With a new resolve, Teldin left his cabin in search of the radiant dragon.

Vallus Leafbower confronted him the moment he'd left the dracon-protected seclusion of his cabin. "You might have told someone you were leaving the ship," the elf said.

"And I suppose you would have endorsed the mission?"

The question, spoken in a woman's sarcastic voice, surprised them both. They turned to see Raven standing at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed and a supercilious smile aimed at Vallus.

Vallus cast a quick glance at the moon elf and turned his attention to Teldin. "That was a foolish, unnecessary risk."

"Actually, it was the best thing I've done in a handful of days. If you'd known what I had planned to do, you'd have tried to stop me. No, don't bother to deny it," Teldin said coldly when Vallus began to protest. "I'm tired of pretending. The truth is that from the day I was carried aboard the Trumpeter, I've been a prisoner. Your talk of recruiting me to the elven side is so much scawer dung. The elves intend to have the cloak, whether it's on my shoulders or someone else's. Use it or lose it. That's the extent of my choice, isn't it?"

As Teldin spoke, Raven climbed the stairs. Vallus cast an apprehensive glance in her direction. "Perhaps this conversation should be held in private."

"This is her business as much as mine," Teldin said firmly. "She carries an ultimate helm, too. Do you plan to keep her prisoner as well?"

Raven looked amused at the concept, but Vallus's eyes shifted from her to Teldin with growing concern. "Another helm?" Raven responded by waggling the sapphire pendant. Vallus took in her smug expression and the way she stood at Teldin's side as if they were closing ranks against a common enemy.

"What part does she play in this?" Vallus asked Teldin.

Teldin turned and met the dragon's eyes squarely. "I haven't decided yet."

She blinked, astonished by the hard edge in his voice. "He hasn't decided yet," she muttered under her breath. A smile spread slowly across her elven face, and she extended a hand to Teldin.

"My true name is Celestial Nightpearl. Pearl for short. I'm your new partner."

Teldin didn't pretend to be surprised by her offer, but neither did he take her hand. "Your terms?" he asked. As he spoke, words that Aelfred Silverhorn had spoken long ago flashed through his mind: Bargain with a dragon, and you're a fool or a corpse. Teldin wasn't entirely sure his late friend had been wrong, but the dragon needed something from him or she wouldn't be here. He determined to keep their deal on an even footing; he had no intention of exchanging his unwilling alliance with the elves for another kind of servitude.

Pearl shrugged and withdrew her offered hand to grasp her sapphire pendant. "Your cloak has many powers. So does this bauble. Maybe you can imagine the mess we'd make if we decided to fight it out." One corner of her mouth twitched into a wry, lopsided smile. "Unfortunately, I don't have to use my imagination. I've fought other would-be captains, and to prove it I've got scars in places even Rozloom hasn't thought about."

Teldin felt a surge of sympathetic understanding; he knew what it meant to be hunted for his ultimate helm. Yet he didn't completely believe her claim. A radiant dragon had little to fear from him, despite the powers of his cloak. Or did she? The cloak had untapped powers, of that he was sure, but was its potential such that a dragon might fear him?

"So you're proposing a truce?" he asked cautiously.

"A partnership," she stressed. "Plainly put, you want the ship, and the ship wants a captain. I'd just as soon that not be me, though I wouldn't mind if a little of the power and prestige from the job came my way. So this is the deal: I'll take you to the Spelljammer, you'll be the captain, and I'll go my own way. From time to time, we could join resources for mutually advantageous adventures."

"Why don't you want the Spelljammer yourself?"

Her answering smile was vanity personified. "Who needs it?"

Teldin nodded. What use would a radiant dragon have for a spelljamming vessel, even the spelljamming vessel? She probably considered a partnership between a radiant dragon and the Spelljammer an even exchange.

"Mutually advantageous adventures?" he asked.

"We did all right on Rakhar," she said, a comrade's gleam in her odd-colored eyes.

Teldin acknowledged that with another nod. She'd helped him when he needed her, no questions asked or strings attached. He glanced at Vallus Leafbower, who was listening to the exchange with growing dismay on his angular face. What Raven-Pearl, Teldin corrected himself-offered was more to his liking than the elves' proposal. And, he had to admit, he liked being around her. In many ways, the dragon reminded him of Aelfred: full of zest for life and always ready for a new adventure. Still, she was keeping something from him; Teldin was sure of that, and, despite their friendship, he'd have to keep alert for whatever that secret might be.

It was friendship that passed between him and the dragon, a healing, helpful thing that he suspected surprised the dragon even more than it did him. With the sudden, crystalline clarity he'd come to take for granted, Teldin knew the benefits of having a dragon ally would outweigh the risks. Taking a deep breath, he extended his hand to seal their pact.

Vallus seized Teldin's wrist. "Surely you don't intend to join forces with this… with Raven Storm-" He broke off and shook his head. "No," the elf corrected himself sharply. "She is not Raven Stormwalker. That elven hero died many centuries ago."

"I'm feeling remarkably well, considering," the elf-shaped dragon murmured.

"My point, Teldin Moore," Vallus continued in a determined tone, "is that you cannot trust a being who is willing to misrepresent herself so blatantly. By all the gods!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation, "you don't even know what sort of creature she might be."

"Actually, I do," Teldin said.

Two sets of elven eyebrows shot up. "You do?" said Vallus and Pearl in unison.

The dragon-turned-elf shook her head and chuckled, as if she'd made a conclusion. "Well, what do you know. Most humans would have turned tail and run. Or turned up their toes and died, just to save me the trouble. You play cards, Captain? Too bad. The way you bluff, you'd be a natural at High Paladin." She peered closely at him. "Are you sure you're not afraid of me?"

"Should I be?" Teldin retorted.

She threw back her head and laughed delightedly. "Probably, but don't bother. Being worshiped and adored is all fine and well, but I must admit, I like your salt."

Vallus stepped forward and clasped Teldin's forearms.

"You must reconsider this. Whatever she is, you have no idea where such a course of action will take you," he said earnestly.

Not sure whether Vallus was warning or threatening him, Teldin pulled free of the elf s grasp. His angry response died unspoken as his eyes caught a distant flicker of light, and his face went slack with horror.

The twin mountains of Rakhar thrust upward into the night sky, gleaming in the bright moonlight like polished tusks. Teldin blinked several times, praying that his eyes had been playing tricks. No, there was another light, and then a third, reflecting off hulls. Several ships were leaving Armistice, moving steadily upward toward the converging moons.

"Great Paladine," Teldin swore. He grabbed the elven wizard's shoulders and spun him around. "See that? The orcs are taking to the stars. We're going after them."

"Kermjin is on the helm," Vallus said in immediate agreement.

"Get him off." Teldin's voice was inexorable. "The secondary helm's too slow. Raven, we'll need yours. Use the bridge and have Kermjin stand by to take over later on, in case we need you elsewhere."