Dwarven Nations - Hammer And Axe Part 49

Sturm bowed his head. His long hair, already streaked with gray though he was only in his early thirties, fell about his shoulders. He stood a moment in silent prayer, then, at a sign from. Lord Alfred, fell reverently to his knees,.

'Sturm Brightblade,:' Lord Alfred declared solemnly., opening a sheet of paper.

'the Knights Council, an hearing testimony given by Lauralanthalasa of the royal family of Qualineti,and further testimony by Flint Fireforge, hill dwarf of Solace towns.h.i.+p, has granted you Vindication from the charges brought against you. In recognition of your deeds of bravery and courage as related by these witnesses, you are hereby declared a Knight of Solamnia." Lord Alfreds voice softened as he looked down upon the knight. Tears streamed unchecked down Sturm's gaunt cheeks. "You have spent the night in prayer, Sturm Brightblade;"

Alfred said quietly. "Do you consider yourself worthy of this great honor? "

"No, my lord;' Sturm answered, according to ancient ritual, "but I most humbly accept it and vow that I shall devote my life. to making myself worthy:" The knight lifted his eyes to the sky:. "'With Paladines help;' he said softly, "I shall do so."

Lord AlEred had been through many such ceremonies, but could not recall such fervent dedication in a man's face.

"I wish Tanis were here;' Flint muttered gruffly to Laurana who only nodded briefly.

She stood tall and straight, wearing armor specially made for her in Palanthas at Lard Gunthar's command. Her honey colored hair streamed from beneath a silver helm. Intricate gold designs glinted on her breastplate, her soft black leather skirt-slit up the side to allow freedom of movement, bruhed the tips of her boots. Her face was pale and grim, for the situation in Palanthas and in the Tower itself was dark and seemingly without hope.

She could have returned to Sancrist. She had been ordered to, in Fact. Lord Gunthar had received a secret communique from Lord Alfred relating the desperate straits the knights in and he had sent Laurana orders to cut short her stay.

But she had chosen to remain, at least for a while, The people of Palanthas had received her politely-she was, after all, royal blood and they were charmed with her beauty. They were also quite interested in the dlragonlance and asked for one to exhibit in their museum. But when Laurana mentioned the dragonarmies, they only shrugged and smiled.

Then Laurana found out from a messenger what was happening in the High Clerist's Tawer. The knights were under siege The dragonnarmy numbering in the thousands waited upon the field. The knights needed the dragonlances, she decided. and there was no one but her to take the lances to the knights and teach them their use. She ignored Lord Gunthar's command to return to Sancrist.

The journey from Palanthas to the Tower was nightmarish. Laurana started out accompanying two wagons filled with meager supplies and the precious dragonlances. The first wagon bogged down in snow only a few miles outside of the city. Its contents were redistributed between the few knights riding escort, Laurana and her party, and the second wagon. It, too, foundered. Time and again they dug it out of the snow drifts until, finally, it was mired fast. Loading the food and the lances onto their horses, the knights and Laurana, Flint, and Tas walked the rest of the way. Theirs was the last group to make it through.

After the storm of last night, Laurana knewas did everyone in the Tower-no more supplies would be coming. The road to Palanthas was now impa.s.sable.

Even by strictest rationing, the knights and their footmen had food enough for only a few days. The dragonarmies seemed prepared to wait for the rest of the winter.

The dragonlances were taken from the weary horses who had barns them and, by Derek's orders, were stacked in the courtyard. A few of the knights looked at them curiously, then ignored them. The lances seemed clumsy, unwieldy weapons.

When Laurana timidly offered to instruct the knights in the use of the lances, Derek snorted in derision. Lord Alfred stared out the window at the campfires burning on the horizon. Laurana turned to Sturm to see her fears confirmed.

'"Laurana;' he said gently, taking her cold hand in his, "I don't think the Highlord will even bother to send dragons. If we cannot reopen the supply lines, the Tower will fall because there will be only the dead left to defend it:"

So the dragarulances lay in the courtyard, unused, forgotten, their bright silver buried beneath the snow.

A Keenders Curiousity. The Knights ride forth.

Sturm and Flint walked the battlements the night of Sturm"s knighting, reminiscing- 'A well of pure silver-s.h.i.+ning like a jewel-within the heart of the Dragon Mountain;' Flint said, awe his voice. "And it was from that silver Theros forged the dragonlances:'

"I should have liked-above all things-to have seen Huma's Tomb' Sturm said quietly. Staring out at the campfires on the horizon, he stopped, resting his hand on the ancient stone wall. Torchlight from a nearby window shone on his thin face.

"You will", said the dwarf 'When this is finished, we'll go back. Tas drew a map-not that it's likely to be any good-'

As he grumbled on about Tas, Flint studied his other old friend with concern.

The knight's face was grave and melancholy-not unusual for Sturm. But there was something new, a calmness about him that came not from serenity, but from despair.

-We'll go there together;" he continued, trying to forget about his hunger. "You and Tanis and I. And the kender, too, I suppose, plus Caramon and Raistlin. I never thought I'd miss that skinny mage, but a magic-user might be handy now, it's just as well Caraman's not here. Can you imagine the belly-aching we'd hear about missing a couple of meals?"

Sturm smiled absently, his thoughts far away. When he spoke it was obvious he hadn't heard a word the dwarf said.

"Flint;' he began, his voice soft and subdued, "we need only one day of warm weather to open the road. When that day comes, take Laurana and Tas and leave.

Promise me:'

"We should all leave if you ask me!" the dwarf snapped. "Pull ',he knights back to Palanthas. We could hold that town against e, en dragons, I'll wager. Its buildings are good solid stone. Not like this place!" The dwarf glanced around the human-built rower with scorn. "Palanthas could be defended:"

Sturm shook his head. "The people won't allow it. They cart only for their beautiful city. As fang as they think it can be saved, they won't fight. No, we must make our stand here."

"'you Nan't have a chance;" Flint argued.

"Yes, me dar' Sturm replied, "if we car just hold out until the apply lanes can be firmly established, lrVe've got enough manpower. 7" hat's why flee dragonarmies haven't attacked-'

"Tlrere~a another wax;" came .a vocre.

'Sturm, and Flint turned. The torchlight fell an a gaunt face, and Sturm's expression hardened.

"What way is that, L=ard Derek?" Sturm .asked with deliberate aolitenes.

'-You axed Gunthar ;believe 4*au have defeated me:' Derek said, ignc_ring the question. His voice eras soft and shaking with hatred as he shared at Sturm.

"But you haven't! By one heroic act,. I twill leave the knights in my palrru'- Derek iield out 'hi's mailer" hand, the arr,or (Das.h.i.+ng in the firelight-"and you and C,anthar will be finished!.' Slowly, he clenched his fist.

"I was under the impression our war was out there, with the dragonarmies," Sturm said.

"Don't give me that self-righteous twaddle!" Derek snarled. "Enjoy your knighthood, Brightblade. You paid enough for it. What did you promise the elf woman in return for her lies? Marriage? 'Make a respectable woman of her?"

"I cannot fight you-according to the Measure-but I do not have to listen to you insult a woman who is as good as she is courageous;' Sturm said, turning upon his heel to leave. "Don't you ever walk away From me!" Derek cried. Leaping forward, he grabbed Sturm's shoulder. Sturm whirled in anger, his hand on his sword. Derek reached for his weapon as well, and it seemed for a moment that the Measure might be forgotten. But Flint laid a restraining hand oar his friend. Sturm drew a deep breath arid lifted this hand away from the hilt.

"Say what you have to say, Derek!" Sturm's voice quivered, "You're finished, Brightblade. Tomorrow I'm leading knights onto the field. No more skulking in this miserable r prison. By tomorrow night, my name will be legend!'

Flint looked up at Sturm in alarm. The knight's face drained of blood. "Derek;'

Sturm said softly; "you're There are thousands of them! They'll cut you to ribbonst"

"Yes, that's what you'd like to see, isn't it?" Deaek snee 'Be ready at dawn, Brightblade:'

That eight, Ta.s.slehofE-cold, hungry, ands boreal-deci that the beak way to take his mind off his stomach was explore his surroundings. There are plenty of places to things here, thought Tas. This is one of the strangest bull I've ever sees.

The Torwer of the High Clerist sat =o:idly .against the west I* of the tNestgate Pa.s.s, the Dnly canyon pa.s.s, that crossed; Habbakuk f.l.a.n.g.e of mountains separating eastern Sole , from Pa]anthas. As the Dragon Hig~alord knew, anyone to reach Pal anthaa other than by this route would have vet hundreds of miles around the mountains, or Ehro deser:, ar by sea. And s.h.i.+ps entering the Gates of Pal.adiare' easy targets for the gnomes' fire-throwing catapults.

The High. Clerist's Tavrea had beer. built during the ?Wok. Flint knew a lot .about the archi.=ecture of this 35'~.

the dwarves having been instrumental in designing and building most of it. But they had not built ar designed this Tower. In fact, Flint wondered who had-- figuring the person must have beenreither drunk or insane.

An outer curtain wall of stale formed an octagon as the Tower's base. Each point of the octagonal wall was surmounted by a turret. Battlements ran along the top of the curtain wall between turrets. A inner octagonal wall formed the base of a series of towers and b.u.t.tresses tha t swept gracefully upward to the central Tower itself.

This was fairly standard design, but what puzzled the dwarf was the lack of internal defense points.. Three great steel doers breached the outer wall, instead of one door-as would seem most reasonable, since three doors took an incredible number of men to defend. Each door opened into a narrow courtyard at the far end of which stood a partcullia leading directly into a huge hallway.

Each of these three h.a]]way^s met in the heart of the Tower itself!

"Might as well invite the enemy inside for tea!'' the dwarf had grumbled. "Stupidest way to build a fortress I ever says;.^*

No one entered the Tower. To. the knights, it was i~a.G-i.olate.

The only one who could enter the Tower was the High Clerist t himself, and since there was no High Clerist, the knig)4t.s would defend the Tower walls with their lives, but not one of them could set foot in its sacred halls.

Originally the Tower had merely guarded the pa.s.s, not blocked it. But the Palanthians had later built an addition to the main structure that sealed off tl~:e pa.s.s, It was in this addition that the knights and the footmen were living- No one even thought of entering the Tower itself.

No one except Ta.s.slehoff.

Driven by his insatiable curiosit~r and his gnawing hunger, the kender made his way along the to knights on guard duty eyed him p of the outer wall. The one hand, their wari .IX 'gripping their swards purses in the atiher" Hut they relaxed' a.s.s soon theas he pa.s.sed, and Tas was able to. slip down the steps into the central courtyard. only shadows walked down here. The torches burned, no guard was posted. Broad steps le.d up to 6e steel portcullis Tas padded up the stairs toward the great yawning archway and peered eagerly through the bars. Nothing. He sighed. The darkness beyond was so intense he might have been staring into the Abyss itself.

Frustrated, he pushed up on the portcullis-more out of habit than hope, for only Caramon or ten knights would have the strength necessary to raise it.

To the kender's astonishment, the portcullis began to rise, making the most G.o.d- awful screeching! Grabbing for it, Tas dragged it slowly to a halt. The kender looked fearfully up at the battlements, expecting to see the entire garrison thundering .,' down to capture him. But apparently the knights were listening only to the growlings of their empty stomachs.

Tas turned back to the portcullis. There was a small s.p.a.ce open between the sharp iron spikes and the stone works.p.a.ce just big enough for a kender. Tas didn't waste any time or stop to consider the consequences. Flattening himself, he wriggled beneath the spikes.

He found himself in a large, wide hall-nearly fifty feet across. He could see just a short distance. There were of torches on the wall, however. After a few jumps, Tas reach one and lit it from Flint's tinder box he found in his pouch.

Now Tas could see the gigantic hall clearly. It ran strai ahead, right into the heart of the Tower. Strange c0Iru ' ranged along either side, like jagged teeth.

Peering behind o he sale nothing but an alcove.

The hall itself was empty. Disappointed, Tas continued w ing down it, hoping to find something interesting. He came second portcullis, already raised, much to his chagrin. " thing easy is more trouble than it's worth;' was am old ke saying. Tas walked beneat:n that portcullis into a second way, narrower than the first-only about ten feet widewith the same strange-, toothlike columns on either side.

Why build a tower s,o easy to enter? Tas wondered.

outer wall was formidable, but once past that, five dwarves could take this place. Tas peered up. And w h''I hugO The main hall was thirty feet high!

Perhaps the knights back in. those days had been giants,kendEr speculated with irteTest as he crept down the hall, , ing into open doors and pakiing into corners.

At the -end of the se:orrd hallway, he found a third port , This one was different from the other two, and as strange as the rest of the Tower. This portcullis had two halves, which slid together to join in the center. Oddest of all, there was a large hole cut right through the middle of the doors!

Crawling through this hole, Tas found himself in a smaller room. Across from him stood two huge steel doors. Pus.h.i.+ng on them casually, he was startled to find them locked. None of the portcullises had been locked. There was nothing to protect.

Well, at least here was something to keep him occupied and make him forget about his empty stomach. Climbing onto a stone bench, Tas stuck his torch into a wall sconce, then began to fumble through his pouches. He Finally discovered the set of lock-picking devices that are a kenders birthright-I% insult the door's purpose by locking it?" is a favorite kender expression.

Quickly Tas selected the proper tool and set to work. The lock was simple. There was a slight click, and Tas pocketed his tools with satisfaction as the door swung inward. The kender stood a moment, listening carefully. He could hear nothing. Peering inside, he could see nothing. Climbing up on the bench again, he retrieved his torch and crept carefully through the steel doors. Holding his torch aloft, he found himself in a great, wide, circular room. Tas sighed. The great room was empty except for a dust-covered object that resembled .an ancient fountain standing squarely in the center. This was the end of the corridor, too, for though there were tyro more sets of double doors leading out of the room, it was obvious to the kender that they .

only led back up the other two giant hallways. This was the heart of the Tower.

This was the sacred place. Ths was *,vhat all the fuss was about.

Nothing.

Tas walked around a bit, s.h.i.+ning his t.orchlight here and there. Finally the disgruntled kender went to examine the fountain in the center of the room before leaving.

As Tas drew closer, he saw it wasn't a fountain at all, bu t the dust was so thick, he couldn't figure it out, it was about as tall as the kender, standing four feet off the ground. 'I 'he round tap was supported on a slender three-legged) Stand..

Tas inspected the object closely, the he took a deep breath and blew as hard as he could. Dust flew up his nose and hHe sneezed violently, nearly dropping the torch. For a moment he couldn't see a thing. Then the dust settled and he could see the object. His heart leaped into his throat.

"Oh, no!" Tas groaned. Diving into another pouch, he pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed the object. The dust came off easily, and he knew now what it was.

"Drat!" he said in despair. "L was right. Now what do I do?"

The sun rose red the next morning, glimmering through a haze of smoke hovering above the dragonarmies. In the court-.. yard of the Tower of the High Clerist, the shadows of night hats; not yet lifted before activity began. One hundred knight mounted their horses, adjusted the girths, called for s.h.i.+elds, buckled on armor, while a thousand footmen milled aroun searching for their proper places in line.

Sturm, Laurana, and Lord Alfred stood in a dark doorw watching in silence as Lord Derek, laughing and calling jokes to his men, rode into the courtyard. The knight resplendent in his armor, the rose glistening on his breas in the first rays of the sun. His men were in good spirits, thought of battle making them forget their hunger.

"You've got to stop this, my lord;" Sturm said quietly.

"I can't!" Lord Alfred said, pulling on his gloves. His ' was haggard in the morning light. He had not slept since St awakened him in the waning hours of the night. "The I5I gives him the right to make this decision:"

In vain had Alfred argued with Derek, trying to co him to wait just a few more days! Already the wind was ffig to s.h.i.+ft, bringing warm breezes from the north.

But Derek had been adamant. He would ride out and lienge the dragonarmies 4n the field. As for being outrvum he laughed in scorn. Since when do goblins fight lilee ' Solamnia? The Knights had been outnumbered fifty toV nhe Goblin and Ogre wars. of the Vingaard Keep one h years. ago, and they'd routed the creatures with ease!

"But you'll be fighting draconians;' Sturm warned. mot like goblins. They are intelligent and skilled. They have magic-users among their ranks, and their weapons are the best in Krynn. Even in death they have the power to kill"

"I believe we can deal with them, Brightblade;" Derek interrupted harshly, "And now I suggest you ,make your men and tell them to make ready."

"I'm not going;" Sturm said steadily. "And I'm not ordering my men to go, either:'

Derek paled with fury. For a moment he could not speak, he was so angry. Even Lord Alfred appeared shocked.

"Sturm," Alfred began slowly, "do you know what you are doing?" "Yes, my lord;' Sturm answered. 'We are the only thing standing between the dragonarmies' and Palanthas. We dare not leave this garrison unmanned. I'm keeping my command here: '

"Disobeying a direct order," Derek said, breathing heavily, "You are a witness, Lord Alfred. I'll have his headthis time!" He stalked out- Lord Alfred, his fate grim, Sturm alone, frollowed, leaving. In the end, Sturm had given his men a choice. They could stay with him at no risk to themselves--since they were simply obeying tile orders of their commanding officer-or they could accompany Derek. It was, he mentioned, the same choice Vinas 5olamnus had given his men long ago, when the Knights rebelled against the corrupt Emperor of Ergoth. The men did not need to be reminded of this legend. They saw ;,t as a sign and, as with Solamnus, most of them, chose to stay with the commander they had come to respect and admire, n'ow they stood' watching, their faces grim as their friend's Prepared to ridb out. It was the firs.*, open break in the long history of the Knighthood, and tike moment was grievous, Reconsider, St;lrm; " Load Alfred said as the knigFtt helped him mount his horse. "Lord Derek is right. The dragonarmies obi trot been trained, natLike the,Y,"~r,ights. There's everypaob- y we'll routes them with barely a blow beingstruck' ,I pray that is trice, my lorc],*, Stu. said steadily.

Alfred regarded him sadly. "If et iatrue, Brightblade, Derek x''"'IIlee You trie-d and executed for this, There'll benoth-ing urlthar can do to stop him:"

"I would willi*LgPyP die that death zI-ey lord; if it would' s'ap what I fear wili hopper,;' Stem repli,E~. .,d.a.m.n at, man!" Lord Alfred exploded. "If we are defeated, what will you gain by staying here? You couldn't hold off an army of gully dwarves with your small contingent of menl Suppose the roads do open up?

You won't be able to hold the Tower long enough far Palanthas to send reinforcements:'

"At the least we can buy Palanthas time to evacuate her citizens, if-"

Card Derek Crownguard edged his horse between those of his men. Glaring down at Sturm, his eyes glittering from behind the slits in his helm, Lord Derek raised his hand for silence.