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Darwin Dakros had a very rare opportunity. An opportunity to indulge in something that he had hoped to indulge in for a very long time.
Having gone into the Whurest tunnels with his Black Hand brethren to train, Darwin was surprised when his group was followed in by a trio of Legionites. Their apparent leader, Olivia Blackwell, gazed over the group with her divine sight.
Sensing the evil that crawled over all of them, Olivia drew her sword and attacked, even after the vampire Landistrin had attempted to talk her down. But diplomacy would not occur this day as the Legion attacked.
Darwin had walked through the door, keeping his back to the group. He assumed another face, and was going to return, but he heard the sounds of combat. Drinking as many buffing potions as he possibly could the metamorph assumed the form of a powerful Beholder, entering the room and supporting his comrades with a flurry of devastating magical eye rays. After a long and devastating battle the Legionites lay dead, with the exception of Venara who had escaped into the Shadows.
"We must leave this place. The Legion are like Locusts, where there is one there are many. No doubt the one who escaped intends to call reinforcements." said Landistrin, who began to clutch his magical Holy Symbol of Colibrus to teleport back to the Nexus. The others in his party did the same. But Darwin, Darwin was not of the Three. Darwin was of Malar. The Holy Symbol that he had been given was little more than a decorative trinket. He could not use it to return to the Citadel as the others could. Noric turned to Darwin, thoughtful, before patting him on the shoulder.
"I trust your abilities, Spymaster. You will find a way to escape.." as he spoke, however, Darwin had already sprung into action. His skin began to shift, becoming thick and leathery. His eyes became pools of inky blackness, and a mass of tentacles leaped from his face and neck as he transformed into a powerful Illithid. The transformation seemed to briefly stun the vampiric Landistrin, who smirked with a faint chuckle, clearly impressed.
"Do not worry, my Brethren." said a disembodied, omnidirectional voice. The form Darwin had entered enabled him to speak as Illithid's spoke, via an unseen telepathic voice. The words echoed in their minds even as Darwin's lips never moved. With that the Illithid's form began to dissolve as it vanished into the Ethereal Plane and moved down the mountain to safety.
But on his way back, while Ethereal, he heard some adventurers talking. And of course, as Spymaster of the Black Hand, he was always willing to listen to fresh tidbits. Gossip, oftentimes, was very useful.
"I've heard he can change into a Dragon!" said one of them.
"I've heard he can look like anybody he wants to..." said another, quivering in his boots.
"I've heard that adventurers from all over have been buying wands to find him...I need one of those...." said the trembling man, shaking like a leaf. "He's a Cannibal! He eats people while they are still alive!"
Darwin could not help but darkly chuckle. He was in the Ethereal Plane after all, they could not hear him. As the men huddled across the campfire, their eyes began to dart to one another, almost as if each had suspected the other of being ready to transform and devour them whole.
It was then that Darwin realized a horrible, dark truth. He had done something that would make Bane Himself extremely proud of Darwin. He had the people SCARED. They were afraid. No doubt the stories had spread about the Legion killed by Vampires in the Whurest halls, after all one of the Legion had survived to tell the tale.
Friends began checking friends at random, not sure which of them was the Malarite in disguise. Every bird, every rat, every squirrel was scanned, everybody locked their doors and windows. People were afraid....and Darwin loved it.
He had succeeded. He had officially become one of the most feared men within the Valley. Neighbor suspected neighbor. Of course with the heightened alert and the barrage of magical detections carried around it would be much more difficult for Darwin to operate....but he didn't have to.
Darwin had spent weeks lurking in the shadows. And now people had begun to be afraid of their own shadows. Every mouse a potential Malarite. Every pigeon a potential predator. Panic was beginning to spread. Chaos, disorder, and FEAR...and it made the Malarite sit and think.
No wonder Malar had become ally to Bane. This was the true thrill of the hunt. He was used to those he had hunted within the wilds being afraid of him, trembling, waiting in anticipation for a monster to leap from the foliage and devour them whole. But this, this was so much sweeter. The sheep feared him while he was not even on the hunt. Darwin was now a source of great fear, the people were afraid..
....and he savored it. The people were afraid. And when sheep are frightened, they break free of their shepherds. When the people are panicked, they cannot be controlled.
Where there is fear there is inevitably chaos. And where there is Chaos, the Legion would fail. Darwin knew now what he must do. He must use this fear to his advantage, and sow chaos among the innocents. Scare the sheep so badly their Shepherds come down upon them, and lose their favor as they do.
It was time, once again, to go hunting.
Having gone into the Whurest tunnels with his Black Hand brethren to train, Darwin was surprised when his group was followed in by a trio of Legionites. Their apparent leader, Olivia Blackwell, gazed over the group with her divine sight.
Sensing the evil that crawled over all of them, Olivia drew her sword and attacked, even after the vampire Landistrin had attempted to talk her down. But diplomacy would not occur this day as the Legion attacked.
Darwin had walked through the door, keeping his back to the group. He assumed another face, and was going to return, but he heard the sounds of combat. Drinking as many buffing potions as he possibly could the metamorph assumed the form of a powerful Beholder, entering the room and supporting his comrades with a flurry of devastating magical eye rays. After a long and devastating battle the Legionites lay dead, with the exception of Venara who had escaped into the Shadows.
"We must leave this place. The Legion are like Locusts, where there is one there are many. No doubt the one who escaped intends to call reinforcements." said Landistrin, who began to clutch his magical Holy Symbol of Colibrus to teleport back to the Nexus. The others in his party did the same. But Darwin, Darwin was not of the Three. Darwin was of Malar. The Holy Symbol that he had been given was little more than a decorative trinket. He could not use it to return to the Citadel as the others could. Noric turned to Darwin, thoughtful, before patting him on the shoulder.
"I trust your abilities, Spymaster. You will find a way to escape.." as he spoke, however, Darwin had already sprung into action. His skin began to shift, becoming thick and leathery. His eyes became pools of inky blackness, and a mass of tentacles leaped from his face and neck as he transformed into a powerful Illithid. The transformation seemed to briefly stun the vampiric Landistrin, who smirked with a faint chuckle, clearly impressed.
"Do not worry, my Brethren." said a disembodied, omnidirectional voice. The form Darwin had entered enabled him to speak as Illithid's spoke, via an unseen telepathic voice. The words echoed in their minds even as Darwin's lips never moved. With that the Illithid's form began to dissolve as it vanished into the Ethereal Plane and moved down the mountain to safety.
But on his way back, while Ethereal, he heard some adventurers talking. And of course, as Spymaster of the Black Hand, he was always willing to listen to fresh tidbits. Gossip, oftentimes, was very useful.
"I've heard he can change into a Dragon!" said one of them.
"I've heard he can look like anybody he wants to..." said another, quivering in his boots.
"I've heard that adventurers from all over have been buying wands to find him...I need one of those...." said the trembling man, shaking like a leaf. "He's a Cannibal! He eats people while they are still alive!"
Darwin could not help but darkly chuckle. He was in the Ethereal Plane after all, they could not hear him. As the men huddled across the campfire, their eyes began to dart to one another, almost as if each had suspected the other of being ready to transform and devour them whole.
It was then that Darwin realized a horrible, dark truth. He had done something that would make Bane Himself extremely proud of Darwin. He had the people SCARED. They were afraid. No doubt the stories had spread about the Legion killed by Vampires in the Whurest halls, after all one of the Legion had survived to tell the tale.
Friends began checking friends at random, not sure which of them was the Malarite in disguise. Every bird, every rat, every squirrel was scanned, everybody locked their doors and windows. People were afraid....and Darwin loved it.
He had succeeded. He had officially become one of the most feared men within the Valley. Neighbor suspected neighbor. Of course with the heightened alert and the barrage of magical detections carried around it would be much more difficult for Darwin to operate....but he didn't have to.
Darwin had spent weeks lurking in the shadows. And now people had begun to be afraid of their own shadows. Every mouse a potential Malarite. Every pigeon a potential predator. Panic was beginning to spread. Chaos, disorder, and FEAR...and it made the Malarite sit and think.
No wonder Malar had become ally to Bane. This was the true thrill of the hunt. He was used to those he had hunted within the wilds being afraid of him, trembling, waiting in anticipation for a monster to leap from the foliage and devour them whole. But this, this was so much sweeter. The sheep feared him while he was not even on the hunt. Darwin was now a source of great fear, the people were afraid..
....and he savored it. The people were afraid. And when sheep are frightened, they break free of their shepherds. When the people are panicked, they cannot be controlled.
Where there is fear there is inevitably chaos. And where there is Chaos, the Legion would fail. Darwin knew now what he must do. He must use this fear to his advantage, and sow chaos among the innocents. Scare the sheep so badly their Shepherds come down upon them, and lose their favor as they do.
It was time, once again, to go hunting.