Zagig

As with every evening three days past the quarter moon, the bard comes to the village to share his tales long forgotten. In anticipation of the story tellers arrival, the bar keep, Zarr, clears the table in the corner and wipes down the chair. The bard is one of his most important guests because he draws people from across the river and over the hill. A fresh keg is lifted from the cellar and rolled over to the bar. Fresh wood is added to the fire. Zarr's two daughters are weaving through the crowd in common area serving ale to the patrons. Zarr takes a deep breath, the smell of roast pork filters in from the kitchen. Cythiathis, his wife, has repeated in demonstrating the magic she weaves in the kitchen. It's going to be a good night for business.

A wave of silence waves over the room as the front door is opened from the outside. A burst of wind sweeps across the room disturbing the smoke from its lingering cloud. With the sound of the rain outside the bard enters through the doorway. He reaches up and removes a weather worn hard yellow skullcap. While shaking the water from his hair he slowly tugs on the fingertips of his scaly gloves. Once the gloves have been removed you notice some kind of bone has been fashioned into a ring. Zarr, rushes to the door to help him with his boots but the bard simply raises a hand to ward off the barkeep. Zarr hesitates, then smiles and decides to let his old friend be. The bard crosses the room to his chair and motions for Zarr to bring him an ale. He unties his black cloak and removes it to shake off the rain. The unusual appearance of the cloak catches your eye, however, you are unable to determine what is so unusual about it. You realize the reason it appears unusual is because you can not identify the material the cloak is made of. Tucked into his sash you see a jagged knife and an ivory-handled steel half-sword resting in its shortened sheath. He bends over and tugs on his tall supple boots of giant hair and places them by the fire to dry. Seiobah, the oldest, and prettiest daughter, hands him ale and a towel to dry off. He graciously thanks the girl with a pat on her behind. She mockingly slaps the bard and threatens to pour his ale over his dark pantaloons unless he agrees to behave. The bard uses the towel to dry off his chain-mail vest, black steel armbands, and his wrist plates. He gently dries off his jewelled necklace. The necklace is pelted with little jewels, fit for a nobleman.

He removes a pipe and a small leather tobacco pouch from his sash. He scraps the old burnt tobacco from his pipe and repacks it with fresh tobacco. Leaning back on in his chair he drinks a bit of his ale. As he begins his tale he removes a small ivory lock pick from behind his ear and begins to unconsciously twiddles it between his fingers.

Well over a millennium ago, the Archmage Zagig rose to power in the valleys of the northern mountains, bringing the local warlords under his thumb with gruesome threats - threats that were fulfilled just often enough to keep the leaders in line. Under Zagig's overlordship, the influx of rapacious monsters and raids from the wild mountains decreased markedly, dwindled, and then almost stopped.

Seeing this the populace did not put up much resistance to paying Zagig's rather heavy taxes and tithes, especially when stories of what happened to those who balked were circulated. Those lords who protested disappeared in the night and were replaced by the next in the line of succession, who was usually inclined to be more tractable than his predecessor.

Gradually, as all dissension was stilled, the taxes and levies became even more burdensome. Eventually the warlock was taking a large piece of everything that was grown, made, or sold in the valleys, including the newborn young of livestock.

His unquenching thirst for power drove her to build his army of evil minions to conquer the lands beyond the mountains. So successful was he that the continent was subjugated for a decade, and great indeed was the loot brought to Zagig's lair in answer to his insatiable demands for treasure.

Legend states that the archmage gained much of his power from discovering the Tower of Erevan Ilesere, wherein was hidden magic of unsurpassed might. The original name has been forgotten by most as he changed the name to reflect his name. It is certain that Zagig ruled his domain from this tower. There she also conducted arcane experiments and rituals, trying to further increase his powers.

These experiments were his downfall, for during one he accidentally freed the demon Sadus, whom he had imprisoned and forced into servitude. There was a terrible battle, and although the demon was forced to flee into the Abyss, Zagig was so stricken from the contest that her powers and strength were greatly weakened.

Sadus could not accept defeat from a mortal and was determined to see his doom. He sought alliances from the mortal world and persuaded the Grand Mistress to strike now and put a forever end to Zagig's experiments.

The armies of the continent aligned and marched to the tower, there they destroyed the archmage's hierarchy and marched on his tower. There, led by the Grand Mistress, they destroyed Zagig's minions. The great Archmage barely managed to escape to the south, accompanied only by his personal bodyguard company of deranged and fanatical evil gnomes.

Zagig fled to the cities of the south and west. Wherever he went, he found that his reputation preceded her, and he was unable to stay anywhere for long. Once again retiring north, he came to the shores of the Lake of Swirling Mists, where he heard tales of a haunted cave The Tomb of Goelz. Investigating further, he at last found the refuge he was looking for. He and his gnomes vanished into the shadow of these caverns, and humankind heard no more of the evil Archmage.

The Grand Mistress knew she could not let things settle without completely destroying Zagig. For decades one focused all there energy in finding the other, while the other concentrated on remaining hidden. An evil thief named Valimar came to the Grand Mistress with a message, "Over the years of service to my master, Zagig, I have seen and participated in a great many evil rituals. I cannot let it repeat itself, in repentance for this evil I hand you a map to his Lair."

With the location of Zagig's lair in her hand the Grand Mistress ruthlessly planned and executed her ambush. Zagig, surprised and caught by surprise by the attack blamed his god, Boccob the uncaring, for the betrayal. In a desperate grab for more power he pleaded to another God. Even though his plea was answered, the assistance was insufficient to withstand the ambush. In the final moments a smile crept across his dry lips, peace at last.

Boccob intervened before the moment of death. In an unknown form Zagig stood before his abandoned God. With a wave of his hand he was forced to silence. His voice bellowed ,"For your mutiny, I will not allow you to die, instead you and your brother will not know final rest. You are sentenced to a life of service to others and not yourselves. You will be reborn and live life from the beginning. Your soul will only know pain and not rest until you have fulfilled your quest. You will worship another, do not call upon me for you are no longer my subject. Only this I tell you, seek those with the gash on their neck."

The bard leans back in his chair inhaling from his pipe, you see in his eyes that he appears to be staring at another place or time.