Elfsong

Elfsong is the second book in the Songs and Swords series by Elaine Cunningham. It was originally released as the eighth book in The Harpers series.

"The bards of Waterdeep remember the past. Or do they? Even as they sing their ballads, a mysterious spell is changing their memories. Danilo Thann, Harper and would-be bard, sets out to uncover the mystery. In this quest, his closest companion is his deadliest enemy, the rogue elf Elaith Craulnober.

At stake is not merely the future of Faerûn but also its past."

Summary
To some, the semi-secret organization the Harpers has diverged too much from its original goal of preserving the lore of old. "Garnet" (Iriador Wintermist), a bitter half-elven sorceress, sets out to change that by using the ancient Morninglark harp to effectively change the music sung by the bards of Faerûn. Overnight, bards begin singing changed ballads but they themselves don't seem to notice anything amiss. In addition, a new ballad has been added to their repetoires: the "Ballad of Grimnoshtadrano," which instructs Harpers to confront the riddle-loving green dragon Grimnoshtadrano by answering a riddle, reading a scroll, and singing a song.

Wyn Ashgrove, a spellsinger whose music has escaped the change, reports to Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun in Waterdeep, who assigns his nephew, wizard and aspiring musician Danilo Thann, to investigate on behalf of the Harpers. Accompanying him are Wyn Ashgrove and the dwarven entertainer Morgalla. They head to the High Forest to seek the dragon, but not before running into and rescuing Elaith Craulnober and his band of hired mercenaries, including Vartain the riddlemaster, who are, coincidentally, also seeking the Morninglark but for a very different purpose. The two bands join together — "Music and Mayhem," as Danilo coins them.

Meanwhile, crops all around Waterdeep and beyond are failing due to some strange plague, and one by one the secret Lords of Waterdeep are being attacked or lured out of the city. Ballads and images that speak negatively of the Lords are being widely distributed and turning the people's opinions against the Lords. Lucia Thione, a manipulative and powerful noblewoman secretly working for the Knights of the Shield, finds herself blackmailed into working for Garnet. Lucia, who presents herself (falsely) as a secret Lord of Waterdeep, is expected identify and bring down the Lords of Waterdeep. However, not knowing who the Lords truly are, she attempts to mislead Garnet by having her rivals dispatched. When Garnet demands that Lucia reveal her helm of a Masked Lord, Lucia is fortunate enough to discover that her love, Caladorn Cassalanter, is in fact one of those Lords.

In the High Forest, the group confronts Grimnoshtadrano but Vartain overthinks and fails to answer the riddle correctly. Luckily, Danilo had a scroll prepared to immobilize the dragon, and they are able to retrieve the scroll they came for. The scrolls is a magical riddle and ballad that reveals the powers of the Morninglark and indicates that the person behind the scroll and change in magic (Garnet) must travel to the sites of the seven great barding colleges in the North. They follow her steps as they unravel the riddle and determine tat one of the Lords of Waterdeep will fall on the Field of Triumph during the Shieldmeet festivities.

Danilo learns that Lucia Thione is working for the Knights of the Shield and warns Caladorn, who gets angry and refuses to believe him. However, the sliver of doubt in his mind is enough for Caladorn to escape being poisoned by Lucia as she steals Caladorn's helm. Meanwhile, Khelben confronts Garnet but is charmed into a comatose state. Elaith finds him and sends him back to Blackstaff Tower with Danilo's stolen ring of teleport. Elaith also takes Lucia into his custody, planning to send her back to face poetic justice in Tethyr.

As the Shieldmeet festivities begin, Garnet appears to reign destruction down on the city. She is stopped by Grimnoshtadrano, who appears and furiously snatches Garnet from the air. The Morninglark falls into the hands of Elaith, who wishes to use the harp to restore his dormant moonblade so that his infant daughter, Azariah Craulnober, would be able to use it. However, Danilo still needs the harp to reverse Garnet's spells, including the one that incapacitated Khelben. Danilo reminds Elaith of the terms of their agreement and Elaith reluctantly hands over the harp. As Danilo begins the spellsong, Elaith protects him from an attack but is poisoned in the process and fears he is near death. With his last words, he makes Danilo swear to ensure the moonblade is passed to Azariah. Elaith's moonblade, sensing a change in the evil elf, awakens by itself and Elaith's life is spared.

At the close of the story, Khelben presents Danilo with the helm of a secret Lord of Waterdeep. Danilo agrees to take on the position as long as he has time to continue studying the art of spellsong.

Main characters

 * Danilo Thann, Waterdhavian nobleman and Harper
 * Elaith Craulnober, elven crimelord
 * Garnet/Iriador Wintermist, half-elven spellsinger

Supporting characters

 * Arilyn Moonblade, Harper agent
 * Balindar, mercenary
 * Caladorn Cassalanter, Waterdhavian nobleman
 * Grimnoshtadrano, green dragon
 * Hhune, Tethyrian lord
 * Ingrival, mad elven bard
 * Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, archmage and secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Laeral Silverhand, archmage
 * Lucia Thione, Waterdhavian noblewoman
 * Morgalla, dwarven entertainer
 * Vartain, riddlemaster
 * Wyn Ashgrove, elven spellsinger

Minor characters

 * Ariadne, slain Harper
 * Asper, Mirt's adopted daughter
 * Azariah Craulnober, Elaith's daughter
 * Brian the Swordmaster, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Chachim, agent of Hhune
 * Cory, mercenary
 * Durnan, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Evindal Duirsar, patriarch priest of Corellon Larethian
 * Faunadine, master of festivities
 * Ginalee, barmaid at the Mighty Manticore
 * Hodatar, merman
 * Imzeel Coopercan, proprietor of the Mighty Manticore
 * Jannaxil Serpentil, bookshop owner
 * Kerigan the Bold, bard from the Moonshaes
 * Kitten, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Kriios Halambar, head of Waterdeep's Council of Musicians, Instrument-Makers, & Choristers
 * Kornith, thief
 * Larissa Neathal, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Maaril, sorcerer in Waterdeep
 * Magda, craftswoman
 * Mange, mercenary
 * Masked Minstrel, renowned bard
 * Mirt, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Orcsarmor, mercenary
 * Rebeleigh, proprietor of Rebeleigh's Elegant Headwear in Waterdeep
 * Rix, slain Harper
 * Sammareza Salphontis, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Texter the Paladin, secret Lord of Waterdeep
 * Tzadick, mercenary
 * Winnifer Fleetfingers, employee at the Crawling Spider
 * Yando, cook
 * Zzundar Thul, waterman

Mentioned characters

 * Azoun IV, king of Cormyr
 * Cassandra Thann, Danilo's mother
 * Erlan Duirsar, lord of Evereska
 * Finder Wyvernspur, former bard
 * Olive Ruskettle, halfling bard
 * Randor Thann, Danilo's brother
 * Vangerdahast, court wizard of Cormyr

Major locations

 * Waterdeep
 * High Forest

Minor locations

 * Ganstar's Creek
 * Silverymooon
 * Sundabar
 * Taskerleigh

Creatures

 * Asperii
 * Green dragon
 * Giant cricket
 * Harpy

Artifacts

 * Spellsong
 * Morninglark
 * Moonblade