Machinations

[Qabian]

Qabian sat in the inn in Ratchet, sipping a mug of moonberry juice. The mage's encounter with Niethan had since provided Qabian with an excellent idea. The troll had proved entirely useless, as could only be expected, but Qabian still needed to follow through on the idea.

And since Qabian's run-in with Ninorra's hell dimension, he had become even more eager to get back to Silvermoon. His exile was theoretically still in effect, but he had tested it, and walked brazenly through the city unmasked. There had been whispers, of course, but no immediate repercussions as of yet. And the return of his title as Magister had made the rest of the sentence subsequently questionable in the eyes of many anyway.

Ratchet was not exactly Qabian's favorite location, but at least the Barrens were dry and suntouched, and he decided this would be the least likely place anyone who might interfere would be listening. The inn seemed otherwise deserted.

"Redcap," Qabian said aloud although he sat alone, not lifting his eyes from his mug. "I assume you're following me again. In that case, I wish to speak with you. Do you think your mother would be amenable to helping me acquire a title and an estate? I do have particular plans. I only might need her help with a few of the trickier details. I intend to have you do most of the hard work yourself."

[Redcap]

Redcap slipped out of the shadows and into the seat directly across from Qabian. "How did you know I was here, brother?"

Qabian still didn't look up from his drink. "I didn't. I assumed. Seems you're usually around somewhere."

"Well, what do you have in mind?" Redcap asked.

The conversation continued in lowered voices.

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[Qabian]

Tucked into a corner of the Gadgetzan Times reserved for the Silvermoon rumor mill since the Sin'dorei joined the Horde, essentially a gossip column, is a short article a select few may have noticed.


Duke Dies in Hunting Accident

A man of minor yet acknowledged nobility, the Duke Sunbound, and two of his close family friends were found dead on the grounds of his estate yesterday, apparently mauled to death by Springpaw Lynx while out hunting. How the cats were able to overpower the hunters has not yet been discovered. The bodies were found by the groundskeeper who went searching when they did not return from the outing at a reasonable hour.

Some may remember that Magister Qabian Amberlight was charged with the murder of the Duke's wife, Lady Jastra Sunbound, several weeks ago. Court proceedings regarding the appeal of the Magister's exile provide an alibi for his location at the time of the death. However, suspicion still remains about Amberlight's possible involvement. Thus far, he has been cooperative with investigators.

With no direct living relatives, the Sunbound estate has fallen to the Duke's nephew, Magister Alosian Sunbound.

[Ninorra]

Having finished reading an article entitled, "New Felhound Summoning Technique Discovered", Ninorra decided to flip the rest of the pages when a name caught her eye.

"..Sunbound?"

As she read the article, the warlock smirked. With a mirthful shuckle, she set the newspaper aside and readied herself for another day in the Vale.

"Qabian.. what are you up to?"

[Redcap]

Shifting through the shadows Redcap stares into Qabian's eyes.

"Nice article, do you know how hard it is to make wounds that look like claw marks?"

Redcap smiles and holds up his hands. "Ok, you are right it was a interesting challenge. What else did you have in mind?"



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[Qabian]

Qabian winced. He continued to expect that movement and voices from the shadows might be that girl, and he would not be able to fully relax knowing she still lived. Keeping his expression blank, the mage blinked at Redcap. "For now, we may want to keep our distance, friend. There are those who might presume, and even some who might presume correctly.

"I will be calling on your mother soon. I'm sure you'll hear about my next steps."

[Redcap]

Showing that the young rogue watched the older magus, Redcap pulled off a smirk that was almost a mirror image of Qabian's.

"Would you like me to send my sister to your side again, she is too much of a armor bound problem solver to think of killing a lynx, taking thier claws, having them enhanced and enchanting and beating three people to death with them.

If she was the killer they would be drained of life, crushed, slashed, bashed, and probably preached to, so their ears would be bleeding.

But, my friend, make no mistake, if something were to look at you sideways in her presence, they would be no less dead than if I was there. Pray to the Sunwell that was that our sister Vendaria never takes interest in you, the last thing you need is a demon following your footsteps."

Redcap steps back into the shadows pulling darkness around him like a living cloak.

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[Qabian]

Tucked into the same gossip column in the dailies is a slightly longer article this time.


A Strange Friendship

Magister Alosian Sunbound, recent inheritor of the Sunbound estate after his uncle's death in a hunting accident, has apparently been developing ties with the man who murdered his aunt. With the successful appeal of Magister Qabian Amberlight's case and the lifting of his exile, Sunbound has even gone so far as to invite Amberlight to take an apartment on his estate. They have been spotted together in public acting perfectly cordial towards each other.

Obviously, the timing of the renewed friendship in light of recent events has created quite a stir. When confronted with suspicions regarding possible mind controlling agents, Amberlight responded by saying, "That's ridiculous. We were friends for years before the war. Yes, he is a few decades older than I, but my apprenticeship often had me working or attending events with Magister Sunbound. Of course we lost contact after the Sunwell's destruction. Many ties were cut by that event. However, when I went to offer my condolences on the loss of his uncle, we were able to renew our old loyalties. He was very generous to offer me a room and access to the Sunbounds' personal library. I have nothing but goodwill towards Alosian and hope our friendship, resources, and connections can be applied to the improvement of the future of the Sin'dorei. We already have plans for extensive research projects that should be of great benefit to the Horde. I am very glad to be back in Silvermoon with Alosian's endorsement."

An anonymous source had this to say, "That Grim mage [Amberlight] is a liar. I knew Alosian's parents before they died, and they saw to it that he never spoke with the Amberlight boy or any of his unruly friends during their apprenticeships. In fact, the only relationship that common swine has ever had with any Sunbound was with Jastra, most of that occurring long before she even married into the name, and look what he did to her. Something strange is going on, and nothing good can come of it."

Sunbound himself declined to comment, saying only that he and Amberlight are indeed friends.

[Redcap]

Mahakali's hands tightened on the paper, the metal of her gantlets sounding like tortured souls.

"His lack of interest in me aside, I will find out who is talking about Qabian. If anyone ruins his life it will be me."

The Sin'dorei not realizing the disparity of her words walks to the newspaper office.

"Anonymous my ass, if they won't tell me let's see how they like angering the Dawnspire's I'll tell mother I heard the editor saying she looked like a Orc, or I'll tell Vendaria they keep gnomish children in the newsroom, By The Sunwell I may just go in and kill everyone!"

A Cheshire grin appears behind the Blood Knight and words like a shadowy caress are heard.

"Sister, Qabian is mine to defend. I appreciate your concern for the Magus but he doesn't seem to like you in that way. If you truly want to help, be his friend, do not chase him. He is not a battle you can win or a trophy for your wall."

The Blood Knight whirls to see nothing but shadows and emptiness where her brothers voice was.

A tear slips from her eye and she turns away from the newspaper offices.

"I'll just go kill some scourge then, if no one wants me."

The Cheshire grin appears again. "Go my sister, he will never want you when you are less powerful than him, overpass him and maybe just maybe he will look at you with more than contempt"

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[Qabian]

Mage's Death Leaves Estate to Murderer

In a devious although perhaps not unexpected turn of events, the deed to the Sunbound estate has fallen to Magister Qabian Amberlight after the current Duke, Magister Alosian Sunbound, suffered a terrible accident while experimenting within the laboratories of Sunfury Spire yesterday.

There were at least a dozen direct witnesses to Sunbound's death. It has been confirmed that he was working with an extremely volatile concoction of chemicals and arcane magic when the apparatus they were contained in exploded, engulfing him and a young apprentice in fire. The fire was apparently not of a simple elemental origin as after the explosion was contained, no trace of Sunbound or the apprentice could be found other than a light film of ash on the equipment.

Sunbound's will, signed by three highly respectable witnesses, leaves the entirety of the estate in the hands of one Magister Qabian Amberlight, a colleague and friend. High ranking Magisters have explained that the estate itself was being used in some particularly important research being headed by the two mages, and leaving the estate to Amberlight ensures the projects will continue.

Amberlight himself was in Outland at the time of Sunbound's death, apparently gathering materials for the same project which led to the demise of his friend. Several witnesses have confirmed his presence there.

When asked to comment on the suspicious nature of his acquisition of the estate so soon after being charged with the murder of the former lady of the house, Amberlight said, "Do you think I secretly added extra fire to his dragonhawk egg breakfast and killed him that way? I am as surprised and disappointed as any by Alosian's sudden demise. It has interrupted many important projects. However, I can't say I'm upset that he made appropriate arrangements ahead of time to ensure that our projects could continue in the event of such an unfortunate accident."

The will is expected to be contested by more distant living relatives of the Sunbounds, but so far none have been reached for comment. Similarly, no one could be found to comment on Amberlight's suspicious yet open allegiance with an organization known as the Grim and what effect it might have on the estate. Several key figures seem to have recently gone on extended vacation or otherwise mysteriously vanished.

The Silvermoon Council insists that the matter will continue to be investigated, but it seems dissenters to the estate's change of ownership are difficult to find.

Qabian made a special trip to pick up this particular edition of the Gadgetzan Times. He read it sitting at the head of his new extravagantly long dining table while snacking on a bowl full of peeled Eversong plums. The bowl itself was a particularly significant factor in his reading amusement, as it had been unceremoniously pilfered from an estate similar to the one he had just managed to acquire.

The mage was somewhat unimpressed that the article labeled him a murderer in the headline despite the fact that he had finally been able to clear himself of all charges regarding that incident, but when he finished reading, he folded the paper, placed it to the side, and laughed for a long time.