In The Cards

The Wizard of Coin coupled with the Rogue is an unusual combination, and a dangerous one. It adds stealth and subtlety to the Wizard's ruthless magic as well as dangerous weapons and magical force to the Rogue's schemes. Beware these cards, for they thrive on plots and secret machinations. If they are arrayed together against you your best course of action would be to try to win them over to your side rather than oppose them directly. But take this warning to heart. Should you fail, the danger will be even greater than before.

Excerpt from 'The Chaltar Deck Of Cards - An Introduction'

Midnight in the small town of Nashkel. Heavy darkness lay across field and wood, enveloping them as if in the folds of a dark cloak. The night-air was crisp and chill this far north, and heavy with rain, even if none was falling yet. From the tavern light drifted out along with drunken laughter and sounds of off-key singing. Everywhere else the worthy farmers and townspeople slept the heavy sleep of honest people. Turl Odipas, the Innkeeper, was having yet another nightmare about being gutted and then fried to a crisp by the guests inhabiting his finest room. And in that very room a red-robed wizard sat, thinking.

Edwin Odesseiron was feeling annoyed. This was his chance to prove himself to his superiors among the Red Wizards of Thay, to show them just how capable he was. The mission was an extremely important one, initiated by Zulkir Nevron himself. But he was stuck. Hopelessly stuck. True, he wasn't the only agent deployed to the Sword Coast, but he fully intended to be the one to succeed and be showered with riches and glory. Unfortunately, that now seemed extremely unlikely to ever happen. He tapped his fingers irritably against the open spellbook that he was meant to be studying. How was he supposed to concentrate when all he wanted to do was to tear his beard out and scream with frustration? So far he had made no progress at all in finding his quarry, much less in carrying out the mission. Besides, even in this supposedly luxurious room there were rats to disturb him. He'd heard them scratching inside the walls at night, keeping him awake. Some luxury!

I wish I knew a spell to let me turn that fat innkeeper into a rat, he thought. A nice, plump rat. Then I'd be more than happy to feed him to a cat, one inch at a time. In fact, there was a rat scurrying along the wall right now, its claws making tiny clicking noises. Edwin smirked and waved his hand. Red balls of energy flew from it, hitting the animal and incinerating it on the spot. "That should teach you", he muttered.

"In a temper are we?" a voice said from the window, causing the wizard to startle. As he turned around he thought he saw a hint of amusement in his companion's black eyes. Vadrak Dekaras, the Odesseiron Family Assassin, slipped inside the open window making no more noise than a shadow. A booted foot turned the still smoldering rat over. "Yes", the assassin said. "That dirty rat will never again be a menace to society. A commendable action, almost paladin-like in its dedication to a cause and its total disregard of common sense." He raised an eyebrow. "In other words, overkill. There are such things as mouse-traps after all, and spells should not be wasted when in potentially hostile territory."

Edwin sighed. Having been his tutor throughout childhood the assassin still was capable of making him feel approximately six years old, even without making an effort. "I was getting bored", he admitted, hoping he didn't sound too whiny. "Were you able to learn anything while you were gone?"

"Yes", Dekaras said. He casually sat down and propped his long legs up on the table, letting the chair lean back against the wall. "But first tell me how you did. This is your assignment after all. I only came because you asked me to."

Edwin had been curious about that. "You don't approve, do you?" he asked.

"Not really, no. But that makes no difference. The mission was given to you and it must be carried out, or you will find yourself in very deep trouble. I have no intention of seeing all the effort I put into your education go to waste. So. How was your day?"

"The Witch and that giant idiot with the hamster left early this morning, heading west. I had words with one of the servants at the Mayor's manor-house. He had overheard them discussing some sort of fortress to the west, something regarding a prophecy. They haven't returned yet."

"I see", the assassin said. "Interesting. And it should make things easier for us, if we don't have them breathing down our neck all the time. That should spare us the effort of killing them for the moment."

"It makes no sense", Edwin said. "From what I've been able to gather that fortress is swarming with gnolls. Why would they want to go there? It cannot possibly have anything to do with…what we're seeking."

Dekaras smiled. "No", he said. "But I fear the poor dear Witch is laboring under a misconception. You see, I know of the prophecy of which she spoke. It refers to a child coming out of the west, and out of a lonely fortress. That much is true. But hardly a ruin ruled by gnolls, a fact I suspect she is sadly unaware of. She should have done her research better before she rushed off. There is another prospect, and a much more likely one."

Edwin thought about this for a moment, trying to recollect the layout of their map. Then he remembered something. "Candlekeep", he said. "That is what you mean, isn't it?"

"Yes. It may be a library rather than a traditional fortress, but I am certain of it. Fortunately we need not worry about gaining entrance to the place. It seems our quarry is on the move."

Edwin eagerly leant forward. "The girl is coming here?" he asked. "How do you know?"

"I don't. Not for certain. But it is a definite possibility. She has been spotted on the road, some distance to the north. The description matches the one we were given."

"Who told you?"

The assassin grimaced. "Some tattooed mage and his scruffy halfling companion that I met at the tavern", he said. "The wizard was thoroughly insane, and rather unsavory, but not stupid. He was going on and on about how the girl had robbed him blind when he met her."

"Did he know who she was?"

"Possibly. I wouldn't be surprised if he has an agenda of his own. Of course I couldn't seem too interested or he would have become suspicious. He was paranoid enough as it was. But the important thing is that she was travelling with another girl of about the same age, and with no experienced guide. This mage mentioned Nashkel to her, and the problem with the iron ore. It may interest her enough to draw her here, and otherwise we will have to travel north to locate her. At least now we know the approximate area in which to search."

"Perfect!" Edwin said. At last, a breakthrough. "And once we find her we simply need to gain access to her."

"I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you", Dekaras warned. He tossed a throwing dagger from hand to hand as he spoke and moonlight glinted off the blade in brief flashes. "If she is one of the Children she could be very dangerous."

"But she's just an untrained girl, isn't she?"

"Perhaps. But who knows what she will have learnt by the time we catch up with her? And we don't know much about the Children. They could have hidden powers. Please, for once in your life, try not to be so reckless. And you are the one who must get close to her, not I. You wanted to do this on your own, remember?"

Edwin nodded. "I will handle it", he said. "I will offer her my services as a wizard on some pretext. She should be eager for a skilled companion. After all, I am a much more talented wizard than any other she is likely to meet in these barbarian woods. And once I've proven my worth it should be a simple matter to use my powers of persuasion to make her see the benefit of working for Thay. It will work like a charm, you'll see."

"If you say so", Dekaras said, not sounding particularly impressed. "Though I seem to recall a certain charm spell you cast two weeks ago that made you temporarily fall in love with a mule. I advice you to exercise some caution lest a similar fate befall you again."

"That was an accident", Edwin muttered a trifle sullenly. "It won't happen again. I can do this. Just give me a chance. I won't let you down."

"I hope so. And you recall what your orders are if she will not cooperate?"

"Yes", Edwin said, trying to look as impassive as his mentor. "To kill her. We can't let the Witches get her, or so Zulkir Nevron said."

The throwing dagger struck the wall with a loud * thunk *. "Yes", Dekaras said. "To kill her. Now listen to me. If for some reason, any reason, you find yourself unable to do so, you must get in touch with me. I will take care of it." He sounded extremely serious.

"Why wouldn't I be able to handle it?" Edwin asked, feeling genuinely surprised. "I may not be an Archmage yet, but I know my business. You've even said so yourself. Well, you hinted at it."

"Yes. You have reached a certain basic level of competence. But you are not trained to be an assassin. You may be travelling with this girl for some time, and in such a case there is a danger of getting too attached to the target. The Profession requires a certain mindset, an ability to detach yourself from personal feelings. Now, I wouldn't like having to kill that girl. I don't approve of killing a person simply because they refuse to be drafted into service. You know that. But I will do it all the same, if that it what it takes to keep you alive. You may count on that." He stood to retrieve the dagger. "Just keep your head, stay in control of your emotions and try not to antagonize her unnecessarily. I will keep my distance once you make contact with her, so you will have to manage on your own most of the time."

Edwin was about to say that he was fully prepared to do so when a heart-wrenching roar sounded outside. It was followed by another and yet another.

"Dyyynaaaaheeeeirrrr! Minsc is sorry! Minsc is so sooorrry!" As he hurried to the window Edwin could see lights springing into life around the village at the terrible sound. He looked down, trying to see what was going on. It was the giant Rashemani warrior who had been travelling with the Witch. Edwin had managed to stay out of their way so far, and he didn't think they knew of him, but he certainly recognized them. The tattooed man with the large sword was walking along the village street, his sword dragging in the dust behind him. There were tears streaming down his face. "Minsc will save you, Dynaheir!" the berserker cried. "He will find help, and he will save you. Boo is his witness." Then he passed out of sight, but his roars were still clearly audible.

"So the madman has misplaced his Witch", Edwin said and stepped back from the window. "If we are lucky the gnolls may have eaten her."

"I wouldn't count on it", Dekaras said with a sneer. "I think gnolls have better taste than that. But at least she is out of the way for now. And that makes our task easier. Now listen to me. We need to device a way for you to approach that girl, Zaerini. And I just so happen to have a couple of ideas…"