Marvin arrived at the reception room where Jaheira had once discussed prewar preparations with him and found that the Harpers' master was taking a rare break. With her legs propped on the table, she lazily sipped wine.
Seeing Marvin enter, Jaheira raised her glass in salute. "Well done, Marvin. The Harpers owe you one. Without you this time, victory would truly have been difficult.
"During last night's battle, I briefly crossed paths with the enemy commander. He was..."
"A man with a neat little mustache?" Marvin asked.
"Yes, that's him. Though his level wasn't high, he could still exchange a few moves with me, and he had psionic powers.
"Beyond his personal combat ability, he was also an excellent commander. Whether in pre-battle planning or battlefield command, he was no less capable than a senior officer in a regular army.
"I've already learned that his name was Sudiman Xikhar. He was once the captain of the adventuring party War Games, a highly accomplished adventurer who worshipped the goddess of strategy, the Red Knight. His mind was as exceptional as his swordsmanship.
"What a pity. A man like that had actually become a mind flayer's slave."
Jaheira tipped back her head and drained her wine in one swallow, then sank into memory. "I've lived for more than a hundred years and seen many talented people stray down the wrong path. Sudiman was one. Edwin was another.
"You're asking who Edwin was?
"He was an extraordinarily gifted wizard in the adventuring party of the great hero Charname. Unfortunately, ambition and arrogance robbed him of his basic judgment. He actually dared challenge Elminster, and it did not end well for him.
"If you had been the wizard in our party back then, perhaps many mistakes would never have been made, and many tragedies