This story takes place during the Legends series. Raistlin, Caramon, and
Crystina are not my property, and not even mentioned by name, but this is
just in case you didn't know. All characters are property of Margaret Weis
and Tracey Hickman. Please read and enjoy!
From my perch in the tree I could see the two strangers walk into town. I had been in that tree for nearly five days. I had been there when the young woman dressed in white came into town. She had ran from house to house, looking for someone, anyone. Finally, she collapsed near the center of town and began to sob.
What did she have to sob about? She hadn't seen everyone she ever cared about slowly killed by this plague. She hadn't left one day and came back two later to find half the village killed. She hadn't been hiding in a tree for days to avoid the contagious disease. She hadn't been so terribly alone for so long.
I was only eight years old, but I understood what was happening to our village when I had come back from my first "real" hunting trip. I quickly scaled the largest tree in town, hoping to avoid contracting what was killing everyone. I guess it worked because I didn't get sick, well, sick from the disease. The sickening images of people digging graves, only to collapse into them had haunted me for days.
I thought that by now, nearly everyone had to be dead. I would've gotten down the morning the woman came into town, but I couldn't. Being in the tree hadn't kept me from getting the disease as I had hoped. I awoke that morning feeling terrible. I knew immediately what had happened. I had the plague.
Then the woman came into town. I watched her with curiosity. I thought that this might be the woman that would be digging my own grave later. I had thought nothing of her finally deciding on one house in particular and spend a great deal of time there. I figured she must have decided to move in.
Then the two strangers came. One of them was a giant of a man, bigger even than Jonathan the Blacksmith. Jonathan, he was a huge man as well, but his strength couldn't save him from the disease that was sweeping the countryside. The other was a smaller man, dressed all in black, a magic- user by the looks of him.
Black robes were rumored to be one of the causes of this plague. I had heard from William, another dead friend that the black robes had conspired with their god, before he abandoned the world, to reek havoc on the people by releasing a plague.
I watched the two men wander around town for a while, first by themselves, then with the woman, nearly all day. Finally, I fell into a fitful sleep. When I awoke the next morning, the black-robe was standing off away from the other two. He began to trace symbols in the air. Though I was pretty far away, I could hear the level of his voice slowly raising. I could tell he was going to do some magic, but I had no idea what. Once, a magician had come to town and done tricks for us children during our harvest fair. This guy looked more important than that man had been.
I looked up into the air and saw the clouds begin to darken and swirl above the town. That's just what I needed, a storm to go along with my already near crippling plague. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped dramatically. Suddenly I realized that this was no storm, this was the mage's doing! I was too weak to shout or to run, but I was afraid. I hadn't been afraid since that first night in the tree. I didn't think there was fear after the things that I had seen.
Suddenly, I column of fire surrounded the mage. He began to coax it, make it bend to his will. The fire began to spread. That's when I caught a vision of the woman walking towards the fire. Perhaps this mage was killing them all before the plague had its chance to cripple them as it was crippling me. When the woman finally reached the fire, she walked though it without harm! I could clearly see her and the mage, embracing within the fire.
The column of fire continued spreading and it reached the front of the closest houses. The houses, that had stood for longer than my parents had been alive, were instantly consumed. House after house went up before my eyes. I realized that this fire was meant to destroy this plague city before it could infect others, and that meant that I was to go with it.
The people more than likely had no idea that I was even there. They most certainly didn't hear the squeak of a cry when the fire finally touched me. Before I died, I saw the black-robed mage one more time. I could see the power that this man possessed. I knew that something important had happened here this day and that I was a part of it, even if no one ever knew.
From my perch in the tree I could see the two strangers walk into town. I had been in that tree for nearly five days. I had been there when the young woman dressed in white came into town. She had ran from house to house, looking for someone, anyone. Finally, she collapsed near the center of town and began to sob.
What did she have to sob about? She hadn't seen everyone she ever cared about slowly killed by this plague. She hadn't left one day and came back two later to find half the village killed. She hadn't been hiding in a tree for days to avoid the contagious disease. She hadn't been so terribly alone for so long.
I was only eight years old, but I understood what was happening to our village when I had come back from my first "real" hunting trip. I quickly scaled the largest tree in town, hoping to avoid contracting what was killing everyone. I guess it worked because I didn't get sick, well, sick from the disease. The sickening images of people digging graves, only to collapse into them had haunted me for days.
I thought that by now, nearly everyone had to be dead. I would've gotten down the morning the woman came into town, but I couldn't. Being in the tree hadn't kept me from getting the disease as I had hoped. I awoke that morning feeling terrible. I knew immediately what had happened. I had the plague.
Then the woman came into town. I watched her with curiosity. I thought that this might be the woman that would be digging my own grave later. I had thought nothing of her finally deciding on one house in particular and spend a great deal of time there. I figured she must have decided to move in.
Then the two strangers came. One of them was a giant of a man, bigger even than Jonathan the Blacksmith. Jonathan, he was a huge man as well, but his strength couldn't save him from the disease that was sweeping the countryside. The other was a smaller man, dressed all in black, a magic- user by the looks of him.
Black robes were rumored to be one of the causes of this plague. I had heard from William, another dead friend that the black robes had conspired with their god, before he abandoned the world, to reek havoc on the people by releasing a plague.
I watched the two men wander around town for a while, first by themselves, then with the woman, nearly all day. Finally, I fell into a fitful sleep. When I awoke the next morning, the black-robe was standing off away from the other two. He began to trace symbols in the air. Though I was pretty far away, I could hear the level of his voice slowly raising. I could tell he was going to do some magic, but I had no idea what. Once, a magician had come to town and done tricks for us children during our harvest fair. This guy looked more important than that man had been.
I looked up into the air and saw the clouds begin to darken and swirl above the town. That's just what I needed, a storm to go along with my already near crippling plague. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped dramatically. Suddenly I realized that this was no storm, this was the mage's doing! I was too weak to shout or to run, but I was afraid. I hadn't been afraid since that first night in the tree. I didn't think there was fear after the things that I had seen.
Suddenly, I column of fire surrounded the mage. He began to coax it, make it bend to his will. The fire began to spread. That's when I caught a vision of the woman walking towards the fire. Perhaps this mage was killing them all before the plague had its chance to cripple them as it was crippling me. When the woman finally reached the fire, she walked though it without harm! I could clearly see her and the mage, embracing within the fire.
The column of fire continued spreading and it reached the front of the closest houses. The houses, that had stood for longer than my parents had been alive, were instantly consumed. House after house went up before my eyes. I realized that this fire was meant to destroy this plague city before it could infect others, and that meant that I was to go with it.
The people more than likely had no idea that I was even there. They most certainly didn't hear the squeak of a cry when the fire finally touched me. Before I died, I saw the black-robed mage one more time. I could see the power that this man possessed. I knew that something important had happened here this day and that I was a part of it, even if no one ever knew.
