Dragonstone 21

**Chapter 21**

The Generic Elves reach the gates to Moria Black Mountain. They ponder that the stonework looks to be dwarf-made, the ironwork looks to be dwarf-made, there are dwarf runes carved nearby, and apparently someone with a dwarf name made these gates. Moments later, a hidden door opens, and out steps . . . a dwarf!

This takes a page.

We cut to the Generic Elves inside the place, having been greeted by two mages, Irunan and Gelon, hereafter Mage #1 and Mage #2. The whole page of dwarf stuff? Irrelevant.

There's talk of awarrior woman from Ryodo, who said *“her tiger brought her here.”* I'm guessing this will be Samurai Chick. Arin tells the mages of her vision, and they react with shock and disbelief and immediately summon the Mage Council of Magical Mages.

We get a brief infodump on mages. Mages are a race, not a profession; they come from the plane of Vadaria, and most of the ones on Mithgar live on the island of Rwn or in Black Mountain. Mages can cast spells, but doing so ages them prematurely; they can restore their youth *“by resting in a special way.”* I admit, this is an interesting take on wizards.

We meet Arilla, hereafter Mage Chick. Mage Chick tells the Mage Council of Magic Maginess that Arian has had a vision of *“the Dragonstone, the Green Stone of Xian.”* They react with shock and disbelief. Again.

Arin tells the mages her story. Everyone is amazed, because the Green Stone is supposed to be immune to scrying and no one knows where it is. One of the Magical Council of Magey Mages speculates that Arin can do so because of the wild magic, which he explains thus:

“*It means, Lady Arin, that you exercise an unknown power in a way that we do not understand, for it requires no manipulation of the astral <fire> or any of the five elements. It seems to be a power of neither earth nor water nor air nor fire nor aethyr. Instead it is something else – something 'wild' and unpredictable. Whence it comes, who knows? Who understands? Certainly not we.”*

So it's a *deus ex machina,* and this is McKiernan saying “I refuse to write down any rules so I can make it do whatever I want to drive the plot.” Lazy writing at its laziest, folks. \~/

The Mages of the Mage Council of the Magical Magiocracy offer to use magical magey magic to help Arin recall more clearly any details she may have missed, and Vanidar says they want to know more about the Green Stone of Xian. Before any of this can happen, a small human woman with *“skin the color of saffron”* \~/ bursts into the room and blurts out some Gratuitous Japanese, which I can't be bothered to translate. She whips out her swords, and Vanidar draws his own defensively, which earns him my grudging respect. Vanidar is an almost complete non-entity, but he's the very first character to react to Samurai Chick's drawn steel as what it is – a threat of violence – and react accordingly.

“*The yellow warrior”* \~/ kneels and places her swords at Arin's feet. One of the mages explains that Samurai Chick has just pledged her service to Arin, and if Arin doesn't accept, she will be dishonored. Nice little trap there, you racist stereotype.

Arin tells *“the yellow warrior”*\~/ to stand up, and accepts her service but tells her she's free to leave whenever she feels like. Arin does not understand samurai or service. Anyway, friendship, rainbows, sharing, yadda yadda yadda.

The Generic Elves and Samurai Chick are lead to their quarters, and we learn that Samurai Chick has been here for two years (and has apparently not explained anything to anyone in this time). Arin questions her about her “tiger,” and Samurai Chick is monstrously unhelpful, at one point flatly ignoring a direct, polite question from Arin, her purported master.

Samurai Chick also does not understand samurai or service. \~/

The Generic Elves, after traveling for something like four months and going thousands of miles, suddenly decide the matter is urgent and every second counts. What. They're reluctant to wait *“four marks”* to hear the mages' tale of the Green Stone, and even more reluctant to wait an entire day before the mages magic up Arin's memories. I suspect this sudden urgency is McKiernan attempting to raise the tension that is thus far absent. It does not work.

So we timeskip forward four marks – which could be ten minutes or ten hours, there's no way to know – and the chapter ends.

Drinks: 5

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