A WIZARD'S FATE

The story begins with Elzid Natholin, a notorious wizard and alchemist. In his youth, Elzid used his influence and alchemical prowess to plunge the coun­tryside into mayhem. He robbed merchants blind by seducing their innocent daughters with love potions, he crushed noble families by turning them against one another with potions of delusion and elixirs of madness, and he sold deadly poison to anyone willing to pursue an evil scheme. His name was syn­onymous with corruption and deceit. Yet, once he had earned a suitably nefarious reputation, Elzid was content to return to his magical studies. He built himself a hideous stone tower atop a small hill. The tower, with its black walls and frowning gargoyles, became an eyesore on the horizon. Elzid's evil escapades attracted not only the attention of the civilized com­munities around him, but the attention of the Lower Planes as well. For contributions made to the cause of evil, the diabolical masters of the Nine Hells awarded Elzid an imp familiar. Elzid had hoped for something grander, such as an army of lesser baatezu or a pit fiend manservant, but he was not about to reject this gesture of gratitude. Little did he know that his familiar would lead to his undoing. As the years passed, Elzid became less of a threat to civilization. Discounting the occasional affair, he became bored with people in general. He spent the long hours of each day researching and performing alchemical experiments. Sometimes he would venture into a nearby town, careful to conceal his identity while searching for alchemical compounds and spell components. However, the days of evil deeds gradually 'Died as his wicked ambitions dissipated. Zotzpox, Elzid's imp familiar, became increasingly concerned about its mater's waning evil. Elzid had not performed one inherently evil act in several months, and this had the forces of the Nine Hells justifiably frustrated. The imp tried several diabolical strategies to rejuvenate the hatred and malevolence that once fueled Elzid's soul

(Slipping a tome titled The Making of a Good Tyrant under its master's pillow, for instance)

but nothing seemed to work. One night, Elzid went to town bearing a bundle of flowers that he had hand­picked from the fields around his tower. Zotzpox, puzzled by this behavior, secretly followed the wizard to his nocturnal rendezvous. Panic seized the imp when it finally learned that Elzid had a deep affection for a young maiden named Erilyn Windfellow Erilyn Windfellow. Elzid was a man transformed by true love. He promised Erilyn that he would cast aside his evil ways to spend the rest of his life in her company. Neither the imp nor the forces of the Nine Hells could believe, let alone tolerate, such betrayal. Elzid sensed the imp's dissatisfaction and prepared to banish the creature back to its home on the Lower Planes, but thoughts of Erilyn preoccupied him and, in the end, Zotzpox beat him to the punch. As a wedding present, Elzid promised to make Erilyn a bottle of the finest perfume. With that happy thought in mind, the love-struck mage went to work in his laboratory, searching for the most pleasing scent. Little did he realize, however, that Zotzpox had tampered with the various compounds. Elzid mixed what he figured were two essential ingredients of UEau de Magnifique and obliterated both himself and his tower. The blast resounded like thunder for miles, and bits of Elzid and his tower flew in every direction. Zotzpox escaped the explosion by hiding in the dungeon beneath the tower, although even the dungeon could not escape partial col­lapse. Free of its master and serving the greater forces of evil, Zotzpox now guards Elzid's treasury Oocated in the dungeon). The masters of the Nine Hells have instructed Zotzpox to protect the vault from would-be treasure hunters until an evil horde arrives to seize the dead mage's trove. Zotzpox's success in this endeavor will likely result in a promotion to a higher form of diabolical existence (a spinagon baatezu, for instance). At least, that is what Zotzpox hopes. Of course, the masters of the Nine Hells have promised absolutely nothing.

Related Characters

• Elzid Natholin