Crypt of the Shadowking

Crypt of the Shadowking by Mark Anthony is the sixth novel in The Harpers series. It featured the first appearance of Caledan Caldorien.
==Summary==
Caledan Caldorien, former Harper, returns to Iriaebor to find it under the control of the Zhentarim Lord Cutter. He is contacted by a junior Harper, Mari Al'maren, who was sent to free the city. They discover that Lord Cutter is Ravendas, a woman who killed her sister Mera, who was also Caledan’s lover and a member of the Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon, Caledan’s old adventuring party that fell apart after Mera’s death. 
Ravendas’s second in command is Snake, a thief who agreed to serve the Shadowking, an ancient evil sealed under Iriaebor, in exchange for his life. The Shadowking is using an ancient creature, a shadevar, to hunt all who possess Shadow Magic. These include a woman named Anja, who is killed, Caledan himself, and Caledan’s son Kellen, who Ravendas had after raping Caledan without his knowledge. 
Caledan and Mari begin working to oust Ravendas, allying with Cormik, a local crime lord, and reuniting with several members of the Fellowship: Estah, a female halfling cleric of Eldath, Tyveris, a Chultan fighter turned cleric of Oghma, Ferret Talondim, a human thief, and Morhion Gen'dahar, a human mage. Morhion once entered Darkhold to warn Ravendas when Caledan was set on a suicide mission to avenger Mera, and struck a dark bargain with a spirit named Irafi to escape, giving his blood the the spirit once a month. 
The party discovers the story of the Shadowking, Verraketh, the bard Talek Talembar who defeated him, and the Nightstone, the powerful artifact Talek used to trap the Shadowking. Since Ravendas is running a slave mining operation below Iriaebor to find the Nightstone, the party set out in search of the “shadow song” said to make shadows move that Talek used to defeat Verraketh. Mari and Caledan become close. The shadevar is killed by Caledan and Morhion. 
Caledan infiltrates the tower and discovers Kellen is his son. Mari plans to free all the captives in the tower and overthrow the Zhentarim, but the plan is thwarted by Morhion, who seemingly betrays them. Caledan, Mari, and Ferret are captured by Ravendas and Snake, while Tyveris attempts to continue the plan to free the captives. Ravendas leads them to the crypt of the Shadowking and uses Kellen to gain the Nightstone, but the Shadowking kills her and takes over her body as soon as she holds it. Morhion frees everyone, Kellen kills Snake, Caledan defeats the Shadowking with the shadow song, Tyveris and the townsfolk defeat the Zhentarim, and Ferret sacrifices himself to let the others escape, getting entombed in Verraketh's crypt. Caledan rejoins the Harpers.
== Characters ==
=== Main Characters ===
* Caledan Caldorien
* Estah
* Ferret Talondim
* Mari Al'maren
* Morhion Gen'dahar
* Ravendas
* The Shadowking
* Tyveris
=== Other Characters ===
* Bron (mentioned)
* Cormik
* Snake
* Kellen Caldorien
* Talek Talembar
* Shadowking
== Locations ==
=== Settlements ===
* Iriaebor
** Morhion's tower
** High Tower of Iriaebor
** Prince and Pauper
** High Altar of the Moon
* Asher
* Berdusk (mentioned)
=== Landmarks ===
* Darkhold (mentioned)
* Abbey of Everard
=== Geographical Regions ===
* Sunset Mountains
* Sunset Vale
* Fields of the Dead
== Other ==
;Misc
: Sindari • The Book of the Shadows • Shadevar
;Organizations
: Harpers • Zhentarim • Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon • Purple Masks Guild
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Gallery===
Crypt of the Shadowking mock.png|A mock-up cover of Crypt of the Shadowking.
Crypt of the Shadowking cover art.jpg|Cover art by Fred Fields.
===References===
Category:Novels
Category:Books
Category:Works by Mark Anthony
Category:Published in 1993