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Boss Monsters: Maggris, the Hive Mother

By: Rob Bartel

Frustrated with the slow progress of the tunnels that would eventually become known as Undermountain, Halaster Blackcloak traveled to the ancient lands of Mulhorand and Imaskar to take solace from their megalithic architecture that had taken generations to complete. Traveling through the dusty deserts of Kaurin, the wizard stumbled upon an insect colony that had gone undisturbed since Imaskar's fall, and he marveled at their industriousness and the quality of their workmanship. He bargained with the bloated hive mother for a pair of eggs, one of which, through his divinations, he knew contained a female--a future queen. When she hatched, he named her Maggris and set about to breed a brood of tunnelers that would be unparalleled in all the lands. He manipulated his precious queen with magics, distorting and enhancing her and, through her, the countless larvae that would make Undermountain what it is today.

Like most queens within the insect world, however, Maggris was sullen and strong-willed, not one to easily accept a master. So it was that Halaster returned to the ancient empires where she'd been found, in search of some magic that could control her. He found it in the Scarab Amulet of Imaskar, an item that allowed the wearer to dominate the queen. It is taxing to use and he does not do it often. Every time a queen, always called Maggris, lays a would-be heir female egg, he dons the amulet and grimly instructs the hive to see to the heir's destruction. When a queen grows too old, Halaster dons the amulet, destroys the queen and raises a new one, dominating her right from the start.

The latest Maggris grows old now, and with all the memories of her ancestors in her mind, she knows that the wizard will soon allow a female egg to live. Knowing that her daughter will live her entire life as a slave to the wizard's whims, Maggris is desperate to escape. She yearns for the taste of freedom, both for herself and for her daughter, but knows it will not come as long as the Scarab Amulet remains outside of her own keeping.

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