Duendewood vs Sol Povos 3: Puzzle Pieces

"So you think Fanaxia used to be in the middle of Sol Povos, where Mar Dentro is now?" Tavros sounded fascinated. 

"It's the right shape," Ruin said. "Or very close. And we got here by taking the sacred metal crab all the way down to the bottom of Mar Dentro, which turned out to be so deep that it wasn't there -- we came out under the ocean here. Yes. I believe that at some point, Fanaxia was wrenched out of our world and moved... someplace else. At a guess, it's probably something to do with the rise and fall of the Dark One; everything here seems to be connected to him."

"Amun have mercy," Tavros said, and Marshall glanced over at him reflexively. 

"All that power," Azrael's gaze went dreamy. "To just... take part of the world and shove it partway into another one."

Leira looked distinctly unimpressed. "Why would you even want to do that?" she asked. "If I was that powerful, I'd just marry a handsome paladin and live happily ever after."

Ruin looked a question at Tavros, who shook his head and motioned for him to move on.

"Wait a minute," Ruin said, looking across the table. "You're Leira." 

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "We did the introductions already--"

"You're the girl Sascha kept talking about."

Leira beamed. "He talked about me!? What did he say?"

"Is not best time for this, I think," said Alexej. 

"Of course it is," Leira said. 

"We'll tell you about it once we've figured out what we're going to do," Geddy assured her.

Leira pouted but kept listening.

Geddy tapped his fingers on the table. "If Vecna originally was the Dark One, it was probably part of what happened to him when he was executed. They took his hand for laying hands upon the king, they took his eye for spying, and they exiled him to the abyss for trying to overthrow Fanaxia. I'll bet Fanaxia somehow came with him when it happened."

"So we're in Hell?" asked Martini. "That would explain the weather." 

"And how hard it is to get a decent hot bath," Leira agreed.

"It would also," drawled Marshall, "explain all the demons in Old Man Kaz's house." 

"Is right," said Alexej. "Demon said he lived in the castle here, right?"

Tavros nodded slowly. "It did say something like that. Or that we'd banished its friends back to the castle."

"That was it," said Marshall.

"We're really in the Abyss?" asked Azrael, suddenly excited. "This is so awesome! I'm going to meet so many demons."

Martini gave him a look. "...And get eaten by them, if we're lucky."

"I'm far too powerful for that, Fartathren." 

Leira rolled her eyes as if to say, This is your spellcaster? Ruin shrugged. 

"But portals are gone now," Alexej pointed out. "We are, as Colonel would say, Cut Off."

Marshall drawled: "Mah friend the sword says it can get us back."

Alexej looked concerned. "This is evil sword, friend."

Reluctantly, Tavros said, "...But it may also be the only way for us to get back."

"And this sword belonged to the original Kaz, who was the commander of the Dark One's armies?" Ruin asked. "So it's one of the things that the Order of Secrets needs in order to resurrect Vecna and turn him loose on Midgard. Which means the moment we do get back, they're going to try to take it from us... if the sword doesn't just go to them by itself somehow."

Marshall nodded. "Like the eyeball did," he said. 

"I'll bet that's how Vecna became a god," Azrael said. "I'll bet he got banished to the abyss, and then he cut a deal with Asmodeus or something. I'll bet I could--"

"Stop," said Martini, "talking."

"Well," said Geddy. "So the sword says it can get us back. All of us, right?" 

Marshall nodded. 

"..And since it brought you to us, I'm guessing what it needs in order to do that is for Vecna's hand to hold it."

"Which we have," said Martini. "Ugh."

"That's what the sword says it needs," Marshall told them. "It says we should... give it a hand." 

Tavros put his face in his hands. "Oh, this is such a bad idea."

Geddy looked around. "Alternatives? I mean, we can't exactly stay here with an ancient white dragon hunting us. Fanaxia's not that big."

Alexej nodded. "Many nasty undead, too. I think they come for us if we don't go back." 

"Still a bad idea," Ruin said, "but I think you're right. We may not have a choice."