Chapter 9: A New Player
Flayer sank into the small bath, trying to soothe his nerves of the coming trek. As an Illithid, he required a special type of bath to be drawn every so often in order to preserve his skin. While he apparently didn't need to do so as often as typical Mind Flayers, he still needed the ritual to keep himself healthy. He knew the bath would not fully remove his worries for the same reason he had the worries in the first place- he would be leaving Claire in the tower, alone, without any ability to contact him for help.
Never before had he been away from Claire for more than a few hours at the most- the logical part of him understood that it was merely because he had grown overly attached to her- the other part was busy worrying about Red Wizards bursting through the door and taking her from him. It can't be helped... Claire could neither go with Flayer nor could she go in his stead. The papers Flayer had stolen from Gennison's mansion with told of a meeting between a trio of Red Wizards a ways west of Eltabarr. They had no horse and Flayer couldn't teleport somewhere he had never been- Flayer would have to manually walk there and find his targets- ideally without being found out. He trusted in Claire to keep to herself and not be foolish, it was the rest of Thay he worried about.
One of the main reasons he had targeted Targon's associates first was that the less people who remembered the owner of the tower, the better. It wouldn't be the first building that was unofficially considered 'abandoned' and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But someone was eventually going to want inside for whatever reason and then the jig really would be up. At best they'd be forced to relocate, at worst... well, the worst case scenario for Claire was death or slavery. Flayer himself dreaded what he knew awaited him if caught- more experimentation- more harvesting- and the next time it would not be a fool who held him captive, he was sure of that.
Flayer stood from the pool and dried himself off before reclothing himself with what he had taken to calling the Crimson Articles. In its default form it was little more than a red coat, but when one willed it the clothes could change form to be whatever the user desired, even plate armor! Flayer himself willed it to create a dark shirt and leggings; the clothing appearing on his body with a slight tingling of magical energy. These went underneath the coat as a red scarf circled his face, gathering his tentacles together and hiding beneath the cover; meanwhile, his broad-rimmed hat spun into existence on top of his head as a pair of black gloves crawled into being on his hands. The dark covering helped prevent the sun from excessively drying Flayer out and preserved his skin.
Then he crouched low to obtain his boots from their place on the floor. A rare treasure indeed, they caused Flayer to move at twice the speed he could before- a potent treasure he had been astonished Gennison had owned. Flayer picked up his staff and gave a little shiver of excitement despite his dread of leaving Claire- the exciting thought of finally being outside of the city was intoxicating to him. Having already said his farewell to Claire, Flayer quickly exited the tower as the sun rose, heading towards the gates of Thay. And then he promptly fell on his face. OW!
He had fallen over his own feet, unused to traveling at the speed his new boots granted him. After picking himself up he tried to tentatively step forwards again. Start slowly, keep control, learn- adapt- overcome. This was Flayer's mantra and he kept it in his head as he began walking faster. After several moments he broke into a run, moving at a greater speed than he had before.
A man carrying a barrel over his shoulder stepped out in front of Flayer- he was oblivious to the Mind Flayer running towards him! Flayer quickly altered his course to run around the man, the breeze of his passing causing the fellow's cloak to whip as though under a strong wind. By the time he turned around, the barrel-holder saw nobody in sight and merely shrugged the incident away.
Flayer quickly made his way to the gate and slowed down, eager to see more of the world. He was aware his curiosity was affecting his decision making but was unable to temper it. He approached the guards and quickly gave them both a mental probe as he approached. There were no standing orders to prevent people from leaving the city and the guards were too bored and tired from waking up to be overly bothersome to anyone traveling past. Good. Flayer strode past the two without a second glance, keeping his head down to minimize the possibility of anyone spotting him; though it would be no easy task even for someone staring straight at him to recognize him for what he was.
And then he was outside. Flayer looked back at the walls of Eltabarr. It would be so easy to leave- why won't she go? Flayer had only one thing in his life that he felt worth protecting, and she absolutely would not listen to reason! Flayer gave a soft sigh and began walking westwards. Off in the distance he could see the Thay Mountains- thankfully the wizards he was after had not journeyed there nor were they high-ranking enough to warrant a residence there. Someday I will have to attack Red Wizards there- and on that day I will truly be afraid. Thay Mount was home to many of the strongest and most dangerous Red Wizards Thay had to offer, if what Flayer was doing currently was unwise, going there would be nothing short of suicidal.
Flayer's rumination was interrupted as he began to sense thoughts of others around him, despite the road appearing empty on all sides. An ambush then? Flayer opened his mental senses wider to "hear" more.
One mark only, but he's got some nice clothes.
Shit- my bowstring broke!
Oh man I have to piss something fierce.
A Red Wizard I think- be sure to throw a handful of dirt at him before the arrows.
The last person intrigued Flayer, whoever it was knew about one of magical defenses a mage might use- and Flayer was willing to bet it came from person experience of some kind. He walked forwards at a normal pace as though he knew nothing. The thoughts of his assailants kept him company as he traveled, there had to be 15 of them. Eventually he came a stone wall. This is where they'll spring their trap.
Sure enough, they appeared quickly and without undo noise. They know this trade far too well for common bandits. They collectively formed a sort of triangle around Flayer, each with archers and the two sides that were not in front of him had a man with handfuls of dirt standing ready. Smart enough to know about that spell but not clever or skilled enough to realize there are more than one way to shield oneself. Flayer's attention, however, was focused on the middle man in the group of five that stood directly in front of him on the wall.
He had short curly hair that reached a bit past his chin, where the stubble of a brown beard made its presence known. He appeared much younger than the rest of the group, perhaps only being 20 or so years old- making him young even for a human. Flayer had been preparing for this the last several minutes of travel. As an Illithid- he could not physically speak Common, or any language really, but he could use magic to create the sounds that a mouth would create- a workaround that required more effort than simply projecting his thoughts- but it was what he had to work with. At least it requires little effort.
"Greetings young man, what are you doing here?" Flayer had practiced this technique with Claire, who assured him that the voice sounded no different from that of another human, though someone extremely perceptive might note the differences.
Flayer however, read the thoughts of all 15 of his assailants. NOW! A dozen bows immediately let fly in his direction, along with two handfuls of dirt. Before the arrows could reach him Flayer acted, already his attire gave him a generous amount of protection, but Flayer took no chances and enacted a form-fitting shield that enhanced his armor past that of even a suit of heavy plate. The arrows bounced off, one after another. Flayer stepped to the side to avoid the dirt. He noted the men were preparing to fire again but halted as he made no move to attack or run away.
Cocky Red Wizards isn't he? Flayer turned to look directly at the leader. From reader the minds and thoughts of the bandits Flayer learned the name of this foe, Terren. Another flight of arrows and dirt were deflected by Flayer's enhanced armor, faring no better than the first. Flayer decided he needed to take control of the situation before they tried something else.
"Terren, I would like to speak with you." Abruptly the entire group froze, one of the men outright dropping his bow in panic. Terren himself frowned but at least responded with words instead of more arrows or the daggers Flayer knew he had hidden in either sleeve.
"Who are you and how do you know my name?"
"I am the one who can answer your questions. He who walks amongst fire and blood, between shadows of memory and- oh to the hells with it." Flayer had no interest in being vague and dancing around the point like his memories told him other wizards did. "I'm the Red Slayer of Thay- if you want to help me then stop shooting me- otherwise I'm going to start retaliating against you."
Terren's expression didn't change, an admirable facade, but his thoughts betrayed him. The Red Slayer exists? No- it's only a rumor- why should fortune favor us in such a way? Terren spoke to Flayer, "Supposing you are the Red Slayer, why would you be out here? Shouldn't you still be in Eltabarr?"
"I have things to do outside of Eltabarr for the next few days, perhaps I'll even tell you about them if we have a deal. You leave me be, and I kill more Red Wizards, the best of both worlds- no?"
Flayer could tell from his thoughts that Terren badly wanted to believe him- but was unwilling to bet the lives of all of his fellows on that chance. The others were growing increasingly nervous and hopeful in equal measure, except for one...
Flayer turned and gestured at one of the bandits, exerting his will and calling out a spell to hold him. The man's eyes bulged but he could move no part of his body but his eyes and mouth.
"Help! He's caught me!" Indeed I have. Flayer thought to himself. He used his magic to speak the next part aloud for the benefit of Terren.
"This man was just contemplating how much gold the Red Wizards would give him if he could lead me to them, does this information interest you Terren?"
Terren had hopped off the wall and quickly walked to the man, a pleading look in his eyes. "Why? John? Why would you do that?"
John struggled but couldn't move, forced to make eye contact with Terren. "You think what you're doing makes a difference? Or what he does either? Robbing one Red Wizard here and there? More often than not just getting magical stuff we can't use or sell? My family is starving Terren- maybe you don't have anyone to provide for- I do!"
Flayer suddenly became uneasy, he dove further into John's mind and suddenly realized exactly why this group was here- John had betrayed them all to the three Red Wizards Flayer was hunting.
"Terren, he's betrayed you."
The young man turned on Flayer, screaming at the Illithid, "Do you think I don't know that?! Be silent or I'll cut that tongue from your-" Terren's eyes suddenly widened as he gazed at Flayer from a closer range, "face..." Terren had gone deathly pale. Oh he figured it out, now he either needs to join me or die.
The latter option became more likely as fireballs suddenly erupted around all three of the lines, hurling bandits aside like so many leaves in the wind. A few of them emerged alive but they were badly harmed by the attack as Flayer's targets flew overhead, their hands glowing with the flames of their recent magics.
Flayer responded with his own spell, at his word several beams of fire raced from his hands- arcing to strike at the closest mage. The beams all bit deep, cauterizing the wounds even as they pierced clean through the man; causing him to scream and plummet out of the sky as he died- the spell keeping him aloft vanishing with his life.
Terren himself had grabbed a bow and fired an arrow at another mage, tagging the man's arm in the midst of casting and ruining the magic; the wizard immediately dropped through the air to stand on the stone wall so he could focus better on his next spell.
The third mage was hunting down the few remaining bandits that had run off, throwing another fireball and eradicating the group; Flayer noted that John himself had been in that bunch before the flames eclipsed him. Flayer raced to finish his spell and threw a bolt of lightning at the mage standing atop the stone wall- the bolt shattered the wall into pieces and threw the Red Wizard backwards in a broken heap.
Flayer turned to see the last mage about to cast a spell on him; Flayer managed to turn and raise a barrier as a hail of magical bolts struck at him. Thanks to the boots Flayer was far faster than his opponents, he conjured up an arrow of acid that struck the mage square in the chest. The mage had one last startled thought, How can he weave spells so quickly? before Terren appeared behind the Red Wizard, slitting his throat with a dagger.
Human and Illithid alike stood panting for several moments, surrounded by fire, blood, and fallen bodies. Terren pointed his dagger at Flayer. "I know what you are."
Flayer dropped the guise of a voice and spoke to Terren's mind directly. Then you know that what they say is true- I am a threat to the Red Wizards- either help me or get out of my way.
Terren grimaced and gestured around at the remains of his group, "What other option do I have? I knew I was never going to get far just by doing this- but what else could I do?"
You tried. Cheering up humans was not one of Flayer's strengths. From reading Terren's mind Flayer was certain he would not betray him, his hatred of Red Wizards ran as deep as Flayer's own; although Flayer had not yet delved deep enough to discover the source. Come with me, you can meet the rest of the group.
Terren's surprise was evident, "There's more of you?"
Flayer realized Terren thought Mind Flayers were running around on the surface. Oh no, there's only one of me, but now it looks like there are three Red Slayers now. Welcome to the team- let's see how many Red Wizards we can take down before they catch us.
Terren grinned, a sparkle appearing in his eyes, "Alright, I'm in."