Diary of a Student of the Great Xanthir the Plagued One

Note · 40 gp · Weight 2

"The new guy and his bloody candle stopped me from sleeping again last night. He's trying to get to grips with the ritual before the more advanced students. We'll see how well he studies after I've chucked all his candles in the latrine. {br}Yesterday we were loading crystals into the machine. Our teacher watched our every movement, and no wonder — none of us have successfully performed the Transformation ritual without his oversight. The new boy opened his gob to say something, but the Plagued One shut him up quick — I think by sending one of his locusts under the new boy's skin. There's no time for chitchat when you're working with Nahyndrian crystals. They're worth as much as diamonds, and they're delivered here straight from the Abyss. {br}Everything was going fine, except the person in charge of the ritual supplies turned out to be an idiot, like all the ones before him. He forgot to do a quality check on our prime ingredient. Crystals can vary in quality, and Transformation requires flawless specimens. One time some lumpen, dull-looking crystal found its way into the machine — the machine broke down and the subject was blown to pieces. The Plagued One was raging — once he'd calmed down and kicked the surviving students out of the lab, we were down by four. Pity we didn't lose more — I really should smother an extra few of them some night when I get the chance, but I'll get to that later. {br}Sometimes I think that what we're trying to do here is pointless. You'd have to actually BE Xanthir the Plagued One to remember all the details and nuances of the Transformation ritual. It's bad enough having to check the crystals, never mind having to hold in your mind all the correct proportions and the minute calibrations of the machines. So far, not one of even the advanced students has completed the Transformation process successfully — the demons come out broken, mad, or lame. Maybe I should sneak into the Plagued One's study again and read through his papers, maybe I'll find something I can use as crib notes." {br}The entries end here.