Laurana was startled. She had not intended to stay, of course, but she resented being replaced in what was a daughter’s traditional role in the royal household. She also resented the fact that, though she had talked to her father about taking the orb to Sancrist, he had apparently ignored her.
“Speaker.” she said slowly, trying to keep the irritation from her voice, “I have told you. We cannot stay. Haven’t you been listening to me and to Elistan? We have discovered the dragon orb! Now we have the means to control dragons and bring an end to this war! We must take the orb to Sancrist-”
“Stop, Laurana!” her father said sharply, exchanging looks with Porthios. Her brother regarded her sternly. “You know nothing of what you speak, Laurana. The dragon orb is truly a great prize, and so should not be discussed here. As for taking it to Sancrist, that is out of the question.”
“I beg your pardon, sir.” Derek said, rising and bowing, “but you have no say in the matter. The dragon orb is not yours. I was sent by the Knights Council to recover a dragon orb, if possible. I have succeeded and I intend to take it back as I was ordered. You have no right to stop me.”
“Haven’t I?” the Speaker’s eyes glittered angrily. “My son, Gilthanas, brought it into this land which we, the Qualinesti, declare to be our homeland in exile. That makes it ours by right.”
“I never claimed that, Father.” Gilthanas said, flushing as he felt the companions’ eyes turn to him. “It is not mine. It belongs to all of us-”
Porthios shot his younger brother a furious glance. Gilthanas stammered, then fell silent.
“If it is anyone’s to claim, it is Laurana’s,” Flint Fireforge spoke up, not at all intimidated by the elves’ glaring stares, “For it was she who killed Feal-thas, the evil elven magic-user.'”
“If it be hers.” the Speaker said in a voice older thaw his hundreds of years, “then it is mine by right. For she is not of age what is hers is mine, since I am her father. That is elven law and dwarven law, too, if I’m not mistaken.”
Flint’s face flushed. He opened his mouth to reply, but Tasslehoff beat him to it. “Isn’t that odd?” remarked the kender cheerfully, having missed the serious portent of the conversation. “According to kender law, if there is a kender law, everybody sort of owns everything.” (This was quite true. The kenders’ casual attitude toward the possessions of others extended to them own. Nothing in a kender house remained there long, unless it was nailed to the floor. Some neighbor was certain to wander in, admire it, and absentmindedly walk off with it. A family heirloom among kenders was defined as anything remaining in a house longer than three weeks.)
No one spoke after that. Flint kicked Tas under the table, and the kender subsided in hurt silence which lasted until he discovered his neighbor, an elvenlord, had been called from the table, leaving his purse behind. Rummaging through the elflord’s possessions kept the kender happily occupied throughout the rest of the meal.
Flint, who ordinarily would have kept an eye on Tas, did not notice this in his other worries. It was obvious there was going to be trouble. Derek was furious. Only the rigid code of the knights kept him seated at the table. Laurana sat in silence, not eating. Her face was pale beneath her tanned skin, and she was punching small holes in the finely woven table cloth with her fork. Flint nudged Sturm.
“We thought getting the dragon orb out of Ice Wall was tough.” the dwarf said in an undertone. “There we only had to escape a crazed wizard and a few walrus-men. Now we’re surrounded by three nations of elves!”
“We’ll have to reason with them,” Sturm said softly.
“Reason!” The dwarf snorted. “Two stones would have a better chance of reasoning with each other”
That proved to be the case. By the Speaker’s request, the companions remained seated after the other elves left, following dinner. Gilthanas and his sister sat side by side, their faces drawn and worried as Derek stood up before the Speaker to ‘reason’ with him.
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