Join me as I review Wanderlust by Mary Kirchoff and Steve Winter, live! Share your thoughts on this second novel in the Meetings Sextet series, released on July 1, 1991 by TSR Inc. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/3xmVYLo
About Wanderlust
The second exciting installment in the Dragonlance saga Meetings Sextet—from husband and wife team Steve Winter and Mary Kirchoff
One spring day Tasslehoff Burrfoot comes to Solace, accidentally pockets a copper bracelet, and (forcibly) makes the acquaintance of Tanis Half-Elven and dwarf Flint Fireforge. It’s a simple tale—except that the fate of the entire race of Dargonesti sea elves hangs in the balance.
How does this piece of kender-coveted jewelry lead the companions and a sea elf princess to ally with the phaethons, creatures with wings of flame? The answer lies with a mysterious mage, a broker of souls, who knows the bracelet’s secret and has a hideous plan to rule the Black Robes . . .
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Yurthgreen the 11th. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of Wanderlust by Mary Kirchoff and Steve Winter. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials 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.
Wanderlust is set up with the familiar tale of Tasslehoff handling a bracelet from Flint, but then expands on it dramatically. The entire first hundred pages is devoted to this fiasco, and while on the surface that may sound boring or dull, it is anything but that. We have to remember that Tas and Flint are the comic relief duo of the Innfellows, so I was laughing out loud when Tas asked if Tanis was an overgrown Kender with his not quite elven or human ears, and Flint busting his gut at the thought. So we start with an out of context wizard dying and making a deal with Hiddukel to bring him souls and in return earn power. Then we jump to solace and its festival.
Flint was commissioned by a mysterious woman named Selana. She wanted Flint to craft a copper bracelet inset with jewels, and Flint, not wanting to waste time on a cheap metal like copper asked for an absurd amount as a fee, and she paid it. So Flint has it in a special display case waiting for her to arrive at his booth to pick it up during the festival. Everyone who sees it wants to buy it, but Flint insists its not for sale, Then Tasslehoff shows up, and just grabs it as Flint walks away. When Flint returns and finds it missing, he starts searching the crowd and sees Tas with it on his wrist. Flint shouts for the guards, and Tas insists he put it on his wrist just to remind him to return it to Flint. Tanis shows up and calms the whole situation down, having Tas return the Bracelet, and they all go to the Inn of the Last Home for some ale and to look at Tas’ maps.
Flint and Tanis will be leaving for Qualinesti soon, but Tas said he wanted to go, so they changed it to Abanasinia. So they begin looking at maps, drinking a lot, joking and laughing together. At last call, they all realize they are drunk. Flint and Tanis stumble back to their room, and Tas realizes the bracelet is in his hands, so he pockets it, planning on giving it back to Flint in the morning. Everyone has a hangover the next morning and Flint loses his mind at not being able to find the bracelet, so they retrace their steps and end up at the Inn, only to discover Tas left in the direction of the wind first thing in the morning!
They give chase, knowing he is miles ahead of them. Tas has the bracelet on his wrist and it gets warm when events are about to unfold, like showing a bit of future, so he sees a tinker named Gaesil coming round the bend and foresees him being attacked. Tas goes to intercept and helps fight off the hobgoblins that jumped the tinker. He shares his appreciation, and tells Tas he is headed to the festival in Solace. Tas gives him the bracelet to give to Flint, as it may ingratiate Gaesil to the dwarf enough to share his booth at the festival, which Gaesil desperately needs. Then the story goes into great detail about Gaesil’s life. How he is married to a harpy of a woman, and how he is unhappy. He sees Flint and Tanis and gives directions to Tas, but doesn’t know it’s Flint, so he heads on to Solace,
He arrives and takes up Flint’s empty booth, wearing the bracelet for safe keeping. It warns him of opportunities and he has a very profitable day because of it. He spends the evening in a drinking tent where he meets a wandering bard. Drunk, he tells the bard about the lucky bracelet then crashes in his wagon for the night. The bard breaks in, bashes him over the head and leaves town. Then we cut to Flint and Tanis returning with Tas in tow, looking for Gaesil. They find him in his wagon, learn about the bard, and Flint insists they leave to get the bracelet before Selana finds him. As they are gathering rations for the trek, they run into her.
Selana is revealed to be a Dargonesti elf princess. Her father, the Speaker of the Moon has died, and now they want her brother to take the throne, but it requires being able to see the future. Since her brother doesn’t have this gift, she commissioned the magical bracelet from Flint to fill the purpose. Now, with the bracelet gone and missing, she insists on joining them to reclaim it from the imposter. They head out toward the town of Tantallon, where her magic says it resides, and on the way they are overcome by Satyrs, who charm them, force them to join in the night’s revelry, then rob them. They all wake up with little possessions and massive headaches.
The bard named Waldo arrives in Tantillon and uses the magic of the bracelet to get him dinner He then plans on using it to become a member of the local Knight of Solamnia Lord Curston’s court. He tells them of a plot that will abduct his son, and they have him stay as a guest in the keep while they plan on protecting themselves from any intrusion. The Lord’s son is abducted anyway and Waldo is taken to the dungeons. He is interrogated by the mage Balcombe, the same mage from the prelude to this story, and Waldo confesses to using the bracelet. It is clear Balcombe is behind the son’s disappearance and Waldo is the perfect patsy for the crime. Waldo is hung and Balcombe takes the bracelet.
The companions arrive in Tantillon and sneak their way into the dungeons, and ultimately to Balcombe’s lair with the use of Selana’s magic. They see the corpse of Waldo and search it, but the corpse comes alive as a zombie and attacks. Then Balcombe enters and captures Tanis and Flint, as Selana and Tas escape. An unseen servant is sent after them, and they evade it until it disappears, then use Selana’s potion of polymorphing to turn into sparrows and enter the castle, ultimately changing to flies then mice, and enter Balcombe’s room. This is a great part of the novel which reminds me of the Disney film The Sword and the Stone. It’s great fun to experience Tas’ polymorphing and thoughts, and how annoying they are to Selana who can hear every thought he is thinking.
As they enter Balcombe’s chamber they overhear him speaking to Hiddukel through the coin about the gem that holds the Lord’s son, and how Balcombe wants to have Hiddukel take out Ladonna and place him as the head of the Order of the Black Robes. Hiddukel considers it, and as their conversation ends, he sees Tas and Selana in the form of mice try to take the bracelet. He grabs the bracelet and flies off to his secret lair to fulfill the ritual, as Selana follows him as a bird. Tas goes down to the jail and breaks out Tanis and Flint as Selana’s potion ends and she is forced to land and swim upstream as a dolphin. She cuts herself, and goes back into sea elf form as a golem minotaur comes and captures her.
Tanis and Flint head in the direction Balcombe went and as they enter the mountains, the runoff is breaking up the ice covering part of a river that Tas is on, they can’t get him but before he goes over a waterfall. Phaethon’s collect the three and bring them to their cave. They are questioned about being in their territory, and rather than killing them, as they believe their story, they all agree to assault the wizard’s lair together. However, the wizard has the bracelet, and sees a vision of them attacking him. So he plans for their assault by trapping his lair.
The group enters and faces off against traps, monsters, and some of the Phaethons are killed as they work their way to Balcome’s ritual chamber. They find Selana bound, and they attack, but it was an illusion. Balcomb stuns and captures everyone but Tas, and as Nuitari is rising in the sky, making the ritual imminent, potions tas set up explode and a giant Selana made friends with crashes into the chamber. Balcombe attacks it, and the spell holding the companions falls, so they all attack, and Balcombe jumps into the vacant gem as the ritual time arises and is captured by Hiddukel.
The heroes leave and Selana grabs the bracelet. They say their goodbyes and Selana returns to her homeland. Tas notices the coin of Hiddukel in his pouch, and wonders how it got there. This was a great tale that highlighted Tas as a hero in his own right, and how Tanis and Flint begrudgingly grow to like him and consider him a friend. I really enjoyed it, and all the characters felt like themselves. If you like Tas, or Kender, and Tanis and Flint, I think you should read this novel because you will enjoy this misadventure like I did.
Outro
And that’s it for my review of Wanderlust by Mark Anthony and Ellen Porath. What did you think of Balcombe and his motivations? Did you enjoy the inclusion of the Dargonesti Elves and Phaethons? And finally, what do you think will come of Hiddukel’s coin? Feel free to email me at info@dlsaga.com or leave a comment below.
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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).
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