Letter for Ex-Elite Magus Nerinide

[Nyssis]

The vellum is wrapped much like the scroll missives of the older generations, rolled so tightly that the only way to inspect its contents would be by breaking its ribbon seal. The orange ribbon is bound several times over to guarantee that it couldn't be easy dislodged, and the outside surface is dotted with a duality of names: 'Samak Nerinide' in both Common and Espruar.

Rather than delivered by mail carrier, its author steals into the Second Wind Inn at inopportune hours and slips it under the jam of the third upstairs door. She departs the premises with relative haste while the glamour of invisibility still holds.

The entire missive is penned in shaky Espruar that is unaccustomed to writing very often.

<Samak,

It has been a long time since we've spoken, of this there cannot be any doubt. I fear we departed on bad terms and I've made numerous errors of judgement regarding what would become of our friendship. It is with a heavy heart that I send you an apology through writing than in person, for I'm still of monumental shame to face you directly. I hope you can glance upon this bastard of a letter with an open mind.

There are two matters that I would like to discuss with you here, if it pleases you. The first is the matter of Morv and how he is still affecting me to this day. I grow weak and complacent, not easily roused to quickness and action due to my lack of energy after avoiding the Reverie like a plague. Although you found no intrusions and outside aggressors in the past, his night terrors have grown more frequent across the seasons. You may not be able to directly assist me if our relations are still sour, but please give me some clues as to what I can do to stifle his assault.

The second matter is one of a less personal matter than my own, though likely one you are more learned in. I have hope that you could tell me what you have studied of possession and attacks from the outer ether veil upon mortals. Anything will work, be they excerpts from tome volumes or the wildest of rumors. I'm of good reason to learn as much about the topic as I can. Please consider sending any return missive to the Menacing Mariner in Port Avanthyr, left with my name in the barkeep's possession.

This means more than you know, if you can help. I will try to repay your kindness both past and present.

Lasvi>

[Chocolate Radio]

The light scrape of tightly-bound vellum barely stirred the mage from bed. By the time he pulled himself free of the sheets, the light creaking across the floorboards outside was nothing more than a memory quickly forgotten by the resident mouse. With the bright orange of the ribbon quickly catching his attention, Samak weaves a few divinations and wards over his person. As there was no notable harm emanating from the missive, he plucks it up as gently as he can and takes it over to his small work-table. A few lines into the message, he releases a heavy sigh and reaches for a hipflask lying by the bed.


Some time later, an elf wearing a patchwork cloak and using an unstrung bow as a walking stick leaves a spellscroll at the Menacing Mariner. The thing is bound in a cord of soft leather with a small vellum strip hanging free of the knot. Letters spelling ‘Lasvi’ in the Common Tongue cling to this strip. When unrolled, the side of the parchment that was on the outside would reveal itself as a scroll containing the workings of the ‘Dismissal’ spell. On the inside, however, a message in poorly-penned Espruar reads as the following.

“Lasvi,


Time certainly has passed, and while the length of this lapse may be nothing more than a single grain in the sand-clock of our lives, I’m sure than neither one of us has experienced the time without its turmoil. Regardless, if memory serves me properly it was your wish for us to cease conversation, not necessarily mine (though perhaps I may have agreed to the notion all too strongly). Any shame you may feel is needless, and an apology is not necessary. You’re much more pleasant company as a friend than as a warm memory.


As for the subjects you’d wish to discuss, the mention of the latter may perhaps shine light on the former. I must apologize that this isn’t exactly my area of expertise, however as you well know I am not one to shy away from the ‘darker’ aspects of the Art and do hold some knowledge on the subject of possession. Out of the many forms it may take, two stand out at the forefront.


The one that I am most familiar with is the use of a gem or sizable crystal to trap the soul of a subject. Afterwards, the spellweaver may leave his own body to take command of the soulless husk left of the target. If the host body can no longer remain alive while possessed, and the gem is within a certain distance of it, then the possessor’s soul replaces the one in the ‘magic jar’ and the host’s soul departs to the afterlife. If the ‘jar’’s location exceeds this distance, than both souls leave for the Fugue.


Aside from this necromantic hex, another lies in the realms of demonology and diabolism. Certain extraplanar beings hold the ability to leave their corporeal bodies and travel through the Ethereal realms to forcibly merge their wills with that of another. While the outsider’s body remains alive but vacant, as it has no need to eat or breathe in order to survive, its spirit hides within the body of the possessed. However, as the Ethereal and the Material overlap, the possessor’s body would likely remain hidden somewhere in the Material. It may be assailed, and if such occurs, then it could be banished or destroyed, as appropriate by its nature. However, until such occurs, not much may be done to rid the host of the unwelcome visitor.


The fiend’s Ethereal form may not be attacked independently of its host, as it becomes part of its victim, and if the victim is slain the fiend is simply free to roam the Ethereal realms once more. The binding is so intimate that the presence may even obfuscate itself so deeply within the host that it may not be sensed by certain wards meant to detect dark natures. There are a few methods of fighting against such an unwelcome presence, however, aside from a sturdy will. The incantations I’ve written on the back of this missive may be used to sever the link of the Ethereal presence from the host body, but it will only serve to return the spirit of the fiend to its corporeal body, wherever it is. Using a form of magical disruption on the corporeal body itself may similarly succeed in returning its Ethereal extension to it. However, unless the corporeal form of the fiend is either slain or banished, it may once again attempt to send its being to possess the former subject to its enslavement.


Such would be the base knowledge of the processes I’ve heard of, and I’m certain unique cases may express their own special traits. I’ve been barred from entry to the ‘Floating City’, and no longer have access to the research materials I once had as part of the Hands. The best source of lore on this subject may be found in the archives of the ‘goodly gods’’s temples, as their clergy are ones that typically deal with providing cures to possession. My apologies, but as of this moment I am not able to tell you more since I know so little of the circumstances of which you speak.


The reason that I decided to address the second subject before the first, it may help to draw similarity between Morv and possession. I detected no outside influence on you, so the sway may very well be merged with your own spirit in the form of fiendish possession, keeping itself hidden only to steer you to the depths you’ve been driven to. I’d gladly offer my hand to help you find a solution to the ill omens you see in your dreams, but there is only so much I can do with messages slipped beneath my inn-room door.


I hope we have a chance to meet again once more,
Yours truly,
Samak.”

[Nyssis]

Upon receiving the message from Samak, the she-elf retreats into the back room at night owl hours and composes a return message that's as succinct in weorth as it is profound in meaning. Much like its predecessor, the rolled vellum is prepared in mirror quality all the way down to the very way its cinnabar-dyed twine is wrapped twelve circuits around its girth: once for each of the gods that comprise the Seldarine she so viciously believes in.

The author's return trip to the Second Wind Inn is performed evasively several hours later when dawn is threatening to burst over the horizon but doesn't yet shed light on the vale, again under the obscurity of illusion magic. She deposits the memorandum beneath his door before creeping off the premises in favor of the capitol's portal.

The relatively lonely Espruar writing adorning the page in its dead center argues why she'd waste so much time before making a delivery.

<Samak,

Thank you very much for your assistance. I will buy you a bottle of drink while in the capitol for you to enjoy at a later time.

Lasvi>

[Chocolate Radio]

I’ve finished organizing my notes on the research conducted, and I must admit that I cannot give recommendation on proceeding through with the ritual one way or another. The results sought were to split a possessing fiend from the host and then to banish the creature to the hells that spawned it, and the ritual was considered a ‘success’ in at least one measure of the word. However, the methods sought to achieve it were conducted in less than the most trustworthy of magics, and I am lead to understand that there is quite the possibility that the host would be banished along with the devil inside, as well as other possible side-effects the record of which were destroyed. Perhaps it is needless worry, but with the sorts of arcana that we are dealing with risk is often more dire than may be worth taking. If every time a mage did more harm than good by dabbing in something they do not fully understand was written down in brief record, the codices would fill a library.

I am, however, in understanding of how to accomplish the rite, and could perform it given proper preparation and materials. I would require two more crystals of quartz, a similar quantity of bloodstones, and a skilled enough artisan to shape a ruby, and I’d be at your disposal to proceed. However, I do hope you take my warnings to heavily weight the decision one way or another, and perhaps a more clear route may present itself.

Your friend,
Samak Nerinide

After completing the message and scribing the name of the recipient on the outside, the elf passes it over to the winged, animated bundle of rags. The homunculus proceeds to skip out of sight, ready to begin its long flight over to the Menacing Mariner. Then, taking a long, deep drag from an unlabeled clay bottle, the mage walks over to the articles arranged on his work bench. A sharp dagger, a mixing bowl, wax, and several candle-molds. Giving the blade’s edge another look, he chugs down another gulp.

[Nyssis]

Another scroll is slid under the ex-Elite Magus' door during the evening hours, the vellum adorned with flowing and practiced Espruar script whose ink takes easily to the page. Like its predecessors, it is tightly bound under the hold of a red ribbon, though the excess coil was uncharacteristically snipped after being firmly knotted.

The fact that the author was hoping for his presence is made quite obvious by the amount of muddy footprints she leaves behind before taking flight elsewhere.

<Samak,

Things are going to proceed as planned, but I should warn you ahead of time of a few stipulations. Due to his private study of the volumes my interest has brought to light, the Sentinel Esmond Aurelianus has drawn a great many conclusions about what is to transpire, and he has approached me in private to glean more information.

As a result, the Helmite is going to accompany a small contingent of Hands of Mundus to the site with the intention of lending aid to the success of the ritual. I have already contacted Sicari about this and he has proven amenable, but I imagine the presence of your once-allies may cause undue stress upon you. You have my apologies if that is the case.

The suggestion has come up that there is a risk that the possessing fiend may fabricate tales about its host to spare itself a fate of being captured by the Hands once expelled. Only you know the true details of the ritual and any invocations that may be required, so I wanted to run the possibility of a field of silence by you first. No doubt the Helmite and his battalion would scrutinize the host wrongly if the fiend proves convincing.

Furthermore, should the ritual do naught for freeing our mutual friend, I advise you let Sicari execute him if it comes to that. This is not something that will go without repercussions if he is killed by anyone else. I am going to contact all parties involved for the best time and place to see things through, and I will inform you of any changes in scheduling ahead of time.

Lasvi>

[Nyssis]

The recurring author of these messages seems fit to deliver the ex-Elite Magus another one during the moonlit hours of the eve, though she doesn't linger overlong after depositing it beneath the barrier to his room. Haste would take her footprints elsewhere before a shroud of invisibility gave way, and haste would likewise mark the memorandum as being very eagerly scribed.

<Samak,

I apologize for not being present at the ritual. Perhaps I would have been of some weorth there, but I was not feeling keen on approaching my companion after being warned to stay away from him by someone else. Regardless, according to his ere grateful words after his release, something went awry. The Sentinel was purportedly incensed and I am led to believe you banished the fiend instead of letting it be captured for his political scheme.

There was an agreement that Aurelianus would overlook the information gleaned in the arcanabulum you transcribed. Why then would he be so wooden with anger as to threaten your life? I did not fancy him the kind of man to go back on his promises so easily, whether or not it falls within his plots, and to learn of this possibility is ill news. He knew that the option was available and could be used at any time.

Pray tell me what happened, for recent feelings have cause to bid me seek your side of the story before approaching the Sentinel decidedly unarmed. We may speak in person if it pleases you.

Lasvi>

[Chocolate Radio]

The return message is sent in the same manner as before,

Dear Lasvi,

What happened was very simple, and I would rather write bluntly about what had happened. The Sentinel arrived some time after the Left Hand Archmagus, who saw fit to give me only two pages of a newly discovered ritual that they had concocted to split the possessor from the host, just enough for me to scribe the needed circle. I was informed by the Archmagus that for whatever reason they sought to bind the fiend after his separation, rather than slay or banish it.

By the time the Sentinel arrived, the ritual was already underway, and after the struggle of the host the fiend was split off and materialized in the caverns nearby. After sending a score of his devilish servants against us, he faced us in battle himself. The Sentinel and the Archmagus were brought to near-death during the conflict, though so was the fiend. As there was then no risk to the host if I used the prior ritual to banish it, I did so, improvising with the materials I had.

Thus, the fiend's essence was dismissed, sent back to recover in whatever hell spawned it. When it reforms there in a century or so, I do hope that it will rethink returning. As for our dear friend Sentinel, upon recovering his senses and understanding what I had done, he cursed to kill me on sight as he sought to recover the Archmagus to health, and I do believe your efforts to get me into the good graces of the city again may have been for naught now.

In doing so, however, I feel my favor has been completed. I did promise to either slay or banish the fiend and ensure the safety of your friend, and I believe I have done just that. Better to have cured the valley of the postulant sore that it was, rather than let at least five generations of mortal mages hope to hold a bandage over it for the same span of time.

That being said, I hope you find yourself in good health, and I hope 'Archer' does as well.

Your friend,
Samak Nerinide

[wangxiuming]

Another message is cautiously deposited under the door door to Samak's room. The words are scribed carefully; it seems strangely to not refer to anyone by name, though its contents would make clear the author to its intended recipient well enough.

Cousin,

I must admit I was not quite sure how to address you. By instinct, I still associate you with -his- moniker, "the Interloper," though I surely would have perished without your assistance. For that, I owe a debt of gratitude that I would like opportunity to express in person. There are a few other subjects I would seek opportunity to discuss with you, as well, should you be willing.

I am staying at the Port, though I suspect Avanthyr may not be a prudent place for meetings, given my frequent sightings of a certain mutual acquaintance. I would suggest Mirakus Post instead.

Return correspondence can be sent to the Mariner. I look forward to your reply.

Yours in gratitude,

The signature line has been redacted.

[Chocolate Radio]

With severe considerations about purchasing a thin strip of wood to hammer down at the base of his inn-room door to prevent possible missives covered with explosive runes from being slipped into his "office", Samak plucks up the most recent of the letters up from the floor. Wiping sleep from his eyes, he settles in at his desk to pen a response.

I'm afraid as remote of an experience as you've had with me, I've had with you, so while I have heard you to be referred to by a few names, I'd rather not match your 'Interloper' with my 'Host'. If a meeting you wish, I hold no limitations outside its requirement to be free of the Floating City.

When you do hope to make your trek towards the outpost at Mirakus, I'll attempt to catch you there through spells of traversal. Arrangements ought to be more easily made by way or arcane missive, if such would not trouble you.

~Samak Nerinide

Finishing with the scroll, the elf rolls it into a tight coil before writing 'Lethian' on what remains visible on the outside surface. Handing the slim rod of parchment for his winged familiar to deliver, he makes his way free of the room in search of carpentry tools, a proper mailbox to be posted outside of his door, and the semblance of a nameplate for his one-man arcane investigation service.

[wangxiuming]

Correspondence arrives under Samak’s door at the Second Wind.

Cousin,

I wish to engage your professional services concerning a token recently discovered. I hesitate to leave further details in written correspondence; would you be able to meet with me, perhaps at the same location as last?

Related events require me to offer warning. Give second appraisal to the approach of any persons unfamiliar; my warm greeting of such a man was met with a dagger upon my life.

~ L