Treasure of the Elders
by Thul, Son of Tae

Dryfount laid outside the Basin of Life. Local legend had it that the statue in
the center of town was once an Edifice of Power, linking the town to the
Elemental Plane of Water, but that Celestine forces had conspired to destroy it
out of jealousy for their power. Whether or not that was true, the streets were
certainly dusty and dry, and Iviol, a lifelong citizen of the Serenwilde, felt
that he'd received a warmer reception when he'd stumbled upon some Shadowdancer
guild rites.

The elfen ignored the sullen and distrustful faces of the townsfolk as he made
his way between grey-bricked buildings, searching for his destination. He
finally found what he was looking for: a clay head, painted blue and with fins
on the sides, marked the entrance to the Merian's Head Inn. Iviol ignored the
sudden silence and suspicious glares as he walked inside. Though all of the
clientele were furrikin of some breed, one patron stood out from the rest. Like
much of the rest of the crowd, he was of the otter variety of furrikin, but his
clothes were finer, cut for travelling, and his pelt wasn't quite so dusty. What
really set him apart in Iviol's mind at that moment was that he was the one
person in the room who was smiling.

"You're Doosun Flowsheen?" Iviol asked, ignoring how loud his voice sounded as a
dozen pairs of eyes stared at him in silence. "I'm here about that job post you
left in Vargborg."

The smiling furrikin's face became contemplative, and he looked over Iviol with
greater interest. "Nice armor you've got there... and swords," he said.
"Would've preferred a tae'dae for this, but you'll do. Yeah, I'm Doosun." The
otter raised his mug slightly in salutation. "How'd you find me? I had to leave
Vargborg pretty quick."

"It's what I do," the elfen replied simply. "You might've heard of me. I'm Iviol
of the Serenwilde," he began, but Doosun cut him off with a dismissive gesture.

"This isn't the Basin, bucko. You aren't anyone special out here," Doosun said
matter-of-factly. "Nobody out here cares if you're the Grand Wackitytackity of
the Seven Rivers or whatever. Don't go putting on airs. You're lucky you're not
merian, or they'd be making a new sign out of you." Noting Iviol's frown, Doosun
shrugged apologetically. "It's how it is. But you found me here, so you're good.
That's all I need to know."

"Fine, then," Iviol said, in what he knew was a poor attempt to conceal his
irritation. "Where are we going, then?"

"Hah... I'll tell you about it on the way," Doosun said, slapping some coins
onto the table before hopping up. "Can't hear myself think in here."

----

"I'm actually kind of glad you met me all the way out here," Doosun said, as the
landscape became more verdant. "We're way closer to where we need to be."

"You still haven't said what we're doing." Iviol squinted at the jungle on the
horizon. "Is this the Jojobo?"

"It's... kind of on the outskirts. It's not Jojobo proper, with the lions and
stuff," the furrikin replied. "There's a temple where the forest meets the
hills."

"Aha. And what's in this temple, then?"

Doosun brightened. "Well, legend has it that before fleeing the Soulless, one of
the Elder Gods left his greatest treasure in the area. Some aslaran found it
ages later, and had a temple constructed to protect it. Inside is power beyond
mortal ken, waiting to be brought back into the world, power that will be ours."
He beamed for a moment, before adding, "Also about a hundred aslaran
warrior-priests and a boatload of traps."

Iviol walked along in silence for a while, before speaking again. "Have you
thought this through all the way?"

"Heh. Don't think you can handle a little fight?" Doosun nudged Iviol teasingly.

"I'm not scared of priests or traps," Iviol replied. "I'm a..."

"Yeah, yeah. You're the Most Honored Bishimabop of the Crescent Moon or
whatever."

Iviol grunted, and went on. "But if power is sealed away in a temple under heavy
guard, it's usually for a reason... and it doesn't even sound like you know what
it is. Do you even know what you're going to do with it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," the furrikin replied, drawing himself up. "Once I
have whatever awesome power awaits me in my hands, the secrets of the Elders at
my command..." He paused for dramatic effect. "I am going to sell it. For lots,
and lots, and lots of gold."

"Oh, good." Iviol found himself slightly relieved at that, but only slightly.
"What happens if it's not something you can carry?"

"We'll burn that bridge if we come to it," Doosun replied glibly. "But anyway,
you'll get your half, of course. I'm not going to be able to do this without
you. It's a two man job, but it should be quick and easy once we're inside."

----

"So... how are we getting inside?" Doosun smiled hopefully at Iviol. "Thoughts?"

Stone walls surrounded the temple, well-maintained, and largely free of
handholds. A couple hours of scouting had failed to turn up any secret passages,
helpful tunnels, or magic back doors. Iviol reflected that it was all rather
inconsiderate.

"Might have better luck if we could fly," the elfen noted. "But since we
can't... I'd say we'll just have to fight through all the guards."

"Well, get cracking, big guy. This is what you're here for," Doosun said, but
Iviol shook his head.

"I WOULD say that, except that no matter how many of these aslaran we kill, it's
still not going to get us through that big, heavy stone gate that looks like it
only opens up from the inside."

"Nil." Doosun grunted thoughtfully. "This is a pain. It'd take us all day, even
if we did do that... there're dozens of the big sparkly idiots just patrolling
along the outside." He frowned, before brightening suddenly. "I've got it. Start
killing them. I'll meet you at that shadowy part of the back wall. Bring the
bodies."

"You know some magic?" Iviol asked skeptically, drawing his swords.

"It's kind of like magic. Just go," the furrikin said, before hopping off,
leaving Iviol on his own.

The aslaran patrolling the walls all wore some strange ceremonial armor, some
sort of hide dyed a bright yellow and studded all over with clear quartz. The
glittery effect might have impressed Iviol, if it didn't remind him so much of
peep soldiers, and if it didn't make it so easy to spot and ambush them.

It was a couple of hours before the elfen finished, dumping the last of the
bodies at Doosun's feet. "That's all of them," Iviol said. "We should be fine if
they don't notice that everyone's gone missing. Do your thing."

"Looks like we have just enough," Doosun said brightly, looking up at the wall.
"Alright. Help me out a bit here." Iviol stood confused for a moment, as the
furrikin grabbed a corpse and dragged it up against the stones. It wasn't until
Doosun went for two more bodies that the elfen understood.

"We're building a corpse staircase. That's... that's what we're doing."

"Think of it like Necromancy without being stuck to the Taint city," the
furrikin replied cheerfully. "Stick that big one to the side, we'll need some
lateral support."

----

"Well, that was awful," Iviol muttered.

"It was only one tiger," Doosun said as he lowered a rope into the pit for the
elfen. "And you stuck it through the skull on your first swing. What's the
problem?"

"What? No. I'm still thinking about the aslaran pile," Iviol grunted. "The tiger
pit was just annoying."

"Well, good. I hope you're ready to be annoyed. This place is pretty much full
of traps. Plus there's whatever the aslaran have added themselves." The furrikin
looked around thoughtfully. "On the bright side, the decor is kind of nice."

"Yeah, great." Iviol snorted, tapping a massive pillar, formed of rings of
alternating red and white stone. "All sorts of finery, decoration, and poisoned
dart traps in here, when the fanciest structure in the village itself is a tent
with fur trimming. Don't feel so bad killing them all now that I know where
their priorities are."

"Oh. The aslaran didn't build this, actually," Doosun said. "It's
lucidian-designed. That's kind of why I had to leave Vargborg so quick." The
furrikin held up a battered journal, grinning roguishly. "The Librarian is going
to be pissed at me. And she's got a mean klangaxe."

"Design notes? That's great..." Iviol frowned at Doosun. "You could've told me
about that tiger pit sooner."

"Hey, hey. That wasn't my fault. He didn't even really sketch this section of
the temple. Apparently it wasn't worth his time." The furrikin peered at the
journal. "'Pits or something here. Whatever.' That's what it actually says in
the margain."

"That's helpful. Really," the elfen said, in the flattest tone he could manage.
"What DOES it actually show?"

"Just three of the big rooms. It looks like... two big traps, and the treasure
room." The furrikin frowned. "Which looks like it might have some sort of weird
sunlight trap, but I don't know. We'll see when we get there. Anyway, here's the
first one..."

The hallway opened up into a circular room, with a tall statue opposite the
entrance. The figure was of a large, bearded man, carrying what appeared to be a
shepherd's crook in one hand. At the base of the statue, four square holes sat
in a line, while sitting before him, in eight bowls of brass, stone cubes sat,
each side marked with a symbol. Iviol sighed deeply. "Let me guess... we stick
the right pattern of cubes in the slots and the statue slides open to grant us
further passage."

"That's... what it looks like," Doosun said, after peering at the journal for a
long while. "Have you done this before or something?"

Iviol paused for a moment, before shaking his head. "Too often. Hand me four of
the ones marked with a spoon."

Doosun nodded, handing him the cubes, and watched as Iviol placed them one by
one. They both looked up at the statue expectantly, unsure of what would happen.
Perhaps the eyes would light up, or the statue would speak. Neither, though, was
expecting the cubes to rocket out like they did, though Doosun was fortunate
enough to be too short for the cube to do more than brush the top of his head.

"I think that means we need a different combination," the furrikin said.

"Yargh," Iviol agreed from the floor, before emptying a vial of healing potion
into his mouth.

----

"Okay. So it's done the same thing for four pieces of everything else," Doosun
said. "It's gotta be bird, bird, bird, bird. Can't be anything else."

"So stick the last one in," Iviol muttered, not seeming inclined to move. He
laid prone, covering his head and looking irritably up at the furrikin. Doosun
scowled at him, but gingerly tapped the last cube into place before hurriedly
diving for the floor.

Four cubes rocketed across the room once more, bouncing off the far wall, which
now bore a series of fresh cracks.

"So that wasn't it either. Great. Now what?" the furrikin grumbled. "Do we need
the exact password the first time? Do we have to get it out of one of the
aslaran?"

"No. We're thinking about this entirely wrong," Iviol said. "I've thought about
it. Let me see the journal."

Doosun got up, and after looking back warily at the statue, trundled over to the
elfen. "What're you thinking?"

"This isn't the same puzzle. Whoever designed this room felt like he was too
good for that. We know he was a snob."

"How do you figure that?" Doosun asked.

"You said he was lucidian."

"Point."

"Anyway. I think... this just looks like the puzzle," the elfen muttered,
peering at the page. "Ah. I think..." Sighing, he grabbed one of the bowls and
pulled upwards. Something clicked, and the statue began to slide sideways.

The furrikin blinked a couple of times. "That was... easy."

"Let's hurry up and get this thing so we can leave," Iviol said, handing Doosun
the journal. "I don't think I could hate the maker of this place any more right
now."

----

"I hate him more than before." Iviol grumbled at the scene before him. A wide,
square room laid before him, the floor covered with large tiles, each marked
with a different symbol. Doosun had demonstrated what happened if someone
stepped on the wrong tile using a thrown piece of fruit... there was now an
interesting smear on the ceiling.

"So this is where I need you most," the furrikin explained. "There's another
room like this off to the side. You see how there's kind of a grate in that
wall? You and me take turns calling out which tile is safe to step on. And if
one of us messes up, we die horribly." Doosun beamed. "No pressure or anything."

"This looks like an awful idea," Iviol said, staring across the area. "Ugh. You
sure this is what it says?"

"It's so that you can't access the treasure without two people. It's... a trust
excercise." Doosun smiled. "Only with crushing, terrible death for us both if we
fail. But anyway. Let's get this thing started." With that, the furrikin jogged
down the hall to the next room.

"Good thing you're a trustworthy person," the elfen muttered, looking at the
tiles. "And how do I even know what I need to call out?" he added, in a louder
voice.

"They'll glow. That's how you know," Doosun called back. "Like to start off
with, you need to step on a fish."

Iviol grunted. A fish-marked tile was directly in front of him. Filled with
dread, he eased his weight onto the floor, twitching as there was a loud click,
but sudden death didn't occur. He looked about with a frown, and saw a yellow
glow coming from a space two tiles away. "It's a bird." He looked up suddenly at
a soft ticking. "You hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounds like we're on a timer, too. Nothing to worry about," Doosun
replied glibly. "Alright, bird." There was a loud click from the adjacent room.
"Okay. Paddle."

Iviol looked around, and frowned, before taking a diagonal step. "It's a spoon.
Like before. Fish for you."

"There's no way that's a spoon. Too wide." There was another click. "Hook."

The elfen took a sideways step. "It's not a paddle. You see any water around
here at all?" he called, trying to keep his mind off of looming death. "Alright.
You've got an upturned bowl thing."

"Whatever, it's a paddle." There was a click from the other room. "Alright,
you've got an upturned bowl thing."

Iviol looked around his tile, and blinked. "What? I've got two of those around
me."

"What? Well pick the one that goes forward."

"They both go forward," Iviol called back, the ticking becoming louder in his
mind. "One's green, one's red."

"Oh, it's a red one," Doosun called back, and Iviol jumped hurriedly onto the
tile. The click sounded much louder than before.

"Green fish!"

"What? I don't see a green fish here." The furrikin sounded a bit worried for
the first time.

"Any fish?"

"There aren't fish around me!"

"Well look further." Iviol looked around nervously. It wasn't just in his mind
that the ticking was getting louder.

"Uh. There's a green fish, but..."

"But what?"

"It's kind of far..."

"Well, jump!"

There was a heavy thump and a loud click from the other room. Iviol's heart
froze for a moment, before Doosun called out. "I'm fine, just... hit the wall.
Ow. Um. Red bird."

"Alright." Iviol stepped forward, safety just a step away. "Can you get off the
tiles yet? I'm next to the exit."

"I can't reach. Stay with me, love of the gods. What's the next tile?"

"Striped hook." Iviol took a moment to blink at that, as a click eminated from
the next room over.

"Nil. Hey!" Doosun sounded panicked. "Nothing's glowing! I don't know what to
do!"

"You sure?" Iviol looked around. "Nothing here either. You sure nothing's
glowing?"

"Nothing! Is it broken?"

Iviol frowned, and eased his weight off of the tile, stepping to safety. There
was an audible click, but nothing dreadful seemed to happen. "I'm safe."

"I'm not!" the furrikin whined. "Don't leave me stranded here! Come on!"

The elfen groaned, his brief feeling of relief crushed once again by dread...
he'd have to go back out there to get them both through safely, he knew it.
"Alright. Let me look..." Iviol peered around. "Yellow bowl."

"Alright..." There was another click. The ticking was growing louder, the sound
bouncing off the stones around them. "Green apple."

Iviol grimaced a moment, before stepping out onto the tiles once again, bracing
himself as the stone clicked underneath his weight. "Green man."

"Alright. Almost there. Almost there. Just one more." The desperation in
Doosun's voice echoed through the room. "Red apple."

Iviol grunted... he was nearly in the center of the room now, and as he looked
around, none of the other tiles were glowing. "Nothing's lit up."

There was a little squeal of delight from the other room, followed by a click.
"Alright! I'm safe!" the furrikin called cheerfully. "Can you get off?"

"No. What's the next tile?"

There was a long pause from the next room, made all the more awful by the
ticking above. Iviol looked up at the ceiling... did it just shift? "Nothing's
lit," the furrikin called, finally.

"What do you mean, nothing's lit? Come on, don't be afraid!" Iviol called
irritably.

"You've just got to run and jump, like I had to," the furrikin said flatly.

"Come on! I stepped back out here for you!" Iviol snapped. "Time's wasting, have
some common courtesy. What tile?"

There was silence from the other room for a moment, before the furrikin grunted
audibly. "Black ball."

The elfen jumped to the side, and looked around frantically. "White bird!"

"Aw... come on..."

"If you want to handle the treasure room trap all on your own, that's fine by
me!" Iviol shouted. That seemed to do the trick, as a loud click came from the
next room.

"Brown man."

Iviol moved, and looked around. "Nothing's lit up again." He paused, and gave a
chuckle as the click from the next room came almost immediately. "You freaked
out for nothing."

"Shut up!" Doosun snapped in return. "Uh. Okay. For real this time. Nothing's
lit up. Can you get off?"

"What? No. Come on. This isn't funny."

"I'm serious this time! Nothing's lit! I'm looking all over." The furrikin
paused. "Can you jump?"

"It's all the way..." Iviol grunted in annoyance, staring at the exit. It wasn't
a perfect lineup, but seeing no other choice, the warrior bunched his muscles
and called upon all his training, leaping all the way over one tile and clipping
the doorway with his shoulder before landing in the exit hallway with a crash of
armor. The ticking ceased immediately.

"Are you all right?" Doosun called, peeking around the corner as if expecting to
see something awful. Iviol couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm fine," the elfen said, pulling himself up. He looked into the room he'd
just traversed, grunting in disappointment. For all the panic it had put him
through, it looked like nothing had happened inside.

"That was invigorating," Doosun said cheerfully, as though he hadn't just been
scared out of his mind. "You want to get going? I feel like grabbing this thing
and getting out of here."

----

"That part was easy, at least." Doosun beamed as he looked up at a pair of great
golden doors. "Guess they figured if the tile room didn't kill someone, they're
supposed to be here."

"Except for the tiger pits," Iviol murmured.

"Are you seriously complaining about the tiger pits? You dealt with the last one
without even breaking stride." The furrikin paused. "Except that having the
ground drop out from under you does break your stride, but you know what I
mean."

"Whatever... let's get this thing and go." The elfen grunted. "If it's something
good, the Serenwilde might take it."

"It doesn't say anything about traps on the doors..." Doosun said, before
shoving them open.

While much of the temple's insides had been the stone and dead finery that Iviol
associated with the cities, this room was very much alive, maple trees and more
exotic plants forming a colorful and sweet-smelling garden at the top of the
building. The ceiling above was clear crystal, letting in the glory of Father
Sun from above. Opposite the doors stood the obvious focal point of the temple:
backed by a great green bush stood an altar, topped with a bejeweled golden idol
of the bearded Elder God with the hooked staff.

Stepping into the room, Iviol felt warmth and a trembling sensation wash over
him. It wasn't a religious feeling, the elfen quickly realized. The warmth was
simply the sunlight above, magnified by the glass, and the trembling feeling was
simply the enormous and beautiful gong that Doosun had set off when he'd opened
the doors.

"Thought you said there weren't traps!" Iviol yelled, once the noise had died
down enough for him to think.

"That wasn't a trap. It's... just a call to prayer... which'll bring up the
priests..." Doosun said distractedly, before darting to the altar. "Think you
can take that whole village?"

"Not all at once, no." Iviol drew his swords, frowning. "They're coming up
already, I can feel them. They must have a back way. I KNEW there was a back
way. What're we going to do?"

"I've got an idea," said Doosun, shaking the idol back and forth a little.
Satisfied, he wrapped his body around the statue, popped something into his
nose, and sneezed loudly.

"Charune take you to His bed, you little mongrel!" Iviol snapped furiously, but
both statue and furrikin had vanished. The elfen growled and looked around for
something he could use, but there were no other exits, and already aslaran
warriors were piling into the doorway, blocking off his path of escape and
snarling menacingly. There was nowhere to go.

----

"You know, I trusted you," Iviol said calmly. "I stuck my neck out to keep you
alive, I did your grunt work, I killed many, many people on your behalf. Along
with a number of tigers. But I just want you to know that I'm not angry."

"Oh?" Doosun managed, though he didn't sound as calm as he might've liked. The
Merian's Head Inn was silent again, though this was largely because Iviol had
his blades at Doosun's throat.

"No, I'm not. Even though you ran off with that nice statue and left me to die."
The elfen smiled. "I'm not mad. Because you're a moron." The furrikin blinked,
but didn't say anything as the elfen drew back, taking his blades along with
him.

"So, let me introduce myself properly, here," began Iviol. "And yes, this does
matter." He drew himself up. "I am Iviol of Serenwilde. Warden of the Moonhart,
Planeswalker, and True Ascendant of Life. That last one means a few things," he
growled. "First, it means I can walk away from any fight I want, no questions.
Second, it means I SAVED CREATION ONCE, YOU FRIGGING INGRATES." The elfen glared
around at the tavern, Death weaving itself around his form. Furrikin scattered
for the door, and soon the room was empty, save for Iviol, and Doosun, whose
flight had been halted by the gentle touch of the elfen's blade. The furrikin
trembled as Iviol glared at him. "And third, it means that there is nowhere in
Lusternia or beyond that you can hide from me. If I wish you dead, you will die.
But you are fortunate," the elfen murmured, his aura dying around him, "because
I am not angry at you."

"That's... that's great." Doosun managed a false smile a couple of times, before
just letting it drop. "Why?"

"I'm glad you asked," Iviol said cheerfully. "You see, you ran off with that
statue, and got... twenty thousand gold for it? Probably not even. I mean, it's
nice, but it wasn't anything special. You looked at the shiniest thing in the
room, thought that was the power, and hightailed it out of there. You probably
didn't even figure out which Elder it was."

Doosun scowled and said nothing. The statue had gone for far less.

"It was Crumkane, by the way. Elder God of Candy," the elfen continued. "Don't
look so disappointed, it's probably for the best we didn't unleash something
dangerous. We found something better."

"You found it? The treasure?" Doosun straightened with indignation and naked
greed, before a light tap with the blade of Iviol's sword made him sink down
once more.

"Oh yes... a lovely little plant. I collected a bit of it while the aslaran were
swinging wildly at me. My wife appreciated it. She's an herbalist and all.
Here's a little gift for you. The finished product." The elfen smiled grimly,
gingerly plucking a brown ball between his fingers and holding it towards
Doosun's mouth. "Say ah."

The furrikin turned his head away, gritting his teeth, but found Iviol's blade
to his throat again. Whimpering softly, Doosun opened his mouth, trying not to
let his tongue touch as the elfen dropped it in. He gagged once, trying to keep
from swallowing, before blinking and getting hold of himself. "That's...
sweet..." he managed, sucking on the treat a little. "Little strong, but sweet."

"It's chocolate," Iviol said brightly, and Doosun hurriedly spat the ball into
his paw.

"Are you crazy? This is worth a fortune!" the furrikin snapped.

"Yes. Yes it is. And now, safe within the boundaries of the Serenwilde, we have
the means to make chocolate as often as we like." Iviol grinned. "I've got a
little aethershop. If things keep up the way they have, I'll be able to buy
Deepnight. Thanks for all your help." He gave Doosun's head a condescending pat,
before turning to leave. "Might want to go ahead and finish that. Nobody'll want
it now that it's been in your mouth."

Iviol smiled as chocolate splattered across the wall near his head.