Elminster has been murdered.

And to make matters worse, the player characters who helped to save Shadowdale from the armies of Zhentil Keep in Shadowdale (FRE1) have been sentenced to death for killing the old sage. They're innocent, of course, but in this time of troubles in the Realms, truth and justice are not always served. Imprisoned in the Tower of Ashaba, the heroes must escape if they are to survive!

Later, when the heroes start their quest for the first of the mysterious Tablets of Fate - mighty artifacts stolen from the overlord of the gods himself - they come up against an even greater peril: Bane, the God of Strife, and his ally, the God of Death, have set in motion a plot to capture the heroes and their companions. You must face deadly assassins, nightmarish monsters, and violent storms on your way across the Dalelands. And the worst threat of all is an unexpected one - the man who helped you earlier has now joined the side of Bane and the forces of Zhentil Keep.