race of humans who are tainted by contact with serpent gods,” the wizard explains. “Their presence is a threat.”
***
The party dispatches Bradford with a few other scouts to try to follow the trail of the yuan-ti back and find any lair or outpost they might have nearby. When he reports back, Bradford tells them that he did find something- a small group of lizardfolk being led by the strange snake-men. “It looked to me like they're fortifying the area. They were digging out a ditch and building a palisade. I don't think they plan on leaving anytime soon.”
“Maybe we can negotiate with them,” Shar muses.
Kane grins and caresses the hilt of his sword. “I will be happy to negotiate with them.”
“You bust down the doors,” she replies, “and I'll do the talking.”
***
The place resembles a tiny village, with only a few huts as yet. Boggy areas are almost everywhere within the encampment, and a huge mess of sticks, mud, and woven swamp grass forms a hump of mud about 10' high along one side. An empty stockade of thick wood has been built, but lies empty. The palisade around the camp has been finished since Bradford's scouting expedition, and a moat surrounds the whole place, swarming with water moccasins.
Watching from cover outside the camp, Alkor comments, “Looks like about half a dozen yuan-ti and a handful of lizardfolk.”
“Look there,” Sepia says, pointing. “Something's moving close to the ground... is that a snake?”
Silence for a moment, then Shar gives out a low whistle.
“That,” Kane rumbles, “is one big snake.”
“It could probably eat a horse,” Karl states.
“Not once I remove its head.” Kane loosens his blade in its sheath.
Shar frowns. “Remember, let's try to talk to them first.”
“Aye, but once they show they've no interest in talking, I'll kill their pet first.”
***
Shar's attempt at negotiation is an utter failure. Even before they reach the camp, they are attacked by the swimming snakes in the moat; and once that happens, the yuan-ti and their lackeys join the battle. There is never a chance to talk to them. Shar tries, once or twice, demanding their surrender; but the serpent cultists jus throw themselves at the party's weapons, willingly giving their lives in a fanatical frenzy. They fan out, giving their leader cover. He licks his dagger, leaving a slimy residue on it that proves poisonous when he sinks it into Kane's arm. The barbarian replies with a howling strike that is punctuated with two arrows from Alkor's bow.
Once the enemy has been dispatched, with none allowing themselves to be taken prisoner, the party searches the bodies and the encampment, trying to ascertain whether there might be more of the yuan-ti that are absent.
“Hey guys, look at this.” Sepia pulls an amulet from the neck of the leader. It is made of serpentine and designed to resemble a twisting snake. “I bet it's magic.”
“I've got an idol over here,” calls Alkor. “A snake. Looks valuable.”
Karl emerges from another hut clutching a handful of papers. “Look what I found,” he says. “Letters!”
The group clusters around as he reads aloud.
“Here's the first one. 'Survik, I am pleased to hear of your success. Now that you have located the Ziggurat of a Thousand Serpents, begin excavating at once. The central sacrifice chamber within should serve as a sufficient focus for the plague. Send a map of the location to our agent in Grumbleford at once; if you are found and destroyed by the warmbloods, we must retain the knowledge of it. Never again will the three glories of Zehir be hidden from us! We shall uncover the hidden secrets in all three of them with time. For now, we must prepare to make great sacrifices to the Slithering One that he shall continue to bless our endeavors. Once you have uncovered the snake pit in the Ziggurat, reconsecrate it and fill it with honored ones. Then we shall be able to perform the ritual!'
“It's signed, 'Your Master of Coils, Shethfass.' So now we have a name for their leader.”
“I shall remove the head of this Shethfass,” Kane declares. “As I did the head of this Survik.” He kicks the body of the yuan-ti leader.
“There's more,” Karl continues. “Here's the second letter:
“'Dear Survik, as we have discussed, I will be happy to remain at your service as long as you are in the area. Be warned that there is a new Government in the area, which seems competent at rooting out their enemies, so you may wish to look further afield for sacrifices in future.
“'Regarding the ziggurat of which you speak, I do not know of it. The local historian is an eladrin in Overland named Karlinden, but if you speak to him you may as well be informing the new Government of your intentions. I recommend looking the old fashioned way, if you have the manpower and a place to start. Please remember that any contact with me risks revealing my presence, and act accordingly.'” Karlinden frowns. “This one is just signed with an initial- K.”
There are three more letters. One by one, Karl reads them aloud:
“'Survik,
“'The green is made from the brain of a carrion crawler and has paralytic effects. Beware; it will harm serpents and other chosen folk as readily as it will a warmblood.
“'If you succeed with the Plague of Serpents, you will be given access to the histachi ritual. Consider this your true test. If you unleash the plague, there will be so many vectors spreading the histachi vulnerability that you should have no trouble remaking enough to hold off whatever pitiful resistance the locals can muster. Once you have created sufficient histachi you can seize control of the area and force the local populace to work and drain the swampland around the step pyramid. (Histachi will unfortunately not be able to work as regularly as required for such a task; they are stupid, prone to distraction and violence and much better suited to guard duty or hunting sacrifices.)
“'We will begin making a sacrifices every day when the sun is highest, that Zehir might bless your undertaking.
“'Your Master of Coils, Shethfass.'”
“Do you know anything about this pyramid, Karl?” asks Shar.
“I'm afraid not. Nor do I know about this referenced plague of serpents... but I don't like the sounds of it.”
The next letter reads simply: Survik, Where is the map?
Your Master of Coils, Shethfass
“Huh,” says Alkor. “Did anyone see any sign of a map?” It feels almost taboo to ask; for the last several centuries of the Sword Empire, maps were considered state secrets. Most people have never actually seen one- and none of our heroes found anything like a map in the encampment.
The final letter is addressed to a different recipient. “Interesting,” murmurs Karl. Then he reads aloud:
“'Ahrthass,
“'While I am at the excavation site, I leave you in charge. Should any of the others doubt you, show them this letter. With any luck, we shall have the Snake Pit excavated by the end of summer, and then we can perform the Plague of Serpents.
“'We do have a growing problem, however. The copy of the map that I sent to our local agent never arrived, which doubtless means that someone intercepted it. Be cautious! We do not need interference at this stage when we are so close! If anyone pries, sacrifice them. But DO IT QUIETLY! Attract attention, and we could be delayed or stopped at the moment of our triumph. Worst of all would be if our agent was uncovered. If he is forced to run, he will come to you. At that point he will be a liability- he will know too much to be allowed to survive useless. Feed him to the snake.
“'Survik' -so I guess,” Karl finishes, “this one was written by the guy the others were written to.”
“I wonder what this excavation site they reference is.” Shar frowns. “And this Snake Pit.”
“I wonder who their agent is,” Sepia says.
“There's a lot to unpack here,” Shar admits.
“The end of summer isn't far off,” Alkor points out. “It's July 20th today.”
“Whatever they're doing, they're doing it soon,” Karl agrees with a nod.
Kane sneers. “Then we shall have to kill them quickly.”
Next Time: Our heroes struggle to prevent... A Plague of Serpents!