Shaddar steps into the room where the four rejected candidates are waiting. They are of no use to him as workers and their minds are too weak to help him run his little empire. Therefore they will serve him in… another way…
Before they can waste any more air with pointless questions, Shaddar blasts them with his mind and they slump to their knees – senseless.
Shaddar gestures with his tentacles for Toothsnatcher and Loolipo to secure them. The thralls rush past him to bind and gag the stunned humans in a routine that they are familiar with, having been thralls to the illithids for many years.
Shaddar does not require sustenance, having gorged himself just yesterday, but after his long years of privations, he is eager to make up for lost time. He selects the dumbest and loudest one, wraps his drooling tentacles around the man’s head and…
Delicious…
When he has completed his snack, Shaddar turns to his thralls. They have completed their tasks and the three men have snapped out of the effect of his mind blast. Their terrified and confused eyes are wide and staring at Shaddar, his thralls, and the body of their friend. Shaddar took his time to eat neatly, so there is not much blood.
“One of you thralls will stand guard outside this room at all times while I have cattle in my larder. I leave it to you to arrange the rotation schedule. None may enter but me or one of you,” he broadcasts to the two of them, “Clean up after these cattle, but don’t waste good food on them – they won’t live long enough to starve.”
“And the body?” Loolipo asks.
Shaddar thinks for a moment then asks, “Do you have some spare rope?”
Loolipo nods with a bobbing motion, “Yes, master. I acquired many useful items today.”
“Good. I desire to see you use your skills with rope tonight. Go upstairs and ask Kug to come down with us. He will carry the body to where I plan on leaving it.”
Loolipo nods and leaves the room.
Shaddar orders Toothsnatcher to roll the body up in some old potato sacks from the kitchen and dump it in the hallway while he waits. Shaddar scribes a short note in bold, block letters on a scrap of parchment. This will be a vital bit of misdirection later in his plans…
Kug sniffs deeply when he sees the wrapped up form and looks up at Shaddar. “Dead guy?”
“Yes,” Shaddar agrees, “I also must indulge in… certain habits, shall we say? He offended me and had to go.”
Kug grins. “And how may I be of service, Master?”
“Just because the man is dead doesn’t mean that he can not still be useful to me! Carry the body and follow. Both of you.” He nods at Loolipo.
Toothsnatcher figures he might as well take the first shift of guarding the room which has become Shaddar’s private slave pit, leaning against his axe and sleeping with one eye open and all senses on alert as he learned to do while living in the Underdark. None of the clumsy and loud denizens of Big City will take him unawares! Shaddar approves of his thoughts and agrees.
As they walk towards the streets, Loolipo quietly tells Shaddar how pleased Cutt was with most of what she brought him. Some items he was annoyed that she brought him, but the gnome did point out the most useful collection of items all came from two different shops. Evidently, the gnome is still missing a few “key reagents”, but he was confident that he could find those later.
Shaddar is glad of her report. As soon as the gnome is ready he will have the thrall begin production – not just of the standard alchemical items that have good general utility, such as acid and tanglefoot glue, either. He knows that Cutt has the knowledge of manufacturing an explosive power often used in gnomish projectile weapons. Explosives are too dangerous to use underground as a general rule, but here on the surface? Yes. There will be opportunities for their use here…
They arrive at the streets without meeting or seeing another soul. Shaddar guided his little group in different directions a couple of times, to avoid the minds he could sense that were in their path, but it was quite simple to do that. He makes sure that he and his minions do not cross the border into the streets yet, wary of the alarm system that he saw working here earlier.
There is a large work party of drow within sight, repairing the mosaic cobblestones that were torn up earlier in the day. Shaddar scans their thoughts to see if they have noticed any patrols or groups of constables.
And they have. Not just constables, but heroes are walking the streets this night as well.
From the thoughts of the drow workers the level of patrols by the constables and heroes is quite extraordinary. Shaddar realizes that there must be extra patrols in response to his activities and the authorities’ investigations into them. So. He will give them something new to report tonight.
The elegant lamps provide a great deal of light, so the streets are all brightly lit. It is easy to make out some of the patrols and their patterns of walking. But the majority of people he sees and senses are the dark elves.
“I’m surprised that there aren’t more hobgoblins about,” Shaddar says quietly, looking at Kug and pulling his cloak tighter around his neck.
“They don’t let hobgoblins in this part of town very often – and it’s never before the deepest part of the night when they do,” Kug whispers.
A patrol comes near and Shaddar sees that it is comprised of four constables, led by a single hero. The hero acts like a jerk at every possible opportunity, going out of his way to kick drow out of his way and sneer at them.
“Out of my sight, palehair! Ugh! And you there! Have you seen anything unusual?”
The frightened and cowed drow answers, “Some broken stones?”
There is much laughter from the constables at this response.
The hero slaps the drow and yells at him, “Don’t lie to me, palehair! Oh, why do I bother?”
They walk away from the persecuted drow and around the corner.
Shaddar can sense the hatred boiling in Kug, but such displays of control do not vex the mindflayer at all. Soon enough, such sights will merely consist of a swapping of the players, but he has no doubt that they will continue.
Still. These emotions can be put to good use. Shaddar gives Kug and Loolipo precise instructions as to what to do when they enter the streets and once they understand, they step between the lamps and begin their work.
Shaddar sees that the lights on either side flare brightly as they step into the street and he hurries to intercept the patrol before they come back into view of his thralls who are busy at their work.
His intention is two-fold. He will stall the authorities long enough to allow his minions to complete their arrangement of the dead man’s body and plant the seeds of confusion in the ranks of his enemies. He pulls the hood of his cloak tight around his face to mask his features.
He turns the corner and finds the patrol group already running towards the border zone where the alarm went off and immediately begins his act. He begins to wail and cry out, waving his arms wildly in the air. They see him running and carrying on – how can they not?
The Hero skids to a stop and calls out, “What is it citizen? What’s the trouble?”
“Ooo! It was horrible!” Shaddar yells in a disguised voice.
“What? What was horrible?”
“Mist Demons!”
The men take a step backwards and the hero looks like he’s been punched in the gut.
“What? No!”
“Yes!” Shaddar cries out. “I wish I could pluck out my eyes to un-see what I have beheld!” He sobs pathetically.
When the hero makes a motion as if to walk past and see this sight for himself, Shaddar grabs his sleeve. “Oh, no! Don’t go! You will be powerless to stop them! I do not wish you to die as well!”
“What? Someone has died?”
“Yes! Their prowess and speed was unbelievable! You do not have enough men here to face them! Gather the patrols, sir! Gather all your forces! Or it will not be enough and you will all perish!”
Two of the constables look like they have soiled themselves they are so frightened. They quickly volunteer to gather the other patrols and rush off, leaving only three men with Shaddar. The hero is far too busy trying to decide what to do to even notice.
“Yes, you men spread the word and collect back-up,” he calls out belatedly, “We will go and fight this beast off! Get yourself to safety, citizen!”
“No! Don’t go!”
“We must!” The hero strikes a noble pose and sweeps a hand through his wavy hair. “It is our duty! And we have been trained in the ways of valor! Our steel will soon settle this evil!”
“But, they dispatched a man in mere seconds! His skull ripped open!”
“What? No!” The hero’s voice squeaks a bit.
“Even with all of your training, your gallant righteousness, you will have your head torn open, too! Blood and hair scattered to the four winds! You’ll not stand a chance! Please, sir! I beg you: wait for more men!”
The hero’s thoughts show that the appeal to the man’s vanity was the proper course: “My pristine hair? My flawless skin? Wrecked by a beast? Perhaps I will wait for backup…”
“Very well. We shall wait for more men, lads! No point in falling and not being able to report anything!” he manages. His men look relieved.
Shaddar hurries back to his thralls and is gratified that they have finished the work they were assigned. The dead man has been hung upside-down from the top of the lamppost by his feet. Shaddar quickly looks over their work and nods. He then takes out the scrap of parchment he wrote on back in the meadhall and pins it to the man’s chest.
He steps back to read the stark message: “Behold the doom of the Mist Demons! You will be next!”
Shaddar knows that this slight bit of misdirection will not fool the more astute investigators in the city – the M.O. of this murder is exactly the same as the five dead constables, after all. But perhaps it will have an impact on the more superstitious class. He chuckles shamefully. This is a fine joke regardless of how the humans receive it.
Chapter 1 < Chapter 24 Chapter 26 >
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