Mardrash

Mardrash is the Chief Priest of Temple Hengroth, charged with training promising local followers of the Witch-king in the art of Dark Magic. Mardrash is a human of Variag descent; all his acolytes are of Dunman origin, however. Mardrag is not particularily fond of his students; he doubts they hold the same reverence for the Dark Master that he holds. Mardrash is even more disdainful of the Orcs of the village. He dislikes Orcs anyway and hasn't found any reason not to dislike these as well. It is difficult to see why Mardrash dislikes Orcs; he is uncouth, unkempt, foul-mouthed and ill-tempered — all qualities he shares with them. He manages enough of a veneer of civility to keep relations with Shardakh cordial. He does appreciate the added security the village provides his temple.

Items
In his position as a priest of the Dark Religion, Mardrash possesses a rod and amulet of power, both bearing the sign of the Eye. The amulet must be worn on the forehead while using the rod for it to exhibit any sign of Black Magical power. The rod acts as a spell power enhancer for all Black Magical spells. The use of these artifacts, or, indeed, the use of black magic spells, has a corrupting effect on the user. Any adventurer who retains these items and uses them to cast Dark spells will find his actions and his attitudes affected, slowly being seduced to the lure of evil. These items have great resale value, though, fet-ching upwards of 1200 gp apiece if the seller patiently searches out an appropriate buyer (a Lord who secretly wants to skill himself in the Dark arts, for example).