Finally getting this story moving along. :)
A long uncomfortable silence fell over the companions at Flint's statement. They sat drinking their ale and picking at their food for long moments.
"Did she say why she couldn't come?" asked Caramon finally.
"Her duties to her new lord prevent her from coming," replied Tanis. "What new lord is she talking about, do you know?"
"I haven't seen her since the last time we were here, five years ago. She is a mercenary. She must have sworn allegiance to another," said Caramon.
Tanis sighed. Of all of the companions scheduled to meet at the inn that night, she was the one he most wanted to see. For five years he had tried to logically push her out of his mind, but her dark eyes and crooked smile refused to be banished. He knew a relationship between them was bound to end in tragedy on his end. Even though he was only half elven, his life was still considerably longer than a human's. However, he was prepared to tell her that it didn't matter to him, that he wanted to be with her.
"Ah, finally. Here comes one that can tell you more," Flint spoke up.
Tanis turned to look at the door. "Sturm!"
Standing at the door was a sight very seldom seen in southern Krynn. It was a man dressed in full plate armor and chain mail. It was a Solamnic Knight, the symbol of the Order of the Rose on the breastplate. The Knights of Solamnia had fallen into ill favor in the north since the Cataclysm, and word of their corruption had drifted even this far south. Many in the inn turned to scowl at the knight, but one look into his calm, cold eyes caused all to hold their tongues. Disliked as they were, knights were well known for their prowess in battle.
Sturm held the door open for two people as they walked in. A tall man and a woman heavily cloaked in furs came in, the woman apparently muttering a word of thanks as the knight courtly bowed in a manner long forgotten in the modern world.
"Look at that, the gallant knight assisting the fair lady. I wonder where he found those two," Caramon said as he watched the three walk in.
"They're barbarians from the Plains. That's the dress of the Que-shu tribe," said Tas as he stood in his chair to wave Sturm over.
Sturm bowed once more to the two barbarians as they refused any more assistance, and walked over to the table where the rest of the companions sat. Nearing the table, he noticed that there were three faces missing. He raised an eyebrow at that. "We seem to be missing some people," he said as Tanis stood up and embraced him.
"Not some, just one," Tanis said as he sat back down, motioning for Sturm to have a seat.
"Who?"
"Kitiara," Tas said as he placed a mug of ale in front of Sturm. "She has a new lord that is keeping her busy."
"We were wondering if you could help us out with that." Tanis looked at Sturm expectantly.
"Not I. We parted ways after getting to Old Solamnia." Sturm thought for a moment. "She said she was going to look up relatives of her father. That was the last I saw of her. Where are Delano and Raistlin?"
"Upstairs talking," replied Caramon.
"They have both changed," Tanis added.
"For the better, I hope," said Sturm.
"Nope," growled Flint. "Speaking of those two, do they plan on coming back?"
"I'll go check on them," said Caramon as he stood up. He went over to the stairs and began climbing. He was gone maybe half a minute before he walked back down, his head held low. "They're still talking." Sturm frowned.
"Who are those two?" Tasslehoff asked as the barbarians walked by the table on their way to the two empty chairs by the fireplace.
"I found them wandering around outside of town. They appeared ready to collapse from exhaustion. I brought them here, telling them that they could get food and rest for the night. I think they would have refused my help had they not been so tired and lost. And," Sturm's face darkened, "there are things on the roads nowadays that are better not met after dark."
"We know. Goblins looking for a blue crystal staff. We were all stopped," Tanis said.
"I was too. But that seems minor compared to the rumors from the far north. Armies gathering of strange creatures not seen before on Krynn. Talk of war."
"War with whom, though? I've heard the same."
"So have I. In fact, I heard that—" Caramon began.
Tas turned from the conversation, bored. He looked over to the two barbarians. They were sitting next to the fire, listening to the old man spin his tales of the old gods. His crowd of children had grown too. There was another intently listening, a man in the brown and gold robes of the Seekers. The Seekers (seekers of the new gods) had come into prominence many years after the Cataclysm. The people wanted to believe in something, and the Seekers provided them with that something. The Seekers had become so well liked, that they soon took positions of political power and began governing.
"Are the stories of the old gods true, Old One?" a young boy asked.
"Yes, my child, they are. But don't just take my word for it. Ask these two over here. They carry the stories in their hearts." The old man pointed over to the two barbarians who looked alarmed at having attention drawn to them.
"Can you tell us a story, miss?" the young boy asked.
"I-I'm afraid I'm not a teller of tales. I have not the art," she said in thick accented Common.
"Ah, but you are a singer of songs, are you not Chieftain's Daughter? Sing us a song Goldmoon." At that, the old man produced a lute and handed it to her.
Goldmoon stared at the old man in astonishment. "H-How did you know my name?"
"That's not important. Sing us your song, Chieftain's Daughter, you know the one," the old man said, staring into her eyes.
Goldmoon began to sing, oblivious to the attention she received from the rest of the inn. She sang for the old man alone, her eyes never leaving his.
It was then that Delano and Raistlin walked downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, the two turned to watch Goldmoon sing. Like everyone else in the inn, Delano was fascinated by her beauty. Her face was beautiful, but it was her hair that captured the heart. It was like finely woven gold and silver strands falling below her shoulder blades. No artisan on Krynn could produce the look her hair had. It was truly one of the wonders of the world.
"Wow . . ." Delano whispered once the song was done.
Raistlin chuckled. "Not a chance, Delano. Look at the man sitting next to her."
"Since when has that ever stopped me before?"
"True. I advise against it, though."
"Why?"
"Just a hunch."
"Fine." Delano looked around for Tika, saw her, and motioned her over. "Might we have some more wine?" Delano smiled as he handed their glasses to her.
"Sure Delano." She smiled as she bounded off to the bar.
"You're going to sweep her off her feet without even trying if you're not careful."
"By asking for wine? I think you overestimate my abilities Ray."
"If you say so." Raistlin gestured at the table and they both began walking over to it. "Sturm is here." His dislike for the knight was evident in his tone. Sturm was leery of magic users in general, as were most knights, so he had suffered the friendship of the two. He was a great swordsman, however, so having him on your side in a fight was a blessing.
Sturm was involved with the conversation he, Tanis, Flint and Caramon were having, so he didn't notice the two young men approach the table. In fact, none of them did. When the two sat down, the other four companions seemed surprised that they were there. Tas had seen them walk down the stairs though. He watched them talk, order wine and make their way to the table. He really wanted to know how the conversation upstairs went, but he knew they wouldn't tell him. Their private conversations were always that, private. Sneaking up on two magic users was damn near impossible when they didn't want to be over heard.
"Greetings, knight," Raistlin said. Sturm looked over to him and his eyes widened. Raistlin grinned at that. He could at least enjoy surprising Sturm now that his shock over seeing Delano again was gone.
Tasslehoff was not the only one who noticed the two young magic users walk down the stairs and move to sit at the large table. The old man in gray robes watched the two with unnoticed intensity as they sat down.
"Well, at least you accepted him, Raistlin," the old man said into his mug as he took a sip. "This turn of events will be closely watched."
"I'm amazed that you're wearing red and not black." Sturm proceeded to ignore Raistlin and looked to Delano. "Interesting choice of color Delano."
The warlock took a sip of his wine and smiled at the knight. "You like? I really like the blue, adds character to the robes."
"They're predominately black."
"Don't worry. I'm not a black robed mage."
"Are you sure? Anyone seeing you from a distance is going to think so." Sturm's distaste for Delano's appearance was obvious in his tone.
"I believe that I would know whether or not I'm a black robe. Besides, anyone seeing you from a distance would assume that you're a knight, though I doubt you went through the procedures of actually becoming one."
Sturm set down his mug, his face turning red with anger.
"Well," Tanis began, trying to diffuse the situation. "Is there an explanation forthcoming?" he asked Delano.
"He has a truly remarkable staff, Tanis," Raistlin said. "How powerful it is remains to be seen. It does, however, seem to be the source of his powers." The two friends had decided on their walk down to the table that the staff was the best explanation.
Delano turned to Caramon. "Okay midget minotaur, I have a present for you."
Caramon turned to look at Delano, as did the rest of the companions.
Delano produced the sword and laid it on the table in front of the large warrior. "This was not easy at all to acquire. It's enchanted. As long as your heart beats, this blade cannot be damaged, not even by dragon fire." He placed his hand on Caramon's shoulder and uttered a magical phrase. The blade began to glow and Caramon did the same. After a few seconds, the glows faded.
Caramon was stunned. He looked at the sword, then at Delano, then again at Raistlin. Raistlin nodded and Caramon picked up the sword. He stared at it for a moment, then pressed it against his breast. He looked over at Delano and said a heartfelt, "Thank you." He stood up and attached it to his person, noticing how easily it fit him. He sat back down and rested his hand on the hilt. This sword feels really good, he thought. "Does it have a name?"
"It does. It's called 'Permanence'. Treat it well and it will never let you down."
"May I see it?" Sturm asked. Caramon nodded, drew the sword and handed it to Sturm hilt first. The knight took the sword and stood up. He held it out at arm's length, testing the balance. He performed some small maneuvers with it and held it up to his face so he could see the sharpness of the dual edge. He flipped it over to look at the hilt. The guard had what looked to be a dragon claw on each end that curved up towards the tip, and the pommel had another claw sticking out the end. The entire sword was black, even the blade.
The old man was getting ready to answer one of the children's questions when he noticed Sturm handling a black sword. He looked more closely at it and his eyes widened. He then looked over to Delano and studied his staff. His face grew sad as he shook his head and reached for his mug.
"Dark days are ahead of us I fear," he muttered into his mug. "I never thought those two relics would ever see Krynn again."
"Do you know any more stories?" a girl asked him.
"Why, yes, I do. Have you heard the 'Canticle of the Dragon'?"
"I must say Delano, that this is one of the finest one-handed swords I have ever seen." Sturm returned Permanence to Caramon. "Do you know what it's made of?"
"I do not," replied the warlock. He did know, but he was not about to disclose that information.
"It's definitely not steel. It's too light. Where did you get it?"
"Same place I got my staff."
"Which is?"
"Which is a place I'm not going to talk about."
Sturm glared at Delano and the other companions exchanged uneasy glances; all except Raistlin and Tas. Raistlin was enjoying the discussion and Tasslehoff was listening to the old man. Sturm slowly sat down. "Did they come from the Abyss itself?"
Delano actually laughed at that. "Do you honestly think that I would be here right now had I found myself in the Abyss? There's no way Takhisis would have let me leave."
"Who ish thish Takhishish? I've heard shenough about falshe godsh tonight," came a slurred comment from an obviously drunk man in brown and gold robes standing near the companions' table.
"No one, Seeker," Delano assured him.
"Good," the Seeker exclaimed as he turned around to walk back to his chair. He got about halfway there when he overheard the old man talking about Paladine, the god of good. He turned to glare at the old man as he roared, "Blashphemy!"
The entire inn fell silent at the man's outburst. "Blashphemy!" He staggered towards the old man and the two barbarians, scattering the children that had gathered around to listen to the stories. "Call the guardsh! Arresht thish man for corrupting our young and arresht those two for shinging lewd shongsh," he shouted as he pointed at the barbarians. "Foul witch! I'll take that shtaff," he said as he clumsily grabbed for Goldmoon's staff.
Goldmoon moved the staff, easily avoiding the Seeker. "You will not. It is mine." Tired as she was, her eyes were cool and commanding.
"Fool! I'm High Theocrat Hederick, I take what I want," he barked at her while he clumsily grabbed for her staff again.
She easily avoided Hederick again as her tall companion stood up. "Chieftain's Daughter told you it was hers and you could not have it," he said as he lightly shoved the Seeker away. Had the Theocrat been sober, he would have only taken a step backwards. But, being as drunk as he was, he completely lost his balance and, arms flailing wildly, he staggered backwards a few steps before falling into the fireplace.
Hederick erupted into flames as his robes caught fire and began screeching in pain as everyone in the inn looked upon the scene in stunned silence. Tas was the only one who wasn't frozen in place and leapt out of his chair and ran towards the engulfed man. He stood there a little confused when he got there, though, since he had no idea how he was going to go about helping the wildly flailing man.
The old man grabbed the staff from Goldmoon and held it out to the kender, saying, "Here! Use the staff to knock him down so we can smother the flames."
Tas, looking thankfully at the old man, grabbed the staff, swung it as hard as he could and hit the burning man square in the back, knocking him to the ground. To the amazement of everyone in the inn, the staff flared a bright blue light and the flames disappeared. The injuries Hederick sustained healed themselves; even the burnt hair on the man's head grew back. Tas stared at the staff in astonishment, for it had turned to blue crystal.
"The staff healed him!" the old man yelled. "The staff! Look at the staff!"
Murmurs quickly started spreading throughout the inn. "There it is! The blue crystal staff! Now they'll leave us alone!"
The companions shot glances of surprise at each other. Delano and Raistlin were looking intently at the staff, which was slowly returning to its wooden form. Tas was still staring in wide-eyed wonder at the staff.
"Arrest them! Arrest the barbarians. Arrest this group at the large table. They came in with them!" The old man was pointing directly at the companions.
Delano and Tanis barked "What?" simultaneously, both bolting up from their seats. "What in the name of the Abyss is wrong with you old man?" exclaimed Tanis.
Hederick sat up and looked himself over. His hands and face were completely healed and as he felt the top of his head, he noticed all his hair was back. He looked over at Goldmoon in shock. "You healed me with evil! Witch! As I burn to cleanse myself of this evil, you, too, will burn at the stake to purify your soul!" At that, he rose to his feet and plunged his hand into the fire, cackling madly. He removed his burnt hand, looked at the barbarians satisfactorily, and walked out of the inn calling for the guards.
Tika ran over to the table where the companions were. "You've got to get out of here! The entire town's been looking for that staff. The hooded men told us they would burn Solace to the ground if we were found to be harboring it."
"It's not our staff!" Tanis exclaimed. Delano was glaring at the old man who had sat back in his chair, grinning.
"You think they'll believe you?" Tika pointed at the patrons in the inn. They were all eyeing the companions, reaching for their weapons.
Tanis couldn't believe what was happening. He looked over his friends and then looked at the barbarians, who were both standing, looks of fear in their faces. Why is this happening, the half-elf asked himself. All I wanted was to come here, eat some good food, reminisce about old times and tell Kitiara that I made up my mind: I wanted to be with her. Now, they were in danger of being arrested and possibly killed.
Tanis looked around the inn at the patrons, and heard footsteps and yelling coming up the stairs. "We'll need to go out through the kitchen."
The rest of the companions were standing up and gathering their belongings. Delano walked around the table and came to stand in front of the old man. Sturm remained seated calmly drinking his ale. Tanis turned to him.
"Sturm, we've got to go."
"Why? We've done nothing."
"They think we have. They'll gladly hand us over to the guards, and Hederick will see to it that we're punished." A thought occurred to him. "Besides, there's a lady to protect."
Sturm looked over to the barbarians and set down his mug. He got up and walked over to them. "It seems that you're in danger. Being strangers here, you don't know the area. We grew up here, we know the area well. I insist that you leave with us so that we may escort you to safety," he said as he bowed to her.
Goldmoon looked at her companion and nodded. He said a few words in their language, and she shook her head fiercely. He repeated what he said and she snapped a sharp comment. He frowned, then reluctantly nodded.
"Thank you for your kindness, knight," she told Sturm. He escorted the barbarians to the kitchen. The rest of the companions followed, save for Tanis and Delano.
Delano stood in front of the old man. "You did that on purpose."
"Now is not the time, Delano Baeron. You must leave quickly." He smiled at the warlock and winked.
Tanis grabbed Delano's arm. "Come on, we need to leave. We'll figure this out later."
"Fine. Next time I see you old man, we're going to have a chat." He turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen.
Tanis glanced at the old man, who winked at him. "Hurry, Tanis Half-Elven, your flock needs you." Tanis stared at the old man for a moment, then went to the kitchen.
The old man watched as they all filed into the kitchen. "We will have a chat, Delano my child, though it won't go the way you think it will." He finished his ale, set down the mug, and walked out the front door of the inn.
The rest of the companions were gathered around a hole in the floor with a rope going through it in the back of the kitchen when Tanis and Delano finally rejoined them.
"That old man knows something, Tanis." Delano was obviously not very happy about leaving before he could drill the old man in gray for some answers.
"What would you have us do? Barricade ourselves in the kitchen while you talk to him? We have to leave now, before the guards get to the bottom of this rope. We don't have time for anything other than running."
Sturm was looking at them impatiently. "Are you two done arguing? Can we go now?"
Tasslehoff and Flint were already on the ground forty feet below. Goldmoon and her companion were in the process of climbing down the rope. Sturm was standing guard with his sword drawn while the remainder of the group waited their turn.
Tika ran in the kitchen and stopped behind Delano. She placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Go to my house, they won't think to look for you there."
"I don't know which one is yours," Delano replied.
"Tas does. Just tell him I said you could use my house for the night." She then turned and ran back out into the main room.
"How does he know—" Delano began as he turned his head to look at her before realizing she was already gone. He shook his head.
Caramon looked at the hole in the floor and the rope and turned to his brother. "How are you going to get down? I guess you could get on my back."
Raistlin glared at him. "I can get down myself," he hissed. Before anyone knew what he was doing, the mage jumped into the hole. Peering through the hole, Raistlin could be seen slowly floating down to the ground, the crystal on his staff glowing brightly. Caramon turned to look at Delano.
The warlock shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't know his staff could do that." And what a wonderful staff it is, thought Delano. I wonder what else it can do.
Caramon turned back to the rope and began climbing down.
"I'll stand guard 'til everyone is down," Sturm told the remaining two companions. Delano nodded, attached his staff to the brace on the back of his cloak and began climbing down after Caramon. Watching Delano, Tanis turned to Sturm.
"Well, old friend, we seem to be unable to avoid trouble. So much for a calm and entertaining evening."
Sturm flashed one of his rare smiles. "Welcome home, friend."
Tanis smiled back and gripped the rope just as Delano reached the ground. He got about halfway down before losing his grip and sliding the remaining twenty feet to the ground. His palms were rubbed raw by the rope.
Delano located Tasslehoff and quickly walked over to him. "Tika said we could use her house and that you knew where it was."
The kender looked up at the warlock brightly. "I do. Follow me."
The entire group now down at the base of the vallenwood, they proceeded to follow the kender. Moving quickly, Tasslehoff soon got the rest of the companions lost. All they could do was keep sight of him and hope he knew where he was going. They eventually reached the base of a tree Tas claimed to hold Tika's house. A rope ladder was hanging down from the walkway passing in front of Tika's front door and Tas quickly climbed up to see if the coast was clear. He got to the top, looked around for a second, and waved the rest up.
They all climbed up as quickly as possible (everyone behind Raistlin cursing to themselves as he slowly made the agonizing climb) and huddled around the door as Tas produced a lock pick kit and went to work opening the door. A few seconds later and the lock was sprung. Tas walked in and turned to face them.
"Please, come in," Tas said with a huge grin on his face, playing host. They filed in the small house and dispersed themselves around the room. Delano went to stand by the window so he could watch the walkways for any guards. Raistlin went to a chair near the fireplace and sat down, breathing heavily after the climb. The rest either took a seat in one of the few chairs or sat on the floor.
Tanis looked at Delano, but the warlock wasn't paying attention, so he walked over to Raistlin. "Well? What do you think?"
Raistlin looked up at the half-elf and shrugged. "If she's a charlatan, she's a damn good one."
Goldmoon's companion stood up and made to advance on the mage. "You dare call Chieftain's Daughter a charlatan?"
A low grumble emitted from Caramon's chest as he began to rise behind his brother. Goldmoon placed a hand on her companion's arm and held him fast. "No, Riverwind. They have a right to be suspicious. They do not know us." Caramon remained standing but Riverwind stepped back and sat back down next to Goldmoon.
"That staff healed that man. I've never in all my years seen healing that complete. She's no charlatan, though I doubt she knows how it happened," Delano spoke from the window.
Goldmoon looked over at Delano. He was still looking out the window so all she could see was his back. "I honestly don't know. I have had the staff for less than a day."
"Might I examine it?" Raistlin asked as he held out his hand. Goldmoon nodded and handed the staff to him. As soon as it touched his hand, Raistlin gasped in pain as the staff flared blue and the mage let it fall to the floor. Caramon took a step towards the barbarians. Raistlin grabbed his brother's hand and held him back.
"No, brother, she had no part in that."
"Then what happened? The staff damages as well as heals?" Flint asked.
"No, it merely knows its own. Caramon, take the staff."
"No way," said the warrior as he backed into the wall behind him.
"Take the staff!" Raistlin hissed at his brother.
"Caramon, grab the staff. If it hurts you, I will cut off one of my toes," Delano said without turning to the room.
Nearly everyone stared at Delano in shock. Raistlin looked over at him in amusement. After staring at the warlock for a moment, Caramon tentatively stepped forward and reached out for the staff. As his fingers neared it, he closed his eyes in anticipation of pain. Once he closed his hand around it, he opened his eyes and grinned. He lifted it up and held it for everyone to see, then handed it back to Goldmoon.
"I must be getting old," Flint grumbled. "Why didn't it hurt Caramon?"
"Only those pure in heart may wield it. The damage it does seems to be a defense mechanism against those of opposite alignment wielding it. It truly seems to be a sacred staff of healing, blessed by some god. No magical items I know of have healing powers."
Delano chuckled. "That new voice of yours is perfect for your sarcasm, Ray."
Sturm spoke up. "Why don't you try to pick it up then, Delano?"
"I think not."
"Why not? Afraid it's going to hurt you too?"
"Hush," Delano hissed. "Guards." He stepped out of the window and leaned against the wall.
The guards could be heard now, walking down the walkways and knocking on doors.
"How many?" Tanis asked.
"Two goblins," Delano replied.
Tanis looked over to the door and noticed that it was not fully closed. I thought we closed and latched the door, Tanis thought. "Caramon, the door," he hissed.
Caramon was already moving towards the door and went to stand behind it. The goblins were getting closer and they heard them knocking on the door of the house next door.
"Open up in the name of the Theocrat." The goblin tried the door. "It's locked. No one home." The two turned and walked towards Tika's house. All of the companions melted as best they could into the shadows, save Raistlin. He merely sat in the chair by the fireplace, in full view of the front door with his staff leaning against his shoulder.
The goblins reached the door and knocked, preparing to demand entry. Instead of their fists meeting resistance, the door simply swung open, revealing Raistlin sitting by the fireplace.
"Oh ho! What do we have here? It's a staff." The two goblins took a few steps into the house. "Hand me that staff or I'll call for more guards," the first goblin said.
"Certainly," replied Raistlin as he held out his staff. The goblin reached for the staff and Raistlin spoke. "Shirak." The crystal at the top of the staff flared a white light, blinding the two goblins for a moment. Caramon came from behind the door, grabbed the heads of the two goblins and smashed them together. The goblins fell in a heap on the floor.
"Are they dead?" Delano asked as Caramon bent down to check.
The big man sighed. "Yeah, I hit them too hard."
"Well, we can't stay here now," Delano said as he moved away from the wall he was leaning against.
"No, we can't." Tanis looked down at the goblins. "When these two don't report back, every goblin in Solace will be up here looking for them."
"What now?" asked Flint.
Delano motioned Tas over to him. "See if there's any food here. I didn't get a chance to eat anything at the inn."
Tasslehoff smiled up at him. "Sure thing Delano." Tas then went bounding into the kitchen rummaging through the drawers and cabinets, stuffing whatever he could find into his numerous pouches.
Tanis looked everyone over. Well, he thought to himself, what now? We can't stay here, and we can't leave Tika's house like this, she'll get in trouble. And where are we going to go? It's night and every goblin around is going to be looking for us. There's too many of us to simply hide in waiting. We have to leave Solace. He turned to the barbarians. "Where we you headed?"
Riverwind looked at him. "Haven," he said reluctantly.
"We heard there were wise men in Haven that might know something of the staff," Goldmoon added.
Delano snorted. "Doubtful."
Tanis glared at the warlock. Delano shrugged and went to go check on Tas. Tanis thought for a moment then seemed to come to a conclusion. "How about we head north. We'll go with you as far as the crossroads, then we can make a decision on where to head next. You two can turn southwest and head for Haven. I'm inclined to go with you, as I'm curious about the staff myself." The half-elf looked around at everyone. "Everyone okay with that?" They all nodded in agreement. "Okay." Tanis's mind was working quickly. "We can't leave Tika's house like this. We need to turn some tables and chairs over and hack up the door, make it look like we broke in here and the goblins found us. Caramon, make it look like the goblins died in a fight." Everyone got busy making it look like a vicious battle happened in the small room.
Goldmoon came over to Tanis and placed a hand on his arm. "Thank you. You are helping us and we're strangers."
Tanis looked at her and smiled. "My name is Tanis. The brothers are Raistlin and Caramon. The kender is Tasslehoff and the dwarf is Flint. The knight is Sturm and the one in black and blue is Delano. You're Goldmoon and he's Riverwind. There, we are strangers no longer."
She smiled back at him. Looking down at the half-elf's hands, she frowned. She grabbed both his hands and pulled them out away from his body. She then took her staff and laid it across his hands. The staff glowed blue and Tanis could see the blood disappear and the wounds close with a tingling sensation. The tingling disappeared after the wounds were healed and took the pain with them. He looked down in awe.
"So, there is still true healing in the world," he said as he looked up into her eyes.
"It would seem so, though I can't for the life of me understand why this staff came to me." She smiled again at him and turned to walk over to Riverwind.