Chapter Summaries

Bernard profited from Mylatma’s recovery by selling magic items, buying local goods cheaply, and lending money to the city’s elite. Meanwhile, Raymond and Jeffrey finished building a powerful beast-shaped Iron Golem, which Jeffrey suggested could help Earl Wex Tagget conquer rivals and claim the Tethyr throne.

• Bernard announced that Raymond owned the caravan and sold magic items at high prices to Mylatma’s nobles and wealthy merchants.
• Bernard bought local goods from families and guilds in need of funds, then lent money at usurious interest rates with Earl Wex Tagget as guarantor.
• Raymond visited Jeffrey’s Wizard’s Tower and agreed with the old mage to create an Iron Golem.
• Raymond shaped a twenty-ton High-Manganese Steel beast and reinforced it with Adamantine while he and Jeffrey added powerful spells and magical protections.
• After two or three days of work, Raymond and Jeffrey completed the beast-shaped Iron Golem, and Jeffrey said Earl Wex Tagget could use it to conquer other lords and seize the throne.

Soros discussed Tethyr’s succession crisis with Jeffrey and traded the old mage Astar’s notes on constructs and undead. He offered Jeffrey the ritual to become a Lich in exchange for his Phylactery and a century of service, then left the decision open while preparing to advance his Planeswalker class.

• Jeffrey explained that Tethyr’s queen was imprisoned and treated as a trophy by the rival noble families seeking the throne.
• Soros gave Jeffrey his notebook of Astar’s techniques, and Jeffrey became excited by its knowledge of constructs and undead.
• Soros warned Jeffrey against becoming a Half-Golem and offered to help him become a Lich in exchange for his Phylactery and one hundred years of service.
• Jeffrey agreed to show Soros the wands in his warehouse, while Soros told him he could decide later and contact him through Bernard in Athkatla.
• After Jeffrey left, Soros turned the Iron Golem into a Creature Card and used his accumulated mana to raise his Planeswalker class from LV5 to LV6.

Raymond studied the Book of the Dead’s powerful Necromancy spells as his caravan traveled toward the ruins of Tethyr Castle. After Jaheira reported unusual traces in the ruins, Raymond asked whether she had found bandits or monsters.

• Bernard left Mylatma after lending money to its nobles and merchants and extracting trading concessions.
• The caravan set out toward Tethyr Castle with Vermees, Jaheira, Khalid, and Raymond’s soldiers among its growing company.
• Raymond studied the Book of the Dead and learned about spells for summoning, strengthening, and commanding Undead.
• Jaheira returned from scouting the ruins and told Raymond she had found unusual traces.
• Raymond asked Jaheira whether the traces belonged to bandits or monsters.

Raymond discovered a recently used altar of Talona in the ruins of Tethyr Castle and concluded that her followers were pursuing him. He warned his companions that Cyric’s followers might soon attack, leaving the group on alert as Alena revealed she had learned Wall of Fire.

• Jaheira told Raymond that she had found an altar of Talona and signs that dozens of people had gathered there recently.
• Raymond explained that Ilmater had warned him Talona’s followers were looking for him, then led Jaheira and the others to the altar.
• Raymond touched Talona’s holy symbol, sensed that he was being watched, and quickly pulled his hand away.
• Raymond warned his companions that Talona’s followers and Cyric’s Church might attack soon, possibly with additional allies and Clerics.
• Alena revealed that she had reached level eight and learned Wall of Fire, and Raymond teased her for favoring fire spells.

Raymond kept the caravan on alert after discovering Talona’s altar, then led his companions to confront a group approaching from the woods while a second force crossed the Suldus River. The chapter left Bernard and the mercenaries behind at camp as Raymond’s group hurried toward the first threat.

• Raymond and Jaheira kept the discovery of Talona’s altar secret, monitored the area, and secured the caravan’s food and water.
• Raymond discussed his views on faith with Arolin, explaining that he respected some gods’ doctrines but would not worship any god.
• Raymond detected strangers in the woods, while a Wolf Pup reported that about a hundred riders were crossing the Suldus River from Zazesspur.
• Raymond decided to attack the group in the woods before the riders arrived and left Vermees and the Oddity to guard the camp.
• Raymond led his companions toward the woods, leaving Bernard and the mercenaries bewildered at the camp.

A Church of Cyric force tracked Raymond to recover the missing box, but the Incubus discovered that Shadow Creatures had exposed their approach. Raymond’s group ambushed them first, and the Glabrezu teleported to confront Raymond and Alena.

• The hooded Church of Cyric leader assembled local followers, Troll tribes, Ogre Mages, two Glabrezu, and an Incubus to ambush Raymond and retrieve the box.
• The Incubus spotted a Shadow Creature and realized the enemy had placed sentries along their route, alerting the group that their ambush had been discovered.
• Raymond’s group launched a barrage of Fireballs, killing several attackers and seriously injuring both Glabrezu.
• The Incubus used Reverse Gravity to evade the explosions, then Greater Teleport to escape with the woman.
• The two Glabrezu summoned two more of their kind and teleported all four in front of Raymond and Alena.
• The Glabrezu struck Raymond and Alena with Chaos Hammer; Raymond was injured and drank a healing potion, while chaotic Alena remained unharmed.

Raymond’s group defeated four Glabrezus that had teleported into the battle, but the Church of Cyric’s forces recovered and prepared to fight on. Raymond and the woman leading the church paused to negotiate over the box from Soros, and he admitted that he had it.

• Raymond used four Slow spells to hinder the charging Glabrezus, and Davian and Riet engaged them.
• A Glabrezu used Gaseous Form to escape Riet’s physical attacks, but Alena and Raymond killed it with Fireballs.
• Davian and Riet turned the battle around, and the defenders killed all four Glabrezus while protecting Jaheira, Khalid, and Arolin.
• The Church of Cyric’s survivors recovered, raised corpses as undead, and prepared to continue fighting.
• Raymond halted his group and met the church’s leader to negotiate, then admitted that he possessed the box from Soros.

Raymond traded the Adamantine box to the woman from the Church of Cyric for half of her group’s magic supplies. As she retrieved the box, torch-bearing riders arrived and surrounded her people.

• The woman demanded the Adamantine box, but Raymond used the threat of destroying it to negotiate a storage fee.
• Raymond asked for half the group’s magic items, potions, and scrolls, while Handington and Riet deterred Jaheira, Khalid, and Arolin from interfering.
• The woman collected the requested goods from her people and handed them to Raymond, who gave her the box in return.
• As the woman bent to pick up the box, torch-bearing riders charged in and surrounded the Church of Cyric’s group.

Raymond’s attempt to turn the Church of Cyric and the Church of Talona against each other led to Talona’s avatar descending and choosing him as her plague emissary. Her gift unleashed an uncontrollable plague that devastated her own followers, leaving Raymond with immense new power and Talona fallen nearby.

• Isolde recognized Raymond as Talona’s Chosen, and Raymond sent the Church of Talona to seize the adamantine box by killing the followers of Cyric.
• The two churches fought until Isolde summoned a balor that killed the incubus and helped the Church of Talona wipe out the Church of Cyric.
• Raymond gained power from the battle’s deaths, while Isolde’s followers resurrected their fallen and prepared a ritual for Talona.
• Talona descended in an avatar, rewarded Isolde and his followers, and declared Raymond her chosen vessel for evolving viruses, bacteria, and toxins.
• Arolin’s amulet struck Talona and freed Raymond, whose uncontrolled plague eruption killed most of Talona’s followers and left the goddess fallen on the shattered altar.

Ilmater stopped Talona from claiming Zuo Si as her Chosen, but Talona’s divine power remained inside him and threatened to turn him into a source of plague. Ilmater used Bhaal’s heart to bind that power, warned Zuo Si about the Twisted Rune and his cursed gauntlet, and left him with powerful new abilities and a dangerous choice of paths.

• Ilmater restored the blighted land, drove Talona away, and watched her followers die after she abandoned them.
• Ilmater explained that Talona had made Zuo Si her Chosen and warned that his body could unleash deadly contamination.
• Ilmater revealed the heart of Bhaal and used its remaining divine power to restrain Talona’s power inside Zuo Si.
• Ilmater warned Zuo Si that the Twisted Rune was targeting him and explained the Blue Dragon’s curse within his gauntlet.
• Ilmater urged Zuo Si to protect his conscience, then blessed Arolin and departed after the divine powers merged within Zuo Si.
• Zuo Si examined his Legacy, discovered his new Cleric level and extensive Chosen abilities, and decided not to abandon his arcane path for divine magic.

After becoming Talona’s Chosen, Raymond dismissed Arolin and the Harper pair, then continued with the caravan to Zazesspur. There, a taste of noodles from Kara-Tur inspired him to propose opening a restaurant, while two agents began investigating the divine battle and searching for the Harpers.

• Raymond explained his new powers and plans, and Arolin departed for Calimport on her Celestial Horse after completing her mission.
• Jaheira and Khalid questioned Raymond about his dangerous powers, then left to report to the Harpers and investigate whether other pieces of Bhaal might be hidden near Baldur’s Gate Harbor.
• Raymond’s group reached Zazesspur, where he ordered expensive noodles and elven bread at an inn and found the familiar food eased his exhaustion.
• Raymond offered to fund a restaurant in Athkatla with the Halfling innkeeper, providing recipes and protection in exchange for seventy percent of the profits.
• Two agents examined the battlefield near Tethyr Castle, decided to pursue Jaheira and Khalid in Zazesspur, and praised the Dark Sun.

While the caravan waited in Zazesspur, Raymond helped the dying Wizard Vanessa become a Lich and then led the caravan into the Starspire Mountains. After discovering that the Zhentarim and another faction were waiting in Lucky Valley, he prepared to confront them, while Vanessa’s successful transformation ended with Raymond turning her Phylactery into a card.

• Bernard auctioned repaired weapons and armor for a profit of more than two hundred thousand gold coins while Raymond arranged Vanessa’s transformation into a Lich.
• Vanessa completed the dangerous ritual and died, and Raymond strengthened his abilities while waiting for her resurrection.
• Raymond resumed the journey with the caravan, recruited the Halfling Welby, and ordered the Oddity and Shadow Legion to capture useful creatures in the Starspire Mountains.
• Fangus detected traces of spell component pouches, and Welby identified Lucky Valley as a dangerous ambush site where caravans often disappeared.
• Raymond used the Imp’s Commune to learn that the Zhentarim and another faction were targeting him, then killed the Imp after obtaining the answers.
• Vanessa rose as a Lich, and Raymond returned her belongings before turning her Phylactery into a card, leaving her alarmed about her immortality.

Raymond and his companions fought off a Zhentarim ambush in Lucky Valley and learned that the attackers had worked with the Cult of the Dragon. They found the cult's nearby cave base, where Yelinya discovered dozens of cultists and high-ranking Zhentarim behind magical defenses.

• Raymond secured Vanessa's loyalty by hiding his phylactery, then gave him valuable necromancy books and spells.
• Raymond learned from Vermees about the Cult of the Dragon's dealings with dragons and recruited her to help fight a suspected dracolich.
• Raymond led the caravan into Lucky Valley, where his Shadow Legion overwhelmed the ambushers while Vanessa and the others joined the battle.
• Raymond captured four Hill Giants and learned that Manshoon had sent the Zhentarim to seize a box in cooperation with the Cult of the Dragon.
• Raymond's group found the cult's cave base, and the Oddity controlled and killed two guards to learn what dangers lay inside.
• Yelinya reported that the cave held about forty Cult of the Dragon members and several high-ranking Zhentarim, with powerful magical defenses protecting its lowest level.

Raymond’s party destroyed the Cult of the Dragon’s base, defeated its dracolich, and captured the dracolich’s phylactery. After raising his Planeswalker class to level seven, Raymond sealed Balithrisyat into a creature card, turning the former enemy into a powerful asset.

• Clarisse and the purple-robed priest waited for their ambush to succeed, but Raymond’s party broke into the cavern and Vanessa unleashed a magma spell against the gathered cultists and Zhentarim.
• Raymond showed Clarisse the empty chest, claimed an avatar of Ilmater had destroyed Bhaal’s heart, and used Talona’s divine power to kill the Zhentarim forces while letting Clarisse escape with a warning for Manshoon.
• The purple-robed priest summoned a dracolich, but Vermees and the Iron Golem crushed it while Raymond’s party silenced and defeated the cultists, including the priest.
• Vanessa seized the dracolich’s phylactery before it could escape, and Raymond learned the creature was Balithrisyat, the ancient green dragon called the Verdant Nightmare.
• Raymond absorbed the remaining mana, advanced his Planeswalker class to level seven, and sealed Balithrisyat and its phylactery into a creature card.

Manshoon, the Twisted Rune, and the Harpers learned that Soros had become Talona’s Chosen and weighed how to respond, while Raymond’s caravan entered Vildas Forest and met a hostile Wood Elf patrol. In Athkatla, the exiled Jon Irenicus transformed Bodhi into a vampire and began planning their revenge on Suldanessellar.

• Clarisse reported Soros’s power and proposed cooperation, so Manshoon spared her and ordered Ximmon to investigate and contact him.
• Ragon learned from Arolin that Soros had become Talona’s Chosen and sent Ebenezer to have Shanglar investigate what had happened near Tethyr Castle.
• The Harpers debated whether to monitor or oppose Soros, and Elminster revealed that he was an outsider whose knowledge had attracted the attention of several gods.
• Raymond’s caravan encountered Wood Elves who demanded his Drow captive, but he demonstrated his control over her and persuaded the patrol to let the caravan pass.
• Jon Irenicus used a blood ritual to turn Bodhi into a powerful vampire, and she flew off to hunt elves while he planned to establish a base beneath Waukeen’s Promenade.

Bernard’s caravan reached Kremur, where he learned his father was alive and that his youngest sister, Isadora, might have arranged the deaths of the other heirs. As Raymond and Bernard prepared to return to Athkatla, Amn’s rulers discussed how to exploit Raymond’s arrival, while Vanessa began recruiting aging wizards to become liches and join a new organization.

• Bernard brought the caravan to Kremur and reunited with his friend Babet Nasiwa, learning that his father had survived and that his siblings were dead.
• Bernard told Babet that Captain Bloodhand Harlett had accused Isadora of hiring pirates and Rogue bands to kill the heirs, while Raymond cautioned that magic or a disguised monster might be involved.
• Babette explained that Athkatla required arcane spellcasters to buy licenses costing five thousand gold coins temporarily or fifty thousand permanently, and Raymond said he would not need one.
• The Council of Six and the Shadow Thieves discussed Raymond’s arrival and considered backing Bernard’s bid for control of the Roldan Trading Company to secure Raymond’s cooperation.
• Vanessa told Jeffrey he had become a lich and urged him to join a new group of liches; Jeffrey agreed to prepare for the transformation, and Vanessa recruited other aging wizards.

Raymond discovered that the Church of Talona had fabricated stories about him, then helped Bernard expose Isadora as a rare Psion and learn the truth behind the Roldan family’s deadly inheritance struggle. Bernard reclaimed the family business and took bloody revenge, while Aran Linvail sought a meeting with Raymond, whom he recognized as a terrifying Monster.

• Raymond saw a Talona priest falsely credit him with destroying a world and chose not to confront the church.
• Bernard returned to his family mansion and learned that Isadora had seized control after exposing Sir Elrot’s schemes and her own Psionic powers.
• Raymond and the Oddity subdued Isadora’s attack, explained her abilities, and agreed to take her in after she fell asleep clinging to Raymond.
• Bernard learned that Sir Elrot had manipulated his children to protect an illegitimate heir, then asked Raymond for the mistress’s address and vowed revenge.
• Bernard reclaimed the trading company, paid the Shadow Thieves and city officials, and arranged the deaths of his father’s mistress, her household, and her family.
• Aran Linvail sent word that he wanted to meet Raymond, whom he described to a Rogue as a powerful and terrifying Monster.

Bernard strengthened the Roldan Trading Company and rewarded Raymond with wealth, land, and noble status, while Raymond learned that Athkatla’s dangers were growing and discovered that his former master Astar had secretly followed him to Faerûn and become a lich. Astar questioned Raymond about the plague that destroyed the Aelir civilization, leaving Raymond to explain how he had gained Talona’s power.

• Bernard presented Raymond with six hundred and fifty thousand gold pieces, company shares, a fertile estate, noble status, and a permanent spellcasting license.
• Bernard reported that Athkatla had rejected Raymond’s wizard’s tower application unless he joined the Cowled Wizards or repurposed a temple, so Raymond threatened to build his tower in Baldur’s Gate or Waterdeep instead.
• Raymond chose to buy the Bent-Neck Crane Inn and revealed that a lich lived behind a concealed door there, while warning Bernard that Isadora’s psionic training could alter her personality.
• Raymond visited the Copper Coronet Inn with Alena, Riet, Vermees, and Oddity, heard reports of sewer monsters and drained Elven corpses, and recognized that Irenicus and Bodhi were likely in Athkatla.
• A masked figure left Raymond a note calling him a dear apprentice, then led him to a derelict house and revealed himself as Astar, who had secretly traveled to Faerûn and become a lich.
• Astar asked Raymond about the plague that destroyed the Aelir civilization, and Raymond explained that the floating cities and settlements had been devastated and that he had barely escaped.

Raymond met his former mentor Astar in Athkatla, rejected his proposal to cooperate, and killed him to obtain the Chaos Factor residue and settle an old imbalance between them. After destroying Astar’s Phylactery and taking his valuables, Raymond left the laboratory in the Imp and Troll’s care and returned to the Copper Coronet Inn to gather information.

• Raymond and Astar compared their experiences in Faerûn, but Raymond refused to let Astar study his divine power or treat him as an apprentice.
• Astar offered Raymond the Chaos Factor residue in exchange for magical knowledge, spells, and information about powerful spellcasters.
• Raymond ambushed Astar with spell cards, struck him with the Ring of the Ram, and forced the dying lich to drop the vial.
• Raymond used Commune to locate Astar’s Phylactery, then destroyed it with an enchanted Adamantine warhammer and a Troll, killing Astar permanently.
• Raymond collected Astar’s magical items, books, and other valuables, then left the Imp and Troll to guard the laboratory.
• Raymond sent Davian and Handington to retrieve the spoils and returned to the Copper Coronet Inn to continue gathering information.

Raymond secured permission to build a Wizard's Tower in Athkatla after agreeing to control the Church of Talona, then enforced limits on the church's activities. Construction began quickly, while the Twisted Rune investigated him and Raymond adapted techniques from the Floating City Tower for his own tower.

• Raymond tested Chaos Factor on a female hunting dog, mutating it into a gigantic monster, and planned to breed dragon hunting dogs with it.
• Raymond negotiated with Zeranora and signed an agreement with the Council of Six and the Cowled Wizards, gaining a tower plot in Athkatla in exchange for joining the guild in name, restraining Talona's church, and treating senior officials.
• Raymond met High Priestess Yvette and ordered the Church of Talona not to spread plagues in Amn or target nobles and wealthy merchants.
• Zeranora watched Raymond leave the church meeting and revealed a sinister, Negative Energy-filled appearance before disappearing.
• Rune Lord Shanglar ordered his subordinate to keep gathering information about Soros and consider doing business with him, while avoiding direct contact without Ragon's approval.
• Raymond received the deed and permit, hired Bernard's construction crew, and used his Shaping ability to rapidly build the tower's foundations and first floor.