Bones of the Dragon - Margaret Weis [234]
My cousin is to bring the Kai Priestess to the Isle of Apensia. I chose this place because it will also give us the opportunity to strike a blow at the pagans who rule that island, reveal to them the awful power of the God of the New Dawn, and bring these heathens into the fold. (Either that or, as Aelon commands, slay the corrupt lest they corrupt others!)
I remain as always your servant in the blessed service of Aelon, Lord of Light, etc. and so forth, Raegar, Priest of Battle’s Glory.
Sent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn some time later.
To Acronis, Honored Tribune of the Twenty-four, Commander of the Navy of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Dunumadi. Greetings!
Again, I humbly apologize to your lordship for the disaster that befell my men and me on the Isle of Apensia. Clearly, these druids are very dangerous people and must be eradicated. However, all that for another time.
I have, as you commanded, returned to the Torgun. My kinsmen were overjoyed to see me, and they have welcomed me back with open arms, with the possible exception of my young cousin, who fears that at any moment I will betray him.
Through Aelon’s blessing, the Torgun’s Bone Priestess is a spinster named Treia, who is hungry for a man. She is not ill-favored and she is near my age, so none of my kinsmen were surprised to see me take an interest in her.
In truth, I find her to be an intriguing woman. She and I have much in common, and it is no punishment to me to spend time with her. Perhaps I flatter myself, but I have no doubt that I can make her do anything I want.
My cousin, the so-called Chief of Chiefs, is preparing to undertake a voyage to the ogre nation to retrieve the dragonbone. I will send you notice of our departure that you may be ready to intercept their ships. We can then recover the Vektan Torque ourselves, which will give us two of these valuable dragonbones.
I remain as always your servant in the blessed service of Aelon, Lord of Light, etc. and so forth, Raegar, Priest of Battle’s Glory.
Sent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn, done in haste, slightly garbled.
Acronis! Praise Aelon that you came safely through that terrible storm and that you managed to keep track of us! I have escaped the dragonship, faking my own death by drowning. I am in the Hall of their dead goddess. Send men to meet me. I have a plan.
Raegar
AFTERWORD
Brian Thomsen
In Memoriam
As Bones of the Dragon was going to press, Tracy and I were shocked to learn that our friend and the editor of this book, Brian Thomsen, had died unexpectedly of heart failure. Brian was only fifty-four, far too young to be taken from us.
Tracy and I first met Brian back in the mid-1990s when he came to work for TSR, Inc., the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, in Lake Geneva. He became head of the book department. We soon learned that Brian was an editor who loved his authors and who wanted to see them be successful. Editing wasn’t just a job to Brian, it was a passion.
At one point in time, back in the late 1990s, TSR, Inc., was going through financial problems. I was writing a book for the Dragonlance series, called The Soulforge, the tale of the early years of one of the series’ most pop u lar characters, the wizard Raistlin Majere.
Since I lived close to the company headquarters, I called Brian to tell him I had finished the book and would bring the manuscript into his office. He suggested instead that I meet him for lunch in a local café and bring the manuscript with me.
Over lunch, he confided that he was worried about the company’s finances. He was afraid they might declare bankruptcy and, in that case, if the manuscript was in his office, it might be seized as an asset of the company. He didn’t want that to happen. He said