“The woman who stepped through the door.”
“Maybe you’d better rest,” Blister suggested. “I think you have a fever.”
“Here’s a spoon of wellness!” Raph exclaimed as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a tarnished silver soupspoon.
“How many of those do you have?” Blister asked.
“A couple dozen or so. But they’re all different”
“I don’t need to rest,” the man stammered. “I’m fine. I just need to get to Schallsea.”
“I’ve never been to Schallsea,” Blister said. “I’ve always wanted to go there. I know a ship runs a trade route from New Ports to the island.”
“Thank you.” The stranger nodded to Blister, declined Raph’s spoon, and brushed by the kender.
“I’ve never been to Schallsea, either,” Raph announced. “Wonder what it’s like?”
“I don’t have anything better to do at the moment,” Blister mused.
“So let’s go!”
Blister hurried to keep up with Raph, who hurried to keep up with the tall human.
11
Ghostly Tidings
Again the ghostly image of the woman appeared, though this time it was to hover above the top of a long, dark table in a room high in the Tower of Wayreth. The sun was setting and the orange glow that spilled into the room created a soft halo about the translucent woman.
The apparition glided toward Palin, who sat alone and unaware at the head of the table. Stacks of parchment were carefully arranged in front of him, and he was staring at one curled and yellowed page that was covered with notes written in a near-incomprehensible scrawl. The page fluttered in the breeze created by the phantom, and he glanced up.
Palin’s lips edged upward into a slight smile. “You have good news, I hope,” he said.
The apparition drifted until her fair, blue eyes were even with Palin’s. She stretched out an insubstantial hand, and he extended his own, until solid and incorporeal fingers touched in a sort of greeting.
“It is not as good as I had hoped,” the female image replied. “But it is a start. I’ve called out to many suitable warriors, though only one so far seems to be a likely prospect. He makes his way toward Schallsea as we speak.”
Palin shook his head. “Only one?”
“There will be others,” the apparition said. “Remember, I was alone at the beginning, in the time of the War of the Lance. But your father joined me, and your uncle. And then more were added to our ranks. I will continue calling to people at the tomb. More will answer. It might just take more time than expected.”
“I haven’t given up hope,” Palin said softly.
“I know. And neither have I.”
“This one who comes to you,” Palin began, “if he is willing...”
“I will send him to the Lonely Refuge, in the Northern Wastes near Palanthas.”
“The handle is there.”
“Waiting for the pennant,” the ghostly image added. She nodded and disappeared.
12
Company
“What’s your name?” Raph huffed.
“Dhamon.”
“That’s it? Just Dhamon?”
“Dhamon Grimwulf.”
“Hmm. Not a very cheery name. Why’d your folks call you that? Must have been in a bad mood, huh? Maybe it was raining. Or maybe a wolf killed all the cows on their farm. Where’re you from?”
Dhamon didn’t answer. Though exhausted, he in fact lengthened his stride, and it was all the two kender could do to stay within several yards of him. The vision of the phantom woman kept playing over in his mind, spurring him on and raising question after question.
“A grand quest,” he muttered half under his breath. “Schallsea. My destiny. Maybe I’m crazy to be doing this, going after a ghost. Maybe I imagined the whole thing.”
“He’s talking to himself again, Blister.”
“Hush. Walk faster, Raph.”
Dhamon had a map of the country. He’d purchased it from a scribe in Crossing and used it to find the tomb. He had intended to stay at the tomb longer, a few days maybe, to meditate, consider what had brought him there, and to think about what he would do with the rest of his life. He hadn’t counted on the ghost.
He looked at the map as he walked. It was an artfully-rendered one, and the mapmaker had taken considerable care to ink sites of historical interest and paths through the woods south of Solace, near the cities of Haven and Qualinost. But Beryl ruled there, and Dhamon was glad the vision was directing him away from the creature and not to it.
The map also showed a road from Solace to New Ports, and unfortunately it looked like a considerable distance. If the mapmaker’s scale was accurate, it would take at least a couple of days to get there.
Maybe I can lose them by then, he thought. He yawned, glanced over his shoulder, and saw the two kender huffing. They’ll have to sleep sometime.
So did Dhamon. Early that evening he selected a clearing by the side of the road, one with a stream nearby so he could bathe and clean the dirt from his clothes. Just a few hours of rest, he told himself. I’ll be up before dawn, and the kender will still be snoring. Maybe I’ll rethink this whole thing then and decide to turn back.
Dhamon’s dreams were filled with images of battlefields, the twisted corpses of men left behind in shallow, unmarked graves, pools of sticky blood scattered across the ground. It was always the same. But tonight was a little different. The phantom woman intruded and floated above the carnage. She neared him and lessened the nightmare. “Schallsea,” she repeated. “Your destiny.” The words echoed in his head until his fatigue took over. He awoke midmorning, to the smell of roast rabbit and fresh berries.
“He even talks to himself in his sleep,” Raph whispered. “I was wondering if he’d ever wake up. And I thought farmers were s’posed to get up with the sun.”
“Hope you slept well!” Blister chirped. “We left the best part of breakfast for you! It’s still plenty warm.”
“Caught it myself,” Raph interjected. “With my spoon of rabbit grabbing!”
“And your snare,” Blister added quietly.
Dhamon’s stomach rumbled. The rabbit smelled better than the dried venison in his pack. “Thank you,” he said, as he helped himself. While he ate, the kender continued to chatter.
“We haven’t been properly introduced.” Raph puffed out his chest and gestured at his companion. “This is Blister Nimblefingers. She’s a lot older than I am. I’m Raph Tanglemop. I’m originally from Zhea Harbor in Southern Ergoth. I don’t know if Zhea Harbor is still called Zhea Harbor, or even if it’s a harbor. There’s lots of ice around it now. I doubt ships could get in. And what’s a harbor without ships? See, this big white dragon moved in—a really big dragon—and the whole country started getting terribly cold. I don’t like the cold. I don’t have warm enough clothes for it. And I’m not particularly fond of dragons—even though I’ve never actually seen one before. I suspect if I saw one I wouldn’t be here. Anyway, I decided I should move out before I froze. So I got on this ship and came here. Well, actually I came to Solace—after landing in Crossing—because the name Solace sounded like it would be a nice place. And I would’ve stayed in Solace for a while. I saw some other kender there. They told me about the tomb and Tasslehoff and everything. That’s where I met you and Blister. I’ve never been to Schallsea. That sounds like it could be a nice place, too.”
“I’m originally from Kendermore,” Blister interrupted as Raph took a gulp of air. “I left home when Malys came. I had to warn the Knights of Solamnia about the Red. After I accomplished my mission, I found I had no home left to return to, thanks to Malys. So, I decided to see the world.” Dhamon offered her a weak smile between the last few bites of the delicious rabbit.
“How about you?” Raph persisted. “Are you a farmer? Blister thinks you’re a farmer. Well, I do anyway, and she probably would agree with me. Do you raise pigs or cows? Or maybe corn? I haven’t figured that part out yet. How’d you come to be at the tomb? And why do you always talk to yourself?”