The Temptation of Elminster

The Temptation of Elminster by Ed Greenwood is the third book in the Sage of Shadowdale series.
==Summary==
===Prologue===
While arguing about the name they should settle on for their group, a party of adventurers enters a Netherese tomb. There, they find a floating corpse near the vaulted ceiling of a crypt: their mage, the elven Iyriklaunavan, decides to blast it with spells. After his subsequent attack, the pillars around them sprout swarms of tendrils with eyes on them: the adventurers retreat, while the corpse falls to the ground and slays the pillar eyes. The corpse quickly asks the adventurers what year it is; the warrior Nuressa responds it's Mirtul of the . The corpse teleports away, and the party decided not to press further in. However, the wards they've disrupted make the enormous coffin open, and a tinkling, glowing mist come out.
===Book One: The Lady of Shadows===
A year later, Elminster Aumar, the corpse freed earlier from the tomb, teleports to Myth Drannor, looking for a sign from Mystra. There, after he tries to stop a portal from releasing fiends, he gets a sign from her, telling him to leave the rift alone. Azuth appears and discusses Elminster's coming trial with him. Elminster is rejuvenated and commanded to use no magic save where absolutely needful.
Some time after, during the mid-to-late winter of early ,The events involve a freezing river, but no great deal of ice, and later Elminster has a recollection of having trudged through "deep snows" in the valley, which he claims to have heard of about a tenday before heading in. Thus, as he has trudged through deep snows that later disappeared, and Immeira anticipates greenery returning "soon", it is somewhere between the middle and the end of winter. In the Realms, mid-to-late winter occurs in the early months of the year, and thus, for the purposes of this article, the events are taken to occur in early 761 rather than late 760. Elminster visits Buckralam's Starn, and liberates it from villains with the aid of a local woman, Immeira. Afterwards, he gets a sign from Mystra to seek out the one called Dasumia. During spring of that year, he joins a feast in Felmorel, where he is invited by Lady Nasmaerae Felmorel to Lord Esbre Felmorel's table. Lord Felmorel mentions a Lady of Shadows, which one of his guests, Thessamel Arunder, refuses to elaborate about. During the night, Lady Nasmaerae attempts to steal Elminster's memories, but is rebuffed by the divine protection of Azuth, who breaks all her spells; this releases her husband from her magic thrall. Azuth also gives her a warning that if she tries to pry again, the means of prying will be taken from her, and so Lord Esbre threatens her life if she does not attempt to control him again. She complies, casts the spell, and is immediately stripped of her powers by Azuth. Elminster leaves in the middle of the night, after getting a vision of a spiderweb-like gate.
He crosses through Hammershaws, finding nothing but corpses inside the village; he then spends the night at the abandoned castle town of Tresset's Ringyl. Spending the night resting in a hill, he is attacked by a creature he dubs Silent Antlers. He prevails, and reaches Moonshorn Tower, where he is greeted by the wizard Mardasper Oblyndrin, allowed to peruse the library of old magic, and there, gets a sign from Mystra calling on him to head for the Riven Stone. Two scholars there, Tabarast and Beldrune, later notice the sign and decide to follow Elminster out, as he is a Chosen of Mystra, and they would bear witness to his deeds. Meanwhile, a strange mist starts slaying people, turning them into dust, and an elf wizard, Ilbryn Starym, reaches Moonshorn Tower overnight. Ilbryn is very rude to Mardasper, the guardian, disobeys the rules of the tower, but leaves once assured Elminster headed out and went east. Elminster makes it to the Riven Stone, where he meets a woman who answers to the name of Dasumia. She takes him on as an apprentice, and takes him to the Castle of the Lady.
By the early , Elminster accompanies Dasumia on her carpet of flying as she explodes the tower of rival mage Holivanter; however, Dasumia is direly displeased Elminster asks too many questions instead of doing the deed himself. Meanwhile, the mist attacks the wizard Yintras Bedelmrin at his tower, and is rebuffed by the direct protection of Azuth. Later that year, during the change between spring and summer, Elminster is impromptu dueled by Dasumia, who judges his performance as sufficient, and tells him he is to slay an apprentice of hers, the rogue Chosen of Mystra Nadrathen. Then in summer, at Nethra, in Galadorna, Nadrathen, under an assumed identity as Court Mage Ilgrist, interrupts the succession of King Baerimgrim to crown himself King Nadrathen of Galadorna instead. He is interrupted by the appearance of Elminster, who duels him, and then Dasumia, who slays him. Dasumia then crowns herself Queen of Galadorna. She appoints Elminster as her seneschal. Tabarast and Beldrune get a sign that Elminster is in Nethra, and confirm it by scrying; they casually cross Ilbryn Starym, and tell him as much.
Galadorna becomes deeply corrupt and violent during her careless reign. Elminster's only victories are his ability to thwart some of Dasumia's displays of cruelty, as she uses her magic too little to inspire fear or obedience. Then, at least one year later, at a tavern, two of Elminster's associates, the guards Delver and Ingrath are propositioned for some late night bed play by a disguised Dasumia, who takes them to a hidden shrine of Bane, while Ilbryn Starym follows them in hiding. Elminster casually notices the Queen along the way. She begins a deadly ritual, he interrupts it, knocks out the two mind-controlled guards, and duels Dasumia in earnest. He manages a pyrrhic victory, knocking out Dasumia, but finds himself incapacitated. Dasumia reveals herself to be Mystra, and carries him out into the sky over Galadorna, healed and in ecstasy. A Sharran scrying on the scene has an idea for how they could use these events.
The kingdom is razed to the ground not a tenday after the disappearance of its queen and seneschal, before year's end.Per the Google Books version of Temptation, its realmslore section declares the events of the first part to happen in around five years starting 759 DR. In the first chapter, Nuressa, the warrior, tells Elminster they're in early Mirtul. If it is assumed that the events happened in at most five and a half years, as more than five and a half years becomes around six years, then the last events in part 1 must happen at most during Uktar of 764. Given Feldrin's warning during the coronation that the Lords of Laothkund are already planning an attack, this timeline seems plausible. Further development may yet alter the result.
===Book Two: Sunrise on a Dark Road===
At the break of winter in , the Frostfire Banner, an adventuring party from Tethyr on commission from High Duke Horostos, is slain by an enigmatic entity that has depopulated the Dead Place between Starmantle and Ripplestones; last that the men see is that it is mistlike and makes flesh vanish on contact. Meanwhile, Elminster is hiding magic in the Crypt of the Moondark in Westgate to delight Mystra. A man named Umbregard of Galadorna takes to Tangletrees, where he meets with the elf Starsunder of Myth Drannor, hoping to find information about this Elminster man, said to be a long-time resident of the same place.
Elminster then arrives at Ripplestones, where Caladaster Daermree and Baerdagh tell him about Scorchstone Hall, the last known residence of the sorceress Sharindala, now a dilapidated, burned-down mansion surrounded by deadly wards. Elminster enters to hide magic inside, but discovers Sharindala is now an animated wand-wielding skeleton. He offers her more spells instead, and she accepts. Azuth, disguised as a Harper, hires on Tabarast and Beldrune to find Elminster for him; the two accept.
Ilbryn Starym arrives at Ripplestones, in hot pursuit of Elminster. The phantom that devoured the Frostfire Banner reveals itself to be the ghost of a Netherese woman, Saeraede Lyonora, who has discovered a hidden ruin in the forest belonging to Netherese archmage Karsus, Karsus' Keep.The name is not used in the narration, and is drawn from the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas landmark in the same general location. She makes a plan to lure Elminster to herself so she may drain his vitality to restore herself to life. Meanwhile, Sharrans are using a ritual to abuse Mystra's avatar, Dasumia, and thus make magic go wild throughout the Realms: the avatar has grown feeble due to its flirtation with Bane, and so long as they keep up continued willing sacrifices, they can thwart just about all magic anywhere. Tabarast, Beldrune and Azuth reach Ripplestones, where Caladaster Daermree joins them.
Two tendays into the wild magic, Archmage Tenthar Taerhamoos of the Phoenix Tower seeks out Kadeln Parosper at the House of the Ladystar, learning the priests are just as much in the dark as he is. A team of Sharrans is sent after Elminster, with orders to slay: they pursue him to the Dead Place near Ripplestones, where they accidentally damage the trees, drawing the attention of Starsunder. He takes Umbregard with himself and they teleport there. One of Tenthar Taerhamoos' still-functioning spells tells him that the gate from Tangletrees has been activated, and he teleports to its endpoint as well. Elminster finally meets Saeraede Lyonora, who lures him to Karsus' Keep, and pretends to be captive there. Elminster takes the bait as she offers Karsus' spells to him, and leaves himself open; the ghost then begins to sup on his essence.
The Sharrans reveal themselves and attack Elminster with magical staves scavenged from the Keep. Azuth appears, stops all their spells, and warns Elminster that Lyonora can end him. Despite his spells and wards, Lyonora cannot be separated from Elminster; then as she finally succeeds in returning herself to life, Ilbryn Starym appears and stabs her through the heart, killing her instantly. She then explodes, killing him back and wrecking all that's left of the keep into rubble. Azuth protects Caladaster and the two scholars; as he disappears alongside Elminster; while Caladaster stands in wonder and awe of the god's protection, Tabarast and Beldrune manage to scrounge two magnificent gowns from the Keep, and return to Ripplestones, where Sharindala, now half-restored to flesh, takes a walk with Caladaster after the old man gives her a robe to cover herself with. Elminster is shown a series of visions by Mystra, which he understands to be fates offered to him; he rejects all of them, and finally comes face to face with Mystra, who asks him to do one more service for her.
She needs someone watching her daughters, Anamanue, Ethena, and Ambara.
===Epilogue===
The infants attack Elminster on sight and nearly succeed in slaying him, but he quickly manages to get their trust.
==Index==
:;Characters
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:;Locations
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:;Creatures
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:;Organizations
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:Deities
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:Peoples
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:;Spells
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:;Magic Items
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:;Other Magic
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:;Food and drink
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:;Flora
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:;Clothing
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:;Materials
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:;Books
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:;Weapons
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:;Customs
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:;Miscellaneous
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==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Version differences===
Absent from the original publication, there is a Realmslore section in the Annotated Elminster version. The Google Books version has a start before the prologue which dates with some more precision the events of the book.
The back cover of the Hardcover edition also includes two quotes, attributed to Antarn and to Halivon Tharnstar.
===Gallery===
TemptationofElminsterPreliminary.gif|Early mockup shown in Dragon 252 and 253, web version
Back-cover-Temptation.png|Back of the hardcover version photographed
===External Links===
Sample chapter (archived)
===References===
Category:Novels
Category:Works by Ed Greenwood
Category:Published in 1998