The half-elf walked to the back of the cave.
“How are you this morning, Raistlin?” he asked. “We’re going to have to be moving out soon.”
“I am much better,” the mage replied in his soft, whispering voice. He was drinking some herbal concoction of his own make. Tanis could see small, feathery green leaves floating in steaming water. It gave off a bitter, acrid odor and Raistlin grimaced as he swallowed it.
Tasslehoff came bounding back into the cave, pots and tin plates clattering loudly. Tanis gritted his teeth at the noise, started to reprimand the kender, then changed his mind. It wouldn’t do any good.
Flint, seeing the tension on Tanis’s face, grabbed the pots from the kender and began packing them away. “Be serious,” the dwarf hissed at Tasslehoff. “Or I’ll take you by the topknot and tie you to a tree as a warning to all kenders-”
Tas reached out and plucked something from the dwarf’s beard. “Look!” the kender held it up gleefully. “Seaweed!” Flint, roaring, made a grab for the kender, but Tas skipped out of his way agilely.
There was a rustling sound as Sturm shoved aside the brush covering the doorway. His face was dark and brooding.
“Stop this!” Sturm said, glowering at Flint and Tas, his moustaches quivering. His dour gaze turned on Tanis. “I could hear these two clear down by the lake. They’ll have every goblin in Krynn on us. We’ve got to get out of here. Well, which way are we headed?”
An uneasy silence fell. Everyone stopped what he was doing and looked at Tanis, with the exception of Raistlin. The mage was wiping his cup out with a white cloth, cleaning it fastidiously. He continued working, eyes downcast, as though totally uninterested.
Tanis sighed and scratched his beard. “The Theocrat in Solace is corrupt. We know that now. He is using the goblin scum to take control. If he had the staff, he would use it for his own profit. We’ve searched for a sign of the true gods for years. It seems we may have found one. I am not about to hand it over to that Solace fraud. Tika said she believed the Highseekers in Haven were still interested in the truth. They may be able to tell us about the staff, where it came from, what its powers are. Tas, give me the map.”
The kender, spilling the contents of several pouches onto the floor, finally produced the parchment requested.
“We are here, on the west bank of Crystalmir,” Tanis continued. “North and south of us are branches of the Kharolis Mountains which form the boundaries of Solace Vale. There are no known passes through either range except through Gateway Pass south of Solace-”
“Almost certainly held by the goblins,” muttered Sturm. “There are passes to the northeast-”
“That’s across the lake!” Flint said in horror.
“Yes”-Tanis kept a straight face-“across the lake. But those lead to the Plains, and I don’t believe you want to go that direction.” He glanced at Goldmoon and Riverwind. “The west road goes through the Sentinel Peaks and Shadow Canyon to Haven. That seems to me the obvious direction to take.”
Sturm frowned. “And if the Highseekers there are as bad as the one in Solace?”
“Then we continue south to Qualinesti.”
“Qualinesti?” Riverwind scowled. “The Elven Lands? No! Humans are forbidden to enter. Besides, the way is hidden-”
A rasping, hissing sound cut into the discussion. Everyone turned to face Raistlin as he spoke. “There is a way.” His voice was soft and mocking; his golden eyes glittered in the cold light of dawn. “The paths of Darken Wood. They lead right to Qualinesti.”
“Darken Wood?” Caramon repeated in alarm. “No, Tanis!”
The warrior shook his head. “I’ll fight the living any day of the week-but not the dead!”
“The dead?” Tasslehoff asked eagerly. “Tell me, Caramon-”
“Shut up, Tas!” Sturm snapped. “Darken Wood is madness. None who enter have ever returned. You would have us take this prize there, mage?”
“Hold!” Tanis spoke sharply. Everyone fell silent. Even Sturm quieted. The knight looked at Tanis’s calm, thoughtful face, the almond-shaped eyes that held the wisdom of his many years of wandering. The knight had often tried to resolve within himself why he accepted Tanis’s leadership. He was nothing more than a bastard half-elf, after all. He did not come of noble blood. He wore no armor, carried no shield with a proud emblem. Yet Sturm followed him, and loved him and respected him as he respected no other living man.