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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 3748655" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #406c] Origins III[/PLAIN]Huzair laughed heartily at the dwarf's comment with his cigar clenched in his teeth. Karak just scowled more deeply, confusion evident on his face."Heck, when I knew him, he did not much like anyone," the wizard laughed taking the cigar from his mouth and pointing it at Morier. "And you think it was me who got you into fights, is that it? I did enjoy it, but it was not all me. Yes, my sharp tongue is not meant for everyone, but it was the company we kept when you visited us in Farmin. That and your short fuse were more to blame. You are so sensitive, Whitey. Of course, a Lisorian altarboy could get into a fight at the Hungry Vulture." Huzair laughed again."And anyway you know you loved it. I have rarely seen such a fight as that time you mixed it up with Brakus, the half ogre, after you ticked him off by complaining about his body odor. He was tossing you around as only a drunken half-ogre in a bar fight can," Huzair recalled, his eyes smoldering with the memory and a white grin splitting his black face. "Then you duck, the brute's arm gets stuck in the wall somehow - who knows how that could happen - then you beat the poor giant nearly to death. I swear if there had not been a visiting healer in the bar poor Brakus would have died and not become the wonderful bouncer he is today. But Kossuth! He did smell! At least you taught him he needs to bathe more than once a year!" Huzair laughed and puffed thoughtfully on his cigar."Ah... those were good times," he mused."Lettin' someone else do yer fightin' back then too, eh?" Karak chortled before taking a long pull on the chalice. Huzair reached over and took the mug from the dwarf. Taking a swallow of the dark syrup within he made a bitter beer face."What the heck is this crap?" he sputtered. "It tastes like Bitchinbrau!" "Aye! It is! Too strong for ye, lad?" Karak laughed."No, it just tastes like it was brewed through a cow, if you know what I mean," the wizard quipped favoring Karak with a wink. The dwarf harumphed and spat on the ground as Huzair refilled the cup with water. He then commanded, "Give me Elverquisst, 1179 vintage!" The Goblet filled with the iridescent beverage and he savored the bouquet."Here take a sip, love," Huzair said, thrusting the cup into Anania's slim hands. She started to protest but the wizard added, "I insist.""I was lucky compared to Morier," Huzair began as he watched the elf maid take a tentative sip of the elven liqueur, smile, and then take a second, more indulgent swallow. He smiled. "I do not have a gods damned clue who my parents are. I was bought as an infant by Taarish to be his son, slave and thief all at once. Sure, I was abused some, but it made me tougher and it was only if I messed up. I hated being a slave to that stupid man, but it was not too bad until I was caught stealing by Garan-Zak." He crossed his legs and ashed into the fire."Morier's heard this story before, but I knew his, too and it didn't stop him from waxing on and on," he said, smirking at the albino. "Me and my "brothers" had heard that this old wizard had gone off on an adventure and came back very ill. We figured it was a good time to rob his home." Karak snorted derisively at that and Huzair shrugged."We were kids raised by a guild thief," he said by way of explanation before picking up the thread of his story. "So we watched him leave and he looked horrible - like the life had been scared out of him. We snuck into his house and riffled through his belongings, not finding much, truth be told, until we came across his workshop and found out where he had been spending his money. When I touched his book shelf, a stone golem came to life and I swear it was going to crush us! Not too hard for a golem fighting a group of kids, not one of whom was older than ten. But before it could squish us all I heard some words and then none of us could move; Garan-Zak had returned and he was not happy. You see, he had gone to see a healer regarding the energy drain he'd suffered at the hands of Acererak, the Devourer, and was none too pleased at having to cut the visit short to deal with us. It seemed someone had set off a magical alarm and we were damned lucky he teleported back or we would have been flattened by that golem, no question!" Huzair laughed at the memory, picked a spot of tobacco off his tongue and cast it into the fire. With some disappointment he saw that Anania had passed on the cup, and it had settled once more in Ayremac's hands. "Well, he wanted to know who we were, obviously, so he interrogated us separately." He grinned, practically glowing with pride as he told them, "The other boys cried like sissies and told him everything. But not me. I did not blink an eye when he held his flaming hand to my head. I knew he would not kill me or be cruel. I could see it in his eyes, so I said: go ahead, wizard, I can take your best!" He chuckled, surveying the group's reaction. He saw Morier cock a knowing eyebrow and felt some of the pride drain out of him."Oh... and... well... fire does not scare me all that much," he added, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. He puffed thoughtfully on his cigar for a few seconds and then exhaled a trio of smoke rings, watching them drift apart on the night breeze before continuing."Garan-Zak informed me that my friends had told him everything: that we worked for Taarish and that we were there to steal his loot. I was livid that my friends had told," he growled, the muscles in his jaw fluttering beneath the ebon flesh on his cheeks. His eyes seemed to magnify the firelight as he relived the moment. "We were sure to be severely beaten for betraying Taarish. I was half-hoping that the wizard might strike back at the man before he could lay hands on me again so I asked him if he was going to go after Taarish but he said, 'No, you are going to tell him what happened. And tell him if I ever catch him or any of his 'sons' around here again, I will take care of him personally.'" Huzair deepened his voice and wagged his finger, doing a pretty poor impersonation of Garan-Zak, in Morier's estimation."'Yeah and get beaten for my insolence!' I shot back at the old wizard. I knew I would be beaten severely by Taarish for failure and my brothers' squealing and it must have showed in my face. Garan-Zak brought out a stick and told me to point it at Taarish should he start beating me and say: Pyros. Then, he said, I would have nothing to worry about." He launched back into his Garan-Zak impression and Morier cringed although he was the only one who knew how bad it truly was. "Give the man fair warning before you use it,' he told me and I remember thinking that this was really neat especially after he told me that he recognized my heritage and thought I would make a fine wizard if given the proper guidance. 'Huzair, you seem like a bright young man who is wasting his time with petty thievery. You could be working for me as an apprentice. I will give you my best... as your master should you decide to leave the thieves guild and take up wizardry. My last adventure against the demi-lich made me realize that I am getting too old to be crawling through dungeons. I am retiring and starting a new role in my life as a teacher. It is how I will leave my legacy to help future generations'." Karak harrumphed at that."An' ye're wha' he ended up with?" the dwarf grumbled. "Nae much of a legacy, if'n ye ask me!" Huzair shot Karak a withering look and pitched the butt of his cigar into the campfire."I didn't," he deadpanned."Please continue, Huzair," Anania said at his side. She laid her hand on the wizard's forearm and Huzair grinned lasciviously at Karak before turning to face the elf."For you," he told her with utter conviction. "I thought at the time that thieves in Freeport do not usually have very long lives and Garan-Zak's offer might be the best solution for me to get out of the guild and Taarish's service. And I must confess that I loved the power going through me when I held that wand. It was intoxicating, even then, and I knew I was blessed with an opportunity.""So I went back to Scurvytown and sure enough I was knocked around a bit with the brass knuckles for telling Taarish what Garan-Zak said and then trying to stop him from beating my brothers. So I pointed the wand, said Pyros and after my master became a human torch, I was free," he explained and that sparkle had returned to his eyes. "My bothers just went to work for the guy who runs the Pair o' Dice and the Jolly Roger while I moved in with Garan-Zak and learned all about wizardry. We stayed in touch and socialized still, enjoying our new working arrangement. Morier met a few of them a couple of times when we could get out from under Garan-Zak's watchful eye. Of course, he is more bark than bite and I could pretty much get away with anything except having to hear a lecture, which, at times, made me pine for the old beatings. I studied hard, but he always seemed disappointed with my behavior. Always saying, 'Oh, I'm too old to be a father! Teenagers are for the young! If only I had a wife to help me with this!' I have heard that for almost ten years now. I think it would be easier for him to slay demons than to control an unruly lad."It didn't take too much imagination for the other members of The Order to consider the possible shenanigans that an immature Huzair might have gotten into in a city with Farmin's reputation. More than a few of them secretly pitied the old mage."Garan-Zak tattooed me magically - identically to himself - so that anyone in town knew if they messed with me, they were messing with him. No wonder Whitey, here, occassionally got the ass kicking for my wit. Folks knew better than to tangle with me," he smiled, accepting the Goblet from Karak and filling it with Saerloonian Topaz. He savored the nutty qualities and bold, fruity overtones for a moment before passing the chalice to Anania. "Here, have some more wine, my sweet flower."She accepted the cup and sipped at the wine. Smiling, she asked, "But how did you end up here, with these people?" Huzair sighed and rolled his eyes."Garan-Zak always told me to achieve a noble purpose with my powers and then all his powers would be mine someday. I think that he wished the noble purpose part was a little easier for me than the wizardry. He had this strange love for the discipline that ap-Llewellyn was able to force on Morier. That is why he sent me here with Morier." Using a little sleight of hand he made another cigar appear in his hand as if by magic. He held it beneath his nose and inhaled the earthy fragrance for a moment before taking out a knife and neatly severing the end. "I got really tired of hearing about how noble you have become, Morier. You used to be a worse thug than I and he still thinks the world of you. I do not see why he holds such affection for someone who does not embrace his own magical nature." With a word a tiny flame appeared on Huzair's thumb and he lit his cigar."I have already achieved mastery of the Third Circle. Not bad for 18," he said before extinguishing the flame in his fist and blowing a column of smoke at the eldritch warrior. "How old are you again, Morier?"</blockquote>

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