Uneasy Alliances

Uneasy Alliances by David Cook and Peter Archer is the seventh novella in the Double Diamond Triangle Saga series.

"The paladins and mercenaries have joined forces to defeat an attacking army of fiends. Now a powerful new weapon, the bloodforge, comes into their hands. But some suspect that the leader's plans for the weapon are somewhat less honorable. Can they undermine his hidden motives, while holding off the fiendish army?"

Summary
The book picks up where Conspiracy ended. Miltiades and Jacob separated from the mercenaries and paladins in pursuit of the greater doppelganger of Lady Eidola, while Artemis Entreri, blind Ingrar Welven, zealous Kern Desanea, Trandon, and Sharessa Stagwood remained in the dungeons of the King Aetheric the Third's palace to save Kastonoph Nesher's life after the doppelganger mangled the young man's torso. As the fiend invasion raged in the city of Eldrinpar above, the hellish army started pouring into the palace's dungeons. The mercenaries opened a secret door into the catacombs of the palace with the help of Ingrar's strange newfound abilities. After the escape, Kern used his divine gifts to heal young Freeman Kastonoph. Ingrar discovered that he could feel the bloodforge and Entreri, along with Sharessa, insisted on recovering the artifact, before the fields were to seize it.

They reached a hidden chamber where Mage-Emperor kept the bloodforge. Artemis Entreri attempted to take the stone and use its powers for himself, creating misshapen and malformed miserable basal golems. Not knowing how to control the artifact, Entreri's blood and flesh of his arm were consumed by the forge. Meanwhile, the cultists of the Fallen Temple reached the bloodforge chamber, forcing the survivors to flee.

Ingrar continued leading the survivors through catacombs, eventually returning to the burning city and joining forces with the Mar politician and aide of the Emperor – Ikavi Garkim. During the escape, Trandon revealed himself to no be a paladin, nor the member of the Hammers of Tyr, but a high-ranking War Wizard of Cormyr, and a member of the leadership Council of War Wizards. Trandon was involved following the rumors of bloodforge and the noblewoman's abduction.

The paladins and mercenaries reached the Temple of Umberlee, desecrated and taken over by the Fallen Temple. The Cult was attempting to use the bloodstone to summon the entity they worshiped – the mysterious Ysdar. In a desperate attempt to stop the cultists, the survivors attacked. As the battle raged, Ingrar Welven was overcome by the entity that gave him the boon of strange powers. The blind pirate was revealed to be a Chosen of Tyr. The deity briefly confronted the cult that committed unholy crimes in his name, incinerating many of those who were present and sending the rest fleeing for their lives. Before disappearing, Tyr tasked his new servant, now the Voice of Tyr, with rebuilding his church in the Utter East.

Entreri and Shar attempted to claim the bloodforge as their own but were stopped by a giant aberrant aquatic monstrosity that emerged from the waters surrounding the temple. Aetheric the Third, hurt, dying, and addled by the bloodforge attempted to kill the survivors and claim the artifact, but seeming was killed in the process, sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

Ikavi Garkim and Ingrar Welven convinced the paladins to entrust the bloodforge with them, to save the burning city. The new dual "Emperor" of Doegan used their blood to summon an army of basal golems and push the fiends out, saving Eldrinpar.

Miscellaneous

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