was wrong. It- is not for me to tell his tale, however. If he
had wanted it told, he would have done so before now.”
“But surely,” Tanis said, growing more irritated than
ever, “if the man’s life is at stake . . .”
“I can tell you nothing,” Theros said. “I wasn’t there.”
He turned and stalked out of the Upper Gallery.
Which left me. You see, I WAS there.
“C’mon, Tas,” said Caramon in that wheedling way of
his that makes me feel like I’d like to hit him sometimes.
“You can tell me.”
“I promised not to tell anyone,” I said. They were all
standing around me now, and I had never in my life felt
more miserable, except maybe when I was in the Abyss. “I
promised Fizban I wouldn’t.”
Tanis started to get red in the face and he would have
yelled at me for sure but two things – a sneeze and
Laurana digging her elbow into his ribs – put a stop to it. I
didn’t even remember to give him his handkerchief, I was
so unhappy.
Lady Crysania came over to me and put out her hand
and touched me. Her touch was soft and gentle. I wanted
to run into her arms and cry like a big baby. I didn’t,
because that wouldn’t have been dignified for a kender my
age and a hero, to boot, but I wanted to, most desperately.
“Tas,” she said to me, “how did you happen to come
here?”
I thought that was a strange question, since I was
invited, so I told her about the sausages and the jail and
the message and the invitation from Fizban.
Tanis groaned and sneezed again.
“Don’t you see, Tasslehoff?” asked Lady Crysania. “It
was Fizban who sent you here. You know who Fizban
really is, don’t you?”
“I know who he THINKS he is,” I said, because
Raistlin told me once that he wasn’t really certain himself
if the wacky old wizard was telling the truth or not.
“Fizban thinks he’s the god Paladine.”
“Whether he is or he isn’t” – Lady Crysania smiled
again – “he sent you here for a reason, you may be sure. I
think he wants you to tell us the story.”
“Do you?” I asked hopefully. “I’d like to, because it’s
been weighing on my mind.”
I handed Tanis his handkerchief and gave the matter
some thought. “But you don’t know that for sure, Lady
Crysania,” I said, starting to feel miserable again. “I’m
always NOT doing the right thing. I wouldn’t want to not
do the right thing now.”
I thought some more. “But I wouldn’t want Sir Owen
to die either.”
I had an idea. “I know! I’ll tell you all the secret, then
you can tell me whether or not I should tell anyone. And if
you say I shouldn’t, then I won’t.”
“But Tas, if you tell us – ” Caramon began.
At which point Laurana gave him a nudge on one side
and Tanis gave him a nudge on the other, so that Caramon
coughed and was all sort of nudged out, I guess, because
he didn’t say anymore.
“I think that is very wise,” said Lady Crysania, and she
said she wanted to keep near Owen Glendower, so we all
followed her. There weren’t any chairs. We sat down on
the floor in a circle, with Lady Crysania keeping beside
Owen and everyone else around her and me opposite.
And it was there, sitting on the floor next to Owen
Glendower, stretched out in his armor on the fur cloaks,
that I told the story I had sworn by my topknot I would
never, ever, ever tell.
I took hold of my topknot and held it fast, because I
thought this might be the last time I’d ever see it.
CHAPTER THREE
Well, I’m certain you must remember the part in the
old story where most of us went to the Silver Dragon
Mountain. There was me and Flint and Laurana and her
brother Gilthanas and Theros Ironfeld and Silvara, the
silver dragon, except we didn’t know she was a silver
dragon then.
Silvara took us to the Silver Dragon Mountain on