Amdramnar raised his eyebrows. 'Oh? It's not an amusement I'm personally aware of. Were they sure Malaugrym were taking maidens? This sounds like one of those 'dark dragon' tales old nurses scare young brats with.'
'You need them for breeding,' Belkram said inexorably, 'because female Malaugrym are barren.'
Their host shrugged. 'Forgive me. I must reveal ignorance of this because, as you may have gathered, I am not a woman.' He sipped at his wine and added, 'I should warn you, however, that from what I do know-and know well-of the temperament of the ladies of my family, this is not a wise topic of conversation when you're in their hearing.' He smiled faintly. 'Ah, we do have a family tradition of duels-on the spot-to answer what are regarded as insults.'
He set down his glass and added, 'It seems you've made a good beginning at getting to know my kin, and I'd like to learn as much, if I may, about yourselves. It's not every day I meet visitors from Faerun upon the stairs.'
Amdramnar leaned forward. 'This much I can tell. You are friends, companions-at-arms, and know each other. You are adventurers, or at least more comfortable on forays into the unknown than say, a potter or cowherd might be. There my useful information ends. Tell me more, if you would, such as your names and where you hail from and whatever led you from there to Shadow-home.'
'Belkram is my name,' Belkram said calmly, 'and that's Itharr. We're both rangers, wandering the Realms getting to know its ways, a common thing for folk in our line of work to do. One travels the wilds of Faerun, looking for the places one is loved and needed.' Itharr nodded his agreement but said nothing.
'And I am Sharantyr,' the lady Knight told him. I dwell in Shadowdale, and yes, I am an adventurer. We grew restless and accompanied a friend of ours on a journey as his sword escort. The Realms have become dangerous this last year, and he was headed through Daggerdale, which has been a perilous land for some time, thanks to the Zhentarim.'
'Ah, yes,' the Shadowmaster said with a bleak smile, 'we've had our own occasions to thank those ambitious wizards of Zhentil Keep.' He bent his head to one side, 'Through Daggerdale, you say?'
Sharantyr shrugged. 'He didn't… live to tell us his destination.'
Amdramnar's eyebrows lifted. 'Oh? Some misfortune befell him?'
'He was killed,' she said flatly, 'by some rival mages. A day ago. This morning, wandering open country in Daggerdale, we stumbled through some sort of glowing door and found ourselves here, in your castle.'
'Oh? Where in the castle?'
They gave him three shrugs. 'Somewhere shadowy,' Itharr told him, straight-faced. The Shadowmaster almost smiled.
'I… see,' he replied. 'And who was your friend? 'Rival mages,' you said. Was he a mage of some reputation?'
'Oh, yes,' Belkram replied quickly. 'Quite famous, in the Dalelands at least. His name was… Elminster of Shadowdale.'
Eyebrows rose. 'I have heard of him, yes,' Amdramnar said mildly, reaching for his glass. 'He must have been, oh, several hundreds of years old, at least.'
Itharr nodded. 'We believe so.' The Shadowmaster fixed bland eyes on him and seemed to be waiting for him to say more, but the burly ranger spread his hands to indicate he had no more to say, and kept silence.
'Would you judge that the gate that brought you here was of his making?' Amdramnar asked. 'Could he have been taking you to it, perhaps?'
Sharantyr and Belkram spoke together, 'No.' After exchanging quick glances, Shar went on. 'We don't think so. The place where we camped was not in quite the direction we'd been faring, and he'd said nothing of such things to us.' She let a note of sadness creep into her voice and added, 'He… liked to talk. There were very few things about magic that he didn't warn us about, not just on this venture but always, in all the time I've known him.'
The Shadowmaster frowned. 'I'm sorry to hear of his passing,' he murmured, 'though not all of my kin would share that view, I'm afraid. Some of the elders here in the castle are-were-sworn foes of his. Just what disagreements they had with him were very much before my time, so I've never known just why this… coolness… existed between Elminster and my kin.' He stirred. 'Nevertheless, Shadowdale-Faerun-has lost a great mage, and that's something all should be saddened by. 'Tis only the advances in magecraft that make life, in whatever small ways, better and better with the passing years. Are things seen this same way in Shadowdale?'
'They are.' Sharantyr agreed. 'Though the power of sorcery corrupts far too many men, and far too often, some good always finds its way down to the farmhands and the honest tradesfolk. His death diminishes us all.' Amdramnar frowned over his glass, then looked up. 'What you say leaves me downcast, but also curious. If Elminster of Shadowdale knew nothing of the gate that brought you here, how came it into being, and when?' He smiled thinly. 'It's no secret that we haven't seen any stream of visitors from Daggerdale before you.'
It was Itharr's turn to shrug. 'Truly, we went through the gate by accident. We've heard of such things before-fireside tales of wizards fighting wizards are full of them-but we'd never seen one. At first, well, I thought it was some sort of trap to lure us, or even something to do with mating, that a will o' wisp had spun.'
The Shadowmaster chuckled. 'Oh, that's something I've never thought of. How do they mate, I wonder?' He set aside his glass again. 'Can you find this end of the gate again, to get back home?'
Sharantyr shook her head. 'No,' she said simply. 'We don't even know for sure if they work in both directions.' 'Well, some do, and some…,' their host replied, tilting his head from side to side in a gesture of resignation. Then he leaned forward again. 'Some of my kin certainly know sorcery enough to get you back to Faerun, though just where you'd emerge is another matter. I must warn you, however, that such powerful spells are regarded as valuable, and the caster will expect payment'-he eyed the sword Sharantyr held-'in the form of a service, if you have nothing more tangible that you're willing to part with.' He smiled and leaned back again, waving a dismissive hand. 'However, that can be a problem for another day.'
The Shadowmaster spread his hands to indicate the room around them. 'Now that you're here, however accidental your journey, what are your plans?'
'Uh, to get home again safely,' Belkram said with a tentative smile. The shapeshifter nodded approvingly.
'A wise ambition,' he said. 'I must warn you that, were you to wander freely about the castle, you might well be attacked by those of my kin who fear you're spies for an army of mages from Thay or elsewhere. Or you just might talk too loosely of what you've seen when you get back home, and spur someone more greedy than prudent into trying to take magic from us.'
He held up a gentle hand to indicate he suspected them of no such failings, and added, 'Moreover, shadows are strange things, as you've seen. There are some among us whose wits have… shall we say, been changed by their experiences with shadow. They aren't safe to themselves or to the rest of us. For some of these unfortunates, the sight of mortals is a goad that enrages them into attacking in beast shape or hurling the most damaging spells they know, or… similar behavior. You'll readily see why wandering about the castle with no good plan is asking for trouble.'
Amdramnar stood up. 'Please don't misunderstand me,' he continued, walking slowly to a sideboard, 'if I say that it might be safest for you if you remained here in my chambers. In fact, I'd like you to stay here tonight, if you will. I've room enough to spare to afford you private rooms, all three, and your own bathing and cooking facilities. I must confess I find you entertaining, and welcome a chance to talk more with you about life in Faerun and, I suppose, tell you more of things in Shadowhome.'
He turned, a platter in his hands, and smiled. 'On the other hand, I know you're curious about the castle-who wouldn't be? — and I'll quite understand if you'd like to explore it. It would be cruelly remiss of me, however, to let you walk out that door without providing you with my protection, or some small magical defense, or something to keep you from another distressing encounter such as the one during which I first met you. And I must stress that not all of my kin would be as easily defeated as Phenanjar.'
'Well,' Belkram began, 'w-'
'We'd be happy to stay with you this night,' Sharantyr said firmly, giving the Shadowmaster her first real smile in some time, 'and talk further. Is there a place we could… ah, refresh ourselves? And is there anything we could do to help with a meal? We don't want to be a hindrance to you in your living, or in your affairs.'
The Shadowmaster waved a dismissive hand. 'As to the first, go through that door, though I fear you'll find
