Aaron, whom even the Red Wizards dared not provoke, encountered no further trouble on his return journey. His convoy followed the Chionthar River, passed the High Forest, and returned to Cormyr without incident.
As time passed, word of Aaron's exploits in Baldur's Gate gradually spread throughout the Realms.
Waterdeep convened an expanded meeting of the Masked Lords, discussing the Mouse God, Aaron, and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. The legendary paladin serving as Open Lord delivered a speech, and the meeting passed a resolution to closely monitor Cormyr's next move.
Baldur's Gate went without saying. The Four Dukes and the Baldurian nobles voluntarily spent a fortune erecting statues of the late Archduke Takkus and Aaron, who had defeated the Mouse God. Their bronze statues stood before Balduran's statue, with Takkus and Aaron standing together, arms around each other's shoulders. The Fairy Princess Buer sat on Aaron's shoulder, pointing into the distance.
Silverymoon's Mage Queen, Alustriel Silverhand, sent her condolences on behalf of the Lords' Alliance of the North. She firmly promised every form of support short of taking actual action and expressed her deep regret over what had happened in Baldur's Gate.
The relationship between Baldur's Gate and the Lords' Alliance of the North was a delicate one. In theory, Baldur's Gate was a member of the alliance, obliged to contribute during wartime and entitled to protection against enemies. Yet whenever war struck the Lords' Alliance in the northern Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate never sent so much as a single soldier. Naturally, the alliance offered nothing but verbal condolences in response to Baldur's Gate's plight.
The grand palace in Karinport, capital of Calimshan.
Calimshan's supreme ruler, the Syl-Pasha, Pasha of Pashas, Ralan el Perhazzar, sat behind a thick curtain. Three grand viziers knelt before the Pasha of Pashas, discussing their views on