The heroes of the now-destroyed Realms Master have been through the wringer. Sure, they picked up the pieces, but they are still broken. Omen’s mind is shredded, Agrivar and Foxy are in the throws of addiction, and Vartan has lost faith in his god.

But at least it can’t get any worse…right?

A Motley Crew

Our story begins on what can charitably be called a road, although it really looks like a vague path through a field.

The crew apparently walked all the way out of the Anauroch Desert since their last issue, which is a long trip. Ishi and Agrivar, whose love story was the focus of many a subplot up until now, have barely spoken because the former doesn’t know how to deal with the latter’s relapse into alcoholism. Luckily, a fight always serves as a great distraction, and when the group sees some bandits attacking innocents, they rush into the fray.

Well…most of them do.

I’ve got to admit that I like Agrivar’s fallen paladin story. Most of the time, this plot gets used because the paladin failed to save somebody or was manipulated by some great existential evil. Agrivar’s fall comes from addiction, which is a very relatable situation that all too many people are familiar with.

While the crew is down in the dumps, they’re still quite good at combat, led by Ishi’s grace and Minder’s iron frame.

Vartan pulls the hood off one of the robbers to discover an elf…an elf who claims that the humans are the thieves, not they. Things take a further turn when Vartan says his name…

Word has spread that Vartan served Labelas Enoreth well during the Time of Troubles. Vartan is about to set the record straight when Ishi points out that it’s better to avoid a fight if they can.

Chas Truog is on pencils for this one, and I think he does a great job of nailing the forced smile as Vartan talks about his former god through gritted teeth.

The elves are fighting because the humans want to settle in Myth Drannor, an area where carefully-negotiated contracts with the neighboring kingdoms of Cormyr and Sembia forbid human trespass. One of the settlers produces a charter indicating that King Azoun of Cormyr has given permission to found a town in the area, but Foxy knows a forgery when he sees one.

A halfling fraudster let the human “win” the fake deed. The elves want to find the halfling and kill him, but Vartan decides to solve the matter in a (hopefully) less bloodthirsty way. While tmost of the group takes Omen to a place where he can recover, Vartan decides to send Agrivar and Foxy after the conman.

Why Agrivar? Well, Vartan has his reasons…

He’s come a long way from the arrogant elf who didn’t seem to care about anything but having a good time for himself.

The Black Cross

Unfortunately, the halfling is holed up at a tavern called the Black Cross. Vartan immediately regrets his decision, but does decide to send Minder to check on the fallen paladin.

At the Black Cross, Agrivar and Foxy find that the conman, Sandusk, is not a halfling at all but rather a fey creature. Sandusk identifies Agrivar as a mark immediately and challenges him to a game he can’t refuse.

Sandusk plays Agrivar like a fiddle, making sure the fallen paladin wins the mug and building up his confidence. Foxy catches on quickly, but it’s not exactly like drinking makes Agrivar more reasonable.

Naturally, it doesn’t take long for the cards to go against Agrivar. Soon he’s lost everything he won, and then some. So it’s time for Foxy to step up.

Now Foxy is good, but is he capable of beating a fey trickster at his own game?

Conning a Con Artist

Foxy loses game after game, putting Agrivar in the leprechaun’s service for a year and a day. Through it all, the halfling keeps a smile glued on his face. He soon reveals that he’s just playing for time, waiting for Minder to show up.

The leprechaun draws a high card, but Foxy still beats him and wins everything back. The rest of the group comes by the Black Cross to see the matter resolved.

Minder points out that Foxy took a huge risk, since he knew the leprechaun was cheating. But Foxy has tricks of his own…

And what of Agrivar? Our beloved paladin didn’t do anything in this story other than make every situation worse. Does he have a future with this group?

The image of an alcoholic smashing a bottle (or, in this case, a mug) and walking away is powerful but clichéd. Still, it gives hope that this is a turning point in Agrivar’s life and a chance for him to return to his old self.

And he’d better do it soon. There are only two stories left in this comic, and one of them doesn’t actually happen. We’ll explore what I mean by that next time.

_{Images: DC Comics}