The Silverfish is a short story written by Richard Lee Byers and published in Dragon #327. It narrates a short mystery starring Pavel Shemov while still an initiate at the Temple of the Dawn in Heliogabalus.[1]
Summary[]
Pavel Shemov, an initiate of Lathander, attempts to prove the innocence of Kosef Demsk in the death of jeweler Mivar Greyman; unfortunately, the magistrate Glar Chelenov has multiple witness, and the murder weapon, a sword known to belong to Kosef, with which he never parted, but which he left behind after the murder. Pavel, prodded on by Tana Farag, a friend of his friend, Kosef, interviews his other associates, with great reluctance. The associates, Quendar Horn and Dor Stavask, bear symbols of Abbathor, and Bane and Gargauth respectively; Kosef is a smuggler and gangster.
He suggests that Kosef's sword may have been swapped with a magical construct casst by either of them; all he succeeds in is enraging one of them until he has to leave. Impersonating an ordained priest, he interviews Kosef in his cell; the man, while impressed by his mettle, asks him not to get himself hurt. He also explains that the sword was with him, but disappeared the very moment the guard broke into his room; Pavel realizes that means someone in the guard gave the signal for the spell to end.
He and Tana tail Iref Marsk, a city guard who participated in the seizing of Kosef; he appears to be spending lavishly, and Pavel reasons that means he must've been paid to speak the word that unmade the construct, to better frame Kosef. Before he can be made to confess, they are attacked by a barghest; though they survive, the guard is killed. Rather than count their leads out, Pavel counts the barghest as a sign that Dor Stavask is the one who swapped the weapon for a duplicate, given the affinities betrayed by his religious symbols; sneaking into his dwelling, they find proof, but as he appears and a fight breaks out, they accidentally set the place on fire while fighting him, destroying all the evidence.
While convalescing, Pavel is visited anew by Glar Chelenov, who offers him exile if he agrees to stop making trouble. Rather than accept, Pavel reasons the only possible explanation for himself not being yet on death row is that Glar Chelenov is involved in the conspiracy too and needs him to go quiet as soon as possible, and offers his silence in exchange for Kosef being released. While Glar is reluctant, Pavel warns him that the superior priests at the Temple of the Dawn have lie-detecting spells, and the trial of one of their own initiates would most definitely warrant their attention.
Noticing Pavel is serious, Glar flinches.
Index[]
Characters[]
- Dor Stavask • Iref Marsk • Glar Chelenov • Kosef Demsk • Pavel Shemov • Quendar Horn • Tana Farag
- Referenced only
- Mivar Greyman • Gareth Dragonsbane
Creatures[]
Locations[]
- Buildings
- Boot and Whistle
- Settlements
- Heliogabalus
- Referenced only
- Damara • Rat's End • Temple of the Dawn
Magic[]
- Spells
- burning hands • counterspell
- Referenced only
- detect lie
Religions[]
Miscellaneous[]
- Classes
- wizard (conjurer)
- Clothing
- gown • ring • robe • talisman
- Food & Drinks
- venison pie
- Items
- book • censer • dice • flute • scabbard • scroll
- Materials & Substances
- amethyst • gold • incense
- Professions
- priest
- Weapons
- athame • dagger • battleaxe • dagger • mace • staff • sword (broadsword) • wand
- Referenced only
- jerkin • metaphysics • ruby • short sword • theology • trew
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The story is assumed to occur during the reign of Gareth Dragonsbane, as Pavel Shemov claims the king is "a paladin of Ilmater" and this happens prior to 1373. Gareth Dragonsbane rose to power in 1359 DR, with no other kings of Damara known to be such paladins of Ilmater. Thus, this article is written under the assumption that the events of Silverfish occur during the 1360s DR. Further narrowing requires careful reading of the trilogy; as of 1373, Will Turnstone has been a hunter for some years, per Ruin, and he joined two years after Pavel did, per Dorn in Rage. Pavel, also in Rage, claims he spent some time as a librarian for the temple after his ordainment; as he is not ordained as of Silverfish, that must happen after this story. Taking a minimum of 3 years for every duration of "some" years, at least 8 years must pass between Silverfish and Rage, confining it to the range of 1359-1365 DR. As this is a bare minimum, it is finally concluded, for the purposes of this article, that Silverfish happens in a year close to 1362 DR, within the first half of the 1360s.
References[]
- ↑ Richard Lee Byers (January 2005). “The Silverfish”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #327 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 38–48.