‘There is no time for explanation, Sturm Brightblade,’ one of the knights said in Common, his accent thick. ‘The guards will return soon. Come with us.’
‘Not so fast!’ Flint growled, his feet planted firmly in the street, his hands breaking off the handle of a hauberk so that it suited his short stature. ‘You’ll find time for explanations or I’m not going! How’d you know the knight’s name and how came you to be waiting for us—’
‘Oh, just run him through!’ sang a shrill voice out of the shadows. ‘Leave his body to feed the crows. Not that they’ll bother; there’s few in this world who can stomach dwarf—’
‘Satisfied?’ Tanis turned to Flint, who was red-faced with rage.
‘Someday,’ vowed the dwarf, ‘I’ll kill that kender.’
Whistles sounded from the street behind them. With no more hesitation, the companions followed the knights through twisting, rat-infested alleys. Saying he had business to attend to, Tas disappeared before Tanis could catch hold of him. The half-elf noticed that the knights didn’t seem at all surprised by this, nor did they try to stop Tas. They refused, however, to answer any questions, just kept hurrying the group along until they entered the ruins—the old city of Tarsis the Beautiful.
Here the knights stopped. They had brought the companions to a part of the city where no one ever came now. The streets were broken and empty, reminding Tanis strongly of the ancient city of Xak Tsaroth. Taking Sturm by the arm, the knights led him a short distance from his friends and began to confer in Solamnic, leaving the others to rest.
Tanis, leaning against a building, looked around with interest. What remained standing of the buildings on this street was impressive, much more beautiful than the modern city. He saw that Tarsis the Beautiful must have deserved its name before the Cataclysm. Now nothing but huge blocks of granite lay tumbled about. Vast courtyards were choked and overgrown with weeds turned brown by the biting winter winds.
He walked over to sit down on a bench with Gilthanas, who was talking to Alhana. The elflord introduced him.
‘Alhana Starbreeze, Tanis Half-Elven,’ Gilthanas said. ‘Tanis lived among the Qualinesti for many years. He is the son of my uncle’s wife.’
Alhana drew back the veil from her face and regarded Tanis coldly. Son of my uncle’s wife, was a polite way of saying Tanis was illegitimate, otherwise Gilthanas world have introduced him as the ‘son of my uncle.’ The half-elf flushed, the old pain returning forcibly, hurting as much now as it had fifty years before. He wondered if he would ever be free of it.
Scratching his beard, Tanis said harshly, ‘My mother was raped by human warriors during years of darkness following the Cataclysm. The Speaker kindly took me in following her death and raised me as his own.’
Alhana’s dark eyes grew darker until they were pools of night. She raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you see a need to apologize for your heritage?’ she asked in a chill voice.
‘N-no...’ Tanis stammered, his face burning. ‘I—’
‘Then do not,’ she said, and she turned away from him to Gilthanas. ‘You asked why I came to Tarsis? I came seeking aid. I must return to Silvanesti to search for my father.’
‘Return to Silvanesti?’ Gilthanas repeated. ‘We—my people did not know the Silvanesti elves had left their ancient homeland. No wonder we lost contact—’
‘Yes,’ Alhana’s voice grew sad. ‘The evil that forced you, our cousins, to leave Qualinesti came to us as well.’ She bowed her head, then looked up, her own voice soft and low. ‘Long we fought this evil. But in the end we were forced to flee or perish utterly. My father sent the people, under my leadership, to Southern Ergoth. He stayed in Silvanesti to fight the evil alone. I opposed this decision, but he said he had the power to prevent the evil from destroying our homeland. With a heavy heart, I led my people to safety and there they remain. But I came back to seek my father, for the days have been long and we have heard no word of him.’
‘But had you no warriors, lady, to accompany you on such a dangerous journey?’ Tanis asked.
Alhana, turning, glanced at Tanis as if amazed that he had intruded upon their conversation. At first she seemed about to refuse to answer him, then—looking longer at his face—she changed her mind. ‘There were many warriors who offered to escort me,’ she said proudly. ‘But when I said I led my people to safety, I spoke rashly. Safety no longer exists in this world. The warriors stayed behind to guard the people. I came to Tarsis hoping to find warriors to travel into Silvanesti with me. I presented myself to the Lord and the Council, as protocol demands—’
Tanis shook his head, frowning darkly. ‘That was stupid,’ he said bluntly. ‘You should have known how they feel about elves—even before the draconians came! You were damn lucky they only ordered you tossed out of the city.’
Alhana’s pale face became—if possible—paler. Her dark eyes glittered. ‘I did as protocol demands,’ she replied, too well bred to show her anger beyond the cool tones of her voice. ‘To do otherwise would have been to come as a barbarian. When the Lord refused to aid me, I told him I intended to seek help on my own. To do less would have not been honorable.’
Flint, who had been able to follow only bits and pieces of the conversation in elven, nudged Tanis. ‘She and the knight will get on perfectly.’ He snorted. ‘Unless their honor gets them killed first.’ Before Tanis could reply, Sturm rejoined the group.
‘Tanis,’ Sturm said in excitement, ‘the knights have found the ancient library! That’s why they’re here. They discovered records in Palanthas saying that in ancient times knowledge of dragons was kept in the library here, at Tarsis. The Knights Council sent them to see if the library still survived.’
Sturm gestured for the knights to come forward. ‘This is Brian Donner, Knight of the Sword,’ he said. ‘Aran Tallbow, Knight of the Crown, and Derek Crownguard, Knight of the Rose.’ The knights bowed.
‘And this is Tanis Half-Elven, our leader,’ Sturm said. The half-elf saw Alhana start and look at him in wonder, glancing at Sturm to see if she had heard correctly.
Sturm introduced Gilthanas and Flint, then he turned to Alhana. ‘Lady Alhana,’ he began, then stopped, embarrassed, realizing he knew nothing more about her.
‘Alhana Starbreeze,’ Gilthanas finished. ‘Daughter of the Speaker of the Stars. Princess of the Silvanesti elves.’
The knights bowed again, lower this time.
‘Accept my heartfelt gratitude for rescuing me,’ Alhana said coolly. Her gaze encompassed all the group but lingered longest on Sturm. Then she turned to Derek, whom she knew from his Order of the Rose to be the leader. ‘Have you discovered the records the Council sent you to find?’
As she spoke, Tanis examined the knights, now unhooded, with interest. He, too, knew enough to know that the Knights Council—the ruling body of the Solamnic knights—had sent the best. In particular he studied Derek, the elder and the highest in rank. Few knights attained the Order of the Rose. The tests were dangerous and difficult, and only knights of pure bloodline could belong.
‘We have found a book, my lady,’ Derek said, ‘written in an ancient language we could not understand. There were pictures of dragons, however, so we were planning to copy it and return to Sancrist where, we hoped, scholars would be able to translate it. But instead we have found one who can read it. The kender—’
‘Tasslehoff!’ Flint exploded.
Tanis’s mouth gaped open. ‘Tasslehoff?’ he repeated incredulously. ‘He can barely read Common. He doesn’t know any ancient languages. The only one among us who might possibly be able to translate an ancient language is Raistlin.’
Derek shrugged. ‘The kender has a pair of glasses he says are “magical glasses of true seeing.” He put them on and he has been able to read the book. It says—’