Role

Chapter 3

Well fook me! Sometimes you end up in spot, and you just don't know how you
got there. That's how I felt with big 'ol Lord Morius leaning down, his
milky-white eyes right in front of mine. There's a smile on his face, and if
I look only with my eyes I might think it kind. My soul knows better. I try
to look brave. Sure of myself. I try not to pee.

Where did this all start?

It had been a day, that I can tell you. I awoke, as I often do, in the Shroud
of the Unspoken. It's a good place to rest so when you get up you can figure
where the Scepter is and maybe get the drop on your enemy in a retrieval.
Sure enough, on this day the Battleragers are keeping it in their Bone
Throne. The ranger Arrukal stands guard over the Village, and I know he's
likely to call in that big, stinking, fish-gut-smelling bastard Kardir the
paladin. Lord Morius might put a little fear in this duergar, but those two
fooks can't.

Before I start in on the fooks and the Village's giant guardian I hear from a
young conjurer called Jhalei. He wants a place with those in the Night. I
remember getting a scroll from. It was nothing special, but he's been a
pledge for a good bit of time as far as I can tell. I tell him to shut his
yapper and wait his turn. Blood first.

I welcome the simplicity of battle to consider this Jhalei. There's nothing
special in the battles, no one dies, everyone gets kicked in the nuts, and I
reclaim the Scepter for the Chasm. I note whether the young conjurer has any
patience, and I take my time restocking my potions.

A good Scion always has at least two good reasons to do something. Lord
Morius has asked me, like all Scions, to speak to pledges. The "request" of
Lord Morius be one sufficient reason to speak to pledges. Giving them tasks
to prove themselves is a way to cause a different kind of suffering and
bolsters my research.

I summon Jhalei to the path before Lord Morius' church. I don't tread within
out of respect for me Lady Witch, the sponsor of me research. Morius