No one could argue with that either.
So, they did indeed loot this fucker. Most thoroughly. This proved easier than they at first thought. Tallia had been certain that at least some of the Sons of Arion might stand and fight, eager to claim the fortune of their master from so few. But when Arion died, so also died the Eye.
With the Eye's control gone, every remaining beast-men ceased to be compelled to obey the wizard and free, they fled from this hated fortress. And though our heroes did not know this, even the beast-men afield intent on raiding villages suddenly lost their compulsion to obey. The bands, which had not yet reached the far villages they were sent to, fell instead into infighting over who the new boss would be and quickly scattered. Though beast-men would occasionally trouble the Rice Lands for years to come with petty acts of banditry, largely, their day was done. They passed into myth as a colorful, local demon.
That left Tallia and her band of allies as the masters of the wizard's fortress. This was not a title they much cared for, but it did have its benefits. Behind the small door behind the throne, they discovered the wizard's private suite. There, besides a few terrified and newly liberated slave girls, they discovered Arion's treasury filling a sizeable side chamber.
The treasury held what can only honestly be described as a staggering amassment of stolen wealth. There were three man-weights of gold in the form of trade bars, jewelry and looted taken not just from Liandra's own temple but it seemed from a half dozen other temples and shrines. The quantity of gold was greatly exceeded by thrice the silver. And then there was a small chest loaded with smooth nuggets of amber, four long strings of pearls, and an assemblage of other jewels as well. Further there were ten bolts of silk in various colors and a small but beautiful elm cabinet full of peppercorns, cinnamon bark, cloves, saffron, nutmeg and various rare seeds of uncertain pedigree. In short, the chamber contained a vast fortune, in fact too much for them to carry. Liandra's precious medicine bag was heaped here as well. The priestess restocked with sundries taken from the wizard's stores. Also here, much to Tallia's delight, was her prized bear-skin cloak, silver horn and even the gold ring Hilarius' had lifted from the magistrate seemingly a lifetime ago.
And of course there was the sword. Still inside the green glass coffer was the Blade of Celaeno, as bright and vorpal as it had ever been. Tallia sighed, opened the latch and lifted the lid. Instantly, the blade was in her hand. It spoke to her in its usual regal, feminine voice straight into her mind, "You have done well, my beloved. You have defeated my abductor and reclaimed thy blade, thus proving your worth. Many foes have you overcome. You shower honors upon yourself, dread Celaeno. Truly you walk the road of heroes."
Tallia didn't say anything in response to the weapon. She simply sheathed the blade and hung it from her belt.
"Does it speak to you?" asked Hilarius.
"Yes, the same 'road of heroes' shit as before. And it keeps calling me by the wrong name."
"You could just put it back in the coffer, bury it somewhere, accept who you are and move on," said the rogue. "You don't need that sword. You are, let me assure you, an unstoppable badass without it. I think you've well proven that."
"Gods on high and in hell, my love, that is exactly what I yearn to do!" Instead the Amazon pushed the glass coffer off the table it sat upon and watched it shatter. "But I can't turn my back on this. Becoming Tallia has been the greatest adventure of my life, but it is not one I chose. I still need to find the truth of this... changing. Let's call it a changing not exactly a curse."
Hilarius nodded. "This treasure is amazing, but I'm fucking starving. Do wizards eat?"
Wizards do indeed eat and in an entire different area of the fortress, they discovered the wizard's larder. It seemed that Arion had enjoyed his victuals greatly and they discovered a dizzying diversity of dried meats, fresh caught game, preserved fruits, hard cheeses, root vegetables and a great assortment of rice and other grains and flours. In fact, a full inventory of the assemblage was simply beyond them. Suffice to say that they discovered a vast store of food both fine and humble. Here was stored the tribute of dozens of beholden villages combined with the results of years of ruthless and widespread banditry.
And yet, as expansive as the food stores were -- it was perhaps dwarfed by the stores of alcohol. There were large racks of rice wines stored in clay pots. There were giant fermenters turning barley into beer and stored casks holding the results of earlier labors. And besides that more common fare, there was also glass bottles obviously imported from more distant locals. Tallia recognized a few of the marks as the fine brandy-wines favored by the nobles of Yaath'Xin. But there were other bottles here holding liquors from more distant locales no one could identify.
Then there were the slaves. They discovered an entire wing of the fortress where none of them had yet ventured. This wing was dedicated to the more material concerns of the wizard and his warriors. The slaves quartered here were overwhelmingly young, female and pretty. But there were also numerous slave boys here intended for hard labor. Further the wizard kept a collection of abducted artisans -- cooks, bakers, valets, potters, sculptors, armorers, weaponsmiths and builders of various persuasions. In short, the fortress contained a sizeable village's worth of abductees. There were by Mela's count five hundreds and three score of them. They were all recently freed from the Eye's horrid control, eager to leave this place but terrified what would happen if they did.
This inventory of the fortress' contents is nowhere complete -- there was also weaponry, shields, bows and arrows, the wizard's personal effects, his wardrobe, bedding, tools, building supplies and likely a thousand other small items lost in the band's cursory examination. In short, they had not just defeated a great evil, they had also seized what amounted to a town that had until recently been wholly dedicated to banditry, villainy and the whims and pleasures of one mad would-be god. Each of the adventurers took their pick of the spoils.
Hilarius of course quickly devised a plan concerning the cash. Many of the now liberated slaves came from Jiu Shan and its smaller satellites. That village was three days march from the fortress. So, the conquering heroes would organize a great caravan. The villagers would have free access to loot the fortress save for the treasury and sufficient food for the heroes to make it back to Denggang. Their only duty was that they help the heroes tote the entire contents of the treasury back to town. Further, once that task was performed, they were welcome to return here if they so liked and loot this place again as there was still far too much to be carried out in one trip.
Everyone agreed this seemed a fine course. Of course this plan was an easy thing to say, but actually organizing and implementing it proved more daunting. For three days they lingered in the fortress, sorting through the remnants of Arion's aborted empire.
There were also other matters to take care of. The remains of Diagoras, Sang, Arion and various dead beast-men had to be dealt with. It was decided that burning was appropriate. There was some resistance to giving Arion a proper burial but then Liandra pointed out that if they didn't burn the wizard, he might come back, perhaps as an even harder to kill ghost of some sort. That silenced all opposition.
Liandra burned Diagoras quietly. Amidst the flames, she swore she saw a handsome man of noble bearing with a long well-trimmed beard bow to her and head into the light where a glowing angel awaited. But then Liandra was, it was universally agreed, crazy.
Tallia helped dig the grave into which his ashes were placed, as was the rather unusual custom of the people of Amathus. It was well that the Amazon did the brunt of the work for Liandra remained hopeless at any task involving even a modicum of physical strength. The priestess did carve a tombstone bearing his true name "Nestor of Amathus" in the script of her far homeland. Below his name she also carved "beloved and forgiven".
Arion they did not burn quietly. His funeral was intended by all of the companions, armed and ready for trouble. Much to their relief the wizard did not rise or change into anything as the flames took him. The wizard was even reunited with his head after his body was much reduced. He received no grave marker and his ashes and burned bones were left for the wind to take. What no one noticed was that Zara, later that night, snuck out and recovered the intact but fleshless skull of Arion Three-Eyes. She cleaned it, wrapped it in silk and concealed it at the bottom of her pack.
Mela too had business. She once more wrought a circle of silver and called forth to the spirit-form of King Bressian. The noble sidhe answered quickly the sorceress' call.
"I have it, my king," she announced. "Alas, I believe the Eater of Magic is now broken."
