“We sent your men north along the shore, captain.” Laurana said, pointing. “There’s shelter there, within those trees.”
As if to verify her words, a bright light flared, the light of a huge bonfire.
“Fools!” Derek swore bitterly. “They’ll have the dragon back on us.”
“It’s either that or catch our deaths of cold.” the captain said bitterly over his shoulder. “Take your choice, sir knight. It matters little to me.” He disappeared into the darkness.
Sturm stretched and groaned, trying to ease chilled, cramped muscles. Flint lay huddled in misery, shaking so the buckles on his armor jangled. Laurana, leaning down to tuck her cloak around him, realized suddenly how cold she was.
In the excitement of trying to escape the ship and fighting the dragon, she had forgotten the chill. She couldn’t even remember, in fact, any details of her escape. She remembered reaching the beach, seeing the dragon diving on them. She remembered fumbling for her bow with numb, shaking fingers. She wondered how anyone had presence of mind to save anything.
“The dragon orb!” she said fearfully.
“Here, in this chest,” Derek answered. “Along with the lance and that elvish sword you call Wyrmslayer. And now, I suppose, we should take advantage of the fire-”
“I think not.” A strange voice spoke out of the darkness as lighted torches flared around them, blinding them.
The companions started and immediately drew their weapons, gathering around the helpless dwarf. But Laurana, after an instant’s fright, peered into the faces in the torchlight.
“Hold!” she cried. “These are our people! These are elves!”
“Silvanesti!” Gilthanas said heartily. Dropping his bow to the ground, he walked forward toward the elf who had spoken.
“We have journeyed long through darkness,” he said in elven, his hands outstretched. “Well met, my broth-”
He never finished his ancient greeting. The leader of the elven party stepped forward and slammed the end of his staff across Gilthanas’s face, knocking him to the sand, unconscious.
Sturm and Derek immediately raised their swords, standing back to back. Steel flashed among the elves.
“Stop!” Laurana shouted in elven. Kneeling by her brother, she threw back the hood of her cloak so that the light fell upon her face. “We are your cousins. Qualinesti! These humans are Knights of Solamnia!”
“We know well enough who you are!” The elven leader spit the words, “Qualinesti spies! And we do not find it unusual that you travel in the company of humans. Your blood has long been polluted. Take them,” he said, motioning to his men. “If they don’t come peacefully, do what you must. And find out what they mean by this dragon orb they mentioned.”
The elves stepped forward.
“No!” Derek cried, jumping to stand before the chest. “Sturm, they must not have the orb!”
Sturm had already given the Knight’s salute to an enemy and was advancing, sword drawn.
“It appears they will fight. So be it.” the leader of the elves said, raising his weapon.
“I tell you, this is madness I” Laurana cried angrily. She threw herself between the flashing swordblades. The elves halted uncertainly. Sturm grabbed hold of her to drag her back, but she jerked free of his restraining hand.
“Goblins and draconians, in all their hideous evil, do not sink to fighting among themselves”-her voice shook with rage-“while we elves, the ancient embodiment of good, try to kill each other! Look!” She lifted the lid of the chest with one hand and threw it open. “In here we have the hope of the world A dragon orb, taken at great peril from Ice Wall. Our ship lies wrecked in the waters out there. We drove away the dragon that sought to recover this orb. And, after all this, we find our greatest peril among our own people! If this is true, if we have sunk so low, then kill us now, and I swear, not one person in this group will try to stop you.”
Sturm, not understanding elven, watched for a moment, then saw the elves lower their weapons. “Well, whatever she said, it seems to have worked.” Reluctantly, he sheathed his weapon. Derek, after a moment’s hesitation, lowered his sword, but he did not put it back in its scabbard.
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