DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES

was just a fevered impression in the kender's mind.

The dragon orb struck the rock and shattered, bursting into a thousand sparkling pieces. For an instant, a ball of milky white smoke hung in the air, as if trying desperately to hold itself together. Then the warm, springlikebreeze of the glade caught it and swept it apart.

There was intense, awful silence.

'She kender stood, looking calmly down at the shattered dragon orb.

"We know;" he said in a small voice that dropped into the dreadful silence like a tiny drop of rain, "we should be fighting dragons. Not each other."

No one moved. No one spoke- Then there was a thump.

Gnoeh had fainted.

The silence broke-almost as shattering as the breaking of the orb. Lord Gunthar and the Speaker bath lunged at Tas. One caught hold of the kender's left shoulder, one his .right.

"What have you done?" Lord Gunthar's :ace was livid, his; eyes wild as he gripped the kender with trembling hands.

"Yore have brought death upon us all!" The Speaker's finget bit into Tas's flesh like the claws of a predatory bird. "You haves5 destroyed our only hope!"

"And for that, he himself will be the first to die!"

I3nrthios-tall, grim-faced el5lord-loomed above the cow Bring kender, his sword glistening in his hand. The lend

stood his ground between the elven king .and the knight, ' small face pale, his expression. defiant. He had known when

commited his crime ahat death would be the penalty.

Tanis will be unhappy over what I've done" Tas than sadly. But at least he''II hear that I died bravely.

"Now, now, now. . :" said a sleepy voice. "No ones going t die! At least not at this moment. Quit waving that swo around, Porthios! Someone lI get hurt:"

Tas peered out from under a heaving sea of arms and shin arrnar to see Fizban, yawning, step over the inert body of

gnam.e and totter toward them. Elves and humans made

Ecr [-,:m. to pass, as if compelled to do so by an unseen force Porthios whirled to face Fizban, so angry that saliva bubbl or, his lips and his speech was nearly incoherent.

"Beware, old man, or you will share in the punishment['

"I said quit waving that sword around;" Fizban snapped irritably, wiggling a finger at the sword.

Parthios dropped his weapon with a wild cry. Clutching his stinging, burning hand, he stared down at the sword in astonishment-the hilt had grown thorns! Fizban came to stand next to the elflord and regarded him angrily.

"You're a fine young man, but you should have been taught some respect for your elders. I said to put that sword down and I meant it! Maybe you'll believe me next time!" Fizban's baleful gaze switched to the Speaker. "And you, Solostaran, were a good man about two hundred years ago. Managed to raise three fine children-three fine children, I said. Don't give me any of this nonsense about not having a daughter. You have one, and a fine girl she is. More sense than her father. Must take after her mother's side. Where was I? Oh, yes. you brought up Tanis Half-Elven, too. You know, Solastaran, between the four of these young people, we might save this world get.

"Now I want everyone to take his seat. Yes, you, too, Lord Gunthar. Come along, Solostaran, I'll help. We old men have to stick together. Tao bad you're such a damn fool:"

Muttering into his beard, Fizban led the astounded Speaker :a his chair. Porthios, his face twisted inpain, stumbled back to his seat with the help of his warriors.

Slowly the assembled elves and knights sat down, murmuring among themselves-all casting dark looks at the shattered dragon orb that lay beneath the Whitestone.

Fizban settled the Speaker in his seat, glowered at Lord Quinath, who thought he had something to say but quickly decided he didn't. Satisfied, the old wage carne back to the front of the Whitestone where Tas stood, shaken and confused.

"You;" Fizban looked at the kender as if he'd never seen him before, "'go and attend to that poor chap:' He Kaved a hand at the gnome, who was still out cold.

Feeling his knees tremble, Tasslehoff walked slowly aver to Gnosh and knelt down beside nice, glad to lank at something other than the angel, fear-filled faces.

`Gnash; he whispered miserably, patting the gnome on the cheek, "I'm sorry. I truly am, I mean about your Life Quest and your fat_Wer's soul and everything. But there just didn't wean to be anything else to do:"

Fizban turned around slowly and faced the assembled group, pushing his hat back on his head. "Yes, I'm going to lecture you. You deserve it, every one of you-so don't sit there looking self-righteous. That kender'"-he pointed at Tasslehoff, who cringed-"has more brains beneath that ridiculous topknot of his than the lot of you have put together. Do you know what would have happened to you if the kender hadn't had the guts to do what he did? Do you? "ell, III tell you. Just let me find a seat here. . . :' Fizban peered around vaguely. "Ah, yes, there. . :' Nodding in satisfaction, the old mage toddled over and sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the sacred Whitestone!

The assembled knights gasped in horror. Gunthar leaped to his feet, appalled at this sacrilege.

"No mortal can touch the Whitestone!" he yelled, striding forward.

Fizban slowly turned his head to regard the furious knight. "One more word;' the old mage said solemnly, "and I'll make, your moustaches fall off. Now sit down and shut up!"

Sputtering, Gunthar was brought up short by an imperious; gesture from the old man. The knight could do nothing bu

return to his seat.

'Where was I before I was interrupted?" Fizban scowled, Glancing around, his gaze fell on the broken pieces of the orb' "Oh, yes. I was about to tell you a story. One of you would have won the orb, of course. And you would have taken it either to keep it 'safe' or to 'save the world: And, ye, it is cap ble of saving the world, but only if you know how to use'*, Who of you has this knowledge? Who has true strength? orb was created by the greatest, most powerful mages of of All the most powerful-do you understand? It was created b those of the White Robes and these of the Black Robes. It h the essence of both evil and good. The Red Robes brought bo essences together and bound them with their force. Few th are now with the power and strength to understand the orb, fathom its secrets, and to gain mastery over it. Few indeed" Fizban's eyes gleamed-".and none who sit here!"

Silence had fallen now, a profound silence as they llis.tened the old mage, whose voice was strong and carried above rising wind that was blowing the storm clouds from, the sky,

"One of you would have taken the orb and used it, and you would have found that you had hurled yourself upon disaster. You would have been broken as surely as the kender broke the orb. As for hope being shattered, I tell you that hope was lost for a time, but now it has been new born-"

A sudden gust of wind caught the old mage's hat, blowing it

off his head and tossing it playfully away from him. Snarling in irritation, Fizban crawled forward to pick it up.

Just as the mage leaned over, the sun broke through the clouds. There was a blazing flash of silver, followed by a splin-

tering, deafening crack as though the land itself had split apart. Half-blinded by the flaring light, people blinked and gazed in fear and awe at the terrifying sight before their eyes.

The Whitestone had been split asunder.

The old magician lay sprawled at its base, his hat clutched in his hand, his other arm flung over his head in terror. Above him, piercing the rock where he had been sitting, was a iong

weapon made of gleaming silver. It had been thrown by the silver arm of a black man, who walked over to stand beside it. Accompanying him were three people: an elven woman dressed in leather armor, an old, white-bearded dwarf, and Elistan.