Benefactor ~ One who makes a gift or bequest.. The Bane Factor ~ Hell hath no fury like a Nasmat scorned..
A banifactor..
Journal Writes~
I realize in all the projects which we have undertaken, what has been thus far forgotten is our vengeance for the insults given. That wretched Bargus has still not paid for his actions against us, and now more than ever I seek to let him know who he has crossed.
To this man I shall send forth my wrath, to let it wash over him and his city that he will know fear and despair.. and all will know what it means to cross me.
The plan is formed, and steps shall begin to be taken. I care not how long this project takes to see into completion, it will be done. Let the island known fear and dread, let the island be dragged out of it's complacent state of being, let them know what powers still walk this land and dread their names when spoken. For Bane.. most of all for my own self, let this course be done.
Registered Member #1004
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The Raven was trained to locate a specific gem within her inner pockets, guiding the creature unerringly across the island. With a caw the bird's shadow spiraled over the land of the dead, before alighting upon a window frame with a self-important ruffle of feather.
Delicate fingers unrolled the scroll from the bird's leg as it preened in the dwindling light, and the woman moved across the laboratory in order to see clearly what the missive held there in.
Network cypher reads: High Priestess, I'm almost certain I've located that which we seek, you may wish to prepare a good viewpoint, please bring wine. ~Scout D.
With a rare smile curving across her lips, she moved across the room towards the wizard. He'd been rather in a dour mood of late, the lack of things to destroy had put him in such a temper.. well she was certain this would rouse him to inspiration.
She knew precisely who favored which wines, making a mental list of vintages, even as she offered to Paydon the note received. A trip North that would not see their time wasted.. things were finally about to get interesting.
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The Kelmonti’s research into the statue yielded ever so little information. But one day as he sifted through the dust of Bargus’ petrified nose, the sample bore the distinct tinge of sulfur.
His lungs stopped and he looked up at the monolith from his worktable. For as much energy that radiated from the structure and all the handling it had endured, it surprised him the effigy hadn’t turned them all to dust already.
“You clever bitch…You were intending to blow the city the entire time, weren’t you?” he cursed under his breath. Anger swelled in his breast. The image of her tied to her own horror branded itself in his mind’s eye.
He needed a team of professional engineers to move the structure at once. The slightest mischance could destroy the area. Being dunked in the sewer’s dank waters must have cooled the object enough to offset its potential destruction before. Now, it sat above ground, waiting and ready.
After piling the remnants of the black rock Karstrynn had collected for him around the city’s bane, he charged off into the night to warn the regent.
Registered Member #1553
Joined: 10:14:34 am GMT 03/11/10
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He had at long last found and done exactly what he said he would, as the wizard dashed off in a hurry Daniel checked the doors, perfect, things were going smoothly for now, there were complications of course but those were to be expected.
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The struggle was quick, the wizard was unprepared for the attack and his feet were greased by a trap Daniel had set in case someone came to interrupt him, thank goodness. With a few short jabs and a hook the wizard hit the ground hard with a thud his eyes rolling in a daze as Daniel checked one last time to make sure the fuse was set. Perfect. It sizzled silently, so Daniel begun to make good his escape hauling the wizards limp frame over his shoulder, he made for the doors and was away.
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Joined: 12:25:12 pm GMT 06/30/10
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In his hurry, the mage forgot to lock the door to the lab. He dashed past the Black Rock Prison and stopped in his tracks. Turning and hastening back, the weight of his mistake didn’t fully become realized until he felt the trap go off at his feet.
A Slow spell fired and his movement lessened to that of sap running out of a tree. He trudged on towards the door, the sound of mechanical objects snapping in place behind it.
Click…The man in green armor set the fuse.
Not a moment to react, the ranger bum rushed him.
The world whirred...
“You don’t die today. You get to watch,” spoke a familiar voice, one that had been present at the Kelmonti’s fiery baptism.
He remembered regaining his senses just as they entered the market district, thrown over the ranger’s shoulder. Had it gone off yet? Was he too late?
“No,” the mage said to himself. “I won’t let it.”
He reached for a red gem in his pocket and released its magic. Fire engulfed his body and Daniel dropped him at its touch. Lomir pushed himself to a stand. He refused to die horizontally.
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“What have you done?!”
“My job!”
And with that, Lomir triggered a Haste spell. For all that he was worth, he ran back towards the lab, scrambling across the cobbletones of Steinkreis.
One.
Two.
Acid covered arrows pierced his side. The pain flared through the mage’s spine and he stumbled. It wasn’t enough to drop him though.
“RUUUUUUUUUUUN! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!” the Kelmonti screamed at the top of his lungs, a strange mixture of agony and command. Heads turned to watch him, oblivious to the nature of the danger.
The door flung open with the weight of the wizard’s shoulder. The monolith stared down at him, just as it always had in its silent hunger to kill. Lomir’s eyes darted across the room searching for the lit fuse, but it was nowhere in sight.
The wizard swallowed. For all his work and all his effort, it came down to this. Somewhere, a grim reaper crushed an hourglass in his fist. But time didn’t completely belong in the hands of death’s lords. Lomir still had one last hand to play.
He began to chant at an accelerated rate, already aided by his prior casting. He concentrated through the pain of the arrows lodged in his side. Dust ceased to move in the room. The fly upon the wall froze just before a spider struck the final blow. The Kelmonti’s power surged in the lab.
Lomir chained from one spell to the next. A rift in reality formed on one side of the room, its innards flashing light and fire, a gate. The next word covered the wizard’s body in shadow, a defense he often used against necrotic energy.
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Between the moments of Thain’s seconds, the wizard’s stomach dropped into a pit of nausea. Did he truly know what he was doing? Was this what Wai’i’lanai had been preparing him for? Lady of Grace and Guardian of my heart, if this is what it means to stand in the fire beside your people and soothe those who thirst, I will do it. I fear. But I know you are with me. Strengthen your servant. Guide my hand. I am yours.
Lomir tipped back a holy cup provided to him by the Goddess’ chosen priest after pulling it from a pocket, a gift for his renewed self. The mage held the sacred liquid in his mouth and crushed a spellgem in his hand.
His body exploded in the room, scales covered his form and his superior musculature replaced the weakness of his limbs. Splinters fragmented throughout the chamber, glass broke, and walls collapsed.
Now. It all had to happen, now.
The dragon clutched at the city’s bane and hugged it to his chest. As he hauled the monolith towards the gate leading to planes beyond his own, memories of friends and family flashed through his eyes. The loves in his life and the seconds where his heart sang consolidated the Kelmonti's resolve and decision.
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He wasn't sure if his arrows were enough to put the mage down completely but they would slow him enough to get the job done. Besides Daniel wasn't looking forward to being to close by when that thing went off, he knew how much powder he'd put inside, as the mage rounded the corner trying to warn those nearby with a shout “RUUUUUUUUUUUN! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!” Daniel turned and made for a familiar patch of shadows in lowtown, he paused briefly to fill the coughing guard running at him full of arrows before clearing the barricade.
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Passed commoners cornered by zombies who tore at them relentlessly over stone fixtures and around a few buildings over a dog and up the steps, two by two, before diving into the shadows that swirled in front of him mysteriously.
Registered Member #1004
Joined: 12:54:02 pm GMT 03/16/07
Posts: 2499
I hear hurricanes ablowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers over flowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.
Don't go around tonight, Well, it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise.
~Bad Moon Rising, Rasputina Cover
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Cursing filled the air as the irritated wizard inspected the tent. He hated waiting, he hated biding his time. He wanted the action to take place now, and cursed Daniel to get to it already. But even he was eager to see what wanton destruction that awaited, knowing that such could come at any time.
She simply sighed, and scritched at the wymling's horns with a fond affection. Patience was his weakness, as pride was her own. Whispering to Gorg, she settled her gaze to the Western skies in contemplation. The small dragon's sharp eyed gaze would notice anything or anyone that she failed to note for herself.
It was uncertain if Daniel would join them when it was ready.. or if he'd have the time. Honestly, she didn't even know if there would be a city left standing when it was done. There was a level of unpredictability that added to the excitement which carried on the air.
She had no idea how much destruction would be wrought, and for that matter she had no idea where it would happen. The note had lacked such details, likely it had been hastily scribed, and she was uncertain just how much damage black powder was actually possible of doing. The small chest of such before, had been enough to take down a single building she had no idea just how much power would be unleashed when the trigger was set.
While this was only one aspect of the grand design, she was nearly giddy with anticipation for what lie ahead. A flush of color formed along her pale cheeks at the notion of such glorious events which would be unfolding before her eyes. None were safe .. the storm was coming. Now, she just had to wait for the marvel of their work to be shared with all.
//OOC: I like the Rasputina cover, and think it suits Nasmat better.
Registered Member #1004
Joined: 12:54:02 pm GMT 03/16/07
Posts: 2499
It was the sound that captured one's attention first. Describing it as a 'booming' noise was simply inadequate. And yet it was indeed a boom, the blast of concussive force as the compressed black powder and spell-gems were released into a fiery inferno.
Yes, it was the sound that captured her attention first. Second was the flame and rise of smoke which curled across the Western sky. From the vantage point upon the hill the details were hard to make out, what the true impact of the devious statue had been. The sound and flame drew her, but it was only after coaxing the wizard to make her invisible that she was able to approach the city.
The destruction was not as total as she had hoped, but smoking ruins curled before her eyes. Even as she walked she could almost feel a hum in the air, those obelisks which had long blocked magic had come down in the blast.
A snicker passed her lips. It was her first explosion, destroying the small shop of which she still held the deed, that had created the sense of fear and dread which had created the pillars. Bargus had them raised in order to try and prevent more explosions, in order to attempt to prevent further losses of life and property. Yes it was by her hand they had raised.. and now too by her hand they had fallen. What was given, was taken away.
She had aided the city to stand against a Lich so it would not be destroyed, and when the city had turned upon her she unleashed the havoc they should have suffered if not for the strength of her temple and their faith.
Fools.
She strode through the rubble, noting just how far the devastation reached before moving into the upper portion of the city.
Grey eyes flickered over the lack of impact her 'gift' to Bargus had held, and finally she frowned before the Grand Keep. For all the lives ended, for all the property ruined.. she had missed her true target. A chunk of the outer wall in rubble, but on a whole the Keep was untouched. Untouched, but with added guardsmen and defenses in place.
She had missed.
Her fingertips tapped upon the blackened wood of her staff, before she turned to move from the city. She would give them a few days to feel the impact, and the sheer horror of what had been unleashed upon them.. before she moved on to the next part of the Grand Design.
She had missed, but she certainly was not letting it dampen her resolve. She had to gather her people, for what would be at hand. And now, she could cease camping on the hillside in wait and return to her comfortable home among the dead.
Vera would need to be contacted, and others as well to ensure everything was in order, for the trickiest part of their plan that was yet to come.
Registered Member #1004
Joined: 12:54:02 pm GMT 03/16/07
Posts: 2499
A sealed envelope is left with Brashen, of course for a large amount of coin for his time and discretion, the fine and heavy vellum scented faintly with the lingering smell of cinnamon and a looping scrawl across it marking it as for one “Vera.”
Vera~
If you recollect our conversations of long before, what was stated as thought is now done in action. The city sits in a state of disarray like never before, and affords many persons opportunity to make use of this.
I advise that if you still seek this Madame who was collecting ears, you make your entrance into the city and take her now while everything still sits in a state of confusion. I do not know if such occasion as this will come again, and I beseech you to make use of it to exact your vengeance upon this woman.
Things will be changing fast in the days ahead, so do not lose time. Let this benefit you and yours as well it shall others.
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Joined: 12:18:42 am GMT 04/25/07
Posts: 1107
Jalla had entered Steinkreis intent to go visit the statue, to see if a certain old druidic spell could tell more about its formulation. But what she found instead of the building she expected was only a smoking hole in the ground, apparently the center of a blast radius extending outwards all around, even so far as to encompass the old Academy student's dormitory in Low Town within huge mounds of rubble.
She couldn't find Lomir, and hoped he was all right. She wondered what had happened, had something gone wrong? She knew that Lomir had been tirelessly seeking the knowledge to nullify or destroy the statue, whether or not they could get it moved away from the populated area. She silently cursed the Regent for not keeping the statue outside of the city, something that had upset her so much that she had been making plans to steal it away. They hadn't even been sure that the precautions with the black rock and all had been mitigating any of the statue's deadly influence. How could that mage Bargus be so stupidly dense, as to think it any sort of good idea to keep it in the city? After all, having it in the city was exactly what had been intended in the first place by the Alliance of Evil.
On her way into Uptown, she had noticed the remains of one of the anti-magic obelisks. Putting down her magic permit, she tried casting her natural magic, and it worked. The anti-magic field was gone. Something she was actually glad to see, as she was certain it had been interfering not only with arcane and natural magic, but with the lifeforce and healing ability of every resident. She had been sure of this since she'd had to treat Ash for the injuries he'd sustained in that explosion. She had realized that his recovery was in jeopardy unless he could be moved out of the anti-magic field so that he could be properly treated and his own healing lifeforce would not be suppressed. Only after he'd been transferred out of the city had she been able to treat him by encouraging his lifeforce with her natural magic, and then he had started to mend more surely.
Now as she viewed the blast radius, and walked about the town, she wondered at seeming to feel a lightening of sorts in the air, of the oppressive feeling that she'd felt ever since the anti-magic field had been instituted, and then even moreso when the necrotic plague had surfaced. She had, remarkably, not seen any swarms since she'd been in the city this day, and she didn't know if the lessening of the sick in the streets was due to a lifting of the nefarious effects of the statue, or if they had simply all died in the blast. Jalla tried to lend her aid to help those still searching through the rubble, but she learned from a wandering priest that those who had been found on the fringes of the blast, either surviving or dead, had already been carried away. Who knew how many more had perished under tons of debris, that would take weeks to clear. She pondered this grim reality, contemplating if she could help the aid workers move the earth by calling up elementals. It also occurred to her that the anti-magic field could have been a prime contributor to how the necrotic energies had so easily overcome the city, because of the field's oppressive effect on the lifeforce of the citizenry.
As to the instigators of this disaster, she wondered if this been the plan all along, to simply utterly destroy the city, or was only a partial destruction indeed actually intended? Some had thought that the city's complete destruction would be counter to a plan of Island domination, but Jalla had long thought the possibility also existed that this was a bomb of the sort that had leveled and cursed Davenshire. Had it worked as well as the Evil Alliance had expected, or could the good citizens be grateful that it had destroyed less than intended? And was destroying the anti-magic field intended, or simply a side-effect? Jalla hoped that the threat of the statue was truly at an end, and not simply scattered all around the city in a million necrotically-radiative pieces. And now what advantage would the Alliance of Evil now press upon the frightened and weakened populace of the city?
[ The Island of Thain ]
The Banifaction III
