Mags's page

Magdelia Estuv-Bres stands a gaunt five foot ten. Her chocolate brown hair, unkept but clean, has been tied hastily with a bit of ribbon to keep it from her eyes. Her travel-worn outfit is adorned with half a dozen pouches, small vials and various other odd items hung from either her belt or shoulder strap. At her side is a much-used sickle, and glimpses of several small daggers can be seen tucked here and there. Her stunning green eyes peer from beneath furrowed brows and her otherwise attractive face is marred by a nearly constant look of disdain. Her right arm is covered entirely with dwarven clan tattoos that her sleeveless top does nothing to hide. About her left arm is tied a tattered and faded black ribbon that once belonged to her elven mother.

She speaks in a soft rasping whisper, a puckered scar on her throat giving some clue to the cause. Though she seldom makes eye contact, she can, when angered, become quite confrontational. No stranger to surviving on her own, her distrust of others is ever apparent.

In progress...
Mags was born into a loving and affluent family, her mother of elven decent, her father human. It was during this time that she came into possession of her pet, a grey rat that had wandered into her yard one afternoon. While her mother objected strongly to the "pet", she eventually relented as the animal seemed docile enough and Mags obviously loved the creature. She named it Plague to tease her mother who often voiced her opinion of rats and the diseases they carried.

The rat was markedly intelligent. He learned tricks with ease and could often be found playing imaginative games with the child. In truth, had anyone paid close enough attention, they would have noticed that it was often Plague himself who came up with the games, Magdelia delightedly joining in.

At the age of twelve Magdelia lost her parents, victims of the local thieves guild. She was herself injured in the attack, taking an arrow through the throat. Left to die, she was rescued by a group of dwarves that had been camping nearby. She recovered from her wound but spoke evermore in a rasping whisper.

Her estate, sizable as it was, was put into escrow until she came of age. She was told minors were not allowed to own property within the barony. Having no other family in the area she was turned over to the temple for a short time. Here she met Llyrann for the first time. Though they would come to travel together later in life, Mags initially took a disliking for the female half-orc. Age and maturity eventually got her past her prejudices, and, in the end, she became as close to the woman as she had to anyone in her adult life. She was adopted a short time after entering the temple by a loving dwarven couple (two of the clan that had rescued her in the forest) and spent the remainder of her adolescence in their working class home. Though they loved her, Mags was never the same after her parent’s deaths. She became withdrawn, spending as much time as she could alone with Plague. As she matured she took to making long trips into the surrounding forests, trapping and gathering foodstuffs for the dwarven clan, a skill for which she showed some competence.

Mags discovery of her arcane abilities was almost anti-climatic. She was two weeks out from home, checking the traps she had set the previous day. As she worked, night fell around her and when she finally returned to her campsite, the moonless night had become as black as the dwarven mines, but colder with the coming of winter. She had already gathered a small supply of wood but dreaded spending the time needed to get a fire started. She was out of flint and it would take some time to do it the "old fashioned" way. It was Plague that proffered an answer. "You have no need for flint and steel," she heard him say. She regarded him for a moment, feeling inexplicably uneasy. "You don't, perhaps," she whispered, "all warm and cozy beneath my blanket. But I need a fire.” She looked through the kindling she had gathered, looking for a suitable bow, board and spindle. Plague moved over to sit on the woodpile, looking up at the woman. "Stop," he said. "Come. Sit with me a moment.” He moved off a short way, setting himself amongst a growth of white autumn flowers. Mags knelt by the woodpile for a few moments longer, regarding the rodent and trying to dismiss the feeling of unquiet that was nagging at her. Finally, with a shrug, she moved over to sit cross-legged before the animal. "It's cold, Plague. What're ye about?” She received no answer. Instead she found herself slipping into some dark world, darker than the night she left behind. Though she remained aware of her surroundings, the sound of the wind in the trees, the chirping of the seasons last insects, the distant crack of a branch as some animal moved through the dark woods, she also became aware of another world. It was a world of shifting colors, shifting imagery. Dark and foreboding, silent and insidious. For nearly an hour she sat there entranced by what Plague showed her. And when it was over, she knew that she needed no flint and steel. Rising on stiff legs, she moved some of her gathered timber into a pile, surrounding it with lighter kindling. And with a motion and a mumbled word, a spark ignited in the heart of the pile, igniting the wood. As the fire grew, spreading its light about the clearing, she looked at Plague, hiding her concern. Though she noticed it, she pretended not to. The delicate white flowers around Plague had withered and blackened.

At the age of twenty Mags went to claim her inheritance. It was explained to her that eight whole years had passed and, what with upkeep and taxes, not to mention inheritance fees and estate management costs, most of the estate had been sold off to pay the bills. There was, in fact, nearly nothing left. After much outraged arguing on the part of her dwarven father, and insisting to no avail to speak with Baron Vendikon directly, she received 32 gold, 7 silver and 2 copper pieces. Shortly after this, disillusioned to the fullest, the young half elven woman took her leave of the dwarven clan and set out on her own, where she eventually came upon Llyrann once again.

Mags is largely untrusting of others and uncertain of her own abilities. She hides the latter behind sarcastic remarks and the former with calculated indifference. Like all witches she has a familiar, but unlike most she did not choose her familiar, it chose her. Though her actions and words would categorize her as CN, she is NG at heart. She still rebels against these inner leanings, thinking they are nothing more than the ghost of her happier youth. Her patron, the patron of plagues, sent the familiar to her to teach her to harness her innate arcane abilities. Mags only suspects who her actual patron is, and is having trouble reconciling this suspicion with her heightened (yet conflicted) sense of right and wrong.

+1 Sickle +3 (1d6+1 / x2) Trip, Crit damage 2d6+4 (2d6+6 under ground)
MW Mithral Dagger, +3 (1d4 / 19-20), range 10', Crit damage 2d4+2 (2d6+4 under ground)
Dagger (2), +2 (1d4 / 19-20), range 10', Crit damage 2d4+2 (2d6+4 under ground)

Trained:
Craft: Alchemy +12 (5 ranks, 4 Int, 3 class)
Heal +8 (3 ranks, 3 class, 2 kit)
Knowledge: Arcana +12 (5 ranks, 4 Int, 3 Class)
Knowledge: Nature +12 (5 ranks, 4 Int, 3 Class)
Profession: Trapper +5 (2 ranks, 3 class)
Spellcraft +12 (5 ranks, 4 Int, 3 Class)
Use Magic Device +10 (5 ranks, 2 Cha, 3 Class)

Untrained:
Acrobatics +2
Appraise +4
Bluff +2
Climb +0
Diplomacy +2
Disguise +2
Escape Artist +2
Fly +2
Intimidate +5
Perception +2 (+4 when familiar is within arms reach)
Perform +2
Ride +2
Sense Motive +0 (+2 when familiar is within arms reach)
Stealth +2
Survival +0
Swim +0

Adopted (Tunnel Fighter): Caves and tunnels are a second home to you. While underground, you receive a +2 trait bonus on initiative checks and a +1 trait bonus on weapon damage rolls for critical hits (this damage is multiplied on a critical hit).
Killer: You made your first kill at a very young age and found the task of war or murder to your liking. You either take particular pride in a well-placed blow, or find vile pleasure in such a strike as you twist the blade to maximize the pain. You deal additional damage equal to your weapon’s critical hit modifier when you score a successful critical hit with a weapon; this additional damage is added to the final total, and is not multiplied by the critical hit multiple itself. This extra damage is a trait bonus.

+2 to One Ability Score: Half-elf characters get a +2 bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
Medium: Half-elves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Half-elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Adaptability: Half-elves receive Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st level.
Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Keen Senses: Half-elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Multitalented: Half-elves choose two favored classes at first level and gain +1 hit point or +1 skill point whenever they take a level in either one of those classes.
Languages: Half-elves begin play speaking Common and Elven. Half-elves with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Dodge: +1 AC dodge bonus
Extra Hex: Slumber
Extra Hex: Evil Eye
Skill Focus (Intimidate) - Racial trait
*Alertness: If familiar is within arms reach, gain +2 on Perception and Sense Motive checks

Handy Haversack 2000gp, 5#

Cauldron 1gp
2 Bear Traps 4gp
1 Flint and Steel 1gp
1 Whetstone 2cp
10 Trail Rations 5gp
5 Potions of Cure Mod Wounds 1500gp

10 Candles 1sp, --
5 Chalk 5cp, --
1 Bedroll 1sp, 5#
Twine (50') 1cp, .5#
10 Sheets of Paper 4gp, --
1 Vial of Ink (1 oz.) 8gp, --
2 Inkpens 2sp, --
1 Waterskin 1gp, 4#
1 Spell Component Pouch 5gp, 2#
1 Campfire Bead 720gp, --
1 Ioun Torch 75 gp, --
Travelers Outfit with 2 Belts (waist and shoulder)2gp, 5#
6 Belt Pouches 6gp, 3#
Book on the Terran Language --, 3#
Book about spellcraft --, 3#
Ring of Protection +1 2000gp, --
A black ribbon that belonged to her mother worn tied around her arm.
+1 Sickle 2006gp, 2#
2 Daggers 4gp, 2#
1 Mithral Dagger 502gp, .5#
Healer's Kit

4155gp, 5sp, 2cp

0-Level DC14
Detect Magic
Daze (humanoid creatures with 4 or fewer HD takes no action)
Message (whisper to 5 creatures within 150 ft)
Stabilize (stabilize dying creature)

1-Level DC15
Cure Light Wounds (1d8+5)
Cause Fear (subject flees if it can. Takes -2 on all attacks, skill checks, ST, and ability checks)
Ill Omen (target rolls next two d20 rolls twice, taking worst outcome)
Ray of Enfeeblement (subject takes STR penalty of 1d6+2)

2-Level DC16
Blindness/Deafness (render subject blind or deaf)
Cure Moderate Wounds (2d8+5)
Vomit Swarm (vomit swarm of spiders)

3-Level DC17
Screech (Enemies in area immediately provoke AoO)
Vampiric Touch (Deal 2d6 damage and gain equal amount of temp hp)

0-Level DC14

Bleed (stabilized creature begins to die again)
Dancing Lights (up to 4 lights)
Daze (humanoid creatures with 4 or fewer HD takes no action)
Detect Magic
Detect Poison (determine whether a creature, object, or area has been poisoned or is poisonous)
Guidance (+1 bonus on a single attack roll, saving throw, or skill check)
Light (causes a touched object to glow like a torch)
Mending (restoring 1d4 hit points to object)
Message (whisper to 5 creatures within 150 ft)
Putrefy Food & Drink (destroy 5 cu ft of food or water or 1 potion)
Read Magic
Resistance (give subject +1 on saves)
Spark (make an unattended Fine flammable object catch on fire)
Stabilize (stabilize dying creature)
Touch of Fatigue (-2 penalty to STR and DEX. Cannot run or charge)

1-Level DC15

Cause Fear (subject flees if it can. Takes -2 on all attacks, skill checks, ST, and ability checks)
Chill Touch (1d6 negative energy damage on up to 5 creatures touched. Also may cause 1 point STR damage)
Cure Light Wounds (1d8+5)
Detect Undead (Patron Spell)
Identify (identify properties of command words and magic items)
Ill Omen (target rolls next two d20 rolls twice, taking worst outcome)
Inflict Light Wounds (1d8+5 negative energy damage)
Mage Armor (+4 Armor bonus to AC)
Ray of Enfeeblement (subject takes STR penalty of 1d6+2)
Summon Monster I

2-Level DC16

Blindness/Deafness (render subject blind or deaf)
Burning Gaze (set objects or foes alight with a glance)
Command Undead (Patron Spell)
Cure Moderate Wounds (2d8+5)
Touch of Idiocy (1d6 penalty to INT, WIS and CHA)
Vomit Swarm (vomit swarm of spiders)
Web

3-Level DC17

Heroism (target gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks)
Remove Disease
Screech (Enemies in area immediately provoke AoO)
Vampiric Touch (Deal 2d6 damage and gain equal amount of temp hp)

Healing: Cure Moderate Wounds, 1/day per creature (2d8+5)
Misfortune: The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer grave misfortune for 1 round. Anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will save negates this hex. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. This hex affects all rolls the target must make while it lasts. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.
Cackle: A witch can cackle madly as a move action. Any creature that is within 30 feet that is under the effects of an agony hex, charm hex, evil eye hex, fortune hex, or misfortune hex caused by the witch has the duration of that hex extended by 1 round.
Slumber: A witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to fall into a deep, magical sleep, as per the spell sleep. The creature receives a Will save to negate the effect. If the save fails, the creature falls asleep for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s level. This hex can affect a creature of any HD. The creature will not wake due to noise or light, but others can rouse it with a standard action. This hex ends immediately if the creature takes damage. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.
Evil Eye: The witch can cause doubt to creep into the mind of a foe within 30 feet that she can see. The target takes a –2 penalty on one of the following (witch’s choice): AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks. This hex lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A Will save reduces this to just 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. At 8th level the penalty increases to –4.

Plague Rat
Tiny magical beast
Init: +2;Senses: Low-light vision, scent, blind in left eye; Perception +1

AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +2 Size, +3 Natural Armor)
hp 14
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0

Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d3–4)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Str 2, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 6 (10 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse (bite)
Improved Evasion: If an attack allows a Ref save for half, it takes no damage if successful and half damage if not.
Skills Climb +10, Heal +4, Kn Arcana, +4, Kn Nature +4, Stealth +18, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth; When master adds ranks, the familiar gets them too. Some skills will remain beyond its ability to use, however.

Special Abilities
Alertness: Master gains alertness feat if within arm's reach
Share Spells: Master may cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar as a touch spell. This works even if the spell does not normally affect magical beasts.
Empathic Link: Master and familiar share an empathic link for a distance of 1 mile.
Deliver Touch Spells: Can deliver touch spells for master.
Speak with Master: Can communicate verbally with master

The majority of this was written for a home brew campaign, so currently a few of the details are not entirely correct. The history section above takes precidence until I have time to update this...

PARENTS:
-Tessara Estuv: Female Elven Wizard (City Councilor, Barisham District; Judge Magistrate for the Waterfront Ward; Fourth Assistant to the Honorable Daimio Dell Taggert)
-Ozlan Estuv: Male Human Fighter (City Guard, Barracks Officer First Class, Barisham District)
- Unlike many human-elf pairings, Tessara and Ozlan truly loved each other and remained together until their untimely deaths.
- They were very active in city politics as well as, to a lesser extent, in regional politics.
-Though their political views leaned toward the conservative side, being strong supporters of the hierarchical structure of the city and staunch supporters of the militia, they were certainly liberal in their outlook. It was, perhaps, their mixed-race marriage that brought about this point of view. But it was more likely that they were simply open minded individuals in a kingdom that rarely praised such an attitude.

EARLY YEARS:
- Born in the fall
- Named Magdelia, but usually called Mags.
- She had a pleasant and loving upper-middle class upbringing. Her parents, though they led busy lives, obviously loved her very much. The time they spent together as a family remains a vivid memory for her to this day. It was a time of love, light and laughter that she remembers now only with sadness.
- She showed evidence of her high intellect at a very young age. By the age of two she was already speaking in both the common tongue of her father as well as her mothers native elven tongue. By four she could read and write both. Tessara, who also shared a love of languages, continued to tutor her throughout her early school years, teaching the girl to read and write fluently in the sylvan language. The lilting dialect amused the child immensely.
- She was very imaginative, often acting out extravagant scenes by herself, or with the assistance of Zirul, the family's human free-servant.
- As her parents were often away from home for many hours each day, she spent most of her time in the care of Zirul. He was an older man, employed by Ozlan to care for his daughter and his home. Though he maintained a facade of the prim and proper manservant, always put-upon, he truly cared for the family and loved Magdelia.
- At the age of ten, Mags adopted a pet. This "pet" happened to be a rat that had apparently wandered into the yard. Her mother was understandably opposed to this, but Mags displayed such an affection for the creature, and the rat seemed docile and friendly enough, that eventually Tessara relented and allowed her to keep it. She did continue to harbor reservations concerning the animal however. Ozlan found the whole thing (both his daughters "pet" rat, and his wifes dislike of it) quite amusing and mentioned it often to the soldiers under his command.
- Mags named the rat Plague, primarily to vex her mother who did not hide her distaste for the animal well enough around her daughter, saying more than once that rats bring the plague.
- Mags played with the animal constantly, the rat seeming unusually intelligent for its species. The rodent seemed to learn little games with ease. Had anyone paid closer attention, they might have realized that the creature even seemed to invent games of its own which Mags gleefully learned and participated in.

THE TRUTH ABOUT PLAGUE:
- Mags choice of the name Plague was fitting, or, more likely, inspired. Recognizing the latent arcane potential inherent in the young half-elven girl, Desdenova, Patron of plagues, sent the rat to her to instruct her in the ways of magic. Perhaps the intent was to draw the girl to the darker side of the arcane arts before her mother could instruct the child in the more structured ways of wizardry. Perhaps she just didn't want to see the child's talent wasted. Only Desdenova knows, however. And, perhaps, Plague.
- Mags was, for quite some time, completely oblivious to this. Even now she only knows a small part, though she suspects more. While she is now aware that Plague plays an important part in her abilities, she remains unaware that she was chosen by her patron, or what her patron represents. Of this, though, she is beginning to suspect. Yet, even now, the name Desdenova means nothing to her.
- Mags knows almost nothing of the workings of witchcraft and is as mystified by her abilities now as she was when they first manifested. Perhaps, had her mother recognized the child's talent, she may have instructed her in the science of wizardry (and perhaps this was her intent, set aside until the child was older). But, as it was, Mags was unaware of her mothers skills. She remained unaware until her mothers final hour.

HER PARENTS DEATH:
- Being only 12 years old at the time, Mags knows very few of the details regarding the death of her parents. They are included here for the record, even though she did not (or does not) know them.
- Tessara was involved in a bitter and long-running political struggle with the leaders of the local Thieves Guild. (Mags was not aware of this.)
- The guild was able to mislead Tessara into believing that an informant sympathetic to her side had information that she would find useful. to remain anonymous, this contact asked only that they meet in a chapel set in the foothills of the nearby mountains. (Mags was not aware of this.)
- Though there was no perceived threat, Ozlan insisted on accompanying her, as it was a two day journey on roads that were, for the most part, lightly traveled and rarely patrolled.
- On hearing that her parents were going on a trip to the mountains, Mags began to maneuver to join them. At one point she insisted that Zirul was in fact a Lich, and that she wouldn't survive a single night if they left her alone with him. Though her parents were resistant to the idea of bringing her along at first, this last gambit amused them enough that they finally relented and agreed to make a small vacation of it. Tessara could meet with her informant, and then the family could continue into the mountains and enjoy the beautiful summer weather, camping near the waterfalls like they used to do when they were younger, before Mags had come along.
- As has been stated, the meeting was a ruse. The guild leaders had instead arranged for an ambush along the secluded road, intending to kill Tessara and make it look like a highway robbery. Four men were hired for this task, a sorcerer and three mercenaries. (Mags was not aware of this.)

- They attacked from hiding, killing Ozlan in the initial assault. They had not expected him to be accompanying his wife, but upon seeing him they perceived him as the primary threat to their plan. Tessara however proved a more difficult adversary than they had anticipated, using her arcane skills to hold off the attackers for a short while. She too eventually succumbed, however. She was killed in the end by an arcane blast from the sorcerer. Incidentally, Plague was also caught in this final burst suffering serious wounds to his left side. Though he eventually recovered from these wounds, they left him permanently blinded in his left eye.
- During the course of the melee Mags, despite her terror, was able to learn the names of three of the four ambushers as they called to one another. The sorcerer was called Dexel. Two of the mercenaries, half-orcs both, were named Makoa and Davor. The final member, a silent human bowman wearing a dark hood and cloak and baring an evil continence, she never learned the name of.
- As the battle progressed, Mags was aware that no effort was being made to kill her. Indeed, the attackers had not expected to find a young girl with the elven woman they had been hired to eliminate, and they had no stomach for the killing of children.
- Mags did not escape the confrontation unscathed however. With what he later described to his companions as an errant shot, the dark archer sent an arrow her way. It pierced her neck, though miraculously did not sever an artery nor her spinal cord. It did nick her vocal cords, however, and she ever after talked in a rasping whisper.
- As the battle ended, the assaulters began removing all valuables from the bodies of Mags parents to perpetuate the idea that this was merely a robbery as well as to pad their fee. They realized at this time that the child yet lived. Her wound was bleeding profusely, and she had lost consciousness from the shock. After a short debate they agreed to leave her to her fate, believing that she would be dead from blood loss within a few minutes.
- Unknown to everyone involved, the struggle had not gone unnoticed. Not far away a band of dwarves had been taking their midday meal and heard the cries of the young girl, as well as the sounds of shouting, clanging steel and magical blasts. They set out immediately to be of assistance if they could. However they arrived too late, the bandits having already departed, leaving only carnage behind.

MAGS ADOPTION BY MORGRYM AND AGNA BRES:
- Morgrym and Agna, a dwarven couple, along with several of their kinsman, arrived on the scene, weapons in hand. They saw immediately that there was nothing they could do.
- Movement caught the eye of Morgrym. Plague, wounded and barely able to move, nudged the young half-elven girls limp hand, and she shivered slightly.
- Stabilizing the girl as best they could, they returned her to their camp. Here their druid companion was able to remove the arrow and staunch the flow of blood. Her survival was, at that point, highly doubtful, and the druid made this plain. He suspected that the bolt that had pierced her neck was poisoned as the wound was already festering.
- Yet after three days she began to regain consciousness for short periods, though she showed little awareness of her surroundings. During these moments of cognizance she would allow no one near her or to touch her, except for Plague. Indeed, the rat would not be parted with her. If anyone else attempted to stroke her fevered forehead or to comfort her in any way she would let forth a terrible whispery cry, almost a hiss.
- Her fever continued for two more days.
- Within two weeks she seemed as though she would, against all odds, survive the ordeal.

- During her period of healing Morgrym and Agna took special sympathy for her, taking turns sitting by her side through all hours of the day and night.
- After several weeks, when the camp's druid proclaimed her well enough to travel, the dwarven couple took her back to her home town to see the magistrate and determine what could be done.
- On explaining what had happened to Ozlan and Tessara, the magistrate asked Mags if she had any other family in the area. Mags had, since the incident, not spoken a word. This was due in part to the wound to her neck, but also because of her shock at the loss of everything she had ever known. To the magistrates question (and obviously feigned sympathy) she did not answer. The truth was she had no other family that she had ever met, aside from Zirul who was, technically, not her family.
- The magistrate, Eclesses, declared that Mags would be placed in the local temples orphanage. She would be required to work, but would be fed and tended as needed. This would last until such time as some family member presented themselves, some other family adopted her, or she came of age. For half-elves coming of age occurred at 20 years of age. Meanwhile her families estate would be held by the Daimio, and administered by Eclesses himself. He assured her that upon her twentieth birthday it would be turned over to her. Minors, he explained, were not allowed to own property within the city.
- Morgrym and Agna discussed the matter as they made their way to the gates, deciding quickly that they had no liking for the idea of the poor girl being turned over to the work-house. For though they named it an orphanage and it was run by the church, a work-house is what it was, and everyone in the area knew it. They returned immediately to Eclesses and offered to adopt the girl on the spot. Mags, who was waiting for an acolyte to come for her, seemed unconcerned with this development. She sat quietly staring at her feet. Yet she was listening with an interest that she didn't wish to show. At first the dwarven couples offer was met with disdain. "The child," said the magistrate, casting a distasteful look at Mags, "is of mixed heritage as it is. And now you wish to raise her in a dwarven clan? Are her prospects not poor enough?" But Eclesses eventually conceded - after a sizable amount of gold had been promised and changed hands.
- This bribe was a sore blow for the dwarven couple however. They were, by no measure, well-to-do. Yet they did not regret the decision.

LIFE WITH THE DWARVES:
- Though she continued to avoid speaking whenever possible, Mags slowly began to find her place among the dwarven band.
- Their primary means of support was mining silver in the mountains near the area where Mags was found.
- By the age of 13 the worst seemed to be behind her. Though she seldom smiled, she also rarely cried in the night or lost sleep due to the nightmares that had plagued her after the murder of her parents.
- The girl learned their language easily enough, though she could understand it easier than speak it. The large numbers of hard consonants were difficult for her to reproduce with her damaged vocal cords. The written language she had no trouble with. She found it unlovely at best however, preferring the more graceful elven and sylvan scripts.

- Morgrym began to look for things to keep the girl busy. He believed, as many dwarves do, that busy hands make happy lives. At first she was given house keeping chores, which she did dutifully, but without interest or pleasure. Later, in the fall of her thirteenth year, he began to take her to the mines with him. This, at least, seemed to pique her curiosity, though the tunnels left her feeling claustrophobic. She asked endless questions on these trips, testing Morgrym's patience. Ultimately, however, she showed little aptitude for the work required of her. And she lacked the strength to ever truly be productive in the mines.
- One problem with mining was that, though the tunnels were by and large created by the dwarves, many of them simply used existing fissures and caves, expanding and connecting them. This unfortunately meant that on occasion tunnels would be opened to deeper cave systems. And occasionally these deeper systems were already occupied. Though battles in the mines were rare, they were by no means unheard of. One such incident occurred during Mags short tenure in the mines.
- One autumn day a group of dwarves, following a promising silver vein, broke through to a sizable cave system. Though they made an initial exploration of this new area, the system was far to large for a thorough examination at that time. And so, unknown to them, orcs who had entered the newly discovered caves through an alternate entrance made their way into the dwarven mines.
- Mags, still accompanying Morgrym to the mines on a regular basis at this time, was wandering about the twisting tunnels, curious to see the new cave system that she had overheard the miners talking about at dinner the previous night. She brought with her a smallish pick axe, a torch should she need it (the tunnels were, for the most part well lit) and, as always, Plague. She was not entirely sure where the new cave was, and as she was searching for it, she rounded a corner only to come face to face with a brutish orc. Though she had seen half-orcs before, this was the first time she had ever seen a full blooded orc.
- To her credit, Mags recovered from her initial shock very quickly. Though this may have been due in some part to her inner steel, it was largely because the orcish visage brought pack sudden memories of the half-orc slayers of her parents. Letting out an angry hiss of a cry (since her wounding she could not produce sound of any real volume), she slammed her pick-axe into the beasts gut, wrenching the curved tip, and with it several feet of intestines, free again. The orc, still not over his surprise at meeting a young half-elven girl in the dwarven tunnels, dropped his weapon and fell to his knees clutching at the mortal wound. Mags watched him die, standing over the body for some time before she was discovered by the dwarves.
- A small battle followed this incident, but the orc band was small and without a tested leader, and they were soon driven from the mines. At dinner that night, Mags was toasted as a hero, the elder dwarves finding her first kill, while impressive, somehow amusing. She, of course, accepted the praise amicably enough. Yet deep inside she felt sickened and sad. It was perhaps a sudden memory of her childhood, playing in her sunlit garden, pretending to be a great slayer of dragons and other evil villains. And then retiring for lemonade and pastries with Zirul or, ideally, with her parents. She knew, suddenly, that those sunny, carefree days were forever gone.
- That marked the end of her trips into the mines. She still went there on rare occasion, but was never allowed to wander alone or travel deep within.

- Mags spent a quiet winter that year, keeping company primarily with Plague. Much of their time was spent in the clans small library. And small it was, not even rivaling Tessara and Ozlan's own private library. Her interest in languages brought her back throughout the cold months as she found amidst the tomes two books on the Draconic tongue. She had seen one of the lizard folk once as a child. He had been bound and beaten and was being lead to the stockades hissing curses at those gathered to watch.
- In the spring she was sent to help the cooks.
- At this task the young half-elf finally showed both an interest and an aptitude. Indeed, she excelled at the art of preparing and cooking foods, having what must have been a natural instinct for it. Though the dishes she made were not universally praised (her elven and human upbringing led to a taste sometimes at odds with the palettes of dwarves), many were proclaimed as good as or better than the chefs.
- Mags life continued in this way for the next two years. She remained quiet and largely unsmiling, often retreating into herself while she worked. Though she would never again be described as a happy child, she was, at least, content.
- In the fall of her fifteenth year she sat watching her adoptive parents as they prepared for the evening meal. "Tomorrow is my sixteenth birthday," she rasped softly. In all of her time with the dwarves she had never told them when her birthday fell. For reasons that she could not explain she had kept that information to herself. They had been marking her birthday as the day they had adopted her, having nothing else to go on. Morgrym and Agna remained silent for several long moments, the female dwarf moving to sit next to the child and putting her arm about her. "You don't say," answered Morgrym after some time. He finished adjusting his tunic and, at last, turned to look at the girl with a smile upon his face. "Have ye a party on yer mind then?" "Nay." She had picked up some of the dwarven manner of speaking. "I just wanted ye to know."

TRAVELS IN THE WILD AND THE FIRST SIGNS OF MAGIC
- After her sixteenth birthday, celebrated quietly at home, Mags announced that she wished to spend more time working in the gardens. Her skill with cooking had gone as far as she could take it without better ingredients, she explained. She wanted to spend time working in the gardens and traveling with the hunters and trappers. This was a task largely dismissed by the clan. Anyone assigned to the gardens or to hunting took to the task with indifference at best, preferring to trade for food stuffs rather than grow it themselves. Only the clans druid seemed to show any real interest in the work.
- The druid, Seardan, agreed readily enough to take the girl under his wing. He was happy to finally have an interested assistant. Mags took to this as she had taken to cooking. She had a talent for it, and spent the remaining days of the season in the small patch of cultivated land that the dwarves kept. The plants grown there were not only for food, but were also used by the druid for salves and ointments.
- When winter arrived, Seardan took the young woman with him on hunting forays. He was, by no means, an accomplished hunter or trapper, having a certain dislike for the killing of animals, but he was quite adept at foraging for edible fungus and berries, even in the dead of winter.
- For her part, Mags became quite good at trapping. She didn't share Seardans disdain for the killing of animals, even though she thought down inside that she should. Secretly she knew that her elven mother would not approve, but this she shrugged off, refusing to let the ghosts of her past influence her new life. They had abandoned her to this life anyway, or so she told herself.
- Over the following year she took more and more to taking lone trips into the surrounding wilderness, setting and checking her traps, and learning to live off the land. These periods of solitude suited the quiet half-elf perfectly. It is however inaccurate to say that she went alone. Plague accompanied her on all of these trips. And to him she continued to talk, sharing with him the aching wounds that her life had handed her. And the rat seemed to listen.
- Mags was not really aware of the first time that she was able to not only speak to her pet, but actually to hear his response. This ability to communicate with the creature seemed to just develop naturally. At first she just seemed to sense Plagues intentions. Then she began to assign him a voice, calling on the imaginative games of her childhood. Before long she no longer needed to make even that effort. The rat made quiet sounds, accompanied by subtle body movements, and she simply knew what he was communicating.
- During her nineteenth year Mags began to make longer and longer forays into the wilderness. She would return laden with herbs, roots, furs and meats, sometimes weeks after setting out. Some were used for food, some for salves, some for clothing or bedding. Often she would deliver to Seardan plants that he was unfamiliar with. "What d'ye expect me to do with this, lady?" he would ask, smiling weakly. Her extended periods of isolation were beginning to worry the kind hearted druid. "It must have its uses," she would reply. "Everything has its uses, does it not?" The druid suspected that there was more to this question than just the qualities of some particular herb.
- "I'm needing a better tool," Mags said to the equipment master. "Well, now lass," he replied in good humor, "mayhap I have just what you need." "Mayhap," she laughed, the innuendo not lost on her. "I'm needing me somethin' better suited for cutting down a sapling and slitting a fox throat. And if it could dig up a tuber, that'd be one less thing I'd need be a-carryin'. Mayhap one of the smiths could come up with somethin' along those lines." The equipment master thought for a moment and nodded, "I'm thinking that won't be needed." He disappeared into his shed for several moments, returning with a sickle. "Now before you start in on me," he said, laying the thing down on the counter, "I know fer a fact that it'll take down a sapling as that's what she was built for. And she'll cut a throat sure as s@!+." He cleared his throat, "Pardon m' phrasing, lady. Will it dig up a tuber? Sure as a fu... That is, sure looks like it could. And to boot, she never has needed sharpening. As fine an edge now as ever it had, and I can testify to that me-self." Mags picked up the sickle, feeling its weight and running a delicate finger along its sharp edge. "It'll do."

- Mags discovery of her arcane abilities was almost anti-climatic. She was two weeks out from home, checking the traps she had set the previous day. As she worked, night fell around her. When she finally returned to her campsite, the moonless night had become as black as the dwarven mines, but colder with the coming of winter. She had already gathered a small supply of wood but dreaded spending the time needed to get a fire started. She was out of flint and it would take some time to do it the "old fashioned" way. It was Plague that preferred an answer. "You have no needed for flint and steel," she heard him say. She regarded him for a moment, feeling inexplicably uneasy. "You don't, perhaps," she whispered, "all warm and cozy beneath my blanket. But I need a fire." She looked through the kindling she had gathered, looking for a suitable bow, board and spindle. Plague moved over to sit on the wood pile, looking up at the woman. "Stop," he said. "Come sit with me for a moment." He moved off a short way, setting himself amongst a growth of white autumn flowers. Mags squatted by the wood pile for a few moments longer, regarding the rodent and trying to dismiss the feeling of unquiet that was nagging at her. Finally, with a shrug, she moved over to sit cross-legged before the animal. "It's cold, Plague. What're ye about?" She received no answer. Instead she found herself slipping into some dark world, darker than the night she left behind. Though she remained aware of her surroundings, the sound of the wind in the trees, the chirping of the seasons last insects, the distant crack of a branch as some animal moved through the dark woods, she also became aware of another world. It was a world of shifting colors, shifting imagery. Dark and foreboding, silent and insidious. For nearly an hour she sat there entranced by what Plague showed her. And when it was over, she knew that she needed no flint and steel. Rising on stiff legs, she moved some of her gathered timber into a pile, surrounding it with lighter kindling. And with a motion and a mumbled word, a spark ignited in the heart of the pile, igniting the wood. As the fire grew, spreading its light about the clearing, she looked at Plague, hiding her concern. Though she noticed it, she pretended not to. The delicate white flowers around Plague had withered and blackened.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING
- In the fall of the following year Magdelia turned 20 her coming of age.
- Morgrym and Agna accompanied her back to the city to claim her inheritance.
- Upon reaching the magistrates office, they inquired as to the particulars of Mags estate. The assistant went to look up the information, returning some time later. He had no record of the families holding.
- Mags almost seemed to expect the poor turn of fate, but the dwarves grew incensed at the situation. They demanded to speak with Eclesses.
- Their request was met with some hemming and hawing. Eclesses at first claimed to be too busy to meet with them. But, two days later, realizing that the dwarves had no intention of dropping the matter, he arranged a meeting.
- Eclesses explained that eight whole years had passed and, what with upkeep and taxes, not to mention inheritance fees and estate management costs, most of the estate had been sold off to pay bills. There was, in fact, nearly nothing left.

- "Ye've robbed me little girl!" Morgrym shouted, planting his beefy hands on the magistrates large desk. Eclesses grew quite concerned, pushing his chair back from the dwarf. "I've done no such thing, delver. I assure you these fees and costs are QUITE ordinary. AND supported by the Daimio." Regaining his composure, he rose from his chair. "If you please," he said haughtily, motioning to the door, "remove yourselves from the premises. Or do I need to call the guard?" For a long tense moment the two stared one another down. Finally Morgrym pushed himself upright. "Seems t'me," he said, " your office appointments are a bit finer than the last time we met. I'm guessing that the girls fees and costs paid for that." To all this Mags made no response, looking downheartedly at her feet, much as she had the last time she was in this office. "Is there nothing left?" the dwarf asked from the door. Eclesses paused for a few moments, pretending to look at a parchment on his desk. "Thirty two gold, seven silver and two copper. See the bursar and he will compensate you." Morgrym shook his head sadly, ushering his wife and adopted daughter from the room. "Don't see as how he can," he said disconsolately. "They don't seem t'have no record of the affair."
- After much arguing, mostly on Morgryms part, Mags got her 32 pieces of gold.
- This seemed to be the final straw for her. She withdrew further into herself, refusing to speak of the injustice of it when Morgrym brought it up.
- As they left the hall and were passing through the surrounding market, they happened upon Zirul. Magdelia, of course, recognized him immediately. It took him several long moments of staring before he seemed to realize who she was. She had, after all, grown quite a bit since he had last seen her. The reunion was bittersweet. Though they shared a love for one another as if family, Mags was terribly self-conscious during the meeting. She began to explain to him the fate of her family's estate, but the older man shushed her, saying he knew already many of the details. Only now did he realize the true injustice of it. He had been led to believe that the child had been killed alongside her parents. That her inheritance had been sold off as though she no longer existed infuriated him. This, by the way, was enough to esteem the man in Morgrym's eyes forever.
- Privately, Zirul was dismayed at the change in the girl, though he understood it. There seemed to be nothing left of the carefree and light hearted girl that he remembered.
- "I have a few things you may want," he said at last. "Small things, and no compensation for all that you've lost, but they belonged to your folks and you should have them." They followed the man to his modest home south of the market and there he produced a dusty wooden box. "This was your fathers," he said, pulling a silver dagger from the box. "It was ceremonial, or so he said. Too fancy for everyday use is my guess. But it has a fine edge, and," here he looked toward her adoptive parents, "it's of dwarven make." Morgrym took the blade, inspecting it appreciatively. "Mithral, and the work of a master," he commented, handing it to his daughter.

- "These other items belonged to Tessara. Less useful perhaps..." Zirul pulled a silken black ribbon from the box and smiled at some distant memory. "She wore this often. When she worked in the garden she would tie her hair up... A beautiful woman she was. I see a lot of her in you, Magdelia." He passed the ribbon to Mags, who ran it sadly through her fingers. "You recall your parents library?" he asked, pulling two small leather bound books from the box. At Mags nod, he continued. "Well, most of it was sold off of course, and it boils my blood to think of it, but I was able to, well... let us call it what it is. I was able to steal a few as I was cleaning out my things. I don't know why I even did it. And please don't think less of me for it, child. But your mother did love her books, and I guess I just wanted some memento of her. In any event, I took with me more than you see here, but, with times as they were after their passing... Well, I've had to sell a few over the years. Forgive me or not as you will, but had I known that you yet lived, I never would have. That you can believe." Magdelia smiled at her old mentor. "I don't blame ye, Zirul. No forgiveness needed." He smiled both warmly and sadly at the girl. "This one," he continued after a moment, holding up the smaller of the two books, "I never could find a buyer for. It appears to be a primer on the Terran language. A bit dry, I must say, but, as I recall, you seemed to have a thing for languages, so perhaps you'll find some enjoyment in it. This other... I have no idea. I cannot read it. But your mother read it often. It must have been one of her favorites."
- After a time they said their farewells, each promising the other that they would stay in touch, but neither truly believing it.
- She did return to the dwarven village, but her stay there was to come to an end soon.
- She spent most of her time with Plague, wandering the forest and mountains for miles and miles. She continued to explore her new found abilities, the rat teaching her new feats with each passing day. Though many of the cantrips and incantations were of a destructive nature she also learned helpful spells.
- It was during these trips that Mags also studied her mothers books. The Terran language came to her as easily as any other, though, never having heard it spoken aloud, she remained unsure of her inflection.
- The other book was written in Sylvan. It was, she soon learned, a treatise on spellcraft. The concepts were intricate and difficult for her to get her mind fully around, but she studied it every evening, learning more and more about the craft. There is much in that book that even now she does not fully understand. And though these days she studies it less often, she continues to expand her knowledge with the help of that tome.
- In the spring of the following year she asked Morgrym to allow her to receive the tribal tattoo's of her adopted dwarven clan. He was reluctant at first, as the mark was almost never given to females, and was only ever given to warriors. She reminded him that she was, however technically, a proven combatant. And she further pleaded that she would soon be leaving and she wished to have this physical connection to her new kin. Though he was shocked to hear that she intended to leave them, he was not truly surprised. At last he relented to her request.
- Mags endured the four day process stoically. The tattoos, unique to this clan, covered her right arm from wrist to nearly her shoulder. While it normally took a week to heal sufficiently, with Mags it took far less. Within two days she was healed and ready.
- She promised to return from time to time. She thanked them all for everything they had done for her. And with that she headed out.