Baendra the Spectre

Role

Chapter 11

Something was on her face! Stifling a scream, Baendra lurched up from her
prone position, tearing through what felt like webbing. In panic, she threw
her arm across her face, dislodging whatever it was that was on her. Choking
back sobs, she froze in fear, unable to see and with no idea of which way to
run, if indeed running to safety was an option. After a brief period, alone
in the darkness with only the whispering sound of spiders around, she soon
realised that any threat to her person was not an immediate one, for nothing
came at her again. Some sense of composure returned to her as she also
realised that the darkness was not, in fact, absolute, and that there was
light coming from one of the corners of the place she found herself. As she
glanced about fearfully, taking in the details, she saw what appeared to be
a long abandonned and neglected shrine, faded freises and toppled statues
lying about. She clenched her jaw and, using an arm quickly to clear a path
through the webbing without getting any spiders on her, stepped towards the
source of the light. The stone beneath her feet shifted as she moved, and
she looked down to see a large trap-door outlined in shadow. Marking the
spot in her memory, she reached the source of light, which was a guttering
torch held in a wall-bracket. She sensed at once that it would not burn much
longer.

Role

Chapter 10

Mustering her courage, Baendra picked up the torch, and the key that fell to
the ground as she did so, slipping the key into the ceremonial robes she was
dressed in. After a quick circuit of the shrine, which intrigued her even in
her distress, she left into the tunnel that led from it. As tunnels went,
it was a poor effort, and progressed no more than a few paces before becoming
little more than a crack in the basalt rocks which widened and narrowed as
she walked softly along. Turning a corner, it seemed her attempt at stealth
was wasted. An armed man that she knew for one of her drow brethren drew his
weapons and whistled a shrill call that she recognised for the secret
language of her House. She froze a moment in confusion, for the male had
"said" something about "their sister trying to escape the goddess". A brief
look at his race as he ran lightly towards her told her all she needed to
know. This "brother" was no ally, and if she stood where she was, she would
be cut down. In eerie calm, she spun and sprinted back to the shrine, knowing
that she had only one chance for survival.

Standing above the trapdoor once more, she drew the key from her robes as the
male entered the room behind her, eyes flickering between her footprints and
herself. As her advanced towards her she jammed the key into the latch set
into the flagstone, and could have laughed out loud at the rage and surprise
on the face of the male as the stone suddenly swung beneath her, dumping her
unceremoniously down a flight of steps before rising back into place with a
sepulchral grinding. She listened to see if he pursued, but only silence
met her questing ears. Deciding that egress by means of the trapdoor was
inadvisable, given the reception she'd just received, Baendra turned and
followed the steps into the ground.

Role

Chapter 2

She did, however, discover that the desert south of Hamsah was believed to
have been caused by a failed magical ritual, and that the source of this
ritual was a tower that subsequently became a temple, possibly the Temple of
Sands. Despite her faith in the Dark One, this has caused her to question
his words, for she fears the unconventional Path he set her towards may lead
to similar catastrophe and failure. Whilst she still intends to search the
temple for clues, she primarily seeks to bargain with the Mad Priest now,
owing to his record of some success. Her lack of the strongest magical
protections, needed she believes, to cross the graveyard alive, also pushes
her towards a bargain with the Whisperer in order to reach the High Priest.

Finally, her adherence to the facts is manifest in her application of the
should be done by more junior Magistrates), her interviews are designed to
teach and also to guage their mental faculties. The lessons she strives to
impart to each applicant are:
- that the first priority is to gather as many facts as possible as fast as
possible, because often they are only apparent if swift action is taken. She
tends to do this by way of an example case.
- that fore-thought and planning are necessary if the correct actions are to
be taken when such unusual cases occur.
- that lateral thinking, and cool thinking, is required to wield the facts to
their fullest effect.

Baendra tends to recommend applicants who, as well as knowing the streets
well and seeming honest in their reasons for wishing to join the Spire, are
able to understand the salient points above, and apply them to further
examples.

Equally, her own wielding of the law is based on the distillation of
available information to get at the facts. For example, she recently
prevented the Justiciar arresting someone for murder because of a flawed
confession. The accused admitted only to killing his victim, not to starting
the fight, yet the Justiciar's subjectivity led him to overlook this point and
warrant the accused. However, Baendra's presentation of the facts to the
Justiciar resulted in a pardon before the accused was punished without due
evidence. Baendra requires evidence that proves a crime "beyond all doubt",
not merely "on the balance of probabilities". Witnesses are not relied upon
(save for the accused if they confess), as they may not present the facts.
Their testimony is used only to bluff the accused or supporters of the
accused into a confession, or alternatively into presenting contradictory
stories that she can later use to force an admission of guilt.

Role

Chapter 9

It was a strange place that she now found herself in. A pair of metal
statues came to life and opened a massive pair of gates for her as she
approached and, sensing no hostility from them, she passed through. Again,
lifeless but animated attendants helped her passage through a series of
gates and portals, until at last she came into a spotlessly clean set of
chambers. Wraiths of various descriptions swept about the largest room,
pausing briefly to gaze soullessly upon her before passing on without
interference. Baendra marvelled at the sense of power and magic around her,
and resolved that she must determine how these creatures were fashioned and
controlled.

Her resolution faltered though, as after some exploration she discovered
that there was no way out from this place, save to cast herself from the
room with the telescope. Indeed, there were restless spirits in the holding
cells that she had found to the east, and she feared that she might be about
to join them. Desparate, she ransacked the rooms for a clue of how to leave,
but found nothing. With no fruitfull option left available to her, Baendra
climbed to the Observatory, wishing only to feel the wind on her face and to
see the sun once more before she died. When the time came, dehydration and
hunger had left her ready to accept the end. She clambered slowly onto the
stone sill of the tower, and swayed erratically. As she gathered herself for
the final leap, she almost slipped on in surprise when a voice spoke from
just behind her. "My dear! I have no idea of how you found yourself in this
lifeless place, but I have come to take you home." The man explained that
he flew the skies as a bird, and the casual way he imparted this morsel of
information stunned Baendra, who realised that she was in the presence of a
mage of great power. Strangely, this mage seemed to bear her no ill-will,
and as he explained how he had mistaken her from someone investigating the
site over the last few days, before he'd seen her collapsed on the floor,
she felt herself crying with relief. Only two small questions troubled her.
Why did he not despise her, for he was human, and she dark-elf? "My Dear,
your wits have become addled from exposure, for you are as human as I." Only
then did Baendra realise that, despite her sense of identity as a dark-elf,
and despite her being called "sister" by the male, she was not able to see
in the dark, and had needed to rely on the torch to reach the laboratory.

But a human could not have survived amongst the dark-elves as she had.
Perhaps something had happened to change her?

Role

Chapter 8

The man took form, shimmering into a giant bird that Baendra did not
recognise. Clutching her in his talons, he flew with her towards the sun,
over mountains, then fields, then sea, before finally circling lower and
lower over a village that seemed unremarkable were it not for the smoking
volcano that lay to the south-west. Setting Baendra down as gently as he
could (which involved little impact but much dust in the face), the man took
human form once more, helping her into a cottage and onto a bed before
turning with a promise to return with broth. Later, as she sipped her broth,
but before she succumbed to the slumber that tugged at her conciousness, the
man spoke of her future. "You can't stay here with me, that's plain, My
Dear!" he exclaimed. People would gossip, for they already view me as an odd
sort. You will have to join one of the guilds and earn yourself a living.
I sense you have the power within you, though your magical aura is as yet
faint. Perhaps you would care to learn to fly, as I do?


She was sorely tempted for a moment, but then remembered the animated figures
in the laboratory, and how she'd wanted to study them. Explaining as much to
her benefactor, she listened as he mused aloud. It seemed that there was
no such field of study alive in the realms today, but that the school of
necromancy might be able to give her some insight into how to animate. He
promised to pay her entrance fee, in return for being kept informed of her
studies. This came to pass, although the dark teachings awoke the dark-elf
within Baendra, and she came to love the magic without care of the moral
arguments against using the spells she was taught. However, she did retain
a sense of justice. She would not harm the man who saved her, and indeed,
looked upon him with a sense of amused scorn, for despite his power, he had
little sense of what he'd brought out from the laboratory. The drow, on the
other hand, she had a burning hatred for. However, she would use her human
form to keep them blind to the threat she posed them until it was too late.
She did intend to have her revenge for what they did to her. Perhaps if she
used her powers to bring justice to others, the forces of law might serve her
own rise to power, and enable her to mete out justice to her brethren.

Role

Chapter 7

It has now been some years since Baendra began her life on the surface world,
at least, as far as her memories indicate. Already her heritage and the
teachings of the guild have twisted her inside. Only inside. To others, she
presents a facade of friendliness and respect. It is only that she feels
such wiles are most likely to lead her to her goals. For it has been her
experience that people serve better out of desire than out of fear. Moreover,
her initial rejection by Odgird seemed to her to have stemmed from her
revealing her true motivations for the first time. Henceforth, she will not
reveal them unless it serves her purpose to. She will not debase herself by
lying, for she is proud, but she will avoid the telling unnecessarily.

Role

Chapter 6

Baendra had just completed a period of duty lasting nearly a month and a half,
keeping watch day and night, except when human frailties forced her to take
brief respite in slumber, or turn her attention to a quick meal. As was her
custom at such times, she called upon the power of the Blood Tribunal to
transport herself to the Spire. Climbing to the to of the Spire she warmly
greeted the healer and executioner, for whilst she was not close to them, she
knew that without their continued goodwill she would find life in the Spire
much harder. She rummaged through her belongings, searching for those items
that she had no real use for, in order to leave them for other Tribunals in
the pit that served as a makeshift armory. Her continued prosperity was
better assured if she could ensure her allies were well-equiped, even if they
did have some strange views about the purpose of the Blood Tribunal.
Carefully placing her surplus items in a conspicuous place, she cast a spell
of detection, to see if anything left by the other tribunals showed the tell-
tale glow of enchantment. A quick examination of those that did, together
with some incantations to divine the properties of other objects that
appeared to be of superior quality yielded her a pair of boots and a bracer.
She sensed the boots, which gave off a recognisable tang of brimstone, would
age her nearly a decade. It didn't worry her much. A decade was a drop in
the ocean against her lifespan of centuries, and a small price to pay for the
powerful magics that flowed through the boots. She replaced the bracer she'd
<<continued in next section>>

Role

Chapter 5

procured earlier from the Tribunal's merchant contact, strapping on her new
pitted one, before slipping her feet into her new boots. She instinctively
sensed her increased durability and capacity to draw mana, but to her
consternation also felt her vigour diminish. Worried, she produced her
looking glass to examine herself for symptoms of illness or poisoning.
Horrified, she looked upon a face she almost did not recognise, for her skin
no longer glowed with the vitality of youth, her hair lacked its usual lustre,
and there were even the beginnings of a few wrinkles around the corners of her
eyes. She suppressed a scream of rage as she came to the realisation that when
she had taken on the aspect of humanity, she'd done so in more ways than
simply to lose her infravision and change her appearance. She'd lost her
longevity, and although she'd appeared as a teen-age human after her
involuntary transformation, the fact that she'd lived over a century before
the strange events in the shrine meant that she'd experienced more than half
her life. Death was nearly upon her! Cursing her House anew, she knew that
she would not last to take her revenge upon them without drastic measures.
Recalling her studies in Hamsah's library and the Lycaeum, she resolved that
no price was too great if it allowed her to pay back those who had stripped
<<continued in next section>>

Role

Chapter 4

the centuries from her life, together with her original body. No price was
too high if it would give her back the years that were taken from her. She
would find someone to teach her the rituals of the Becoming she'd read about,
and to help her determine the ingredients that would be needed for the Elixir
of Death she would consume, for she had no idea how to tell which had a
resonance with her very soul. When she had managed to master the secrets of
her guild, she would pay a visit to the Lichmaker said to lurk beyond the
Arborian graveyard. Perhaps he could be persuaded to teach her the secrets
she would need to know. She reflected... a smiling face and a friendly voice
might work wonders with the living. Indeed, it already had paid dividends,
for she had some allies she could trust and had been gifted with knowledge of
where protective wands could be found after no more than a curtsey, but she
doubted it would sway the undead. A different approach would be needed.
Time, blood, and testing would be required to learn what it was. In the
meantime she would redouble her efforts to win the loyalty of those around
her. They would be needed to make possible her Becoming: to shield her from
the undead she'd seen eying her with unnatural hunger from the graveyard in
Arboria, and also to help her gather the ingredients to her elixir, when
known.

Role

Chapter 3

At last! A being that embodies Baendra's way of life and principles. A
Divinity to keep her focused on using her judgement, for what is judgement but
the application of evidence in context, and what are context and evidence if
but a collection of facts?

This manifests itself in several aspects of her life, evidenced by her
creation of the Prepared Elixir, yet her reluctance to attempt the Projection,
even though she suspects she knows what went wrong with K'tengs attempt and
how to rectify the problem. Despite her beliefs, she still seeks to translate
the language used by K'teng before risking acting on them, though she has got
no further than recognising a very few words as being of Stormish and Dark-
elven dialects, suggesting that this is mere coincidence given the lack or a
more complete match. In addition, she is unsure of whether references to the
main shrine refer to the larger one with the spider, or the small one east of
K'tengs bedchamber. Her bargaining with the scions (Kwalin and Etarekoth) is
also done with the aim of gathering the conclusive proof of her theories that
she needs. She intends to research a little more into astrology at the
Lycaeum too, in order to ensure that she understands all the implications of
what she sees through the telescope in the Observatory.

Her thought process is evident also in her dealings with the Dark Lord
Scarabaeus. For some reason (perhaps due to the doctrine of the Cult), she
finds her instinct is to believe him when he speaks of various Paths to Power
and one, in particular, that is not bestrode by the Mad Priest. However,
she has learnt to control her instinct and act solely upon evidence. Her
further research in the Lycaeum and the Library of Hamsah yielded her little
material to act upon, for she could find little information regarding the
city, Temple, or Conservator that the Whisperer in the Darkness spoke of.
<continued in next section>

Role

Chapter 1

Several have come and gone from the Spire since Baendra joined. Many were
of no use to her at all. Consequently she no longer bothers to be very
courteous to most. Only those who actually serve her in some way.

Role

Chapter 0

Despite the toll the research took on her, Baendra has decided to deal with
the scion Kwalin, and follow through on his earlier offer.

The terms of the agreement are knowledge of a barrier wand that Baendra can
obtain easily, plus knowledge of a path to the Silent Tower of legend. In
return, Baendra explains to Kwalin how to use the elixir of K'teng.
Both have agreed not to share this knowledge further with any.

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