Mannacorn Anaheim sat in his seat, wavering over the deal the greater devil had proposed.
The Bane Godspawn had been born more than twenty years ago. Even before his birth, some of the Zhentarim's elite had devoted themselves to fabricating an identity for him-the legitimate son of the Anaheim family, a renowned family of arms merchants.
The identity was flawless. The Zhentarim's elite had begun their preparations early, tailoring the false identity to Mannacorn's birth date and the Godspawn's personality. This arms-dealing family had once enjoyed considerable prominence, possessed several trade routes, and remained strictly neutral in every war. Anyone who paid could do business with them.
This was another major attempt by the Zhentarim to infiltrate commerce in the central Realms.
Yet disaster had struck so swiftly. During the Time of Troubles, Waukeen, the Lady of Wealth, had disappeared, and Bane, the God of Tyranny, had fallen. Mannacorn Anaheim had broken free of his restraints and dealt with the remaining members of the Anaheim family.
He had thus acquired the astonishing wealth the family had amassed, which he could use to exert influence on every front.
As a Bane Godspawn, Mannacorn was likewise filled with a sense of impending danger, not only from the other Bane Godspawn, but also from Cyric, the Dark Sun.
He needed an elite army to help him eliminate the other Godspawn and retake Zhentil Keep, so he had chosen to use Cormyr's resources to build his own power.
Having chosen Cormyr, he needed to control the country. He already controlled Duke Caspar. His next task was to control Alusair, the Princess Regent.
Everything had originally been going smoothly. Without anyone noticing, he had won over nearly half the Purple Dragons, held Duke Caspar in check as his puppet, and secretly brought more than half