The Legend of Karzatin

by Rhythmmistress

This fanfic story is somewhat non-cannon so zealous DL fans beware! It takes place after the Chaos War but magic hasn't disappeared and the gods haven't abandoned Krynn. Tasslehoff and Palin Majere go off on an adventure together and meet some interesting new OCs. I am currently in the process of translating it into Spanish :)

THE LEGEND OF KARZATIN

by Rhythmmistress

Note: Palin, Caramon, Raistlin, Tasslehoff, Fistandantilus, Tika, Usha, Dougan, Laurana, and the rest of the Majere characters are all copyrighted by TSR. Characters mentioned in the story, such as Gnimsh, Tanis, Realgar, Astinus, Flint, and Crysania are also copyrighted by TSR. All other characters are copyrighted in 1996 by Rhythmmistress.

CHAPTER ONE - Palin and Tas decide they're ready for some action... Palin questions where his Uncle went and wonders why Usha gave up on him.

One day, Palin Majere and Tasslehoff Burrfoot were sitting outside the front of his family's house. It was two years after the Knights of Takhisis had tried to take over Krynn. All was well now and both were lazily watching the sun's trail through the sky. It was the summer but not the one like the summer two years ago. It was hot, but not as scorching as it had been.

Tas gave a huge sigh and said, "Gee, I'm bored." This statement was the same exact statement that he had given to Usha, whom he thought to be Palin's cousin, when they were in the Tower of High Sorcery two years back.

Palin raised his intelligent eyes to look at Tas. He then uttered, "Yeah, so am I, Uncle Tas." He set his gaze to the horizon. The truth was that he was bored. He needed an adventure. When he met Usha, he felt magic. He thought she felt the same way, too. Then, she ended up falling for a Solamnic Knight. It turned out that she looked to him only as a brother or the cousin he thought himself to be to her. He then sighed again. He needed something more. She was beautiful, but maybe that was not enough for him. When he met her, he was in a vulnerable state as a result of the loss of his brothers. He didn't realize at that time that he needed more in a girl.

'One day,' he thought to himself. 'One day, maybe I'll find someone my type. Intelligent, strong, and maybe beautiful.' With that he let himself smile ... until he realized Tas had been trying to talk to him for three minutes straight.

"Palin! Palin? Are you okay?" Tas looked genuinely concerned.

"Oh sure, Uncle Tas." He smiled again. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Are you thinking about Usha again? Gee, she was a nice girl. Although, she confused me at times. But then, Raistlin always confused me. Like father, like daughter, I guess. Right, Palin?" Tas wasn't yet convinced that Usha wasn't Raistlin's daughter. But as far as Palin was concerned, she might as well have been with the way things had turned out.

"Right," Palin muttered, not entirely listening. Then he was mentally forced to listen when Tas stated, "It's a shame she had to part ways. I don't understand what she saw in that Garith person..."

Palin stared at him. "Sorry! I didn't mean it. Honest, it just came out of my mouth!" Tas exclaimed. He then murmured to himself, "Hmmm... boredom always seems to get me into trouble."

Palin put his hand on the kender's shoulder. "It's alright. We just need something to do."

Tas nodded. "I wish we could go into the Tower again. I loved looking at all of those items. I wish I could have looked at them further before we went into the Abyss."

That declaration struck another cord in Palin. He gathered his white robes closer to him. A breeze caused his auburn hair to float, which he had let grow longer to the middle of his back. The breeze gave him somewhat of an exhilarating sensation as he pondered his magical powers. Not only did he have the Staff of Magius now but he also had the books bound in blue lining as well as the plain black books, all of which were given to him from Raistlin. A few other things, including a gold and emerald ring, some scrolls tied in yellow ribbons, a few vials of various colored liquids and a small locked metal box were in his possession. The catch, of course, was that Palin wasn't powerful enough to use the spellbooks and wouldn't be for a while. He had tried to open one of the black books, but when he did he felt the weight of the cover and didn't have enough strength to open it fully. With the books in blue lining, he had tried as well but upon opening one of them, his hand felt a burning sensation and he had to close it. The sensation lasted for several days. The books were obviously power-detected and Palin hadn't touched them since. He was not informed of the powers that the vials and scrolls contained and the box he did not venture to open.

Raistlin told him that he would have such ability to open the box and use the items when the time was right. Palin decided that he would try to figure out the powers of the ring, vials, and scrolls sometime soon. But when was he going to do it? Was he scared? He had actually tried to figure out with a magic sensory type skill what the items did, but his skill wasn't proficient enough. He could only ascertain their state of enchantment. But then, how could he have cast a spell that Magius himself couldn't have cast? Could it be that Raistlin helped him? Or did he believe in himself more than Magius did? Whatever the reasoning was, Palin was not aware of it and Raistlin did little to help him.

In general, he felt stuck. He was waiting for things to happen, time to progress. What WAS he doing? Wasn't it time that he ventured out on his own? Went on a trip? He finally decided for it and spoke aloud. "You know, Tas, maybe it's time we went out into the world. I know it sounds crazy but ..." He then turned around to look at his companion ... except he wasn't there!

"Tas!" he exclaimed and ran through the house. Palin found the kender in his room going through his wardrobe in the closet. "What are you doing?" he asked him.

The kender looked at the young mage. "I'm going on a trip." He then continued going through his clothes. The kender decided on a white tunic, blue pants, and a blue cloak to match. He gave a nod of approval and stepped down from the stool, which was lying against the closet. He plopped down on the floor and placed the clothes in a big sack.

"By yourself? Where?"

Tas moved over to a chest near his bed and opened it. He grabbed a handful of scrolls and laid them in a row in front of him. Tas then closed his eyes, mixed the scrolls, and picked one up. He opened his eyes and carefully unfolded the chosen scroll. He glimpsed at it and a second later, announced, "Cristyne! I'm going to Cristyne!"

"Cristyne?" Palin appeared stunned. "But that's so far away! How are you going to get there?" He peered at the map.

"I'll find a way. I was told by a fellow kender that a long time ago a cave in Cristyne held a chest of treasure. Many say that it's only legend and that the cave is dangerous because a great old and powerful monster was supposed to have lived there. A lizard, I think."

"I'd still like to know how we're going to get there!" Palin stood up and put his hands on his hips while beginning to ponder.

Tas gazed up at him. "You mean you're going to come with me? Great! We'll have so much fun! I'll take care of you and show you around... and we can split the treasure!"

Palin had to wonder at that. If anything, he thought that HE would have to keep an eye on TAS. He then shrugged to himself and murmured, "I'd better get packing myself." He then announced to Tas, "We'll make plans after we're both finished packing."

As he walked towards his room down the hall, he thought about how they were going to get to the island. Probably by ship, he concluded. Raistlin was at the Tower of High Sorcery for the time being. He would have encouraged this trip. But what would Caramon say? His father might not object to their trip being that peace was restored to Krynn. But one could never truly know. And what about his mother?

While he was pondering, his sisters Dezra and Laura bumped into him. "What are you doing, Palin?" Dezra asked. The two looked up at him with smiling faces. The girls looked more like their father with their brown hair, but they still retained the green eyes from their mother like Palin and his brothers had. Dezra was two years older than Laura and Laura stood a few inches taller than Tas.

Palin couldn't help but smile. "Nothing much, Dez. Where's Dad?"

"He's in the yard cutting up some wood. He wants to make a table so we can sit outside." Laura piped in.

"Okay, darling." He chuckled, brushing Laura's bangs out of her face. Maybe one day, he would have a daughter. This he mused as he went off into his room. Dezra tapped Laura on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Got you last!" Laura in return went to chase after her sister so they could continue their game of "tag".

Palin looked over his room and then went to packing. He knew the hardest thing to decide on what to bring would be his magical items. While going through some of the drawers, he came across a red cloth. It was Usha's. A token of friendship, she gave it to him when she said goodbye. Palin closed his eyes and sighed. He had told her that he loved her and she had said the same. But how long had they known each other? Not very long. Not long enough for true love to develop. Maybe he was foolish to start something too fast.

The two had both gone through a traumatic situation. Usha had lost her people and Palin his brothers. When the War against Chaos had ended, there were matters to be settled. Usha needed a place to stay. Palin couldn't have seen any reason for her not to stay at his home. But she felt awkward. She told him, "I need to get myself together. I was sheltered all my life and when I went through what I did, I realized I needed to learn more about life and myself. I need some time alone."

She then ventured off and thought about the knighthood. Palin didn't want her to go alone but she refused his help. He realized that he had to let her go like his father had let him go. Only Palin didn't think that she wouldn't come back. A few months later, he received a letter explaining that she decided to join the knighthood. He was utterly surprised. Daughter of Raistlin or not, he never thought she would take to battling. 'I guess she never really possessed magical talent.' he acknowledged.

The situation then grew worse. He wanted to visit her. He begged his uncle to teleport him to the High Clerist's Tower. Raistlin reluctantly agreed and Palin was admitted to Usha's chamber. He was bedazzled. Her back was to him and she was exercising; doing arm lifts from a bar that hung over her bed. He saw her silver armor, shining on her bed and a sword sheathed lying next to it. He stood in the doorway, listening to her breaths as she worked. One other thing he noticed was that she cut her hair. It was still silver and shining like the color of her armor, but it tumbled down her shoulders and no farther.

"Usha." He whispered her name softly, but loud enough for her to hear. She turned her neck, met his gaze, and jumped down. "Palin!" she exclaimed, her gold eyes bright with pleasure.

She ran to hug him but he gripped her arms. "Let me get a look at you." She relaxed a bit, her breaths slowing down from the moment of rest. She pushed the bangs out of her face.

"You cut your hair." he stated, glancing at her arms, which had become toned.

"Uh, yes." She looked down, uneasy. "I thought it would be less of a hindrance in battle." She waited for his response.

He finally answered, "You're still beautiful." She smiled and hugged him. He shivered, having grown unaccustomed to her nearness.

A moment later, they heard the sound of clanking armor and Usha jumped back. She sat down on her bed and Palin turned. A man a few inches shorter than Palin stood in the doorway. His build made up for his height, Palin apparently noticed. He was young but his armor was somewhat worn. He had shoulder-length dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. They were cold to Palin, cold like a blue pool of ice. Despite the icy stare, the man had a smile on his face.

"Usha, lovely Usha. What are you up to this afternoon?" He said it with a shocking calm and Palin didn't quite like the way he used the word 'lovely'.

"Uh... Garith!" Usha slowly stood up. "This is my friend, Palin. We fought together during the Chaos War." She smiled and walked over. "Palin, this is Garith."

If the word 'lovely' wasn't enough of a blow to Palin, the word 'friend' finished it off. Even though it was spoken with unintended disloyalty, it topped the icy stare by far and caused his despair to increase. Before he knew it, Palin was shaking hands with Garith and reluctantly looking into those eyes again. And to make it worse, the man's strong grip made Palin's fingers ache. He wrenched his hand free and looked to Usha.

"Garith and I are supposed to go training in the afternoon." Usha explained. A little red appeared on her cheeks and Palin got the instinctive feeling that he was no longer wanted around. It certainly hurt. "I guess I'll leave you two then," he said emptily and headed for the door, his white robes hastily following.

When he was a few feet down the hall, he heard Usha running after him. "Wait, Palin. Before you go. I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I wanted to get to know you, but before I could do that, I had to get to know myself. I really love it here. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I..."

Palin couldn't listen anymore. The rest of her words disappeared into the murkiness of his mind. He turned and ran off before the tears could come out of his eyes. Then he paused to catch his breath. He looked around the corner to see if she was still there. She was not. He crept back slowly towards the door. He had to know if she and Garith were involved. He edged back towards the door and peered inside. The two were holding each other close.

That was all Palin could bear to stand. He walked away in agony. He touched the teleport ring Raistlin gave him on his finger and materialized back into his house.

Palin folded the handkerchief and placed it back in the drawer after he was able to shake off the horrible memory. He thought about the teleport ring which he had in a pocket of his robes. He took out the ring and looked at it. He could have used it to teleport him and Tas to the island but the ring was useless if he had never actually been to the place or seen it before.

"Damn, if we could only get to Southern Ergoth," he muttered.

"Wait!" he then snapped his fingers. "If we go to Qualinesti, then maybe we could get Laurana to take us to Southern Ergoth!"2

Just as the idea seeped into Palin's mind, a voice came from across the hall, getting closer and closer. "Southern Ergoth! Did you say Southern Ergoth?" Tas peered with his head in the door.

"Yes. Yes, Tas. I have an idea. It will get us at least halfway towards our goal."

"Great! When are we leaving?" Tas jumped up and down.

"Tomorrow morning, I suppose. I'll have to have a talk with Father first, though."

"Don't worry, Palin! We'll find a way to get him to let us go!" Tas straightened up and yawned. "Oh, my. My boredom is turning into tiredness. I'd better get some sleep. Good night!" With that, he skipped back down the hall.

Palin had to smile after witnessing Tas' cheerfulness. He then continued packing and dozed off to sleep.

CHAPTER TWO - Tas and Palin bring their decision to the Majere

family... A riding trip to Qualinesti and a boat trip to...

Southern Ergoth.

Morning came with a soft knock at the door. Palin was getting dressed and uttered, "Just a second." He opened the door and Tika was standing there. "Come down for breakfast, darling." She greeted him. She then headed down the stairs and her son followed.

Tas, Caramon, Dezra, and Laura were at the table and seemed to be enjoying their meal. Dezra and Laura were giggling and making funny noises with Caramon trying to quiet them down. Tika passed Palin a plate of eggs with bread and he sat down next to Tas.

"Good morning, Palin!" Tas beamed. "So, are you going to tell Caramon about our trip?"

Caramon raised his eyebrows. "What trip? Are you going on a trip?"

"Uh...yes, Father. I wanted to speak to you about that. After breakfast."

"Can't we discuss it now? I'm sure your mother would like to know as well."

"Alright." Palin put his hands down on the table. "Tas and I want to go on a trip. We need to get to Southern Ergoth."

Tika and Caramon looked at each other. "Why Southern Ergoth?" Tika then asked.

"There's an island west of the continent called Cristyne. Word has it that there is a treasure hidden in a cave on the island." Tas explained.

"Oh, that!" Caramon made a gesture with his hand. "That's a legend." He turned to his wife and continued, "An old legend claims that there is a reptilian monster guarding the treasure."

"Ooh! What kind of treasure, Daddy?" Laura asked.

"What do you think of when you think of treasure?" Caramon replied. "Lots of gold pieces, jewelry, magic scrolls ..." he paused when he saw his son's eyes light up. "Oh no. No! You don't really believe this, do you, Palin?"

Palin straightened. "Whether it's true or not, I want to go. I need to go out into the world and experience life. I'm not getting much accomplished by sitting here day after day. And besides, Tas is bored."

Tika and Caramon looked at each other again, then at Tas who was nodding and smiling. The two knew that the boredom from a kinder was something not to be taken lightly.

"Maybe you're right, Son." Caramon said as Tika heaved a sigh. "It's time you made decisions for yourself. You certainly showed us that you could make the right decision two years ago. I trust your judgement."

As he spoke these kind words, Palin got up and walked over to his father. He embraced him and Caramon hugged him back.

"Oh!" Tika exclaimed. She went over and hugged the two of them.

"Wow! Is this a hugging party?" Tas got up and put his arms around them. Laura and Dezra giggled and joined them.

"Now, do you have a plan to get there?" Caramon demanded when breakfast resumed.

"Palin has an idea." Tas declared. "He thinks that maybe we could head over to Qualinesti and visit Laurana. Maybe with her help, we can at least get to Southern Ergoth."

"That's not a bad idea." Tika said. "We promised to pay her a visit and see how she and Gilthas are doing. We could all ride over there and see to it that you get across the ocean."

"And then we'll be on our way." Palin assured them. "We're already packed." he added.

"In that case, we'll leave this afternoon." Caramon announced.

By early afternoon, all was made ready for the trip. Laura and Dezra were left in care of Tika's midwife. Two horses were prepared. Tika and Caramon rode on one with Tas and Palin on the other. The kender and mage brought their sacks and loaded them on the horses.

The trip to Qualinesti took the whole afternoon and part of the evening, but everyone was kept occupied with their own thoughts or Tas' stories about horseback riding and the like. Laurana was overjoyed to see them and had dinner served in celebration of the family's arrival.

Laurana was content to have her son back, although her grief over Tanis' death scarred her permanently and could be seen. They talked of past times and of peace in the present, hoping that it would last for the future. This then led to their discussion of Palin's need for a boat. Laurana was more than happy to offer them aid. She assigned a crew of elves to ready a boat in the morning for Palin and Tas.

Morning arrived and the boat was prepared. After breakfast, Palin and Tas were lead to the shore. The boat wasn't large but it was sturdy. It was fit for about eight people and composed of vallenwood, a gift from Palin's hometown. Fortunately, after the War, the elves became more kindly to others of their continent as well as between themselves.

"We have learned much." Laurana had said the day before. "The Chaos War opened our eyes and we had to abandon our own troubles. Enough bloodshed has been spilled of ours and for stupid reasons. We realized that if we were willing to fight against Chaos for our lives, then our lives had to have meant something to us."

Today, Laurana stood proud and beautiful. She wore a long gray gown with a headband pressed against her golden hair. Her arm was around her son and the rest of the elves were at her side. "Let peace and happiness be with you." She bid the two travelers.

Caramon and Tika hugged their son. Tika kissed Palin's forehead and handed him a bundle. "Here's some food for a few days, if you can't find any."

"Be well, Son." Caramon patted his arm. "I hope you find out more about life. In fact, I know you will."

He then turned to Tas. "And as for you, I may regret saying this, but take care of your nephew for me, alright?"

"Of course, Caramon. I'd be honored." The kender stood tall and proud. Caramon then gestured for him to come close and the big man hugged him. Tika gave Tas a kiss on the cheek and he blushed.

The crowd then gave the two a farewell and the boat crew climbed aboard. They helped Tas and Palin in. The waters were for the most part calm and the sun lie lazily in the sky. A few clouds were dispersed across the horizon. After what seemed about two hours, one of the elves passed Palin and Tas a basket of food for lunch. His name was Leyas and although his face contained several scars that possibly could have been caused by fighting in the War two years back, his long reddish-blond hair and muscle tone filtered out his youthful appearance and gave one the impression of his being graceful.

Palin looked up at his tanned face from munching on some bread. He asked, "Is there anything you can tell us of Southern Ergoth? Like the populace?"

"You'll find all kinds. A lot of humans, an elf here and there, kinder, and dwarves a plenty." He passed Palin a waterskin. "Quite a bit of gnomes since their territory lies not far in the west. Goblins are a possibility as well as minotaurs, but minotaurs roam much farther north. You never know, though."

"I was in Southern Ergoth once." Tas said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. "We were travelling and someone asked us if we could save their daughter from a band of minotaurs who would only give her back for a ransom."

"Where were these minotaurs holding her captive?" Palin stopped eating for a moment.

"Oh, relax! They were up north. But finding them wasn't easy." Palin passed the waterskin to Tas and he started gulping. "We spent days looking for them. Then we were camping and Raistlin noticed another fire in the distance. He warned us to stay where we were and that he would take care of it. Then whoosh! He turned invisible. I could vaguely hear some rustling of the grass. I really wanted to stay there and be good. But I couldn't help it. So I followed him."

Tas noticed that the elves turned to look at him. "A few minutes later I saw the minotaurs. They were laughing up a storm but I couldn't understand what they were saying. They weren't talking in Common. Anyway, I didn't want them to notice me so I crept behind a bush. Then I heard Raistlin's voice in my ear and before I could say anything I felt my hair being pulled like it would be ripped out of my head. I also felt something slip over my mouth. It was Raistlin's hand. He then forbade me to speak and told me that he'd turn me invisible if I promised to do him a favor. The girl was tied up against the tree a few feet from the minotaurs."

Tas gasped for air and handed back the waterskin to Leyas. "He wanted me to untie the girl and when he was to cast the surprise spell, we would run."

"So, what spell did he cast?" For once, Palin was surprised that he had the patience to listen to one of Tas' stories.

"He summoned this great big fire elemental. The minotaurs were scared out of their wits!" Tas started to stand up in the boat from excitement but Palin gently pushed him back down. "As this happened, I untied the girl. She was in shock because she didn't know who was untying her but I spoke to her and urged her to run. Then I had to tell her which way to run. One of the minotaurs saw her go and shouted but I hit him over the head with my hoopak. Before any of them knew it, they were all knocked out unconscious with a whip of my weapon!"

"And then?" Leyas asked, disbelieving.

"Then we got out of there! We ran back to everyone and we all left immediately to bring her home and be free of the minotaurs before they woke up. Seriously, Palin, I think your father was jealous because he missed all the fun. He refused to believe me. They all did. Except for Raistlin, of course. You can ask HIM."

"Maybe I will," Palin said. "In any case, I wonder how he was able to cast such a powerful spell. Was it before he took the Test?"

"Probably not, I think he became a lot meaner after he took it. No offense. But now, I think he's actually nicer since the last War."

"Enough chatter, kender. We're almost there." Leyas looked out and saw milk-colored beaches looming close ahead of them. A few figures could be made out moving on the shoreline. The sun was still high in the sky and the clouds were evading it.

As they neared the land, Leyas took out a piece of tan-colored parchment from his pocket. "Look here." He put his finger over the parchment and Palin glanced over. "This is where we are. A day or two north could lead you to Daltigoth. You can find food and shelter there. The quickest way although not the most easiest way to Cristyne would be through the mountains northwest after passing through Daltigoth. You'll have to find a way to get across the ocean, though. Perhaps, you can find someone who has a boat."

"We'll have to find a way, somehow." Palin agreed.

"Here, take the map."

"Thanks." Palin put it in a pocket of his robe.

A little while later, they reached the shore. The elves exchanged farewells with the travelers. Leyas patted Palin on the back and said, "Enjoy your journey, young mage. And watch out for the kender, or rather watch him." He then chuckled and offered the basket to them to keep as they got out of the boat.

Palin stood up, dusted off his robes, and grasped the Staff of Magius. Tasslehoff took the basket after adjusting his pouches. He turned to look back at the elves. They turned themselves around in their seats and adjusted the oars. Then Leyas gave a "pushoff" and dived into the boat with agility.

Tas waved. Then he turned to Palin. "That Leyas guy was rather nice but I wish he would have called me by something more respectable than 'kender'. Like 'Mr. Burrfoot'."

Palin put his hand on Tas' arm. "A tragedy indeed. Well, come on, Mr. Burrfoot. We haven't got all day. If we'd like to make it half way to Daltigoth, we'd better start now." Palin then trudged along and Tas quickly followed.

There were a few humans fishing and some elves taking in the midday sunshine. Palin asked one of the humans which direction was north in order to confirm Leyas' instructions. A few miles out Palin and Tas came to a forest area. The forest was vast, but it was extremely peaceful. Along their trek, they encountered numerous squirrels, a few rabbits, and even a deer. 'Nothing like Wayreth,' Palin thought. After having gone through THAT forest, any other forest seemed like a picnic.

Nightfall and beyond passed with the two travelers still passing through woodlands. They finally decided to stop and make camp. Palin felt like he was going to pass out right then and there. He hadn't had this much exercise in months! Yet, considering that mages didn't get exercise, it actually wasn't a surprise to him. He sat down against a tree with his staff and sack next to him.

Tas plopped down right in front of him. "Phew! That was some walk! I guess it's good for me to keep in shape. Flint says that I'm getting old but I think he's just jealous because I was made a hero in two Wars. I'm enjoying this, how about you? Palin, are you okay? You look like an overworked horse! Here, let me get your sleeping bag out for you."

Palin gazed at him, trying to relax. 'Maybe we should have stayed home. This is too much for me. We have to do more walking tomorrow too! Oh, Tas, why did you have to pick a place so far away?' Thoughts as these popped into Palin's mind. But then determination appeared and took over. 'I have to learn to be strong. Maybe Tas is right about exercise. Everyone goes through life the hard way, well, some people more than others. But you don't get something for nothing.'

"No, Tas, I'm okay. Thanks for asking." He finally answered. Thinking that he should at least have enough strength to take the sleeping bag out, he rummaged through his sack and finally found it. His staff had been lit since it became dark out and it glowed with a pale light. He laid it against the tree so it would have more of an effect. Then he felt his stomach grumble. How could he forget? His tiredness had almost outweighed his hunger.

Palin looked up and noticed Tas already poking at basket. "Wow, am I hungry! Oh, Palin! Here, take some." Tas had his sleeping bag already laid out and a bowl was placed in front of him with some of the food all mixed in. Palin glanced into the basket and saw some bread, cheese, fruit, and some meat left over from a cooked bird. He also saw some sweetcakes and a waterskin. Thinking it was Leyas', he checked it and noticed that it was actually full. Content, he grabbed some of the meat, two apples, and a piece of bread with cheese.

When Tas was finished eating, he lie on top of his sleeping bag and gazed up at the stars. "Isn't that beautiful? Wow, Palin, I'm really happy now. My stomach is full, it's a nice night, and for once, I'm not bored."

Palin looked at him and smiled. "You're right, Tas. It's really nice out here. But maybe one of us should keep watch."

"I'll keep watch. You can go to sleep when you're ready."

"Then you can wake me up and I'll keep watch." Palin finished the remnants of his meal.

Tas started to talk again. "Wow, if only Flint was here to watch them. Ooh, there's Solinari. I can't quite see Lunitari, it must be blocked by the clouds. And Nuitari is always hard to see. Too bad my glasses of true seeing wouldn't work on something like that. I think I was always much of a star gazer. Flint always called me a 'doorknob of a kender' though and said that I had too much imagination for being one. I guess I could take the last part as a compliment. I know Raistlin sometimes looked at the stars. He would make patterns with them, though. I could never understand that..."

Palin tried to listen patiently but he grew tired easily because he was weary from the walk. He gladly snuggled in his sleeping bag with the Staff of Magius right beside him. He extinguished the light from it, but its touch was still warm and smooth. Before he drifted off, his mind was troubled with some nagging thoughts about Usha. He wished he could have shared a night like this with her. A few tears settled into his eyes but not a moment after that, he had the feeling that something was bound to happen in the next few days.

CHAPTER THREE - An unlikely meeting... Palin prays for rain. The

travelers head off in search of Daltigoth.

Although Palin had a deep sleep, his mind could not evade from being disturbed by frightening dreams. Terrorizing voices seeped in and out. Mists swirled in infinity. The most prominent vision was of a light blue flare drowning out a dying gray atmosphere. After this occurred, Palin awoke.

The sky was covered with a mirror of the gray in his dreams, except for one spot that loomed bright through the trees. The sun was weakly trying to break away from the clouds. Or was it Lunitari falling? The spot was low enough for it to be taken into question.

Palin tried to gain his composure and looked around. Tas was sleeping peacefully a foot away. He envied his peacefulness for a while. He also realized that Tas probably didn't stand watch. Or at least not after talking himself to sleep. He had to smile at that. He then reached for Leyas' basket to see how much food was left. They would also have the food that Tika gave them. That should at least last until they got to Daltigoth.

Palin took some bread, cheese, and apples. 'Let the kender sleep until they needed to leave,' he thought. He decided he would go fill up the waterskin, remembering that he had seen a small stream on the way to the campsite. He turned and walked east for several minutes. The stream was flowing. He bent down and dipped in the waterskin. When it was full, he placed it on the ground. 'It would be nice to take a bath.' he thought. 'Well, we can do that when we get to Daltigoth.' He picked up the waterskin and clutched his staff.

A few moments later, he thought he heard something. A rustling through trees, footsteps on grass, perhaps? Palin started walking quickly back to the campsite. Tas was still asleep, in fact, he was snoring softly. "Tas! Tas! Wake up!" Palin nudged him.

"Huh...h... what?" Tas muttered. "Oh! Palin! I had the most wonderful dream! Flint was there and we..."

"Tas! No time to tell me now! We have to leave... and I think someone's coming..." Palin declared before Tas could finish. He ran to grab his sleeping bag and stuffed it in his sack. "Hey, take the basket! You can eat as we go!" He handed Tas the basket.

Tas tried to gather his stuff together as quickly as possible, but one of his pouches fell and a few items rolled out. "Reorx!" Tas exclaimed and tried to pick them up. As he was doing so, a figure emerged from the trees. Tas heard Palin gasp and responded, "Oh, Palin. Relax! It's a dwarf." Tas placed his pouches on his belt and went up to the dwarf. "Hullo there! My name is Tasslehoff Burrfoot. What is yours?" The kender held out his hand.

The dwarf spat on the ground. Palin glanced at him suspiciously. He was clothed in muddy red robes and his hair was brown. His beard was also brown and long and looked like it hadn't been combed in weeks. His face was rather unbecoming; he had a few warts spread throughout. One last thing of notice was a golden-colored axe strapped to his back.

"Hurrumph, kender." The dwarf muttered.

"Hey, you're a derro, aren't you?" Tas continued. "Flint told me about the derro a while back. He once knew this Theiwar called Pitrick. He wasn't a very nice guy. He was a really powerful magic-user, though..."

Palin listened to this and a thought came to him. What if this derro was a mage? It was true that derro were the only dwarves capable of magic and this one was dressed in robes!

Tas kept talking. "Flint was a hill dwarf. Hey, you didn't tell me your name yet!"

"Raugh. And I don't like hill dwarves." Raugh growled. He went to reach for the basket.

"Are you hungry, Raugh? Oh, I'm sorry, I'd love to give you some food but I'm hungry myself and being that we have to leave I'll need it for energy for our walk..." Tas moved it out of the dwarf's grasp.

The dwarf muttered something and took a dark gray block of stone out of one of his pockets. It had huge runes inscribed on it that looked dwarven. He pointed it at the kender and his hand with the basket froze. The basket dropped to the floor. "Ow! That's cold!" Tas cried, feeling his fingers grow numb.

Raugh laughed and put the stone away. Meanwhile, Palin struggled to concentrate on a spell. He had a pinch of sand on his fingers and was whispering the incantation when the derro stalked towards him. Palin opened his eyes and edged further away, hearing a warning cry from Tas. He closed his hand tightly. That gave Raugh just enough time to cast his spell.

Raugh needed no components and within seconds, flames shot through his fingers. Palin was ready to dodge and actually evaded four of the flames. But a fifth one flew across and struck his left arm. The blow was hot and excruciating. Palin let the staff drop from his left hand and closed his right palm. He pressed it against his left arm and ground his teeth, trying to keep whatever composure he had left. He HAD to cast his spell!

The dwarf was doubling over with laughter when something struck him in the back. Grumbling, the derro rubbed his back and turned slowly, too slow to escape another blow from Tas' hoopak. "That's for not being nice!" Tas shouted and the second blow fell across the dwarf's cheek. He screamed and started to run towards Tas, who started bucking and taunting him. The dwarf was limping because of his injured back. Then he sneered and bent his arm to snatch the axe from its thong. As his fingers made contact, the axe started to glow a faint yellow.

Before he could fully take the weapon out of its hold, Palin was ready with his spell. Trying to ignore the pain from his wound, he closed his eyes and once again focused. The power of the magic sizzled through his veins and wrapped him in ecstasy. He spoke the full incantation this time and his right hand raised up and forward. The sand sailed downward towards its target and Raugh's body fell.

Tas jumped backward. The dwarf's arm was still clutching the axe. His body was in an awkward position but, he was sleeping soundly. "Phew!" Tas gasped. "He was one tough dwarf."

"How did you manage that, Tas?"

"Well, my hand was still sore but I tried to shift the weight of the hoopak more on my other hand. It's still sore, but I guess it will get better soon. It's more sore than cold now. How about you?"

Tas looked over at Palin's arm. There was a tear on his sleeve and blood could been seen through it. "It hurts." Palin reluctantly admitted.

Tas searched through one of his pouches. "Ah! Here we are! I have a first aid kit. Caramon suggested I take one and he gave it to me." Tas took a little bit of healing salve from a tube and Palin offered his arm. "There."

"Thanks, Tas. And thank Paladine!" Palin drew a deep sigh. "I hope we can get to Daltigoth today. We'd better get moving before he wakes up."

Tas was one step ahead of him. He had put his sleeping bag away and adjusted his pouches on his belt. Then he stuffed a piece of cheese in his mouth. "Hurwy thup, Pthalin! Letz geth ourta there!"

"What?" Palin turned, adjusting his sack.

"Let's go already." Tas exclaimed. He was already trotting off, almost hidden by the trees.

"Right!" he mumbled. He went to pick up the staff. Having had to let it drop after his arm was bruised, he lifted it and felt the cool, smooth wood. He felt safe letting it fall while the dwarf was busy haggling with the kender. Then he brushed off some dirt from his robes. They'd really have to get cleaned up when they got to town. Even Tas' clothes were losing a little of their luster from the dust and dirt. But, hey! They were only out in the rough in one day! Would things get a lot worse before they could get better?

Palin picked up his robes to catch up to Tas. He looked up at the sky. The bright spot was gone. There would be no sunshine today, he though miserably. The sky even looked like it darkened a little. He then felt his arm. A burning sensation lie there. Would it ever cool down?

Palin then looked at Tas. He was chewing on an apple. He also noticed a purple pouch sticking out of the sack and along with that a blade. "Tas!" he scolded him.

"What?"

"How did that axe and pouch get in your sack?"

"Oh, those? I was just watching them for Raugh. I only wanted to see that he didn't hurt anyone with them."

Well, Tas had a point there. An unarmed magic savant had to be at least a little less dangerous than an unarmed magic savant.

One thing that Palin truly didn't understand was how the axe held up in the sack. And better yet, how Tas was able to snatch it up. Fortunately, his question was answered.

"I think that axe has magical properties." Tas said. "It's as light as a feather."

"It does." Palin agreed. "I could tell. It has a yellow glow about it. And that would explain how a dwarf mage would be able to wield it."

"I wonder if it does anything else." Tas spoke with an edge of excitement.

"Let's hold that thought off for a while, shall we?"

Palin had enough problems to worry about. What would happen when the dwarf woke up? Without his magical items, the derro would be angry and find enough reason to pursue them. Then it would be to their advantage for it to rain. He also hoped that they wouldn't stumble across any other trouble, at least not until they got to Daltigoth. Then they could stock up on some supplies.

Palin then had another thought. Did Tas manage to take the block of stone with dwarven runes on it? Palin's eyes were sharp enough to catch a glimpse of a dark gray object projecting out of Tas' pocket.

"Tas? What is that in your pocket?"

"Oh, this? It's the stone that Raugh used to freeze my hand. Better off without it, he is. Here, wanna look at it?"

Tas handed it over. Palin's hand traced the ancient runes. He knew no Dwarven; Elven was the closest thing to a second language that Palin understood and he knew not even enough of that. He still felt a sense of elation tracing the letters, however.

"You can hold on to it, if you want." Tas offered, munching on some bread.

Palin flushed. Was he enjoying possession of the item too much? He then pondered giving it back to Tas. But then, who was better off holding it? A human mage or a kender? Palin finally responded, "Ok, I'll hold on to it. Just in case we run into any more trouble."

They marched on. Palin closed his eyes for a moment, held the Staff of Magius tight, and prayed for rain.

CHAPTER FOUR - Fun in the swamplands... Palin uses one of

Raistlin's mystery potions and the travelers arrive in Daltigoth.

The day drew on. It only took them an hour or two to get to the edge of the forest. Palin glanced back at the footprints. Just then, it started to drizzle. Palin's wish came true. But was it impact enough to erase the footprints?

They came to an open plains area. After a few miles, a flowing river appeared. Tas took out a waterskin he had brought but not filled and dunked it into the water. Palin sat down and took out the food his mother gave him. Tas finished the meat and sweetcakes from Leyas' basket. He then shared some of the food from Tika. As they were finishing up, it started to pour. They gathered themselves quickly and started walking. Unfortunately, there was nothing to protect them. The rain lasted about an hour. Palin and Tas were drenched. Palin's hair was soaked down his back and his robes became muddy at his heels. Tas had put his cloak on but his clothes were damp and soaked through. Fortunately, they were smart enough to close their sacks tight before it started to pour. 'At least now our footprints will be washed away,' Palin thought.

After a while, they came to a swamp. Palin glanced around. The swamp was as wide as the area. They would have to traverse it. Palin reached for the map Leyas had given him. If they went too far south, it would take extra time to retreat back to Daltigoth. Unfortunately, it was probably already late afternoon. He hoped they could at least get past the swamp by nightfall.

It wasn't going to be easy, though. The rain had cooled off Palin and Tas from the humidity of the day, but when it disappeared, the humidity was left to haunt them again. Palin's long auburn hair stuck to his neck and face. He constantly had to push it away. Tas nearly had to rip his cloak off which stuck to his clothes. He wiped his face with it and placed it back in his sack.

Palin and Tas advanced into the swamp. The swamp's floor was wet and muddy, worsened by the rain. There were actually a lot of trees surrounding the swamp and embedded within it. Vines, roots, and branches were gnarled and twisted. They would have to be used for support or cut. Palin didn't like the idea of dragging his staff in the mud. So he reached for a leather strap in his sack and strapped the staff to his back. Meanwhile, Tas was swatting away some flies who considered Tas' scent sweet.

"Hurrumph! When are we going to get out of this muck?" Tas complained. "It's getting boring." He actually didn't seem to mind too much that his hoopak was dirty although he raised it a few inches from the ground so only the bottom would get wet.

"I know, Tas. But we have to get through this to get to Daltigoth. Please try and be patient." Palin then grabbed his dagger free out of its place on his arm. He cut the small branches that blocked their way. However, he had to twist away the thicker branches away with his hands or crawl through and in between them. Time lingered on and his hands were chafed from scraping with the dagger. The finger muscles were sore and cut from pulling branches and vines. Palin was thirsty as well and his wound was burning. He glanced at his arm and saw dried blood through the white cloth. And worse, Tas' complaints increased in number.

Tas then decided to run ahead of Palin. His leg movements were quick and agile. Palin knew well that kender energy was almost always at a high. He himself felt weary and knew that if he ran his leg muscles wouldn't be able to take much for a long period of time.

"Slow down, Tas! Wait for me!" In a way, Palin felt his statement ironic because he was losing his grasp on patience as well.

A few moments later, Palin heard a sharp cry. "Tas! Where are you? I'm coming!" He responded and tried to make up for speed by taking long steps.

"Palin! I'm sinking! Come quick!" Tas cried aloud.

Palin quickened his pace and could feel the mud seeping through his boots. He had to get over there! And then, finally, Tas was in view. His hoopak was on the muddy ground. He was in a pool between two small patches of land. The water was too murky for Palin to see what was pulling Tas down, but he could take a guess that it was quicksand. He knew well that Tas could swim and would have had no problem doing so even if the water was deep. Tas was holding on desperately to a branch, but his little fingers looked as though they would slip any moment.

"Palin! Thank Paladine, you're here! Hurry! I can't hold on much longer... Hey! Maybe you can cast a really cool spell and teleport me somewhere! Now that would be really fun!"

Palin bit his lip, trying to concentrate. He tried to clear his mind and think of what spell would be most useful. Then despair overcame him. None of them were useful. But wait! He had brought a few of the potions from Raistlin with him. He then grabbed at his sack and looked at them. A red, light blue, black, and orange potion were lying inside. Which one should he choose? His thoughts lingered and then he remembered the dream he had last night ... a blue flare drowning out a gray mist. He remembered that the atmosphere was a similar shade of this one.

Palin overstepped his indecision and grasped the blue vial. He popped it open and smelled it. Its scent was like that of fresh blueberries. The aroma was so strong that it reached Tas' nostrils and he exclaimed, "Drink it!." Palin debated whether to trust the suggestions of a kender, even the kender he had grown to love, but realized that he could think of no other thing to do with the potion. The sweet aroma gave way to a sweet taste and remedied Palin's thirst. His body felt very light at that moment as well. He put the empty vial away and leaped over to the other patch of ground. His movements were unusually quick and light. It looked to Tas as if he floated over.

Palin held out his arms and Tas carefully transferred his hands from the branch to Palin's.

"Come on, work with me, Tas. Try to let yourself go free towards my direction." Tas tried to do so and with a lot of effort, Palin was able to pull him out.

"We have to get out of here, Palin." The kender cried, impatiently.

"I know, but I'm not sure what effect the potion had on me. I sure feel light-headed and light all over."

"I know! You looked like you were floating over. Hey! Maybe you can fly! I've heard of flying potions before but I've never had one or seen anyone use one."

Before Tas could say another word, Palin tried to push his feet off the ground. He tried to take in the concept of lightness and it stayed with him. He was able to lift all one hundred and eighty-five pounds of himself off the ground and with little effort.

"You're doing it, Palin! You're floating!"

Tas was picking up his hoopak and scratching off whatever mud he could from his clothes. He glanced up at Palin and the young mage floated down a few feet. "Here, let me pick you up. Maybe I can carry you."

Tas stood on his toes and stretched out his arms, after deciding to strap his weapon to his back. Palin clasped them and tried to lift him up. Tas didn't weight too much, but it might put a hindrance on the speed of his flight. Palin lifted himself up again and clambered up to about one hundred feet from the ground. Not knowing how long the spell would last, he pushed himself and Tas forward. Tas had his hands free to hold on to Palin.

Palin tried to glide as fast as he could. He felt an exhilarating sensation. Free of the swamp, he looked ahead and tried to contain the concept of flight. Moments soared by and finally Palin could see stable ground below. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued on.

Time progressed and in the distance, Palin could see signs of civilization. Smoke and fire were visible as well as buildings. He also thought he saw a river. "Tas! It must be Daltigoth!"

"By Reorx's beard, it's about time!" Tas grumbled. The whole time he had been tiring himself out by talking about Gnimsh and the great reconstruction of the time travelling device that Tas had brought with him to the Abyss.

CHAPTER FIVE - The travelers check into an inn, Palin gets hit on

by a ditzy woman, Tas goes to the local fortune teller.

The buildings grew closer and closer. Palin knew that he would have to land very soon. The river seemed to flow right by the city so he decided upon landing a few yards from it. He waited for a chance when no one was looking and swooped down. A cool breeze flew across Palin's face and brushed through his drying hair.

When he landed, Tas moved out of his reach and straightened his pouches. He unstrapped the hoopak and adjusted his topknot. Palin unstrapped his staff as well. He opened his sack for a second to see if any of his items got damaged but it was difficult to tell. He would have to give them a thorough checkout when they got settled.

The two travelers headed towards the city. They found out that Leyas' description wasn't very far off. Races of all sorts filled the streets. There were many fruit stands and flea markets, stores of all kinds, and inns. Palin and Tas looked purposefully for a suitable inn. Finally, after walking through several streets, they came upon a place called the Cadmery Inn. It appeared to be to Palin's satisfaction. It wasn't extraordinary, but it was clean and organized. The innkeeper, a middle-aged man gave them a room with two beds for three gold. This, of course, didn't include meals, but Palin preferred going to eat somewhere else. When he was little, his family went on a trip to Palanthas and Palin found out that whenever meals were included in the deal at an inn, there wasn't much of a choice to pick from.

The room was on the third floor. It looked cozy and sanitary. Palin noticed that there was a little room extended to it with a tub that could be filled with water to clean. The thought of a bath sounded exemplary to him.

Tas sat down on the floor and started to sort through his things. None of his items appeared to be damaged. Tas then came across an extra set of clothes. They were in satisfactory condition.

Palin unfortunately did not bring an extra set of robes to wear. He would have to have his clothes cleaned. The two then came to an agreement. Tas would take a bath first and put on his clean clothes. Then he would bring his dirty clothes and Palin's robes to be washed. Meanwhile, Palin would take a bath. A young woman was sent to bring up pails of water with the innkeeper's help. They each brought up one and the woman brought up a third.

Palin was sitting in his chair, looking over his scrolls to see if they were damaged when he noticed the woman looking at him. He slowly looked up. She was about five-foot-seven with wavy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. She smiled at him. He blushed and smiled back. Then he went back to looking at his scrolls.

She handed the last pail to Tas, as well as a cloth and soap. A second later, she walked over to him. "Hello, I'm Sandrik. If you need me for anything in the room, just come down and let Andress know."

She started to move away, and then turned back. "What is your name?"

"Uh... Palin. Palin Majere." He looked her way, but indirectly.

"Well met, Palin." She smiled again. He glanced up at her quickly. There was something he didn't like about her. "Are you a wizard?" she then asked.

Palin glanced at the scrolls. "Uh... uh...yeah. Why?"

Sandrik edged her face closer to his and he moved further away involuntarily. "Why? Because I'm wild over men of that nature!" She giggled and left the room.

After that incident, Palin confirmed his disliking her. She was extremely improper. The closest girl to being proper was Usha in actuality. And she was the only girl he ever knew even partly well. Then he wondered, 'Will I ever find another girl? The right one?'

His thoughts were interrupted by Tas' voice. "Palin, can you help me pour this water into the tub?"

"Sure, Tas." Palin was happy to have something to drive thoughts of that sleazy woman out of his mind.

Palin waited patiently for Tas to finish. He even took out his spellbook and started memorizing spells he hadn't remembered or used in a while. However, there were few of those. Palin ended up resorting to drumming his fingers on the table in front of the chair. Then, he finally called out Tas' name.

He heard some splashing and then a "I'll be out in a minute!." At least this time, Tas meant it. He came out with a towel around his head and a bright green tunic and orange pants. After placing his hair back in a topknot, Tas took a bit of water he had left over from the third pail and washed the outside and inside of his boots. Luckily, the insides weren't too bad.

When he was ready, Tas was given a pouch of coins for the cleaning service. Palin also asked him to find a tailor to mend his robes, if possible. When Tas went downstairs, he asked for fresh towels and water to be sent up in addition to the old water being sent back down.

Palin went back to looking at spells. He didn't like the thought of having to face Sandrik again. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Pretending not to pay attention, he continued looking over spells. Sandrik and Andress brought the water down and replaced it. He did little but thank Andress. Sandrik then came up with towels and more soap. She placed them by the tub. Then she advanced him and he tried hard to ignore it. She whispered in his ear, If you need help with the bath in anyway, just let me know."

Palin was utterly disgusted and started to protest when he heard Andress' voice. "Let's not dilly-dally, Sandrik. We have more customers down here." She ran out the door.

Palin rose quickly to lock it. He did not want to have any more interruptions tonight and if she were to say one more thing, he would have a word with the innkeeper.

He then sighed and poured the water into the tub. After taking his robes off, he examined his arm. He removed the bandage. The skin was certainly burned and would take some time to heal. His arm was warm and still hurt, especially when Palin touched it. He would soak it in the water, then reapply it with the healing salve and another bandage. Content with that, he tried to relax and be patient for Tas to come back.

Palin waited anxiously for Tas to get back. Was he wrong to let Tas go on his own? 'No, he kept saying to himself. He has to come back. He knows that I need the robes for tonight. He's just got to.' Palin then let his mind drift to other things. He also thanked Paladine that Sandrik didn't come back to bother him! He really would have been in trouble then!

And then when Palin least expected it, he heard a key go through the door lock. "Palin, I'm back!" Tas' voice echoed through the bedroom. He walked over to the door and said, "Guess what! I found a place that was able to mend your robes and clean them in one service and only in a half-hour's time!"

"Thank Paladine. My fingers are all wrinkly." Tas gave Palin his clothes and when he came out he added, "Thank Paladine you also remembered to get them fixed for tonight."

"Of course, Palin, what do you think of me? Here, it only cost four gold." Palin was a little surprised at that. Then he thought that maybe Tas never really did intend to steal anything and that it was just his curiosity that got the best of him.

After that, Palin had to think one other thing over. "Tas, did you get lost on the way before you reached the cleaning service?" Palin started to clean his boots in following Tas' action.

"Uh... well... not really. I was doing alright, looking around for the cleaning service. And then on the way back from the service, I guess, my eye caught... well, a fortune teller."

"A fortune teller!" Palin glared at him.

"It didn't take long, honest! There was a really nice lady inside the store and she said she'd make me a good deal and tell me my fortune! For only two gold!"

Palin glanced at the pouch of coins. There were six missing from when Palin first gave him the pouch.

"By Reorx's beard, don't you know that those fortune tellers like to make thing up?!"

Tas looked down at the ground. "Sorry, Palin. She told me a really nice story."

Palin softened at that. 'The poor thing. Let him have his fun. At least, he was responsible enough to get my robes fixed.'

"Alright, Tas. Tell me what she said." Palin sat down on the bed to put his boots on.

"She first told me that I'd have a lot of exciting days ahead of me. That I would find a lot of interesting items and meet interesting people."

"She only said that because you're a kender." Palin interrupted.

Tas then continued. "She also said that green would be my lucky color and the number twenty-seven would be my lucky number. Oh, and then there was one other thing she said that stuck out in my mind. She said that I would meet a beautiful elven maiden."

Palin shook his head, disbelieving. "That's gotta be utter nonsense."

"Oh, and then she knew that you were my friend."

"How?" Palin cried. And then he realized something. "Did you go to the fortune teller after the cleaning service?"

"Why, yes... and she said that you would find a magical weapon that would unlock magic which hasn't been used in years..."

"Come on, Tas." Palin grabbed his arm. "Let's go eat. Leave your stuff here." Tas shrugged and with the other hand Palin reached for his staff.

CHAPTER SIX - Tas and Palin check out the local scene, Tas haggles with some other kender. Palin runs into a person he was hoping to never see again in his lifetime...

It was nightfall when Palin and Tas left the inn. Daltigoth was a big city and as a result, it was also a busy one. More of the less specialized stores were getting ready to close, but all guilds, magic shops, arms and weapons stores, and of course, inns and taverns were open. Palin also noticed some elves and humans entering a temple of Paladine.

"Oh, here's one, Palin." Tas pointed to an inn.. Palin looked at a sign which read, 'The Rowdy Crowd Inn'.

"Uh, Tas, I don't know about..." Palin started but before he could finish the door of the inn swung open and a human and goblin were wrestling in the doorway. The human pushed the goblin into the street. They started to swing punches and then a stout red-haired and bearded dwarf came out. "Break it up, you two. Pay your tab now and cut it out for Reorx's sake or leave."

Tas stared, wide-eyed. He looked like he was fascinated.

"Come on, Tas. Let's go, please." Palin nudged him.

"Alright, alright." Palin had to nearly turn Tas around away from the fight.

They kept walking. Then a place called 'Malade's Tavern' caught Palin's eye. He looked through a window on the right of the door and said, "This looks like a nice place. At least there doesn't seem to be a wrestling match going on in there."

Palin and Tas went in. The tavern seemed about an average size for one. The tables and chairs were made of black-painted wood and there was a long rectangular bar. A dwarf with gray hair and beard was serving at the bar.

Palin and Tas sat at a table against the side wall. Palin noted the customers at the tables. One table had a bunch of humans and elves. Another had dwarves, humans, and three gnomes. Yet another had a table of goblins, but they appeared far from rowdy, especially because they were seated in couples of males and females. A fourth one was made up of kinder that were seated on the other side of the room.

'No offense to Tas, but I'm glad we sat over here,' Palin thought.

A few moments later, a blond-haired female dwarf with gray eyes came to wait on them. Palin ordered some chicken with bread and wine while Tas ordered a steak with mushrooms and some ginger ale. While they were eating, Tas talked about a few minor things that the fortune teller said and the other kinds of shops he passed on the way to the cleaning service.

Palin couldn't help his eyes from straying towards the kender's table. He couldn't hear quite what they were saying, but he vaguely heard them laughing and chattering. He shrugged to himself and figured that maybe they actually weren't up to any harm. Then he wondered how he and Tas were going to get to the island from the coast of Southern Ergoth. They would also have to travel through the mountains. Surely, it wouldn't be easy. They'd have to stack up on food as well. They probably wouldn't find much civilization on the island.

Palin busied himself with these thoughts while Tas called for more cider and a sweetcake. All his kender energy was requesting some more fuel. Palin looked at his glass and saw that it was empty. He shrugged and took out his money to pay for the meal. Just then he realized his pouch with the coins was gone.

Tas was still talking but halted abruptly when Palin's fist hit the table. Palin glanced over at the table of kender. They were still cackling and gabbing it up, but now he was sure that he was the center of their conversation.

"What's wrong, Palin?"

"Those damn kender... stole my pouch!"

"Relax, Palin. Your face is turning red! I'll go and take care of it." Palin watched as Tas stood up and walked proudly over to the other side of the room. Palin then looked to see if his staff was still there. He thanked Paladine that it was.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tas exclaimed when he reached the table of kender. "You stole my friend's money! Now, how are we gonna pay for our meal?"

While Tas was doing this, he eyed the pouches on the belts of the kender. Only two had visible pouches hanging on belts. One of them had about five pouches on his. He snatched one up while the kender wasn't paying attention.

"Of all the nerve! How could a kender accuse another kender like that? We were minding our own business. And we did not take your friend's money. What do you make of this, Dreyak?"

Dreyak was the kender whom Tas stole the pouch from. "He sure does have a lot of nerve." Dreyak then noticed his pouch was missing. "Hey! you stole my pouch! Thief!"

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?!" Tas retorted angrily. "That's MY pouch! Now you're trying to take mine too?"

By that time, Palin was standing over Tas. "Give me back my money, kender - which ever of you has it or I'll turn all of you into something unpleasant." Palin knew this was an empty promise, but he could at least try intimidating them.

The kender got excited and asked which one could be changed first! Palin sighed and shook his head. Then he started to reach for some sand. He could at least cast a sleep spell on them and go through their pouches afterward.

However, Dreyak then held up his hands and said, "Alright, I give up. Here's your money back, Mr. Mage." Dreyak took one of the remaining pouches off his belt.

"Now give the pouch back, Tas." Tas felt awfully reluctant to give the pouch back for several reasons but he sighed and handed it back.

The kender started poking Dreyak and grumbling for his spoiling the fun. Tas and Palin were just about to go return to their table when they heard a jovial voice pipe in, "Hey lads! Now that the problem is settled, why don't we have some REAL fun?"

At this, the faces of the kender brightened. Palin didn't like the sound of that right away. He liked it even less when he turned to see who it was. In front of him was Dougan Redhammer.

"Dougan!" Tas exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Dougan stroked his black beard. "How are you, kender? I'm sorry that last time I was a little snappy with you. But, lad, I'm sure you could understand that we were in bad times. I hope you don't hold a grudge against me for it." Dougan patted Tas on the shoulder.

"Well, Raistlin's done a lot of bad things in the past, but I've forgiven him. I think I even forgive Raugh for trying to steal our food yesterday. So, I guess I can forgive you." Tas replied.

"That's a good lad." Dougan chuckled. "And how about you?" He turned to Palin.

Palin eyed him suspiciously. Tas wasn't with him when he went on that abysmal trek through the island of Gargath. He still held a grudge against Dougan, even if it was a small one. "I'm doing alright. Well, like Tas asked, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm always travellin'. Looking for some fun and adventure. I just came back here to get a drink and maybe get a game of darts in. It's a shame. No one's using the dartboard." Dougan glanced over his shoulder. There was a dartboard in the back near the end of the bar that Tas and Palin hadn't even noticed. "Anyway, I can't quite remember your names. Wasn't it something like Paxin or Darren or..."

"Palin." The mage said crossly.

"Palin, that's it. And you, kender?"

"Tasslehoff, Tasslehoff Burrfoot."

"Nice to know you, Flasslehoff." He shook Tas' hand.

"That's Tasslehoff." Tas looked at him strangely.

"Oh, pardon me, lad!" Dougan folded his hands. "And now enough of this mumble-jumble! What does everyone say about a game of darts for some stakes?"

The kender cheered and clanked their mugs together. Palin certainly didn't like where this was going. He said,'Oh no!' to himself in his mind uncountable times and started getting a queasy feeling in his stomach. He looked around the room and saw some people turning their heads away as if they were watching the whole incident but didn't want to be caught. Other people glanced over at the kender constantly while the rest of the crowd kept to their business.

"Now, what will the stakes be?" Dougan asked.

"How about three gold?" Tas requested.

"Tas!" Palin put his hand on his hip.

"Come on, it will be fun!" Tas declared.

'Sure, it would be fun! For someone who doesn't have to pay!' Palin thought miserably. Then he remembered their table. "Uh, Mr. Redhammer, I don't meant to spoil your fun, but I have to pay for

our meal, so I'll have to decline."

"Oh, don't worry about it, lad! I will take care of the tab! How about that?"

Palin refused to believe him until he handed the dwarven barmaid some coins. She nodded and went back to her work. Palin arched his eyebrows in disbelief. Then, another idea came to him. "Alright, Mr. Redhammer." He continued. "But what if I still refuse to decline? What does the winner get in the bargain?"

"The winner takes all the money. But just for you, you who are so hesitant when it comes to trying new things, I will do you a favor. Whatever you need, I'll do it for you."

"That would be two favors, actually. You still owe me one for helping you get the Graygem back together." Palin declared cleverly.

Dougan thought for a moment, twirling his heard with his fingers, and then said, "You're a shrewd one, that you are. You've certainly gotten a lot sharper since last time we met. Very well, then. Two favors it is."

"Then it's a deal." Palin agreed and Tas clapped his hands with excitement.

"But we have no money left! At least I don't think..." Dreyak shouted. "Count your money, Nith."

Nith, the first kender to respond to Tas' accusations, checked his sole pouch. "I have one gold!" he reported.

"And I have two silver." Dreyak added.

"Well, then how about you give up something from one of your pouches in addition to the coins?" Dougan suggested and pointed to Dreyak.

Dreyak looked at the other kender who just shrugged and he glanced back at his pouches. "Oh, how about this?" Dreyak drew out a silver ring from one of his pouches.

Palin eyed it and reacted. "Hey, let me see that! For one second." Dreyak held out his palm and Palin snatched it up. The ring was pure silver and had no other striking qualities except for runes lined across them. But runes! Palin looked closer and found that they were Elven. His eyes strained, but unfortunately he could not read them. Then he tried something else. He placed the ring in his palm and closed his hand and eyes. He pressed the ring tightly against his skin and started to breathe some words.

"Kalanus, Roas, Matura... Turi Selthanoth..."

The magic was alive in his soul. The ring was definitely enchanted!

"It's glowing!" Tas cried. "Look at it!"

Palin opened his eyes just in time to see the light fade. He handed the ring back to Dreyak. He was totally mystified and his curiosity set in and was at a high. What could that ring possibly do?

Dougan then started talking. "Good. Now let's get down to business. We'll all put in three gold for a round. Whoever wins takes the gold, except for Palin and Tasslehoff, of course because I granted them favors if they win."

"Then who gets to keep the gold if they win?" Nith demanded.

"Uh... well, I hadn't thought about that, lad." Dougan scratched his head.

"And I don't think it's fair to have my gold taken away if I win." Palin added. "It will be like I'm paying for a favor."

At that point, Dougan looked stomped. "Alright, you can have half of the output."

"I can deal with that." Palin replied.

"And what about us?" The kender echoed.

"You can have the other half." Dougan answered in a tone that seemed far from serious. Palin didn't think Dougan would be so serious with kender, but he let the matter drop in his mind.

Dougan then continued with the rules. He announced that there would be three sets of gameplay with three throws in each set. The number of throws closest to the target would win. Dougan would be his own party. There were five kender so they decided that Dreyak and Nith would get three turns each because they laid out their bet. Then the other three kender would get a throw each. Palin and Tas agreed to Tas' getting four turns and Palin's getting five turns.

So, the bets were in. Palin had played darts more often when he was younger, but he was never an expert at it. He would have to rely thoroughly on concentration. He wondered if Dougan was a good darts player. Could Dougan have specifically picked this game because he was an expert? Either way, everyone would have to stick with it. Palin needed those favors from Dougan and he knew exactly what he wanted them to be.

The game started. A few people at the bar turned their heads to watch. The dartboard was composed of five circles, and the stretch areas were thus divided into quadrants of twenty. The closer the target, the higher the number would be.

Dougan bid one of the kender go first. Dreyak scratched his topknot and aimed. The dart went sailing towards the forty-mark. The kender booed him and in return he told them to go suck on a draconian egg. Palin went next. He took a deep breath and aimed. The dart flew towards the sixty-mark. Then Dougan went. With precision and skill, Dougan's dart landed just at the line between the eighty and one-hundred-mark.

Palin cursed in his mind. 'Damn! He's gonna win! I know it! And then we'll never get to Cristyne!'

The results turned out to be in Dougan's favor. Throughout the game, his mark never went below eighty and it hit the one-hundred mark a few times. Tas and Palin actually didn't do too bad, but not good enough to beat Dougan. Of the kender, Lamel turned out to be their worst player and Dreyak their best.

Palin muttered to himself, imaging Dougan laughing in his mind. Dougan seemed pretty happy and called for some beer. He drank it up rather quickly, in what seemed to be three gulps or less. The mage stared at him bitterly. Dougan took the gold and the ring and put it in a pile on a table next to the dartboard.

The dwarf then rubbed his hands together and demanded, "Now, how about a second round?"

The kender grumbled and Palin angrily responded. "Haven't you done enough already? Not only did you trick me and Tas, but you also suckered these poor kender into giving up money they can't even afford to give away."

"Oh, come on. Cheer up, lads! This will be a time for you to redeem yourselves!"

Palin edged closer to him and looked him straight in the eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dougan actually seemed a little intimidated by his movement. "Why, I promise that if everyone puts in one gold, who ever wins has a chance to gain all the loot back again."

"That trick is old already." Palin declared. Tas nodded and the other kender seemed to back him up as well.

Dougan gulped. "Alright, lads. Here's my deal. I'll put in two gold, now, that's one more gold than you. Plus, if I win, I'll only take half and the rest you can split amongst yourselves. If any other party wins, they have a choice of what they want to do with the loot."

"Alright." Palin retorted. "But this is the last round. Agreed, kender?"

The kender babbled between one another for a while and then nodded. Palin took out a gold coin and added it to the pile. This time, Nith looked for something to add. He didn't have anything valuable in his sole pouch so he fumbled around in his pockets. A piece of gum, a spool of thread, and a piece of plastic came tumbling out. Nith shoved the thread and gum back into his pocket and held out the piece of plastic.

Palin looked at it closer. A small reddish leaf was wrapped within. Palin recognized it to be a hyendras leaf. He knew it to be used for healing wounds and even some minor diseases. This was done by crumpling the leaf into a cup of water and waiting for it to dissolve. Then it could be swallowed. It had a similar effect to that of Raistlin's herbal brew. The leaf looked a bit crumpled already (who knows what damage a fragile leaf could take in a kender's pocket!) but surprisingly, also looked like it was whole.

Palin informed Dougan of its value and he allowed Nith to add it to the pile. It was also agreed that only Nith and Dreyak would participate for the kender since they seemed to be the most reasonable players out of all five.

Surprisingly, the kender were cooperative the first round and didn't resort to chattering and slowing the game down, probably because at that time they were unaware of the odds at winning. But during this second round, it took some time to settle them down, especially with Lamel taunting Dreyak and Nith because of

their insults concerning his dart skills (or there lack of). While this was being resolved, Dougan called for two more beers. He even offered Palin some but after his first adventure with Dougan the mage resolved to never drink dwarf spirits or any other kind of beer again. He politely refused. It was actually Tas who managed to get everyone to finally organize themselves.

The second round then started. Palin felt a little more relaxed now that there seemed more of a probability of winning or at least getting the money back. It seemed that the kender weren't doing too bad either, now that Nith and Dreyak were the only ones playing.

Palin also noticed that Tas wasn't too bad a player. He hit the eighty-mark on the first set although he didn't too well with two sixty-marks in the second set. Palin himself got an eighty and sixty-mark in the first set and an eighty-mark in the second set. Then finally the third set came up. Palin was a little worried. Dougan was still doing pretty good with eighty and sixty-marks in the first two sets.

Palin whispered to Tas, "I wish we could get a streak of good luck." He watched Dougan get ready to aim for his first throw in the third set.

"Luck?" Tas started fishing in his pockets. He then started looking in the pockets of his tunic and found a piece of white cloth with the initials 'FB'. "Ah!" Tas exclaimed as he gazed at it. "It's Fizban's handkerchief. Maybe it will give us some luck."

"I sure hope so," Palin answered back. He then closed his eyes and whispered a quick prayer to Paladine.

"Let's go, lad. Your turn." Dougan patted the young mage on the back.

Palin took a deep breath. Then he let the dart go quickly from his hand. Everything happened so fast. He gazed at the dartboard. Tas was clapping.

"Yeah! You did it! You hit the one-hundred-mark!"

"I did? That was the first time I actually hit it!" Palin was stunned. And then surprisingly, Tas hit the one-hundred mark when it was his turn.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Dougan cried. "I haven't seen a kender get that close to the target in ages. I used to know a kender named Yula Treedancer. Best damn dart player around, she was."

"Did she dance on trees?" Tas asked.

"Most probably. But let's finish up here." Dougan aimed. He actually took some time adjusting his arm. He looked uncomfortable for some reason. He finally aimed and the dart stuck on the forty-mark.

"I can't believe that!" Tas reacted. "That's the first time you went lower than eighty!"

"I must be getting tired." Dougan shook his arm out. "I got an ache in my hand from chopping wood yesterday for a friend. Now my hand's acting up. But no matter. The only way you can beat me is if Palin can get towards the one-hundred-mark. If he gets another eighty, he'll only tie and if he gets a sixty or less, he'll lose."

In any case, it was Dreyak's turn to go. He ended up hitting near the eighty-mark, but it was not enough to catch up with Dougan. It was then Palin's turn. His throw would solely determine on the results of the game. He rubbed his hands and tried to focus. Small beads of sweat were developing on his forehead. He pushed the auburn waves out of his eyes. He then took a breath and aimed. The dart landed in the one-hundred-mark.

Tas started jumping up and down. "We won! We won!" He repeated.

Palin drew in a deeper breath this time and glanced around the room. A multitude of persons were staring at the kender. "Thank Paladine," he whispered and a smile spread across his face.

"Well, you did it." Dougan sat down and massaged his aching hand. "Now, what are you going to do with your winnings?"

Palin sat down as well, trying to calm down from the excitement. He grasped the Staff of Magius close. "Well, first I'm going to take the money and give back the amount that the kender laid out."

"That's very honorable of you." Tas pointed out.

The kender nodded as he handed them back the coins. "Do you want to keep the leaf and ring?" Dreyak asked. "You can take them." He put the items in Palin's palm.

"Uh... if you want me to keep them." Palin felt awkward.

"I'll take them!" Tas offered. Dreyak then looked at him fiercely. "On second thought, you can hold on to them, Palin."

"And what about you, Dougan?" Palin demanded, putting the items away.

"You can keep the money. You earned it, lad." Dougan was still rubbing his joints.

"Are you alright, Dougan?"

"Aye." The dwarf answered. "I guess I'm just worried about what favors you need ask of me."

"Well, the first thing we need is a way to get to the coast."

"Hmm... ah! That can be accomplished." Dougan's face brightened. "I have a friend who owns a stable. I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting us borrow his horses as long as they're returned."

"Good. And now the second favor." Palin added. "I need a ride across to the island of Cristyne."

"The island of Cristyne! Why, lad?"

"I have my reasons." Palin crossed his arms.

"There's a legend about a cave..." Tas started but Palin gestured for him to hush.

"Oh, the legend of Karzatin?" Dougan demanded.

"Who's Karzatin?" Palin asked back.

"There's a legend that an old reptilian monster lived in a cave on the island and was guarding a huge treasure. Try as you like to find it, but you'll have no luck. I tried looking for it myself. It was nowhere to be found."

"Well, maybe you missed something." Tas suggested.

"Maybe. But I think I covered every part of the cave."

Tas had a few other thoughts about why Dougan may have not been able to find the treasure. Yet he thought that maybe he should keep quiet, especially with the look on Palin's face.

"In any case, I know how I can get you a ship to the island. That will be my second favor to you."

"Well done." Palin replied.

"I'll go to seeing about such business now." Dougan added. "Where are you staying?"

"The Cadmery Inn. Come on. Let's go, Tas. Come by room three "C" in the morning."

"Aye, lad. I'll be there."

With that, Palin grabbed Tas' arm and started walking towards the door. He had a sly smile on his face. For the first time, he had walked away from Dougan Redhammer a happy man.

CHAPTER SEVEN - A new friend... with a most interesting life-

quest.

Palin and Tas woke bright and early. Palin got dressed and told Tas to stay out of trouble. He went to get provisions for the trip. He also bought a set of clothes just in case something happened to his robes. When he got back, he asked Tas if Dougan had come by yet.

"No," he answered. "But a girl asked for you. I think it was that girl that was helping us in here yesterday."

Palin frowned. "Oh, her again! She's so annoying! I wish a normal girl would like me for a change."

"Hey, maybe when we meet that elf maiden, she'll fall in love with you."

Palin shook his head. "Tas, you have to stop believing that nonsense."

"Well, for your information, Palin, some of that stuff has already come true." Tas folded his arms.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, yesterday we won the dart game. Not only did we have Fizban's help but I was wearing my green shirt as I am now. Plus the fortune teller said that I would meet some interesting people and find some interesting items. Well, we met some kender plus Dougan. And then we got this ring." Tas played with the silver ring with his fingers.

"Hey! How did you get that?" Palin asked. He then answered his own question.

"Uh... sorry, Palin. I was afraid you would lose it and it's really neat so I thought I..." Tas looked nervous.

"Hold on to it, Tas." Palin figured if he took it back Tas would end up with it anyway.

Just then, they heard a knock at the door. "You answer it," Palin requested, worrying it would be Sandrik again.

"Hello, lads! A good morning, ay?" Dougan came through the doorway. "Are you ready to head out?"

"Sure are." Palin finished putting away his stuff. Tas was already packed.

"Then, let's get movin'. We can go back to Malade's Tavern to get some breakfast. Then we'll pick up the horses. We also have to meet someone at the tavern. A friend of mine."

"An elf?" Tas asked and Palin turned to look at him.

"No, lad, a gnome. Madfrent's the name. He's going back to Mt. Nevermind so he'll be heading in the direction we are. There's going to be a ship of his friends coming to pick him up. So when they retreat back to the west, they can drop us off at the island."

"Are you going with us too?" Tas questioned him further.

"Well, actually I thought about it. I'll see how I feel. I may actually go with the gnomes and do some trading. They're technologically advanced, but they love sculptures and architecture. Maybe I can gain something by creating some masterpieces, huh?" Dougan clashed with Palin's' good arm in a friendly manner.

"Uh... yeah." Palin replied abruptly. "Can we go now? And uh... we're not going to make anymore bets, are we?"

"No, lad. It's too early in the day. And uh... I'm sort of tight, if you know what I mean. I'm tight from yesterday and now I'll need my coins to get me some breakfast. Well, let's get going if you're ready."

Tas and Palin strapped their sacks on and left with the dwarf. Palin was happy to have not seen Sandrik while paying for the room and leaving.

They entered the tavern. It was busy in there, but not as busy as it had been the previous night. Palin glanced around. No sign of kender this time. He did, however, notice a sole gnome sitting at a table with a cup in his hand. He had sandy blond hair and was wearing a gray tunic and pants to match. A brown cloak was draped over his chair. There was nothing extraordinary about him, or so there appeared to be, except for an item leaning his chair, a walking stick. Palin didn't know too much about gnomes, but one thing he did know was that they rarely carried around basic weapons, or at least walking sticks for that matter.

"There he is!" Dougan declared and moved some stray chairs out of the way to get to the table. "Madfrent, how are you?" He went over to shake his hand.

The gnome stood up. "DouganRedhammerI'mfinehowareyouit'sso goodtoseeyouareyoureadyforthetrip?"

The gnome could have continued but Dougan stopped him. "Slow down, lad, else we won't be able to follow you." Dougan thought for a moment and then added, "Yes, we're ready for the trip. We're going to sit down and have some breakfast. Then we'll go get our horses from Barrace."

"This is Parin, a good friend of mine..." He presented Palin but the mage corrected him. "That's Palin. Palin Majere." He offered his hand and Madfrent shook it. Dougan uttered an apology.

"And I'm Tasslehoff Burrfoot." Tas moved to stand next to Palin.

"TasslehoffBurrfoot!" Madfrent's eyes widened. "You' ..."

"Huh?" Tas was dazed for a moment. "Oh! You mean you're Gnosh's nephew? Wow! How is Gnosh doing?"

"GnoshiswellkendermaybeafteryougotoCristyneyoucancomefora

visitandseeGnosh..."

"Uh... sure! I'd love to! So. You are Madfrent?"

Madfrent nodded. "Madfrenticklelasinchodoobcarcrazangorilsili

mounfornoever..."

"Halt!" Dougan put his hands out in front of him. "Madfrent, it is to us. Now can you slow it down a little?"

The gnome looked down at the floor. "Uhsorry! IknowIshouldn't... uh, ramble, but I'm uhexcited... to uh...meet Tasslehoff. Gnosh toldme... uh, all about you." He looked at Tas and Tas smiled.

All the while, Palin felt dizzy. He had met gnomes on his first adventure with Dougan, but he still couldn't keep up with their modes of speech. Even Tas had seemed to have forgotten about it when he asked about Madfrent's name.

The group finally sat down and Dougan quickly ushered a barmaid over. The gnome was actually pretty quiet unless spoken to. Palin turned his thoughts to the future while Tas talked with Dougan. Tas and the gnome then ended up in conversation with Tas' questions about what Gnosh was up to and whether they improved their "gnomeflingers" since last time.

All were then resolved to eating. They paid for their meal and Palin let his eyes stray once again to Madfrent's walking stick. The stick looked about the length of a yardstick. After peering at it closer, he noticed that matching brown layers of cloth were folded and overlapped each end of the stick. Strangely enough, the top of the stick was somewhat wider than at the middle and bottom.

As they were walking out, Madfrent noticed Palin's interest.

"Youlikemyinvention? Oh, uh, I call it for now a fuzzylooking lookingglasswhereyoucanseefuzzyspotsmoonsandstars..."

"Moons and stars, you say?" Palin grew interested.

"Uhyes. I'll show you at night. It'snotgoodto look, uh... look at during the day."

"Why?" Tas asked.

"My brother Telapincricktipmarnogesis... uh... Tela wanted to use it and look at it. He lookedatthesun... uh, sun and he can't see good anymore."

"Maybe the sun's rays were too bright to stand." Palin suggested.

"Yes! Myyoungsir... uh..."

"Palin." He corrected him.

"Uhyes... Palin. Palinareyouamagicuser?"

"A what?" Palin was confused.

"A magic user!" The gnome repeated.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Youareverysharp... uh, sharp and Uncle Gnosh told me about a magicuser..."

"Yes, that was Fizban who came with me. Maybe the similar color in robes makes Madfrent think you're a magic user." Tas pointed out. He was certainly enjoying himself. He liked Madfrent a lot and couldn't wait to see through his "looking glass".

As the company approached the stable, Madfrent talked about his life quest as all gnomes had. It included the "absolutestudy ofmoonsandstarsaswellasotherobjectsanddevicestofindouthowfarawaytheyareandwhattheylooklikecloseup".

CHAPTER EIGHT - Traveling to the coast with Dougan Redhammer,

thinking about Raistlin again, missing Usha...

It wasn't long before Palin, Dougan, Tasslehoff, and Madfrent set out for the coast. Palin strapped the supplies he brought as well as his sack to his horse. His staff he strapped to his back. His horse was a white mare spotted with gray. Dougan rode a chestnut pony with a dark blond mane and tail. He only carried a small sack. Tasslehoff and Madfrent shared a black pony and had their items attached to the saddle or on their backs.

The two ponies rode aside each other while Palin's horse followed. Dougan, Madfrent, and Tas were deep in conversation and Palin wasn't the least bit interested. He let his attention stray towards his surroundings. To their left, a mountain range rose called the Sindivar. According to Leyas' map, they had passed it while travelling to Daltigoth, but the forest had blocked their view. Palin recalled seeing it before they got to the swamp. When they traveled further west and arrived near the coast, they would have to pass through it.

The sky was clear and bright. Few clouds were visible and there was a slight breeze coming from the direction of the mountains. Palin saw several blue-colored birds flutter their wings towards the sun. After taking in the serenity of the day, he pondered other things. He thought it interesting that Dougan's friend, Barrace, could give them a device that would communicate back with him and be able to teleport the horses home. He also noted that an alchemy shop was located next door to the stable. It was more than a coincidence.

He then thought about Madfrent's ability to communicate with the gnomes. He had a device that he would use to let the gnomes know they were near the coast so the gnomes could pick them up. Gnome technology was something else. Palin then prayed to Paladine for all to go well.

After that, he wondered if he would ever become more powerful. He was, after all, Raistlin's nephew. One thing that he was extremely surprised at was Raistlin's reluctance to teach him. Palin thought that for certain Raistlin would teach him his spells, especially since Palin had freed him from the Abyss. When the War was over, Paladine made a pact with Raistlin that if he refused to help or side with Takhisis, he would grant him the ability to live on Krynn again. Raistlin agreed to this. Paladine even granted him his magic back. Raistlin was also asked to turn to the White Robes, but he refused. However, Raistlin did make the decision to return to the Red Robes. Caramon was extremely proud of him. "Just like the old Raist," he had claimed.

Palin was frustrated with Raistlin's refusal to teach him. Maybe Raistlin didn't want to teach him because he was afraid that Palin would become evil and greedy and make the same mistake that he did? Or maybe after seeing that Palin would not give in to taking to the Black Robes, Raistlin felt that Palin would not be able to learn such powerful spells?

Either way, it seemed that Raistlin had changed from being in the Abyss. His personality was different and it just didn't fit the description that Caramon gave of him from the past. Raistlin realized that what he did was a mistake. Now he strove to change it.

Raistlin spent a lot of his time in the Tower of High Sorcery. What could he possibly be doing there? The only thing that Palin could think of was Raistlin's attempt to become the head of the Order of his Robes. Dalamar became the head of the Black Robes so maybe Raistlin could become the head of the Red Robes. And then maybe the Head of the Conclave. It was a more of a humble position than being the god of evil, but maybe Raistlin realized that he would have more honor that way in the long run and without consequences.

Palin thought that a brilliant plan although he still couldn't get over Raistlin's reluctancy to teach him. Raistlin once said that the magic was inside of him and that he just had to find it. Maybe he, Palin Majere, was destined for higher things, new magics? In any case, he didn't know where to begin to find it.

Palin kept his eyes straight on the path, but his ears were deafened by his thoughts. The horse and ponies were trotting along a well-used path at a steady pace. When what seemed like late afternoon came along, the company came to a wooded area. There were many trees, but they were spread out. Palin let his thoughts fall back to his surroundings as he watched a squirrel run up a tree.

A few minutes later, they stopped to eat a quick lunch. They then went back to travelling. During the whole day they encountered nothing but trees, birds, and squirrels. Palin studied the mountains as they made camp. He could see the outline of the range as the sky adjusted to nightfall. Lunitari and Solinari were readily visible. The sky was so clear that the dark moon, Nuitari, could be seen as well. Its outline matched that of the mountains. Thousands of stars appeared to join the moons in a celestial escapade.

Tas was excited. "Can we look at your looking glass now?" He asked Madfrent.

Madfrent nodded and held up his walking stick. He unraveled the folded cloths from the top and bottom. Palin and Tas peered at it. The glow of their cooking fire allowed them to see it more clearly. There was a circular piece of glass embedded on each end of the stick, which made the stick seem hollow. Madfrent passed it over to Tas and the kender realized that the glass at the bottom was smaller than the glass at the top.

Tas used the smaller side of the stick to look through it. "Wow! This is great!" He stuck his eye in the glass. "I can see everything and the moons look so much bigger! Wow, there's spots and funny lines on Lunitari... and Solinari too!"

"Let me look!" Palin exclaimed and Tas reluctantly gave the invention up.

Tas was right. "Those must be hills or something to the like of that." Palin then adjusted the device to look at the stars. He could see a few closer than others, but they weren't close enough for him to see any detail. "I don't see any spots or lines on the stars." He announced.

"That's because they're not close enough." Madfrent explained. "The main part of my Life Quest involves creating a bigger and more accurate looking glass to see details of stars."

"That's a wonderful Life Quest." Tas noted. "Maybe I should find out if I have a Life Quest."

The company was silent. Then Dougan cheerily piped in, "Well, I don't have a Life Quest but I do have a Night Quest and it involves going to sleep." He rolled over in the sleeping bag that he had brought with him.

Tas yawned after another look at the looking glass and lie down. Madfrent quickly followed his action after carefully placing the cloths back on the ends of his invention.

Palin was then left with his thoughts once again. He wondered if his magic was his Life Quest. He thought about it and realized that most humans did have a Life Quest, just that some never had the chance to realize what it was. But why did his magic seem like it wasn't enough?

He then realized what it was. Along with someone's goal for themselves, a person would have a goal that included somebody else that they loved and were devoted to. His father had his mother, Tanis had loved Laurana, Tas had Flint as a best friend, and even Steel had someone - his Queen. Sturm had loved Alhana, and Raistlin although he realized it when it was too late realized that he felt something for Crysania. Palin's brothers were gone and Raistlin was at the Tower most of the time. He loved his sisters but they were so young and he didn't have the same bond with them like he did with his brothers because of it. So, who was there for him? He thought he had Usha. He was ready to love her but she pushed him away and left him. He came back to the same question again: would he ever find someone to love? He stared at Lunitari one last time and wiped away a few tears from his eyes.

He was resolving to stand watch, but he didn't want to be awake and miserable. The others were too lazy to share watching camp and gave him weak excuses. He lie down and closed his eyes, thinking that he wouldn't fall asleep, but when he least expected it, he did.

CHAPTER NINE - Fun in the mountains, more fun with Raugh and reinforcements, and even more fun on the ship, the Femina.

Palin's sleep was dreamless, or so he thought. He woke up with a voice in his ear. "Come on, get up!" It sounded like Tas. He opened his eyes and the sunlight blinded him. He then closed his eyes back quickly. "Tas, let me sleep a little while longer." He muttered.

After a moment, awareness took hold of him. He wasn't back home, under clean sheets, safe from anything equated with harm. He was in the wilderness, on a continent he couldn't even call his own. And worse, Usha wasn't with him.

He opened his eyes and drew himself out of the sleeping bag. He then folded it up and brought it over to his horse. He patted the mare on the neck while she chewed on some grass. Palin went to take out an apple for her and she was glad to receive it. He then chewed on an apple for himself. Everyone else was eating provisions they had brought with them. Tas already had a share of the food Palin had bought in Daltigoth. There weren't any streams around the area so they would have to use their water sparingly. Palin took enough for a drink and a little to cool his face off. Hen then poured some into a bowl and gave it to the horse to drink.

When everyone was done caring for themselves and their animals, they gathered their stuff together. The mountains loomed to the west and ahead of them. They were only a few miles away from where they would have to start riding up.

Palin had to admit that he was in a miserable mood. But he had to debate what was better; out there looking for action or being back home doing routine chores. When Palin was at home, his obligations were to helping with the housework, aiding in cooking at the Inn, and occasionally watching his sisters. He actually enjoyed taking care of his sisters. He loved looking at their smiling faces; it reminded him of his brothers and their playfulness.

He also wondered if his sisters would develop and special powers. Dezra, he noticed, was quick with movements and energetic. She was, after all, going to be twelve years old soon. He remarked that she especially enjoyed their dad's playfights with her and Laura. Once, Tika gave Dezra her cooking drainer to use as a shield and Caramon gave her a thick tree branch. Caramon then took a branch of his own and he showed her combat moves. Dezra was quick to learn for a young girl. Maybe one day, she would grow up to be an adept swordswoman. Meanwhile, Laura took a huge attachment to caring for animals. Perhaps, she would become a professional healer for animals or even a magic-user specialized in animal knowledge.

After thinking about his sisters, Palin felt a little better. Maybe he'd find some pretty jewelry that he could bring home to them! And his mother! That thought brightened his mind.

Soon, gnome, dwarf, kender, and human were in front of the range. Palin focused his thoughts on the mountains. There were rocks and boulders scattered in front of them. The horse and ponies had to move in a zig-zagging motion in order to make it smoothly to the ascent. Every time they thought they were at the top (or thought they should be), more rocks and boulders loomed at amazing heights and they had to fight their way through them.

The animals had to constantly stop to confirm their footing. The general motion of the ascent made Palin's head swim in dizziness. He had never been this physically high before in his life. Even Tas resorted to complaining.

Madfrent was searching for something in his sack while Tas tried to maintain control of the reins. The gnome grasped something black and peculiar and placed it in front of his eyes.

Tas turned his head and noticed. "What's that?"

Madfrent got excited and handed the invention to the kender. "I call them doublefunnylookinglookingglassesthatyouusetosee

objectsotherthanfuzzyspotsmoonsandstarsandduringthedayotherthanatnight."

Palin moved his horse to step alongside the pony. "Huh?"

Madfrent's cheeks turned a slight pink and he responded, "Sorry. I meant a double looking glass. But you don't use it for stars, suns, or moons."

Tas glared into it. "Wow, the mountains look bigger and closer. I don't see an end to them, though." He pressed his face closer into the device. "Wow, there's a bird! It's coming closer! Hey! Stop that!"

The bird edged closer and closer until everyone could see it. It was a black and gray-colored bird. "It's a hawk!" Palin exclaimed. "A daggerhawk!" He recalled the name from a book that Caramon had bought for Laura. Hawks were common in Southern Ergoth, especially in the mountains. They were known specifically for their dagger-edged claws.

The hawk started biting at the looking glass and after giving up from an attack by Tas, who was waving the invention up and down, it flapped its wings harder and moved on.

"Lads, that was one close call!" Dougan shouted from his seat and rolled into a fit of laughter.

"Is it still working?" The gnome asked sorely.

Tas looked into them again. This time he tried looking at his companions. "Wow, Dougan! Your beard is really knotted! You better comb it!" Dougan looked at him in disgust, then turned to reach for his comb.

Meanwhile, Tas looked at Palin. "Sheesh, Palin, you have some dirt on your face! You better wipe it off!" Palin put a hand to his face. "That's not dirt, Tas, that's stubble!" He angrily turned away.

Tas gulped and glared at Madfrent. "There's a fly on your ear." He informed him. Madfrent felt his ear. "You're right! Off, off!" The fly then buzzed in the gnome's face and he swatted it again.

Meanwhile, Tas gulped again, loud enough for everyone to stop what they're doing and turn toward him. "Uh... uh... there's a problem, Madfrent. Your looking glass is still working, but uh... there's a crack in one of the glasses."

"You broke my looking glass? How could you? Ispentfiveyears perfectingitandyoubroketheglass! Ishouldusemytorturingdeviceon

youspecificallyforkenderitdragsyoubyyourtopknotand..."

Madfrent's incoherent blabbering only made Tas gasp more. "I'm sorry to tell you, but there was actually a crack there when I first looked through it. But because of the hawk's biting it, it got bigger."

"Bigger?" Madfrent got even angrier at this and started mumbling even faster.

"So, what do you say, lads?" Dougan interrupted. "Should we leave him on the mountainside or what? Kender will always be kender."

"Nonsense!" Palin replied. "Let's stop talking nonsense and start moving." He prodded his horse to ride ahead.

Meanwhile, Madfrent cradled his invention in his arms and Tas, feeling guilty, sadly held the reins and followed the mare. He didn't say much for a while. Dougan moved his horse ahead while trying to comb out his beard with one hand.

The day slowly wore on. Madfrent continued complaining about his damaged invention while Tas spoke of being bored. Dougan and Palin tried to quiet them down while attempting to find a steady route west. Finally, when they reached the absolute top of the range, they found a mountain pass to the left that started from further southeast. Once this task was accomplished, the horses found it easier to move at a faster pace.

"I'll help you repair the looking glass if that's what will make you happy." Tas finally offered.

"How could a kender help a gnome to do such a thing? Inventions are notably not a kender's forte." Madfrent returned. He pulled his brown cloak closer to stave off the cool mountain breeze."

"I said I would help you, not totally fix the invention. It shouldn't be that hard to do. Instead of insulting me, why can't you show me how I can help you? Us kender, aren't all that stupid. I'm really tired of everyone berating my people!"

Palin decided to help in a bit. "Come on, Madfrent. You two were getting to become such good friends. Why ruin it now?"

Tas turned to give Madfrent a sad look. "Alright, Tas." The gnome finally gave in. "Madfrent can forgive. You were even nice enough to show me all your items, too. I enjoyed that a lot."

"Even though I didn't get to see all of Tas' items!" Palin broke in.

"If you were referring to Raugh's pouch, you only had to ask." Tas stated. He then motioned for Madfrent to take the purple pouch out of his sack. Palin reached for it and quickly gazed in. The pouch held a jar that looked about the size of an ink jar. There was also a small blue candle, some bat guano, and rose petals, as well as a set of caltrops. 'I doubt the items have magical properties save for the spell components. But one may never know,' he told himself and pocketed the pouch with Tas' approval.

It was late in the day when the company finally neared the edge of the Sindivar mountains. They actually didn't have long to go from where they started, but travelling through a mountain range was never a truly easy task. The group hadn't even stopped to eat lunch. Now hunger tore at them in addition to a need for an escape from the range and its wretchedly cool breezes.

Palin shivered through his white robes and even his hair as long as it was, was not enough to keep his neck warm. The staff of Magius strapped against his back, was the only thing that kept him in line. He couldn't tell whether he was more hungry or cold. The breeze, however took the burning strain off his arm. It was healing and hurt less each day that passed, although occasionally it felt warm to the touch.

Tas was cold too, but Madfrent took out Tas' cloak for him. Madfrent had his brown cloak to protect him. Dougan wore a fur vest over his tunic; obviously he was prepared for this. Why didn't Palin think of this? Just then, he remembered something. Laurana, as a farewell gift had given him a little something that might come in handy. He reached in one of his pockets and drew out a small box. He had to let the horse lag in order to do this, but it would be for the better.

Inside the box were three small red and black painted rocks. They were incandescent rocks; magic rocks that gave off heat when rubbed against. After grabbing one of the small rocks and using it, the rock gave off a faint red glow and warmed his hands quickly. He then pressed the rock against his cheek and felt the warmth flow to the rest of his face. At least that would keep part of him warm for a few minutes. He placed the rock back in the box and realized how Laurana must have been well-aware of his having to travel in the mountains.

A moment later, Palin heard a voice. "Hey, we've reached the edge! Now, be careful, lads! It's harder to travel down without falling than it is to travel up."

Palin hurried his horse to catch up with them. A few minutes later, he was looking over the mountainside. He could see wide open plains, and finally after that, beaches and the ocean. He also saw what looked like a small village, but it was more towards the north and further from their destination. "We're almost there!" He shouted triumphantly, nearly startling the horse. He then saw his friends a few feet down battling with caution.

The travel downward was not particularly easy. The fact that the party was anxious to get to the coast made it even more difficult to concentrate. But with their sense of extreme meticulousness, gnome, dwarf, kender, and human managed the journey downhill.

"We did it! Hooray!" Tas exclaimed. Madfrent echoed his thoughts by cheering in quick gnomish tones. "Howwonderfuland marvelous! NowwecancontactCaptainFririiforourshipandgetoutofthis

place!"

Dougan and Palin didn't quite understand a word of the poor fellow, but they were sharing the same elation from coming closer to their goal. The horse and ponies felt more free to move and started to trot. Palin caught up to the ponies and managed to take the lead.

The travellers rode for a few miles and Palin estimated that they probably had passed the village by now. He didn't want to bother them with the details of it and hoped that with no interruptions they would be able to get to the shore before sunset and contact the gnomes.

Madfrent, Palin, Dougan, and Tasslehoff ended up riding for another hour before they neared the shore. They managed to grab what they could from their provisions to suppress their hunger until they could get to some point where they could stop. Everything was going smoothly... until Madfrent made an announcement.

"They'recoming! RogueschasingusohnoohmyhelpmeGnoshinthistime

ofneedwheredidIputmydisposerogueinvention..."

At the same time, Dougan and Palin cried out, "What?!"

Tas took a quick glance back east. "He's right! It's Raugh! And it looks like he has some friends with him."

"Reorx's beard! What did you get me into, lads?" Dougan grumbled nervously.

Palin looked back quickly. "Damn! How did he find us? Now we're in deep trouble." Raugh and four figures were astride five ponies. They looked to be about five-hundred feet away and were steadily gaining on them.

The company quickly pushed their animals at a faster pace. A magic spell was on Palin's lips and he could feel the fire building up from anxiety. He no longer needed an explanation of how Raugh found them. He was a magic-user.

The company halted when they reached a few feet from the wet sand. "Use any weapon you have and defend yourselves." Palin shouted. He grasped the staff of Magius so tight that his hand hurt for a moment. He quickly climbed down from his horse and everyone followed his action. "Madfrent, you take the horses over there. Dougan, Tas, and I will have to fight them."

Tas wrenched his hoopak free and grabbed the block of dwarven runes from his sack.

Meanwhile, Raugh and his friends were quickly approaching. The travelers could now tell that they were goblins. They were about fifteen feet away when they decided to dismount. Palin was then ready with a spell. He took a piece of cobweb out of one of the pouches on his belt with his left hand and had his right arm lean on the staff of Magius. He chanted quickly, accenting certain consonants and syllables. As he was doing so, the piece of cobweb crumbled inside his hand as he crushed it. A moment later, a sticky substance surrounded the derro and his companions. It had a whitish-yellow tint to it and managed to attach itself to their legs. It snared two of the goblins. However, the other two goblins were near the edge of the web and only got a leg each caught inside of it.

"Get them!" Raugh cackled, trying to free himself but failing.

The two goblins ripped their legs out of the web with ease and headed towards the company. Dougan ran to meet one of them while Tas steadied his left hand with the stone block and his right hand with his hoopak. Palin tried to figure out what to do next and Madfrent tried to keep the horses calm.

Dougan was able to dodge the first swing the goblin threw at him, and on a second swing he ducked and kicked the goblin in the thigh. He looked down at his thigh and Dougan then had the opportunity to rip the weapon out of the goblin's hand. They struggled for a few moments before that could happen.

By the time the second goblin was nearing Tas, he pointed the stone block at the goblin and his neck froze. He looked like he was trying to scream something out, but no audible words came out. During that time, Raugh decided to try out his luck with a spell. He knew he would still be able to manage it despite the inability to move his legs. He focused on Palin, who was too busy looking off in the direction of Dougan and Tas.

Raugh then spoke softly to himself and fished around in his pocket. He drew out a dirty piece of cloth with blood on it. He then took out the remains of a cricket that seemed far gone from about a week ago. He sneered, wrapped the bug in the cloth, and shouted, "Tazanas! Kreame Ulakrintonthonos! Spaldyarhachete zee!"

Not a moment later, Palin let out a sharp cry. "My leg!" He set his gaze on Raugh. "Damn you!" He grunted, loud enough for all to hear.

Madfrent stared at the young mage, who was staggering and holding on to the staff for support. He thought for a moment... and then snapped his fingers. He went over to his pony and drew out a blue case. He opened the case and inside lay a matching blue box. The gnome traced his fingers over the device and pressed down a green button. Near the button lay a gnomish inscription that had to be inscribed so small as to fit the whole description.

As soon as the button was pressed, the top of the box opened and a long rod of wood unfolded itself and rose. The rod looked like that of a fishing pole and attacked to it was a long piece of cord. Madfrent proceeded to pressing another button, a red one which lifted the rest of the cord. He pressed the button a second time and the pole extended itself and swirled in the air with the cord. He gave the button one last push and aimed for Raugh and the fourth goblin. Within seconds the cord passed by the two rogues and winded itself around them.

A property of the cord that made it different from regular cord was that it was unusually strong and light in weight to balance out the length. It also had little points that would pinch and wound who ever was caught in it. Madfrent had used it before for tasks such as climbing. Now, Raugh and his goblin friend were being prodded and had no mobility in addition to their being stuck in one place. The two of them were grumbling and Madfrent nodded with satisfaction. He then flicked a switch on the side opposite of the red button and the cord snapped.

The whole time, Palin watched with amazement. Hardly believing any of it, he complimented the gnome. "An ingenious contraption!"

"Thankyou! It's actually one of Uncle Gnosh's. It's ingenious but I'll have to get some more cord for it."

Meanwhile, the third goblin who had gotten free of the web just in time to evade the gnome's device, rushed towards Tas. Tas dropped the stone block into one of his pouches and was whacking the goblin whom had he frozen over the head. The goblin was staggering and moved out of the way when he saw the other goblin run towards Tas. Dougan at that time managed to give the goblin who was fighting him a chest wound and the goblin's body fell to the ground. He went to finish the second goblin off, seeing that Tas had a new challenge.

While Tas was struggling to dodge the goblin's every swing, Palin tried to start on his next move. He had been wondering the whole time what spell he should use next but all the spells in his memory appeared to be of no use to him. He needed an area effect spell, but at the moment he had none to cast. Knowing that he couldn't walk because of the injury to his leg, he couldn't get to his magic items. However, Madfrent was close by so he could ask him to bring him his sack.

Madfrent followed his order quickly. Palin rummaged through his items and decided upon one of the scrolls. He ripped the yellow ribbon off and unfolded the parchment. Raistlin had once told him that sometimes a mage would be put in a situation where he or she would have to act before they could think. This wasn't always the best thing to do, but when the circumstances didn't allow for time enough to think, the mage would have no choice but to act on instinct.

These words of wisdom sped through Palin's mind as he gazed at the printing. It was in Elven. Palin knew at least a word in twenty, but he would have to try his hardest to decipher the contents of the spell. He focused and after a minute, figured it out. It was a chronoport spell! A spell designed to place a target back to a certain moment in time. Having the knowledge of this, Palin started chanting. "Trilosyndros komite anul. Dayeth ungolincernus rexon plythedra..." The magic once again bubbled in his veins and all of a sudden there was nothing but his targets. Palin was in full concentration. Fortunately, Raugh and his goblin companion were more concerned with getting themselves free of the gnomish cord to notice.

In the meantime, Dougan was giving his opposing goblin the final blow when Tas' opponent grabbed a hold of him. He grabbed the kender by his topknot after having knocked the hoopak out of his hands. He sneered and spoke in Common. "Now I have him. Give up what rightfully belongs to my companion or the kender gets it."

Dougan was distraught. What in the Abyss was he talking about? He looked around and saw the derro and his companion trying to rid themselves of a cord that was strapped about them from neck to foot. He then looked at Palin, who was reading from a faded parchment, probably casting a spell. He also saw Madfrent, who was looking on a few feet from behind him.

Dougan then looked back at the goblin, who was holding his sword to Tas' throat. "I'm not kidding, splatterbrain. Do what I said."

"Splatterbrain? What the... no one calls Dougan Redhammer a splatterbrain!" The dwarf grabbed his axe more closely, which he had jerked free moments before and edged towards the goblin. The sword in the goblins hand went closer and touched Tas' flesh. The kender was gulping. "One more inch, dwarf, and he's kendermeat. I mean it!" The goblin warned.

Tas was taking in rapid breaths. Despite his situation, he did something very brave. Something only a creature immune to fear would do - what a kender would do. He said in a weak voice between gulps, "Uh, Mr. Goblin, Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but there's a bee flying right over your head and I'm only telling you this for fear that it will sting you." He looked up at the goblin's chin.

Dougan quickly caught on. "He's right! Damn pesky things." He drew his eyes up and started swatting the air with his free hand. The goblin was actually stupid enough to fall for the trick and looked up. That gave Dougan enough time to sock the goblin in the jaw. The goblin's arm flew loose from Tas' throat and Tas was able to dodge out of his range. Dougan then lowered the axe and jabbed the goblin in the stomach.

By that time, Palin was nearly finished with his spell. "...tolorn abajunt twelik yiksun ewdath." He kept his eyes steady on his targets and before a kender could say "oops," Raugh and his companion vanished.

Madfrent started clapping his hands together and Tas ran up to Palin. "Wow, what did you do?"

"I sent them back in time, hopefully back far enough for them not to catch up to us." He glanced around. They were nowhere in sight. However, the bodies of the dead goblins were lying on the ground. The third goblin was lying in front of Dougan, clutching at his stomach. "Please kill me," he begged. "I'm going to die soon. Don't leave me to suffer."

"You're right." Dougan noted. A vital part of the goblin's digestive system was damaged. His jaw was also shattered and blood was pouring from his lips. "If that is what you request, lad, that's the least I can do." He drew in a deep sigh, closed his eyes, and slew the goblin. Not wanting to see the horrible sight, the dwarf turned away before opening his eyes and rushed over to the company. He picked up Tas' hoopak in the process.

"Thanks for saving my life, Dougan." Tas smiled and took the hoopak.

"No problem, laddie." Dougan smiled back. He then turned to Palin and noticed his leaning heavily on his right leg. "Are you alright, lad?"

"I can't move my left leg very well." He slapped his teeth together, feeling the pain more now than he did when he was casting the chronoport spell. "Raugh cast a paralysis bolt on me." He tried to relax. He glanced at his staff, which was lying on the ground. The young mage handed the parchment to Tas. "I need to get my staff." He leaned over and picked it up. However, as he straightened he lost his balance. Fortunately, Madfrent and Dougan were there to catch him.

"Let's help him over to the horses." The horse and ponies were standing where they had left them. Palin was able to walk with Madfrent and Dougan's help, but it pained him every step he took with his left leg.

"If you look for adventure, young mage, then do so. But don't expect to come out of an adventure free of wounds or bruises." Dougan stated.

Palin glanced at him in surprise. "You're right, Dougan. I'll keep that in mind."

Tas then interrupted the cycle of wisdom. "Hey, the words on this scroll disappeared." He looked at the paper with widened eyes.

"Yes." Palin declared with a sense of regret. "But maybe someday I'll learn that spell and have it in my memory." His gaze went to the horizon for a moment. He then looked at Madfrent and said, "We'd better get out of here before Raugh and his lone goblin friend return." Madfrent nodded and pulled out a device from his sack.

Meanwhile, Dougan brought Palin over to a place in the sand where he could help him sit down. Tas first unloaded Palin's horse and brought his things over to him before he did so with his own belongings. Dougan also unloaded his pony. Madfrent's sack was already on the sand in front of him. He had a small black object in his hand which had a long steel piece coming out of it.

Dougan also went to his returning of the horses. He took out a small ring with a sapphire resting on top of it. The ring barely fit on his pinky finger, but he was able to push up enough for it to activate. He tapped the sapphire and it started to glow and fade out in cycles. Palin turned his head to watch. The ring glowed and faded a few times more and then the horse and ponies disappeared.

Tas ran back to where they were standing and reached his hand out. "Wow! That's some ring!"

"Now don't even think about taking it from me, lad. It wouldn't do you no good. It's a communication-teleportation ring and it's designed specifically by the maker for usage between only two beings. It's sort of like a bond between lovers and friends. Of course, Barrace uses this for his business so he can get the ring to reactivate for another customer. But after one use, it has to be fixed again."

"That must be some alchemist." Palin retorted. And then he wondered, how come Raistlin never ventured into doing some kind of business like that? Afterwards, he thought against it and realized that Raistlin wasn't the type to give his powers away, even for a reasonable amount of money. Money wasn't a need of Raistlin's; it was power.

"Okay. The gnomes should be here soon." Madfrent announced, placing his device back in his sack. He ran to sit down next to Tas and Palin.

"I hope it's soon enough, before trouble returns." Palin murmured, rubbing his aching leg. He was starting to get back a little feeling back in his thigh, where most of the pain resided. But he still felt like someone had pounced on it. He noticed Tas grabbing at his sack for some food and decided to do the same. Soon, the whole company was engaged in eating.

After he was finished eating, Madfrent took out his double looking glass. He stood up and turned in all directions. "Ooh! I see something! To the south!" He pointed, but from which way they were facing, it looked like they were coming from the west.

"Let me see!" Tas cried. Madfrent looked at him. "I promise on my Uncle Trapspringer that I won't damage your looking glass." Tas put his hand over his heart. "Please!" he added.

The gnome shrugged and handed his invention over. "You're right, Madfrent!" Tas could see a blue and gray object heading towards them. "They're probably about a mile off." Tas remarked.

CHAPTER TEN - A short trip to Cristyne and rest for our infamous heroes...

About fifteen minutes later, a gray and blue ship was visible to all. It was extremely close, in fact, it was coming towards the shore at an awfully quick speed. It almost looked like the vessel was going to crash.

"Let's move out of the way." Dougan suggested, nervously twisting his moustache. He grabbed his stuff. Everyone quickly moved out of the way except for Palin, who was having trouble picking himself up.

"Help him up, lads! Quickly!" Everyone pitched in and they were able to move him within seconds.

Minutes later, the ship arrived. It turned out that Dougan was smart to move the party. The ship moved a few feet on to the beach before it actually halted.

Palin looked up at the vessel. It was a little bigger than the other vessel he had been on with Dougan, mainly in terms of length. Instead of having a female figure at the front under the sail, there was a male figure, muscular and bare-chested. The ship's sail was smaller than the sail on the former vessel and it was all blue. Printed on it was the name, "The Femina". 'An interesting name,' Palin thought. 'I wonder what it could mean.'

Just before another thought came to his mind, a gnome walked down what appeared to be a small flight of stairs, on the left side of the ship. The gnome wore a gray tunic and brown pants under a short brown cape. The gnome appeared to be the captain. And the gnome was female. Palin also noticed some other gnomes gathering near the wheel of the ship to look on. They were dressed in brown robes like the gnomes on The Miracle, but they were female as well.

Madfrent went to hug the gnome. "Sisterhowareyou? Howwasthe

ridetheshipisdoingwellitseemstoberunninggoodIguessyoufixedthat

probleminthestern, huh?"

"Finefinebrother. Nowwouldyouliketointroducemetoyourfriends?"

Madfrent turned back to his companions. "Thisismy, my sister Captain Fririi. Her Life Quest is to build the most technologically advanced ship with the least bit of complications." He then introduced her and she stated, "It's a pleasure to meet you all." She turned and walked back up. Madfrent gathered his things and followed.

"I can see the resemblance." Tas declared, noting Fririi's curly blond hair. He and Dougan helped Palin up the stairs.

"You can take them to their quarters if they need rest." Palin heard Fririi mention to her brother.

Madfrent nodded and led them towards the back of the ship. He flung open a wooden door that was part of the floor and under it was a set of stairs. There was a bunch of rooms to their left and right. They were sent to a small room with two beds and a window. Tas and Dougan helped Palin sit on the bed and they put his sack on the floor next to it. He laid his staff down on the side of the bed that was against the window.

Palin then had the urge to lie down. The bed was extremely comfortable; another improvement the vessel had in comparison with The Miracle. He weakly looked over at Tas, who was taking his boots off. He offered Palin the service of taking his off as well and the mage was glad to receive it.

Madfrent looked at them. "Makeyourselves, uh... comfortable. Sleep as long as you like. When you're rested, come upstairs or knock on the room past the storage room. Dougan and I will be resting in there."

"Thank you, Madfrent." Palin said as he turned over towards the window. His body relaxed as his face hit the pillow. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was setting and the bottom of the sky contained shades of yellow, red, and blue.

"I think it's easier for Fririi to talk to us slower than Madfrent." Tas remarked, unfolding the sheets.

Palin dozed off, right after agreeing with Tas' observation. Most of Palin's sleep sequence was peaceful, but the portion that wasn't contained a most amazing dream. He had a dream about his brother, Sturm. He was leaning over Sturm, who was lying on the ground. He was in his armor and he was breathing rapidly. Palin kept calling out his name and Sturm kept repeating to him to take the fork on the left. He kept calling to him and asking him why but all Sturm would do was repeat his instructions.

Palin looked at his brother one more time... and he woke up. He sat up, waiting for awareness to come to him. He felt dizzy and hot for a moment, and then he looked out the window. The sun was high in the sky. Palin couldn't comprehend this. He then rolled over to look at Tas, but Tas wasn't anywhere to be found. His bed wasn't made, though.

Palin rubbed his eyes and then got up to retrieve his boots. He decided to leave his sack in the room, noticing that Tas had left his. He reached for his staff, however, which was still lying near the window. Before going upstairs, he decided to see if Dougan or Madfrent were in their room. He walked slowly, trying to put as little pressure as possible on his left leg. He passed through a storage room, which held boxes and packages that had preserved food names on them as well other items. He then glanced in their room. None of them were there.

Palin headed for the stairs. While passing through the hallway, he came across a plaque on one of the walls. It read in big letters at the top, "The Femina". Then, in smaller letters under it read, "The Ship of Female Gnome Sea Captain and Crew Because Dammit There Aren't Enough Female Gnome Sea Captains And Crews Around and Female Gnomes Make The Best Sea Captains And Crews Around...". And then of course, the name went on. Palin acknowledged that after the word 'around' the letters were getting even smaller, probably due to the lack of space. Palin chuckled at the communication mode of the gnomes. However, he did feel that whoever gave the ship the name had a point. He wondered then, how come there weren't more female sea captains, or female captains, in general.

Palin then thought about his mother, who always stood up for herself. He thought about Laurana, who was fought in events that preceded his birth, a general that led the armies in the War of The Lance. And lastly, he thought of Kitiara, his aunt, who though was on the side of evil, a powerful Dragon Highlord. He didn't care what other people thought, but he came to the conclusion that whatever lives his sisters sought to pursue, he would support them and be there for him.

After having finished looking at the plaque, he climbed the stairs. He realized that his leg didn't hurt as much, but that he still had to walk slowly and limp with his staff for support. That would also help him to not put pressure on his injured leg.

Palin looked around and saw his friends sitting on a bench in the front of the ship. Various gnomes were walking past him and he had to move out of the way, fearful that they wouldn't see where they were going and knock him over. He walked to the front and saw Fririi at the wheel, her cape blowing with the breeze.

"Oh, Palin. You're finally up!" Tas smiled as he noticed him. He moved over on the bench so the mage could sit down next to him. Madfrent was looking through his double-looking glass. Dougan was on Tas' other side, eating something resembled mush from a wooden bowl. Regardless, Palin felt hungry.

Tas noticed him looking at Dougan's food and got up to bring some food over. He received a tray from one of the crewwomen with some tea, bread, and meat. Palin ate and Dougan spoke to him.

"It's almost midday, lad. You looked very tired yesterday."

"I was." He responded. And then for a second, he remembered

his dream again. Was Sturm trying to tell him something? No, Sturm was dead.

Palin felt a lump in his throat and tried to clear it with more pleasant thoughts. He wondered what they would do when they arrived on the island. Would they go straight to the caves? Palin personally felt that they should rest for a while. He knew he couldn't be of much use until his leg felt better. His question was then almost answered.

"We should be coming up to the port of Merwick pretty soon." Fririi announced.

Palin then figured that when they got there, they could rest in the city or at least near it, to avoid the expense of an inn. That would especially be best if Palin's leg was not to heal for a few days...

CHAPTER ELEVEN - Bad places for fruitstands and happy goodbyes to Dougan Redhammer (hopefully for the last time). More rest for Palin.

A little while later, the port of Merwick looked ahead of them. Yet The Femina was still moving at full speed.

"Maybe you should slow down." Palin suggested. He started getting nervous. Would they be able to slow down before they crashed into something?

"Nonsense!" Fririi responded. "I know what I'm doing!"

"I don't think Palin meant to offend you, Captain." Tas chimed in.

"Of course, I didn't, I just..." Before Palin could finish, Dougan hushed him up. The dwarf then said, "Our young mage is right, lassie. I see the port entrance. You better at least lighten your pace."

The captain nodded but grumbled a bit about which only the other gnomes could understand. Yet, Dougan, Palin, and Tas could make out the word "men" a few times. This then reminded Palin vaguely of someone...

"Hold on to what you've got!" Fririi shouted. She started turning the wheel and tried to slow down the steam engine.

'I should have stayed downstairs,' Palin noted. He watched as Madfrent, Tas, and Dougan grabbed on to the deck and tried to do the same. He almost slipped, but managed to scramble over in time despite his leg injury.

Just then, the port was right in front of them. They were going to crash! The ship ended up knocking into some vessels around the same size and taking out a chunk of the port dock. It cracked against the boat and fell into the water. The vessel stopped moving after that. The gnome crew got up from their positions on the floor. Fririi had been clinging to the wheel and finally was able to let go.

Dougan, Tas, and Madfrent eased their grip from the deck. Palin was almost too afraid to look at the port. He glanced at his friends, who after exchanging looks with him, looked over the deck. Palin gazed through his fingers, which were covering his face.

The only damage done besides the damage to the port was to a fruitstand. The port was crowded and masses of people were constantly walking in different directions. Some people were staring at the vessel open-mouthed and others continued what they were doing. A few residents helped the vendor clean up the fruitstand. The vendor was a red-bearded dwarf, who was complaining and accepting help at the same time. Occasionally, he'd glance back at the ship and shove his fist in its direction.

Palin gasped. Would anyone chase after them for the damage they had done?

"Well, I guess this is it." Dougan said. The young mage turned to see the dwarf shaking hands with Tas. "I'm going with the gnomes to Mt. Nevermind. Good luck with your adventure." He then added in a lower voice, "And good luck with escaping the vendor. He looks really mad. That's one more reason why I'll have to decline."

"Won't you come with us, Madfrent?" Tas requested after turning to look at the gnome. "Your inventions are great and I'm sure we could really use your help. And we should come upon some treasure, hopefully that we can all share. I'd really like you to come."

The gnome looked at Fririi and shrugged. "Why not? I'd better get my stuff, then." Madfrent and Tas went downstairs and brought their belongings up. Tas was then nice enough to make a second trip to get Palin's stuff for him. All three fastened their sacks to their backs. Fririi also offered them some food from the storage room just in case they couldn't get a hold of any provisions.

When they were ready, the travelers had to make a jump from the stairs to what was left of the port dock. Tas and Madfrent had little difficulty, but Palin was overcautious because of his injured leg. He finally made the jump and practically fell on his knees. After this incident, his leg hurt worse and he had to stand in one spot to rest his leg for a few moments.

Tas and Madfrent were waiting for him. Tas looked around and noticed something floating in the water. "Captain Fririi! Your statue fell." He cried out. The captain didn't hear him, but Dougan noticed him waving his arms. When the dwarf finally got her attention, Tas pointed to the water. The gnome came down the stairs. She saw the statue and dived in. Dougan came down and jumped on to the port. The captain swam to the port and barely had enough strength to lift the statue on to the port. Dougan helped her up.

The vendor turned to them. "You're so concerned about your vessel... look what you did to my fruitstand! Don't you know how to hit the breaks on that thing?"

The gnome shook out her hair and snorted. "There's nothing wrong with my vessel, or me, for that matter. You picked the worse spot to put your damn fruitstand!"

Tas, Madfrent, and Palin watched the two scream and curse at each other. "Uh, Tas, I think we should get moving... before we have his attention!" Palin remarked. Tas shrugged and followed the mage, who leaned on his staff for support while trying to put most of his weight on his right leg.

The rest of the day, they spent eating lunch at an inn and looking for a place to rest. The land south of Merwick was hilly with tall grasses and many spread-out trees. Palin laid out his sleeping bag and lie on top of it. Tas' boredom resulted in his sorting out items. Madfrent decided to try and fix his invention. He first had to take out the glass that was broken and replace it. He managed to get the right material for a new glass from Fririi. With Tas' help from using his lock picking kit, he was able to get the new piece of glass adjusted and set in the wood.

A little while later, Tas complained of being bored. Palin could tell that the gnome was bored as well; his reawakening inquisitiveness towards Tas' items gave him away. Tas then threatened to go into town and Madfrent agreed. Palin approved but warned them to be careful and asked them to try to be back before dark.

They left and all the while, Palin relaxed. At least he was off his feet and could rest his legs. His thoughts were a mushy combination of events that happened with Usha, his parents, his brothers, and his recent adventure with Tas. He almost forgot about the wound on his arm. He sat up for a moment and pulled up his sleeve. He noticed a dark pink scar on his arm after removing the bandage. The wound was almost healed. The pain from it was a mere memory. He decided to let his arm breathe; he would need to cover it no more.

He also realized that he hadn't bathed or shaved in days. So weary he was from the events in the adventure that he didn't even seem to care. Was he changing? He must be, he thought. He had heard an adage many times that adventures hardened peoples' spirits and gave them defenses toward other life events. One thing that he knew for sure was that he felt an inner peace lying in these hills. He had come this far; he had survived the toils of travelling.

Whether there was a beast or not in that cave, he felt that he was at the most difficult part of the adventure. He would either spend countless days looking for a beast that might not exist and have to live with it, or he would have a challenge trying to figure out how to defeat the monster.

For a second, he worried about not being powerful enough, but he distinguished that thought quickly. He was not one to snoop through others' belongings, but he knew that his going through Tas' sack to find the map of the cave would be harmless and beneficial. He glanced it over and placed it back in Tas' sack. By that time, it was nightfall and Tas and Madfrent were not back yet. Palin tried to wait up for them out of concern, after having had a cold dinner. Yet he was so weary that he fell asleep at what seemed like hours after nightfall.

He woke the next day to find Madfrent and Tas bundled up in their sleeping bags. He felt a little more energetic and decided to start a fire. The mage stood up and walked around slowly to look for some wood. He didn't mind trying to work on his walking, especially since he expected not to do much of it today. Palin cooked some meat and made it into a stew from a recipe the vendor was kind enough to give him at the supplies store in Merwick. He also bought a pot to put the stew in.

Before the kender and gnome woke up, he also inspected Raugh's pouch for a second time. This time, he found something else that was buried in the crease of the bottom of the pouch that he hadn't noticed before. It was a gold chain. It was slender and not long enough to make up a necklace. However, its glow was outstanding and Palin wondered what value a mended bracelet could have. But what would Raugh want with a plain gold chin? The thought made Palin excited; he kept telling himself that there was something more to the bracelet than that.

The mage then inspected the other items carefully. He knew the bat guano and rose petals to be just what they were: spell components. He also knew that the caltrops were a simple weapon to be dropped on the floor, especially for purposes of pursuit. He was actually able to figure out the mystery of the blue candle and surprised himself in the process. It turned out to be a candle with two abilities. If lit, it would let out a stench that could make any creature in the area with good probability sick to their stomach. If thrown somewhere when lit, the candle would start a fire and feed itself at a faster pace than a normal fire would. The other specialty of the fire process was the fact that the fire could spread itself without any need of combustible material. It was a magic fire that could burn through anything save walls made of protective magic.

Palin didn't have too much luck with the jar of ink, however. He decided to try it out by taking out a pen and scribbling on the last page of his spellbook, which was blank. The only thing that he noted was that the ink came out on the paper in a yellowish-green tinge. He was utterly confused. The ink he had used was always black. Meanwhile, the outside of the jar looked black. Palin then glanced at the inside of the jar and saw that the ink looked black while it was inside of the jar as well. The only explanation he could come up with was that the ink was enchanted.

When Tas and Madfrent woke up, they ate breakfast. They then told Palin about their tour through the city and insisted that he go back with them. He tried to refused due to his leg injury, but when Tas mentioned their passing by a healing temple of Paladine, Palin finally gave in. One of the clerics offered him a free service as a result of his belonging to the Order of the White Robe, whereas generally they would heal for a small fee. The cleric gave his leg a massage and rubbed some oil over the injured area in addition to praying to their god. He told Palin to rest for another day or two and that he should have no further trouble.

Palin was relieved to hear this and would not have objected to his friends' further suggestion of looking around the city some more if not for the cleric's orders. He didn't mind at all the idea of retreating to their spot near the city. He also didn't mind Tas and Madfrent's attachment to the city as long as they didn't get into trouble. He was happy to rest and let his leg heal. It was peaceful in the hills.

CHAPTER TWELVE - The three travelers venture into the cave and have a very "interesting" meeting.

A day later, Tas, Madfrent, and Palin decided they were ready to try out the caves. Palin looked over Tas' map again during breakfast. It turned out that the caves of Cristyne were actually part of its mountain range. There were many caves in the range, lying next to one another and the map marked an area of a medium-sized cave, which was situated around the middle of the range.

The travelers started walking when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. Palin found it much easier to walk. Although he still used his staff for support just in case the pain was to come back, he found it less difficult to walk at a faster pace. It took them about three hours to get to their destination. Fortunately, the port was directly east of the area where the appointed cave was located.

Palin lit his staff when they figured out which cave the map thought to be right. They walked in and were walking for some time. The cave had a sandy floor with rocks piled up all over it. The rocks of the cave consisted of a brown, gray, and black mixture. They had to step over some to stick to a consistent path. Fortunately, the piles weren't too high enough to prevent the process of walking over.

Palin walked with his friends behind him. All of a sudden, the mage heard a scream that sounded like it had a tinge of triumph to it. Startled, he jumped back. The next thing he knew was that a figure with a sword had jumped out and tried to attack him. So in shock was he that he stumbled on a rock and fell on his back to the floor. Tas and Madfrent were standing behind him looking up.

A female figure dressed in armor had her sword pointed to his chest. Palin looked up nervously, trying to catch his breath but failing. He had lost his grip on the staff and he quickly turned to see it lying on the floor right next to him. The staff was still lit and it sent shadows throughout the area. He then returned his gaze to the female figure.

Dark brown hair fell inches past her shoulders and one side of it was tucked behind her ear. Palin looked sharply at her. She was elven. The figure was also well-built for what he thought her to be. She was tall, probably about his height and her armor was dusty and gray.

She was still holding her sword to his chest, but she moved not. She looked like she was in as much shock as he was. A moment later, he also noticed movement behind her. He could tell it by the shadows, but the shadows also prevented him from seeing the face of the figure. He then looked back at the armored maiden. By that time, she had moved her sword away from him and returned it to its sheath.

"I'm so sorry..." She said in a gentle voice. "I didn't know... I heard movement in front of us and I thought..."

Palin was still in too much shock to speak. All he could do was nod. He looked at her face again. She was beautiful but he couldn't tell whether his body was reacting to it due to his startled state. He then attempted to pick himself up and grabbed the staff in the process.

"That's the elven maiden." Tasslehoff whispered in too soft a voice for the figures to hear.

"Did you say something?" The maiden asked.

"Uh... n-no..." Palin could finally speak.

"If you're looking for the cave of Karzatin, you're in the wrong cave." A voice blurted out, which did not belong to the maiden. Just then, the second figure emerged from the shadows, but in a pace that was so quick that Palin had no chance to see the face.

The figure walked right past him and his friends, and only then was he able to get somewhat of a decent view. The view was of the figure's back and Palin caught sight of its cloak. He also noted long black hair tied back with a cloth that fell to its waist. He then saw the elven maiden walk past in following the figure.

"She's right." The maiden finally spoke. "If you want to find out any information, you'll have to follow us out back the way you came."

Palin was able to catch his breath but he could feel his heart pounding inside. He watched Tas and Madfrent follow them and hurried to catch up with them. He walked behind his friends and tried once again to get a glimpse of the second figure. He looked down and saw armored legs under the cloak and black boots. He also noticed that the figure was a few inches taller than him and the maiden.

Finally, the opening of the cave was in front of them. The black-haired figure strove to sit down on a rock a few feet from the cave and the maiden sat beside it. Palin felt his pulse increase in speed. His head also became dizzy and he found it hard to breathe again. He couldn't take his eyes off the figure sitting on the rock.

He had found the first female figure pretty, but the second figure was beyond entrancing. Her hair was pulled back so it was easy to tell that she was elven as well. Her face was tanned but he couldn't see her eyes because she wasn't looking at him. She was also dressed in light plate armor but the armor was like armor that Palin had never seen before. It was violet and gave off a bright glow. Her black cloak was strapped over her back. She had a sword on a belt that was smaller than her companion's. He also noticed that she had two staves, one that she laid on the ground and a second that she had strapped to her back. She unfastened it and started looking it over.

The staff was of a yellowish-red metal while the staff on the ground was of a bluish-gray metal. Palin couldn't be sure, but from his view he thought he noticed markings lined across the blue-gray staff. His eyes quickly returned back to the female elf.

"Sir, I don't mean to interject, but you probably don't need to keep your staff lit." The gray-armored maiden broke in.

Palin then looked at his staff. "Uh... yes... you're right. Uh... thank... thank you." He was still surprised that he was able to speak. "Dulak!" He spoke in a weak voice. His pulse was still racing, however, and he could feel his face burn hot.

"So, are you looking for the cave of Karzatin?" she then asked.

"Of course they are." The black-haired maiden responded. "A kender, gnome, and White Robe. What else could they be looking for?" Palin's gaze strayed back to her but she didn't seem the least bit interested in him. She was still inspecting her staff.

"I'm sorry to have not introduced myself before." The brown-haired elf said politely. "My name is Kreya Duststar and this is my sister, Zackara."

Zackara. The name was to him like that of a goddess. He wanted to keep repeating the name in his mind. Palin felt his head after returning back to full awareness. His hand came away with a pool of sweat attached to it.

"My name is... uh... Palin. P-Palin Majere."

At this, Zackara looked up. Palin felt his nerves go on end under her penetrating gaze and suddenly felt self-conscious. He looked down at the ground and realized once again that he hadn't bathed or shaved in almost a week. What a horror he must look to her! Even if she had recognized him, it probably wouldn't have been due to his almost fully-developed beard!

"Do you have any relation to Raistlin Majere?" She demanded calmly.

"I'm his nephew."

Zackara looked at him, open-mouthed. "It can't be!" Kreya exclaimed. She stood up and ran over to him to shake his hand.

Palin was surprised but he shook her hand back. He then gazed into her eyes, which were a shade of hazel. She was pretty, but Palin knew from the moment he saw her face that he was only attracted to Zackara.

"I've heard so much about Raistlin! He was the greatest mage that ever lived! Our father told us stories about him when we were kids. I also heard that his nephew fought in the War against Chaos and helped to defeat him. Is that true?" Kreya asked and let go of his hand.

Palin flushed at the attention of both the elven women. He could still feel the gaze of Zackara and knew well that his body was reacting to it. "Uh.. yes, yes it is." He did well in sounding modest.

"Well, you must be some really powerful mage, then." Kreya declared. "I heard you cast a spell that even Magius couldn't cast."

"Well, um... not really. I'm, uh... actually... uh, of low rank. I think I was able to... to cast it with the help of Paladine... and perhaps... Raistlin... in spirit."

"You don't have to be so modest." Kreya smiled.

"As I was saying," Zackara sharply interrupted, "You were in the wrong cave." Palin looked back at her and actually felt relieved to have a reason for returning his attention to her.

"We have a map." He returned, walking over to her but keeping his distance at a few inches. She was beautiful, but from what he had seen so far, cold and intimidating.

Zackara looked up at him and he caught the color of her eyes. They were so unlike Usha's. They were a shade of brown but they contained a red glow in them that was so bright that it reminded him of the sun. In general, she was so unlike Usha, yet he found it unavoidably attractive. Then he wondered, was it possible that she was more attractive to him than Usha had been?

"Map or not, you were in the wrong cave." She repeated with a stubbornness that reminded him of his mother. "Kreya and I searched that cave top and bottom. We were on our way back from looking in a cave attached to that one. We had the map of the cave that we believed to be correct, but even that cave was the wrong one."

"You have a copy... of, of the map too?" Palin attempted to talk more smoothly. No matter what he did, he couldn't control his heart rate, however. Especially now with her nearer to him.

"Yes." She said plainly and strapped the yellow-red staff back on. She then picked up the other staff. "But like I've said before, our maps are different. They pointed to two different caves, from what I assume."

"You are correct." Tas walked proudly up to them as Madfrent quietly watched. He handed her the map.

"Thank you." She replied. She then disposed of her gloves and placed them in back of her on the rock. She also handed Palin her staff. Palin took it but with surprise. His gaze went to the markings on it that he then recognized as elven runes. Did she trust him? He wondered about it and then realized that if he refused to give it back she'd probably cut his throat without a moment's glance. But Palin was not like that. He couldn't lie or steal. He knew he wasn't very good at it or wanted to be.

He watched silently as Zackara studied the map with intent scrutiny. He noticed her eyes stray to the bottom of the parchment. Zackara quickly turned the map over. She saw something in small print and examined it closely.

By that time, Madfrent had come over and noticed the small writing. "Here." He handed her his invention.

"What is this?" She asked bluntly.

"It's my doublelookinglookingglass." He exclaimed by accident.

Zackara thought for a moment, shook her head and used the looking glass. "It's in Dwarven!" She exclaimed and started translating. "According to the inscription, the placement of the markings on the wrong cave is a safeguard."

"Against what?" Her sister beamed in and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Against elves. Against humans. Against trolls, gnomes, kender, draconians, anything that the dwarves felt threatened by. A dwarf created this safeguard. And whoever did it was fascinated by the stars."

"Stars?" Madfrent asked excitedly.

"Yes." Zackara retorted dryly. "And according to the scribe, a certain pattern of stars would be overhead on a certain day and they would lie directly over the right cave."

"And which stars would those be?" The gnome demanded.

"According to this, the constellation of Eriturnus, wherever that's supposed to be."

"Ooh! I know! The constellation is like the shape of a dragon's claw. It is almost directly overhead this side of Krynn during the summer." Madfrent answered.

"Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name, you who knows so much about the stars?" Zackara looked up from the map at the gnome. There was a playfulness in her eyes and Palin almost thought he saw a smile breaking through that wall of seriousness. His heart started beating fast again.

"Madfrenticklelasinchodoobcar.."

"Stop!" Tas shouted. "Zackara, I don't know if you've ever met a gnome before... but they have really long names." The kender then went to whisper in her ear. "And no offense to my gnome friend, but the worst thing you could do is ask a gnome his or her name. For the humans... and elves... and everyone else, I guess, they have shorter versions. Just call him Madfrent."

Palin saw Zackara nod and turn her attention towards Tas. "And what is your name?" She then questioned him.

"Tasslehoff Burrfoot." Tas extended his hand.

"Tasslehoff Burrfoot?" She repeated in surprise after shaking his hand. "Now you I have heard a lot about, just like Kreya said about Raistlin! You and Palin's father Caramon..." - at this Palin raised his eyebrows - "fought side by side with Raistlin during the War of the Lance. And you fought in the recent War too! What a pleasure to meet you!"

Tas smiled proudly and even his cheeks were turning a little pink. "It's nice to meet someone who isn't jealous or disbelieves me about the things I've done."

"Aw, come on! One thing I always thought about these stories is that you always acted out of the kindness of your heart to help everyone... but everyone prejudged you because you were a kender. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Or assume that an adventure is easy because of its map."

Zackara then turned back to the map and added, "There's one other problem we have here." Her seriousness returned. "We will have to figure out what day the constellation will be over the right cave. An almost impossible task."

"Maybe not!" Tas piped in. "Does anyone know what day of the month it is?"

"It's the twenty-fifth." Kreya answered. "We've been keeping track for travel-estimating purposes."

"Well, the fortune teller told me that twenty-seven would be my lucky number. Maybe the constellation would be over the right cave on the twenty-seventh."

"Fortune teller?" Zackara looked at him.

"Uh... yes." Tas looked confused.

The elf looked at him for a second longer and shrugged. Then she announced, "It's a crazy idea, but whether it falls true or not we can check the movement of Eriturnus. Whichever cave it hovers over, we'll check that cave the following day. Whether Tasslehoff is right or not, we can check each cave. One thing I do know is that if there is a cave where that monster exists, the cave also has an underground entrance."

"How... how do you know that?" Palin got the courage to ask her. She glanced at him and he felt his face burn hot again.

"My father is close friends with a few dwarves. And according to the legend that his friends told me when I was a child, the cave of Karzatin included an underground entrance. So, if the legend is true, then the cave has it so. Who should I believe anyone more than the dwarves?" Zackara said cleverly. Palin admired her logic and he might have showed his admiration too much for he let a smile spread across his face.

Zackara then gazed at everyone. "So, what do you all say? Are we going to look for this treasure together and divide among everyone?"

The company seemed to agree with her plan. Zackara handed the map back to Tas and Palin gave her staff back. His eyes were still on her when she declared, "I'm going into town. Why don't you come with me, Tasslehoff? And you too, Madfrent?"

Palin was utterly jealous. 'So she prefers the company of a kender and gnome over a human mage.' Then he wanted to smack himself. 'What arrogance I'm feeling! She doesn't even know I'm alive! And arrogance certainly won't get her to notice me. What crazy nonsense I'm thinking up.'

He then watched her further. She had her back towards him and was taking off her armor. She unfastened her yellow and red staff once again and gave it over to Kreya. Under her armor she had on an olive green tunic and black pants. She shoved her armor into the top of her sack although it didn't fit very well and took out a pouch which she put in her pocket. She then put her sword belt back on with her sword and grabbed her rune staff after having thrown her gloves on top of the armor.

As Zackara was adjusting her boots, Palin tried to get himself to walk over to her again. He was within inches of her and he was ready to ask her something when he caught the scent of her hair. It made him dizzy and he knew instantly that his pulse was going to start racing again. He gulped and stammered. "Uh... umm..."

Zackara turned around and faced him. "Yes?"

Palin had to look up at her a bit to reach her eye level, but he had no problem with the fact that she was taller, no problem whatsoever...

"I didn't know elves took such an interest to learning Dwarven." It was the first statement he had made that came across smoothly.

Zackara took a step toward him. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by Raistlin's nephew. In response, Palin took a step back. Her forwardness and placidity drove him wild and he knew that if she came any closer, he'd faint on the spot. But the elven woman came no closer. "Like I said. My father was friends with dwarves as hard as that may be for you to believe. There's also a lot of things you don't know about me."

She then gripped her staff and walked away. Palin then wondered if her statement was a statement for him to get the idea that she wanted him to back off, or a statement that was an invitation for him to get to know her better. He did not know the answer to that, but he knew for certain that when she was gone, he would feel empty.

"We'll be back later." Zackara stated, waiting for Tas to get his stuff together. She then started walking to the east with Tas and Madfrent following.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - A confession...

It didn't seem like much time had passed since Palin had went into the cave with his friends and came out to talk to Zackara and Kreya. The sun was still high in the sky and bunches of clouds were quickly rolling by. Palin watched as Zackara left for Merwick with his friends. He was still jealous of the fact that Tas and Madfrent would get time to spend with her and perhaps get to know her. Yet he also knew that if he went with them, he wouldn't have too much fun. He wouldn't be alone with her and she'd probably be as cold to him as she had been since he met her.

He thought he kind of felt awkward being left alone with Kreya. He didn't know how she felt about him, but he thought she was kind and easier to talk to than her sister. However, he was not physically attracted to her. As the figures of Zackara, Tas, and Madfrent faded into mere spots, Palin turned and sat down on the rock that Zackara had got up from. He saw Kreya find a smooth rock to sit on a few feet from him.

She started taking off her armor and placed her longsword on the rock next to her. Within minutes she was in her brown tunic and gray pants that had been underneath her armor. Kreya then took her sack and opened it. She took out some supplies, which included a pile of uncooked meat, raw vegetables, and bread. She also took out a metal pot and laid everything in front of her. The swordswoman then got up and started looking for firewood. Moments later, she came back with a bundle of wood in her arms.

Kreya spread the wood out on the floor and put the pot over it. "Palin, there's a river a few minutes south of here. Would you be able to go and bring some water back?" She questioned him.

"Of course." He replied. He then got up, took his waterskin out of his sack and grabbed his staff.

Kreya had been correct. Palin walked for a bit, following the line of the mountains. After a while he saw a body of water flowing west through a break in the mountains. It also seemed to extend out for a long time to the east of the range. Palin then looked up and let out a soft sigh. There was a waterfall formed from the small space between the two sides of the mountains. The sight was beautiful.

The mage then felt inspired and started refilling his waterskin. He also decided to splash some water on his face and was relieved to find his skin cooling down. He wondered if it would burn again when Zackara came back. He came to a decision that after they ate, he would take a bath.

A few minutes later, he returned with the water. He handed the waterskin to Kreya and she poured some of the water into the pot. Afterwards, she handed the waterskin back and used flint and steel to start a fire. Palin drank some of the water that was left and offered some to Kreya, who gladly appreciated it.

They both sat in front of the rocks where the fire was set up and watched the food cook. Palin let his staff lie on the ground next to him. He returned to looking back at the fire when Kreya spoke.

"You fancy her, don't you?"

At this, Palin felt a familiar uneasy feeling. He stumbled on his words. "Uh... n-no... I don't..."

Kreya glared at him. "Don't try to hide it, Palin. I can tell by the way you look at her."

The mage then flushed under his unshaven face and looked at the ground.

"It's okay, I'm not trying to put you on trial or anything." Kreya lightened the tone of her voice and smiled. "I was just asking. I think I'm good at learning about people through their actions. I have a boyfriend back home named Rayden."

Palin looked up at her and saw her face brighten. He then saw her turn her hazel eyes to sky. He felt himself relax a bit. "Do you miss him?" He asked in order turn the focus of the conversation.

"Oh, very much." She smiled again. "We met during the Chaos War. He was a skilled fighter and we hit it off when the War was over."

"Which elven nation are you from?" He then demanded.

"Silvanesti. Our whole family was fighting. Silvanesti and Qualinesti were finally side by side. My father and mother were helping with what they could. Then my sister Elissas and brother Gildan..."

After mentioning her brother's name, she stopped and looked at the fire. Palin felt instinctively concerned. Did Kreya and her sister feel and experience the same kind of loss that he had when his brothers died?

"So, where is Rayden now?" He tried to get off the topic of the War, hoping that she would feel better if they didn't have to talk about it.

"Oh, he's back in Silvanesti with his family. When I get back from this adventure, we plan to get married."

"That's wonderful." Palin declared. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Kreya grinned. "And what about you?"

"Well, I live with my parents and two sisters, Dezra and Laura. They're two years apart and the older girl is eleven years younger than me. I... I don't know if I'll ever get married."

"Why not? Have you had two many bad experiences?"

"Well..." Palin had to debate over that. The only experience he truly had was with Usha and that experience didn't last long.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" She reached over and patted his shoulder. "Love will hit you when you least expect it."

'I think it already has.' Palin thought but refused to admit publicly. He looked at the water boiling over the food in the pot.

"Besides, you seem to be a nice person. Gentle..." The mage wondered if Zackara would consider that a weakness. He watched as Kreya then took out a metal spoon and stirred the stew. He then felt the urge to ask her something.

"Uh... does Zackara..." He started, but didn't quite have the courage to finish.

"No, if you meant to ask if she has a boyfriend." Kreya then practically answered his question. "I can tell you one thing about her. Sometimes, she likes to spend time with people and other times she likes to spend alone. But I know that she loves adventure and loves to travel. She's a few years younger than me, but she's seen a lot of places I haven't seen. Oh, look, the food is ready!"

Palin looked at the chopped meat and recognized it as fully cooked. Kreya started taking out a set of bowls. She then dunked the spoon into the water and filled both of their plates with the stew. The aroma tickled Palin's nostrils and he felt relieved to eat.

In the middle of eating, Palin stopped for a moment and looked at Kreya. "Kreya, you won't tell Zackara that I like..."

"I won't if you don't want me to." She responded before he could finish.

"Thank you." He said and continued eating.

Whatever happened, Palin wanted Zackara to find out on her own that he liked her. He didn't want Kreya telling her, and to have Zackara end up not wanting to be around him if she didn't feel the same way. And if she did like him, he would be all the more happier. But he would wait for her to get to know him and see for herself if she liked him. Besides, he didn't have the nerve to tell her. He wasn't even sure if he had the nerve to come any closer than a few inches within her.

After they finished eating, Palin resolved to take his bath. Kreya said that she and Zackara had towels and soap in their sacks. She took some for him to use. He thanked her and took out the new clothes he had bought in Daltigoth. He would wear them until his robes were cleaned and dried.

The young man retreated back to the waterfall. He laid his staff on the ground as well as his clean clothes. He then looked around, concerned about anyone seeing him. No one was around. He sighed and took off his robes and boots. He then climbed in and felt relieved to feel the cool water surrounding him. As he washed, he wondered what his family was doing back home. And then he figured they were probably doing the same routine stuff that they always did. He was glad to be here out on an adventure away from the routine ways of family life.

Palin's thoughts then returned to Zackara. He thought about her assessment that he didn't know a lot about her. He knew that it was true, after all he had just met her and exchanged a few words. But did she mean something deeper than that? Maybe she meant that he wouldn't like who she was inside if he got to know her. He couldn't understand how that was possible... but then he pondered thoroughly what she was for the first time.

Zackara wore armor and had a sword at her side. But she also carried two staves. And they didn't look at all like ordinary staves, especially the one lined with runes. What would a swordswoman be doing with a rune staff? He also noticed that she had four different rings on her fingers, two on each hand. One had an amethyst on it and the others were red, silver, and gold. He didn't think about it before, but maybe they were magic rings! Palin thought about it for a moment and then set the thought aside for the time being.

He dried himself and quickly put on his plain clothes. He then shaved with a small blade designed for the purpose. Afterwards, he washed his robes and squeezed them out. He then combed his hair as it was drying down his back, picked up his staff and walked back to the rocks where Kreya was. Kreya then decided for a bath herself and offered to fill up his waterskin and her own, which was empty.

Kreya glanced at him as she walked away and Palin realized that she must have noted the difference in his appearance. He felt his cheeks turn pink, but in general he felt better about himself. Maybe Zackara would notice him now and react differently. Palin then laid his robes out to dry on the rock.

The day wore on and still they had not yet returned. Palin wondered what Zackara was doing, what she was thinking about if anything. He then sighed. She was probably sitting in some tavern listening to Tas' crazy stories and laughing up a storm with him. And as for Madfrent, she probably had enough patience to understand his statements. Of course, he was jealous. He had a right to be. They had her attention and he didn't.

Nightfall came and went and still the elven woman, kender, and gnome were not back. Palin's jealousy turned into concern. "Do you think they'll be back soon?" He asked Kreya before she went to sleep.

"Well, it does take three hours there and three hours back. Zackara loves to walk so they shouldn't have any problems. Don't worry, they'll be back soon."

The mage sure hoped so. He was tired, but his mind was too busy with concern for him to fall asleep. He started walking back and forth, straining to see as far as he could in the darkness. He hadn't eaten much at dinner, either. He was too worried. Finally, he tired himself out by walking and tried to lie down and sleep. This time, he succeeded.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Palin and Zackara explore the caves... and learn a little bit more about each other...

A dream woke Palin up later, and he sat up and looked around. He breathed a sigh of relief. Tas and Madfrent were lying inches from him on each side, in their sleeping bags. He then noticed Zackara sleeping next to her sister. His heart started pounding again in the knowledge of her being near, but he was relieved to know that she was alright. He was then able to fall back asleep and doze peacefully.

The next day was bright and pleasant. There was not a cloud in the sky. Palin woke to see the late-night returnees still nestled in their sleeping bags. He noticed, however, that Kreya's sleeping bag lie empty on the floor. Perhaps, she went to get some water. He decided to take this opportunity to change into his robes. He walked a few yards away behind a tree to change. He then came back and took out some food to eat.

Moments later, Kreya came back and asked if he wanted breakfast. He refused politely, already having finished a meal of his own. By the time Kreya's food was ready, Zackara woke up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Noticing, Kreya took out more food and threw it in the pot.

"Did you get back late last night?" She asked her sister.

"Probably not much after you two fell asleep." Zackara answered.

Palin was looking at his spellbook, but he wasn't so inattentive as to not notice her. In fact, he felt like his jaw had hit the floor when he took in the sight of her. Her hair was out and it flowed down her arms, reaching her waist. She got up and stretched her arms out. The sleeves were rolled up and Palin could tell that they were pronouncedly muscular. She wasn't built like Kreya, who was probably even more muscular. But it was hard to tell because Zackara was thin for her height. She then sat back down and tied her long black hair back with a piece of cloth.

Palin was no longer looking at his spells, but he pretended to do so she wouldn't catch him looking at her. He then noticed her looking at him out of the corner of his eye and glanced back at her. He tried to keep his calm while doing so, but barely succeeding.

Zackara then looked back at her sister. "We surveyed the sky before we went to sleep. According to Madfrent's looking glass, the cave is about four caves down from where we were before. I have little doubt in it being the right one, though. It looked to be a fairly small cave from the outside, but if it's the right one it will have the entrance. So the size of the cave might not really have a bearing on it being the right one."

One thing that Palin picked up from listening to Zackara was that she didn't assume something right away or prejudge someone. Well, except for the fact that she thought they were looking for the cave. But then, a lot of people in the past probably had looked for it. Dougan did. But how come he couldn't find it? Could it be that the dwarf who designed the safeguard was protecting it from gods too? Yet an opposing thought came into Palin's mind that didn't make sense. He pondered, 'Why does she seem to prejudge me? And why is she so cold towards me? Maybe she doesn't believe that I'm Raistlin's nephew.'

The sisters spoke no more until they finished eating. Kreya cleaned up and Zackara took a bundle of clothes out from her sack. She then grabbed a towel and soap as well as her armor and piled her arms up with it. She walked past Palin and halted a few inches from him. "Walk with me," She requested and turned to look at him.

He looked at Kreya as she rose and the sister shot him a wink. He followed Zackara in keeping himself a few inches behind her. His heart started pounding again. He couldn't tell whether he was in torment or pleasure.

Palin then remembered her having to carry all her stuff. He took a few long paces to catch up with her. "Uh... can... I h-help..."

"Please." The elf responded. He took the armor from her pile. He noticed that it was unusually light for armor. The mage knew his brothers' sets of armor to be both heavy and clamorous. Yet this armor made no sound when it moved in his arms from the constant walking. He was actually able to carry the armor and his staff at the same time.

They were walking in the direction of the river and when they got four inches away from its edge, Zackara stopped.

Palin looked down at the ground nervously. His blood was burning with desire and it was after all the first time they had been alone together.

Zackara placed her stuff on the ground and Palin noticing, put her armor next to it. She then looked at him and crossed her arms. "Prove it to me." She plainly said.

"W-what?" The mage answered, shocked. There was a breeze flowing off the river, but it did little to ease the heat that was making its way to his face.

"Prove to me you're Raistlin's nephew."

So that was it! "I... I am. I swear it." He weakly said.

"Actions speak louder than words, Palin." She coolly replied.

Hearing her speak his name made him ache. Why did he feel this way? "M-my staff. Raistlin gave me this staff when I took my Test at the Tower of High Sorcery."

"How could he have? He was dead!" Zackara retorted.

"There you are wrong." He tried to say in the most harmless way. "He was in the Abyss. And now he's back and he's currently

been studying at the Tower. H-he helped in the War in spirit, but not because he was dead." Fortunately, Palin found it easier to talk once he came to the topic of his uncle. "This staff," he added "once belonged to Magius. And if you... still don't believe me... I have Raistlin's teleport ring back with my belongings. I would be able to cast a spell, but I can only cast minor spells. I'm of low rank, like I've said before, but this is because Raistlin refuses to teach me for some unknown reason. As for other wizards, they seem hesitant to confide in me as an apprentice, probably due to Raistlin." Palin then ceased speaking. He didn't want to bore her with what might seem like mundane details.

He was looking at the ground the whole time and when he quieted down, he realized that she was looking at him. But somehow, she looked like she wasn't focusing on him. He felt weird for a moment. What was she thinking?

Zackara then blinked her eyes and firmly met his gaze. Her gaze was still penetrating, penetrating enough to make the young man acknowledge his body sweating under his robes. However, her eyes didn't give off that cruel and icy glare that they had the day before. "I'm sorry." She announced. "You're telling the truth. I expect nothing from you. I just wanted to know the truth."

'Dammit,' Palin thought in response. 'I want her to expect something of me!' He then announced publicly his next thought. "Why are you so interested in wizardry?" he asked her.

Zackara didn't answer, but Palin was even more disappointed to see her gaze return to the cold, uncaring glare she had set on him from the beginning. If this placidity was a wall of hers, it would be a hard one to break.

The elf maiden turned away and unfastened the belt from her pants. "Now, leave me so I can take my bath." She ripped off the belt and gave him one last glance.

The way Palin interpreted it, the look said, 'And don't you even so as try to eavesdrop on me because if I catch you, you'll wish you'd never been born.' He grabbed his staff and left with a sense of eagerness to get away from her. He kept walking and dared not look back.

When Zackara had gotten back to the campsite, Tas and Madfrent were up. They were eating breakfast. Kreya was engaged in conversation with them and Palin was silently watching. He noticed Zackara as soon as she came back. She had her armor half on and she went to where her sack was lying. She rolled one of her sleeves up and took out what looked like an armband. She rolled it over her armor and rolled the sleeve back down. She then put the breastplate on and grabbed her two staves as well as her cutlass. She strapped on the yellow-red staff, grabbed an oil lantern in one hand and held her rune staff in the other.

"I'm going into the cave. Hopefully, there shouldn't be a problem. Kreya, stay with Tas and Madfrent. Palin, come with me." At this, the mage was surprised and a little more than honored.

Seeing that Zackara left most of her stuff with Kreya, he decided to do the same. He took his spell components, the gold and emerald ring, and two vials just in case they ran into any real trouble.

"Please let me go!" Tas exclaimed. "I'm bored here and I want to help."

Zackara let out a little smile. "I know, Tas. But we shouldn't be that long, hopefully. I promise that if we find anything, I'll send for you. All of you. Please be patient for me." Tas sighed and nodded in response.

Palin noticed her using Tas' nickname. Just how buddy-buddy had they become? While she was off bathing, Tas had mentioned that he liked her better than Usha. He thought she was closer to Laurana in beauty and nicer because she had the patience to listen to his stories. Then Palin finally said to himself, 'Wow! I never thought I'd fall for an elven woman. Tanis did, but he was half-elven. I wonder what my parents would think.' He then

wondered if Zackara knew Laurana. He actually had a lot of questions he wanted to ask her, but he was worried that she wouldn't answer them or get mad at him for asking.

He followed the elf, for she knew exactly which cave to go in. It didn't take long for her to look and decide. Unfortunately, she didn't have much to say to him until they got inside the cave.

"Here." She finally spoke. "I'm going to check the floor and walls. You keep a look out ahead for anything unusual."

Palin nodded and lit his staff. He moved a few feet ahead and turned slightly out of curiosity to see what she was doing. Zackara patted the walls with her free hand and put her face against its rocky edges. She then gave a slight kick against the rock. She did it for quite some time and afterwards, turned to the other wall. While doing so, she caught him looking at her. "Well?" She demanded.

"N-nothing." He stuttered and turned away.

Zackara lit her lantern and upon doing so, Palin moved further into the cave. He shined his staff over rocks and found nothing. Zackara then caught up to him and he moved further on. They had gone through what they thought to be most of the cave.

Palin went on and came to the opening of the cave. He was standing four feet from the opening when he thought he saw his staff cast a shadow on a figure moving against the rock of the next cave. The shadow of the figure was getting bigger. Was it coming into the cave?

That question got answered almost instantly. The shadow turned and in came what appeared to be a a sort of mountain cat. Its belly and legs were white but its back and tail contained patches of red. The area of its head from its ears down to its nose and cheeks were also red. The remainder was white. Yellow eyes gleamed bright, reflecting off the light of the staff.

Palin didn't want to attack it, not without it attacking him first, anyway. It stared at him but did nothing more. "Zackara?" He moaned softly, hoping that his speech wouldn't startle the animal. He heard a soft echo but no response.

The animal then started walking closer and in response, he shouted her name this time.

Zackara heard and ran over as fast she could. But she was a second too late. The cat jumped towards him and raised its front legs, digging its claws into the mage's shoulder. He gasped in pain, but Zackara managed to rip him away from the animal before it did any more damage.

He staggered back as she took her turn to swing at the beast. She dropped her lantern on the floor in time to grip her staff with both hands. The beast tried to attack her, but she was able to block her movements in time. The cat then decided to grab at her leg and tried to sink its jaws in, but it came away disappointed. Its jaws dug into hard and cold plate mail.

By that time, Zackara was able to place her weapon in position to strike the cat over the side of the head. While she was doing this, Palin tried to figure out a way to help. He grabbed at some rose petals from his pouch and held them in his hand, waiting to see if the cat would move further. At that moment, he ran to stand beside her. He quickly glanced at her and noticed she had her eyes closed. What was she doing?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cat moving. It shook its head and snarled. "Zackara!" He shouted at her but she did not respond. Palin rubbed the rose petals together and spoke some words softly with caution. The mountain cat was about to leap when Palin jabbed his hands in front of him. A red mist glowed about his fingers and within seconds a huge fireball came forth and edged towards the animal.

The animal backed up to a distance of about two feet when it saw the huge flame coming. Unfortunately, its movements were quick and it barely dodged the fireball. Its left leg was missed by an inch. The cat started hissing and snarling in response from the spell. Fortunately, Zackara was then free of whatever she appeared to be doing. She gripped her staff, held it low and then moved it in an upward motion. The mountain cat moved back a bit.

Palin interpreted her movements as a way of trying to keep it at bay. But then, why didn't she just kill it? As the animal sought to move back towards the elf, she struck the staff in its way and it dodged her every move. A few moments later, Palin thought he heard something. He tried to block out everything to listen, and then he thought he heard footsteps. Before he could concentrate further, he had the view of four figures alongside him. He turned to look down at them. They were mountain cats as well!

The group of cats didn't appear threatened, in fact, they didn't even look up at him. They were merely trying to get past him. He moved in back of Zackara and they passed through. "Zackara!" He exclaimed. The elven maiden heard Palin just as she noticed the cats pass by her.

She moved back, but not noticing that Palin was in back of her, she nearly bumped into him. As she did so, he felt her hair brush across his face. It smelled like the scent of fresh flowers and it was soft like a curtain of silk. He sighed and felt chills run down his back, trying to take the moment in as short as it was. But, no. He had to remain calm. The mage moved out of her way and focused on the action of the cats.

The four cats approached the lone one. It looked confused for a moment. The cat then hissed and two of the group hissed back. The other two pawed the ground. The lone cat stopped his hissing and moved back a few inches. The group started heading towards it. Seeing this, the lone cat turned and walked out of the cave with the group following.

Zackara retrieved her lantern and shut it off. She then walked towards the exit and Palin followed. Looking out, she noticed that the lone cat was now walking with the group away from the mountain and over a hill. A smile spread across her face and Palin looked at her with curiosity.

"What kind of cat was that?" He asked her, no longer caring about being nervous to ask her anything. They had, after all, worked together and defended each other.

"It was a Miran." She stated softly. "Although Mirans are not noted for their kindness, it is questionable whether the cat would have attacked if you hadn't screamed out my name."

"Sorry." Palin answered, looking at the ground.

"Don't be." She said with a tone that bade him look at her. "I probably would have done the same. Although, I was trying hard not to harm the animal."

Palin then realized that she knew the mountain cats were going to come! He wondered what other powers she possessed.

Zackara laid her distinguished lantern on the floor and spoke to him before he could say anything. "Could you keep your staff lit for a few more minutes? I just want to cover what I missed."

The mage answered her and he sat down on a rock, waiting for her to finish. While she was checking the walls, he thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like "thank you".

"What?" He questioned her.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought of something." Palin then heard the elf let out a soft giggle. He was mystified. He knew now more than ever that he didn't know a lot about her!

Finally, she finished and picked up her lantern. Palin followed her out of the cave. As they turned to walk back to the campsite, he spoke. "Did you do that?"

Zackara instantly knew what he was talking about. She smiled and indirectly answered, "If you think me a druid, you're wrong. That's my sister Elissas' department."

Her smile made him melt. But his curiosity got the better of him. What was she trying to say? She's not a druid, but she's something else. But what?

"You must be in pain." Zackara turned to look at his shoulder. The cloth of the robe was torn from the Miran's jaws. "I'll heal you."

The mage didn't want to answer that notion. The pain was a little less than the pain from Raugh's flames had been. However, his shoulder hurt more than his leg had when it was paralyzed. Talking with Zackara had taken his mind off a fraction of the pain for the time being.

The elf maiden then declared, "I was free of my rapport with the mountain cats just in time to see the Miran miss the fireball." She was practically reading his thoughts!

"Don't think that just because you missed the cat that you failed with your spell. You made good judgement. The spell kept the cat from attacking me while I was in rapport. Thank you." Zackara's words were edged with a kindness that Palin had not seen before.

He was then reminded of what he felt for her. "M-my pleasure." He said nervously. Trying to keep his mind off it, he then demanded, "So, how come you chose not to kill the Miran, even when it attacked you?"

Zackara let out a small sigh and replied. "I was three years old when the War of the Lance occurred. I was too young then to understand the horrors of war. But during the Chaos War, I learned quickly. I saw many die and many cry over ones who had died." The elf paused for a moment and then continued, her gaze to the horizon. "I had been on many adventures before and slain more than a handful of beings. But when I experienced the Chaos War, I had experienced senseless death. Above all creatures, I loathe slaying animals the most. In most cases, they do not have much reasoning to be evil. I do not think that the Miran was trying to attack you out of viciousness. I feel that it might have attacked because it was scared, especially when you raised your voice. Only if I felt that it attacked you out of anything besides fear, would I have killed it."

Palin tried not to stare, but it was hard for him to keep his eyes off her, especially after having listened to such logical words. He then realized that she was seven years older than him. Her age didn't bother him, however. In elven years, she was practically a teenager. She could pass for no more than Palin's age of twenty-three years.

Zackara didn't say much during the rest of their trek back, so Palin had quite a few things to think about. He knew that once he saw her he was attracted to her because of her beauty, yet he knew in his heart that there was another reason. She was mysterious; her carrying two staves plus her attitude towards life made him interested. And this recent incident with the mountain cats made him even more curious.

They finally returned and Zackara laid her stuff down, including her weapons.

"Did you find anything, Zackara?" Tas ran up to her with an excited look on his face.

"No, Tas. We didn't." She returned.

"Oh." Tas sighed and sat back down. Zackara sat next to him. Madfrent was busy with inspecting his double looking glass.

"Don't worry. We'll look through every cave if we have to. If there's an underground entrance in one of those caves, we're going to find it!" The elf then looked at Palin. "If you want me to fix your robes and heal you, you'll have to change."

The mage nodded and took out the set of pants and shirt. He walked a few minutes off and found an area of trees that would give him some cover. He quickly changed and came back. Palin realized that he had come back in the middle of a conversation.

"Smart move, Sis." He heard Kreya say.

"I'm so mad now!" Tas exclaimed. "I wanted to be there when you communed with the animals!"

"Don't worry, Tas. There will be other opportunities." Zackara declared. She got up and took out her sleeping bag when she saw Palin come back. "Hey, Tas? Can you pass me that first aid kit you said you had?"

Tas frowned. "You mean you're not going to use your use psionic abilities to heal Palin?"

Palin looked surprised. "You..." He couldn't even finish. It was all so clear to him now!

"She's a mind mage." Tas stated plainly. "You didn't know that?"

"N-no..." Palin managed to choke out another word.

Zackara looked like she was trying to hide a smile. She answered, "Quentos only has the power to heal others. Psionically, I can only heal myself. But I only choose Quentos for healing when it's at the time of emergency. And besides, my medical skill helps in a more efficient way and for more serious wounds, in some cases."

Palin took her words in, but slowly. He was still shocked that Zackara had mental powers in general. But then, was he really? It answered so many things ... like maybe the reason for her acting cold towards him. Maybe she read his thoughts and realized that he wanted her, but that she didn't feel the same. Or maybe she was turned off by his wanting her and she thought that he would only want her for her beauty. Palin told himself no several times. He would get to know her and like her for who she was inside. He wasn't like that. He once told his brothers that he had high standards. And he meant it. He didn't fall for just anyone.

So, Zackara was beautiful. But she was probably also strong - trained in the skill of swords and staves. She was obviously intelligent - she was a mind mage after all. She possessed logic and didn't trust a person until they proved themselves. Maybe she had used a mental power to see whether he was telling the truth or not about being Raistlin's nephew.

He finally tried to make his way to awareness. Tas was staring at him and had a confused look on his face. Zackara was taking out contents from Tas' first aid kit and Kreya was polishing her sword. Madfrent was facing the other way, looking back towards the east with his invention.

"Here, lie down." Zackara offered. Tas allowed her to use his cloak as a cushion for Palin's head. Palin lie back on the sleeping bag. He looked towards her as she took out some cloth and tubes. Just then another thought struck. She was going to touch him! He knew the feeling would be overwhelmingly pleasant... would he be able to endure it? He was so much in a state of anxiety at the moment that he couldn't even concentrate on the pain in his shoulder!

He then closed his eyes and worried that she would read his thoughts. He tried to clear his mind, but it was totally impossible. And then he felt something even more unnerving... she was unbuttoning his shirt!

He tensed at that, opened his eyes, and sat up. "What... are you doing?" He asked weakly.

"I merely have to get to your shoulder. Just take your arm out." Zackara answered with a surprising calm.

'Why didn't I think of that? Me and my wild imagination.' The mage tried to relax, although it was still quite impossible. He closed his eyes again, unable to look at her, and lifted his arm. She had, after all, only opened it to the point where he could get his arm out.

Palin tensed once again, knowing that his face must be the color of a rose. He felt her fingers against his burning skin. It was like a mountain breeze on a hot and sultry day. Now she wouldn't have to read his thoughts. It was probably all written over his face. The least he could do was focus on the touch of her hands. He could feel some liquid being rubbed on his wound. It burned and reminded him of his pain. She was probably cleaning the wound.

Palin then tried to concentrate on her fingers. They actually felt like they had calluses on them, probably from doing battle many times. She must have taken off the rings because he only felt her skin brush against him. But for a second, he thought he felt the other side of one of her hands. It was extremely soft. This drove him mad. His head felt unusually light and his hands were shaky. Nonetheless, he wished he had a spell to capture the moment and relive it infinitely.

A few moments later, he heard Zackara murmur, "It should be alright now." He then gasped as he felt her touch his forehead.

"Are you alright?" Palin heard the elf ask him.

"W-w-why..." He whispered.

"Your face is burning up. I hope that cat wasn't carrying some kind of disease..."

Palin knew better. It was certainly a fever, but not of the kind that she thought! "N-no... I just... uh... um... I need... some air."

The young man then felt her touch fade away and sighed. He was disappointed. She'd probably never touch him again. But now at least he could recover! And who knew... maybe she hadn't after all read his thoughts... maybe he could still prove to her... prove to her WHAT? He was a low-ranking mage burning for a mind mage, she was probably of high rank in her claim too. Her touch had only been a touch to heal, not a touch for affection. Despair ate at him and confirmed his need for air... and space.

Palin opened his eyes and saw Zackara organizing the items in the first aid kit. She turned to give it back to Tas. Then she went about fixing the mage's robes. Palin went over to his stuff and took out his waterskin. He decided he would go back to the river. So depressed was he at that moment that he didn't even care to say anything to anyone. Even after he heard them call his name and ask where he was going.

Palin sat near the waterfall for an extremely long time. He watched the mist rise and curve its way down towards the river. He watched the leaves stray on the trees. He witnessed the birds nesting pleasantly in the trees and the descent of the sun.

The mage took his boots off and let his feet cool from the pleasurable flow of the water. He actually felt relieved to be away from everyone. His emotions were in turmoil and now he gave himself the opportunity to organize his thoughts. He had to figure out who Zackara was and what she was to him. He felt that he would have to learn to keep his calm around her. It was apparent that she wasn't attracted to him. Besides, they had treasure and a monster to find! He knew it wouldn't be easy to stay composed around her, but he would have to concentrate on other things. Maybe when the adventure was through, he could find a way to contact Raistlin and find out what he was up to.

Just then, Palin thought he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Tas. "Palin!" Tas walked up to him. "Zackara and Kreya are cooking dinner. It will be ready soon."

Palin looked back towards the setting sun. "Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"What's wrong?" Tas moved to sit down next to him.

"Oh, I'm alright. I guess just a little homesick." The mage sighed and pulled his feet out of the water.

"Well, don't worry. The fun part is coming up! I'm sure tomorrow we'll find the cave! So far, almost everything the fortune teller said has come true. And besides, Kreya and Zackara are so much fun to talk to!"

Palin looked and saw Tas' eyes dance with excitement. He didn't respond, but turned back to look at the water flowing.

"What's wrong, don't you like them?" Tas demanded.

"Yeah, I like them."

Tas noted Palin's edge of reluctance. "I at least thought you liked Zackara. By the way you looked at her..."

Palin tried to drown out the rest of the kender's words. It seemed by the look of things that all of Krynn knew now. Then he finally said in a firm voice, "No, I don't like her." He wasn't apt to lie but at this moment he wanted no more talk of the subject. He wasn't even convinced that Tas would believe him.

But Tas answered, "No, I guess not. Zackara is so different from Usha. She's tougher and stronger. She reminds me of Kitiara a bit except she's not on the evil side. At least, I don't think she is. I wonder if there are evil and good psionics."

Palin listened to Tas' words but his patience was running low. Finally, Tas apologized for bothering him and left to go eat dinner. The young man then watched the sun set. When he saw the sky turn a medium blue, he returned to the campsite.

The mage sat down next to Madfrent. Everyone was eating and Palin helped himself to some meat and vegetables. He was surprised that he was even hungry. He tried not to pay too much attention to anyone, focusing his thoughts on other things. He paid little heed to the conversation, especially since it concerned unimportant things such as Solace and Tas' declaration of missing spiced potatoes. Tas, however, did make it clear that he was happy to be on the adventure. He talked much of his past adventures and the others listened attentively.

The stars were beginning to appear in the sky, but Palin didn't seem to care too much. He laid his staff next to his sack and unfolded his sleeping bag. He wasn't sleepy but he also wasn't up for conversation. He lie down and turned away from everyone, hoping not to draw attention to himself.

Just then, Madfrent took out his invention and looked at the stars. Zackara decided for going to check out the declination of Eriturnus and the gnome and Tas went with her. By that time, Palin had fallen asleep, despite his condition.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Tas gets impatient, Madfrent happily joins him.

Tasslehoff woke up in the morning to find himself refreshed. He had been pretty bored the day before and now felt that he was more ready than ever to venture into the caves. He let out a waking yawn and stretched his limbs. No one else was up so Tas decided to go for a quick bath.

When he came back, everyone was still asleep. The kender let out a sigh and reached for some food. He was careful not to wake anyone and thus content to eat some cold chicken, bread, and cheese. Tas didn't want to go through the trouble of making a fire, anyway. He was very anxious to start exploring.

After finishing, the kender decided upon waking up his gnomish friend. Madfrent seemed a little restless from not doing much as well. He also probably wanted to prove that his knowledge in the study of the stars and looking glasses was accurate. Tas knew that Madfrent wouldn't mind being woken up.

He gently nudged the gnome and Madfrent came awoke. "Come on, Madfrent! Let's go look in the cave!"

Madfrent rubbed his eyes and pushed his blond curls away. Then, he felt his stomach. "Wait! I'm hungry!"

"Okay. I'll wait for you to eat some breakfast." Tas sat down and put on his belt for his pouches. He took time getting his stuff organized while allowing Madfrent to eat.

Madfrent was not content to eat the food cold so he took out another gnomish invention (probably a second one given to him by his uncle Gnosh). It was a box that looked similar to the box he had used to snare Raugh and his companions except for its size and color. It was reddish and about twenty-five percent smaller.

Madfrent pressed a button on the side and the contraption opened like the previous invention had. Inside was a small cap that included a liquid whose color resembled oil. Lying parallel to it were two five-inch sized rods. The button caused one of the sticks to unfold and dip itself into the liquid. Madfrent pushed a button next to the first one after the rod rose from being dipped. The second button resulted in the second rod's unfolding of itself. It rose also. A third button on the other side of the contraption caused the second rod to rub itself against the first. Within seconds, the rods caught fire. Madfrent pressed a fourth button next to the third which halted the rods' movement.

The gnome was then content to grab the leftover chicken legs and hold them over the small flame.

"Wow!" Tas cried excitedly, in almost too loud a volume to not wake anyone. "Why didn't you tell me about this before? We could have used it for cooking."

Madfrent smiled and shook his head. "This device is only useful as a small fire. It wouldn't be big enough to cook everyone's food at once. And besides, you didn't ask."

Tas nodded, understanding his friend's logic. When Madfrent was done, he simply blew out the flame. He pressed a button that was on the side next to the first two buttons. The rods folded back down and the contraption doors fell shut.

Madfrent gathered his stuff together and Tas grabbed his hoopak, "Let's go ahead and see if we can find the underground entrance. If we find anything, we can come back and get the others." The gnome nodded.

Tas and Madfrent walked for some time to a group of caves that were adjacent to the caves that Zackara and Palin had passed through. There were two caves that according to Madfrent's calculations were directly under the constellation of Eriturnus. Their openings were facing the same direction and Madfrent couldn't figure out which cave to go into.

"Hmmm..." Tas mumbled as he scratched his topknot. He then looked at Madfrent who shrugged. "Ah!" Tas pointed a finger and pulled out something from his tunic. It was Fizban's handkerchief. He closed his eyes and held the handkerchief cloth. "Now, which one can it be?" The kender asked himself aloud. Madfrent looked at him strangely.

Tas sighed, opened his eyes, and put away the cloth. "Let's try the one on the left."

Madfrent was still mystified, but he followed the kender into the cave. They walked a few feet and then Tas realized that it was getting dark. "Reorx!" He exclaimed. "Maybe we should have woken Palin up. He could have lit his staff. Oh! Wait, I think I have something." Tas reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small candle. In the process, something white fell to the floor.

Madfrent picked it up to inspect it and screamed. "Aah!"

Tas took the object from the gnome's fingers. "Oh, it's just a goblin bone. It's a present from my uncle Trapspringer. He collects bones. Well, there's a little dried blood left on it that I wasn't able to scrape away, but don't worry. It's still a nice piece." He put it away.

Madfrent's face was pale but he was able to take out his invention and allow Tas to use it to ignite the candle. A few minutes later, they started walking. They were still walking when it seemed that the entrance to the cave was hours behind them. But that might have been because they were bored...

Tas abruptly stopped and thought of something. "Well, we've been walking for a while. There's no signs of hallways or doorways, or anything. Oh, but Zackara said that there was an underground entrance. It's probably hidden somewhere around here..."

Madfrent decided to rest his arm on a rock and shifted his weight.

"Maybe it's in the wall." Tas continued. "Or on the ground somewhere. Oh! Aaaaaaaachoooooo!" Tas then let out a huge sneeze.

The sneeze was so powerful that it caught Madfrent off guard. His arm slipped and the rock fell to the ground in front of him. Madfrent then lifted and moved it out of the way of the path.

"Aaaaaaachooooo!" Tas sneezed again. "Woah, what a sneezing fit! I guess I'll have to use this..." Tas took out Fizban's handkerchief and dabbed his nose just in time to sneeze again. Luckily, that was the end of the fit. Tas sighed and put the object away. Madfrent, sensing it was over, moved back to where he was originally standing.

Tas, gripping the candle, then noticed something grayish on the floor. "Hey! What's that?" He bent down and shone the candle on the floor. Madfrent looked down at the sandy floor and saw the grayish tint beneath it.

Tas placed his hoopak on the floor and handed the candle to Madfrent. He bent down closer and brushed away sand with his small hands. Within seconds, a grayish metal in the shape of a square was plainly visible. "Hey! Maybe this is it!" Tas retorted excitedly.

Madfrent watched as Tas tried to stick his fingers in the cracks where the outlines of the square ended. He heard Tas grunt continuously. "It probably has to be opened upwards, but it's too heavy to lift." The kender devised.

"How are we going to open it then?" Madfrent demanded.

"I don't know, maybe there's another way. There's no handle on this thing."

Tas took his sack off his back and started rummaging through it. He looked at things without interest until he finally laid his eyes on the gold axe that he had relieved Raugh of. It was actually lying aside the other items peacefully. Tas grabbed the axe out of the sack and moved the sack next to his hoopak, gently kicking it out of the square's path with his foot.

The kender then took a plunge into the metal and released it quickly after. The axe had no problem jabbing straight through the square. "Hey! It works!" Tas cried and took another swing. The square was about two or three feet wide for each side. Tas chopped away until he could manage to make an opening for someone with his width to get through.

When he finished his last swing on the edge of the cut-out, the metal clambered to the floor. Tas was finally able to look down. "Hey, Madfrent, shine the candle down here!"

Madfrent came over and did so. The bottom looked a few feet down and from their view, it appeared to be made of smooth black and gray stone.

Tas placed the axe back in his sack and shut it tight. He grabbed his hoopak. "Well, here goes nothing, I guess." Madfrent looked with horror as Tas jumped down through the passage with no hesitation. At that point, the gnome was about to learn his first lesson about kender: that they lacked fear.

"Come on down!" Tas called to him. Madfrent blinked. Tas looked unharmed. The gnome was too surprised to respond.

"Hey, throw me down your looking glass so it won't get damaged when you jump!" At this, Madfrent shook his head.

"Oh, come on! We're friends! You're supposed to trust me. How can we be friends if we can't trust each other?"

Madfrent tried to catch on to Tas' logic. He bent down and let the stick fly free. He then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Tas catch it with no problem.

"Come on down now, I'll move out of the way. It will be alright, just make sure you don't drop the candle."

Madfrent listened and gripped the candle. He closed his eyes and figured that if a kender could jump down there with no problem, why should he have a problem? He edged closer and let himself go with gravity. Two seconds later, he was down. Furthermore, the gnome turned out to be fine. He looked at Tas, who handed him the looking glass. "Are you alright?" Tas demanded.

"Yes. Are you alright?" He asked back.

"Yeah, mostly. I think I bumped my head in the process, though." Tas replied and as he did, Madfrent noticed a small cut on his forehead. "Now I only wish Palin, Kreya, and Zackara were here. I forgot that there would be no way to get in touch with them until now."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Tas and Madfrent are joined by the others, the party questions the legend further...

Palin was in the middle of a peaceful dream when he heard voices. He couldn't tell if it was part of the dream or not. He was sitting on the shore, looking out to sea. The view reminded him of the view he had seen back from the coast of Southern Ergoth. But then, he heard those voices again. Where were they coming from?

Palin blinked his eyes open and heard the voices a third time. He sat up and saw Zackara and Kreya eating breakfast.

"Oh, good, you're up." Kreya said. "Have some food quick! Tas and Madfrent are gone."

"Gone? Where?" He asked, taking a bowl.

"We woke up a few minutes ago and noticed they left and took all their stuff with them. They must have left to go to the caves!"

Palin looked at Zackara. "Do you know which cave they went in?"

"I believe so." She responded and quickly returned to eating. Palin then remembered to not stare at her too much and started eating. He couldn't help himself, unfortunately. He watched her put her armor on and gather her stuff together.

Minutes later, they left. It was rather difficult to keep up with Kreya and Zackara's swift movements, but Palin understood their testimony for walking quickly.

"We have to catch up to them before they get into any trouble they can't handle." He heard Zackara announce.

Finally, they arrived at two caves standing directly to each other. Zackara thought for a moment and walked towards the cave on the left. Kreya and Palin followed.

"Shirak!" Palin exclaimed as they walked inside and his staff lit up. Kreya smiled at him but Zackara wasn't paying attention. She let her staff lean on the ground.

"Alright, Quentos. Watch this." Zackara then closed her eyes.

"Quentos?" Palin asked. He remembered her mentioning the name before but he wasn't paying much attention at the time.

"That's the name of her staff." Kreya replied. "Quentos also has psionic powers and now that Zackara has had Quentos for a long time, they are empathically linked."

"Interesting." Palin whispered. "So, what is she doing?"

"Maybe she's trying to contact Tas and Madfrent." Kreya suggested.

Palin watched in fascination. Whether she liked him or not, he still couldn't help liking her. Watching her face focused in concentration caused his despair to be washed away.

A moment later, her eyes opened. "I found them. Come on." Zackara trudged ahead, but at a slower pace in order to keep clear of any protruding rocks. She used her staff for support, although it was obvious that she didn't really need it.

They walked for some time and Zackara kept her gaze on the ground. Palin moved to walk alongside her with his staff so she could see. He kept his gaze ahead to make sure they didn't bump into anything.

Suddenly, Zackara halted. Palin let the staff's light reach the floor. There was a hole in the ground. Zackara edged closer and looked down, Palin with her. "What is it?" Kreya asked with her hand on her sword hilt.

"It's the entrance!" Zackara stated excitedly. Palin shined the staff through the hole. "Hey, there's Tas!" She added.

"Hello up there." Tas returned and waved. Madfrent, who was with him, moved into view and looked up.

"We're coming down." Zackara announced. "Here, catch Quentos." Madfrent blew out the candle and handed it back to Tas. With little effort, Zackara let the iron staff fly free. Tas caught it, but he shook his hand out. "This thing is heavy!" He called.

Palin had noticed that himself. Being an iron staff, it was heavier and thicker than his staff. But that did not mean that it was better. It had different powers; the staves were incomparable.

"I'm coming down now!" Zackara jumped without hesitation and landed on her feet. Kreya quickly moved to follow her.

Palin stood over the edge. He wasn't crazy about jumping down but it was only a few feet. Everyone moved out of the way, but Zackara stood closest to the hole and extended her arms. "Come on, it should be alright. "I'll try and catch you if I can."

Palin wondered if the promise was an empty one. However, just the idea of her saying it made him pleasantly surprised. He dropped his staff down and Zackara caught it. She then handed it to Kreya. Palin sat down and let his legs dangle over the side. He gave a lift off and landed with no problem. And what was even better, Zackara's arms were around him, steadying him from the jump. Palin sighed softly and caught the elf smiling at him. He blushed and shyly looked down at the ground.

Zackara then released her hold, took her staff, and handed him back his. While she was doing so, he was able to ponder the thought of her being able to touch the staff as well as Kreya's ability to do it. He had also remembered Tas' being able to touch it. Yet the Nightlord had not been able to do so right away. He then wondered if Quentos had that ability as well. He had no problem touching it.

Zackara turned towards Tas and Madfrent. "So, how did you manage to get through the entrance? I noticed that the entrance door wasn't opened..."

"Correct!" Tas replied. "We cut through it. I used this magic axe..." Tas took the axe from his sack and held it out. The light of Palin's staff reflected off it with a yellow tinge.

Zackara glanced at it and let her free hand grace its blade. "Fascinating..." She murmured. "That axe must be able to cut through anything."

"Probably." Tas retorted. "I got it from a derro."

"Derro?" Kreya piped in.

"Yeah, we got into a little trouble on the way here." Palin explained and everyone glanced at him.

"We ran into him two times!" Tas added. "But Palin cast this really cool spell and sent them back in time."

"Are you sure you're a low-level mage?" Zackara kept her eyes on him. "There's no reason to be ashamed of being powerful."

"It's true. I used a scroll to cast the spell." Palin said regretfully.

"It doesn't matter whether you're low-level or not. If you have the potential, that's what counts." Zackara grabbed Quentos closer and started walking.

Palin understood her point but it once again turned him towards the question of why she was so interested in wizardry. 'There must be something she's not telling me,' he thought. "Kreya, stay in the back. I'll lead. Come behind me, Palin, so I can see where I'm going. Tas and Madfrent, you two stay in the middle." She continued. Kreya nodded and took out a lantern. She lit it so she, Tas, and Madfrent could see in front of them. It would also be needed, if they were to have any problems in back of them.

"So, what made you decide to come on this adventure?" Tas demanded. "I never thought to ask."

Kreya answered this one. "Me and Zack have been adventuring on and off. We decided to take it easy for a while. And then we got bored so we decided to come here. We never really considered it until now. What about you?"

"The same thing, practically. How did you get the map?" The kender then asked.

"My dad's dwarven friends gave it to us." Zackara responded. "They never believed the legend themselves! But they knew about our adventurous natures and gave us the map. They said if we wanted to go and look in a million caves for nothing, then we were more than welcome to it!"

"That's probably why no one has come to look for it." Palin

declared. "No one believes it, not even dwarves. I wonder how the story got started."

Zackara chuckled. "Some dwarf probably made it up a while ago and told it to his people. They probably liked it and told it to their kin. Then it caught on all over Krynn. So, how did you come across the map?"

"My Uncle Trapspringer gave it to me for my coming of age. He went on a lot of adventures too, yet he never used this map. Maybe the trip was too far for him. Kendermore is on the other side of Krynn." Tas asserted.

"Interesting. So, now we have two possibilities." Zackara assessed in response. "Either no one at all believes the story or no one has gotten into the entrance because the only map close enough to reveal the location of it has been in the hands of kender who never put the map to use. After all, the legend is not that old." She turned her head and winked at Palin, who in turn smiled and removed his gaze. "According to the dwarves, Karzatin is only around two hundred years old."

Palin had to wonder at that. Were they actually the first group of adventurers to test the verity of the legend?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - Palin questions Zackara's magical nature further, lunchtime.

The company walked down a narrow tunnel. The floor of it was similar to that of the cave above; it was tan-colored and sandy. After walking for some time, they came to a fork.

"Tas, come with me. We'll take the path on the right. You three take the left. We'll meet back up with you if we don't find anything. Try not to venture too far if you see the slightest change in the cave. Wait for me." Zackara took Kreya's lantern and they headed off.

Palin took the lead with Madfrent in the middle and Kreya behind him. He regretted Zackara's decision to go with Tas for obvious reasons. Yet he didn't mind Kreya as company. She was laid back and friendly. Madfrent wasn't much of a talker, but he also didn't pose much trouble. Zackara would certainly keep Tas out of trouble as long as it was possible.

The tunnel angled to the right and then swayed back to the left. Kreya patted down the walls quickly; she obviously wasn't expecting to find anything behind the stone. The tunnel lie straight for some time. Moments later, the three travelers made a sharp turn to the right.

They walked into what was an open area. There were no stray rocks on the ground, although the floor remained sandy. The walls were stony and a huge round object lie on the left side of the room. Kreya moved over to get a look at it, keeping her left hand on her sword hilt. Her stance reminded Palin vaguely of his brothers. He went over to shine the light on it.

"It's a well." Kreya stated plainly. It was gray and black, smoothly carved out of stone. Madfrent moved to stand next to Palin. He took his double-looking glass out.

"Ew, dirty water." The gnome remarked.

Palin and Kreya looked closer, but they didn't need the gnomish invention to realize the water was dirty. The water began two feet from the top of the structure and was so opaque that they couldn't see through it.

Madfrent started mumbling and put a finger to his chin. "HmmI

wonderifIhavesomethingherethatwecouldusetogodownthewell...Letme

seenow."

Palin turned to look at him. He didn't understand ninety-five percent of the gnome's statement, but he heard the word "down" and saw Madfrent go through his sack.

"No, wait!" He said abruptly. "We should wait until Tas and Zackara get back. At least wait until then."

The gnome grumbled but nodded and sat down on the sand to continue inspecting his things. Kreya went over to check the walls for any secret caves or passages.

Palin decided to go over and make conversation with the elf for the time while they waited. "So, have you and Zackara been on many adventures?"

Kreya smiled as she put her fingers through the holes in the rock. "We've had our share. Zack did some adventuring with our sister, Elissas, as well. They were always close, probably because Elissas is closest to her age. Zack is the baby in the family." The elf responded, affectionately. "Then, for a time Zackara traveled with her companion, Oryn..." Kreya abruptly stopped.

Palin didn't like the sound of this. "Companion?" He asked.

"They were friends for a long time. It's hard to tell if they were anything more. They traveled together for quite a while. Then, they parted ways. Oryn fell for a human girl. Interesting, isn't it?" Kreya said. "Oh sorry, I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you or anything...I..." The elf moved her gaze to the wall and continued her work.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Palin responded softly. "We're just trying to pass some time before..." His words drifted off and suddenly he wondered about this Oryn character.

A moment later, Zackara and Tas came into the hallway. "We didn't find anything." Zackara leaned her free arm against the stone. She sounded out of breath, probably from running. "Any luck here?"

No one responded. Kreya continued searching the walls and Palin was looking at the ground. Madfrent was more than looking at the floor; he was actually so restless that he started examining the floor with his double looking glass.

"Boring, boring, boring!" Tas murmured and shook his topknot. "Hey, what's that?" The kender then noticed the well and walked over. Zackara, brushing her dark bangs out of her eyes, followed him.

Tas had a hold of the lantern now and shined it down. "Wow, I wonder how deep it is."

"That's what I intend to find out. Keep the light shining down on the water."

Tas nodded and by that time, Kreya, Madfrent, and Palin moved back over to the well. After having overheard the psionic's declaration, they wanted to see what she was going to do.

Zackara gripped her staff and crawled over the stone to sit at the edge. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She started mouthing some words, but the companions failed at attempting to read her lips. Palin moved to stand near her to get a closer look. Quentos started to come alive with a blue glow. He also noticed Zackara's hands turning to meet that glow.

All of a sudden, Zackara came to life and started floating up towards the ceiling. She opened her eyes, glanced back down at the well, and laughed. "Come on, Quentos!" The elf maiden floated down as smoothly as she had floated up. They watched her start to sink lower and lower, and then finally through the water until she disappeared.

"Wow!" Tas blurted out. "I hope she comes back."

Palin noticed that he didn't hear any kind of contact with water that a person usually would have made. No splashes or bubbles. 'Strange,' he thought.

Moments later, Zackara floated back up. Her hand attached to Quentos was still glowing and she didn't look the least bit wet.

"That water was an illusion." Zackara smiled. "Someone didn't

want us to take that route down." She stood on top of the well and took one of her gloves off. She slid one of her rings off and placed her glove back on.

"Here, catch!" She threw the ring to Palin, who surprisingly had enough of a reflex to catch it. It was the amethyst ring. He gazed at it for a second and looked back at the elf.

"You can use my ring to fly down. It has power enough for two acts of flight. When you're down, I'll come back up and give it to Kreya. I can carry Tas and Madfrent down one at a time, but I would have trouble carrying you or Kreya down."

Zackara gestured for Tas to come over. "Here, take Quentos so I can grab you." Tas did so and Zackara lifted him up in her arms. Quentos was still glowing and so was her right hand. Kreya took the lantern from Tas' grasp.

Palin stared at her in amazement. He then realized he had a task to do so he slipped the ring on a finger that fit. "Um... how do I use it?" He questioned her.

"Just think of flying. Close your eyes and take in the concept of lightness."

Palin blinked in recognition. That ring had the same power that Raistlin's blue potion had. As a result, Palin's focus on flying would be a lot easier. He closed his eyes and held his staff close. Taking in the concept of lightness, he felt the magic sizzle from his finger to the rest of his body. He opened his eyes and floated over the well and down. At the bottom, he caught up with Zackara, who was placing Tas gently on the ground. Tas handed her Quentos and Palin gave her the ring when she was ready to float back up.

Zackara floated up and landed on the top of the well once more to throw the ring to Kreya and help Madfrent down. Kreya knew how to use to the ring already. She had to use it once before. Within moments, everyone was down the well. Zackara gripped Quentos after putting her ring back on. She looked at everyone to make sure they were settled and they started walking again.

Palin wondered for a few minutes about the ring now that he had a chance. Wouldn't wearing the magic ring make her a mage? Then he thought, 'No, it's not definite although it's probable.' People could buy or find magic rings and use them even if they didn't have a magical bone in their body. Tas had used magical items before according to his stories, but that didn't mean a thing. If you knew how to use the item or stumbled upon how to use it, then you could simply just use it.

The area where they landed was not as neatly structured as the tunnel had been. Stray rocks, some small and some large, were strewn everywhere. Yet the company easily found a path between the rocks. They walked for a few minutes and found a huge open area with a high ceiling. It also didn't take them long to realize that there was an unbelievable source of light available to them.

Palin looked to his right and noted vast amounts of prisms against the cave wall. He saw stalagmites and stalactites, whose water dripped a bit off the edges. He looked closer and saw green molds that were as dark as seaweed and wrapped themselves around the frozen icicles. He shivered, unused to the distinct coolness of the cave.

Zackara in turn looked to her right. She stopped for a moment, looking like she was considering something. Palin caught up to her. "I might not be correct, but my guess is that the green molds are Rhasbodryl plants. They're made up of radioactive elements and cause light to exist in the room. Very strange plants, they are." She murmured and moved on.

Tas, who was behind Palin, looked around in wonder. "Wow, this room is so pretty. Wait until everyone back home hears about this!"

Kreya, who was behind Madfrent, let out a soft laugh.

The company continued walking and the path twisted here and there. Despite that, the path didn't change much and there weren't too many protruding rocks barring the way. Some time later, they came to a river. There was a pretty strong current but the water was crystal clear. Zackara estimated it to be about two-and-a-half feet deep.

Tas wasn't all that happy about going into water that would cover him up to the top of his legs. If anything, he was concerned about his items getting wet. But then he told himself if he and Palin were able to go through a storm such as they had without getting their items damaged, he would be able to get through this. He adjusted his straps to make sure everything was tightly closed.

Zackara took the first step in and moved along the water with no trouble. Palin and Kreya stepped in next. The water didn't appear to bother the elves, probably due to their armor and clothes underneath. However, Palin could feel the water encounter him beneath his robes. It was freezing!

Tas and Madfrent seemed to echo his thoughts. "Brrr!" Tas retorted, feeling the icy touch even through his leggings. Meanwhile, Madfrent's teeth were chattering.

"The quicker you walk, the quicker you will get away from the cold water." Zackara declared, turning to look back at them. "We have some towels you can dry yourselves off with."

This then gave the three companions an incentive to move faster. The river itself was about fifteen feet wide. They were thankful to be on land again. The path twisted again but it was still wide enough for them to walk along with no problem. After a few minutes, Zackara looked for a rock to sit down on. The rest of the company sat down as well.

Palin shivered as he wrung the edges of his robes out, which were dripping wet. Tas shook out his topknot, which had gotten wet at the ends. Madfrent started tooling with his fire device and when it was set up, he laid the device over the rock and put his hands over it.

Zackara took out some towels and handed them over. She took her boots off and wiped her feet with one of the small ones. Kreya did the same. The psionic then laid Quentos at her feet. "I guess it's time for lunch." She remarked softly. "It will give us some time to dry off."

Palin looked at her while drying his legs off. She took out some cheese and bread and munched on it. She then got up and took out a waterskin from her sack. Everyone was in the process of starting on lunch when she got back from filling it up with the water from the river.

Zackara sat back down and took her gloves off. After doing so, she reached into her sack and took out a black pouch. A second later, she had a vial in her hands which contained a clear liquid. She opened the cap and tried to smell it. Shrugging, she put the cap back on.

Tas was also watching Zackara as she closed her eyes. She started speaking softly. "What are you doing?" The kender asked, but the elf maiden didn't hear him. Palin tried as hard as he could to figure out what she was saying. He could only make out a few words, but he was for certain that she was speaking in Elven. The vial started to glow but Zackara opened her eyes and frowned.

"Does the liquid have any special magical properties?" Tas then questioned her.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." She replied.

"How would a psionic be able to figure that out?" Palin then asked, mystified.

Zackara glared at him for a moment. Suddenly, the mage felt self-conscious again. Did he say something wrong? He hadn't intended for it to be an arrogant question. She'd probably hate him now. At the thought of that, his fingers started to shake and he merely dropped a piece of bread from his hands.

Zackara then looked at her sister. She started talking in Elven again, but in a louder tone for Kreya to hear. Palin looked at his piece of bread and listened attentively.

He was able to make out the sentence, 'He just doesn't understand.' After hearing that assessment, he was determined to try and understand her. Palin told himself that if he got to know her well enough, then maybe he'd figure out why she was so distant towards him. And maybe he'd get to see what she was truly like inside. He really hoped that he could spend a lot more time with her and prove to her that he could understand her.

He then decided to ask her what she meant and surprised himself in doing so. "What don't I understand?"

"You don't understand how a psionic can figure out if a liquid has magical properties." Zackara repeated after a look of surprise on her own face. "You'll see." The elf grinned. She then looked at Kreya and the sisters exchanged smiles.

Palin didn't know why but her statement excited him. It seemed she was slowly warming up to him from that cold wall of seriousness. He felt his heart racing again as well as a sense of eagerness to find out what she meant by her declamation.

The travelers continued eating... until Madfrent let out a sharp cry. "Oww! Somethingbitme!"

"Something what?" Tas demanded.

"Something bit me." The gnome repeated and looked down at the floor. There was a small rip in his pants where his right ankle was. He took out his double looking glass and examined the floor. He was able to see clearly with the light of Palin's staff, but there was nothing to be found.

Everyone else looked at the floor as well. But they didn't see anything. Zackara kept her gaze glued to the ground while everyone continued eating, however. Madfrent put his device away and continued eating as well.

Moments later, Madfrent cried out again. This time, he collapsed flat on the rock. Zackara, who had her gaze concentrated on Madfrent's right finally saw the source of his dilemma. Kreya and Tas ran over to check Madfrent. Meanwhile, Palin looked to Zackara. The elf rose and walked over to the pile of rocks on Madfrent's right. She stared at a rock which was about three feet in diameter and twisted her left arm to get a hold on her yellow-red staff, which was still strapped to her back.

The maiden waited patiently until she saw a red face and neck extend itself out of the huge rock. It moved forward to nibble at her boot. As quick as lightning, Zackara ripped her staff free and pointed it towards the rock. Sparks started to sizzle and all of a sudden a huge bolt of lightning came forth and hit the flesh extending from the rock. Instinctively, the creature inside the rock withdrew into it.

Palin stared, open-mouthed. Tas, who had turned to see what happened, quickly ran over to her. "Wow! That was some lightning bolt! I didn't know you were a mage too!"

"I'm not what you think I am." Zackara returned, catching her breath. She fastened her staff back and moved towards Madfrent. She managed to find a place to sit on the rock and rolled up Madfrent's pant leg an inch so she could inspect his bite. "Krey, can you get me a piece of cloth from my sack and my waterskin?"

Kreya got up and did so. Zackara dipped the cloth in and rubbed the scratch. "He should be alright." She then announced. "He was poisoned, but it was only a poison to cause him to fall asleep. I have no idea what manner of creature that thing was, but it looked like some sort of turtle. I'm thinking that maybe I should go scout ahead for other sources of danger."

The whole time Palin was trying to make sense of the incident. Quentos had psionic powers, but her other staff had magic powers. Why would a psionic use a mage's staff? While it seemed likely that non-mages might use magical rings, it seemed more unlikely to Palin that a non-mage would use a weapon designed for a mage. He wanted to believe that Zackara had magical abilities as well, but he knew he couldn't prove it, especially with Zackara's denial of it.

The mage saw her walk off and followed. "I'm going with you!" He declared.

Zackara said nothing but kept walking. Palin's thoughts were in turmoil; he was torn between determination to figure her out and fear that the unknown would become known and turn into something very ugly. He then pondered whether her 'companion' Oryn might have had something to do with it.

He kept following her until she stopped. He was inches behind her, heart still pounding, his gaze set to her long, flowing black hair. He couldn't understand why she stopped.

Zackara turned to look at him, a callous look on her face. "What, did she tell you my whole life story?" She shouted and then turned back ahead to start walking.

'She must have been reading my thoughts! Great! Now she'll NEVER talk to me again.' Despair grew within Palin's heart as he thought of this. He sadly turned to walk back towards his friends.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - The party gets bored, Kreya loses her mind, Tas and Madfrent laugh their backsides off(as if we should be surprised by such behavior?!)

By the time Palin got back to the areas of rocks where he and Zackara had left them, his companions had passed beyond the verge of boredom. He could tell it by the look in their eyes. It was even more apparent when he realized that Kreya and Tas were playing 'Guess-what-number-I'm-thinking-of.' Madfrent seemed to be alright. He was sitting up, watching and laughing because every time Tas got Kreya's number wrong.

Palin walked up to Kreya without speaking. She could tell that his green eyes were darkened with concern. "Where's Zackara?" She asked.

The mage looked at the ground. "She stormed off... a-away from me."

"Did you say something mean to her?" Tas demanded.

Palin didn't answer directly. He turned away and instead muttered, "We should go after her. Before we lose her. She can probably take care of herself, but we should leave now, just in case. Before she gets too far ahead of us." He realized then that he was rambling and quickly stopped speaking.

Kreya had heard him perfectly. She rose and gathered her things together. As they started walking, Tas interrogated his friend a second time. "What did you say to Zackara?"

"Nothing." Palin stated plainly. The light of his staff shone ahead but he was still looking at the ground.

"Then why should she be mad at you?" Tas pressed him.

"She read my mind. She found out that I was wondering about Oryn."

"I see." Kreya broke in.

"Who's Oryn?" Tas asked.

"No one important." Kreya answered.

"Do you think she knows I like her?" Palin felt he might as well as while they were on the subject. He also felt he could trust her. He just didn't want to be appear to be a pest.

"It's possible." Kreya remarked.

"I thought you didn't like her." Tas declared.

Palin looked at Tas for a moment. "I just said that so you wouldn't press me on the matter."

"Oh. Well, I think she likes you."

"She sure doesn't act like it. And now she probably hates me."

"Don't be silly." Kreya responded. "I think Zackara just needs some time to get to know you. If she hated you, she probably wouldn't want to be around you at all. She can be very secretive sometimes. She probably just has a lot on her mind. She'll come around. I'll have a talk with her."

"And I'll ask her if she likes you." Tas added, trying to help.

"Tas..." Palin started. That was all he needed! Then she'd REALLY hate him!

"Tas, leave it to me please." Kreya looked at the kender.

Palin looked at Kreya, relieved from her request. He noticed that she was using Tas' nickname too! 'Tas must be really be enjoying himself,' he devised.

The group continued walking down a narrow tunnel. Kreya walked alongside Palin, just in case of trouble occurring up ahead. They came to a hallway of tunnels and Kreya picked the tunnel straight ahead, after having easily picked up Zackara's footprints. They came to an area of paths and rocks once again, but the path that had continued from the tunnel was easy to tread on. Tas and Madfrent kept their eyes out for any moving rocks, especially after having witnessed Madfrent's accident. The gnome and kender were busy chatting about Mt. Nevermind, but Kreya and Palin kept their own thoughts focused.

The path moved over to a path on the left that they had passed but not taken. Zackara's footprints were legible, so they confirmed their decision to continue straight. The path veered to the left after a while and they came to a crossover from what was the path on the far left. The two paths merged into a slightly wider tunnel. The travelers did not cease their pace.

Finally, they came to a path that loomed straight as well as one that was to the adjacently to the right of it. They turned to walk down the path to the right, but Kreya quickly backed up after having noticed that Zackara's footprints were not there. She turned to walk back on the path going straight. After walking several yards, they came to a block in the path.

After having only looked at the blockage in the path for a second, one might have thought that it was merely the end of the cave. But Kreya knew better. The footprints of her sister led right up to the blockage. "There was a cave-in. It must be pouring outside." The swordswoman declared.

Palin instantly thought of Zackara. He couldn't dare picture her having been caught in the incident. She had to be on the other side. "How are we going to get through?" He asked.

"Maybe you can use a spell to find out if there's some magical path we can take." Kreya replied, shrugging your shoulders.

"Perhaps you're right." Palin smiled. He closed his eyes and mouthed a few ancient words. It was a power similar to that of the power he had used to detect if Dreyak's ring was enchanted. He felt a warmth in his blood... but nothing. There was no aura of magic to be found within the area. And that also might mean that Zackara wasn't even close to where they were. Where could she be?

Palin shook his head sadly. Kreya looked at him and after witnessing his response, she turned back to the wall. "We have to find a way to get rid of this rubble. Hopefully, it's not holding the rest of the wall from collapsing." She concluded.

Tas was one step ahead of her. "Can you use this?" He snatched the golden axe out of his sack. Kreya took it and held it up admiringly. Its light flared off the light of Palin's staff. Kreya preferred using longswords; they were her elected favorite. Yet the elf didn't mind using axes. She was trained in them and this particular one caught her curiosity when Zackara had looked at it. Only Kreya didn't feel the need to delve into its ability. But now she'd have a chance to try it out.

The swordswoman grabbed it tightly and stalked towards the rock mass. She decided upon giving a little push to test whether the whole wall had collapsed. She chose a few huge rocks and hacked at them. She then pushed them over to the side and in back of her as a golfer would swing at a golf ball. She had no problem whatsoever with moving them.

Palin knew that the axe was enchanted, but he also assured himself that Kreya's strength certainly helped. Sturm and Tanin would have probably gotten along excellently with her. He blinked his eyes and continued watching to see how much progress she was making.

Within minutes, Kreya managed to move sixty-percent of the rocks out of the way. "Hey!" Tas called. "Maybe the wall didn't sink in! Maybe something impacted it and merely took a chunk out of the wall!"

"Excellent observation," Kreya replied between grunts.

It turned out that Tas was right. Kreya had the path cleared and the cave lie perfectly still. "We better get a move on, just in case the wall decides to get disgruntled again." Kreya warned after having handed back the axe to Tas. She mopped a small towel across her face.

Once again, the travelers continued their journey. Palin wondered if he would find out the whole mystery behind Zackara let alone see her again. Before he could think any further, his thoughts were interrupted by his surroundings.

They came into a small open area with the path continuing behind it. There were only small rocks scattered around the room-like vicinity, which lie in the shape of a square. The room differed from the tunnel in that the floor was composed of stone. It was probable that small rocks such as the scattered ones had ended up covering the once sandy floor. This made Palin question whether anything was living down there. He certainly didn't doubt it, since there was water available. And if anything was alive down there, it could only be due to of its means of finding a source of food. There might have been plenty of exits and entrances up ahead for all he knew. The young man noticed that there were also pools of water lying in various spots. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed drops of water adhering to the ceiling and parallel pools on the floor.

The mage was then cautious in avoiding the areas. Kreya was, however, less concerned and more intent on continuing down the path. Zackara's footsteps could have made no indent on the ground, but there appeared to be no other route to take, from the elf's hindsight. A she walked, a few droplets cascaded toward a pool to her right. Her forehead intercepted a few on their way down. "Oh!" She murmured and wiped away the water with a leather-gloved hand. She then continued down the path. Palin caught up with her with Tas and Madfrent behind them. They walked down the tunnel and it curved to the right.

Everything was fine until all of a sudden, Kreya stopped dead in her tracks. Palin turned to look at her. The elf blinked her eyes. "Are we walking the right way?"

"I believe so." Palin answered her. "There's no other way, or so it seems."

Kreya shook her head, her long brown hair whipping in the movement. "Oh. Okay. Let's keep going then." The swordswoman continued walking.

Not a minute later, Kreya stopped again and Tas, who was busy looking at Madfrent, nearly bumped into her. She turned to look at him. "Oh, I'm sorry... uh... um... hmmm..."

"Tas?" The kender recalled his own name.

"Uh... yes, Tas! That's right! Tas!" The elf then glanced at Palin. "Are you sure we're going the right way,... uh... uh-hum..."

"Palin?" Tas then answered for her.

"Yeah, thank you." Kreya cleared her throat while trying to focus on the mage and kender both. She then exhaled. "Now, who are we looking for again?"

"Zackara!" Palin, Tas, and Madfrent echoed all at once this time.

Kreya snapped her fingers. "Right! Zackara... Zackara... That name sounds vaguely familiar." The elf muttered, putting a finger to her chin. Afterwards, she turned and started walking once more.

Palin looked at Tas, puzzled. Tas shrugged. The mage then looked at Madfrent, who in turn looked at Tas and by following his action, shrugged his own shoulders. Thankfully, Kreya said no more as they examined the rest of the tunnel. The tunnel opened into two paths, veering right and left. Palin decided to take it upon himself in trying the left passage first. He walked several yards and found out that the path merely ended with a smooth stone wall. He turned back towards the right with no argument.

By going down the right path, they were now going in the opposite direction that they had been going in. They walked into what was a second square-shaped cave. The cave was slightly bigger, but it retained the similar pools that the other had.

Palin looked back at Kreya, who was following. He was worried about her, but she didn't say anything further to increase his concern. He then noticed Tas and Madfrent splashing in the pools.

"Gee, I wonder where all this water came from." Tas said.

"Like Kreya said, there was probably a storm outside and it cause some rain to leak through the walls." Palin responded.

Tas didn't say anything further so the mage concentrated once again on the path beyond the room. The path wound to the left for a while. Palin stopped when he heard the sound of raucous laughter.

The mage turned to see Tas and Madfrent laughing their heads off. They were chuckling so hard that they looked as if they were going to fall over. The kender and gnome ended up putting their arms on each other's shoulders for support. Still, they continued to laugh.

Palin leaned his staff on the ground. "What's so funny?" He questioned them.

"The.. and this... and the..." Tas attempted to make a sentence, but it was obvious that he was in such a state of laughter that it was impossible. He then looked at Madfrent, who in turn, held his stomach while cackling. Tears were streaming down the gnome's face and he now had to use his looking glass for support with his other arm. Tas looked at the invention and laughed even harder. Madfrent started coughing and laughing in cycles, and attempted to sit down on the floor to recover.

"What in the Abyss is going on?" Palin shouted. He looked at Kreya, who stared blankly at the little fellows.

"Kreya?" The mage tried to obtain the elf's attention.

Kreya looked at him and said, "I don't know who they are, but they're certainly strange. I'm still trying to figure out who Za... Za... now what was her name again?"

"Zackara." Palin stated firmly. "Your sister."

"I have a sister? How splendid!" The elf clapped her hands together. She then looked in the direction of the path.

Palin shook his head. 'I would love to know what is going on in the name of Reorx,' he thought. 'And how come I'm not affected by whatever caused their insanity?' Determination then struck him in the face. 'We have to find Zackara. Hopefully, we can get to her before she goes berserk... or even worse... before I go berserk! I have to stay focused.'

Palin bit his lip, determination causing him to go into a state of anxiety and prolonged alertness. He bent down to get a grip on one of Madfrent's hands. The gnome was still laughing, but he let Palin pull him up. Tas was also laughing but he followed Kreya, who followed Palin.

Palin made a right turn after leaving the second square-shaped room. Minutes later, he came to an even bigger alcove. It had the same scattered rocks and pools derived from dripping water from the ceiling. The only thing different about it was that there was a dark heap lying in the far left corner. The company filed in and Palin noticing the heap, shone his staff on it to attempt at figuring out its nature. It was Zackara.

Palin rushed over to see her state. She lie sprawled with her stomach to the ground. Quentos lay, clasped in her hand and her sack and other belongings were still in place. The mage sat down and lay his own staff on the floor. He put his hand on her arm and whispered her name. She didn't move but Palin could tell she was breathing. He gently squeezed her arm to see if she would come awake. She did.

The elf opened her eyes and upon seeing Palin, managed to sit up with his help. "What happened?" She asked vaguely.

Palin focused on her face. She had a bruise on the left side of her forehead, but her brown eyes were warm with curiosity.

"We just found you here. Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Zackara managed a word. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and looked around. She then looked back at Palin. "I was looking around the room and I noticed it was extremely cold. I thought it was cold for someone wearing a cloak, clothes, and armor. While I was looking around, something must have hit me. That's the last thing I can remember."

"Strange." The mage replied. He took a piece of cloth and dabbed it in his waterskin. He then put the skin away and pressed the cloth against Zackara's face. He wasn't at all surprised to noticed that his hands were shaking from nervousness.

"Thank you." The elf smiled.

"You're welcome." Palin blinked his eyes and tried to avoid her gaze. He discarded the cloth and looked towards the rest of the company.

Tas and Madfrent were still giggling, both of them holding their hands over their mouths to stifle the commotion. Kreya stared at them and from the expression on her face, it didn't seem like her mind was on Krynn at all.

Palin turned back towards Zackara's direction and looked at the ground. "I don't know what's going on with them. They were fine until we passed by the rooms. I'm glad to see that you're not affected, at least from what I've seen so far."

"No, I suppose not. But I thought that the room was awfully cold. Now it's awfully hot." She devised.

The psionic was right. Her bangs stuck to her face and despite the fact that her was tied up, the back of it clung to her neck. He also noticed that he felt abnormally hot! Now it was obvious that it hadn't been only due to her nearness!

"I wonder if these rooms are enchanted." Palin spoke. Instantly, he closed his eyes and mouthed the ancient words. He felt the words produced a warmth in his soul, but it was a pleasant warmth compared to the heat of the room. He then felt a tingle and upon opening his eyes, he could see the pools of water on the ground and the ceiling give off a vivid blue light. The room was definitely enchanted.

He turned to look at Zackara, whom to his surprise, was closing her own eyes and mouthing words. Yet she was tracing the air with her fingers and a shade of that blue light was reflecting off them. What was she doing?

Zackara opened her eyes a moment later to witness the event.

"You were correct. The room is enchanted." She gazed at him.

Palin stared back at her blankly. Was it possible for a psionic to detect magical contents of a room? He wanted to get his thoughts out in the open, but Zackara interrupted him. "The pools of water are enchanted and Tas is standing right in the middle of one! Tas!"

The elf maiden got up quickly, grasping Quentos. She stretched her left arm out, and Tas, who was busy guffawing, and looking at Madfrent, finally turned toward her. "Oh, Zackara! The funniest thing happened..."

"No time, Tas! We must get out of here. Madfrent, Kreya..."

Zackara grabbed her sister's arm and looked into her dazed face.

"Who are you?" Kreya demanded.

"Krey! We haven't got time for this." The elf muttered, pushing her towards the exit of the room. Palin in turn tried to focus on getting the kender and gnome to do the same.

Palin and Zackara managed to accomplish their task, but at the expensive of their companions' dawdling.

"Quickly!" Zackara called in an alarming tone, which finally woke them up a bit.

The company hurried down the stone tunnel from the third alcove and came across yet another open area. Palin briefly halted as did everyone behind him. The light cast itself on shapes in front of them.

CHAPTER NINETEEN - Battle time! Zackara confesses and Palin falls deeper in love...

The mage swallowed. A figure two feet shorter stood toward him with dark eyes. The figure was bald and its skin was a deep blue tinge. Pointed ears shot out of its head and it was dressed in a rugged tunic and breeches. In its hand was a ruddy longsword with its point to the ground. It moved its gaze from him and seemed to be looking beyond. A few feet below and behind it were several similar figures huddled in blankets. They were all looking in the same direction.

Palin turned and tried to figure out who they were turning their attention to. A second later, the whole company was looking at Tas. Palin heard Kreya take in a deep breath. Tas' skin had changed color. In fact, it was the same shade the skin of the hairless figure was!

"What?" The kender demanded. "Why are you all looking at me funny?"

No one answered. Tas looked down to see if there was a "spot" on his clothing and noticed his blue hands. Tas was obviously sobered up, especially from this incident. His eyes widened and he gasped. "My skin! It's..."

"Shh..." Zackara silenced him. She looked back at the blue figure and its companions who stood up. Palin wasn't sure if he should have been surprised or not, for he noticed that all the blue figures now had longswords in their hands. Fortunately, the weapons were pointed down. The rest of the company had turned their heads as well to look on.

The first figure moved a few inches, still curious to see what sort of creature Tas was. At least that was what everyone thought he was doing. He was still a few feet from the company, anyway. He looked on and mumbled something. None of the party understood him, however.

All of a sudden, rocks that must have been chipped from the wall fell in mid-air towards the blue figures. One hit a figure in the back of the head while another hit a second one in the upper arm. A third hit the one who had been looking at Tas. The rest missed.

The curiosity on the face of the gazing figure turned into anger. Not a second later, Madfrent gave a cry and fell to the ground. The party quickly looked towards him. A figure had materialized to knock the gnome out.

Instantly, Palin knew how. "They must be Phaselings! Father told me about them once! He wasn't sure if they still existed. They have the ability to teleport!" He quickly looked back and confirmed his answer. One of the figures that had been with the others was no longer there. There had been four, but now there were only three.

Within seconds, he heard Zackara whisper, "Alright, a challenge." Before he could think anything further, he saw her and Kreya run to meet their opponents with a battle cry each. The next thing he knew was that a blue figure had readied a longsword and was coming towards him.

Meanwhile, Kreya attempted to get a shot at her opponent. He held his longsword upward with a smile on his face. The swordswoman poked her weapon at the figure but before it could make contact, the figure disappeared. A second later, the Phaseling was behind her and stabbed her leg. Instinctively, Kreya threw her sword arm back and sliced the monster on the side of the head. The Phaseling obviously had expected her to turn around before trying to attack again.

While that was happening, Tas grabbed Raugh's stone block out of his sack while he had the chance. The Phaseling that had knocked out Madfrent was too busy going through the gnome's things. It seemed that he didn't consider Tas a threat.

Well, Tas would prove him wrong. He pointed it at the Phaseling and the figure gave out a sharp cry. It then turned to looked at him. It grabbed its longsword from the floor and tried to get up due to its leg injury. It was able to rise, but it had to put its weigh on the other leg. Tas pointed the block again, but this time there was no effect. The phaseling chuckled but not for long. It gasped after trying to move towards him. Frantically, Tas picked up his sack and snatched the axe, dropping the stone block inside. His hoopak was on the floor, but he thought the axe would do more damage. Tas pointed the blade at the Phaseling. "Now, you don't know who you're dealing with!" He shouted, waving it in his hand.

The phaseling grunted. A second later, it disappeared and reappeared in back of the kender. Tas was about to turn when he felt his topknot being pulled away from his head. The Phaseling sneered and mumbled incoherently. Tas, striving to focus, managed to jab the axe backwards and struck the Phaseling in the knee - its unfrozen one.

At the same time, Zackara was battling with her own Phaseling. She ran to try and trip the monster with her staff, but the Phaseling vanished and reappeared into a near corner, parallel to the opening. The elf watched it as it caught its breath and repositioned itself. She jumped over to meet it but once again it was too fast for her. It reappeared and before she could turn, it stabbed her arm and Quentos fell to the floor. Zackara saw the blood flow freely through her armor. The Phaseling had managed to get through a crack between metal pieces. The psionic turned in time to see the monster grab at its arm and drop its sword.

Palin fortunately needed no spell components for his action. He laid his staff against the wall and flexed his fingers in front of him. Quickly, he mouthed some words to a spell that was low-level but deadly. Opening his eyes, he saw three magic darts head towards three different targets. The first easily made its way to his opponent's ribcage and the Phaseling staggered back. The second hit Zackara's opponent in the sword arm and the third threw Kreya's adversary even more off balance after she had just cleaved its head.

Kreya turned to witness the event. Seeing her assailant on its last legs, she gave the Phaseling a final thrust through the heart. It fell quickly to the ground. This went on as Tas tried to relieve his hair from his Phaseling's grip. Although the monster hadn't been hit with one of Palin's magic missiles, it was preoccupied with its two injured legs. Tas felt the body fall away from him and he rushed over to see how Madfrent was. The gnome had taken a blow to the head, but he was breathing and Tas found that his heart rate was normal.

Palin moved back against the wall and gripped his staff after witnessing the damage of his spell. He knew that he would need at least a minute or two to decide and prepare what spell he would cast next. Unfortunately, his assailant was recovering from the effects quickly. It started moving towards him. Palin focused on the Phaseling's longsword and involuntarily moved the Staff of Magius in front of him. The mage surprised himself in the process, especially after seeing what the movement had done.

A quick orange flare shot forth from the staff and had altered the shape of the Phaseling's longsword! It changed into a blank piece of parchment. The Phaseling stared down at its hand, unbelieving, and lost its grip on the paper. It floated down on the floor. The monster's curiosity towards its weapon's transformation caused it to retrieve the item.

Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, Palin sought to cast again before taking in the incident. He snatched a Mandrake root from one of his pouches. The root was purple and soft like velvet. Palin rubbed the root against his palms until they were enveloped in purple. He then waved his hands and instantly the Phaseling froze in place. Not one part of its body moved. It was absolutely still, remaining in its bent-over position.

Palin sighed softly. He couldn't believe what his staff had done. Then, he realized that it must have been part of his doing as well! He had focused on the longsword and it had been altered. Figuring that the spell would literally hold the Phaseling for a while, he glanced around the room to see how Zackara was doing.

He didn't see the elf, but he saw her staff. He then noticed two new blue figures came out from an opposite corner. One picked it up and brought it back to the corner, the other following.

'Where is she?' he wondered. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Palin noticed Zackara's assailant. The Phaseling looked confused; it constantly turned to look for something. Palin could see the wound his missile had caused on the monster's arm, yet the monster continued to hold its weapon without fail. All of a sudden, the Phaseling jerked its head away. A shade of crimson appeared on one of its cheeks. It jumped back with surprise and glanced around.

A second later, the Phaseling coughed and held its legs together in pain. It didn't move long after that, its chest heaving. Then, out of nowhere, Palin heard a female voice. "So, you don't want to play fair, huh? I can deal with that!" Not a moment later, the Phaseling turned its head once more and collapsed against the wall parallel to it.

'Zackara!' Palin shouted in his mind. 'She must have turned invisible!' The mage then closed his eyes excitedly. He couldn't help himself from casting another spell, this one out of curiosity. Keeping his eyes closed, he snatched another pouch, knowing exactly where it was positioned. He opened it, took out a pinch of powdered silver, and readjusted the pouch after closing it.

Sprinkling the silver in the air, Palin spoke softly. "Toyah Renen miopiar Sleka Banath non-ulth Saramis niankroykellisin..."

An instant later, the mage opened his eyes. His hypothesis had been correct. He saw the elf maiden turn away from her opponent. She had dropped Quentos, but she still had her second staff and shortsword. Palin's eyes narrowed, however, when he noticed a red splotch on her armor over her left arm. Blood was dripping on the floor in little spurts and it made him wonder if the blood had turned invisible or not. He hadn't noticed it before, but his eyes had been on the Phaseling. Maybe the monster was too stupid to notice. Hopefully, it wouldn't notice at all.

Zackara moved several feet away. She stopped moving for a moment and Palin was relieved to see that blood was no longer dripping on the floor. He then saw her lift her arm weakly. She stood still and closed her eyes. Her lips then came to life, mouthing some probably powerful words. She then started waving both arms, slowly in cycles.

The elf's movements were graceful and the mage was bedazzled. Within seconds, a circular swirl of silver formed in front of Zackara's body. Slowly, the circle took form. It became a humanoid form of silver. Zackara opened her eyes and looked towards the figure.

It looked about Palin's height and had arms and legs like a humanoid had. Yet it was silver and looked like it was formed from a mist. Zackara moved towards it and spoke into its ear. 'She must have summoned an air elemental! But how could she have done that? She didn't use any of her staves! Or her rings!' After thinking this, Palin was determined to let himself believe that she was a mage just like him. 'She was one all this time, but she refused to tell me. But why?'

Dispersing his thoughts temporarily, Palin watched Zackara's next action. The elemental moved to where Kreya had just wiped out her first opponent. It seemed to be looking out for everyone. Zackara was then beside herself. She took a deep breath and glanced at her left arm. She let it fall limp at her side. With her right arm, she snatched her sword out of its sheath.

Palin watched her as she walked back toward her opponent. It was trying to get up; its hands were pushing its weight off the ground. Zackara poked the Phaseling's shoulder and moved back to see the monster turns its head frantically. A second later, Zackara's sword was through its chest. The elf quickly withdrew the weapon. She blinked her eyes and then turned away. That was the last thing Palin was able to witness.

Before he knew it, his own opponent had recovered and ripped him off the wall. Palin was two feet taller than the Phaseling, but the monster had an unimaginable strength. It managed to drag the mage to his knees. The Phaseling then braced its longsword against Palin's throat. He cursed himself for not thinking over a plan sooner. Raistlin probably would have been disappointed. He managed to turn his eyes back towards the wall to see if his staff was still lying against it.

His captor started mumbling loudly. Everyone glanced at him but said nothing. Kreya turned quickly and let her sword fall to the ground with a thud. Tas, still gripping his axe and holding his friend's hand at the same time, looked up in horror.

Palin set his gaze on Zackara, who quickly glanced at him. He didn't know if she knew he saw her, but he was aware of his breathing rapidly. He saw his life flash before his eyes and wondered for a second about death. He quickly gnawed away that notion. He didn't want to die, especially after having met someone as fascinating as Zackara!

The Phaseling that Tas had been battling with snickered after witnessing the threat. It was writhing on the ground. Its knee looked like it had just exploded, but its other leg it was actually able to move. It didn't get up; Its teeth were grinding but it managed to project itself over its once frozen leg and try to reach for Tas. The kender in response moved back and away from Madfrent, gripping the axe again.

Kreya stared at Palin and his captor, terror-stricken. Yet Zackara and her elemental started to move forward. However, before they could, a stray rock on the ground to the side of them started changing shape. Within seconds, it polymorphed into another Phaseling! The elf and her servant stopped dead in their tracks.

The Phaseling who had been holding Palin let its longsword drop away and moved closer to the polymorphed Phaseling to examine it. Palin hastened to Zackara's side and looked at her. A look of surprise came across her face as she realized that he saw her. She then tried to focus on the two Phaselings.

The amazed Phaseling stuck out a hand and touched the other one. The polymorphed phaseling then sneered at it and tried to rip the sword out of its hand. The other Phaseling struggled with it, frowning. Zackara then ordered the elemental to help the rock-Phaseling. The elemental moved behind the Phaseling and kicked it in the back. The Phaseling's hand went limp from the force and its weapon fell forward into the rock-Phaseling's hand.

The rock-Phaseling took the weapon and dropped it on the floor, kicking it away. The elemental then braced the other Phaseling's neck and it broke with a snap. Palin breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Tas struggling with his captor.

The monster crawled towards the kender, inches from him. It managed to put its fingers on the blade and Tas started taunting him. "My, you give elves a bad name... what, was your mother a gully dwarf and your father a goblin? I..."

Tas of course would have continued what he began, but a startling incident caused him to widen his eyes in wonder. The axe had emitted a pink puff of smoke! The Phaseling started blinking its eyes and coughed until the smoke was so thick that Tas couldn't see the Phaseling's face any more. Seconds later, the kender felt nails digging into each side of his stomach. The event caused him to feel queasy, but his mind remained focused and Tas knew what he had to do. He poked his head in the cloud and coughed. While doing so, he managed to jab forward at whatever part of the Phaseling he could. The kender ended up crushing the Phaseling's abdomen.

While the smoke was disappearing, Kreya thought it a good time to retrieve her weapon. Upon doing so, she felt something slice into her back through her armor. A second later, the movement behind her faded away. Zackara's elemental had grabbed the stray Phaseling by the neck. Kreya, turned her head to see, not moving the rest of her body.

Zackara materialized in front of the Phaseling. Her elemental was holding the monster by the neck. The elf squeezed its shoulder weakly with her left arm yet shouted at it with an intense ferocity that was mirrored in her eyes. "Don't you ever touch my sister again!" Not a second later, her sword was through its proper place.

Kreya then moved her upper body slowly and painfully. She had her weapon firmly gripped in her hand now, only to face three other Phaselings. Where had they come from? A dark corner, perhaps? One tried to grab at her free arm, but instantly the third formed from rock tripped it on the floor. The elemental was there also, who in turn stomped on the Phaseling until its body ceased movement.

Kreya, whose strength was slowly ebbing from her, managed to stretch her arm and strike the Phaseling's shoulder. The Phaseling flinched. More determined this time, the swordswoman struck again, lower, where it could hurt more. The Phaseling collapsed on the floor. Kreya staggered back, but her sister was there to hold her. The sisters hugged each other and Zackara affectionately pushed Kreya's damp hair out of her eyes. The two elves turned in time to see the defending Phaseling turn itself back into a rock. They looked at each other in shock.

By that time, remnants of the pink smoke were lifted from Tas' eyes. He glanced around the room to see his companions recovering from the trial as well as all the dead bodies lying on the floor. The kender returned his attention to Madfrent, attempting to revive him.

Zackara looked at Palin, who went to retrieve his staff. "Are you alright?" She called to him.

Palin turned to look at her. Ironically, he had almost died. It turned out that he hadn't come out with one scratch. "I'm fine." He answered with an edge of awe and new respect for her.

"We have to get out of here." She returned.

"Tas." Zackara walked toward the kender.

Tas was rubbing Madfrent's head. "I hope he's alright." He moaned.

Zackara bent down to put her arms under the gnome's head. She grit her teeth in trying to lift him. Tas then noticed the splotch on her armor. "Zackara! Your arm! And where's Quentos?" He exclaimed.

"Over here." Kreya replied. She lifted the staff off the floor and gazed into the gray eyes of a remaining Phaseling. Zackara gently laid Madfrent's head back on the floor and walked over to the left corner in the back of the lair. Tas was reluctant to leave his friend, but he did out of curiosity. Palin moved to stand behind Kreya.

The Phaseling was huddling against the wall, sobbing and moaning in a strange language. Zackara realized that she actually couldn't tell whether the Phaselings were male or female and didn't take it into consideration to begin with. Yet she looked at this Phaseling and realized that the eyelashes were longer and the tone of its voice sounded higher than that of the others.

Zackara strove to understand her. She closed her eyes and focused, her ears growing ever sensitive to sounds of the cave. A moment later, she set her eyes on the monster. There was a chance that she wouldn't able to speak the language, but she would definitely be able to translate whatever the monster said.

The elf spoke in Common, hoping to get the Phaseling's attention succeeded. The Phaseling glanced at them before continuing to sob and moan. Zackara understood her after listening for a while.

"She's crying because her sons died protecting her. They attacked Kreya because they were afraid that we would kill her." She explained to the party. Zackara's companions heard her but said nothing.

Zackara then thought of something. She started mumbling in a language that none of them recognized. 'She must have made a connection with the dialect of the Phaselings!,' Palin thought as he looked at her in surprise. Where did she learn to do all this?

The Phaseling finally reacted, her sobbing fit ceasing. They conversed and the poor beast became calmer. Moments later, she looked down at her clothes and took out a strange green object.

Zackara looked closely at it. It was a key; the strangest one that the elf maiden had ever seen in her life. It was long and had more teeth on it than other keys usually had. It was green, but it had yellow spots spread out on it and reminded her of a chameleon. Zackara took it and put it away in one of her pouches. She then muttered something further and took out some fruit and bread, handing it to the Phaseling. The elf touched the beast's arm before turning away.

Zackara walked back over to Madfrent. "She speaks a dialect similar to Goblin so I was able to converse with her. I told her I was sorry and that we were only fighting out of self-defense. She said there is another cave further down where we might be able to rest." She retorted softly.

"I don't know if I can carry Madfrent with the condition my arm is in." The psionic continued.

"You don't have to." Tas stated. "Look! Madfrent is alright!" They could see the gnome slowly lifting his head up, the blond curls tugging at his face.

He looked dazed. "Whathappened?"

"Well, the wall chipped and rocks came spraying out at the monsters. And then one knocked you out..." Tas began explaining. He helped the gnome to his feet. The gnome then retrieved his looking glass. Kreya handed Zackara her staff and retrieved her lantern, which she had dropped into the heat of battle.

The company walked towards the back of the alcove, where there was yet another tunnel. They continued walking and by the time Tas finished what he had witnessed of the battle, they had found another alcove to stay in. Zackara sat down in the corner parallel to the exit. Kreya sat two feet away from her so she could spread her belongings out.

Palin sat to the left of Zackara, while Tas and Madfrent moved to sit down next to him. Zackara unstrapped her weapons and sack and dropped them beside her. She then took off the upper half of her armor. The elf rolled up the left sleeve of her tunic, which was soaked in blood. Her lower arm was slashed.

"Tas, give me the first aid kit." Palin ordered. He took it from the kender and looked at Zackara with concern. She explained to the mage how to dress the wound. She was calm, but he could tell she was hurting. Touching her skin sent shivers of delight through his body, but Palin kept his mind focused. He had a million questions to ask her, and he felt that now was a better time than ever to start.

"Why did you deny it the whole time?" He asked while bounding her arm in cloth.

"Deny what?" She returned sharply.

"You denied your skill in the art of magic."

Zackara didn't answer. Palin looked into her deep brown eyes and knew that he had caught her. "I saw everything! You summoned an air elemental! In fact, he's still here." The mage turned to look straight at the footman.

"Vissasser." She said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. "You may leave now."

"Thank you, master." The elemental retorted and vanished. Palin saw him go but only Zackara had heard him.

"Where? Where's the air elemental?" Tas asked, raking blood off his axe.

"He's invisible." Zackara replied. She then turned to look at Palin. "You're correct. I am a mage."

"Why wouldn't you tell me that?" Palin repeated his question.

Zackara opened her mouth to speak, but Tas broke in. "So, you are a mage! Which Order of robes do you belong to? The White, the Red...?"

Zackara gazed at him and a sly smile spread across her face.

Tas continued. "The Black?" Horror was in the kender's eyes.

Zackara's smile enlarged. "None of them!"

Palin flinched. 'A renegade wizard! So, that's why she didn't want to tell me...' He then looked at the elf again, speechless. What was he to say to her now? How would everyone back home have felt if he was to return and tell them that he had fallen in love with a renegade?

The mage looked at Zackara's arm, which he still had his hand draped over. Despite the incident, he continued wrapping her arm in the cloth, knowing that he still wanted to be near her and that her touch was ecstasy.

"I'm not the kind of renegade you may think me to be." She whispered. "I don't go teaching others to hate the Conclave or anything. I simply never went to school or took up any of the Orders."

Palin looked up at her slowly. "Then, where did you learn such skill? You didn't even use any spell components!"

"My father has psionic powers and my mother has magic powers." She answered.

"Does your mother belong to any of the Orders?" The young man then asked.

"No. She had the ability, but she never went through the training, either."

"Didn't she ever want to become more powerful?" Tas reasoned. "She could have done so by belonging to one of the Orders."

Zackara smiled. "She probably might have if she hadn't met my father and fallen in love. They got married and she was content. She took pleasure in seeing if any of her children would get the gift." The elf turned to look at her sister, who smiled in return.

Understanding then came to Palin and for a second, he felt his cheeks burn. Involuntarily, he asked, "Well, if that's all then why did you think that I wouldn't like..." He caught himself and blushed, withdrawing his hand. "... wouldn't like the fact that you were a renegade?" He then continued.

Zackara studied him for a moment, considering his behavior. "Because I know how people are towards renegades, including other wizards. When the Chaos War occurred, I offered my own Elven nation help magically. My own kin, especially the White-Robed brats, were hesitant to allow me to do so. They didn't want to admit that I had the ability because I wore armor and carried a shortsword as well as my staves. Yet they knew my armor was magical. Finally, I convinced them that they needed me. My whole family was involved in the War. Was I the only one to not be involved? I was fighting for Krynn and I was fighting for my people's lives, wasn't that the important thing?"

After hearing her testimony, Palin could understand perfectly why she had that attitude. She didn't think anyone would trust her because of what she was, especially the Conclave. That would also explain why she acted the way she did towards him. She probably thought that he would act self-righteous and try to condemn her or lecture her about the Orders of Wizards.

"I hold nothing against you." He said firmly. She could only realized that he liked her if she knew that he trusted her.

Zackara looked at him in surprise. "Thank you." She answered and studied him intently.

Feeling her gaze upon him, Palin turned to look at Kreya. "I should go over and help her." He declared.

Kreya had her eyes closed; she looked as if she was trying to fall asleep. Palin called her name softly and the elf opened her eyes. "I'll help you." He told her.

"I can't really move that well." She asserted but Palin was one step ahead of her. "Here, take your armor off." He assisted her and she had to lift the back of her tunic in order to reach the wound. It was somewhat deep, but Palin hoped that with the right treatment and some rest that it would heal. His hands shook and he felt awkward touching her, but he consoled himself with the fact that she was getting married soon. Palin followed Zackara's instructions as she managed to take out some food and water for herself.

Tas and Madfrent were already eating. "Hey, what about me?" Tas requested when Palin was finished.

Palin walked over and examined the area that Tas pointed to. He lifted up his tunic and Palin saw the scratches on each side of his stomach. The scratches weren't serious and Palin had no problem treating them.

"I wonder what other spells she knows." Tas whispered in the mage's ear.

Palin smiled. "So do I, Tas." He whispered back, the thought of her teaching them to him lingering in his mind.

The young man then sat back down next to Zackara and grabbed some food for himself. Kreya did as well. They would eat a cold meal tonight, but only out of a need for rest.

"It's good to see that your skin is back to normal, Tas." Zackara commented. Everyone looked at the kender.

"Yeah." Tas smiled and mumbled in between gulps. He finished a piece of bread and smacked off some crumbs. "This whole incident was really strange. First, Kreya loses her memory and then Madfrent and I couldn't stop laughing... Funny thing is that I can't remember why we were laughing."

"I guess Kreya wasn't the only one who temporarily lost her memory." Zackara chuckled.

"Maybesomemagicwasatwork!" Madfrent suggested.

No one understood him for Palin. The word "magic" caught him. "He means that something magical in the caves is causing everyone to behave strangely." He then explained.

"He's probably right." Kreya asserted, blinking her eyes. "I know I felt fine as soon as we were battling. It sort of sobered me up. It's like I was under a drug or something."

"Who knows." Zackara then spoke. "And then the incident with the rock. How did it polymorph like that? It obviously wasn't the doing of the any of the beings. I know it wasn't any of my doing! It's so strange."

"Well, I think I might have part of it figured out." Palin stated. "I was the only one who wasn't affected by anything in the cave. But I noticed that Kreya, Tas, and Madfrent touched the water that was in the puddles. And I was the only one who didn't. However, that still doesn't explain the rock."

"Interesting." Zackara looked at him with respect. "Well, maybe we will find out soon enough the answer to our other question." The elf took another piece of cheese.

Most of the party rested straight after they ate. Kreya was the first one to drift off. Zackara got up and neatly put away Kreya's bowl and her rations. The maiden then unfolded her sister's sleeping bag and with Palin's offered help, they managed to wrap her in it. Tas was busy talking to Madfrent, who started drifting off. Shortly after, the kender dozed himself, having tired himself out from the wonder of the axe.

Zackara stayed up a while longer and Palin took advantage of it by asking her more questions.

"You know, I've never met a psionic before. In fact, I've heard that a very small percentage of people on Krynn have the talent." He began.

"In most cases, I think it's true. But that's because people denied it or hid it away. Many times when you lock a skill or talent like that away, it falls out of use and only seems like it doesn't exist anymore." She responded.

"Kind of like the uncontrollable magic that the Conclave of Wizards locked away."

"Exactly. I think that's the kind I have. But it doesn't mean that I can't learn the controlled magic. And the same goes for you. Did you look to fall in your uncle's footsteps?"

Palin looked at his staff. "I did and when I took the Test, I knew that it would be an opportunity to see if he was truly dead. Then, I really found him. He was alive! I knew that there was hope to be taught by him... and then he turned me away!"

The mage then stopped. Something was gnawing at him. He looked up slowly and then continued. "Why are you so interested in knowing about him?"

"It's not him I'm interested in." Zackara declared. Palin wondered in surprise at the emphasis. "I'm merely curious to see how alike and at the same time how different you two really are."

"I had a choice to change to the Black robes and I didn't." Palin knew he was proud to admit it and had reason to.

"And you made the right choice. Sometimes, people have to be faced with the most difficult decision in their lives in order to truly learn something. Perhaps, that was why Raistlin gave you that choice. He wanted you to learn from his mistakes."

"You're so right!" Palin exclaimed softly. "But why won't he teach me now?"

"Maybe he feels that you should learn on your own, like he did, but the right way."

Palin looked at her. "You were lucky. Your parents weren't reluctant to teach you."

Zackara looked at her bandaged arm. "I don't deny it. My dad never displayed his psionic powers to anyone outside the family, but he was willing to teach me to exercise my powers. He knew how I was. I wouldn't quit until I learned, even if I was to be put down by non-psionics later on."

"How do you do it?" He then asked her with a sparkle in his green eyes.

"How do I use my powers? Well, first I focus and close my eyes." The elf followed her words by actual actions. Her eyes still shut, she continued. "It's kind of like magic, but I don't use my hands. Sometimes I talk to myself to absorb myself into more of what I want to do. Very importantly, I clear my mind and think of something that inspires me. Without inspiration, I have no confidence in anything I do."

Palin looked at her, smiling. Inspiration! That was what he needed! Where had she been all his life? Suddenly, he had the urge to touch her, to be near her so he could take in everything she was saying even more. He moved closer and listened as she continued.

"You take all your emotion that you're feeling at the time and you just throw it towards the mental power you're going to use... or the spell you're going to cast. It's like second nature, especially if you're dealing with psionics. It was like when I communed with the Mirans. I took an image in my mind of the land surrounding the mountains. I let my mind take on no limits... and then there beyond a few hills... I spotted them! I took them in and tried to absorb their nature. I warned them like another Miran would that I needed help! That there was another Miran out of control... and it needed guidance. And sure enough, they came. The whole moment was like ecstasy..."

Palin totally understood her at that moment, thinking of ecstasy and feeling it at the same time. It excited him to know that she felt that same rush of heaven when gripped in the moment of using her powers, magical or psionic. Ecstasy, yes! And then even more ecstasy to be near her and know that she was going through the same thing. Then, a thought struck him - the rush of ecstasy was something that Usha would have never understood. If Usha had never left, then he would have never met Zackara! Did he regret it?

"Then, the feeling escapes you and you get depressed for a while. But you know that if you let yourself go, you'll feel it again sometime soon." As Zackara finished, she opened her eyes to see Palin's face no more than three inches from hers.

Her smile faded and her expression became neutral. "Do you know what I mean?" She demanded breathlessly.

Palin moved quickly away, only to realize that he was having trouble breathing as well. "I do... yes, I know... uh... exactly w-what y-you mean..." There was that stuttering again. So off guard was he that he lost his grip on the waterskin he was holding. It fell to the floor and water started pouring out.

However, Zackara's reflexes were quick and she managed to snatch it up before a huge puddle could accumulate. The psionic closed the lid and handed the item back to him. "Here." Her tone was calm, but not hostile.

Palin looked at her in surprise. She didn't hate him?!

"Well." She said and then smiled, which also surprised him. "We'd better get some rest. We'll continue this discussion at a later time, if you like." Zackara then put her hand on Palin's free hand. That surprised him the most.

He was still staring at his hand in shock when the elf moved away and wrapped herself in her sleeping bag.

The mage finally turned away and did the same after several seconds. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep for quite some time. He squeezed his hands together and closed his eyes, but he could not drift off. He was too overwhelmed by the image he had taken in his mind... the elf in his arms, her voice in his ear speaking words of magic and inspiration that he'd never forget, her deep pools of brown that he could see fire and mist in. After having that image in his mind, Palin knew the truth and he wasn't afraid of it. Usha was the past and Zackara was hopefully the future.

CHAPTER TWENTY - Tas tells tall tales (as usual), the mystery of the kender ring is revealed..., no need for fishing.

Palin woke up to what he assumed to be the next morning. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, awareness slowly coming back to him. He then leaned on his hands to see Tas and Madfrent awake and eating. Palin closed his eyes again for a split second, realizing that he was still weary from the events of the day before. He knew instantly, however, that he must stay up.

He got up and moved over to his companions. They were roasting a piece of meat over a small box with rods that were on fire. Palin looked at the box, puzzled. He then assumed that the object must have been another invention of the gnome's.

"Good morning." Tas said cheerfully. He had a plate of smoked meat in his lap. Madfrent was busy roasting his own piece.

"Good morning." Palin returned, fussing with his somewhat disorganized hair. He pushed the soft waves of out his face and reached for some food to cook over the flame. Madfrent was nice enough to roast it for him, after making sure that his own food was fully cooked.

"Sotellmeagain." Madfrent said, after taking a bite into the meat.

"Tell you what?" Tas returned between mouthfuls.

"Tell me how I got knocked out and what happened with the axe."

"Oh! Gladly!" Tas wiped his hands with a piece of cloth. He then reached for his waterskin and spoke while doing so. "Well, it all happened so fast. Before I knew it, you were out cold on the floor and everyone was screaming. And then one of the funny blue teleporting things was trying to go through your stuff! But… oh! I kept him at bay!"

Tas paused to take a taste of the water. He made a funny face after tasting it. The water was warm. But it would wash down the meat, regardless.

Tas then continued. "And that axe! What an axe! It created a puff of smoke right in our faces! I wonder what else it can do!"

"Funnyblueteleportingthings?" Madfrent reacted.

Palin studied the two travelers before turning to his own thoughts. Seconds later, his eyes absentmindedly strayed to where Zackara was. He quietly recalled what had happened before they went to sleep. He couldn't forget it and didn't want to. It was an experience that he hadn't encountered before in his life. The moment was highly spiritual and the mage wondered if Zackara knew that he had felt what she had. He also wondered if she would remember it. It was the first moment that she actually opened up to him, and he liked what he saw.

Palin pondered further what life might have been like with Usha. He loved her, he thought he did, anyway. But did she ever really love him? It seemed so, or at least so until she left. But things happened in a daze, in the heat of the moment. He hadn't really gotten a chance to know her. All he knew was that she was beautiful.

With Zackara, it was different. She was exotic, but it was more of a dark exotic. He couldn't guess what she was thinking or how she would act. And he didn't know how to act around her, which resulted in his not feeling at total ease with her. However, the situation made it all the more exciting to be around her. Palin had to admit that he had never been as on edge in his life!

He wondered what would be in store for them next. By that time, Zackara and Kreya woke up. The two seemed a little sluggish and after seeing that, Palin suggested their holding off on doing anything further for a time. But the sisters spoke against it. They took out a cold meal until Madfrent offered the use of his invention. Yet the continual lighting concerned them. They didn't want anything unpleasant becoming attracted to them before they were ready to venture. The three then bade the elves to take their time in eating and getting ready.

All was soon settled and they set off once gain. Kreya seemed to not be too bothered by her wound while Zackara let her left arm hang limp at her side. It was apparent that although she was armed, which was a rarity for a wizard (although with elves, many have a knack for fighting by both sword and magic), she did not take kindly to injury like a regular fighter did. Other than that, she appeared fine.

They walked for what seemed like several hours. They passed several alcoves, like the ones they had passed the day before. Afterwards, the tunnel bridged out into a wide hallway. The path curved upward and downward constantly, which gave them the impression of travelling through hills.

After a while, the party came to some areas in the hallway where pools of water were lying. Some were deeper than others and a few were impossible to avoid, due to their width. The companions also tried hard to avoid the water dripping from the rocky ceiling. However, the water in this area didn't pose any problems.

Throughout the trek, Kreya and Zackara spoke of previous adventures, due to Tas' request. Tas, in return, spoke of his, continuously emphasizing his friendship with Flint, the hill dwarf. Zackara considered it a once-in-a-lifetime relationship and mentioned it on occasion. Palin had heard some of the stories dozens of times and still didn't believe them. Yet today, he was in a patient enough mood to enjoy and appreciate them.

With regards to the stories of the elves, he hung on to every detail they mentioned. The stories ranged from retrieving items for "good-aligned associates", including an elven archmage, to ones of their having had to retrieve their own stolen items. All this discussion made Palin wonder why he hadn't started travelling and adventuring earlier!

There were also times where Zackara had to make mention of Oryn, although she seemed reluctant to do so. A few times, she stumbled upon words with the mention of him. From what Palin had learned, Oryn was an elven fighter. This really didn't concern him. What concerned him was whether she still cared for him. And furthermore, whether that care was deeper than she was willing to let on. Either way, he hoped that she didn't have to go through the same pain that he experienced when Usha left. Paladine knew that it took him this long to get over her and it still pained him to think of her.

Zackara didn't mention anything about what had happened the night before. She wasn't cold to him, but she wasn't extremely warm either. If she felt anything for him, she was holding it back.

Finally, after some time, they came to a narrower tunnel. The tunnel branched into three different directions. They had to try all three tunnels in order to find out that the one veering to the right was the correct one. They continued down that path and tread into more tunnels. They spent what they could have guessed as the whole afternoon inside the tunnels. Some bridged off and some continued. Constantly, they came to dead ends and had to trace their steps back to another path. Hours of it wore on everyone, especially Tas. The monotony of the tunnels seemed to have put the kender in a daze and ceased his talking. The companions assured each other that he was either bored, tired, or both.

Soon, they stopped to sit in a small alcove for lunch. Each member, especially, Tas anticipated an encounter. The thought of a whole troop of creatures almost excited them. After eating, they returned to walking for another few hours.

Finally, after battling with the tunnels, one of them loomed straight and did not branch. They took it and ended up in another alcove. It was a somewhat bigger one than the one they had dined in earlier. After walking to the back of it, they saw that there was no more hallway beyond. The wall merely ended.

"Hmmm..." Zackara lay her staff on the ground and patted the wall. "Are you sure we covered all those tunnels?"

Kreya and Palin looked at each other hesitantly, then nodded. They didn't seemed as convinced after this incident.

Zackara stared at the wall, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the wall. Instantly, she could feel the magical energy sizzle through her soul and mind. There was a barrier preventing them from where they had to go.

She opened her eyes and turned to see Palin doing the same thing. He wasn't touching the wall, but the elf realized that he didn't need to. When he opened his eyes, he did to a deep smile on her face.

"Do you feel it?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He muttered and moved to touch the wall. A green spark sizzled to his fingers. He didn't appear hurt by it, for the most part.

"How are we going to get rid of it?" Zackara then demanded, retrieving Quentos. "I don't have any powers to dispel it."

Palin turned to look at her. "I do." He answered meekly. He bowed his head and moved back to where he was originally standing.

"Wow! Are you going to magick us somewhere?" Tas instantly asked. The thought of ANYTHING happening seemed to wake the kender out of his boredom. "Raistlin magicked us into a duck pond once, remember when I told you about it? It was fun..."

"Duckpond? My cousin's Life Quest included the study of ducks... and all birds for that matter. He wanted to explain why certain birds could fly while others couldn't..." Madfrent broke in.

"Shh..." Kreya put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let Palin concentrate..."

Palin took his time in preparing for his spell, since there seemed to be no immediate problems. He took a deep breath and flexed his fingers. He then reached into a pouch and brought out two different components.

The first was a dark root of licorice while the other was a lightly colored powder. He laid his staff on the ground and dipped the licorice in the powder. The pink powder gave off a sweet aroma, which tickled everyone's nostrils.

Zackara moved away from the wall to stand with Kreya. While she did so, Tas took in more of the spice's aroma. "Mmm... that smells good... I think I'm hungry... let's eat..."

"Not until Palin is done." Kreya warned.

Palin mashed the licorice in more until it fully blended in. The color came out to be a medium red. After he was done, the mage patted the concoction into his hands. He repeated the proper chant in his mind, refreshing himself with the accented syllables. He had never cast the spell before, besides in mage-school. He hoped that if it failed, it wouldn't pose any negative side-effects.

After the mixture was properly rubbed in, he flexed his fingers once again. He began chanting, envisioning a wall with cracks of red light. He clamped his left hand over his right wrist and a red flare began to seep out of his fingers.

The back walls of the alcove started flaring in the cracks between each other. The company watched in fascination as the power surged through Palin. His hands were alive with the red flare and moments later, a strong breeze flew out of nowhere which caused his hair and robes to rustle with it.

The breeze began to pick up and Palin opened his eyes, upon feeling it. He reached for his staff and moved away. The rest of the party was either moving backward or trying to keep themselves from falling.

The wind blew for a few minutes and the flares died away a little after it stopped. However, the wall didn't disappear. It looked as thought it hadn't been affected at all.

Palin, somewhat exhausted from the flow of energy, sat down against a neighboring wall. He laid his staff down on the stone floor and put his hands to his face.

Tasslehoff quickly moved to sit down next to him. "Wow! That was excellent! The flares were so pretty... I..."

"I don't understand." Palin interrupted. "I felt something... I could see it... it was certainly a barrier. But nothing..." His words trailed off and he stared at the wall opposite him.

"Maybe there's something else holding the wall back from opening." Zackara sat down on the other side of him. "I don't think your spell failed. Maybe we can try something else."

"I hope we can. I don't think there's any other way, though."

Kreya had an idea. "The axe, maybe?"

Palin didn't look convinced but Zackara nodded. Tas happily gave Kreya the weapon and she took a deep plunge into the stone. However, the swordswoman was taken aback. The wall remained completely unharmed.

"Reorx!" Tas exclaimed. "That's a really strong wall!"

Kreya looked as if she was going to take another swing, but she quickly decided against it. Lowering the weapon, she trudged back and returned it to Tas. The elf then slumped down next to Madfrent. " I tried the other walls as well as the floor while Palin was preparing his spell, but I couldn't find anything." She declared.

"We'll have to figure out something, then." Zackara relayed.

"Ooh, I know!" Tas jumped up excitedly. "I have an idea."

The kender bent down to rummage though his pouches and within

moments found what he was looking for. He had in his hand the silver ring they had won in the dart game with Dougan and the kender of Daltigoth. The companions looked at Tas with utter surprise as he stalked towards the wall without hesitation.

"Tas, are you sure one of us shouldn't..." Zackara's voice crept in faintly. Tas heard it but he was too busy trying to figure out how to use it to respond. Finally, he put the ring on his index fingers, closed his eyes, and point at the wall.

All eyes were glued to the wall. The wall did not move. However, the travelers felt a strange feeling in their souls, although they couldn't place what kind of feeling it actually was.

Before they could further react, innumerable amounts of objects were coming through the ceiling and planting themselves all over everyone. Palin's first instinct was to duck, and so he did. He then brought his staff up to protect him, but it did little. Objects were still hitting him in all directions. He closed on eye and kept the other one open to sneak a peak. The objects were fish!

Palin managed to scramble over to the entrance of the alcove. Tas was the last one to make it out, holding his hoopak over his head. To his dismay, it offered the same lack of protection that Palin's staff had.

"Wow! Did you see that?" Tas exclaimed.

"How could you not?" Palin retorted, berating the foolishness of the ring. He glanced in the doorway to see the storm of fish finally die down.

"Well, think of it this way," Zackara offered, moving to go back into the alcove. "The fish didn't move the wall but they sent us the message that's it time to eat."

The others followed her in. Kreya was already at the point of hysteria when she came in the room. Tas was the second to burst out laughing, and not a moment later Madfrent and the psionic joined in. Palin thought this all very silly, at first. He then thought that the idea of Zackara laughing was a nice change for her usual behavior. He mused over that and considered it good to laugh.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - Raugh's plans

"Hmm... uh-huh... got it." The dwarf gently slapped the parchment against his right leg. Just then, he heard movement behind him.

"I have all the supplies." A voice of tenseness added to the movement.

The dwarf turned to his right and shifted his weight on the rock to watch the source of the voice. The figure was a goblin clothed in leather armor and boots to match. A huge longsword swung from his left side. Wispy brown hair concealed his seemingly unattractive features.

The dwarf rose and snatched a brown sack that the goblin was holding. The goblin sat on a rock closest to the dwarf's.

"Lamebrain!" The dwarf muttered, after inspecting the items within. "I thought I told you to get a lantern!"

The goblin looked at the ground nervously. "Uh... sorry, Your Wizardry." He then looked up. "Hey, maybe you could cast a light spell..."

"That's Archmage Raugh to you! And as for casting, I have to save my energies for more important spells." The dwarf looked at his parchment and nodded. He then folded it up and put it in a deep pocket of his robe.

"Wow! Are you really an archmage?" The goblin looked at him eagerly.

"Not yet, Trolk. But when we meet up with my great-great-great grandfather, power will be all mine!"

"What if we run into any trouble in the cave?"

"If you're referring to that mage punk and his friends, I have reason to think that's where they're headed. Well, we'll take care of him for once and for all."

Raugh bent down and fumbled for something in his boot. He then clasped it in one palm and held it to the light of the sun. "Kender are sneaky, but they're not particularly bright. Fortunately, I still have this as well as other needed things from my inside pockets."

Travelling to Cristyne had not been particularly easy. Raugh had a hunch that Palin and Tas were headed for the city so he tried to pick up on their trail. However, he couldn't because the footprints had been washed by the rain and he had woken up several hours after. When he finally did make it to Daltigoth, he decided to round up some goblins for the cause. By the time he did so, he still hadn't found Palin and Tas. Then he acquired some horses and went for his original goal, which was to get to Cristyne.

Raugh and his friends set out right away, not wanting to waste any time. They traveled north of the mountains and actually caught up with some of the time they had lost. Raugh, with his renegade magic, cast a spell that temporarily enhanced his already sharp dwarven eyes. He originally used it for locating a town for resting. Fortunately, he spotted Palin and his companions as they were descending from the mountains.

The dwarf and goblins retreated so they could keep an eye on them without being spotted. They then caught up with them as they neared the shore. Everything went smoothly until the gnome snared him and Trolk, which allowed Palin to send them back in time. They were sent back to a time where they were riding the horses, and they saw mirror images of themselves travelling along the path. Raugh warned Trolk of interfering with this; he was worried that somehow the spell would backfire and malfunction on them if they didn't let time take its natural course.

Instead, Raugh and Trolk recapped and traveled to a town that was north of their destination. Raugh managed to trick a poor old human with a charm spell into thinking that the dwarf would teach him some magic and take him on his quest if he could get his boat to go across to Cristyne. When they neared the boat, Trolk appeared from behind some bushes and knocked the man out with the hilt of his sword. This allowed them to leave and quickly maneuver the boat.

When they arrived at Cristyne, they rested for a few days in Merwick and Raugh tried to raise some money for magical ammunition. He performed magic tricks on the street to the enjoyment of many children. Some folks accused him of being some kind of sorcerer, although the idea of a dwarf possessing magical powers was unheard of to them. Raugh, however, denied it, in fear of being arrested and losing his money. He finally raised enough money to buy some items. He bought one scroll originally, an extremely powerful one that could detect magic from far away. But for the dwarf, one scroll wasn't enough.

He knew it would be difficult to steal from a magic shop, yet he felt a warm sensation in his boot where the object lay. The feeling began to spread all over. His eyes lingered on more scrolls and jars containing components for spells. He then saw the shop owner attend to a couple of humans and he made a go for it. Lightheaded, Raugh reached for two more scrolls as well as two medium-sized jars and ran out the door. Trolk was waiting outside and had to knock out a few civilians as a commotion arose. They pushed more people out of the way and before any order could be brought about, Raugh cast a mist of confusion behind him. They then left as quickly as possible. Trolk had to return to get some supplies and since the civilians had been put under the confusion spell and the owner's knowledge appeared to have been negated by the supposedly powerful artifact, there was no further trouble.

Raugh's eyes continued to remain on the object. It was an amulet of dwarven make with small writing on its back end. It also seemed to have the ability to set off traps. Raugh knew no other capabilities that it might have. Yet it held a link to his past that caused him to think differently.

The dwarf never knew his parents. He was brought up by a family of goblins. He knew that it was an odd thing for goblins and dwarves to be friends, unless of course, the dwarves were on the side of evil. The goblins he had been raised by had lived away from Thorbadin, so Raugh didn't mind the sunlight as his ancestors had. He knew it was a disadvantage for mountain dwarves, if they were faced with no choice but to leave their underground homes.

When he was a young adult, Raugh turned to adventuring. He started to travel and realized that only knowing one language could hinder his life in ways. With some good fortune and patience, he learned Common and Dwarven. Raugh also realized that he liked magic. Some of his magic he had learned from a black-robed human. The rest he had stolen from spellbooks in magic shops and concocted himself.

His interest really grew when he managed to find out what some of the writing on the amulet had been. The writing on the top part of the stone was in modern Dwarven. It explained that the amulet belonged to ancestor of his and that one day the ancestor would have a descendant with a talent for magic. The ancestor and descendant were to meet and the descendant would learn great magical powers. Raugh was determined to find out how he could meet his ancestor. He tried concoctions and spells, but none of them worked. Not until a few months ago was he given a clue as to how to find his great-great-great-grandfather. The key to it was the writing on the bottom half of the amulet.

The writing had been in an extremely old dialect of Dwarven and Raugh had finally found someone who was able to translate it. The translator was bewildered because the dialect was so old yet the information that had been written on it dated back to only three hundred years ago. It concerned a cave on the island of Cristyne. It said nothing about the cave but that the person who originally owned the amulet could be contacted there. Because of his minimal dealings with dwarves, Raugh had never heard about the legend of Karzatin. After finding the information that he did, Raugh traveled many months, from the other side of the world.

Raugh finally drew his gaze away and shoved the artifact back into his boot. "Come on, let's go." He rose and started walking with Trolk quickly following.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - Zackara shows Palin the fun of being a psionic, more mysteries of Raistlin's staff are revealed.

Palin still couldn't get over the fact that the silver ring lined with runes had conjured up fish. He knew better now to know that one couldn't necessarily take the essence of a ring seriously, even if it did have runes. Not always, anyway. He pondered over the ring while devouring a meal of fish and vegetables. The fish were actually tasty since they had just been properly cooked.

The company tried to cook as many as fish as was possible with the help of Madfrent's invention. Kreya also gathered some small stones scattered about the floor and started a fire with the material in her tinder box. After Tas was done, he tried to stuff as many fish in his cloak pockets and his sacks as was possible. He also had Madfrent doing the same for a while. The rest of the company decided that it wasn't a bad idea, but with the amount that had fallen on the floor, it was estimated that they hadn't even picked up fifty-percent of the fish.

After stuffing their sacks, Kreya, Palin, and Zackara managed to kick the remaining fish over to one side of the room. Meanwhile, Tas began humming a song of the sea and Madfrent use of his inventions to the examine the biological makeup of a fish.

When they were done, Zackara informed Palin of their need to have a serious discussion. She urged Tas and Madfrent to sit over the by the fish so she could do so. The kender seemed a little irritated by the request, especially since he'd have to put up with the stench until who-knew-when, but Kreya would be there to keep them company.

Tas continued his humming, but at a louder tone. Madfrent tried to imitate him but failed. Kreya finally managed to hush them up by asking Tas about the Tower of High Sorcery, since he had mentioned being there countable times.

Palin sat two feet from Zackara, curious about what was so urgent to her.

"Do you think we're prepared enough for whatever we are looking to face? And even before that, how are we going to get past this boundary? Is there nothing you can do?"

Palin thought for several moments, each moment given to each question asked. Before answering, he rummaged through his sack and brought out five rolled up parchments in yellow ribbons. "These may help." He finally answered.

"What kind of spells are they?" The elf asked.

"I never looked at them." He said slowly and handed them to her. "You can do the honors. I guess I should have looked at them. Raistlin gave them to me a while back, but I just never bothered. I guess I had U... other things on my mind." After recalling Usha's name in his mind and nearly in his voice, Palin ceased speaking.

Zackara looked at him for a split second before deciding to open one of them. Her thin fingers neatly untied the ribbon after placing the other scrolls on the floor next to her. As she unraveled the paper, she conveyed, "You know, you should consider copying these into your spellbook. You may not be able to cast them right away, but if you practice and don't place limits on your confidence, you may to be able to cast them successfully one day."

"You're right!" Palin admitted. "I guess I was never sure enough of myself to think of it that way, although I longed for it to be true." He reached into his sack and pulled out his spellbook. He then stopped as he realized the only jar of ink he had was the strange one had gotten from Raugh. Palin reached for the ink and looked at it. Well, it would have to do for now. He could always go over it with regular ink when he got a hold of some.

"A few of these are in Elven. I'll copy those for you if you want." Zackara mentioned. "I never learned spells like these. They're very powerful I would imagine, and useful." The elf then handed him the scrolls.

Palin looked at them himself. Three of them were in Elven; one of them he had no problem understanding at all, but the other two he could only understand about twenty-five percent of. The mage then took the small quill that was edged inside the pouch with the ink and set to work. He even copied the elven scroll he understood, hoping that it might at least impress Zackara a little bit.

Zackara was, in fact, impressed, as well as mystified, by the

output of the ink. Yet she resolved to be polite and not make mention of it until Palin was completely finished. Meanwhile, Tas cleared his throat, surprisingly tiring from his own storytelling. Kreya tried another ruse, she asked Tas to play that silly number game they had previously played.

"That's really strange ink." Zackara finally commented.

"I quickly realized that myself. I have no idea why it comes out this color, I only know it is the only ink I have with me." Palin handed the book to her.

"Hmmm..." The elf peered closely at the pages. "Can I try something? Could you extinguish your staff's light?"

"Certainly." Palin spoke the word, having one hand on his staff.

The room was then completely dark and Tas' voice could be heard. "Hey! What happened to the light?"

Zackara kept her eyes glued to the pages of the book. She realized then that she really didn't need to! The pages glowed with the writing of the spells in a yellow-green tinge! She then whispered for Palin to re-light his staff.

"It was my guess that the ink had this purpose!" She laughed for a moment and requested the ink from him. He watched her with intense interest, studying the attractively serious expression on her face.

Unfortunately, a befuddled Tas walked over. "What was that all about? Are you up to something?"

Palin instinctively took an already copied scroll and held it in front of his face. He didn't want anyone to see it just in case the kender decided to open his mouth and embarrass him. "Zackara was just figuring something out." He supplied a defense.

"Oh." Tas simply responded and Kreya was already there to nudge him back over to where they were sitting.

"Well, this will help us if we EVER get beyond the barrier, but the question still is how are we going to do it?" The psionic demanded upon finishing.

Palin laid the book aside to dry and put the ink away. "What about your staves?"

"Quentos has no abilities to dispel magic barriers or areas. As for my other staff, it only has attack and defense spells."

"So what else CAN Quentos do?" Maybe now Palin would understand her a lot better, since she and the staff were empathically tied.

"Here, I'll show you." Zackara reached for the staff and placed it along her lap, sitting cross-legged.

Palin stared at the staff and after a moment, thought he saw it emit a faint gray-blue light. Not a second later, an image poured into his mind. He hadn't placed it there himself! Was Zackara sending this mental image to him? The mage decided to close his eyes, hoping that it would help the image become clearer. And it did! The image turned out to be... a mirror image of himself! Palin then took a guess that it was Zackara's "eye" of her mind that was projecting this image.

The mage didn't know how to feel. This experience was totally new to him. Could it really be equated with magic? Before he could react to this image, he then heard words insert themselves into the image. 'What are you thinking?'

He was almost certain that Zackara's words hadn't been said

aloud. The mode of communication at that moment reminded him a pinch of when he could hear Raistlin's voice beckoning him to free him from the Abyss. Palin now wondered if it had only been his mind wanting to think that Raistlin had been beckoning him through the staff. He didn't know if he'd ever figure that out, though. He hadn't figured out all the powers of the staff yet!

Palin then became conscious of his heart beating fast. He knew that any thought he created would be seen now by Zackara. If he thought about her, she'd know how he felt about her. Yet he wanted her to know. But how could he do it in a way that would get her to understand and maybe like him too?

He began concentrating on a place he might like to be if he was with her alone. He thought of the island's coast, the area not far from the port of Merwick. He remembered the peacefulness of it. Not far off, the hills stood with brightly colored flowers and towering trees sprouting small fruit.

Palin placed himself in this image; he picked some of the flowers from the supporting grass and sniffed them. He then watched as a breeze caused the branches on the trees to sway. He moved to stand on the top of a hill and watch the tide recede in sweet green-blue motion.

Zackara seemed to feed off this image. Out of nowhere, a flock of birds filled the sky in Palin's mind. They hovered towards the sun, which was still high in the sky. Palin then had the urge to place Zackara in the vision, and as a result she walked toward him, exchanging a glance with him. He removed his gaze and stared down at the grass, as if not knowing what to do next.

Zackara then caused Palin in their minds to walk towards her and hand her one of the flowers. She sniffed it, smiled and started walking down the hill with him following. The human took in the sweet image, devouring it like a lion would its game. The image then went blank.

'So what did you think of that? Perhaps as time progresses, you will get to understand more of what Quentos is about.'

The unspoken words flowed into Palin's mind like alarms, bidding him to wake up. 'It was a truly interesting experience.' It was the only close-to-neutral thing Palin could mind-send in a minimal amount of time. The image was no longer in a state of creation, but he knew that he could rethink it anytime, whether or not he did it alone. How could he forget it?

The mage thought it would hurt to look at her after experiencing such a dramatic image as he had, but he forced himself to look at her anyway. Zackara wasn't smiling, but her eyes sparkled in the light as if they were almost relishing the experience. She looked down at her staff and whispered, "So, what about your staff?"

'My staff is as much a mystery as you are to me,' he thought with a glint of hope that she still might be reading his thoughts. Not betting on it, Palin then spoke. "I have yet to find out the powers of this staff. I've seen it sometimes do strange things, but I do not know how and when it is possible to summon it of my own will. The only thing I know how to activate is its illumination." He lifted the staff and let his eyes wander to the top where the edges of the dragon claw lay inside the crystal circle. Staring straight into the lit crystal burned his eyes, but he remained determined to make out the shape of the claw.

"Maybe you can figure out if it does anything that might be of use." Palin suggested after a long moment. He caught her looking at him when he finally looked back in her direction. He wondered at that as he handed her his staff.

The light bathed Zackara as her hands touched the cool wood. It made her eyes glow a golden brown. She quickly closed them and exhaled softly as she felt the essence of the staff flow through her. It even caused a light breeze to set her black hair off dancing. She sat there for a few long moments, eyes closed, face concentrated as if she was reading an aura.

Zackara then opened her eyes and handed him back the staff. "It has tremendous powers and they can be used if you learn how to exercise them right. Here, try this."

The maiden rose and walked towards the wall, Palin following. She had Quentos in her hand and Palin noticed that the staff once again begin to emit some light. A second later, Zackara's voice was projected into his mind.

'Focus on the wall and try to think of how you would like to physically change it if you could. You could form it into the shape of a door, perhaps, if you believe enough that you can do it.'

Palin concentrated with Zackara's words behind him. He sent a mental image of a standard door with a knob, even deciding the color and texture of the door. He opened his eyes to a satisfying response. The wall had changed into the shape of a blue wooden door!

An expression of simultaneous shock and joy came across the young mage's face. He looked at Zackara, who nodded and smiled. By that time, Tas and Madfrent could no longer be contained. "Wow, look at that!" The kender ran towards the door.

Tas had his pouches and sack fastened on tight, looking all the more ready for action. He touched the door and without hesitation, pulled at the knob. It turned and the door swung open easily. "Let's go!" He exclaimed and started running down what appeared to be another dark tunnel. Madfrent ran after him. The two were yards ahead of the others before they could gather all their stuff together.

Tas relit the candle he had used when he and Madfrent had found the entrance. When the others caught up to them, the little fellows were examining the end of the tunnel which led to a towering staircase.

The staircase curled upwards thousands of feet above, the shape of it fading where the light from the Staff of Magius could no longer reach. The stone was painted a strange yellow-green tint. It reminded Palin of the color of the key that the female Phaseling had given Zackara. Fortunately, there were railings on both sides of the stairs, even where there were alternating walls that one could lean up against for support.

Tas put one foot on the first step and leaned on the railing with his free hand. Not a second later, he released it. "Woah!" He started blowing at the steps.

"Tas!" Palin moaned, hardly able to contain himself. The others were caught in a gagging fit. "There must be over a hundred years' worth of dust on these stairs."

Kreya was the first one to recover. "You're probably right. There didn't seem to be any tracks here. I wonder how these stairs were constructed in the first place."

"Maybe they're magic stairs!" Tas suggested. He looked at his gnomish friend, who with the mention of the word, seemed like he was going to jump out of his skin.

Zackara was busy brushing dust out of her bangs. She finally caught her breath and followed the others, who were already making their way up.

It might have been crazy to go up such a lengthy staircase, but the company saw no other alternative, especially after having all made the connection with the key at some point. It didn't take them long to tire, however. Kreya was in the lead; her strong and powerful legs were trained specifically for toil, whether it be combat or other skills even slightly affiliated with it. Tas and Madfrent tried to keep up with her, especially since Tas had his candle lit and he knew she wouldn't be able to see as well if he didn't.

Zackara was making good time but she stopped constantly for Palin, not wanting to leave him too far behind. The White Robe grew tired right away and attributed it to already being tired from the recent events.

After what seemed to be eight flights, the party stopped to catch their breath. When they felt energetic enough to continue they resumed, but had to stop again after a few more flights. After the third round of rest, Madfrent asked Kreya to carry him. Palin was exhausted and Zackara didn't think she could carry anyone on account of her arm. Thus Kreya had to alternately carry the gnome and Tas, who quickly caught on to the idea.

They started again and not after four steps, Palin feeling his knees grown tense, sat down. The psionic stopped to look at him. "Do you want to use my ring to go up?"

He looked up at her and after a moment, firmly shook his head. It wouldn't be easy, but he'd do it without any help. He got up and made his outer strength give in to his inner strength.

The company pressed on and finally came to a door. The door matched the stairway exactly. Zackara removed the key to match it from a pouch. Yet the door had no knob or key hole.

"That's strange. Where are you going to put the key?"

The elf didn't answer. Everyone was quiet after that, seeming to be buried in their own ideas of a solution.

Zackara then reacted. She put the key in front of the door, barely touching it. The key emitted a bright yellow-green light. Daring to see what would happen, she moved her fingers forward. The key embraced the door, melting into it. Upon this happening, the door shattered into a million small pieces. No one stumbled on the stairs, but the companions were taken aback by the force. The door had seemed as though it were made of stone, but the material that had escaped from the contact with the key was composed of small icy blades. At least one hit everyone in the face and hands. The remainder flew past them or stuck onto clothing.

The good thing was that now their way was clear and they were done with stair climbing. The party walked through three sets of narrow tunnels before they came to anything further of interest. A medium-sized alcove with a desk and a small shelf against the wall was before them. The shelf contained nothing but dust. Tas had to pry a lone drawer open only to find out that the results were the same for the desk. He couldn't figure out why a desk would be placed in the middle of a cave, especially if it didn't have anything in it.

Kreya walked to the back of the room, obviously having more luck. "Hey, look at this!"

"Waitmefirst!" Madfrent cried, only a second later. Tas moved to stand next to him at the right wall. The gnome held up his small double looking glass, that he had taken out. There was a small stone in the wall that was a different color from the other stones in it. In fact, it resembled the color of the key, staircase, and now diminished door.

"I wonder if I can remove it from the wall." Tas murmured after returning Madfrent's invention to him. A moment later, his question was answered. Removing it, the kender turned around to see a most amazing thing! The ground opened up right where he had been standing when he toyed with the desk. A huge hole appeared and the stones lying on the ground fell through. The desk was heading for the same destiny, its last leg went through as everyone turned around.

Tas waited to hear a crashing sound, but never did. He looked at his friends, who all had their gaze glued to the hole. The first sound that the kender did hear was a gulping sound, which sounded like it was coming from his gnomish friend.

He decided to break the silence, although his statement was brought out in barely a whisper. "To think that's where I was standing. That's scary, even for a kender. Palin, what's over where you're standing?"

The mage looked at him, but that was all he did. Walking over to stand by him, Tas gave him a glance before examining the wall. He noticed that the right hand of the White Robe was gripped tightly around the staff, so tight that the knuckles turned white. Palin's free hand appeared to be shaking.

After turning to see five strangely carved pictures on the wall in front of him, Tas called to the gnome. Madfrent handed him the looking glasses, his face pale, giving an indication that he felt like had seen a ghost.

Palin turned to look at Zackara and Kreya, his fear slowly subsiding. The two sisters looked shaken up, although it was possible that they were trying to hide it. Kreya turned to look at the carving and Zackara gingerly put her free hand on Kreya's shoulder.

"Strange carvings. What do they mean?" Tas muttered.

The first two were of a cup with smoke escaping from it and a palm holding a ball. The other three were of a mirror, a bird chirping, and a flower.

"Maybe it's some kind of puzzle. They probably have some kind of relation with one another," The swordswoman suggested.

Madfrent was busy trying to wrestle his double-looking glasses out of Tas' hands. The kender was reluctant to give it up for some reason. When he was finally able to get a good grip, he wrenched the item free and focused on the area right below the carvings. "Aha! I knew it!"

Tas watched in wonder as the gnome squinted and tilted his head to get a better view. Grumbling incoherently, Madfrent laid his single looking glasses aside and reached for something new. A small wooden box was removed and an item that had his name carved into the lid was revealed. His fingers pressed a small button, camouflaged so that it looked like it was part of the brown wood. He was then able to release the lid with a click. Inside the box was a small black object wrapped in cloths. It had a round glass attached to it.

"It'sauh... good thing that you have me along! My double looking glasses could not work on such small engravings. But this is my small single looking glass!"

"I saw it before!" Tas cried out. "That thing works great! Show them, Madfrent!"

Madfrent did so, studying the area again more intently. "It's in a strange language," he commented and turned to look at Zackara.

The gnome had good intuition. The psionic stepped forward and took the item from his offered hand.

"Uh-huh," She muttered, almost putting her cheek up against the carving. "It's in Dwarven again. And I think it bares a great resemblance to the shape of the marking on the map. It asks the question of which of the carvings has the most strength."

"The most strength? But what is the relation between the carvings? We have to find that out first." Kreya broke in.

"Well, what do you do with a mirror?" Zackara asked.

"You look at yourself." Palin replied.

"Ok, but what about the bird?" Tas demanded.

"Hmmm. the bird could mean anything... what about the cup with smoke?" Zackara glanced at her sister.

"You drink it... no, you taste it! This must be a battle of the senses!" Kreya reasoned.

"Excellent! You're right!" Palin exclaimed. "You touch the ball with your hand, you listen to a bird sing, and you sniff a flower."

Zackara looked impressed with both of them. However, there was still the question of which sense had the most strength.

"My cousin Sentinjackolassaspreandcrekbogusallikrazeby... uh... Sentin told me once that different animals depend on certain senses more than others. Some depend on taste, others on hearing..." Madfrent mentioned.

"That confirms my point, then." Zackara declared.

"What point?" Kreya looked at her.

"That the question can only be answered by opinions. Of course, when certain creatures use certain senses, it's a fact. But to each creature, the sense they use most seems the strongest, even though it is not so with others. Do you see what I mean?"

"I think I do." Palin remarked. "You're trying to say that the question has more than one answer to it, and the answer depends on who it actually applies to."

"Exactly. For us, in most cases, our sight seems to preside over the others."

"But to whoever carved this..." Tas began.

"It most probably would be sight as well, providing the carver was dwarven. Especially if this applies to the cave. Dwarves are known to have good sight underground, especially mountain dwarves." Zackara looked both at Kreya and Palin after she finished speaking.

Without even thinking, Madfrent let his fingers slip over the eye carving to grip it tightly. The company exchanged glances before they turned their eyes to see a wall adjacent to the carvings rise and the room shake from the force.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - Reptiles everywhere, Tas and Madfrent go on a shopping spree... without any cash.

The company walked down a dusty and narrow tunnel until they came to a huge open area. The alcove contrasted with the others in that it was far from barren. The light of Tas' candle fell on towering shadows located on both sides of the area. To their right loomed bookshelves and a huge closet while the left offered tall, fully-stocked shelves.

Tas drew himself to the shelves. "Wow! Look at these! Uncle Trapspringer would have a ball if he was here!" The shelves were alternatively supplied with jars and vials of every size and color imaginable. The vials were in little plastic squares that held them right in place above the shelves.

Reaching for a half-filled jar of powder, Tas noticed that it resembled the other jars and bottles in that it was a great representation for so many colors. He was held in fascination as he turned the jar over to see the rainbow sands collide and fall to the reversed top. Dust had collected on the tops of all the objects but there was a deep sense of preservation inside them.

"Findanythinginteresting?" Tas turned to see Madfrent standing next to him.

Clearing his throat, he responded, "Madfrent, I feel it is necessary that we organize these things and keep an eye on them until we find the owner. We must return them for the owner must have surely forgotten them and might need them if an unfortunate incident comes up."

"Well, how do we organize them? By color? Or by their weight? Their smell, perhaps?" The question was unanswered for Tas was already busying himself once again with the jars. Shrugging, the gnome moved to pick a vial with what looked like a gooey substance. It was a mix of dark green and black and adhered to the side when Madfrent chose to turn it upside down.

He then set his eyes on Tas, who was nimbly stuffing items into his sack, and followed his example.

Meanwhile, Kreya, Zackara, and Palin were observing the other side of the room. Palin moved to stand by the closet. It was full-sized; it stood from floor to ceiling with two black doors. There appeared to be no keyholes anywhere so Palin pulled on the two doorknobs. They didn't give way at first, and when they did, the mage was covered in dust.

He shook himself off and peered in, noticing that the whole closest contained robes. Most of them were pale in color and the ones that weren't ranged from light pink to dark red. Then, an unmistakable shade of dark gray caught Palin's eye at the very left corner of the closet. It caused him to feel the urge to remove it from its hanger.

Palin coughed as he shook the dust off it. He then held it out in front of him and as he leaned the staff between the crack of the doorway and the robes, the mage knew his eyes didn't deceive him. The robe had a hood and a single zipper that began from the neck up. Runes were lined all across the collar and sleeves as well as the sides of the robe. Their silver outlines contrasted with the new visible color of the robe. The robe was an exact replica of the robe that Fistandantilus wore.

Chilled, Palin quickly put it back on the hanger and closed the door of the closet. He went to see what Kreya and Zackara were doing. Kreya was leaning against the bookshelf with her back to the closet while her sister was busy looking at some of the books. She had a thick, peach-covered book in her arms when Palin's staff shone its light on the other books.

The maiden whispered words of Dwarven to herself, but Palin heard her clearly. She licked her thumb and scrambled through some pages. Quentos was on the floor at her feet.

"What is the book about?" He asked.

She didn't look up. "It deals with different kinds of reptiles that exist all over Krynn. Some of them have magical abilities, besides dragons." The psionic looked up at him for a second, then returned to reading.

Palin thought back to when he had encountered Steel and his dragon, Skie. Skie was not the kind of dragon he preferred to run into again. He placed his staff besides Zackara's and took a random book from the top shelf. After opening it and closing it quickly, he removed other books in out of the shelves just to see their titles.

"All of these books are about reptiles!" He exclaimed.

After stopping to look at him, she closed the book and let it drop on the floor next to the staves with a clunk. She then tried looking at books on various shelves. "You're right. And what's stranger is that they're all in Dwarven as well." She finally concluded.

"Maybe there's some kind of link here between dwarves and lizards." Palin suggested.

"Yes, and maybe if we find out what the connection is, it might give us a clue to the legend." Zackara added as she placed the thick book in her sack and retrieved her staff. Then, she said, "I would look further but I'm growing tired and this area doesn't have enough room for everyone to spread out their sleeping bags."

Palin understood, feeling beyond tired and hoping that it was only due to the past travelling. Agreeing, the mage went to go look for a resting place with her. Kreya nodded at their decision, consenting to keep an eye on the kender and gnome.

The two mages walked to the back of the alcove, which only held a small rectangular opening in the middle of its gray stone wall. The light from the Staff of Magius beamed on another alcove, allowing the travelers to see that a slit between the two alcoves was there and could be traversed.

""Maybe we can slide through." Zackara offered, noticing that the opening seemed big enough for a person to climb through if he or she did so by climbing with the stomach flat on the stone. "Do you think you can lift me?"

The thought of touching the psionic again struck a nerve in Palin. "I... I can certainly t-try..." He stuttered but continued by trying to cover it up with clearing his throat. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just pick me up and hold my legs in front of me so I can slide them through."

Zackara's height prevented Palin from determining whether he could lift her, but he was surprised to see that he could do so. She twisted her arms and held on to his shoulders until she was practically laying on the opening. He then let go as she pushed herself forward and on to the ground.

Hearing voices behind him, he turned to look at Tas, who seemed a lot wider than usual. The White Robe peered closer, acknowledging the exceptional protrusion of his pockets in his leggings.

"You should take another look back there, Palin! There must be thousands of wonderful jars!"

He answered, raising an eyebrow, "I would if I weren't as tired as I am."

Kreya and Madfrent were behind Tas when he made the comment, so the three agreed to go with them to find a resting spot. The swordswoman helped Palin through the opening, and afterwards the gnome and kender managed to exchange help with her. The company realized rather quickly that the second alcove wasn't going to provide them with the space they needed so they moved on. Cabinets and what appeared to be a kitchen area took up most of the immediate vacinity.

They found another opening at the back of the alcove, similar to the first, and used it in the same fashion. The third alcove following the opening was to their liking; its volume was blocked by commodities as well, but the commodities were beyond what they had expected. There was a small pair of shelves with rusted diningware on them. Opposite the shelves were a table and chairs, adjacent to the an oval-shaped rainbow rug and a couch. Brown and leathery, the couch gave off an indistinct aroma. To the left of the shelves were a bed and narrow, rectangular-shaped bookshelf.

"There won't be room for all of us to sleep on the couch and bed." Kreya observed.

"I'm fine with the floor." Zackara unstrapped her staves and dropped her sack on the rug.

"I'll take the couch." Her sister then said.

"I'm with you!" The kender exclaimed.

Palin and Madfrent agreed to take the bed since it was big enough for two. The psionic was the first to fall asleep after quickly laying out her sleeping bag and protectively covering her weapons in it with her. The others had to take time ripping the dusty blankets and covers off the furniture. The last thing that Palin saw before he went to sleep was Kreya and Tas both spread eagle on the couch, their leggings and toes barely touching each other.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - A nightmare and more questions...

Sleep was almost fitful for everyone. Tas dreamed of colorful jars (not a coincidence) while Madfrent's subconscious dated his memory back to when he was refurnishing his room of prized looking glasses at Mt. Nevermind. Zackara's sleep was devoid of any memorable dreams while Kreya was relishing the voice of her beloved Rayden. For Palin, however, dreams did not contain any amount of pleasure.

He was in some forest, which wasn't like the forbidden one of Wayreth with its twisted trees or the ominous Shoikan Grove that he and Steel had plumaged through on their plight to the Tower of High Sorcery. Yet something made it just as frightening: a small childlike voice drawing him near and whispering his name.

Palin gripped a neighboring tree. He did not have his staff. A moment later, he heard a deep voice counter the child's voice. "Yes my pet, we will show our guest what lies in our little realm." A chuckle rang in the young mage's ears and with it came a light. The light was not welcoming for with it came a black robed figure.

This figure was one he had hoped not to see, even more so than a blue-scaled, arrogant dragon. A full beard flowed down his waist, and what was worse - no feet could be seen from under his robes! The Black Robe floated and seemed to take delight in the breeze, which was now increasing in speed.

"Young wizard, see what can be yours!" The figure chuckled again and spread his arms wide. "A forest full of power! Why don't you come and join me?"

Palin resisted, gripping even harder on to the tree. Gasping, he noticed blood flowing from under his hands. After loosening his grip, he noticed that the blood wasn't coming from him. Shocked, he looked up at the wizard.

"You have potential, my young friend. Your uncle was a fine prospect and every generation improves! You could be so much better, even better than your uncle!" As the older mage spoke the words, he beckoned the younger closer with a bony finger. To his surprise, Palin felt himself float over with the finger.

He tried digging a boot deep in the ground, only to see it be dragged through until he was at a spot of the wizard's choosing. The man placed two hands on his arms, but the White Robe didn't feel a thing. "You're a ghost!" He protested. "You're the ghost of Fistandantilus trying to haunt me!"

"Ah, but the dead can still have powers over others, if they gain the power and use it. Now I will ask you one last time - join us, my pet and I, for time is running short."

"I'll never join you! Never... the forces of evil... for Paladine's sake!" Palin muttered as he tried to wriggle out of the wizard's grasp.

At the mention of the god of good, the wizard became enraged, his pupils dilating until they were red and his grasp growing tighter on his victim. The young mage couldn't feel flesh, but the feeling of chill air had affected him well enough.

Palin screamed and came awake. His hair was damply draped around his neck and he felt unusually warm in his robes. The quick pattern in his heart went along with the usual effects of a nightmare. Glancing around, he tried to catch his breath. Upon doing so, he caught the light that was streaming from above Madfrent's sleeping self. Zackara was up.

After getting up quietly and walking over to her, he saw the small candle that was in a glass holder on the rug in front of the psionic. Her hair was out again and it blended in with her tanned complexion. Her hands were folded and her eyes closed. Palin unconsciously licked his lips and melted, just taking in the sight of her. He was still shaken, but it did little to disturb the yearning he still had for her.

Not wanting to disturb her however, the White Robe tried to shake off the sight of Fistandantilus. His breathing had resumed to normal, but he was shivering from the effects of the wizard's words. What if what he had said was really true? First, Raistlin had haunted him and now this! But Fistandantilus' goal was probably different. Palin wondered if it had something to do with his coming into contact with the robe. But, of course! If it was really a robe that the great wizard had worn, maybe a part of his essence had been trapped in the robe. But what would his robe be doing here of all places? And was it possible that someone's essence could do this? Palin had to admit that he really didn't know enough about greater magical powers to determine whether or not it was possible.

He was looking down at his hands, deep in thought, when Zackara came out of her trance. "Palin? What are you doing up?"

The mage started to stand up. "If I'm bothering you, I'll just go back there and leave you alone."

"No, no, I don't mind," The psionic answered and put a hand over his. Her touch was warm and soothed a bit of the apprehension he was feeling. Palin tingled with surprise and delight but Zackara's words interrupted part of his response. "I was just meditating. I can get back mental energy faster that way. And I've had enough sleep so I thought it would be a good addition. Is something troubling you?"

"I had a vision," Palin started softly. "You'll think I'm crazy."

Zackara folded her hair behind a pointed ear and took out her waterskin. "Go ahead."

"I saw Fistandantilus."

Zackara glared at him. She hadn't believed him when he said Raistlin was alive. Now what would she think?

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He wanted me to join him." Palin shook his head with a slim grin. "I know it's crazy, it was his ghost..." The words drifted off as he looked at the candle. The mage figured that it would be

even worse if he told her about the robe. Muttering softly, he added, "Maybe I'm just having apprehension about this monster we're supposed to be looking for."

"It's understandable. We've been in the cave for a few days. It sure would be nice to breathe some fresh air again." Zackara sighed. She looked at Palin and noticed him shivering.

"It will be alright as long as I can do something about it. Try to take it easy and not worry."

The psionic put a hand on his shoulder. Palin watched her hand move to push some stray hair out of his face. Then, when he thought she might actually tell him something about how she felt, she turned away. His eyes never left her and he felt more tingles down his arms. "We'd better wake the others. We'll never get anything accomplished sitting here."

As she rose to wake Kreya, Palin did the same with Tas and Madfrent. The White Robe was still dazed from Zackara's action but he managed to help Kreya cook some breakfast for the company. The psionic was quiet the whole time, busying herself with the cleaning of her cutlass. After eating, she asked her sister to go back with her through the other alcoves.

While they were gone, Palin spent time looking at his spellbook and pondering about Zackara and his nightmare. He wondered whether her behavior was a result of his fear. The feel of her hands brought a temporary feeling of ecstasy to him. But he didn't want to kid himself. Yet, his body couldn't help but react and the idea of his skin feeling that warm was still a new concept to him. Unfortunately, his thoughts ran back to the nightmare. He was still haunted by it and doubted that even feelings of desire could soothe him. Tas was busy chattering with Madfrent, who was fussing with one of his contraptions. He was turned the other way so the two wouldn't interrupt his actions. Some time went by and the sisters still hadn't returned so Palin went to inspect some of his things. Upon doing so, he spotted a strange material that hadn't been with his things before.

Palin dragged out the material and choked. His staff was now lit and the mage could clearly see what the material was. It was the robe that had been in the closet! Palin's throat was unusually dry and he blinked his eyes more than twice. His fingers dug into the cloth.

"This is not what I think it is! It can't be! It can't..." He then noticed a shred in a spot with runes that had been caused by his nails. He wanted to cry out, but he didn't want Tas or Madfrent to hear him. This was his problem and he'd have to deal with it in his own way. So he did the only thing he could think of. He kicked the material in the corner of the alcove, hoping that no one would notice and that it would stay there.

Finally, Zackara and Kreya returned. Palin turned away from the corner and gathered his things together. Zackara had two large pouches dangling from her fingers. She tossed one to Palin, who nearly dropped it. "What's this?" He asked quietly.

"Hold on to it. We may need it." Zackara bent down and stuffed the other pouch into her sack. Palin did the same.

"We found a very strange thing out about the alcove next to this one." Zackara continued, gathering her things together. "There is a sink and under the sink are instruments that doctors use to perform serious surgeries."

"Of all places- surgery in a cave!" Kreya exclaimed, gathering up her sleeping bag. "There must be someone else living in this cave besides the monster."

"Yeah, how could a monster perform surgery on someone?" Tas inquired.

"Maybe there's a gnome living in the cave! You know, some of my fellow gnomes have made good names for themselves in the discovery of new medical techniques." Madfrent said.

As he rambled on a bit more, Palin thought to himself. 'Could there be a connection between Fistandantilus haunting me and the surgical room? No, it just doesn't add up. As far as I know, his main field was magic." Palin shook his head and strapped his belongings on place.

"How do we get out of here?" Tas then demanded.

"I bet there's a door behind the bookcase." Kreya answered. She looked at her sister, who knew the deal. Each elf went on a side of the bookcase and managed to move it away from the middle of the wall.

To their deduction, there was a door carved out of the stone. But the door wasn't what they expected. The top of the door rose no more than three feet in height.

"Maybe there is a gnome living in this cave!" Madfrent said excitedly.

No one heard the remark except Palin. Zackara and Kreya were crawling through the doorway and Tas was already in the hallway waiting.

As Madfrent went through, Palin realized that they hadn't even bothered to look at the books in that alcove. He snatched up a random one and crawled through the doorway.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - Fistandantilus lurks in the corners, Palin turns psychosomatic.

The company walked through what was a wide earth and stone corridor for some time. Palin lingered behind, trying to fit pieces of a puzzle that wouldn't go together in his mind. He figured there had to be some kind of connection between dwarves and lizards, but he couldn't understand where Fistandantilus came into this. He looked at the book he had taken, which gave no clue. It was a book in Dwarven and the only words he could understand were the words that had similar spellings to the words of Common. He had a hunch that the book was one of a volume of the history of dwarves. It didn't help him much further than confirming his belief about the connection between the legend and dwarves.

He then thought back to the battle they had had with the Phaselings. How could a simple piece of rock that chipped off the wall morph into a Phaseling and back into a rock again? They still hadn't answered that question, but Palin knew magic was at work. It was also in the rooms they had left behind near the Phaseling lair.

Palin caught up to the others, realizing that they were having a heavy discussion.

"Look at the paintings. Elaborate, a fanatic of reptiles." Kreya murmured. The company spread out to look at various square settings on the walls. Palin had been so busy with his thoughts that he hadn't acknowledged the first few pairs of paintings. While finally setting his eyes on the next set, the mage lost his composure.

A painting of Fistandantilus veered to the right. The figure in the picture was conscious of nothing but the dragon, yet it didn't matter. The sight of the fierce wizard was too much for Palin. He tried walking away and managed to get to the middle of the corridor. His hands shaking, he tightened his grip on the staff. The others were starting to walk toward him.

"Palin! You look like you've seen a ghost!" Kreya seemed concerned.

The mage couldn't speak. He pointed a finger to where the haunting painting lie.

"It's a painting of Fistandantilus." Zackara stated, one hand on her hip.

"What's your point?" Tas said. "There's paintings of other wizards over here, too." The kender waved his hands ahead of them.

Zackara, Kreya, and Madfrent walked ahead. Palin tried to take a step, but when he did, he felt a shock of pain in his leg. Why would his leg hurt all of a sudden? Palin knew. There was magic at hand, once again. He could feel it. The more he thought of Fistandantilus, the more his leg hurt. He tried moving his arm, but it felt like a dead weight. The only thing he could do was keep his grip on the staff.

Palin looked through the blinding light of the crystal. The light seemed to be wavering, as if some invisible force was blowing at it. He then looked ahead at the others. At first, Kreya and Madfrent were walking ahead. But now they stopped dead in their tracks. They were feeling it too. Maybe Zackara didn't feel it because she was a psionic, a powerhouse of mental energy. But Tas? Maybe he, well, Tas was a kender. Kender are immune to fear.

Up ahead, Tas shouted to Zackara. "What's wrong with them?"

The mage-psionic turned. "I don't know." She admitted. She tried calling out their names. When nothing happened, she started to walk towards them.

As she did, Tas suggested to himself that maybe someone further ahead was causing this nonsense. Tas bravely trotted forward. Not more than a few inches from where he had started, the ground gave out under him.

The kender managed to half-turn and scream Zackara's name before he fell into a void beneath. Zackara whirled around in time to see a hand float down towards the floor.

"Tas!" Zackara raced and zipped through the hole. Fortunately, she had the candle still out from before. When she was able to locate the kender, she shouted down to him. She threw the candle for him to catch. The young psionic then maneuvered herself into the space between Tas and the walls so he could successfully land in her arms.

"What's down there? Can you see anything?" Zackara tried to ask calmly.

"Nothing yet, Zack," was the reply.

A few seconds later, the elf maiden's question was answered.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - Meetings with a rapiertail, Madfrent saves the day, more trouble's abrew...

As soon as Tasslehoff and Zackara disappeared underground, the spell of fear subsided. Palin was able to move again and he rushed over to the others. Kreya was twisting her neck, testing the boundaries of her movements. Madfrent was already heading towards the hole. He started screaming down. Palin and Kreya quickly followed.

"Hey, Madfrent, why don't we try something." At this moment, Palin could care less about Fistandantilus. He was worried about Tas and overconcerned about Zackara. He took his staff and bent it towards the hole. This gave Madfrent the incentive to take out hid double-looking glass. He put his single one on the floor.

"It's useless! They're much further down! Oh Tas!" The gnome started blabbering. He put his invention away and soon replaced it with a handkerchief.

Kreya put an arm around him. "There, there. We don't know anything for certain. I have faith in Zackara."

As soon as Kreya said this, the wall to their right started shaking. A painting of a red-robed and red-haired woman fell off its peg. Not a moment later, an almost scarier sight than the sight of Fistandantilus was beheld.

The shaking wall crumbled and an opening of eight feet was in its place. Out of the opening flew Zackara with Tas. They were moving so fast that they collided with the opposite wall. Behind them loomed the true cause of their haste.

Palin, Kreya, and Madfrent backed away at the sight of the cause. It was a creature, scaly and grayish in color. It looked like a dragon with its wings and claws. It only differed from one due to its height of eight feet and the shape of its tail. It actually had four separate tails extending from its back, and each tail ended in a razor-sharp blade.

Palin had never seen the likes of it before. He noted that it wasn't breathing fire and he hoped it didn't have that ability. He turned his head towards Tas and Zackara, hoping they would recover. Tas had his hands over his head. A second later, it looked like he was trying to push Zackara back to consciousness. It wasn't working. The creature then turned towards Palin and blocked his view.

"It's a Rapiertail!" Kreya exclaimed, gripping her already handy sword. "I saw a picture of one in a book that Zackara was looking at this morning! Those things can't breathe fire, but they can shoot lightning bolts from their eyes!"

"Great." Palin muttered. He didn't know what to feel at the moment, so he focused on what would be his first spell.

As the Rapiertail roared and started coming towards Palin and the others, Tas continued to try and wake Zackara. She opened her eyes several moments later, but she was totally disoriented.

"Zack! We banged into the wall. The monster is over and he's going to fry everyone!" He tried explaining.

"Rapiertail." Zackara muttered. Her left shoulder wasn't feeling so good and the injury in her arm was becoming a burning reminder.

"Come on, Zack! We need you!" Tas stood up and tapped the end of his hoopak impatiently.

"You go... ahead. I ... need more time... to get up." The wind was clearly knocked out of her. She managed to lean on her elbows (which wasn't the least bit comfortable) as Tas ran towards the beast.

Kreya moved towards the Rapiertail and attempted to distract it with her sword in the hopes that Palin or Zackara would cast some earth-shattering spell. Even a little help from Madfrent couldn't hurt. She pointed the sword straight at the beast. The Rapiertail made a grab for it, but Kreya timed herself perfectly. She did a backflip and landed successfully on her feet. Her swordhand was more than ready and she had a sweet smile on her face.

Palin was pleasantly surprised. However, he knew that it was only a distraction and that he must work fast. He dragged a few, tiny, white crystals out of a pouch as he heard the rage of the monster echo through the corridor.

Kreya tried to make contact with the beast this time. She aimed for the wrist, which unfortunately swerved and the blade landed in the claw. The Rapiertail hunched over her and gripped part of the sword. Kreya was brave, but her strength in comparison to the Rapiertail's was undeterminable. The two struggled for a few moments until the elf felt for the monster's foot. She then stomped as hard on it as was possible.

The monster roared and that was when Madfrent became ready to take his shot. Madfrent was often quiet, but he was technical and logical as any gnome could be (of course, when he felt like it). During the time that the company had spent camping out, Madfrent worked on the invention he had used to snare Raugh and his goblin friend. No one really paid any attention except Tas, who offered him the quiet he needed to put it together successfully. It may have seemed like a silly idea, but Madfrent felt it would work. He took many of the fish that had been sitting uselessly in his sack and a small piece of cord he had kept in a box. Violently, he cut an eye out of each fish with Tas' dagger and slid a piece of cord from the tail to the eye of each one. When it was done, he adjusted the string of fish to the rod that had held the original spiked wire.

Madfrent now had his ingenious contraption out and ready. He swung the fish wide and long, managing to circle them around the Rapiertail's neck. From the combination of its hurting foot and a loss of oxygen as the fish tightened around its larynx, the Rapiertail concentrated less on the sword. It moved its claw upward towards the fish and the sword was then free in Kreya's hand.

Palin then forewarned his two companions. "Everyone out of the way!" Kreya and Madfrent moved towards the mage. As they did so, Madfrent gave the fish a little more slack so he could keep his hold on the Rapiertail's neck. Palin had his staff in his left hand and his right palm open. The small white crystals formed a hexagon shape on his skin. He gazed at the crystals and felt a chill power arise. A smoky-colored mist formed and when it dissipated, pieces of ice exploded towards the Rapiertail.

The beast moaned as it continued to try and free itself from the rod of fish. A few pieces of ice backfired and hit the three companions. Palin knew that there was a chance this would happen. But he also knew a powerful spell was needed to take out this manner of creature.

The Rapiertail was fortunately blocking the path that the ice might have taken towards Zackara and Tas. Zackara was finally up and stretching her aching arm out. Quentos was ready in her hand, but she was opting for something else.

Tas was the next one to take action. During the time the others were struggling with the monster, the kender was going through his things to find the stone block and the axe. They were buried under all the jars and fish that Tas had picked up.

The tails of the beast were the things that worried him the most. He figured that maybe he could freeze a few of them, if not all four of them. Tas pointed the block towards the area and immediately two of the tails froze.

A second later, Zackara had her other staff out and drew forth its power. Five blades of ice a foot long each blasted the monster. Its scaly skin was tough, but three of the blades managed to cut through the spaces between the scales while the other two bounced off and melted on the floor.

The Rapiertail wailed as it realized its tails were frozen. It tried swinging them, but only two would budge. It gave up on clawing its way out of the rod of fish and instead tried yanking the rod towards itself. As it did, Madfrent's strength gave out. He was dragged a few yards until he planed his feet firmly on the ground and yanked the fish back towards himself. The line snapped and the rod fell back towards the gnome. The force caused the little fellow to land on his back.

The Rapiertail, still in agony, decided its opponents were far harder to tackle than it had judged and used some of its own ammunition. It turned three hundred and sixty degrees, nearly missing Madfrent with one of its tails. As soon as it spotted its other opponents, it aimed a lightning bolt. The bolt headed straight for Zackara.

The psionic knew that as soon as it started turning, it would try something. She saw the lightning bolt emerge from its left eye. Timing herself, she jumped to the ground where Quentos had already been dropped.

Tas, who was about a foot to the left of Zackara, was its next target. He did the only thing he could think of; drop the stone block and protect himself with the hoopak. The axe was laying on the floor already, he originally had been planning to use it next. A lightning bolt emerged from the monster's right eye this time. Tas closed his own eyes, praying to Paladine and blocking his face with the wood. He heard a crack and a sizzle, then nothing. Something felt limp in his hands.

The kender opened his eyes. His hoopak! It had protected him but broke in half from the shock. He cradled it in his arms for a moment. Then admitting to himself that maybe dwarven weapons were really more effective in the long run, he dropped the two pieces and snatched up the axe.

The Rapiertail turned around to take another turn at his friends. "Hey! Where are you going? Let me get another shot at you!" Tas shouted. The monster didn't seem to care, however, and kept moving.

Tas swung the axe as if he were swinging a feather. It felt so wonderful in his hands and its distinct yellow essence was burning bright. Tas prepared to chop off one of the unfrozen tails, but as he brought the blade down, the tail he prepared to do away with laid a mark on Tas' cheek. Tas missed as his face began to bleed and he struck the ground instead.

As the contact was made, the ground began to radiate with a heat that was given off by the axe. The heat increased and Tas had to move back and away from it. The heat continued increasing in temperature until the ground began to melt and a flame broke out under the Rapiertail's body. The flame spread into a circle on the ground and a hole formed in the center, bringing newly formed lava and rocks into it.

The beast groaned so loud that Tas had to hold his ears. Zackara was behind him now. Her other staff was put away and she had Quentos in her grasp. The two watched as the beast spread its wings and soared to the ceiling. It didn't have as much room as it would have liked, but it would use the room it did have to its advantage. It opened its jaws and swung its tails violently. Fortunately, two were still frozen. There were also the cuts that Zackara's shards of ice had caused, but they didn't seem to bother the monster much.

Kreya and Madfrent edged away. Palin did too, noticing Tas and Zackara. The psionic was chanting with eyes closed. The young human started doing the same. He had no idea whose spell would produced an effect first or if the two would interrupt each other, but he didn't care. By Paladine, the Rapiertail could take them all out with just two of its tails and its claws! He then picked a spell with which he would need no spell components.

The Rapiertail began to soar towards Kreya and as it did, Zackara opened her eyes and gazed at it. She crossed her arms, waiting until her spell finally took effect. Halfway through its plight, the Rapiertail's diving speed was cut by half. It almost seemed as if the monster was in a gliding process now. Kreya looked at her sister, satisfied. Now she could use her movements with a wiser sense of timing. She had her crossbow at the top of her sack, but felt it pointless to take it out now. She was better off planning her moves.

The swordswoman judged the angle at which the beast was coming. Suddenly, she started bolting and as it was within a few inches of her, she was already in the air and ready to do damage. Her left leg extended to the stomach of the beast. It wavered backward from her kick. An unfrozen and frozen tail each landed in the molten ground, both melting instantly.

The beast screamed and a moment after that, Palin's confusion spell began to take effect. The dragonlike figure was still swaggering around as if it were drunk. It stopped screaming and turned its head around with anxiety. Kreya was bewildered for a second, then realized that she should take advantage of the odd behavior. She sliced away at every part of the Rapiertail that was possible. It didn't attack back, but weakly parried her shots with its claws. Blood poured from behinds its ears, on each thigh, and its right arm. The Rapiertail then dazedly leaped into the air. It hovered over them and the sight was beginning to make Kreya dizzy.

Madfrent decided that he had an idea to put a stop to this. It took him several moments to find the desired item in his sack, but he was almost certain that it would do the trick. He pulled out a huge black tube. The tube was two times the size of his hand it had a white label on it which began: "TheAmazingItWillStickToAnythingYouCanThinkOfFromKrynnAndMoreGlueWithTheSpecialIngredientOfAFunnyOrangeBeigeSubstanceThatHasBeen

TastedAndApprovedByTheHighCouncilOfGnomishTechnology...", and of course, the rest had to be printed in ant-sized letters.

The gnome began to open the cap on the tube when he realized something. If he put the glue on his hand, it would stick to him and he wouldn't be able to use it for his purpose. So he went looking again in his sack. Everyone, including the Rapiertail, was curious as to what he intended to do.

Madfrent took a thin wool blanket and started pouring the glue all over it. The glue was thick and looked like beige paint. Madfrent looked up to see the Rapiertail glaring down at him. Its tails swung back and forth with the motion of its wings. Its expression was of innocent wonder.

" ," Madfrent mumbled nervously. In response, the monster moved a little closer.

"Yesthat'sit." The gnome gestured with a finger. He began to unfold the blanket more. The Rapiertail moved down with some hesitation.

Madfrent waited another moment to spring his trap. It was all very simple actually, but the Rapiertail fortunately wasn't a very bright creature. As the moments disappeared, so did the beast's life source. The cloth flew over it like a net. The material didn't capture it whole, but the glue stuck to its back and wings, making the Rapiertail lose its sense of stability. It groaned and pawed forward, but its momentum gave out and instead it toppled backward into the molten ground.

The earthen floor was still bubbling and overjoyed to receive the Rapiertail's flesh. Several moments passed until the full body of the beast was completely devoured. The company stared at the lava long after the process, each person deep in his or her thoughts.

Kreya was the first one to break the silence. She put her sword back in its scabbard. She then attempted to walk past the area of lava. Fortunately, the lava was longer than it was wide. She had to lean against the wall sideways in order to pass, but she made it. Palin and Madfrent followed her.

With sweat pouring down her face, Kreya sat down next to Zackara, who was already in the process of resting. Her shoulder and arm were aching like a house had collapsed on them. She began to massage the muscles. Tas plopped down right where he was. His headache was getting worse now and his whole right cheek was covered with dried blood and dirt.

Trying to ignore the pain, Tas put away the axe and looked at the two halves of his broken hoopak still two feet in front of him.

"Cheer up, Tas." Kreya wiped an arm against her face. "That hoopak probably saved your life!"

"And besides," Madfrent added. "We can use my glue to put it back together."

Tas' face brightened a little. "That's a great idea." He got up to retrieve the two pieces. As he moved upward from his stance, he thought he saw a shadow straining against the wall in front of him.

"Any time would be a great time but now, Madfrent." The kender then added, rising slowly as he recognized the being to whom the shadow belonged.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Fun with derros and goblins

The shadow moved further into the light radiating from Palin's staff. Palin's mouth opened at the sight of the shadow. It opened even more when he noticed a second shadow.

"Raugh! What are you doing here?" Tas tried to put on his most innocent tone of voice. He quickly snatched up the remains of his hoopak and moved a step backward. Madfrent and Palin went to his side. Zackara and Kreya joined them.

Raugh crossed his arms. His goblin friend, Trolk, had his hand on the hilt of his sword. Kreya's hand was already instinctively on hers. "I would ask you the same thing, but there is a matter that concerns me more. What have you done with my axe and stone block?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tas waved around the wooden poles, one in each hand.

The dwarf's eyebrows arched. "You're not as good a thief as you may think you are and you're an even worse liar. But I'll tell you what, if you return my items to me promptly, I'll make your death a painless one."

"Ha! You can't touch us! How do you expect to get across THAT?" Tas boldly pointed towards the molten area.

Raugh stalked towards it. Trolk, muttering something under his breath, drew his sword free and followed. Raugh dug his finger in a pouch, pulled out something minuscule from their distance, and swallowed it within seconds. He clapped his hands twice and inch by inch a plain, a white bridge appeared across the lava. Laughing, he looked at Trolk.

"Very good, Archmage Raugh!" The goblin exclaimed and laughed with him.

Raugh's laughter increased as he walked past the middle of the bridge.

Zackara and Palin exchanged a quick glance.

"If you won't hand them to me, then I'll have to take it from you. Oh, and by the way you should be scared. Very scared."

As he finished his threat, the derro turned towards the bridge as Trolk finished walking across it. The dwarf then clapped his hands again and watched the bridge dissipate into thin air. He then looked back at his enemies with a stern eye.

The dwarf's features were now visible. His beard and hair were still very bushy and the warts on his face made them want to look away. Yet there was something that kept them from doing so. A dark square on a thick matching chain around his neck held their attention.

Raugh looked down at his amulet, then held it up in admiration. "I see you find my keepsake interesting. Well this one is indeed a keepsake for I intend to keep it. As for you, I see you haven't changed your mind about my offer so we'll just have to do business my way."

A second later, Raugh chanted a short Dwarven phrase. Zackara understood him, realizing it was a magical chant. But the spell he was casting didn't ring a bell for her right away. And by her standards, she didn't have time to try and figure it out. She knew she would have to do some of her own damage.

Before she tried to do so, Raugh snapped his fingers and out of nowhere two small balls of blue stone headed towards the company. As the stones moved closer, their size doubled. It was as if some channeled energy was causing them to do so.

"I think it's time we were leaving," Tas said turning to run. The others quickly got the incentive, except Zackara who was already involved with casting her own spell.

During the time it took Raugh to converse with Tas, the psionic had used a minimal amount of energy to glimpse into the future. She used Quentos to do so and the staff told her not what Raugh would do, but that he would do SOMETHING and that if she acted she could somehow prevent danger.

The elf looked towards the moving balls and did so. As they came within only several yards, she smiled and bolted away. After waiting for a few seconds to pass, Zackara took a quick glance behind her and nodded to herself, satisfied. She had used her slow movement spell to prevent the stones from catching up with her and the others. Finally, she had gained on Madfrent, who was the running behind the others.

They ran up to what was a small doorway with no door. Palin, Zackara and Kreya had to crawl through. As they did, Palin filled the two elves in on the rest of the known information about Raugh. Past the doorway was another wide corridor, but one that was shorter in length. Three closed doors followed the corridor. The doors were wooden and painted red while the doorknobs were made of brass.

"Which one should we take?" Kreya asked.

"How about the one on the left?" Tas suggested.

"You try them. I need to do some research." The psionic interjected.

No one interrupted her. Tas was busy twisting the doorknob. It wouldn't budge to the left so he tried turning it the other way.

"Ouch!" Tas cried. The door was protected with a shock bolt, which sent the pain from the kender's wrist to his shoulder. He moved his injured hand away and nearly knocked it right into Madfrent's chin. The gnome bravely offered to take over.

"If we can't naturally open it, I'll see if one of my inventions can do the trick." There was an edge of confidence in Madfrent's voice that the others hadn't noticed before. Perhaps, the gnome felt more now that he was a part of a team with the others and was happier as a result.

Madfrent rested his hand on the door and easily turned it to the right. The door opened this time, but behind the door lie a simple stone wall.

The gnome yanked on a blond curl in frustration. Palin and Kreya were busy watching the corridor.

"I wonder if we'll get out of this alive," Palin admitted. "After seeing that bridge, I truthfully don't know what he's capable of."

"That may be true, but remember we have psionics on our side. We may be able to outsmart him." Kreya's eyes fell on her sister.

A second later, Madfrent had the door on the right opened. They waited only a moment longer for Zackara to come out of whatever she was doing. They then rushed down a long, cold hallway.

"I probed his mind," Zackara told Palin as they went. "He's lying about being an archmage. Yet his magical potential is wild and erratic. That's the impression I've been given about other derros as well from the stories I've heard about them. I also noticed that he seems a little nervous, a little preoccupied with something. He's expecting a meeting of some sort, with whom I'm not sure. Perhaps, his expected meeting will give us the answers we're looking for."

Palin nodded. He felt his stomach jump at the wonder of this supposed occurrence. Preoccupied with the reacquaintance, he realized that he had forgotten about Fistandantilus. Could the so-called spirit of the long dead archmage have a part in this?

The company halted as they became acutely aware of their surroundings. At the very edge of the hallway was a pile of rocks and boulders ten feet in width and two feet in height. In front of the pile was an ice sheet that cloaked the descending floor.

"It wouldn't be a very nice way to land," Tas remarked. He had disposed of his hoopak and was now holding the golden axe, pretty confident that he could use it against its past owner.

Examining the ice sheet, the companions acknowledged that it was actually a compilation of frozen puddles that had collected from flooding in the cave. They also saw several dark spots on the stone ceiling that were actual water spots created from rain outside.

"I have an idea," Kreya pointed out. "If we can get ourselves down carefully by sliding in a sitting position, we can hopefully avoid crashing headlong into the rocks."

"Let's try it," The psionic agreed.

They all then sat down, the elves being the first ones to experiment. Madfrent sat in back of Tas with his hands on the kender's shoulders. The gnome helped give his friend more force so they could descend more smoothly. The height of the rocks towered over them in their sitting positions, but the mages and swordswoman were already at the bottom to prevent any problems.

Just as they were climbing over the mini rock wall, they heard noise from where they had just left.

"It's Raugh!" Palin whispered.

"I have an idea," Zackara muttered in response. "When they come a little closer, everyone grab a rock and aim!"

It didn't take long for Raugh and Trolk to spot their enemies. They had a clear view of them and Raugh was ready to try something when he got hit right in the jaw. That only made him more angry and as a result he started punching the air and cursing in Dwarven. He let his anger get the best of him, unfortunately. As for Trolk, the creature of little intelligence went running with his sword when a medium-sized stone knocked it out of his hand. Preoccupied with recovering his weapon, he slipped on the ice and fell head first toward the rocks.

After getting hit a second time, Raugh obtained enough sense to retreat into the hallway and wait for the storm of stones to cease. They couldn't throw stones at them forever. While waiting, he caught his breath and worked on slackening the pain of his jaw with a small healing spell.

After his jaw felt better, he returned to the beginning of the ice-frozen floor. Spotting Trolk, Raugh sighed and took something from his pouch. The dwarf would have to conjure up his bridge again and he only had one portion left of the component for doing so. Raugh also regretted that he would have to use some more energy, which he was hoping to preserve for conquering Palin, for whom he might actually need all of it. However, he devised that using some energy and spell components was worth preventing a concussion.

Swallowing the small insect, he formed the Dwarven words in his mind and clapped his hands. The white bridge appeared and extended to the edge of the rocks. Letting the bridge stand for a while, he climbed down and removed the stones that were covering his goblin companion.

As far as Raugh could see, Trolk's head didn't appear to be seriously damaged and the stones were only covering his shoulder and back. Seeing that the goblin was breathing, Raugh patted his head. Trolk didn't respond.

Irritated, Raugh gave him a moderate smack. That did it.

"What?" Trolk turned his head and opened his eyes.

"Get up, you ninny! We have to get those featherbrains! They'll pay! All of them!"

As Raugh finished removing the stones, Trolk admitted that he couldn't get up. Grumbling, Raugh performed a heal spell on the goblin despite the fact that he would lose even more time and energy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - A most unpleasant family gathering...

Palin and his friends scurried away after they saw that Zackara's idea was taking effect. The White Robe had no idea what their next course of action might be, but he figured that if Raugh and Trolk did recover, an open area would be a necessary spot for raking them senseless with spells. Palin worried about what other tricks the dwarf had up his sleeves, but he knew that there was always a price to pay with every package of enemy. He also had a feeling that even if Tas hadn't stolen Raugh's items, the dwarf would have still kept his animosity towards them and pursued them. He just seemed like that kind of fellow.

The group hurried through another wide corridor which narrowed and led to a huge stone area. The area was square-shaped and small points of light came from various angles in the rock. The points were fairly faint compared to the light of Palin's staff. The floor was a sandy beige, but the light distorted it and made it look like a ruddy shade.

There was the sound of heavy breathing in the deep end. The two elves and Palin exchanged glances as they dared to move a few steps ahead. The White Robe gestured for his two smaller friends to wait and got a nod in response.

Kreya took in a breath as she saw the creature before her. Draped on a lavender couch that ran the length of eight feet was what looked like a huge alligator. Tiny bubbles of blue smoke drifted above its scaly head. Its skin was green tinged with yellow. It smooth tail lie a few feet past the couch onto the floor. Feathery green and yellow wings were wrapped around its belly and sides.

No one moved any closer. No one except Tas and Madfrent, who decided to follow. Palin turned slightly to warn them, but a slight yawn from in front of him caused him to readjust his attention.

Green eyes shot open from the reptile. The eyes were bright enough to be seen from across the room. The creature sat up carefully, never removing its gaze. It licked its green lips and drool cascaded on the sand forming a tiny acid pool. It folded its wings and stood on its hind legs, its head almost touching the ceiling. Finally, it jumped down and edged closer to where the ceiling was much higher.

The reptile was now ten feet away. "What a pleasant surprise!" It began to speak in Common. "You've finally made it. It's been a few days since you've entered the cave. But you're finally here. And just think - you came all this way to visit me!" The creature's face folded to form a grin through medium-sized jaws.

No one asked how the beast knew. No one needed to. So it simply continued speaking and answered the matter anyway. "Yes, I knew you were here all along. As you came down into the depths, I sensed your magic."

"Were you aware that there was a Phaseling lair?" Palin then decided to ask.

The reptile thought before answering. "Of course. There are many creatures who lurk around here. Some of them I consider companions, others just neighbors... but visitors are a special case. It's not often I have visitors. In any case, you are probably still curious about the Phaselings. Well, like I said - I knew you were coming and I took the liberty of checking up on you to make sure you could get here safely."

"It was I who polymorphed the rock into a phaseling." The reptile snatched a stone with its tail and brought it over to its face. It then let it go and as the stone came to the ground it flowed into a luxurious fur carpet. The carpet expanded until it reached everyone's boots (Tas and Madfrent had moved forward as it spoke).

"Funny how you took care of us when we encountered the Rapiertail," Zackara muttered.

The reptile lounged on the carpet with a bored expression on its face. "Oh - him. Well, he has a mind of his own - too much so. And besides, I couldn't let the journey be too easy for you. I wanted to prove to myself that you were tough and adventurous enough to take me up on my proposition."

"And that is... " Zackara answered dryly.

"To locate a specific part of my kin."

"I would have went as far as to say that I'm part of your kin, if you hadn't been what you are," A new voice echoed through the stone.

Everyone turned. Raugh nonchalantly walked up to the company. He paused, considered Tas with an evil look, then passed him. As he moved towards the reptile, his goblin friend followed, keeping a distance of two feet.

The beast grinned. "You're wrong. You ARE of my kin."

Raugh blinked, unbelieving. In the next second that it had taken for him to do so, the reptile's scales had become skin, the wings had disappeared, and the overall size of the body shrunk. The final product was a middle-aged dwarf standing at almost four feet. He was complete with long, sandy blond and silver hair and beard. His face was somewhat decent-looking with his striking green eyes and minimal amount of moles.

"You are my great-great-great-grandfather?" Raugh asked, still in shock.

The older dwarf returned the stare without responding. The younger then thought for a moment and took out something from inside his robe. The angles of light struck the object and the older dwarf's face brightened.

"You have the amulet! Well, I guess it must be true. I am your ancestor, Dagno Grapstone."

"Raugh Grapstone". Raugh put his hand on Dagno's shoulder. "But how did you...?"

"Oh!" Dagno chuckled. "That's just one of my many powers... a power obtained through years of experiments. I always had a fascination with dragons and my dream was to be able to morph into one. Well, I didn't quite get to that level, but I was able to become what I named a 'ractor'. It's my own version of a smaller dragon.

"That was why you had all those paintings in one of the halls!" Raugh pointed out.

"Quite true. I experimented a lot with reptiles, I tried breeding different kinds to see if I could create my own ideal type of reptile. After a while it bored me... after a while EVERYTHING bored me so I flew out of the cave with the only interesting product of my work - the ability to morph myself. After a while, that got boring as well so I returned here."

"I was never crazy about associating with other people. I didn't even care for the magic-using derros so I left my own people and came here. I loved the caves, I felt they were just the perfect place to begin experimenting."

"How have you been able to stay alive so long?" Trolk asked.

Dagno gave him a look of shock as if offended, but continued. "Another reason I came here was because of the richness of magical energy contained within. The energy extends throughout the whole area of the mountains. Creatures of magic dwell here, and you can just use your judgement from there."

The old dwarf's discussion with his kin had almost covered the questions that had been swimming through the minds of the others. It explained why the books on reptiles and the surgical instruments had been in the rooms. It had also served as a suggestive answer to how the legend had gotten started. Perhaps, a person created a whole story from the simple witnessing of Dagno's flight in his "ractor form" along the island. However, it didn't answer whether Dagno had stored some treasure in the cave.

It was then Dagno's turn to ask some questions. "How did you get the amulet?"

"My parents gave it to me. I didn't come here until now because I only recently was able to find out the translation from the ancient Dwarven."

"Well, I made it myself after I got bored with experimenting. I traveled to Thorbadin and passed it onto my brother. He promised he would leave it for the next magic-able dwarf. It took our family this long to produce someone of my stature! "I'm proud of you, Raugh!"

Dagno moved to embrace him. He then added, "Now that you're here we can begin the process so that I know all those years of hard work won't have been totally useless. Then I can die in peace if I choose..."

Moving away, he gave Raugh a serious look. "But first, what of your friends?"

"Trolk." Raugh addressed his friend. The goblin moved to stand at his side. Both of them turned to look at the others.

Then the younger dwarf announced loudly, "They are no friends of mine. They are thieves and have angered me more than once."

Dagno crossed his arms. "Then we will just have to terminate them."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - A test of mental strength...

"What are they here for in the first place?" asked Dagno. "I have a feeling that it's more than just to spite you."

"You're right," Raugh spat. "They have a fascination, like other thieves with taking things that don't belong to them and that they don't deserve. Can't you see the word 'treasure' written all over their faces?"

The older dwarf laughed. "The only treasure they're going to get is the treasure of recovering in death from the suffering we will cause in life for them. I have an idea."

Dagno then addressed the non-dwarves. "I have an idea, my friends. Before we decide what we're going to do with you, why don't we play a little game?"

"I like games!" Tas exclaimed.

"Ah! That must be the leader of the poor fools." Dagno observed.

Shaking his head, Raugh responded. "Actually, the young punk in white robes is the leader. He attracts idiots like a light attracts flies."

Zackara kept a stern eye on the two. "Enough of the immature insults, I grow bored quickly. Tell us of this game you have in mind."

"Well now," Dagno dusted his green robes off. "I was thinking your leader could have a little contest with my kin. Just to get an idea of what he's made of and why it is that he feels he has the right to anger true mages."

"Fine," Zackara gave him a sickly smile. "Why don't we try that?"

Palin gulped. So this would be it. What if it killed him? And even if it didn't, how would he deal with Dagno? He clutched his staff, hoping it would give him renewed confidence. But it didn't.

"Stand next to each other, my boys. Consider this a test of strength." The dwarf then moved to put a hand on Palin's staff. "No help from objects," he warned.

The psionic turned and put her hand over Dagno's. "I'LL hold on to it." After digging her nails into his skin, the dwarf finally loosened his grip . Zackara took her hand away so Palin could give it to her properly.

"Fine," Dagno returned sharply. "Everyone else stand back."

Palin's friends reluctantly obeyed while Trolk stood at ease, in the spot he hadn't moved from.

"Now close your eyes and feel your mind drift," began the green robed-dwarf. Raugh did so, but Palin was naturally suspicious. Finally something pushed him to do so.

Dagno started to wave his hands and speak in ancient Dwarven. Unfortunately, Zackara couldn't understand the old dialect.

After a few second, Dagno stopped chanting and relaxed, only to see his effects.

CHAPTER THIRTY - Mountain dwarf victory song (By Tahkisis, who picks these bards?!)

Palin was set on concentrating, although he wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to be concentrating on or if he was supposed to be concentrating at all. The first thing he saw after he closed his eyes was the faint shape of the dragon claw, that was locked inside the crystal of his staff. Then that disappeared and there was total darkness. A few seconds passed until he though he heard something... a voice perhaps? It was too soft at first. As it grew louder, the White Robe realized that it was some kind of victory song. He listened more carefully and guessed that the dwarves had made the song up.

One verse of the song was repeated several times. Moments later, the voice shifted and changed into Common. The prominent verse began:

"The crows tap their beaks against the mountain

When their feathers shed we will return

Beat your shields and sharpen your blades

Gold and blood is of no concern

We only revisit to recover our pride

And take back with us titles that belong

Scorning the wrong that claims to know right

Because really the hellion does no wrong!"

At first, Palin though it an odd verse. He didn't recognize the voice so he couldn't pass any convincing judgement on it. Then after a while, he sensed an edge of amusement to it. Of course, he didn't like that at all and tried blocking it out with verses of country songs from Solace, but that didn't work. The voice was just too loud and distracting. It began to bother him when he clearly realized that the voice wouldn't go away. After trying a number of times more to make it evade, he tried interpreting the verse he kept hearing, which didn't take long.

Feeling lonely, bewildered, and a little frightened, Palin thought to himself, 'Gee, I wish Zackara was here.' He heard his thought in his own voice, but it was very soft compared to the racket the amused voice was making.

Finally, out of a corner of his mind that he didn't realize he had, he heard yet another voice. It was barely a whisper.

"Who's there?" he asked.

The voice responded, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

Then he screamed as loud as he could. "Help! I can't take this music anymore! It's driving me mad!"

The voice responded again, a little louder. Frustrated by the confusion between the two voices, Palin tried again to block out the noise. He thought back to when he was resting near the port of Merwick. It was the last time that he could remember having been somewhat at peace with himself. That peace was what finally allowed the mage to hear the other voice.

The song was still going in his head, but it was decreasing gradually. Thankfully as it did, the other voice came in at normal volume.

"He's tricking you, Palin!" The voice said. "You must break out of it!"

It was Zackara! Palin listened further.

"He's trying to drain you of your magical energy and transfer it to Raugh! You must not let him do that! Hold on to that peace! That should help you..."

He heeded to her words and other visions came to mind - the peace he had felt at home being under the swaying vallenwoods, playing with his sisters...

After collecting several more visions, he opened his eyes to see everyone standing where they had been minutes ago. The expressions on the faces of the two dwarves seemed the most changed. Raugh had a faint smile on his face and his eyes were still closed. Dagno, on the other hand, was clearly in shock from seeing Palin recover. He shook it off quickly, however, and raised a hand towards his kin.

Raugh moved out of the trance. "What happened?"

"He cheated." Zackara pointed her staff towards Dagno accusingly.

"Why not? It's only fair to play that way with people who cheat as well." The dwarf answered sharply.

"Axe or no axe, treasure or no treasure, I'm not going to allow you to kill my friends off without a fight." The psionic declared.

Dagno's response was a chuckle.

Handing Palin back his staff, Zackara then retorted, "Enough of this one on one nonsense. We fight, us against you."

"Very well. Raugh, take care of them." Dagno gave the younger dwarf a wink, turned and in a flash returned to his 'ractor' form. He flew up to a ledge on the other side of the cavern that had been overlooked. The dwarf in ruddy robes gave him a questioning look, but could only do so for a moment. The battle was already beginning.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - The battle begins...

It was one of the longest battles that any of the adventurers could remember. However, it lasted a little shorter than they thought it might have had. Zackara gestured to Palin for him to face Raugh with her. As they walked a few steps toward him, Kreya, Tas and Madfrent looked to see what tricks Dagno was going to pull. However, Kreya wasn't really focusing too much.

The corner of her eye was on Trolk. She assumed he would try to attack her, so she played like a sheep for a second. Waiting for him to storm towards her, she timed his running in order to jump out of the way when he tried to make contact with her. Kreya jumped to his left, then edged her shoulder into his to confuse him. The slow-witted creature got easily distracted and lost his grip on his sword. As the elf stuck her foot out, the weapon clattered to the floor. She yelled for Tas to ready the axe while the creature was getting up.

Tas was already looking for it, but because all the fish were lying on the top of his sack, it took him an extra few seconds and he had to dump some small objects out in the process.

As Trolk recovered and came towards Kreya, she whirled and cut his leg. After touching spurts of blood that were coming through the armor, he tried to aim at her in a high arc with the swordarm. The swordswoman managed to duck low enough to be missed at the throat and brought up her sword to parry the blade. The goblin moved his foot near hers at an attempt to trip her, but she noticed and jumped a few inches backward. As she moved, a small knife sailed over her shoulder and landed towards Trolk's head. The blade took off a wispy lock before gravity brought it to the ground.

The goblin gasped and felt his hair with his free hand. He then looked down and saw a big splotch of blood where his leg had been hit. Kreya glanced at her sword and saw only a few big drops beginning to dry. The wound was more serious than she had thought it to be.

The two opponents continued to exchange a few more hits and each one was parried. Yet the goblin's movements were becoming gradually slower. Finally, when both swords had come into a tight lock, Trolk used the strength that he hoped hadn't been the last and twisted his body. Groaning and shaking his shoulders with one last push, he caused Kreya to lose her grip on the sword. The second it reached the floor, Kreya's leg was up in the air and headed for the other sword. She easily kicked the weapon out of the weakening goblin's hand.

The elf then heard a screeching Tas beckon her to move out of the way. As she moved to her left, she saw small hands reach for her sword. Trolk backed away to pick up his weapon, but he was too late. The moment he stood upright, Tas dug the sword into his gut.

Kreya was relieved to see the action. Then she became distraught and confused as she saw Tas' sack and items in disarray and a concentrated Madfrent scribbling on a small piece of parchment. Her feelings then developed further into feelings of anxiety as she saw Palin being lifted into the air with his feet upward.

While the fight with Trolk was taking place, Palin and Zackara battled Raugh in the hopes that Dagno wouldn't interfere. The younger dwarf looked at his ancestor, but the ractor only gave a slight shrug and eased down more comfortably on the ledge. While he looked at them, Palin chanted the words of his magic missile spell and Zackara changed staves.

As Raugh turned, the psionic pointed the staff and six shards of ice flowed out. As they came within a foot of the assailant, a sizzling crack sounded and the shards swirled in a circular motion to nothingness.

"What the..." The elf moved back.

Palin had his eyes open, but his pupils were barely taking in the event. His four-formed missiles then took the same course that the ice shards had. Then the dwarf laughed a jolly laugh while reaching into his pocket and swallowing a green, slimy-looking thing. With two brief words, he folded and unfolded his fingers twice, with his palms toward him.

A small water surge flew out of his mouth and transformed into a dozen of thin, sharp, and blue needles. The needles hit them, causing tiny tears in Palin's robes and Zackara to descend to the floor, face down. Before her action could be understood, the dwarf decided to zap Palin again. This time, the White Robe joined his compatriot and missed the second spray of needles.

"What are you doing?" He asked softly. She didn't appear too hurt from what he could tell, except for some minor scratches on her ear. Palin tried to ignore his own pain and wait for her answer, which didn't come right away.

The wizard then realized his foe was talking to him. "Ah! We see that your friend isn't as tough as she claims to be. And now since I have your attention, before you die, there is something of yours I would like."

Palin knew what he meant. "Never!"

"Now, now, don't be so selfish." Raugh reached into another pocket. "I have a last supper for you." The dwarf laughed and opened a small black box. Inside it were dead insects.

The young mage gulped when he knew he should have retched. Yet he also knew he had to remain indifferent. Perhaps talking to the scoundrel would buy them some time.

"And what do you intend to do after you get my staff? It doesn't just work for anyone."

"Really? Then you will just have to tell me the secret!"

"Look!" Zackara whispered and barely nudged Palin's foot with hers.

With a glance past Raugh, he saw Dagno up on the ledge. He had been laying down to begin with, but after actions between the two mages and Raugh were exchanged, his eyes were closed and his head was against the floor with his mouth half open in a strangled expression.

"Did you hurt him?"

"Give me your spellbook!"

After Zackara's response, he let instinct take over. They still had Raugh to deal with.

"Did I hurt who?" Raugh then questioned him, thinking that Zackara was dead or still unconscious.

"Dagno's hurt!" Palin answered indirectly.

"What trickery is this?"

"I swear it by my staff." The White Robe glanced again at the ledge.

Raugh didn't believe him but as he saw him look at the ledge, the idea of Palin's letting himself get distracted seemed a bit sincere.

Taking him seriously then, Raugh turned and saw the paralyzed creature. Meanwhile, Palin snatched his spellbook and passed it to Zackara. A second later, the dwarf heard a sizzling sound at his back. Dagno's protection spell had been dispelled.

Raugh was surprised to find out that he had been surprised. "Damn you!" He shouted and started chanting.

Zackara didn't have time to change back over to her other staff, which was lying at her feet. So she thumbed through the later pages of the spellbook to find an appropriate spell. But before she could pick one, Palin's staff formed the crushed box of insects into a searing hot metal. Raugh moved his foot away from the metal, then looked up at them.

"You wanna play with heat? Ranturus recth milakkin dulnin." As the words spilled out, Palin felt his staff rise in temperature and reflexively dropped it. He then watched as the dwarf clapped his hands, spoke four more words and made the object come to life.

Zackara handed Palin the spellbook while focusing on the Staff of Magius. It started coming towards the White Robe as he tried to pick a spell. The bottom end gave him a nudge in the knee. He jumped back and looked up.

"We wouldn't want to hurt that pretty crystal, would we?" Raugh chuckled, letting his hands float freely in the rays emanating from the crystal. The staff poked the mage at his other thigh for a second shot but he dodged to the right. Then the staff successively jabbed into his shoulder and he went down from the pain.

By this time, Zackara gained what she thought to be half control over the staff and used her telekinetic powers to move the staff away from him. Raugh was enraged and he pushed his hands forward with more force. The staff then began to waver back and forth in the conflict.

Meanwhile, the human ignored the dulling pain and decided upon a spell. The derro and Zackara were still battling over the staff when a huge black cloud formed. It bolted towards the dwarf and he lost concentration. As she started moving away from the cloud to avoid any area effects it might have, the elf sent the staff safely towards Palin's feet. Palin moved back and kicked the staff a few feet back, then closed the book and reached for something else in his sack.

The mage knew that there wasn't a lot of time to heal himself, but he also knew that he wouldn't be very useful with a shoulder in unbearable pain. Palin quickly took out an empty vial and reached for the piece of plastic he had won at the dart game. Crumpling the tiny hyendras leaf into some poured water from the waterskin. Keeping an eye on Raugh, he waited for the red object to dissolve.

Zackara had her staff ready as she watched the tornado chase Raugh a few feet and finally engulf him. The cloud remained on the ground but spun its target violently. The dwarf cried out between racked coughs.

As the pain in his shoulder began to lessen, Palin put away the spell book and retrieved his staff. He then witnessed the tornado stop short with a tumbling Raugh. Zackara pointed upward and as Palin followed her finger, she sent a wall of flame right over Raugh with her red ring.

Dagno flew quickly from his ledge, the psionic form of paralysis that Zackara had imposed on him, evading. The two mages moved back as the creature landed. A second later, he sent Palin upward in the air and the White Robe looked as if he were hanging upside down by some invisible force. He clung on to his robes with the staff under his arm to keep his items in place.

Zackara took off her amethyst ring and tried throwing it up, but the ring didn't even reach the height of his long, auburn hair. Tas, who had seen the event, ran to retrieve the ring on the floor.

"What shall I do with you, dear friend? Oh, what shall I do?" The ractor sharpened a claw with another one. "He isn't worth breaking one of my nails!" Dagno said sardonically.

Unlocking his claws, he raised his arms. Then abruptly, he brought them down.

Zackara took a great leap to catch the White Robe as he fell. She was strong, but Palin weighed more than she was used to lifting. She stubbed her toe from bending down against the force. As the elf tried to help Palin to his feet, they were faced with another dilemma.

This dilemma posed a problem for the whole party, even for Madfrent, who was still scribbling on his parchment. Before they could act further, a tidal wave bombarded them. Everyone went blind... for a short period of time.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO - More spells and familiars than you'll ever see in one lecture of mage-class...

Palin could finally breathe freely again. Every part of him was wet, but only his feet were drenched. Perhaps, it was because his boots were buried in the water from the wave. He shook his hair out and after hearing a moan, realized that he wasn't alone. Turning, he saw Zackara. The mage then noticed that they were surrounded by eight feet tall pegs of ice. Palin started to speak, but his words were quickly drowned out.

"I've only waited a number of centuries to give all of my knowledge to one of my kin. You probably think that I'm mad at you for destroying my successor... well, maybe just a little. But if Raugh were really worthy of my gift, he would have been able to handle your lot. Ah! No matter... I will wait. But as for you... I have need of you. You WILL serve some source of importance for me..."

Dagno's words ended there. Then a creature of flame formed from Zackara's red ring and stood in front of them in the ice circle.

"Please melt this away for us." Zackara gestured. It stamped over the water on the floor and flew through the pegs, melting them in seconds. The two mages felt their hair and clothes dry a bit from the heat. Soon, they were able to see the three remaining ice circles, which the psionic had her accomplice demolish. Only Tas wasn't in the one that was designed for him.

"He must have used the ring..." The elf said.

Kreya came forward as they looked up. Tas and Dagno were doing battle on the ledge. The kender had flown up and was trying to get the axe to act. Finally, the ledge started to boil like water and caused Dagno to retreat to the ground with Tas following.

As they came forward, Dagno curled a finger and a female water elemental appeared. The only features that made her distinguishable were her long blue hair and thin cheeks.

Zackara stood behind her flame friend and bade it protect her. She began to summon her phantom friend, Vissasser, and two more phantoms. Her actions were just for as she began casting, Dagno summoned three more water elementals.

As this occurred, the first water elemental formed a whip of water. She moved to try and hit the casting elf, but the flame friend made a threatening gesture. The elemental then tried to hit Kreya, but the brunette moved out of the way, Tas struck through the elemental with the axe. She turned and upon doing so, both Zackara and Palin, who were both casting, came out of their trances.

"Get them!" The derro pointed.

Zackara nudged the phantom forward with a simple command. The flame friend stood by her side as the first water elemental came toward her again.

"Here we go again," Kreya groaned as Vissasser joined her.

The kender was watching as Dagno decided to climb back into the height of the cave. He no longer had a ledge to relax on, so he morphed a loose rock from the wall into a thick rug and laid down, suspended in the air.

Tas put his hands on his hips. "Dagno is lazy. He makes everyone do his work for him and the energy he does use is for creating stuff to rest on. I ought to teach him a lesson!"

Luckily, he still felt the ring's power to give him flight. "Why do you keep running away from me?" He asked the dwarf-ractor as he floated up.

Dagno gave him an icy green stare. "You're really beginning to irritate me. And I don't suppose I can use you for anything. Kender have no magical value."

"What do you mean?"

The ractor turned his head for a second. "Ah!" A smile came across his face. "I have a little present for you to keep you occupied."

"Really?" Tas' excited face was almost as bright in intensity as the flow of his newly treasured weapon. "You mean you'll forgive me for boiling over your little resting place? I was only doing it because I thought you were hurting my friends. But now, I'm seeing that maybe you're not such a bad guy after all. Evil people can always have a change of heart."

"Ah... yes, they can." Dagno nodded. "Have this as a token of my friendship."

Tas' eyes widened. Two basketball-sized lavender objects came floating towards him.

"Wow! Can I touch them?"

"By all means!" The ractor waved his claws.

The kender didn't even need to move closer. The spheres exploded in the air as they came within two feet of him. Tas felt miserable from the after-effects. His clothes were covered with soot, his nose was bleeding, and a loud buzzing was growing in his ears. He looked at the axe. It was bloodied but unharmed (the blood having come from Tas' wounded nose and face). Then as he looked up, he noticed the broken parts of the spheres forming into gray dust.

"Reorx! You kender are sturdier folk than I thought!" Dagno then opened his mouth and let out an acid pool.

Tas flew up and the acid pool went downward. "And you are a liar!" The kender retorted.

"We'll deal with that later." The derro turned his head, boredom settling in on his face. He had to see how his chess game was going on downstairs.

The battle between the fourth water elemental and the third phantom was one of the shorter battles. The water elemental decided to form her own water whip and had to struggle in order to keep it. The phantom was trying to rip it away from her and finally succeeded. Then the elemental conjured up another one. The two creatures sported off and within two melees ended up strangling each other before returning to their proper planes of existence.

Zackara's battle was the second of the shorter battles, mainly because she had the flame friend with her. Such an elemental was the perfect match for an elemental of water. Unfortunately, the odds depended on which elemental affected the other one first. The tables were actually turned because the water elemental cast an ice wall on the creature of flame. Zackara returned the quick favor by using her red ring again to shoot a number of fireballs at the elemental.

While the third elemental and the second phantom exchanged a few shots, Palin tried to focus on polymorphing the elemental's water whip into something. His staff finally formed it into an oil lamp which the elemental instantly changed into a bottle of piping hot water. She gave a kick at the phantom and threw the bottle over him. The bottle splattered and only a portion of the water came towards Palin. Some of the hot water caught on to his robes, but none of it blistered his skin. His clothing was still damp in any case, so it didn't phase him.

He then knew what to do. Using the staff once more, he transformed the broken pieces of the bottle into a glass bowl. The bowl would just be a distraction for his next attempt. With his staff under his arm, the bowl in one hand, and rose petals in the other, he moved into the elemental's line of sight. Letting the staff fall, he threw the bowl at the elemental and started rubbing the rose petals together. The bowl didn't harm the water creature, but it helped to distract her from trying to harm Palin. The White Robe's next action was simple. The red mist growing from his hands changed into a fireball and diminished the elemental's existence.

The second water elemental was also having a problem because of the fact that she was outnumbered by Kreya and Vissasser. The first few moments were spent with the phantom attacking the elemental from behind and Kreya's attempts at cutting the whip with her sword. After trying a few times, the elf ended up getting hit in the face with it. Her cheek began to bleed slightly. The elemental then used the whip to get a hold on the sword. She wrapped the whip around it and pulled. She and the elf struggled for a couple of moments. The phantom then injured the elemental's neck and the water creature let go of the sword and the whip. Kreya swung the whip around until it unwound itself and landed on the floor as a pool of water.

Kreya then thought of something. She took a torch from her sack and lit it. "If no one's thirsty around here, I might as well do the last honor," She said, laughing. Then the swordswoman ran over and lit the elemental on fire, while the phantom stood back to let her.

As the battles ended, Dagno vanquished his rug and flew down. As he did, Zackara warned Kreya to keep her distance from Dagno. "If you want to help, try to construct some plan where we can gang up on him. For now, us mages will have try to take care of him," she told her.

The older sister turned to look for Tas and Madfrent, not seeing them at first. Towards the entrance of the cavern was where she found them. Tas had a small torch out and was looking at Madfrent's parchment, which had hardened from the heat after being slightly wet from the wave. Madfrent had some of the collected jars, his looking glasses, and several other instruments strewn out about the floor. As she came within inches of them, the gnome was issuing out the last of his instructions.

"Then all we have to do basically is lure him here..."

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - The plan is set into action, more bad news, Palin journeys back to Merwick.

The first thing that Dagno decided to do was send the remaining phantoms back to their elemental plane. There was no point in keeping the number of foes he had to face high when he didn't have to. The non-magic users seemed to have abandoned the battle, but it didn't bother him in the least. They were the easy prey for what he knew. The ractor made a gesture with his neck and the elementals simply dissipated.

"Try to distract him," Zackara mumbled, hoping that Palin could hear her. She could only hope that her psionics would bring the ractor down.

Dagno laughed at them. "How do you think you can get rid of me, huh?"

Palin tried to stand with a calm air. "We have our ways." He felt stupid saying it, but it was all he could think of.

The wizard heard a laugh followed again followed by a soft moan. Zackara had come out of her trance as quickly as she had gotten into it.

"You were successful once, elven psionic, but you won't be again. I have the power to resist your mind attacks, only at the time you paralyzed me, I wasn't aware of your being a mind mage. You actually might be a valuable commodity. Maybe I'll keep you for a while."

"Don't you dare!" Palin yelled.

Dagno ignored him, keeping his gaze on Zackara. He grinned as he heard her response. "I'd rather you kill me here and now."

"That can be arranged, but either way, I'll suck your energies dry."

Then, before any more words could be exchanged, the ractor opened his mouth and out came a green blast of acid. It quickly dissolved Zackara's breastplate, but her clothes and flesh beneath were unharmed. Mysteriously, the acid that came at Palin dissipated with a wave of the staff in front of him.

Palin didn't care at that point what happened to him. He remembered leaving the spellbook on the top of his sack...

"So, will you submit to my loyalties and live or..." As Dagno attempted at giving the psionic one last option, Palin dropped the sack and lifted the spellbook, letting the staff fall against the crease of his mid-arm. The mage remembered there being a spell that could produce a hail storm...

Dagno turned his eyes toward the young man and quickly planted a defense. Speaking some ancient words, a silver, spiked ball the size of a football formed in one of his claws. Grinning, he aimed the weapon at the casting wizard. But it was too late.

Zackara dodged in front of Palin and caught the ball in her stomach, where her armor had dissolved. She then collapsed on the floor at his feet.

The next thing Palin saw was millions of tiny, multi-colored marbles falling from the roof of the cave. Being in a trance after breathing the magic words, he did not witness Zackara's action. Only after the marbles formed into hail and dissipated, did he realize what had happened. Upon seeing the unconscious body, he heard Dagno's evil laugh. Then the dwarven beast opened his mouth, raised his wings, and blew a great wind at them. Both Palin and Zackara were forced against the back wall of the cave along with their belongings.

After watching them, Dagno took to the air. Flying up to the heights of the cave, he turned, planning to do a diving attack on the conscious wizard.

Palin's mind was swimming in confusion. He licked his lips, keeping his gaze on Zackara's mangled body. He wasn't sure that he was living reality anymore.

Then the cries of his friends woke him out of his stupor.

"Do something, Palin!" They cried. "We have a plan, but we need you to get him back on the ground!"

The White Robe laid his staff against the wall. He remembered another new spell that was perfect for using on a flying objects. But he needed extra spell components. Then, he thought of the pouch that Zackara had given him. Would it be possible? The spell called for beeswax, phosphorus, emerald powder or sparrow's wings. Any of the components could be used but Palin wasn't sure if he would be lucky enough to have any of them.

He offered a quick prayer to Paladine and opened the pouch at his side. The only thing that seemed remotely similar to the requested ingredients was a small vial with a green substance in it. At first, it looked like a thick solid but Palin tried shaking it and smiled. The emerald powder! Or so he hoped...

The mage closed the drawstrings, realizing that Dagno was beginning to descend. Fortunately, the spell was to be evoked very quickly. Muttering the syllables, which almost sounded like gnome speech, Palin dropped the book, let the green substance fall into his hand, and sprinkled it in the air.

Unfortunately, the only being able to tell what damage the conjuration had done was Dagno. His limbs started to feel like dead weights and his back felt like a dozen passengers were upon it. He grunted, trying to slow his movement down with his wingers, but they were rendered useless. His descent was double the speed it normally would have been had he not been cast into the misfortune.

Kreya, Tas, and Madfrent were the next ones to assess his condition. They had been counting on it. Madfrent's plan had been simple really. He had planned in the beginning to come up with some kind of brilliant contraption, but most of his time during the battles was spent on coming up with great ideas that only turned out to be impossible, due to the lack of resources in their surroundings. It had taken Tas several moments before he could understand the parts of Madfrent's instructions that were not marked off by scribble.

Dagno didn't initially fall into the trap the gnome had laid out for him, but he was pulled once Madfrent wrapped some rope around him that he had attached to his rod invention. After a few moments, the dazed creature fell into the pool of fish and slipped. His left leg and wing were already badly damaged from contact with the floor, not making matters better.

As the gnome pulled him towards the center, he gave Tas a nod to proceed with the next step. Tas looked up at the nails in the roof of the cave. While Zackara's ring was still effective, the kender had flown up and nailed the back of Madfrent's fire contraption into the wall. He was exceptionally careful, nervous that the ceiling might give way. But the gnome's palm-sized hatchet did the trick.

Tas then glanced at the ractor, who was trying to weakly claw through the rope around his back and neck. Turning away, the kender jumped on the wooden board made of scraps that his compatriot had nailed together. The board was at an angle with a huge rock on the other side and was atop another rock like a seesaw. As the kender's body went up, the rock went up and forward. Its target was a bundle of glass in a collection of scarves. The ends of the scarves were glued to the wall by a lump of beeswax that Tas had picked up on one of his past journeys. As the rock smashed into the bundle, its contents shattered and everything came down on Dagno, including the rock.

The kender then looked towards Kreya, who was more than ready to do her part. The swordswoman had her grappling hook tied to an extension of two ropes. She swung the ropes forward and on her second swing, the hook caught onto the middle of the invention. With all the strength that she could muster, the contraption was pulled forward and a dark, muddy substance poured out. It caused Dagno to have even further trouble with trying to get up.

The ractor tried concentrating on a spell, but the pain in his leg was pushing his mind away from focusing on the words he needed. When he could finally start chanting aloud, it was too late. Right in the middle of his invocation he felt the rope around him snap away from the rod that had been attached to it. Madfrent's strength gave way, but it didn't matter. Dagno's weight made the dwarf fall backward and he slipped even further with the fish wobbling under him, towards his couch, several feet behind him.

Kreya left the rope hanging in the air. She took a leap and grabbed the two untreated torches she had left on the floor. One after the other, she threw them forward. The elf noticed that the ractor had fallen on the floor a few yards from the couch. Her guess was that he took some more damage from the fall. But he was no longer visible once the torches made contact with the dirtied sea creatures.

Tas and Madfrent were already running towards her when the fire had moved to feed on the couch. Kreya ran and lifted the unconscious Zackara into her arms. Palin had been in shock the whole time. It took the kender's screaming in his ear for him to rise and pick up their belongings.

The party scurried back through the entrance to the alcove, which led to the wide corridor they had come from. Madfrent tended to Tas' wounds, with a little direction from Kreya. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do for her sister. Zackara lay in her lap, with the older sister's pressed into her stomach. Palin felt shivers rack his spine as he stared at the pool of blood on the floor.

"Her condition is fatal. Look at me, Palin."

The wizard did so, but the sight of the swordswoman was blurred by his tears.

"You're the only one who can help. You have to try to teleport back to the town. Time is crucial."

"I don't know... if I can." His voice quivered.

"You have to try!"

The mage got up as he heard the agony in her voice. He was still crying, but as Kreya came closer, he could see the redness of her face and eyes. He glanced down at his staff, knowing he wouldn't be able to carry it. Horror filled him as Kreya lifted her sister into his arms and he saw the unusual paleness of Zackara's face.

Another shiver went through his back and he bade Kreya take out the teleport ring from one of his pouches. She slipped it on his finger, looking at him but saying nothing.

As he saw her move back, Palin closed his eyes and tried to form an image of Merwick.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - Kreya, Tas, and Madfrent escape the cave,

Zackara escapes disaster.

Palin's memory led him to the road of where the inn he stayed at had been located. He was barely conscious of the stares that passing natives were giving him. He spotted a merchant standing outside his bakery. The merchant gave him directions to the closest temple of Paladine, but before he could bid him a farewell, Palin was off and running. The only thought that mage could form besides the thought of how he felt towards the incident was that he hoped his legs could carry him and the elf until he got to the temple.

His strength nearly gave out when he got there. Two clerics quickly took Zackara from his clutches upon his entrance. He followed them to a room in the back where they laid her on a table and removed her armor. He would have stayed in there longer if an elderly cleric hadn't asked him to wait outside and pray.

Palin obeyed the man and reentered the front. He noticed a few others deep in prayer, to the right of Paladine's tapestries. Words couldn't come to him at first. The mage still had the vision of Zackara's ghostly face stapled to his mind. Then thinking of Kreya and the others, he prayed that they could have a safe return and that he would have good news for them when they came.

Kreya sat back down and leaned against the cave. She looked at Madfrent, who had put an arm around Tas. The kender was dabbing his eyes with Fizban's handkerchief. "Why does it have to be this way? Everyone else came out alright."

"I wish I knew, Tas." She answered miserably. "My only guess is that Dagno was a bit too much for even two mages to handle."

The swordswoman covered her face in her hands. 'I lost my brother and now this? How can I have a happy wedding when I'll be bringing bad news to Elissas and the rest of my family?' were the words to raced through her mind.

"Maybe hope is not all lost. Maybe Palin got Zackara to the town successfully," Madfrent suggested softly.

"Let's hope that by all the gods fair and good that he did." Kreya wiped her nose. "Come on, we'd better get out of here."

The three travelers looked through the entrance to see what had become of their foe. The fire was still raging and the couch was completely in flames.

"We have to find a way to put out that fire out so we can leave safely," Kreya pointed out. "Everyone check your waterskins." The swordswoman went through her sister's sack and had Tas go through the remainder of Palin's things.

"It won't be enough," she concluded. "And I don't know if waiting will help."

"MaybeIcanmakeaconcoctionthatcouldtakethefireout!" Madfrent suggested enthusiastically.

Tas and Kreya looked at their gnome friend. "Oh! He means making a potion or something," Tas translated after a second of understanding.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," The swordswoman looked down at the floor.

"It's worth a try."

"But how will you know what ingredients to use?" Tas asked, watching Madfrent unload all his things from his sack.

"One day, our local bakery caught on fire. Well, we sent out a committee to try and figure out how to put out fires more quickly. Our chemists were hard at work, thanks to my looking glass. I now know the formulas for putting out fires, but I have to hope that we have the right ingredients. I will have to put each substance under my looking glass to figure out how many circles and lines are inside each substance."

"Circles and lines?" Tas questioned him, but the gnome was already too busy to be bothered with less important questions. After a few moments, the gnome had everything set up on the floor like an official lab. Kreya and Tas laid the jars they had with them beside Madfrent's things. The kender took notes on a piece of parchment, regarding what had been in each jar.

Madfrent was concerned that most of the jars would contain impure concoctions and that he wouldn't be able to separate the elements within. His prediction came true. The only ingredient he found that was needed was a colorless solid form in one of the large green jars.

"A-L-2-S-O-4-3"! Madfrent dictated to his secretary.

After going through Tas' pile, he came up with two more necessary components, licorice and a silver white powder.

"Along with the water, we have everything we need save for two ingredients," the gnome reported.

"What are those?" Kreya demanded.

"I need a rock and some ashes."

"It might be dangerous, but I'll try to see if I can get some ash from the burnt fishes at the edge of the fire."

The swordswoman took a clean, empty jar that she had washed out after having had some preserved fruit in it. Dusting off her armor, she walked towards the entrance. Setting her mind to work on something lessened the level of pain.

Meanwhile, Madfrent tried to decide on what they could put the formula in. "We don't have anything big enough," he complained.

"Wait! I have an idea." Tas looked at Palin's staff, lying on the floor. The idea of being able to use the item brightened his mood a bit.

"Maybe I can magick up something for us."

The light from the crystal was a faint glow now, but as Tas made contact with the wood, the glow seemed to increase. The kender held on to it with both hands and looked towards two medium-sized rocks a few feet away from their lab. Upon closing his eyes, Tas squeezed the muscles in his face as hard as was possible. Madfrent started chuckling at the sight until...

Three orange bolts of energy sizzled through the air and cracked the rocks open into four fragments.

Madfrent nearly fell down from the shock, but Kreya was there to catch him. "What is this foolishness?"

Tas turned around. "I was trying to form something for putting the solution in."

"I don't think it's a good idea to use Palin's staff for that!" The swordswoman handed Madfrent the jar of collected ashes and small fragments from rocks.

She then removed the staff from Tas' hands and laid it against the wall. "Give me all the metal things you have and I'll see what I can do. Where's that hatchet you were using, Tas?"

A few minutes later, Kreya returned with a multi-colored conglomeration of a canister. She had taken a mirror, belt, iron goblet, and a few of her companions' less important things, which included a cowbell, whistle, and dagger. Using Madfrent's hatchet, she skillfully smelted the metal parts of the items together.

By then, Madfrent was more than ready to combine the ingredients. As he poured all the water that was left from the five waterskins, he muttered, "I do hope this will be enough."

Kreya volunteered to pour the substance onto the fire because of the fact that she was the most protected. Tas and Madfrent

then started moving all the belongings back toward the entrance.

The swordswoman tested the substance cautiously, only pouring a few drops over the fire. A silver mist rose from the reaction. A foot of the fire went out. The elf also noticed that the fire was starting to die down at the far end.

After announcing her success, she moved further and used up seventy-five percent of the substance by the time the fire was fully put out. Kreya gave the remainder of the solution to the gnome who took an empty jar of his own and spilled it in. Madfrent saw no reason for getting rid of it; it could be used in the future if they needed it again.

Upon deciding to look for a possible opening, Kreya passed towards the area where the couch had been. There were a few bones that hadn't been totally demolished from the flames. Looking down at them, she also noticed a shiny object in the shape of a feather.

"It must have been an amulet of Dagno's!" The elf picked it up and dropped it into a pouch.

The end of the cave wall was a few feet ahead. Kreya tried to peek through spaces in the rocks. She couldn't seen any particular objects, but she did note something: through the rocks the area up ahead looked brighter.

Then again, she didn't have much light.

Her companions were putting their things away when she returned. "I'll take Palin's staff. You can take one of Zackara's each, but don't try to use them."

Tas ended up handing Madfrent his axe so he could carry Zackara's iron staff, which was actually quite heavy.

"What about my fire invention?" Madfrent looked at the ceiling.

"I'll get it." Kreya responded. Tas gave her Zackara's ring. After retrieving the contraption, she had an idea.

The elf flew to the cave wall at the top, looked through the rocks, and came down. "I see the exit. It's to our left."

They followed her to the northwestern most corner. "There must be some kind of secret entrance or something." Kreya started kicking the rocks. To her surprise, a door composed of rock fell forward.

The travelers walked down a long curving path and came in contact with a cool breeze.

"Ah, sunlight!" Madfrent exclaimed as he witnessed the sight of grass and trees.

"Good. Let's go." Kreya started walking at a faster pace.

"What about the treasure?" demanded Tas.

The elf stopped to look behind her. "Zackara's life is more important than any treasure. If there is any, we'll have to come back and look."

Tas took out his handkerchief and dabbed his eyes before continuing to walk. The gnome waited for him.

Kreya's eyes were beginning to water again, but she whispered with a renewed strength, "We're coming, sis."

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE - Zackara regains consciousness, Palin regains hope.

An hour had gone by before Palin was readmitted to the area where Zackara was being treated. To him, it felt like four hours. He had prayed for a while, then stepped outside the temple to sit down on its stairs.

As he looked at citizens and merchants passing by, he thought about the battle. Had it really happened? All this time spent looking for the ractor and only a few minutes to do battle with it. And to find out that the monster had really been an old dwarven mage polypmorphed! Palin wondered what would have happened if Raugh had lived to gain all his ancestor's knowledge.

But he didn't. And now there was a possibility that Zackara wouldn't live. Oh, Zackara! Why did all the women he loved have to go away?

The mage started crying again and had to wipe his dirty, rough, and cut-up face with the edge of his torn robes. Not long after, the temple door opened and a cleric ushered him back in.

As he walked into the healing area, a brawny man with white hair and beard approached him. "She's still unconscious, but we've managed to stop most of the bleeding. We've put all of her belongings on the floor."

Palin walked over and saw her rings, armor, pouches, cloak, boots, and shortsword lying on a blanket at the foot of the bed. Fortunately, Zackara was stationed at the far left of the area, so he could have a little private time with her. The mage sat down in an empty chair near her things.

He was relieved to see that some color had returned to her face. The clerics had left her in her own clothes, but they had taken the bottom of her tunic and tied it right above her waist so they could bandage the damaged area. Palin moved closer and after a pause, moved her bangs away from her forehead. With trembling fingers, he took the edge of one of his sleeves and wiped her face with it.

"Why did you do it?" He whispered, but expected no response. He could only guess that the elf had jumped in front of him and protected him simply because it was the noble thing to do.

"Don't leave me, Zackara. I want to get to know you. And you have so much to live for. You can't leave, at least not... think of your sister and the rest of your family who loves you. And I... I love you."

Palin closed his eyes for a second. He wasn't at all surprised, though, to have said such a thing. He let a finger run instinctively towards her cheek. A second later, he jumped back nervously. The cleric wanted to tend to her again. Reluctantly, the White Robe got up and let them.

By nightfall, Kreya, Madfrent, and Tas had arrived. Kreya told him how they had went to another temple on the other side of town and would have had to try two others, if this had not been the right one. Palin agreed to leaving her with her sister so they could have some time together and so he and his other compatriots could get their things settled in an inn.

After having dinner, Palin left the two fellows in the rooms he had rented out. He bought some food for Kreya and returned to the temple with it. The elf was thankful and after looking at the psionic for a few more minutes, Kreya left. She urged Palin to return with her but he refused. That sent her away with a smile.

Before falling asleep in the chair at her side, Palin had been relieved to find out the fortunate news of the clerics' success in stopping the bleeding.

Two days later, Zackara regained consciousness. Tas had run back from the temple to give Palin the news, whom was sleeping. Without even thinking, the mage dressed quickly and ran to the temple.

It was lightly drizzling when he had left that morning, but his mood could hardly be ruined.

Kreya was sitting with the elf maiden. The two were laughing and talking about the battle. Zackara was sitting up and the bandage around her waist had just been changed.

Reticently, Palin stood behind Kreya's chair and stole a glance. The glow of Zackara's eyes and her smile renewed the fervor in his heart and he had to look away. He listened as Kreya told her how the non-magic fire had been the downfall of their foe. Zackara asked her sister to give Madfrent the highest compliments for his plan.

Kreya then decided to leave to grab some breakfast and promised the psionic that she'd bring some food back for her to enjoy.

The psionic asked Palin to sit down and he did so, laying his staff against the wall. He looked at her bandage and waited to see if she was going to say something.

Zackara looked at him. "I know the past few days have been difficult, but thank the gods that it's all over now."

Palin nodded, glancing at her. She was holding her hand out to him. Hesitantly, he stretched out his hand and put it in hers. Feeling the elf squeeze his fingers, he gulped, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. As he opened them to look at their hands, she said, "Thank you for saving my life. If you had not gotten here as quickly as you did, I might have lost too much blood and not recovered."

"I would d-do it all a-gain, if I had to. But it was you who saved my-my life. I thank you f-for that."

"I was only protecting you, because you were worth protecting."

Feeling the warmth of her words and noticing the smile out of the corner of his eye, he blushed and smiled back. Then after taking a deep breath, he asked her, "Uhm... would you l-like a drink of water?"

Zackara loosened her grip and laid back. "Please, that would be most refreshing."

A little more relaxed, Palin went outside to a place next door and brought back two goblets of fresh water. Smiling inside, he thought, 'Maybe there's hope after all...'

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - The treasure is discovered...

It was a little over two weeks before Zackara was able to leave the temple. The companions had decided to wait until she was better to go back and look for the treasure. A regular operation would have taken longer, if not for the services and prayers of the clerics. But they still wanted Zackara to be careful in her movement. She walked by her sister, their arms clasped together.

Tas was ahead of them, telling Madfrent about the very nice gnome he had met, who Raistlin had killed.

Palin was lagging behind the sisters. He talked constantly with them, yet he kept his distance. The last contact he had made with the psionic was a handshake, two weeks back. There was no reason for him, in his mind, to assume that the handshake meant anything more than friendship.

The mage also knew that their journey was coming to an end. Although his heart had it in for her, his mind warned him of their probable departure that would come right after finding the treasure. She would go back to Silvanesti and he would go back to Solace. Maybe he could go see Raistlin at the Tower.

During the days of her recovery, he busied himself with short visits, going over the new spells in his book (memorizing them, not trying them) and identifying or getting identified for him the components in the pouches and jars from the gnome and kender. Madfrent had tried to convince him that he knew what they were, but Palin had a local chemist check them anyway.

He also thought about the situation with Fistandantilus. He tried not to let on that it was still bothering him, but the idea that they were coming again within reach of the problem's source made him apprehensive.

"I'd like to make a suggestion." Zackara announced as they came within one hundred feet of the exit. "I think Kreya, Tas, and Madfrent should hold all our things back here so we can do a magical detection."

The elf then took off her items, including what remained of her armor. Palin sighed, realizing that he'd have to leave his staff, but knowing that she had a good point.

Within minutes, the cave was before them. The two mages gave each other a quick glance and went to work.

"I feel it all over." Zackara responded after she finished the detection.

Palin was standing more directly towards the cave. "I think it's coming from in there."

"You're probably right." She was watched admiringly as she headed for the entrance. The young man thought her quite brave for returning unarmed as he followed her in and it was nothing compared to the admiration he had already for her actions towards protecting him.

"We should have brought Madfrent's looking glass," he heard her mumble as she studied the walls. Palin decided to look on the ground. Nothing but some slightly charred bones lay across the stone.

Zackara placed her lantern by her feet as she continued. The White Robe decided to light one that Kreya had let him borrow. Upon lighting it, he thought he saw a tiny gleam between the bones. The source of the gleam was sandwiched between a long thin bone and a crack in the floor.

A smile came across his face as he picked the item up. It was Raugh's amulet!

"Come, look!" The psionic was beckoned over.

She smiled. "That gives me an idea." Suddenly, the elven woman set off running. A befuddled Palin followed her. As they approached the rest of the company, the golden feather charm that Kreya had found was requested. The three were then allowed back to the cave with them.

"The treasure may not necessarily be here, but there is some kind of magical power surrounding the area," Zackara told them.

Tas was about to ask her something when she turned and tried to gather more information psionically.

The feather had belonged to Dagno. Somehow, they hadn't seen it on him when he was alive. Zackara's only guess was that he had been wearing it around his neck under his robes when he was in dwarf form. An image then come to her mind. It was of the ractor sleeping. He was dozing peacefully, then all of a sudden he pawed at the ground. Zackara tried to press into the image further. Beneath his nails was a golden glow. The feather! He must have had it within him somehow.

The psionic then asked herself about what he could have kept the feather for. Another vision came into view. It was of a huge open area, somewhat filled by high bookshelves with lit candles atop them. Zackara recognized it, after noticing the sea of jars and vials.

Dagno was there with the leaf in hand, dangling on a black chain from his neck. He whispered to the leaf, his eyes in half- slits. The leaf sparkled in the dancing candlelight as he opened them and said aloud, "There, that should be everything."

Her mind was in a whirlwind as the vision flashed to a third one. Dagno was sitting in a dimly lit room with a medium-sized book in his lap and pen in hand. He seemed to be writing a list dwarven names.

Zackara tried to peer closer at the names, but she felt her energies waning a bit. Taking a deep breath, she tried to tap into some more mental power, this time from Quentos in her hand. Now the writing in the book was becoming clearer. She realized that they were names of his siblings, their children, and folk that had become before them. The elf looked further towards the top of the page and saw how the surname was beginning to change. She wondered if there had been many other magic-users along his line.

Shrugging, she opened her eyes and looked at her mystified companions.

"So, what did you find?" asked Kreya.

Her sister held out her palm. "This little charm may hold information to all the great concoctions, inventions, and powers that Dagno ever had."

"The weapon," Tas whispered, licking his lips and remembering the prediction that the fortune-teller had given him. He knew it was meant for Palin, but it seemed rather harmless just to indulge in imagining all the contents stored in the item.

"Could you try Raugh's charm and see if it could help us in any way?" Palin walked over to her.

"I'll try it, but first let me rest a bit. That really tapped my energy." Turning, she moved to lean against the cave wall nearest her.

The White Robe wanted to help support her, but he was just too shy. Instead, he dropped his hands and said, "Well, maybe you don't even need to do it. Maybe the treasure is all the knowledge stored in that charm."

"You could be right, but I can give it a try, anyhow."

Kreya eyed the amulet. "Let me see that for a second."

After fussing with the inscription, she grumbled, "It only talks about how Dagno would grant Raugh great magical powers. Nothing about treasure. I can't read the other side, it's in an older version of Dwarven."

The three continued conversing, unaware of the fact that Tas and Madfrent had taken it upon themselves to try and find the treasure.

The kender was at the corner of the back wall, trying to hack away the floor with the golden axe. "Let's start over here," he said.

Madfrent decided to try the wall. He used his hatchet and little boulders came chipping away. After a few minutes, he paused and put his ear to the wall. "Wait! I hear something!"

Tas was quickly at his side. "I hear it, too! Come on!"

They set to work and easily took out a section, Some rocks above started to crumble down, but the two waited patiently until the wall was done with its tirade. Fortunately, it turned out to be in their favor.

By then, their taller friends were scolding them about the possibility of a cave-in, but they were beyond the point of listening to reason. Kender and gnome made it through the opening and were surprised to see some light up ahead. There was enough room for one person to walk through at a time, although the ceiling was very low. The sandy floor they were walking across seemed to be getting damp. Tas could tell because it looked darker and was a little easier to tread across.

"I wonder where the light source is from," Tas said aloud.

Madfrent found it more difficult to see because of the very fact that Tas was blocking the light in front of him. Faltering, he bumped into the kender.

"Slow down, Madfrent!"

The gnome was about to utter an apology, but voices behind them caused him to hesitate. "Maybe we should wait for them," he finally commented.

"Oh, chickenfeathers!" Tas finally exclaimed. "Let's just keep going, they'll catch up with us."

As they peddled on, the sand was completely wet and the scent of salt became strong. Shallow water was a few yards out. The air was humid and the brightly lit area caused the travelers to feel even more uncomfortable.

The others were right behind them now, carrying on a conversation, but Tas wasn't the least bit interested. His mind was on the plants hanging from the cave walls.

"The Rhasbodryl plants," Zackara commented as she turned her head upward.

Now the kender was occupied with a wall of starfish that was blocking the path ahead. He had always wanted to start a starfish collection. Tas tugged at a few indigo colored leaves from the plants, shoved them into a pocket, then moved to pick up several starfish that were floating under the surface. As he took a few steps, the ground felt unusually hard.

Tas tapped his foot a few times and tested the substance.

"Madfrent, get your looking glass out!"

The gnome was so excited that he dunked the invention in the water without even thinking. "It's fuzzy," he mumbled.

"Aaw, never mind!" Tas threw his arms up and shouted behind him. "Guys, I think we found something!"

It took the party quite some time to drag the long and narrow gray trunk back through the secret tunnel. Tas and Madfrent were up front tugging while the swordswoman and two mages took turns pushing on their knees. Kreya ended up doing most of the work because she was the strongest physically.

Zackara smiled as she saw her sister drink up almost half the liquid in her waterskin before a full swallow. She then used a psionic power to detect whether a trap was set on the trunk. Indeed, there was. Unsure of what to do, she cast the White Robe a glance of suggestion.

Without even speaking, he lifted the Staff of Magius and focused on the buckled snaps adorning each side of the trunk's lid. When the image of them burned into his eyes, he could see the objects trying to change and felt the power pulsing from the staff to his fingers.

But the snaps would not fully change. Instead, a beige mist came out from under the crack of the lid and the trunk's body. It formed into a hand, which attempted to grab onto Palin's staff.

The staff seemed to be in a battle with the hand; Palin's companions watched in awe as the light in the crystal began to burn colors. Palin tried to move back, but the hold on the staff was extremely strong and he could only manage a few steps.

The image of the hand grew stronger and Palin had to close his eyes to avoid the brightness. As he did, he thought he saw a silver spark erupt in the blackness, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Then images of all his past fears and concerns came into view: Steel's blue dragon, the loss of his brothers, the loss of Usha, the Phaselings, the Rapiertail, the two derros, Fistandantilus, and finally the possible loss of Zackara. The fact that the elf was only a few feet away strengthened his spirits.

Then the mage realized that the hand was trying to make his apprehension his downfall. He held his hands out, still gripping the staff, and embraced whatever would come against him. He had to believe that something good would come to him somehow, else he would lose his battle against the hand and the battle within his own self.

Suddenly, it felt easier to keep his hold on the staff. Relaxing, he opened his eyes and saw that the hand was no longer there. Palin then acknowledged that he was being fully studied by the whole party.

"You did it!" Tas exclaimed and gave him a hug.

Palin smiled, hugged him back, and watched as Kreya dared to open the snaps. The lid came away with a push. She gave Palin a pat on the back, while everyone else peered inside.

Several amulets were laid across dwarf-sized swords and daggers. Pouches, books, and manuscripts lay under them. Different colored stones were wrapped in red cloth under the books with three different scrolls in tubes next to them.

The elves and human were worried about what Tas and Madfrent would take, knowing that they'd probably get themselves into trouble. Kreya took two of the daggers while the other three were divided among Zackara, Tas, and Palin. She also took two of the swords while the kender reached for the third. The amulets were given to Palin with the psionic's suggestion, though Tas argued long against it. The colored stones and scrolls were quickly picked up by the kender and the gnome. The gnome was even more excited when he realized that the scrolls were star charts!

The pouches contained different kinds of coins (mostly dwarven), rare spell components, and a few rings. Palin took the rings and components while the money was given to Kreya, Tas, and Madfrent.

Zackara wanted to do a further scrutiny to decide which books and manuscripts to keep and which to give to Palin. Kreya was willing to wait until she made her decision.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - Palin and Zackara stay on the island and find a more valuable treasure...

The next morning came and Zackara still had not come up with a decision. Tas and Madfrent were getting restless, but the psionic informed them well that there was no need for them to remain. Kreya was also surprised when her sister told her that she could travel back to Silvanesti by herself if she wanted to return right away.

Lacing up her boots, Zackara told Palin, "I'm thinking of staying a little while longer on the island. I'd really like to learn more about this whole Dagno situation if I could. You're welcome to investigate it with me."

The mage smiled inside. A chance to know her better! Even if they couldn't be lovers, maybe they could become great travelling companions, exploring their magic together...

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." He tried to answer in the most calm way.

"Then it's settled." Zackara got up and looked at her sister. Kreya gave her a small grin, but the younger sister maintained her serious expression.

"Since I'm not going, maybe it would be wise to give you this..." Palin then reached for a pouch and took out his teleportation ring.

"You're serious?" Kreya's eyes widened.

"I wish you safe travel." The mage smiled, holding the item out to her.

The swordswoman gave him a quick hug before exchanging goodbyes with the others. She gave her sister one last look and said, "Remember - be back before the twenty-eighth of the month after next."

"No problem." Zackara responded, hoping the teleportation would go through. Kreya's disappearing form confirmed her hope.

The elf and the human than accompanied their friends to the shore. Madfrent had already set off his communication alarm for his gnome friends to come pick him up before they left the town.

Before the gnome ship showed up, the company ate lunch and exchanged some stories. After growing tired of it, Zackara walked off several hundred yards, closed her eyes, and tried to bring back some mental energy by meditating.

A few minutes after she came back, the ship arrived. Madfrent politely introduced his sister to the psionic. Palin recognized the ship and exchanged greetings with the captain. A polite refusal was given to Tas after he asked them once more if they would like to accompany him and Madfrent to Mt. Nevermind. "Adorable little fellows," was all Zackara could say as the ship of waving creatures sped away.

The maiden then asked Palin if he would like to travel along the coast further north and he agreed. As he walked by her side, he tried to shake off the shock of the fact that he was still here with her. It was difficult for him to do so, especially as he turned his admiring gaze to the thin strips of clouds that were hanging lazily in rows under the sun.

Zackara picked a spot a few feet from the water, where several birds were dipping their beaks in, hoping to catch a bite to eat. The books and manuscripts were laid out in two columns on a sheet that she had taken out.

She suggested splitting the reading between them, but it didn't go very well. Palin reminded her that he only knew about five Dwarven words and in return, the psionic admitted that half the works were written in a very old dialect of the language.

"I don't even know if we could find anyone to translate them."

"Maybe Raistlin could. The man totally intrigues me," Palin declared.

Zackara dropped the book from her hand onto the sheet with the others, a small grin setting in. "I could relate to that," she said softly.

Palin looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"

The elf then moved to sit closer to him. What was going on all of a sudden?

"Why do you think I asked if you wanted to stay with me a while longer?"

"Uh... to study the books..."

"My guess was that the books would all be in Dwarven and that you wouldn't be able to read any of them."

"Then... why?"

Zackara said nothing, keeping her gaze on him. Palin, looking back at her, tightened his grip on the staff. He then questioned her a second time.

"Why are you like this? D-distant at one minute and friendly at the n-next?"

"Close your eyes," she whispered.

With a shiver, the White Robe did so. He didn't see an image, but he felt emotions run through him that were not his own. Yet every one he related to. Sadness... suspicion... curiosity... wonder.

The mage looked at her demurely, understanding that she was telling him how she felt before she met him and after. The only thing he could think of to say was...

"When you told me how you use your psionic powers, it was a very special moment for me."

Zackara smiled, her eyes catching the sunlight and causing him to sigh. "It is very special that you tell me this."

The elf maiden moved closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. Palin shivered again. Was this really happening? He tried to stop a shaking hand by curling it into a fist. The sound of his quickly beating heart was then drowned out by the sound of her lips brushing his.

And a moment later, her arms were around him. He was so nervous at that moment that all he could do was weakly put his arms around her and let her kiss him. 'Oh, Zackara,' he thought as the excitement flowed through his veins, 'Why didn't you let me know how you felt sooner?!'

A thought came back to him. 'Because with everyone around, I didn't feel it was appropriate and I was still battling with my feelings for awhile.'

'For Oryn?' he then asked.

Zackara withdrew from her kiss. "No. I just didn't know how I should feel about you."

Palin looked at the sand, blushing. "I knew how I felt about y-y-you..." Covering his face with the hood of his robe, he stopped speaking.

The elf turned back to him and took off the hood. Running her fingers through his hair, she whispered, "Your shyness excites me."

Closing his eyes, he said more easily, "I don't know what it is... but there's certainly something about you that excites me."

But the mage really did know. His lips still remembering the taste of hers, he let his body indulge in another cycle of shivers. She was still untangling his soft auburn waves when he thought, 'I still don't know how I've managed to stand everything that has happened. I never thought there could be a situation more magical than magic itself.'

Palin didn't know whether Zackara was still mentally listening, but he wouldn't have minded. In fact, it would have made everything all easier - the thoughts he was too timid to tell her of... he could tell her in his mind or with his feelings.

"You are so different, Palin." The psionic said, holding him close. After he buried his face in her hair, she added, "I've never met another mage so thoughtful, warm, and sweet. I can just sense that about you."

In response, he thought, 'You are so beautiful... and I'm sorry if you thought I was some kind of crazed mage... it's just that when I first saw you... I was beside myself... and I wanted to get to know you... I'm so glad you gave me this chance.'

As Zackara grabbed him even closer, he felt like a dog that was getting its belly rubbed. At that moment, he didn't feel like he needed to say anything more.

The two mages kept their embrace for several more moments and neither wanted time to move on. What caused them to draw away from each other was basically their interests in each other's lives. Zackara pushed the books and manuscripts aside. There was time to look at them later. For now, she was a lot more interested in getting to know Palin Majere.

"What is it about?"

"Some story involving some overgrown boring thing who would only teach spells for a very high price," came a reply.

The young mage looked over the reader's shoulder, but he knew it wouldn't make any difference. The words were like scribble to him. He continued brushing her hair, looking out at the tranquility of the sea. The sky was beginning to darken and the clouds floated playfully along, turning orange and light blue as they went.

"I'll be right back," Palin whispered and dropped the comb. Zackara stared at him, confused as he walked back toward the hills. When he returned, she was standing and glancing in his direction. In his hands were five different colored wildflowers.

As she smiled, she noticed his face turn light pink and his green eyes dance with delight.

"I haven't had much experience with this, but I felt you were worthy of such a gesture."

Sniffing the flowers, she laughed and replied, "I must be the luckiest psionic in the world."

"You're probably the only psionic in the world."

"Maybe not." She turned and looked at the stars that were beginning to twinkle.

"What do you mean?" The doubt in his mind that he could measure up to what he really knew she expected was replaced by intrigue. Again, he felt the sensation of her feelings towards him. This time, they were of joy and care. He couldn't help but smile and longed for her to be near him.

He tried sending the emotions. After Palin felt her put her arms around him, he looked at her disappointed face.

"I could tell that you were trying to express yourself with your smile, but I couldn't feel your emotions mentally. Maybe it is possbile that you have the energy, but that you need to start exercising it."

The mage frowned. He wanted to have such an experience with her!

"Oh, don't worry about it! We can try it again some other time."

After seeing that he wasn't convinced, she grabbed his hand and started running forward.

"What are you doing?" He asked nervously, but there was no need for her to answer. His feet became instantly wet as she pulled him towards the sea.

Zackara turned, smiled, then let go of his hand and plunged into the deeper water. Palin stared in her direction, intrigued before the action, and fascinated after. Her midnight hair stuck to her back and past her hips, her wet clothing revealing the musculature of her arms and legs. She held out her hand and the mage felt compelled to take it.

The night air was slightly cool and Palin knew he'd be cold once he went in further, but for the opportunity of being near her again, he was willing to take the risk.

After taking an evening swim, the couple built a fire and cuddled in front of it before starting to cook some food for dinner. Palin asked her if he could comb her hair again. He was still nervous around her and extremely self-conscious after getting his robes all wet, but he thought that by doing such a task, it might be a good start for getting used to her.

"So what did you think of me when your first saw me?"

The mage gulped. "Um... uh... well, I thought, well, I wondered what you thought of me."

Zackara turned and smiled, gazing into his green eyes that looked dim in the dark light. "I don't think you're telling me everything."

"Well, I can tell you this," Palin absentmindedly played with one of his robe sleeves. "I wanted to meet someone special for a long time. Someone intelligent, a girl who could understand or share my interests..."

Grinning, he looked away. After noticing a seashell a few inches from him, he picked it up. "I want to follow in my uncle's footsteps, but I want to do good. I want to avoid the mistakes that Raistlin made."

"I would like to share those dreams with you, if you want me to. But now that you've made the point about doing good, I don't know if it's such a good thing that we keep this treasure. Shouldn't it returned to Dagno's family?"

"You're right. But I hope we can find them."

"I might be able to do some investigating. But tonight, tonight is for us."

Daring to look at her, he felt a tingle down his back as he felt her take his hand.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - The trek into Thorbadin...

It was mid-October when Palin and Zackara had arrived in Thorbadin. Despite the mild summer, the autumn had begun warm and was still warm. The leaves on the trees and the grass in the fields had changed slight colors, due to some sparsely cool days, however.

The sky was so clear and the scent of fruit in the fields was so sweet that the two travelers had almost regretted their having to enter the underground kingdom. Yet their mission was pertinent.

Fortunately, they had made good time. After returning to the port of Merwick by foot, they waited in the town for a ship that would arrive a few days later and depart for Abanasinia. With good weather, they managed to make it there in a little less than two weeks.

Their first stop had been Solace and it took them another week and a half to get there from the northern coast because they had to travel by foot. Palin's family greeted both him and his visitor warmly. However, Caramon was disconcerted to hear that they decided to move on and try to return the items to the family of Dagno Grapstone's. When he asked them why they hesitated in the first place, Zackara told him how she didn't realize that they had been family keepsakes. The journal of Dagno's had explained the stories of how his ancestors had come to obtain the items. Her suspicions towards his stealing them had been wrong, if the stories were true, in any case.

"Whether they are not, we will have to find out when we get there," she told him. "As for returning the other items, we'll have to get them back from everyone."

'An almost futile task,' Palin thought. 'Knowing Tas, it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Still we have to find out the truth and try.'

Even after listening to their convictions, Caramon expressed his concern. "Flint had a bit of trouble with the Theiwar," he commented, remembering the old dwarf's story from years back. "You'll be lucky if you can even get into the kingdom, let alone getting out of it. It's a noble idea, but an unsafe one."

Zackara was determined in her decision. "I still think we should do it. I'm up for the adventure, but if the treasure was truly part of a family heirloom, it only makes sense to return it to them."

"I go where Zackara goes, Father..." added Palin.

After seeing the truth in his eyes, the older man replied, "Well, at least let me travel with you. All the dwarves are great warriors, including the derros."

"I think we'll do just fine," the mage retorted, but his father remained unconvinced.

"I don't like it one bit. Even after the last war, the mountain dwarves remain way too malicious. And travelling through the Kharolis mountains is no kender outing. If you're going to do it, I suggest you travel along the coast and go to the South Gate. I realize that I can't stop you from going, but just remember the nature of the dwarves."

The two mages heeded to his words and were able to make haste with two horses from the Majere barn and some food that Tika had stocked for them.

Now they were about five-hundred yards from the South Gate and they could see how a huge peak from the range of the Kharolis mountains appeared as a roof for the towering steel gates. As they came closer, they could see that the gates were open but that there were twelve guards in distinguished armor lining the entrance. Each dwarf held a small cloth in his or her free hand to keep eyes protected from the blinding light. The dwarves wore iron masks, but it didn't provide any protection for their eyes.

Palin and Zackara stopped two feet from the guards. The elf held her hand up in peace and told the guards in Dwarven that they were merely here to gain some knowledge. She could tell that they feared her and Palin, probably because of Palin's mage robes and because of her strange, glowing armor. Two dwarves spoke to each other while the other ten merely exchanged glances. Then, one of them nodded and retreated past the gates. One of the remaining guards, a female dwarf, smiled slightly and told Zackara that they would have to meet with the Thane of the Daergar. The Daergar were the dwarves who controlled the South Gate and the whole southern part of the kingdom.

The dwarf who had left soon returned and waved a hand up to signal the other dwarves that it was alright for the visitors to enter. The other dwarves stood aside in two rows so Palin and Zackara could pass with their horses.

As they approached the gates, the gruff, sandy-haired dwarf gestured for them to stop. "Noran Omoth," he said.

"He wants our weapons," Zackara declared, taking her shortsword off her belt.

Palin leaned his cheek against the cool wood of his staff, hesitant to let anyone hold it.

The dwarf also explained that they could lead their horses but that the Daergar would have to hold on to their sacks as well as their weapons as a protective measure for conferring with the Thane. The psionic returned polite words of understanding as two more dwarves joined them to carry the stuff.

Just ahead of them was an intricately carved bridge which would lead them down to a lower level from a very slight angle. At first, the level of darkness didn't bother the human or elf because the entrance level was still receiving light from the opening. However, as the group reached the end of the bridge, neither mage could see very well, even Zackara's elvensight wasn't helping much. The mountain dwarves, knowing this, asked them if they wanted to use a candle. The dwarf holding Zackara's sack let her rummage through it until she could get a hold of one.

Once the candle was lit, the mages were able to make the connection of sight with the sounds of bustle from the city. Daerbardin resembled cities of other races, but because of the natural inventiveness and preciseness that was bestowed on the dwarves with regard to building things, the shops and homes outshined the structures in all the other cities that both Zackara and Palin had ever seen.

The dwarves' taste for colors was lavish; the buildings varied from the lightest to darkest of all the imaginable shades. Fountains with statues depicting dwarven heroes could be found at every three-hundred yards. Many homes were decorated with carvings around the walls and on the family name signs next to the front doors. Even street signs were ornamented. Two crystal blue lakes which flowed to the Urkhan Sea added to the splendor of the southern city.

After passing over another bridge which led further west, the group came to a mauve-colored building with red and white flags depicting hammers, shields, and flagons on them.

Five guards stood in chain mail before the hall. Over each shoulder of each dwarf was a long cloth band that had the same image that flags had. They were also made with the same colors. The dwarves patted their own right shoulders twice and watched as the guards with Palin and Zackara repeated the action. The group of five then stepped aside so the travelers and their hosts could enter the premises.

They came to the residence of the Thane after going through a light red hallway with numerous steel doors on each side. The door to the room they were to enter was also made of steel but the doorknob looked as if it were composed of pure gold. Portraits of past Thanes hung on pegs.

One of the dwarves knocked on the door seven times and waited for a response in his native tongue. As they entered the rectangular room, several guards could be seen on the side walls. Palin figured that the room could only hold about twenty-five people at most. He was surprised that a dwarf of such high status would work in such a small room; this alcove looked like more of an office than a hall.

As soon as Palin and Zackara were ushered towards the dwarf, he took a correct guess at what the White Robe was thinking. "Greetings, visitors. And no, this is not our hall for the Thane but a more respectable spot for dealing with daily matters. I use it to make the citizens feel more comfortable." Then, with a nod, he added, "I am Thane Leufor."

Both mages bowed and introduced themselves. When they mentioned needing information about a derro family, the visitors perceived that the golden-haired Thane was suspicious by the twitch of his eyebrows. However, a fragile and think-looking female dwarf in a vivid blue robe entered the office.

Leufor leaned his elbows on the soft arms of the chair as the lady whispered Dwarven into his ear. The Thane nodded and turned his eyes upward. "I would like to make an agreement with you," he stated.

"About a week ago, a very special goblet of my family's was stolen. We are pretty positive that the thief was a derro. Why? Because when one of my nephews went to fix a snack in the later part of the evening, he saw a glass case in our dining room being opened, but he couldn't see how it was opened. He then watched the goblet float in the air and the invisible thief noticing this, finally decided to knock him unconscious. I believed him, and of course wanted to take action right away, but my wife decided against it and thought I should hold some meetings with my advisor to decide upon a course of action."

"When I was informed of your entrance, I told my guards to have you come here right away. I am wondering why you have need of information about derros but since there are no magic-users among us and what we believe to be dealing with here are derros, you seem the right people for the job. I would be extremely grateful and would compensate you financially in addition to getting your information, if you could retrieve the goblet. You might be able to get some information from the actual derros, but I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them."

"Besides, we have a great student on the northern border of Daerbardin who surprisingly has ancestors from the Theiwar AND Daewar clan, as well as ours. He is the oldest dwarf in the city and owns a shop that specializes in genealogy accounts."

"In any case, we can provide you with transportation up the Urkhan Sea. If you can find out who the culprit is as well as bring the goblet back, you will be rewarded handsomely."

The mages were hesitant, especially Palin. Finally, Zackara agreed but demanded proof that the Thane wouldn't change his tune about their access to the information and the reward after their return. Leufor wrote up the agreement on a parchment and gave them some gold in advance. However, he demanded that he hold some of their belongings for proof that they'd return. Palin was sure that he'd need all his items to use against the derros but Zackara was willing to give up her shortsword and several pouches of items.

While the Thane was signing the agreement, one of his advisors informed him that he recognized Palin. Leufor apologized for only having heard of the mage by his name and great deed. He then asked them to be guests for dinner and stay in one of his quarters for the night. While the mages were being escorted, Palin gave Zackara an awkward glance and she read his thoughts. After seeing that he was pondering over how sure she seemed of herself about the agreement, she told him her thoughts mentally and smiled.

'Of course there's no proof to our minds that Leufor's nephew was telling the truth. But I do know the Thane was telling the truth about how he felt.'

'How?'

'I used a psionic power to tell whether he was lying or not.'

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - Palin and Zackara head down the sea and prepare for their quest.

As Palin sailed down the Urkhan Sea on a small but magnificent boat designed by and maneuvered by the Daergar, his conviction that agreeing to Thane Leufor's idea was crazy was beginning to strengthen. He wondered if his love and admiration for Zackara was beginning to blind his reason. How could she be so sure they wouldn't run into problems even if she used her psionic powers?

The White Robe tried to remain calm by saying a prayer to Paladine. It didn't hold his patience for long. Looking at the psionic, he asked as sedately as was possible where they would be able to start to even get a clue as to who the culprit might be.

His questioning aloud was well worth it for one of the guards decided to answer. "Why don't you try the Thane's Hall first? See how he's acting?"

"Not a bad idea," Zackara responded. "Do you know where the Hall is located?"

"It's sixteen levels down in the mid-western part of the city. I've never been there before myself but my father used to be a trader and gave them supplies. I didn't like it, of course - derros are extremely nasty."

The psionic simply nodded in agreement and nothing more was said.

A small, nature-like area extended from the sea to the city, which covered a distance of about five miles. Masses of rocks and bushes of bizarre-looking plants made the visitors forget for a second that they were on a dangerous mission.

After the dwarves wished them well on their quest, the one who had small knowledge about the city handed Palin a bundle in blue cloth. "Remember Thane Leufor's instructions," he said.

As he looked at the item, Palin nodded.

The two mages walked north until they found a bare spot between two big bushes, spanning a distance of eleven feet. Since they didn't know what time it was, they just figured they'd have a meal, do the work that had to be done for preparing to enter the city and take turns resting. Palin didn't know how often, if ever, that derros chose to venture out of the city, but he sure didn't want any to chose this day to be a possibility.

Zackara sat close to him so they could carry on a conversation quietly. "I guess if worse comes to worse, we could use the invisibility powers from my staff and your potions, but I think it's better that we use the amulets so we don't have to worry about opening doors."

The White Robe's mind then lingered on the qualities of the amulets from Dagno's treasure. There had been three amulets among the treasure, each having copper-colored dragon heads with yellow eyes and opened mouths. The amulets only possessed one power but the power was tremendous. The amulets could fashion their wielders into the form of any creatures or objects.

Zackara had decided to do an object reading on them and found out Dagno had made them, but that they had certain drawbacks. The first drawback was that the wielder could take on only certain abilities of the creature, if that was what the wielder decided to turn into. If the wielder turned into a flying creature, he or she could fly and the same applied to a creature that swims underwater for a long time. However, any outstanding seeing, smell, or hearing abilities the wielder would not get.

Also, no matter what strength or constitution the creature normally had, the wielder would remain only at his or her own strength and constitution level. The last drawback was that the amulet would have to be fed bits of gold in order for it activate and the wielder would have to keep feeding it gold in order for it to keep the power flowing.

This was good and bad in Palin's opinion. A person could become very poor by doing this but if he or she had the money. On the other hand, this item could be seen as one that had a length of duration more outstanding than most other items. Most objects of magic could usually only work for several minutes to an hour.

Because of the fact that the amulets wouldn't give them the sense they needed for seeing underground like all mountain dwarves, Zackara brought up the point to the Thane. And because of the fact that Leufor knew he was putting them on a dangerous missions and that he would be grateful for the return of the item, he provided them with extra gold for the use of the amulets. But he also provided them with chopping tools and a secret that the chopping tools were needed for.

Fortunate for them, the Thane was extremely interested in the ancient history of the mountain dwarves. He knew how the dwarves

became accustomed to seeing underground when they first came to the mountains. There were rocks all over the caverns colored red that had the power to extend the sight of living creatures. Back then, all the dwarves weren't as mistrustful of magic and experimented. Finally, someone realized that the rocks had this power and instead of having to figure out a plan on how to make the mountains brighter, the dwarves used the powder from the rocks after chopping them up.

As time went on, the dwarves genetically obtained the powers from the constant use and didn't need the rocks anymore.

So the Thane was kind enough to provide them with the tools and explained the manner in which they would use the tools.

After finishing up one of the packs of food from Tika, the travelers set to work. Moving their stuff, they walked a little further north to find a bigger spot for digging. Zackara offered to do all the work because she was more accustomed to physical labor but Palin didn't want her muscles to be completely sore and useless for the next day. So they took various turns.

The first two hours were eventless. Zackara was on her turn and Palin's feet were a little tired thought he wanted to be alert for any strangers. And to him that required standing up. So he decided to go over some new spells in his spellbook, pacing back and forth slightly so the pressure wouldn't be constantly on his feet.

Just as he was walking back towards the hole, the human thought he heard the rustling of boots on the gravel. As he stopped, Zackara instinctively looked up. Heartbeats pounding in his ear, Palin knew if he timed himself right he could drop the book, whirl, and throw a spell with no necessary components at the intruder.

But just as the muscles in his neck inched slightly to the left, a small, young voice said, "Please don't hurt me."

CHAPTER FORTY - All derros are not alike...

Mixed feelings were stirring inside the two mages as they glanced at the being in front of them. Before them stood a derro, but a very young-looking one. In fact, he had no beard or mustache. Palin guessed that the dwarf couldn't be more than eighteen years old.

"We won't hurt you as long as you don't give us reason to." Zackara came to lean her hand on Palin's shoulder, examining the dwarf.

Before she acknowledged the dwarf's yellow-gray eyes and dark-blond hair, she noticed that his black robes were stained and tattered. Then, as she glanced at his handsome face (an unusual characteristic for a derro), she saw that he had several scars along it. But the scars were slightly faded and hardly took away beauty from his facial composition.

"What are you doing outside the city?" the psionic then asked.

"I'm outside the city because I was exiled," the dwarf replied. "Please don't force me to go back. I hate them all!"

"Why were you exiled?" Palin questioned him.

"Because my spellcasting wasn't up to their standards!" The dwarf crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "They wanted me to practice destroying living animals and I didn't want to do it! I can't accept their logic that spellcasting must be used for evil and conquering!"

The dwarf turned his back to them, causing each mage to exchange glances. As he started walking away from them, Zackara held up her hands. "Wait!"

The derro stopped.

"You must be hungry. Would you like something to eat?"

In exchange for some bread and cheese, the young dwarf told them the remainder of his rather simple story. He had introduced himself as Sedjern Longone and after a warning look from Zackara, Palin knew better than to outright tell Sedjern who he was.

When they had asked him how his parents felt towards the situation, he told them that they hadn't felt anything. Sedjern had five siblings and two of them were already excelling in magic. Concerning swordfighting, it wasn't something Sedjern expressed much interest in. He wanted to use magic but for meaningful purposes. Palin smiled inwardly at this for the young dwarf reminded him of himself.

Finally, Sedjern expressed his wish to leave the mountain kingdom and venture beyond. This then led him to asking them questions. Zackara decided to give in to answering because during Sedjern's story, she had used her psionic powers to detect whether he was lying and if there was good or bad in his soul. Zackara didn't want to steal his thoughts but there had been the possibility that Sedjern could have been a threat to their plans.

Instead, Sedjern expressed wanting to help them. The elf was suspicious about this but her powers told her that he was innocent of trickery.

"Come on, you need me! I can get you to the Thane and I know the names of all the generals and subgenerals."

"That's impressive," Palin admitted.

"My grandfather was a general," the dwarf answered, but didn't seemed to proud of it. Then his face lit up. "After I help you, you can take me out of the kingdom."

"Well... okay," Zackara agreed. "But if you foul up our plans, rat on us..."

"I know," nodded Sedjern. "You'll see, though. I'll prove to you I'm not like other derros."

"Very well." The elf walked back towards the hole.

Curious, the dwarf followed. "What are we looking for?" he questioned her, glancing at the five-foot-deep hole. "Can I help?"

With a puzzled glance, she answered, "We're looking for red rocks."

"You two rest. You look tired. I'll do a little work."

Zackara didn't want to have a stranger doing the work intended for her, but the dwarf wouldn't give up. Finally, she took out her sleeping bag. Palin, tired from worrying about entering the city of derros and the physical labor, already relaxed on his own sleeping bag. The psionic whispered that she would keep an eye on the dwarf before the White Robe dozed off. His last conscious thought was the question of whether Sedjern's presence would turn into a blessing or a nightmare.

Palin woke later with a gentle nudge from Zackara. It was his turn now to watch over the dwarf. He busied his time by gathering the rocks that Sedjern and the psionic had discovered about six feet down. His suggestion was made that they gather some and bring them to an area a little further from camp so Zackara could sleep. Palin brought the rocks up from the hole while the dwarf maneuvered them into a pile about eighty yards away. It didn't take them long to turn the contents into a useable item. By the time Zackara had finished resting, the two workers had both powdered gold and rock in numerous pouches.

After eating a meal of fruit, bread, and cheese with water from the Urkhan Sea, the three set off for the city. When they could see the gates from about two-hundred yards feet away, Zackara handed the dwarf the third amulet and the group activated them. The two older mages had already tried out the powdered rock which proved worthy. Fortunately, the rock didn't give off any glow. Something like that happening, in Zackara's opinion, might make the derros suspicious.

As she handed Sedjern three pouches of powdered gold, the elf ask him how the dwarven guards were dressed. After a detailed description was given, each person dropped several pinches of gold into his or her amulet and watched as the eyes lit up. The trio felt tingles through their veins and within several instants they were fashioned into three very average looking derro guards with white hair, pale skin, and black armor. Their weapons, including Sedjern's small walking staff, were transformed into axes. Zackara's second staff had been changed to a small throwing dagger.

They all had capes to go with their armor but Sedjern's was blue and held by a gold, hammer-shaped pin while his new friends had black capes only held by copper, square pins. The boots of the real dwarf were also blue and his armor although black gave off a blue glow. There was no reason to argue over the difference in attire; because Sedjern was the only real dwarf and lived there all his life, it only made sense that he fashion himself as a general. Then less questions about the actions he was to take would be asked.

They were now ready to enter the city and as they approached the gates, Palin and Zackara noticed an arc towering over them. Carved into the front were dwarven runes which read:

"We are the true first clan of dwarves and shall be always..."

"Derros really think highly of themselves," Zackara snorted to herself.

"I'll bet they put up a stronger magical barrier to make sure I stay out," Sedjern declared, not having heard her.

"Can you dispel magical barriers? And if you can dismiss this one, will the gates open?" asked the psionic.

"I have that ability, but how strong it is I'm not sure. And if I dispel it, the gates will not open. We'll just simply be able to climb over them."

Burning his pupils into the image before him, the dwarf then concentrated with hands spread. Instantly, his hands were raked with electric shocks and he was pushed back by the force.

Zackara went to his side to examine him. The dwarf just shook his head as the feeling slowly came back into his fingers. "We have to try something else," he exclaimed with heavy breaths.

Palin took that to be his cue. Hoping that the axe was really his staff in disguise, he tried to picture the barrier as groups of energy lines buzzing around the atmosphere of the city. Then with the blade pointed towards the steel of the bars, he felt the energy fly from the weapon. Particles of smoke escaped from the item and scattered. The White Robe had no way of knowing whether his idea worked. Until he felt the same electricity that Sedjern experienced transmit itself through the axe.

And now Zackara had two patients to tend to. While she was determining whether any bones were broken on either person, she saw a crow go flying above the city.

After finishing the medical task, the young lady told them of her own newly formed plan. "We might even be able to use our form to spy on the leaders," she told them.

"Perhaps, but not if we have to go into the Hall," Sedjern argued. "But let's try it anyway. Maybe we can find an area over the city where there's no magic barrier. I'm not sure whether the middle of the city is safeguarded or not."

Soon, the roof of the cavern was looking much closer to them. As he flew and tried to get used to his new form, still not yet used to the form he had just left, Palin wondered whether they would be able to converse as birds. He tried testing it by catching up with Zackara.

"Do you see a place where we can land?" he asked as his words sounded like squawks.

Obviously, the psionic understood. "We have to go down some levels to get to the Hall first. Let's catch up with Sedjern."

The derro suggested keeping their form to save time in traveling to the level they needed to get to. Zackara was concerned that they wouldn't have enough time before they had to feed the amulets, but the time went faster than she had expected. They had to fly to the other end of the city to get to the area where the means for descending was provided for dwarves by other dwarves and open space was existent for creatures like them in their present form. A few derros looked up at the crows but thought nothing. Birds such as these were regulars in the mountains. And magic appeared to be no problem for them when they swooped down. The derros probably figured that no one would think to enter this side of the city because the walls towered up and there were no gates.

Once they were on that side of the city, transporting was simple. They just had to keep flying down. While they were flying past the ninth level, Sedjern explained to them that he lived on the fifteenth level but that the mage school he had attended was located on the Thane's level.

When they arrived at the sixteenth level, the three birds flew down towards the middle of the city and landed on the rooftop of a clothing shop. The derro pointed out the high-rising, dark brown building to their left about a hundred feet away as the Thane's Hall. Palin noticed that the Theiwar weren't as creative in their designs for construction as the Daergar were. The only slightly outstanding characteristic of their structures were that they contained dwarven runes along the sides. It wasn't clear to the White Robe what the runes concerned, but he took a guess that the derros were fanatics about the markings and that they were extremely close-knit concerning all their activities.

Sedjern pointed out various magic shops and meeting halls all located on one block. He also showed them a training school for mages, but it wasn't the one he had been shunned from.

"Maybe one day I'll be able to return and show them that they're living a lie by cheating and casting offense spells for evil purposes," he cackled as he thought about his school, which was located on the eastern side.

"Let's see if we can find a quiet spot to morph back into dwarves so we can replenish the amulets and powder for seeing underground," Zackara suggested.

Sedjern looked for a back street and eyed one rather quickly. Within no time, the unwelcome guests were back in their bird form and circling over the Thane's Hall. They noticed two brawny guards standing in front of the back entrance.

Deciding to fly up to the second level, the birds eyed a window. The window actually didn't serve the usual purpose that regular windows did; these were merely for decoration. And by judging the creativity of the other buildings, it was known that the decoration wasn't all that impressive. The windows looked more like glass squares with crude rune markings in them.

"I guess we can't try and get through here," Sedjern acknowledged. "I've been to the Hall a few times but I never paid attention to the windows. Let's try the roof."

"Can you get us around the Hall?" Palin asked as he ascended.

"I was there with my class somewhat recently when our instructor gave the Thane a demonstration. I only know that the throne room is on the fourth level," the young dwarf explained. "Does he have any magical abilities?"

"No, but his gargoyles and chief advisor are very powerful magically. We have to be very careful."

The only entrance to the top of the building was a round platform which was already open. Little puffs of smoke came up to meld with the air.

"This must be the cooking area," guessed Sedjern. With a few sniffs, Zackara nodded. Then she realized that the scent must be strong because birds didn't have an outrageous sense of smell. Guessing that the food cooking was vegetables, she also wondered where and how the mountain dwarves obtained them. 'Then again,' she thought, 'Dad's friends from the hills told me that these dwarves have weird eating habits.'

"Well, let's morph into something else so we can go inside," Palin interrupted her thoughts.

"Dwarves - not a good idea yet. They'll catch us poking around too easily and if we're going to imitate a general and guards we would have to go through the normal entrance." Sedjern looked at Zackara.

Instantly, she responded. "Knats. Very small insects. They won't even know we're there."

The dwarf rolled his eyes. "I was thinking something more interesting like mosquitoes."

"As much as you might like to infect every dwarf in the city," the psionic retorted, "we must avoid contact and act removed so we can find out if the Thane is a thief."

"Well, let's get this over with." The answer came with a sigh.

Even though knats are almost minuscule, the three mages had to restrict their freedom of movement to avoid being swatted or squished by residing dwarves. They descended through the hole and crept over what appeared to be a box of supplies. Scanning their field of vision, they noticed that they were actually in a storage room and that the smoke was coming from the next room. Zackara flew over to a box near the doorway with the others following.

The coast seemed to be clear so the mage-knats flew past the cooking room by making a left. Sedjern suggested that he lead because if their sight started failing he'd be able to direct them. They were now traveling down a hallway which continued at another left.

The hallway lasted for quite a while and there were pairs of alternating right and left doors, which Sedjern ignored. A few seconds later he buzzed loudly. "Some dwarves are coming!"

Zackara and Palin, hearing him, simply followed him up to a corner where the ceiling and the left wall met. The dwarves would be too short to notice them here. As they watched them approach, the mages noticed that the dwarves weren't guards but that they didn't look like mages either.

"They're servants to the Thane," Sedjern told them as he noticed their luxurious-looking red robes and elaborately woven braids in their hair. "They must be bringing him his dinner."

"Then he should be in the..." Zackara eluded.

"I'm not quite sure where the dining room is," the dwarf-knat answered regretfully. "We might have to check every room."

"Why don't we follow the servants when they come back out?" asked Palin.

Everyone seemed to like that idea. However, the idea didn't lead them to where they originally needed to be. The Thane wasn't prepared to have his dinner yet; the servants were merely bringing the food to be eaten cold in the dining room. However, after a few minutes, the mages picked up that the Thane was bathing on the lower level.

After managing to find the staircase that led to the fifth level, they took turns guarding the end of the hallway so each person could take a few seconds to replenish their protection. Their timing was just right for they were nearly caught by a pair of patrolling guards and had to hide on the right side of the railing.

Before deciding to move, the mages waited to see if anyone else was coming. But the entrance to the fifth level remained silent. The three then moved, flying very close together, then with two following the dwarf-knat against the top side of the wall. From several yards away, Sedjern could see two rather large figures. Then as the three hallway junction before them began to take shape, he could tell exactly what the figures were.

"The gargoyles! Be extremely careful!" he warned the two non-dwarves.

When the gargoyles were about two feet in front of them all three could see that they were napping, long leathery wings, covering the brutish faces against the floor. As the unwelcome guests approached the wall adjacent to the massive steel door, they noticed that the space between the door and the wall would be too small for them to get through, even as knats.

Zackara buzzed as softly as was possible. "We'll have to try the floor. We might risk getting crushed if we try going through here."

Descending slowly, she crept in the space between the two sleeping bodies. Once she was in, Sedjern followed her example. Right as Sedjern slid under the steel, the gargoyle on the right side of the door drew up its head and yawned.

Palin tensed with the little amount of muscles he had in his present form, waiting for the creature to close his eyes again. As he finally did, the White Robe glided down. Scuttling past the creature's feet was not quite fast enough. Within an instant, Palin was trapped in its leathery palm.

The mage's eyes widened for he hadn't realized that gargoyles liked insects so much for snacks. The entrance to his doom was just about before him when two guards hurried toward the door to inform the Thane that his dinner was ready. As the gargoyles moved slightly out of the way for them, Palin took the opportunity to bite into the flesh of his predator's palm. The creature didn't cry out but it flexed its claws, showing that it was at least unnerved. It was all that Palin needed. Instantly, he flew through the space between the door and the floor.

Palin didn't want to risk being seen by the Thane though he had to find his comrades so he hid behind some towels over a pantry. He was waiting for an instant to scan the room when he heard the Thane ask: "Is my son done yet with wrapping the wedding present? He's being extremely exquisite about it and Reln's wedding is tomorrow, you know."

"Would you like us to check, Thane Relgarin?"

Relgarin waved his hand, irritated. "Yes, yes go. At this rate, it will take the whole Theiwar army to get into his room and have him hurry it up."

"Yes, your Royalty," the second guard answered and closed the door.

While the Thane busied himself with washing up, Palin moved cautiously out from behind the towels. First, he eyed the outline of the room. It had been the most elaborate of all the structures he had seen in the whole Theiwar city. The towels looked like plush velvet (and felt like it as Palin noted) and they matched the walls which were painted a peaceful shade of blue. The floor was a perfect mixture of gray, white, and blue marble. The cabinets were intricately carved and the pillows lining the bathtub made it look cozy even though they were obviously wet.

Palin then quickly glanced at the Thane, who was piling soap onto his scrubbrush. The mage had remembered the story about Flint that Caramon had told him when he and his brothers were children. During Flint's time, Realgar had been the Thane. This most definitely was his son for even their appearances were very similar compared with Caramon's description of the past Thane. He had a long, yellow beard and long, yellow hair to match. The hair was loose flowing like Realgar's had been except for several locks which Relgarin had his servants braid for him.

The mage's attention was then diverted as he felt another object collide with him. It was Zackara nudging him. Not having a hand to wave at him, the psionic simply walked back toward a crease in one of the towels. Palin followed.

"Did you hear that?" she questioned him. "Someone's getting married and it's someone who is obviously important to the Thane."

Sedjern joined them. "Yeah, Reln is his older son."

With a lit expression, the psionic asked, "Do you think... "

Palin simply nodded and the dwarf-knat replied, "Knowing Relgarin, it's highly possible. The Theiwar Thanes have a long history of being connivers and it's not just an opinion. And even after the fact that the Hammer of Kharas was brought back to Thorbadin."

Just then, they heard a scratching sound against the door. "What now?" Relgarin muttered and reached for his service horn.

"We better get out of here," Palin urged them.

"And we know what our next step is," Zackara asked and declared at the same time to make sure they indeed understood.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - Drinking can be fun yet dangerous...

The three non-dwarves had already escaped the bathroom when Relgarin was getting dressed and finding out what the gargoyles wanted. Taking their gestures only to be that they were hungry, the Thane ushered his guards back to their duties.

Meanwhile, the three mages were trying to find a place to hide so they could change over to dwarf form. They actually decided to check for some possibly empty rooms and to their surprise, found several. "I think these are rooms for when Relgarin has guests over," guessed the dwarf-knat. A room that was about six-hundred yards from the bathroom was selected.

The guest rooms were just as lovely as the bathroom but matters now were way too important for them to consider sightseeing. Zackara and Palin used the time to freshen up their eyesight.

All three mages posed as guards. "If we're going to go to the dining room, General Dingren might be there. So I can't look like him just yet," Sedjern reasoned.

When they got to the dining room (which was hard to miss because it took up the whole level and began not far from the staircase), Zackara bravely poked her head in and quickly glanced around not even half of the room.

The chief advisor, Mickern, and two guards were standing in the room and noticed her. "What is it?" Mickern asked loudly, informing her of his knowledge of her presence.

"It's General Dingren, sir," she said in a low tone but her voice already sounded male because she had morphed into a male guard. The psionic wasn't sure if any of the guards in the Thane's Hall were female and she didn't want to take the chance.

"Where is he?" the middle-aged dwarf asked. "He's supposed to be helping Rastar wrap the present."

Zackara smiled inwardly at the free information. Then she put on her most distraught face as she moved forward a step. "Well, he's... sort of here."

Sedjern took that statement to be his cue for quickly changing his features to match Dingren's.

Clutching his throat, he beckoned Palin to aid him in walking. "We were walking towards the room when I felt something catch in my throat," Sedjern said gravely. "Now my throat feels sore."

Mickern sniffed the air. "You smell as if you've been sneaking around in my laboratory again. I gave you an invitation to look around, but not to try out the inventory."

The advisor shook his head, his grayish-white hair swaying. "Poor old fool. I'll have to safeguard it from him now." Then he snapped his fingers and a servant standing next to the dining table came forward.

"Poor a glass of that wine," he ordered.

After the servant handed him the peach-colored liquid in a jeweled glass, the advisor reached for a pouch from his robes and sprinkled some light green powder into the wine."

He then handed it to Sedjern. "Drink it."

The dwarf's eyes teared slightly, but the liquid tingled pleasantly in his stomach. "Nice pep," he smiled.

"Now get over to Rastar's room before our Royalty has a conniption."

"Yes, sir!" Sedjern said exuberantly and clicked his heels.

On the way to the staircase, a pair of guards were walking towards them. Sedjern pretended to be drunk and questioned them. "Where is Rastar's room?"

One dwarf let out a laugh while the other one said, "Dinner hasn't even started and the General has already had more than his fill."

The exile then mumbled incoherently and drooled on his armor in the process. "Shut up and tell me where it is." He then yelled indignantly. Zackara and Palin grabbed an arm each and shrugged.

"Third level, fifth room from the staircase. How is Relgarin faring?"

Palin decided to answer that. "Last I heard he was dressing. He should be getting to the dining room about now." The declaration then reminded the White Robe that they didn't have much time.

"Let's get going," he urged his comrades. "Before Relgarin has lost all his patience and gets the advisor to shoot us down."

"Yikes!" the first guard had heard him and started running past the trio with the second only a foot behind. "Mickern's not so good at keeping our Royalty calm. We better move it."

A second later, the unwelcome guests were in their own race.

As they suspected, the General and his two accompanying guards were already in the room. Rastar was just doubling the knot on the gold ribbon that was meticulously wrapped around a vivid purple box.

Impulsively, Zackara polymorphed into a snake so she wouldn't have to bend down to see under the door.

They heard an older man mention their need for going to the dining room, knowing his Royalty's lack of patience. The psionic took it to be the voice of the real General.

"They're coming towards the door," exclaimed Zackara as she polymorphed back into a guard.

"Maybe we can knock them down with the door," Sedjern suggested.

"Let's just see which way the door turns," Zackara agreed.

The guards opened the door toward themselves and the elf-dwarf kicked it further in. She then surged forward and used the butt end of her axe-staff to knock down one of the guards, who had fallen on his side. Sedjern was already on the second guard.

General Dingren, who had merely been pushed backward was about to attack Zackara when Palin tripped him with his foot and the dwarf went out cold as his head violently hit the floor. Just then, a dagger came sailing through the air and got embedded in Sedjern's right shoulder. The dwarf nonchalantly ripped it out as it only pierced the cloth and tossed it on the floor.

"Well, well, well, well," said Sedjern seeing Rastar cower in the left corner of the room. "What a pleasure this is."

The dwarf tried moving forward, but Zackara held him back. Rastar looked to be about the same age as the exile and Sedjern obviously felt he had to the right to talk down to him royalty or not.

"Why are you trying to look like General Dingren? And who in the Abyss are you?" was the reply of the other dwarf, who gripped the side of the wall.

No one answered the questions but it didn't matter. Seconds later, the Thane's son fell peacefully onto his bed from a sleep spell cast by Palin.

"Now let me find out if this is the object we're looking for." Zackara stepped towards the table where the purple box was left. As she undid the ribbon and investigated, Palin and Sedjern moved the unconscious bodies under the bed. Unfortunately, the legs from one of the guards wouldn't fit through the space underneath so they had to leave the bodies the way they were. Hopefully, there would be enough time...

Images flooded through Zackara's mind of a dwarven female polishing a golden goblet as the psionic used her power of object reading. Then she saw the oldest member of a dwarven family sit at the dinner table with the rest of his kin and drink from the goblet. Another image came to her mind of a dwarven male making a toast with some older male dwarves. Zackara recognized the face of the toaster; it belonged to Thane Leufor.

"I'm sure this is the Daergar Thane's possession," she said as she broke out of her trance. Her mental powers had never steered her wrong.

"That's great but I think we have company," Sedjern interjected.

"Well, let's get moving," replied Zackara, hearing voices that sounded like they were getting closer. "Palin, can you use your staff to temporarily alter the goblet?" she then asked him.

"I'll try," the White Robe said. Worrying still that his staff wouldn't function right as a polymorphed axe and not wanting to take the risk, he morphed back into his own form with the amulet. Then, pointing at the object in Zackara's hands, he watched as the shape turned circular. He then concentrated on decreasing the size.

"Now, even if they find us in our regular form, we can at least temporarily hide the object," the psionic assessed.

Just then, they heard knocking on the door. By the time the chief advisor and several guards had kicked the door open, the three mages were rushing towards it in knat form. They flew towards the staircase and intended on moving as fast as their wings could take them.

Everything was going fine for the mages until Zackara, who was behind Sedjern and Palin felt heavy and slumped from the air. By the time she hit the floor she was back in her elven form. She cursed her luck and Sedjern, hearing her, turned around and noticed what had happened. Knowing that he had to go back to his original form to use the powder, he did so. But as he was about to reach for his pouch, he cried, "Look out!"

Two guards were running towards them. Zackara turned to fight them, acknowledging that she didn't have time to cast a spell. Sedjern took on the second guard. The two actually fought successfully but it didn't help save time in catching up with Palin. The White Robe kept flying, the whole time assuming that his friends were right behind him.

When he got to the storage room, he finally realized that they were not with him. Then everything seemed to fall apart. The amulet needed to be fed again. And seeing that the kitchen door was closed and the light off, he thought it safe to look out in the hall for them. At that moment, the chief advisor materialized in front of him.

Palin backed away, but Mickern drew forward with a sadistic grin on his face. "You sneaky bastard!" he chuckled. "How did you get in here?! Nah, I don't need to know just now. I'll find out when I give your brain to one of my pets!"

The human trembled, wondering if his staff had any powers that the derro wouldn't have any protection against. Fortunately, he didn't have to wonder for too long, for some unknown force made the dwarf's brain ache and caused him to clutch the sides of his head. Then Zackara was by his side as she sprinkled some gold powder into his amulet.

As soon as the pain began to face, the derro screamed out various curses and said several other dwarven words shortly after. A distorted form of a goat with wings appeared. Mickern mounted the strange creature as he glanced up at the hole from the roof.

"We must hurry," he told the goat. "And summon the gargoyles."

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO - Mickern meets his match, the mystery of Fistandantilus and Raistlin unfolds...

In no time, Mickern was flying towards the end of the sixteenth level. While doing so, he was trying to decide whether to use a quicker transportation route. He had a feeling that the troublemakers were teleporting or flying by air because Relgarin's gargoyles couldn't pick up a trace of them while scanning the land. Detecting them by magic wouldn't be helpful because magic was all around the Theiwar city and Mickern wasn't able to pick out individual magic essences.

Having the gargoyles do a scrutiny by air didn't prove successful either. His only assumption could then be that they were way ahead of them in the air or that they had already teleported out of the city. Of course, Mickern hoped that it was the former, but if it had turned out to be the latter, he would chase them outside the city. 'It would be much easier to track them down that way, in any case,' he thought, 'but more lengthy.'

Sighing, he warned the gargoyles that they would be descending at the edge of the city. Not ashamed at all of spellcasting in the middle of an outside market that was going on, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Everyone knew what the Thane's chief advisor looked like, especially on this level of the city. Some dwarves stopped to stare, but the stares were of wonder and respect.

Mickern knew it would take several minutes to gather the strength to teleport him and the three creatures all the way up to the top level, but if they were still in the city, he would be able to head them off at the gates. It wasn't difficult for him to figure out that the mages were travelling back to Daerbardin to return the stole goblet. He wasn't sure what Leufor's end of the bargain was, but whatever it took, he would find out.

Finally, an image of the gates materialized in his brain and he opened his eyes to see them standing before him.

Not seeing the intruders anywhere in sight so far, he cast a few more spells - an invisibility spell for each of the beats and himself. Then he had one gargoyle scan the outside of the city with the other scanning the nearby area inside of the city. Now all he could do was wait.

Having his back to the gates with both gargoyles plus his pet goat on the watch, Mickern tried to tame his patience by deciding what spells he would blast the poor fools with first. But not him and not even his temporary servants were attentive enough to noticed the shadow of a robed figure float down from the sky and hang suspended above the gates.

As soon as they had flown past the middle of the sixteenth level, Zackara, Palin, and Sedjern had polymorphed back into bird form. If the Thane had decided to send his gargoyles out to find them, they didn't want the beasts to see them in any forms they had recently been seen in. That would obviously make the mages more recognizable.

As soon as they arrived on the top level, they increased their altitude to avoid being harmed by the magical barrier. When the gates appeared in sight, they all had the illusion that they were home free. Then as they passed by the gates into the nature-like area, a pair of claws snagged Zackara and brought her back over the gates to the ground where Mickern was standing.

Palin and Sedjern flew down to see the chief advisor and a strange creature materialize before the gargoyle. Mickern walked forward and sniffed Zackara. "You've done well, Narthas," he said and pet the gargoyle on the head. Then poking around its head, the dwarf chuckled. "So there's three of you!"

"Well," the derro moved back with a more serious expression planted on his face, "Show your true forms now or your friend gets a long torture party."

Palin obeyed while trying to devise a plan. Even Zackara obeyed, knowing she was quite helpless in bird form. As she morphed, she kicked a leg backward at the claws of her captor, and the creature already taken aback, moved away from her. The psionic usually didn't look down on people who were shorter than her but for temporary purposes, she hoped that her height intimidated the evil dwarf.

Sedjern was the only one who didn't morph back naturally. Too ashamed he was to face the advisor. Then his amulet that hadn't been replenished due to their need for haste ran out of fuel.

Mickern put his hands on his hips. "Sedjern, I should have known you'd be a part of this. What a shame... I really thought embarrassing you in front of your family, friends, fellow students, faculty, citizens of the city... was enough punishment for you... not to mention the Thane..."

The young dwarf impulsively surged forward and spat on the older dwarf. "Shut up, you impudent, fat ox! Do you have any idea what honor is?"

He was about to say more when a silver ball of spikes emerged from Mickern's hand. Instinctively putting his hands up in front of him without a chance to construct a shield, the ball dug into his left hand and tore two of his fingers off. The pain was so extreme that Sedjern fainted and fell on the floor a second later. Zackara immediately rushed to his side.

"Raise your voices anymore to me and I'll be less merciful. Now there's no point in beating around the bush, so just give me what I want and I might actually consider letting you leave the city."

Neither Palin or Zackara believed him.

Then Mickern spread his hands wide and the ground started to open up. "Come now, we don't have all day!" He laughed as lava and smoke joined together and moved closer to the mages.

Two seconds later, the lava dissolved back into the ground and the cracks disappeared. A red-robed figure with silver hair floated down from the gates where he had been patiently waiting.

More irritated than shocked, Mickern crossed his arms. "Who dares interrupt my spellcasting?"

"I dare." The figure threw back his hood and golden hourglass eyes stared into devious gray eyes.

The chief advisor gulped.

Then the Red Robe glanced back at the White Robe.

"Uncle!" Palin cried, his emerald eyes aglow. Even Zackara looked up in amazement from tending to Sedjern.

Raistlin grinned and turned to face the derro once again.

"You don't scare me, weird-faced one!" Mickern cried, determined to keep fear out of his heart. The dwarf traced a strange symbol in the air and a star of acid came flying towards Raistlin.

The Red Robe rolled his eyes nonchalantly and pointed his index fingers outward. Then the most bizarre thing happened. A milky white smoke caught the star and mixed with it to form a grayish liquid. The liquid flew back towards the chief advisor and entered his mouth agape without a drop escaping to the floor.

Mickern's eyes fell back as he coughed violently and punched at his chest. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Raistlin spreads his hands wide and a circle of light blinded the derro.

Both gargoyles angrily decided to advance on Raistlin from his side but he didn't even need to look at them. Throwing his hands sideways, he shot a rainbow colored ball of steam at the beasts which not only penetrated and burned their tough, leathery skin, but also shattered all of their most important limbs.

As the gargoyles lay dying, Raistlin shouted at the derro. "Do you yield?"

Despite all the harm that had been done, the advisor remained stubborn. "Never!"

Closing his eyes, the derro concentrated on turning the circle of light into a circle of darkness. Surprisingly, he was successful. His throat still burning, he regretfully commanded the goat to take care of Raistlin. He had to take the risk for he needed the next minute or so to summon all the mages from the nearest mage school. The human had proved to be far more powerful than he had suspected but surely he wouldn't be able to defeat any army of mages!

Raistlin easily set the goat on fire. But while he was doing so, Mickern ripped a pouch from his belt, popped open a vial, and swallowed some licorice-flavored powder. Then all it took was two words and three-hundred derros were marching toward the gates.

In reaction, Palin's uncle rocked on his heels and laughed.

The White Robe's eyes wide, he thought, "Either I'm having a very wild dream or my uncle's become a lot more powerful in the past eight months."

As the dwarves were within eight feet of the outsider, they halted. The chief advisor now decided it was his turn to laugh. "Still think you have enough reason to be on a power trip?" he than asked the human mage.

Raistlin confidently moved five steps forward and a few mages that were unsure of themselves backed into their fellow classmates, stricken by the eyes of fire and the ghastly facial complexion. "Yes," he began, "because before you can blink, I can bring all of your shields down."

Turning, the Red Robe pointed at the charcoal remains of Mickern's familiar. "So don't cross me. All I ask of you is to let me and my companions leave in peace. And for you to go back and tell your Thane that he'll have to shop somewhere else for a fine piece of diningware. You promise that and I promise not to harm any of your people."

"What makes you so sure you can take all of us on?" One of the more aggressive mages from the mage school questioned him.

The Red Robe let all of his teeth show after asking, "You would like to see your school still standing, wouldn't you?"

The dwarves slowly exchanged glances between each other.

"Very well," Mickern retorted in a lofty tone. "Just get out of our city and we'll forget all of this." Then as he saw the human turning, he winked at his fellow mages.

Three hundred balls of fire, ice, lightning, acid, poison, smoke, and steam were fired at the mage, but as they came within a foot of him, they got pushed and fell to the ground, dissolving.

Then Raistlin gestured for his nephew and friends to move closer to the gates. The Red Robe didn't even need to turn before water fell from ten feet above them in heavy buckets. This sent the dwarves scuttling for cover. Some of them panicked and the others were sensible enough to run back to the mage school. The streets were flooded within minutes, making it difficult for moving but about fifty dwarves made it in time to see their institution crumble to the ground and get washed away.

Raistlin yawned, eyeing Palin and Zackara. "I think I need a nap. But first..."

The Master of Past and Present gently moved his fingers in an up and down motion in front of him as he focused on the gates. Slowly, the gates that hadn't been used in years to let anyone enter creaked open. Then after the four mages passed through, the injured one in the elven maiden's arms, the gates creaked close.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to cast spells again!" A tear welled in the left eye of the derro called Sedjern.

"I am quite confident that your hand will heal," Raistlin said as Zackara continued bandaging up Sedjern's left limb. "For many spells, the function for hands is mostly to direct the power to a target. So even if your left hand doesn't heal, which I really do think it will, your right hand can still authorize the spell if you use enough confidence with it. All is not lost, my friend."

Palin stared at his uncle from across the campfire, totally amazed. He just couldn't get over the changes in the wizard. To see him in Red Robes was shock enough, but to see why he had earned the repositioning was an extreme blessing. He had many questions to ask Raistlin but this didn't appear to be the time.

"There is one thing we must do before we return to Daerbardin," Raistlin then said. "I prefer that we do it now."

Looking at Zackara he asked, "You have a black robe with runes with your belongings, do you not?"

The White Robe looked at her, surprised. She glanced at him, then quickly looked away. "Yes, I do."

The robe was then taken out and Raistlin, eyeing his nephew, questioned him. "Do you know the story concerning this robe?"

Palin answered him with another question. "Does it have anything to do with Fistandantilus?"

Raistlin nodded. "I don't want to scare you by saying this but Fistandantilus' soul - or part of his essence, shall we say, is on another plane trying to get back on this one. Although I defeated him and took many of his possessions, there are still many things I do not know about him."

"For instance, the details about his life before he became powerful. Until I finally convinced Astinus to let me look at certain actions that the wizard took in his life in the history book, I had no idea that Fistandantilus had connections with the caves of Cristyne."

"How?" asked Palin, curiosity eating at his brain.

The Red Robe folded his hands. "Well, as many aspiring wizards do before they become really powerful, Fistandantilus relied on magical objects to defend him with in risky situations when his own memorized spells weren't enough. One of them was a leaf charm that had many spells stored on it. He, of course, bought it for a very high price. But eventually he decided he didn't need it anymore because he had finally learned the same spells or similar spells. He wanted to sell it and eventually found a buyer - a dwarven mage - a derro. The derro happened to be an ancestor of Dagno Grapstone's - if that name rings a bell. Well, the charm was passed on through the generations and more and more spells were stored on it. Dagno was intelligent enough to figure out that other things could be stored on it as well as summaries of inventory, recipes for concoctions, and such."

"Another aspect of the charm was that it was very sensitive to people's essences. When you found the robe, the amulet came to life and the essence of Fistandantilus awakened and grew stronger because of his once possessing the charm."

"When did you realize all this?" Zackara questioned him.

"Several weeks ago - about the time you had defeated Dagno. It's taken me so long to get to you because I had to travel to see Astinus and find out what was going on. Then I learned that I had to gather everything that Fistandantilus possessed to be destroyed and that I had to find a concoction that would effectively destroy the items."

"But how did you know this was happening?" she asked.

"It was the bloodstone..." Raistlin balled both hands into fists. Both mages could then sense that this was something very difficult for the Red Robe to say. "In exchange for the charm, Fistandantilus actually received another item - the bloodstone - which possesses the owner, drives him to evil, and kills for him. Then when ... I... when I altered history... I took the bloodstone from him..."

Raistlin started breathing deeply and his nephew moved closer to put a hand on his shoulder and calm him.

Then the older wizard continued. "I actually only used the bloodstone for a short time because I was too conscious of it obscuring my thinking and I already had too much evil in my heart to have it change me much. It only strengthened my convictions to be a conqueror."

"In any case, when I was in the lab about two weeks back at the Tower, I felt an extreme uneasiness. It had been so peaceful in the lab for the past few months and then this uneasiness overwhelmed me. Finally, as I went through some of my old things I realized what it was. There, it was - the bloodstone - a thing with a destiny to be destroyed. And so began my quest to find answers. And Astinus led me to them, like he has done many times."

Palin shook his head. "I can't believe that after being dead for so long, he could still have such an influence, a determination, an essence like that."

"Well, Nephew, he was after all, an extraordinary being."

Raistlin then started getting up. "I have the concoction in a jar," he said, reaching into a pocket of his robes. "Let's move away from the fire and let Sedjern rest."

Zackara removed the golden charm from a pouch and looked at it for the last time while Palin slipped the spellbooks from his sack that he hadn't even used and was now glad he didn't.

The White Robe gave his uncle a questioning look as he handed the books to him and Raistlin perceptively answered. "I already destroyed the other books in Solace. I'm sorry but it had to be done."

Palin studied him with wonder. He didn't think he'd ever heard Raistlin use the word "sorry" in his whole life. What exactly had Raistlin experienced to change him so?

The young mage only hoped that within the next few days he could find out.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - A day of peace (except for typical teasing from Tas), the first Kodak camera on Krynn is presented...

The sunlight blinded Palin as he awoke in the resplendent nation of Silvanesti. It was the morning of Kreya's wedding and although his sleep wasn't disturbed, he could hear some voices of those were making preparations. Zackara's family had invited him to stay at their house for the week of the wedding since he and his new lover had actually arrived a few days before it.

He was extremely happy that this day had come. After Raistlin had shown up in the Theiwar city, everything had been much easier. The day after they had destroyed the possessions of Fistandantilus, they teleported to Daerbardin to return Thane Leufor's goblet and receive the reward.

The Thane thanked all of them, including Raistlin. The dwarves were, of course, suspicious of Sedjern, but the derro tried to keep a modest air and his friends continuously tried to convince the Daergar that he was different. The Thane considered this and allowed Sedjern to be tended to by some healers.

The healers told the dwarf mage that there was a chance his hand would heal and Sedjern wondered if it had anything to do with a potion that Raistlin had given him to drink. After taking him to the healers, Leufor personally traveled with them to see the genealogy student in northern Daerbardin.

The dwarf, Tranev, had many wrinkles on his face from age and the very little amount of hair that was left on his head was all white. He was very kind, though, and had a smile on his face, even as he was speaking. As the mages mentioned the name that they needed, Tranev looked at the shelves on the floor and picked up a dusty and voluminous, pink-colored book.

There were many Grapstones in the book and it took Tranev several minutes before he found Dagno's name. Then Raistlin told him of the ancestor before Dagno.

The genealogist shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"What is it?" Leufor asked.

"Jonnos Grapstone was a very mean man. He liked to hoard things according to his wife, and he didn't like anyone, including his children, to touch those things. Only death kept him from keeping the magic items he had eternally."

Zackara and Palin exchanged glances. The psionic then asked, "Are any there any Grapstones still living?"

Tranev carefully turned the pages for they were yellowed and cracking even though there were unfilled pages for filling in the knowledge of future generations. As the dwarf found the page he needed, he nodded.

"Are any of them mages?" the elf pressed further.

"No," came the reply.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that," Palin declared.

Zackara held a finger in the air and said, "I think I know what I want to do with the stuff I have, or at least some of it."

The elf's idea had turned out to be a good one. She decided that she would donate the dagger and some books she had taken to a mage school so it could be given to lower-level mages. She wasn't sure if Raugh's amulet was of any value or if it had any powers, but she really didn't want to keep it so she threw that onto the list. She wanted to at least keep the manuscripts, which included Dagno's journal so she kept that and two of his spellbooks.

Palin decided to give up the dragon head amulets and rings, which he hadn't tried using. He liked the amulets but as far as he was concerned, they had served their purpose already and from the way things were looking now, he didn't think he need them. Yet, he decided that Sedjern deserved some thanks for helping them so he let Sedjern keep the one he had used and gave the mage school the other two.

Then, after returning to the southern part of the city, the Thane treated the company to a farewell dinner and gave the mages their rewards. In addition to the gold, Leufor gave Zackara a pretty gold bracelet and Palin a dagger with a huge ruby near the hilt. He told the White Robe, "This is another item which has been passed through generations of my family but I never found a use for it. Maybe you will."

Palin thanked him, surprised that he would give up a family keepsake. Raistlin then teleported everyone with himself back to Solace and chose a school on the edge of the town. Mage schools weren't many in number because most mages traveled to the Towers of High Sorcery to learn. But some cities, especially the ones that were very far from Palanthas, had mage schools for beginning students and ones whose families couldn't yet afford to send them to Palanthas. Sedjern thought he might like to attend one of these schools, for he had been sheltered all his life in the mountains and didn't even know where the Towers were located. But Raistlin told him of Palanthas and the dwarf decided to travel with the Red Robe who had to return there anyway.

Before they left, however, Raistlin spent several days with Palin and explained to him what he had been doing for such a time.

After the Chaos War had ended, the archmage decided to question his own behavior now that he had been freed from the Abyss. He saw the incident as a second chance to obtain a satisfying achievement. Raistlin wanted to be a Red Robe again and convince the Conclave of Wizards that he realized he had made mistakes and wanted to see if he could become Head of the Red Robes. He knew it was a longshot but he wanted to at least try.

The first day, the Conclave wouldn't even allow him into the Tower. It took him a week to "let" them give him an errand to run for them to prove that he was worthy enough to enter the Tower. Raistlin surprised them when he didn't use his powers against them to fight his way into the Tower, which they had overtaken with the amazing power of a new archmage among the White Robes.

They thought he was ludicrous when he told them of his wish. And they didn't quite believe he was Raistlin when he told them he wanted to work for them and earn their trust back. But the Head of the White Robes made a bet with the Head of the Black. And the black-robed mage won.

In the months that were to pass, Raistlin did work for all three Heads of the three Orders and many of the jobs were tests to see if Raistlin was in fact willing to change. Three months ago, the Heads had promised the wizard that they would soon have a meeting to decide whether he should be able to change back to the Red Robes. At the time, Raistlin wondered if that in itself was a test. At first, they had decided no. Raistlin didn't get angry or use his powers against them. A week later, he found out that it had been indeed a test and the Conclave gave him his wish after seeing that he could pass the test.

The thing that had surprised Palin the most was the tremendous power that Raistlin had wielded. And the uncle told his nephew that he couldn't be as nearly surprised as the uncle himself had been. The Red Robe wondered if getting the power was also a test, but the Head of the Whites Robes had reminded him that in essence, practically everything in life was a test. And Raistlin refused to use the powers for anything other than helping people. He had a feeling in his gut that the powers would dissolve if he went back to his old self. He actually hadn't learned any new spells; the mage just realized that when he would use the spells for good purposes, the duration, area range, and number of targets would be of his choice. And he knew that could be dangerous. But he trusted the Conclave's judgement and he knew they were behind this and were watching his every move.

What lingered in Palin's mind as he looked out the window, however, was the notion of Raistlin teaching him what the Red Robe already knew. The uncle promised him that he would after he could become more respectable in the Conclave's eyes. Raistlin didn't think they would approve much of him at this stage if he did such a thing and he figured that they would find out, somehow.

"I wonder if that will ever happen," Palin whispered to himself. Then as he saw the red, yellow, and green leaves fall from the trees onto the grass, he shook his head as if to cause the cobweb of worries to crumble.

"This is a happy day, so let's think happy."

Just then, he heard a soft knock on the door. It was Zackara's mother, Rachella. She asked him if he wanted breakfast after he let her know he was up. As the mage entered the dining room, it was just as he suspected. Everyone in the family was already in the town, excluding the mother, because they were all in the bridal party. Palin already knew exactly who would be in it from Kreya telling him at dinner the night before. Zackara and Elissas were to be the bride's maid and the maid of honor. The two men to accompany Rayden were his older brother and a man whom Elissas had been seeing. Kreya's little cousin, Dain, would be the ringbearer while Rayden's kid sister would be the flower girl.

The reception was to be held at noon and the area where it was to be located was actually a huge garden area. Many people would be there, including neighbors. One of the neighbors was actually nice enough to escort the mage and Rachella over to the location with his cart and horse.

They arrived at about forty-five minutes before the reception was to start. There were already roughly thirty people sitting down in wooden chairs. Palin saw Zackara's father speak with the groom and his parents. They stood by the two tables of flowers by which a cleric was to stand and carry the reception. The cleric to do so was a high cleric from a temple of Paladine in the town. He was busy conversing with some of the musicians. Several elves would be playing guitars and harps while the bridal party was to come out.

Palin looked at the tables, which were covered by light blue cloths. The flowers were white, dark pink, purple, and light blue. He then watched as more and more people began to fill up the chairs, including at least a dozen hill dwarves. By the time ninety-eight percent of the chairs were filled up and the reception was just about to start, the White Robe figured that there had to be at least two hundred people at the wedding. He felt a little out of place, noticing that there were only three other humans among the seats. But what he didn't notice, as he sat down to face the cleric and musicians was that a gnome and kender had arrived in the back where there was a handful of remaining seats.

As the musicians began to play, everyone turned. First, Elissas and her boyfriend, Kaliath, came down the aisle. The elf maiden was wearing a light purple gown and her blond hair was wrapped in a bun with a small wreath of white, pink, and blue flowers. As Zackara and Rayden's brother, Gildan, came down the aisle, Palin's smile went wide. Her gown made her hair look like midnight. Half of it went down to her waist while the other half was done up in two thick braids which met and were tied up with a wreath of flowers, the same as Elissas'. Both maids also held a bouquet of purple flowers. Zackara gave Palin a wink as she saw him among the crowd and his heart danced with delight.

Everyone oohed and aawed as the flower girl came out and the ringbearer, who was wearing a small blue suit with a blue velvet pillow in hand. There were even more oohs and aaws as Kreya appeared with her father, who had left several minutes before Palin and Rachella to join the bridal party. Kreya was wearing a white gown and her hair was back in a braid. Her father was wearing a white suit. Palin heard Zackara's mother sigh as her husband gave the bride away and came to the seat they had left for him. Kreya gave a smile of love to her groom, who had his red hair back in a ponytail and was wearing a blue suit.

After the reception ended, the harps and guitars played again while everyone in the wooden chairs stood to throw handfuls of small yellow leaves at the bride and groom.

Then everyone walked to the other side of the garden where tables and chairs were placed for everyone attending the wedding. Bowls of fruit, plates of bread and cheese, wine bottles, and empty plates and glasses were already on the tables. At the edge of the dining area, a baker from the town who was doing the catering, was busy cooking meats over a grill. He had some other elves who worked in the bakery help serve the guests.

The table with the bridal party and family was not stationed far from where the musicians were playing. Next to the dining area was a space that was reserved for dancing. Kreya and Rayden were busy saying hello to the guests and receiving gifts when Zackara and Palin exchanged their own hellos. The mage flushed after a getting a kiss on the cheek and a hug from his sweetheart.

After he told her how lovely she looked and they exchanged a few more words, a kender and gnome in very fancy clothing came up to greet them.

"Tas and Madfrent!" exclaimed Zackara as Palin smiled at seeing them. "You look splendid!" she then said.

"Why, thank you," Tas bowed and Madfrent followed his example. Both were wearing very colorful suits with bowties at their necks. Madfrent even combed back his curls so they would look neat.

"We didn't know if you'd come," Palin stated.

"We wouldn't miss this for anything!" the kender declared. "There's so much we want to ask you, but first, let's go say hello to Kreya."

Just after a couple left the bride and groom to return to their table, the gnome and kender ran up to Kreya. After they exchanged hellos, Tas informed her that they had brought her a wedding present.

"I hope she likes it," Madfrent muttered as he moved his hands, which were in back of him slowly in front of him, to reveal a silver-wrapped box.

"Don't worry, she'll like it," Tas assured him.

Rayden held the box while Kreya opened the lid. Inside was a black plastic square with a looking glass attached to the front of it. There was also a small looking glass in the upper left corner and several buttons on the top and sides.

"I call it my image-taking looking-glass," said Madfrent proudly.

"It's actually our invention," Tas explained. "Madfrent had all the ideas but I helped him put it together."

"How does it work?" Kreya asked.

"Well, first, let me take an image of you and then I'll show you," the gnome told her. The elf then handed him the object and he turned it around.

"Smile!" Tas instructed. The two elves then stood together and Madfrent "took an image."

"You won't be able to get the image now," the gnome informed them further. "I will have to take the wheel of sticky paper out and put it into chemicals. But you can take more images now and I can give you the images later."

"Do you have proof that the invention works?" asked Zackara.

"Of course!" Madfrent cried. Slipping a hand into a pocket of his pants, he took a out a piece of shiny paper. The paper had an image of Tas and him in front of his house with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Kreya laughed. Her new husband was already trying out the invention on his parents and brother.

A few minutes later, everyone was instructed to sit down and make a toast to the bride and groom. Then the couple was to have their first dance as a married one. After they returned to the table and everyone was eating, Tas lingered by moving an extra chair over to the table and asked Palin all kinds of questions. Most of them he had expected. The first one he hadn't expected was "So which weapon is the one that the fortune teller said would unleash magic that hadn't been used in years?".

"Tas," Palin addressed him, "I don't think any of the ones we found are like that and I told you not to believe things that fortune tellers say."

"Maybe this is the one she was talking about?" the kender fiddled with a jeweled dagger in his hands.

"Tasslehoff!" The mage cried. "That was given to met by Thane Leufor of the Daergar. I doubt he would keep anything magical in his home."

"You never know," Tas retorted. Suddenly, the dagger glowed a deep red and slipped from his clutches. As it landed on the grass, a small mass of smoke rose from the earth.

Palin arched an eyebrow. Then, he quickly snatched up the item and returned it to his belt.

"Aha! I told you!" Pointing a finger in the air, Tas smiled.

As they all sat back down, Palin actually began to wonder if his small companion was correct. He almost didn't hear Tas' next question.

"So, when are you and Zackara getting married?"

The mage's face turned bright red, but not from anger. Meanwhile, the psionic softly giggled before devouring the rest of her piece of bread.