Legacy of Steel Page 25

  "We've the time," Caramon told her.

  So Sara told the Majeres everything, from the first night she dreamed of Cobalt to her departure from Neraka. She explained her motives for going, described the squires and Governor-General Abrena, and detailed the garrison at the city.

  They listened, fascinated and stunned in turns. Caramon paid careful attention to her information about the dark knighthood and its new leader; Tika listened to the deeper emotions Sara revealed when she talked about Derrick and the squires, and she nodded in understanding.

  Sitting by the fire, the two kender sat wide-eyed in delight. This was the best tale they had heard in years.

  At last Sara came to the part of her story that happened in the tomb. Her words slowed to a trickle, and her gaze lengthened into the distance beyond the walls of the inn. She told what occurred succinctly and without expressing the changing emotions that ebbed and flowed through her.

  "He stood by his own bier," she said softly. "He said nothing more than, 'All we have is each other.' Then he handed me something and was gone. The next thing I remember is waking up outside the tomb."

  Tika, practical and pragmatic, eyed their guest dubiously. She knew Sara to be honest, courageous, thoughtful and determined, and she accepted that Sara believed she had been in the tomb and seen Steel. But the mind can be deceiving. Dreams and visions can seem quite real to someone who is exhausted and numb with cold.

  Tika glanced at Caramon and recognized the vague look he often got when deep in thought. Caramon was often slow to react, not because he was dull-witted, but because he always looked carefully at things from every angle before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. The slowness of his ponderings often drove some people to make the wrong judgment about his abilities, but once he made up his mind, he often found insights or details other people missed.

  To give him time to think, Tika fetched two small glasses and poured hot cider for the kender. She ran a swift eye over the silverware and nearby knickknacks and was relieved to see everything was still in place.

  Badger and Lemmi had been so enthralled by Sara's story, their instinctive tendencies to "acquire" things had been stifled. Nothing extra had found its way into the collection of pouches at their belts. Brother and sister sat still in their chairs by the fire pit, their short legs dangling down, their faces bright with curiosity.

  Tika smiled at her guests and asked, "When you found Sara, did you see anything different about the tomb?"

  Delighted to be involved in such a mystery, Badger nearly fell out of his chair in his haste to answer. "you mean was the door open or any ghosts hanging about? No. The lamp was on the hook, too."

  Tika pursed her lips and posed another question. "Did you see any footprints in the snow by the door?"

  Lemmi thought for a minute and shook her head. "No. There wasn't any snow by the door. I guess the wind blew it away. Sara was just lying there on the stone."

  Sara nodded. "I don't even know how I got out of the tomb, but somehow I must have," she said, with a defiant glance at her hosts. She knew what they were thinking. "I thought at first I dreamed it all. But there is more to it than that. Steel wanted to tell me something, to give me hope for the future. This is what he gave me." She took hold of the steel chain and gently tugged the elven star jewel off her neck. Laying it on the table, she sat back to watch the Majeres' reactions.

  Tika clasped her hands together, her eyes huge.

  Caramon leaned forward, his face alight with fascination. "That is Sturm's jewel," he observed. "The one Alhana Starbreeze gave him as a gift of her love. I remember that. Sturm gave it to Steel in the tower… much like your vision." He touched the jewel gently with his fore-finger, marveling at its beauty. This was no dream. It felt hard and warm beneath his finger. "When the remnants of the Solamnic Knights returned to the ruins of the tower after the Battle of the Rift, they found the jewel on Strum's bier where Steel had left it. They returned it and put it around Steel's neck before the tomb was sealed."

  A thoughtful quiet settled over the small group while everyone stared at the white jewel glittering in the firelight.

  "What do you think Steel wanted to tell you?" Tika asked softly.

  Sara sagged back in her blankets. The warmth, the food, the feeling of being safe—it had all caught up with her and pulled her down into a deep, soft well of exhaustion. "I don't know yet. I have to put it all together. There is something here I feel is vitally important, but I can't see it yet." Her eyelids drooped and she yawned. "Forgive me," she murmured. "I am so tired."

  The next thing she knew, Caramon's strong arms lifted her out of the chair, took her to one of the small rooms reserved for guests, and set her carefully on the bed. She smiled at her friends and fell asleep before Tika covered her with the blankets.

  Sometime late in the night, when the inn was dark and silent, Sara sat bolt upright in bed. Her eyes flew open wide in wakefulness and stared, unseeing, into the night. Of course! That's it! she told herself over and over. Her body tingled with the energy of inspiration; her mind raced ahead to the future and to plans for immediate action.

  Steel had fought good and evil within himself his entire life until at last he set them both aside and did what he believed was right. Only then did he achieve success, glory, and the peace he so desperately sought for.

  She understood that, but she had not made the right conclusion until she looked at the vision of Derrick and the Solamnic Knight from a less personal angle and made the connection.

  Each knight represented his order, the good and the evil, the light and the darkness. Their battle in the clearing, as well as her own knowledge of General Abrena's plans, pointed to more conflict in the future. Sara was terribly certain that whatever good the Solamnics might do, the Knights of Takhisis would undo.

  There had to be a middle ground. A third party that would not worry about absent goddesses, or strict codes and measures, or ambition and power, or self-interest. A group that would serve the people. Steel's statement echoed her own deep-rooted belief that the destiny of Krynn lay in the hands of its people, working together.

  "All we have is each other."

  Sara never did return to sleep that night. At dawn, she bounced out of bed, threw on her dried clothes, and hurried into the inn's kitchen.

  Tika was already there, cooking eggs and sausages and baking bread for the day's customers. She wiped floury hands on her apron and poured a cup of tarbean tea for Sara. Her expression brightened at the look of energy and determination on Sara's face.

  "I have to make a short trip," Sara announced. "I hope I won't be long. When I come back, may I leave a friend with you?"

  "Of course," Tika replied, puzzled by Sara's request. "Where do you have to go in such a hurry?"

  "The knight I saw in my vision is close by. If I can reach him before he fights, or… before he dies, I want to bring him back here."

  Tika paused, her hands poised over the frying pan. "The Dark Knight?"

  "His name is Derrick," Sara said firmly. "He looks like Steel and has his sense of honor. I don't believe he will make a good knight of evil."

  Tika eyed Sara shrewdly. "All right. If you say he needs to come here, I will take him. And you, too. You cannot return to Neraka."

  Sara's reply was ambiguous. "We'll see what happens. I want to find Derrick first."

  The doors of the kitchen slammed open and Caramon came in, stamping snow from his boots. The big man grinned as he hung his cloak on a peg and came over to join Sara. His wife handed him a mug of steaming tea and his breakfast.

  "You look better this morning," he observed after eyeing Sara from head to foot.

  She agreed. She felt better, too, better than she had in a long while, filled with energy, enthusiasm, and an inner joy that simmered in her gray eyes. Something had happened to her during the night that she could not entirely explain—yet. She needed some time to think it all through.

  "I walked around the tomb this morning at fi
rst light," Caramon said. "The tomb is sealed, as always. If there were any footprints by the door, those kender of yours trampled all over them."

  Sara laughed, and Tika, watching her, thought twenty years fell away from her face.

  "It doesn't matter if I was in the tomb or not, Caramon," said Sara. "What matters is that Steel gave me his message and his star jewel for a purpose. That jewel has always symbolized one's love for another, an unspoken pledge of mutual protection, and it is now up to me to put it to use."

  Caramon looked puzzled. He glanced at Tika, who merely shrugged her shoulders. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

  "First I am going to summon my dragon and go find my companion before he does something stupid. When I think through the rest of it, I'll let you know." Impulsively she leaned over, gave Caramon a kiss on the cheek, hugged Tika, and flew out the swinging doors before they knew what blew by them.

  "Was that the same woman we brought in last night?" Caramon asked in wonder.

  24

  Outside Sara paused to throw on her cloak and fill her lungs with the crisp morning air. From her vantage point high in the vallenwood tree, she could see most of Solace and out to the fields beyond where the tomb glistened in the early sunlight.

  The Inn of the Last Home was the largest building in Solace and sat nearly forty feet off the ground in the secure branches of a tremendous vallenwood tree. The Majeres had taken loving care of the inn and its tree over the years, and their attention had been rewarded by a steady stream of customers that came to enjoy Caramon's brown ale, Tika's inestimable cooking, and the excellent service.

  A broad set of stairs wound down the convoluted tree trunk to the ground, and Sara went down as fast as her legs could carry her. A euphoria of joy, of power, of direction energized her muscles and sent her racing across the snowy fields. Without stopping, she pulled the dragon-scale thong out of her tunic, clasped her hand around it, and sent her mental summons winging out to find Cobalt.

  She wanted to go to the Tomb of the Last Heroes to see it in the daylight while she waited for her dragon to come, so she turned her racing steps toward the tomb. She felt so strong, she ran three times around the large building before coming to a breathless halt on the stone steps.

  In the clear morning light, the marble building gleamed as pure and white as the new-fallen snow around it. Nothing looked different. The gold and silver doors still shut in the darkness behind them, the small lamps still hung on the wall, the names of the dead still made their dark lines against the flawless stone. Yet something had changed in Sara. She felt it and relished the change. The emptiness she had carried within her for almost nine long years was gone. The purposelessness she had dragged with her like an empty shell had cracked off and fallen away. Steel loved her and forgave her; Steel had given her a reason to continue.

  Excited voices drew her attention away from the tomb and she turned to see two small figures dashing toward her. Badger and Lemmi grinned from ear to pointed ear to see her.

  "Sara!" they shouted. The two kender were dressed warmly against the winter cold in fur jackets and thick leggings of brilliant yellow. Their cheeks glowed apple red and their eyes, she noticed in the daylight, were summer green. They looked so bright and cheerful, she laughed to see them.

  "When can we see your dragon?" Badger wanted to know before she could draw breath to say hello.

  "In just a few minutes, I hope," Sara replied. "He's on his way."

  "You're calling him here? Just outside of Solace? He's on blue, isn't he?" Lemmi asked. "Is he mean?"

  Badger bared his teeth and imitated a rather highpitched dragon growl. "Of course he is, you doorknob. He's a blue. They're all evil."

  Sara held up her hand. "Well, some are worse or better than others. Cobalt was badly injured last year and almost died. He is much calmer and more mellow than when I knew him years ago. He may wait to say hello before he eats you."

  Badger's eyes widened with excitement. "Could he give us a ride first?"

  "I'll have a talk with him. He may be grateful for what you did for me. If he's in a good mood, he just might."

  Both kender looked delighted with the suggestion and settled down to wait with Sara for the dragon's arrival.

  "Did you know your dagger is missing?" Lemmi asked after a moment of quiet.

  Sara glanced down at her belt and noticed for the first time her empty sheath. A little suspicion jiggled in her thoughts. "Well! I wonder how that happened. I must have mislaid it. I don't suppose you know where I could find another one to take with me while I look for my friend."

  "Oh, I've got one!" Badger offered, pleased to be of help. He searched through his pouches and pockets and belt loops until he found what he was looking for. "Here, you can have this one. I found it somewhere. It's a very nice one," and he handed Sara a dagger that looked exactly like her old one.

  The woman shook her head. What would Krynn be like without the irrepressible, sticky-fingered, guileless, child-hearted kender?

  Lemmi suddenly pointed her finger toward the east and exclaimed, "There he is!" and out of the rising sun came a dark shape winging fast on the rising breeze.

  Large wings rustled overhead, and a gust of wind nearly knocked the kender over. The ground trembled as the big dragon settled to the ground.

  "Sara!" he trumpeted. "Are you well? What's happened? Your summons came so fast and so strong, it nearly knocked me out of the air."

  Taking a running leap, she sprang up his leg and into his saddle before she explained. "Yes, I'm fine, Cobalt. We're going to find Derrick. I think I know where to look." She threw her arms around his neck. "I am so glad to see you."

  Her eyes happened to glance down at the two kender, and she saw the crestfallen looks on their faces. "We'll be back soon," she called down, "and I promise I'll talk to him."

  Their expressions brightened considerably, and they waved as the dragon pushed off into the air.

  "Talk to me about what?" he asked suspiciously.

  "About taking them for a ride," Sara said. She had to purse her lips hard to keep from laughing.

  "Absolutely not!" the blue roared, pumping harder toward the mountains. "I will not carry those little pick-pockets. They're worse than children, and I hate children."

  Sara ran her hand down his neck to placate him. "Hear me out first, then you can decide." Knowing her experience and her decisions would affect him, too, she told him everything that happened from the moment he dropped her off on the hillside.

  He listened quietly from beginning to end, his ears cocked back to catch every word. They were over the mountains and approaching the swamp before she finished. He stayed quiet for some time after, his mind carefully ruminating over her tale.

  Whether he believed it or not did not matter to him. What made him accept her story was the change he sensed in her, in her voice, in her happiness, in the new strength he felt coursing through her. Cobalt had long ago given up any thought of serving Takhisis. When the dark goddess abandoned the world and his first rider died, a part of Cobalt died, too. Or rather, with Sara's arrival, a part of him was reborn. Now he cared only for her, and for her he would give his life if he needed to. If she said her adopted son left her a legacy and she intended to use it, then by all the powers of Krynn, Cobalt knew he would stand with her.

  "All right," he said at last. "I'll give those kender a ride—a short one, that is."

  Smiling to herself, Sara guided the dragon over the swamp. Although she did not know the exact location of the clearing where the giant dwelt, she thought she could spot the place or even the trail leading to it from the air. In the morning sunlight, trails and landmarks were fairly easy to spot from the air.

  Cobalt swept low over the swamp and began a systematic sweep of the borders. It was nearly noon before Sara saw what she was looking for—a trail beaten through the undergrowth and trees. She pointed it out to Cobalt, and he tilted his wings and glided lower over the path.

  In minutes, they o
verflew the clearing. Sara groaned her dismay. She hoped the battle with the giant had not yet taken place, or that it truly was nothing more than a vision of possibilities, and she would find Derrick still fuming in the swamp. But just as she had witnessed in her vision, the giant's body lay sprawled in the trampled mud. Close by lay two smaller bodies, clad in armor.

  "Sara, there are goblins down there," Cobalt hissed.

  She took a closer look and saw what he meant. A party of perhaps ten ill-clad, unkempt goblins was creeping along the trail into the giant's clearing. Several of the boldest ones were already pawing over the pile of spoils. They looked up in alarm as the dragon's shadow passed over them.

  Cobalt did not need to wait for instructions. He folded his wings and dropped like a stone into the clearing, where he landed heavily on top of the dead giant. The electrical energy of his dragon breath surged within him. He held his breath for as long as he could, then belched forth a tremendous bolt of power that seared into the largest cluster of goblins. A clap of thunder shook the clearing.

  The massive stroke of lightning slammed into three goblins and sent their charred bodies flying into their companions. The other goblins squealed in terror. They could face dead giants, but not living dragons that spit lightning. They scrambled madly over one another in their effort to escape the clearing. The three by the pile of treasure cowered down behind the boxes, too terrified or too greedy to run.

  Sara pulled her sword free from its scabbard on the saddle and slid off. The three goblins by the piles were too close to the knights' bodies for Cobalt to sear them so she went after them herself while the dragon dealt with the rest of the mob.

  The goblins saw her coming and drew their own small weapons. One lone female human was more to their liking. But if they hoped to dispatch her quickly and flee out of the clearing while the dragon was distracted elsewhere, Sara immediately dashed their hopes. Giving a furious yell, she charged the three creatures and lopped the head off the nearest one. The others took one look at the head rolling at their feet and whirled to flee.