The Library of PalanthasAn Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.Stories of Ansalon from the view of Nestos.
Bookmark Ansalon MUD's Author Nestos!
A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap Off 65 80.'
The gully continues 'Eyes hurt? Turn Color OFF!! (regular story dates)
Astinus says ' Enter the main library here to view only the author list.'
Astinus gently places a beautiful hard bound book on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Nestos' scribed in burnt grey ink.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of Bran, 6 00:35:42 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject Independent Studies
His cousin was a great leader in the Conlave many ages ago. This was the
reason that he felt such joy when he was initiated into the Conclave; but
the excitement the young mage felt upon becoming a member was soon washed
away with the realization that it can be hard to move up the ranks.
A few weeks after joining the Conclave, Nestos, grew frustrated in the fact
that he could not find a mage that he could apprentice under. It seemed that
others never crossed his path, let alone ones that could accept him as an
apprentice; but the mage cleared his head of this frustration and realized
what he had to do. It is than that he decided that it would be best to teach
himself what he needed until he could find a mage that would allow him to be
their apprentice. So, Nestos, feeling sure of himself, set out to the
library and study magic and to learn more about his cousin, determined to
learn what he could about both.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Luindai, the Month of Corij, 1 22:43:51 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Apprentice, Part 1
A man in simple white robes walks absent mindedly down a hallway with
his head down in a book of magic. He stops forming the words in the book
with his lips for a moment as he enters a blindingly bright courtyard. He
blinks quickly as his eyes adjust to the light. Looking around he spots who
he is looking for, the man he apprentices under. He approaches the man in
red robes, who is relaxing on a bench in the courtyard. As he walks up to
his master mage, the man in the simple white robes, closes the book he is
reading and stuffs it into a bag that is strapped across his chest and sits
at his side. He addresses the red robed man with the respect obtained from
his position.
You called for me, Archmage Leodas?
Yes, please sit down, Nestos.
The mage in the white robes sits near the archmage, who turns to his
apprentice. As Nestos sits silently, Leodas gathers himself and allows
Nestos to wonder why he is here. After a few long seconds, the archmage
begins to speak.
You have come along well thus far. You are getting better at casting yours
spells and are obtaining more powerful spells, but there is still much more
you need to learn about magic among many other things in order to be ready
for your test.
The red robed man pauses for a second, collecting his thoughts.
But some of these things you can not learn from the library here at the
Towers of High Sorcery.
The archmage stops again, but this time to observe his apprentice's
expression, but does not receive the reaction he expects. The archmage
expects his apprentice to be surprised, but he is rather expecting something
to surprising.
Yes, I believed that there would be some need to do studying outside of
these towers, where must I go to continue my preparations for the test?
As I am sure you know, the books from the tower in Palanthas were brought to
the library.
Yes.
Well these books were both spell books and others. I want you to go to
Palanthas and learn what you can from these books. As you have the contact
with other high mages here at the towers, I want you to focus on the other
spell books. Specifically I want you to focus on the history of this world
and of the true gods.
Again the red robed man stops to think about how to continue his speech when
the apprentice began to speak.
So you want me to just study the history of the gods and the world?
This is what I want you to focus on in Palanthas as it will have more on
this, but I also want you to continue your study on the history of the
arcane and continue your study of your own spells and to obtain new ones. I
do not want you coming back until you can get here through a portal that you
can create through magic. You will find this spell in many of the books in
Palanthas. Now, I will leave you to get ready as it is a long trip.
Okay. I will leave right away.
As the apprentice gets up to leave, the archmage goes back to relaxing in
the sun.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Manthus, the Month of Corij, 4 06:57:06 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Apprentice, Part 2
A man in the simple white robes begins to make his way towards the the
entrance to Wayreth Forest from the courtyard. He knows that the road to
Palanthas is dangerous, especially the road through Wayreth Forest to
Solace; but he knows the way like the back of his hand. He knows all the
dangers and how to get pass them, whether through confrontation or
avoidance. As his master mage had him practice spells that techniques that
would help in this situation, the apprentice was able to bypass these
dangers many times. He is so confident in making the trip to Solace safely
he retrieves his spell book from his satchel and, holding it in his left
hand, begins to study his spells.
His feet find their proper places amongst the tree roots of the forest. He
occasionally glances up to assure himself of his path. While it seems
contradictory, it is on the small dark trails that he feels the most
comfortable. Most things that he meets on these back road trails are beasts
that easily succumb to his magic. On the main roads he has more of a chance
of running into elves, humans or draconians. He worries little about elves,
as he is an elf, even though he has left their culture. He is more worried
about the humans because he knows that they are more easily corruptible than
elves and could have been persuaded by the Queen of Darkness to serve in her
dragonarmies. And if so, they are likely to kill elves on sight as their
orders stand, and humans in general dislike elves and might try to kill him
anyways. These two races worry him a small amount in comparison to
draconians. One of his reasons for this worry is partly for the same reasons
as humans; if they see him they will kill him or take him as a slave. The
other reason is that if they recognize him as a magic-user, they will be
able to resist his attempts of magic on them, unlike the other races.
The mage, knowing these possible run-ins are common, usually covers his head
with his hood upon reaching the larger roads; but as the sun felt good and
he is so deep in his studies, he forgets to do so. The most common run-in he
has is with the baaz draconians dressed as clerics; and it is a group of
four of exactly these that appear on the road in front of him, but he fails
to see them right away. The hooded figures got closer and it was not till
they are about 600 feet away that he notices them. The mage quickly shoves
his spell book in his satchel in an attempt to hide his skill with magic.
His robes are simple white robes of his order, but since they are simple
they can be easily simple traveler robes; but he saw the hooded figures too
late to hide his heritage by pulling his hood over his head to hide his ears
and almond shaped eyes.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Manthus, the Month of Corij, 4 07:07:43 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Apprentice, Part 2.5
He sees the creatures pace quicken as they approach him; and so he knows
they recognize him as an elf. Thus he knows that he will have to confront
the abominations, and that he cannot take them on heads up, so he recalls
his training that he received from his master mage, Archmage Leodas. Hoping
the draconians did not recognize his nook as a spell book; he reaches into a
pocket in a hidden pocket and grabs a handful of sand, a spell component his
master mage sent him to get as a previous quest.
The mage drops his hands to his side, as he recalls and practices the
inflections of the spell he is about to cast, waiting for the creatures to
get closer. With confidence and pure concentration he begins to chant in the
language of magic. The creatures begin to yell at him.
You there, stop where you are."
To the mage, the words are inaudible in his state of concentration. He
raises his hand and slowly lets the sand fall from his hand as he moves it
from left to right. He continues to chant the words of magic, and as he does
the creatures began to fall to the ground. The first falls thirty feet away,
the second twenty feet away, the third falls fifteen feet away and the
fourth feels the effects only ten feet from the mage; but the fourth resists
most of the effects of the spell.
As the mage comes out of his trance, he notices the fourth draconian is
still standing, shaking his head trying to clear it. Thanks to his training
his is able to think quick enough to pull a pinch of sulfur out of a pouch
on his side and, as he finishes a few words of magic, a bolt of lightning
shoots out of the mages fingers.
The draconian shrieks in pain as the electricity courses through its body,
but the mage knows that he is not powerful enough yet for the lightning bolt
to kill it. Thinking quickly, he reaches into the same pouch and pulls out a
third component and throws the white powder in the direction of the closing
draconian. Without waiting to see the results of the spell the mage pulls
his dagger out of its sheath. Looking up, the magic-user finds that the
spell did work, but the creature gets lucky and catches a slash from the tip
baaz's scimitar across his cheek.
Cursing himself for not following his instruction on hand to hand combat
close enough. The mage jumps to one side and quietly moves around the
blinded creature. What he had learned begins to come back quickly and the
magic-user, now thinking like a hand to hand fighter; especially now that he
has evened the odds. He waits for an opening, it presents itself as the baaz
believes its prey has escaped and the mage strikes at it. He slashes at the
creatures throat, making sure to withdraw the blade quickly as the corpse
turns to stone.
With the battle over and the adrenaline wearing off, the mage's head begins
to swim in pain. Even through the pain, he knows that he must get moving
quickly to not only get help but to get out of the area before the sleep
spell wears off the other draconians. He quickly pulls his hood over his
head and wipes of his dagger before sheathing it. The magi-user wants,
badly, to cast invisibility on himself for the rest of the journey; but from
the loss of energy and the pain from his injury he fears he may pass out if
he tries to cast the spell.
After about an hour and a half he reaches the canopy of the city of Solace.
The huge Vallenwoods surround him, but he knows that if he gets to the ferry
he can get to the healer in Palanthas. As he stumbles towards the ferry he
removes the fare required from one of his pouches. As he gets to the dock he
feels himself losing consciousness.
Ah, Nestos, it has been awhile. How have y-Are you alright?!
Nestos stumbles onto the ferry and manages to mutter, Palanthas, before
passing out.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Nuindai, the Month of Corij, 9 04:32:32 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Apprentice, Part 3
A male elf in simple white robes lies on the floor of a large room held
up by pillars. A man stands, praying, over the elf. As he does so the elf
sits up and the cleric helps him to a sitting position.
Where am I?
You are in the Great Dome in Palanthas.; and have been for some time now.
How long has it been?
The cleric stops and thinks for a moment.
Maybe two weeks. A sailor brought you in here. You had lost quite a bit of
blood from the gash in your face. I apologize, for I was able to heal you,
but you were too injured, which means that scar will remain there.
The mage reaches up and touches his cheek, just below his eye. He feels the
six inch long, raised, scar tissue and cringes at the thought of the
draconian's blade cutting through his flesh.
I am grateful for my life. I can handle a little scar.
The elf reaches into one of the pouches on his belt and pulls out some gold
coins to give to the man that saved his life.
Here, take this for your troubles.
The healer pushes the elf's hand back.
You being alive is payment enough for me, then, smiling, the healer added,
but the next one will cost you.
A smile creeps across the mage's face. Then, remembering his quest, the elf
in the white robes rises to his feet, a little shaky, but manages to do it.
Well, again, I thank you; but I must be off.
You young mages and your quests for knowledge. Very well, but I would stay
away from draconians this time.
The mage looks up at the cleric with intense curiosity; and without needing
to speak the mage got his answer.
You talked in your sleep.
As the magic-user walked out of the Great Dome he could not help but wonder,
What else had I said in my sleep?. This thought quickly rushes from his
brain as he is hit with a cold wind and rain as he clears the door. He pulls
his hood low over his eyes to avoid the weather. The weather in Palanthas
now, was much different from the weather two weeks ago on the road to
Solace. This was the same weather that tempted him into walking the road
without hiding his heritage, a mistake which earned him the new scar on his
cheek. Now he is in Palanthas, a place he had not been since joining the
Conclave. He knows the streets well, and the library was his home before the
Conclave; but this time he would be researching information other than that
which pertains to his cousin. Then again, he thinks, there is always time
for some of that research as well.
As he walks the city streets, towards the so familiar library, his head
begins to clear from the several weeks of lacking consciousness. He begins
to feel much better, and begins casting simple spells to make sure he was
still up to par. He casts spells on himself that will help him find magic or
invisible book sin the library.
Entering the library is like coming home to the mage. He welcomes the aroma
of all the well handled books all around him. He recalls staying late and
reading all the different kinds of books stored in the library. He slowly
makes his way towards where he knows the books on the history of Krynn are
located. Not knowing which point in time Archmage Leodas wants him to study;
he goes with his gut and picks books about the time from a couple hundred
years before the Cataclysm to the present. After he finds a good number of
books; and feels they are the ones that will enhance his knowledge, he
begins to careful study what is written in them.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Nuindai, the Month of Corij, 9 04:36:16 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Apprentice, Part 3.5
After the mage finishes these texts he begins to think about what he has
read and begins to tie ideas together. Once he feels he has an idea of the
world and the true gods, he begins searching for the spell that will
transport him to spots all around the continent at his will.
Once he gains access to the spell books, brought to the library by the mages
that dwelled in the Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas, he begins his search
for the spell. While looking for this spell the mage comes across many other
helpful spells and copies them to his spell book. Once he has copied these,
and the spell he was sent to learn the magi-user decides to look through the
other books of mages from Palanthas. His search is for any mention of his
cousin. As he searches, he finds nothing but short snippets of information
about how powerful she was; but then he comes across a book that is all
about Cloreana, his powerful mage cousin.
Knowing that he did not have the time to read it because of his duties at
the towers, he made up his mind on what he will do. Making sure no one was
around he slipped the book into his satchel. He retrieves his spell book at
the same time and quickly looks over the spell. He begins chanting a few
words of magic and a gate appears before him. He steps through the gate
hoping for two things: that the gate will bring him to the right place and
that there are no spells on the book making it unable to leave the library.
To the mage's surprise he steps out onto the docks in Solace, exactly where
he wanted. He is also surprised that the book was not trapped and that it
had not exploded or caused some damage to him; but he does feel horribly
sick from the new form of travel. The mage, wanting to pay his debt of
gratitude to the man that got him to the healer, walks down the dock towards
the ferry. The captain, speechless that the mage was alive accepted the
payment and watches the mage step through a gate.
As the mage steps through the gate, he is disappointed at his location. He
hoped that he would land at the door to the courtyard; but rather landed
further into Wayreth Forest. Deciding that it is still a victory the mage
begins the trek towards the towers, as he knows his way. The only thing he
wonders is, How am I going to explain this story to Archmage Leodas}x?
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Luindai, the Month of Sirrimont, 10 09:32:51 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject Consequences of the Test
The magus sits in his new room. The furnishings are the same, simple and
only what is needed, but it is located in the red tower rather than its
white counterpart. As the tower he now resides in is red, so are the new
robes that he wears. The change in the color that surrounds the mage is due
to the events that lead to his completion of the Test of High Sorcery.
The events that transpired required him to make the choice between a
powerful artifact of magic and his nephew. The choice he made was the one
that led him away from his white robes; he chose the artifact. While he does
feel a weight from the thought of letting his nephew fall, he knows that he
made the proper decision because as he looks upon the full red moon of
Lunitari, he can feel it granting him power. As he does know it was the
proper choice, the weight is still there. He can not help but think that,
although the test was only an illusion, could some of it be true.
Without realizing, the magic-user's gaze falls upon the simple wood staff
leaning against the corner where the wall meets a bookcase several feet
away. The silver runes on the staff shine red in the light of Lunitari. This
staff allows the elf to walk with stability; for the test that the mage
chose magic over his nephew, also led to the crippling of his left leg. The
mage now can not fully support his weight with the leg; and, although the
leg is as healed as it is going to get, there is a pain that he knows will
never fully go away. This remaining affect from the test has made Nestos
think that maybe more of the affects of the test may be real.
This thought makes the magic-user think that maybe his choice could have
left his nephew dead. It is with this thought that the mage makes up his
mind. He will go to a place that he has not been in over five years. He will
travel back to his home to see his family and to lift the weight from his
shoulders.
After making up his mind, Nestos puts his spell book, which is lying on a
mat on the floor in front of him, in this satchel and throws the strap over
his shoulder. Then, with a motion of his hand, the staff that has been in
the corner appears in his hand. He uses the staff to rise, painfully, from
the cushion he is sitting on. He then begins towards the door. Laying his
hands on the door, the mage magically seals the portal. He then speaks a
command and is transported to the gates of the Tower of High Sorcery.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Nuindai, the Month of Sirrimont, 18 23:37:23 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject On War, Bad Company and Lost Mages: A Journal Entry
It has not been since I saw my nephew and lifted the weight of his
illusion's death, and already I fear there is another weight closing on me.
When I left the Tower of High Sorcery several months ago, the tension
between mages and the rest of the population of Krynn was bad; but after
leaving my family it is dangerous. I fear the tensions may boil over and
possibly lead to another Lost War.
This time seems different than what I have read of the Lost War though. As I
recall, the mages, save for the cursing of one Tower of High Sorcery and the
destruction of another tower, did not fight against there enemies except to
survive. Now it seems as though the mages might be the first to strike;
although I can not be sure of what I happening there. I can just see how
people react to my red robes, with disdain and fear.
I have been fortunate, though, in the company I unfortunately keep. While
they may not like me, and I certainly do not like them, we benefit from each
other; and thus a relationship of necessary trust has been formed. This
group of mercenaries has found my powers in the art of magic helpful, though
I am not the first that has past there way.
Another mage has seemed to have fallen into there group. He has been helping
them a bit, but, after a lengthy talk with him, he has decided to go to the
Tower of High Sorcery for training. I can teach him what I can till we get
there, but I have not been given the right to take an apprentice yet. Up to
this point I have seen no need to take an apprentice; but now, with the way
things are going with the rest of Krynn, I understand it is necessary to
ensure that High Sorcery lives on in Krynn.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of H'rarmont, 11 00:46:12 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject Consequences of Actions
Yelling can be heard from the High Archmage's office. An elven voice
seems to be yelling while the voice of Lynx, the head of the Red Robes seems
to be keeping his head. The yelling is incoherent and soon ends as a
scuffling can be heard inside of the room.
Soon after the scuffling begins, it ends with a young elf flying into and
shattering the door of the office. The elf lands in the hallway. Nestos
tries to stand, holding a dagger in one hand he pushes up with his other,
but as hard as he tries, he cannot get up from the floor; and crumples back
down to the floor. It seems to him as if his energy and been sucked out. The
dagger falls from his hand and he fights hard to stay conscious.
As the young elf struggles on the floor, the High Archmage strides out of
his office, 'GUARDS!' he yells as he steps over pieces of his door, 'ARREST
THAT MAN!'
Nestos again tries to get up and escape, but he cannot and three battlemages
come from around the corner and pick him up.
'Take him to the dungeon, ' he says to the bguards, 'And you, ' he points to
a lieutenant, ' Go and gather a Master of the White Robes and one form the
black, and tell them to meet me in council chambers for a trial.
Nestos whinces in pain as the guards drag him to the dungeons of the towers;
but not for a second does he regret his actions.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of H'rarmont, 11 01:48:10 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject A new Way of Life, Pt. 1
The mage sits in Wayreth, outside of the gates that have just been locked
to him. Having been stripped of his components and magical items, traveling
via arcane is out of the picture, for now; and due to the permanent injury
he sustained to his leg during the test, regular travel will be hard.
Luckily, the 'wise' mages of the towers had looked over one of his magical
items, for he had enacted a spell to make him walk lighter before entering
Lynx's office and sent his staff to wait on another dimension.
With a motion of his wrist, a red, wooden staff appears in his hands.
Looking at it, the banished mage seems unsatisfied; and with a though the
red wood turns to grey and the silver runes to black. He than waves his
staff and his main spellbook drop into the material dimension as well. Now,
looking at the staff the mage grins and, after picking up his spellbook, he
slowly begins his walk out of Wayreth, all the while searching for different
components an putting them into the pockets of his elven clothes that he has
decided will be the first to go.
After finding the components he needs, the mage imagines a room that he had
been in before and next to him appears a glowing door that he enters. He
exits into a clothing shop and looks around.
'Sir, we are closing. You are going to have to leave, ' a man behind the
desk says.
'I only need a few things.'
'You will have to come ba-, ' but the man is cut off by a lightning bolt
from the renegade.
While the man lies, writing on the floor, the mage collects a shirt, pants,
vest, boots cloak and a satchel. He changes his clothes and walks over to
where the man had been putting his earning away for the day, stepping over
the man to reach it. The elf waves his staff over the bag making it
disappear to another dimension.
The mage then enters another magical door and brings him outside a magic
shop. He enters the magic shops and sees only the red robed mage behind the
counter, but knows better than to shoot now ask later in a magic shop. He
approaches the counter, hoping the mage had not heard of him as a renegade.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of H'rarmont, 11 01:51:43 353 Post Cataclysm
Subject A new Way of Life, Pt. 2
'How may I help you today, sir?' the mage behind the counter asks.
'I need a few things. I was attacked and all my things were taken, ' the
banished mage lies, 'I need several pouches for components, several, harder
to find components, couple of wands and a dagger.'
The shopkeeper begins going around collecting the things his customer asked
for and puts them on the table. The renegade nods at each thing that is set
in front of him.
'What were you thinking for the wands?' the shopkeeper yells from the
backroom.
'Maybe a lightning bolt and ma magic missile.'
'Good choices, simple but effective, ' he states as he emerges and sets the
wands on the counter.
'And now the dagger. All I have is what is in the case here, ' he states as
he opens the door and pulls out a cloth and lines the different daggers up
on it.
'So, what order are you in?'
The renegade looks up to the red robe trying to decipher where the question
is coming from, but quickly gets his answer.
'So I can help you pick the right one.'
'Oh, right. I am a red robe, ' he lies again, 'but I am indifferent, as long
as it is useful for many things.'
'Ah, a fellow red robe. Just come from the tower? Any news from over
there?'
'I suppose and there is not really any news to speak of, ' the renegade
states as he picks up a dagger with a black blade. He studies the runes on
the blade and hilt, and the ruby in its pommel.
'That one there is a good one. Both for combat and for ceremonies. It is
heavily imbued with magic, but is quite spendy.'
The banished mage waves his staff over the counter and bag of coins
appears.
'I will take this and the rest of the things you have found. You take what
you think is fair, ' he tells the red robe as he begins the pouches, wands
and dagger on his elven belt.
'Yes, sir, ' he stammers as he stares at the money.
After the shopkeeper collected his money the renegade waves his wand over
the bag, sending it to the other dimension, and exits the shop.
The mage then pictures another place. This is a place he has been to only
once, but had just recently dreamed of it; the dream that led him down the
path to his banishment.
Another door appears next to the mage and he steps through it. He appears in
a dark alley and pulls his cowl low over his face before stepping out of the
alley; because Nestos knows that the people of Neraka do not readily like
elves.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Nuindai, the Month of Aelmont, 19 02:17:20 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject Gathering Information
Nestos watches the flames leap up from his fingers, the faint glow lights
the room enough to show that the warehouse is completely empty save for the
mage and a fidgety little cutpurse. The cutpurse is clearly uncomfortable in
the presence of the mage.
'So, how much do you want for this piece of information?' the magic user
states with coldness in his voice.
'And so that means?' the mage says, appearing to grow impatient.
'Um, I was thinking that maybe, um, 100 gold might be sufficient?'
The mage stands from the barrel that he had been sitting on, and for the
first time looks at the cutpurse. '100 gold? Let me see what you have, ' the
mage says and reaches out his hand.
The cutpurse puts the paper in Nestos' hand. The mage unfolds the paper and
reads the contents. After finishing the paper the elf holds it in his a
second, then speaking a word, the flames reappear in his hand, destroying
the paper. He then looks up to the cutpurse. 'You think that this is worth
100 gold?' he says with anger in his voice, 'I will give you 50 gold for
this and we will see what you get for the next piece of information.'
The cutpurse nods his head nervously and pulls out several more pieces of
paper. These pages are more tattered than the first, and the mage scowls at
the look of the papers but takes them anyway and begins to read each page.
As he does a smile creeps across his face, 'Now this is worth your 100 gold
and then some.'
The mage pulls out a bag of gold from his satchel and tosses it to the
cutpurse. 'There is 200 gold in that, do not say I am not generous, and if
you have any more information do not hesitate to call on me. I will let you
know if there is anything else that I will need you for, ' Nestos says as he
signals for the cutpurse to leave.
Nestos looks over the tattered pages and reflects on his new life. The
conclave had given him access to any spellbook that he has been written, and
potions and scrolls on top of that, but there was not much money to be had
living and breathing the as a conclave mage, but being the one that has the
right information, that is worth a lot. He will sell the information that he
paid 50 gold for and get five times the price, plus more than pay for the
150 gold he just spent for a new spell. The mage smiles as he puts the
spellbook pages into his satchel.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Rannmont, 13 08:20:23 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Next Time
No! I will not take the Red Robes in that direction, Lynx says, in dire
tones.
You do not understand, the magus tries to explain but was interrupted.
I think I do, 'She won't hinder magic but only make it more powerful', and I
believe that that thinking is folly, and YOU should too, Nestos.
Nestos rolls his eyes at the mockery of his words and says, Perhaps the
order would be best served by a different High Archmage.
And what? You will take it from me? the archmage says as he stands, but as
he does so, Nestos unsheathes his dagger, a black blade with a blood-ruby in
its pommel. He jumps across the desk, leading with the dagger. The enchanted
blade pierces the magic shield Lynx had put up. Lynx eyes open wide as
Nestos sticks the blade deep underneath his superior's ribcage.
As Nestos yanks the blade out of the quickly expiring man in front of him
warm blood flows down his hand. The young mage smiles and says Yes I will,
sir, as Lynx falls back into his chair, lifeless. Nestos pushes him out
of the chair and sits in the comfortable leather. He sets the dagger on the
desk and leans back in the chair. He shuts his eyes and relaxes.
When he opens them he is lying on the hard bed of the inn he is staying at
south of Sanction, clutching his dagger. The drowsiness of sleep begins to
wear off, a slight amount of disappointment fills it in; but it soon wears
off and the renegade smiles as he looks down at the black blade with the
runes engraved on it. The dagger he tried to kill Lynx with the first time
had been weakly enchanted; this one will have no problem when it comes to a
second time.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of Mishamont, 3 00:50:28 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Ritual
The mage sits on the ground, in the middle of a rune circle, quietly
chanting. The large, jet black, raven stares at the mage with its burning
red eyes as it quietly quorks and murmurs to itself. As he begins to finish
the ritual, the mage remembers the circumstance that had brought the raven
to him.
Nestos was standing outside the gates of the conclave after being released
from their jails after serving his time. He chuckled to himself about all
the mages that had come to his cell to "reform" him, but now he had to make
it back home. The last time he had been in this situation he had prepared
for it and stowed away enough components for a traveling spell; but Ciskei
had descended upon him too quickly and he had only enough time to send his
staff to its non-dimensional space. They allowed him to keep his dagger, but
would have taken the staff if they could have gotten it; but worst of all,
they had taken his components.
So, the mage sat, looking into the heart of the ominous forest of Wayreth. A
place that is kind to the friends of the Conclave, and a torment to those
that are not. Unfortunately for Nestos, he falls into the latter. The
prospect of entering the forest was not a good one, but the idea of sitting
in the cell in the bottom of the towers any longer was worse. So the mage
set out into the forest in hopes that the gods would lead him out.
The renegade wandered for days inside the forest without food and water. He
could feel himself wasting away by the minute, so he kneeled on the ground
and prayed to any god that would hear him. Shortly after completing his
prayer he fell to the ground, week from exhaustion. It was than that the
large raven had landed in front of him. It looked at him with those red
eyes. The mage could see an unusual intelligence in the creature and watched
as it flapped to a low branch and quorked at him. The magic user slowly, and
painfully, got to his feet and followed the raven as it hopped flapped from
one branch to the other till he found himself on a road. Nestos fell to his
knees and thanked which ever god had sent the raven. He held out his hand
and the bird flew to it and crawled up to his shoulder. The mage than knew
what this creature was to be.
The mage finishes the ritual and his hand the same way he had on the road.
The raven flies to his hand and again walks up his shoulder, quorking all
the while.
"What is your name, familiar?"
The raven cocks its head, "Sitharnos," the raven replies.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Mishamont, 20 00:13:41 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject A Betrayal, Part 1
The dark elf enters the empty warehouse and is greeted by a fidgety
cutpurse.
"Hey, boss," the man says, clearly nervous.
"Hello, Fidget," the magus responds, "Is he ready?"
"Yeah, Nestos, he is in the back."
"Thank you," the magic-user says as he puts his hand on a door, opposite
from where he came in, "No one is to enter until I say. Is that
understood?"
"Yes, boss."
"Good," Nestos says, before shouldering through the door and entering the
small office and closing the door behind him. He places his hand on the door
and chants to himself, locking the door with magic. He then turns and looks
at the room. It is a small office, probably where the foreman of the
warehouse was set up before it was abandoned. Large candles burn in the
corners and a table is set in the middle of the room, with a man tied to it.
The man's eyes follow the mage as he makes his way towards him.
"I know you know why you are here. Would you like to just admit it now and
get this farce over with," Nestos asks when he reaches the table.
"I have done nothing," says the gruff man. His bear is spattered with blood
and his eye is beginning to close. Nestos cringes at this, no doubt it was
from a struggle when his cutpurse brought him here.
"You have betrayed me and sold secrets to someone else. I will have a
name."
"I have done no such thing. Let me go and I will find the one who has."
"I know you better than you think, Ed, and your snake's tongue will not get
you out of this."
The mage pulls his dagger from its sheath on his belt. The blood-ruby in its
pommel glows a deep red in the candle light, "Tell me what I want to know
and this will be over fast. If you do not tell me now I will make you wish
you had."
The man's stoic mask breaks and turns to fear, "Please, to tell you is to
damn my family.
Nestos sets the blade down next to the man and leans on his elbow next to
the man's face and grins, "And to not tell is to do the same, but if you do
tell me, your family will have nothing to fear."
"Please, no. I can not tell you."
Oh, please, yes. You can tell me, and you will!" the dark elf exclaims. He
reaches into a pouch and pulls out components to a spell. He chants quietly
to himself. His hand glows an eerie shad of blue. Nestos then places his
hand on the man's forehead and closes his eyes. A moment later he removes
his hand and smiles as he opens his eyes.
"Will you tell me or shall we begin?"
The man finds a second wind of will power and states, "I will not tell
you."
"Very well."
Nestos reaches into another pouch and pulls out some more components and
begins chanting. Upon reaching the climax of his spell, the room melts away
into a crowded street. Nestos and the man stand outside a small house in
Sanction.
"I assume you know where we are," Nestos says to the man.
The gruff man lowers his head, "I do."
"Good, let's go inside."
"No!" the man blurts out.
"Oh, yes, I told you the consequences."
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Mishamont, 20 00:18:07 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject A Betrayal, Part 2
The mage raises his hand in a fist to knock on the door.
"No! Wait," the battered man blurts, "Leave my family out of this, kill me,
but leave my family be."
"Now I would certainly be glad to do so," the mages states, and watches as
the man's frown turns to a slight smile, than says, "If only you would give
me the name."
The man frown again, "I can not."
The mage raises his hand to knock on the door again.
"Wait! You once said that you loved my family as if they were your own.
Please, leave them out of it."
"You are right, I did say that, and that is why I will not leave them
alone," the dark elf does knock on the door this time.
He turns to the man and chants quietly to himself till his open hand
crackles from arcs of electricity moving from fingertip to fingertip, "I
wonder who will answer the door? Your daughter or your wife?"
"Please, don't," the man says in an almost resigned tone.
The door swings open and a little girl, no older than ten appears in the
doorway with a charming smile. A bolt of lightning arcs from the mage's hand
and shoots through the young girl and sears the back wall. Her lifeless body
flies back into the house. A scream can be heard as a half-elf woman comes
from another room. Before she can reach the body of her dead daughter, the
magic-user raises his staff and the woman freezes in her place.
"Come, Edward Let us go inside."
The man enters the house under the mage's will and not his own, and Nestos
closes the door behind them. He turns to the woman and says, "Your husband
has made a grave mistake and sold information to someone else, and now he
will not give me a name."
The sorrow in the half-elf's eyes turns to fear as she realizes what is
about to happen. The magus walks over to the woman, takes her hand and sets
it down on a nearby table.
"Give me a name, Eddie," he says, calmly, as he again draws his dagger from
its sheath.
"I...you wouldn't," the man stammers between sobs.
The elf, without thought, brings the dagger down quickly. Tears fall freely
down the held woman's face as Nestos severs her index finger.
"A name!"
The man stares blackly at his previous boss, and the dark elf does not give
him long before taking off another finger and raises his eyes to the man,
who again hesitates. Then as Nestos begins to drag his blade across the
third finger the man screams, "No, I will tell you."
The renegade looks up to the man, "Speak it than."
"Tornuc," the man states flatly.
With a wave of Nestos' hand they are back in the warehouse, and the man is
again strapped to the table. He continues to sob, muttering, "Why?"
The mage stands over the man, "You, know? You were an excellent informer,
and loyal till now, and I do have for love for your family, and that is why
I will send you to the Abyss with one last payment," the magic-user says,
lifting his dagger off the alter, "I will pay you with information of my
own. What has just occurred was a mere illusion. Your family is fine. And
further, I will do everything in my power to keep it that way. Now...give my
regards to Takhisis."
The mage plunges his dagger deep into the man's chest, and looks to the
man's face to see the man's last act before dying, to smile slightly.
The magus exits the office and turns to the nervous cutpurse and says, as he
pulls a large coin purse from his satchel, "I want you to bring this to
Eddi's wife. She will know what it means, and tell her I will come by to
explain things," the mage grimaces as he continues, "And please tell me if
she is too pissed off, I do not want to face an angry wife unprepared; and
post one of your most loyal men at Eddie's house to keep them safe. Also, I
want you to find out about this Tornuc. Do not do anything, just learn what
you can."
"Yes, boss," Fidget says as he runs out of the warehouse.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Manthus, the Month of Chislmont, 1 02:15:58 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject Stealing & Information
The dark elf sits on the edge of the bed massaging his temples, thinking
about all the possible repercussions to his business that may come from his
actions. His dark brown, almost black, hair falls loosely across his bare
shoulders. Just as he comes to his decision of what to do as damage control,
he hears her stir next to him, "Good morning," she says groggily.
"I have decided what must happen," the mage says, turning to the woman.
Her light brown hair is pushed back her slightly pointed ears to reveal her
elven heritage; but her curves reflect her human side. The hair falls into
her face as she sits up and draws up a blanket to cover herself, "About
what?"
The elf smiles, "You know what. You are to tell no one of this. Do you
understand?"
"No I don't. Why mustn't people know?"
"For a few reasons, sweetling, the first being that no one will work for me
if they think I kill my employees to get to their wives."
"But you didn't," the woman states, feigning innocence.
"You and I know this, but to anyone else it will not look that way. So, you
must not tell anyone, and I am sure I do not need to tell you what happens
if you do," the renegade states, growing serious.
The woman scans the elf's face, and after finding no joke in his statement,
nods with resignation.
After seeing her recognition he says, "And second, I would not want anyone
to use you as leverage against me, my sweet," he says with a wry smile. The
mage, after whispering a word of magic, reaches out and touches her nose.
Quickly, pale, purple and green flames spread across her body.
"I do like when you use magic on me," she says, wearing a broad grin.
The dark elf's smile gets larger, "Good, but now I must leave. I need to
take care of some business. I will be gone for some time."
The mage rises slowly to his feet, favoring his lame leg, and begins to
dress.
"Where are you going to go?"
The renegade turns to here and waves his finger back and forth while tsking
her, "You know I will not tell you."
"I thought maybe," she says, feigning innocence again.
"You are a sly woman."
The dark elf makes a motion with his hand, and his staff materializes in his
hand. He reaches into a pouch and pulls out some components and chants to
himself. A shimmering door appears to him and he gets ready to step through
the door.
"Will you come see me when you are back in town, Nestos?"
"We will see," he says, wearing another wry smile, and he steps through the
door to emerge in a dark alley, outside of a tavern. He walks insie and
immediately spots his informant fidgeting in the corner, and makes his way
towards him. The cutpurse sees Nestos and points to a corner of the bar and
makes his way to the location. As the dark elf approaches, two shady men
standing in the spot see him, and after nodding, slink off to another part
of the bar.
"Boss, what happened? You were supposed to meet me for the information last
night after you met with...," the man trails off as he realizes why the mage
was absent the night before, "You didn't do what I think you did?"
"I suppose that depends on what you are thinking," then, with his tone
growing slightly threatening, he continues, "and here is not the place for
this talk; and I am sure you know to keep such things just between us?"
"Of course, boss. I won't tell a soul, but I hope you will tell me what
happened when the time presents itself," the man says, looking fidgeting
with a gold coin in his hand.
The mages grins, "Of course I will, old friend. I will need your counsel on
it when I return from my journey; which reminds me, did you get the
information I asked you to get?"
The cutpurse hands the renegade a piece of paper, "I was able to gather most
of the information you asked for."
The mage opens the paper and smiles, "This will do. Thank you." to look
into," he turns to leave but turns back remembering something, "Oh, and keep
the guards on Naera's home."
"I was planning on it," the cutpurse says with a knowing smile.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Shinarai, the Month of Chislmont, 30 01:59:20 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject Dangerous Studies
The magus sits at truly looking at the tome for the first time. He runs
his hand across the patch work cover, naming the race that each patch of
leathered skin came from to himself. He grins as he listens to the sentient
book sending telepathic messages to him, calling him to read. He had been
studying the history of the artifact and the stories and information he
found were of grave danger, but also, unsurpassed knowledge. It is the
latter that the dark elf is after, but it requires overcoming the former. He
read many stories about people's failures at trying to read from the book,
but he found little on the successes. The only thing he could find as a fact
was that to fail the battle of wills, meant that the magical item would take
one's soul to feed its own knowledge.
The renegade sets his hands on the cover and closes his eyes in meditation,
blocking out everything but the calls of the artifact. A few moments pass,
and he opens his eyes and looks down at the book as he opens to the first
page. As soon as the cover is opened, the elf gets the sensation of icy
fingers grasping his soul. The sensation makes the mage uneasy, making him
want to move away from the book, but he finds that he can not move his body.
The icy hands grasp harder, and the voice that had been a distant call is
now in his head.
"Hello, Nestos. I thought you would never read the book. You have a strong
will, but I am afraid I will be taking your soul anyway. I have not had a
new soul to feed on in some time. Have a look."
Nestos watches as a long list of names begins to appear on the page in front
of him.
"These are the ones that fell victim to me; these are the ones that you will
be joining soon," the voice says, as it makes Nestos flip page to page until
after several pages the list ends.
The icy fingers constrict further and begin to rip at the mage's soul; and a
pain, unimaginable, wracks his body. His eyes widen as he watches, what look
like, little wisps of smoke emerge from his chest; but instead of going up,
the wisps of his soul move toward Desderada Malificar.
The renegade, after recovering his composure, begins to think of how to stem
the outflow, and decides to try and focus on keeping his soul intact. As the
pain begins to grow, the dark elf begins to lose his vision until finally a
bright white light flashes in his eyes and his body collapses to the table,
his face pressed against the last page of the list.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Manthus, the Month of Bran, 6 19:36:55 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject A New Start
A New Start The mage becomes conscious some time after the flash of light
caused him to pass out. His head seems as though it is splitting in two, and
as hard as he tries, he can not open his eyes, but after some time, his eyes
do open and he begins to move, but to his horror, not of his own will. He
glances down at the book lying open on the table. He notices that his name
is not on the list of those that had fallen victim to Desderada Malificar,
but he still gets the feeling that he has not one.
'Ah, Nestos, so you were strong enough to keep yourself intact, but I am
still in control of your body, I suppose I win anyways. You will lose your
will and then I will have your soul; until than I must be content with just
your body.'
His body stands up and picks up the book and shoves it in the satchel at his
side. He then proceeds to collect the rest of Nestos gear and placing it in
the bag. Desderada Malificar then picks up the staff that the magus created
after finishing his Test of High Sorcery.
'A magnificent staff, you do have a great skill with the arcane, it will be
a pleasure to have the information once I have taken your soul.'
'I guarantee you will not have it."
'Oh I think I will my friend, but until that point, just enjoy the ride.'
'And where is it that you plan to go, with my body?'
'I plan to go back to where I have been imprisoned for all this time, to
gain what knowledge I can, as a form of revenge I suppose. That is, while I
still have your body to play around with. I will say this, ' the sentient
being states with Nestos' mouth, 'this limp is not in the least helpful. I
believe that will need to be one of the first things I will fix. Do not
worry. I will be doing you a favor, think of it as a kindness that you will
walk without a limp before I take your soul.'
Nestos' body reaches for spell components and begins to cast a spell; the
body begins to wisp away, as if made of smoke. Then, Nestos realizes that
he, and Desderada Malificar, had been transported to somewhere. Once the
body is fully back on the material plane, Nestos notices where he is,
outside the Forest of Wayreth.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Soldai, the Month of Bran, 19 08:43:58 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject Things From Another Life
The mage limps down the hallway deep bellow the black tower. He runs his
fingers along the wall, and looks to the wall as if looking for something.
He stops before the onyx wall, apparently this wall is like any other part
of the wall; but when he touches it, sensing the sentient being, the wall
dissolves, revealing a hidden room. The mage smiles and steps in. He walks
to a trunk, sitting below a pedestal that should normally hold a book, but
is now empty. He opens the trunk that appears to hold much more than its
size would allow. He reaches in a pulls out a long black velvet robe,
trimmed in golden runes. The mage smiles as if looking upon something that
he had not seen in a long while. He takes off his black, runed cloak and red
robe with black runes covering it; and places them in the trunk. He then
dons the black robes.
The mage reaches back into the trunk and pulls out a belt, laden with
pouches of all sizes as well as skulls and gems of different animals and
materials. He cinches it around his waist and places the old one in the
trunk. He also puts the black bladed dagger in the trunk and straps a sheath
to the inside of his left wrist and slides a golden dagger into it.
"I must admit, you did have things for efficiency; but I personally am more
into aesthetics," the mage states to himself.
"I happened to like my possessions, wearing your own clothes will not help
you take my soul," Nestos says to the sentient being, now controlling his
body.
"One step at a time, my friend," the sentient being says through Nestos
mouth, "Which reminds me, I need to take care of this leg of yours if I am
to be using your body. The trick is finding the right...sacrifice."
The mage smoothes out his robes as he leaves the room with the trunk; and as
he does, the wall rematerializes. Before walking down the hallway the mage
looks at the staff grey staff with black runes and with a thought makes the
staff shift colors to black with gold runes.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Luindai, the Month of Bran, 31 19:53:01 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject A New Master
The mage walks down the halls of the black tower, his face seems as if it
were made of stone. He expresses no emotion of any kind and brushes off
people's attempts at talking with him. As he walks down the halls, the
people that want to speak with him are ones that are either interested in
what he did while a renegade or wants to spout a string of curses at him for
being there.
"Are you looking to take the test again, Nestos?" says a squat dark dwarf,
as he comes out from a doorway.
This being a new comment, it catches the dark elf's ear, "I may. What is it
that you can do to help with that?"
"I could take you as my apprentice. I do not know if you remember me, but we
were apprentices together. Anyways," the dark dwarf says as he raises his
hands at his sides, "I am master now and could take you on if you want."
"I would like that..."
"Grim, ah, Stonebiter. I would have thought you would have remembered me,
eh?"
"I do apologize," the dark elf says with feigned sincerity, "it has been
some time since I have been here. I do not recall many things."
"No worries. Tell you what. My office is on the fourth floor, if you want to
meet me there tomorrow around noon we can start with your apprenticeship;
and do not worry. I remember you and that you took the test already. I will
go easy on you," the dark dwarf says with a smile as he wheels on his heels
and makes his way towards the stares.
"Well, finally someone is willing to take me on. I wish you had not caused
such a trouble for me on my arrival. You sure seemed to make the wrong
people angry," Nestos says, apparently to no one, "You know I once
controlled the form of the leader of the black robes? It was a brilliant
time. Unfortunately, human form has its draw backs...short life spans. I
will say though, he was much easier to conquer than you. You still are not
willing to just give up your body. Oh well, you will."
The mage then continues to walk down the hall towards his room to rest.
Tomorrow will be interesting.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Argon, 10 22:30:23 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject Apprentice Again
The dark elf walks into a dimly lit room, the only light coming from
black wax candles. Two figures converse in the room; one, a relatively thin
dark dwarf, sits behind a desk while the larger human sits in front of it.
Upon seeing the elf cone in, the dark dwarf signals for him to take the
empty seat next the human.
"Hah, Nestos. Come, sit. Meet my other apprentice and your new work mate."
The dark elf sits in the seat next to the human, who makes an attempt to see
under the elf's cowl. "What kind of a name's Nestos? Sounds fruity, like
some elf name."
The dark elf draws back his cowl, revealing his heritage and smiles at the
man, "You are right on with your assumption, you are not as stupid as I
would have thought."
"An elf?! I will not work with a good for nothing elf."
"That's enough! You two will work together, or neither one if you will be
taking the test," bellows the dwarf. "Nestos, this is Maxthor. He is from
Tarsis and has just come to conclave for tutelage. And Maxthor, as you know,
this is Nestos. He is a high elf who is now coming back to the conclave
after a," the dwarf pauses, searching for the word, "for lack of a better
word, vacation."
The man looks at the elf, confused; but before he could speak, the dwarf
picks up again. "So, now that the introductions are done, we will move to
what you all must do. Your first tasks will be to visit Palanthas and
retrieve a scroll from a mate there. It will require you two to work
together. He will be protecting it with his life, so if you must take his
life, than take it. The scroll contains a powerful spell that you two are to
learn. After that, come back here and show me the results."
The two apprentices continue to sit in their chairs, until the dark elf
stands. "Well than, I suppose we must be going. Come Maxthor."
"I am not your pet, elf."
"But you will go, and work together."
The human gives his master a scathing look, but follows the dark elf out the
door.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Sirrimont, 28 00:37:14 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject On the Hunt
The two mages, dressed in plain clothes, sit in the bar, surrounded by
the sailors who have put in to the harbor in Palanthas. The human continues
to drown himself in spirits, but the dark elf merely smokes a pipe and
watches the third, less conspicuous mage in the corner. The third mage looks
around, as if everyone were watching him, but his gaze passes over the dark
elf because of a magical illusion.
The two mages tracked the third to here. This shady man is who their master
told them about and they discovered that the mage plans to sell the scroll
in the next few days, so the two have that long to obtain it. Finally, the
human turns away from his drinking long enough to mock the elf, "Oi, elf!
What do you think?" He says as he nudges the dark elf, receiving a scathing
look from the elf.
"I do not have a problem with killing, but what you are talking about is
foolishness. Killing him on the street will arouse suspicion and more than
likely the guards. You are a fool for even thinking that, we need to track
him to where he is staying and do it there."
The human mage looks to him in disbelief, "He travels almost exclusively on
other planes. How are we supposed to follow him?"
The dark elf rolls his eyes and puffs on his pipe, purposely not answering
for a moment. He then responds in an annoyed tone, "We use magic to enter
the same plane and follow, but we need to wait till the proper moment. Which
means you must stop your drinking for a moment to watch," the mage chides
the other, "So, open your eyes and maybe we will get that damn scroll and I
can be rid of you." "You are not the only on that will..." he starts but the
elf stops him and points to show the target preparing a transportation
spell. The elf then goes into a spell of his own. As the target mage
disappears into another plane, the dark elf appears to decay and turn to
dust, entering the ethereal plane with the other mage and follows him; soon
after the human mage stumbles into the plane, nearly cutting himself in half
with the spell.
"Sorry. It is not my best spell."
The dark elf shoots him a look telling him to be quiet and the two follow
the man through the plane till they find his destination, a hotel outside of
the walls of Palanthas. The two hunters come out in the hallway, looking at
the door in which their target had entered.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Boreadi, the Month of Sirrimont, 28 01:09:08 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Kill
Nestos pulls out some components and begins some chants and raises his
hand towards the door, but is interrupted by the human mage next to him. The
man grabs the dark elf's arm, "Wait. Mind if I do this one?" The human says
as he pushes past the elf.
The elf sneers at the human but steps back and indicates the door; and the
human steps up and pulls up different components out, and after a short
chant, his hands flare red and the door blows to splinters, send shards
everywhere.
"You have no tact, fool," the dark elf growls and quickly limps into the
room. Smoke fills the room and he can hardly see anything, and he realizes
that some of it is magical. He pulls out an oil, and after quickly chanting,
he rubs it in his eyes. The mage, now able to see through the smoke quickly
finds his prey and raises his staff towards him, and with a word, the target
mage's body goes rigid and the only things of him that moves is his eyes.
The human mage enters the room and dispels the magical smoke and steps up to
the prey and removes the scrollcase from the mage's arm and raises his hand
and chants; but this time the dark elf stops him, dropping a handful of rose
petals on his head. The human fights the magic for a second, but quickly
gives into the magical sleep. The dark elf waits till his fellow hunter has
fallen asleep to turn to his real prey, "At last, I can get down to
business, I have no need for whatever that scroll is, but I do have need of
you." The elf pulls out his golden dagger and grins at the frozen mage.
"This I am sure will be painful." The elf mage pulls out some odd looking
components and holds them in the hand with his dagger and begins chanting.
Soon the dagger begins to glow a sickly green. The dark elf then sinks the
dagger into the man up to the hilt.
The green glow covers the other mage's body and immediately makes him
convulse. Soon the green begins to flow back, through the knife, and into
the elf. Nestos' eyes roll back into his head and after a moment he removes
the dagger and wipes it off on the other's robes.
Nestos moves his leg around freely, apparently without any pain. He grins
and then turns to the sleeping mage and sneers again. He chants some words
and a dimensional door appears next to him. He hefts the human through and
then, after grabbing the scrollcase, he steps through the door after him;
appearing on the Glyph.
Krynn Author: Nestos
Date: Gilaedai, the Month of Reorxmont, 5 19:34:32 354 Post Cataclysm
Subject The Finishing of an Apprentice's Quest
The dark elf slides into his master's office. The room is dark, save for
a few candles lit. The dwarf is writing in his spellbook, copying the
flowing words of arcane from the scroll he and the other apprentice had
brought him. The other apprentice is nowhere to be seen, but the elf knows
he will be arriving soon.
"Sit," the dark dwarf commands, signaling to a chair in front of his desk
with the feather end of his quill; his gaze does not leave the book.
The elf glares angrily at the dwarf for the command, but as he was on his
way to the chair anyway, he sits in it, propping his feet up on the desk and
leaning his staff across the armrests.
The other mage, a human, enters the room; and upon seeing the elf becomes
irate, "You! You cast a sleep spell on me before I could kill that runt of a
mage."
The elf cranes his head around and with a grin dismisses the idea as
preposterous. "I killed him. Never fear, the mage is dead," he says with
sarcasm.
The human glares at the other apprentice, but seeing his master writing he
drops the argument and sits in the chair. The master finishes copying the
spell and looks up from his work.
"Well done you two. You completed my task; and quite brilliantly I must add.
So, this means that you two are that much closer to taking the Test. But
first, my next task: you two must learn this spell," he says, tossing the
main scroll, and a copy over to them, "I expect that you will have trouble
with the spell, but when you are ready, the Test will be on the other end.
You may go," he says as he looks over to the human.
The man departs the room with the same anger he entered with, but this time
directed at the master that is keeping the elf behind. After the door is
closed the elf looks up from the scroll with a look of disdain. "I will not
learn this. There is no point in it."
"No point in it? I would say that a spell that can kill instantly is quite
useful."
"Bah. What would be the point in that? The fun is in watching the victim die
a slow, painful death," the elf says with an even tone.
The dwarf chuckles and looks to the dark elf, "Nestos, I never knew elves
had the ability to be so evil, but you are right. There is no way he will
learn that spell and I doubt you could in a short period of time. I am not
sure I will be able to grasp it; but you will need to at the least, copy it
into your spellbook. Once you have finished this task, you will take your
Test."
The dark elf grins at this piece of information. "Well, I guess I better get
to copying."
The dark dwarf nods, "Now leave, I am going to be studying myself." The
master looks down to his spellbook and is instantly absorbed in it.
Nestos again sneers at the thought of being given orders, but is happy to be
gone from the office. He stands up, no longer hindered by his leg, and walks
out of the office, shutting the black door, and as he does he sees the gold
rune glow, signifying the door has been magically locked.
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