Shadow's Test of High Sorcery - The Soulforge

The moon Lunitari’s gleaming light shines upon an endless labyrinth of high, smooth marble walls. Shadow finds himself in a darkened dungeon. Water rises up to his knees. The mineral scents of salt and blood hang heavily in the air. He looks around, his darkvision taking in his surroundings. This dungeon is familiar to him. He is transported back to his first adventure on the surface. He had been hired to slay or drive off a black dragon that had taken up residence in the Marsh of Chelimber along with the knight Trevelyan Miltiades and the priest Tarlyn Swiftstep. The trio had been successful as the dragon itself was fairly young but when they entered its lair and made their way into the partially flooded passages beneath, they confronted the wyrm's master. The wizars who had commanded the dragon escaped, leading to months of battling summoned monsters on an almost daily basis. Cruel, familiar laughter echoes through the tunnel. When he turns, Shadow sees a figure rise up from out of his past. "Been a long time, drow." Shadow's eyes settle on a man in black robes trimmed in red. A man he had helped kill nearly 40 years ago - Zanzer Tem. The vile sorcerer taunts him viciously without a hint of mercy in their voice. “Remember me? I haven't forgotten you. When they gave me a chance to come back to face you again, I told myself that my laugh would be the last thing you hear before you die.”

Shadow snarks back at the wizard, “And here you go thinking again and assuming it was your laugh that haunted me. It was your breath. Seriously it as foul as a ghouls.”

Zanzer Tem snarls his way through a spell. Fog rises from the ground all around him. Just before he vanishes into the roiling cloud, Shadow sees him lift a crossbow and fit a box of quarrels into place on top.

Shadow casts a spell that will reveal things cloaked in invisibility and draws his rapier. He telepathically tells Spewer to post up on his bad ear side and help him compensate for the damage done to his hearing and he circles to his right once his spell is cast.

The dark elf's Spitting Crawler familiar taps his master's shoulder, indicating that he hears something to the left. Shadow turns his head, straining what hearing he has remaining. The first thing he hears are the words, "Каменная кожа." This is followed a second later by, "Волшебная ракета!" Five glowing bolts of energy speed out of the obscuring fog. The missiles streak directly toward the drow, striking him in his chest and left arm but due to his innate resistance to magic, he remains uninjured. 

“I’m disappointed. I expect more from you.”  Shadow will work his way into the mist and attempt to locate and stab him with Swiftwind.

"Oh, I have more, like THIS!" Even with only one good ear, Shadow hears the rapid ratcheting of Zanzer Tem's crossbow's firing handle.

Two of the bolts slam into Shadow's left leg and ribs, the second nearly piercing his heart. Luckily, the bolt gets tangled in the drow's cloak. Both arrows send jolts of electricity coursing through Shadow's body.

The dark elf gasps, “Ouch!  That’s more like it.” He turns his head, straining his ears and eyes and detects movement in the fog. He rushes forward, Swiftwind in hand. Zanzer Tem's eyes widen as the dark elf rushes toward him and he fumbles for a dagger to defend himself with but the drow is faster, lunging with his phoenix-blessed blade. The point strikes the wizard's ribs and he gasps in pain. Staggering backwards, he drops the dagger. He catches his footing before he falls and gasps out, "Зеркальное изображение." Suddenly, eight more Zanzer Tems appear and a grin spreads across his face. "You will have to do better than that. I do believe that this time, it will be your body cooling on the ground when we part."

Shadow steps back and looks at the mirror images of Zanzer Tems and says “Eight Tems, @#$%*€& nine Tems, bend over here it comes!" Shadow takes a half-step back and calls out, "Διώξε τη Μαγεία!" All of the extra Zanzer Tems blink out of existence along with the fog. With his illusions, stripped away, Zanzer Tem's eyes widen as Spewer hawks acidic spittle in his face. The enemy wizard shrieks in pain, wiping his face with his sleeve as the caustic liquid eats into his flesh.

Struggling to control his pain, Zanzer grabs a skull-topped scepter from his belt and screams, "In Baazka's name, I strike at you!" Red and black energy flow up his arm and into the the scepter. It collects there for a moment before blasting out, amplified by the magic within. A gout of hellish fire washes over the drow. The ring on the dark elf's finger flares to life, warding away only some of the flames that burn his flesh.

“I’m going to to finish you off and never give you a second thought. You can rot in hell and wait for your third chance to die.” Shadow, trailing smoke and still on fire, explodes into motion. His silvered blade flashes almost faster than the eye can follow. Zanzer is pierced through both shoulders in the blink of an eye. Never stopping, the dark elf circles, stabbing his rapier through his enemy's right thigh, driving him to his knees. He slips the dagger in his left hand into a kidney and speaks a single word, "Now." The spell stored within the blade is released and five bolts of pent-up energy are set free, tearing through the organs of Zanzer Tem, extinguishing his life for a second time.

Before the body can even fall, Shadow finds himself standing at the top of the long stairway inside the Tower. He finds that he is unwounded except for his hearing.

Shadow reaches the bottom of the stairs. Many wizards have gathered at the bottom, including the three who conducted his interview earlier. He notes that Par-Salian of the White Order and Justarius, Archmage of the Red both carry folded robes draped over their arms. The head of the Black Order, Ladonna, inclines her head, "Well done. Congratulations on the successful completion of your Trial. As you can see, you have a choice to make."

"As I am sure you have surmised, the Test is an assessment of your demeanor in addition to being a test of skill," Par-Salian begins.

Justarius continues, "You displayed surprising levels of compassion despite your protests of not being capable of serving the greater good.'

Ladonna nods, "And claiming that black is your preferred color. Either order would be lucky to have you. Decide."

“I am honored to be considered by either tower. These Tests have not left me without their mark. One I fear I will not ever forget.” Shadow walks over to Ladonna and turns to face her. “I am almost tempted to see where either side would take me but I have seen one side unchecked and what it can do.” He smiles and turns to walk towards the head of the White order. “I wonder in what ways your world would be different if there was not another side of the coin. I will still have my own choices to make and maybe they will come along the same path but I fear I cannot go all the way.” Shadow nods and finally comes to Justarius. “I will take the middle path and help maintain the balance.”

Justarius smiles. "This is a grand day for the Order of the Red Robes, then." He hands Shadow the folded robes. "Dinner begins in thirty minutes if you want to get cleaned up."

Zanzer Tem: Human 25th level - Conjurer 13/Warlock 12
CR: 25     Medium Humanoid (Human)     HD: 13d4+13 plus 12d6+12 (89 Hp)
Init: +3     Spd: 30'     AC: 23 (+3 Dex, Black Robes of the Archmagi, Ring of Protection +5), t: 18, ff: 20
Attacks: (BAB +15, Grap +15); +23/+18/+13 (additional +1 hit/dmg vs targets within 30') Light Repeating Seeking Shocking Burst Thundering Crossbow of Distance +5: 1d8+5 plus 1d6 electrical (17-20/×2, 160'; ignores miss chance from concealment; additional 1d10 electrical and 1d8 sonic on critical hit, plus Fort DC14 or permanently deafened) or +18/+13/+8 Starmetal Chaotic Outsider-bane Dagger +3: 1d4+3 (19-20/×2, 10', additional +1d6 vs extraplanar creatures on Prime Material Plane, +2 hit/+2d6 damage vs chaotic outsiders) or +17/+12/+7 Warlock's Scepter: 1d6+2 (20/×2) or +18 (ranged touch, additional +2 if holding Warlock's Scepter) Eldritch Blast: 6d6 (60' range, can expend up to 5 chg/day from Warlock's Scepter)
SA: Arcane Spells (Prohibited School:Transmutation; DC15 + spell level, DC16 + spell level for Conjuration: 4/6/5/5/5/4/2/1), Eldritch Blast 6d6, Invocations (7 known, Least, Lesser, Greater), Rapid Summoning, Spontaneous Summoning
SQ: Deceive Item, Detect Magic, DR3/Cold Iron, Fiendish Resilience, Imbue Item, Resist Electricity and Fire 5,
Align: CE     Saves: Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +21
Str: 11, Dex: 16, Con: 12, Int: 20, Wis: 11, Cha: 13
Skills: Read/Write and Speak Common; Appraise +5 (+7 with cut gems), Concentration +29 (additional +4 to cast defensively), Craft (Gemcutting) +15,  Decipher Script +21, Knowledge (Arcana) +33, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +21, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (Geography) +21, Knowledge (the Planes) +36, Profession (Miner) +10, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +37 (additional +2 to decipher spells on scrolls), Survival (+2 underground, on other planes, or to avoid hazards/getting lost), Use Magic Device +13 (additional +4 w/ scrolls)
Feats: Augment Summoning, Combat Casting, Craft Magic Arms & Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Empower Spell, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Repeating Crossbow), Improved Critical (Repeating Crossbow), Magical Aptitude, Point Blank Shot, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Knowledge  - the Planes), Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Penetration
Gear: Black Robes of the Archmagi, Ring of Protection +5, Light Repeating Seeking Shocking Burst Thundering Crossbow of Distance +5, Starmetal Chaotic Outsider-bane Dagger +3, Warlock's Scepter, Improved Ring of Fire Resistance
Prepared Spells: 0th: Acid Splash, Dancing Lights, Daze, Ray of Frost; 1st: Color Spray, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield, Shocking Grasp, True Strike; 2nd: Fog Cloud, Melf's Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Touch of Idiocy; 3rd: Dispel Magic, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Sleet Storm. Vampiric Touch; 4th: Evard's Black Tentacles, Fire Shield, Phantasmal Killer, Shout, Stoneskin; 5th: Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Dismissal, Fireball (Empowered); 6th: Acid Fog, Chain Lightning; 7th: Mordenkainen's Sword

• Deceive Item (Ex): Can take 10, even when distracted or threatened while attempting a Use Magic Device check.
• Detect Magic (Sp): At will, Caster Level equal to Warlock Level
• Fiendish Resilience (Su): As a free action, can enter a state that lasts for 2 minutes during which time he gains Fast Healing 1
• Imbue Item (Su): Can create magical items even if he does not know all of the spells required to make a magical item by making a Use Magic Device check (DC15 + spell level for arcane, DC25 + spell level for divine)
• Known Invocations: Brimstone Blast, Chilling Tentacles, Devil's Sight, Eldritch Chain, Eldritch Spear, Flee the Scene, Miasma Cloud
• Rapid Summoning (Ex): Summon Monster spells have a casting time of 1 standard action instead of 1 full round (summoned creatures still only get a standard action in the round they arrive in).
• Spontaneous Summoning (Ex): Zanzer Tem can "lose" a prepared spell to cast a Summon Monster spell of a lower level. He does not gain additional spells per day for being a specialist wizard.