War in Tethyr

War in Tethyr by Victor Milán is the second book in the loosely related The Nobles series.

"The Business of War&hellip;

Zaranda Star never intended to bring the incessant Tethyrian Civil War to a head. All she wanted to do was take a caravan of goods into the war-torn capital. But then ambitious would-be king, Baron Hardly, confiscated her shipment.

Little did he reckon with Zaranda, retired warrior&hellip; and wizard.

Marshaling a motley company of angry peasants, an adolescent mage named Scab, and an orcish paladin, Zaranda declares her own private war.

But Zaranda must reckon with the machinations of the mysterious wizard Nyadnar&hellip; and the unearthly evil that lurks deep within the city of Zazesspur."

Prologue
A young stable hand nicknamed Scab has a dream about flying that turns into a nightmare about falling into a pit with a tentacled, many-eyed monster. She is woken up by a kick from her master and sets to work on the horses, making plans to seek out a wizard for training later in the day in the city of Zazesspur.

Part I
Crossing a hidden pass in the Snowflake Mountains in hopes of avoiding bandits, Countess Zaranda Star returns to Tethyr with a caravan of goods, intending ultimately to sell them in the city of Zazesspur, so that she can pay off her debts and retire. She travels astride her talking horse, Golden Dawn, and is accompanied by Father Pelletyr, a priest of Ilmater, and Vander Stillhawk, a mute human ranger raised by elves. Her caravan is stopped by halfling bandits, demanding a toll, but she and her companions distract them in conversation long enough for the bard Farlorn Half-Elven to harmlessly incapacitate the halflings lying in ambush in the cliffs above them.

A few days after Greengrass, they arrive at Morninggold Keep. Zaranda's companions are shocked to be greeted at the door by a bugbear. The guests are surprised to learn that the "monster" is Zaranda's long-time chamberlain, Gisbertus, but he fills Zaranda and the others in on the happenings in Tethyr during their absence, primarily the increase in banditry. Zaranda then returns to her bedchambers and converses with the brazen head that she had recovered from her adventures in Thay before going to sleep.

The next day, now on their journey west, the band of travelers come upon a farmstead that has been set ablaze. Zaranda did not hesitate to attack the bandits. The skirmish went well, until the bandits took Father Pelletyr captive. In exchange for his life, Zaranda challenged the leader of the group, a half-ogre calling himself Togrev the Magnificent, to single combat, and Zaranda was victorious.

Errata

 * The blurb on the back of the book refers to the villain as Baron Hardly, which is a misspelling of the actual character's name, Baron Hardisty.
 * Worgs are referred to as "wargs" in the novel.

Trivia
The title of Part I of the book, "Astronomy Domine" is the name of a song by British rock band Pink Floyd.