Exemplars of Evil

Illus. by J. Chan
80
ometimes I wake up drenched in sweat. In my
dreams, I see myself murdering Pietro while she
stands there, laughing. Now, I inhabit her flesh,
maintaining her dark alliances and darker schemes.
The sins of both our pasts live unwelcome in this
body. I must destroy them all to cleanse us of evil.”
—Calais Archwinter as Tamesik
Calais Archwinter was an elf priestess of Corellon
Larethian, an adventurer, and an opponent of tyranny.
Tamesik was a drow priestess, the mastermind
behind an illicit trade ring known as the Chelicerata.
When they met in battle, Tamesik lost her life,
and Calais lost her identity. Cursed to inhabit the
drow’s body, Calais became what she hated the most.
Since her transformation, she has descended toward
evil, furthering the drow’s plots and intrigues.
Fractured and twisted, her mind dwells on only one
thing: vengeance.
BACKGROUND
Calais Archwinter was a priestess of Corellon
Larethian and part of Freedom’s Lance, a band of
adventurers. The Lance was famous for its struggle
against slavery and corruption. In addition to Calais,
its members included Lylok, a human traps expert;
Rionan, a barbarian; and Pietro, a half-elf wizard
and Calais’s lover. Together, the four heroes fought for the
downtrodden, the forgotten, the orphaned, and the homeless.
They were about to settle down, at least temporarily,
when they caught wind of illegal activity in the city where
they were based.
Believing that the criminal organization was only a
minor threat, the Lance investigated with little fear.
Hoping to end their most recent adventuring escapades on
a high note, the group followed a lead to a warehouse near
the docks. Casing the building, they saw what appeared to
be a normal storage facility, filled with crates and staffed
by a handful of guards. They did not realize that what they
saw was only an illusion—a ruse engineered by Tamesik, a
cunning and vicious drow priestess and a powerful servant
of Lolth.
Tamesik ran a black-market operation known as the Chelicerata
out of the warehouse, which sat above a subterranean
complex. Through a tunnel that ran from the building into
the Underdark, Tamesik and her drow minions could move
illegal goods without being detected.
However, Tamesik was extremely paranoid, and when
her spies reported that the adventurers known as Freedom’s
Lance were in town, she became concerned. Rather than
risk allowing the do-gooders to learn the truth, she led them
directly into a trap.
Calais and her comrades were ambushed when they
entered the warehouse. Trapped in the building by guards
and magical defenses, they had no choice but to fight their