The Medusa Plague (Novel)

The Medusa Plague is a fantasy novel by Mary Kirchoff. It is the second book in the Defenders of Magic trilogy.

The book follows the wizard Guerrand DiThon as he defends the Lost Citadel from intrusion, his nemesis Lyim Rhistadt's obsession to restore his arm, and Bram DiThon's quest to save his village from a plague.

Chronology & Geography

The story takes place about five years before the War of the Lance. The prologue happens a year after the events of Night of the Eye (Novel) and the first chapter is five years after that.

The story begins in late summer and concludes in early spring of the following year. The year is not specified, but events in the story indicate 345 AC and 346 AC.

Guerrand's story begins in Harrowdown-on-the-Schallsea and quickly moves to the Tower of Wayreth and Bastion. Lyim explores Itzan Klertal, visits his home in Palanthas, swings through Mithas and Thonvil, and eventually Bastion. Bram leaves his home of Thonvil, visits the Tower of Wayreth and Bastion, and returns to Thonvil.

Characters

Major Characters

Guerrand DiThon, Ergothain human, 25 years old, Red Robe wizard, former member of the Conclave of Wizards
Zagarus, Guerrand's familiar, a proud, hooded, black-backed Ergothian sea gull, the largest, most strikingly beautiful and intelligent of all seabirds
Lyim Rhistadt, Red Robe wizard, cursed with an arm transformed into a snake, name pronounced with a hard 'sch' at the end, vain, self-centered, and vindictive
Ezius White Robe wizard, one of the first three sentinels at Bastion, old male human, befuddled, rotund, punctual
Dagamier Black Robe wizard, fourth sentinel at Bastion, young female human, standoff-ish, condescending
Bram DiThon, son of Cormac and Rietta, nephew of Guerrand, takes after Guerrand, two years older than his aunt Kirah
Kirah DiThon, Guerrand's sister, pale blond, skittish, reserved
Nahampkin, elderly man in Thonvil, semi-retired tenant farmer, widower, Bram's best friend, follower of Chislev

Minor Characters

Rannoch, the black robe wizard who cursed the Tower of Palanthas
Esme, Justarius’s senior apprentice, auburn hair, of noble birth, from Fangoth
Maladorigar, male gnome, Guerrand's friend and house mate
A sylph messenger sent by Justarius, unnamed
Jeb Sanbreeden, Agnes, and Seth, villagers in Harrowdown-on-the-Schallsea
Justarius, master of the red robes
Par-Salian, master of the white robes
Ladonna, master of the black robes
Vilar, red robe wizard, formerly one of the first three sentinels at Bastion
Unidentified black robe wizard, formerly one of the first three sentinels at Bastion
Maginus, a fisherman in New Sea, turned into a squid by Lyim
Pa and Maginus's brother, fishermen in New Sea
The Coral Oracle, a concubine of the last potentate of Klertal, cursed to remain in the city after it sank into New Sea
Belize, deceased, former Master of the Red Robes, executed by tribunal as a renegade wizard
Ardn Amurchin, a black robe wizard, male dark skinned dark elf, lives in Neraka in a city with many volcanoes, sinister, hideously wizened
Sullento the Profane, last potentate of Klertal at the time of the Cataclysm
Rind, a cobbler in Blodehelm who Ezius happens to know
Honora, Bram's older sister, married a seneschal of a small estate in Coastlund
Roxtin, the only carpenter remaining in Thonvil
Jessup Lidiger, a weaver who left Thonvil for Gwynned
Hoark, Sedrette, and their son Wilton Siveston, grain millers in Thonvil
Herus, a cavalier in Thonvil, works as a coroner and doctor in the region
Gildee, cook at Castle DiThon, one of the few remaining servants
Thistle-down, Burdock, and Milkweed, Tuatha Dundarael assigned to assist Bram
King Weador, leader of the Tuatha Dundarael in the region around Thonvil
Ardem Rhistadt, Lyim's father, one of Dinayda's clients, unknown to Lyim except for the name
Dinayda Valurin, Lyim's mother, sex worker in Rowley-on-Torath in the Plains of Dust, died of disease when Lyim was ten
Mowe, innkeeper in Rowley-on-Torath
Fabulous Fendock, con artist street magician, traveling the Plains of Dust doing magic acts, mentor of Lyim
Glammis, Deeander, and their son Dilb, the bakers of Thonvil, rents an upstairs room to Kirah
Delestrius, white wizard, older human male, warden of the fore-tower after regular hours
Llewen, human male, balding, inn keeper at the Red Goose Inn in Thonvil
Wint, local bully in Thonvil
Wilor and Marthe, Thonvil's old silversmith and his wife, friends of Rejik, followers of Habbakuk
Rejik DiThon, deceased father of Cormac, Guerrand, Quinn, and Kirah
Rejik's first wife, unnamed, deceased, mother of Cormac
Zena, deceased, from a light skinned "newcomer" family to Ergoth, Rejik's second wife and father of Guerrand, Quinn, and Kirah

Plot Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow

A year after taking his Test of High Sorcery, Guerrand continues to have dreams where he is Rannoch, as happened in his Test. In the Test he did not jump from the Tower of Palanthas, but in the dreams he sometimes does jump. Guerrand and Esme were promoted to the Conclave of Wizards and have been working to build the Bastion, a fortification that will guard the gate from the material plane to the Lost Citadel. They discuss the significance of the event and Guerrand's dreams.

When the construction completes, they step down from the Conclave and head north, settling down in Harrowdown for two years. Esme finds out her father is dying and decides to go face the situation, leaving Guerrand. Guerrand stays in Harrowdown for three more years. One day, Justarius sends him a note by way of a sylph messenger. Guerrand is summoned to the Tower of Wayreth, where he is offered the position of High Defender of Bastion. He agrees to take the job.

Lyim hires three fishermen to take him to Itzan Klertal and polymorphs into a sea troll to swim down to the city. His arm is still a snake and he is very bitter about it. In five years, he has found no one who can fix, remove, kill, or disguise the snake. Justarius said that he could not undo the magic because he did not know the original magic. Lyim found the dark elf wizard Ardn Amurchin who directed him to the Coral Oracle in Itzan Klertal. Lyim evades undead and fights some sahuagin before he is invited into the palace by the Oracle. Lyim agrees to end her curse in exchange for knowledge of how to remove the snake. She directs him to summon the spirit of Belize to get the information to undo his curse.

Guerrand writes to Maladorigar after five months in Bastion. His writing is interrupted by a disturbance at the outer perimeter. They calm and re-enchant the gargoyles and hell hounds but cannot determine the source of the disturbance.

Lyim finds the spellbook on summoning the dead and decides to use the black robe magic. He finds fingernail clippings and uses them to summon Belize's spirit from the Abyss. Belize explains that the snake is an extradimensional creature that was eating his arm before it was pulled into the material plane. In order to survive, the creature merged with his arm. In order to remove it, he must re-open the gate to the Lost Citadel and release the snake back to where it came from. Lyim decides to find the Bastion.

Lyim visits Esme in her manor in Fangoth. He tells her that he wants to become one of the sentinels. She tells him Guerrand is the current red sentinel. She shows him a rock left over from the construction of the Bastion, carved to look like Lunitari. Lyim creates a replica and steals the red granite sphere. Guerrand is on watch when Lyim finds the edge of the demiplane and tries to find a way in. Guerrand becomes ethereal and confronts him. Lyim explains his plan and Guerrand refuses. Lyim storms off.

Bram has become the de facto steward of Castle DiThon and has spent five years getting the land back in working order. He visits Kirah who is living in a room above the baker in Thonvil after running away form an arranged marriage. She is gone, but left him new boots for his birthday. He visits his friend Nahampkin. The miller's son rushes in and takes him to see his sick father. The doctor is out of town and Bram is the next best person. The miller is unusually sick: writhing and shedding skin. Once he finishes shedding the last of his skin, he seems to get better. The next day he is summoned to see Nahampkin, who has come down with the same illness. The doctor visits and says the miller and two others have died, and it would be better to put Nahampkin out of his misery. Nahampkin tells Bram about Chislev, who Bram has never heard of before. On day one Nahampkin is overcome with fever, day two his skin sheds, on day three he is uncontrollably thirsty. The third night, each arm and leg turns into three snakes, his eyes become black, his entire body turns to stone, and the snakes hiss "Guerrand" before they finally turn to stone.

Days later, Rietta hassles Bram over dinner for taking such an interest in the peasants. Cormac claims the illness is a curse. Bram thinks Guerrand is somehow responsible. Bram decides to leave to find Guerrand. Rietta declares that if he leaves, he cannot come back while the plague is going on. Kirah directs Bram to Wayreth Forest and he heads for the nearest port. He camps at Stonecliff and encounters faerie folk. He confuses them with brownies and pixies, but they are Tuatha Dundarael. They give him a coin to use for passage on the faerie road so that he can get to Wayreth quickly and safely. They tell him to give the coin to Par-Salian when he arrives.

Bram is transported to a dense, warm forest with a road going through it. A creature in the guise of a child in need of help tries and fails to lure him off the road. An elderly couple offers to give him a place to rest; Bram declines and sees the pile of human bones behind the cottage as he leaves. Bram outwits a centaur and takes the path to Wayreth.

Lyim lurks around Thonvil. He thinks about how he heard of the medusa plague after Guerrand refused him. He traveled to Mithas and researched it to see if it might be related to his condition. It was not, so he spent a few months capturing samples in a magical gem, modify it to implicate Guerrand, and release it on Thonvil by putting the gem in the well. He thinks about his upbringing and how he learned magic. He visits Kirah, telling her Guerrand is responsible for the plague. She tells him Bram is looking for Guerrand. He gives her the plague by claiming he has an antidote. Lyim teleports to Wayreth, sees Bram arrive, and begins monitoring extradimensional disturbance so that he can piggy-back into Bastion.

Bram is let in to see Par-Salian. Justarius and Par-Salian consider Bram's request and verify he is not enchanted nor a spy. They decide to make an exception and send Bram to Bastion. Bram explains the situation to Guerrand. Guerrand says he cannot leave but will investigate. Justarius approves a leave of absence for Guerrand to deal with the situation. Lyim breaks through the outer and inner perimeter. He argues with Guerrand then attacks. The three sentinels defeat and kill him. Secretly, Lyim possessed Ezius's body with his final move by casting magic jar. Ezius's spirit is trapped in Lyim's diamond earring. Lyim/Ezius takes the body away for disposal.

Kirah becomes ill with the plague. She believes Lyim and denies it until she starts shedding skin. Guerrand, Bram, and Zagarus plane shift back to Thonvil. Guerrand tries dispelling the magic on Kirah but it doesn't work. He explores the town, finds Wint and his son stealing from corpses, and polymorphs Wint into a rat. He visits Wilor the silversmith just before he dies. Wilor tells him about his mother, and that both of his parents dabbled in magic. Wilor confesses the story that Guerrand's parents were convinced that Bram was a changeling. After Wilor dies, Guerrand realizes that the rising of Nuitari triggers the plagues stages.

Guerrand comes up with a plan to use what he learned studying the magical runes on Bastion in order to hide Nuitari. He makes a series of scrolls with the runes and enchants the scrolls to fly to Nuitari and scribe the runes on its surface. The runes make things two-dimensional, so Nuitari will be practically gone from the sky. He successfully casts the spell. The god Nuitari transports him to the moon and chastises him for scribbling runes on the surface. Guerrand pleads his case and the god agrees to allow the spell as a favor, which Guerrand will need to repay. The god touches him, leaving a black finger print that is always visible on anything he wears. Guerrand can now see the moon Nuitari in the sky. Over the course of the night, everyone still alive with the disease is fully cured and turns back to normal.

Bram and Guerrand spend some time chatting and getting to know each other. Bram would like to learn magic but is devoted to restoring Thonvil and the castle. The Tuatha put both of them to sleep to stop them from leaving. They are taken out into the garden to meet King Weador. The plague has caused many of the Tuatha to become deathly ill and they are worried that if the town doesn't recover then they will die or be forced to relocate. Weador advises Bram to take the throne and restore the land, and advises Guerrand that danger is in Bastion.

Guerrand uses his mirror to travel to Bastion with Zagarus. Bram keeps the mirror shard and goes to face Cormac. Guerrand interrogates Dagamier. The only oddity she remembers during his absence is that Ezius called her "Esme." Guerrand immediately understands what happened. Lyim opens the gate to the Lost Citadel and releases the creature from his arm. He is pulled through the gate and sees visions of the entire history of magic, and then is pushed back out of the gate. Lyim's body is burned red and cracked, his hair and clothes bleached in some spots and charred in others. He moves his spirit back into the correct body and Ezius's spirit returns to the correct body. Lyim knocks Ezius out.

Guerrand and Dagamier break into the white wing of Bastion. A pair of naga lure them in and stab Dagamier through the chest. She lives but is paralyzed by poison. Zagarus distracts a naga so Guerrand can defeat them and dies in the process. Guerrand and Lyim fight to a stalemate. The gods of magic, furious about the breach, destroy Bastion. Guerrand teleports out with Ezius and Dagamier. Lyim's body is not found.

The entire conclave assembles. They decide to build a new Bastion. Ezius chooses to retain his position as the senior sentinel. Guerrand steps down and recommends Dagamier to be promoted to high defender. The Council of Three knows that Lyim escaped and is a renegade wizard. They agree to send assassins to dispatch him.

Importance to Dragonlance

It continues the story about the guardians of the Lost Citadel. It shows more of the culture of Northern Ergoth. It introduces the Tuatha Dundareal faerie folk.

Trivia

Justarius's signet is a crescent moon in a cup.
"Itzan" is an old Kharolian world meaning "submerged." Ruins of old cities in New Sea frequently start with the word. It is not part of the original name of the cities.
"The Boil" is a place in New Sea above Itzan Klertal that constantly bubbles and boils. Sea life dies near The Boil. It has been bubbling since the Cataclysm.
Lyim inherited Villa Nova, Belize's home in Palanthas, after Belize was executed for being a renegade.
Before the Cataclysm, Klertal was a “blasphemous place without morals or redemption." It was on the trade road with Xak Tarkis and Tarsis. The local potentate was whoever could network, bribe, or kill their way into the position. The last potentate was Sullento the Profane, who held the position for nearly ten years before he died in the Cataclysm.
The Coral Oracle is the cursed undead remains of the fifth concubine of Sullento the Profane. She was the favorite concubine since her fortune telling abilities aided Sullento. The other concubines conspired to turn Sullento against her, and Sullento and his court wizard cursed her: they stabbed her with a harpoon, pinning her to the throne, and ordered that the harpoon could only be removed by a human. Sullento expected no one in his city state would help her. Shortly after the Cataclysm destroyed the region. The Oracle became overgrown with orange coral over the years. The only three people to ever find her were Amurchin the dark elf, the demon summoned by Belize to retrieve the Spellbook of Harz-Takta the Senseless, and Lyim who removed the harpoon. Afterward, the Oracle leaves to get revenge on the spirits of the other concubines.
Guerrand had never heard of theater before going to Palanthas. He found the sets and lighting to be the most impressive part.
Achnaskin's Guide to Summoning the Dead was a book in Belize's library, used by Lyim.
Esme still wears her snake armlet. It was broken by Belize in the previous novel, so it was either repaired or replaced with an identical one.
Bram DiThon's birthday is the 18th day of Mishamont. He turns 21 in the novel.
Nahampkin is the patriarch of a farming family in Thonvil. They grow potato, barley, and maize. When he became too old to manage the work load and his wife had passed away, he handed over control to his sons and moved into a cottage in town. He grows flowers and vegetables that were not cost effective on the larger farm.
The Red Goose Inn is the largest (only?) inn in Thonvil. It has an impressively large tap room.
One of the old beliefs in Northern Ergoth is that Chislev lives in the grand forest Zhan, Chislev's emotions are reflected in the seasons, and Chislev's followers meet them in Zhan after death.
The river from Huldre Bay to Hillfort is the Durris.
The medusa plague was the name given to a magical disease first seen in human communities on Mithas. Lyim made a modified version of the plague where the snakes hiss the name of his nemesis Guerrand before turning to stone.
The song "The lark, the rave, and the owl" appears on pg. 156 of the first edition.
Guerrand is able to detect the rising of Nuitari by a slight dimming of the other moons' light, as though Nuitari cast a shadow on them.
When Nuitari is removed from the sky, it dims the constellations of the evil gods, or brightens the constellations of the other gods.
The wizard assassins who hunt renegade mages wield scimitars.
Guerrand casts a spell to become ethereal. The verbal component is "Illethessius Umbra Intentradolum."
Guerrand casts Dispel from a scroll. The final phrase of the spell is "Delu Solisar."
Guerrand casts polymorph with the verbal component "Doduvas"
Guerrand casts move earth with the verbal component "Blay Tongris."
Guerrand creates an elaborate spell that can turn anything (even a moon) fully two-dimensional in a way that makes it inaccessible to the material plane. The spell requires covering the thing with runes. The verbal component to finish the spell is "Ine Jutera, Ine Swobokla, jehth Ine Laeranma."
Guerrand, as high defender of Bastion, has a spell that opens any door in the place. The verbal component is "Lenithis Kor."
Lyim casts globe of invulnerability with the verbal component "Pilif."
Guerrand casts force cage with the verbal component "Dattiva, Meshuot, Lathry Dattivasum."
Guerrand casts telekinesis with the verbal component "Dimu Sagistara."

Covers

The Medusa Plague cover 1
The Medusa Plague cover 2

Release details

Mary Kirchoff (1994). The Medusa Plague (Paperback), TSR. ISBN 1-56076-905-X.