If there had been any poetic justice, Kaz decided, Dracos-Ravenshadow would have turned at that very moment and seen the portent of his doom. His eyes would have widened, and he would have had time only to mouth a scream.

Instead, the dragon toppled over onto both mage and sphere. The robed figure never saw death coming.

In the end, Kaz could still not say who it was he had fought-Dracos, Ravenshadow, or some unholy combination of the two. What mattered was that the unholy threat was dead. Kaz blinked his vision clear and looked again. A single twisted arm was all that remained visible of his enemy. He smiled.

Oceans of relief washed over him, and in their wake came the blissful nothingness of unconsciousness.

At rimes his life seemed little more than collapsing and waking, and never more so than now. Kaz had visions of elegant, somber-looking elves surrounding his body. He dreamed of being carried through the mountains by a huge furred creature that might have been Greymir. Bennett and Darius were standing near him while Tesela prayed for his recovery. He, in turn, insisted they find Delbin, who, Kaz thought, might be dead. Each vision was punctuated by timeless intervals of darkness in which the minotaur heard voices, some real, some not. Briefly he dreamed of the overwhelming presence of the Dragonqueen.

The Dragonqueen’s presence faded abruptly as another voice overwhelmed it. Kaz’s confused mind knew that it could only be Paladine, but the voice sounded very much like that of Huma. After that dream, he found he was able to sleep better.

At last voices, actual voices, brought him back to the world of the living. Kaz opened his eyes and found himself lying on a mat in a large tent, surrounded by several arguing figures.

“They have no right to him, milord!” Darius was shouting.

“It would be a stain on our honor if we did not allow them to present their cause!” Bennett replied. “Besides, it is Kaz who must decide!”

Tesela was also in the room, but at the moment, she was saying nothing. Watching the others with mild amusement was an elf. Kaz had to look hard, for the elf reminded him greatly of Sardal Crystal thorn. The newcomer noticed that the minotaur was awake and inclined his head slightly in greeting. He was one of the elves from Kaz’s memory.

The cleric turned abruptly, and her eyes grew wide as she saw that her charge was awake. She rushed over to his side and put her arms around him. “Kaz! Thank Mishakal you’re going to be all right!”

“Unnh! I’ll need your goddess’s services again if you don’t ease up!”

The two knights broke off their argument and greeted him profusely. They were acting as if he had almost died. He was about to question them when a fifth figure entered the tent.

Delbin’s face lit up, and the kender went bounding over to his friend. “Kaz! You’re alive! They said you might die because you lost so much blood, but I knew you were strong, and did you see what they did with the big green thing in the chamber? How come it didn’t shatter? I mean, Argaen shattered pretty good when the dragon fell on him, but the sphere was okay-”

“That accursed thing is still in one piece?”

The elf spoke. He stood with arms crossed and seemed to be leaning back, though there was nothing to support him. He wore a robe of white. ‘The abomination created by the renegade Galan Dracos has been removed from Argaen Ravenshadow’s stronghold. We cannot allow it to be returned to Vingaard, not after what happened the first time.”

“Speaking for my uncle, the Grand Master,” Bennett added, “I have agreed to turn it over to the elves. They intend to bury it in a secret place far, far below the surface of Krynn. Farther than even the dwarves would ever dare dig.”

“Why bury it? It should be destroyed!”

“We have tried.” For the first time, the elf seemed annoyed. “We have failed, though I cannot say what still holds it together now that Galan Dracos is truly dead. Should we find a way to destroy it in the future, we will do so. The emerald sphere by itself is not dangerous. It is only, as you know, a means of drawing power from other sources, especially chaos.”

“No one will ever use it again,” Bennett finished.

Kaz nodded, but he was not completely satisfied. He fervently hoped the emerald sphere would stay where the elves buried it, at least until Kaz had gone to join his ancestors.

“The enemy’s morale failed when they saw that no one defended inside the keep anymore,” Darius offered. “Many are dead or captured, and the rest are scattered loosely about the mountain chain. They will never be a coherent force again. That leaves the ogres in the north with no allies.”

“When Solamnia is stronger, we will deal with them,” Bennett commented..

Greatly relieved, Kaz turned his attention to Delbin. ‘‘What about you? I thought you were dead! I saw the guardsman strike you!”

Tesela, who moved to stand beside Darius, explained, “He only had a large bump on his head. Delbin must’ve been struck with the flat of the blade. Judging by what was going on, I’d say that his attacker didn’t have time to be bothered with killing a kender.”

“How fortunate.” Kaz patted his companion’s back. “I want to thank you for coming after me, although you shouldn’t have. It was a very brave, very heroic thing to do.”

‘The kender has explained as well as possible what happened to Galan Dracos and Argaen Ravenshadow,” the unknown elf interrupted. “An astounding and horrible conclusion. Branchala be praised that you were able to bring about his-their-death before it was too late. There is much I must discuss with my people when I return.” A strained look passed across the elf’s otherwise bland features. “Tell me, minotaur. Sardal Crystalthorn… did he die well?”

“He did.”

“We have recovered the body. I shall leave you now. I know you have many pressing matters to deal with.” The elf nodded to each of them and departed without another word.

Kaz rose haltingly. “What does that mean?”

The humans hesitated, but Delbin, in a sudden reversal of mood, worriedly replied, “They’re out there, Kaz! All of them! There’s a real ugly one-I guess he must be the leader-and there’s even an ogre! You’ve got to get away before-”

From without, a deep voice bellowed, “Come out, coward! Come out and face your people! Face justice! Face honor!”

Kaz stiffened. “When did they get here?”

Bennett turned grim. “About an hour ago. They have already been to Vingaard, Kaz, and my uncle deemed their quest honorable enough to tell them where we were heading.”

“He should never have-” Tesela began, but Kaz quieted her with a wave of his hand.

‘The Grand Master did what I’d do, human. I’ve run from them too long. I can’t keep doing that forever. Just once, I’d like to have a little peace and know that no one is trying to track me down.”

“If you need someone to back you up, Kaz”-Darius gripped the handle of his sword-”I owe you my life, and I consider you a friend.”

“No, this is something I’ve got to do alone. It’s a matter of honor.” Kaz looked around for the dwarven battle-axe and then ruefully looked in his left hand, where he was already holding it. The others looked at it in surprise; none of them had noticed it before.

Bennett eyed it with professional interest. “Where did you get that?”

“From a friend.” Kaz hefted the axe and took a deep breath.

“Before you step out there,” Bennett added, “I think you might like to know that they have spent much of the time arguing about you. There seems to be a difference of opinion.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The minotaur departed from the tent.

Silence reigned as Kaz stepped out of the tent into the open. Several knights paused in their duties to watch the confrontation.