Dragons of Winter Noght by Weis, Margaret

“Elves!” said Laurana eagerly, coming forward to stand beside the captain, the early morning wind whipping her cloak.

“Fled their homeland, so I heard,” the captain continued. “Driven off by the dragonarmies.”

“Perhaps it’s our people!” Laurana said, clutching at Gilthanas, who stood next to her. She gazed out over the born of the ship intently, as if she could will the land to appear.

“Most likely the Silvanesti,” Gilthanas said. “In fact, I think Lady Alhana may have mentioned something about Ergoth. Do you remember, Sturm?”

“No,” the knight answered abruptly. Turning and walking over to the port side of the ship, he leaned against the railing, staring out across the pink-tinged sea. Laurana saw him pull something from his belt and run his fingers over it lovingly. There was a bright flash, as it caught the sun’s rays, then he slipped it back into his belt. His head bowed. Laurana started to go to him when suddenly she stopped, catching a glimpse of movement.

“What kind of strange cloud is that to the south?”

The captain turned immediately, whipping his spyglass out of the pocket of his fur parka and placing it to his eye. “Send a man aloft,” he snapped to his first mate.

Within moments, a sailor was scampering up the rigging. Clinging to the dizzying heights of the mast with one arm, he peered south through the spyglass.

“Can you make it out?” the captain called aloft.

“No, capt’n.” the man bellowed. “If it’s a cloud, it’s like none I’ve seen afore.”

“I’ll look!” volunteered Tasslehoff eagerly. The kender began to climb the ropes as skillfully as the sailor. Reaching the mast, he clung to the rigging near the man and stared south.

It certainly seemed to be a cloud. It was huge and white and appeared to be floating above the water. But it was moving much more rapidly than any other cloud in the sky and

Tasslehoff gasped. “Let me borrow that,” he asked, holding out his hand for the watch’s spyglass. Reluctantly, the man gave it to him. Tas put it to his eye, then he groaned softly. “Oh, dear.” he muttered. Lowering the spyglass, he shut it up with a snap and absently stuffed it into his tunic. The sailor caught him by the collar as he was about to slide down.

“What?” Tas said, startled. “Oh! Is that yours? Sorry.” Giving the spyglass a wistful pat, he handed it back to the sailor. Tas slid skillfully down the ropes, landed lightly on the deck, and came running over to Sturm.

“It’s a dragon.” he reported breathlessly.

The White Dragon. Captured!

The dragon’s nave was Sleet. She was a white dragon, a species of dragon smaller than other dragons dwelling in Krynn. Born and bred in the arctic regions, these dragons were able to withstand extreme cold, and controlled the ice-bound southern regions of Ansalon.

Because of their smaller size, the white dragons were the swiftest flyers of all dragonkind. The Dragon Highlords often used them for scouting missions. Thus Sleet had been away from her lair in Ice Wall when the companions, entered it in search of the dragon orb. The Dark Queen had received a report that Silvanesti had been invaded by a group of adventurers. They had managed-somehow-to defeat Cyan Bloodbane and were reportedly in possession of a dragon orb.

The Dark Queen guessed they might be traveling across the Plains of Dust, along the Kings Road, which was the most direct overland route to Sancrist where the Knights of Solamnia were reportedly trying to regroup. The Dark Queen ordered Sleet and her flight of white dragons to speed north to the Plains of Dust, now lying under a thick, heavy blanket of packed snow, to find the orb.

Seeing the snow glistening beneath her, Sleet doubted very much if even humans would be foolhardy enough to attempt to cross the wasteland. But she had her orders and she followed them. Scattering her flight, Sleet scoured every inch of land from the borders of Silvanesti on the east to the Kharolis Mountains on the west. A few of her dragons even flew as far north as New Coast, which was held by the blues.