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Red Magic - Pluto - 08-01-2014
Maligor smiled to himself as he stood on the balcony of his tower, his gaze drifting over the night shrouded western edge of Amruthar. One by one, he could see the sconces of the city burn to life as the guard made their rounds, abolishing pockets of darkness. The noise level from the city drew to silence as the merchants closed their stalls, securing their wares for sale once again upon the morrow. Yes, Maligor thought, for some the growing dark brought the stillness of slumber; but for others the night brought with it much activity better left unseen.
From his tower he could still make out the roof top of the Gold Dragon Inn, the chimneys puffing to life to chase away the chill night air. He wondered briefly how his network of spies fared there, ceaselessly gathering information for the Zulkir of Alteration. He felt a small sense of satisfaction of what he had created, the den of theives he had planted into the heart of Amruthar. Yes, while he was sure the elven woman Daeris thought the guild was her accomplishment; was it not his hand that had guided the Scarab of Sekhotet to the gem dealer so very long ago? Was it not he that had drawn the silent Vesper, the jovial Keron Mars or the seductive Deedra Deecadabra into her ranks? And the reach of 'her' guild was far greater than she was aware....
Below him, Maligor heard the snap of a whip and the harsh voice of his dear Asp; quickly followed by a yelp of pain from a hapless gnoll bearing the brunt of her anger. She was a strict disciplinarian with the dog men, but she had focus in her lessons. It was an attribute she had acquired from the Priador legionaire Garic the Grey and if it was not for him she would have surely had driven the gnolls to rebellion. It was by the captain's hand that she had learned to mold the gnolls into a force to be feared.
His gnoll army now numbered into the thousands thanks to all the hard work of the slavers he employed. Some of the most outstanding of these were: the Ebon Lancer Mirella Locke, the Gargauth priest Veybold Von Zipper, the High Thay Sergeant Hirt Turgen, the Tyraturos Tribune Valin Storm, the Priador lieutenant Ingebord Anzengruber, the priestess of Loviatar Onyx and the Red Wizard Hazlok Thrune.
'Master' Thrune, Maligor thought to himself with a chuckle as he retreated from the balcony to the circular chamber inside. He approached an ancient bronze incense burner and breathed deeply the acrid vapors. A tool of Tam's and nothing more, he continued in thought, a pathetic spy. He exhaled the vapors, pleased with the effect upon his thoughts.
Nearly a year had passed since his 'testing' of the defenses of High Thay through his dutiful apprentice Jutta. It was a ruse, of course, broad in scope when his actual goal was a singular thing. Nonetheless, it drew the attention of Szass Tam and his lap dog Druxus Rhym which forced the Zulkir to cease his probings. No matter, as he had gathered enough of the information he needed.
Maligor left the brazier and approached a table covered in caged animals of varying sorts. The animals cringed at his approach, with just one lone badger hissing defiantly at the Zulkir. Maligor decided that one would be the next to change. Glancing about the room to assure himself that his wards were still in place, he picked up the cage and set it down on the floor in the center of the room.
His supply of animals was beginning to dwindle, his network of trappers meeting with untimely ends at the hands of nature loving freaks. He knew them all by name and could have them killed at any time if he wished. They were: the druidess Caramiriel, the Windwalker Micha Swift, the elven Sion, the merchant Gayle O' the Wind, the Tempuran Gabriel Montford, his own guildmistress Daeris and her associate Sidarian Morithil.
However, he was in a way grateful for their actions. The acquiring of the animals was a means to his true goals and would be one that would require him to remove all evidence of to keep secret. All he employed for this part of his plan were now dead; his secret eternally safe, his hands clean. He had dispatched some ill-prepared assassins after the nature lovers so they would not grow to bold in their actions, but nothing more.
The secret of his true army was now secure... and soon his plan would be set in motion.
Maligor smiled and gazed down upon the hapless badger with his gray, rheumy eyes. He began to cast a spell.
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"It is obvious that his gnoll army will be moving soon, " Ireni stated as she gazed upon the tower of Maligor in her crystal ball. "And yet you do not seemed alarmed."
The woman looked up to the 'man' before for her, robed from head to toe in silk cloth more black than red and leafed in flecks of gold. His face was obscured by a featureless mask of reflective silver. She was unsure if he was viewing the image of the tower or was looking at her. An uncomfortable silence passed. She swallowed discretely while awaiting his answer.
"It seems I have misjudged Maligor; lulled by his centuries of relative inactivity as everyone else, " he replied, his voice a combination of malevolence and intrigue. "Preparations have been made, but...." His voice trailed off in thought.
"Yes?"
"Let us not interfere otherwise. A good thayan drama is about to unfold, " he continued, his head now noticably tilted enough so that she could tell he gazed into the crystal ball as well. "We can always pick up the pieces later."
RE: Red Magic - Pluto - 10-04-2014
The dog soldiers marched, and all eyes from Amruthar were on them.
Maligor turned away from his balcony and returned to his tower. Once he was inside it's concealing wards, he began the incantation to a spell. The casting was long and tedious, as all weather magics tended to be. By the time the spell was completed, a thick fog had blanketed the land around his tower and the western edge of Amruthar.
Now, under the concealment of night and fog he would leave his tower with his true army; the host of darkenbeasts he had secretly crafted through his network of trappers! The darkenbeasts felt his excitement and began to soar about their subterranean chamber, faster and faster on their leathery wings. Maligor's mind reached out, contacting one, then another, then a dozen, then still more until his thoughts were intertwined with all of his macabre creatures.
He descended the stone steps of his tower to join his darkenbeasts below. The darkenbeasts cries spiraled upward from the chamber, unnerving everyone in the wizards tower. Louder and louder the noise grew, until Maligor was forced to conceal their screeches with a spell of silence.
"Throw open the doors!" Maligor commanded as he reached the entry hall, the darkenbeast horde erupting from their subterranean chamber and filing the entry hall. The gnoll guards quickly threw open the doors and the darkenbeasts poured forth from the tower for what seemed an eternity, such was the number of beasts he held in his command. Maligor directed them to head north, to one of the many safe caves that would house them throughout the day. And then the next night....
Maligor smiled to himself as Asp approached. The spirit naga was in her true form now and slither up sensually next to him, always careful to keep her head bowed and lower than her master's own.
"I trust things have been handled with the thieves guild?" Maligor smiled.
"Yes, Master. In the weeks ahead we will be victorious on so many levels, " she replied, eager to please.
Maligor chuckled to himself, at the way the spirit naga included herself in his victory. If his mood had been any less this night, he would address her thinking. Instead, the Red Wizard grasped her hand and kissed it lightly.
"Of course, " he agreed, gazing deeply into her eyes. With a few muttered words, the pair vanished in a wisp of smoke.
RE: Red Magic - Pluto - 10-11-2014
In the days following the fall of her former master Zulkir Maligor, Jutta found herself extremely busy. There were many things that needed attending, further confidence that had to be built between herself and her new master Druxus Rhym. Skillfully, she met and exceeded his expectations to be awarded this short time alone. It helped that her new master was distracted, preparing himself for his elevation to the council, a promotion that was brought about by his alliance with Szass Tam.
As with all things in Thay, there were always wheels within wheels; she thought with a smile... and she was no different.
She entered the ruined farm house her parents once owned and looked around. While she did not possess the ranger's skill of being able to tell so, she was fairly certain that no one had been here since her last visit many months ago. Her nerves were on edge, despite all of her best preparations there was always the chance that there could be some eyes on her now, working away at the wards that she had cast. To ease her thoughts, she applied some of her sweet smelling perfume to mask any odor of apprehension and then made her way to the cellar through the locked, heavy wooden doors.
With a cantrip, the cellar room was illuminated in a soft glow, it's dirt floor showing only the scuff marks of her own slippers from months ago. In the center of the room was a well and from that well she could hear a moan. With a smile of assurance she approached and looked over the side.
"Who... who is there?" a voice croaked from a mass of red robes at the bottom. A well that had long ago dried up. "Answer me!"
"It is I, Master Maligor, " Jutta replied, soothing. "I bring you food and water."
"Jutta!" Maligor cried. "To the Hells with your food and water! Get me out of here now."
"That can never happen, I'm afraid. You are now a Master in exile, many presume you dead and buried in the mines you tried to take over. It is safer for you and I that everyone thinks you are dead, anyway."
With a growl, Maligor raised his hands and intoned a spell that would send a crushing fist upon his apprentice. But to his dismay, nothing happened. "What is this place?" he howled.
"It is my family's old farm, the one that you found me in years ago when you deemed me worthy of apprenticeship. My family, who you often threatened with swift death if I should ever disappoint you in my learning."
Maligor blinked in the dim light, thinking. "I never had them killed, Jutta."
"But I did. I had to remove that hold that you had over me. The death I gave them was kindness compared to the one that you would deliver. You never knew or suspected that you no longer held any leverage over me. Catch."
Jutta released the skin of water and the fallen zulkir covered his head with a curse, with a slap it bounced off his arms and landed at his feet. The lid remained secured.
"After the Time of Troubles some areas surrounding my parent's farm remained dead to magic, " she continued. "One of them -conveniently enough- is where you find yourself now. If someone was clever and was to set a portal stone above this well and sneak it into her master's belongings... well what a nasty surprise. All I had to do was wait for you to put yourself in a predictment where you were forced to flee. That didn't take long, did it?"
Maligor fumed with rage! It wasn't enough that he had lost everything to Tam and his numerous minions: The Red Wizard Hazlok Thrune, the Eltabbar Tribune Brandon Baxter, the Alaor Tribune Cyrus Najera, the Tyraturos Captain Grace, the Amruthar City Guard Captain Koriseriel, the druid Caramiriel, the Tempans Khreed Maruthan and Teygard Rift, the cleric of Gargauth Veybold von Zipper, the merchant Micha Swift and the Harpers Galvin and Brenna.
No, as if that wasn't enough he was now a prisoner of his apprentice and now apparently depended on her for food and water. But, why would she do this? He voiced his question. "What do you want, Jutta?" he sneered.
"I think there is still much I can learn from you Master Maligor, so much of the Art you can still share with me so I am properly prepared for my trials ahead. There, from the bottom of that well, you will still teach me and in exchange I will make sure you... survive."
Maligor thought it over for the briefest of moments. "I accept your offer apprentice, " he said with a wicked smile. It was all he could say. For now....
-----------------------
The image in the crystal ball was cloudy, partially obscured by the wards Jutta had made in preparation. Behind the mirrored glass, the Masked One smiled at the attempt.
"Are you satisfied with the outcome, then?" Ireni asked, staring down upon the scene of former master and apprentice.
"Yes, the darkness grows and the Shadows deepen...." the Masked One said victorously. "Many of our agents are in places of power now and their transistion there seamless, none the wiser. Our hand was subtle in capturing the pieces of this drama. So, yes, I am satisified."
Together they continued to watch the scene of former master and student in silence. While Maligor's survival was always a possibility; neither of them had conceived of this outcome and both were unsure what to do about it. A problem to be sorted out another day.
"This Jutta interests me, perhaps something more can be made of her later... and the former zulkir she keeps in a dead magic pit, " the Masked One spoke, breaking the silence.