Join me as I review The Search for Magic edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman live! Share your thoughts on this first Tales of the War of Souls anthology, released by Wizards of the Coast on October 1, 2001. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/3LVbXrD 


https://youtube.com/live/JZ6gg6EWS2I


About The Search for Magic
This is the first anthology to tie in to the bestselling War of Souls trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It contains 11 stories, written by well-known Dragonlance authors, that elaborate on the characters and locations from the War of Souls trilogy. The stories link to the ongoing saga through the time frames of the main characters.
Contents:

Introduction
“All for a Pint” by Brian Murphy
“The End” by Nancy Varian Berberick
“The Lost Sea” by Linda P. Baker
“Some Assembly Required” by Nick O’ Donohoe
“Go with the Floe” by Paul B. Thompson
“The Great Gully Dwarf Climacteric of 40 S.C.” by Jeff Crook
“Bond” by Kevin T. Stein
“A Twist of the Knife” by Jean Rabe
“Hunger” by Richard A. Knaak
“Product Given for Services Rendered” by Don Perrin
“Dragon’s Throat” by Donald J. Bingle

Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Kirinor, Frostkolt the 3rd. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of The Search for Magic edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. 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 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
All For a Pint by Brian Murphy

Stynmar, wizard, White robe
Grantheous, wizard, Red robe
Fetlin, apprentice
Gerald, archmagus, Black robe

This was a delightful tale about two mages, former white and red robes, who decided to make a profile, and improve the nature of those who consumed it, by casting a spell on beer. This spell is meant to improve one’s disposition, but they had to test various strengths of the spell. One had minotaurs tickle fighting each other. Another had a aman mooning them then running down the street. They finally perfected the spell, and it was stolen from them that night! THey chased who they believed stole it and it led to a warehouse where the thief talked with a black robed wizard and entered it. The two wizards and their apprentice went into a nearby tavern and had a frew pints before bursting into the door, but the beer they were drinking was their own. They felt wonderful, and after kissing the barmaid, they left ready to break down the warehouse door. As they charged the door, the wizard opened it, causing them to run and roll into the warehouse. The old wizard ended up being their former master, and he scolded them for using the remaining magic to effect beer. To punish them he cast the spell over Palanthas’ well, and the entire city had a full day of peace, happiness, and brotherly love. The two mages seemed to learn their lesson, and that was the story. It reminded me of an old short story from the original Tales collection where a kender puts a love potion into Otik’s ale and it ends with a love fest in the Inn of the Last Home. It was a nice entry into this collection.
The End by Nancy Varian Berberick

Jai Windwild, apprentice librarian
Annalisse Elmgrace, librarian
Marshall Medan
Gilthas, puppet king
Emeth Windwild, Jai’s father, member of the resistance
Marise Windwild, Jai’s mother
Stanach Hammerfell

This is about the final days of the Qualinesti. It is focused on a librarian’s assistant Jai, who has spent his young career reading and cataloging the histories of the Quelinesti nation. His master, librarian Annalisse, sees Jai as the best of her assistants. He leaves one night for dinner when his father tells him that they must leave Qualinost. Their relatives are dying and they should all travel to them. In truth, he is part of the resistance and the Dark Knights are close to capturing him, so he arranged this trip. Jai doesn’t want to go, but sees no option of staying because he would be caught, tortured and killed. He returns to this library and tells Annalisse where he’s going but that he will be back. When they leave that night, they are stopped as a Dark Knight is waiting on the road. They are teleported and wake in a dwarven tunnel. Stanach Hammerfell greets Jai and leads him down the tunnel toward Thorbadin. He is alone, and doesn’t know where everyone else is. Stanach tells him they are with the dwarves, and explains these tunnels were the idea of the Thane and Gilthas. Qualinost is going to fall, sooner rather than later, and the people need safe passage out of Qualinesti. Jai doesn’t care and insists on leaving to record the end of Qualinost. Eventually Sanach relents and lets the young elf go, as they are nearing the exit of the tunnel, Annalise’s voice is heard directing Dark Knights. It turned out that she bargained for the safety of the library and gave up the plan of the elves leaving and the tunnels under Qualinesti. Stanach and Jai fight them, capture Annalisse and Stanach says that he will wait for Jai. Jai ends up heading home. It reminds me of World War 2 when Nazi Germany was rounding up Jews, Gays, Blacks and anyone they deemed weak. That is what the Dark Knight represents and while going back to Qualinost to witness its end sounds like the height of foolishness, I can understand one’s passion for their home and wanting to be there, even as the world falls apart.
The Lost Sea by Linda P. Baker

Captain Effram

I am torn about this story. For one, it’s written really well. But for another, I don’t like the main character at all. This is about Captain Effram, he lives in Tarsis and has built a boat. Tarsis has been landlocked since the Cataclysm, so he is ridiculed by everyone in town for building a ship. The children come and taunt and tease him, and he runs them off, further ruining his reputation among the townsfolk. Then one day a storm came, and it kept raining, and only Effram wore the appropriate clothing for a rain storm and was mocked for it. Then the water began to build on the ground, and soon his ship began to float! He took it out in this massive blinding night storm and was nearly swept out to sea, but managed to turn it back toward Tarsis to see people climbing the ships in the old bay that were repurposed for homes, trying to survive the weather and oncoming seawater. They leapt down toward Effram’s ship, and slowly, reluctantly, he turned to bring more people onto his ship. Even as there were more to save, he raced the boar to the docks, and in the massive storm told them to get out. When he turned back to the sea, he saw a woman leap into the ocean, screaming for help, he turned away from her, and sailed into the sea. This character who wanted to be respected and appreciated by the townsfolk, didn’t even want to save them, then abandoned others. His cruelty in their fate was less human and more monstrous. Something I didn’t enjoy reading at all. The strength of our species is that when push comes to shove, regardless of any other factor, we help one another. Survival is built into our DNA. It is the aberrant among us that would turn and walk away from someone facing death, when you could save them, yet Effram did just that. The people jibing him did not equal a justified death, and it simply bothered me.
Some Assembly Required by Nick o’Donohoe

Sorter, gnome
Franni, kender

The story begins with a gnome named Sorter working in the great repository, sorting the thousands of volumes of gnomish manuals. It showcases a typical day in Mount Nevermind for gnomes, and leads to a Kender named Franni asking a series of questions to Sorter about the books. Later there is a book avalanche and they are afraid the kender was under them, but after clearing it up, they saw no kender, but a few books were missing. So Soter decided he would go after the Kender. He packed traveling clothing and headed out to the closest town with smoke ascending to the sky. A warehouse was burned down and children who were working the warehouse were having a grand time. THey said a Kender came by and burned the warehouse down. The elders told him that the kender left toward their neighboring town, and that the kender should stay there. The gnome went on to the next town which was covered in mud. Its children were also enjoying the destroyed warehouse. Apparently there is fierce trade competition so all these villages suggest visiting the next, to recreate the destruction they experience. The gnome continued on to find the kender in the third village constructing a siege machine. The gnome ended up helping him and it summarily destroyed the town, as all gnome inventions are prone to do. The town leadership paid them to go to the next few towns and create some machines for them and off the gnome and kender went with an idea for a massive Solamnic knife machine. It was a silly story that illustrated the dire consequences of gnomish technology and the curiosity and free spiritedness of Kneder and the wildly dangerous combination of them both together.
Go with the Floe by Paul B. Thompson

Raegel
Mixun, mixundantalus
Balic Persayer, captain
Wheeler, gnome
Slipper, gnome
Excellent Continental Ice Project
Artagor, pirate captain

This was a fun story about two snake oil salesmen who regularly conned people and were caught in a con by a ship captain and marooned on the icewall. Destined to die there, with the cold nearly doing the task, they were awoken by the terrible and loud sound of gnomish machinery! The gnomes took them aboard their great ice cutting wheels and entered Nevermind South. A temporary camp where the gnomes could cut miles of glacier ice and transport it to Sancrist. Stunned by the audacity of the gnomes but happy to be alive, the two men go with the gnomes. They end up breaking the miles size glacier off and use the wheel machines to paddle it north. As they pass Enstar, pirates come about and try to rob them, but the gnomes have no treasure, only tools and the two con men have nothing of value. Frustrated, the pirate captain decides to kill the two, but a cyclone is building off the coast and hits suddenly. The iceberg is dashed to the shore of Enstar and breaks to pieces. Ruining the gnomes’ plans, but industrious as ever, they get back to work, collecting gear and coming up with new plans. The con men approach a town, talk about the ice that’s on the shore and sell it, and they convince the people to pay for the ice! Then they decide to help the gnomes and make a living selling ice across Ansalon. Again, just a silly and fun story that was way more entertaining than I expected it to be.
The Great Gully Dwarf Climacteric of 40 S.C. by Jeff Crook

Dr. Palaver, gnome
Morgrify Pinchpocket, kender
Whortleberry Pinchpocket, kender, Morgrify’s cousin
Gulps
Bulps
Shadow Dragon

The story begins with two Kender running from a mob. They break into the gnomish district and burst into a gnomes home where he was staying late. The gnome, Dr. Palaver is asked to cure Morgrify’s cousin, Whortleberry. He is an afflicted kender and it seemed to have come upon him very recently in a tunnel under Palantha filled with Gully Dwarves. The gnome said that he can cure his cousin but they need to face the fear that caused the affliction. They must return to the sewers post haste! The kender and gnome all head to the sewer. They eventually discovered gully dwarves and a massive hole that was supposed to be scary, but it just contained another gully dwarf from the Bulp clan, rather than the Gulps from earlier. He led them to the scariest place he knew of, a shadow dragon! The dragon had been making the Aghar make smoke for it to consume, or it would consume them. It breathed its terrifying smoke, blinding and disorienting everyone, and the kender quickly had Whort drink the heroic potion that doctor gnome said would cure his fright. He drank it and sunbeams, rainbows and spring flowers sprang from every orifice on his body, forcing the dragon back into its lair. He began taunting it finally able to speak, and his fear subsided, he dragged the gnome and Mordrify to the surface, but the spring scented flowers were too much for the Aghar and they fled in mass into the city, killing pets and one homeless man before running off into the docks, sinking ships and killing themselves and fish. It was a massive cacophony, and in the end Whort brought the gnome doctor and his uncle to another gnome doctor to cure their blindness. This was a silly story, but I am now thinking this whole collection is just about Kender, Gully Dwarves or Gnomes.
Bond by Kevin T. Stein

Karn, scout
Blood, Karn’s Wulfbunde
Brek
Arana
Canus, bond between wolf and man
Jaren
Syllany
The Forsaken, former Wulfbunde from previous story

This is a disjoined tale that is a sequel to an even more disjointed tale about the Wulfbunde, apparently in the Age of Might, The Dark Queen gave power to men who followed Canus? And could form bonds with wolves. In the aftermath of the Chaos War, they hunted teh agents of chaos. The previous story has a Wulfbunde kill his wolf rather than see him consumed by Chaos and he became The Forgotten, though in that story he was condemned to the Abyss, if memory serves. Now he is out and terrorizing the land around the Lords of Doom. The five scout Wulfbunde are now hunting him, though he is incredibly powerful. We are presented with Karn, a scout and his wolf blood. They have an uneasy relationship, and he actually beats the wolf, which bugs the shit out of me. If you share a bond with something, you don’t physically assault or abuse that something. Period. And in general, violence against animals is verboten for most people. So they go after the Forgotten, have  bunch of awkward moments between Blood and Karn that I do not fully understand as the writing is not much better than the last short story, and Blood ends up breathing in The Forgottens face, making him kinda go crazy then start crying, I imagine for the absence of his wolf. And Karn reflects that the Dark cannot break the bond between a man and his wolf. This could all have been so much better if they were more clear in the writing about what the hell is going on. It’s frustrating.
A Twist of the Knife by Jean Rabe

Shiv, male assassin, Safford
Risana, woman, Solamnic Knight
Redlant Fever

This is a wonderful short story about an assassin named Shiv that was hired by Dark Knights to find and eliminate a Solamnic knight that is healing plagued villagers around Neraka. The former knight, a woman named Risana, actually deserted the knights after they were ambushed by dark knights. She was thought to be killed, and just walked away. Decided to heal others rather than kill them. This however created a myth in the area about Solamnic Knights and has some locals leaving to join them, and turn against the Dark Knights. So Shiv was t o eliminate her. He saw her tend wounded and saw that she truly cared about this, and it endeared her to him. They continued from village to village traveling together, even fighting off assassins that were sent to kill her, thinking Shiv was dead or taking too long. He would fight for her at first because she was his mark, but later because he respected her. In the end, he deserted his contract and swore to protect her until he died. I really loved that this old assassin could be touched by a woman who had a singleminded purpose, not for gods or oaths, but because it’s what she was passionate about. I really enjoyed the story. Jean Rabe is really growing on me with these short stories of hers.
Hunger by Richard A. Knaak

Master Brudas, Bozak
Ruins of Krolus
Sable, Black Dragon
Drek, Baaz
Molgar, Baaz
Gruun, Baaz

Oh man, this was fun. It’s about the souls of the dead who were stealing magic from magical items and casters before the War of Souls on behalf of Takhisis. A Bozak and three baaz were searching for magical artifacts for Sable, the black dragon overlord in a sunken ruined city of Krolus. The Baaz were excavating the site as the Bozak was dreaming of finding items of power that he could leave Sable’s service. He tries to emulate the Aurak draconians he admired and relished his ability to cast spells even though they have been failing recently. The bozak returns with knowledge of a cavern and Brudas the bozak goes to investigate. He finds a bracelet of Chemosh with two black gems. It allows him to see the undead ghosts that are all around him, begging for power. Over the next few days it drives him near insane. Whenever he tries to cast a spell to banish or dispel the undead, they take the power, ruining the spell. He orders the Baaz to throw the gems away that were in the bracelet and it makes him unable to see the ghosts. But he can still imagine them, and feel them. How oh so many of them were around him, pleading. He chases the gems down and drowns. The baaz return to Sable and deliver the bracelet, and Sable is pleased, but cannot see the hoards of spirits around her, taking her magic as well as the bracelets. It’s so wonderfully creepy to think of the unseen spirits stealing your essence, and that of your items. Such a cool set up for the War of Souls. Knaak did a great job with this story.
Product Given for Services Rendered by Don Perrin

Gnash, dark knight brothers, disserters
Yarl, dark knight brothers, deserters
Flannery, old man in robes
Digger Cutterstone, dwarf

This was a wonderful tale about two brothers who turned in their parents, who were clerics of Paladine, to the Knights of Takhisis and came upon an old man in robes and a dwarf. They were burying the dead and taking their weapons and armor. They offered to share their supper with the brothers and told them that they commended the souls of the dead to the gods and in return took the swords and armor and melted them into steel coins for the bank of palanthas. They wanted to do the same for the Knights of Takhisis but did not know the burial rites. The brothers pulled weapons on them and started to rob them, but the old man offered to split the money with them if they helped by telling them how to comment the souls to Takhisis. The brothers flippantly told them, and then the priest did it to them, and they dropped dead. It turned out that they were skeletons the old man was trying to destroy and take their armor. Once he learned the rite, he could do the same to others. Such an interesting twist and tale about the aftermath of battle and the creation of steel as a currency.
Dragon’s Throat by Donald Bingle

Finderkeeper Rumpleton, kender
Gimmie Glacier
Vern Hasterck, Knight of Takhisis Commander
Bodar, Ice Nomad
Thrak D.Nar, Ice Nomad
Garn, Ice Nomad

This is an interesting tale about the Icewall Glacier being the primary character, and everyone else secondary. The glacier grows north, then melts south revealing objects that were left in the ice from wars or travelers who never made it across. This ends up being a pilgrimage site for Kender, but in the Age of Mortals, Dark Knights also would travel the area in southern Plains of Dust. One day a kender named Finderkeeper Rumpleton passed through and found a strangely shaped object, instantly claiming it as Irda Magic. This sent the other kender in a frenzy of questions and nearby Dark Knights demanding the object. THey chased the Kender across the glacier till he believed he lost them, and stumbled across an ice nomad and his sons who were hunting wooly mammoths. They helped the kender for the night then when the dark knights showed up again, helped him run from them. They led them to a valley that would floor periodically and one of the sons went to help it along as the Dark knights were camping in the valley during their pursuit. It flooded the valley, consuming the son as well, but the Dark Knight Commander escaped and continued pursuit, eventually catching up to the kender and nomads. They fought as best they could but the Dark knight overwhelmed the nomads, killing them, but eventually got stuck in some mud, freezing to death as he was trying to cut his own legs off to get out. This was all relayed to the nomad clan by a bard, who was the kender. It’s more of an environmental tale of the natural dangers of a living glacier, and I for one enjoyed that approach.
This was an interesting collection, with a few really good stories. If you are a Dragonlance fan, I would recommend you taking the time to read this anthology.
Outro
And that’s it for my review of The Search for Magic edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. What did you think of the anthology? Did you connect with any of these stories? And finally, what is your favorite anthology in Dragonlance? Feel free to email me at [email protected] or leave a comment below. 
I would like to thank Creator Patron Aaron Hardy and Developer Patron Chris Androu! 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).

Ver todos los episodios