A Grey Beginning continues with Part 6, wherein we see the wicked plots and cunning schemes of the Cult of the Grey God slowly simmering into a roiling boil of fruition and success. Determined and as of yet unchecked by any powers of Crown, the wicked Szeethe darkly plans both the future of himself and the Cult...who will be the next unsuspecting victim on the tip of his dagger of determination?
Several months later, Szeethe passed down darkened, labyrinthine corridors leading from the streets of Crown into the murky depths where the Cult of the Grey God performed the most heinous of activities. As he stepped lightly through the halls, he could smell the distinct, sickly-sweet odors of death and decay wafting from the draining rooms where bodies of those stricken by disease, old-age, combat, or accidents were drained of their blood before their bodies were discarded into the dark pool. His own brethren, the last brood of his doomed were-rat mother before his birth, gathered the corpses, tentatively as a service to Crown all the while disguising both their association with the cult and their vile plans for the bodies.
In so short a time, the collection of the dead had become a fairly lucrative business for the cult. Good silver was paid for the unknown-dregs removed from the city, the Queen herself having granted a special dispensation to the were-rats for the collection of unwanted dead, the payment coming from her own coffers. With that recognition came an amount of freedom from prying eyes and unwanted questions from the inquisitive.
Better yet, it brought further business as families approached the were-rats for the collection of unwanted members who had died of illness or age. Indeed, as the were-rats asked no questions of the bodies they collected, a small but significant business had started with various wealthy families of Crown who needed ridding of embarrassing members of their respective and respected clans. That so many black-sheep in some of the more prominent families had suffered accidents or illnesses had escaped official notice thus far was due solely to the fastidious but effective work of the were-rat cultists. Their work had even attracted the notice of some of the more important assassin's in the city, several of whom expressed interest in various profitable partnerships.
Szeethe made the ultimate front-man for the organization, appearing in were-rat form when doing business with some of the darker elements of Crownian society. Though wealth was not his goal, his own cut of profits was making very wealthy. The processing of the dead was a very lucrative business. There were times when he pondered whether or not the power that could be bought with the funds from the semi-legitimate gathering of the dead was enough for him. Already he held some influence in the lower levels of power in Crown. What more could he buy?
But then, when compared with the power that came from the Grey God, mere money and influence were trifles. With what he was learning from Mahizor, Szeethe was becoming a powerful priest in the cult in his own right. And, the longer he worked and strove to fill the macabre heart under the city, the more power he would have. Even more important, though, was the strange relic his master had described to him months back. With it, combined with others, would come far greater strength. He would become far more powerful than he could ever hope to be with the simple corruption available as a broker of the dead.
Of course, the greatest might would channel through High Priest Mahizor. When all was accomplished and the Grey God arose again, the strange and wicked lumilon would become the most potent mortal in the entire world. He would possess power that the weakling Demon Lords only dreamed of.
Szeethe stopped walking down the hall, pausing for a moment to hear the sickly splatter of a corpse being drained as an equally wicked vision passed through his mind, the image of his father being drained of his demonic blood following the half demon, half were-rat's act of patricide. His father had been too weak. Szeethe had killed him as much out of scorn as of ambition. Yet, ambition, the lust for real power, had been his ultimate motive, his ultimate reason for joining the Cult of the Grey God.
For a moment he considered that one evil act. In leaving the Demon Lords, Szeethe reached out to grasp true dominion. His impotent father was merely a hindrance to his ambition, and so he murdered him, removing that obstacle. With all his actions, he would gain the ascendancy he craved, yet he would still be only an underling, receiving only the scraps cast off by the High Priest, who would possess the greatest power. Szeethe removed one obstacle in his way. Having done it once, he could do it again...
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