Dwarven Nations - Hammer And Axe Part 44

"Came on, Gnosh"" Tas urged. "Ive never seen him like this. We better do as he says. If we don't, he's liable to turn us into gully dwarves or something icky like that!"

Whimpering, Gnosh .allowed Tas to lead him out of the ' room. As he stared back at the dragon orb, the door slammed shut.

"My Life Quest-" the gnome moaned.

"I'm sure it will be alb right," Tas said, although he wasn't' sure, not in the least. He hadn't liked the look. on Fizban's face. , In fact, it hadn't even seemed to be Fizban's face at all-or anyone Tas wanted to know!'

Tas felt chilled and there was a tight knot in the pit of his stomach. The gnomes muttered among themselves and cast baleful glances at him.

Tas swallowed, trying to get a bitter taste out of his mouth. Then he drew Gn .osh to one side.

"Gnosh, did you discover anything about the orb when yo studied it?" Tas asked in a low voice.

"Well;' Gnosh appeared thoughtful, "I did find) out th where's something inside of it-or seems to be-because I'd st a2 it and stare at it without seeing anything for the longest t then, right when I was ready to quit, I'd sere words swim about in the mist "Words7" Tas interrupted eagerly. "What did they say?"

Gnosh shook his head. "I don't know;" he said solemnly, "because I couldn't read them; no one could, not even a member of the Foreign Language Guild-"

"Magic, probably," Tas muttered to himself.

"Yes;" Gnosh said miserably, "that's what I decided-"

The door blew open, as if something had exploded.

Gnosh whirled around, terrified. Fizban stood in the doorway, holding a small black bag in one hand, his staff and Ta.s.slehoff's hoopak in the other. Gnosh sprang past him.

"The orb!" he screeched, so upset he actually completed a sentence. "You've got it!"

"Yes, Gnosh;' said Fizban. The mage's voice sounded tired, and Tas-looking at him closely-saw that he was on the verge of exhaustion. His skin was gray, his eyelids drooped. He leaned heavily on his staff, "Come with me, my boy," he said to the gnome. "And do not worry. Your Life Quest will be fulfilled. But now the orb must be taken before the Council of Whitestone."

"Come with you;' Gnosh repeated in astonishment, "to the Council"-he clasped his hands together in e.xcitement"where perhaps I'll be asked to make a report, do you c.h.i.n.k-"

"I wouldn't doubt it in the least;' Fizban ansWered.

"Right away, just give me time to pack, where's my papers-"

Gnosh dashed off. Fizban whipped around to fare the other gnomes who had been sneaking up behind him reaching out eagerly for his staff. He scowled so alarmingly that they stumbled backwards and vanished into the Examination Room.

"What did you find out?" Tas asked, hesitantly approaching Fizban. The old mage seemed surrounded by darkness. "The gnomes didn't do anything to it, did threy7"

"No, no:' Fizban, sighed. -Fortunately for them. For it is still active and very powerful. Much will depend on the decisions a few make-perhaps the fate of the world.."

"What do you mean? Won't the Council make the decisions:"'

"You don't understand' my boy" Fizban said gently. "Stag a moment, I must rest:' The mage oat dot~rn; leaning against a wall. Shaking his head, he continued. "I concentrated my will on the orb, Tas.

Oh, not to control dragons;' he added, seeing the kender's eyes widen. "I looked into the future:"

"What did you see?" Tas asked hesitantly, not certain from the mage's somber expression that he wanted to know.

"I saw two roads stretching before us. If we take the easiest" it will appear the best at the beginning, but darkness will fall at the end, never to be lifted. If we take the other road, it will be hard and difficult to travel. It could cost the lives of some we love, dear boy. Worse, it might cost others their very souls. But only through these great sacrifices will we find hope"

Fizban closed his eyes.

"And this involves the orb?" Tas asked, s.h.i.+vering.

"Yes:"

'Do you know what must be done to . . . to take the d-dark road?" Tas dreaded the answer.

''I do," Fizban replied in a law voice. "But the decisions have not been left in my hands. That will be up to others:'

"I see;' Tas sighed. "Important people, I suppose. People like kings and elflords and knights." Then Fizban's words echoed in his mind. The lives of some we lave . . .

Suddenly a lump formed in Tas's throat, choking him. His head dropped into his hands.. This adventure was turning out all wrong! Where was Tanis? And dear old Cararnon? .And pretty Tika? He had tried not to think about them, particularly after that dream.

And Flint-I shouldn't have gone without him, Tas thought miserably. He might die, he might be dead right now! Thelives of some you love.! I never thought about any of us dying-not really. I always figured that if we were together we could beat anything! But now, we've gotten scattered somehow. And ':kings are going all wrong!

Tas felt Fizbari s hand stroke his topknot, his one great van-: iky. And far the first time in his life, the kender felt very lost and= alone and frightened. The wage's grip tightened around hima affectionately. Burying his face in Fizban's sleeve, Tas began to. cry.

Fizban patted him gently. "'yes;' the wage repeated, "important people.'' 300 the Council of "itestone. ?fin important person.

he Council of 4h~'hitestone met upon the twenty-eighth day of December, a day known as Famine Day in Salamnia, for it commemorated the suffering of the people during the first winter following the Cataclysm.

Lord Gunthar thought it fitting to hold the Council meeting on this day, which was marked by fasting and meditation.

l: had been over a month sine the armies sailed for Palanthas. The news Gunthar received from that city was snot good. A report had arrived early an the rncrning of the twenkyeigh:h, :n fact. heading it twice over, he sighed heavily, DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES.

frowned, and tucked the paper into his belt.

The Council of Whitestone had met once before within the recent past, a meeting precipitated by the arrival of the refugee elves in Southern Ergoth and the appearance of the dragonarmies in northern Solamnia. This Council meeting was several months in the planning, and so, all members-either seated or advisory- were represented. Seated members, those who could vote, included the Knights of Solamnia, the gnomes, the hill dwarves, the dark-skinned, sea-faring people of Northern Ergoth, and a representative of the Solamnic exiles living on Sancrist., Advisory members were the elves, the mountain dwarves, and the kender. These members were invited to express their opinions, but they could not vote.

The first Council meeting, however, had not gone well. Some of the old feuds and animosities between the races represented burst into flame. Arrnan Kharas, representative of the mountain dwarves, and Duncan Hammerrock, of the hill dwarves, had to be physically restrained at one point, or blood from that ancient feud might have flowed again. Alhana Sta.rL~reeze, representative of the Silvanesti in her Eatheis absence, refused to speak a ward during the entire session. Alhana had come only because Porthios of the Qualinesti was there. She feared an .alliance between the Qualinesti and the humans and was -rietermined to prevent it.

Alhana need not have worried. Such was the distrust between humans and elves, that they spoke to each other only out of politeness. Not even Lord Gunthar's impa.s.sioned speech., in which the had declared, "Our unity begins peace; our division ends hope!" made an impression.

Porthios's answer to this had been to blame the dragons' reappearance on the humans. 'The humans, therefore, could'; extricate themselves from this disaster.

Shortly after Porthiia made his position clear, Alhana rose haughtily arid left, leaving no cane with any doubts about the position .of the ilvanesti. .

The mountain dwarf, Adman Kharas, had declared that ' people would be willing to help, but that until tine Hammer ICtIaras was found, the mountain dwarves could not be unit ' No one knew at the time that the companions would return the Hammer, so Gunthar was forced to discount the ' of the dwarves. The only person; in fact, who offered help was Kronin Thistleknott, chief of the kender. Since the last thing any sane country wanted was the "aid" of an army of kenders, this gesture was received with polite smiles, while the members exchanged horrified looks behind Kronin's back.

The first Council disbanded, therefore, without accomplis.h.i.+ng much of anything.

Gun thar had higher hopes for this second Council meeting. The discovery of the dragon orb, of course, put everything in a much brighter light. Representatives from both elven factions had arrived. These included the Speaker of the Suns, who brought with him a human claiming to be a cleric of Paladine. Gunthar had heard a great deal about Elistan from Sturm, and he looked forward to meeting him. Just who would represent the Silvanesti, Gunthar wasn't certain. He a.s.sumed it was the lord who had been declared regent following Alhana Starbreeze's mysterious disappearance.

The elves had arrived on Sancrist two days ago. Their tents stood out in the fields, gaily colored silk flags fluttering in brilliant contrast to the gray, stormy sky. They were the only other race to attend. There had not been time to send a message to the mountain dwarves, and the hill dwarves were reported to be fighting for their lives against the dragonarmies; no messenger could reach them.

Gunthar hoped this meeting would unite the humans and the elves in the great fight to drive the dragonarmies from Ansalon. Hut his hopes were dashed before the meeting began.

After scanning the report from the armies in Palanthas, Gunthar left his tent, preparing to make a final tour of the Glade of the Whitestone to see that everything was in order. Wills, his retainer, came das.h.i.+ng after him.

"My lord;' the old man puffed" "return immediately:"

'What is it?" Gunthar asked. )gut the old retainer was too much out of breath to reply.

Sighing, the Solamnic lord went back to his tent where he found Lord Michael, dressed in Eull armor, pacing nervously.

"What's the matter?" Gunthar said, his heart sinking as he saw the grave expression on the young lord's face.

-Michael advanced quickly, seizing Gunthar by the arm. "My lord, we have received ward that the elves will demand the return of the dragon orb. If we don't return it, they are prepared to go to war to recover it!"

"What?" Gunthar demanded incredulously. "War! Against us! That's ludicrous! They can't- Are you certain? How reliable is this information?"

"Very reliable, I'm afraid, Lord Gunthar"

"My lord, I present Elistan, cleric of Paladine;' Michael said. "I beg pardon for not introducing him earlier, but my mind has . been in a turmoil since he first brought me this news:"

"I have heard a great deal about you, sir;" Lord Gunthar said, extending his hand to the man.

The knight's eyes studied Elistan curiously. Gunthar hardly knew what he had expected to see in a purported cleric of Paladine-perhaps a weak-eyed aesthetic, pale and lean from study. Gunthar was not prepared for this tall, well-built man who might have ridden to battle with the best of the knights. The ancient symbol of Paladine-a platinum medallion engraved with a dragon-hung about his neck.

Gunthar reviewed all he had heard from Sturm concerning Elistan, including the cleric's intention to try and convince the elves to unite with the humans.

Elistan smiled wearily, as if ; aware of every thought ga.s.sing through Gunthar's mind. They were the thoughts he answered.

"Yes, I have failed;' Elistan admitted. "It was all I could do to ' persuade them to attend the Council meeting, and they have:, comehere only, I fear, to give you an ultimatum: return the orb.~ to the elves or fight to retain it:' ?

Gunthar sank into a chair,, gesturing weakly with his, hand for the others to be seated. Before him, an a table, were spread maps of the lands of Ansalon, showing in shades of darkness,: the insidious advance of the dragonarmies.

Gunthar's gaa~, rested on the maps, then suddenly he swept them to the flood "We might as well give up right now!" he snarled. ".'Send .~ message to the Dragon Highlords: 'Don't bather to come an wipe us out. We're managing quite nicely on our own.'

Angrily, he hurled on the table the message he had received "There''. That's from Palant!nas. The people have insisted knights leave the city. The Palarrthians are negotiating with t . Dragon B-lighloa~3s, and :he presence of the knights 'serio compromises their position.' They refuse to give us any ae And so an army of a thousand I'alanthiarss sits idle!"

"What is Lord Derek doing, my lord?" Michael asked.

"He and the knights and a thousand footmen, refugees from the occupied lands in Throtyl, are fortifying the High Cierist"s tower, south of Palanthas;' Gunthar said wearily. "itguards the only pa.s.s through the Vingaard Mountains. We'll protect Palanthas for a time, but if the dragonarmies get through . . :' He fell silent. "d.a.m.n it;' he whispered, beating his fist gently upon the table, "we could hold that pa.s.s with two thousand men! The fools! And now this?" He waved his hand in the direction of the elven tents.

Gunthar sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. "Well, what do you counsel, cleric?"

Elistan .*,*as quiet far a moment, before he answered. "It is written in the Disks of Mishakal that evil, by its very nature, will always turn in upon itself. Thus it becomes self-defeating:' He laid his hand upon Gunthar's shoulder. "I do not know what may come of this meeting. My G.o.ds have kept this secret from me. It could be they themselves do not know; that the future of the world stands in balance, and what we decide here will determine it. I do know this: Do not enter with defeat in your heart, far that will be the first victory of evil:"

So saying, Elistan rose and left the tent quietly.

Gunthar sat in silence after the cleric had gone. It seemed that the whole world was silent, in fact, he thought. The wind had died during the night. The storm clouds hung low and heave, m.u.f.fling sound so that even the clarion trumpet's call marking day's dawning seemed flat. A rustling broke his concentration.

Michael was slowly gathering up the spilled maps. Gunthar raised his head, rubbing; his eyes.

"What do you think?" "'Of what? The elves?" "That cleric;" Gunthar said, staring out the tent opening.

"Certainly nor. what I would have expected;" Michael answered, his gage following Gunthar's, "More like the stories ~n^'e've heard of the clerics of old, the ones that guided the KnigAts in the days before the Cataclysm. He's not much like these charlatans we've got now.

Elistan is a man who would stand beside you on the field of battle, calling dawn Paladine's blessing with one hand while wielding his mace with the other. He wears the medallion that none have seen since the G.o.ds DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES.

abandoned us. But is he a true cleric?" Michael shrugged. "It will take a lot more than a medallion to convince me:"

"I agree:' Gunthar rose to his feet and began to walk toward the tent flap.

"Well, it is nearly time. Stay here, Michael, in case any mare reports came in:"

Starting to leave, he paused at the entrance to the tent. "Haw odd it is, Michael;' he murmured, his eyes following Elistan, now no more than a speck of white in the distance. "We have always been a people who looked to the G.o.ds for our hope, a people of faith, who distrusted magic. Yet now we look to magic for that hope, and when a chance comes to renew our faith, we question it:"

Lord Michael made no answer. Gunthar shook his head and, still pandering, made his way to the Glade of the Whitestone.

As Gunthar said, the Solamnic people had always been f aith- ffollowers of the G.o.ds, Long ago, in the days before the Cataclysm, the Glade of the Whitestone had been one of the hole centers of wors.h.i.+p. The phenomenon of the white rock had attracted the attention of the curious longer than anyone remembered. The Kingpriest of lstar himself had blessed the huge white rock that sat in the middle of a perpetually green glade, declaring it sacred to the G.o.ds and forbidding any mortal; being to touch it. ):ven after the Cataclysm, when belief in the old gads died, the Glade remained a sacred place. Perhaps that was becausey not even the Cataclysm lead affected it. Legend held that whew the fiery mountain fell from the sky, the ground around the' Whitestone cracked and split apart, but the Whitestone~ remained intact.

So awesome was the sight of the huge white rock that,even now none dared either approach or touch it. What stan>=~ powers it possessed, none could say. All they knew -was that the air around the Whitestone eras always springlike and warm No matter how bitter the winter, the gra.s.s in Whitestone Gla was always.green.

Though his heart was, heavy. Gunthar relaxed as he step inside the glade and breathed the warm, sweet air. Far moment, he felt once again the touch of Elistan's hand upon shoulder, imparting a feeling of inner peace. ~ Glancing around quickly, he saw all in readiness, Ma.s.s wooden chairs with ornately carved backs had been placed on the green gra.s.s. Five for the voting members of the Council stood to the left side of the Whitestone, three for the advisory members stood on the right. Polished benches for the witnesses to the proceedings as demanded by the Measure, sat facing the Whitestone and the Council members.

Some of the witnesses had already begun arriving, Gunthar noticed. Most of the elven party traveling with the Speaker and the Silvanesti lord were taking their seats. The two estranged elven races sat near each other, apart from the humans who were filing in as well. Everyone sat daiietly, some in remembrance of Famine Day; others, like the gnomes, who did not celebrate that holiday, in awe of their surroundings. Seats in the front row were reserved for honored guests or far those with leave to speak before the Council.

Gunthar saw the Speaker's stern-faced son, Porthios, enter with a retinue of elven warriors. They took their seats in the front. Gunthar wondered where Elistan was. He'd intended to ask him to speak. He had been impressed with the man's words (even if he was a charlatan) and hoped he would repeat them.

As he searched in vain for Elistan, he saw three strange figures enter and seat themselves in the front row: it was the old mage in his bent and shapeless hat, his kender friend, and a gnome they had brought back with them from Mount Nevermind. The three had arrived back from their journey only last night., Gunthar was forced to turn his attention back to the Whikestone. The advisory Council members were entering. There were only two, Lord Quinath of the Silvanesti, and the Speaker of the Suns. Gunthar looked at the Speaker curiously, knowing he was one of the few beings an Krynn to still remember the horrors of the Cataclysm.

The Speaker was so stooped that he seemed almost crippled. His hair was, gray; his face haggard. But as he took his seat and turned his gaze to the witnesses, Gunthar saw the elf's eyes Were bright and arresting. Lord Quinath, seated next to him, was known to Gunthar, who considered him as arrogant and proud as Porthios of the Qualinesti, but lacking in the intellgence Porthios possessed.

As for Porthios, Gunthar thought he could probably comet o like the Speaker's eldest son quite well. Porthios had every characteristic the knights admired, with one exception-his quick temper. Gunthar's observations were interrupted, for now it was time for the voting Council members to enter and Gunthar had to take his place. First came Mir Kar-thon of Northern Ergoth, a dark-complexioned man with iron-gray hair and the arms of I a giant. Next came Serdin MarThasal, representing the Exiles i on Sancrist, and finally Lord Gunthar, Knight of Solamnia. Once seated, Gunthar glanced around a final time. The huge Whitestone glistenedi behind him, casting its own strange radiance, for the sun world not s.h.i.+ne today. On the other side of the Whitestone sat the Speaker, next to him Lord Quinath. I Across from them, facing the Council, sat the witnesses upon their benches. The kender was sitting subdued, swinging his short legs on his tall bench. The gnome shuffled through what looked like a ream of paper; Gunthar shuddered, wis.h.i.+ng there'd been time to ask for a condensed report. The old magi- . clan yawned and scratched his head, peering around vaguely.

AII was ready. At Gunthar's signal, two knights entered, . bearing a golden stand and a wooden chest. A silence that was almost deathlike descended on the crowd as they watched the entrance of the dragon orb.

The knights carne to a halt, standing directly in (rant of the Whitestone. Here, one of the knights placed tl!e golden s card' upon the ground. The other set down the chest, unlocked it and carefully brought forth the orb that was back to its origin site, over two feet in diameter.

A murmur went through the crowd. The Speaker of the Su s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably, scowling. His son, Porthios, turned t_ say something to an elflord near him. All of the elves., Gunth muted, were armed. Not a good sign, from what little he kne of elven protocol.

He had no choice but to proceed. Calling the meeting . order, Lard Gunthar Uth Wistan announced, "Let tine c.o.o.n cf V"dhitestane be:gin:'

After about two, minutes, it was obvious to Ta.s.slehoff things were in a real mess.. Before Lord Gunthar had even c eluded his speech of welcome, the Speaker of the Suns rose-.

"My talk will be brief;' the elven leader stated in a voice that matched the steely gray of the storm clouds above him. "The Silvanesti, the Qualinesti, and the Kaganesti met in council shortly after the orb was removed from our camp. It is the first time the members o the three communities have met since the Kinslayer wars." He paused, laying a heavy emphasis on those last words. Then he continued.

"We have decided to set aside our own differences in our perfect agreement that the dragon orb belongs in the hands of the elves, not in the hands of humans or any other race upon Krynn. Therefore, we come before the Council of Whitestone and ask that the dragon orb be given over to us forthwith. In return, we guarantee that we will take it to our lands and keep it safe until such time-if ever-it be needed:"

The Speaker sat down, his dark eyes sweeping aver the crowd, its silence broken now by a murmur of soft voices, The other Council members, sitting next to Lord Gunthar, shook their heads, their faces grim. The dark-skinned leader of the Northern Ergoth people whispered to Lord Gunthar in a harsh voice, clenching his fist to emphasize his words.

Lord Gunthar, after listening and nodding for several minutes, rose to his feet to respond. His speech was cool, calm, complimentary to the clues. But it said- between the linesthat the Knights would see the elves in the Abyss before they gave them the dragon orb.

The Speaker, understanding perfectly the message of steel couched in the pretty phrases, rose to reply He spoke only one sentence, but it brought the crowd of witnesses to their feet.