Dragons of Winter Night - Margaret Weis [158]
“That was all?”
Tanis did not reply immediately. Raistlin’s strange, hourglass eyes focused on him coldly. The half-elf shivered and nodded. Raistlin turned his head away. His eyes closed. “I will sleep now,” he said softly. “Remember, Tanis. Palanthas.”
Tanis was forced to admit he wanted to go to Sancrist for purely selfish reasons. He hoped against hope that Laurana and Sturm and the others would be there. And it was where he had promised he would take the dragon orb. But against this, he had to weigh Raistlin’s steady insistence that they must go to the library of this Astinus to discover how to use the orb.
His mind was still in a quandary when they reached Flotsam. Finally, he decided they would set about getting passage on a ship going north first and decide where to land later.
But when they reached Flotsam, they had a nasty shock. There were more draconians in that city than they had seen on their entire journey from Port Balifor north. The streets were crawling with heavily armed patrols, taking an intense interest in strangers. Fortunately, the companions had sold their wagon before entering the town, so they were able to mingle with the crowds on the streets. But they hadn’t been inside the city gates five minutes before they saw a draconian patrol arrest a human for “questioning.”
This alarmed them, so they took rooms in the first inn they came to—a run-down place at the edge of town.
“How are we going to even get to the harbor, much less buy passage on a ship?” Caramon asked as they settled into their shabby rooms. “What’s going on?”
“The innkeeper says a Dragon Highlord is in town. The draconians are searching for spies or something,” Tanis muttered uncomfortably. The companions exchanged glances.
“Maybe they’re searching for us,” Caramon said.
“That’s ridiculous!” Tanis answered quickly—too quickly. “We’re getting spooked. How could anyone know we’re here? Or know what we carry?”
“I wonder …” Riverwind said grimly, glancing at Raistlin.
The mage returned his glance coolly, not deigning to answer. “Hot water for my drink,” he instructed Caramon.
“There’s only one way I can think of,” Tanis said, as Caramon brought his brother the water as ordered. “Caramon and I will go out tonight and waylay two of the dragonarmy soldiers. We’ll steal their uniforms. Not the draconians—” he said hastily, as Caramon’s brow wrinkled in disgust. “The human mercenaries. Then we can move around Flotsam freely.”
After some discussion, everyone agreed it was the only plan that seemed likely to work. The companions ate dinner without much appetite—dining in their rooms rather than risk going into the common room.
“You’ll be all right?” Caramon asked Raistlin uneasily when the two were alone in the room they shared.
“I am quite capable of taking care of myself,” Raistlin replied. Rising to his feet, he had picked up a spellbook to study, when a fit of coughing doubled him over.
Caramon reached out his hand, but Raistlin flinched away.
“Be gone!” the mage gasped. “Leave me be!”
Caramon hesitated, then he sighed. “Sure, Raist,” he said, and left the room, shutting the door gently behind him.
Raistlin stood for a moment, trying to catch his breath. Then he moved slowly across the room, setting down the spellbook. With a trembling hand, he picked up one of the many sacks that Caramon had placed on the table beside his bed. Opening it, Raistlin carefully withdrew the dragon orb.
Tanis and Caramon—the half-elf keeping his hood pulled low over his face and ears—walked the streets of Flotsam, watching for two guards whose uniforms might fit them. This would have been relatively easy for Tanis, but finding a guard whose armor fit the giant Caramon was more difficult.
They both knew they had better find something quickly. More than once, draconians looked them over suspiciously. Two draconians even stopped them, insisting roughly on knowing their business. Caramon replied in the crude mercenary dialect that they were seeking employment in the Dragon Highlord’s army,