waved at El to continue.
He obliged. “So Alusair died, ye might say, in the saddle, still riding the border
wilderlands of the realm she loved, defending it against beasts and brigands. I happen
to know more than a dozen invasions of Cormyr planned by greedy and wealthy Sembian
citizens were canceled because of how well-known her tireless vigilance became. Alusair
died unreconciled, feeling her duty to defend was unfinished and passed on to no competent
replacement, so she lingers yet.”
“As a ghost.”
“As a ghost, defending Cormyr in ways not even the current Royal Magician and Obarskyrs
fully know. Already accomplished at taking down Zhentarim, Thayan, and Sembian spies,
she got very good at felling Thultanthan spies and agents undetected, so they simply
vanished withouttrace—dozens of them, over the years.
That
worried Telamont Tanthul so much, it bought Cormyr decades more of peace.”
Mirt nodded. “And Vangerdahast the Mighty?”
El smiled. “A term of mockery in Waterdeep in thy day, as I recall. The man ye so
labeled was one apprentice of mine who did very well for himself. When he finally
tired of being Mage Royal—long after the realm had tired of him—he willingly bound
himself in stasis as a dragon, with the song dragon Ammaratha Cyndusk at his side,
also out of love for Cormyr. He awaited his awakening to defend the kingdom in a future
time of need. Later, Myrmeen Lhal joined them, one more wyrm in stasis.”
“Until something either went wrong, or they were awakened because the realm was in
need.”
“Indeed, though its defenders knew that not. Szass Tam was greatly weakened after
his failed attempt to become a god, during what’s come to be known as the Spellplague.
He has always hungered for magic—the stored magic of items, if he can get such power
in no other way—and of course, he forever finds himself in need of more. He knew of
certain vaults beneath yonder Royal Palace, and tried to break into them from afar,
but succeeded only in shattering the outermost ward. That was enough to rouse Vangey
and his fellow guardian dragons.
“Wisely, Szass Tam abandoned his attempt right then, but—”
Mirt grinned. “There’s always a ‘but’ in this world, when you’re talking wizards!”
“Indeed. ‘But’ the arcanists of Thultanthar had their spies here in Suzail, for Cormyr
was the largest and best stable source of food near the preferred location for their
city, and one of them reported the destruction of the ward to his superior, who was
competent enough to pass it on to the ruler of the Thultanthans, a man as overconfident
as his self-proclaimed title suggests, and—”
“Oh, the ‘Most High’?”
“Aye, Telamont Tanthul. Another who had endless hunger for enchanted items. He presumed
that there would be only one more ward, and that Cormyr had no defenders who could
hold the vault against a strike force led by half a dozen arcanists. So weak did he
think the defense would be that he sent along eight untried novices to lead the assault,
as a test of their abilities.”
“And the guardian dragons destroyed them.”
“Handily. So aghast was the senior arcanist assigned to scry on them from afar that
he abandoned his duty in the opening moments of the fray to go and convince one of
the Princes of Shade—without telling the Most High, mind ye—that there was a serious
threat to Thultanthar under the Royal Palace of Cormyr. He succeeded; that prince
came racing back with a much stronger force.”
“And broke into the vault?”
“And failed, fleeing battered but wiser, leaving most of this second wave of arcanists
dead. However, the song dragon Ammaratha also perished in the fray, Myrmeen Lhal was
forced back into human form, and Vangey only survived through Laspeera’s desperate
intervention; she forcibly merged him with a spiderlike guardian monster he’d imprisoned
in stasis down in the
He obliged. “So Alusair died, ye might say, in the saddle, still riding the border
wilderlands of the realm she loved, defending it against beasts and brigands. I happen
to know more than a dozen invasions of Cormyr planned by greedy and wealthy Sembian
citizens were canceled because of how well-known her tireless vigilance became. Alusair
died unreconciled, feeling her duty to defend was unfinished and passed on to no competent
replacement, so she lingers yet.”
“As a ghost.”
“As a ghost, defending Cormyr in ways not even the current Royal Magician and Obarskyrs
fully know. Already accomplished at taking down Zhentarim, Thayan, and Sembian spies,
she got very good at felling Thultanthan spies and agents undetected, so they simply
vanished withouttrace—dozens of them, over the years.
That
worried Telamont Tanthul so much, it bought Cormyr decades more of peace.”
Mirt nodded. “And Vangerdahast the Mighty?”
El smiled. “A term of mockery in Waterdeep in thy day, as I recall. The man ye so
labeled was one apprentice of mine who did very well for himself. When he finally
tired of being Mage Royal—long after the realm had tired of him—he willingly bound
himself in stasis as a dragon, with the song dragon Ammaratha Cyndusk at his side,
also out of love for Cormyr. He awaited his awakening to defend the kingdom in a future
time of need. Later, Myrmeen Lhal joined them, one more wyrm in stasis.”
“Until something either went wrong, or they were awakened because the realm was in
need.”
“Indeed, though its defenders knew that not. Szass Tam was greatly weakened after
his failed attempt to become a god, during what’s come to be known as the Spellplague.
He has always hungered for magic—the stored magic of items, if he can get such power
in no other way—and of course, he forever finds himself in need of more. He knew of
certain vaults beneath yonder Royal Palace, and tried to break into them from afar,
but succeeded only in shattering the outermost ward. That was enough to rouse Vangey
and his fellow guardian dragons.
“Wisely, Szass Tam abandoned his attempt right then, but—”
Mirt grinned. “There’s always a ‘but’ in this world, when you’re talking wizards!”
“Indeed. ‘But’ the arcanists of Thultanthar had their spies here in Suzail, for Cormyr
was the largest and best stable source of food near the preferred location for their
city, and one of them reported the destruction of the ward to his superior, who was
competent enough to pass it on to the ruler of the Thultanthans, a man as overconfident
as his self-proclaimed title suggests, and—”
“Oh, the ‘Most High’?”
“Aye, Telamont Tanthul. Another who had endless hunger for enchanted items. He presumed
that there would be only one more ward, and that Cormyr had no defenders who could
hold the vault against a strike force led by half a dozen arcanists. So weak did he
think the defense would be that he sent along eight untried novices to lead the assault,
as a test of their abilities.”
“And the guardian dragons destroyed them.”
“Handily. So aghast was the senior arcanist assigned to scry on them from afar that
he abandoned his duty in the opening moments of the fray to go and convince one of
the Princes of Shade—without telling the Most High, mind ye—that there was a serious
threat to Thultanthar under the Royal Palace of Cormyr. He succeeded; that prince
came racing back with a much stronger force.”
“And broke into the vault?”
“And failed, fleeing battered but wiser, leaving most of this second wave of arcanists
dead. However, the song dragon Ammaratha also perished in the fray, Myrmeen Lhal was
forced back into human form, and Vangey only survived through Laspeera’s desperate
intervention; she forcibly merged him with a spiderlike guardian monster he’d imprisoned
in stasis down in the
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