Dragons of Spring Dawning Page 8

  The mage collapsed. His head with its sparse white wispy hair lolled back onto the floor, his eyes with their cursed vision closed. The hand that held the orb went limp, but its fingers did not relax. It held the orb fast in a grip stronger than death.

  Little more than a heap of bones garbed in blood-red robes, Raistlin lay unmoving amid the papers that littered the spell-blasted library.

  Astinus stared at the body for long moments, bathed in the garish purplish light of the two moons. Then, his head bowed, the historian left the silent library, closing and locking the door behind him with hands that shook.

  Returning to his study, the historian sat for hours, gazing unseeing into the darkness.

  6

  Palanthas.

  I tell you, it was Raistlin!”

  “And I tell you, one more of your furry-elephant, teleporting-ring, plants-living-off-air stories and I’ll twist that hoopak around your neck!” Flint snapped angrily.

  “It was too Raistlin,” Tasslehoff retorted, but he said it under his breath as the two walked along the wide, gleaming streets of the beautiful city of Palanthas. The kender knew by long association just how far he could push the dwarf, and Flint’s threshold for irritation was very low these days.

  “And don’t go bothering Laurana with your wild tales, either,” Flint ordered, correctly guessing Tas’s intentions. “She has enough problems.”

  “But—”

  The dwarf stopped and gazed grimly at the kender from beneath bushy white eyebrows.

  “Promise?”

  Tas sighed. “Oh, all right.”

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if he didn’t feel quite certain he had seen Raistlin! He and Flint were walking past the steps of the great library of Palanthas when the kender’s sharp eyes caught sight of a group of monks clustered around something lying on the steps. When Flint stopped for a moment to admire some particularly fine piece of dwarven-crafted stonework in a building opposite, Tas took advantage of the opportunity to creep silently up the stairs to see what was going on.

  To his amazement, he saw a man that looked just like Raistlin, golden-colored metallic skin, red robes, and all, being lifted up off the stairs and carried inside the library. But by the time the excited kender ran across the street, grabbed Flint, and hauled the grumbling dwarf back again, the group was gone.

  Tasslehoff even ran up to the door, banging on it and demanding entrance. But the Aesthetic who answered appeared so horrified at the thought of a kender coming into the great library that the scandalized dwarf hustled Tas off before the monk could open his mouth.

  Promises being very nebulous things to kenders, Tas considered telling Laurana anyway, but then he thought of the elfmaid’s face as it had appeared lately, wan and drawn from grief, worry, and lack of sleep, and the soft-hearted kender decided maybe Flint was right. If it was Raistlin, he was probably here on some secret business of his own and wouldn’t thank them for dropping in on him uninvited. Still …

  Heaving a sigh, the kender walked on, kicking stones with his feet and looking around the city once more. Palanthas was well worth the look. The city had been fabled even during the Age of Might for its beauty and grace. There was no other city on Krynn that could compare to it, at least to human thought. Built on a circular pattern like a wheel, the center was, literally, the hub of the city. All the major official buildings were located here, and the great sweeping staircases and graceful columns were breathtaking in their grandeur. From this central circle, wide avenues led off in the directions of the eight major compass points. Paved with fitted stone (dwarven work, of course) and lined with trees whose leaves were like golden lace year-round, these avenues led to the seaport on the north and to the seven gates of the Old City Wall.

  Even these gates were masterpieces of architecture, each one guarded by twin minarets whose graceful towers rose over three hundred feet into the air. The Old Wall itself was carved with intricate designs, telling the story of Palanthas during the Age of Dreams. Beyond Old City Wall lay New City. Carefully planned to conform to the original design, New City extended from Old City Wall in the same circular pattern with the same wide, tree-lined avenues. There were, however, no walls around New City. The Palanthians didn’t particularly like walls (walls ruined the over-all design), and nothing in either Old or New City was ever built these days without first consulting the overall design, both within and without. Palanthas’s silhouette upon the horizon in the evening was as lovely to the eye as the city itself, with one exception.

  Tas’s thoughts were rudely interrupted by a poke in the back from Flint.

  “What is the matter with you?” the kender demanded, facing the dwarf.

  “Where are we?” Flint asked surlily, hands on his hips.

  “Well, we’re …” Tas looked around. “Uh … that is, I think we’re … then again, perhaps we’re not.” He fixed Flint with a cold stare. “How did you get us lost?”

  “ME!” The dwarf exploded. “You’re the guide! You’re the map reader. You’re the kender who knows this city like he knows his own house!”

  “But I was thinking,” Tas said loftily.

  “What with?” Flint roared.

  “I was thinking deep thoughts,” Tas said in wounded tones.

  “I—oh, never mind,” Flint grumbled and began to peer up and down the street. He didn’t quite like the looks of things.

  “This certainly does seem strange,” Tas said cheerfully, echoing the dwarf’s thoughts. “It’s so empty, not at all like the other streets of Palanthas.” He stared longingly down the rows of silent empty buildings. “I wonder—”

  “No,” said Flint.

  “Absolutely not. We’re going back the way we came—”

  “Oh, come on!” Tas said, heading down the deserted street. “Just a little way, to see what’s down here. You know Laurana told us to look around, inspect the forti—forta—the whatch-ma-call-its.”

  “Fortifications,” muttered Flint, stumping reluctantly along after the kender. “And there aren’t any around here, you doorknob. This is the center of the city! She meant the walls around the outside of the city.”

  “There aren’t any walls around the outside of the city,” Tas said triumphantly. “Not around New City, anyway. And if it’s the center, why is it deserted? I think we should find out.”

  Flint snorted. The kender was beginning to make sense, a fact that caused the dwarf to shake his head and wonder if maybe he shouldn’t lie down somewhere out of the sun.

  The two walked for several minutes in silence, traveling deeper and deeper into the heart of the city. To one side, only a few blocks away, rose the palatial mansion of the Lord of Palanthas. They could see its towering spires from here. But ahead of them, nothing was visible. It was all lost in shadow.…

  Tas glanced into windows and stuck his nose into doorways of the buildings they passed. He and Flint proceeded clear to the end of the block before the kender spoke.

  “You know, Flint,” Tas said uneasily, “these buildings are all empty.”

  “Abandoned,” said Flint in hushed tones. The dwarf laid his hand on his battle-axe, starting nervously at the sound of Tas’s shrill voice.

  “There’s a queer feeling about this place,” Tas said, edging closer to the dwarf. “I’m not afraid, mind you—”

  “I am,” said Flint emphatically. “Let’s get out of here!”

  Tas looked up at the tall buildings on either side of them. They were well-kept. Apparently the Palanthians were so proud of their city that they even spent money keeping up vacant buildings. There were shops and dwellings of all kinds, obviously structurally sound. The streets were clean and free from litter and garbage. But it was all deserted. This had once been a prosperous area, the kender thought. Right in the heart of the city. Why wasn’t it now? Why had everyone left? It gave him an “eerie” feeling and there were not many things in Krynn that gave kender “eerie” feelings.

  “There aren’t even any rats!” Flint
muttered. Taking hold of Tas’s arm, he tugged at the kender. “We’ve seen enough.”

  “Oh, come on,” Tas said. Pulling his arm away, he fought down the strange eerie sensation and, straightening his small shoulders, started off down the sidewalk once more. He hadn’t gone three feet when he realized he was alone. Stopping in exasperation, he looked back. The dwarf was standing on the sidewalk, glowering at him.

  “I only want to go as far as that grove of trees at the end of the street,” Tas said, pointing. “Look—it’s just an ordinary grove of ordinary oak trees. Probably a park or something. Maybe we could have lunch—”

  “I don’t like this place!” Flint said stubbornly. “It reminds me of … of … Darken Wood—that place where Raistlin spoke to the spooks.”

  “Oh, you’re the only spook here!” Tas said irritably, determined to ignore the fact that it reminded him of the same thing. “It’s broad daylight. We’re in the center of a city, for the love of Reorx—”

  “Then why is it freezing cold?”

  “It’s winter!” the kender shouted, waving his arms. He hushed immediately, staring around in alarm at the weird way his words echoed through the silent streets. “Are you coming?” he asked in a loud whisper.

  Flint drew a deep breath. Scowling, he gripped his battle-axe and marched down the street toward the kender, casting a wary eye at the buildings as though at any moment a spectre might leap out at him.

  “ ’Tisn’t winter,” the dwarf muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “Except around here.”

  “It won’t be spring for weeks,” Tas returned, glad to have something to argue about and keep his mind off the strange things his stomach was doing—twisting into knots and the like.

  But Flint refused to quarrel—a bad sign. Silently, the two crept down the empty street until they reached the end of the block. Here the buildings ended abruptly in a grove of trees. As Tas had said, it seemed just an ordinary grove of oak trees, although they were certainly the tallest oaks either the dwarf or the kender had seen in long years of exploring Krynn.

  But as the two approached, they felt the strange chilling sensation become stronger until it was worse than any cold they had ever experienced, even the cold of the glacier in Ice Wall. It was worse because it came from within and it made no sense! Why should it be so cold in just this part of the city? The sun was shining. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But soon their fingers were numb and stiff. Flint could no longer hold his battle-axe and was forced to put it back in its holder with shaking hands. Tas’s teeth chattered, he had lost all feeling in his pointed ears, and he shivered violently.

  “L-let’s g-get out-t of h-here …” stammered the dwarf through blue lips.

  “W-we’re j-just s-standing in a sh-shadow of a building.” Tas nearly bit his tongue. “W-when we g-get in the s-s-sunshine, it’ll war-warm up.”

  “No f-fire on K-K-Krynn will w-warm th-this!” Flint snapped viciously, stomping on the ground to get the circulation started in his feet.

  “J-just a f-few m-more f-feet …” Tas kept going along gamely, even though his knees knocked together. But he went alone. Turning around, he saw that Flint seemed paralyzed, unable to move. His head was bowed, his beard quivered.

  I should go back, Tas thought, but he couldn’t. The curiosity that did more than anything in the world to reduce the kender population kept drawing him forward.

  Tas came to the edge of the grove of oak trees and—here—his heart almost failed him. Kender are normally immune to the sensation of fear, so only a kender could have come even this far. But now Tas found himself a prey to the most unreasoning terror he had ever experienced. And whatever was causing it was located within that grove of oak trees.

  They’re ordinary trees, Tas said to himself, shivering. I’ve talked to spectres in Darken Wood. I’ve faced three or four dragons. I broke a dragon orb. Just an ordinary grove of trees. I was prisoner in a wizard’s castle. I saw a demon from the Abyss. Just a grove of ordinary trees.

  Slowly, talking to himself, Tasslehoff inched his way through the oak trees. He didn’t go far, not even past the row of trees that formed the outer perimeter of the grove. Because now he could see into the heart of the grove.

  Tasslehoff gulped, turned, and ran.

  At the sight of the kender running back toward him, Flint knew it was All Over. Something Awful was going to crash out of that grove of trees. The dwarf whirled so rapidly he tripped over his feet and fell sprawling to the pavement. Running up to him, Tas grabbed Flint’s belt and pulled him up. Then the two dashed madly down the street, the dwarf running for his very life. He could almost hear gigantic footsteps thudding along behind him. He did not dare turn around. Visions of a slobbering monster drove him on until his heart seemed about to burst from his body. Finally they reached the end of the street.

  It was warm. The sun shone.

  They could hear the voices of real live people drifting from the crowded streets beyond. Flint stopped, exhausted, gasping for breath. Glancing fearfully back down the street, he was surprised to see it was still empty.

  “What was it?” he managed to ask when he could speak past the thudding of his heart.

  The kender’s face was pale as death. “A-a t-tower …” Tas gulped, puffing.

  Flint’s eyes opened wide. “A tower?” the dwarf repeated. “I ran all that way, nearly killing myself, and I was running from a tower! I don’t suppose”—Flint’s bushy eyebrows came together alarmingly—“that the tower was chasing you?”

  “N-no,” Tas admitted. “It, it just stood there. But it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” the kender avowed solemnly, shuddering.

  “That would be the Tower of High Sorcery,” the Lord of Palanthas told Laurana that evening as they entered the map room of the beautiful palace on the hill overlooking the city. “No wonder your little friend was terrified. I’m surprised he got as far as the Shoikan Oak Grove.”

  “He’s a kender,” Laurana replied, smiling.

  “Ah, yes. Well, that explains it. Now that’s something I hadn’t considered, you know. Hiring kender to do the work around the Tower. We have to pay the most outrageous prices to get men to go into those buildings once a year and keep them in good repair. But then”—the Lord appeared down-cast—“I don’t suppose the townspeople would be at all pleased to see a sizeable number of kender in the city.”

  Amothus, Lord of Palanthas, padded across the polished marble floor of the map room, his hands clasped behind his robes of state. Laurana walked next to him, trying to keep from tripping over the hem of the long, flowing gown the Palanthians had insisted she wear. They had been quite charming about the dress, offering it as a gift. But she knew they were horrified to see a Princess of the Qualinesti parading around in blood-stained, battle-scarred armor. Laurana had no choice but to accept it; she could not afford to offend the Palanthians whom she was counting on for help. But she felt naked and fragile and defenseless without her sword at her side and the steel around her body.

  And she knew that the generals of the Palanthian army, the temporary commanders of the Solamnic Knights, and the other nobles, advisors from the City Senate, were the ones making her feel fragile and defenseless. All of them reminded her with every look that she was, to them, a woman playing at being a soldier. All right, she had done well. She had fought her little war and she had won. Now, back to the kitchen.…

  “What is the Tower of High Sorcery?” Laurana asked abruptly. She had learned after a week of negotiating with the Lord of Palanthas that, although an intelligent man, his thoughts tended to wander into unexplored regions and he needed constant guidance to keep to the central topic.

  “Oh, yes. Well, you can see it from the window here, if you really want to …” The Lord seemed reluctant.

  “I would like to see it,” Laurana said coolly.

  Shrugging, Lord Amothus veered from his course and led Laurana to a window she had already noticed because it was covered with th
ick curtains. The curtains over the other windows of the room were open, revealing a breathtaking view of the city in whatever direction one looked.

  “Yes, this is the reason I keep these shut,” the Lord said with a sigh in answer to Laurana’s question. “A pity, too. This was once the most magnificent view in the city, according to the old records. But that was before the Tower was cursed—”

  The Lord drew the curtains aside with a trembling hand, his face dark with sorrow. Startled at such emotion, Laurana looked out curiously, then drew in a breath. The sun was sinking behind the snow-capped mountains, streaking the sky with red and purple. The vibrant colors shimmered on the pure white buildings of Palanthas as the rare, translucent marble from which they were built caught the dying light. Laurana had never imagined such beauty could exist in the world of humans. It rivaled her beloved homeland of Qualinesti.

  Then her eyes were drawn to a darkness within the shimmering pearl radiance. A single tower rose up to the sky. It was tall; even though the palace was perched on a hill, the top of the Tower was only slightly below her line of sight. Made of black marble, it stood out in distinct contrast to the white marble of the city around it. Minarets must have once graced its gleaming surface, she saw, though these were now crumbling and broken. Dark windows, like empty eyesockets, stared sightlessly into the world. A fence surrounded it. The fence, too, was black and, on the gate of the fence, Laurana saw something fluttering. For a moment she thought it was a huge bird, trapped there, for it seemed alive. But just as she was about to call the Lord’s attention to it, he shut the curtains with a shiver.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I can’t stand it. Shocking. And to think we’ve lived with that for centuries.…”

  “I don’t think it’s so terrible,” Laurana said earnestly, her mind’s eye remembering the view of the Tower and the city around it. “The Tower … seems right somehow. Your city is very beautiful, but sometimes it’s such a cold, perfect beauty that I don’t notice it anymore.” Looking out the other windows, Laurana was once more as enchanted with the view as she had been when she first entered Palanthas. “But after seeing that, that flaw in your city, it makes the beauty stand out in my mind … if you understand.…”