Forgotten Realms Issue 20: Temptations

Like the previous issue, this one begins with a dream sequence.  This time, it is Vartan dreaming about Labelas hosting an eternal party.  The dream soon turns to a nightmare, as all the elves suddenly begin to rot until there is nothing left but their bones.

Seeing his god in pain, Vartan almost enters the hall to comfort him.  Then, remembering that his god is an ass, he turns away and comes back to reality.

Reality is just as bad as he wakes up in a cell next to Agrivar.  Vartan checks Agrivars wounds and sees that his leg is now infected.  Vartan’s agonizes over whether he can just let Agrivar die because of his crisis of faith when he has an epiphany: Agrivar is a healer as well!

Agrivar is still delirious, but Vartan manages to convince him that there was a great battle and that Ishi is wounded.  This motivates Agrivar enough to focus his healing abilities.

Unfortunately, once Agrivar is fully conscious, he is less interested in escaping then he is in finding a way to drink himself back into a stupor.

Meanwhile, Ishi is being lead by bikini clad cat-women down a corridor.  While they walk, she gets them to explain what is going on to her.

The blonde is named Longerra and the brunette is named Karse. Karse is the friendlier of the two, as she seems to think that Ishi is a candidate to join their “sisterhood”.

Karse goes on to explain that they are known as the Akri and they are lead by a man known as Los.  Los rose to power by killing Karse’s mother.  He also gave Karse a scar that goes across her entire face.

Ishi doesn’t quite see why this would gain Karse’s loyalty, but Karse merely states that the Akri are like the great cats they care for: brutal and direct.

Having heard enough, Ishi makes her first escape attempt of the night.  She manages to slip her right hand free of her manacles and makes a break for it.  While she managed to get the upper hand on her two captors, her escape is cut short when reinforcements arrive.  Ultimately Ishi is brought before Los.

Before talking with Ishi, Los takes a moment to confer with the “Forgemaster” about the scrap metal they picked up from the wreckage of the Realms’ Master.  The dwarf begs permission to begin the refining process on the “outland metal”.  Los sends him off with Karse to begin the process.

I wonder if this will become an important plot point later on?

Los then turns on the charm and tries to convince Ishi to join his gang of sexy cat-women warriors.  He offers her food and drink while chatting her up.  When Ishi asks about the rest of the crew, Los makes her an offer: If Ishi swears allegiance to him her comrades will be well-tended for the rest of their days.  This prompts Ishi to ask what happens if she refuses.

Yep. he intends to eat her if she refuses. Not surprisingly, this prompts Ishi’s second escape attempt of the night.  It also prompts Los to turn himself into a lion.

Ishi escapes from Los, who sends his cat-lady friends after her.  Ishi escapes to the rafters, eluding all of her pursuers but Karse.  Somehow Ishi managed to scruff her, and the two make a deal.

So Ishi heads down to the foundry where the dwarf is working.  She attempts to intimidate the dwarf into freeing her friends, but then this happens:

Well, at least Minder is back!

Thoughts

• I liked Vartan lying to get Agrivar to heal himself.
• I guess it makes sense that Los would try to recruit Ishi to his group of sexy cat-women since her neckline has dropped to her waist.
• The dwarf and the foundry seem very tacked on to this storyline.  It is a bit too obvious that they are there only to advance the Minder storyline.