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Power and a Companion

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 6 months ago
Cabal looked at the pile of items laid out neatly before him. This was a fantastic haul; there was much of interest to him.

 

First was a Bag of Holding containing several of the other items - this was fantastic. Beyond its obvious usefulness, Cabal was resonably certain that soon he'd be able to replicate the surprisingly simple trick of planar bending that allowed the bag to hold so much more than it should.

 

Inside the bag, Cabal found two scrolls - Wizard's Curtain and Wizard's Escape. The first Cabal could immediately scribe into his spellbook; the other would have to wait, he didn't have the power nor knowledge to handle the complexity of that ritual yet.

 

Next was a book that gave off a distinct impression of evil. However, after Sereck pointed out some odd shifting, Cabal wasn't convinced everything was as it seemed...there was something else here. He would have to study it later.

 

As if the Fist of Bane wasn't obvious enough, Cabal could feel the evil seeping out from the Holy Symbol of Bane around the neck of a slain foe. This was a powerful symbol - it augmented the power of its possessor and made it more insidious. A power focused through this symbol would be much harder to shake off once it took hold. Cabal carefully handed the symbol to Sereck; in the hands of the Bahamite, the symbol would gradually shift from the evil god to the good one.

 

Next was an item very carefully wrapped in a foul, stinking cloth. Inside laid an actual Holy Symbol of Bahamut. This was obviously something Sereck would be pleased about rescuing, rather than letting it fall into whatever evil purposes the Banites no doubt had in mind for it. Cabal and Sereck quickly determined that the symbol would channel the favor of Bahamut into the purest of light, no doubt useful in the dark place they were likely going.

 

A mean-looking belt had distinguished itself from the rest of the clothing the three dead foes had been wearing. The magic of the belt would protect the wearer from being struck by weapons. Cabal handed this to Orrin; the eladrin's flashy moves and wicked strikes often left his back exposed to the enemy, and he was not nearly as well-armored as either of the dragonborn, nor hardy as the dwarf.

 

There was also an odd compass. It didn't appear to point anywhere, and the lodestone looked like it was made of platinum and gold, not any magetic material. Cabal remembered a movie he'd seen a story he'd heard about a compass that pointed to what the holder wanted most. Thinking of, generically, what he wanted most, Cabal failed to make the compass point at anything. When he thought of treasure, however, the compass sprang to life and pointed back at the temple. When Cabal thought of power, it pointed at the orb. Orrin asked to see the compass, but it would not respond to him, nor Kernosh. Shrugging, Cabal took the amulet back and put it away, not having any particular use for it at the moment.

 

Finally was an item that Cabal had noticed first, but knew would be intriguing, so he left its examination for last - an orb, around which was wrapped a tiny dragon. This was obviously some kind of power source, but Cabal could not immediately tell what the purpose was. It did not radiate good nor evil, merely arcane power. Curiosity nearly got the better of Cabal, but given the situation and the proximity to the Temple of Bane, he dropped it in the bag of holding along with the scrolls and the book.

 

Mere moments later, much to Cabal's surprise, the orb fell to his feet. Puzzled, Cabal picked it back up and placed it back in the bag. A few minutes passed, and again, the orb just fell out of the bag. Cabal refused to put it away this time.

 

As the group left the immediate area of the temple, Cabal studied the orb, and continued to do so once they stopped, pretty much ignoring everyone while they made camp and took care of his horse for him. Upon close study, it was obvious that the dragon was not attached to the orb, simply wrapped around it. Furthermore, the little dragon was somehow suppressing the power within the orb. Odd. Because of the suppression, Cabal really didn't have any idea how much power the orb had, nor what type it was or purpose it served. He was pretty much baffled. Cabal rubbed the little dragon with a finger, and the tarnish on the scales rubbed away, revealing...platinum? Cabal decided to take a risk and, with a bit of magic, whisked away the contaminants, leaving the dragon and orb perfectly clean. It was obvious now that the dragon was platinum, and exquisitely detailed.

 

In fact, while Cabal watched and Sereck looked over his shoulder, the tiny dragon breathed.

 

"Did you see that?" Cabal asked Sereck without looking at him.

 

"I think so. Did it breathe?"

 

"Yeah." After a moment, it breathed again. "Are you alive?" Cabal asked the little dragon.

 

To his astonishment, the dragon turned its head and nodded.

 

"What...what are you?" The dragon was silent. After a few prodding questions, it turned out the little dragon couldn't speak, so they were pretty much stuck with yes or no answers. Despite his literal form of a platinum dragon, the little being did not serve Bahamut. Cabal asked questions about the orb, but the dragon could tell him little, other than that he was indeed suppressing the energy by dissipating it out into the world around him. Cabal asked if the dragon would like to be removed, but the dragon simply shrugged his little shoulders. Furthermore, the little dragon didn't know what would happen if removed.

 

Cabal grew impatient and simply willed the dragon to come off the orb. Damn the consequences.

 

The little dragon simply "stood up" on the orb and walked up Cabal's arm, coming to rest on his shoulder. The orb instantly began accumulating magic energy, but it was the little dragon that took Cabal's interest. There was an instant connection between the little creature and Cabal through the arcane command...the creature was the spirit of a long-dead living being, fused into a formerly inert platinum statue through magic. This was a creature created to be someone's servant. Cabal instantly pulled out one of his books from the saddlebags on the horse, not a spellbook, but an old book of arcane lore. He quickly found what he was looking for: wizard's familiars.

 

Minutes later, Cabal had put the orb away again and had arcane components scattered around him. With a sharp wave of thunder, he cleared a small patch of dirt on the ground. On it, he drew a magical circle of runes, symbols and lines. He filled the small grooves with the white dust of powdered bone. Small teeth and claws were placed around the circle. Tiny vials of shining liquid and dried blood made symbols above other symbols. After a couple of candle marks, the circle was fully scribed, intricate, multilayered and brimming with magical energy. Cabal concentrated in front of this small circle, probing the runes with his magical energy, making connections, breaking them, forging pathways. During this process, Cabal's eyes faded to a solid milky white, chased through with dancing bolts of lightning. The circle did not change to anyone else's eye; only with the sight of the arcane could one see the more important, underlying structure Cabal was creating. Three candle marks later, the circle was complete.

 

Cabal asked the little dragon to stand in the center of the circle, which the dragon did. Cabal placed his hands on the circle in specific places, and leaned over the dragon. His eyes closed, Cabal drew in the power of the circle. In the daylight it was difficult to see, but in the darkness the tiny bolts sparking out his eyelids would have been obvious. With this arcane power, he reached out to the platinum dragon, asking - not commanding - the creature if he would serve Cabal as a familiar, as Cabal's companion and servant. The little dragon agreed. The magic flared, and a moment later, the circle and all the components were gone, burned up in the consumption of arcane energy. Only a patch of dirt remained. Cabal stood, instantly aware of his new companion, whose name was Scratch.

 

Scratch was a magical being, created long before by ancient magic in a different land. The dragon could not be more specific. He was made of platinum infused with the spirit of a creature now dead; what that creature was or whether the fusing had been voluntary or not Scratch could no longer remember. He was a tiny platinum dragon named Scratch, and that was all there was to it. Cabal could communicate with him telepathically, as well as see through the dragon's eyes and send spells through the arcane connection between them. Cabal thought that the nature of the arcane link meant that as long as they were both on the same plane, these powers would continue to work.

 

"Ok, the big scaly one over there...well, they're both big...the REALLY big one," Cabal started to say to Scratch through the telepathic bond.

 

"You mean Kernosh? Or Sereck?" Cabal had obviously underestimated the little creature. That wouldn't continue.

 

"Kernosh. We live to annoy him." Cabal couldn't help grinning as the dragon nodded his assent, then Cabal took Scratch, who had resumed his perch on Cabal's shoulder, to Sereck, who had been standing nearest.

 

"Did you learn anything about the orb?" Sereck asked, having been watching the ritual with some interest, if little understanding of its nature.

 

"What? Orb?" Cabal screwed his face into a quizzical look. "No, I haven't done anything with that yet. But this is Scratch. Scratch, this is Sereck, as you have obviously gathered." Cabal explained to the dragonborn - and the rest of the group as they wandered over - what had happened. In the middle of the explanation, a rat appeared, squeaking, at Sereck's feet. Cabal, knowing of the Animal Messenger ritual, asked Scratch if he could do the same. Scratch told Cabal to think of a place he knew well. The bedroom at Ann's manor sprang to mind. The dragon flew away and quickly disappeared as if fading from existence. Cabal still felt him through the telepathic link, however, and a short time later, Scratch reappeared...holding ladies' undergarments. Cabal laughed, and harder when Scratch told him that Cabal now owed Ann a favor. He liked the way this little dragon thought.

 

Sereck fished around in his pack, then dug out his old holy symbol, just replaced by the new one they had found.

 

"Do you think this would be appropriate, since he is a platinum dragon?" Sereck held out the chain, an amulet of a platinum dragon's head dangling below the scaly claw. "It's kind of big, but I can try to..."

 

"I can shrink it without much difficulty." Cabal said, immediately sensing Scratch's obvious excitement. The little dragon was suddenly flying, flitting about Sereck's hand, inspecting the chain and amulet. A short time later, Cabal had completed another ritual on the open patch of dirt and the amulet was now the size of his thumbnail, attached to a tiny chain. Cabal reached out to put it around Scratch's neck, but the little dragon flew away with a quick, "No! Him!" The platinum dragon flew around Sereck. Cabal rolled his eyes, and a white hand of harmless lightning carried the tiny holy symbol over to Sereck and dropped it into the claws.

 

With surprising delicacy, Sereck took the tiny chain and draped it around the hovering dragon's neck, saying, "Welcome to Thunder Strike. May Bahamut look down favorably on you."

 

"Thank you!" Came the telepathic reply, startling Sereck.

 

The little dragon flitted about, whirling around heads in excitement and stopping briefly in front of everyone's face by turns, showing off his amulet. Multiple times. Each. Cabal rolled his eyes again, and with a little smile on his face, gathered up and put away his components. Now he would focus on the orb. Which had falled out of the bag of holding again. Weird.

 

With the dragon no longer suppressing its power, Cabal had a massively improved sense of the orb's purpose. It was an Earth Node, an orb fashioned from the oldest of rocks, born in the birth of the land. It was remarkably powerful, though at the moment it was useless, its energy drained and dissipated by the little dragon. It was steadily gaining power, however, and Cabal would be able to use it to augment his arcane powers.

 

Cabal was awed. This...this was power. This was his first, real glance at true power. No minor enchanted item, this was the kind of implement wizards spent their entire lives searching for, and that few could even use if they did find it. Cabal smiled, bigger this time. He dropped the orb into a pocket - maybe a regular pocket would hold it better than the Bag of Holding, pulled out the odd book of rituals and began examining it.

 

No rest for seekers of knowledge.

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