"For the love of magic!" Elminster declared in a booming voice. "Let me stay here. Old Elminster is bound to be useful for something. You seem desperately short-handed, so wouldn't another spellcaster who knows construction magic like Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock be helpful? I promise I'm an efficient worker. Not to boast, but old Elminster knows a thing or two about civil engineering. You would understand if you had ever visited my castle. It is positively luxurious, filled with ingenious craftsmanship, and I laid every last brick and stone with my own hands."
Elminster had no organizational connection to the Tower of Tomes, and he did not appear willing to sign a contract. Consequently, he could not remain on the summit or approach the Silver Tree.
However, reputation carried weight. Elminster Aumar was one of the most famous and powerful spellcasters in the entire Realmspace crystal sphere. The legendary old wizard had therefore not been expelled immediately.
Few people were fortunate enough to meet Elminster. He might have a habit of wandering all over creation, but having him suddenly appear before them was still as astonishing as finding an elephant from the zoo standing in their living room.
Everyone wanted a picture with the elephant, and no one dared chase it away too hastily. That was essentially the current situation.
Doric planted one hand on her hip, helpless before the old man's relentless pestering. She sighed softly, turned away, and searched the surrounding crowd for Stan.
The first residents to arrive from Candlekeep were all dedicated scholars of magic. They had spent years hunched over winding parchment scrolls and scaling the treacherous mountains of accumulated knowledge. Some had ruined their backs and eyesight while still young, paying no attention to nature or the changing world beyond their studies. They would devote their entire lives to ancient texts merely for the chance to follow in the footsteps of the few names that shone brightest in magical history.
There was Mordenkainen of Greyspace, for example, and Elminster of Realmspace.
It was like a scientist on Earth holding Newton and Einstein up as the ultimate models of brilliance, only for Einstein to suddenly climb out of his coffin and walk over to introduce himself. He was alive, he could speak, and he was a surprisingly funny old man.
Almost every scholar present was an admirer of the old wizard and desperately hoped to exchange a few words with him. Academic hero worship could be every bit as fanatical as ordinary celebrity worship. Even spellcasters occasionally behaved irrationally.
Livia drew a quiet breath and whispered with Tawna about Elminster's legendary adventures. He was equally accomplished in the classroom and on the battlefield. He could leave apprentices dizzy and confused with his magical theories, then pick up his staff and beat a dragon bloody.
The late-arriving Simon and the other two men joined them and began asking what had happened. When Simon learned that the unicorn had coughed up Elminster, he looked as though he had seen a ghost.
There was no simple way to describe the complicated feelings of a wayward descendant suddenly coming face-to-face with the great-great-grandfather he had never met. Simon could only pray that Elminster would overlook his existence entirely.
Zim was just as confused. As a wild magic sorcerer, the thing he understood least was the unicorn. Why had it eaten Simon's hair, and how had it managed to spit out a living person?
The unicorn had supposedly been summoned by a Wild Magic Surge, which should have been the most chaotic and unpredictable force imaginable. Yet the creature it summoned had been carrying out a deliberate scheme.
The beast had known exactly what it was doing.
Yes, Zim finally understood.
Someone had sent the unicorn, just as someone had arranged the sahuagin chieftain's suicide. Both schemes had been designed to smuggle a particular person into Skylrael.
He shared his theory with Livia.
"The book spirit told me that all the gods want to extend their influence into Skylrael," she replied meaningfully. "This is probably what it meant."
Zim sucked thoughtfully at his teeth. A dangerous suspicion was forming in his mind.
Suppose the one responsible was among the gods themselves. There was indeed one being in existence who could manipulate the outcome of wild magic, the One True Spell herself, the goddess of magic.
Everyone knew that Elminster was a Chosen of the former Mystra.
The truth now seemed obvious.
Zim felt angry at having been used, but he could only suppress it. The streets of the slums had taught him a harsh lesson long ago. Little people existed to be stepped on, sacrificed, and treated like toys. People were not equal even among themselves, so how could an ordinary mortal hope to defy a god's will?
Elminster chatted with the surrounding crowd, occasionally erupting into hearty laughter.
No matter where the old wizard went, he naturally became the center of attention. The aura of legend surrounding him made it almost impossible not to admire him.
"Stan, you finally made it." Doric spotted the blond bard and waved him over. "There's an old man here claiming to be Elminster. He says he came to see Skyl. Could you speak with him?"
Stan had not come alone.
Walking beside him was a tall, breathtakingly handsome elven man. Stan's current avatar was already an extraordinarily attractive man, but beside this elf, he resembled a cheap knockoff action figure from a dollar store.
The crowd turned toward them.
Every conversation stopped.
Men and women alike stared in speechless amazement.
Stan tossed his hair with shameless vanity. "What's wrong? Overwhelmed by how handsome I am?"
The elven man beside him smiled gently. As he lowered his eyes, his expression resembled someone savoring the fragrance of a rose. Several women in the crowd began breathing through their mouths like fish gasping at the surface. They looked ready to faint.
Livia's face turned bright red.
Tawna grabbed her hand and shrieked, "Who is that? Is he Lady Firehair's husband?"
Lady Firehair, Sune, was the goddess of love and beauty. If her avatars had not usually appeared as human women, everyone present might have suspected that they were looking at the goddess herself.
Not even the men could honestly dismiss the elf as merely good-looking.
Elves were naturally graceful and beautiful, but this man was an elf among elves. His eyes were as gentle and radiant as eternal stars reflected upon the Moonsea. He was tall and perfectly proportioned, and his entire body seemed surrounded by a crystalline shimmer like powdered diamonds.
His charisma could no longer be measured by mortal standards.
Doric unconsciously bit her lip. She approached the elven man with the bashful smile of a nervous young woman, then excitedly tugged on Stan's sleeve.
"When did this gentleman arrive in Skylrael? Why haven't you introduced him? Oh, right, I'm Doric."
She swallowed nervously.
The elven man smiled softly and performed an elaborate, ancient bow. His voice did not disappoint them. It flowed as beautifully as music from a harp.
"I am Ilúvatar, at your service."
"Oh, I'm going to faint." Livia clung to Tawna's shoulder some distance away.
Doric was already wearing a blissful, foolish smile.
Everyone crowded around the newly arrived elven beauty. Elminster lost the spotlight completely. Within seconds, the legendary wizard was yesterday's news.
He stood alone and muttered pitifully under his breath.
"This shallow world is beyond saving."
"Ilúvatar is a bard," Stan remarked casually. "I must admit that he is slightly better than me. If I had known he was coming, I would never have chosen to become a bard."
Ilúvatar could only laugh.
Stan's next words filled Doric with delight.
"All right, young lady. I'll leave Ilúvatar in your care. Show him around and introduce him to everyone."
"Absolutely! Mr. Ilúvatar, please follow me."
Stan strode through the crowd until he stood before Elminster. He took the old wizard's hand, gave it a gentle shake, and laughed.
"Skyl and I have discussed you before. He said you were responsible for destroying Netheril's last flying enclave, which made you seem like extremely bad luck. He did not want you setting foot in Skylrael. I also told him you were something of a walking disaster. However, you behaved yourself in my world, which counts in your favor, so he asked me to receive you."
"Have we met before?"
Stan smiled carelessly. "We have, although I looked different back then. You have a hideout on another planet, don't you? That sanctuary contains a portal leading to Yellowstone National Park in 1894. You also visited my world regularly to buy German beer. I was the cashier behind the counter."
Elminster's eyes widened, and his entire body stiffened. The calm confidence vanished from his face, replaced by the panic of a man whose most private secrets had suddenly been laid bare.
"Who, exactly, are you?"
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