The Sorcerer's Greatest Spells: A Name to Conjure With Chapters 23-24
Book: A Name to Conjure With by Donald Aamodt (1989)
The group is about to raid a mountain full of murderous cultists. And Zhadnoboth, the sorcerer who got them into this whole mess, picks this exact moment to do the best work of his entire career. Then he bails.
That’s chapters 23 and 24 in a nutshell. Brilliant magic followed by cowardly self-preservation.
The Enchantments
Zhadnoboth gets to work preparing the group for the assault on Tham Og Zalkri. And for once, the cranky old sorcerer isn’t cutting corners. He draws protective circles. He enchants a crystal ball for long-distance communication. He layers spell after spell with the focus and care of someone who knows lives depend on it.
Then comes the big one.
Zhadnoboth pulls out Kythornak’s third chant. This is serious magic. Old magic. The kind of spell that takes everything a sorcerer has. He begins chanting, pouring energy into a grand final enchantment that will hide the group as they cross the open plain toward the mountain.
Sandy holds the crystal ball while Zhadnoboth works. The sorcerer’s voice rises and falls, the words ancient and heavy. Power builds in the air. You can almost feel it through the page.
And then something changes.
Not just in the enchantment. In Sandy. When the spell completes, Sandy’s sixth sense goes razor-sharp. He can feel things he couldn’t before. The world is clearer, more present. Like someone adjusted the focus on a camera he didn’t know was blurred.
The Goddess Pulled the Strings
Here’s the thing Zhadnoboth doesn’t know. The Goddess influenced which chant he used.
He thinks he chose Kythornak’s third chant on his own. He didn’t. The Goddess nudged him toward it. Subtly. Gently. The way she does everything. She needed that specific chant because of what it would do to Sandy.
This is the Goddess at her most calculating. She’s not casting spells or fighting battles. She’s adjusting a sorcerer’s choices without him ever noticing. One small push. One specific chant. And now Sandy has abilities he didn’t have five minutes ago.
Zhadnoboth is a pawn who thinks he’s a king. The Goddess lets him believe it because a useful pawn is better than a rebellious one.
The Coward Reveals Himself
The enchantments are done. The protective spells are in place. The crystal ball is working. Everything is ready for the assault on the mountain.
And Zhadnoboth announces he’s not coming.
He says he needs to stay behind. To “maintain the enchantments.” He argues that the spells require constant attention. That someone has to keep the protective magic running from the outside. That his role is support, not combat.
It sounds reasonable if you don’t think about it too hard.
Sandy thinks about it hard. He sees right through the excuse. Zhadnoboth is scared. The sorcerer spent this whole journey talking big, ordering people around, and acting like he was in charge. Now that the dangerous part has arrived, he’s found a very convenient reason to stay safe.
Sandy doesn’t bother arguing. He’s learned that Zhadnoboth does what Zhadnoboth wants, and no amount of yelling will change that.
Uskban’s Reaction
Uskban is furious. This is the man who lost his entire family to the Zalkrings. He’s been carrying that rage for years. He’s about to walk into the home base of the people who murdered his sisters. And the sorcerer who dragged them all into this quest is staying behind?
But Uskban accepts it. Not because he thinks it’s right. Because he knows arguing with Zhadnoboth is wasted energy. Better to focus on the mission.
Sandy pulls Uskban aside and warns him. Don’t trust the sorcerer. Don’t rely on him to keep the enchantments running. Don’t assume help is coming if things go wrong.
It’s a practical warning from a practical man. Sandy has spent enough time with Zhadnoboth to know exactly what the sorcerer will do if things get dangerous. He’ll save himself first. Second. Third. Everyone else doesn’t make the list.
Sandy Takes the Lead
Something shifted during the enchantments. Not just Sandy’s sixth sense. The group dynamic changed. Sandy is leading now. Not officially. Nobody held a vote. But when decisions need to be made, people are looking at him.
Think about where Sandy started. A confused guy from Baltimore. He couldn’t ride a horse. He didn’t know how to fight. Now he’s the one warning Uskban about who to trust. He’s the one holding the crystal ball.
The Goddess planned for this. Every hardship Sandy endured built him into someone who can lead this group into a mountain full of monsters.
Chapter 24: The Goddess Watches
Chapter 24 gives us the Goddess’s perspective. She confirms what we already suspected. Sandy is her chosen leader for this assault. Not Uskban with his rage. Not Zhadnoboth with his magic. Sandy, the outsider from Earth.
She’s also aware of what’s happening inside the mountain. The Zalkrings are performing their midsummer ceremonies. Sacrificial rites. The Goddess is sickened by them. She’s had to endure a thousand years of watching this dark god’s followers commit atrocities in her world.
A thousand years is a long time to be angry.
The Goddess has been patient because she had to be. She couldn’t defeat Kels Zalkri directly. She needed the right weapon at the right time. Now the weapon is ready. Sandy doesn’t even know what he is yet. But the Goddess does.
The Setup
These two chapters are all setup. But they’re great setup. Zhadnoboth’s cowardice is completely in character. Sandy’s growing leadership feels earned, not forced.
The Goddess’s quiet manipulation of the chant is maybe the most important moment here. Zhadnoboth thinks he cast a concealment spell. He did. But the Goddess made sure he also turned Sandy into something more. Something ready.
The mountain is waiting. And their sorcerer isn’t coming with them.