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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3098744" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 12</strong></p><p></p><p>"Mother knocked at the lab door again, asking if everything was all right. I yelled to her that everything was fine, and could she please leave me alone? She must have heard the strain of my exertions, however, or my labored breathing, because she knocked again, asking the same question. I told her go away as I was doing something very private. My lapse in concentration almost cost me. I had to put both hands on my wand to bring it back up to power. Closing my eyes, I focused on my desire and put everything I had into one final thrust. I had been at this for over an hour; my arms were leaden with the effort and I was now spent, but what a finish! I smiled broadly at HU while he put away the iconography, and I wondered why everybody didn't do this...."</p><p> </p><p>. -- An excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 6</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"... asked HU what they could be doing all the way up here in Stavros Tower, but he just tok'd at me. He didn't know either. I took a deep breath, then surreptitiously glanced around, hoping the Watch had magically appeared while I was readying myself. No such luck.</p><p> </p><p>The Court of Nine Lamps is a gallery in the middle of Stavros Tower. It serves as a way stop, of sorts, on the raised boulevard that connects tower t-342 with the Haaluv Dreamtower. A side lane connects to the level of this tower, and, in fact, runs right past my front door. The Court takes up almost the entirety of the interior of Stavros Tower (on that level, at least), minus a few shops</p><p> </p><p>On any other day, the Court would be an excellent place to relax and be seen. There is usually a cart vendor selling chicken wraps -- with an excellent brown sauce, I might add -- and in high summer there is usually someone selling shaved ice. Benches along one side provide a comfortable area to relax, and a handful of game tables stand nearby awaiting players of Shah or Kings. Today, however, was not a good day to be in the Court of Nine Lamps.</p><p> </p><p>Half a dozen gnolls surrounded a young human couple and their child. It looked like they were terrorizing the poor people, and were about to get rough. No one else was standing up for them, so I had to step in. Naturally, I did so without hesitation. I stepped forward to the edge of the Courtyard, calling out for the ruffians to disassemble. Two of the gnolls immediately broke off and loped towards me.</p><p> </p><p>Gods, I had forgotten how tall gnolls really are, and how ... massive. Plus their breath stank something fierce.</p><p> </p><p>They growled something about leaving, this was their tower now. I persisted, however, as is my nature, and was rewarded for my heroism by having the largest of them (easily eight feet tall) bodily pick me up and prepare to throw me off of the avenue. I have learned a thing or two of fighting, however, and escaped his grasp. What followed was an extended wrestling match. I had him on skill, but he had brute force on his side. </p><p> </p><p>HU was having problems, as well. My gnolls smaller friend had the bright idea of picking up HU and throwing him off of the tower, too. HU is pretty strong, though, and managed to break away from his assailant. He slapped the gnoll on the nose for good measure. Unfortunately, this caused the gnoll to break out his axe chop HU to little bits.</p><p> </p><p>In a burst of energy brought about by what I can only call parental concern, I threw off my attacker and interposed myself between HU and the foul axe-wielding beast that threatened him. The look of grim determination on my face must have given my opponent pause, for he took a half step back and growled deeply at me.</p><p> </p><p>This gave me the opening I sought. I glanced behind the pair of gnolls to see that the young couple had escaped their aggressors. With a wide, threatening swing of my cane at the two gnolls opposite me, I bid HU to run away: I couldn't protect him and fight these creatures both -- especially with another four gnolls heading towards me!</p><p> </p><p>HU ran away, and with a flourish and salute, I leapt from the bridge. The look on their face as I did so was priceless. They stood there slack-jawed, their eyes wide in shocked amazement.</p><p> </p><p>That is the benefit of fighting on one's home turf, I expect. I knew these towers well. The next landing was a mere hundred or so feet below me. My recently crafted Griffon Badge [ref: CJ-V6-49] allowed me to drift gracefully downward until I landed soft-footed on the cobblestones below. That's when I realized that I had been roughed up a bit in the fight. One always ignores such things when in the thick of it. Cycling rapidly through a few wands, I had made myself presentable -- and comfortable -- by the time HU caught up with me. I quickly repaired the damage [ref: CJ-V1-30] done to him by that dreadful gnoll. We went to find a watch patrol to escort back up to Stavros Tower.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>...were not as impressed as they should have been with my recounting of the previous days events. Like any of them could have stood up against a half dozen gnolls. Well, maybe CA could have, but he was still out of town, and had been for weeks.</p><p> </p><p>I turned my attention back to the ... stew ... that sat congealing in a bowl in front of me, vowing, yet again, to never return to the Broken Anvil. Nothing good ever came of our meetings in the Anvil. As if to prove my divinations, who should walk through the door but Kaiber [ref: PJ-V2-29]. He was trailed by a good fifteen or so gnolls. If it were possible, the place smelled worse for their presence.</p><p> </p><p>KA was in an odd mood. His sole purpose there that day was to gloat and make absurd demands. They were his gnolls, he informed us, that had been pushing people around in Stavros Tower yesterday. He claimed that he was growing in power, and that he was "taking over" the tower. Bearing a smug grin, he "informed" me that I would be given the "opportunity" to appear at the Court of Nine Lamps and "beg his forgiveness for interfering in his business, in public, for one and all to see." I had to laugh. </p><p> </p><p>Ah, well. At least he recognized my part in yesterdays events.</p><p> </p><p>I informed him, in no uncertain terms, that I would never bow to him. The DC had the grace to back me up. I went one step further and told him flat out that Stavros wasn't his, and that I would make sure he understood that. He laughed (nervously, I am sure) and said he'd see me at noon the next day, that I may pay homage to him. Then he turned and moved quickly out of the inn.</p><p> </p><p>We let him go. No use fighting in the Anvil again. The place was ugly enough already.</p><p> </p><p>I'll give the DC this, they've got spirit. Each of them agreed to help me face off against KA the next day. GR arranged for some of his thugs to create a noon-time disturbance a short distance off, to draw any of the city watch away. We didn't want any of them hurt. XL went down to the barracks of Caerlyn's Blades to look for CA or leave a message. I don't know what DA did.</p><p> </p><p>For myself, I had preparations to make. HU and I went home.</p><p> </p><p>The DC met at my place the next day, an hour or so before noon. We strategized. Naturally, the I was the only one equipped (mentally and materially) to concoct a sufficiently intelligent plan. DA had ideas of what she would do, but had little to share with the rest of the DC. GR had the excellent idea of bringing along some friends. Well, it would have been an excellent idea if they had been more than half-starved, lice-ridden street brawlers. A more wretched clutch of scum and villainy I have never seen. I sent them to "mingle" with the crowd in the Court of Nine Lamps, just to get them out of my house. When the time came, maybe they'd be able to strike the gnolls from behind, or distract them with their excessive body odors.</p><p> </p><p>I infused most of our weapons to make them more deadly to gnolls [ref: CJ-V1-21], then augmented mine and GR's defenses [ref: CJ-V3-18]. I augmented HU, since I knew he would be involved in the fight [ref: CJ-V1-29, CJ-V3-18]. Finally, I placed a couple of spells in my cane. Something to hopefully help out later. I checked my wand sheaths to make sure everything was in the proper order, and, naturally, they were. HU, meanwhile, was reorganizing his stock, to make the alchemy and healing potions more accessible.</p><p> </p><p>We were ready. Just before noon, we left my house and crossed the bridge towards Stavros Tower.</p><p> </p><p>DA was there ahead of us, invisible and letting us know via whispered Messages what was going on. Supposedly, XL was down in the crowd somewhere in disguise. A number of gnolls had gathered, and were milling around like they were about to fight. GR, HU, and I arrived on the scene at the same time KA did. Because we were coming in from the north, we stepped out into the Court of Nine Lamps on a small landing half a story up and overlooking the scene below. A sturdy railing separated us from the crowd below and stairs led down to the courtyard proper on our left. I stopped at the railing about the same time KA stepped into the center of the tower. He was not alone.</p><p> </p><p>KA had a couple gnoll guards with him, but also one of the largest minotaurs I had ever seen. He was huge! I wasn't sure how he had gotten this far up with that axe he was carrying, also. On the other side of KA was a well-groomed man who had an air of education around him. That, I thought, was our danger.</p><p> </p><p>I called KA out before he had a chance to say anything stupid. With the very polite but forceful tone that I usually reserve for misbehaving servants, I told KA in no uncertain terms that he had no claim on this tower -- he was to take his band, leave, and never return. </p><p> </p><p>He looked, for a moment, like he had bitten into a sour plum. It rankled him, I guess, that I had interrupted his speech -- a speech he had probably stayed up all night preparing. He decided to go forward with it anyway. It was some long, boring bit about how I needed to come down there and kiss his boot, thanking him for not killing me and apologizing for getting in his way. I'd heard better speeches from three-copper street plays.</p><p> </p><p>We bantered back and forth a bit. It was KA's educated friend who realized that KA was losing this battle of wits. To cover up for his employer's gross incompetence, he gestured towards HU and some eldritch energy sprang forth to nearly hit my homunculus. I looked at the scorched wall behind me, then down to HU. HU just shrugged at me.</p><p> </p><p>"Interesting," I remember saying. "So that is what you do."</p><p> </p><p>"This is what House Cannith does!" and with that, I threw a vial of alchemist's fire at the man. It hit him square in the chest and lit him on fire.</p><p> </p><p>With that, the fight was on.</p><p> </p><p>KA sprung forward -- I remembered then his prodigious jumping abilities [ref: PJ-V3-75]. GR hit him in mid air with a well-timed crossbow bolt, then KA was on the railing next to us slashing down at GR with his sword. HU, as planned, stepped towards the stairs and tossed a broken a smokestick in that direction. He added another, for good measure. The stairs on our left flank flooded with black smoke. </p><p> </p><p>There was chaos down below. A gnoll archer started shooting at us backed up by a couple of his friends. They were all in for quite a surprise: CA had just showed up, with two of Caerlyn's Blades in tow. The three swordsmen charged, and a gnoll fell. GR's people were doing their best, but were no match for the gnolls in the courtyard. One was cut down immediately; two others did what they could, but were fighting now for survival. XL, according to his later reports, was using his gnoll disguise -- and, I say with no modesty, the gnoll-bane weapon I had prepared for him -- to quite effectively drop one gnoll after another. DA was slinging spells as fast as she could at the warlock.</p><p> </p><p>Up on the upper balcony, we were having problems. KA may not be a smart man, but he is a very skilled killer. He had gotten between GR and I, and was attacking everyone within reach. HU had sidestepped to the top of the stairs, where he fended off two of the gnoll attackers while I employed different wands on both KA and the battle around us.</p><p> </p><p>KA's warlock friend had employed some magic to transport himself up onto the balcony on the other side of GR. With a second spell, he transposed himself with the minotaur, and suddenly our situation became much more dire. GR was now flanked by KA on one side and the minotaur on the other. Almost simultaneously, we had the same idea. We jumped from the balcony.</p><p> </p><p>GR was the first to hit the courtyard, and he hit it hard. His landing looked quite painful. To make matters worse, he had landed at the feet of several gnolls. My landing, a moment later, was far more graceful, naturally, but still I decided to stay low to the ground so I could spring off in any direction. One must always be prepared.</p><p> </p><p>By this point, all of the principles were rather badly wounded. I was holding on through sheer tempered will, and poor GR looked about to collapse. CA was very badly wounded, and stood in front of his one surviving Blade friend, who looked near death himself. The other Blade had been killed in a single stroke from the minotaur. None of GR's thugs remained. KA was hurt badly, as was the warlock. The minotaur, XL, DA, and a the few remaining gnolls were the only ones in good health still.</p><p> </p><p>The minotaur had made it down to ground level again, when he inexplicably cut down two gnolls in one vicious swing. Well, it would have been inexplicable to one less trained in the arcane arts: DA had mentioned once that her specialty was enchantment, and I could see the tell-tale signs that she had control of the huge creature's tiny mind. GR quickly dispatched the gnolls closest to him then applied healing magics to the both of us. I was fencing with KA, still, as HU battered unceremoniously at a gnoll. The warlock turned and ran away. With barely a sigh, the battle had turned in our favor.</p><p> </p><p>As I have mentioned once or twice, KA isn't the brightest man. He failed to recognize the signs and began gloating over his unearned victory. I just pointed my wand at him and laughed, clearing blood from a cut above my eye.</p><p> </p><p>A burst of smoke and light preceded a sudden, raucous explosion that shook the foundations of the tower. When the smoke cleared, four enormous warforged -- all kitted out for destruction -- leapt forth and covered KA, the minotaur, and the gnolls with large, glowing weapons. Left standing on the fading patterns of runes that the warforged soldiers had sprung from was none other than Merrix d'Cannith.</p><p> </p><p>Boy, was I glad to see him!"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>. -- An excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 6</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Flawless memory"</p><p>"Perfect diction, pronunciation, and grammar"</p><p>"Noble Bearing; elegant"</p><p>"Cunning Linguist"</p><p>"Bright, violet eyes, with flecks of gold"</p><p>"Heartfelt delivery of poem at father's funeral"</p><p>"Exquisite taste in patrons"</p><p> </p><p>. -- An excerpt from the list "The Patronage of Maia Soone -- Pros" as written by Artemis Heuw Cannith, 998YK</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Young"</p><p> </p><p>. -- The complete list "The Patronage of Maia Soone -- Cons" as written by Artemis Heuw Cannith, 998YK</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3098744, member: 30035"] [b]The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 12[/b] "Mother knocked at the lab door again, asking if everything was all right. I yelled to her that everything was fine, and could she please leave me alone? She must have heard the strain of my exertions, however, or my labored breathing, because she knocked again, asking the same question. I told her go away as I was doing something very private. My lapse in concentration almost cost me. I had to put both hands on my wand to bring it back up to power. Closing my eyes, I focused on my desire and put everything I had into one final thrust. I had been at this for over an hour; my arms were leaden with the effort and I was now spent, but what a finish! I smiled broadly at HU while he put away the iconography, and I wondered why everybody didn't do this...." . -- An excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 6 "... asked HU what they could be doing all the way up here in Stavros Tower, but he just tok'd at me. He didn't know either. I took a deep breath, then surreptitiously glanced around, hoping the Watch had magically appeared while I was readying myself. No such luck. The Court of Nine Lamps is a gallery in the middle of Stavros Tower. It serves as a way stop, of sorts, on the raised boulevard that connects tower t-342 with the Haaluv Dreamtower. A side lane connects to the level of this tower, and, in fact, runs right past my front door. The Court takes up almost the entirety of the interior of Stavros Tower (on that level, at least), minus a few shops On any other day, the Court would be an excellent place to relax and be seen. There is usually a cart vendor selling chicken wraps -- with an excellent brown sauce, I might add -- and in high summer there is usually someone selling shaved ice. Benches along one side provide a comfortable area to relax, and a handful of game tables stand nearby awaiting players of Shah or Kings. Today, however, was not a good day to be in the Court of Nine Lamps. Half a dozen gnolls surrounded a young human couple and their child. It looked like they were terrorizing the poor people, and were about to get rough. No one else was standing up for them, so I had to step in. Naturally, I did so without hesitation. I stepped forward to the edge of the Courtyard, calling out for the ruffians to disassemble. Two of the gnolls immediately broke off and loped towards me. Gods, I had forgotten how tall gnolls really are, and how ... massive. Plus their breath stank something fierce. They growled something about leaving, this was their tower now. I persisted, however, as is my nature, and was rewarded for my heroism by having the largest of them (easily eight feet tall) bodily pick me up and prepare to throw me off of the avenue. I have learned a thing or two of fighting, however, and escaped his grasp. What followed was an extended wrestling match. I had him on skill, but he had brute force on his side. HU was having problems, as well. My gnolls smaller friend had the bright idea of picking up HU and throwing him off of the tower, too. HU is pretty strong, though, and managed to break away from his assailant. He slapped the gnoll on the nose for good measure. Unfortunately, this caused the gnoll to break out his axe chop HU to little bits. In a burst of energy brought about by what I can only call parental concern, I threw off my attacker and interposed myself between HU and the foul axe-wielding beast that threatened him. The look of grim determination on my face must have given my opponent pause, for he took a half step back and growled deeply at me. This gave me the opening I sought. I glanced behind the pair of gnolls to see that the young couple had escaped their aggressors. With a wide, threatening swing of my cane at the two gnolls opposite me, I bid HU to run away: I couldn't protect him and fight these creatures both -- especially with another four gnolls heading towards me! HU ran away, and with a flourish and salute, I leapt from the bridge. The look on their face as I did so was priceless. They stood there slack-jawed, their eyes wide in shocked amazement. That is the benefit of fighting on one's home turf, I expect. I knew these towers well. The next landing was a mere hundred or so feet below me. My recently crafted Griffon Badge [ref: CJ-V6-49] allowed me to drift gracefully downward until I landed soft-footed on the cobblestones below. That's when I realized that I had been roughed up a bit in the fight. One always ignores such things when in the thick of it. Cycling rapidly through a few wands, I had made myself presentable -- and comfortable -- by the time HU caught up with me. I quickly repaired the damage [ref: CJ-V1-30] done to him by that dreadful gnoll. We went to find a watch patrol to escort back up to Stavros Tower. ... ...were not as impressed as they should have been with my recounting of the previous days events. Like any of them could have stood up against a half dozen gnolls. Well, maybe CA could have, but he was still out of town, and had been for weeks. I turned my attention back to the ... stew ... that sat congealing in a bowl in front of me, vowing, yet again, to never return to the Broken Anvil. Nothing good ever came of our meetings in the Anvil. As if to prove my divinations, who should walk through the door but Kaiber [ref: PJ-V2-29]. He was trailed by a good fifteen or so gnolls. If it were possible, the place smelled worse for their presence. KA was in an odd mood. His sole purpose there that day was to gloat and make absurd demands. They were his gnolls, he informed us, that had been pushing people around in Stavros Tower yesterday. He claimed that he was growing in power, and that he was "taking over" the tower. Bearing a smug grin, he "informed" me that I would be given the "opportunity" to appear at the Court of Nine Lamps and "beg his forgiveness for interfering in his business, in public, for one and all to see." I had to laugh. Ah, well. At least he recognized my part in yesterdays events. I informed him, in no uncertain terms, that I would never bow to him. The DC had the grace to back me up. I went one step further and told him flat out that Stavros wasn't his, and that I would make sure he understood that. He laughed (nervously, I am sure) and said he'd see me at noon the next day, that I may pay homage to him. Then he turned and moved quickly out of the inn. We let him go. No use fighting in the Anvil again. The place was ugly enough already. I'll give the DC this, they've got spirit. Each of them agreed to help me face off against KA the next day. GR arranged for some of his thugs to create a noon-time disturbance a short distance off, to draw any of the city watch away. We didn't want any of them hurt. XL went down to the barracks of Caerlyn's Blades to look for CA or leave a message. I don't know what DA did. For myself, I had preparations to make. HU and I went home. The DC met at my place the next day, an hour or so before noon. We strategized. Naturally, the I was the only one equipped (mentally and materially) to concoct a sufficiently intelligent plan. DA had ideas of what she would do, but had little to share with the rest of the DC. GR had the excellent idea of bringing along some friends. Well, it would have been an excellent idea if they had been more than half-starved, lice-ridden street brawlers. A more wretched clutch of scum and villainy I have never seen. I sent them to "mingle" with the crowd in the Court of Nine Lamps, just to get them out of my house. When the time came, maybe they'd be able to strike the gnolls from behind, or distract them with their excessive body odors. I infused most of our weapons to make them more deadly to gnolls [ref: CJ-V1-21], then augmented mine and GR's defenses [ref: CJ-V3-18]. I augmented HU, since I knew he would be involved in the fight [ref: CJ-V1-29, CJ-V3-18]. Finally, I placed a couple of spells in my cane. Something to hopefully help out later. I checked my wand sheaths to make sure everything was in the proper order, and, naturally, they were. HU, meanwhile, was reorganizing his stock, to make the alchemy and healing potions more accessible. We were ready. Just before noon, we left my house and crossed the bridge towards Stavros Tower. DA was there ahead of us, invisible and letting us know via whispered Messages what was going on. Supposedly, XL was down in the crowd somewhere in disguise. A number of gnolls had gathered, and were milling around like they were about to fight. GR, HU, and I arrived on the scene at the same time KA did. Because we were coming in from the north, we stepped out into the Court of Nine Lamps on a small landing half a story up and overlooking the scene below. A sturdy railing separated us from the crowd below and stairs led down to the courtyard proper on our left. I stopped at the railing about the same time KA stepped into the center of the tower. He was not alone. KA had a couple gnoll guards with him, but also one of the largest minotaurs I had ever seen. He was huge! I wasn't sure how he had gotten this far up with that axe he was carrying, also. On the other side of KA was a well-groomed man who had an air of education around him. That, I thought, was our danger. I called KA out before he had a chance to say anything stupid. With the very polite but forceful tone that I usually reserve for misbehaving servants, I told KA in no uncertain terms that he had no claim on this tower -- he was to take his band, leave, and never return. He looked, for a moment, like he had bitten into a sour plum. It rankled him, I guess, that I had interrupted his speech -- a speech he had probably stayed up all night preparing. He decided to go forward with it anyway. It was some long, boring bit about how I needed to come down there and kiss his boot, thanking him for not killing me and apologizing for getting in his way. I'd heard better speeches from three-copper street plays. We bantered back and forth a bit. It was KA's educated friend who realized that KA was losing this battle of wits. To cover up for his employer's gross incompetence, he gestured towards HU and some eldritch energy sprang forth to nearly hit my homunculus. I looked at the scorched wall behind me, then down to HU. HU just shrugged at me. "Interesting," I remember saying. "So that is what you do." "This is what House Cannith does!" and with that, I threw a vial of alchemist's fire at the man. It hit him square in the chest and lit him on fire. With that, the fight was on. KA sprung forward -- I remembered then his prodigious jumping abilities [ref: PJ-V3-75]. GR hit him in mid air with a well-timed crossbow bolt, then KA was on the railing next to us slashing down at GR with his sword. HU, as planned, stepped towards the stairs and tossed a broken a smokestick in that direction. He added another, for good measure. The stairs on our left flank flooded with black smoke. There was chaos down below. A gnoll archer started shooting at us backed up by a couple of his friends. They were all in for quite a surprise: CA had just showed up, with two of Caerlyn's Blades in tow. The three swordsmen charged, and a gnoll fell. GR's people were doing their best, but were no match for the gnolls in the courtyard. One was cut down immediately; two others did what they could, but were fighting now for survival. XL, according to his later reports, was using his gnoll disguise -- and, I say with no modesty, the gnoll-bane weapon I had prepared for him -- to quite effectively drop one gnoll after another. DA was slinging spells as fast as she could at the warlock. Up on the upper balcony, we were having problems. KA may not be a smart man, but he is a very skilled killer. He had gotten between GR and I, and was attacking everyone within reach. HU had sidestepped to the top of the stairs, where he fended off two of the gnoll attackers while I employed different wands on both KA and the battle around us. KA's warlock friend had employed some magic to transport himself up onto the balcony on the other side of GR. With a second spell, he transposed himself with the minotaur, and suddenly our situation became much more dire. GR was now flanked by KA on one side and the minotaur on the other. Almost simultaneously, we had the same idea. We jumped from the balcony. GR was the first to hit the courtyard, and he hit it hard. His landing looked quite painful. To make matters worse, he had landed at the feet of several gnolls. My landing, a moment later, was far more graceful, naturally, but still I decided to stay low to the ground so I could spring off in any direction. One must always be prepared. By this point, all of the principles were rather badly wounded. I was holding on through sheer tempered will, and poor GR looked about to collapse. CA was very badly wounded, and stood in front of his one surviving Blade friend, who looked near death himself. The other Blade had been killed in a single stroke from the minotaur. None of GR's thugs remained. KA was hurt badly, as was the warlock. The minotaur, XL, DA, and a the few remaining gnolls were the only ones in good health still. The minotaur had made it down to ground level again, when he inexplicably cut down two gnolls in one vicious swing. Well, it would have been inexplicable to one less trained in the arcane arts: DA had mentioned once that her specialty was enchantment, and I could see the tell-tale signs that she had control of the huge creature's tiny mind. GR quickly dispatched the gnolls closest to him then applied healing magics to the both of us. I was fencing with KA, still, as HU battered unceremoniously at a gnoll. The warlock turned and ran away. With barely a sigh, the battle had turned in our favor. As I have mentioned once or twice, KA isn't the brightest man. He failed to recognize the signs and began gloating over his unearned victory. I just pointed my wand at him and laughed, clearing blood from a cut above my eye. A burst of smoke and light preceded a sudden, raucous explosion that shook the foundations of the tower. When the smoke cleared, four enormous warforged -- all kitted out for destruction -- leapt forth and covered KA, the minotaur, and the gnolls with large, glowing weapons. Left standing on the fading patterns of runes that the warforged soldiers had sprung from was none other than Merrix d'Cannith. Boy, was I glad to see him!" . -- An excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 6 "Flawless memory" "Perfect diction, pronunciation, and grammar" "Noble Bearing; elegant" "Cunning Linguist" "Bright, violet eyes, with flecks of gold" "Heartfelt delivery of poem at father's funeral" "Exquisite taste in patrons" . -- An excerpt from the list "The Patronage of Maia Soone -- Pros" as written by Artemis Heuw Cannith, 998YK "Young" . -- The complete list "The Patronage of Maia Soone -- Cons" as written by Artemis Heuw Cannith, 998YK [/QUOTE]
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