An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of 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 book on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Nestos' scribed in green ink.

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed May  6 00:35:42 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Jun  1 22:43:51 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jun  4 06:57:06 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jun  4 07:07:43 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Jun  9 04:32:32 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Jun  9 04:36:16 2009
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? 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Aug 10 09:32:51 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Aug 18 23:37:23 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov 11 00:46:12 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov 11 01:48:10 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov 11 01:51:43 2009
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Jan 19 02:17:20 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Feb 13 08:20:23 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Mar  3 00:50:28 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Mar 20 00:13:41 2010
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." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Mar 20 00:18:07 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Apr  1 02:15:58 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Fri Apr 30 01:59:20 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu May  6 19:36:55 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed May 19 08:43:58 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon May 31 19:53:01 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Jul 10 22:30:23 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Aug 28 00:37:14 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Aug 28 01:09:08 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sun Sep  5 19:34:32 2010
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. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jun  4 20:59:39 2015
Subject     Victory At Last

The entity in control of Nestos body had some how discovered the plan the
dark elf made with his master, to take back control during the test. Since
discovering this, the entity had made every effort to get around the test.
Finally, his master deliverd the news that Nestos would not be retaking the
test, since it was no longer a part of his punishment.

Nestos saved the last of his energy, not letting this blow be the end. He
waited till the moment the entity let itself enjoy the perceived victory,
causing it to lower its mental defense just enough for the dark elf to gain
a foothold in the fight for his body. The entity realized his opponent was
not quite beat and attempted to fight back, too late.


The mage stands in the middle of the courtyard of the Tower at Wayreth
Forest, frozen as if a statue. Long moments pass before his eyes seem to
focus more, coming out of a trance. His eyes dart around as the blank look
on his replaced by a wry grin. Being back in control feels good, the dark
elf thinks as he quickly heads for his room to gather his things and head
back to his life in Neraka.

He opens the door to his room in the tower and steps in. The door slams shut
behind him, and he looks up to find one of his orders council members
sitting in an overstuffed chair in the corner. Do not think you can just
leave this place, the Tower is not done with you yet, the female in the
black robes states with disdain, You must show yourself loyal to the order,
and I am here to let you know how. You are being raised to a position that
will require you to spend a considerable amount of time here. Considering
your knowledge and experience, you will be required to take on apprentices.
Also, in the little free time that you are able to do what you want, you
must begin recruiting in those cesspools you spend your time in. The woman
stands from the chair and walks to the door and opens it before continuing,
This is not an offer, these are the terms for not being required to take the
test again.

With that the council member leaves the room, slamming the door behind her.
The dark elf mage does not move for a few moments, except for a large grin
that crosses his face. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Sep  7 21:52:47 2015
Subject     A Get Away

The dark elf takes his time finding an opening against the newest
challengers, dodging blow after blow, his dagger in his right hand and a
wand in his left. He takes a few punches and duels out a number of slashes,
losing sight of the half-elf that jumped into help. He then sees what he was
waiting for as the city watch floods into the tavern, using their truncheons
freely. Upon seeing their entrance, Nestos quickly stows his dagger and wand
in their proper places. He ten makes a passive gesture, holding his hands to
the side as a member of the watch approaches him and puts manacles.

Nestos assesses what he can as the watch leads the participants of the brawl
out of the tavern. The original assailant lies dead on the floor, his skin
drawn tight over his bones, making him look like he has been dead for years.
The human still writhes on the ground holding his chest, and a number of
others lie at the feet of the half-elf, broken and bloody.

The mage leaves the tavern willingly, following the watch members. Once
outside, the city watch lines those involved in the brawl up and begins
marching them towards the dungeons. Nestos brings up the rear, followed by a
final watchman. As they march down the street, the human taps the dark elf
on the shoulder; and they both duck into an alley.

The Highmaster holds out his hands to the man who removes the manacles.
Nestos frowns at the restraints as the watchman tucks them away, "Do you
know the half-elf that was arrested with me?" the dark elf asks the man, as
he begins digging out a couple leather pouches from his satchel.

"No, sir, I don't know who he is,"  the man states, looking around
nervously.

The mage hands over a pouch that jingles as he places it in the man's hand,
"This is for you. And,"  he hands the man another, slightly larger pouch,
"this is to get the half-elf out of the dungeons. Use whatever you need for
bribes to get him out, and the rest is yours. As usual, thank you for your
assistance, Francis."

Francis grins and nods to Nestos, "It is always a pleasure,"  he says
tucking the coin purses into his belt, "I will make sure he gets out
quickly, but I cannot get him out till the next shift change in the
morning."

"That will be fine. I have to take care of a few things. You better get back
to your patrol." The Highmaster watches the man scurry out of the alley,
thankful he had a number of the city watch on the payroll.

Nestos wonders the city for some time contemplating on why the half-elf had
jumped in to help him, until he finds himself back in the White Quarter, at
the very same tavern. By now, the majority of the patrons had gone, but the
tavern owner stands behind the bar wiping a mug before tucking it under the
bar. The dark elf walks up to the owner, holding out his hands
apologetically, "I am sorry for the damages, my friend." He fishes around in
his satchel once more, retrieving a sizable coin purse. Nestos drops the
purse on the bar with a thud and gives the plump, red-nosed owner a
mischievous grin, "I hope this has not soured our business relationship."

The tavern owner looks at the bag of coins, a greedy grin on his face, W"Of
course it doesn't." He grabs the bag and tucks it under the bar, then sets
an intricately carved pipe onto the bar, "I expect you would like this
back."

The dark elf grins with delight at the man. He pulls a pouch from inside his
robes and uses the contents to load the bowl of the pipe as he says, "Thank
you, Ed." The mage puts his thumb over the bowl of the pipe as he walks out
of the tavern, then brings it to his mouth and takes a few puffs of the now
burning leaves in the pipe.

Time to figure out what this half-elf is about. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Sep 19 11:35:11 2015
Subject     A Disturbance of the Arcane, pt. 1

Zhellik came in, still tugging at buckles as he stood in the doorway a
moment, shaking his senses clear as his eyes began to focus. Letting the
flap drop closed behind him, he picked his way through the room, hissing a
-ssssssst- as he went. His voice was a loud whisper, edged with groggy
annoyance, "Sir? -Nestos!- Hey..." He reached out to toss a--He wasn't sure,
but it was softish--at the sleeping mage. Much better a plan than creeping
in on a guy like this.

The mage's eyes shot open as the object sails through the air and hit. A
dagger appeared in his hand, seemingly from nowhere, but Nestos quickly
noticed the half-elf at the door and stows the blade. "What is-,"  He began
then stops himself short, feeling the arcane power still floating in the
air. He continues as he stands, "What is it, Zhellik?" As he awaited an
answer from the mercenary, he wasted no time in getting ready. Already
dressed in his clothes, he threw on his red robe, covered in black runes
that made it look the color.

Having no sense of such things, Zhell gave the man a momentarily void
expression. It was quickly replaced by a wry look of acceptance. Time to
sound like a lunatic again, old boy. Spurs on, yeah? He tossed his hands to
the sides shaking his head, looking disheveled and a bit incredulous,
"I'm--I have no idea, just wake up. Something's...-Doing- something..." He
could have guessed, but it would have most likely been a largely useless and
smart-ass remark, considering his mood.

Nestos grinned wryly at the half-elf as he pulled a jet black cloak over
himself. As he did so, the underside wass revealed, showing gold interlocked
runes. "I know you may think that I presume you are crazy, but I truly am
interested in what brought you here. I assume it is the god that speaks to
you yes?" The dark elf flicked his wrist and a charred vallenwood staff
appeared in his hands.

Sighing under his breath, Zhellik reached up to run his finger through his
hair to get it out of his face. Head tilting, he gave a one-handed
noncommital gesture. "Well...If you consider waking up with a splitting
headache and a nigh uncontrollable urge to get you out of bed topped with an
irrational sense of panic settling in -speaking-, then yeah. Sure." Rolling
his eyes up to the sky, Zhell let his head fall back so that he could gaze
heavenward. Well, there was a ceiling, though. "I feel...Uncomfortably
watched. There's...A very strong sense of expectation." He drew his eyes
back down, giving Nestos a tilted look, wondering silently if that made any
sense at all.

Nestos waited patiently as the mercenary made his first assessment of what
was happening, then lets him explain more seriously what he was
experiencing. He seemed to think for a moment before speaking,  "It does
make sense. Whatever is telling you to wake me up, I can only guess is
trying to point us towards an event." The dark elf gestured to the tent
flap, indicating that they should exit. "There is a considerable amount of
arcane residue floating around. I would guess from a very powerful spell,
that, unless I missed something, backfired." He then waited for the other to
exit the tent before following him. "I do also have a feeling I might know
who was casting the spell," Nestos said, knowing that unless the Highlord
had someone else in the camp at his level of power, it could only be the
Highlord himself. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Sep 19 11:37:51 2015
Subject     A Disturbance of the Arcane, pt. 2

Shifting into motion, pretty close to fully awake as he pulled the flap
back, glancing out with a suddenly very keen eye. He would let Nestos pass
with the intention of following. That made sense, sort of. Magic was an
enigma to him, something best left to others, which was probably why there
was a mage here. He noted a few sentries here and there, but the majority of
the main camp was asleep it seemed. He spent a fair amount of time wandering
the camp night and day, having met most of these men and he didn't expect
any trouble. "Well...Alright then. What do we -do- about it? Can you magic
up a trail or..." Something? Whatever magic does.

Nestos stepped out of the tent and took his own look around the slumbering
camp. He reached into a pouch with his free hand as he continued to glance
around the camp. He whispered something under his breath as he rubbed
whatever he pulled from the pouch between his fingers. The dark elf then
reached up and rubbed his eyes with the substance. He whispered a final word
and his eyes glowed golden for a brief moment then reverted back to their
normal color. The mage again looked around the camp and set off in a
direction, as if pulled. "Yes, I can figure out where it is coming from with
magic." he said, looking back to the half-elf with a grin.

They traveled through the camp, remaining quiet so to not wake the soldiers
and draw attention to themselves. The silence remained as Nestos guided them
through a forest, that the Silvanesti would not quite consider a forest.
Nestos seemed to follow a trail that was not there, but continued to keep a
look out for any of his kindred or anything else that may take the
opportunity to kill them. Finally, after an hour or so of hiking, Nestos and
Zhellik reached a ruin. "This is no doubt where the spell was being cast."

Blade drawn and shield in hand, Zhellik took one look at the small ruined
temple and gestured to Nestos. He made to move first, cautiously but without
any real time for the mage to protest if he wished to do so. The main hollow
of the place was plunged into darkness, only the stars and moons to light
their way. He adjusted quickly, taking a careful look into the adjoining
chambers as he circled. 

It certainly looked like something had happened here. The dust was disturbed
and there were obvious signs of struggle. There wasn't much for blood but
everything in the room seemed knocked outward from the platform. Satisfied,
Zhellik gave a call. "It's clear, Nestos..." That is, he assumed the man
waited...

Nestos followed slightly behind the man, his free hand in his component
pouch again. Upon entering the room in which the struggle had taken place,
the dark elf pulled three orbs from a separate pouch. He whispered something
else under his breath, and the orbs that had previously been laying in his
hand lifted off into the air and begin orbiting each other. They also begin
to glow brilliantly, one a bright white, the second a deep red, and the
third seemed to drink in the light around it making the light of the others
comfortable. Nestos seemed to set them in the air above his staff and
started walking around the room, taking in the scene. Other than the normal
signs of struggle left in the dust, the mage found a bleached white spell
book that he picked up.

With a concerned look on his face, Nestos turned to Zhellick, "I believe
that the Highlord has been at the least captured, if not killed. I think it
is time to find that commander of his." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Sep 19 11:39:25 2015
Subject     A Disturbance of the Arcane, pt. 3

Zhell grew somewhat grim, a nod coming as he took a somewhat lax stance,
casting a glance towards the doorless opening, "Wonderful." That guy was so
uptight he might just snap on him, were he the one to break the news. That
is, if that stick settled firmly up his rear would let him catch him. Brow
drawing inwards, he asked, "What in the Abyss was he doing out here? Are you
going to tell him? I'd like to keep my relatively good looks..." Zhellik
would've done it of course, but not without a word.

Nestos smiled briefly, dissolving the concerned look on his face. He
chuckled as he looked at the mercenary. He then studied the surrounding area
briefly once more, "Well, he was casting something powerful, and risky. He
may have come out here, worried a backlash may cause damage amongst the
ranks. Or," The dark elf put on a look as if he had thought of something
lucrative, "Or he was out here because he was hiding what he was doing from
someone in the camp." He reaches up and scratches his head quickly before
continuing, "Perhaps it would be best that we look into this ourselves...at
least before we bring what we have found to the commander." The elf took
another look around, then turned back to the mercenary,  "See if there is
anything else you can find that is out of place, or can point us to who did
this, then we will leave this place."

Another nod came as the man made to get a look outside, having not taken
much time with it yet. Zhellik had some experience with tracking people
down, of course, but there wasn't much to go on considering the slowly
fading weather. He couldn't help but be somewhat relieved for a break in the
rain as he came to a couple of conclusions. "This looks like one or two men.
Not some sort of ambush..." Not sure what that might mean, he had to state
the obvious, "Could be elves..."

Nestos took another quick look inside the ruin, before collecting the three
globes from above his staff. The dark elf whispered something under his
breath and the light went out from the orbiting balls. They fell motionless
into his hand and he ed them into the pouch he pulled them from and joins
the mercenary as he made his proclamation. Nestos nodded at Zhellik with a
grin, "It is definitely possible. Any idea of what direction they may have
gone?"

Zhellik took a moment longer, trying to make heads or tails of the scene as
Nestos asked him his question. He gave a nod and a shrug, "Assuming it
doesn't start storming again, I can give it my best shot. Everything seems
pretty soft..." That could be beneficial, but just as equally not. A palm
rubbing slowly at the fading headache, he turned to see what he could find,
Gods willing... 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Sep 26 13:01:30 2015
Subject     Whispers from the Darkness

The dark elf enters the temple in Neraka, escorted by the Red Dragonarmy
Highlord. He wears the hood of his black robe low, hiding his face. He
follows the Highlord through corridors and into the more secured areas. He
waits till he sees the man no longer paying attention to him, then cuts down
a different corridor, moving quickly. The Highlord has other things to worry
about, better to have a look around...unsupervised. Nestos makes his way
through corridors, ducking around corners or hiding in alcoves when dark
clerics, or Dragonarmy soldiers appear. Somehow, he manages to get through,
further into the temples than he had ever been. He moves deeper and deeper
into the bowels of the temple, finding it easier than he would think to
avoid contact with anyone.

As he travels the corridors, he looks in the many rooms. Most are offices or
living quarters for the priests that lived on the premises. He avoids the
wings that held the military officers offices, not wanting to run into old
acquaintances, nor make new ones. Finding nothing of consequence in these
sections he continues deeper into the building, and the deeper he goes, the
more oppressive it feels to him.

Finally, he comes upon an archway that leads into a very poorly lit, and
cavernous room. He takes a step into the room, and immediately knows what he
will find inside. Thin cold tendrils begin to close around his chest,
seeming to squeeze it, threatening to stop his heart. The elf pulls himself
up and walks into the room. How often does one get this kind of opportunity?
He stops himself in the middle of the room. The most well lit area, he finds
himself standing in a circle of dim light, looking into the darkest corner
of the room. Even with his elven eyes, he could not see into it.

A wry grin emerges on the mages face as he looks into the darkness. He then
makes a slight bow, lowering his torso slightly. He goes only as far as he
feels is deserved, which is significantly less than what he probably should
have. When he goes to straighten back up, he finds that he is not able to do
so. Then the whispers start, brushing past his ears, telling him things he
did not want to hear, and secrets that he did. The cold tendrils return,
gripping his chest, but now grasping at his mind as well. Pain begins to
surge through his body, pulsing in waves from his head to his toes.

Nestos finds himself lowering to the floor, being pulled down to his knees.
Through the pain, he finds the will to fight the urge to kneel. The pain
increases the more he fights, and despite the freezing tendrils now gripping
his entire body, beads of sweat begin to form on his brow. Despite all this,
he continues to fight the urge, but he still finds himself losing ground. He
pours all of his strength and will into combatting the grasp, pulling him to
his knees. He opens his mouth to cry out, but finds his voice is gone. Just
as he is about to give up, and collapse to his knees, the tendrils release
their grasp. He finds himself standing again, but on shaky legs, preparing
to give out at any minute.

Then realization crosses his mind as he looks into the darkness once more.
The grin he wore upon entry is gone, now replaced by a look of
understanding. This is not what he thought he would find roaming the halls
of the temple, but it is a welcome discovery. He nods slightly to the
darkness, acknowledging what had happened. He wheels around on his heel then
makes his way to the exit, happy to leave the room. The dark elf waits till
he is near the door, to pull out a kerchief and wipe the sweat from his
face. Before Nestos exits the room, he glances back over his shoulder,
staring deep into the darkness again, remembering the whispers. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Dec 15 00:49:09 2015
Subject     A Matter of Faith

The dark elf has isolated himself from the Emperor's manor, and those
that resided in it. He grew weary of the sycophants and the true believers.
Sure, he had made his own deal with Her, but no god, in his mind, should be
worshipped as these people worshipped Her. The gods were merely more
powerful beings, certainly not to be trifled with, but blind faith is an
absurd choice. Besides, he had business to take care of that had nothing to
do with Her, well, not entirely.

Nestos makes his way through the streets of Sanction, no longer dressed in
his typical rune covered red robes, but rather simple pants, a dingy white
shirt and vest. He wears a knitted hat that covers his pointed ears, and
some soot on his face makes him look more a cutpurse than the Consular to
the Emperor. He keeps his head down, avoiding eye contact, but his raven
flies high above him, watching the crowd. He moves slow and deliberately
into the plaza where slaves are being auctioned off to the highest bidder.
He moves to a corner of the plaza where a number of barrels had been set up,
no doubt a merchant's wares.

He looks around, and not seeing the merchant, hops up to sit on one of the
barrels, letting his feet dangle slightly. It is not long before the
merchant returns, and makes a move to shoo the apparent cutpurse away. Upon
seeing the man's face he stops dead, then moves to join the spymaster, {p"I do
not have anything for you, boss."

The dark elf does not speak for a long moment, making sure no one else was
in earshot, "I know it...I have something for you."

The merchant raises an eyebrow, but otherwise seems unphased, {p"How can I
help?"

"It would appear there is an officer in the green watch that has decided his
faith is more important than the coin he has been given. He has decided to
turn on The Company, and unfortunately for him, he told the wrong person.
So, I will need you to take care of him."

The merchant does not seem as though this is a surprise, rather something he
has heard before, and nods along as the mage speaks, {p"Not a problem. I
assume a message is meant to be sent?"

"Yes, but only for employees. It is best that this is not public. Make it
look like one of these folks did it, but leave the signs for those who need
to see them,"  Nestos says, nodding towards a man preaching about the wrongs
being perpetrated against those of the Temple of Duerghast, "Make it look
like it is some sort of payback."

The merchant nods slowly, {p"I think I know what you are looking for. I will
make sure it gets done."

The dark elf simply nods, then hops off the barrel, leaving a decent sized
pouch of coins where he sat. As the merchant picks up the pouch, Nestos
disappears into the crowd...there is still plenty to do before returning to
the politics of the Dragonarmies.


Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Tue Mar  8 21:40:02 2016
Subject     Preparations for the Cold

The Dark Queens images and words still echo in his head as the spymaster
proceeds through the city of Sanction. He had watched as the sycophants had
sworn their oaths, or leave to make preparations, but it was the one who had
left during the visions that had his interests peaked. That, however, was
not the concern at the moment, the concern was Her wishes. The white The
Dark Queen's images and words still echo in his head as the spymaster
proceeds through the city of Sanction. He had watched as the sycophants had
sworn their oaths, or leave to make preparations, but it was the one who had
left during the visions that had his interests peaked. That, however, was
not the concern at the moment, the concern was Her wishes. The white dragons
would indeed be an issue, but their introduction into this war would need to
wait. There were still things to be handled by the dark elf. He had one more
stop in the city before he would collect his gear and head to Neraka, then
on to Icereach. Not much real marching, but still a trek, plus he would need
to gather a small force to take Icewall Castle from the errant Highmaster.

The renegade makes his way through a dark alley, entering an apparently
vacant warehouse through the back entrance. The warehouse however was not
empty, but filled with crates marked with an 'N', 'V', 'T' that overlap each
other to look like the symbol on his signet ring. It does not take him long
to find the being he was looking for, a brute of an ogre he calls,
"Gorthnak".

The ogre looks up at the call, his pale blue face splitting into a grin when
he sees the dark elf. He stalks over to his boss, "Oi, boss. Looks like
things will be pushed up." The ogre mage was far more intelligent than he
looked, and Nestos placed him in charge of operations in Sanction for that
reason.

"They are indeed. I will be leaving tonight for Neraka to see that things
are in order there before heading to the waste. I expect you will keep
operations running smoothly. I want our spies constantly reporting in,
considering the happenings about the city. And until I am able to setup a
way of communication and travel, I want you running The Company here in
Sanction."

The ogre gives the elf an appreciative smile, as he towers over him, "Thank
you for the honor, Nestos. I will make sure The Company runs just as well as
it always has. How long do expect to be down there without communication?"

The dark elf seems to ponder this a moment before looking up and responding,
"Hopefully not too long...weeks I hope, but expect months. As soon as I have
everything sorted in Icereach, I will return for the reports on what has
transpired in the city. Make sure to keep close watch on each of the wings,
and I would also like you to look into a soldier that left the meeting
early. See if you can track down who he is and where he went."

The ogre grunts his agreement, nodding his head, "I will make sure your
agents keep a close eye on what the different wings are up to, and see if I
can track this man down."

"Good. Take care of yourself, Gorthnak. Changes in orders can be dangerous
for groups like ours, be sure that the agents keep their heads down as much
as possible. The rest of the armies will be on the lookout for spies, and so
should we. Take a hard line on any who would betray us, and make an example
of them...Dragonarmy or no."

"Will do, boss."

With that, Nestos turns on his heel and makes his way out the way he came.
As he exits the building, a large raven lands on his shoulder and quorks in
his ear, to which the renegade nods his head. He then begins his trek to
collect his things from his rooms and prepare his departure for Neraka to
gather the White Watch and make their move into the game. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Apr 30 22:32:00 2016
Subject     Back in Neraka

After closing the door behind the priestess, the dark elf digs out a
piece of chalk and begins drawing arcane symbols along the frame of the
door. Once complete, he concentrates on the door, speaking arcane words
under his breath. Finally, he opens the door to reveal a cluttered office,
not the hallway Sirene had left down. The mage steps into the office and
looks over to find a man doing paperwork at the desk. He lets the door shut
behind him.

The sound of door latching causes the man behind the desk to look up and
start at the presence of the elf. {o"Boss, I didn't expect you for some
time."

"I know, things have been moved up. How are you, my friend?" Nestos says
with a smile for one of his first agents.

{o"Better than ever."

"Good. I assume The Company is moving along here in Neraka."

{o"It most certainly is. The smuggling of goods has not been hit with a set
back in a while, and the agents are bringing in reports frequently. I was
just going through a stack now.

"Good,"  the dark elf says with another smile to the man, "Now, I need you
to send out a message to the commander of the White Watch. I want him to
meet me here."

The other man hops out of the chair and makes his way to the door, {o"No
problem."

As the man is about to exit the office into the warehouse, Nestos calls
after him, "And the leader of the Prowlers."

The man frowns at his boss, but nods and exits the office. It would not take
long, the message would be passed to one of the kids that congregates
outside the warehouse. While he waits, he takes a seat behind the desk and
picks up the reports from the desk and leans back to read them. He gets
through a few before there is a knock on the door. "Enter,"  Nestos calls
out.

The man that enters the office is short and stocky, with long reddish hair,
and blue eyes, common to the Arktos of Ice Reach. He gives the spymaster a
large smile, "Is it time for me to return home, sir?"

The renegade returns the smile and nods, "Yes, it most certainly is. I want
all those of the Watch loyal to me in Neraka assembled at the empty
warehouse on the Inner Snake Road, prepared to march on Icewall Castle."

The man chuckles a moment, "Nestos, you bought the loyalty of the majority
of the White Watch long ago."

The dark elf nods, "It is easy to do so when their leader sits in his castle
in Icereach. Nonetheless, have them ready tomorrow at noon."

"I will, sir,"  the man says, giving Nestos a salute before leaving out the
door he had entered.

Nestos goes back to reading the reports, and just as he is finishing up the
final report, his elven ears hear the near silent shuffle of footsteps
entering the room. Without looking up from the report, "Thank you for
coming, Eliza."

The footsteps stop, and the woman lets out an audible sigh of
disappointment. The mage finishes the report then looks up to see who had
entered the office. The woman is lithe, with short brown hair, and a scar
down her cheek. Below her eye is a tattoo of two tear drops, and the mage
gives a sickly grin to the two lives that those tear drops had once been.

As if knowing the memory the spymaster had just thought of, the woman turns
her head and walks towards the window, hiding the tattoo, "One of these days
I will catch you off guard. What do you need?"

"Probably,"  Nestos replies, "but not today. I have just returned from
Sanction and have been given my orders. The time has come for me to fulfill
my promise of bringing you and your sisters into the White Wing, but I will
need your help to take Icewall Castle, and deal with this errant Highmaster.
Are you still interested?"

A sly grin crosses the woman's face, and all thoughts of those two leave her
head as she faces Nestos, "We certainly are. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow...at noon. Be at the empty warehouse on the Inner Snake Road. You
may..." the dark elf trails off as the door to the office swings open. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed May 18 21:53:02 2016
Subject     Stepping into the Cold, pt. 1

After having selected those from the White Watch he would be taking with
him, Nestos sent the rest back to continue to look after the White Wing's
interests in Neraka. He looks over the fifty men of the White Watch left in
the warehouse, then to the twenty or so prisoner's from the White Wing's
dungeons. The dark elf then turns back to writing in spidery arcane letters
on the floor in the rear of the warehouse, completing a circle of writing.
He begins to check that all the marks are in the right place as Nestos waits
for the assassins and the priestess.

Sirene arrives about an hour early with her small bag, giving Nestos a smile
once she's within sight of him. She has rested and meditated and prayed.
Even if it's just for the duration of this walk, she has -confidence-, that
she will not only make it through what is to come, but that she will
thrive.

Nestos nods to the priestess as she enters the warehouse and approaches him,
 "Now all we are waiting for are the Prowlers. I have briefed the Watch, but
you should know that we will be traveling via magic to the edge of Icereach,
west of of Icewall, just outside the Burning Ice. The men will setup camp
and we will have some time before the two of us go into the Burning Ice and
I will need you to create the wall of fire. Then we will make our way to the
castle."

Sirene nods, "I will be able to make the wall the size that you need, just
tell me when." She gives a little grin. "Is anything specific needed in
setting up the camp? And should I unpack my supplies at camp, or not bother
as we'll be on our way soon enough?"

Nestos shakes his head, "No, we will be leaving for the castle tomorrow
morning. Unpack enough to get through the night and that is it. We will
leave first thing, but do not expect to get much sleep at that." The mage
glances at the door as Eliza slinks into the warehouse, followed by seven
more females clad in black leather armor and moving just as fluid. Their
leader frowns as she catches Nestos' glare, but makes her way over to the
dark elf. "Reporting for duty, sir,"  the female states with a feigned
militaristic sincerity. She then looks over to the priestess and gives her a
sly grin and a wink. Nestos grins at the woman, then fishes into his bag and
pulls out eight pins made of pearl and cut to look like white dragon skulls.
He hands them over to Eliza with a warning, "You now truly are under my
command, and not due to the coin I pay you. You will be expected to follow
my orders, and if you betray me, I promise the fate of your sisters will be
a welcomed fate indeed." The human frowns at the mention of the two that
they had lost, but nods to Nestos, the threat clearly hitting its mark.

Sirene nods and gives a quick "Understood" with his explanation, and then
watches the assassins come in. Just watching with curiosity for the most
part, but she does smile -slightly- when Eliza frowns and nods to the
threat. Ok, she can deal with this kind of thing, just watching.

Nestos watches as the leader of the Prowlers hands out the pins amongst her
followers, and makes sure they all pin them on. He nods as the last receives
her pin and waits for Eliza to come back, "Are your sisters ready for this?"
The woman grins, her confidence clearly returned, "We have been ready." The
dark elf nods once again then calls out to the commander of the White Watch,
"Let us be on with it." The Arktos man calls out in a gruff voice,
"ATTENTION!" And there is a loud snap as the 50 men come to attention.
Nestos then turns to the others, you will want to step back...stepping back
from the circle himself.

Sirene does step back, giving attention to the commander for a moment, then
looking to Nestos. She is ready. Ready for the cold, ready to light it up
with flames soon. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed May 18 21:57:25 2016
Subject     Stepping into the Cold, pt. 2

The assassins take several steps back, stopping just behind Nestos. The
mage then reaches into his pouch and retrieves a large uncut diamond, nearly
the size of his fist. He begins a chant, quite softly and the sigils he had
drawn on the floor begin to glow, before he throws the diamond into the
circle. The stone stops at chest height, perfectly in the center of the
circle. The chanting gets louder, and as it does, the diamond begins to glow
a bright white. At the finale of Nestos' arcane words, the diamond seems to
implode and become a marble size speck of nothing, not light showing from
it. When the diamond implodes and becomes nothing, everyone in the room
shudders forward slightly as everything seems to get pulled towards it.
Nestos then whispers a one more arcane word and the nothingness flairs and
snaps open revealing a twenty foot square view onto Icereach. With the
doorway open, winds begin to rush in now, causing the temperature in the
warehouse to drop drastically.

Sirene knows magic exists. Has seen magic be used. Has seen amazing things.
But -wow-. She can't help but stare at the whole thing, eyes wide in awe.
When they are seemingly at the new place, she tentatively pulls her gaze
from the center, looking around a bit as if to say 'did everyone else just
-see- that?'

Nestos wavers on his feet a moment then looks up to Eliza, and extends his
arm out inviting her to enter. The assassin looks at the doorway with the
same awe as the priestess and many others in the room, but shakes it off and
the eight lope there way through the doorway. They fan out, clearly taking
in the area. The Arktos man, knowing what to do, and clearly excited to be
returning home, orders his men forward. The renegade watches as the White
Watch makes its way through the doorway, along with the prisoners being
wrangled by two large hobgoblins with nasty whips. Once the last of those in
the warehouse are through, Nestos looks to Sirene and extends his hand once
more, "Shall we?"

Sirene gives an excited grin and nod, stepping through the door and into the
cold. Looking around once she's through because still. -Wow-.

Nestos follows Sirene through the doorway, glancing back into the warehouse
to ensure he is the last one through and that no one was watching. The air
comes up and bites him harder as he steps into the snow on the other side.
The mage turns to look at the warehouse one more time before whispering
something under his breathe. The image of the warehouse wavers and as it
does a deep whirring noise is produced. Then the doorway snaps shut into the
nothingness, once more pulling those around it in before bursting into a
bright flash and causing a shockwave that pushes everyone the opposite way.
Nestos shivers momentarily, but pulls up the hood of his snow white cloak
causing sigils underneath it to glow briefly. The dark elf no longer seems
affected by the elements. He digs a second out of the satchel in his bag and
hands it to the priestess, "This will help." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed May 18 21:59:02 2016
Subject     Stepping into the Cold, pt. 3

Sirene has started shivering a bit before the cloak was offered, so
accepts it gratefully. Putting it on, she it able to look around a bit more.
Silvanost was so green, Sanction was so ashy and then red lava, the ocean is
a wide open blue, and this, how is there so much white, how can so much
place be so white... "Wow..." And then a grin for Nestos. "And now to set up
a bit, then rest up for tomorrow?"

Nestos looks around as his soldiers begin setting up a very disciplined
camp, tents going up quickly and fires being started. The Prowlers were no
doubt scouting in a wider pattern to search for other possible parties. The
dark elf then shakes his head at Sirene, "No...tonight."

Sirene ahs, and gives a nod. And another smile. She saw him sway after the
teleport but if he's up for it, then she's up for it. "Alright! I will admit
that I am a bit excited. Let me know when."

Nestos nods and speaks in Silvanesti, "I will, but for now I must rest up
and prepare myself." The elf gives the priestess a small smile, then makes
his way towards an unassuming tent that the soldiers already have set up.
Pulling the flap aside, he steps inside to prepare for a much more powerful
spell. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Jul  6 00:28:40 2016
Subject     Commanding an Army, pt. 1

Nestos closes the tome with a cover made from the sentient races of Krynn
and stuffs it into his satchel. He checks to makes sure the crystal bowl is
in there as well, then pats each pouch to ensure he has all the necessary
components. He then pulls the white cloak around him and steps outside of
his tent. He swings his head back and forth, scanning the camp before
turning to the guard at his door. "Have Thionto and his officers meet me at
the command tent. Have him also bring the prisoners. Once you have informed
the commander, find the priestess and bring her to the command tent." The
guard nods and gives a small salute before trudging off into the snow.
Nestos takes his time to walk to the command tent, but still manages to be
the first one there. He slowly paces, keeping the incantations he will need
fresh in his mind.

Sirene is more than ready to go once she is summoned. She gets to get away
from that Eliza woman, get -going- on this thing. The waiting time here has
just increased her anger, and yes, let's go, let's go -now-, she will make
that ring of fire, she will -do- this ritual. She doesn't even bother hiding
the anger from her face when she heads to the tent, though it's clearly not
directed at Nestos.

Nestos does not hide the grin on his face at Sirene's frustration, "Just
about." As they talk, the officers begin to file into the the tent,
following by the prisoners. The dark elf looks over the prisoners, then
turns to his officers. "I intend to go into the Burning Ice, and I need a
volunteer to watch my back while Im there." A panicked murmur settles over
the officers and the majority of prisoners look confused, except one. A runt
of a sivak draconian stands from where he had been shoved to the ground, the
chains around his wrists and ankles jingling, "For my freedom, I will do
it." A large hobgoblins comes up behind him and shoves him to the ground.
Nestos raises his eyebrow at the creature's boldness and raises his hand to
stop the jailer from bringing out his whip. "Why is this draconian in
fetters?"

Sirene watches this all, hmming a bit. Definitely not going to -interfere-
here, but huh. Her expression is settling to just the general embers of
anger burning, paying attention, and if everyone else is a coward... well,
she'll just see how far his bravery goes.

The hobgoblin huffs then responds, "He slaughtered the rest of his clutch."
The draconian begins to giggle maniacally at that, but the hobgoblin
continues, "Killed them all during training, says the god of death made him
do it." The draconian continues his giggling, nodding his head along with
the explanation, tears of mirth rolling down face. Nestos eyes him with
interest as the hobgoblin gives his description. The sivak stands again,
restraining his laughter, "Still doesn't change a thing. If you release me,
I will fight for you until that point. What do you say, boss?"

Nestos gives the creature a grin, then looks to the hobgoblin, "Release him
from his chains, and outfit him." The mage looks to the sivak, "Meet me on
the northwest corner of the camp, and bring the Silvanesti." Nestos points
to the elf in chains next to the sivak. "Dismissed." As everyone begins
filing out of tent, the dark elf turns to Sirene, "If you are ready, let us
get on with it."

Sirene quirks her head slightly at the explanation. Interesting. And she has
seen the Silvanesti prisoner there, but isn't quite looking at them, as the
anger shows all the more for every glance there. She does let herself look
as they leave though, grinning slightly. And then she turns back to Nestos,
giving a firm nod. "Yes. More than ready, let's go." She makes to exit the
tent as well. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Jul  6 00:31:57 2016
Subject     Commanding an Army, pt. 2

Nestos walks quietly to the northwest corner of the camp, the large camp
fires giving the only light from the ground. The mage looks to the stars
above, bright and twinkling, then to the large moon high in the sky. The
third and only moon in the sky tonight. He pauses a moment, bathing in the
light of Nuitari. He then looks down to see the sivak approaching, now in
white armor, a skull painted on his face in white paint and two longswords
on his back. Nestos gives a quick jerk on the rope in his hand, which causes
the elf in tow to fall to his knees. "The name's Kyzzec, by the way." Nestos
tosses a third white cloak to Kyzzec, "Nestos, and this is Sirene,"  he says
indicating the priestess.

Sirene gives a bow to Kyzzec. She's been great at this not being too
respectful thing, but hey, she's just meeting this guy. And he's pretty
cool. "Nice to meet you." She eyes the elf for a moment, then looks to
Nestos to follow. Is the elf coming? They are doing a big ritual, and they
have an elven prisoner... heh, alright, there is a slight smirk at that
realization.

Kyzzec throws the cloak on, and it seems to fit him perfectly, even
accounting for his wings. Once he is set Nestos sets off into the darkness,
and as he does, he retrieves three orbs from a pouch, one white, one red,
and one black. He whispers a word of magic and there is a flash of light
that persists from the orbs, each giving off light of their corresponding
color to make one normal light brightening the surrounding landscape. The
three orbs orbit each other as Nestos sets them to hover atop his charred
vallenwood staff. As they walk, they hit a point where the cloaks seem to
nearly stop working. The cold suddenly sinks in and the Nestos forces
himself to hold back shivering. After a few miles of this, something between
a moan and a snarl can be heard on the wind. Nestos straightens up quickly,
a grin on his face. "Kyzzec, put the prisoner on his knees, and keep
anything that may come from me as I proceed with the ritual. Sirene, kneel
across from the elf."

Sirene feels the cold, she does, but she is warmer than she should be, fires
of vengeance being semi literal for her and all. She's not -comfortable-,
but she's not freezing. And still loves watching when Nestos does cool
things like those glowing orbs. But an instruction, yes. She gives Nestos a
nod, and kneels as directed. Sirene will hug her arms to her while she waits
for the next direction, just deal with the cold here, but she is not holding
back any of that dark smirk for the prisoner. She doesn't know what exactly
this ritual entails. But the guess she has makes her very happy.

Kyzzec throws the elf to his knees, then sets to a sentry position, scanning
into the horizon. "I don't understand why you would betray your own people
for this abomination and half breed, dark elf,"  the Silvanesti male spits.
Nestos grins at the elf as he pulls a skin of water from his satchel, "I am
not betraying my people, I am just not as narrow sighted." The dark elf
scans the horizon himself, then seems to find what he is looking for. Nestos
pours out a small circle, big enough for the prisoner, Sirene and himself.
He does not complete it however, leaving a small entrance. As the water
reaches the snow on the ground it freezes leaving markings. He then pours a
larger circle, again leaving a small opening. He connects the two entry
points forming a path, then begins drawing sigils of ice with the water all
throughout the enclosed area. When Nestos is finally done he steps into the
smaller circle. He pulls out the large crystal bowl and places it between
Sirene and the elf, then grasps the elf by the hair and looks to the
priestess. "The wall, please." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Jul  6 00:34:19 2016
Subject     Commanding an Army, pt. 3

Sirene nods, straightening. Yes, she is a half-breed, at at this point,
quite glad that people like -you- don't consider her "your people" enough
that she is even betraying. She'd hate to be -belonging- to such a thing.
And so, you get your wall, Nestos. Far off in the distance, a fire starts,
then quickly spreads on both sides, rushing to make a wall, a circle. Sirene
clutches her amulet as she concentrates, whispering words of burning it all,
her eyes open and wild as the scent of ash fills the air.

As the walls of flame rise up, they begin to outline figures all around
them, moving towards their location. "Kyzzec, there will be one of these,
one that looks like an elven general. He will try to come down this
path...let him." With that said Nestos pulls the other elf's neck over the
bowl, jerks the dagger from his belt, and cuts the prisoner's throat without
any further ceremony. The flow of blood fills the bowl quickly, the dark elf
holding his head long enough to fill the bowl then setting the body to the
side. Nestos retrieves a fine brush from a pocket in his robes then takes
the dead elf's place, kneeling in front of Sirene, "No matter what happens,
keep that wall up and your connection with Kinthalas open. Your life truly
depends on it now." Nestos dips the brush in the elf's blood then begins
draw sigils on the priestess' face, a mix between elven and arcane runes. As
he does so, he whispers words of magic under his breathe.

Sirene expected... she's not quite sure what... but startles just a bit when
Nestos starts painting the blood on her. But she will keep still, not mess
up the sigils. But... there is no need to mention -her- life here, Nestos.
You just gave her... Doing this, this is a direct step towards her
vengeance. No, there is no way she will be dropping that wall, that
connection. Not so long as she is alive and able to keep it. Keeping mostly
still, the response she gives Nestos is just a wider grin, eyes still wild.

Nestos continues with the sigils till her face is covered. He then pulls out
holy symbol of Sargonnas from a pouch on his belt, one not too different
from the one around Sirene's neck. Continuing his hushed incantation, he
lowers it into the bowl, still mostly filled with blood. He then stands to
find a frost wight, no more than ten feet from the outer circle. The
creature was clearly an elf general centuries past, but his flesh has been
twisted in undeath and his mouth is now a razor sharp maw. His hands have
grown into claws, and the sword at his side has not been bared in sometime.
Glowing ice blue eyes stare him down as the creature closes in. Nestos now
begins to truly chant, his voice being carried on the now howling winds. As
the creature comes into reach of the dark elf, the mage come down hard with
his dagger, the point piercing and destroying the holy symbol submerged in
blood. Nestos reaches out and places his hand on Sirene's head, then stands
and reaches out and places his hand on the creature's face.

Sirene is not so ok with this. Nestos just... it feels like he just -stole-
that from her, from Sargonnas and you wanted an angry, vengeful priestess?
You had one before, but you have one even more now. She doesn't understand
what is happening, what this all means, and if it is a full betrayal or not.
She can logic it out later, right now she is rage, held in place only by the
warning that it is her life at stake. Sirene was warned about this heretic.
Not to trust too much. And he probably has contingencies for if she were to
jerk away at this moment, so here she will stay, she will be your conduit,
if only to live another day to find, if he is deserving, how she might get
vengeance for this. She will be your conduit, screaming out in rage, the
circle of fire burning bright. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Jul  6 00:35:56 2016
Subject     Commanding an Army, pt. 4

Kyzzec watches the ritual with a giggle, then turns back to the other
figures, now close enough to be made out. Clearly many races are represented
in this mass of undead. He readies himself to keep them back. Nestos reaches
out his hand and places it on the wight's face, chanting arcane words. Once
his hand comes into contact with the undead flesh, the words come out as a
gasp, but only a few more words are uttered. Nestos finishes the final words
of the spell, and the bowl of blood and fragments explodes, and a rush of
wind emanates from it, pushing everyone back to the ground. The burst of
wind carries across the ice, sending all the undead to the ground as well
and snuffing the wall of flames at its terminus. The only two remaining on
their feet are the dark elf and the frost wight general. Nestos pulls his
hand from its face to reveal the writing that had been painted on Sirene's
face is now scarred into the wight's. He looks down to the priestess, her
face now clean of blood and gives her a smirk and a shrug, but his face is
hollow and gaunt. He nods to her watching her with sunken eyes, "The power
is for you to use...he merely grants it." He then turns to the wight
general, "Assemble your men, we are going back to camp."

Sirene works her way to sitting up again, then standing, silent and taking
controlled breaths. She... doesn't know how she feels about all of this,
Nestos. And just nods to him, expression blank. The ritual is done, the
fires are gone, and it's so cold... Hugging her arms to her chest, she
quietly asks, "Will there be time to rest once we are back at camp?"

By the time the priestess is back on her feet, more than twenty frost wights
surround them, all with the spidery writing scarred on their face. Kyzzec
having seen the ritual over and the wights posing no threat has sheathed his
weapons. He giggles at the sight of the wights' obedience, "And I thought I
was mad before." Nestos looks to Sirene, "Yes, first thing. Then we march on
Icewall Castle."

Sirene gives a small nod. "Alright. I will be sure to be ready." And she
will move when you ask, and just, until they get back to the camp, she's not
going to talk unless spoken to. Lost in her own thoughts.

Nestos and his newly attained army make their way out of the Burning Ice,
the snow of Icereach seeming warm compared to what had been endured. The
mage leans heavily on his staff, and keeps to himself as well. Kyzzec scouts
ahead of the group, ensuring nothing would disturb them on their return to
camp. The dark elf gives a slight grin at the thought of finally completing
the ritual he had been working towards for some time. Now to truly take
command of the White Wing along with Icewall Castle. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jul 28 23:37:23 2016
Subject     Taking Over, pt. 1

The Highmaster sits in the office of the White Dragonarmy Highlord going
over the report from the day's earlier action. He had his best archers fire
on the wannabe Highlord as his commander's parlayed with him. They could not
claim his body but they reported three shafts buried deep into the elf's
chest. He grins to himself, he had killed his Highlord and now the one that
was sent to replace him, perhaps now they would finally give him the
position.

A rustling outside his door catches his attention, and he rises from his
chair and walks around the desk towards the door. As he gets close, the door
flies off its hinges at him, and in walks a runt of a sivak with a white
skull painted on his face. The sivak steps to the side to reveal the dark
elf he was informed had been killed, and the holes in his waistcoat prove
the arrows hit their mark. The Highmaster does not wait for the mage and
reaches for the ancient longsword at his side, the one he had taken from the
Highlord when he slew him.

Nestos does not give the Highmaster time to pull his sword and in a
surprisingly quick and fluid motion, he pulls the black bladed dagger from
his belt and closes the distance to the man. The sigils on the blade glow
white hot as he buries it into the man's shoulder. The pretender lets out a
blood curdling scream and falls back to lie on his desk, all thoughts of
action flushed from his mind.

Sirene strolls in after Nestos, here to see the fall of the pretender. She
wears flowing robes of red and black, cut in a style that is wholly
impractical for being in a place of winter, a condor symbol showing brightly
on top. Two White Wing soldiers and the wight general come in as well with
the two guards that were restrained, Eliza and her Sisters keeping guard. It
was a quick operation, gating directly outside of the office, taking care of
the small amount of resistance. And now to watch the fall of a Highmaster,
the rise of a Highlord.

The Highmaster's screams subside as he visibly forces himself to endure the
searing pain in his shoulder. He once again reaches for his sword, but
Nestos grabs the man's hand with his left, and wraps his right around the
man's neck. As he reaches out with his right, he exposes his fingers that
are black to the second knuckle, frostbitten but apparently unhindered. "You
know, when I arrived here, I fully intended to let you live on as
Highmaster. You clearly know your way around command, and these men respect
you at least enough to stick around." The man does nothing but try in vain
to wrestle himself free, but the pain is clearly crippling him. He looks up
to the sivak and one of the White wing soldiers he brought along, "Hold him
down."

Sirene watches this all, making sure to grab hold of one of the captured
guards so the soldier can do as Nestos bid. She's seen the elf do many a
remarkable thing in this operation, and his words mean that he is probably
going to put on a show. Implied that he no longer would keep him alive, and
yet the man lives for at least a few moments. And so, she will watch.

Kyzzec sheathes his two longswords and walks over to the desk with a pleased
grin on his face. He takes hold of the man's arms and wrenches them down
above his head. The Highmaster cries out in pain, and the sivak giggles
maniacally. The other soldier does his job plainly and steps up to the man's
feet and holds them down to the desk.

Nestos then makes his way to the other side of the desk and looks down at
the Highmaster, "You would have lived if you had not tried to kill me, but
now I will give you the option of a painless death. All you need to do is
tell me where I can find the commanders you sent out to parlay with me...and
anyone else who may cause trouble."

The Highmaster manages a chuckle, "And if I don't? You don't scare me elf." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jul 28 23:39:55 2016
Subject     Taking Over, pt. 2

Nestos gives the man a disturbing smile as if he were pleased the man was
wanting the second option, "If you do not, I will take your soul and command
you to tell me." The dark elf states this as if it were just another day for
him, all while wearing the same sickly grin.

Sirene watches with an interested smile. Huh, she didn't know Nestos could
do that. What an interesting threat She doubts that the Highmaster will tell
the things to proper satisfaction so, she watches more intently, to see what
taking a soul even looks like.

"A bold claim, but I don't believe you,"  the Highmaster states, managing a
pompous tone through the pain, "Plus there are others that will make sure
your control never gains traction if you kill me. So, really, your best
option is to keep me alive."

Nestos looks at him sideways, a sickly grin on his face. "I will keep you
around, but not in this state,"  the dark elf says as he pulls the chain of
his necklace over his head. "You must pay the price for betrayal,"  the mage
states, and for a brief moment his gaze falls on each person in the room. He
then turns and watches the Highmaster's look of defiance with enjoyment as
he lowers the large piece of jet onto his chest. Letting the silver chain
pool up before setting the stone on top, he then reaches over and rips the
dagger from the man's chest earning another cry of pain.

Kyzzec giggles as the mage rips the dagger from the man, but keeps his grip
so that the man cannot move a bit. The sivak watches with obvious interest
as the mage begins speaking arcane words in a sort of chant. Suddenly, the
man begins to convulse, and holding the man becomes a chore. This only lasts
a moment before the man arches his back and opens his mouth to scream. No
noise escapes, instead a black mist begins pouring out, as if his mouth were
overflowing. The sivak makes a point to look at the man's face, filled with
excruciating pain and complete horror.

Sirene watches with interest as Nestos does the set-up with the necklace. So
is this some heretic necromancer's form of holy symbol? Definitely a tool,
at the least. And as the chanting leads to black mist, Sirene watches more
intently, a slight smile on her face. She's pretty sure she has no interest
in practicing this necromancy... But she would love to learn more about it.
This is your price of betrayal, Nestos?

The mist begins pooling around the chunk of jet, swirling around it as the
stone begins to absorb the light surrounding it. It is sudden when the final
bit of mist emerges from the man, he collapses to the table and the mist is
absorbed into the stone. Nestos reaches out and picks up the necklace, and
as he replaces it around his neck, quiet whispers seem to emerge from the
stone set in silver. The dark elf wraps his frostbitten hand around it, then
closes his eyes. A short time later he opens them to call Eliza and her
Sisters into the room and gives them directions to ten men and women, then
nods. The three disappear down the corridor.

Nestos sits down in the chair the Highmaster had been in, "Xaerthas,"  he
says to the frost wight general, "You can have that one." The dark elf
lazily points to one of the two that had been guarding this office. The
man's eyes shoot wide open as the wight approaches him, arms stretched out.
The one restraining him steps aside as the wight's hands wrap around the
guard's head and he quickly falls to the floor. "Sirene?"

Sirene is holding the other captured guard, who is rather terrified and
straining at his bindings, but tied up well enough to not be a problem. She
looks to the dark elf with a slight head tilt asking a simple, "Yes? 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Jul 28 23:41:13 2016
Subject     Taking Over, pt. 3

"Take command of these men, including our captive here, and lead them
down to the gatehouse." The dark elf looks at the restrained man before
saying, "I do not think he will be any trouble,"  Nestos says, pausing till
he shakes head, "Plus, the soldiers here are still apart of the White Wing
and now under my command. So, go ahead and set him free." He turns all his
attention to the man now, "I encourage you to share what you saw here with
the rest of the men. Is that understood?" The man nods his head, and the
mage turns back to Sirene, "Have the gates opened for our men outside the
castle. And if you run into Eliza or her Sisters and they are done, bring
them with you."

Sirene nods to Nestos, pulling out a dagger and cutting the guard's
bindings. She instructs him to come with her, and heads out to get the gates
opened.

Nestos watches the group leave then reaches over and unclasps the ancient
longsword from the Highmasters belt and unceremoniously dumps his body to
the ground in front of the desk. He examines the blade closely, inspecting
each rune that lines the sheath before pulling the blade from the scabbard.
The blade itself is curved and has the appearance of being covered in ice.
He inspects the sigils on the blade before returning into to its sheath and
setting it on the table. He then sits at the table, slumping slightly in the
chair. "I suppose I should send a report back to Sanction." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Aug 28 16:03:33 2017
Subject     The Summons

The dark elf watches as the fire consumes the missive, the light casting
shadows on a face that looks like it should belong on a deadman. His skin is
drawn tight over his face making his angular elven features all the more
sharp, and his sunken eyes lack the glint of a living being. He lets the
flames climb the page and only releases the document just before they touch
the frostbitten fingertips of his right hand. He lets the ashes fall into a
small stone bowl. Finally, the necromancer looks up to the courier who had
delivered the message, "Find Captain Lukran and have him report to me, then
get yourself some food and find a place to rest. I will be replying to this
in person,"  he says, indicating the ash in the bowl.

The messenger salute Nestos, then turns on his heel and makes his way out of
the office. The elf then begins grinding the ash with a pestle and as he
does, he speaks to the frost wight general in the corner of the room, "Have
all your men currently in the field, withdrawn. I need all the wights here
within three days."

"Yes, master,"  the creatures says in a hollow, raspy voice.

Nestos then goes back to grinding the ash down, before pouring it into a
vial. As he finishes stopping the vial, an Arktos man enters the room. The
man's intensity is accented by the his flame red hair and ice blue eyes.
"You called for me, sir?"

"Yes, Captain,"  the dark elf says, tucking the vial into a pouch at his
side, "I will be leaving for Neraka shortly. I should only be gone a few
days, but when I return I will be departing again. I am not sure how long I
will be gone, but I will be taking the frost wights with me. You will be in
command of the castle and the troops whilst I am gone. Have a sivak
dispatched to replace each wight in the field, and continue to forge
alliances with the tribes that will listen to our deal. I will be back when
I am able."

The tribesman nods along as the necromancer talks. Once the elf is done, he
salutes him, "Yes, sir. Is there anything else?" The man seems eager to be
about his job trying to convince his people to join them.

"No, Lukran, thank you. Both of you get to your assignments. I will be back
in a few days and I expect things to be ready,"  Nestos says to the two in
the room.

The Arktos man salutes Nestos as the messenger had and makes his way out of
the office, while the frost wight takes his time departing, "My people will
be ready,"  he says before closing the door behind him.

The dark elf stands from his chair and retrieves a vallenwood staff that is
propped against a bookshelf full of spellbooks. Though the staff looks
scorched, the wood itself is in perfect condition. He waves the staff over a
number of items on his desk, including a book bound in skin, and they
disappear as the runes running down the staff glow a dull white. He then
fixes the frost covered sword behind his desk to his belt, and checks that
his wands are in place.

As he walks over to the door, he pulls out a small piece of well used chalk.
He begins drawing runes along the frame. Upon finishing the writing he
inspects it to make sure that it is correct, then tucks the chalk back into
its pouch. He then speaks a few words of arcane magic, and opens the door.
Instead of a his two guards, and the hallway down Icewall Castle, he steps
into a warehouse in the middle of Neraka. Sitting at a desk in front of him
is a thin, nervous looking man pouring over reports.

The man looks up, startled, "Boss! It has been awhile, welcome back." 


Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Sep 11 16:50:11 2017
Subject     Old Information

The man looks up from his work and out the window of his office into the
warehouse, where men are moving around boxes with the symbol of the Neraka
Valley Trading Company. He wrings his hands as if nervous about something
then looks back to the half deciphered letter on his desk. He picks up his
pencil and continues glancing from the original that is covered in a
spiderweb of nonsense markings, to the page he is writing on in common.

He does not look up when he hears the door to his office open, seemingly
engrossed in his work. Then the wave of cold washes over him, and peeking
his curiosity and causing him to look up to see the mage. The dark elf
stands about average when compared to the rest of his kin, but what flesh
can be seen is pulled tight across his bones. The fingertips of his right
hand are black as if they had been burnt, but the blue that accompanies the
black points towards frostbite. The mage pulls down his cowl and gives the
man a sickly grin causing the scar under his eye to look more severe.

"Boss! It has been awhile, welcome back,"  the man says with delight in his
voice.

The elf's hard sunken eyes seem to grow a bit softer as he replies, "It has
been too long, old friend."

Nestos walks deeper into the room and as he does, the man stands up to offer
the chair to his boss, "Please, finish what you are doing. I have things to
do in the city, but when you are done, I want you to get me all the
information we have gathered about the events near Schallsea."

"Actually, I have an encoded message here that was marked urgent. I am only
about halfway through decoding it though."

The mage steps around the desk as the other man takes a seat in the chair.
Nestos' eyes dart back and forth as he reads the message. "Damn,"  he
mutters under his breathe, "The man went and got himself captured, and this
is a week old." He then looks to the man sitting in his chair, "I want the
rest of this message decoded by the time I get back."

Nestos walks over to a coat hanger in the corner of the room and places his
cloak and red robes on it. With a twist of his hand his staff disappears,
then he pulls a stocking cap from a pocket in his robes and places it on his
head to cover his ears. "I was hoping to stay a day or so, but I think I
will need to leave today. Please have my usual list of components ready as
well." The dark elf whispers a word of magic as his passes his hand over his
face, causing it to look more youthful, but also dirty.

The man watches his boss depart the room and finally the warehouse before
turning his attention back to the message, intent to follow through on his
boss' orders. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Sep 14 15:16:52 2017
Subject     Negotiating with a Fool

Nestos makes his way through the maze of streets with ease. He takes back
roads when necessary, knowing where to go to avoid cutpurses and robbers. He
does not fear the underbelly of the city, but he also does not have time for
its games. He wears nothing of his normal garb, looking more like one of the
cutpurses of the city than the head of a trading company. After a short
period of time, he arrives at his destination, the sprawling network of
stalls that is the Neraka market.

As he picks his way through the stalls, he keeps his eyes open for the one
he needs. A smile creeps onto his face as he finds the man he was searching
for in a dark corner of the bazaar. As he approaches, the man seems to
recognize him and gives a greedy grin. "Well, hello there, traveler,"  the
silver tongued salesman says, "Can I offer you any of my wares?"

Nestos takes a quick glance around before speaking, "I am in need of another
of those rocks you obtained for me a few years ago. You would not happen to
have one on you?"

The stall owner's grin somehow grows larger, "I certainly do, sir. Step into
the back and I will show you what I have." The man does not wait for the
mage, instead he pushes the fabric door aside and disappears into the dark
tent.

The dark elf follows the man inside, wary of the his intentions. Inside he
finds a number of trunks and boxes, even spying one with 'NVT' stamped on
the side. The salesman begins digging through a trunk at the corner of the
tent as Nestos surveys the rest of the interior. Finally, he returns with an
uncut diamond the size of a fist. "I do indeed have one left, but they are
so hard to comeby, you know,"  he says with feigned concern in his voice,
"And there is now another in the city that pays me handsomely for stones
like this."

Nestos smirks, but otherwise looks unsurprised by the man's words, "I
presume the price has risen?"

"I am afraid so,"  the man says, the feigned concern still in his voice,
"The price is now ten times what you paid last time."

The mage's brow furrow at the man's price, "You do not think me a fool, do
you?"

"I do not, my dear Nestos, but it is how economics work."

"Wrong, this is how extortion works. I will give you two times, and you will
be happy about it. I can guarantee you will not be able to sell it for that
to anyone else."

"Well, if you don't want it, I will find another buyer,"  he says, then
glances down at the pouches around the mage's belt, "And don't even think
about trying any finger waggler tricks, I have protections now."

The man tucks the diamond into a pouch and starts towards the door. A
black-bladed dagger appears in the dark elf's hand, the runes running down
the blade glowing red. Nestos reaches his hand around the man and covers his
mouth, while at the same time, he slips the blade into the man's back and
between his ribs. The salesman makes a groaning noise before slumping back
into Nestos' arms.

The elf sets the man down softly, then reaches into his pouch and pulls out
the diamond. As he tucks it into his own pouch he whispers, "You should have
taken the money, you fool." He then steps around the boxes of goods and cuts
himself an exit in the rear of the tent with the same blade before sheathing
it. He emerges into a small alleyway with only a cat to spot him. He slinks
his way out of the alley then begins the trip back to his warehouse on the
other side of town. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov  8 14:31:03 2017
Subject     From Thin Air, pt. 1

"High Clerist!" the seneschal shouted as he barges into the chambers,
"Sir, the captain asked me to let you know we should be within sight of
Schallsea shortly." Verrochio grunted in acknowledgement and went back to
the roster of knights he planned on picking up from Solitude to begin the
offense against the vile Dragonarmies. Growing bored of the dull task
Verrochio wanders up to the main deck of 'Habbakuk's Phoenix' and begins
looking around. After about ten minutes a tuft of smoke appears way off in
the distance from the direction that Schallsea should be.

Sounds of battle begin to fill the air in the distance, but instead of
coming from where the smoke is rising, the battle seems to be erupting on
the ships surrounding 'Habbakuk's Phoenix'. Figures can be seen jumping out
of thin air and fighting the sailors on the other ships. Suddenly, the
battle cacophony erupting from the other ships vanishes and is replaced by a
quiet thrum. A black speck appears towards the bow of the ship. It seems to
be pulling the ropes and sails towards it. It does this for a brief moment
before exploding into a tear in space that cuts through wood, fibers, and
tissue.

The portal cuts through a number of sailors as it opens. A freezing gust of
wind covers the ship as snow floats through. A dark elf casually steps
through the portal, wand in hand and surveys the ship, his eyes fall on
Verrochio and he gives the man a sickly grin. Behind him a number of undead
creatures step through, though their eyes burn with an intelligent
malevolence that the undead in Schallsea lack. Behind them a larger body of
white wing soldiers emerges.

"What in the gods is happening here?" This is certainly something Verrochio
has never seen before, a sudden shock overcomes him as screams of horror can
be heard from the other ships. In an instant Verrochio snaps back and calms
his demeanor, "I am the High Clerist of the Knights of Solamnia! You will
NOT triumph here fiend!" Pulling his sword and mace from his back Verrochio
turns to a subordinate he did not initially know was there but had seen on
the ship prior to the attack, "Squire! Sneak towards the back of the ship,
take the rowboat and try to reach Lord Frank in Caergoth, let him know what
is happening here!" Verochio then turns to the foes, mutters "Est Sularis
Uth Mithas" and throws himself at the new intruders, I must buy time until
reinforcements can get here.

The dark elf turns to the frost wight general standing next to him, "Take
any you can, kill the rest,"  then to the rest of his forces he commands,
"You have your orders, carry them out." With that he turns his attention
back to the High Clerist and levels his wand at the man. Nestos whispers a
word of magic and a number of black orbs emerge from the tip of the wand and
fly unerring towards their target.

Verrochio knew he was already moving forward with too much momentum to
attempt to dodge, quickly bringing his shield in front of him to block
whatever these orbs are. Being almost successful Verrochio can feel the
pulse of magic against his shield, slowing him down some but he mustn't
stop. Suddenly Verrochio feels this searing pain in his leg, the muscles
spasm and as he looks down and catches sight of his leg, oddly not bleeding
but wounded and glowing black. Running through the pain, knowing he must
close the distance or this 'thing' will have the advantage he gathers his
energy and pushes off from the deck with both feet to lunge at the mage
shield first. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov  8 14:34:05 2017
Subject     From Thin Air, pt. 2

Nestos grins wryly at the sight of one of his orbs landing, but the grin
turns to a frown as the knight's lunge rises to meet him. The dark elf
attempts to dodge out of the way, missing the full brunt of the brute's
charge. However, the edge of the shield catches his shoulder and sends him
spinning to the ground and his wand skittering off the ship to land in the
sea. The mage wastes no time and leaps back to his feet, a black dagger with
red runes appearing in his hand. With his other hand he reaches into a pouch
at his belt and pulls out what looks like a chunk of ice. "This would be
much easier if you just let me be about my work, High Clerist."

Verrochio scoffs "Be about your work, please don't let me stop you!" and
then utters a few words of prayer to the blue phoenix causing his flail to
flash a brief blue glow. Shifting his weight off his weak leg Verrochio
begins to circle watching both of the mage's hands and his mouth. "What
could be so important you would die trying complete it by challenging me?"
and briefly feints a step towards the mage to gauge his reaction.

Nestos winces as the knight's flail flashes, but blinks the spots from his
eyes quickly. As Verrochio circles Nestos, the mage remains uncomfortably
calm, seeming used to the chaos around him. After the knight feints, the
dark elf merely gives the man a grin. "I have no doubt you will be a
challenge, but I have no plans on dying this day...nor do I have any plans
on killing you, Verrochio." All his focus is directed at the man as the
humans, both Solamnic and Dragonarmy, are being cut down or turned into
undead around them.

Verrochio continues circling as the elf talks, slowly working his way so his
back is against the railing to easier glance left and right to survey the
battle. It is at this point, when he can feel the railing against his back
that he sees the utter horror happening on the ship, and the reason the mage
did not need to actually engage him. The few knights that had come with as
his detail, about a dozen or so good strong knights, were being overwhelmed
by these.things. The dead are rising, not thrown about as the sea rages, no
this is different. The freshly dead are rising to their feet, or ankles, or
pulling themselves along with their arms. To Verrochio's left he can hear
the distinct shhhhhluuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrp of a blade being retrieved from one
of his knight's breast. "You did this?!" Verrochio shakes with fury as he
drops his shield, wields his flail with both hands, and sets to charge the
mage.

Nestos casually shrugs at the knight's question and glances around before
turning his attention back to him. He then tosses the chunk of ice at the
man, drawing his attention to it before pulling out a hand full of grey
powder from another pouch. He throws the powder high in the air as the ice
sails harmlessly past Verrochio's head. With the powder in the air, the dark
elf speaks a word of magic and they form into several feathered quills and
launch themselves into the knight's sword arm, disappearing into his body. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Wed Nov  8 14:35:17 2017
Subject     From Thin Air, pt. 3

Ducking to dodge whatever the ice is, Verrochio readies to push himself
off and vault towards the unprotected mage, then he sees it. The large
number of feathered quills rushing towards him, with no time to react he can
only brace for the impact and what will very likely be his death. The quills
rushing towards him, he looks around for another potential escape and there
is nothing, only his death. Seconds before the quills pierce the knight's
armor and through his body they turn into translucent almost ghostlike
images and converge on his sword arm. Suddenly the worst pain wracks his
body, seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. A pain so deep
the rest of the body feels numb and paralyzed, as if his bones are being
slashed while arm remains in intact. With all else forgotten the High
Clerist drops his flail only focused on getting of his gauntlets off and
assessing the damage. While fumbling for his gauntlet the vessel lurches and
Verrochio is one again thrown against the railing, without the dexterity to
move in time he is knocked breathless and thrown over the railing towards
the sea.

Nestos' grin widens as the knight goes over the railing, he whispers another
word of magic, opening a small portal below Verrochio. The mage approaches
the railing and looks over in time to see the man fall through and land on
some sandy beach. He hefts the knight's flail and tosses it into the portal,
and does the same with the shield before calling out, "Good luck, High
Clerist." Then with a motion of his hand, the portal winks out of
existence.

The dark elf turns around to assess the battle, to find there is not much of
one left. A few sailors that have not realized the battle is done are
fighting men in Dragonarmy uniforms, but they are quickly dealt with by the
now swollen ice wight ranks. Nestos nods, then turns to the commander of the
White Watch, "Burn it." He takes one more look at the other ships around
them, most already burning, and smiles before re-entering the portal that
had brought him there. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Nov 30 15:20:37 2017
Subject     The First Piece, pt. 1

Volath walks across the deck towards the starboard bow of his ship the
'Vanderkaum'. It is a cold and rainy night, the change in season bringing
turbulent seas, several crew members run past Volath performing their
duties, steam rolling off their bodies.

Volath pays his crew no heed, they are experienced sailors and Volath is not
the kind of captain that micromanages his crew. Likely his sea-mates knew
more of the intricate workings of the ship than he but Volath was a fast
learner and could discuss the dailies of the ship and not seem out of place.
This night though he is lost in thought, unsure of what drew him out into
Zeboim's wrath (Well more of a fit than a wrath, he mused to himself). He
just couldn't stand the comfort of his quarters, he felt as if watched. It
was that damned cursed amulet he took from that Highlord Khariif, he was
sure of it.

The shadows at the edge of the lantern light begin to shudder and move, then
coalesce into the shape of a humanoid. Nestos then steps out of the shadow a
short distance from Volath, making no effort to hide his appearance from the
Captain. The constant traveling of late has made him weary, his gaze is
still sharp though, and his posture shows he is read for any response. He
has information that Volath is a businessman above all, but he is also no
stranger to renegade hunters, "A pleasant evening, Captain Volath."

Volath blinks, taken aback by the unknown man aboard his ship. Had this been
several weeks ago, Volath might have been surprised even startled but after
the appearance of that damned Kender who seems to pop-up everywhere, mild
surprise is all he feels. Taking a few moments to study the figure, it is
easily apparent that this man in front of him is gifted in magic, though not
a mage belonging to the wizards conclave. Scowling, Volath readied himself
for conflict, renegades can be so unpredictable and to be aboard his ship
unbeknownst to him, meant he wielded some power, "This evening is far from
pleasant renegade, probably going to end up worse for you."

Volaths breath steams in a light mist before him, wavering slightly and
diverting around the unknown renegade. He has a forcefield around him, it
would seem he is not reckless. Volath frowns and ponders how this mage knows
him, he doesn't like having the underhand. Volath slowly states "I suggest
that you depart my ship before my crew see you aboard, they don't take
kindly to strangers and as you probably know it is my duty to dispose of all
renegades."

Nestos grins slightly at that, then lowers the hood of his white cloak, "As
is the duty of all black robed mages, especially one with rank, but you are
not at the tower." The dark elf extends his arms out, giving the sign that
he does not want a fight from the other, '"I have burned enough ships in the
past days, I have no want to burn another. What I want is something that you
recently acquired personally."

Volath snorts in sudden good humour., "I think you'd have a hard time
burning this ship, my fellow caster, or should I say highlord." Volath is
quick to put two and two together once viewing the wizards features. He is
an elf, a dark elf, much like Volath is himself. There isn't many of them on
Krynn, most elves would rather die than be banished from their homelands,
before him stood one who typically resides in Icewall. "I take it back, this
must be pleasant weather in comparison to what you are used too. I am going
to humour you, though don't think I took your threat lightly. Why are you
here and why shouldn't I present your corpse in the next conclave, or to the
knights for that matter?" 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Nov 30 15:23:36 2017
Subject     The First Piece, pt. 2

Nestos feigns a frown and look of concern, "I would think that main
reason you would not do that is because I am willing to pay for what you
have stowed away." The mage reaches into his robes and quickly pulls out a
leather pouch that he removes a pipe from, then busies himself with loading
it. "And yes, this is much better than the reach, but I have grown used to
the cold." The dark elf holds up his right hand with a grin, showing finger
tips blackened from frost bite. "Just so we are clear about what we are
discussing, I would like to procure the amulet you took from my associate."

Volath cannot tell if the elf in front of him is toying with him or not.
"You are speaking more my language,"  Volath replies, his eyes on the pouch,
"But why would I allow you to leave this ship just so you can bring that
cursed amulet back to him. He is insane, that blasted maniacal fool and his
beast almost had my ship. He would love nothing more than have revenge on
me, I am sure, so why make him more powerful?" Volath clenches his fist and
glares at Nestos, his temper starting to rise, "Do you take me a fool!?"

Nestos does not reply to the other elf right away, instead he puts the pipe
up to his lips with his thumb in the bowl. When he removes his thumb, the
bowl is lit and he takes several long puffs. "The man is worse than insane,
he is a sycophant for that Queen of his. I have no want for him to have the
amulet...I want it for my own devices,"  he says, before offering the pipe
to Volath, "And I can assure you, I have no want to use it against your ship
either."

Volath snorts in derision as he waves his hand refusing the pipe. "The only
thing he is to his, your?" Volath raises that second part as a question,
"Queen is a slave. Also who is to say that I don't want the amulet to
myself, why would I further the cause of a Renegade?" Volath pulls his cowl
further over his face as a droplet of water hits his face and rolls down
towards his chin. "Tell me, why do you want it?"

Nestos shrugs off the refusal then takes a few more puffs, exhaling the
sickly sweet smoke. "A slave he is to...HIS Queen." The dark elf looks out
to the blackness of the sea, seeming to think, "As for the amulet, unless
the policies of the great tower of high sorcery have changed, I do not think
your using it would be allowed. Having said that, I encourage those that
serve one such as Falkore to step out." He nods his head a moment before
exhaling smoke once more and looking back to Volath, "As I have stated to
your High Archmage, unless the Conclave comes after me, I will not seek to
harm it."

Volath grabs the rail of his ship and braces as his galleon makes impact
with a larger wave. Much to his satisfaction Nestos stumbles slightly, "I'll
have you know, if I wanted to in that moment, you'd be dead." Turning on his
heel Volath walks back towards his aft-cabin, the door barely visible in the
rain growing heavier by the minute. Volath looks over his shoulder at the
highlord before asking "Well are you going to drown out here and face the
might of Zeboim or come inside and discuss business?" Volath doesn't wait
for a reply and heads towards the warmth of his cabin.

Nestos catches himself after the stumble, but only grins at the other elf's
threat. He watches as the captain begins to make his way back to his cabin.
After the other turns back to question whether he would be joining, Nestos
spares one more glance into the darkness before following at a comfortable
walk. As he makes his way to the cabin, he does not concern himself with the
weather at all, and merely chuckles at Volath's final comment.

Volath, reaching the refuge of his cabin, removes his cloak and hangs it
from a hook behind the door to dry. He walks the length of his cabin and
takes a seat at his desk, waiting for Nestos to enter. Seeing Nestos enter
the room, Volath waves him over motioning to a wooden chair opposite him.
"Let's talk business then, I'll entertain offers, but be aware it will not
come cheap." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Thu Nov 30 15:26:25 2017
Subject     The First Piece, pt. 3

Nestos uses the heel of his soft leather boot to knock the cherry from
the pipe, then tucks it into its pouch and back into his robes. "I would be
disappointed if it was not,"  the renegade says as he enters the cabin. He
looks around the room as if studying it for danger, then whistles
appreciation. "A nice little setup you have here. Certainly better than what
you would have in the tower." The mage follows suit removing his cloak to
hang it on a hook near the door, revealing red robes that have been so
heavily stitched with black runes they appear black. He then sits himself
comfortably in the chair Volath has indicated.

Volath snorts, "The tower is a dreadfully boring place, one must appreciate
the luxuries in life as well as the art." Volath leans back in his chair "I
didn't leave the comfort and beauty of Silvanesti behind for barren grey
rooms, lined with dusty books, money and luxury speaks. This is why my crew
isn't mopping up the grease stains from whatever would have been left of
your body for trespassing on my ship." Leaning forwards, Volath folds his
hands together on the desk, "Well, let's hear your offer, undersell me and
I'll be feeding you to the sharks."

The mage grins at the captain's threats, then leans back and crosses his
legs as Volath gets serious about business. "Well, let us hope I do not
undersell you then,"  Nestos says with a tinge of sarcasm, "So, I assume you
will accept payment in the form of diamonds, but I do not think that will
keep me from the sharks alone." The dark elf reaches into his robes once
more and removes a folded piece of parchment sealed in black wax. "This
should suffice, and you can name a price in diamonds, keeping this
information in mind." Nestos tosses the parchment nonchalantly onto the
desk.

Volath places the parchment aside and responds, "The diamonds will have to
be enough to appease my crew. Let's say 15 per member. And now let's take a
look at this..." Volath then unravels the scroll reading its contents.
Re-reading the note several times over Volath then nods "This will do, this
definitely will do. We have a deal."

A sickly grin spreads across Nestos' face, "That is good to hear, Captain. I
figured that would be of more interest to you than a bauble of a gem." The
mage stands from his chair and with a flick of his wrist, a charred
vallenwood staff appears in his hand. He waves it slowly over the other
elf's desk causing the runes on the staff to glow white and a leather pouch
to appear on the desk. "There should be enough in there for your crew, and
then some." He then rests the staff on the ground and leans his weight onto
it casually, waiting for the other's half of the bargain.

Nodding Volath slides his hand into a hidden pocket within his robes pulling
out a runed key (pretty much the only damned thing he could keep that
Kender's grimy fingers off of) and rising slowly walks into his sleeping
quarters. Looking at the runed chest at the foot of his bed he mutters some
incantations disarming protection spells before inserting the key into the
lock. Opening the chest Volath pulls out a black velvet pouch. Walking back
to Nestos, Volath tosses the bag to him. "Now get off my ship."

Nestos deftly catches the pouch with his frost bitten fingers, then nods to
the other elf. He walks back over to the hook and retrieves his cloak. After
fastening it he opens the door to leave the cabin, but turns back, "Despite
the few unpleasantries, I have enjoyed this. I hope you would keep me in
mind when you are in need of information to sell or buy." With that said, he
turns back to the door and steps through then disappears into the shadows. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Jan 20 11:32:37 2018
Subject     Rebirth Requires Death Part II

The raven floats above the Palanthas street, each lazy flap of its wings
carrying it further from its master, it's all-too-intelligent eyes scan the
street below. It finally lands on the sign for an old shipping office, one
that seems to have been long out of business. It twists its head in either
direction before quorking to itself. Down the same street, the mage stands
in an alley, cloaked by the shadows. His eyes are glazed over as if in a
trance, then they suddenly gain clarity and he smiles. Nestos steps from the
cover afforded by the alley and into the street and begins making his way
towards the old Sable & Macbeth offices.

He wears none of his dragonarmy regalia, not that he wears much of it
anyway. Instead, he simply wears his red robes that are so covered in black
stitched runes, making them appear black from a distance. The streets have
light traffic, and most of it is sailors from out of town. The raven quorks
quietly above him as he approaches the doors to the establishment. The
highlord opens them without knocking, and steps into the empty offices, the
floor creaking as he enters.

Inside the dark and abandoned building two men, one younger and one older,
bristle at the creaking boards. The younger man, fashionably dressed with
jet-black hair, sweeps over the highlord with piercing green eyes and nods
in acknowledgement. But the older man says nothing but growls under his
breath, his slicked back grey hair catching a little of the candlelight
illuminating the small office where all three stand.

The standoff is tense, a palpable uneasiness thick in the air.

The mage gives the pair a wry grin and takes a few steps into the building
as if not recognizing the uneasiness of the two. He eyes both of them as he
rolls a substance around in his fingers absentmindedly. "Gentlemen, forgive
me for being late. I try to be as punctual as possible, but sometimes events
are out of our control. One of my associates would have approached you about
meeting, perhaps a week ago?" Nestos takes a look around the long vacant
building then looks back to the pair as he tucks the substance back into a
belt pouch. "Though it may not have been used for it in awhile, but this is
a place of business, no?"

The two men opposite the mage share a look, and the older mutters to the
younger "Good gods, he's an educated man is he?" The younger man holds up a
hand, dismissing his associate's jibe, and addresses the mage. "You are
correct, this is the newly reopen office of the Sable-Macbeth Company."
Sorin smirks and gestures to the barren room, "No apology necessary, we've
only been taking inventory while we waited." The older man frowns and shifts
his weight, causing an awkward creak to accent the bare room. Sorin, the
younger man, winks at Nestos. "Now, what brings you to my humble place of
business?"

Nestos takes in the interaction between the two, then smiles, turning his
attention to Sorin. "Business of course. Do you mind if I smoke?" the magic
user asks, as he pulls out his smoking pouch and begins loading ground green
leaves into the pipe within. He does not wait for a response before lighting
the packed pipe by merely placing his thumb in the bowl and removing it. A
sickly sweet odor fills the air as he then nonchalantly replies to the
older, "The Tower does indeed do some amount of educating." Turning his
attention back to the younger, his tone becomes more serious, "I understand
you are trying to get your family's company back up and running...I would
like to help." The wry grin returns to his face. 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Sat Jan 20 11:45:57 2018
Subject     Rebirth Requires Death Part IV

Sorin squints, frowns and brings his fingertips together on his lips. He
pauses for a moment before speaking again. "It isn't often I'm proposed
anything on the right side of the law these days, but I have a sinking
feeling that your interpretation of "illicit" doesn't sit well with any
magistrate." But the corners of Sorin's mouth upturn ever so slightly,
"Luckily, neither does mine." The older man, Kesh, chuckles grimly, as if to
agree, but makes no movement or indication that he's about to leave. Sorin
notices, coughs awkwardly and continues, "Ah, right. You see, whatever deal
you want to concoct you can lay it out before both of us. Myhandler Mr.
Reveliere requires full disclosure." Sorin drops his smile and looks
intently at Nestos. "Those are the first of my terms."

The dark elf gives a chuckle as he tugs on his pointed ear, "You drive a
hard bargain, but if you want your man directly involved, that will have to
do. However, it does mean that he is apart of the deal as well. My first
term is that you two act as my contacts in this city. This does require a
certain amount of loyalty, though I am not one to micromanage. I will not
direct you where to go, except when I need something of you." The jovial
nature in the mage's tone drop suddenly as he speaks, "It also means that it
is never mentioned that I have any part in this business of yours." With of
a flourish of his wrist, a charred vallenwood staff appears in his hand. As
he passes it over an empty table, the runes glow a bright silver and a large
leather pouch appears on the table. He then pulls out two signet rings with
the letters NVT scrawled onto onyx stones and sets them beside the pouch.
"The coin is for you, no matter the decision you make. Consider it a welcome
home gift. As for the rings, if you do decide to join my group
of...contacts, simply put on the rings. It is easy as that." The jovial tone
returns to his voice, along with a wry grin, "Well, I know the way out."
Then as he is at the door, he turns back briefly, "You will have twenty-four
hours to decide."

The two men stand in silence for a moment, the quiet between them stiff.
Finally, the older man growls "The gall of the bastard, sweeping in and
demanding loyalty? We don't even know his name." He spits as he turns from
the table, but Sorin still says nothing, and so Kesh continues. "I'm not a
common crook for sale to the highest bidder." Sorin sighs heavily, and
reaches for one of the ornates rings left by the elf. "For now, we don't
have many other choices my friend. I refuse to let my family's name
disappear, but we'll need a way to survive until we can strike back." The
signet is unnaturally cold in Sorin's hand, and he dislikes the heavy weight
of the metal, it reminds him too much of the heavy feel of shackles. Kesh
fiddles with his hands, his mouth contorted as he thinks. "I hope you're not
signing our souls over to the devil, boy. That bloody elf cannot be
trusted." Sorin laughs before retorting back, rolling the ring between his
fingers. "Neither can we, old sport." 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Feb  4 16:21:16 2019
Subject     Every End has its Beginning, pt. 1

The dark elf stumbles as he makes his way through the tunnel. He stops a
moment to lean against the frozen wall of the ice cavern. Pulling his robe
and shirt back over his shoulder, he reveals a green stone embedded just
below his left shoulder. The stone is opaque with what looks like black
smoke swirling around inside. Around the festering wound is flesh that is
clearly necrotizing. A black substance seems to be spreading underneath his
skin, using his arteries to spread. He reaches up to the wound and feels
along an artery the leads to his heart, the black substance stops just short
of it. He winces, but then a grim determination takes over his appearance
and he begins back down the tunnel to his end.

Nestos turns off the main road down a small alley towards a little shop he
turned into his secret headquarters, far from the main Dragonarmy
headquarters. As he makes his way down the dark alley, a woman steps out of
the shadows causing the mage to stop in his tracks. The woman grins as she
caresses a medallion hanging from her neck, "We have come to collect your
debt, Spymaster." As she says this, two figures emerge from the shadows
behind the dark elf.

Sneering at the priestess, Nestos replies, "It is a shame she sent her
lackeys to collect. I will have to send you back to her with a message." He
reaches for a wand at his side, but before he can level it at the messenger,
a fourth figure blurs out of the shadows directly in front of the mage and
buries what looks like a green icicle with a swirling black mist deep into
his left shoulder. Nestos growls, but grits his teeth and manages to utter
the activation word through his teeth. A bolt of dark lightning erupts from
the wand, sending the assassin flying into the priestess, knocking them both
to the ground, but leaving the conical dagger in the dark elf's shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, the mage reaches up and grasps the icicle and attempts
to pull it loose. The parting jutting out from the skin glows bright then
explodes into dust, leaving the remainder embedded in his shoulder. The pain
from the explosion causes him to lose his grip on the wand and it clatters
to the ground. He turns unsteadily towards the two assassins behind him. His
look of grim determination turns to a mischievous grin. His hand falls from
the dagger at his belt, instead pulling out an iron rod from a pouch. "It is
a shame you chose a place so close to my headquarters."

The two assassins cautiously approach the dark elf until two of the mage's
own shadows emerge from the darkness behind the two. Long slender blades
find their place between the ribs of either assassin. Wincing in pain,
Nestos turns once more to the priestess, now on her feet and reaching for
the medallion around her neck. The spymaster quickly raises the rod of iron,
directing it at the cleric and with a word of the arcane, a wave of energy
floods forth from the rod causing the woman to stand still just before her
hand reaches the medallion.

Favoring his shoulder, Nestos closes on the priestess, his mischievous grin
still on his face. He reaches up and touches the medallion lightly, tracing
his finger along the five headed dragon. He gently lifts the medallion over
the woman's head and hefts it in his hand before depositing it in a hidden
pocket within his robes. "The medallion of one of the chosen is quite a
powerful spell component if one knows how to use it,"  the mage whispers to
the woman, "Thank you for delivering it to me." 

A door swings open where there was none before and two large men step out
with cudgels in hand. Nestos turns to them as he feels around the weapon
buried in his shoulder, he winces slightly then speaks, "Take care of the
dead, there is no need for their corpses to be found." The two men nod and
casually begin searching the corpses before disposing of them. Nestos turns
around to face the two that killed the other assassins and gives them a
slight bow, "Thank you, Eliza. Would you mind bringing our guest inside?" 

Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Feb  4 16:24:55 2019
Subject     Every End has its Beginning, pt. 2

The woman in dark clothes and mask nods, but grumbles as she and her
companion grab the cleric, now more statue than anything, and begin dragging
her inside the building. "And feel free to start into her. I want to know
how she knows where the headquarters are and who gave the order." The
grumbling turns to cackling as the two women get the priestess inside.

Nestos remains outside probing the dagger in his shoulder as the two men
search the corpses. He then reaches down and collects his wand before one of
the men collects what the other has gathered and hands them over to the dark
elf. "Here you go, boss." The mage collects the items then heads into the
dark building as he sorts through it.

As soon as he enters, he is greeted by the screams of the priestess as she
is being tortured for information. Nestos sets the assortment of items on a
table near the chair the woman is tied to. He tosses several different wing
insignia aside. First a green, then a red, then a black, but no White Wing
insignia. He reads through several folded pieces of paper before turning his
attention to the woman on the chair. As he approaches, the cleric's eyes are
drawn to the jet pendant set into silver that hangs from the mage's neck. As
if on queue, whispers begin to emanate from the stone and a wicked smile
crosses the dark elf's face.

"I am glad that you understand your predicament,"  Nestos says as he stands
in front of the chair to loom over the true believer, "Here is the deal
though. I would rather your soul remain your own so that you may return to
deliver a message for me. So, I am willing to let these lovely ladies do
their work on you until you give me what information I need, or until I
decide owning your soul will be worth more than sending a message." He stops
for a moment, waiting for an acknowledgement before asking, "Do you
understand?"

The woman merely nods, a whimper escaping her lips as she does so.

Nestos nods confirmation again, and a smile of satisfaction crosses his
face. "Someone in the white wing would have had to tell you where this place
is, and none of you are from the White Wing. So, who was it that told you?
"

The priestess looks at the mage with uncertainty, then resolve seems to
cross her face and her lips tighten to a fine line. The spymaster frowns at
this then shrugs his shoulders, "You must know, I am not a fan of these
women's work, it is messy. However, if you decide you do not want to talk, I
will let them continue."

The priestess looks from the mage, to the black clad women, then down to her
bleeding fingertips. The resolve runs from her face as she looks back up at
Nestos. "Fine, fine. It was one of your Sergeants...Luthan."

"Good. And who was it that gave you the order to come here?"

Now, the priestess puts on a grin of her own, "She did...and I will not be
the last."

"Of that, I am sure,"  Nestos states plainly, then he leans in and whispers
in her ear "Now, please take this message to your mistress, She can have it
when I am done with it!" With that, he turns and walks towards the door,
Eliza following him. Once at the door, he quietly tells her, "Get what
information you can about what the other wings are doing and get it to the
Neraka office. We can use it to fuel conflict between the Wings if we need
the distraction, plus the Solamnics will no doubt pay good money for some
table scraps. When she no longer has any secrets, kill her."

"What do you want us to do with her body?" Eliza states with a chuckle,
"Want it hung in the square as a warning?"

Nestos shakes his head, then states pointedly, "No. The last thing we need
is the attention of this new Empress." The mage begins writing sigils on the
doorframe with chalk from a pouch as he continues, "Make sure her and the
others disappear. Get them on a ship out of here and have them sunk in the
Newsea. The Baroness is a zealot and we do not want that on our heels right
now."


Author:    Nestos         
Date:      Mon Feb  4 16:25:38 2019
Subject     Every End has its Beginning, pt. 3

After a few arcane words, the sigils on the doorframe flair and Nestos
opens the door to reveal a warehouse instead of the alley outside. He turns
to Eliza once more, "Find this Luthan, and determine who he has talked to
and what he has said. Then bury him with the others at sea. Once that is
done, mobilize our unit here, we are going back to the reach."

Eliza nods then turns around and stalks back towards the table. Nestos turns
and enters through the door into the warehouse. The screams follow him
through the door, then cut off abruptly as the door shuts behind him. 

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