Join me as I review Dragon’s Bluff by Mary H. Herbert live! Share your thoughts on this third novel in the Dragonlance Crossroads series, released by Wizards of the Coast on June 27, 2001. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/49KMLMm
About Dragon’s Bluff
The Crossroads Series explores previously undescribed areas of the Dragonlance world. Dragonlance fans eagerly await detailed information on any area of their favorite fantasy world.
The son of one of the Heroes of the Lance and his wizard companion journey to Flotsam to recover the body of the wizard’s father. They quickly discover that her father isn’t dead, but missing. To compound their situation, a red dragon is terrorizing the population.
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Newkolt the 22ndth. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of Dragon’s Bluff by Mary H. Herbert. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron. You can even pick up Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.
Review
The first third of this novel is a very interesting setup. Ulin Majere just returned from Palanthas after looking for magical artifacts for his father Palin in the wake of magic being unstable (we are pre War of Souls here). Exhausted from travel, he is excited to be home with his betrothed Lucy Torkay. They are visited by a female dwarf from Flotsam named Chalcedony Rockdale who is the magistrate. She would like Lucy to come to identify a body believed to be her father Kethril. Her father abandoned her and her mother. He was a thief and con artist.
They set sail to Sanction then took a caravan to Flotsam. En route they were ambushed by draconians and Lucy was able to make a spell actually work. She imbued potatoes with her magic which burst into flame as they struck the draconians. It’s not what she intended, but it worked. Everyone was stunned, and with much of the caravan destroyed, they were approached by Silver Fox the 3rd, and his group, the Vigilant Force. They are all stunned that Lucy is a sorcerer and lead them into town.
Once in town the local council tells them they don’t have the body and can’t seem to find it. This is clearly something fishy going on, and Ulin and Lucy say they will only stay for four days then leave with the caravan, whether they have found her fathers body or not. As they wait, they get to know the other members of the vigilant force and become friendly with them. Lucy is offered a role as sheriff for Flotsam, as Malys is sending her Dark Knights to collect the annual taxes as tribute, and the town can get rowdy. Lucy and Ulin refuse. Lucy is jumped by brigands with their dwarven magistrate and she fights them off, threatening more potato fire.
They are called to help with some men who were wounded and the council presents a corpse, believing it to be Kethril, supposedly. It is not him, and the council finally admits that they need her to help them find Kethril, as he stole the town treasury they were going to give to Malys. Now with everything clear, Ulin and Lucy have to make a choice. Again, it is an interesting setup, but it seems like a lot to go through to get someone to hunt down a thief. Why not hire a bounty hunter? Certainly Flotsam has some hanging around.
Ulin leaves with Notwen to see his hideout which contains a ton of magic items and components, when he returns to Lucy he has been gone for hours and she is in the hands of Dark Knights. They claim she stole the horse that was given to her by the caravan for saving them, and the council arrives to say they could pay the Dark knight for the horse, a bribe. The dark knight agrees and they release Lucy. When they leave Ulin runs to her and they confront the council about the bill of sale they happened to have ready. They say that they had to have it so they could convince her to be sheriff. She decides to stay for a while and be their sheriff, and Ulin swears to find her father.
Ulin and Notwen leave on his steamboat which crashes on a small island inhabited by a Siren. She tries to charm Ulin but her magic fades. He shares that its happening everywhere and the sirine helps them fix the steamboat. Back on their way they head to dead pirates’ cove to find Kethril. It seems everyone knows him, and hates him. But no one has seen him lately. They finally hear about a gambling riverboat that he may frequent, so they head off.
Life in Flotsam as the sheriff is as crazy as one could expect it to be. Lucy is approached by the Dark Knights again, demanding that if she sees the Silver Fox, to raise the town flag. Otherwise she will be killed. THen the fox appears next to her in a fisherman’s disguise. He clearly likes her romantically, but she doesn’t reciprocate. They are friends however and will work together but he obviously has a spy in his inner circle he needs to discover.
Back at the riverboat, Palin and Notwen discover Kethril disguised as a Khur and they drug him during a cardgame and take him on their ship. As they are heading back to Dead pirate cove for fuel they say, they see Ghagglers, sea slugs, attacking boats and come after them! They are boarded and captured, leaving a hidden Notwen for the siren to discover. She hears that they have been captured and leaves. Notwen stays hidden, fearing for his life. Ulin and Kethril are chained up for a while and get to know each other, then the Ghagglers take them to a sea cave with a sea lion, hungry and ready for them.
The final third of this novel was rather nice. Ulin and Kethril were saved from the Ghagglers and Sea Lion by the Sirine and her sea elf friends. It turned out that Sirine was Kethril’s daughter. He gets around it seems. And they are taken by the sea elves to Notwen’s ship, where he is still trying to make repairs, but it is slow going. Back in Flotsam the red dragon Fyremantle showed up a week early to ensure the new sheriff was collecting the requisite taxes. He burned some boats and killed some men in the process. Lucy confirmed that they were collecting the money, and the dragon left. Seeing the dragon in the distance, Ulin, Notwen and Kethril leap from the hip and swim away from it as the dragon burns as it flies by.
Kethril only agreed to return if Ulin gave his word of honor that he wouldn’t let the town kill him outright. They arrived and Lucy punched her father in the nose, then sent him to jail. Ulin and Notwen talk with the town leadership about the predicament. They cannot pay the total money, and are at a loss for a plan, but they are beginning to put one together when they retire for the night. Kethril is found guilty at a trial and says that he spent the money he stole from them, but that he can get the money back. It turns out Fyremantle is stealing from Malystrix, and keeping his money in a separate lair. Kethril knows the location and was planning on stealing it, but now he will help the town get it and pay their debt. Lucy has a better idea.
Dark knights arrive in town and while Ulin and the townspeople are raiding the dragon’s lair with Kethril, Lucy has the dark knight soldiers abducted and tells the commander that Fyremantle is stealing and provides proof. If the dark knight reports to Malystryx, she will be given payment from the stolen money. She will be called off if Fyremantle agrees to lower the cost and leave the town largely alone. The knight reluctantly agrees and leaves. The town returns having lost some warriors due to traps and lizards living in the lair.
The gnome Notwen has a dragon trap design and presents it for the final confrontation. Fyremantle arrives and steps into the trap which ends in it being bound in the trap. They share their knowledge of him skimming off Malystryx and the evidence being delivered. The dragon is furious but helpless in the face of the threat, knowing Malys will kill him if she finds out. He agrees to stop skimming and burning the town down, and is let out of the trap. He murders the council and mayor then leaves with the treasure.
The dark knight returns after the funerals and receives her pay and men. The town elects a new leadership as another Khur caravan arrives. Ulin and Lucy leave with the caravan after her father steals some money and flees into the desert. He left a note saying he is proud of her, and Lucy told the town to just bury him if he ever dies again. They join the caravan and return to solace.
This was a great story about the love between Ulin and Lucy and how each of them feel slightly unworthy for the other due to the state of the world and their respective places in it. I really like these intimately driven stories. It is so much more relatable. I would recommend this to any fan of the Fifth Age or Dragonlance in general. It was a fun read.
Outro
And that’s it for my review of Dragon’s Bluff by Mary H. Herbert. What did you think of the town of Flotsam in this era? Do you enjoy stories where mortals pull one over on dragons? And finally, would you have stayed in Flotsam if you were Lucy? Feel free to email me at info@dlsaga.com or leave a comment below.
I would like to thank Creator Patron Aaron Hardy, Producer Patron Azrael, and Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz! I would also like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time Slàinte mhath (slan-ge-var).
