Elminster's Daughter

Elminster's Daughter is the fifth book in the open-ended Elminster series by Ed Greenwood.
==Summary==
One night in early spring of , Narnra Shalace, an orphaned thief in Waterdeep, attempts to mug the moneylender Caethur right after his murder of several debtors; she fails because of the proximity of the city watch. Frustrated, she stalks after another well-dressed, older man, who turns out to be a mage. He hazes her with a spell akin to Evard's black tentacles, then drops some coins and leaves through a portal. She follows out of curiosity, and ends up at a party within Marsember, in a meeting of the Rightful Conspiracy.
The meeting is abruptly stopped by a raid from the War Wizards of the country, Cormyr. During their raid, the old man turns out to be Elminster, and he slays a number of Red Wizards of Thay intent on infiltration of Cormyr and its nobiility. Narnra too finds herself targetted by the man, who thoroughly interrogates her, using magic; while he does, she receives a vision from Mystra that he is also her unwitting father. He lets her go after grasping she is not implicated in that mess nor trying to kill him. As Caladnei, the Royal Mage of Cormyr and leader of the raid, gets attacked by a number of Red Wizards, The Simbul, witch-queen of Aglarond, arrives, and the last of the Red Wizards are slain. Narnra tries to leave in the confusion, while the Simbul and Elminster unsuccessfully attempt to awe Caladnei.
After the conversation with the Simbul and Elminster, Caladnei commands Glarasteer Rhauligan to capture Narnra and bring her in for questioning. The last surviving Red Wizard informs his superior of the rout of their forces, and is slain for it. Glarasteer chases Narnra throughout Marsember, in the process foiling a plot by Malakar Surth and Aumun Tholant Bezrar to force the merchant Durexter Dagohnlar to pay them an old debt. Meanwhile, Elminster and the Simbul converse with Mystra, who has a task for Elminster: preventing the latest spell being devised by Vangerdahast, the previous Royal Mage of Cormyr, from falling into the wrong hands: he means to create a spell to bind dragons as protectors of the Realm after the loss of the Lords who Sleep. Elminster breaks into the War Wizard barrack where Caladnei is sleeping, and spirits her away to Stag Steads, where they fetch Myrmeen Lhal from Alusair Obarskyr's retinue before proceeding to Vangerdahast's sanctum. Throughout the night, Narnra continues to flee, ultimately hiding in Haelithtorntowers, the home of Lady Joysil Ambrur, who invites one of her guests, the young mage Noumea Cardellith, to join her for her next meeting.
Glarasteer ends up eavesdropping on Joysil Ambrur's meeting with Harnrim Starangh, a Red Wizard, and the two crooks from the night before, Malakar Surth and Aumun Tholant Bezrar. He learns that Harnrim is snooping for information on Vangerdahast's latest magic. He finally captures Narnra and brings her to the Palace of the Purple Dragon. Vangerdahast refuses to budge from devising the spell, despite the warnings from all present that binding dragons is extremely dangerous; Myrmeen Lhal stays with him after Caladnei and Elminster leave. Meanwhile, Joysil Ambrur is beset by assassins; she transforms into a song dragon to kill them, and reveals her name to be Ammaratha Cyndusk. Noumea Cardellith heads to Candlekeep disguised as a merchant man from Lantan. Harnrim Starangh goes to the Harbortower of Marsember, and meets with the War Wizard Huldyl Rauthur, who has turned traitor; he presents him with seven spells, and then casts a linking spell that makes all harm on one befall the other.
At some point after, Huldyl Rauthur helps Harnrim strike at the sanctum of the Royal Mage; Starangh teleports into it, while using mind-magic to compel Surth and Bezrar to make a distraction with some high-explosive magics. Killing three War Wizards along the way, Starangh makes it into the armory, and steals a small amount of magic; realizing there must be magic he cannot seize at the time, he decides to make a more subtle scheme and goad Joysil Ambrur into attacking the sanctum. Narnra lets the mind-ream happen, and agrees to work under Caladnei; outside the room, Huldyl catches wind of some of the mind-magic, learning that Narnra is Elminster's daughter without anyone noticing. Narnra's first task is to investigate a number of War Wizards.
Some days later, Huldyl and Harnrim let slip to a Harper, Roldro Tattershar, that Vangerdahast's magic binds dragons. He immediately uses a gate to Marsember, where he tells this to Joysil Ambrur. She immediately bursts from her home in dragon-shape, and heads straight towards Vangerdahast; he subdues her, and then places her in stasis. Surth and Bezrar, on the other hand, are hidden in a warehouse when they learn of two men in the Rightful Conspiracy planning the assassination of Alusair and Queen Filfaeril. Narnra, after spying on several War Wizards, confirms that Vangerdahast's secret is out, and that many War Wizards know now he means to bind dragons as future protectors of Cormyr. However, before she can report on this, she is set upon by Harnrim Starangh, who means to kill and impersonate her. Glarasteer Rhauligan, who has been shadowing her, spots this; Elminster quickly arrives, heals Narnra while under fire from several War Wizards, and teleports them out to Shadowdale. A traitor War Wizard breaks the stasis spell on Ammaratha, and is suddenly slain by the dragon, who flees after a short talk; Vangerdahast expects her to return. Glarasteer quickly reports to Alusair, who is visited by a Sembian herald, asking for her presence at Thundaerlyn Hall.
At Shadowdale, Elminster defeats and subdues Harnrim Starangh, and on Narnra's request, spares him; the two share a talk. Ammaratha gathers a number of other dragons, including Aeglyl Dreadclaw; Alusair is attacked by nobles in Thundaerlyn Hall. Though Alusair and Filfaeril's retinue is outnumbered and a number of Red Wizards bolster the traitors, Ammaratha's retinue of dragons converges in Thundaerlyn Hall and eliminates the Red Wizards, moving on afterwards to Vangerdahast's sanctum. The nobles are then delayed by Noumea Cardellith, until Alusair's retinue is bolstered by the arrival of Glarasteer Rhauligan with highknights, and all the traitors are swift slain. The dragons converge again, this time on Vangerdahast's sanctum; he announces he's anchored the bindings to his own life, and he's ready to die. Ammaratha trades with the other dragons for his life, and claims the threat is over; as they leave, she explains she's willing to join Vangerdahast, and that Elminster will help him transform into a dragon to do the protection of Cormyr himself.
In the aftermath, Harnrim Starangh transforms himself into a ballast stone on the Witch of the Dragon Waves, a ship on which, coincidentally, Malakar Surth and Aumun Tholant Bezrar have booked passage for Yhaunn. While the two lowlives are arguing, they are interrupted by the flight of a dragon across the ship's bow.
==Index==
==Appendix==
===Gallery===
Elminster's Daughter Marsember Map.png|The map of Marsember featured in Elminster's Daughter.
Elminsterdau1 1280x960.jpg|Promotional wallpaper 1.
Elminsterdau2 1280x960.jpg|Promotional wallpaper 2.
Elminsterdau3 1280x960.jpg|Promotional wallpaper 3.
===External Links===
:
:Making Magic: Elminster Returns in Ed Greenwood's Elminster's Daughter (archived 2004-06-03)
===References===
Category:Novels
Category:Books
Category:Works by Ed Greenwood
Category:Published in 2004
Category:Published in 2005