Chamberlain

Troll Illusionist and Adept of Bryhn




From the notes of Caarad Surestrider, submitted to Borrum Binbalik for his work "On The Bearers of Akasha"

While Chamberlain was only an apprentice illusionist at the time of his death, either through tremendous latent skill or sheer luck, he stumbled upon an immensely intricate thread weaving that allowed displace image to transcend the duration of the spell, making it dissipate only when dispelled by caster or by defeat of its spell defense. Use of this spell was critical in the Bryhn adepts' victory over the Ristular cultists outside of Forriam on 3 Gahmil, 1508. Unfortunately, in a blow for the study of the craft, knowledge of this spell was lost when Chamberlain died and he was buried with his possessions within the Blood Wood. Many high-level illusionists, including Rillan, have tried unsuccessfully to mimic the effects of the spell. It remains a great enigma within the illusionist community, much as Chamberlain remains an enigma to us.

The floating club you see was magically woven into this work by the Throalic Guild of Illusionists. It is a representation of a club owned by a citizen of Camil. During the Bryhn adepts pursuit of the Corinthian on 29 Mawag 1508, Chamberlain's spell casting was erratic and he accidently cast his "displace image" on this fellow's club. For some time, it remained the one remaining link to Chamberlain's feat until the fellow was forced to defeat the spell defense of the club so he could use it to squash melons. Melons 1 Spellcraft 0.

Inititially, I had handed over the task of researching Chamberlain to my associate Lavrup Green-Tongued, who I felt would be able to better research Chamberlain's origins in Iopos than I, a noted scholar attached to the Great Library of Throal. At the time, relations between the two realms were strained to say the least. Unfortunately, Lavrup met with little success, and the bulk of our information has had to come from ancillary background I picked up while researching the other Bryhn adepts. However, as always, for completeness' sake, I include Lavrup's Iopos notes.

*****

From the notes of Lavrup Green-Tongued, submitted to Borrum Binbalik for his work "On the Bearers of Akasha"

Chamberlain, like myself, was a Stoneclaws whose family had settled into Iopos after the end of the scourge. That little was known to us when research began, so it was natural that I, Lavrup Green-tongued, take my indomitable talents into Iopos where surely the lost kernels of Chamberlain's history would be uncovered.

The city of Iopos was on edge at this point, as news of Jada Denairastas' death had filtered back to the city. I knew I had little time to act, before it became common knowledge that the Bearers of Akasha became fully associated with that incident.

My starting point was the Merchant's District. Chamberlain, according to the journals of Gort, was a used cart salesman so my first stop was the caravan quarter. Most people pleaded an odd ignorance, and I say odd because I've never seen such flash of recognition in people's eyes before. Perhaps my fame has preceeded me. Eventually, I did indeed find someone who had known Chamberlain - a rather oily, jocular human named Thos. He described Chamberlain as an adroit haggler who managed to pawn off many a lesser product for an above-market price. There was a look of envy in the man's eyes as he recounted Chamberlain's skill to me. At that moment, we were interrupted by a customer and Thos promised that he would regal me with more tales of Chamberlain on the morrow.

After an uncomfortable evening in a cramped inn, with no amenities for trolls such as myself, I returned to Thos only to find that his store was occupied by someone else and that no one seemed to know who Thos was. Everyone I asked seemed to be sweating profusely although the day was a bit on the chilly side. With that avenue exhausted, I next went searching after Chamberlain's adept trainer. After a full afternoon, I finally found a pug-nosed gentleman named Grolm who confessed (there is no other word for the babbling affirmative he gave to my inquiry) that he had trained Chamberlain. He seemed downright fearful, and I assured him that not all trolls were bloodthirsty sky raiders. This didn't seem to ease his discomfort and I offered to return tomorrow when he was in better sorts. He agreed.

The next day I returned, and his home was occupied by a young couple who, along with their neighbors, had no knowledge of Grolm whatsoever. I revisited other illusionists I had seen the prior day and, including the one who gave me Grolm's name, they swore they had never heard of him.

Frustrated, I wandered the city at a loss for what to do. By chance, I came across a street performer entertaining a crowd with meat puppets he was engaging in some form of burlesque showplay. The man seemed a halfwit although skilled enough at the art of puppetry. What caught my attention was his insistence that the crowd name anyone in Iopos, and he would know them well enough to put them in his act. I know not what impulse possessed me, but I asked that he do Chamberlain. Without missing a beat, he proceeded to show a troll meat puppet realizing he needed to flee the city, but apparantly not without one last of coupling with every form of beast whilst en route to the city gate. Although the crowd appreciated his antics, it merely added to my displeasure. However, the meat puppets put me in a vein to eat, and I walked a short ways to a vendor where I bought some lightning lizard meat.

I returned to where the performer was, only to find him gone and the crowd around him dispersed. Suspicious of this pattern, I began to finally take stock of my situation. It was then that I finally noticed that I was being stared at rather molevelantly by many people in the crowd, of different rank and type all seemingly not what they appear to be yet unified by the fact they bore me some ill-will. With diplomatic relations being what they were and Chamberlain's associations with prominent figures in the Bearers of Akasha perhaps being more well-known than anticipated, I felt it best to leave Iopos and leave quickly. While I had not uncovered the full past of Chamberlain, I had uncovered a certain truth about how he is now perceived in this city for his association.

*******

From Caarad Surestrider,

Unfortunately, I have little to add myself. Chamberlain came to Bryhn in early 1507, opening up a small mercantile business. From what locals have told me, his story was always that he was wrongly accused of foul play in his business dealings by someone who had the connections to do something about it, forcing him to leave the city. As best anyone can tell, Chamberlain was a honest trader and decent fellow. He spoke little of his relatives, and did not go out of his way to mingle with troll citizenry or troll visitors. Dag, one of the few people that called Chamberlain a friend, didn't recall Chamberlain ever talking about his past. It appears that Chamberlain's most lasting illusion is the haze into which his past has disappeared, perhaps never to be found again. While we at the Great Library strive constantly for success, Chamberlain's case is an excellent example how the Scourge and the politics of nations can hinder the universal pursuit for truth. Alas.



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