Solam met the person behind this round of talks the following evening—someone he had never expected: Athkatla's current guardian, the legendary mage Osvid.
Solam could be considered acquainted with this old mage. Back when Solam had accepted the Amn Council's request to deal with the underground seal, it had been this old mage who used a large-scale teleportation array to send Solam and the others directly beside the seal. In the end, the old mage had even fought a fierce battle against Alfred, the ancient divine vampire. Though Alfred had ultimately tricked him, and if not for Clone, he would have nearly perished outright.
Afterward, all of this old mage's "inheritance" had fallen into Solam's hands. Although he later redeemed those possessions through Chalanona, the two had not interacted much, so they were only acquaintances.
But what the old man did afterward had left Solam dumbfounded. Osvid looked like the sort of spellcaster with noble character and no interest whatsoever in power. At least, that had been the impression the old mage had given Solam during their few meetings.
After Solam left Athkatla, however, this old fellow had actually joined forces with Chalanona to launch a sudden attack on the two legendary mages of the Masked Mage Guild who supported the nobility, resulting in one dead and the other seriously wounded.
That was also what triggered Amn's civil war.
It could be said that this old mage, who seemed rigid yet worthy of respect, was one of the chief culprits behind Amn's destruction.
Honestly, Solam had no idea why this old mage had sought him out.
If Athkatla truly wanted to cooperate with him in some capacity, Chalanona was undoubtedly the better choice. After all, Solam and Chalanona had an inseparable, tangled relationship. Solam absolutely did not believe Osvid could