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A landmark of wonder e building that eic Unlike any other structure in all the Forgotten Realms, the Hosttower of the Arcane see five tall spires, the largest being the central, and the other four, equally high, growing out of thearc of an oak Nowhere could any sign of the eable viewer that ic, not physical labor, had produced this artwork

The Arche, undisputed Master of the Hosttower, resided in the central tohile the other four housed the wizards closest in the line of succession Each of these lesser towers, representing the four compass directions, dominated a different side of the trunk, and its respective wizard held responsibility for watching over and influencing the events in the direction he overlooked Thus, the wizard west of the trunk spent his days looking out to sea, and to theout on Luskan’s harbor

A conversation in the north spire would have interested the companions from Ten-Towns this day

"You have done well, Jierdan," said Sydney, a younger, and lesser, h potential to have gained an apprenticeship with one of the uild Not a pretty woman, Sydney cared little for physical appearances, instead devoting her energies to her unrelenting pursuit of power She had spent oal - the title of Wizard - and her deterave most around her little doubt about her ability to attain it

Jierdan accepted the praise with a knowing nod, understanding the condescending manner in which it was offered "I only performed as I was instructed," he replied under a facade of huout of the room’s sole

"Why would they come here?" the wizard whispered to himself He turned to the others, and they recoiled instinctively froaze He was Dendybar the Mottled, Master of the North Spire, and though he appeared weak frohtier than bulginglife far less than the pursuit of knowledge intiive any reason for co here?"

"None that I would believe," Jierdan replied quietly "The halfling spoke of scouting out the marketplace, but I - "

"Not likely," interrupted Dendybar, speaking h more into their actions than simply a merchant expedition"

Sydney pressed Jierdan, seeking to keep her high favor with the Master of the North Spire "Where are they now?" she deainst her in front of Dendybar "On the dockssoed

"You do not know?" hissed the young e

"They were to stay at the Cutlass," Jierdan retorted "But the fight put them out on the street"

"And you should have followed the the soldier relentlessly

"Even a soldier of the city would be a fool to travel alone about the piers at night," Jierdan shot back "It does not ates and the piers watched They cannot leave Luskan without e!"

"I want them found!" Sydney ordered, but then Dendybar silenced her

"Leave the watch as it is," he told Jierdan "They e You are dis to report"

Jierdan snapped to attention and turned to leave, casting one final glare at his competitor for the mottled wizard’s favor as he passed He was only a soldier, not a budding e like Sydney, but in Luskan, where the Hosttower of the Arcane was the true, secretive force behind all of the power structures in the city, a soldier did well to find the favor of a wizard Captains of the guard only attained their positions and privileges with the prior consent of the Hosttower

"We cannot allow theued Sydney when the door had closed behind the departing soldier

"They shall bring no harm for now," replied Dendybar "Even if the drow carries the artifact with him, it will take him years to understand its potential Patience,e need to know The pieces of this puzzle will fit together nicely before er"

"It pains hed the eager young e "And in the possession of a novice!"

"Patience," repeated the Master of the North Spire

Sydney finished lighting the ring of candles that marked the perimeter of the special chamber and moved slowly toward the solitary brazier that stood on its iron tripod just outside the ic circle inscribed upon the floor It disappointed her to know that once the brazier was also burning, she would be instructed to depart

Savoring every moment in this rarely opened roo chaed to remain in attendance

But Dendybar never let her stay, explaining that her inevitable inquiries would prove toowith the nether worlds, distractions usually proved fatal

Dendybar sat cross-legged within thehimself into a deep meditative trance and not even aware of Sydney’s actions as she completed the preparations All of his senses looked inward, searching his own being, to ensure that he was fully prepared for such a task He had left only onein hison a single cue: the bolt of the heavy door being snapped back into place after Sydney had departed

His heavy eyelids cracked open, their narrow line of vision solely fixed upon the fires of the brazier These flaible form for the period Dendybar kept it locked to the material plane

"Ey vesus venerais di slowly at first, then building into a solid rhythh the spell, once given a flicker of life, drove itself to the coh the various inflections and arcane syllables with ease, the sweat on his face reflecting eagerness more than nerves

Thethe will of beings beyond the h the sheer insistence of his considerable th This room represented the pinnacle of his studies, the indisputable evidence of the vast boundaries of his powers

This ti his favorite informant, a spirit that truly despised him, but could not refuse his call Dendybar ca "Morkai," he called softly

The brazier’s flahtened for just an instant

"Morkai!" Dendybar shouted, tearing the spirit from its hold on the other world The brazier puffed into a small fireball, then died into blackness, its fla before Dendybar

The wizard’s thin lips curled upward How ironic, he thought, that the ed to murder would prove to be his most valuable source of information

The specter of Morkai the Red stood resolute and proud, a fitting ihty wizard he had once been He had created this very room back in the days when he served the Hosttower in the role of Master of the North Spire But then Dendybar and his cronies had conspired against hier into his heart, and thus opening the trail of succession for Dendybar himself to reach the coveted position in the spire

That sanificant, chain of events into motion, for it was that same apprentice, Akar Kessell, who had eventually cohty artifact that Dendybar now believed in Drizzt Do’Urden’s hands The tales that had filtered down from Ten-Towns of Akar Kessell’s final battle had naht him down

Dendybar could not know that the Crystal Shard now lay buried beneath a hundred tons of ice and rock on the mountain in Icewind Dale known as Kelvin’s Cairn, lost in the avalanche that had killed Kessell All that he knew of the tale was that Kessell, the puny apprentice, had nearly conquered all of Icewind Dale with the Crystal Shard and that Drizzt Do’Urden was the last to see Kessell alive

Dendybar wrung his hands eagerly whenever he thought of the power that the relic would bring to a s, Morkai the Red," Dendybar laughed "How polite of you to accept aze upon you, Dendybar the Assassin," replied the specter "I shall know you hen you ride Death’s barge into the darkened realain"

"Silence!" Dendybar coh he would not adreatly feared the day when he would have to face the ht you here for a purpose," he told the specter "I have no time for your empty threats"

"Then tell me the service I aone Your presence offends u, for it drained him to hold a spirit on the material plane, and each second that passed weakened hier in this type of spell was that the conjuror would atte, until he found himself too weak to control the entity he had summoned

"A simple answer is all that I require fro each word as he went Morkai noted the caution and suspected that Dendybar was hiding so

"Then what is the question?" the specter pressed