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i_read_whatWell, we made it to the final chapter. Not the final review mind you, because there's an epilogue after this. But close!
Nah, let's finish it in one go.
We saw the villains go down and we saw Cadderly get re-traumatized. On the plus side, my arbitrarily chosen favorite character gets to live! Yay!
So we rejoin our heroes as they're standing over the horse, Temmerisa. Hammadeen is trying to comfort it, but it's in bad shape.
The elves ask if Cadderly can heal it too, and Elbereth's "sincere grief" moves him to try. But sadly, before Cadderly can make the attempt, the horse dies. Not without a bit of a show though:
Cadderly’s vision blurred and the forest around him took on a preternatural edge, a surrealistic, too-sharp contrast. He blinked many times, and many more when he looked at Temmerisa, for he saw the horse’s spirit rise suddenly and step from its corporeal body.
Hammadeen spoke a few quiet words in the horse’s ear, and both she and the spirit walked slowly away, disappearing into the trees.
Now THAT bit is interesting. You should be nicer to creatures that can possibly spirit away the dead.
Anyway, Cadderly may have gotten himself a few cleric levels, but raise dead is still out of his range, so the horse stays dead.
Tintagel, as a decent person, tries to offer condolences, while Elbereth, as a dramatic asshole, decides to go take his anger out on every monster he sees, forcing an exhausted Cadderly and a still injured Tintagel to have to follow his ass.
--
We switch scenes to Shayleigh and Danica and company. They're getting a report about some place called Deny Ridge, where the trees are fighting. We're told that, including Danica and the dwarves, they number twenty-three. Shayleigh is confident in their success.
We get a nice description:
Deny Ridge was aptly named, Danica noted, staring at it from the tree line across a small, grassy break. From this side, the ground sloped upward at a steep pitch for a hundred feet, climbed straight up a rock face for thirty more, then sloped another hundred feet or so through thick grasses to the ridge top. According to Shayleigh, the other side, where the goblinoids battled the remaining sentient trees, was even more defensible, being a rocky and almost sheer drop from top to bottom.
So they have to get up to it, and this is where dwarven ingenuity comes into play. I can already tell it will involve some comic relief wackiness, because the elves are meant to be in eye-shot of the ridge. When Shayleigh asks what they're to do, Ivan just says "Ye'll know."
Ugh.
I like the characters, but I rarely enjoy Salvatore's attempts at wacky comic relief. The dwarves are at least more effective than the Harpells, but I'm still irrationally irritated.
So the dwarves climb the rocks. Pikel gets an arrow to the hip when he's spotted by goblins, but it's not a bad wound. They taunt the goblins and we learn that, apparently, goblins really hate and fear dwarves. They charge the dwarves, in berserker fashion, and hurl their torches down the hill at them.
The torches cause fire, and this, I think, provides enough distraction for the rest of the band (except the archers) to race up the ridge. The attackers are still pretty outnumbered, but then there's a big green cloud among the goblins, causing them to hack.
We get another bit of Salvatore's odd turns of phrase:
Most of the goblins that managed to escape the sickly vapors went out the back side of the cloud, angling down the slope, away from the fight. They found little running room, though, for there waited Elbereth, stern and mighty, and his sword worked tirelessly on the startled and weakened creatures.
The goblins are invading attackers, yes. So defeating them is fair game. But sometimes, the way Salvatore describes it really does feel off to me. Maybe it's the D&D power fantasy aspect - killing hordes of goblins in a table top or computer game is fun, but reading a story where the very powerful knight starts cleaving the pathetic little creatures in two...it's less satisfying. It feels like bullying.
So anyway, Elbereth continues to rage kill through the enemies. Ivan and Pikel lead some elves down to Shayleigh to help there. Danica spots Cadderly and Tintagel and the narrative finally remembers that she's supposed to care about him.
They win, unsurprisingly.
--
In the next scene, Ivan is boasting that, with six hours, twelve elves (including Tintagel) and the trees, he can hold "this place" for a hundred years.
Cadderly confirms the trees will move where they ask, though he's not sure how he knows. He does take a moment to bully Hammerdeen, which I don't really like:
“And your strikes will not be blindly orchestrated,” Cadderly announced, looking to the nearest of the oak trees. “Will they, Hammadeen?”
The dryad stepped out a moment later, confused as to how the young scholar had seen her. No human eyes, not even elven eyes, could normally penetrate her camouflage.
“You will guide the elves,” Cadderly said to her, “to their enemies and to their wayward friends.”
The dryad started to turn back to the tree, but Cadderly cried, “Halt!” so forcefully that Hammadeen froze in her tracks.
“You will do this, Hammadeen,” Cadderly commanded, seeming suddenly terrible to all watching the spectacle. Amazingly, the dryad turned and nodded her compliance.
WHY are you being a dick to her, dude? I'm not saying you're wrong to request, but you could be nicer about it.
Cadderly starts to wonder about things though: how had he seen the horse's spirit, how did he see Hammadeen, how did he command her? That kind of thing. He's definitely leveled up and he doesn't realize it yet.
But anyway, Ivan and Pikel set up their defenses. Cadderly stays with the wounded, though fortunately, he doesn't have to use his healing magic. Eventually, the defenses get tested. But things work out fine.
Kierkan Rufo shows up, wounded, with a bruised and twisted leg. Apparently we're going with the dick characterization, as he goes immediately to Cadderly, whines about Cadderly not tending to him, and demands food as the dwarves mock his cowardice.
It's a really bizarre turn for a character who's actually been pretty sympathetic for the whole book. I suppose Salvatore decided he'd make a better long term antagonist than ally. I just wish the change around wasn't so abrupt.
And we see more of it here:
“Another supposed friend,” he spat. “Where was Danica Maupoissant when poor Rufo was in need? What alliances are these, I ask, when companions care nothing for each other’s welfare?”
Danica looked from Cadderly to Ivan to Pikel as the angular man continued his tirade.
“You are all to blame!” Rufo fumed, his anger gaining momentum. Danica curled up her fist and gritted her teeth.
None of this makes sense.
It'd be one thing if Rufo had gotten angry about getting captured by Dorigen and used by Druzil in the first place. But he'd turned himself into them. He exposed himself as a spy and felt terrible about it.
And even though it's characterized differently now, when he first went up the tree, he'd intended to join in the fight, not hide.
Anger makes for a good face-heel turn motivation, I suppose, but I really don't understand what this is about.
Danica, by the way, just punches him out. Everyone approves.
--
We skip ahead to everyone meeting up with Elbereth, who's giving them the information from the battle. More than seventy elves are still alive, with twenty more unaccounted for. That...seems really bad, actually, but Elbereth seems pleased. Some priests have arrived from the library too.
Oh, and here we go. It comes out that Cadderly didn't kill Dorigen. And everyone reacts with the maturity I've grown to expect:
“I am doomed!” Rufo wailed. “Dorigen will see to our end, to my end! You fool!” he yelled at Cadderly.
“Are ye looking for more sleep?” Ivan asked him, and Rufo realized from Danica’s scowl that he would be wise to remain silent.
But in this encounter, Kierkan Rufo did have an ally. “Fool indeed!” roared Elbereth. “How?” he demanded of Cadderly. “Why did you let the wizard escape?”
Cadderly couldn’t begin to explain, knew that his admission of compassion would not be appreciated by the new elf king. He was truly amazed at how quickly Elbereth had apparently forgotten his actions in the battle, in Syldritch Trea and against Ragnor, and in saving Tintagel.
Mr. Salvatore, you had him strip her naked and break her fingers. That's not... It's a really fucked up definition of compassion. Which would be fine, if that were the point. But Cadderly isn't being challenged on said fucked up definition. He's getting berated for showing compassion at all.
He tries to explain that Dorigen can't use her magic powers, is wounded, and stripped of her magical devices. But Elbereth is Elbereth and makes a production of storming away. Because of course he does.
I'm not sure why you're surprised at this, Cadderly.
But maybe Danica will be a good girlfriend here?
“Mercy,” Cadderly remarked. He looked at his love, caught her brown eyes in a gaze that would not let go. “Mercy,” he whispered again. “Does that make me weak?”
Danica spent a long moment considering the question. “I do not know,” she answered honestly.
They stood quietly, watching the fire and the stars for a very long time. Cadderly slipped his hand into Danica’s and she accepted the grasp, if somewhat hesitantly.
“I will remain in the forest,” she said finally, dropping Cadderly’s hand. Cadderly looked at her, but she did not return the stare. “To fight beside Elbereth and Shayleigh. The priests will arrive tomorrow, so it is rumored. Likely they will stay a few days to forge pacts with the elves, and then some might remain to fight on. But most, I assume, will return to the library. You should go with them.”
Cadderly found no words to immediately reply. Was Danica sending him away? Had she, too, perceived his compassion as a weakness?
“This is not your place,” Danica whispered.
...
Yeah, I'd probably be sadder about this if she weren't a terrible partner for the entire damn book. I suppose I'll give Salvatore credit for one thing, some creepy moments from Elbereth aside, it's not a romantic love triangle at least. But this is a woman who watched a guy bully her traumatized boyfriend for god knows how long. But they're kindred warrior spirits so it's fine!
Fuck off, Danica. Cadderly, you're better off without her.
Cadderly rightfully points out that he was pretty fucking useful in Syldritch Trea, and in helping to kill Ragnor and Barjin.
And maybe Danica saves herself a little here:
“I do not question your value,” Danica answered honestly, turning to regard Cadderly, “in this fight, as in anything. You will find no comfort in the continuing battle for Shilmista, just more violence, more killing. I do not like what that will do to you. I do not like what it has done to me.”
“What are you saying?”
“There is a coldness here,” Danica replied, poking a finger to her heart. She crossed her arms in front of her, as if to ward off a wintry blast. “A numbness,” she continued. “A fading of compassion. How easily I told you to kill Dorigen!” She stopped, choked by the admission, and looked away.
She probably means it, but in the end, she's still ditching her STILL traumatized boyfriend to go fight with the elves. So, meh.
She does kiss him before she goes, at least. But what the fuck ever, lady.
==
So time for the epilogue.
Oh, hey, Aballister. I remember when you were interesting. Sadly that was two books ago, and you've done jack shit since. I know you're likely to be the long term villain of the series, but your author has done very little to make you formidable.
He is busy telling Dorigen that she should have stayed in the forest. Apparently Castle Trinity is pretty demoralized by the defeat.
Dorigen points out that she couldn't do much with her fingers broken...oh...ew...
Aballister could not deny the truth of her observations. He had seen firsthand what wild goblinoids might do to a woman.
...Cadderly left her NAKED there. Now, to be fair to him, there's no indication that he knows what "wild goblinoids might do to a woman". But as mentioned, Cadderly basically gets ditched and dumped by the people he saved and his damn girlfriend NOT because he mutilated and abandoned a woman naked, but because he didn't murder her.
I dislike this immensely.
I do like seeing Dorigen stand up for herself, and when Aballister repeats that she should have stayed, she snaps back that HE should have watched out for his son.
Nice.
Aballister doesn't blow her up for that, which shocks everyone. I'm not sure why, given we've had two books establish that he's a passive tool, but fine. He notes that Cadderly's interfered twice, and while he didn't necessarily want Barjin to win, he's not so happy about the defeat in the forest. Now Cadderly's too much of a threat.
Dorigen asks what he intends to do.
Apparently, he wants to use the Night Masks of Westgate. I'm reminded that there's apparently a newer Neverwinter Nights 2 DLC set in Westgate. I've never played it. I would like to, sometime.
Dorigen has some mixed feelings actually. She's angry at Cadderly for what he did to her, but also acknowledges that Cadderly could have killed her and didn't. That seems like a fairly reasonable response, I suppose.
--
We switch scenes to the dwarves and Elbereth. Wow, Cadderly's friends have all basically jumped ship haven't they?
There's a "what's an Elbereth" joke, but honestly that's gotten old. Elbereth is, as usual, an ungrateful dickhead who, in a fit of temper, actually shoves his sword through Ivan.
There's a moment of horror from Elbereth, but it turns out that Ivan's armor is stronger than that. He's fine. They keep sparring.
--
Cadderly, by the way, is apparently in Carradoon. He wonders about his friends. He doesn't feel like the Edificant Library is his home anymore, and has decided to go out and pursue answers to his questions.
Carradoon, we're told, is making preparations for war. Cadderly decides to read the Tome of Universal Harmony instead.
And here the story ends. Verdict incoming.
Nah, let's finish it in one go.
We saw the villains go down and we saw Cadderly get re-traumatized. On the plus side, my arbitrarily chosen favorite character gets to live! Yay!
So we rejoin our heroes as they're standing over the horse, Temmerisa. Hammadeen is trying to comfort it, but it's in bad shape.
The elves ask if Cadderly can heal it too, and Elbereth's "sincere grief" moves him to try. But sadly, before Cadderly can make the attempt, the horse dies. Not without a bit of a show though:
Cadderly’s vision blurred and the forest around him took on a preternatural edge, a surrealistic, too-sharp contrast. He blinked many times, and many more when he looked at Temmerisa, for he saw the horse’s spirit rise suddenly and step from its corporeal body.
Hammadeen spoke a few quiet words in the horse’s ear, and both she and the spirit walked slowly away, disappearing into the trees.
Now THAT bit is interesting. You should be nicer to creatures that can possibly spirit away the dead.
Anyway, Cadderly may have gotten himself a few cleric levels, but raise dead is still out of his range, so the horse stays dead.
Tintagel, as a decent person, tries to offer condolences, while Elbereth, as a dramatic asshole, decides to go take his anger out on every monster he sees, forcing an exhausted Cadderly and a still injured Tintagel to have to follow his ass.
--
We switch scenes to Shayleigh and Danica and company. They're getting a report about some place called Deny Ridge, where the trees are fighting. We're told that, including Danica and the dwarves, they number twenty-three. Shayleigh is confident in their success.
We get a nice description:
Deny Ridge was aptly named, Danica noted, staring at it from the tree line across a small, grassy break. From this side, the ground sloped upward at a steep pitch for a hundred feet, climbed straight up a rock face for thirty more, then sloped another hundred feet or so through thick grasses to the ridge top. According to Shayleigh, the other side, where the goblinoids battled the remaining sentient trees, was even more defensible, being a rocky and almost sheer drop from top to bottom.
So they have to get up to it, and this is where dwarven ingenuity comes into play. I can already tell it will involve some comic relief wackiness, because the elves are meant to be in eye-shot of the ridge. When Shayleigh asks what they're to do, Ivan just says "Ye'll know."
Ugh.
I like the characters, but I rarely enjoy Salvatore's attempts at wacky comic relief. The dwarves are at least more effective than the Harpells, but I'm still irrationally irritated.
So the dwarves climb the rocks. Pikel gets an arrow to the hip when he's spotted by goblins, but it's not a bad wound. They taunt the goblins and we learn that, apparently, goblins really hate and fear dwarves. They charge the dwarves, in berserker fashion, and hurl their torches down the hill at them.
The torches cause fire, and this, I think, provides enough distraction for the rest of the band (except the archers) to race up the ridge. The attackers are still pretty outnumbered, but then there's a big green cloud among the goblins, causing them to hack.
We get another bit of Salvatore's odd turns of phrase:
Most of the goblins that managed to escape the sickly vapors went out the back side of the cloud, angling down the slope, away from the fight. They found little running room, though, for there waited Elbereth, stern and mighty, and his sword worked tirelessly on the startled and weakened creatures.
The goblins are invading attackers, yes. So defeating them is fair game. But sometimes, the way Salvatore describes it really does feel off to me. Maybe it's the D&D power fantasy aspect - killing hordes of goblins in a table top or computer game is fun, but reading a story where the very powerful knight starts cleaving the pathetic little creatures in two...it's less satisfying. It feels like bullying.
So anyway, Elbereth continues to rage kill through the enemies. Ivan and Pikel lead some elves down to Shayleigh to help there. Danica spots Cadderly and Tintagel and the narrative finally remembers that she's supposed to care about him.
They win, unsurprisingly.
--
In the next scene, Ivan is boasting that, with six hours, twelve elves (including Tintagel) and the trees, he can hold "this place" for a hundred years.
Cadderly confirms the trees will move where they ask, though he's not sure how he knows. He does take a moment to bully Hammerdeen, which I don't really like:
“And your strikes will not be blindly orchestrated,” Cadderly announced, looking to the nearest of the oak trees. “Will they, Hammadeen?”
The dryad stepped out a moment later, confused as to how the young scholar had seen her. No human eyes, not even elven eyes, could normally penetrate her camouflage.
“You will guide the elves,” Cadderly said to her, “to their enemies and to their wayward friends.”
The dryad started to turn back to the tree, but Cadderly cried, “Halt!” so forcefully that Hammadeen froze in her tracks.
“You will do this, Hammadeen,” Cadderly commanded, seeming suddenly terrible to all watching the spectacle. Amazingly, the dryad turned and nodded her compliance.
WHY are you being a dick to her, dude? I'm not saying you're wrong to request, but you could be nicer about it.
Cadderly starts to wonder about things though: how had he seen the horse's spirit, how did he see Hammadeen, how did he command her? That kind of thing. He's definitely leveled up and he doesn't realize it yet.
But anyway, Ivan and Pikel set up their defenses. Cadderly stays with the wounded, though fortunately, he doesn't have to use his healing magic. Eventually, the defenses get tested. But things work out fine.
Kierkan Rufo shows up, wounded, with a bruised and twisted leg. Apparently we're going with the dick characterization, as he goes immediately to Cadderly, whines about Cadderly not tending to him, and demands food as the dwarves mock his cowardice.
It's a really bizarre turn for a character who's actually been pretty sympathetic for the whole book. I suppose Salvatore decided he'd make a better long term antagonist than ally. I just wish the change around wasn't so abrupt.
And we see more of it here:
“Another supposed friend,” he spat. “Where was Danica Maupoissant when poor Rufo was in need? What alliances are these, I ask, when companions care nothing for each other’s welfare?”
Danica looked from Cadderly to Ivan to Pikel as the angular man continued his tirade.
“You are all to blame!” Rufo fumed, his anger gaining momentum. Danica curled up her fist and gritted her teeth.
None of this makes sense.
It'd be one thing if Rufo had gotten angry about getting captured by Dorigen and used by Druzil in the first place. But he'd turned himself into them. He exposed himself as a spy and felt terrible about it.
And even though it's characterized differently now, when he first went up the tree, he'd intended to join in the fight, not hide.
Anger makes for a good face-heel turn motivation, I suppose, but I really don't understand what this is about.
Danica, by the way, just punches him out. Everyone approves.
--
We skip ahead to everyone meeting up with Elbereth, who's giving them the information from the battle. More than seventy elves are still alive, with twenty more unaccounted for. That...seems really bad, actually, but Elbereth seems pleased. Some priests have arrived from the library too.
Oh, and here we go. It comes out that Cadderly didn't kill Dorigen. And everyone reacts with the maturity I've grown to expect:
“I am doomed!” Rufo wailed. “Dorigen will see to our end, to my end! You fool!” he yelled at Cadderly.
“Are ye looking for more sleep?” Ivan asked him, and Rufo realized from Danica’s scowl that he would be wise to remain silent.
But in this encounter, Kierkan Rufo did have an ally. “Fool indeed!” roared Elbereth. “How?” he demanded of Cadderly. “Why did you let the wizard escape?”
Cadderly couldn’t begin to explain, knew that his admission of compassion would not be appreciated by the new elf king. He was truly amazed at how quickly Elbereth had apparently forgotten his actions in the battle, in Syldritch Trea and against Ragnor, and in saving Tintagel.
Mr. Salvatore, you had him strip her naked and break her fingers. That's not... It's a really fucked up definition of compassion. Which would be fine, if that were the point. But Cadderly isn't being challenged on said fucked up definition. He's getting berated for showing compassion at all.
He tries to explain that Dorigen can't use her magic powers, is wounded, and stripped of her magical devices. But Elbereth is Elbereth and makes a production of storming away. Because of course he does.
I'm not sure why you're surprised at this, Cadderly.
But maybe Danica will be a good girlfriend here?
“Mercy,” Cadderly remarked. He looked at his love, caught her brown eyes in a gaze that would not let go. “Mercy,” he whispered again. “Does that make me weak?”
Danica spent a long moment considering the question. “I do not know,” she answered honestly.
They stood quietly, watching the fire and the stars for a very long time. Cadderly slipped his hand into Danica’s and she accepted the grasp, if somewhat hesitantly.
“I will remain in the forest,” she said finally, dropping Cadderly’s hand. Cadderly looked at her, but she did not return the stare. “To fight beside Elbereth and Shayleigh. The priests will arrive tomorrow, so it is rumored. Likely they will stay a few days to forge pacts with the elves, and then some might remain to fight on. But most, I assume, will return to the library. You should go with them.”
Cadderly found no words to immediately reply. Was Danica sending him away? Had she, too, perceived his compassion as a weakness?
“This is not your place,” Danica whispered.
...
Yeah, I'd probably be sadder about this if she weren't a terrible partner for the entire damn book. I suppose I'll give Salvatore credit for one thing, some creepy moments from Elbereth aside, it's not a romantic love triangle at least. But this is a woman who watched a guy bully her traumatized boyfriend for god knows how long. But they're kindred warrior spirits so it's fine!
Fuck off, Danica. Cadderly, you're better off without her.
Cadderly rightfully points out that he was pretty fucking useful in Syldritch Trea, and in helping to kill Ragnor and Barjin.
And maybe Danica saves herself a little here:
“I do not question your value,” Danica answered honestly, turning to regard Cadderly, “in this fight, as in anything. You will find no comfort in the continuing battle for Shilmista, just more violence, more killing. I do not like what that will do to you. I do not like what it has done to me.”
“What are you saying?”
“There is a coldness here,” Danica replied, poking a finger to her heart. She crossed her arms in front of her, as if to ward off a wintry blast. “A numbness,” she continued. “A fading of compassion. How easily I told you to kill Dorigen!” She stopped, choked by the admission, and looked away.
She probably means it, but in the end, she's still ditching her STILL traumatized boyfriend to go fight with the elves. So, meh.
She does kiss him before she goes, at least. But what the fuck ever, lady.
==
So time for the epilogue.
Oh, hey, Aballister. I remember when you were interesting. Sadly that was two books ago, and you've done jack shit since. I know you're likely to be the long term villain of the series, but your author has done very little to make you formidable.
He is busy telling Dorigen that she should have stayed in the forest. Apparently Castle Trinity is pretty demoralized by the defeat.
Dorigen points out that she couldn't do much with her fingers broken...oh...ew...
Aballister could not deny the truth of her observations. He had seen firsthand what wild goblinoids might do to a woman.
...Cadderly left her NAKED there. Now, to be fair to him, there's no indication that he knows what "wild goblinoids might do to a woman". But as mentioned, Cadderly basically gets ditched and dumped by the people he saved and his damn girlfriend NOT because he mutilated and abandoned a woman naked, but because he didn't murder her.
I dislike this immensely.
I do like seeing Dorigen stand up for herself, and when Aballister repeats that she should have stayed, she snaps back that HE should have watched out for his son.
Nice.
Aballister doesn't blow her up for that, which shocks everyone. I'm not sure why, given we've had two books establish that he's a passive tool, but fine. He notes that Cadderly's interfered twice, and while he didn't necessarily want Barjin to win, he's not so happy about the defeat in the forest. Now Cadderly's too much of a threat.
Dorigen asks what he intends to do.
Apparently, he wants to use the Night Masks of Westgate. I'm reminded that there's apparently a newer Neverwinter Nights 2 DLC set in Westgate. I've never played it. I would like to, sometime.
Dorigen has some mixed feelings actually. She's angry at Cadderly for what he did to her, but also acknowledges that Cadderly could have killed her and didn't. That seems like a fairly reasonable response, I suppose.
--
We switch scenes to the dwarves and Elbereth. Wow, Cadderly's friends have all basically jumped ship haven't they?
There's a "what's an Elbereth" joke, but honestly that's gotten old. Elbereth is, as usual, an ungrateful dickhead who, in a fit of temper, actually shoves his sword through Ivan.
There's a moment of horror from Elbereth, but it turns out that Ivan's armor is stronger than that. He's fine. They keep sparring.
--
Cadderly, by the way, is apparently in Carradoon. He wonders about his friends. He doesn't feel like the Edificant Library is his home anymore, and has decided to go out and pursue answers to his questions.
Carradoon, we're told, is making preparations for war. Cadderly decides to read the Tome of Universal Harmony instead.
And here the story ends. Verdict incoming.