Chapter 4

Meanwhile, Lokhi walked through the rural community of Shadowdale with a smile on his face. It was uncommon for him to be around people so cheerful with seemingly no reason to be so. With Zhentil Keep only a week's march to their northeast and the drow making occasional raids of the Dalelands, the people Shadowdale had every reason to be worrisome. Lokhi enjoyed visiting Shadowdale, however, because the people he saw were always friendly; he was greeted by no less than fifteen people, mostly farmers, on his way to the hill at the northernmost part of town, the Old Skull.

In the old windmill at the top of the hill lived the only man who knew the truth about Lokhi, the whole truth, that is. As Lokhi made his way up the winding stone path to the windmill and through the wooden rail fence, he recalled the winding path that led him to this point in his life. All of its unexpected twists and turns were now only memories that Lokhi did not look back on fondly.

Lokhi walked up to the door of the windmill and reached out to knock it. Before he could rap his knuckles against the door, though, it opened and there stood an elf in comfortable looking clothes. Lokhi smiled.

"Lhaeo, good to see you again."

Lhaeo greeted him politely but with the absence of amusement and distant expression Lokhi had come to expect from most elves. Several centuries of life helps to put things in perspective, Lokhi thought, and his had only just begun.

"Greetings, Lokhi. The Old Mage is out for one of his walks. You'll find him east in the forest."

Lokhi nodded to the scribe and walked back down the stone path, taking a left and walking toward the forest. He smiled as he saw a group of children playing, pretending to be the heroes from the tales they had heard from one bard or another. Lokhi continued walking into the forest.

After several minutes of hiking along the Old Mage's trail, Lokhi saw him sitting on a bench-shaped rock overlooking a stream. He was leaning against the back of the rock and puffing his pipe. Lokhi was amazed at the man, over a thousand years old. His face was beginning to show the signs of age, but his eyes retained their youthful vigor.

As Lokhi approached, his head turned to make eye contact. The Sage of Shadowdale took his pipe out and held it in his right hand. He eyed Lokhi for a moment then continued staring back out at the forest before him.

"Ye seem happy enough, but I can tell ye must be troubled somehow." Elminster took a puff of his pipe while waiting for Lokhi's answer.

"This trouble in Amn, it has me worried. I am concerned because of the Amnian people's hatred of magic. If they spread, they'll bring that hatred with them to whatever lands they conquer. Their closeness to Candlekeep does not help in calming my nerves at all."

Elminster nodded. Slow to speak, he had learned over the past millennium that it was better to take the time, sitting in silence, to formulate an intelligent answer than to blurt out whatever it was that initially came into your mind, simply to fill in the gaps of a conversation.

"Candlekeep is most definitely a treasure that should not be lost. I find it likely that the Amnite people would have vied for its destruction. However, these people have now joined forces with the ogre mages in southern Amn. A curious situation, indeed."

Taking another puff of his pipe, Elminster decided to tell Lokhi another piece of information that could help him solve this mystery.

"Of course, this presents an intriguing question. Why would a people so widely known for their reviling of magic suddenly band together with ogre mages and their armies?"

Lokhi nodded.

"Indeed, if we can find the answer to that, we'll be a step closer to solving this and putting an end to the trouble in Amn."

Elminster smiled. How long ago had it been him in the same position, the idealistic young Chosen dedicated to holding Faerûn together? Several hundred years at least…had it really been so long?

"Lad, my sources in Aglarond tell me that the Red Wizards might have something to do with this. It's my understanding that they intend to keep Amn's hatred of magic prevalent in the people. If Amn spreads into the North, they will kill any mages they find. In this sense, they will do the work of the Red Wizards better than most Thayans could hope to do themselves."

Lokhi understood instantly. The Red Wizards sought to keep magic for themselves. Any other mages not in their group were a direct threat to them, and therefore a target. If Amn's armies marched against the North and they could successfully clean out most of the North's mages, the Red Wizards' goals would be accomplished and it would allow for Thay to expand to the West and conquer the remnants of the North's cities.

"Do your sources tell who in the Red Wizards is supporting this?"

Elminster nodded. He always enjoyed seeing the wheels turn inside the mind of a young mage, especially one in which so much power had been vested. True, Lokhi wasn't as powerful as El, but that didn't mean that he was weak in the Art by any means. Elminster knew that while Lokhi was young, he would develop his magic to incredible heights, perhaps even surpassing Elminster himself a few centuries down the road.

"Indeed they do, lad. Or she does, I should say." Elminster looked over to Lokhi with a gleam in his eye, both knowing the woman Elminster was speaking of, his lover, the Simbul. Lokhi returned El's smile with a half smile of his own.

"She tells me that it is the lich Ssas Tam of Thay. Last I heard he was their zulkir of Necromancy," El said.

A zulkir, Lokhi knew, was a sort of headmaster of a school; only in this case it would be the leader of the sect of Red Wizards whose choice it was to follow a particular school of magic such as abjuration or illusion.

Lokhi nodded, understanding the power he would be going up against. He was only in his thirties compared to a lich that had survived two centuries of undeath and plots against him from every side.

Elminster took another puff of his pipe while he awaited Lokhi's next question. He knew that the young mage was smart enough to figure it out on his own, but he did enjoy watching the thought process take place.

"Is there anything else I should know about this?" Lokhi asked, trying to piece the information he had together.

"Aye. Volumes, lad, but that is information I don't have either. I'd suggest ye pay a visit to Amn yourself. Despite what ye may think, a Chosen should have no trouble slipping in and out of spellguises and blending in with the common folk."

Lokhi rose to his feet and turned toward Elminster.

"I sent a spy to Amn to get as close to this warlord as she could. I haven't even discovered the man's name yet."

"Neither have I, lad. His armor makes it impossible for us to spy on him with magic. I'm certain that his suit contains a sort of antimagic field, but that the suit's magic itself is not affected. It is a mystery to me as well, Lokhi."

Lokhi nodded and thanked the Old Mage for the chat, making plans for another chat in the following weeks. With his appointment for the day done, Lokhi decided that with noon approaching, it was high time that he paid a visit to the province of Amn.

Two hours later, a small falcon soared through the skies above Amn's major city, Athkatla. Flying lower to gain speed, the bird raced between the buildings of the port city, drawing closer to the military barracks with each second. The falcon arrived at the barracks and perched on the railing of a balcony. After a quick scan of the crowd to be sure no one was watching him, the falcon hopped off the railing toward the stone floor of the balcony.

Leather boots, not talons, landed on the stone as Lokhi transformed himself back into his usual form. He slipped inside the balcony's door and was inside the soldiers' barracks. Since it was the heat of the day, no one was curled up in bed, and Lokhi had the opportunity to don a spellguise, creating the illusion that he was one of the soldiers themselves.

With his spellguise securely in place, Lokhi marched out of the room and into the hall, the stone floor echoing loudly against his guard's boots. Anyone in the barracks would know that a particularly loud soldier of Amn was making his way through the building, and that's exactly what Lokhi wanted.

It was unlikely that the leader of this army would sleep in the same building as his troops. Such things were simply not done in most cases. Lokhi made his way down the hall and down the old stone stairs of the building, making sure to shut the door loudly behind him as he made his exit.

He took in the scenery of Amn, realizing the greed of the people here compared to those in Shadowdale. The people of Shadowdale were content to be farmers and tradesmen, content with their work-filled lives. The Amnites were anything but happy, as Lokhi could see. Everywhere he looked he saw merchants selling overpriced items of questionable quality. Any street corner was transformed into a marketplace at the chance to make a few gold pieces.

Not only did these people hate magic, they also made their money at the expense of others. Lokhi was a bit angered by this, to say the least, and made a mental note to deliver some poetic justice to these people when this was settled.

Using his brain instead of brute force, Lokhi decided that the best way to end this swiftly would be to ask for directions. He turned to one of the nearest merchants, a particularly slimy one, with greasy black hair and a shop called Tymora's Grin, obviously dealing in luck charms for any price. Those charms promising the best luck were the most expensive.

"Where do I find the leader of our army?"

The merchant looked at Lokhi confused.

"What are you asking me for, shouldn't you know? After all, he is your commanding officer, isn't he?"

Lokhi needed a way out of this fast, and luckily the stereotypical arrogant soldier attitude came through for him again.

"Just answer the question!" Lokhi barked uncharacteristically.

The merchant was taken aback, but pointed him in the direction of the general's tower for a price. Lokhi paid the man with a cut ruby the size of the end of his thumb. The merchant seemed particularly pleased to have the gem, naturally. He would not have been so eager to put it under his pillow that night had he known that it was set to transform back into a serpent twelve hours after leaving Lokhi's possession.

Another satisfied customer, Lokhi thought as he walked through the busy streets toward the general's tower. The closer he got, the more he saw guards that wore the same half-plate armor as him. These, he knew, were the soldiers whose job it was to guard the warlord from any outside invaders.

Lokhi approached the front door of the tower and looked dead in the eyes of the guards stationed at the building's entrance. The building was very large and ominous, seeming to lean forward imposingly over those standing in front of it. Lokhi was hardly impressed, recalling the castle that he used to call home. Beautifully ornate in the daytime, but come nightfall the castle was alive with the vengeful shades of those whom the family had killed over the years.

Lokhi reburied those memories of his former life for the hundredth time. He hoped that the arrogance and complacency he had observed among the royalty with whom he had lived would serve as an example of how those in positions of power should not act.

Despite these reveries, which Lokhi frequently went on, he tried to focus on the mission at hand. These guards would have two choices: let him pass or face the wrath of an angry mage.

"I'm here to see the general. Official business." Lokhi put his hands on his hips to present himself as a bit irritated that the guards had even dared stand in his way in the first place.

"Funny, we were told that the general was to be left alone all day. One of his long naps, we assume." The guard folded his arms resolutely, obviously not falling for Lokhi's lie.

Lokhi decided then and there that this was a time for magic. Calling up one of his silent spells from memory, Lokhi cast a Charm spell. Despite how it sounded, the Mass Charm spell wasn't a love charm; it was designed to improve a person's reputation in the eyes of the spell's target. In this case, the target of the spell was the crowd standing around the front of the warlord's building.

With a pat on the back and friendly small talk, the guards were soon leading him up the stairs toward the general. Finally, Lokhi thought, I can have a moment alone with this ruler, perhaps talk him out of his plan, perhaps remove the threat altogether.

As Lokhi was led through a hallway, much like the one in the soldiers' barracks, he nearly fainted as the rafters from the ceiling came crashing down around the three of them. The two guards quickly rose to their feet and drew their swords. A pang of fear went through Lokhi as he wondered why a building's structural problem would be cause to draw steel.

As Lokhi turned, he saw Alanis just in time to glimpse her shoving the knife he gave her into his stomach. She quickly drew back and began stabbing with all of her force into his chest. Obviously she couldn't see through his spellguise.

Just as she realized the knife had no blood on it and took a step back, one guard pulled Lokhi out of the way while the other moved in to cut her down with his sword. She dodged his first swing, and then parried his second swing with her blade.

Lokhi knew that there was little hope of keeping the masquerade he was under now. As soon as the guard who was pulling Lokhi away from the perceived danger checked him for stab wounds and found none, as he had a spell he commonly used that made him immune to attacks from blades, there would be little doubt in the guard's mind that magic was somehow involved.

He broke free of the guard and dropped his spellguise, quickly casting a sleep spell before the guard could recover from the shock. The soldier slumped against the wall and slid down, sitting in a heap on the floor.

Turning, Lokhi saw that the other guard and Alanis were locked in combat. He walked up behind the guard and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the sleep spell take effect on this guard as well. Lokhi caught the guard before he fell and carried him toward the wall where the other guard now sat and slept peacefully.

Alanis eyed Lokhi, her pulse still racing after the fight, and sheathed her dagger. She took a step toward him and she was about to mutter something about being able to handle the situation herself. But just as she began to speak, the door to the warlord's room creaked open.

Steadying themselves, Lokhi summoned his courage and walked into the doorway, looking into the dark room as though one of the Dukes of Hell waited for him inside, and for all Lokhi knew, one did.