Laurana knew, from the look on Gunthar's face, that things

DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES

had gone favorably. But if so, why the maneuvering? "Sturm's been pardoned?" she asked. Gunthar grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Not parcIoned, my dear. That would have implied his guilt. No. He has been completely vindicated! I pushed for that. Pardon would not have suited us at all. His knighthood is granted. He has his command officially bestowed upon him. And Derek is in serious trouble!" "I am happy, f StUrm's sake;' Laurana said coolly, exchanging worried looks with Elistan. Although she liked what she had seen of Lord Gunthar, she had been brought up in a royal household and knew Sturm was being made a game piece. Gunthar caught the edge of ice in her voice, and his face became grave. "Lady Laurana;' he said, speaking more somberly, "I know what you are thanking that I am dangling Sturm from puppet strings. Let us be brutally frank" lady. The Knights are divided, split into two factions-Derek's and my own. And we both know what happens to a tree split in two:' both si des w ither and die. This b atkle between us must end, or will have tragic consequences. Now, lady and Elistan, for have come to trust and rely on your judgment, I leave this it your hands. You have met me and you have met Lard Derelip" Crownguard, Who would you choose to head the Knights?" -

"You, of course, Lord Gunthar," Elistan said sincerely.

Laurana nodded her head. "I agree. This feud is ruinous the Knightood. I saw that myself, in the Council meeti And-from what I've heard of the reports coming fr Palanthas-it is hurting our cause there as well. My first c tern. must be for my friend, however:"

"I quite understand, and I am glad to hear you say so;" G thar said approvingly, "because it makes the verve great favo am about to ask of you easier' Gunthar tack Laurana's arm. want you to go to Palanthas:'

"tNhat? Why? I don't. understand!"

"Of course not. Let me explain. Please sit down. You, t Elistan. I'll pour some wine-`

I think not," Laurana sand, sitting near the window.

"Very well" Gunthar's face became grave. He laid his over Laurana's. "We knew pulitics,you and I, lady. 5o I going to arrange all my game pieces bedore you. You will be traveling to Palanthas to teach the knights to use the dragonlances. It is a legitimate reason. Without Theros, you and the dwarf are the only ones who understand their usage. And--let's face it-the dwarf is too short to handle one:'

Gunthar cleared his throat. "You will take the lances to Palanthas. But more importantly, you will carry with you a Writ of Vindication from the Council fully restoring Sturm's honor. That will strike the death's blow to Derek's ambition. The moment Sturm puts on his armor, all will know I have the Council's full support. I shouldn't wonder if Derek won't go on trial when he returns'

"But why me?" Laurana asked bluntly. "I can teach anyoneLord Michael, for example-to use a dragonlance. He can take them to Palanthas. He can carry the Writ to Sturm-"

"Lady-" Lard Gunthar gripped her hand hard" drawing near and speaking barely above a whisper- "you still do not understand! I cannot trust Lord Michael! I cannot- I dare not

trust any one of the knights with this! Derek has been knocked from his horse-so to speak-but he hasn't lost the tourney yet. I need someone I can trust implicitly! Someone who knows

Derek for what he is, who has Sturm's best interests at heart!" "I do have Sturm's interests at heart;' Laurana said coldly. "I put them above the interests of the Knighthood:'

"Ah, but remember, Lady Laurana," Gunthar said, rising to his feet and bowing as he kissed her hand, "Sturm's only inter-

est is the Knighthood. What would happen to him, do you think, if the Knighthood should fall? What will happen to him if Derek seizes control?"

In the end of course Laurana agreed to go to Palanthas, as Gunthar had known she must. As the time of her departure drew nearer, she began to dream almost nightly of Tanis arriv-

ing on the island just hour; after she left. More than once she was on the verge of refusing to go, but then site thought of facing Tanis, of having to tell him she had refrused to go to Sturm to warn him of this peril. This kept her from changing her mind. This – and her regard for Storm I t was during the lonely nights, when her heart arid her arms ached for Tanis, and she had visions of him holding that human Woman -withthedark, curl y hair, Hashing brawneyes, and the charming, crooked smile, that her soul was in turmoil.

Her friends could give her little comfort. One of them, Elistan, left when a messenger arrived from the elves, requesting the cleric's presence, and asking that an emissary from the knights accompany him. There was little time for farewells. Within a day of the arrival of the elven messenger, Elistan and Lord Alfred's son-a solemn, serious young man named Douglas-began their journey back to Southern Ergoth. Laurana had newer felt so alone as she bid her mentor goodbye.

Tasslehoff faced a sad parting as well.

In the midst of the excitement over the dragonlance, everyone forgot poor Gnosh and his Life Quest, which lay in a thousand sparkling pieces on the grass. Everyone but Fizban, The aid magician rose from where he lay cowering on the ground before the shattered Whitestone and went to the stricken gnome, who was staring woefully at the shattered dragon orb. t

"There, there, my boy;" said Fizban, "this isn't the end of everything"

"It isri t?" asked Gnosh, so miserable he finished a sentence, l

"No, of course not I You've got to look at this from the proper-

7

perspective. Why, now you've got a chance to study a drago

orb from the inside outs"

Gnosh's eyes brightened. "You're right;" he said after a short pause, "and, in fact, I bet I could glue-"

"Yes, yes;' Fizban said hurriedly, but Gnash lunged forward, his speech growing faster and Easter.

"We could tag the pieces,don'tyousee,andthendrawadia gram ofwhereeachpiece waslyingontheground,which-'

"Quite, quite;' Fizban muttered.

"Step aside, sleep aside;" Gnosh said importantly, shoo'nj people away from the orb. "Mind where you walk, Lord Guy than and, yes, we're going to study it from the inside out nosn~, and I should have a report in a matter of weeks-"

Gnosh and Fizban cordoned off the area and set to work. Fq the next two days, Fizban stood on the broken Whitestari making diagrams, supposedly marking the exact location d each piece before it was picked up. (One of Fizban's diagraru accidentally ended up in the kender's pouch, Tas, discoverd later that it was actually a game known as "x's and zeroes" which the mage had been playing against himself andapparently•-lost. )

Gnosh, meanwhile, crawled happily around on the grass, sticking bits of parchment adorned with numbers on pieces of glass smaller than the bits of parchment. He and Fizban finally collected the 2, 687 pieces of dragon orb in a basket and transported them back to Mount Nevermind.

Tasslehoff had been offered the choice of staying with Fizban or going to Palanthas with Laurana and Flint. The choice was simple. The kender knew two such innocents as the elfmaid and the dwarf could not survive without him. But it was hard leaving his old friend. Two days before the ship sailed, he paid a final visit to the .gnomes and to Fizban.

After an exhilarating ride in the catapult, he found Gnosh in the Examination Roam. The pieces of the broken dragon orbtagged and numbered-were spread out across two tables.

"Absolutelyfascinaking,;' Gnosh spoke so fast he stuttered, "because wehaveandyzedtheglass, curiousmaterial, unlikenothingwe've everseen, greatestdiscovery, thiscentury-"

"So your Life Quest is aver?" Tas interrupted. "Your father's soul-"

Restingcomfartably!" Gnosh beamed, then returned to, his work. ".4ndsogladyaueauldstopby andify.ou'reeverinthe neighborhoodcomebyandseeusagain-"