Those volatile orbs of fire hat were the warlock's eyes narrowed at Athinar. The freshly resurrected servant of his wasn't gnashing his teeth and charging wildly, and that was a good sign. It was always inconvenient to reanimate someone and have them remember exactly what killed them since the Master usually had a hand in their deaths and such foul memories always led to further violence or disobedience...no, it was best to have a clean slate.

But was this new Athinar a clean slate? Just how much did he remember? The Overlord would be sure to keep an eye on that one and later probe with some questions. It couldn't hurt to play it safe, after all. If it proved necessary he knew of a few means of "fixing" any defects in this reanimated Athinar's mind and memories.

But in the meantime, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Noticing that Umbra seemed to be waiting for something, he cast a harsh that way. [i]'What does that fool want?'[/i] the Keeper found himself thinking. But then it hit him; how could he have forgotten? [b]"Oh yes, you wanted permission to rule this ravaged waste of a fief. By all means, it is yours. Make the locals slaves to work for our cause, press them into being warriors, use them all as a catalyst in some ritual that will summon us real fighters...it doesn't matter what you do with them or this place, so long as you exploit the resources here for our cause."[/b]

It was then that the ever forgetful and absent-minded Keeper had his thoughts and monologue interrupted by the sound of fighting. He turned once again to notice Sarin a second time. Balothiss hadn't killed her yet, and as droll as it might be to watch the two fight, perhaps it was time that he interceded.

Lazily yet deliberately, he menacingly approached with his dark staff in hand.