A black day under the Brilliance
Or How not to leave the city
Things were going well for my master. He and his fellow fools had managed
to acquire a block of stone that allowed them to leave the town. Why they
did not just walk out of the gate is another of the customs the furred ones
like. One of the other furred ones, a servant of the idiot Mage (it's amazing,
they are all stupid from birth, and yet this one surpasses all others
and to reach new levels of stupidity). As I was saying, the servant
had found a guide to lead us to the lost temple, where final power will be
mine.
This guide suggested that we wait for a few days until a market or some kind
would take place. The powerful Magi once again showed their weakness by
agreeing to wait, rather than take what is rightfully theirs. My master
decided that as there was time he would speak to other Magi to see if he
could acquire a powerful forbidden spell that he had recently learned of.
I was amazed, it seemed to take much less prompting than usual for him
to agree with me.
Being less stupid than the other Magi that he follows for some reason, and
remembering the disagreements that he had with the head of the Magi in this
town, he pretends to be a different Mage. I notice no difference, he just
calls himself something else, and everybody thinks he has changed. They
are all fools in this dimension, only fit to be made slaves or worse by
my true masters.
My master heads to the tower where the other Mages of his colour stay. There
he speaks to the person who guards the books that hide the knowledge of the
Magi. They bicker for a while, but he is refused access to the forbidden
spell. The librarian tells my Master that he needs to get the permission
from the head Mage before he can study that spell. Like a lamb to the
slaughter, my Master foolishly follows his sheep like instincts. However
I try to train him in the true nature of power and how to use it, he
occasionally slips back to following the other idiots.
The head Mage seems to be not quite as dumb as the rest of the occupants
of this tower, and nearly sees through the feeble disguise of my Master.
However he soon proves himself as capable as the others and settles down
to creating petty restrictions on the spell. My Master's brain must have
fallen out somewhere on the stairs, or greed must have gotten the better
of him! He agrees to study the spell and then to spend the rest of his
life creating magical weapons for the tower. I cannot act as if the head
Mage sees what control I have over my "Master", he might suspect something
of the greater plan.
Ed's Note: The spell that his Master is trying to obtain is the evil
Blood Sacrifice spell. It allows him to
cast several powerful spells without sacrificing his own health to do so.
It's morally dubious, and can lead the Mage down the path to white sorcery...
My master and I are locked into a basement room, with the tablets that
these natives use to hold information. I am thinking of deserting my
fool of a master and leaving to control someone else instead, when I
see what he is doing. It is rather a clever plan for one of these fools
to think of without help. He has cast some sort of magic which is copying
the tablets onto smaller ones which he can steal. After such a burst
of intelligence, his brain must have overheated to try his next plan.
He walks up to the door and is surprised to see two guards beyond. He tells
the guards that he wishes to leave. They look confused, and then one of
them runs off to fetch one of the Magi. Instead of taking this opportunity,
my Master stands and waits. The head Mage appears, looking upset at being
disturbed, "what do you want?" he asks. My master
tells him that he has studied for too long and needs to leave to get some rest
and relaxation, and to get away from the problem for a while. The head
Mage refuses and points to the small bed and side room. "We have provided
facilities for you to rest, if you wish.". My master replies "I feel the
need to see the sun."
Ed's note: His master is Blacky of the the Black Order of Magi. They
have control over darkness, water and cold, and prefer the dark side of the
planet. They are opposed to the Red Order, who control Sun, heat and
insects, and prefer the daylight side of the planet. A Black Order Mage
asking to see the Sun, is not a good idea...
The head Mage looks extremely surprised by this outburst. Then he starts
looking suspiciously at my Master. "Lower your hood", he demands. My
master replies "Do you wish me to create these magical weapons for you?".
He does not look convinced, "Stop evading, and show your face imposter" he
repeats. My master refuses, "My face is hideously deformed, and would haunt
you till the end of your days. You do not wish to see it.", he continues,
"I will stay here and continue to study this spell, but it will take longer,
and you will regret angering me.". At this the head Mage snorts, and
replies "Continue then, but I will be watching you. Don't try anything else".
A short while after the head Mage has left, my Master sends me through the
door to have a look at the guards. I rush back and try to warn him that they
are powerful demons, but he ignores me. He summons three of my lesser
cousins, and sends them through the door to attack the guards. The guards,
which are much more powerful than the demons summoned, destroy them easily.
I sneak off to watch what the others are doing. The other party members
have heard that Quintar (who my master has disguised himself as)
is in the tower, and as several hold long grudges
against him have decided to go to the tower and confront him. They meet
with the head Mage, and he confirms that Quintar is indeed in the tower.
They tell him of the crimes that Quintar committed, (murder, treason, nothing
important), and he goes with them to seize Quintar and to being him to trial
for his crimes.
Back downstairs, my Master is struggling to escape through the skylight. He
uses another demon to break the wooden slats, and to lift a table with him
on it. As he steps off of the table and into the courtyard, the head Mage
rounds the corner to discover the broken door, wounded demons, and escaping
Mage. He raises the alarm and starts trying to follow.
Ed's Note: The skylight was comprised of a series of wooden slats. A
comment was made during the game, "what if it rains?", we're on the daylight
side of the planet, which hasn't seen rain in living memory...
My master uses the demon to lift him up the side of the courtyard and onto
the roof of one of the buildings. Some guards start to follow, but it
takes them longer to climb onto the roof. He runs to the roof of the Inn
where we are staying, and then jumps the gap to the Barracks. He lowers
himself to the roof of the next building, and from there to the street. I
scamper after him as he runs across the street and down a back alley to the
river. He runs to the end of the block. He stops and I watch as he
removes his disguise, which consists solely of lowering his hood.
I sit back in my usual place on his shoulder and we walk past the guards to
the main square. There we see the others in conversation with the head Mage,
so we stroll over to join them. Things are going well, my Master acts
surprised when he hears that Quintar is in town. There is a shout of "traitors"
and Kalor of the Malor storms out of the tower towards the Magi.
Ed's Note: The Malor are a special group of Black Order Magi, who we are
currently working against. Kalor is quite high up and we have a particularly
bad hate/hate relationship with him.
The foolish surface crawlers argue in the square about who has betrayed some
stupid city called `Ur'. Kalor sends some men to search the rooms. My master
tells me telepathically to warn the other party members in our rooms to
hide the things they stole from the Malor. One of the fools gathers all of
the stolen artifacts and climbs out of a window. He is seen and pursued by
guards, who eventually corner him and rag him back to the Magi. In the
square, the head Mage is looking at my Master suspiciously, "I recognise
your voice", he says. "You are Quintar the traitor" he says pointing at
my Master.
The party now looks like it's in trouble. Melbar, the very stupid Mage
looks confused. "He's not a traitor, he's just a Black Mage."
(Ed: while surrounded by powerful Black Order Magi). One of
the newer members of the party runs off and to get the second in command of
the town, who is a Red Order Mage. They stand
around and shout at each other, until one of them remembers about the
strange custom of fighting to the death to prove who is telling the truth.
Report
Day 238 since the Year's Passing
By Alabar, 8th Legion, Horn's Shadow Garrison
... As reported elsewhere the most respected Magi were disagreeing as to who
was the traitor to the glorious city of Ur. They decided to have an
honourable duel between the Melbar the Just and Kalor the False, to decide
who was telling the truth.
The duel starts with Kalor summoning a foul demon from the Dark side and a swarm of
icky green insects crawls out of his clothing. Melbar responds by creating
a powerful column of fire where Kalor stands. The demon charges in to
attack Melbar.
Melbar create a impressive wall of fire between him and the demon. The swarm of insects splits into two and
attacks him. He cuts swaths through the two swarms with his mighty sword
dispersing both into nothingness. Kalor summons the evil power of the
Dark side to him, but his magic fails him and nothing happens.
Kalor moves around the column of fire and draws his sword. The demon attacks Melbar from the side, surprising him
and knocking him to the ground under the ferocious onslaught. The demon then turns on Kalor, as all evil creatures
do. Kalor dismisses the demon with a
gesture, a triumphant smirk on his face.
He is surprised to hear a roar from behind, and turns to meet Melbar who is
charging towards him. An epic fight ensues with Melbar taking an awesome
amount of damage blood flows freely. Suddenly, as it seems that Melbar has
met his end, he pulls off an amazing overhead swing which should have split
Kalor into two. Kalor just manages to parry and riposts with a hammering
blow of his own, shattering Melbar's shield into several pieces.
Another flurry of furious fighting ensues. It is amazing that the two
of them can continue to fight. Both are staggering around and bleeding
from multiple wounds. Kalor manages to strike another stunning blow
and Melbar once again falls. Several followers run from the crowd as
Kalor falls over as well. Both are treated by their servants and by
some stroke of fate kalor is wonded by hisown aide! Melbar staggers
to his feet after his own healing and manages to drag his weapon
towards Kalor, who croaks "traitor" with his dying breath
and expires. Melbar stays upright by pure will power and is proclaimed the
victor.
Melbar's name is shouted out as a hero and defender of the truth. Kalor is
denounced as a traitor. There is a day of holiday, with feasting and much
merriment. The leader of the city and the leader of the
Red Order shower Melbar and his companions with riches and give them
the freedom of the city. They take their leave, saying that they are off
to fight the army threatening the city by their own means.
Timothy Kimber