Crypt of the Shadowking

Crypt of the Shadowking by Mark Anthony is the sixth novel in The Harpers series. It featured the first appearance of Caledan Caldorien.

“

Under a dark cloud, Caledan Caldorien left the Harpers seven years ago. Now a mysterious and beautiful messenger from the secret society convinces him to undertake one final, reckless mission.

Iriaebor, City of a Thousand Spires, has fallen under the sway of the evil network of Zhentarim. With a fellowship of old friends, Caledan must seek an ancient magic to counter the dark conspiracy of the Harpers' nemeses.

Awaiting them all is a terrible secret that lies beneath the city.

”

Summary[]

Caledan Caldorien, former Harper, returns to Iriaebor to find it under the control of the Zhentarim Lord Cutter. He is contacted by a junior Harper, Mari Al'maren, who was sent to free the city. They discover that Lord Cutter is Ravendas, a woman who killed her sister Mera, who was also Caledan’s lover and a member of the Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon, Caledan’s old adventuring party that fell apart after Mera’s death.

Ravendas’s second in command is Snake, a thief who agreed to serve the Shadowking, an ancient evil sealed under Iriaebor, in exchange for his life. The Shadowking is using an ancient creature, a shadevar, to hunt all who possess Shadow Magic. These include a woman named Anja, who is killed, Caledan himself, and Caledan’s son Kellen, who Ravendas had after raping Caledan without his knowledge.

Caledan and Mari begin working to oust Ravendas, allying with Cormik, a local crime lord, and reuniting with several members of the Fellowship: Estah, a female halfling cleric of Eldath, Tyveris, a Chultan fighter turned cleric of Oghma, Ferret Talondim, a human thief, and Morhion Gen'dahar, a human mage. Morhion once entered Darkhold to warn Ravendas when Caledan was set on a suicide mission to avenger Mera, and struck a dark bargain with a spirit named Irafi to escape, giving his blood the the spirit once a month.

The party discovers the story of the Shadowking, Verraketh, the bard Talek Talembar who defeated him, and the Nightstone, the powerful artifact Talek used to trap the Shadowking. Since Ravendas is running a slave mining operation below Iriaebor to find the Nightstone, the party set out in search of the “shadow song” said to make shadows move that Talek used to defeat Verraketh. Mari and Caledan become close. The shadevar is killed by Caledan and Morhion.

Caledan infiltrates the tower and discovers Kellen is his son. Mari plans to free all the captives in the tower and overthrow the Zhentarim, but the plan is thwarted by Morhion, who seemingly betrays them. Caledan, Mari, and Ferret are captured by Ravendas and Snake, while Tyveris attempts to continue the plan to free the captives. Ravendas leads them to the crypt of the Shadowking and uses Kellen to gain the Nightstone, but the Shadowking kills her and takes over her body as soon as she holds it. Morhion frees everyone, Kellen kills Snake, Caledan defeats the Shadowking with the shadow song, Tyveris and the townsfolk defeat the Zhentarim, and Ferret sacrifices himself to let the others escape, getting entombed in Verraketh's crypt. Caledan rejoins the Harpers.

Characters[]

Main Characters[]

Other Characters[]

Bron (mentioned)
Cormik
Snake
Kellen Caldorien
Talek Talembar
Shadowking

Locations[]

Settlements[]

Iriaebor

Asher

Berdusk (mentioned)

Landmarks[]

Darkhold (mentioned)
Abbey of Everard

Geographical Regions[]

Other[]

Misc: Sindari • The Book of the Shadows • Shadevar
Organizations: Harpers • Zhentarim • Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon • Purple Masks Guild

Appendix[]

Notes[]

↑ The date of Crypt of the Shadowking is unclear. The book itself is undated, and has the Bron disappear and Iriaebor taken over by Ravendas "a year or so ago" or "a year ago" and other events seven years before the events of the novel. Polyhedron 93, page 15, suggests a date of 1364 DR, which Villains' Lorebook page 98 follows. However, Villain's Lorebook page 15 has the takeover in 1363 DR. Presenting... Seven Millennia of Realms Fiction offers a date of 1357 DR that is likely in error and referring to the events of seven years before. Finally, The Grand History of the Realms page 146 explicitly dates the novel to 1363 DR, with the Bron disappearing in autumn of 1362 DR, Ravendas take over in mid-Hammer of 1363 DR, and the events of the novel take place in mid-Marpenoth of that year. This wiki adopts the most recent source, Grand History. However, dating is further complicated by the following book, Curse of the Shadowmage.

Gallery[]

References[]

↑ Dale Donovan (July 1998). Villains' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0-7869-1236-7.
↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.

[3] The date of Crypt of the Shadowking is unclear. The book itself is undated, and has the Bron disappear and Iriaebor taken over by Ravendas "a year or so ago" or "a year ago" and other events seven years before the events of the novel. Polyhedron 93, page 15, suggests a date of 1364 DR, which Villains' Lorebook page 98 follows. However, Villain's Lorebook page 15 has the takeover in 1363 DR. Presenting... Seven Millennia of Realms Fiction offers a date of 1357 DR that is likely in error and referring to the events of seven years before. Finally, The Grand History of the Realms page 146 explicitly dates the novel to 1363 DR, with the Bron disappearing in autumn of 1362 DR, Ravendas take over in mid-Hammer of 1363 DR, and the events of the novel take place in mid-Marpenoth of that year. This wiki adopts the most recent source, Grand History. However, dating is further complicated by the following book, Curse of the Shadowmage.

[VL-14-1] Dale Donovan (July 1998). Villains' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0-7869-1236-7.

[2] Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.

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