At that moment, a bearded man whose presence I had overlooked stepped gingerly past the
bear. I judged him to be older than most of his companions but younger than myself. He
spoke to the elf maid in mild, firm tones and I could tell, from her respectful attitude,
that he had long been her counselor. “Derek is right about one thing, Laurana, my dear: we
have no time to waste. Tanis may already be waiting for us in Sancrist.”
“I have not forgotten, Elistan,” Laurana said softly, a strange, almost wistful look in
her eyes.
She turned to Harald slowly. “We regretfully decline your kind offer of hospitality,” she
began. "My . . . that is ... friends wait for
us.“ Coughing, she cleared her throat. There was a note of pain in her voice. ”And we have
an important mission to fulfill before we can join them," she explained.
“I'm afraid you misunderstood me, princess,” Harald said, his friendly tone gone. “It was
not an offer, but a demand. You see, we Ice Folk are at war-we cannot afford to trust
anyone.” He gave a tight-lipped smile. “You will return with us.” Accustomed to being
obeyed, Harald turned to leave. He did not, therefore, see Derek draw his sword or Laurana
grip the knight's arm, forcing him to put the sword back to its sheath.
“What can I do to convince you we mean you no harm, that we are not spies?” she demanded
of Harald's back. “Our mission is vital-it cannot wait!”
Harald swung around slowly, irritation turning his face even redder than its normal shade.
He did not like complications-and this maiden was proving stubborn. Suddenly, his
expression brightened as an idea struck him.
“You have my leave to go on this 'mission' of yours, then,” he said. “But leave several of
your number here as-”
“As hostages?” Laurana finished for him coolly.
“No, I prefer to think of them as a sign of good faith.” Harald smiled slightly. "And as a
sign of our good faith, I vow to spare their lives for the seven days I give you to
return, as long as we meet with no harm during that time. That is fair, I think?
“I would, of course, prefer that you leave your fighters,” he added, his eyes going to the
well-armed knights, “and the bear, as a token of luck.”
Laurana's mouth twisted in shock and outrage. Her thin frame shook as she struggled for
control. “Without knowledge of the glacier, it is impossible for us to know how long it
will take us to reach Icewall Castle. And without fighters, what chance have we of
retrieving that which we seek?”
Harald shrugged. “I did not say I wanted a77of your fighters. These two will do,” he said,
pointing to Aran and Brian. “And the ones called Flint and Gilthanas must stay behind. You
will be more inclined to return for your brother and your friend.” He eyed Derek. “You may
keep the sulky one.”
“This is an outrage!” Derek snarled, once again putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“There are only twelve of them. I say we take our chances and-”
But Laurana cut his words off, her voice clipped. "When
it comes to retrieving the orb, I will take no chances. If you insist on fighting, Derek,
then you will fight alone.“ The knight called Sturm moved nearer to her, nodding in
support. ”I suggest you instruct your men to join Harald,“ Laurana added, her voice
breaking, ”as I will my friends and my brother."
The dwarf glowered at this. “No, Laurana,” he said stubbornly. “I won't allow you to
traipse across this frozen wasteland looking for Reorx-knows-what without me! It's too
dangerous!” Realizing his voice had risen, Flint eyed the bear warily and dropped his
tone. “Tanis would never forgive me!”
“Nor would our father,” Laurana's brother added grimly. “I'd rather we turned around and
forgot that orb than to let you go off unprotected!”
With a sad smile, Laurana placed her hands in theirs. “You both know retrieving the dragon
orb may be Krynn's only hope, and everyone is counting on us. Besides, I won't be
alone-Sturm, Elistan, and Derek will be with me. If there were any other way,” she added,
“I'd take it. But we have no choice but to accept their terms, it seems. Please don't make
this more difficult for me than it is already.”
Flint searched her eyes, sighing heavily. “Very well,” he said gruffly. “Besides, you
don't want a grumpy old dwarf slowing you down.”
Gilthanas nodded slowly, but I could tell he wasn't happy. He started to argue, but she
continued to look at him intently, pleadingly, until he shrugged angrily. “I'll stay, if
that's what you want,” he said.
Sighing, Laurana turned back to Harald.
“What proof have we that you'll keep your end of the bargain and will not harm them?” she
asked.
Scratching his bearded chin, Harald thought about that for a moment. Propped up against my
staff, I watched absently as the old man called Elistan came over to stand beside Laurana.
It was then that I noticed the medallion around the old man's neck. My breath caught in my
throat, though this time in fear-the hazy winter sun glistened off a golden medallion in
the shape of a platinum dragon, the symbol of the true god, Paladine. I could not believe
my eyes. Long ago, right before the Cataclysm, all clerics of the true gods had vanished
from the world, my own great-great-great
grandfather among them. With them vanished the ability of the clerics to work the will of
the gods in the world, to perform healing and other magical spells. Many said that this
was because the true gods themselves had forsaken Krynn, but my family did not believe
this. Since that day, we had pledged ourselves to wait for some sign of the return of the
true gods. None had lived to see that day. Nervously, I rubbed at my eyes with grubby
fists, hoping to erase the image.
But when I looked up again, the medallion still hung from Elistan's neck. A sickness grew
in my stomach. I had always prayed that I would be the one to discover a true cleric-one
who could perform miracles-as a sign that the true gods had returned. But in my heart of
hearts, I never really believed I would. Face to face with the symbol heralding that
discovery, I still did not-could not-believe it! He must be a charlatan, and I wanted
nothing more than to escape someone who would try to trick us.
“You drive a hard bargain, elf woman ” Harald finally said to Laurana. “I like you-I don't
trust you entirely-but I like you.” His laughter pounded against the frozen glacier. “As a
sign of our good faith, and to aid you in returning within seven days, we will send with
you a guide.” He clapped me on the back. “Our cleric is the best one among us. He will
accompany you to the castle.”
Harald's words echoed in my aching head, echoed across the glacier. Could the fates be so
cruel? Had I heard right? Harald's beefy hand on my shoulder assured me that I had. My
words came to my ears as if spoken by another.
“I cannot-I mean, I don't want to guide them,” I mumbled, avoiding Harald's eyes. “I don't
trust them.”
Harald's huge face turned as red as his hair. “Just sol” he bellowed. “They will not
attack us without their fighters, and they will not harm you while we hold their friends.”
He swung his face down to meet mine, his fishy breath fanning my face. “Do you question my
judgment?”
My cheeks drained of color as I struggled to force words from my throat. “No-no. It's just
that-” Could I tell him of my fears?
“Spit it out, man,” Harald roared impatiently. “Men freeze while you sputter!”
I forced down the lump in my throat. "The human, Elistan-he wears the symbol of the true
god, Pala-dine! He
is a charlatan!" Harald's features relaxed from anger to a look of
confusion. “But, Raggart, surely you and every member of your line have pledged your life
to meet one such as this!” he said. “This is your chance!”
The simple logic of Harald's words turned my fear to dogged stubborness. “That is why I am
suspicious!” I whispered. “Would such an important person just appear on the glacier one
day?”
My eyes narrowed. “What is this dragon orb, anyway? And if it's so valuable, who would
keep it in a frozen, abandoned castle at the farthest edge of the glacier? Someone with
something to hide, that's who!”
Harald shook his head firmly. “I cannot say. The gods move in mysterious ways.” He shook
me slightly. “But whether he is a true cleric or an enemy scout sent to determine our
strength, we need our best guide to watch them. That someone is you.”
I, Raggart Knug, cleric of the Ice Folk, looked into my chieftain's icy blue eyes and knew
that only death would save me from guiding the strangers to Icewall Castle.
We were just preparing to depart when the kender, who had been standing next to Laurana,
shifting impatiently from one foot to the other, said cheerfully, “Well, who wants me?”
“They do!” both sides cried, pointing to the other. It seemed tempers were going to flare
again, Derek refusing to take Tasslehoff and the dwarf insisting that the kender be packed
off to Icewall Castle without delay. In the end, it was Harald who decided Tasslehoffs
fate.
“The kender goes!” he said firmly.
I thought even Laurana appeared a bit downcast at this decision.
The ice bear also proved difficult. He refused, quite violently I might add, to leave
Laurana until she spoke with him at length. I wonder how much he understood; I think her
tone convinced him. The bear accompanied Harald, and I noticed that our leader kept his
distance from the sulking bear as he led the search party back to the ice boat.
-Finally my party and I started off in search of this dragon orb or whatever they were
after. Using my staff to propel my old bones along, my body slowly adjusted to the rigors
of exploring
the glacier. Though time and the elements had changed the landscape, I still knew what to
look for, how to avoid snow- covered crevasses. Despite the nature of the trek across the
glacier, I enjoyed the feeling of the cold, icy wind across my leathery cheeks, the sight
of swirling eddies of snow. I had been cooped inside my hut forging frostreavers for too
long.
Remembering my situation, I looked back at my wards and was grateful that Harald had
insisted we take peat for nighttime fires on the open glacier and that we dress in the Ice
Folk pelts of bear and otter. The strangers' borrowed furs made them much less conspicuous
than their colorful robes against the snowy backdrop.
I did not mind the danger. Everyday life at our camp held dangers. Besides, I had lived a
full life and did not particularly fear the possibility of death. Still, I did not want my
life to end accompanying a band of tricksters in the name of the true god! The irony of
the situation nearly made me chuckle; fate had a wry sense of humor.
Unfortunately, Derek did not. Nothing I did pleased him. I walked too slow. I walked too
fast. It was too cold. The furs made him hot. I had no love for the knight, but I knew
that answering his complaints would only provoke him further. I remained silent, my head
bent against the swirling snow as I picked our path across the glacier toward Icewall
Castle.
Krynn's sun rose and set on three cold days as we crossed the snowy wastelands. Each day,
five travelers from warmer lands struggled behind me through bitter winds and
man-swallowing drifts.
The kender proved as much a handful as any ten children from the village. More than once
did I catch sight of him in the corner of my eye as he wandered off the path I had chosen.
Once I collared him just as the snow beneath his little feet slid away, revealing a
crevasse.
“Wow, would you look at that?” he marveled. “I wonder what's down there? Perhaps I'll make
a map of this-maybe it's a shortcut to the other side of Krynn!” Tasslehoff reached into a
pouch for some paper.
“Don't be any sillier than you can help,” Derek grumbled, trudging through snow that
reached his knees. “I'd be the first to fall down it if it led to someplace warmer!”
Tasslehoffs face fell only slightly. “I suppose,” he mumbled.
Though I vowed to keep to myself and merely guide them as ordered, I could not help but
wonder about the others. I had a lot of time to observe them, after all.
My first impressions of Sturm Brightblade never changed; he was a man alone. For some
reason, the older knight, Derek, seemed determined to break the younger knight's will, but
Sturm never wavered in his loyalty to Laurana. And though provoked
enough for ten men, he never raised his voice to the older knight. Some dark secret rode
Sturm's shoulder like a black beast, but I never discovered what it was.
Though Elistan was silent most of the time and never complained-or maybe because of those
things-I still did not trust him. Every now and then he smiled serenely to himself for no
obvious reason as his eyes scanned the bleak horizon. He couldn't be enjoying the trip, I
reasoned. Was he laughing at me, at tricking a gullible old cleric who waited for the
return of the true faith? The thought made my legs move faster, to hasten the moment when
I would leave him behind.
But I must confess that, much as I tried, I could not look forward to the time when I
would leave Laurana. When we'd first met, I'd thought it strange that a slight young woman
would lead eight men, four of whom were knights. Then I'd believed, as Derek did, that her
power over the group came from the bear.
“My quest is to retrieve that orb,” the knight growled one night after he'd lost another
debate to Laurana. “That bear is no longer here to fight your battles!”
Derek's threat struck me as foolishly hollow, marking in my mind the moment when I first
knew Laurana had enchanted me, though not in a romantic way. Each night when we stopped
and lit a small fire to warm ourselves and eat our meager rations, Elistan sat whispering
to Laurana, advising her, giving her the moral strength to go on. The sight filled me with
jealousy. I wanted to be the one whose advice she sought, to receive her grateful smile.
Beyond her physical beauty was an inner strength that made me want to follow her even
without the bear.