Memoires Of Mae'gelth Quel'n'nehr

[Dr_Shadelore]

Where do I begin? I suppose the beginning is as good a place as any though, not too far back, as that would take away some of the mystery and, besides which, it'd likely bore whoever is unfortunate enough to read these memoires. Mae'gelth Quel'n'nehr is the name I have chosen for myself, not my first name but my surname which, in my mother tongue, loosely translates to Houseless and I am a survivor born of Illithiiri and human bloodlines though not a survivor through choice but then who is, really?It was my father who raised me, and no he wasn't some zealous spider-kisser, infact he was a low born gutter-snipe who ran with the Skullport Slitters back in my hometown who educated me in urban survival and eventually opened the doorway to me joining the ranks of the Slitters, a thieves guild of some renown with the Port of Shadows.

Life was as decent as it could have been at the bottom of the barrel. We had food, a small amount of coin, work and, most importantly, our patron: Kr'utha The Unseen (There is a story all unto its own right there). Yet life is never that simple really, is it? Though my father was a good thief he spent most of my youth in and out of the gaol leaving my brothers and sisters within The Slitters to take up the burden of raising me. In hind sight that was for the best as, because of them, I learned far more than than my father could teach me before he disappeared. I knew it would happen as our work always came with its risks I just wish I knew what happened to him. Some say he wanted out while others say he was killed during a heist yet there were those few within the slitters that believed he accumulated enough wealth to join Kr'utha The Unseen in the vault of riches.

Naturally I grieved the loss of my father and almost made one too many mistakes in those dark times but I cannot express the gratitude I have for our Guild Master, Valyl 'Stoneboot' for bringing me back from the precipice. Valyl took me under his wing and taught me the most valuable lessons in survival and, most importantly, taught me how to fight as I do now. By fight I mean that in the loosest of terms for he taught me guile, stealth and the art of the dagger skills which proved vital for my survival in the years to come.

[Dr_Shadelore]

Kr'utha The Unseen.

Guild Master Valyl taught me secrets, dark secrets, which he attributed to his success and ascent to Guild Master within the Skullport Slitters. The Dagger is not just a weapon, a tool, but an extension of an individual carefully forged and crafted specifically to its wielder and small enough for one to easily conceal it making it the perfect weapon for a thief or assassin but you already knew that didn't you? But what you don't know is that our Patron, Kr'utha The Unseen reveres the dagger and teaches us that only through personal worship and devotion to our art can we join him in the Vault Of Riches. To my own cost I learned this to be a lie.

Upon reaching adulthood I was fully initiated into the Skullport Slitters by means of a contract offered to Kr'utha The Unseen, a contract that would completely change my life and lead me to Sshamath. Though I understood the contents of the contract, that I live to serve Kr'utha The Unseen, I did not anticipate that he would notice me and appear to me during the signing of the contract for, usually, the contract along with a sum of wealth, is secured within the central chamber of the guild for our patron to sign at his own leisure but, on this occasion, he not only chose me but demanded I be present during the signing and, honestly, who was I to deny our patron?

To spare the mystery or losing your interests I'll cut to the point. Kr'utha The Unseen is a Dogai, a devil from the Nine Hells, who desires wealth, devotion and the souls of the wicked to ascend within the ranks of the infernal horde and he chose to reveal himself to me to offer me a new contract: Unlimited power and wealth at the cost of bringing him the souls of the wicked. I asked him why only the wicked and he answered with knowledge few are privy to explaining that in order for him to advance through the infernal host he required an army which required the souls of the wicked who would become larvae upon reaching the hells. Those larvae would then gradually rise through the ranks and become part of the legions of hell but he had other plans as he had acquired the secrets of binding such beings to him and thus his plans required me to slay those of a blackened heart and offer their souls to him:

I Agreed and signed the contract

[Dr_Shadelore]

The Waking Nightmare.

Kr'utha The Unseen knew precisely what he was offering and I was naïve to imagine that the transition of power from him would be an easy ordeal for the hellish visions of a realm far beyond our own, the aching muscles, the uncontrollable eldritch energy seeping out of my body made the following months far more torturous than the grief I felt after father disappeared. Despite these symptoms of accepting a contract with a devil I maintained my end of the bargain by keeping my powers secret from the Slitters and by delivering the souls of the wicked to my patron in the form of essences, unique soul-binding gems acquired through the wealth that began to find its way to me after making my pact. With any hell-born pact, however, my patron failed to divulge the ramifications for not upholding my contract, a detail that he conveniently kept a secret until I became brazen and tested the bargain believing he would merely withhold certain invocations I had learned. I was sorely mistaken.

Imagine this if you will: You sleep, comfortably, but that sleep is precious and beholden to a concealed hourglass. When said hourglass runs out of sand you are then haunted by nightmares, by infernal visions from the deepest pits of Hell and you fear closing your eyes until, eventually, you cannot bear the thought of closing your eyes and, gradually, insanity raises its frightful head and the end of a blade seems more appealing than sleep. I know I slipped only marginally into this state for two weeks into failing to deliver a soul to Kr'utha I snapped and devoted myself to maintaining my end of the bargain. Upon it's completion the nightmares stopped and I was able to sleep soundly but I was never the same after that knowing that my life was no longer my own for I belonged to Kr'utha The Unseen in both life and death.

The revelation of the confines of my contract resulted in my journey to Sshamath.

[Dr_Shadelore]

The Sshamath Slitter

A year passed and, to spare you the details regarding my eventual arrival in the city of Sshamath, the request to expand the Skullport Slitters into new territories was finally approved by Guild Master Valyl with myself spear-heading the operation. Though my patrons contract binds me I feel a sense of relief for finally arriving in new territories for the secret of my contract gradually took a heavy toll on the relationship with my brothers and sisters as I felt alienated from them, trapped knowing that I held a unique contract while the rest merely served as minions to a patron they will only see when their depraved souls reach his domain. Then again I'd be arrogant to believe that was not the destination for my own soul. But enough on that depressing notion.

Opportunity, wealth and renown await me in Sshamath, though the work will be unforgiving I know that the spoils will be worth the effort and, should I please my patron then I can await greater power, elevated social status and wealth beyond my wildest dreams but, until then I require a plan. Fortunately for me the pockets of the citizens are heavy and my hands are nimble which, for the meantime, will enable me to fund greater ventures towards wealth but, for the moment, I have established myself as a Bounty Hunter to appease Kr'utha's quotient of souls by befriending some of the guards which, when the Sshamath Slitters become established, will serve me well as we can merely buy them off.

For the first time in my life I feel optimistic despite the haunting shadow of my patron watching my every move, my promise to Guild Master Valyl and the Skullport Slitters and I can say, with a small measure of reluctance, that Sshamath could gradually become a home to me but, as with any operation, I need to learn the layout of the land, to scout the neighboring settlements and cities and understand the intricacies of the surrounding wilds along with trade routes and informational hotspots for information in cities such as this hold more wealth that physical property considering the presence of Lolthites and others who scheme to reach the top. So here I implore any who read this to ask me, when the Sshamath Slitters are established, how did I do it?