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masterghandalfThis is a repost from Das_sporking2. Previous installments of this sporking may be found here.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Cloak of Shadows – we’re in the home stretch now, people! Last time, the three rangers inexplicably took a bath with Amdramnar, who later proved to have unclear but nefarious intentions but was chased off by Sylune, while we were assured of how awesome Elminster is, and Milhvar has amassed a lot of power in some nebulous way (and also captured Elminster’s flying magic head, yay!). Today, we reach the beginning of the book’s actual climax. Joining us once again will be Errezha and Calassara!
Chapter Nineteen: But a Grand Place to Skulk Around
Errezha: I, for one, cannot wait for this to be over (sadly, there’s another book to go after this one, isn’t there…). We open in The Castle of Shadows, Kythorn 20 as the door to the rangers’ room chimes and from the other side Amdramnar asks if they’re awake. Belkram invites him in, startling Sharantyr who is still naked and has to cover herself. You… you insensitive ass. Belkram quickly grabs her top and shoves it onto her. He stuffed her into the top half of her leathers with blinding speed, earning more than one angry growl of promised revenge from her as he merrily laced and snugged, and finished by chucking her briskly under the chin. *coldly* You did that specifically so you would have an excuse to grope her, didn’t you? I hate these people so much – though in this case, even Itharr calls his behavior out as crude. Belkram insists he gets the job done, but Sharantyr, grabbing her sword, promises to remember the crudity. And yet I somehow find myself doubting Greenwood will ever let her get back at him for it.
Calassara: You are not alone in that presumption, alas. Amdramnar then comes in (did Sharantyr ever get her breeches on, by the way? If it was another author, I might presume she was wearing them already, but… it’s Greenwood, I take no chances) with a tray of platters of broth flanked by crescent shaped toasted rolls slathered in butter, oh, my. He wryly comments about them being in hearty spirits, with Belkram asking if he has any actual hearty spirits to share (first thing in the morning? My, my!). Amdramnar admits he likes their jokes – I suppose someone must – and that such good humor is rare in the Castle; Sharantyr assures him that it gets old after a while, and here I must agree with her. Amdramnar admits it might, but their company is still new to him, so he’ll enjoy it while he can. Sharantyr says they’ll happily stay here another night but wants to explore the castle more during the daytime (does… does that even mean anything in the Plane of Shadows?). Amdramnar reluctantly gives them his blessing but warns them to stress that they’re under his protection if questioned, and to not mention Elminster or Mystra (one would think that would go without saying, but from what we’ve seen of them so far…) and Sharantyr should always keep her sword at hand. He also warns them to make sure to eat before they go, since Malaugrym don’t dine in public and they’ll have a hard time finding more food or drink and promises that the charms he’s put them under will protect them from shapeshifting uncontrollably. Belkram and Itharr are clearly unsettled by this, in a surprising display of good sense; Sharantyr, presumably, is already protected by her sword.
Errezha: Sharantyr then asks who leads the Malaugrym – what, all that talk last night and you somehow never mentioned that? Or were you too busy bathing to think of it? Nor did you ask Sylune before setting out, apparently. Every time I think we’ve plumbed the depths of these people’s stupidity… they somehow manage to hit another low. Amdramnar explains that the Malaugrym are ruled by the Shadowmaster High, and as he watches his guests eat he grins cheerfully, reminding Sharantyr of Belkram and Itharr. No, lass, Sylune said quietly in the depths of her mind. That’s what he wants you to think, but that’s not what he is. Watch him always. *icily* Because of course we need our scheduled reminder that this is an evil monster, and not a person or any such thing *she mimes vomiting*. Belkram wonders what the Shadowmaster High will think of their being here, and Amdramnar assures them he won’t think anything, because he’s dead; the throne sits empty, and if the rangers attempt to approach it, they’ll be killed. They assure Amdramnar they understand… please don’t tell me these idiots have taken “sit on Dhalgrave’s throne before we leave” as a challenge, have they? They probably have… *she sighs* Sharantyr apologizes for their flippancy, and Amdramnar repeats his warning. Belkram complains that nobody is letting him have any fun – you are in the middle of the Castle of Shadows, surrounded by creatures who are supposedly your sworn enemies, what part of this sounds like fun to you? Gah, they’re worse than Caelum… Sharantyr reminds him of the warning, and Belkram says that heroes never do as they’re told. *she sighs slowly, then facepalms* “Heroes” who have the maturity of the average five-year-old, perhaps. Sharantyr thinks this is probably why most “heroes” end up dead; Itharr thinks it just makes tombstones look grander, Belkram promises to get to work on his right away, and the scene ends, finally.
Calassara: We then cut to somewhere else in the Castle, as a lean and lithe woman embraces a serpentine creature that’s several times longer than she is tall; we soon learn that the woman is Huerbara, and the serpent is her father, Ahorga. Ahorga tells her he has to leave, since Milhvar is continuing to scheme while the other elders do nothing about him. Huerbara warns him to be careful, since she doesn’t want to lose him; he promises he always is as he grows clawed limbs to hug her back. She turns away so he won’t see her cry, since Malaugrym should not weep, and I am suddenly more invested in this family scene than literally anything else in the story so far. Why can’t Greenwood manage this level of basic competence anywhere else? Ahorga then waves farewell and slips off into the shadows, failing to notice the smaller shadow that’s following him. But apparently even if he had noticed, he probably wouldn’t have done anything. Fear’s cold iron taste was something he’d almost forgotten. Well, nice to see it’s not just our heroes making bad decisions today… regardless, the scene ends there.
Errezha: We then cut to Sharantyr as she comments that the Castle still makes her uneasy – as it damned well should, thank you for showing the first shred of intelligence today. She and her companions are walking through the Well of Shadows from a few chapters ago; Itharr wonders if it’s the source of the Malaugrym’s power and if Sharantyr should just start attacking the shadows with her sword and see what happens. *facepalm* Fortunately, she points out that if she did so they’d probably just be swarmed by irate Malaugrym; thank you for still being moderately intelligent, Sharantyr, for however long it lasts. Itharr jokes about trying to explain such a scene away, but their laughter falls silent amid the shadows. Sharantyr does draw her sword and holds it out in front of her as they walk, but it draws lots of the little shadows that seethe formlessly around it. This was the place of shadows, where all things were spun of shadowmist – and in the end spun back into shadowy fading dreams. Their skeletons sank forgotten into the glooms where no creatures went but foolish questing mages, dying shadowbeasts, and lurking prowlers-in-shadow. Well, Calassara, here is another reasonably effective, if quite different, moment. Disconcertingly, it makes one believe that Greenwood can write well but, for some strange reason, chooses not to… I don’t think this bears thinking about further. In any case, Belkram and Itharr worry about how long it’s taking to cross the chamber, as the scene ends.
Calassara: We then cut to Shadowdale, as Storm Silverhand is pulling on her boots, thinking that clothing might be optional for a morning selecting stones on the rock pile, but footwear was not. Beg pardon, but most societies will expect some measure of clothing if one is out in public, in my experience. But of course, Storm is a woman written by Ed Greenwood, so she must get naked at the drop of a hat, for poorly explained reasons… Storm is feeling lonely without Sylune around, to the extent she considers taking up talking to herself, and then reminds herself to put melancholy aside and go on with her life, as she apparently learned to do after her husband’s death… which I think was last mentioned all the way back in Spellfire and never since, so at least we’re seeing, at long last, some actual continuity? *she shrugs* She gets up, takes down an iron bar from the wall and puts it through some swings before being suddenly interrupted by the Simbul’s voice in her mind, asking if she knows what’s happened to Elminster. I can’t feel him. It’s as if he were gone! *she sighs* Oh, if only… But Storm – who it’s apparently vitally important for Greenwood to remind us, is wearing nothing but her boots – doesn’t know. The Simbul tells her to start looking and asking, but to do so without attracting attention. She also reminds Storm to put some clothes on first (thank you, Alassra!). I know all you folk are weird up there in Shadowdale, but…
MG: Which is a bit rich, coming from the woman who never wears anything but a skimpy, tattered dress that leaves very little to the imagination (yes, the Simbul’s a Greenwood character too, how could you tell?).
Calassara: …of course she does. Has no one ever told Greenwood that if you just shove sexuality in everywhere constantly, it becomes trite and stale? I somehow doubt it. Storm makes an obscene gesture with her iron bar in response, which the Simbul somehow interprets as representing some activity Storm as seen Elminster actually doing(?), and Storm finally tells her to leave her be and let her search. The Simbul hopes Elminster’s just lying low and a long search will be unnecessary, as does Storm, though deep down she fears the worst. On that note, the scene ends… and Greenwood, the book is almost done, and I know Elminster lives through this. If you’re trying to do an ominous cliffhanger… this isn’t one.
Errezha: We cut back to the Castle of Shadows, as the rangers enter what Belkram calls the Red Chamber and, surely enough, it is:
A high-ceilinged room as large as the feasting halls of the most proud palaces of Faerun. Every surface – walls, floor and ceiling – was entirely covered in what looked like plush red velvet. She’d never seen a room decorated in such poor taste, but it looked grand and impressive when done so competently and on such a large scale. “Gods,” she murmured, “it looks like the inside of some gigantic beast’s stomach.”
Errezha: …what a charming mental image. Belkram complains about it too, as he’s just stepped inside, and Sharantyr tells him to put his sword away before he hits someone with it (why did he have it out to begin with, I wonder?). But he does, and Sharantyr wonders if Itharr has anything to add, which he does, describing the room’s décor as Early Bordello. *rolls her eyes* You are the very soul of humor. The Harpers bicker a bit, and then another voice asks how Sharantyr puts up with them. They whirl to watch a tall, robed man with an elegant mustache seeming to materialize from one of the walls. He says he’s charmed to meet them, bows elegantly to Sharantyr, and corrects the Harpers that the style is more Late Bordello, and Asmodeus preserve us, there’s another one. Sharantyr introduces herself as a Knight of Myth Drannor, and the newcomer gives his name in turn – it’s our old friend Bheloris, one of the elders of my kin. Sharantyr raises her sword warily, but Bheloris says he’s not interested in offering violence now, or really at any time (considering where we saw him last, that being the meeting with Milhvar and the others, I think he has other things on his mind, honestly…) but he warns them that other Malaugrym might not have so much restraint. He moves to leave the chamber but warns the two Harpers that smooth words will serve them better against his kin than their swords. Sharantyr wonders if he’s interested in them too; Bheloris says he is, and offers to accompany them, since Amdramnar must have been crazed – or more cruel than I thought not to come himself. Oh, Prince of Laws, we’re doing it again – are we going to take a bath with him, too?
Calassara: I suppose it’s still better than the endless tedium of the battle for High Dale last book? Sharantyr doesn’t want an escort, but Bheloris says she would if she stopped to think about it – she can’t stop an archmage who might try to attack them, but he can. But if they really don’t want to go with him, he won’t keep them, save to warn them again that the Shadow Throne is off limits. Sharantyr suddenly has a vision of hacking the throne with her sword until it explodes, sending her flying against the wall… and then she insists she wants to see the real throne. *facepalm* Ah, yes, simply announce your plans to the person who I’m fairly sure is the third most powerful – or even second, now, with Dhalgrave apparently dead – of the Malaugrym. This will go swimmingly! Bheloris says he’ll do it soon enough – ominous! – and asks what they think of the décor. Belkram thinks it’s impressive but overdone, and Bheloris says that if he thinks that, he’s taken his first step in understanding the Malaugrym. He then wonders why they’re here (I wonder that myself – what is your mission, exactly?) noting that they’re clearly not ordinary tourists (do you get many of those here in the Plane of Shadows?) and so he guesses they have some reason for being here, and he thinks it best if they have a good idea of just who they’re dealing with in the Malaugrym. Sharantyr thinks he’s mistaken about why they’re here (then, again, what are you here for? Out of curiosity?) and Bheloris admits he hopes he is, and Sharantyr belatedly realizes she’s given him her real name and her hometown. Ooops!
Errezha: …these people would be doomed dealing with devils. Doomed. She mentally calls out for Sylune while Belkram and Itharr close ranks behind her; Bheloris mildly tells them that clumping up like that makes them very vulnerable to a single spell. He then goes on to explain that this chamber is where their ruling council used to meet in Dhalgrave’s day, before he dismissed the council and never called them back. Bheloris himself was on that council, but now, with Dhalgrave dead, no one rules at all – which is dangerous for our intrepid heroes, since that means there’s no one to punish any Malaugrym who tries to harm them. And here you are, strolling our passageways, easy meat. Belkram tries to say he appreciates Bheloris’s honesty, but suddenly the floor gives way beneath them – oh was it a trap, I’m so surprised… Belkram grabs Sharantyr, who tries to keep her sword steady as it may be the only thing keeping Bheloris at bay; she tries to balance herself to keep from falling backwards into the hole, with the sword tugging on her to keep her upright (is there anything it can’t do?). They manage to pull themselves, discovering the hole to be a trapdoor – how mundane – and Belkram asks if this is Bheloris’s idea of hospitality. He only shuts it and claims that they triggered a trap someone had clearly left for someone else, not them – somehow, I have a hard time believing that. But apparently such trapdoors litter the chamber, around eighty in all, and used to be used to send Malaugrym who had offended the elders straight to the dungeons to begin their punishment. Which is certainly efficient, if nothing else. Belkram says that Amdramnar never mentioned anything about this, and Bheloris doubts he just forgot, since the trapdoors fell out of use as a punishment and now young Malaugrym practice teleporting themselves in and out of them and they all know them well. Sharantyr takes the hint and decides she’s getting sick of the room and that she wants to see Glyorgh’s Chamber. I don’t believe that’s been mentioned before…
MG: It hasn’t.
Errezha: And so, I can only assume Sylune fed her the line, though she says Amdramnar told her it wasn’t’ to be missed. Bheloris offers to lead her there; Belkram asks if there are any more traps Amdramnar didn’t mention, and Bheloris just tells them to keep away from the warning wall of everflame, whatever that may be, and not cast spells at it – though this he thinks Amdramnar might genuinely have forgotten, since doing it wouldn’t even occur to a Malaugrym. Itharr thinks they’re doing a lot of things the Malaugrym wouldn’t think of (you’ve mostly been making utter fools of yourselves, but the Malaugrym seem to do that too…) but Bheloris tells them that continuing to do so might keep them alive (I doubt that…) as the scene ends.
Calassara: We then cut back to Shadowdale, as someone called the High Lady of Berdusk thanks Storm for contacting her and asks about Belkram and Itharr, since she was apparently the one who sent them Storm’s way (to be fair… I’d probably want to get rid of them, too). Storm assures her they were well the last time she saw them, and that she wants the High Lady to keep an eye out for Elminster and let her know if she sees him. The High Lady promises she will, though she also wants Storm to let her know once she’s found him, since she doesn’t want to risk offending Elminster and having her Harpers turned into frogs for bothering him. *beat* Honestly, I’d have thought he’d do worse. She then gets Storm to promise to check in with her, and they agree to meet soon and sing ballads with each other… would they mind a third guest, I wonder? That actually sounds fun! …and wish each other luck as the scene ends. We then cut to Berdusk itself, as High Lady Cylyria Dragonbreast – do I even want to know how she got that name? – sets her speaking stone aside and thinks that Storm hates to use said stones, so the situation must be serious. She muses about how, with everything going wrong in the world, the Harpers – nay, the good folk of Faerun – couldn’t afford to lose Elminster. And of course, that’s why we needed this interlude with a character we’ve never met before – to sing the Great Elminster’s praises! The High Lady then puts her speaking stone away, rings a gong, and as the scene ends hears the sound of feet running up the hall. My, but Harper boys were enthusiastic. There’s more than one way to take that. What have you been up to, High Lady?
Errezha: I don’t know, and I don’t care, I want to be done with this! We cut back to the Castle of Shadows, where the three rangers stand staring down into a pit where amid endlessly roiling, glowing blue shadows, a circle of black magical flames – blazing away consuming nothing and never burning out – encircled a shrouded, floating human form. Ominous, but does it do anything? Apparently, this is Glyorgh’s Chamber, as Belkram asks who “Glyorgh” was. Bheloris explains that he was Malaug’s best friend, and the first other mage to whom he taught Shadow magic. The body is his, and he’s rested here in state longer than the human nations of central Faerun have existed. Belkram wonders where Malaug’s own tomb is; Bheloris admits that nobody knows, and that some believe Malaug isn’t dead but still watches over his children from the shadows. Or maybe he died a messy death in a backwater kingdom in Faerun, accomplishing nothing, if he really was a certain magelord… Belkram and Itharr share an uneasy look at this, and then are interrupted as a young man bursts in, the strange way his arms are jointed being the only visible sign that he’s a Malaugrym. Belkram jokingly asks if this is Malaug, earning him a rebuking look from Bheloris – yes, it’s generally wise not to mock a culture’s near-deified founder when one is a guest in their home – but the newcomer starts rambling about Ahorga and how he’s gone after Milhvar and he needs Bheloris’s help. Bheloris greets the newcomer as Neleyd, who we’ve also seen before, and says he can explain more on the way. He apologizes to his guests, but says he has urgent business to attend to and gives them directions to somewhere called the Lute Gallery as he runs off.
Calassara: I’d like to visit the Lute Gallery. The Harpers close the door behind him, and Sharantyr has to warn Belkram away from his interest in Glyorgh’s body. *beat* No, I don’t know what he wanted with it, and I don’t want to. Apparently, Amdramnar told Sharantyr about the Lute Gallery and how the lutes there are spelled to play soothing music at all times, and it’s a place Malaugrym go to relax. After the traps in the Red Chamber, Belkram isn’t much interested in what Amdramnar had to say, and Sylune suddenly pipes up to comment that that’s the wisest thing Belkram has said all day (to be fair, the bar is very low…). She says she’s only just managed to break a scrying spell Amdramnar had following them and thus is only now willing to show herself (what’s Bheloris, chopped liver?). She does warn them not to talk to her in public, since she wants to stay as their secret weapon. Apparently, hiding from the Malaugrym is easy since they’re all lazy and careless… to these shapeshifters, spell weaving’s more idle thought and whimsy than work. Oh, so we’ve just been informed our villains are all pushovers and their magic is lazy and sloppy… that sounds familiar… Belkram wonders what to do next, and Sylune recommends finding an escape route first (what, we’re leaving already, having accomplished… not much that I can tell?). Apparently there’s a portal in Amdramnar’s quarters, near the privy (dare I ask why it’s there, exactly?). Belkram intends to have words with Amdramnar… but can’t remember which way is back to his chambers *facepalms* Behold, the glorious Harpers at work. Sylune gives them directions and they set off, and the scene ends.
Errezha: We then cut to a room where six Malaugrym are playing cards and gambling over gems and lumps of gold; one of them is Amdramnar’s rival, Olorn, who is in the middle of contemplating his next move. One of the others jokes that if Olorn is waiting for them all to die of old age before he makes his move, he’ll be waiting a long time, since the speaker is younger than him, ha, ha…
MG: And Malaugrym, I believe we’ve mentioned, don’t actually die of old age, though they do become slower and weaker in extreme old age, at which point they’re often assassinated either by rivals among their own kind or non-Malaugrym enemies.
Errezha: …of course Greenwood didn’t think that through. Suddenly, one of them notices something through the floor, which is transparent to them but opaque from below – and sure enough, it’s the three rangers running down a corridor just below them, what a coincidence! Olorn is thrilled and magically passes through the floor and drops in front of them, demanding to know if the cattle are going somewhere. Sharantyr asks if he’s Olorn, and he confirms that he is, breeding maiden (oh, gods, no… and by the way, Olorn first called her “cattle” and now a “breeding maiden” – note to self, keep the livestock away from Olorn) and promises they can talk later, when the two lumps of meat with you are dead (I’d call it harsh, but… it’s Belkram and Itharr. They deserve the insult). The rangers charge him, but he blasts them with flame. And thus the chapter ends on a cliffhanger as Sharantyr didn’t even have time to scream.
MG: This chapter… is really mostly setup, and much of it feels redundant. While we get some cool environments and Malaugrym lore out of it for once, we spend too long wandering around the castle without much to show for it. Bheloris just feels like a retread of Amdramnar, being a Malaugrym who is outwardly hospitable to our heroes while clearly having his own agenda in dealing with them, which makes me think they should have just been the same character to begin with. We spend a weird amount of time with Storm, too, considering that, spoilers, this is the last we’ll see of her in the book. And, with the story almost done (and knowing that the third book is where this trilogy actually catches up with the Avatar Trilogy, where both Elminster and Sharantyr are alive and well) it makes it kind of hard to care about cliffhangers involving their fate. Anyway, next time, we see how our heroes escape Olorn’s attack, learn just what Amdramnar wanted with Sharantyr (and spoilers, it’s handled pretty tastelessly) and we have a confrontation with Milhvar. We’ll see you then! Two chapters to go!
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Cloak of Shadows – we’re in the home stretch now, people! Last time, the three rangers inexplicably took a bath with Amdramnar, who later proved to have unclear but nefarious intentions but was chased off by Sylune, while we were assured of how awesome Elminster is, and Milhvar has amassed a lot of power in some nebulous way (and also captured Elminster’s flying magic head, yay!). Today, we reach the beginning of the book’s actual climax. Joining us once again will be Errezha and Calassara!
Chapter Nineteen: But a Grand Place to Skulk Around
Errezha: I, for one, cannot wait for this to be over (sadly, there’s another book to go after this one, isn’t there…). We open in The Castle of Shadows, Kythorn 20 as the door to the rangers’ room chimes and from the other side Amdramnar asks if they’re awake. Belkram invites him in, startling Sharantyr who is still naked and has to cover herself. You… you insensitive ass. Belkram quickly grabs her top and shoves it onto her. He stuffed her into the top half of her leathers with blinding speed, earning more than one angry growl of promised revenge from her as he merrily laced and snugged, and finished by chucking her briskly under the chin. *coldly* You did that specifically so you would have an excuse to grope her, didn’t you? I hate these people so much – though in this case, even Itharr calls his behavior out as crude. Belkram insists he gets the job done, but Sharantyr, grabbing her sword, promises to remember the crudity. And yet I somehow find myself doubting Greenwood will ever let her get back at him for it.
Calassara: You are not alone in that presumption, alas. Amdramnar then comes in (did Sharantyr ever get her breeches on, by the way? If it was another author, I might presume she was wearing them already, but… it’s Greenwood, I take no chances) with a tray of platters of broth flanked by crescent shaped toasted rolls slathered in butter, oh, my. He wryly comments about them being in hearty spirits, with Belkram asking if he has any actual hearty spirits to share (first thing in the morning? My, my!). Amdramnar admits he likes their jokes – I suppose someone must – and that such good humor is rare in the Castle; Sharantyr assures him that it gets old after a while, and here I must agree with her. Amdramnar admits it might, but their company is still new to him, so he’ll enjoy it while he can. Sharantyr says they’ll happily stay here another night but wants to explore the castle more during the daytime (does… does that even mean anything in the Plane of Shadows?). Amdramnar reluctantly gives them his blessing but warns them to stress that they’re under his protection if questioned, and to not mention Elminster or Mystra (one would think that would go without saying, but from what we’ve seen of them so far…) and Sharantyr should always keep her sword at hand. He also warns them to make sure to eat before they go, since Malaugrym don’t dine in public and they’ll have a hard time finding more food or drink and promises that the charms he’s put them under will protect them from shapeshifting uncontrollably. Belkram and Itharr are clearly unsettled by this, in a surprising display of good sense; Sharantyr, presumably, is already protected by her sword.
Errezha: Sharantyr then asks who leads the Malaugrym – what, all that talk last night and you somehow never mentioned that? Or were you too busy bathing to think of it? Nor did you ask Sylune before setting out, apparently. Every time I think we’ve plumbed the depths of these people’s stupidity… they somehow manage to hit another low. Amdramnar explains that the Malaugrym are ruled by the Shadowmaster High, and as he watches his guests eat he grins cheerfully, reminding Sharantyr of Belkram and Itharr. No, lass, Sylune said quietly in the depths of her mind. That’s what he wants you to think, but that’s not what he is. Watch him always. *icily* Because of course we need our scheduled reminder that this is an evil monster, and not a person or any such thing *she mimes vomiting*. Belkram wonders what the Shadowmaster High will think of their being here, and Amdramnar assures them he won’t think anything, because he’s dead; the throne sits empty, and if the rangers attempt to approach it, they’ll be killed. They assure Amdramnar they understand… please don’t tell me these idiots have taken “sit on Dhalgrave’s throne before we leave” as a challenge, have they? They probably have… *she sighs* Sharantyr apologizes for their flippancy, and Amdramnar repeats his warning. Belkram complains that nobody is letting him have any fun – you are in the middle of the Castle of Shadows, surrounded by creatures who are supposedly your sworn enemies, what part of this sounds like fun to you? Gah, they’re worse than Caelum… Sharantyr reminds him of the warning, and Belkram says that heroes never do as they’re told. *she sighs slowly, then facepalms* “Heroes” who have the maturity of the average five-year-old, perhaps. Sharantyr thinks this is probably why most “heroes” end up dead; Itharr thinks it just makes tombstones look grander, Belkram promises to get to work on his right away, and the scene ends, finally.
Calassara: We then cut to somewhere else in the Castle, as a lean and lithe woman embraces a serpentine creature that’s several times longer than she is tall; we soon learn that the woman is Huerbara, and the serpent is her father, Ahorga. Ahorga tells her he has to leave, since Milhvar is continuing to scheme while the other elders do nothing about him. Huerbara warns him to be careful, since she doesn’t want to lose him; he promises he always is as he grows clawed limbs to hug her back. She turns away so he won’t see her cry, since Malaugrym should not weep, and I am suddenly more invested in this family scene than literally anything else in the story so far. Why can’t Greenwood manage this level of basic competence anywhere else? Ahorga then waves farewell and slips off into the shadows, failing to notice the smaller shadow that’s following him. But apparently even if he had noticed, he probably wouldn’t have done anything. Fear’s cold iron taste was something he’d almost forgotten. Well, nice to see it’s not just our heroes making bad decisions today… regardless, the scene ends there.
Errezha: We then cut to Sharantyr as she comments that the Castle still makes her uneasy – as it damned well should, thank you for showing the first shred of intelligence today. She and her companions are walking through the Well of Shadows from a few chapters ago; Itharr wonders if it’s the source of the Malaugrym’s power and if Sharantyr should just start attacking the shadows with her sword and see what happens. *facepalm* Fortunately, she points out that if she did so they’d probably just be swarmed by irate Malaugrym; thank you for still being moderately intelligent, Sharantyr, for however long it lasts. Itharr jokes about trying to explain such a scene away, but their laughter falls silent amid the shadows. Sharantyr does draw her sword and holds it out in front of her as they walk, but it draws lots of the little shadows that seethe formlessly around it. This was the place of shadows, where all things were spun of shadowmist – and in the end spun back into shadowy fading dreams. Their skeletons sank forgotten into the glooms where no creatures went but foolish questing mages, dying shadowbeasts, and lurking prowlers-in-shadow. Well, Calassara, here is another reasonably effective, if quite different, moment. Disconcertingly, it makes one believe that Greenwood can write well but, for some strange reason, chooses not to… I don’t think this bears thinking about further. In any case, Belkram and Itharr worry about how long it’s taking to cross the chamber, as the scene ends.
Calassara: We then cut to Shadowdale, as Storm Silverhand is pulling on her boots, thinking that clothing might be optional for a morning selecting stones on the rock pile, but footwear was not. Beg pardon, but most societies will expect some measure of clothing if one is out in public, in my experience. But of course, Storm is a woman written by Ed Greenwood, so she must get naked at the drop of a hat, for poorly explained reasons… Storm is feeling lonely without Sylune around, to the extent she considers taking up talking to herself, and then reminds herself to put melancholy aside and go on with her life, as she apparently learned to do after her husband’s death… which I think was last mentioned all the way back in Spellfire and never since, so at least we’re seeing, at long last, some actual continuity? *she shrugs* She gets up, takes down an iron bar from the wall and puts it through some swings before being suddenly interrupted by the Simbul’s voice in her mind, asking if she knows what’s happened to Elminster. I can’t feel him. It’s as if he were gone! *she sighs* Oh, if only… But Storm – who it’s apparently vitally important for Greenwood to remind us, is wearing nothing but her boots – doesn’t know. The Simbul tells her to start looking and asking, but to do so without attracting attention. She also reminds Storm to put some clothes on first (thank you, Alassra!). I know all you folk are weird up there in Shadowdale, but…
MG: Which is a bit rich, coming from the woman who never wears anything but a skimpy, tattered dress that leaves very little to the imagination (yes, the Simbul’s a Greenwood character too, how could you tell?).
Calassara: …of course she does. Has no one ever told Greenwood that if you just shove sexuality in everywhere constantly, it becomes trite and stale? I somehow doubt it. Storm makes an obscene gesture with her iron bar in response, which the Simbul somehow interprets as representing some activity Storm as seen Elminster actually doing(?), and Storm finally tells her to leave her be and let her search. The Simbul hopes Elminster’s just lying low and a long search will be unnecessary, as does Storm, though deep down she fears the worst. On that note, the scene ends… and Greenwood, the book is almost done, and I know Elminster lives through this. If you’re trying to do an ominous cliffhanger… this isn’t one.
Errezha: We cut back to the Castle of Shadows, as the rangers enter what Belkram calls the Red Chamber and, surely enough, it is:
A high-ceilinged room as large as the feasting halls of the most proud palaces of Faerun. Every surface – walls, floor and ceiling – was entirely covered in what looked like plush red velvet. She’d never seen a room decorated in such poor taste, but it looked grand and impressive when done so competently and on such a large scale. “Gods,” she murmured, “it looks like the inside of some gigantic beast’s stomach.”
Errezha: …what a charming mental image. Belkram complains about it too, as he’s just stepped inside, and Sharantyr tells him to put his sword away before he hits someone with it (why did he have it out to begin with, I wonder?). But he does, and Sharantyr wonders if Itharr has anything to add, which he does, describing the room’s décor as Early Bordello. *rolls her eyes* You are the very soul of humor. The Harpers bicker a bit, and then another voice asks how Sharantyr puts up with them. They whirl to watch a tall, robed man with an elegant mustache seeming to materialize from one of the walls. He says he’s charmed to meet them, bows elegantly to Sharantyr, and corrects the Harpers that the style is more Late Bordello, and Asmodeus preserve us, there’s another one. Sharantyr introduces herself as a Knight of Myth Drannor, and the newcomer gives his name in turn – it’s our old friend Bheloris, one of the elders of my kin. Sharantyr raises her sword warily, but Bheloris says he’s not interested in offering violence now, or really at any time (considering where we saw him last, that being the meeting with Milhvar and the others, I think he has other things on his mind, honestly…) but he warns them that other Malaugrym might not have so much restraint. He moves to leave the chamber but warns the two Harpers that smooth words will serve them better against his kin than their swords. Sharantyr wonders if he’s interested in them too; Bheloris says he is, and offers to accompany them, since Amdramnar must have been crazed – or more cruel than I thought not to come himself. Oh, Prince of Laws, we’re doing it again – are we going to take a bath with him, too?
Calassara: I suppose it’s still better than the endless tedium of the battle for High Dale last book? Sharantyr doesn’t want an escort, but Bheloris says she would if she stopped to think about it – she can’t stop an archmage who might try to attack them, but he can. But if they really don’t want to go with him, he won’t keep them, save to warn them again that the Shadow Throne is off limits. Sharantyr suddenly has a vision of hacking the throne with her sword until it explodes, sending her flying against the wall… and then she insists she wants to see the real throne. *facepalm* Ah, yes, simply announce your plans to the person who I’m fairly sure is the third most powerful – or even second, now, with Dhalgrave apparently dead – of the Malaugrym. This will go swimmingly! Bheloris says he’ll do it soon enough – ominous! – and asks what they think of the décor. Belkram thinks it’s impressive but overdone, and Bheloris says that if he thinks that, he’s taken his first step in understanding the Malaugrym. He then wonders why they’re here (I wonder that myself – what is your mission, exactly?) noting that they’re clearly not ordinary tourists (do you get many of those here in the Plane of Shadows?) and so he guesses they have some reason for being here, and he thinks it best if they have a good idea of just who they’re dealing with in the Malaugrym. Sharantyr thinks he’s mistaken about why they’re here (then, again, what are you here for? Out of curiosity?) and Bheloris admits he hopes he is, and Sharantyr belatedly realizes she’s given him her real name and her hometown. Ooops!
Errezha: …these people would be doomed dealing with devils. Doomed. She mentally calls out for Sylune while Belkram and Itharr close ranks behind her; Bheloris mildly tells them that clumping up like that makes them very vulnerable to a single spell. He then goes on to explain that this chamber is where their ruling council used to meet in Dhalgrave’s day, before he dismissed the council and never called them back. Bheloris himself was on that council, but now, with Dhalgrave dead, no one rules at all – which is dangerous for our intrepid heroes, since that means there’s no one to punish any Malaugrym who tries to harm them. And here you are, strolling our passageways, easy meat. Belkram tries to say he appreciates Bheloris’s honesty, but suddenly the floor gives way beneath them – oh was it a trap, I’m so surprised… Belkram grabs Sharantyr, who tries to keep her sword steady as it may be the only thing keeping Bheloris at bay; she tries to balance herself to keep from falling backwards into the hole, with the sword tugging on her to keep her upright (is there anything it can’t do?). They manage to pull themselves, discovering the hole to be a trapdoor – how mundane – and Belkram asks if this is Bheloris’s idea of hospitality. He only shuts it and claims that they triggered a trap someone had clearly left for someone else, not them – somehow, I have a hard time believing that. But apparently such trapdoors litter the chamber, around eighty in all, and used to be used to send Malaugrym who had offended the elders straight to the dungeons to begin their punishment. Which is certainly efficient, if nothing else. Belkram says that Amdramnar never mentioned anything about this, and Bheloris doubts he just forgot, since the trapdoors fell out of use as a punishment and now young Malaugrym practice teleporting themselves in and out of them and they all know them well. Sharantyr takes the hint and decides she’s getting sick of the room and that she wants to see Glyorgh’s Chamber. I don’t believe that’s been mentioned before…
MG: It hasn’t.
Errezha: And so, I can only assume Sylune fed her the line, though she says Amdramnar told her it wasn’t’ to be missed. Bheloris offers to lead her there; Belkram asks if there are any more traps Amdramnar didn’t mention, and Bheloris just tells them to keep away from the warning wall of everflame, whatever that may be, and not cast spells at it – though this he thinks Amdramnar might genuinely have forgotten, since doing it wouldn’t even occur to a Malaugrym. Itharr thinks they’re doing a lot of things the Malaugrym wouldn’t think of (you’ve mostly been making utter fools of yourselves, but the Malaugrym seem to do that too…) but Bheloris tells them that continuing to do so might keep them alive (I doubt that…) as the scene ends.
Calassara: We then cut back to Shadowdale, as someone called the High Lady of Berdusk thanks Storm for contacting her and asks about Belkram and Itharr, since she was apparently the one who sent them Storm’s way (to be fair… I’d probably want to get rid of them, too). Storm assures her they were well the last time she saw them, and that she wants the High Lady to keep an eye out for Elminster and let her know if she sees him. The High Lady promises she will, though she also wants Storm to let her know once she’s found him, since she doesn’t want to risk offending Elminster and having her Harpers turned into frogs for bothering him. *beat* Honestly, I’d have thought he’d do worse. She then gets Storm to promise to check in with her, and they agree to meet soon and sing ballads with each other… would they mind a third guest, I wonder? That actually sounds fun! …and wish each other luck as the scene ends. We then cut to Berdusk itself, as High Lady Cylyria Dragonbreast – do I even want to know how she got that name? – sets her speaking stone aside and thinks that Storm hates to use said stones, so the situation must be serious. She muses about how, with everything going wrong in the world, the Harpers – nay, the good folk of Faerun – couldn’t afford to lose Elminster. And of course, that’s why we needed this interlude with a character we’ve never met before – to sing the Great Elminster’s praises! The High Lady then puts her speaking stone away, rings a gong, and as the scene ends hears the sound of feet running up the hall. My, but Harper boys were enthusiastic. There’s more than one way to take that. What have you been up to, High Lady?
Errezha: I don’t know, and I don’t care, I want to be done with this! We cut back to the Castle of Shadows, where the three rangers stand staring down into a pit where amid endlessly roiling, glowing blue shadows, a circle of black magical flames – blazing away consuming nothing and never burning out – encircled a shrouded, floating human form. Ominous, but does it do anything? Apparently, this is Glyorgh’s Chamber, as Belkram asks who “Glyorgh” was. Bheloris explains that he was Malaug’s best friend, and the first other mage to whom he taught Shadow magic. The body is his, and he’s rested here in state longer than the human nations of central Faerun have existed. Belkram wonders where Malaug’s own tomb is; Bheloris admits that nobody knows, and that some believe Malaug isn’t dead but still watches over his children from the shadows. Or maybe he died a messy death in a backwater kingdom in Faerun, accomplishing nothing, if he really was a certain magelord… Belkram and Itharr share an uneasy look at this, and then are interrupted as a young man bursts in, the strange way his arms are jointed being the only visible sign that he’s a Malaugrym. Belkram jokingly asks if this is Malaug, earning him a rebuking look from Bheloris – yes, it’s generally wise not to mock a culture’s near-deified founder when one is a guest in their home – but the newcomer starts rambling about Ahorga and how he’s gone after Milhvar and he needs Bheloris’s help. Bheloris greets the newcomer as Neleyd, who we’ve also seen before, and says he can explain more on the way. He apologizes to his guests, but says he has urgent business to attend to and gives them directions to somewhere called the Lute Gallery as he runs off.
Calassara: I’d like to visit the Lute Gallery. The Harpers close the door behind him, and Sharantyr has to warn Belkram away from his interest in Glyorgh’s body. *beat* No, I don’t know what he wanted with it, and I don’t want to. Apparently, Amdramnar told Sharantyr about the Lute Gallery and how the lutes there are spelled to play soothing music at all times, and it’s a place Malaugrym go to relax. After the traps in the Red Chamber, Belkram isn’t much interested in what Amdramnar had to say, and Sylune suddenly pipes up to comment that that’s the wisest thing Belkram has said all day (to be fair, the bar is very low…). She says she’s only just managed to break a scrying spell Amdramnar had following them and thus is only now willing to show herself (what’s Bheloris, chopped liver?). She does warn them not to talk to her in public, since she wants to stay as their secret weapon. Apparently, hiding from the Malaugrym is easy since they’re all lazy and careless… to these shapeshifters, spell weaving’s more idle thought and whimsy than work. Oh, so we’ve just been informed our villains are all pushovers and their magic is lazy and sloppy… that sounds familiar… Belkram wonders what to do next, and Sylune recommends finding an escape route first (what, we’re leaving already, having accomplished… not much that I can tell?). Apparently there’s a portal in Amdramnar’s quarters, near the privy (dare I ask why it’s there, exactly?). Belkram intends to have words with Amdramnar… but can’t remember which way is back to his chambers *facepalms* Behold, the glorious Harpers at work. Sylune gives them directions and they set off, and the scene ends.
Errezha: We then cut to a room where six Malaugrym are playing cards and gambling over gems and lumps of gold; one of them is Amdramnar’s rival, Olorn, who is in the middle of contemplating his next move. One of the others jokes that if Olorn is waiting for them all to die of old age before he makes his move, he’ll be waiting a long time, since the speaker is younger than him, ha, ha…
MG: And Malaugrym, I believe we’ve mentioned, don’t actually die of old age, though they do become slower and weaker in extreme old age, at which point they’re often assassinated either by rivals among their own kind or non-Malaugrym enemies.
Errezha: …of course Greenwood didn’t think that through. Suddenly, one of them notices something through the floor, which is transparent to them but opaque from below – and sure enough, it’s the three rangers running down a corridor just below them, what a coincidence! Olorn is thrilled and magically passes through the floor and drops in front of them, demanding to know if the cattle are going somewhere. Sharantyr asks if he’s Olorn, and he confirms that he is, breeding maiden (oh, gods, no… and by the way, Olorn first called her “cattle” and now a “breeding maiden” – note to self, keep the livestock away from Olorn) and promises they can talk later, when the two lumps of meat with you are dead (I’d call it harsh, but… it’s Belkram and Itharr. They deserve the insult). The rangers charge him, but he blasts them with flame. And thus the chapter ends on a cliffhanger as Sharantyr didn’t even have time to scream.
MG: This chapter… is really mostly setup, and much of it feels redundant. While we get some cool environments and Malaugrym lore out of it for once, we spend too long wandering around the castle without much to show for it. Bheloris just feels like a retread of Amdramnar, being a Malaugrym who is outwardly hospitable to our heroes while clearly having his own agenda in dealing with them, which makes me think they should have just been the same character to begin with. We spend a weird amount of time with Storm, too, considering that, spoilers, this is the last we’ll see of her in the book. And, with the story almost done (and knowing that the third book is where this trilogy actually catches up with the Avatar Trilogy, where both Elminster and Sharantyr are alive and well) it makes it kind of hard to care about cliffhangers involving their fate. Anyway, next time, we see how our heroes escape Olorn’s attack, learn just what Amdramnar wanted with Sharantyr (and spoilers, it’s handled pretty tastelessly) and we have a confrontation with Milhvar. We’ll see you then! Two chapters to go!
