Old Grin + Records. Zagnibs.

 

Old Grin is the ancient Nabassu-soul and mythic alter-ego of Maryn’bl Zagnibs (Zaga) . While she presents as a poised Knowledge Cleric and casino manager, she shares her body with this abyssal predator as "co-authors" of their shared fate. 

Previous to it's experience with Zaga it was a pawn of Orcus, left and confined to a gargoyle. (Orcus has been known to assist Iggwilv when it would lead to extreme destruction.) 

"I Won't Break" is the Nabassu's song before it was used to possess the girl. It has been in service to Orcus like many, was left captured in a Gargoyle remained there isolated and trapped after prolonged service as a Nabassu. Hungry, starving, the assumed entity Zybilna or perhaps it was Baba Yaga in another form unknown... Snaps the chain, offering a contract to another entity (a girl, Zaga). Desperate, it accepts...

Origin and the Trauma of Oerth

Old Grin’s existence was orchestrated by a coven of hags (assumed: Baba Yaga). While Zaga was still a child in Waterdeep, a hag coven serving Baba Yaga performed a ritual that "soul-stuffed" the Nabassu into her human body, physically transforming Zaga via possession and by proximity turning her and her siblings into Tiefling variants. 

(Demonic Lore: Abyssal demons of high rank will produce effects of disease and necrotic aura which as a child would have been prolific when/if they enter and remain in a Prime Material plane....) 

The nabassu was tainted towards loyalties to entities such as Orcus and Iggwilv. Leading them to be twisted back into time towards Wars in Oerth. 

Old, Dead Wars

The entity "Old Grin" holds deep-seated trauma from the Wars of Iuz with Iggwilv on Oerth. During this era, the Nabassu was the dominant personality, serving as a commander for Iuz to seize Oerth . This history of necromantic warfare and forced servitude left the entity scarred and weary of cosmic ownership. Fighting to retain control of the body, Zagnibs made fatal errors in the war that led to it's capture.

Zagnibs was imprisoned. Through a  monastic discipline in Ysgard, Zaga eventually mastered the demon, transforming it from a master into a partner that now submits to her will rather than Iggwilv or Iuz. (Something she still actively fights for - every day.) 

Note that Iuz is often referred to as "Iuz the Old" and is the son of Iggwilv in Oerth. Old Grin still holds extremely strong internal loyalty conflicts to Iuz and is an anchor to Zaga's "other life in Oerth". This echoes Zigga's "old life in Ravnica". (As well as Zybilna's "past as Iggwilv".) 

Read about how Zaga regained control of the vessel via training in monasteries on her own background page. 

Zagnibs/Old Grin is a separate entity, one that she shared a body with as a shapechanger, she can and does alter her form. She definitely does share thoughts with the entity, however they are seperate consciousnesses.

Behavior in a Layered Construct

Maryn’bl (a combined name they created together) operates as a tripartite soul, a complex layered construct within a single vessel:

1. Zaga (The Girl): The birth identity and Boccobian scholar who maintains memory and guilt.
2. Old Grin The Demon (The Shadow): The predatory Nabassu-soul that provides mythic strength and abyssal resonance.
3. Unknown

In this vessel, Old Grin behaves with a "smiling knot" of composure. It remains a predator beneath the surface, but it is channeled into "Corrective Pattern Behavior". It uses its knowledge of demonic "syntax of power" to unbind curses and fix planar disruptions to compensate for its former villainy in the hopes that Zaga continues to choose it. A demon with hope, after learning what mercy is.

The Legend of the "Last Smile" in Sigil

In the City of Doors, the entity is a localized legend at the Bottle & Jug tavern.

• Reputation: Cagers view Old Grin as "part of the pit," like gravity or blood on stone. It is known for a constant, patient smile that widens when someone yields or narrowly avoids death.
• Titles: She, as Old Grin, is called "The One Who Smiles After" by the dabus Fell, indicating a witness who outlives the moment. Shemeshka the Marauder calls her "My Little Dividend," viewing her as a controlled liability that always pays a return.
• The Second Smile: A forbidden and rumored name, "The Second Smile," implies she is a potential successor to the Lady of Pain—a claim so dangerous it causes tongues to be flayed and taverns to vanish. (Confused myths conflate her real visits to the Bone Throne in Undersigil.)

Combat and Metamorphosis

If pushed to aggression, Maryn'bl transforms into Old Grin, undergoing a surgical and horrifying transformation in a few short moments perfected over millennia: 

• Physical Form: Her form lengthens, her skin cracks like porcelain to reveal vast depth, and her grin widens beyond bone limits.
• Surgical Precision: She does not fight with chaotic rage but with calculated aggression, exploiting broken oaths and manipulating space to isolate targets.
• The Lawful Persona: During high-stakes confrontations, Maryn'bl may transform the room into a "quietly lawful" theater, demanding justification for an aggressor's existence before shifting to execute them swiftly (bonus action + true name action). 

QA 

Is it known that Maryn'bl IS Old Grin? Not typically. 

Old Grin is publicly seen in the open (outside of combat) only to those who regularly hang out at the Bottle & Jug. Old Grin rarely speaks in Nabassu form, when it does it does so in Infernal or Abyssal exclusively. 

Implying that Old Grin may have a persona of relations with fiends of it's own outside if it's tiefling form entitled Maryn'bl (it's perspective). 

Shemeshka? Definitely knows. 

Lady of Pain? Definitely knows. 

Kerberos and previous party of Witchlight? Saw a transformation late game, especially Kerberos knows. 

Zigga? Had only recently been informed just before the Month of Death in Sigil

Kayne? Has evidence that proves Old Grin and Maryn'bl are the same and reports that detail that she is a fiendship shapeshifter. Other reports prove her neutrality and highly suspect that she pursues efforts that support "the Balance". 

Can Old Grin separate from Zaga and be somewhere she isn't? No.
Maryn'bl is a shapeshifter,  mechanically they are one entity not two. Two souls, one vessel/body.

Does Old Grin have a different personality/knowledge than Zaga?
Kind of. Their "person"-alities are a blur most of the time. Co-habiting body and thought, but perceive each other separately. This manifests through interest level rather than notable visual or audible differences. High intelligent or wisdom characters note this over time. 

Those who spend time with her begin to recognize Old Grin and it's mannerisms through Maryn'bl. Maryn'bl has become an advanced scholar but her memories have been modified multiple times, she has held a lot of trauma. But it's a shared trauma.

For example, Old Grin remembers the Wars of Iuz, and Zaga for example does not. Zaga can study and ask for information but it's coming from a place stored within the demon, rather than her. Since it was predominantly in-charge of the body and consciousness at that time, Zaga has little to no active memory of these events in current time. 

So is this like MPD or something? No, it's fantasy demonic possession over 3000 years via hags and lore based in Abyss, Hades, Gaheena and the Blood War (cannon). (Defined in "Book of Vile Darkness")

So did the modify memory from Zybilna/Iggwilv effect just one or both? Both!
Since they willfully co-habitat the body and mind as Maryn'bl, the magical modification effected them both. This is why it was so dramatic to Zaga's magic and research. Since then the bonds between them have become much looser. Maryn'bl cannot fathom the identity (or name) of the entity that enspelled her. 

Whats the biggest difference between Zaga and Old Grin's identity?
Old Grin remembers it's existence even before it came to the materiel realm. Being enslaved, lonely and hungry in the worst of the planes in the multiverse. 

Records indicate that "Zagnibs" was the name of a Commander in the Wars of Iuz on Oerth many years previously. 

Records don't but renown DOES indicate that Zagnibs has an established reputation and alliances within contracts that extend boundaries of typical mortal relations. 

- - -

THE REPORT KAYNE WAS CRAFTING AGAINST MARYN’BL AND OLD GRIN BEFORE HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS - GETTING IN THE WAY OF HIM REPORTING HER.

Was she was secretly choosing him to be the one to either a) take her down legally if the demon ever betray her from within or b) evidence of her being if she was killed or became the Listener (disappeared) or worse, c) mazed. 

DRAFT REPORT — UNSUBMITTED

Filed by: Investigator A——

Subject: Correlative Activity Analysis — “Maryn’bl Zagnibs” and “Old Grin”

Location: Sigil

Status: Incomplete / Working Draft

Date: [Redacted]

I. Purpose of Inquiry

This document was initiated to determine whether a measurable correlation exists between the recorded appearances of the individual known as Maryn’bl Zagnibs (hereafter “Subject M”) and the unexplained absences of the individual colloquially known as Old Grin (hereafter “Subject G”), a longstanding patron and intermittent fixture of the establishment titled The Bottle & Jug.

The working hypothesis at the time of drafting was that Subject M and Subject G may share one of the following relationships:

1. A singular identity expressed under dual manifestations.

2. A coordinated partnership involving concealed movement.

3. A parasitic, symbiotic, or otherwise metaphysically entangled existence.

The aim of this inquiry was containment assessment and intent evaluation.

II. Background

Subject M: Maryn’bl Zagnibs

• Known employee of the Fortune’s Wheel Casino.

• Regularly clocked presence spanning no less than a century (records confirm >100 years of employment, though original hiring documents are incomplete).

• No documented planar origin.

• Species classification: undetermined.

• Magical signature: anomalous; does not correspond to fiendish, celestial, draconic, or divine taxonomy.

• Behavioral presentation: controlled, observant, affectively restrained.

Subject G: Old Grin

• Primary residency: The Bottle & Jug.

• Known to have occupied the premises for over one hundred years.

• No verifiable origin or planar entry record.

• Species classification: undetermined.

• Not fiend, not god, not dragon; resistant to standard divinatory identification.

• Displays inconsistent corporeal density under scrutiny (see Appendix C — unreconciled observations).

Notably, neither individual has been the subject of prior formal academic or factional research despite their longevity within Sigil. This absence of inquiry is, in itself, irregular.

III. Observational Correlation

Preliminary ledger comparisons indicate the following pattern:

• On three documented occasions in the past seventeen years, Subject G was absent from The Bottle & Jug for periods exceeding forty-eight hours.

• During each absence, Subject M was confirmed present and clocked at the casino for extended shifts, exceeding her norm by measurable margins.

• The inverse has not been conclusively observed; Subject G has been present during the majority of Subject M’s known working hours.

This asymmetry suggests either:

• A concealment mechanism favoring Subject M’s visibility,

• A tether requiring one entity to anchor while the other manifests,

• Or a deliberate attempt to construct the illusion of separateness.

It must be noted that the evidence remains circumstantial.

IV. Theoretical Considerations

Given their century-long residency without known origin, both subjects fall outside conventional planar migratory patterns. They are not registered in baatezu census, nor listed among celestial envoys, nor indexed within draconic registries. Independent arcanists consulted (informally) report no resonance with divine avatars.

Therefore, three provisional classifications were under consideration at the initiation of this report:

1. Uncatalogued Extraplanar Entity — possibly predating current taxonomies.

2. Fragmented Singular Consciousness — partitioned across two stable vessels.

3. Constructed Persona Pairing — a long-term infiltration strategy utilizing identity bifurcation.

At the outset of this inquiry, Subject M was regarded as the more operationally significant of the two due to her proximity to concentrated wealth, influence, and planar traffic within the casino. If duality exists, she represents the more strategic node.

V. Risk Assessment

If Subjects M and G are indeed linked manifestations, the following risks were hypothesized:

• Covert information gathering spanning a century.

• Influence over economic probabilities within the casino environment.

• Potential reality distortion localized to Sigil’s commercial wards.

• Unknown long-term objective (containment, destabilization, ascension, or observation).

At the time this draft was composed, I recommended discreet surveillance, magical resonance testing, and—if evidence substantiated convergence—containment protocol under Ward-Seven conditions.

No direct confrontation was advised pending proof.

VI. Personal Addendum (Unfiled)

It must be recorded—though not in any official copy—that the hypothesis of hostile intent remains unproven. No act attributable to Subject M has directly harmed Sigil’s structural balance. Her conduct, by observable measure, is consistent, controlled, and—if anything—conscientiously restrained.

This notation was not intended for inclusion in final submission.

Conclusion (Provisional)

At the time of drafting, the evidence suggested correlation without causation. Further investigation was required before advancing containment measures.

This report was to serve as foundation only.

End of Draft.

(The remaining pages were torn along the binding. Ink scored through the margin where “containment authorization request” had been half-written.)

In the same envelop is a very different looking document.

[Folded Document — Unofficial Copy]

Paper quality: fibrous, faintly luminescent at the edges. Ink inconsistent, as though absorbed unevenly. Smells faintly of damp moss and spiced gin.

Sticky Note (affixed at top, written in Kayne’s hand):

A fey boggle walked up and gave me this today. Noted: suspicious.

UNATTRIBUTED OBSERVATIONAL SUMMARY

Subject Designation: Maryn’bl Zagnibs

Filed By: ——— (Signature absent)

Seal: None

Date Stamp: Illegible (ink smeared into a crescent shape)

I. Nature of Document

[This document does not resemble a formal investigative report (yet). It lacks sigil watermarks, factional headers, and official indexing marks. The prose shifts inconsistently between academic precision and poetic abstraction. Several sentences trail into blank space as if the writer forgot what certainty felt like…]

II. Opening Statement

The woman known as Maryn’bl Zagnibs is not what she appears to be, but she is also not what one might fear. (Note added by hand here reads "Yea right!" but its crossed out, "I am sorry I didn't know".)

III. Observations

• Subject has been present in Sigil for no fewer than one hundred and twelve years (margin note: “longer?”).

• No record of planar entry. No documented arrival. No known aging variance.

• Species indeterminate. Not fiendish. Not divine. Not draconic. Not elemental.

• Magical signature: layered. As though something is wrapped carefully in something else.

Unlike the earlier draft report, this document does not hypothesize duplication or correlation with Old Grin directly. Instead, it references him obliquely:

The one who laughs at the Bottle & Jug is a mirror that remembers being whole.

Below this line is a scratch mark, as though the writer attempted to erase the sentence but lacked the will.

IV. Divergence from Prior Hypothesis

Where the first draft sought containment, this document questions motive:

• If she were hostile, Sigil would already know.

• If she were hungry, Sigil would already bleed.

• If she were false, the Lady would have corrected the error.

Three underlines beneath that last sentence.

V. Concerning Intent

Observation suggests:

• Restraint rather than ambition.

• Distance rather than infiltration.

• Attachment rather than conquest.

The word attachment is circled twice.

VI. Addendum — Origin Theory

This section is markedly different in tone.

• It is possible she is not from a plane but from an interval.

• A remainder of something divided long ago.

• A wound that chose to walk.

There is a faint ring on the page here, as if a glass once rested too long in one place.

VII. Concluding Remarks

• Containment would be premature.

• Provocation would be unwise.

• Understanding may require proximity.

The final line, written more heavily than the rest:

She is not the danger. The danger is what would happen if she were forced to become one.

At the bottom of the page, in a different hand—sharper, impatient, likely written later:

“This is either a warning or a manipulation.”

No signature.

The paper ends there.

A Fiendish Contract Reverse Notice

Then another document that looks fiendish in nature.

[Recovered Document — Unauthorized Duplicate]

Parchment: blackened vellum, infernal script etched in raised red-gold ink. The seal bears fine cracks from prior opening. Heat lingers faintly in the fibers.

Two sticky notes are layered at the upper margin.

Top Sticky (newer, written hastily — ink slightly smeared):

I wouldn’t dare.

(Underneath, written smaller.)

I don’t know if I want to know the truth.

Beneath It — Older Sticky (in Kayne’s hand, more deliberate):

Given to me by Mindi — the black pseudodragon I assume belongs to Maryn’bl Zagnibs.

Note to self: consider attaching this as evidence to my case against her.

The implication is inescapable.

For years, information Kayne believed he had uncovered through diligence, luck, or quiet bribery was being delivered — directly — by her familiar.

Not intercepted.

Not stolen.

Not leaked.

Given. Yea, Mindi the black pseudodragon…

Delivered this evidence straight to you, she must know you knew…
That makes you REALLY dangerous to her. Perhaps the most dangerous person in Sigil as the only one that could bring her down. Why would she give you this then?

A Fiendish Contract Reversal details:

ARTICLES OF CENSURE AND CONDITIONAL EXILE

Filed Within: Restricted Archive — Hall of Records

Originating Authority: Signatories Representing Infernal Interests within Sigil

Classification: Internal — Not for Civic Circulation

Copy Status: Illegal Reproduction

PREAMBLE

Let it be recorded that the entity known publicly as Old Grin (true designation redacted by warded cipher) stands in violation of Conduct Alignment Accord §VII, Subclause III: Sustained Deviation from Contractual Disposition.

The signatories affirm that the aforementioned entity was, upon arrival to Sigil approximately one century prior, aligned in accordance with infernal cooperative expectations. Said expectations included participation in structured influence, acquisition of mortal leverage, and the preservation of lawful hierarchies beneficial to collective interests.

Subsequent behavioral deviation has been observed.

ARTICLE I — BREAKER OF CONDUCTS

Old Grin is herein designated Breaker of Conducts for the following infractions:

1. Repeated acts of unsolicited benevolence toward unaffiliated civilians.

2. Refusal to exploit indebted patrons despite opportunity.

3. Interference (minor but recorded) with predatory contracts executed by allied agents.

4. Sustained alignment drift toward neutral disposition.

Margin notation in infernal script: “Too kind.”

Further annotation: “Compassion is corrosion.”

ARTICLE II — ECONOMIC SEVERANCE

Effective immediately upon ratification (date obscured by archival stamp), Old Grin is severed from all factional and guild-based economic patronage.

All structured backing, financial insulation, and covert resource pipelines are revoked.

Exception Clause:

The censured party may engage in independent economic activity only through willing, unaffiliated participants acting without factional mandate.

(Parenthetical notation: “Such participation shall not constitute reinstatement.”)

The document leaves these participants unnamed. However, cross-referencing casino labor structures implies continued employment under private discretion rather than infernal contract.

ARTICLE III — STATUS WITHIN SIGIL

Old Grin is not to be classified as a reject nor declared an isolated exile from the city proper.

Instead:

• She is permitted to remain within Sigil.

• She may observe factional operations.

• She shall not obstruct organized infernal enterprise.

• She shall not impede guild contracts.

Provided these terms are met, her continued presence shall be tolerated.

Until such time as she resumes conduct consistent with prior alignment.

Or—

Until she commits actionable evil in violation of civic balance, at which time prior claims may be reasserted.

ARTICLE IV — CONDITIONAL REINSTATEMENT

The document presumes future failure.

It outlines, with notable anticipation, a reinstatement protocol:

Should Old Grin return to active malice, structured corruption, or contract enforcement on behalf of infernal hierarchy, she shall be welcomed back into allied standing with full privileges restored.

In short:

Neutrality is exile.

Benevolence is breach.

Evil is home.

ARTICLE V — IMPLIED CONTRACTUAL STATUS

Though no active binding sigil marks her name within this document, language suggests that she was once expected to formalize allegiance.

A chilling clause reads:

“Should the censured party seek alignment correction, contract formalization shall remain available without penalty.”

As though they assume she will tire of restraint.

As though kindness is temporary.

As though she belongs to them by default.

ARCHIVAL ADDENDUM

A final line, written in smaller infernal hand:

“Public perception regarding the associate known as Maryn’bl Zagnibs shall not be disturbed. Her civic reputation remains advantageous.”

This line is underlined twice.

The seal at the bottom is cracked, not broken — suggesting it was opened and resealed at least once.

There is no signature from Old Grin.

No acknowledgment.

No acceptance.

Only the assumption that she would eventually return to what she was.

On the back of the page, faintly impressed into the vellum — not written, but pressed hard enough to leave an imprint — are three words:

“She chose differently.”

Final Implication

If Kayne proceeded/s, he becomes exactly what she once prepared him not to be. Her doom.

But not because she is evil. Or because he is/was. But because they are.

Because she allowed him enough curiosity to let him see the pieces. To see her.

And he may not survive knowing why.

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