Obasi the Hex-Tongue's page

It is with a heavy, but knowing, heart that I write this.

I will not be returning to Absalom. Possibly, not ever. I have elected to stay behind in Sothis, the place of my birth. I have "arranged" through Mithral Scarab to become a Pathfinder operative here in Sothis. I know this is what I must do. I ran from my home as a boy - I will not run again as a man.

Just as I would not let Ankana ascend the Ruby Throne, I will have no one sit upon it save for the Ruby Prince himself. As I said before, he is young, but he has potential. His court is comprised of jackals and snakes - and for this reason, I must take to the shadows and eliminate any who would threaten him. I dare not join his court, lest I become a target to his many enemies as well. No, it is best if I live as I have always lived, alone in a cloak of shadows. Osirion is beset on all sides by those that would take her wealth and glory for themselves. Before Osirion can withstand its enemies from without, it must build a strong core and defeat the enemies that lie within.

Kemesarian and the Magistrate still live. They are a cancer in the bowels of Osirion that must be cut free by a surgeon's knife. I am that knife. I fear that they pose a great harm to the Ruby Prince, as we know they actively traffic with Devils and Chelaxians alike. I have a debt of blood to settle with them, and I would not involve you or ask you to partake in my vengeance.

It is a dark and lonely road I must now walk, one that stinks of brimstone and is lit only by hellfire.

Julistar is dead, but in a garden of evil, killing one snake only calls several more from the brush. Allerund, I am truly sorry that you lost Daile in the tomb. I know what it is like to lose family. Still, she could not be trusted, if that offers you any solace. This witch Averna - we are linked somehow, of that I am certain. Averna took something from the tomb, and I fear that it was the last of the four Pharoahs Julistar's band was seeking all along. To what ends she will use the Pharoah I do not know, but I must find out.

In the tomb, Averna mentioned "Karnekh." I am fearful to even write this name, for it is the name of the Devil who owns my soul. When I was a boy, I was nearly killed and it was Karnekh who saved me. In exchange, he took my soul. There is an evil inside of me that I can only barely begin to understand - and I fear it will one day overtake me, as it nearly did in the sands when I fed Scepter to the antlions. Karnekh haunts my dreams and my thoughts. I must find out more about him, and destroy him if I can. Again, it is simply too dangerous to associate with me.

Finally, there is the matter of the mysterious countdown wall in the tomb. We are just over one year shy of something of great import, something that has been over 8,200 years in the making. I fear we have only discovered the tip of a much greater mystery. I must learn the significance of this countdown, and I can only do so here in the sands. If I find anything, I will send word.

Olen, you are the brother I never had but wish I did. Allerund, I admit to disliking you intensely when we first met, but you have become a brother to me as well in battle if not in blood. Amyrta, yours is a bravery unmatched by anything I have ever known. I have been alone my entire life, and I am the last of my kind. You three however are the closest thing I have had to a family in a very long time. Your kindness will not be forgotten. You have saved me from danger, and from myself, many times over. Words can never express what you all mean to me.

And for this very reason, I must leave you. My enemies will try to hurt me however they can, and this means they will come for you. I would not risk you the danger of knives in the night. No, my enemies will come for me, and I will be ready for them. Without me, you should be safe. I will haunt the sands, looking for my answers, and I will remain ever vigilant for the witch Averna. My travels may take me to far off Cheliax, or even the Hells themselves. I know not where the sandwind takes me.

Forget me. If you ever cared for me, forget me. I am lost.

With Love,

<signed>

Obasi --
Son of Sothis
Last of the Hex Tongues

PS: If I survive hell, I will send word. Please burn this as soon as you read it.

When I eat, I feed him. When I drink, I quench his thirst. When I sleep, I dream of him. Sometimes, I hear whispered words and cannot tell if they are real, or just in my head.

Karnekh is poisoning both my mind and my soul.

I have tried so hard to reign him in. But he weaves himself into everything I do. Worse, I am changing because of him. Recently, I developed the ability to fly, create large spider webs, and control the thoughts of others. These are dark boons from the Devil himself, and it is the last of these "gifts" from Karnekh that worries me.

If I can't even control myself, how can I be allowed to control others?

Karnekh bested me in the desert sands. I've wanted to eradicate Julistar's band for some time now. I took that fool Scepter out easily enough, but then I dragged his unconscious body and flung him to the antlions. I knew what I was doing the entire time, but it was like I was in a dream - watching, but not in control of what was going on.

The second I heard the antlions devour Scepter's bones and flesh, I felt Karnekh in my blood. I felt him pouring his darkness into me - I felt him taking control. I fell to my knees and screamed out - Gods, right in front of Allerund, Olen and Amyrta. I've never lost control like that before, but here in Osirion, Karnekh's pull is stronger than ever.

Worse, my compatriots did not prevent me from killing him. I do not shed a tear for that traitor to the order . . . but I cannot again know the taste of bloodshed. It required Olen to cast a warding spell on me to drive the Devil out of me. Amyrta, Gods bless her, doused me in holy water which singed my flesh - proof that the Devil was coming to the fore. Now they watch me with suspicious eyes. Honestly, I do not blame them.

We are being pursued and hunted by Julistar's men. My time back home has been wholly marked as time spent living as prey. The sand has turned to blood, and the once sweet taste of home is like bile in my mouth.

After Xaven broke into my room, and I chased him into the hallway (running smack dab into the waiting blade of Hrokan), I unleashed a barrage of spells at the two.

They cut me, they beat me, they nearly killed me. But, once again, I did not die.

Seems I've cheated the Reaper once more.

I don't know what came over me - desperation? I was hurt, bleeding, and I flung myself away from the stabbing Hrokan - sending a fireball right at the two of them. I didn't even flinch.

Part of me enjoyed it, and that's what scared me. I knew that burning down the inn was a risk - but I just didn't care. In fact, part of me wanted to bring the building down in embers around their ears.

After the fireball detonated, Xaven went down in a smoking heap and Hrokan, nearly dead, made for the staircase. I walked right through the flames unharmed - and I nearly killed Xaven without a second thought as I walked by! Fighting against this urge, I dragged him downstairs, to the waiting innkeep who was panicked about his now burning inn.

Fortunately, it was late at night and few were present. Olen was able to call upon his god and douse the flames. I framed the still smoldering Hrokan for the fire. The lie came all too easily to my lips. When he then attacked me in the common room, I gladly dropped him with a magic missile, nearly killing him.

I wanted to kill him.

This isn't like me. Ever since I've come back to Osirion, Karnekh's voice, which is usually a whisper, has become a booming scream. Has he destroyed all that was once good in me? My devil-tainted blood boils in the heat of battle, calling me to escalate to further and further acts of violence. I must fight the urge, but the pull is so strong.

I actually suggested that we execute Hrokan and Xaven, to save us the trouble. I then met with the withered glares of my fellow Pathfinders, and suggested we sell them into slavery.

What have I become? I must fight this darkness that grows inside of me...I am still a good man. Karnekh has only a sliver of my soul, I retain the rest.

Bah! I have no time for these quibbles. Venture Captain Shevala has told us that artifacts have been uncovered in Mother Osirion's sands. There are answers that I must find, if ever I'm to be free of the Devil in Stone. Perhaps, this quest will bring me closer to what I seek.

I'm told that the cur Khelden still lives, though the years have robbed the Magistrate of his sight. Still, he has loyal retainers that would kill me on sight were it discovered who I am. It's been 13 years, and I was but boy when I was sent into exile. Perhaps, they will not know me. 13 years to an elf may seem like the blink of an eye, but to me, it feels like a lifetime.

It would be good to feel the sand on my face again. I will visit the spot where they put my mother to the torch, and I will mourn her as I never could before.