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"Venison," he declared, h the air toward hih telekinesis was a spell that hadn’t even been in the considerable repertoire of Morkai the Red, Kessell’s sole teacher Though the shard would not have let hireedy did not stop to ponder the sudden appearance of abilities he’d felt long overdue him

Now he had food and warmth from the shard Yet a wizard should have a castle, he reasoned A place where he ht practice his darkest secrets undisturbed He looked to the shard for an answer to his dile next to the first Instinctively, so he presuestion frouided hi his own request He knew the original Shard at once froth that it exuded, but this second one intrigued hi an impressive aura of power of its own He took up the copy of the shard and carried it to the center of the bowl, setting it down on the deep snow

"Ibssu why, or even what it meant

Kessell backed away as he felt the force within the iht the rays of the sun and drew the the bowl fell into shadow as it stole the very light of day It began to pulse with an inner, rhythrow

It widened at the base, nearly filling the bowl, and for a while Kessell feared that he would be crushed against the rocky walls And, in accordance with the crystal’s widening, its tip rose up into the ned with its power source Then it was coe of Crenshinibon, but now of mammoth proportions

A crystalline tower So about the crystal shard - he knew its name

Cryshal-Tirith

Kessell would have been contented, for the ti, at least, to remain in Cryshal-Tirith and feast off of the unfortunate aniround of unah he outwardly boasted of aspirations beyond his station, he was intimidated by the implications of power He didn’t understand hohy those who had gained prominence had risen above the co off the accomplishments of others, and, conversely, the lack of his own, as a randorasp he had no notion of what to do with it

But Crenshinibon had waited too long to see its return to life wasted as a hunting lodge for a puny human Kessell’s wishy-washiness was actually a favorable attribute from the relic’s perspective Over a period of time, it could persuade Kessell to follow ales

And Crenshinibon had the tiain taste the thrill of conquest, but a few years did not see to an artifact that had been created at the dawn of the world It wouldKessell into a proper representative of its power, nurture the weak e of destruction It had done likewise a hundred ti and nurturing some of the most formidable and cruel opponents of law across any of the universal planes

It could do so again

That very night, Kessell, sleeping in the comfortably adorned second level of Cryshal-Tirith, had dreaainst a city such as Luskan, or even on the scale of battle against a frontier settlees of Ten-Towns, but a less adooblins into servitude, using the to his every need When he awakened the next , he remembered the drea, Kessell explored the third level of the tower, a roo crystal, this particular one filled with various scrying devices Suddenly, an urge caesture and speak an arcane word of command that he assumed he must have heard in the presence of Morkai He co and watched in amazement as the dimension within the depths of one of theWhen the fog cleared, an inized the area depicted as a valley he had passed a short distance down the trail when Eldulac, Dendybar the Mottled, and the others had left hi with a tribe of goblins at work constructing a campsite These were no ones along on their raids Hundreds of caves dotted the sides of these h to hold the tribes of orcs, goblins, ogres, and even more powerful oblin tribes were usually forced above ground, enslaved, or slaughtered

"How convenient," Kessellif the subject of his dream had been a coincidence or a prophecy On another sudden ioblins The effect startled hioblins turned, apparently confused, in the direction of the unseen force The warriors apprehensively drew their clubs and stone-headed axes, and the feroup

One larger goblin, the leader presu its club defensively before it, took a few cautious steps ahead of its soldiers

Kessell scratched his chin, pondering the extent of his newfound power "Cooblin chieftain "You cannot resist!"

The tribe arrived at the bowl a short ti a safe distance ahile they tried to figure out exactly what the toas and where it had come from Kessell let theain to the chieftain, coainst its oill, the large goblin strode froht up to the base of the tower It couldn’t see any door, for the entrance to Cryshal-Tirith was invisible to all except denizens of foreign planes and those that Crenshinibon, or its wielder allowed to enter

Kessell guided the terrified goblin into the first level of the structure Once inside, the chieftain re around nervously for so force that had su crystal

The wizard (a title rightfully imparted to the possessor of Crenshinibon, even if Kessell had never been able to earn it by his own deeds) let theits fear Then he appeared at the top of the stairwell through a secret mirror door He looked down upon the wretched creature and cackled with glee

The goblin trembled visibly when it saw Kessell It felt the wizard’s will i the creature to its knees

"Who aroveled and whimpered

The chieftain’s reply was torn from within by a power that it could not resist

"Master"