Morning, Readying 20, 591

Later that morning, Igusadon comes over to Drago and says, “Are you ready to see Huvat Vex, City of Eternal Light?”

Drago energetically jumps up and says, “Yes!”

“Come with me then. Bring your gear. You might have a chance to spar down there with your new sword and shield.”

Igusadon then leads Drago back up to the gnoll guardroom and then to the large rat filled rubble strewn cavern. This time they move deeper into the cavern. Igusadon takes the hood off of an ever-burning torch so they can see. They weave through stalagmites for about 100’ or more and then come to a short stair leading up ten feet. Two Thracian style pillars flank each side of the top of the stairs. Behind the pillars are four gnoll guards and beyond another cavern with a sandy floor. Once again Igusadon gives the password in Common, “[password deleted]” One of the gnolls responds, “Go then into the dark and find the light.”

A well worn track through the sand leads through a cavern 25’ wide by 30’ long and then opens up into a much larger cavern, at least as larger if not larger than the one at the bottom of the stairs. In the dim recesses of the cave to Drago’s left he sees a marble alcove with frescoes and in the center of it a marble sculpture of a man, though he cannot discern the details. What really draws Drago’s attention is the grand marble temple taking up the center of the cavern. It looks to be at least 60’ long and 40’ wide. The lengthwise section of the temple stretches off to Drago’s right. Ahead of him are a set of stairs leading ten feet up into the entrance to the temple. The base of the temple is made of the bedrock of the caves. Around the outside are large sculpture panels with scenes depicting the Thracian deities in combat with demons and sea monsters.

“Follow me closely,” Igusadon says. “There are pit traps all around here under the sand. We know there is one to your left there. There may be others that have not been found, left by the original builders. So be wary and don’t leave the track.”

Igusadon leads Drago to the stairs and then into the temple. Drago sees that the temple has large columns with scroll work in the Ionic design. Huge white marble lintels span across the ceiling, which is a massive piece of marble in a trapezoidal shape. High above carvings of owls and lions are shown chasing each other in a playful fashion.

At the far end of the temple is a ten foot tall statue of a regal woman in long, loose clothing. She bears a shield and spear and is armored with a helm. Igusadon leads Drago down the center of the temple to stand before this goddess. As they do, Drago sees more gnoll guards watching them from the shadows behind the pillars.

“Do not be alarmed,” Igusadon says to Drago in a low voice. “Soon, we will be in Huvat Vex, the City of Eternal Light.”

After standing before the statue for about six seconds Drago suddenly finds himself standing on a circular slab of marble roughly 40’ in diameter in an outdoor clearing surrounded by trees that are somehow growing fist-sized strawberries. Looking down at his feet, Drago sees that he and Igusadon are standing on a 10’ by 10’ checkered section in the middle of the marble slab.

“Quickly, step off the pattern,” says Igusadon. “If you stand in the patterned square for six seconds you will be transported to the statue in the cavern above, and likewise by standing before that statue for six seconds we were able to come here.

He leads Drago to the edge of the slab. Drago now sees that there are six gnolls in the immediate area. They glance up briefly at the two lizardfolk but otherwise ignore them. Two of the gnolls are picking fruit while the other four maintain a watch in the shadows of the trees. The gnolls are armed with longbows and halberds bearing standards with the large face of an enraged bull.

“Come this way,” says Igusadon. “I will show you the glory of Huvat Vex.”

Igusadon leads Drago off the slab of marble and through the strange orchard. Drago gets the strange feeling that the trees themselves are watching them. Then they come out from under the cover of the trees and Drago finds that they are on a plateau roughly 100’ high over an immense stone city that surrounds it. After walking for at least half a mile they come to a rocky ramp that winds down the gentle gradient of the plateau down to the city below. The whole of it, city and plateau are in an immense circular cavern, five miles in diameter. The walls, ceiling and floor of the cavern is rough hewn with immense stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Only near the rough walls hanging up to 100 feet in height, do stalagmites form.

An eternal light, an orb of arcane magical energy, provides and intense and powerful luminosity that almost equals sunlight. However, the orb unlike the sun is blue and creates an unusual hue to those beneath its rays.

The entire cavern is humid and very warm, much like the Hool Marshes in summer time. Off to the right, Drago sees a dark and murky lake that covers three acres and feeds a canal that forms a square perimeter surrounding the city before returning to the lake. This must be the source of the moisture in the cavern.

The low lying one story buildings composing the city seem to be made of stone blocks measuring 10 feet square. Age and moisture have removed all wood, cloth, and animal matter, but the stone city seems eerily preserved, as if it has been suddenly abandoned.

The center of the city, at least the center of that side of it at the bottom of the ramp, is a large rectangular cobblestone plaza encompassing an entire acre. At one end of the plaza to the left of the foot of the ramp is a large domed structure, and at the other end on the right is a large two story civic building. Beyond that building can be seen a large flat roofed building with over ten columns and no walls.

At the end of the plaza opposite the ramp is a ten layered ziggurat of red granite. At the top, which is even with the plateau, are four carven pillars that support a pyramidal roof. Hanging from the ceiling in the space between the pillars are chains and shackles carved from an orange stone. Drago can see the pyramidal tips of two other ziggurats rising above the level of the plateau to his right and left. The one to his right is of blue turquoise, while the one to his left is golden. Behind him is the orchard, so Drago cannot see if there is one in that direction.

“There is indeed another ziggurat,” says Igusadon, guessing what Drago is looking for. “There is a ziggurat for each of the cardinal directions. Before us, the ziggurat of red granite is the Ziggurat of the People. The blue turquoise ziggurat to the south is the Ziggurat of the Moon. In the west is the black obidian Ziggurat of the Earth. To the north is the golden Ziggurat of the Sun. There are stairways to the tops on the eastern sides of the ziggurats. I will show them to you later if time permits, though we must be circumspect. King Stronghoen has not yet permitted anyone to settle in the city, or to meddle with anything below. Still, we have looked, and it is clear that this city was built by none other than the Immortal King.”

“Now come, let us go to the palace.” Igusadon turns Drago away from the ramp and leads him back towards the orchard.

Drago contemplates what he has learned and asks, “What makes you believe the Immortal King built Huvat Vex?” knowing full well the humans believe the same thing.

“Let us not speak of it now. If I can, I will show you things later that will convince you.”

Drago sees that besides the orchard of fruit trees there is a grove of towering oaks in the center of the plateau. They pass the fruit trees surrounding the marble slab. Not far from it, Dargo sees a ten foot diameter clear crystal tube bubbling with water rising up from the ground all the way up into the mists of the ceiling where it disappears from view. They continue on through the grove and Drago sees that there are also ash, maple, willow, and elm trees in addition to the oaks. After a little more than a quarter mile they come to a solid wall of composed of strange twisted trees with dagger like thorns. The trees are about ten feet tall and extending 50 yards in both directions away from a small temple that Igusadon steers them towards.

“The wall is no barrier to us,” Igusadon explains. “It was put there by Shaman G’ruk as part of his bargain with King Stronghoen. Those who do not belong here will find themselves impaled by those trees, but the trees will part for us and for King Stronghoen and his people. Still, let us go through the temple.”

Igusadon waves to a gnoll armed with a short bow hiding in the branches of a tree to their right. He waves them on.

The small temple is made of white marble. It is similar in design to the temple in the cavern from which they came. There is a ten foot long stair on each side that goes up five feet to a building that is 20’ on each side with a roof 15’ overhead supported by massive columns. In the center of the temple is a five-foot diameter well. Looking in as they pass by it, Drago sees that there is water about 15’ below the lip of the well. Within the temple, Drago sees two lizardfolk warriors, another gnoll, and a shaggy humanoid behemoth with the horns of a bull and armed with an enormous double bladed axe. Drago realizes that the latter is a minotaur. The lizardfolk nod at
Drago and Igusadon, while the minotaur and gnoll simply scrutinize them silently as they pass by.

Coming out of the temple and down the steps on the other side, Drago is greeted with two magnificent sites. To his left is an enormous oak tree with patchy bark. The hoary oak looks as though it could easily be over a thousand years old. Surround the giant oak is a 12-foot high stone wall topped with outward pointing spikes and shards of glass. Inside the wall surrounding the tree, a middle-aged woman with graying hair can be seen sunning herself on the lawn. Lying down next to her is a giant lizard the size of a horse with golden scales whose color seems to have lost their luster. She waves to Drago and Igusadon.

“Ignore her,” counsels Igusadon. “She is a dryad and is not our concern. That is our destination ahead, the palace of King Stronghoen.”

The gleaming white marble palace straight ahead of them is a perfectly preserved example of Thracian architecture with gabled roofs, Doric columns and sculptured pediments fashioned of flawless white marble. Statuary depicting human heroes and gods are prominently displayed. Most of the original furnishings have been destroyed or decayed through time and use, but the structure itself is as strong as the day it was built. Flying overhead are five feral looking women with  tattered wings and sharp claws. They screech and spit at the two lizardfolk and then land on the roof on the southeastern roof of the palace to bicker among each other.

“Ignore them,” says Igusadon. “This way,” he says, leading Drago to the courtyard.

The vast courtyard of the palace is tiled in large white marble panels. Flanking the wide staircase leading to the palace itself are two large 10-foot deep pools. The stairs are of similar marble as the tiled floor, and rise 10 feet to the actual palace.

“Now be very careful here, the next guardian is a bit temperamental and not yet used to us lizardfolk. Don’t make any sudden moves, but get your shield in position and be ready to draw your sword in case things don’t go well.”

As Igusadon says this, five huge snake heads rear up out of the pool on their right. Then Drago sees that all five are joined together into one creature. Embedded between the eyes of its central head is a black-star sapphire. The hydra steps out of the pool and its five heads hiss and snap at them.

Drago holds steady. The five heads of the hydra scrutinize the two lizardfolk for a long breathless moment, and then they snort in unison and turn away. The scaly behemoth submerges itself back into the depths of the pool, leaving only its five pairs of eyes watching them from the surface. Igusadon looks visibly relieved and beckons Drago to follow him up the steps into the palace.

The stairs lead up to a portico and beyond that a temple hall 100’ long and 50’ wide, it is roofed but otherwise open to the portico and courtyard. The stonework and statuary in this airy hall are ornately carved and richly decorated with scenes of battle, magic, and the lives of the (human) gods. A massive statue of a bearded, heavily muscled man grasping a pair of crossed thunderbolts in his right hand stands in the western end of the hall (opposite the stairs leading down to the courtyard). The throne the statue sits upon looks as if it is made of solid gold. Halfway down the hall there are double doors to the north and south that also appear to be constructed of gold.

Igusadon leads Drago down the hall and past the doors to approach the  statue. When they come within 20’ of it the sound of thunder is suddenly heard in the distance. “Nice eh?” asks Igusadon with a toothy grin. “The  humans who made this place put a permanent spell upon it. Go ahead, touch  the throne and see what happens.”

A little nervous, Drago walks forward to touch the throne as instructed. Igusadon chuckles and slaps him on the back after he recoils from the electric shock he receives from touching the chair. “Another little trick the humans left. We like to show this to all the newcomers don’t here, so don’t take it amiss. Anyway, let’s go. It is time you meet King Stronghoen.”

Drago smiles sheepishly in return and follows Igusadon without further comment. He is looking forward to meeting this king of Thracia and Huvat Vex.