Ahead of the Storm - Day 5

Cauldron, Six Months Ago

While the war against the Wormgod was coming to an end in the land above him, Meerthan Eliothlorn of the Striders of Fharlangn - better known as Tyro Amberhelm to most - wasn't anywhere to be seen in the city of Cauldron.

No, he had other matters to attend to - namely his research into the abandoned home of Orbius Vhalantru. The former mayor of Cauldron had been revealed as a beholder in disguise, a traitor who had sought to become mayor of the city only so that he could sell it off to the highest bidder - the cult of the Cagewrights who would have turned it into a gatetown into the prison plane of Carceri. Yet all that had be thwarted by Meerthan's allies, the Outsiders.

Yet much remained secret about the beholder himself. This home of his, a demiplane called Oblivion located beneath his lavish manor. It had hardly been explored by the Outsiders, save but to find the painting within which Orbius had imprisoned Celeste. So Meerthan had made it his mission to explore its caves and passages himself, hoping to gain further insight into Vhalantru himself, and what made him tick. For in Meerthan's mind, the foremost thought ever since the Outsiders' victory over the Cagewrights had been to the fact that Vhalantru remained alive - and missing. Meerthan therefore made it his mission to find out what the beholder might be up to next, and to do his best to stop him.

And thus far, the clues in Oblivion had been numerous.

From Meerthan's own notes:

"First and foremost of note, were the remnants of a ritual Orbius had performed on himself in the days before what was supposed to have been the Planar Junction. Perhaps in hope of making a better impression on the forthcoming visitors from Carceri, Orbius has undergone a Tarterian transformation, mutating his orbed physiology into that of a half-Shator Demodand. From what I can gather, the beholder's magical powers would have remained, while his physical body would have enlarged and increased in strength. He also would have gained a multitude of new demonic powers as a result, making him far more dangerous an opponent than any other beholder could have been. While in the end, the beholder never got to show off his new form to any demodands, it is quite possible that he has since grown to embrace his new power, and likely does not regret the ritual.

This is also of particular note, since this is not the first time Vhalantru has been known to mess with his physical form. The first known occasion was when he gifted one of his eyestalks to his beloved, the devious and beautiful Thifirane Rhiavadi. This peculiar gift is unique in recorded history of beholders, as I've found no other record of one giving up part of his own body, least of all as a gift to a human. The remarkable nature of this act makes it clear that the mindset and emotions of Vhalantru are not as predictable as the rest of his race (who can typically be expected to care only for power and greed). Indeed, it seems that above and beyond these two motives, Vhalantru is also one motivated by love.

There is further evidence to suggest this, as well, beyond the known love affair he had with Thifirane. It seems that during the time when he welcomed Celeste as a guest into his home (when the archmage Manzorian made the mistake of believing that Vhalantru could be trusted), the beholder may have been to harbor feelings for her, as well. This would explain in large part why he had her kidnapped and trapped in the painting in his basement, soon after she was announced to be engaged to the wizard Scatterspells. It would seem that this made Vhalantru insanely jealous, causing him to try to keep her for himself (even going so far as to get his doppleganger cohort Gortio to impersonate her for months to come).

Yet both of these would-be romances came to bitter ends, as Thifirane was killed by the Outsiders, and Celeste freed from her prison. Not surprisingly, as soon as Thifirane died, that is when Orbius fled the city of Cauldron - likely motivated both by fear, and by sadness.

The other remarkable trait known about Vhalantru was his eagerness to disguise his identity. Aside from having a doppleganger as his friend and cohort, Vhalantru himself had Thifirane construct the unique Simulacrum Suit for him, so that he could take the false guise of a noble human, living out a quite life in Cauldron, all the while getting in the mayor's good graces and manipulating him behind the scenes. Again, for a beholder to "lower" himself into spending most of his time disguised as a human, is quite remarkable, and undocumented in any other case. It would almost seem that Vhalantru was not as arrogant about his born racial superiority as the typical beholder, but instead wished to achieve his goals at all costs, no matter what means were necessary, even if it included disguises and trickery.

It is known that any particular Simulacrum Suit is tailored only to give the illusion of a particular body. Furthermore, that body must be taken from a real person, in a ritual which removes the very skin from the original copy. Therefore, as the original Suit has been recovered here in Oblivion, it is impossible that Vhalantru would ever appear again as that particular form. Yet, whether he had any further Suits, to play other roles - remains a mystery. It is indeed likely, however, since the beholder was always very sociable and fond of humans - I somehow doubt he could resist the temptation of pretending to be one of them again."

With these theories and thoughts in mind, Meerthan continued his research into Oblivion, hoping that some clue as to Orbius' future plans was inadvertantly left behind somewhere.

For whatever the result of the battle against Kyuss, Meerthan's thoughts remained focused on the beholder - the one that got away...