Gary Gygax: Sea of Death

For a change, Graz'zt absorbed the substance of Iggwilv's response instead of reacting to her choice of words, or the tone in which they were delivered. "This concerns the contest," he said after a moment of deliberation.

"Yes, Graz'zt," said the witch. "The Theorpart lies under a great dweomer which requires that it can only be successfully sought by contesting mortals. It would be possible for one or more of us to venture forth to gain it. But this action would invoke the power of the dweomer, thereby bringing all of the mighty ones of the multiverse to the spot to contend with us for it. Then would many be destroyed, we and they alike, and Oerth would shatter asunder under the weight of the forces centered there.

"So, My plan is simple. Better to have family, as it were, contending for the final portion than those whom we must count as enemies. Am I right?"

Murmurs of agreement came from all parties in response to that. Then Graz'zt asked, "Zuggtmoy, have you a champion for this contest?"

"Of course," the fungi queen burbled. The huge, ugly toad hopped away from the mound that was Zuggtmoy, taking a place of its own next to the demoness, and suddenly changed into an evil-visaged dwarf. "Obmi, bow to King Graz'zt," commanded Zuggtmoy. The dwarf lowered his head slightly and briefly, the scowl never leaving his face. At the same time Graz'zt looked to the side, formed his mouth into a sneer, and elevated his head in an expression of haughtiness and contempt.

"And who will you have as yours then, dark one?" Iggwilv asked.

Graz'zt, after a moment of thought, gestured to a succubus somewhere distant on his right side. As she came toward the group, the demon prince uttered a string of barely audible syllables, and by the time she reached Graz'zt's side her true nature became apparent. This was no real demon but a drow, one of the evil race of dark elves of Oerth. "I present Eclavdra, My chosen representative in your contest," said Graz'zt to Iggwilv, pointedly ignoring Zuggtmoy and Obmi.

"So be it," said the witch. "Now, let us set the rules and discuss the distractions we must cause to mask the affair. It would not do to have others of unwanted sort seeking our prize."

"Others?" This word came from Graz'zt and Zuggtmoy simultaneously.

"What I have gleaned, others can also learn," Iggwilv admitted in a grudging tone. "The Hierophants, the Cabal, or that old fart Mordenkainen — not to mention the Brotherhood, Hades, or Hell's martinets."

"Just what have you learned, human?" Graz'zt snarled.

Iggwilv deliberately did not speak right away, to make the point that she was volunteering information rather than giving it in response to the demon prince's demand. The Ashen Desert hides much," she began. "The great metropolis of the empire vanished beneath the dust is now known only as the City Out of Mind. The masters of the lost empire ruled from that city, and they used the Theorpart in their final battle. It lies there now, buried beneath a blanket of dust so deep that scarcely a trace of the city can be seen from the surface."

"Why do we use such weak champions as these?" Szhublox asked in his dripping, bubbling voice.

"Only mortals, either humans or their demi-human kin, can retrieve any part of the Key-Which-Unlocks-The-Sleeper — may this never occur! This fact we know from what has transpired with the two portions already found, and from examination of the dweomer surrounding the part yet to be uncovered," said Iggwilv. "But once a part is found, the mortals discovering it may do with it what they choose. The Brotherhood holds that portion of the artifact attuned to the Abyss, and with it they would yoke us in thrall to the Slumbering One. Iuz and I hold the portion which would be able to command the Glooms of Hades, should the Theorparts be united. Somewhere in the Ashen Desert, lost within the buried City Out of Mind, rests the last portion of the key, that part commanding the Nine Hells and their dukes to slavery and obedience. All with power will sense when such a mighty thing comes into ken once again."

"I will send an army there to guard it," Iuz announced grandly.

"No!" countered Graz'zt. "I will send my demons for it, once it is held by Eclavdra!"

Zuggtmoy gave vent to an angry retort at that. "And what if that skinny bitch fails? My own servant, Obmi, will be escorted by a horde of Mine Own fiercest-"

"Contain yourselves," Iggwilv said with a flat, forceful voice. "Should such numbers and powers assemble in the Ashen Desert, should such forces even approach it, all will be lost! Think you not that our every move is watched? Do not our adversaries have spies? Only the champions must go. Only they — or, more precisely, one of them — can return with the object."

"And to where must these champions return?" asked Graz'zt.

"Yolakand, in the land of Yoll, is favorable," Iggwilv suggested.

"Ocherfort, in the land of the Seakings, is nearer," Graz'zt said, "and less likely to be influenced by your son and puppet."

"Your son, too," cackled Iggwilv.

"Puppet? I am no puppet!" Iuz said, all but jumping up and down in his rage at Graz'zt's statement.

"Zuggtmoy, Queen of the Abyss, says that Her champion will carry the Theorpart to Yolakand," the fungoid demon burbled.

"Graz'zt, King of the Abyss, decrees that His minion, Eclavdra, will bring the final portion of the Artifact of Evil to Ocherfort in the Seakings' Lands!" countered the black demon.

Again Iggwilv intervened. "It is in all of our interests to gain the object. Can we agree that either champion can carry it to either place? Let us say that place is immaterial. Whichever of the two holds the Theorpart when either place is gained wins for his or her master — agreed?"

"Can a champion be slain?" This came from Iuz, who was more than a little irritated about being relegated to the role of an ineffectual onlooker in the matter at hand and had decided to ascertain, in a rather obvious way, whether he might be able to influence the course of events.

"Not by the other one, Iuz," Iggwilv replied forcefully. "If such were permissible, the contest would not be a true quest for the object itself, but merely a test of the ability to slay or survive. This will be a duel to the end, but not to the death. Above all, we must not lose sight of the need to gain the object for the Abyss. Of course, we do not preclude acts of violence which do not kill, and duplicity and trickery are not only possible but expected from contestants such as these."

"What of assistants?" Zuggtmoy inquired in her bubbling monotone. "If My champion is to travel a great distance to arrive at the City Out of Mind whole and sound so as to recover the object, he must have guards and servants."

After considerable debate, the demons finally agreed that two assistants could accompany each champion. Each could also hire or otherwise retain up to a dozen mercenaries or other sorts of fighters to serve as guards and escorts. Groups of such size, even if all the members of one side traveled together, were small enough to appear normal, yet strong enough to survive in the hostile wilderness and wastelands that would be crossed in their trek.

The final stipulations are these," Iggwilv said. "The contestants will begin from Hlupallu in the Kingdom of Ket fourteen days hence. From there they will journey overland, by any means they possess or are able to procure, to the Ashen Desert and the City Out of Mind. The journey itself will be taxing, an important part of the contest and not something to be sneered at. If perchance one of the champions comes to an untimely end on the trek, the other must still locate the Theorpart and transport it back to safety. If both champions persevere through the journey to the City Out of Mind, I would not be surprised if Fate should contrive to have them both arrive at the lost metropolis at the same time…" As the witch made that last remark, she allowed a thin smile to play across her face for a moment before concluding.