Dragonlance - Chronicles 2 - Dragons of Winter Night, DragonLance, Dragon Lance
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
DragonLance Chronicles Volume 2DragonLance Chronicles Volume 2
Dragons of Winter Night
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
PDF by Ashamael
To my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Harold R. Hickman, who taught me what true honor is -
Tracy Raye Hickman
To my parents, Frances and George Weis, who gave me a gift more precious than life:
the love of books - Margaret Weis
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5RZ (Publishing and Editorial) and
Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England (Distribution and Warehouse) Viking Penguin
Inc., 40 West 23rd Street, New York, New York room, USA Penguin Books Australia
Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 2801 John Street,
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 1B4 Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, 18z-n9o Wairau Road,
Auckland 10 New Zealand
First published by TSR, Inc. 1985 Distributed to the book trade in the USA by
Random House, Inc. and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd Distributed in
the UK by TSR UK Ltd Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors
Published in Penguin Books 1986 Reprinted 1986 (twice), 1987 (three times)
Copyright © TSR, Inc., 1985 All rights reserved
DRAGONLANCE is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. All DRAGONLANCE characters
and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of TSR, Inc.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS are registered
trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead, is purely coincidental
We gratefully acknowledge the help of the authors of the ADVANCED DUNGEONS
AND DRAGONS® DRAGONLANCE role-playing adventure game modules: Douglas
Niles, DRAGONS OF ICE; Jeff Grubb, DRAGONS OF LIGHT; and Laura Hickman, co-
author, DRAGONS OF WAR. Finally, to Michael: Est Sularus oth Mithas
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that
it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise
circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
The winter winds raged outside, but within the caverns of the mountain dwarves
beneath the Kharolis Mountains, the fury of the storm was not felt. As the Thane
called for silence among the assembled dwarves and humans, a dwarven bard
stepped forward to do homage to the companions.
SONG OF THE NINE HEROES
From the north came danger, as we knew it would:
In the vanguard of winter, a dragon's dance
Unraveled the land, until out of the forest,
Out of the plains they came, from the mothering earth,
The sky unreckoned before them.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
One from a garden of stone arising,
From dwarf-halls, from weather and wisdom,
Where the heart and mind tide unquestioned
In the untapped vein of the hand.
In his fathering arms, the spirit gathered.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined,they arose
Into the heart of the story.
One from a haven of breezes descending,
Light in the handling air
To the waving meadows, the kender's country,
Where the grain out of smallness arises itself
To grow green and golden and green again.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The next from the plains, the long land's keeping,
Nurtured in distance, horizons of nothing.
Bearing a staff she came, and a burden
Of mercy and light converged in her hand:
Beating the wounds of the world, she came.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The next from the plains, in the moon's shadow,
Through custom, through ritual, trailing the moon
Where her phases, her wax and her wane, controlled
The tide of his blood, and his warrior's hand
Ascended through hierarchies of space into light.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
One within absences, known by departures,
The dark swordswoman at the heart of fire:
Her glories the space between words,
The cradlesong recollected in age,
Recalled at the edge of awakening and thought.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
One in the heart of honor, formed by the sword,
By the centuries' flight of the kingfisher over the land,
By Solamnia ruined and risen, rising again
When the heart ascends into duty.
As it dances, the sword is forever an heirloom.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The next in a simple light a brother to darkness,
Letting the sword hand try all subtleties,
Even the intricate webs of the heart. His thoughts
Are pools disrupted in changing wind
He cannot see their bottom.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The next the leader, half-elvcn, betrayed
As the twining blood pulls asunder the land,
The forests, the worlds of elves and men.
Called into bravery, but fearing for love,
And fearing that, called into both, he does nothing.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The last from the darkness, breathing the night
Where the abstract stars hide a nest of words,
Where the body endures the wound of numbers,
Surrendered to knowledge, until, unable to bless,
His blessing falls on the low, the benighted.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
Joined by others they were in the telling:
A graceless girl, graced beyond graces;
A princess of seeds and saplings, called to the forest;
An ancient weaver of accidents;
Nor can we say who the story will gather.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the hear of the story.
From the north came danger, as we knew it would:
In encampments of winter, the dragon's sleep
Has settled the land, but out of the forest,
Out of the plain they come, from the mothering earth,
Defining the sky before them.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.
The Hammer
"The Hammer of Kharas!"
The great Hall of Audience of the King of the Mountain Dwarves echoed with the
triumphal announcement. It was followed by wild cheering, the deep booming voices
of the dwarves mingling with the slightly higher-pitched shouts of the humans as the
huge doors at the rear of the Hall were thrown open and Elistan, cleric of Paladine,
entered.
Although the bowl-shaped Hall was large, even by dwarven standards, it was
crammed to capacity. Nearly all of the eight hundred refugees from Pax Tharkas lined
the walls, while the dwarves packed onto the carved stone benches below.
Elistan appeared at the foot of a long central aisle, the giant war hammer held
reverently in his hands. The shouts increased at the sight of the cleric of Paladine in
his white robes, the sound booming against the great vault of the ceiling and
reverberating through the hall until it seemed that the ground shook with the
vibrations.
Tanis winced as the noise made his head throb. He was stifled in the crowd. He didn't
like being underground anyway and, although the ceiling was so high that the top
soared beyond the blazing torchlight and disappeared into shadow, the half-elf felt
enclosed, trapped.
"I'll be glad when this is over;" he muttered to Sturm, standing next to him.
Sturm, always melancholy, seemed even darker and more brooding than usual. "I
don't approve of this, Tanis," he muttered, folding his arms across the bright metal of
his antique breastplate.
"I know;" said Tanis irritably. "You've said it-not once, but several times. It's too late
now. There's nothing to be done but make the best of it:"
The end of his sentence was lost in another resounding cheer as Elistan raised the
Hammer above his head, showing it to the crowd before beginning the walk down the
aisle. Tanis put his hand on his forehead. He was growing dizzy as the cool
underground cavern heated up from the mass of bodies.
Elistan started to walk down the aisle. Rising to greet him on a dais in the center of
the Hall was Hornfel, Thane of the Hylar dwarves. Spaced behind the dwarf were
seven carved stone thrones, all of them now empty. Hornfel stood before the seventh
throne-the most magnificent, the throne for the King of Thorbardin. Lang empty, it
would be occupied once more, as Hornfel accepted the Hammer of Kharas. The return
of this ancient relic was a singular triumph for Hornfel. Since his thanedom was now
in possession of the coveted Hammer, he could unite the rival dwarven thanes under
his leadership.
" We fought to recover that Hammer;' Sturm said slowly, his eyes upon the gleaming
weapon. "The legendary Hammer of Kharas. Used to forge the dragonlances. Lost for
hundreds of years, found again, and lost once more. And now given to the dwarvesl"
he said in disgust.
"It was given to the dwarves once before;' Tanis reminded him wearily, feeling sweat
trickle down his forehead. "Have Flint tell you the tale, if you've forgotten. At any rate,
it is truly theirs now."
Elistan had arrived at the foot of the stone dais where the Thane, dressed in the
heavy robes and massive gold chains dwarves loved, awaited him. Elistan knelt at the
foot of the dais, a politic gesture, for otherwise the tall, muscular cleric would stand
face-to-face with the dwarf, despite the fact that the dais was a good three feet off the
ground. The dwarves cheered mightily at this. The humans were, Tanis noticed, more
subdued, some muttering among themselves, not liking the sight of their leader
abasing himself:.
"Accept this gift of our people-" Elistan's words were lost in another cheer from the
dwarves.
"Gift!" Sturm snorted. "Ransom is nearer the mark."
"In return for which;" Elistan continued when he could be heard, "we thank the
dwarves for their generous gift of a place to live within their kingdom:'
"For the right to be sealed in a tomb . . :' Sturm muttered.
"And we pledge our support to the dwarves if the war should come upon us!" Elistan
shouted.
Cheering resounded throughout the chamber, increasing as Thane Hornfel bent to
receive the Hammer.. The dwarves stamped and whistled, most climbing up on the
stone benches.
Tanis began to feel nauseated. He glanced around. They would never be missed.
Hornfel would speak; so would each of the other six Thanes, not to mention the
members of the Highseekers Council. The half-elf touched Sturm on the arm,
motioning to the knight to follow him. The two walked silently from the Hall, bending
low to get through a narrow archway. Although still underground in the massive
dwarven city, at least they were away from the noise, out in the cool night air.
"Are you all right?" Sturm asked, noticing Tanis's pallor beneath his beard. The half-
elf gulped draughts of cool air.
"I am now;" Tanis said, flushing in shame at his weakness. "It was the heat . . . and
the noise:"
"Well, we'll be out of here soon;' Sturm said. 'Depending, of course, on whether or not
the Council of Highseekers votes to let us go to Tarsis:'
"Oh, there's no doubt how they'll vote;" Tanis said, shrugging. "Elistan is clearly in
control, now that he's led the people to a place of safety. None of the Highseekers
dares oppose him-at least to his face. No, my friend, within a month's time perhaps,
we'll be setting sail in one of the white-winged ships of Tarsis the Beautiful:'
"Without the Hammer of Kharas," Sturm added bitterly. Softly, he began to quote. "
'And so if was told that the Knights took the golden Hammer, the Hammer blessed 6y
the great god Paladine and given to the One of the Silver Arm so that he might forge
the Dragonlance of Huma, Dragonbane, and gave the Hammer to the dwarf they
called Kharas, or Knight, for his extraordinary valor and honor in battle. And he kept
Kharas for his name. And the Hammer of Kharas passed into the dwarven kingdom
with assurances from the dwarves that it should be brought forth again at need-"
"It has been brought forth;' Tanis said, straggling to contain his rising anger. He had
heard that quotation entirely too many times!
"II has been brought forth and will be left behind!" Sturm bit the words. "We might
have taken it to Solamnia, used it to forge our own dragonlances
"And you would be another Huma, riding to glory, the Dragonlance in your hand!"
Tanis's control snapped. "Meanwhile you'd let eight hundred people die-"
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]