"Are you feeling better?" the cleric asked. "Your father-"

"Yes, I know;' Laurana interrupted him. She felt a dull ache in her heart whenever her father was mentioned. "You must decide what we are to do, Elistan. Silvara has offered to help us escape. We could take the orb and leave tonight:"

"If that is what you must do, my dear, then you should waste no more time;' Elistan said, sitting by her in a chair.

Laurana blinked. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of his arm. "Elistan, what do you mean? You must come with us-"

"No, Laurana;' Elistan said, grasping her hand tightly in his own. "If you do this, you will have to leave on your own. I have sought help from Paladine, and I must stay here, with the elves. I believe if I stay, I will be able to convince your father that I am a cleric of the true gods. If I leave, he would always believe I am a charlatan, as your brother brands me:'

"What about the dragon orb?"

"That is up to you, Laurana. The elves are wrong in this. Hopefully, in time, they will come to see it. But we do not have centuries to talk this over. I think you should take the orb to Sancrist:"

"Me?" Laurana gasped. "I can't!"

"My dear;" Elistan said firmly, "you must realize that if you make this decision, the burden of leadership will be upon you. Sturm and Derek are too caught up in their own quarrel and, besides, they are human. You will be dealing with elves-your own people and the Kaganesti. Gilthanas sides with your father. You are the only one who has a chance to succeed:"

"But I'm not capable-"

"You are more capable than you give yourself credit for, Laurana. Perhaps everything you have been through up to now has been preparing you for this. You must waste no more time. Farewell, my dear:" Elistan rose to his feet and laid his hand on her head. "May Paladine's blessing-and my own-go with you:'

"Elistan!" Laurana whispered, but the cleric was gone. Silvara quietly shut the door.

Laurana sank back into her bed, trying to think. Elistan is right, of course. The dragon orb cannot stay here. And if we are going to escape, it must be tonight. But it's all happening so fast! And it's all up to me! Can I trust Silvara? But why ask? She's the only one who can guide us. Then all I have to do is get the orb and the lance and free my friends. I know how to get to the orb and the lance. But my friends

Laurana knew, suddenly, what she would do, She realized she had been planning it in the back of her mind even as she talked to Elistan.

This commits me, she thought. There will be no taming back. Stealing the dragon orb, fleeing into the night, into strange and hostile country. And then, there is Gilthanas. We've been through too much together for me to leave him behind. But he will be appalled at the idea of stealing the orb and running away. And if he chooses not to go with me, would he betray us?

Laurana closed her eyes for a moment. She laid her head down wearily on her knees. Tanis, she thought, where are you? What should I do? Why is it up tome? I didn't want this.

And then, as she sat there, Laurana remembered seeing weariness and sorrow on Tanis's face that mirrored her own. Maybe he asked himself these same things. All the times I thought he was so strong, perhaps he really felt as lost and frightened as I do. Certainly he felt abandoned by his people. And we depended on him, whether he wanted us to or not. But he accepted it. He did what he believed was right.

And so must I.

Briskly, refusing to allow herself to think any further, Laurana lifted her head and beckoned for Silvara to come near.

Sturm paced the length of the crude cabin that had been given to them, unable to sleep. The dwarf lay stretched out on a bed, snoring loudly. Across the room, Tasslehoff lay curled in a ball of misery, chained by his foot to the bedpost. Sturm sighed. How much more trouble could they get into?

The evening had gone from bad to worse. After Laurana had fainted, it had been all Sturm could do to hold back the enraged dwarf. Flint vowed to tear Porthioslimb from limb. Derek stated that he considered himself to be a prisoner held by the enemy and, as such, it was his duty to try and escape; then he would bring the Knights down to recover the dragon orb by force. Derek was immediately escorted away by the guards. Just when Sturm got Flint calmed down, an elflord appeared out of nowhere and accused Tasslehoff of stealing his purse.

Now they were being held under double guard, 'guests' of the Speaker of the Suns.

"Must you pace about like that?" Derek asked coldly.

"Why? Am I keeping you awake?" snapped Sturm.

"OE course not. Only fools could sleep under these circumstances. You're breaking my concen

"Hsst!" Sturm said, raising his hand warningly.

Derek instantly fell silent. Sturm gestured. The older knight joined Sturm in the center of the room where he was staring up at the ceiling. The log house was rectangular, with one door, two windows, and a firepit in the center of the floor. A hole cut in the roof provided ventilation.

It was through this hole Sturm heard the odd sound that caught his attention. It was a shuffling, scraping sound. The wooden beams in the ceiling creaked as though something heavy was crawling over it.

"A wild beast of some sort;' Derek muttered. "And we're weaponless!"

"No;' Sturm said, listening closely. "It's not growling. It's moving too silently, as if it didn't want to be heard or seen. What are those guards doing out there?"

Derek went to the window and peered out. "Sitting around a fire. Two are asleep. They're not overly concerned about us, are they?" he asked bitterly.

"Why should they be?" Sturm said, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. "There's a couple of thousand elves within the sound of a whisper. What the-'

Sturm fell back in alarm as the stars he had been watching through the hole were suddenly blotted out by a dark, shapeless mass. Sturm reached down swiftly and grabbed a lag from the smoldering fire, holding it by the end like a club.

"Sturm! Sturm Brightblade!" said the shapeless mass.

Sturm stared, trying to remember the voice. It was familiar. Thoughts of Solace flooded his mind. "Theros!" he ,gasped. "Theros Ironfeld! What are you doing here? The last I saw you, you were lying near death in the elven kingdom!"

The huge blacksmith of Solace struggled down through the opening in the ceiling, bringing part of the roof with him. He landed heavily, waking the dwarf, who sat up and peered, blearyeyed, at the apparition in the center of the cabin.

"What-" the dwarf started up, fumbling for his battle-axe which was no longer by his side.

"Hush!" the smith commanded. "No time for questions. The Lady Laurana sent me to free you. We're to meet her in the woods beyond the camp. Make haste! We have only a few hours before dawn and we must be across the river by then:' Theros strode over to look at Tasslehoff, who was trying without success to free himself. "Well, master thief, I see someone caught you at last:'

"I'm not a thief!" Tas said indignantly. "You know me better than that, Theros. That purse was planted on me-"

The smith chuckled. Taking hold of the chain in his hands, he gave a sudden heave and it split apart. Tasslehoff, however, did not even notice. He was staring at the smith's arms. One arm, the left, was a dusky black, the color of the smith's skin. But the other arm, the right, was bright, shining silver!

"Theros;' Tas said in a strangled voice. "Your arm-"

"Questions later, little thief;' the smith said sternly. "Now we move swift and now we move silent:"

"Across the river;' Flint moaned, shaking his head. "More boats. More boats. . . :'

"I want to see the Speaker;' Laurana told the guard at the door to her father's suite of rooms.

"It is late;' the guard said. "The Speaker is sleeping:"