Gurns monolith #5t: I Speak with the Sage

[Gurns]

I went to the mountain, to talk to the sage.

I had been there once, and learned little. Tida and Nilan had been there at other times, asking questions. I had heard of their questions and the answers they received. And, something was wrong. There were gaps, holes. Either they weren't telling me everything – always possible – or the questions they were asking weren't the right ones. Or both.

I had thought about it, their questions, my questions, the answers. Writing them down. Testing them in my mind.

The more I thought, the more I saw. The sage was tricky. He always answered questions. But he wasn't always answering the question people thought he was answering. Subtle shades of meaning, an emphasis on this word rather than that.

A bard learns this, collecting stories. Different people interpret things differently. They remember different things, too, but even when they remember the same things, they come out differently.

So I worked on my questions, writing them down. During breaks between sets. Sitting around the fountain. Sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night, with another thought, and get up and work some more. And I tested them, in my mind. How could this be interpreted? How could this be misinterpreted? What, exactly, was I trying to ask?

And I took myself and my list of questions to the sage. Along with plenty of paper, so I could write down the exact questions and answers that I ended up asking.

I bowed to him, and said, "Greetings, Wise One." And waited.

He nodded, slowly, his mind returning from wherever it had been, deep in his meditations.

I asked, "Might I ask you some questions, and get some answers?"

He whispered, "Yes."

Just to be sure, I asked, "And would now be a time I could do that?"

Again, he whispered, "Yes."

Good enough.

I asked, "The kobold Tzxvu. He has built something he calls a 'host', correct?"

The wise man whispered, "Yes."

Of course he did. See, I knew that answer to that one, having talked to Tzxvu myself. An old interrogator's trick, asking questions you already know the answer to, just to see how the person replies.

"This host, it is to serve to house the god known as the Vile One, correct?"

"Yes."

"The Vile One normally destroys the bodies He inhabits. But this host is one He will be able to adapt to Himself, and so He will not destroy it?"

The wise man whispered, "That is the intent of its construction."

I nodded. All of which I had known. Now for something new.

"Has the Vile One been successful yet, in adapting the host to Himself?"

"No."

That was good. But back to a few things that I knew, or thought I knew.

I asked, "Where is the host now?"

He whispered, "Where the Queen Tiamat was first banished."

Hmm. That fit with what Nilan had said, or what Vhaeraun had said through Nilan. But I was looking for directions, not history.

"Does that area have a name?"

"Yes."

"What is the name of that area?"

"The Pool of Destiny."

That struck me as familiar. Where had I heard that name before? I thought for a while, but nothing came to mind. Well, maybe I could find out.

I asked, "What is near The Pool of Destiny?"

He answered, "An Astral Servant."

Oh, helpful. Bah. Hmm.

"What other geographical areas are near The Pool of Destiny?"

"A sole mountain."

Ah ha. That fit with the mountain near Avernus. As had been indicated through other sources. Let's see if I could confirm that.

I asked, "What geographical areas are near that mountain?"

He answered, "That is dependant upon perspective."

Drat. I thought for a while. No, this wasn't worth pursuing. We'd had enough information about the host's location.

"Can we get to that mountain now?"

"Yes."

Ah ha! A first strike, we could… Hmm, wait a minute.

I asked, "How could we get to that mountain now?"

"Swear your Life and Soul to Auzorm'tvorl."

Ah. Oh, and you could probably get there that way, too, but you wouldn't like it.

"Other than swearing life and soul to the Vile One, or being captured by His servants and taken there, can we get to that mountain now?"

"No."

"What prevents that?"

The sage whispered, "There is no path to travel."

Erm. That could be a problem. Still, someone had said something, though they spoke of a door, rather than a path.

"Can such a path be constructed, physically or magically?"

"Yes."

"Are there any working on constructing such a path?"

"Yes."

"Who is working on constructing that path?"

He answered, "Those known as the Sleepers."

I knew that name. "The Sleepers? Are those the ancient dragons that Tsakchanar has been awakening?"

"Yes."

That sounded promising. I wondered how we would know when they were successful, though? Somehow, Tsakchanar was never easy to find. Maybe there were others who could tell us?

"Are there others aiding the Sleepers in constructing the path?"

"Indirectly."

I thought about that. That could include me, couldn't it? No point in pursuing that, then.

But I did have plenty of questions about the host. What was it like? How could we destroy it? How would it fight back? I checked my list for the exact wording.

"The host is made up of nested layers, correct?"

"Yes."

"How many layers?"

"Six."

"And the Vile One is inside all of these layers?"

"No."

What? I was sure Tzxvu and the sage had said as much.

"Is the Vile One inside the host?"

"No."

I frowned. He's going to inhabit the host, but he's not inside? Oh, yes, of course.

"Has the Vile One not yet reached the host?"

"Yes."

Ah ha! Maybe a first strike was possible after all. "Do you know where the Vile One is now?"

"No."

Or not. I suppose finding a god that didn't want to be found could be difficult.

Time to get some details.

"The host, what is the outermost layer made of?"

The wise man whispered, "Many things."

I gritted my teeth, slightly. All right, two could play that game.

"The host, what is the primary material the outermost layer is made of?"

"Adamantine."

"How big is it?" Quickly I added, "The longest, tallest, and widest it is."

"Thirty-one feet, three inches long. Fifteen feet, two and one-half inches tall. Twelve feet, seven inches wide."

Big. I tried to imagine something that big, but... Ah.

"What does it look like?"

He answered, "A metallic slug."

Erm. That was one big slug.

But the key to the battle…

"Can weapons damage this adamantine slug?"

"Yes."

"Can magical attacks damage this slug?"

"Limited."

Tida had reported something of the sort. "What kind of magical attacks can do any damage to this slug?"

The wise man whispered, "That knowledge is blocked."

I sighed, and nodded. A god that can prevent knowledge of His whereabouts…

I asked, "Can psionic attacks damage this adamantine slug?"

"Yes."

"Does this slug have ways it can attack others?"

"Yes."

"Can it attack physically?"

And the sage frowned! Oh, it was a very small frown, but it was a frown! Since this was the first expression I'd seen on his face, I didn't like it.

He said, "That knowledge is blocked."

So I asked him, "Why did you frown, just then?"

He answered, "Knowledge of the host's ability to attack others exists. The Candle cannot illumine it."

Hmm. What did that mean? I thought for a moment.

"So asking you any questions about the slug's ability to attack will not provide me with any more information than I possess now?"

"Yes."

Damn. That's what I thought it meant.

Very well, moving on.

"Immediately underneath the adamantine layer, what primarily makes up the next layer?"

"Flesh and sinew."

Now I frowned. I feared the worst. "What kind of flesh and sinew?"

The wise man whispered, "Elf. Gnome. Human. Halfling. Drow. Illithid. Ogre. Troll. Minotaur. Giant. Traces of others."

I shuddered. As I expected. I bowed my head for a moment, then returned to my questions.

"How are these put together?"

"Sewing and magic."

"What is the shape of this layer?"

"A large slug."

Another slug. What was the advantage to a slug body? Slugs were slow. And missing useful appendages like arms. I'd have to think about that. Later.

"Can weapons damage this flesh slug?"

"Yes."

"Can magical attacks damage this flesh slug?"

"Yes."

"What kind of magical attacks will be most damaging?"

"That knowledge is blocked."

Again. Hmm. What did that mean, though? And, what was the exact question to figure out what it meant?

I thought a bit longer, and asked, "Is it blocked in the same way that the knowledge of the host's attacks is blocked, in that the knowledge exists, but the Candle cannot illumine it? Or is it blocked in that the knowledge does not exist?"

And hoped. He could have answered, "Yes." But by splitting it into two sentences, maybe…

The wise man whispered, "The knowledge exists."

I nodded. The knowledge existed. But it wasn't in Deneir's Halls, or wherever it was that the sage found his information.

Back to my written questions.

"Can psionic attacks damage this fleshy slug."

"Yes."

I didn't bother to ask about this slug's attacks. He had said that knowledge of the host's ability to attack was blocked. Not just for the adamantine layer.

"The layer beneath this fleshy slug, what is that primarily made of?'

"Silver."

"What is the shape of this silver layer?"

"A barrel with six legs."

I said, "Odd." What kind of body was that? At least it wasn't a slug.

"Can weapons damage this silver barrel with legs?"

"Yes."

"Can magical attacks damage this silver barrel with legs?"

"Yes."

"What kind of magical attacks will do the most damage to this silver barrel?"

I rather expected the answer.

"That knowledge is blocked."

I nodded. There was a pattern. Let's confirm it.

"Is all such knowledge, the kinds of magical attacks that will do the most damage, blocked for all layers of the host?"

"Yes."

So much for that line of questioning. I sighed.

"Can psionic attacks damage this silver barrel?"

"Yes."

Ah, there's another pattern. I think.

"Can weapons damage every layer of the host?"

"Yes."

"Can psionic attacks damage every layer of the host?"

"Yes."

"Can magical attacks damage every layer of the host?"

"Limited."

That's what he'd said for the first layer, but not the others. So…

"Other than the first layer, can magical attacks damage every layer of the host?"

"Yes."

The seemed to cover attacking it, and it attacking us. Well, let's fill in some more details.

"Inside the silver barrel with legs, what is the next layer made up of?"

The wise man whispers, "Brass and copper and gemstones."

I frowned. Oh, bah, I'd forgot to ask about the primary material. Oh, well, at least he'd provided a useful answer.

"This brass and copper layer, what does it look like?"

"A thanatar."

Tida's brass bug.

"Inside the brass and copper thanatar layer, what is the next layer primarily made of?"

"Stone."

"What is the shape of this stone layer?"

"Humanoid."

"Inside the stone layer, what is the next layer primarily made of?"

"Glass."

"What is the shape of this glass layer?"

"An elongated humanoid."

I tried to imagine that. I'm not sure I succeeded.

I asked, "Inside this glass humanoid, what is the next layer primarily made of?"

The wise man whispered, "There is no other layer of the host."

Eh? "No other... Hmm, adamantine, flesh, silver, brass and copper, stone, glass...Ah, six. My apologies."

All right, I could picture the layers now. Hmm, I wonder… "The Vile One, what does He look like?"

And the sage shivered! Not from cold. The temperature had been well below freezing, the wind had been whipping around all this time, and he hadn't budged. So, another expression. Which didn't bode well.

"That cannot be determined."

"Can He be damaged by weapons? Strike that, can He be damaged by ordinary weapons?"

The sage whispered, "No knowledge of Him can be illuminated by the Candle."

I frowned. How could that be? We knew things about Him. I'd seen an old tale, written down. Surely that was in Deneir's Halls!

I asked, "Not even historical knowledge?"

He answered, "Historical knowledge is available."

All right, we'll approach it from that angle.

"In the last battle against the Vile One, did any mortal get close enough to the Vile One to attack Him?"

"No,"

Damn. So much for finding out whether they'd damaged him, and how.

And that didn't bode at all well for our fight. I thought back on the tale of that battle.

"At the last battle against the Vile One, the tales speak of many elementals fighting for the Vile One. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Did the Vile One summon them?"

"Yes."

"Will the Vile One be able to summon elementals for our battle against Him?"

No answer for a moment. I bit my lip. That wasn't a good question, he could certainly answer it with "The future is not written," or something like that.

But maybe he liked the fact that I'd shown up with a list of carefully thought out questions. Maybe he liked the fact that I'd picked up on a pattern of answers, and asked about the pattern. Maybe he just likes bards, we certainly do our part in Deneir's work.

He whispered, "The status of old pacts is unknown."

Um. "The old pact, who was the pact between?"

"Auzorm'tvorl and the Elemental Princes."

I asked, "All of the Elemental Princes?"

"That is not written."

Fair enough.

On to a few critical questions.

"Can the Vile One be killed by mortals?"

"With help."

"What help is needed?"

"Weapons imbued by gods to slay Him."

That's what we had heard. But let's make very sure of this.

"Only such a weapon can slay Him? Not an ordinary weapon? Not a magical attack? Not a psionic attack?"

The wise man whispered, "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes."

"Any blow by a god-imbued weapon will slay Him?"

"No."

Eh? Oh, duh. Hmm. How to ask it?

"If he is very badly damaged, what for a mortal would be near death, would most strong blows by a god-imbued weapon slay Him?"

Maybe that wasn't quite the best way to put it, but the sage answered, "With the correct conditions."

"What other conditions are necessary?"

The wise man whispered, "The weapon must be imbued by a god to slay another. The mortal must be prepared and willing to die with the Vile One."

I thought about that. And frowned. Tida and Nilan had spoken of the sage saying that god-touched weapons were necessary. And when asked about god-touched weapons, the sage had provided a long list of weapons, by name. Which had included some weapons I had seen, within the last century. Mighty weapons, indeed, but there were no stories attached to them suggesting that they were so ancient to be at the previous battle against the Vile One. Indeed, no reports or even rumors that they were god-slaying weapons.

And now the sage spoke, not of "god-touched weapons" but of weapons "imbued by a god to slay another." Was this important?

"What weapons currently exist that have been imbued by a god to slay another?"

"Tahlshara."

Uh oh. I asked, "No others?"

He answered, "Yes."

Ah, so there are… Oh, bah. Which way was he answering that? Let us be very precise.

"The only weapon currently in existence, capable of killing the Vile One, is Tahlshara?"

"Yes."

Damn. However mighty these other god-touched weapons were, they weren't right for the job.

One weapon. That was bad. Worry about that later, there was that other condition.

"In addition, the mortal who kills the Vile One must be prepared, and willing to die with the Vile One?"

"Yes."

Which meant… Oh, ask the right question, Gurns. "Willing to die" isn't the issue.

"And will actually die?"

"Yes."

That's what I'd thought. But there was this other confusing part.

"You told Tida that a mortal must die to kill the brass layer of the host?"

"Yes."

"Would this be any mortal?" Probably lots of mortals would die in this battle.

He answered, "Within the right circumstances."

"What are the right circumstances?"

The wise man whispered, "The weapon must be imbued by a god to slay another. The mortal must be prepared and willing to die with the Vile One."

That sounded familiar. Too familiar.

"And this causes that mortal to die?"

"Yes."

"'How is this different from what is required to kill the Vile One Himself?"

The wise man whispered, "It is not."

I frowned. That wasn't the answer I'd expected. "What makes the brass layer so special?"

The answer: "It required more joints for construction."

That was not the question, and the sage knew it. I thought, and phrased the next question more carefully.

"What makes the brass layer different from the other layers, in that it requires a mortal sacrifice to be destroyed?"

And he answered, "Nothing."

I nodded slowly. There. Gods above, there was the gap, the hole.

Confirm it. I asked, "Does every layer of the host require a mortal sacrifice to be destroyed?"

"Yes."

"And the same conditions, the mortal must wield a weapon imbued by a god to kill another god, and must be prepared and willing to die?"

"Yes."

"The only such weapon that currently exists is Tahlshara?"

"Yes."

And drop the other shoe, the one we know, but let's confirm it too.

"It is my understanding that Ao has forbidden that gods to interfere in our fight with the Vile One, correct?"

The wise man whispered, "That is a side effect of Ao's edict."

At any other time, I would have tried to find out just what Ao's edict was. But now…

"To create a weapon imbued by one god to kill another god. Would that imbuing, or whatever the god would do, would that be considered interference under Ao's edict?"

"Yes."

No more weapons. We have one, an elven moonblade. And seven deaths required.

I sighed. I said, "I sure hope there are a lot of elves there."

I had prepared some questions about the amulet, the spirits. I couldn't think to ask them now.

I bowed to the sage.

I said, "Thank you for your time, Wise One. Is there something you might desire, that I might be able to obtain for you?" Wait, desire? How about, "Or something you might need, whether you desire it or not?"

He whispered, "My needs are sustained by Deneir."

I nodded, and asked, "And nothing you desire?"

"Do not allow the Candle to be extinguished."

Yeah. Well, that would be our desire, too. But it wasn't looking good.