"After leaving Fola to find her own way, Bwire set about a plan for obtaining the Amber Prison for himself. And why not? After all, it would serve a good and useful purpose in Fola's care--an utter waste of an artifact, in Bwire's cobweb-ridden mind! So Bwire, never one to do his own work when another might do it for him, sought out a panther from the distant land of Urborg to do his bidding. Confused by Bwire's woven spells, the panther came to the shaman across many miles and obeyed his command to attack the herd of goats--hoping to snag that one goat which had consumed the Amber Prison. But after only one swift attack, Bwire freed the panther from his control. Why, you wonder? Surely, you think, a panther would have no trouble destroying a simple herd of goats?

"It is enough to say that you must not know much of goats, goatherds, or goatdogs if this is what you think! More important, Bwire had realized that a panther was not the most powerful creature he might summon to his aid. What is a kitten when you can have a monster? Bwire called to him a feral shadow, a most unpleasant thing of darkness that, like the panther, called Urborg its home. But unlike the panther, the shadow was possessed of a cunning mind and a comprehension of Bwire's desires. The panther, only an animal, could understand Bwire's intent only as you or I understand why a zebra unicorn foal born without a horn is either shunned or honored by the marvel--the community, that is--to which it is born. There are mysteries in the world still and always.

"But even the shadow was not powerful enough to satisfy Bwire's desire for the Amber Prison. So Bwire freed it after it had attacked the guildmage at his behest. Bwire was never mindful that the shadow might have a memory of the one who so shamelessly controlled it, as he set about to summon an even more alarming creature to his side: a Breathstealer! Surely you know about Breathstealers? 'Lifestealers,' more accurately, that thrive on the last gasps of the unwary. Many a child has spent a long night beneath the covers, listening for the approach of a wind that makes no sound, hands clasped like iron over her mouth to keep that wind away. Remind me another day to tell you the tale of the Breathstealer that tried to drown a man, but died itself when it stole the man's air.

"This Breathstealer was commanded to do as the panther and the shadow before it: get the goats and get the Amber Prison. But while the Breathstealer was following Bwire's order, the feral shadow returned, most unhappy and eager to kill the one who had controlled it! Poor Bwire--were common sense gold, he would be a beggar. The shadow attacked the shaman, and Bwire was forced to call back the Breathstealer to defend him! I won't wonder about the embarrassment Bwire might have felt to have his servants turn against him, but I'm sure you will.

"When at last Bwire was able to bring the shadow back under his control, he realized it was time to do some of his labor himself. So, with both the feral shadow and the Breathstealer at his side, he set out to find the goatherd and take the Amber Prison by force. But then . . . Eh? Oh, how right you are! That's where we were, weren't we?"