Books
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

see page history

Description edit see section history

Azure Bonds (Forgotten Realms) <Mass Market Paperback>
Jeff Grubb

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Summary edit see section history

(from wikipedia)
The trilogy’s titular “finder’s stone” plays a relatively limited role and has an essentially introductory presence in the novel.

The story begins with the main character, an adventuress named Alias, awakening in a disoriented and amnesic state. She soon... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

(from wikipedia)
The trilogy’s titular “finder’s stone” plays a relatively limited role and has an essentially introductory presence in the novel.

The story begins with the main character, an adventuress named Alias, awakening in a disoriented and amnesic state. She soon discovers that she has a newly acquired azure colored tattoo imprinted on the inside of her sword arm in the space between her wrist and elbow. At first she attributes her memory loss to inebriation and the tattoo as a drunken prank by companions. She soon finds that the tattoo is magical in origin, resists attempts to remove it and most worryingly, exerts a power to compel her actions.

Before long, Alias becomes the nucleus of a disparate party of adventurers namely; a mysterious lizard-creature named Dragonbait, a southern mage called Akabar Bel Akash, and a halfling "bard" named Olive Ruskettle. The novel's plot follows the actions of the party which are combinations of the group’s investigations and interruptions caused by the compulsions of the tattoo.

It is later revealed that Alias herself is in fact a complicated, magically created, artificial being intended by her creators to be their proxy in various nefarious purposes. The tattoo was to be a means of control as well as a branding of ownership by each of the collaborating parties involved in her creation. Her long term memories were actually granted to her by her sole benign (but misled) creator and her short term memory loss is due in part to the gap between the end of her artificial memories and her premature awakening.

Alias eventually wins the freedom to control her actions and is able to embark on a life of her own. Events towards the end of the novel result in Giogioni Wyvernspur (a recurring supporting character), inadvertently acquiring the finder’s stone forming the back-story of the next novel in the trilogy, The Wyvern's Spur.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Alias: A female warrior and the protagonist of the novel. At the onset of the story she is portrayed as an archetypal adventuress, being a seasoned traveler and veteran hired guard. She is depicted on the cover artwork in ceremonial armour.
  • Dragonbait: Dragonbait is the first of the companions encountered by Alias. He has the most unusual appearance of the party and physically resembles a greenish, lizardman-like creature. Incapable of normal speech, his early behavior is often clownish and servile but obedient. It is eventually learned that he is in fact a highly accomplished member of his race that are known as saurials. His name is actually an acquired nickname courtesy of Alias.
  • Akabar Bel Akash: A native from the southern lands of Turmish — a region of the Forgotten Realms roughly comparable in style and culture to the medieval middle-east. Initially, Akabar is conducting his affairs as a merchant but he also has training as a mage and inwardly yearns to prove himself as an adventurer.
  • Olive Ruskettle: Olive is a female Halfling and the final member of the party to be encountered. She is a self-styled bard but displays the duplicity and skill at thievery and pilfering characteristically associated with Halflings; in the course of the book, it is revealed that she has taken on the identity of a true bard, one Olav Ruskettle, and feminized his given name for her purposes.
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

First Sentence edit see section history

She woke to the noise of dogs--- two distinct barkings beneath her open window.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Map
1. The Hidden Lady
2 Winefiddle and the Assassins
3 Dragonbait and Dimswart
4 Akabar and the Back Door
5 Mist
6 Olive and the Crystal Elemental
7 The Wedding Reception
8 The Sigils
9 Trek Through Cormyr
10 Giogioni Wyvernspur
11 Shadow Gap
12 Dream and the Malmari
13 Shadowdale
14 The Scribe and the Old Man
15 Olive's Deal and Dragonbait's Secret
16 Run Aground
17 Brunch in Shadowdale and the Trek North
18 Yulash
19 Moander's Resurrection and Mist's Return
20 Dragonbait's Feint of Honor
21 Moander's Puppet and Mist's Pursuit
22 Moander's Revelation and the Rescue Attempt
23 Akabar's Recovery, Moander's Offer and the Second Rescue Attempt
24 Battle Over Westgate
25 Alias's Escape
26 Reunion at the Rising Raven
27 Alias's Masters
28 The Crafter
29 The Sacrifice
30 The Citadel of White Exile
31 Phalse
32 The Tale Told
About the Authors

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 3 in Forgotten Realms: The Finder's Stone Trilogy. (standard series)

Followed by The Wyvern's Spur.

This book is in Forgotten Realms. (universe)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Kate Novak (Author)
  2. Jeff Grubb (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: TSR Inc.
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: October 1988
ISBN: 0880386126
Page Count: 380

Awards edit see section history

  • Hugo (1989: Best Fanzine)

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 1733 vol. 4
  • Dewey: 813

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Sword of the Gods: Forgotten Realms: The Abyssal Plague
  • Dawnbringer: A Forgotten Realms Novel
  • Unclean
  • Sandstorm: A Forgotten Realms Novel
  • Sacrifice of the Widow
  • Shadowbred
  • The Darker Road

We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.