"Another what, you doorknob?" Flint said in exasperation.
"Another dragon orb!" Tas wailed.
iVight settled over the Tower like a thicker, heavier fog. The knights Iigluted torches, but the flame only peopled the dark-
ness with ghosts. The knights kept silent watch from the battlements, straining to hear or see something--anything. , .
Then, 'When it was nearly midnight, they were startled to hear, not the victorious shouts of their comrades or the flat, blaring horns of the enemy, but the jingle of harness, the soft
whinny of horses approaching the fortress.
Rushing to the edge of the battlements the knights shone Larches down into the fog. They heard the hootbeats slowly
came to a haft.
Sturm stood above the gate. yo rides to the Tower of the High Clerist?' he call,ed.
A .single torch flared below. Laurana, staring dawn into the
Misty darkness, felt her knees gaow weak and grabbed the stone wall to support herself. The knights cried out in horror.
The rider who held the flaming torch was dressed in the shin
ing arnlar of an officer in the draganarrrly 4tLlreg ~mf~cnr…,.
HefC
Was blonde, III5 cold, and cruel. H~e.led a .second! horse across which were thrown two bodies-one of them headless, both bloody, mutilated.
"I have brought back your officers;' the man said" his voice harsh and blaring. "One is quite dead, as you can see. The other, I believe, still lives. Or he did when I started on my journey. I hope he is still living, so that he can recount for you what took place upon the field of battle today. If you could even call it a battle:"
Bathed in the glare of his own torch, the officer dismounted. He began to untie the bodies, using one hand to strip away the ropes binding them to the saddle. Then he glanced up.
"Yes, you could kill me now. I am a fine target, even in this fog. But you want. You're Knights of Solamn!a'"-his sarcasm was sharp-"your honor is your life. You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man returning the bodies of your leaders:' He gave the ropes a yank. The headless body slid to the ground. The officer dragged the other body off the saddle. He tossed the torch down into the snow next to the bodies. It sizzled, then went out, and the darkness swallowed him.
"You have a surfeit of honor out thereon the field," he called. The knights could hear the leather creak, his armor clang as he remounted his horse. "I'll give you until morning to surrender. , When the sun rises, lower your flag. The Dragon Highlord will.; deal with you mercifully-"
Suddenly there was the twang ©f a bow, the thwnk of an arrow striking into flesh, and the sound of startled swea.ring4' from below them. The knights turned around to stare in aston-. ishment at a lone figure standing an the wall, a bow in its hand.
"I am not a knight;' Laurana called out, lowering hey bow. "C am Lauralanth.alasa, -daughter of the Qualinesti. INe elves hafta our oven code of honor and, as I'm sure you know, f can sera you quite well in this darkness. l could have killed you. As it is,; I believe you vuill ha re some difficulty using that arm. Eor a to time. In fact, you may never hold a sword; again:'
"Take that as our answer to your Highlord:' Sturm s ' harshly. "We will lie cold in death before we lower our flag!'
"Indeed you will" the officer said through teeth clenched' pain. The sound of galloping hooves was lost in the darkness
"Bring in the bodes;' Sturm ordered.
autiouslhr the knights opened the gates. Several rushed to cover the others who gently lifted the bodies and bore them inside. Then the guard retreated back into the fortress and bolted the gates behind them.
Sturm knelt in the snow beside the body of the headless knight. Lifting the man"s hand, he removed a ring from the stiff, cold fingers. The knight's armor was battered and black with blood. Dropping the lifeless hand back into the snow, Sturm bowed his head. "Lord Alfred;" he said tonelessly.
"Sir;" said one of the young knights, "the other is Lord Derek. The foul dragon officer was right-he is still alive:"
Sturm rose and walked over to where Derek lay on the cold stone. The lord's face was white his eyes wide and glittering feverishly. Blood caked his lips, his skin was clammy. One of the young knights supporting him held a cup of water to his lips, but Derek could not drink.
Sick with horror, Sturm saw Derek"s hand was pressed over his stomach, where his life's blood was yelling out, but not fast
enough to end the agonizing pain. Giving a ghastly smile, Derek clutched Sturm's arm with a bloody hand.
"Victory!" he croaked. "They ran before us and we pursued!
It was glorious, glorious! And I-I will be Grand Master!" He choked and blood spewed from his mouth as he fell back into the arms of the young knight, who looked up at Sturm, his youthful face hopeful.
"Do you suppose he's right, sir? Maybe that was a ruse-'
His voice died at the sight of Sturm's grim face, and he looked back at Derek with pity. "He"s mad, isn't he, sir?T'
"He's dying-bravely-like a true knight;' Sturm said.
"'Victor-%,!" Derek whispered, then his, eyes fixed in his head and he gazed sightlessly into the fog.
"No, you musts"t break it;' said Laurana.
"But Fizban said-"
"I know what he said;' Laurana replied impatiently. "It isn't e•ail, it isn't good, it's sat anything, it's everything. That"-she muttered-"is so like Fizban!'
She .and Tas stand in front of the dragon orb. The orb rested On its stand in the center of the round room, still covered with dust except for the spat Tas had rubbed ream. The roam was dark and eerily silent, so quiet, in fart, that Tas arid Laurana
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felt compelled to whisper.
Laurana stared at the orb, her brow creased in thought. Tas stared at Laurana unhappily, afraid he knew what she was thinking.
"These orbs have to work, Tas!" Laurana said finally. "They were created by powerful magic-users! People like Raistlin who do eat tolerate failure. If only we knew how-"
"I know how;" Tas said in a broken whisper.
"IhJllat7" Laurana asked. "You know! Why didn't you-"
"I didn't know I knew-so to speak;' Tas stammered. "It just came to me. Gnosh-the gnome-told me that he discovered writing inside the orb, letters that swirled around in the mist. He couldn't read them, he said, because they were written in some sort of strange language-"
"The language of magic:'
"Yes, that's what t said and-"
"But that want help us! We can't either of us speak it. If only Raistlin-"
'We don't need Raistlin;' Tas interrupted- "I can't speak it, but I can read it. You see, I have these glasses-glasses of true seeing, Raistlin called there. They let me read languages-even the language of magic. I know because he said if he caught me reading any of his scrolls he'd turn me into a cricket and swallow me whole."
"And you think you can read the orb?"
"7.cantry,"Tashedged" "but, Laurana, Sturm said there probably wouldn't be any dragons. Why should we risk even bath-: sting with the arb7 Fizbam said only the most powerfuclass="underline" magic-users dared use it,"
"Listen to me, Tasslehoff BuxeEaot;" Laurana said softly„] kneeling down beside the kender and staring him straight in the eye. 'If they bring even one dragon here, we're finished. That's why they gave us time to surrender instead of just storming the place They're using the extra time to bring im dragons. 4
~ mruust take this chance!"
.r'I dark path and a light path. Tasslehoff remembered T~ ban's. words and hung his head. Death of those you ,love, be yon have .t`5e covrage.