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Warning: This chapter contains violence, deaths, torture and body horror, and mention of abuse and sexual violence.



MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s All Shadows Fled as we draw ever closer to the trilogy’s “grand” conclusion! Last time… we met a bunch of people who we might have had occasion to care about if only they weren’t introduced at the very end of a trilogy, while the Malaugrym snooped around and our heroes were not particularly heroic (but what else is new?). Today, some minor characters get their subplot wrapped up, while our actual main characters start getting into position for the story’s end. Joining us once again will be Errezha and Calassara!

Chapter Seventeen: All Too Much Magic

Errezha:
An apt subtitle for all of Greenwood’s works… and I say that as a mage myself! We open in the Tower of Mortoth, Sembia, Flamerule 30, so I can only imagine what horrors await us within. And in fact the opening is not encouraging:

The fire was so cold, so utterly … cold. Its chill made her limbs tremble, helplessly and endlessly, as it rushed through her and on around the web. Irendue gasped at its icy searing, feeling her teeth chatter uncontrollably as she stared at the all-too-familiar walls and ceiling of the privy chamber … and wished she could die.

Errezha:
*grimly* And I was correct! We learn that Bralatar has promised Irendue a quick death, but only when he’s done with her. She could still feel the cold slime of his tentacles slithering into her ear and out her nose, and the casual way in which he’d pointed out, as she gagged and wept, that simply expanding his tentacle at this moment would cause her head to explode like a rotten fruit, giving him his most favorite of meals … still-warm human. *looking faintly ill* I see Greenwood has not lost his knack for mixing cannibalism and grotesque sexual imagery in most disturbing ways where the Malaugrym are concerned… Irendue thinks it would be easy to give up and let herself die – but then she’d only die in agony with the Malaugrym gloating over her, which she refuses to do. Good for her! Though then she glances over at the withered remains of Mortoth, thinking about how strong and virile he once was… along with confirmation that she was, in fact, his lover as well as his apprentice. *she sighs and rubs her forehead* Greenwood… why do you keep coming back to this idea? Do I even want to know? I’m quite certain I don’t, actually!

Calassara: Well, we learn that normally Irendue can’t see or act at all while she’s trapped in the portal spell, but Bralatar was apparently hasty when shoving her back in this time, so she’s found herself with a bit more freedom. And this has allowed Irendue, most favored but least powerful of Mortoth’s apprentices (I think I can guess why she’s most favored… and of course, she’s the least powerful! Because what else could she have had to offer, other than sex!) to maintain her wits, though for now she’s still trapped in the gate, which she’s realized she’s powering, and is terrified by the implication that she might inadvertently allow more of the Malaugrym into Faerun, to take the shapes of kings and merchant princes and wizards alike, to ruthlessly rise to rule all. Well, that’s what they’d be doing if Greenwood let them be competent, at least… She thinks about how the Malaugrym, in their different forms, could drive whole nations to war and drench Faerun in blood… unless she can do something to stop them. She knows that one of them is out exploring the grounds of the estate, though she suspects he’ll soon be getting bored and returning to the tower, while the other is no doubt scrying for the, ugh, Rangers Three.

This gives Irendue an idea. She calls out to Buldimer; apparently Mortoth gives names to his various magic items by which they can be commanded; with a greater effort of will she calls out again, and the Mortoth’s scrying crystal comes flying in, passing through their spell to hover by Mortoth’s side. Through it, she can see the three rangers are indeed fighting a bear-like creature that’s growing human hands – and one of those hands is clutching a wand of pain that belonged to Mortoth (so I suppose the Malaugrym attacking in the forest last time was either Lorgyn or Bralatar, then?). Apparently, Mortoth used the wand to… discipline… several of his pets and apprentices, including Irendue herself… now, I can certainly see the appeal of such a device used on a consenting person, ahem… but I think from the description that Irendue clearly wasn’t. And she also thinks of Mortoth, who was apparently her lover, almost exclusively as “the master” rather than by his name… I do believe this poor young woman was a victim of abuse and exploitation, and probably outright rape. And I don’t think Greenwood realizes that he’s written this at all. *disgusted noise* Irendue… I fear you’re not long for this world, but now I desperately want to rescue you from all of these people. Your author included.

Errezha: Are you even surprised? The point, however, is that Irendue knows the incantation to work the wand and speaks it; it’s transmitted through the crystal and the wand blasts the Malaugrym holding it – Bralatar, as it happens. A flash of blue-white light obscures the crystal and disrupts the Malaugrym’s magic, and in that moment Irendue is, finally, able to tear herself free of the construct. She falls to the floor – having never realized that falling face-first onto stone could feel so good, a touch I actually rather like – and hauls herself to her feet, noting how her once shapely arm has been left gaunt and withered by the magic. She turns to her master *hisses angrily* and fellow apprentices and notes that they’re in just as bad shape. Ignoring the crystal and focusing on the here and now, she tries to tear Mortoth free – only for first his hair and then his scalp to come away in her hands, with no blood! I think some of our commentors have noted that Greenwood would have been better served as a writer of horror than adventure… and I think this scene proves it. I thought I had a rather high tolerance for such things… clearly, I was wrong.

Irendue cries out for Brave Mortoth! (girl, from the sound of it, he doesn’t deserve it, or you) but gets no response; ultimately she turns away, deciding that the great wizard was beyond her help. I’ll say that nothing about him has struck me as particularly great; an arrogant, cruel noble with a little magic and a too-high opinion of himself and a penchant for exploiting those weaker than him – my country is full of men like him (and no few women, too). Unfortunately, without Mortoth she can’t open the spellbooks which respond only to him – and it’s those spellbooks which contain the magic she needs to dispel the construct. She thinks some more about how Faerun is in danger as long as the portal is open, and then at last decides on a course of action as she tries to rouse her fellow apprentices. Lareth is still out of it, but Turnold manages to say I have always suspected this, though what, exactly, he’s always suspected is unclear (that Irendue needs his help, I suppose?). Irendue nearly bursts into tears at the idea that at least something is still as it should be; she asks if Turnold knows where Mortoth kept spells to dispel magic, and he confirms that it was all in sealed grimoires and scrolls only he could use. Turnold also doesn’t know how Irendue can free him, but he agrees that the portal is a threat to all Faerun. So… he essentially confirmed things that Irendue already knew. Not much help after all, was he?

Calassara: Considering the state he was in, can one actually blame him, though? Finally, Lareth manages to speak, telling Irendue that if she kills them, the portal will lose power and fail. Turnold agrees that it’s the only way, but Irendue, tears in her eyes, can’t bring herself to do it (I’m rather strongly reminded that this scene would be much more powerful if Lareth and Turnold were her friends, and not misogynistic cretins). Turnold then tells Irendue she has to, and that he only baited her because he loved her (what!?) and that she needs to take the sword Mortoth kept hidden behind the door in his study and shove it into his mouth (that was… very specific). Irendue fetches the sword but still can’t go through with it; Turnold repeats his instructions, and finally, after much effort, she does so, shoving the sword through Turnold’s mouth and into his brain as she bids him farewell. She nearly throws up from doing so – ah, a natural reaction to the violence for once! – but his death indeed weakens the construct’s fire!

She asks Lareth if he can get free now; he can’t, and so he begs her to kill him as well. And once he’s dead, the spell breaks completely, and the withered husk of Mortoth collapses to the floor. Standing amidst the remains of her master and her fellow apprentices, holding the bloody sword, she gives herself over to tears (this… is actually a legitimately powerful image! Alas that the surrounding context is so horrible…) until she hears a voice asking what she’s done. She whirls to face Lorgyn, who is in the form of a handsome man with a mustache and glittering, dangerous eyes, and tells him that she’s freed us all. He promises that she’ll die for this… and she faces him coldly and tells him to get it over with then. Alas, that she’s not so lucky. “Death need not be so fast and easy as all that. I shall use your sorcery to help me raise another gate … and your body to power it. Of course, that body need not be whole …” Still wearing that terrible grin, he advanced on her. *shocked* Greenwood… when will you let this poor woman have peace? Thankfully, the scene ends there.

Errezha: And so, we cut back to Elven Court Woods, Flamerule 30 where our favorite group of idiots are fighting against Bralatar. Belkram keeps stabbing him, to no avail as his sword isn’t silver, though Sharantyr manages to draw green-hued transluscent slime which is apparently Malaugrym blood? Which I cannot help but feel we should have learned looked like that before this moment! Both rangers keep stabbing Bralatar until he pulls away from Itharr’s body; as we suspected, Itharr is wounded but alive, though Belkram thinks he’s dying (oh, I somehow doubt that). They keep stabbing Bralatar, with Sharantyr for some reason leaping into the air on top of him, her hair swirling around her – why do I feel like Greenwood included the leap just for this moment? – when suddenly a blast of magical fire slams into them and sends them all sprawling. Sharantyr lands on Bralatar and manages to pull herself away as his tentacles grab at her… and is stunned to find herself facing a Red Wizard who stands there with staff in hand, a strange shimmering in the air before her. Why, I do believe it’s Orth Lantar! Let’s see how long it takes Greenwood to ruin him, hmmm?

Lantar complains about his spells going wild – now, now, if you were an actual main character, it wouldn’t be a problem! – and tries another spell… that ends up shooting a swarm of butterflies out of his staff. Belkram manages to pull himself away from Bralatar as Bralatar launches himself at the Red Wizard, but Lantar tries a third spell, and this one works as intended.

The Red Wizard said something soft and brief—and fire seemed to be born within the Malaugrym, hurling its flesh and tentacles apart in an eruption of hissing steam.
The riven body fell back onto scorched moss, dwindling into something that was almost human. Something faceless and sprawled, which blazed with many small fires.

Errezha:
…well, a nasty end, but in this case, I can’t say it wasn’t deserved. Sharantyr hauls herself to her feet and asks Lantar why he helped them (he’s a better person than you, apparently?). Looking him up and down, she notices all the magic he has on him and realizes he could kill all three of them with no effort if he wanted to (assuming Greenwood let him actually use magic, of course…). Lantar admits that any other day they might be enemies, but today they have a common foe in the Malaugrym. He pauses to examine Bralatar’s corpse and adds that against such a one, all must stand together – or no man in Faerun will know freedom, in the end.

Calassara:
I would say that’s rather rich, considering I believe the Red Wizards are slavers, but for the moment I don’t think our rangers are in much position to be picky about allies. He hands Sharantyr a glass and then teleports away in a flash; she examines it and realizes that it contains a healing potion of the utmost power. Just what Itharr needs! Convenient, that! Sharantyr quickly hurries over and places it against his lips, praying – I suppose it counts as a prayer? – may the gods ascend to their rightful places so we can pray to them once more (I think you can still pray to them – they’re just not in much of a position to answer). Belkram wishes the Malaugrum would return to their rightful place, and then Itharr wakes up and spits out what’s left of the potion in disgust, ha, ha (I suppose there’s a reason one does not normally source healing potions from Thay?). Sharantyr happily embraces him and *sigh* kisses him, while Belkram complains that some men have all the luck; Then he discovered something must have gotten into his own eye. The world suddenly glimmered and blurred and a sound large and raw rose in his throat.… Has… has Belkram become a werewolf, by chance? If he has it will have to wait, as the scene ends there.

We then cut to Tower of Mortoth, Sembia, Early Midsummer Day where Mortoth’s scrying crystal spins in midair, crashes to the ground and shatters (in response to Bralatar’s death? Somehow?) while a woman screamed nearby, high and despairing, and drowned out the sound of the crystal shattering.… Oh, Savored Sting, Irendue, what are they doing do you? And we don’t find out, as the scene ends there! *she shudders*

MG: And for those keeping score at home, of the book’s nine major Malaugrym, Atari, Yinthrim, Ahorga, Lunquar and now Bralatar are all dead; Lorgyn, Amdramnar, Argast and the Nameless Watcher are all still alive.

Calassara: And so we cut to Tilverton, early Midsummer Day where we see a young guard wearing the Purple Dragon insignia of Cormyr. As he yawns, something slips past him; he spins around and only sees a cat, to his amusement, only for something else to seize him from behind and wring his neck. Lorgyn hangs his body against the wall so it looks like he’s just leaning there and climbs up over a balcony, where he assumes a form resembling a Cormyrean noble he once saw, but with hands like large, flexible webbed paddles – akin to the hind feet of a beaver. *snorts* That’s inconspicuous! He creeps into a bedchamber where he finds a sleeping woman, who he greets as Alambrara and then chokes out when she tries to wake. After he checks to make sure she’s alive, he starts stripping off her jewlelry, since apparently, she’s a powerful Corymyrean War Wizard and he thinks she probably has tracking spells on all of it, then he binds her with her own sheets and later that morning tosses her into a wagon whose owner he’s replaced and gets ready to head off.

Errezha: Oh, by the way, Alambrara is sharing the wagon with some other wizards, including:

the fat Amnian, Gorluth the Great. He chuckled at the contrast between the shapely limbs of the Cormyrean, the fat and hairy little mage from Amn, and beyond him, Irendue’s slim beauty. She was awake, her eyes blazing at him over the gag that was her only garment. Lorgyn winked at her as he tightened a lashing and stood back to survey the three naked people bound to the meat bars.

Errezha: I beg your pardon, but Irendue’s alive? And… no longer partially mummified, I suppose? I thought Lorgyn was going to chop her up for spell components – I suppose he’s not gotten around to that yet? Which raises the question of just what he was doing to her when she was screaming in despair earlier… and considering she’s now naked, I don’t think we want to know. Lorgyn chuckles to himself that he has the beginning of a fine collection, and that if more people collected wizards like this Faerun would probably be better off (I know he’s vile and we’re supposed to hate him, but on this one thing at least…) and that he needs more if he wants to power his portal for longer, or make more of them. He decides that his next stop will be Shadowdale, where he’ll pick up Jhessail and Illistyl *rolls her eyes* oh, yes, this will surely end well for him! Looking back at Irendue, he mimes biting off his fingers, because apparently, he… has already eaten her thumbs and is planning to eat the rest of her fingers later? Greenwood, why?

Having checked in on his “cargo,” Lorgyn goes to rouse his employees (are they “his” or do they work for the man he’s impersonating, I wonder?) and tells them they’re heading for Shadowdale. The cook asks if he wants ‘dawnfry’ and he refuses, which is apparently suspicious because he belatedly realizes that Pendle, the man he’s impersonating, never turns down food, but he decides that there will be plenty of time to dispose of the cook on the way to Shadowdale. Yes—roasted alive on a spit in his own oversalty brown sauce would be fitting, too. *arches an eyebrow* Lorgyn, you do have food on the mind today, don’t you? “Pendle’s” caravan rolls out of Tilverton, with some of the men clearly wondering what “madness” has taken their master today. Lorgyn shoots them all a seemingly creepy smile in response, and the scene ends. We then cut to The Castle of Shadows, Shadowhome, Midsummer’s Day as the light of a scrying portal fades; the person watching it has a face of wiggling, questing worms but eyes that blazed like two lanterns of raging spellfire, don’t remind me. The watcher looks up and declares to the empty main hall of the castle that it is time to move at last. Let the hunt begin in earnest. And… the scene ends there. The last two times we’ve seen this character, he has promised that now is the time to act without actually acting, in fact! How… tedious.

Calassara: And so, we cut to Faerun, Shadowdale, Midsummer’s Day as a horn announces the arrival of an envoy from Cormyr, Sir Tantor Dauntinghorn. *arches her eyebrow* And just how daunting is his horn, I wonder? *she notices Errezha’s disapproving look* What? Can’t a girl have a moment a levity amidst all… this? Mourngrym and Shaerl hurry down to greet him – we do learn that Tantor is magnificently mustachioed, by the by – and assure him that Shadowdale is not currently occupied by Zhentil Keep and thanking Cormyr for being a long-term ally against the Zhentilar and Zhentarim and praising the friendship between Cormyr and Shadowdale, so on and so forth, it’s all very diplomatic *she looks at Errezha* you would hate it. Mourngrym invites Tantor in for a meal to hear all the news and gossip from Cormyr; as servants get the meal ready, Mourngrym and Shaerl show Tantor and his aide, a War Wizard, into their morning room. Once they’re alone, Mourngrym bluntly asks why he’s here; Tantor is reduced to spluttering as Shaerl tries to calm him down, but the War Wizard, Luthtor speaks up, confirming that they’re here to investigate rumors of Elminster’s death (of course…) to make sure that Shadowdale isn’t under Zhent occupation, and to extend an offer they’ve apparently frequently made before for Shadowdale to become a protectorate of Cormyr. Which is… more or less what I gathered from Tantor’s earlier statements, the wizard is just blunter about it.

Mourngrym politely refuses the offer – he wishes to be King Azoun’s friend, but not his subject – to which Tantor asks why they can’t just conquer Shadowdale (I think the number of very powerful wizards with an interest in the place might object… which I think is the same problem the Zhents have been having!) and Shaerl (who, I believe, is herself Cormyrean, isn’t she?) says she has King Azoun’s personal promise he won’t interfere with Shadowdale. Luthtor returns that when Azoun made that promise, Shaerl was still an agent of the Cormyrean crown, but the wizard Vangerdahast is of the opinion she abandoned her mission when she married Mourngrym. Shaerl argues that neither of them was there when Azoun made that promise and don’t know what he actually said or not (that… does not strike me as a sustainable way to run a government!) and Mourngrym says that if Cormyr attacks, he and all of Shadowdale’s people, including the Knights of Myth Drannor, will resist them. Luthtor can’t imagine the Knights could stand up to the War Wizards for long, so Shaerl asks if they think they can match the Simbul. The Cormyreans don’t believe Shadowdale has an alliance with her, to which Shaerl responds:

“As with other armed endeavors in life, goodsirs, you’ll just have to take that risk and find out the hard way. Or back down, as is far more prudent, and go home wondering for the rest of your lives if we were bluffing.” She seemed to think of something, and added calmly, “Of course, the second way, you will have a ‘rest of your lives’ to wonder in.”
“Moreover,” Mourngrym said pleasantly, “the second way preserves our friendship, whereas the first loses forever any hope Cormyr may have that Shadowdale will not ally with Hillsfar, say, or Sembia, against the Purple Dragon.”

Errezha:
Ah, yes, threaten the most powerful kingdom in the region with the most powerful battle mage in the world – who you offer no promise will actually fight for you or even show up, and who seems unaware you’re making promises on her behalf – that is a plan that will absolutely end well and certainly not result in Shadowdale going to war with absolutely everyone. But Tantor and Luthtor indeed seem cowed and hastily back down. *she sniffs* I can tell you that Chelaxian diplomats wouldn’t give in so easily! Tantor, at least, isn’t happy about it and says he’s going to complain to Vangerdahast when he gets home, but Shaerl tells him to shut up and says they should bring Azoun and Vangy into the discussion directly. She holds up a ring, which she can apparently use to contact both of them, and asks Luthor if she should call both Azoun and “Vangy” or if the archmage would prefer to speak through him instead. There’s a standoff for a moment, and Luthtor finally admits that Shaerl has played it well (she browbeat you into submission; there’s a difference).

And then we cut to Argast and Amdramnar as their scrying cuts out – I suppose we were actually watching this scene through their point of view the whole time? How… odd. Argast loudly complains about spells going wild; Amdramnar tries to start the scrying over again… and accidentally summons a bunch of grapes instead, ha, ha. Argast looks around – we learn that they’re currently in the Twisted Tower’s dungeons, which is apparently the worst guard post in the tower for anyone but a pair of Malaugrym looking for privacy. Convenient, that. Amdramnar complains that the negotiations will be over by the time he gets the spell working again, so Argast turns himself into a rat and goes scurrying up through the tower to spy in person, while Amdramnar has to split himself into two guards – I didn’t know the Malaugrym could do that! – and conceals the spot where his two bodies are literally joined at the hip while hoping Argast isn’t making a terrible mistake, as the chapter comes to an end.

MG: Honestly, the first thing this chapter makes me think is that, despite being so close to the end of both the book and the trilogy, it still doesn’t feel like we’re drawing towards a climax in any real way. The second thing is that I just feel enormously sorry for Irendue. The poor woman has clearly endured abuse from her master and her fellow apprentices, possibly for years, then she was captured, tortured and used to power a portal, and even her destroying the portal barely feels like tossing her a bone, sine we the readers know that Lorgyn and Bralatar were operating on their own and a full-scale Malaugrym invasion through that portal was never in the cards. And then she gets captured, tortured and… maybe something more again for her troubles. Gods, I think this woman just needs a hug. And a therapist. Otherwise, we had more fight, Bralatar is dead, I still don’t care about the Sharantyr/Belkram/Itharr relationship, and I’d care a lot more about the whole “Cormyr wants to annex Shadowdale” bit if it had been given any attention at all before today. Sigh. Anyway, we have only two more chapters to go! Next time, the final battle begins, believe it or not. We’ll see you then!

I’m also currently reading the Star Wars Expanded Universe comic series Dark Empire on my journal; check it out if you’re interested! Updates Tuesday and Thursday!

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