A/N: Sorry about the long hiatus. I contracted the disease known as Skyrim. Don't worry, I'm cured now lol. Anywho, back to our quasi-regularly scheduled program.

I'm having a blast writing this. I hope it's fun to read.

Tanis was the last one back down the rope ladder they previously used to get to Tika's house. He stood there for a moment looking over everyone to make sure they were all there. Once certain all were accounted for, he motioned Tas over.

"We can't use any of the roads and we can't simply stay in the woods 'til dawn. We'll have to use the forest for cover while we move," he whispered to the kender. "Any suggestions on where to go for the night?"

Tasslehoff thought for a moment, then looked up gaily at Tanis. "There are caves on the other side of Crystalmir Lake we can use for the night. Most don't know they even exist and our walking time tomorrow would be cut by a few hours."

"And how, exactly, are we going to cross the lake? We don't have a boat."

"Not a problem," replied Tas as he flashed a mischievous smile. "Just follow me."

Tanis nodded and motioned for the group to gather around him. "We're going to head through the forest to look for a place to camp for the night. Follow Tasslehoff and try to move quickly and quietly." He hoped the guards would be too busy looking around the town to already have patrols in the forest. It was a long shot, but he hoped it would be true.

Tasslehoff headed off through the forest seemingly without direction until the companions started to notice the faint path he was following. It was more of a game trail than a path, but it did follow animal logic. Twisting and turning around trees, it was headed in the same general direction the entire time.

Tanis and Sturm were at the back of the line, following the rest.

"Where are we going?" the knight asked.

"Crystalmir Lake," replied Tanis.

"And what are we going to do once there?"

"Cross the lake to the caves on the other side."

Sturm frowned. "Where are we going to get a boat?"

"Do you really want to know? Don't—" Tanis began. He heard a laugh behind him.

"Are you serious? Do you know what it's going to take to get Flint in a boat?" Delano walked behind the two, looking at them incredulously.

"Delano, we can handle this," Tanis shot over his shoulder.

Sturm looked at the young man. "Why do you even have an opinion?"

"You can't be serious," Delano began. "Flint will explode with indignation if you even mention the fact that he'll have to ride in a boat."

Sturm looked over to Tanis. "He's right, Tanis. You didn't see him after Caramon almost drowned him. He won't get in the boat."

"I'll talk to him," Tanis replied.

Delano laughed. "Can I be there to see the conversation?"

Tanis looked at the young warlock. "No."

Delano looked at the half-elf for a moment. "Fine. Suit yourself. Diplomatic as you are, you aren't that good. Have fun." At that, Delano walked forward to catch up with Raistlin.

Sturm watched Delano walk away and turned to Tanis. "I like him even less now, Tanis, but I agree with him. You weren't there; you didn't see Flint when we dragged him out of the water. He took a vow that he would never get in a boat again."

"Let me talk to him," the half-elf said.

Sturm grunted. "Fine. Be my guest. It's on you." Sturm watched the young warlock catch up to Raistlin. "I don't trust those two," he muttered. At that, he turned and walked up to catch the rest of the group.

They walked for awhile until Tas called for a halt and ran back to Tanis.

"Follow that path for another mile and wait in the treeline near the shore. I'll come get you." Flashing Tanis a grin, Tas ran off into the trees.

The group began moving towards the lake. Tanis realized that Tasslehoff was enjoying himself and he considered pulling him aside. He shook his head as soon as he thought about it. It didn't make a difference how much danger they were in, Tas would find it exciting. Kender were completely immune to fear; in fact, many on Krynn began changing the saying "curiosity killed the cat" to "curiosity killed the kender." Tanis cracked a small smile before snapping to attention at the sounds of goblin search parties. Damn, he swore to himself. I was hoping it would take them longer.

"Hurry! They're in the forest now!" he called up the line of companions. Sturm glanced back and, seeing the faint lights of torches, nodded. He began herding the group faster along the trail as Tanis ran to catch up with everyone.

They came to a stop at the treeline overlooking twenty yards or so of tall grasses and a few yards of sand meeting the edge of the water. In front of them stretched the vastness of Crystalmir Lake. The crescent moon Lunitari shown over the water and gave it a deep crimson shade. Tanis stood looking out over the water searching for Tas.

"Why are we at a lake?" Flint grumbled. "I thought we were gonna hide out in the woods. And where's that blasted kender?"

Tanis looked over at the dwarf before scanning the beach looking for Tasslehoff. "We're crossing this lake, old friend. Tas is providing us with transportation. He should be here soon, if he's not already."

"Cross?" Flint spat. "Nope. Not getting in a boat. I'll take my chances with the Theocrat."

Tanis sighed. "That was ten years ago, Flint. We don't have another choice. Tas said there're caves on the other side of this lake that we can spend the night in and cut our travel time tomorrow. It's the best option we have." Just then, Tanis caught sight of a boat on the water. It moved about as if whoever was in the boat was looking for something. "There he is," the half-elf said as he reached down for one of the rocks by his feet. He heaved it and it landed a few yards from shore. The boat turned and came straight for where the rock landed.

"A dingy? You're planning on putting all of us in a dingy?" Flint sat down. "No way. I took a vow. Not getting in that boat."

Tanis began to turn to say something to the dwarf as the white full moon Solinari rose up behind its red counterpart. The beach lit up and the water turned to molten silver. The boat and the kender rowing were perfectly visible.

"Perfect," remarked Sturm irritably. "What wonderful targets we're going to make."

"We don't have a choice. Let's hurry," said Tanis as he moved towards the boat to help Tas bring it to shore. Caramon and Sturm followed.

Delano turned to Raistlin. "You don't happen to know any weather spells by chance, do you?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"No," the warlock sighed. "My knowledge of this magic hasn't progressed that far yet." He looked up at the two moons for a second, then turned to watch Tas and company drag the boat up on the beach and turn it around. "Come on, let's go. I want to sit at the front of the boat. Arrows pierce robes far better than what the rest of the group is wearing."

Raistlin nodded. "Good point."

The two magi moved ahead of the group and climbed in the boat, with a little help from the overprotective Caramon. They made their way to the bow and sat down. Goldmoon was next into the boat and flashed a tentative smile at the two magi before taking her seat next to them. Sturm and the large warrior then nonchalantly helped Riverwind, who was too exhausted to protest the help, into the boat. He spared an untrusting glance at the two robed ones before sitting down next to Goldmoon.

Sturm looked up at the night sky before turning his head to look back over the shore. He could see Tanis and Flint arguing plain as day. Why did Solinari have to be so full tonight? Sturm thought. Just one break was all they needed, one cloud to cover the silver moon. He saw the two shake hands and Tanis turn to run towards the boat just as a multitude of torches appeared at the tree line. Damn, Sturm swore.

"Tanis! Move!" Sturm hopped in the boat with ease as Caramon steadied it. He could see the torches start to descend upon the tall grasses, bouncing excitedly.

Tanis swung himself up into the boat as Caramon asked about Flint. "He's not coming. He's—" a snort from Delano caused him to pause for a split second before continuing. "He's going to hide out in the hills." An arrow struck against the shield Caramon had across his back before Tanis could say anything more. Swearing under his breath, the half-elf stood up in the boat and unslung his bow from his back. With his elven night vision, he was the only one that could accurately see the goblins through the torchlight. "I'll hold 'em off 'til we're out of their range. Get in the boat Caramon. Tas, pull!"

Tanis let loose an arrow that hit its mark as Tas struggled violently to move the boat. He made a valiant effort, but was simply too small to row the boat with all the added weight. After an oar came dangerously close to hitting Goldmoon in the head, Sturm plucked Tas up and moved him aside as he himself sat down and grabbed the oars. Just as he was about to move the boat away from shore, a cry of "Wait!" could be heard coming from the beach. They all looked and saw Flint running towards the boat.

"I'm coming!" It would have been comical had the situation not been so dire. Flint was charging ahead with one hand holding his helmet on his head, his other arm flailing wildly. Tanis felled four more goblins while Flint made his way to the waterline. Instead of reaching the waterline and jumping to the boat, Flint's feet hit the water and disappeared, causing the old dwarf to pitch forward and smack the water's surface face first. Caramon immediately hopped out the boat, fumbled around in the water for a bit and brought up a panicked, flailing and soggy dwarf. Throwing Flint into the boat, the warrior climbed over the side and sat down as he yelled "Go!" at Sturm.

The knight pulled on the oars with all his might, and the boat shot away from the shore. Dozens of arrows landed just short of the boat as it pulled away. Tanis let loose a few more arrows before turning to Sturm. "There's too many for me to hold off. We must hurry." Sturm glared at him as he pumped the oars as fast as he could. Another barrage of arrows landed around the boat, with a few bouncing off of the knight's armor and sticking in Caramon's chain mail.

"This is ridiculous," muttered Delano. His remark caused most in the boat to stare at him. He shrugged his shoulders and was about to say something when he noticed Raistlin standing up, his right hand reaching for one of his spell component pouches.

Tanis noticed too, and lunged at the red robe to grab him and pull him down. Standing up in a boat without armor while arrows are flying around is not a good idea. Tanis's hand closed around a fold in Raistlin's robes and pulled down just as the young mage was speaking in the language of magic. Raistlin's eyes snapped open at the sudden jerk and he dropped the sand he had in his right hand. Furious, he looked down at the half-elf to admonish him, but paused when he noticed that everyone in the boat was motionless. Puzzled, he reached down and touched Tanis on the arm – nothing.

"I put them to sleep instead. Dammit Tanis."

"They're not asleep. Look at their eyes, they're paralyzed." Delano reached over and touched Goldmoon on the head. Delano, being behind Raistlin at the moment of casting, was spared. "I would be impressed if not for the backfire."

"I don't know that spell yet."

"You do now," the warlock grinned. "I was not aware that sleep and paralysis were so close in structure. I guess it's too much to ask for you to try casting sleep again."

"You know it is. I don't suppose you know sleep, do you?"

"I don't know any crowd control spells yet."

"I hope you know something that might help. Without actually knowing the paralysis spell, I have no idea how long it lasts." Another barrage of arrows fell around the now stationary boat. "We can't sit here like this."

Delano thought for a moment. Damn, what can I do? He looked at the shore to gauge the distance. It might be in range, he thought. Seemingly out of nowhere, a new spell popped into his head. That just might work, though I might not have the strength . . .

"Any ideas? We're running out of time." Raistlin was the master at hiding his emotions, but Delano detected a bit of worry in his friend's voice.

"Okay. This is a long shot, but I don't know what else to do. You're going to have to row the boat." Raistlin looked at him in shock. "I have spells to cast; otherwise I'd do the rowing. So, unless you have another crowd control spell up your sleeve, you're stuck with the oars."

Raistlin had to admit, Delano's logic was sound. However, he knew his own physical limitations and knew that he might not be able to make it to the opposite shore. "It will probably take all night, if I can even get us all the way there."

"Oh, it gets worse. I don't know if I have the strength to do what I'm about to do. If I pass out, I need you to keep me from falling overboard."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm afraid I am. Let's just hope a miscast paralysis spell doesn't last very long. Otherwise, we might be spending the night in the middle of the lake." The warlock looked down at Tanis, whose head froze in a position where he could clearly see Delano and Raistlin. "Tanis, I thought you knew better than that." Just then, another barrage of arrows landed in and around the boat, though miraculously no one in the boat got hit. Who is looking out for us? Delano wondered.

Delano moved toward the stern of the boat while Raistlin struggled to move Sturm and sit down. Finally realizing there was no way he was moving the armored knight on his own, he paused to think. He looked to Delano for help, but the warlock was positioning himself to cast whatever he had planned. An idea came to him and he smiled. Not only would it alleviate the problem of moving the knight, it would also make Sturm very uncomfortable. Raistlin relished in the thought and turned to look the knight in the eyes. Stealing a phrase from Delano, he looked Sturm square in the eyes and said, "Now don't get too comfortable, we're not having a moment." He could see the knight's eyes harden in anger, apparently guessing as to what Raistlin was about to do. Grinning, he turned around and sat down in the knight's lap. He managed to pry the oars out of Sturm's hands and began his meager attempt at rowing an overcrowded boat.

Delano stood in front of Raistlin and prepared to do something he has never done before. As an afterthought, he removed his staff from the brace on his cloak and set it down in the boat. If he passed out and fell back on his friend, the staff would be a major obstacle. Turning to look at the sets of eyes that could see him, he nodded and said, "If this works, I'm going to be immensely surprised." Looks of fear shown in those sets of eyes. Nothing I can do about that now, he thought. Damn Tanis and his good intentions. Sometimes good intentions can get you killed.

Another barrage of arrows landed around the boat, this time one imbedding itself in Riverwind's shoulder. I hope it's not poisoned, thought Delano. That's the last thing we need. Turning to face the beach, where all the goblins had congregated, the warlock slipped into that familiar spell-casting trance that he loved so much. The anticipation of the magic was almost as euphoric as the magic itself. Bringing his hands together, he began to mutter in a language of magic not heard on Krynn in thousands of years. His eyes began to glow blue and soon his hands matched that glow. A translucent blue bubble began to form around Delano, and slowly the bubble expanded. It grew in bursts until it surrounded the entire boat. As soon as the bubble steadied itself at that size, another barrage of arrows came raining down. This time, though, they all bounced harmlessly off the bubble.

Raistlin nearly stopped rowing. What an amazing spell, he thought.

Delano himself smiled at the outcome. He paused for a moment and looked around, his left hand still clenched in a blue glow. Wow, he thought. It actually worked. The trick is to keep this thing up while I cast my next spell. He frowned. I can already feel the drain. Why do new spells always drain me so? He shook his head to banish the thought. Well, no turning back now. He raised his right hand and began to call forth the next spell. His eyes changed their glow from blue, to purple, to red. His right hand glowed red as well. Another barrage of arrows bounced harmlessly off the bubble as he pointed at the beach.

The head of the goblin at the far end of the formation burst into flames. As Delano slowly moved his right hand along the formation, head after head burst into flames and melted in upon themselves. A cacophony of screams filled the air and wafted over the companions in the boat. Tears flooded Goldmoon's eyes and even Tanis had a few tears running down his cheeks, for the screams were not just the screams of the dying – they were the screams of souls in pain.

One by one, the headless goblin corpses fell to the ground. Delano began to waver on his feet as he slowly completed the arc his hand was moving through. Must finish, he thought as more arrows bounced off the bubble. He could sense the blackness closing around his vision and knew he was going to pass out soon. He clenched his jaw with extreme effort trying to call up all the strength he had left. Almost . . . done. Just, a few . . . more.

Raistlin looked at the beach between strokes. There were only a few goblins left and the ones in the tall grass and tree line were beginning to run away. He looked to the warlock and saw that his friend was about to collapse, noticeably swaying like a drunk at closing time. He could see the jaw clenched tight and knew that consciousness was rapidly leaving. He made one more stroke and looked at the beach again. The last goblin hit the ground and the screams subsided. The glows around Delano's hands faded and he began to fall. Raistlin released the oars and stood up to try and guide him down instead of catching him. He wasn't sure that he could catch his friend while sitting down.

Raistlin did his best to lay his friend down gently. He somewhat managed it, apologizing to Tas and Flint that since his own strength was waning, he couldn't go about moving everyone, so they would have to be at peace with Delano lying across them. He double checked the young warlock, making sure there was a pulse running through his body and breath filling his lungs. Satisfied that his childhood friend was alive, at least in body, he reclaimed his seat in Sturm's lap. He no longer found his seating arrangement humorous; now realizing that sitting on plate mail was painfully uncomfortable.

He panicked as he recalled what he did with the oars when Delano collapsed. Glancing around, he saw the oars. Sturm's frozen outstretched arms had caught them when Raistlin let them go. The mage had to suppress a chuckle at that. Leave it to Sturm to be helpful even when incapacitated. He retrieved the oars and began the slow, arduous journey towards the opposite shore.

He let his mind wander as he reached a constant speed he felt he could maintain.

Raistlin let out a sigh of relief when he felt the boat run aground. It turned out that Solinari was a blessing. He never would have been able to navigate the rocks surrounding the shore without the moon's bright light. But now, he was exhausted. He couldn't remember the last time he was so physically worn out. And now, a breeze had developed, bringing clouds. It would rain soon, and on a chilly night like tonight, that could cause problems. Especially since he was far too tired to drag everyone into a cave – assuming he found one. Never setting foot on this shore before in his life, he hadn't the slightest idea of what Tas was talking about.

Signs of movement began emerging from the previously paralyzed members of the group. Tasslehoff was the first one to regain the use of his mouth.

"Raistlin, that was impressive. I honestly did not believe you would get us all the way. Outstanding work. But, Delano! How did he make that bubble? Umm, speaking of him, would you mind helping me?"

Raistlin moved over to retrieve Tas from under the warlock's legs. To be honest, it felt good to stand up and be off of the plate mail. The rest of the companions began groaning and stretching.

"Was that really necessary?" Sturm snapped.

"You were too heavy for me to move."

"Confound it Raistlin!" Flint growled. "I'm not a bench!"

Raistlin was getting irritated. After everything that'd happened that night, the last thing he was going to stand for was being yelled at. He began to say something, but Tanis cut in.

"Easy old friend. There wasn't anywhere else to lay him down."

"How would you know? You were looking the other way," Flint grumbled.

"I can see now, though. I probably would have put him there myself. Tas, can you go and find those caves you were talking about? None of us even knew they were here." The kender nodded and hopped out of the boat. "Come on Caramon," Tanis began, "let's get Delano—"

"I got him," Caramon said. The warrior got out of the boat and went to the side next to the warlock. "Just help me get him off Flint and on my shoulder."

Tanis shrugged and moved over to help lift Delano off of Flint and out of the boat while Raistlin climbed out himself. He grabbed his and Delano's staff and walked in the direction Tas went. With the warlock squarely on Caramon's shoulders, the warrior followed behind his brother. Tanis got Flint to his feet and helped him out of the boat. They walked over to where the rest of the companions stood.

Sturm and Goldmoon were removing the arrow from Riverwind's shoulder. Once they got the arrow out, with some grunted protests from the plainsman, Goldmoon used the staff and healed the wound. When she was done, she turned to face Tanis.

"What did I just witness? I've never felt more sorrow for a dying creature in all my life. Those screams will haunt my dreams for many moons to come." She turned her head to watch Caramon walk into a cave. "He scares me. How did he burn just the heads of over forty goblins in the span of a few seconds?"

"He is magi. And if you noticed, he used every ounce of strength he had. That's why he's unconscious now," Tanis told her.

"Or, he used magic he wasn't supposed to," Sturm said. "If I could feel it, then I know you could, being part elf. Elves revere all life. Those screams had to be especially powerful to you."

"Look, we all know mages have to rest before they can use magic," Tanis countered. "It saps their strength. When they become exhausted, they can no longer cast spells, and some have been known to collapse from the effort."

"How can you be sure?" Riverwind asked.

"I can understand the apprehension you two have," he told the plainsmen. "But the rest of you?" he said as he turned to Sturm and Flint. "How long have we known Delano and Raistlin? You should understand at least some of this."

"Take away the screaming and I understand perfectly," replied Sturm.

Flint looked around the group for a moment, grateful that he had something else to focus on other than the boat and lake. "Why don't we just call it a night and talk to Delano about it when he wakes up? Standing here arguing out in the open when it's getting ready to rain isn't my idea of a good night. And aren't we supposed to be hiding?"

"I don't like this, Tanis," Sturm said.

"I don't either," Riverwind added.

"I don't know . . .," Goldmoon began.

"I'm sure you all appreciate being alive," came a voice from down the shore that none of them heard approach. "You're welcome, as Delano is fond of saying."

"Maybe you can explain what happened," shot Sturm.

Raistlin took a few more steps forward. "Certainly. I was about to put the goblins to sleep when Tanis interrupted my spell and caused me to miscast it." Tanis looked down at the ground. "Miscast spells are impossible to predict. We were lucky it just paralyzed all of you. Having no other options available, Delano risked himself in order to save us. He is lying in there comatose because he had to use every last ounce of strength he had to ensure our safety. I hope he wakes up in the morning. There have been cases of mages sleeping for days. Instead of demonizing him, you should be thanking him."

"We can't stay here for days—," Tanis began.

"I agree. We dare not. Have any of you looked to the sky now that the clouds are dimming Solinari's light?" asked Raistlin.

They all looked up and Goldmoon gasped. She leaned against Riverwind's chest and pointed to the sky, her eyes wide with fear. "A constellation is missing!"

"Two, actually. One called Queen of Darkness and one called Valiant Warrior. Bad luck indeed, dwarf. Rumors of evil growing in the world are true. Death, destruction, war, oppression." Raistlin looked up and watched the clouds swarm the sky, blotting out stars in their path. Looking back to the group, he gazed upon all of them, making eye contact with each one in turn. "She has come to Krynn, and he has come to fight her."

With that, Raistlin turned and walked back to the cave, leaving the companions to trade long looks with each other. After a few minutes, Flint had had enough.

"Well, I'm going in the cave. Tas has a fire going and I'm still wet. Spend the night out here if y'all want to." Flint marched to the cave and could be heard talking to Tas and regretting it. Jokes about an old sea dog could barely be heard drifting down the shore. At least Tas can find some humor in all of this, Tanis thought.

"He's right. Come on, we need to hide this boat, cover our tracks, set up watch, and find a way to hide that cave entrance. Standing out here in the rain will do none of us any good."

No matter what emotions were flying around, all could agree that that was, at least, the most logical thing to do in the situation. So, they secured the campsite and piled into the cave for a much needed rest.