It cannot be...
He saw it all.
Fully intending to pay the wizard a visit that morning, he stopped when he saw the door open. He did not know who the stranger was, only that he was there.
Interruptions!
He'd wait until the man left and then he'd give Rabastan the visit he intended to give.
Until he saw the reaction Rabastan gave the stranger. The wizard's confessions days earlier coupled with his current behaviour was enough to tell Strahan who the stranger was.
Rabastan would not act like this around any old man! It had to be that Maglor person.
Gritting his teeth with rage he decided he'd need to take a closer look, but without being seen. Maglor could ruin all of Strahan's plans and he was not about to let that happen. Rabastan belonged to the Ihlini sorcerer and no one else.
Simple affection between the pair could destroy all of Strahan's hard work, chief amongst his toils the trap-link he'd inserted while Rabastan was still on the mend. Emotions could erode it into something less potent, though still lethal. At least, to the one who tried to undo it. No. To the one who wasn't Strahan. Only he could undo it without any ill-effects. That was how he'd set it.
He shifted into a small bird. A cardinal. And flew up to a beam to watch the scene unfold. Watch as Maglor proceeded with his unique brand of cluelessness until-
-he put his hand on Rabastan's wrist and everything began to fall into place. For the elf.
For the Ihlini cardinal he'd known already what was on the wizard's mind. It was for Maglor to make the discovery.
Time seemed to behave in a peculiar fashion then, as Strahan remembered too late that trap-links could work backwards as well as forwards. Just as the caster could use it to control the victim, so the victim's emotions could filter through the link back to the one who placed it in the mind of the intended prey.
In other words he was feeling a portion of what Rabastan was feeling, and he found he hated it very much.
It was almost overwhelming, when the two abandoned their meal to head off towards that part of the bar designated for rest, relaxation and other forms of leisure.
He flew in the direction, stopping now and then to let the two catch up so he could gauge for himself their intended destination.
A sofa. With a blanket for the two to get cozy under.
NO!
But like it or not it was patentedly clear what was going on, and how much Strahan stood to lose if he permitted this to carry forwards.
This required drastic measures, and Rabastan, during his confessions to god, sorcerer and now elf, had provided a solution.
"She's got Bette Davis eyes..."
Fully intending to pay the wizard a visit that morning, he stopped when he saw the door open. He did not know who the stranger was, only that he was there.
Interruptions!
He'd wait until the man left and then he'd give Rabastan the visit he intended to give.
Until he saw the reaction Rabastan gave the stranger. The wizard's confessions days earlier coupled with his current behaviour was enough to tell Strahan who the stranger was.
Rabastan would not act like this around any old man! It had to be that Maglor person.
Gritting his teeth with rage he decided he'd need to take a closer look, but without being seen. Maglor could ruin all of Strahan's plans and he was not about to let that happen. Rabastan belonged to the Ihlini sorcerer and no one else.
Simple affection between the pair could destroy all of Strahan's hard work, chief amongst his toils the trap-link he'd inserted while Rabastan was still on the mend. Emotions could erode it into something less potent, though still lethal. At least, to the one who tried to undo it. No. To the one who wasn't Strahan. Only he could undo it without any ill-effects. That was how he'd set it.
He shifted into a small bird. A cardinal. And flew up to a beam to watch the scene unfold. Watch as Maglor proceeded with his unique brand of cluelessness until-
-he put his hand on Rabastan's wrist and everything began to fall into place. For the elf.
For the Ihlini cardinal he'd known already what was on the wizard's mind. It was for Maglor to make the discovery.
Time seemed to behave in a peculiar fashion then, as Strahan remembered too late that trap-links could work backwards as well as forwards. Just as the caster could use it to control the victim, so the victim's emotions could filter through the link back to the one who placed it in the mind of the intended prey.
In other words he was feeling a portion of what Rabastan was feeling, and he found he hated it very much.
It was almost overwhelming, when the two abandoned their meal to head off towards that part of the bar designated for rest, relaxation and other forms of leisure.
He flew in the direction, stopping now and then to let the two catch up so he could gauge for himself their intended destination.
A sofa. With a blanket for the two to get cozy under.
NO!
But like it or not it was patentedly clear what was going on, and how much Strahan stood to lose if he permitted this to carry forwards.
This required drastic measures, and Rabastan, during his confessions to god, sorcerer and now elf, had provided a solution.
"She's got Bette Davis eyes..."