Machinations by Qabian

[Keeper Of Lore]

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

And since Qabian's run-in with Ninorra's hell dimension, he had becomeeven more eager to get back to Silvermoon. His exile was theoreticallystill in effect, but he had tested it, and walked brazenly through thecity unmasked. There had been whispers, of course, but no immediaterepercussions as of yet. And the return of his title as Magister hadmade the rest of the sentence subsequently questionable in the eyes ofmany anyway.

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

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

[Keeper Of Lore]

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.

[Keeper Of Lore]

Tucked into a corner of the Gadgetzan Times reserved for the Silvermoonrumor mill since the Sin'dorei joined the Horde, essentially a gossipcolumn, 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 ofhis close family friends were found dead on the grounds of his estateyesterday, apparently mauled to death by Springpaw Lynx while outhunting. How the cats were able to overpower the hunters has not yetbeen discovered. The bodies were found by the groundskeeper who wentsearching when they did not return from the outing at a reasonable hour.

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

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

[Keeper Of Lore]

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 estateafter his uncle's death in a hunting accident, has apparently beendeveloping ties with the man who murdered his aunt. With the successfulappeal of Magister Qabian Amberlight's case and the lifting of hisexile, Sunbound has even gone so far as to invite Amberlight to take anapartment on his estate. They have been spotted together in publicacting perfectly cordial towards each other.

Obviously, the timing of the renewed friendship in light of recentevents has created quite a stir. When confronted with suspicionsregarding possible mind controlling agents, Amberlight responded bysaying, "That's ridiculous. We were friends for years before the war.Yes, he is a few decades older than I, but my apprenticeship often hadme working or attending events with Magister Sunbound. Of course welost contact after the Sunwell's destruction. Many ties were cut bythat event. However, when I went to offer my condolences on the loss ofhis uncle, we were able to renew our old loyalties. He was verygenerous to offer me a room and access to the Sunbounds' personallibrary. I have nothing but goodwill towards Alosian and hope ourfriendship, resources, and connections can be applied to theimprovement of the future of the Sin'dorei. We already have plans forextensive research projects that should be of great benefit to theHorde. I am very glad to be back in Silvermoon with Alosian'sendorsement."

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

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

[Keeper Of Lore]

Mage's Death Leaves Estate to Murderer

In a devious although perhaps not unexpected turn of events, the deedto the Sunbound estate has fallen to Magister Qabian Amberlight afterthe current Duke, Magister Alosian Sunbound, suffered a terribleaccident while experimenting within the laboratories of Sunfury Spireyesterday.

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

Sunbound's will, signed by three highly respectable witnesses, leavesthe entirety of the estate in the hands of one Magister QabianAmberlight, a colleague and friend. High ranking Magisters haveexplained that the estate itself was being used in some particularlyimportant research being headed by the two mages, and leaving theestate 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 thedemise of his friend. Several witnesses have confirmed his presencethere.

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

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

The Silvermoon Council insists that the matter will continue to beinvestigated, but it seems dissenters to the estate's change ofownership are difficult to find.


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

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