Editing Meamnar:Eclipse Of The Sun (section)

==Adventure Background==

Malum, a tiefling, arrived in Crescent about three months ago, having fled the city of Siblar under suspicion of murder.  He brought with him a unique pair of crystal spheres, which he is using to secretly gain control of the town.  Using one of the spheres, a person can create images in the second sphere.  To someone viewing the second sphere, these appear identical to the images produced by a Scrying spell or Crystal Ball.

Using the Charm Person spell, Malum convinced an anonymous adventurer to go to the temple of Pelor and donate the second sphere to the church.  Once in the hands of Herod, the high priest of the temple, the second sphere was activated and Malum began sending him images of various events.  Malum then used his abilities to ensure that those events came to pass.  For instance, Herod witnessed in the sphere a brawl in the taproom of the Winking Dragon.  Two days later, Malum used the Ventriloquism spell to instigate such a brawl.

As Malum continued to bait the hook, he proceeded to stake out the rest of the town, looking for other opportunities to exploit.  He befriended many locals, including the town's constable, a couple prominent shopkeepers, and a few members of the militia.  Eventually, he noticed that the town's Mayor would frequently disappear into the wilderness without explanation.  After three aborted attempts to trail him, Malum finally succeeded in learning Tarkin's secret - that he was a lycanthrope.

With this knowledge, Malum's plans were set.  He gave Herod one last image, that of Tarkin changing into an animal form and mauling the constable.  As Malum predicted, Herod brought the news to the constable the following day, right after Malum conveniently shared Tarkin's secret with him.  By that evening, the three of them were meeting in Herod's private chambers, discussing what was to be done.  Through Malum's careful manipulation, he had the pair convinced that the only recourse was to strike first.

At that point, Malum experienced the only wrinkle in his plan.  One of the acolytes, intending to bring a message to Herod, stumbled upon their conversation.  Having already crossed Malum once before while the tiefling was busy 'working' one of the town's shopkeepers, the hapless cleric's fate was sealed.  Malum told the others that he would "take care of the problem," and refused to explain himself further.

Though Malum is quite cunning, and knows that killing the acolyte would put his plan under substantial risk, he possesses a murderous tendency, possibly because of his heritage.  This same character flaw doomed him in Siblar, where carefully-laid plans were ruined by his seemingly bipolar violent nature.