Excerpt from the journals of Zelligar the Unknown: 

Neumonte 5, Year 961 A.E. 

As I write this, the sculptor is taking his time with my project. He looks as if he were going to jump out of his skin with my most minor irritations...

I would simply point out an error, and he would quickly scamper to correct it.

I can tell he's never worked around wizards though, he's not used to enduring our short-tempered nature.

I've only incinerated three assistants in my life; that's a rather below-average number for a wizard.

Silence... the ringing sound of chiseled stone that has rung in my ears for months is finally over.

The commemoration is complete. 

Now, every morning, when I wake up and every evening when I drift off into my slumber… these fool's destruction will fill my sight!

Rogahn says I should forget about them while Melissa says I should move on. 

I take their words to heart, but if Rogahn were to lose her as I lost Quinn... I shouldn't think like that.

Now, from dusk till dawn, and every day thereafter, I revel in their anguished cries- their pleas for mercy.  In which I returned the mercy they gave us... none.

My writing hand trembles merely recalling the events; anger and rage burning my blood like dragon fire.

What was once a town, is now a burnt husk of lumber and charcoal. There were not even bodies for the scavengers to pick from; I could not permit their twisted essence to go back into the world.

The events are burned into my mind. 

I had not met Rogahn yet, and I had just mastered my 9th level spells. 

I had wandered into a town... whose name shall never again be spoken or written. I personally struck them from existence, and I will not allow even entertaining the idea of bringing anyone back from that accursed place.

I have cursed the earth in which it stands and destroyed the souls of the inhabitants, there is nothing... left.

What brought about my rage and vengeance in such a final matter?

I've kept the tale close at my heart, but I feel it's time to at least put it on parchment. To see if, by writing down these events, the pain in my soul may ease, but I hope by recalling the events I may further glean a plot that I may use to further punish those who took away Quinn.

The town was like others I've been to. Quiet, reserved–wary of outsiders. 

I was still in the process of mastering my powers. Due to its location in the mountains, it was a perfect spot to practice high-level spells without destroying anyone's property. 

I entered into distrustful townsfolk stares and closed shutters. I rented a room at the local inn and set up my base of operations. 

Most of my days spent were spent in the tavern or library with my spell research. Others, I would spend in the mountains practising and further honing my skills.

Oftentimes I'd find a ranger in the woods, gathering foliage and fauna for the town's market. 

Quinn...even the act of simply writing your name tears my heartstrings. 

Raven black hair, sharp green eyes of an eagle, and as graceful as a cat. Your beauty stole my heart before your words stole my soul. I will never be complete without you... 

Quinn and I began our friendship about a week after I moved into the town. It wasn’t long before it became obvious there was a connection.

My time became more and more centered around Quinn, my universe. My studies lagged behind my projected timeline. I fell behind in my work, but I didn't care...especially if Quinn was teaching me how to shoot a bow.

I lived there for almost a year. Quinn and I had become inseparable, despite many objections. Quinn was slated to take over as head ranger, and the relationship with me was seen as a distraction. 

The more we fought back, the heavier the backlash was. My stay was not welcome, and I began to sense something was amiss with the town. 

People disappeared. 

And, based on Quinn’s observations, it was like clockwork. 

Four missing people a year.

My mind raced for an answer. It felt wrong. The ones who went missing were often seen as "miscreants" or were people no one would miss. 

I received my first clue the following day. 

As I was exploring the town, I noticed a sigil carved on the outside tavern wall; just under its front window. My blood froze. 

The sigil of Asmodeus. The Cult of Asmodeus was in town, and their sacrifices could explain the disappearances. Were they trying to summon him?

I rushed into town to find Quinn and reveal what I had discovered. Many of the townsfolk gave me forced smiles and waves, almost as if they were making a mockery of my trepidation. 

I frantically screamed for Quinn, shaking villagers for the whereabouts of Quinn. 

One person chuckled and told me in no uncertain terms that my frenzied search was in vain. 

I walked away from them a burning pile of flesh...and my hunt became more frantic...lethally so.

My quest became known to the local guard, and they attempted to stop me from finding Quinn after I killed their captain by grabbing his throat and casting a burning touch. The smell of burned flesh filled my nostrils as his screams were drowned out by the sound of flames erupting from his mouth.

Finally, with a quarter of the city on fire, and over a hundred dead, they break and tell me where Quinn is.

When the third shocking grasp spell was finished, I dropped his sizzling husk and left the town, following the trail indicated into the mountains. 

I must have travelled for well over an hour when the forest opened to a clearing. A stone altar sat in the middle of a pentagram that was surrounded by Cultists of Asmodeus, and Quinn was tied up on top, terrified.

I shouted, interrupting the chanting, and threw a fireball. Its flames engulfed quite a few of the cultists and scattered the others.

Casting Fly, I sped over and freed Quinn from the forest altar. 

It took moments to fly back to our mountain camp, away from the crazy town below. I held Quinn to my chest reassuringly, and landed us next to the camp, and started a fire. 

"Why did you come for me?" Quinn asked...

"Just because" was my reply. 

That night, we spent time together in a warm embrace... little did I know the truth, as such a naïve mage I was then. 

In the latter part of the night, I awoke to pain in my side. A silver dagger sheathed between my ribs. I could barely draw breath. 

"Good morning love..." 

Those words whispered into my ear as the dagger twisted. 

"I do love to hear those gasps," Quinn said and stabbed again. The pain was blinding. I wondered to myself why Quinn was attacking me. "My poor saviour." 

"The ritual... was completed?" I said between gasps of air. "Your soul..." 

"Given to Asmodeus... as all have done. Give yourself over and we can be together." 

I knew deep in my heart that Quinn were gone. I felt no light, no spark, nothing that was who they were. My Quinn was long gone, and never coming back. 

"I loved you." My final words as flames erupted from inside Quinn. I have nightmares still of the screams. 

The whole town was corrupted. Every one of them worshipped Asmodeus, and they all must be destroyed. They took the one thing good from me... 

I had readied all my wands, rods, and staves ... memorized nothing but attack spells. Casting Fly, I sped myself to the peak of the mountain that overlooked the town.

My first rod of fireballs was exhausted as I lobbed one after the other onto their fields. The cultists scrambled like helpless ants, trying to put out the fires... 

My next rod was withdrawn from my pouch. 

It cast lightning upon all the homes and villagers. Striking individuals like a massive finger squishing an annoying bug. 

All this time, I've magnified my voice, to ensure everyone heard the various fates I've conjured up for them. 

Some had to fight off wolves I had summoned, others incinerated. I used the mountain itself as my weapon, triggering avalanches and flowing lava to split the town in two. 

With the town sufficiently set ablaze, I cast a poisonous fog and used up all the charges of my ring for it. 

What a sight to see!

 A greenish-purple cloud slowly falling down a mountainside. With a little wind magic, I could move it this way and that, allowing me to ensure it engulfed the entire town. 

The poison fog was acidic and caustic. I cackled with glee as the screams filled my ears on the peak I perched upon. 

I saw a line of cultists retreating on the other side. A small movement of my wrist unleashed the twenty fireballs I had stored in a wand. A fiery rain fell upon them... the scene which I had memorialized upon the very wall that was just finished...

...

Recounting the tale did not lift my heart as I had hoped. Rogahn and Melissa are happy, and I am truly glad he had found his love. I ache for my Quinn and find myself jealous of Melissa's affections to Rohgan, the one person in the world who has never failed me. 

As for Quinn, I've tried many times to reunite us... but their soul has been consumed by Asmodeus, a fate unimaginable. 

Asmodeus himself is now on my list of aggressors... and should I find any of his worshipers... I'll make sure he gets my message.

I will be coming for you.