Ludi Blog

As the group sit in his chambers, the old priest looks frail and drawn in his voluminous robes.   Sitting back in a chair, the old mans eyes light up, and his previously cracked, quiet voice, takes on a deep and melodious tone.

"So, another group of travellers, come to ask about Marakeer, eh?"  he asks, raising a bushy eyebrow.  "The man was great, perhaps even greater than he knew, but such are the ways with ...."

"I should start at the beginning.  Marakeer came here to escape his past, not that any one can.  He had a noble idea.  Indeed, one that dates back to the first wizards, before their lust for power corrupted them.  Marakeer simply wanted to help people.  Not with short-term spells, or magical effects, but with workers."

The priest indicated to Jack to bring a pitcher of water from a table, before continuing.  "He once told me that a spell can only do one thing, whilst a person can do what he's told."  Jack stumbles mid-step, realising he's being used.  "Don't worry boy.  An effective, if slightly insulting, demonstration to prove a point."  Sitting back down, Jack nods in agreement.

 "Marakeer had spent many years as a wizard before he came here, over the course of which he had summoned many types of creatures.  He began to believe that it may be possible to keep those creatures here indefinately, and the right creatures could perform useful tasks."

Hadron coughs at the notion, the thought of permanently summoned creatures both appealing & frightening at the same time.  The priest notices Hadron's discomfort.

"Yes, such summonings could cause serious problems, should the magic ever fall into the wrong hands.  I shudder to think how the world would be if such magics had been available to the Witch-King and his minions.  That is why Marakeer came here, the middle of nowhere, and kept his research safely hidden."

"Marakeer was a quiet man, keeping himself to himself, although we played chess on a regular basis, as you can see." The priest indicates a chess board, paused mid-game.  "Sadly we never finished this game, so I keep this momento.  It was a gift from him, you see."

"Anyway, he began working on improving his existing range of spells.  I believe he kept a diary, detailing his work & research.  Many have tried to find it, but nobody has.  Whilst I believe his motives were true, I pray that it's destroyed, for fear of such power falling into the wrong hands.  He had some successes though.  Before the fall of Cragnord, his first achievement was to permanently summon a Magmin."

The priest must have seen the looks of confusion.  "A creature of fire.  A hot halfling, if you will" his face creasing with a smile.  "The creature didn't return to the plane of fire at the end of the spell, and Marakeer was able to convince it live in the smith's forge.  The magmin is a simple creature, which gives off immense heat & enjoys melting things & fires.  What better place than a forge!  The smith was naturally suspicious of such a creature, but Marakeer convinced him to take the creature in, and enhanced his hammer to close the deal.  With the magmin and his new hammer, the smith's ability to work metal was greatly improved, and his products were the best of the North."

"News spreads quickly in this area, so within a couple of days everybody in Cragnord knew of the smiths new 'Assistant' and wanted one of their own.  Marakeer, bouyed by his apparent success, looked for something that could help the farmers, as not everyone would want a magmin."

"I believe he discovered a creature he called a Formian.  Whatever he called it, it resembled a giant ant.  Strong things, he said they were, living in some sort of heirarchy, so used to taking orders.  That's where his luck ended though.  Although he was able to summon the creatures, they wouldn't obey his orders & each one quickly died.  Undeterred, he investigated their colonies, often working for days at a time without proper rest.  Realising that only a formian from the high-levels of their heirarchy could control the workers, he summoned a Queen.  Well, why waste time with the middle-men?  In his haste, Marakeer made a simple mistake."

Hadron shook his head.  "He didn't protect the summoning circle, did he?"

The priest looked at the floor.  "I'm not a wizard, so I don't know, but that sounds about right.  The queen could indeed control the workers & promptly told them to help her escape.  Marakeer, weakened from his constant spell casting and lack of rest, was unable to stop them, and they were last seen heading towards the Great Glacier.  Guessing they would return, Marakeer tried to warn the villagers, but none would have it.  They'd seen out the Bloodstone Wars and the Witch-King, so a few giant ants weren't considered a real threat.  Marakeer tried to undo his summoning, working with the magmin, but his magic appeared to be too good.  None of the usual dispell spells were working.  Even my prayers had no effect."  The priest glances at a holy symbol, hanging on the wall of the room.  The flower & wheat symbol of Chauntea shines brightly against the dark stone wall.

"Then came the night, 5 years ago.  The moon was full, but clouds cloaked the land in darkness.  Marakeer knew they were coming and prepared himself for battle, while Cragnord slept.  Nobody knows what truly happened that night.  Even my prayers go unanswered.  Only that the entire village was destroyed in a great burst of energy, which lit up the night sky and was seen for miles.  Even people in Tinderdale claim to have seen it."

The priest sighs, his voice losing some of it's vibrancy as his story draws to a close.  "Rumours abound that the magmin and the formians were all destroyed, or sent home with Marakeers death.  But nobody knows for sure.  Fires have been started, and I don't believe it's bandits like Captain Swain.  Scholars investigating Marakeer's Tower & the ruins of Cragnord claim to have seen the bodies of strange ant creatures, although none have been recovered.  Many try to discredit Marakeer & what he tried to do.  Always on the run from his past, he suspected that even here, he wouldn't be safe forever..."

The priest stops, as if suddenly realising he doesn't know any of you, or why you're there.  Leaning forward, his eyes narrow with suspicion, and his voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper.  "Who are you and what do you want?  Marakeer's dead, his research lost forever.  Everybody knows that, so why can't you leave a mans memory to rest?  Now, get out!"