Dragonlance 15 - Dragons Of A Fallen Sun (38 page)

"I just wanted to tell you that I made a mistake," Tas said

meekly. "I'm not the person I said was."

"Ah, now there's a surprise!" Gerard grunted. "You mean

you're not Tasslehoff Burrfoot, who's been dead for over thirty

years?"

"I thought I was," Tas said wistfully. He found the notion

more difficult to give up than he'd imagined. "But I can't be.

You see, Tasslehoff Burrfoot was a hero. He wasn't afraid of any-

thing; And I don't think he would have felt all strange the way

I felt when that dragon flew over us. But I know what's wrong

with me."

He waited for the Knight to ask politely but the Knight didn't.

Tas volunteered the information.

"I have magnesia," he said solemnly.

This time Gerard said, "What?" only he didn't say it very

politely.

Tas put his hand to his forehead, to see if he could feel it.

"Magnesia. I'm not sure how a person gets magnesia. I think it

has something to do with milk. But I remember that Raistlin

said he knew someone with it once and that person couldn't

remember who he was or why he was or where he'd left his

spectacles or anything. So I must have magnesia, because that's

my situation entirely."

This solved, Tasslehoff-or rather, the kender who used to

think he was Tasslehoff-felt extremely proud to know he had

come down with something so important.

"Of course," he added with a sigh, "a lot of people like you

who expect me to be Tasslehoff are going to be in for a sad disap-

pointment when they find out I'm not. But they'll just have to

come to grips with it."

"I'll try to bear up," Gerard said dryly. "Now why don't you

think really hard and see if you can 'remember' the truth about

who you are."

"I wouldn't mind remembering the truth," Tas said. "I have

the feeling that the truth doesn't want to remember me."

The two rode on in silence through a silent world until at last,

to Tasslehoff's relief, he heard a sound, the sound of water, angry

water of a river that foamed and seethed as if it resented being

held prisoner within its rocky banks. Humans named the river

the White-rage River. It marked the northern border of the elven

land of Qualinesti.

Gerard slowed his horse. Rounding a bend in the road, they

came within sight of the river, a broad expanse of white foaming

water falling over and around glistening black rocks.

They had arrived at the end of the day. The forest was shad-

owed with the coming of darkness. The river held the light still,

the water shining in the afterglow, and by that light they could

see in the distance a narrow bridge spanning the river. The bridge

was guarded by a lowered gate and guards wearing the same

black armor as Gerard.

"Those are Dark Knights," said Tasslehoff in astonishment.

"Keep your voice down!" Gerard ordered sternly. Dismount-

ing, he removed the gag from his belt and approached the kender.

"Remember, the only way we're going to be able to see your al-

leged friend Palin Majere is if they let us past."

"But why are there Dark Knights here in Qualinesti?" Tas asked,

talking quickly before Gerard had time to put the gag in place.

"The dragon Beryl rules the realm. These Knights are her

overseers. They enforce her laws, collect the taxes and the tribute

the elves pay to stay alive."

"Oh, no," said Tas, shaking his head. "There must be some

mistake. The Dark Knights were driven out by the combined

forces of Porthios and Gilthas in the year- VIp!"

Gerard stuffed the gag in the kender's mouth, fastened it se-

curely in a knot at the back of his head. "Keep saying things like

that and I won't have to gag you. Everyone will just think you're

crazy."

"If you'd tell me what has happened," Tas said, pulling the

gag from his mouth and peering around at Gerard, "then I

wouldn't have to ask questions."

Gerard, exasperated, put the gag back in place. "Very well,"

he said crossly. "The Knights of Neraka took Qualinesti during

the Chaos War and they have never relinquished their hold on it,"

he said as he tied the knot. "They were prepared to go to war

against the dragon, when she demanded that they cede the land

to her. Beryl was clever enough to realize that she didn't need to

fight. The Knights could be of use to her. She formed an alliance

with them. The elves pay tribute, the Knights collect it and turn

over a percentage-a large percentage--to the dragon. The

Knights keep the rest. They prosper. The dragon prospers. It's the

elves who are out of luck."

"I guess that must have happened when I had magnesia," Tas

said, tugging one comer of the gag loose.

Gerard fastened the knot even tighter and added, irritably,

"The word is 'amnesia,' damn it. And just keep quiet!"

He remounted his horse, and the two rode toward the gate.

The guards were alert and had probably been on the watch for

them, warned of their coming by the dragon, for they did not

appear surprised to see the two emerge from the shadows.

Knights armed with halberds stood guard at the gate, but it was

an elf, clad all in green cloth and glittering chain mail, who

walked up to question them. He was followed by an officer of the

Knights of Neraka, who stood behind the elf, observing.

The elf regarded the two, particularly the kender, with dis-

dain.

"The elven realm of Qualinesti is closed to all travelers by

orders of Gilthas, Speaker of the Sun," said the elf, speaking

Common. "What is your business here?"

Gerard smiled to indicate that he appreciated the joke. "I have

urgent news for Marshal Medan," he said, and reaching into his

black leather gauntlet he brought out a well-worn paper which he

handed over with bored air of one who has done this many times

before.

The elf did not even glance at the paper, but passed it to the

officer of the Neraka Knights. The officer paid more attention to

it. He studied it closely and then studied Gerard. The officer re-

turned the paper to Gerard, who retrieved it and placed it back

inside his glove.

"What business have you with Marshal Medan, Captain?" the

officer inquired.

"I have something he wants, sir," Gerard replied. He jerked a

thumb. "This kender."

The officer raised his eyebrows. "What does Marshal Medan

want with a kender?"

"There is a warrant for the little thief, sir. He stole an impor-

tant artifact from the Knights of the Thorn. A magical artifact that

once purportedly belonged to Raistlin Majere."

The elf's eyes flickered at this. He regarded them with more

interest.

"I've heard nothing of any bounty," the officer stated, frown-

ing. "Or any robbery, for that matter."

"That is not surprising, sir, considering the Gray Robes,"

Gerard said with a wry smile and a covert glance around.

The officer nodded and twitched an eyebrow. The Gray Robes

were sorcerers. They worked in secret, reporting to their own of-

ficers, working to forward their own goals and ambitions, which

might or might not coincide with the rest of the Knighthood. As

such, they were widely distrusted by the warrior Knights, who

viewed the Knights of the Thorn with the same suspicion that

men of the sword have viewed men of the staff for centuries.

"Tell me of this crime," the officer said. "When and where was

it committed?"

"As you know, the Gray Robes have been combing the Forest

of Wayreth, searching for the magical and elusive Tower of High

Sorcery. It was during this search that they uncovered this arti-

fact. I do not know how or where, sir. That information was not

provided to me. The Gray Robes were transporting the artifact to

Palanthas for further study, when they stopped at an inn for some

refreshment along the way. It was there the artifact was stolen.

The Gray Robes missed it the next morning when they awoke,"

Gerard added with a meaningful roll of his eyes. "This kender

had stolen it."

"So that's how I got it!" Tas said to himself, fascinated. "What

a perfectly wonderful adventure. Too bad I can't remember it."

The officer nodded his head. "Damn Gray Robes. Dead

drunk, no doubt. Carrying a valuable artifact. Just like their

arrogance.

"Yes, sir. The criminal fled with his booty to Palanthas. We

were told to be on the lookout for a kender who might try to fence

stolen artifacts. We watched the mageware shops, and that was

how we caught him. And a weary journey I've had of it to bring

him back here, guarding the little fiend day and night."

Tas attempted to look quite fierce.

"I can imagine." The officer was sympathetic. "Was the arti-

fact recovered?"

"I am afraid not, sir. He claims to have 'lost' it, but the fact that

he was discovered in the mageware shop led us to believe that he

has stashed it somewhere with the intent to produce it when he

had closed a bargain. The Thorn Knights plan to question him re-

garding its whereabouts. Otherwise, of course"-Gerard

shrugged-"we could have spared ourselves the trouble. We

would have simply hung the thieving nit."

"The headquarters for the Thoms is down south. They're still

looking for that damned tower. A waste of time, if you ask me.

Magic is gone from the world again and I say good riddance."

"Yes, sir," Gerard replied. "I was instructed to report to Mar-

shal Medan first, this being under his jurisdiction, but if you think

I should proceed directly-"

"Report to Medan, by all means. If nothing else, he will get a

good laugh out of the story. Do you need help with the kender? I

have a man I could spare-"

"Thank you, sir. As you can see, he is well-secured. I antici-

pate no trouble."

"Ride on, then, Captain," said the officer, indicating with a

wave of his hand that the gate was to be lifted. "Once you've de-

livered the vermin, ride back this way. We'll open a bottle of

dwarf spirits, and you will tell me of the news from Palanthas."

"I will do that, sir," said Gerard, saluting.

He rode through the gate. Tasslehoff, bound and gagged,

followed. The kender would have waved his manacled hands in

a friendly good-bye, but he considered that this might not be in

keeping with his new identity-Highwayman, Stealer of Valu-

able Magical Artifacts. He quite liked this new persona and de-

cided he should try to be worthy of it. Therefore, instead of

waving, he scowled defiantly at the knight as they rode past.

The elf had been standing in the road all this time, maintaining

a deferential and bored silence. He did not even wait until the gate

was lowered to go back to the gatehouse. The twilight had deep-

ened to night and torches were being lit. Tasslehoff, peering over

his shoulder as the pony clattered across the wooden bridge, saw

the elf squat down beneath a torch and draw out a leather bag. A

couple of the Knights knelt down in the dirt and they began a

game of dice. The last Tas saw of them, the officer had joined them,

bringing with him a bottle. Few travelers passed this way since the

dragon now patrolled the roads. Their watch was a lonely one.

Tasslehoff indicated by various grunts and squeaks that he

would be interested in talking about their successful adventure at

the gate--in particular he wanted to hear more details about his

daring theft-but Gerard paid no attention to the kender. He did

not ride off at a gallop, but, once he was out of sight of the bridge

he urged Blackie to increase his pace markedly.

Tasslehoff assumed that they would ride all night. They were

not far from Qualinost, or at least so he remembered from his pre-

vious journeys to the elven capital. A couple of hours would find

them in the city. Tas was eager to see his friends once again, eager

to ask them if they had any idea who he was, if he wasn't himself.

If anyone could cure magnesia, it would be Palin. Tasslehoff was

extremely surprised when Gerard suddenly reined in his horse

and, professing himself exhausted by the long day, announced

that they would spend the night in the forest.

They made camp, building a fire, much to the kender's aston-

ishment, for the Knight had refused to build a fire prior to this,

saying that it was too dangerous.

"I guess he figures we're safe now that we're inside the bor-

ders of Qualinesti." Tasslehoff spoke to himself, for he was still

wearing the gag. "I wonder why we stopped though? Maybe he

doesn't know how close we are."

The Knight fried some salt pork. The aroma spread through-

out the forest. He removed Tasslehoff's gag so that the kender

could eat and was instantly sorry he'd done so.

"How did I steal the artifact?" Tas asked eagerly. "That's so

exciting. I've never stolen anything before, you know. Stealing is

extremely wrong. But I guess in this case it would be all right,

since the Dark Knights are bad people. What inn was it? There are

quite a few on the road to Palanthas. Was it the Dirty Duck?