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[Bailos]

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Cold, snow fell over Ice Isle.....then again, it always did....but this was different, the air seemed even more cold, more lifeless. Mairsil ran up and down the steps of his tower of ivory, moving chests and chairs, desks and bookshelves, putting the finishing touches on his supreme tower. Off in the distance of the night air, a figure approached....Slowly, the shadow trudged tword the gates, until Mairsil could finally take notice. He stepped out on the balcony and as the wind seemed to stop all together, the figure slowly crept closer.

The silohouette became more definite.....long, lanky, boney arms...thick, trunk-like legs....a small, indefinite lump coming out of the neck, probably a head.....and one shoulderblade noticably more pronounced than the other......this was the...."thing"....the messenger Mairsil had been waiting for, no doubt.

Mairsil recalled earlier in the day, Bailos paying him a visit, the words rang in his head and the scene briefly came back to him....

"Before the night is done, you will be visited....Complete his task and you will have proved yourself....Fail and there's nothing but death for you" were Bailos' words.

As Mairsil finished recalling, the mass was nearly in view, only a hundred feet from the door. Moving downstairs just inside the gates, Mairsil awaiting the being.

In a few minutes, that seemed as if to last forever, the heathen mass made it's way to the door, standing just outside until Mairsil finally gathered the courage to open the door......

Coming in to view as the doors parted, was a poorly constructed flesh golem, that originally was probably a troll.....It bore armor made from a black leather like material, covered in runes, almost as if that alone was holding it together....and accross it's chest was ancient rune written in blood that had come to be the symbol of Bailos. Opening it's make-shift jaw, it spoke....

"Master has said the time is now.....To prove, you must...."

"Our with it, monster!" shot back Mairsil, obviously on edge.

The monster grinded it's teeth and slowly replied, "In death there is life......in my death there is your life....strike.....me down....and save you....save yourself..." The troll golem sputtered

The golem stood there, staring down Mairsil, awaiting his move.

[Mairsil]

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Mairsil walked backward slowly at angle, headed toward the outter stairs to the second level of his stronghold as the beast slowly followed, their gazes locked all the while. The sound of crunching snow was the only disturbance to the deathly silence in the air, and even that sounded miles away as Mairsil contemplated how to kill the beast.

Deciding to act quickly before the beast stopped waiting, Mairsil began to wave his hands quickly and uttered the words "vas ort flam" as he rounded the corner. He stopped and having completed the spell, drew his magical heavy crossbow from under his robe and held it steady. As the beast rounded the corner mairsil let go of the spell he had held in his mind and aimed his crossbow for the heart of Bailos' insignia and fired. As the bolt thuded against one of the golum's bones it snapped in half and fell to the ground as an explosion went off around the beast. With a low growl, the slightly blackened beast moved forward apparently unharmed, only this time it didn't hold back.

Mairsil Dived off the begining of the stairs just barely avoiding the fist of the undead troll as it slammed into the wall, creating a crack where he had been standing. Mairsil quickly got out of the snow on the ground and cursed as he reloaded his crossbow stepping onto one of his hidden teleporters. As he appeared in his office he quickly went through his unorganized chests looking for scrolls.

Bailos said himself that he is a mage of the arcane..He's using ancient magic, something I don't know how to counter...Where is it..!

As Mairsil quickly rooted through a bag of old scrolls the beast slammed his door down and stalked toward Mairsil at a speed that seemed unreal for its size. Out of time, Mairsil took the bag out of the chest and ran out to the balcony getting behind one of the pillars and threw the bag of scrolls up and above him. He then uttered the incantation to fire an energy bolt and dodged around the pillar firing the bolt of energy into the beast that was now right infront of him.

The beast took the blow straight in the chest, stepping back only to plant a foot firlmy behind it and sprang forward in retalliation. Mairsil cursed again rolling behind a pillar, not having able to get the shot off with the crossbow and at the ineffectiveness of his own magic. The beast swung with a hand hard as rock breaking straight through the pillar burrying Mairsil in stones. Mairsil tried to back away as the beast moved down on him picking him up by his robe and threw him off the balcony and onto the stairs to the third level. He came down hard on the stairs and coughed as he clutched to the stone to keep himself as rolling off.

The beast jumped across the way landing on the stairs below mairsil and began assending them toward the mage. Mairsil got up quickly and ran up the stairs to the fourth level as fast as he could. The larger beast moving quickly behind him but slowly enough not to fall off of the narrow stairs. As Mairsil reached the roof he found the bag of scrolls and went through them as fast as possible, examing the results of each. He hurridly threw them left and right looking for something useful as the beast made it onto the roof. As the beast moved toward Mairsil, ready to make the killer blow, Mairsil stopped and smiled, lowering the bag in his one hand to the side and holding up the other the scroll in the other, not even taking the time to look at the beast.

He read the incantation of the scroll before him as quickly as he could, the beast squeezed a hand around his waist and lifted him into the air. Struggling and trying to breathe as hard as he could, he continued to read the scroll as the beast walked to the edge of the roof and held Mairsil over open space. The scroll crumbled to peices as Mairsil completed the spell and a faded dark red insignia appeared over that of Bailos' on the chest of the beast and started to glow a dark red. The beast stared into Mairsil's eyes once more as Mairsil held the bag behind him, fishing through it with his other hand. The skin of the beast started growing and covering the beast once more, a lighteness appearing in its once dark eyes, and it's voice changing as it spoke to Mairsil.

"In death there is life..in my death there is life...you have failed..."
As the creature began to squeeze to crush his ribs before dropping him over the edge, mairsil grasped a purple potion from his bag and spoke.

"In death there is life..and in life, THERE IS DEATH!"

Mairsil threw the explosion potion on the ground behind the beast as it let mairsil drop. Mairsil caught the edge of the roof by a hand as the explosion sent the beast toppling over the side into the snow. As Mairsil regained his composure and took a minute to breathe in, he casted a simple spell and floated down to the ground. He walked slowly to the charred body of the living troll and planted his foot on its chest. As the troll groaned and writhed slightly under his foot, Mairsil calmly reloaded his crossbow and brought it down infront of the beast. He stared into its eyes coldly as it had done to him and smirked, a bolt thuded into the beasts head, dropping it into the snow lifeless.

Mairsil tucked away his crossbow and took out a pen, writing a note on a peice of the golems tattered clothing.

Bailos...
Do you have any idea what its going to cost me to fix my damned tower?"
-Mairsil the Disgruntled

He whistled and held up the peice of cloth as the raven swept down to take it to Bailos.
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"You see I can not be forsaken, because I'm not the only one. We walk amongst you, beating, r#ping, must we hide from everyone?" - Jon Davis

[Bailos]

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"Ha! Wonderful! He lives!" cackled Bailos from his office high atop his tower of black granite. The jet black raven swooped overhead, staying just long enough to drop the piece of ripped leather armor before leaving once again. Of course knowing what the material was, Bailos read it, with a smile on his face.

"Beautiful....I hope he didnt give Mairsil too many problems..." He thought aloud before adding under his breath, sarcastically, "His check is in the mail..."

Sitting back down to his table, throwing some scrolls and books to the side and pulling a blank sheet of parchment from a ledger, we began to scrawl....

Mairsil,

I'm most pleased to see you handles my machination. I will be sure to hear the story later. I apologize for the mess I'm sure it left, but I had to make sure you were worthy....You have proven beyond a doubt you indeed are. We will speak again soon....You know how to find me

He used the quill he wrote with to prick his finger, letting the blood drip on to a pad, then he used a stamp to seal the letter with the ancient rune that had come to be his symbol, smirking as he tossed it over for his messenger to deliver.

Leaning back, staring out over the horizon as the sun faded into night, through a window, Bailos knew his power was growing, in every way....Soon he would have the strength to strike once more