Part 6
Upon returning to Highvale we made plans to attend a circus. On the journey to Highvale we had heard several rumors about the circus which had a nefarious reputation in the towns of the valley. Unfortunately we encountered a brawl between two young lads over the affections of a young lady immediately upon entering the circus. The cheeky lass was fearful that the boys might hurt each other. Unable to stand the comely young lady’s distress - Nagus, Arron, & Leonidas taught the town what brawling really looks like. We all felt a bit uncomfortable as the one of the teens and both of the fathers were carried away on stretchers, the girl, of course was sobbing at the display of martial prowess. Looking for a place to hide from the stares of the crowd, we decided to check out the freak show.
Within the tent of the freak show were several odd looking creatures, including a dog boy, midgets, bearded ladies, a giant man, and even a slug man. The last caught the attention of Arron who scrutinized the charred and melted form of the pitiful creature he had found. Convinced that there was something familiar about the mass of flesh he attempted to speak with it. I know that Arron was shaken to discover that the man was none other than Hiblus the Black – once the head master of the school of peers and a man who had abused Arron and Fyre in ways unmentionable when they were children. Arron Left the circus and re-joined several other members of the group who were promising a young lady that they would take her away from the circus that evening. Sometimes I wonder why I travel with men who are so blind to the ways of the fairer sex?
At Arron’s demand we made plans to raid the circus that night – plans that included taking the girl and Hiblus. We arrived shortly before sunset and met Eris, the young lady held against her will by the circus masters. She asked help in retrieving her mother’s wedding ring from her tent before leaving. Several of the group followed her to the carnie section of the circus, where they encountered Madame Zora a seer of some repute. Several of our party spoke with the Madame about issues that they have kept to themselves, however Torean was unable to get the answers that he sought and was instead invited to call upon the Madame in a weeks time in the town of Brayford (just down the valley and one of two ways to cross the Bray river). Leaving the tent we headed to the freak show, noting for the first time a separate tent housing a creature called the White Serpent.
With a mixture of magic and stealth we rescued Hiblus without fanfare or combat. We secreted him away to the Academy where he was questioned by Arron. Apparently, Hiblus had been a cruel and vicious head master at the School of Peers but what had troubled Arron the most was his complete dispassion – he beat the children and worse but never took either joy or remorse in the beatings. It was just something that he did. Now, Hiblus was in the hands of those whom he had crushed but his legs had been amputated, most of the left side of his face charred beyond recognition – a charring so deep that his teeth protruded where his cheek should have been – and the rest of his body appeared to have been liquefied before gelling into its current form.
Several of the students who had survived the School of Peers discussed what was known about Hiblus (In all there are less than two dozen survivors at the Academy). He was a master of the dark arts of Necromancy and once an Archon of the Vintrian Synod. While his necromantic prowess was unchallenged, he was also recognized as a powerful wizard even barring his powers over the Ennwrathi. He beat the children without mercy, joy, or regret – occasionally even using the powers of necromancy to inflict pain that went far beyond anything that the human body was meant to experience. There was no act so foul that he would balk, nor a sight so gruesome as to cause him to turn away.
The questioning lasted several days and the once mighty Hiblus never resisted the questioning. The truth of the matter was almost beyond belief. Prince Rafn, master of the School of Peers and heir to the throne of Middea had committed to some act so black that even Hiblus rebelled against it. Believing himself to be more than a match for the prince he struck with all of the powers at his disposal. He lost. The prince made a lesson of the broken mage – fearing neither the knowledge nor the necromantic power of one of the mightiest mages in all of Middea. Hiblus was questioned repeatedly and even compelled to answer what it was that the prince had done but to no avail – the knowledge simply was not there. Whatever the prince had done would remain a secret for the time being.