9th Day of Coldeven, 565 CY

The Brass Dragon Inn, Furyondy

Tadoa sighed as he walked around the inn towards the stables.

The sun had not yet risen, although the stars low in the east were waning as the horizon began to brighten. The great moon Luna hung in the western sky, nearly full, while the Handmaiden, Celene, was directly overhead, about half-full.

The young elf paid attention to none of this. He kept his gaze firmly downward.

All things considered; Tad had been holding up pretty well until the start of Coldeven. He had made pains to impress the Sir Dorbin party with both his knowledge of the Flanaess and his ability to handle matters pertaining to running an inn. As much as possible, he made sure he was front and center when needed, and perhaps even when he wasn't. The child had gone out of his way to appear indifferent around Wescene, but when he saw her together with Sitdale, he would always make haste to go elsewhere, before the ache in his chest could intensify. At least Dorbin and Torlina were discreet about their relationship, he thought.

Now however, Dorbin and his friends seemed to be running the Brass Dragon just fine. Tad helped out as always, but his advice was requested less and less often. He had spent more time with the horses (thankful that Elrohir and Aslan had decided to leave them behind). They of course, were completely nonjudgmental, but in the past week the elf had begun to feel like even they were just tolerating his presence, and he had begun to sulk in solitude more and more often. He had not played with any of the dogs in almost a week, either.

Tadoa had begun to choose chores that would allow him to work alone: washing dishes after hours, cleaning the cabins and rooms, and working in the stables in the early morning hours. As he had done for the past week, he strode quickly and quietly to the back of the enclosure. Hanging on the rear wall was a stick jammed into a crack in the stone that had continual light cast upon it. Several thick cloths were draped over it. Tad removed one of the cloths, and a light about equal to a candle illuminated the interior of the stables. More than enough light for him to work by.

"Tad?"

The elf spun around. He had just grabbed a pitchfork, and had it pointed in the direction of the voice even as he recognized it.

It was Perlial. Tad lowered the pitchfork and moved over slowly to the horses. They were both awake, which was unusual this early in the morning. The child could see something different in the horse's eyes. An expression of- well, he wasn't sure exactly what the corresponding emotion would be on a human face.

White Lightning shared the same identical expression as her lifelong friend. "I am sorry, Tad. We did not mean to frighten you," she spoke in her unique, husky voice. "Something has happened to Perlial; something disturbing, and we are not sure what it was. Perhaps you might know."

The elf nodded slowly; his attention fully focused now. "Of course. What was it?"

White Lightning looked over to Perlial, who moved her head closer to Tadoa's. The horse's large brown eyes seemed to be trying to supplement what she was trying to say, but the elf couldn't decipher that. All he had to go on were her words.

"I was right here. I had closed my eyes and was going to sleep, just like every other night... and then suddenly... somehow... I was not here anymore."

Tad frowned, trying to imagine this- and then an awful thought struck him. "Was it Nodyath? Did he teleport you away, using his Talent?"

Perlial shook her head. "I do not know. I do not know what that would be like, but Aslan has always said that I am too large for him to move." The steed gave her mane a small shake. "He laughs and says I am too fat." She then eyed Tadoa again. "Would not Nodyath also be so limited?"

The child considered. "You're probably right. I'm sorry, please continue."

The mare continued. "It was dark. It may have been a cave, but I am not sure. It has been many years since I was in one. There was stone under my hooves. It was rough, and it hurt. I could hear water dripping but could not see it. There was a faint light off in the distance. I walked towards it. There was fear in my heart, but I do not know why..."

Perlial fell silent. Her breathing had accelerated, and she was staring off into the distance now. Tadoa put his hand on her neck, but the horse seemed not to notice. After a few moments, she continued.

"Suddenly... again, I know not how... I was in a swamp. There was fog all around. I could see only a length or so ahead of me. I could hear Aslan. He was shouting for me. I began to run... my hooves stuck in the mud, but I pulled them free and kept galloping. His voice became fainter, even though I ran towards it, or thought I did. I could hear beating wings above me... flies and wasps stung my back, but I did not care...I had to find Aslan... I had to find him!"

Tad was concerned. Perlial seemed to be becoming more and more agitated. As her voice slowly rose in pitch, more horse-like sounds began to intrude on it; she became harder to understand. The child glanced over at White Lightning, who was staring at Perlial in rapt fascination. He wondered if he should tell Perlial to stop her narrative while he went and got one of the Sir Dorbin party, but the steed kept on.

"Then, I heard Aslan again. He was close, but then I heard his voice twice! He seemed to be arguing with himself. Then, there were the sounds of a battle. Swords ringing off shields, and... there was a scream! I slowed down, but the fear in my heart kept rising. Then, a figure came slowly towards me out of the mist. I saw... I saw..."

Without warning, Perlial reared up on her hind legs and screamed, a purely horse-like neigh of animal terror. Her hooves kicked against the wooden wall of her stall, smashing two holes in them. White Lightning did not rear, but also reacted in terror, her eyes rolling white in panic. The pegasi and other horses also awoke and added their cries to the din. Tad rushed about frantically, trying his best to calm the animals. Somehow, amongst the din, the elf heard another horse whinny in fear, but this one came from outside the stables, perhaps only ten yards away.

"Whoa, boy! Calm down, good fella! There's nothing to fear here! I'll find out what's going on."

The child frowned. It was a human's voice, not familiar. There were only a few guests currently at the Brass Dragon, and he was pretty sure it wasn't any of them. Tad heard the distinctive sound of an armored individual dismounting, and then the man appeared in the archway of the stables.

He was of average height and weight for a human and in his late twenties, the elf guessed. He had a thick mane of cherry-blond hair and a somewhat lighter mustache, but no beard, only stubble. He was clearly a warrior of some kind, clad in plate mail with a metal shield strapped to his back. He squinted, his hazel eyes trying to make out details inside. "Hello? Madam? Is anyone in here? Do you need help?"

Tadoa removed the remaining cloths from the continual light stick. Although he hadn't expected it to, the sudden eruption of light seemed to abate the equine storm within the stables, at least to the point where the elf could get a handle on it. The man blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear his vision. By the time he had, Tadoa was again stroking Perlial's neck and speaking to her softly. Both she and White Lightning seemed to be back to normal, although neither spoke. Their heads hung down low, their eyes shut tight.

The man seemed a bit taken aback. "I'm sorry, young master elf," he stated, smiling in confusion. "I thought I heard a woman. She sounded upset, and then I heard the horses start-"

Tad moved forward, smiling. "There are no women here, good sir, as you can plainly see. I was talking to the horses, and accidentally startled one, who set off the rest. Do you seek lodging? We have no private rooms available I'm afraid, but there is a floor available in the common room. I can tend to your horse and then check you in, if you'd like."

The man stared hard at the elf. Tadoa knew his attempt to distract him was obvious but hoped that his childlike appearance would keep him from asking too many questions, at least until the elf could get some help, if needed. Slowly, the human nodded, but his expression clearly indicated that he was not buying all of Tadoa's story. The man took a deep breath, and Tad suddenly realized he looked bone-tired, as if he had been riding for a long time. The man walked back to his horse and slowly brought the animal inside by the reins, which he handed to the child.

"Thank you, my young friend," he said with a weary half-smile. "That sounds like a fine offer indeed." The man stretched his back, groaning as his muscles protested. He began to remove the shield from his back. "A floor indoors sounds much better than my recent sleeping fare. An extra silver piece if you could rustle up a pillow for me," he added. "Can you tell me, my lad; this road- does it lead to Willip?"

Tad nodded as he finished putting the man's horse in a stall and removing its gear. "About ten leagues away. If you leave tomorrow morning, you should have no trouble-"

He stopped. It was the man's shield. He couldn't stop staring at it.

The human glanced down at the shield he now held in his hands. On it was a stylized black silhouette of a man, with indentations marking the arms, legs and neck. The silhouette of a sword floated by the figure's right arm. The background consisted of seven horizontal stripes. The colors of the rainbow, from red on top to indigo below. The man looked back up at Tadoa, and a smug smile came onto his face.

"You've not seen this device before, my young friend. I can assure you of that. I come from a land so far away, you could not possibly-"

The elf looked up into the man's eyes. "You're Sir Menn, aren't you?"

The shield fell from the human's hands, clattering to the ground below. His eyes grew wide, and he actually stepped back several paces. "How," he whispered. "How did you..."

Now it was Tadoa who smiled smugly. He bent down and picked up the shield. "This is the device of the Kingdom of Rolos," he said, never taking his eyes off the human's face. "On Aarde. I remember it." The child smiled as his elven ears detected the approach of another person. He could guess who this one was. "You're looking for Sir Dorbin and his friends, aren't you?"

Sir Menn's eyes hardened, and Tadoa suddenly realized he might have carried this a little too far.

"You are no child," the knight said in a low, even voice. "What are you? Wizard? Fiend? Why this deception?"

His right hand was now grasping the hilt of his sword.

Tadoa held up his hands in a gesture of friendship. "What you see is who I am, good Sir Menn. I can explain everything. Sir Dorbin is-"

And at that moment, the aforementioned knight appeared behind Sir Menn, who had his back to him. "Tad?" he said. "We heard the horses. Is there a problem?"

Sir Menn's eyes returned to their dinner plate dimensions. He spun around and ran about one foot before colliding head-on with Sir Dorbin. Both knights crashed to the ground in a heap, clutching their heads.

"-right here," finished Tadoa.

Both men helped each other up, all the while grinning and shouting out so many different things at once that the elf couldn't follow it all. While Perlial, White Lightning and the pegasi remained quiet, the other horses again voiced their displeasure at the racket.

"All right, you two! Take it outside!" the child ordered. The two humans moved out of sight, but the net volume of their voices still increased as the other eight members of Dorbin's party came running over.

Tad laid Sir Menn's shield against the wall, then went back over to the horses. "Perlial," he said softly. There was no response.

"Perlial!"

The mare's eyes blinked open. She stared at Tad without expression.

The elf chewed his lip and continued. "Perlial, I think you had what humans call a dream. You didn't actually go anywhere. What you saw was all in your mind."

Slowly, the mare raised her head. "They speak of them often," she said quietly, her eyes now looking outside. "I have never had one before. Why would I now, and what does it portend?"

Tad exhaled heavily. "I know little of dreams, Perlial. I believe only humans have them. When they have calmed down outside, I shall talk to them about it. Will that be all right for you?

The steed nodded. White Lightning walked over to the child and nudged him. "You are a good friend to us, Tad. Thank you."

"I am frightened, Tad."

Perlial had spoken so softly, even Tad had trouble hearing it.

He whispered to Perlial, "Do not fear. I promise you; we will find out what this means but take heart. Even humans say most of their dreams are meaningless." He gave the horse his best smile, then headed outside…

The general tumult outside had gone down a few notches. Sir Dorbin was apparently telling his friend on how they had come to Oerth.

"…we were able to divine that Fee Hal was still alive, so we activated the device and came after him. At least this way, we figured that we would all be-"

Sir Dorbin stopped. Sir Menn was glaring at him, his arms crossed.

"What?"

The new arrival's face held an expression that was half-scorn, half-smile. "You could have left me a note or something, you know."

Tad whistled innocently. Sir Dorbin glanced back at him with an expression similar to Menn's. He then turned back to his friend. "Sorry."

"May I speak with you for a moment, Sir Dorbin?"

The knight frowned, glancing back at Sir Menn, but then realized that Tadoa wouldn't be pulling him away from this reunion if he didn't think it important. He walked over to the elf. "Yes, Tad?"

The child began walking back towards the stables, Dorbin following. "I'm not sure what's going on, Sir Dorbin" he said. "If I had to guess, I'd say that Nodyath is using his helm to give Perlial bad dreams."

Dorbin frowned. "Why would he want to do that?"

Tadoa shrugged. Suddenly, it was he who felt tired, although he had just gotten up recently. "I don't know, but Perlial is scared, and frankly, she's not the only one."

He glanced up at Sir Dorbin's face. The knight took Tad's hand in his own, and the two of them walked into the stables.