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The adventurers Balanor, Janet, Moiren, Sirien, Taygete, and Ardin had done it. Tam’s attempt to enslave the archfiend Eltab to his will had failed, and Eltab had escaped.
Aided by the magic of the Simbul, the party had been transported to The Citadel and through many trials and horrors they had traveled - and bled. In the end, they faced down the archdemon and had resolved to destroy all but one of the Runes of Chaos and alert the zulkirs and enemies of the Zulkir-lich as to his plan. How the then-alerted Tam would have responded with increased security measure would never be known. For in the process of destroying the runes, the powerful sword of Balanor, paladin of Hoar, seemingly guided itself to destroy the last rune immediately after destroying the second-to-last rune.
Balanor paid with his life for his mistake, as did others, in the conflagration that occurred when Tam arrived immediately afterward and he and Eltab faced off against each other. In the end, only Tam stood standing in the smoking ruin of the chamber that now mirrored his plans for ultimate rulership of Thay.
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Eltab himself stood on the highest peak of the Thaymount mountains, gazing south across the land he now intended to ravage. He was free at last, and now the land of Thay and the Red Wizards, which both only existed because of his aid on the plains of Thazalhar centuries ago, would pay their due for the power they had held since that time.
Next to him stood and old, frail-looking man in red robes. However Maligor was anything but frail.
“Do we have a deal then Eltab?,” the old man asked “A momentary deception on your part to start the civil war, and then outright destruction of all. When all Red Wizards are dead, you move on with your horde and what remains of Thay goes to the Vengeful.”
Eltab said nothing for a moment, then turned his hateful eyes to the insignificant mortal. “I do this only because it was your agents, as you stated, that freed me from Tam’s plan once-and-for-all,” his rumbling voice growled “Thay will burn, and what ashes remain when all is done shall be yours.”
With that the enormous demon spread his wings and, in a great blast of air and snow that caused Maligor to shield his face, began flying south toward Bezantur. He had a demon army to deal with...
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In the Thasselen Central Citadel Dungeons, surrounded by all the horrors that Aznar Thrul had made in the place, Mari Agneh finally realized her utter madness. Her crying and sobbing, followed by outrageous bursts of laughter moments later, echoed through the now-empty dungeon. She had not slept in days. Her entire body shaked. She was dying.
Without understanding how, a huge purple-black creature with a scaly hide, a lupine muzzle with great fangs, and red eyes stood before her. Tsagoth glared at Mari with those pitiless eyes and stated “The great archdemon has decreed you shall no longer be afraid. You will have your revenge in full. You will know more power than you have ever imagined. You will see the removal of the last remaining symbol of power of your hated tormentor at the head of the creatures that inhabit Bezantur. You will lead the destruction of the Flaming Brazier. You shall say it is done ’in the name of Szass Tam’. And then...you will know peace.”
Then the undead blood fiend's red eyes engulfed her and only his words remained.
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Shaballa, guildmistress of the once-powerful Bezantur Thieves Guild, had made a conscious effort to sit with her back to the door. She had hoped it would come swift, silent, and without words. But she should have known it would not. She had been with Victor for so long, she knew her replacement would need to gloat.
Her guild numbers had been decimated - all employed to stir up dissent in Bezantur without her knowing until it was too late. All of the guild officers who had been with her for years, in some case decades, were dead but for a small handful. The assassin’s guild had somehow determined she was the cause of the death of Narfel, and her association with Thrul after the tharchioness’ imprisonment had been revealed to Mari herself.
She had realized, too late, that just as her god she had been caught in her own web of intrigue and deceit. There was no escape, because she knew just how far Victor’s reach extended. The thieves’ guild no longer operated for gold and profit, it had now become the shadowy dagger of Victor and his masters in Bezantur - and its traditional activities, and traditional leaders, were no longer required.
Her ever-alert ears caught the sound of quiet footsteps moving up behind her. She tensed for a moment, contemplating whether or not to fight back, but then her resolve crumbled again. There was no escape from the Vengeful.
“It is time Shaballa,” the voice of Serene whispered in her ear “I have come to fulfill my purpose as guild leader which is why they brought me to Thay years ago. You have now served your purpose and Mask awaits you.”
There was no escape from the Vengeful.
Aided by the magic of the Simbul, the party had been transported to The Citadel and through many trials and horrors they had traveled - and bled. In the end, they faced down the archdemon and had resolved to destroy all but one of the Runes of Chaos and alert the zulkirs and enemies of the Zulkir-lich as to his plan. How the then-alerted Tam would have responded with increased security measure would never be known. For in the process of destroying the runes, the powerful sword of Balanor, paladin of Hoar, seemingly guided itself to destroy the last rune immediately after destroying the second-to-last rune.
Balanor paid with his life for his mistake, as did others, in the conflagration that occurred when Tam arrived immediately afterward and he and Eltab faced off against each other. In the end, only Tam stood standing in the smoking ruin of the chamber that now mirrored his plans for ultimate rulership of Thay.
------------------------------------
Eltab himself stood on the highest peak of the Thaymount mountains, gazing south across the land he now intended to ravage. He was free at last, and now the land of Thay and the Red Wizards, which both only existed because of his aid on the plains of Thazalhar centuries ago, would pay their due for the power they had held since that time.
Next to him stood and old, frail-looking man in red robes. However Maligor was anything but frail.
“Do we have a deal then Eltab?,” the old man asked “A momentary deception on your part to start the civil war, and then outright destruction of all. When all Red Wizards are dead, you move on with your horde and what remains of Thay goes to the Vengeful.”
Eltab said nothing for a moment, then turned his hateful eyes to the insignificant mortal. “I do this only because it was your agents, as you stated, that freed me from Tam’s plan once-and-for-all,” his rumbling voice growled “Thay will burn, and what ashes remain when all is done shall be yours.”
With that the enormous demon spread his wings and, in a great blast of air and snow that caused Maligor to shield his face, began flying south toward Bezantur. He had a demon army to deal with...
------------------------------------
In the Thasselen Central Citadel Dungeons, surrounded by all the horrors that Aznar Thrul had made in the place, Mari Agneh finally realized her utter madness. Her crying and sobbing, followed by outrageous bursts of laughter moments later, echoed through the now-empty dungeon. She had not slept in days. Her entire body shaked. She was dying.
Without understanding how, a huge purple-black creature with a scaly hide, a lupine muzzle with great fangs, and red eyes stood before her. Tsagoth glared at Mari with those pitiless eyes and stated “The great archdemon has decreed you shall no longer be afraid. You will have your revenge in full. You will know more power than you have ever imagined. You will see the removal of the last remaining symbol of power of your hated tormentor at the head of the creatures that inhabit Bezantur. You will lead the destruction of the Flaming Brazier. You shall say it is done ’in the name of Szass Tam’. And then...you will know peace.”
Then the undead blood fiend's red eyes engulfed her and only his words remained.
------------------------------------
Shaballa, guildmistress of the once-powerful Bezantur Thieves Guild, had made a conscious effort to sit with her back to the door. She had hoped it would come swift, silent, and without words. But she should have known it would not. She had been with Victor for so long, she knew her replacement would need to gloat.
Her guild numbers had been decimated - all employed to stir up dissent in Bezantur without her knowing until it was too late. All of the guild officers who had been with her for years, in some case decades, were dead but for a small handful. The assassin’s guild had somehow determined she was the cause of the death of Narfel, and her association with Thrul after the tharchioness’ imprisonment had been revealed to Mari herself.
She had realized, too late, that just as her god she had been caught in her own web of intrigue and deceit. There was no escape, because she knew just how far Victor’s reach extended. The thieves’ guild no longer operated for gold and profit, it had now become the shadowy dagger of Victor and his masters in Bezantur - and its traditional activities, and traditional leaders, were no longer required.
Her ever-alert ears caught the sound of quiet footsteps moving up behind her. She tensed for a moment, contemplating whether or not to fight back, but then her resolve crumbled again. There was no escape from the Vengeful.
“It is time Shaballa,” the voice of Serene whispered in her ear “I have come to fulfill my purpose as guild leader which is why they brought me to Thay years ago. You have now served your purpose and Mask awaits you.”
There was no escape from the Vengeful.