Heroes And Fools

To Convince the Righteous of the Right
Margaret Weis, Don Perrin

The snowstorm blew itself out. For the first time in two days, the sun shone. The sun was pale and thin, as if it were a parchment sun set against a gray flannel sky, but it was a sun, and it was warm.

Seeing the sun sparkle on the snow like scales from a silver dragon, the troop of draconians left the shelter of the trees and, moving as a single body-a single, well-disciplined body-the draconians passed from the shadows into the wintry light. Weak though it was, the sunlight was welcome to the draconians. They flapped their wings to rid themselves of the horrible white fluffy stuff, they lifted their faces to the sunshine, basked in its warmth. Blood that had been sluggish as frozen swamp water began to flow again. One soldier tossed a snowball at another, and war was declared. Soon snowballs filled the air thicker than snowflakes, the draconians hooting and shouting.

Concerned at this breach of discipline, the officers looked worriedly at their commander, but Kang only grinned and waved a clawed hand. Let the men enjoy themselves for a few moments at least. They’d had little enough to enjoy these past few weeks.

The only draconians not involved in the snowball fight were those wearing the fur-lined knapsacks containing the treasure, the most valuable treasure ever to come to the draconians, a treasure that would be the salvation of their dying race. Small squeaks and the occasional squall could be heard coming from the knapsacks; a snout thrust out of the flap of one, snuffling the air. The baby female draconians felt the warmth of the sun. Perhaps, hearing the laughter, they wanted to join in the fun, but Kang worried that even with the sunshine, the air was still too chilly to allow the babies out in the open.

The babies were growing, they’d doubled in size during the five months since the draconians had rescued them from Mount Celebundin. The draconians and Kang in particular were extraordinarily protective of the little ones. The young were rarely permitted to leave their snug womblike knapsacks. The babies were intensely curious, they had no sense of danger or self-preservation, they viewed everyone as a friend. The one day he had permitted the young to be set loose, he’d regretted it.

Once outside the protective confines of the knapsacks, the young stood on wobbly legs, looked at everything with their bright eyes, and immediately took off in forty different directions. Kang was astonished. He had no idea little draconians could move that fast. Within seconds, the babies were into everything-rummaging through the rations, leaving slashing claw marks on the waterskins, tumbling headfirst into the creek. One sought to make acquaintance with a skunk with disastrous, odiferous consequences. Another baby cut her foot on a spear and wailed as if she had been impaled, sending the adult draconians into a panic until they eventually discovered that the wound was completely superficial.

After that the worst happened. They took a count, discovered one of the babies missing. The entire army turned the woods upside down searching for the young female. They found her at last, curled up sound asleep beneath an overturned shield. By the end of the day, Kang felt as though he had aged a hundred years. It had been the worst day of his life, and that counted innumerable battles against humans, dwarves, and elves. Compared to looking after these children, a fight with a mighty gold dragon seemed an idyllic respite. He vowed that from then on, the babies would be kept under close confinement and careful watch.

For the sixth hundredth and seventy-first time, Kang wondered if he’d made the right decision, taking the babies on this long journey. For the sixth hundred and seventy-second time, his inner self came back wearily with, “What else could you do? You couldn’t stay in the valley. You tried to live peacefully among the other races, and it didn’t work. Best to find a place of your own, far from the rest of civilization where you can retire from the world and its lunacy, make a home, raise your families.”

Squatting on his haunches in the snow, Kang reached for the map pouch. He pulled out a well-worn map, hunched over it, studied it.

“I doubt if the city’s moved, sir,” said Gloth, peering over his shoulder. “Nope, there it is.” He pointed a claw.

“Right where it was yesterday. And the day before yesterday. And the day before that-”

“Very funny,” Kang growled. He spread his wings, so that Gloth couldn’t see, and gazed at the map.

It had been drawn by dwarves, and he had to admit that the little creeps could do two things well in this world: make dwarf spirits and draw maps. He located the dot that marked the draconians’ destination, their future, their hopes. A ruined city, abandoned, probably for good reason, for it was near Neraka, the former capital of the evil empire of Queen Takhisis. The dwarves reported that the city was filled with all sorts of terrible beings: undead, ghouls, skeletal warriors, perhaps even kender. What terrified dwarves, though, might not be so terrifying to draconians.

Whoever chased out the current inhabitants would have a ready-made city. All it would take would be a little fixing up, and Kang and his engineers were experts in that. The dot had taken on such importance that it seemed to glow every time he looked at it. He had known the trail would be difficult, for it led through the Khalkist Mountains, but he had not expected the snows, which were early for this time of year. Kang leaned back, flexed his wings.

A buzz like an angry wasp-except that no self-respecting wasp would be out in this weather-ripped through the map. Had Kang been leaning forward, as he had been just a split second earlier, the arrow would have torn through a wing, come to rest in his skull. As it was, Gloth was staring stupidly at an arrow lodged in his thick, muscular thigh.

“Take cover!” Kang shouted. “We’re under attack!”

The draconians acted with alacrity, their playful fight forgotten. Those carrying the young sought the shelter of the woods, their comrades fanning out to cover them. More arrows sliced through the winter air, some finding their marks to judge by the yells.

“You bozaks! Stay clear of the young!” Kang shouted.

The bodies of all draconians are lethal to their killers. The baaz turn to stone, entrapping the weapon that had killed them. Others turn to pools of acid. When a bozak draconian dies, he effects revenge on his killer. His bones explode, killing or maiming anything in the vicinity. The draconians entrusted with the babies were baaz, who changed to stone.

Kang reached out, jerked the arrow from Cloth’s leg. A trickle of blood followed, but due to the draconian’s scales, the arrow had done little damage. The story would have been different if that arrow had found its target- Kang’s skull. He and the wounded Gloth sought shelter in the trees.

Kang studied the bloody arrow closely and swore bitterly. “Slith!” he yelled, hunkering down. “Where’s Slith?”

“Here, sir!” Slith came sliding and slipping through the snow.

“Who’s attacking us?” Kang demanded.

“Goblins, sir,” said Slith, looking apologetic.

“I thought you said we’d left those bastards behind!”

“I thought we had, sir,” said Slith. “We left their lands two days ago! Sir,” he said, lowering his voice, and dropping down beside his leader, “have you ever known those lazy slugs to leave their warm caves and track an enemy through the snow when he’s no longer a threat?”

“We never were a threat!” Kang protested. “I can understand the goblins wanting to protect their own territory, but we told them we were just passing through, and we passed through!”

“Yes, sir,” said Slith respectfully. “That’s what I mean. Going back to my original question about the goblins, have you known them to be this persistent, sir?”

“No,” Kang admitted gloomily. He looked at the arrow he was still carrying, shook it as though it were personally responsible for nearly skewering him. “I haven’t seen goblins carry well-crafted arrows like this before.”

As if to emphasize his words, another arrow whistled through the tree branches, thunked into the bole of a tree next to where Kang was crouching. An explosion, far off in the woods, told him that one of the bozaks had departed this world.

“You men keep your heads down!” Kang bellowed. He looked worriedly around for the soldiers carrying the young, hoped they’d found adequate cover.

“These aren’t ordinary goblins, sir,” Slith stated, as he and Kang helped the hobbling Gloth limp farther back among the trees. “I think we have proof now, that these goblins are acting on orders. Someone wants us dead, sir.”

“Now there’s a surprise!” Kang grunted. “I don’t have fingers and toes enough to count everyone who wants us dead.”

“Goblins aren’t usually among that number, sir,” Slith argued. “Goblins are usually on our side. Those who hire them are on our side, if you take my meaning, sir. The cursed Solamnics wouldn’t be likely to fund goblin assassins.”

“Which means that someone on our side wants us dead.” Kang was thoughtful. This introduced a totally new aspect to the situation. “But why?” He answered his own question. “The females.”

“We’re a threat to someone, sir. We know that Queen Takhisis-I spit on her name and her memory”-Slith matched his words with the action-”intended us to die out once we were no longer of any use to her. She feared us, and now it seems that even though she’s gone, others fear us, too.”

“But who?” Kang demanded impatiently, studying the arrow he was still carrying, like a talisman. “Who even knows about the babies?”

“Those dwarves know, sir, and they’re certainly not above selling the information.”

“Right,” Kang muttered. “I forgot about them, drat their hairy hides. I wonder-”

“Where’s the commander?” a voice was shouting.

Draconians hissed and pointed. Whenever a dracon-ian moved, an arrow zipped his direction.

Kang raised up quickly. “Here!” he shouted. An arrow struck his back, lodged in his chain mail armor. Slith plucked it out, broke it in two, and cast it into the snow. Kang hunkered back down.

“Sir!” A draconian slid through the snow, halted beside Kang, bringing a storm of arrows in their direction. The draconians flattened themselves into the snow, waited for the onslaught to pass. “Sir!” the draconian continued, “we’ve found a large stone building. It’s outside the tree cover, in the middle of the plains, about a mile away! It’s right out in the open, sir, but the building’s good and solid.”

“Excellent!” Kang was about to tell his troops to move out.

“There’s only one problem, sir.”

“What’s that?” Kang asked impatiently.

“It’s a Temple of Paladine, sir.”

A temple of Paladine. Their most implacable enemy. The great god of the righteous on Krynn. In the old days, no draconian would have dared set a claw inside a temple of Paladine. The wrath of the god would have fried the meat from his bones.

“Paladine’s gone,” said Kang. “From what we hear, he fled the world five months ago along with our cowardly queen.”

“What if we heard wrong, sir?” Gloth asked. He had packed his wound with snow, and the bleeding had stopped.

“We’ll have to chance it,” Kang said. “Slith, you go on ahead, check things out. Take Support Squadron with you.”

He could hear shouts, sounds of fighting. The goblins had given up shooting at them from afar and were now attacking.

“Yes, sir!” Slith was up and gone before the archers had a chance to target him.

“Fall back by squadrons,” Kang shouted. “Support Squadron first. Gloth, can you hold the line?”

“Yes, sir,” Gloth said and began to issue commands.

The wind howled through the sparse copse of trees, kicking up snow from the ground that stung the eyes and half-blinded them. The sound of fighting was far away, but that was a trick of the winter wind. His soldiers, the dra-conians of the First Dragonarmy Field Engineer Regiment, were only five hundred yards away through the sparse tree cover.

Runners went scrambling across the snow to relay the orders he had just given. Kang hurried to the rear to take a look at the temple himself. He paused in the shelter of the trees, gazed across the plains to the building that would serve as their redoubt. The forward companies were doing an excellent job of keeping the goblins occupied. No arrows back here, not yet-but it would be only a matter of time.

The temple was large with two levels, few windows and those were lead-lined stained glass. A dome surmounted it. The building was made of marble that gleamed whiter than the snow. A wall surrounded the temple. Behind the temple and along the wall were several outbuildings. Kang could just barely see their red-tiled roofs.

The snow wasn’t nearly as deep on the plains as it was in the forest. The wind swept the frozen ground clean, sent the snow piling up in drifts in front of the temple wall.

He watched as Slith cautiously approached the temple’s holy grounds, which could be just as dangerous to the draconians as goblin arrows. Nothing and no one attacked him. Kang could see no signs of guards on the walls. Slith kicked in the front gate.

Support Squadron, nearly seventy strong, came up behind Kang. He raised a hand, ordered a halt. Support Squadron had been tasked with keeping the young female draconians safe. Every one of them had sworn a blood oath to defend to the death the babies they carried. Fulkth, the Chief Engineer and commander of the squadron, came to stand beside Kang.

“Looks good,” he said.

“It’s a Temple of Paladine,” Kang returned.

Fulkth’s long tongue flicked out between his teeth. “Must be nigh unto six hundred goblins on our tail, sir.”

Kang snorted, said nothing. Slith came out of the front, began waving his arm back and forth, the signal that all was well.

“Go!” Kang ordered and Support Squadron moved out, heading for the temple at a run. They passed Slith, who was returning to make his report.

“You think we can hold there, Slith?” Kang asked.

“Yes, sir. Support Squadron can fortify the doors and windows. That brick wall is good and solid. It’ll give pause to the goblins. They’ll think twice before they try coming over the wall after us.”

“Just like they thought twice about tracking us through the snow,” Kang muttered. “I’m sorry, Slith. It’s not your fault. I’m in a bad mood, that’s all.”

“I know how you feel, sir,” Slith said. He gave a shiver, his scales clicked. Normally, the dragon heritage of the draconians would protect them from the cold, but if the temperature dropped too low, the draconians couldn’t adjust to it and faced the possibility of freezing to death.

The temperature was dropping.

“No problems inside?” Kang asked. “No holy force tried to prevent you from entering?”

“No, sir.” Slith grinned, showing a row of sharp teeth. “The rumors we heard must be true. Paladine’s long gone. No one else is inside either, at least that I could see.”

“Fulkth will check the place out. I’ll make the temple my headquarters. Let’s go.”

Kang and his small security detail of five baaz draco-nians raced to the temple. Support Squadron had already entered the gateway of the temple grounds. He could hear Fulkth shouting commands to search the buildings, secure the windows and the doors. Kang had reached the gate when one of his guards called his attention behind them. A runner was coming toward him, using his wings to hop and glide, letting the wind help carry him across the plain.

The runner skidded to a halt.

“Sir, Squadron Master Gloth reports that the goblins broke through his first line, but that he repelled the break and now the goblins have retreated three hundred yards. He thinks its only temporary, though, and wants to know if you want him to pull back to the temple, sir.”

Kang looked at Slith. “What do you think?”

Slith shrugged. “They’ve got to pull back sometime, sir. Might as well be now.”

“How’s it looking up there?” Kang asked the runner.

“We’ve lost four or five of ours, but one was Kelemek, the bozak, and when he went, he took nearly twenty goblins with him.”

“Hate to lose him, all the same.”

Another one of us gone, Kang thought. Our numbers grow fewer every day. Maybe we should have stayed in the valley. .

“Sir?” Slith was regarding his commander in concern.

The runner flapped his wings and did a little dance to keep warm.

Kang blinked, rubbed the stinging snow from his eyes. “If First Squadron pulls back, it’ll put all the pressure on Second Squadron. That can’t be helped. Churz, go back and tell Gloth to retreat to the temple, then go to Yethik and tell him to do the same. The length of time it takes you to move between one and the other will cause a delay between the two. Keep the squadrons moving back in echelon.”

Yethik was new to the command of Second Squadron. He had taken command only two days before when a goblin arrow had pierced Irlihk’s eye, killing him instantly. They had lost nearly thirty draconians since setting out from Mount Celebundin. There were just over two hundred left in the regiment.

The runner nodded, repeated the orders to ensure he got them right. Kang slapped him on the back and sent him off.

One of the baaz in the Security Detail pitched forward on his face. Slith rolled him over. There was an arrow in his back, lodged beneath his wings, a patch which the armor couldn’t cover. Even as they watched, the body started to turn to stone.

Slith ran inside the temple. Kang left the baaz where he lay and entered the gates to the temple grounds. The rest of the baaz guards trooped in behind him. Inside it was eerily quiet. The wall kept out the wind. Maybe it would also keep out the goblins.

“Slith, make sure Support Squadron’s ready to handle the defense. Oh, and get fires going. We’re going to need heat. You four, fix me a post up on the second level where I can see the fighting. I want some torches brought up. Have Dremon report to me once you’re set up.”

The lead baaz saluted but hesitated before carrying out his orders. He looked back out to the body of his comrade. Snow was starting to pile up around it

“Yes, I know,” Kang said, answering the unspoken question. “If we win this battle, we’ll go back and retrieve him and bury him properly. Same with the rest of our dead, those that remain intact. If we lose, it won’t make much difference where he lies, will it?”

“No, sir. Sorry, sir.”

“Don’t apologize, Rog. We care for our own,” Kang replied. “No shame in that. Only credit. Now, off you go.”

The four baaz moved off to do their commander’s bidding.

Kang climbed the stairs, entered what had apparently been a living quarters for some of the clerics who served the temple. The room was small and exceptionally clean but completely bare. Only the bunks built into the walls remained.

Kang opened the shutters, looked out the window. The wind howled at him, but he could see First Squadron drawing near the temple grounds. Second Squadron was five hundred yards back. Neither was being pursued. He closed the shutters, sat down on one of the bunks.

A mistake. He would lie down, stretch out, take a nap. Just a short nap. He hadn’t slept much in these past few days. He hadn’t slept much in the past few months, or so it seemed. A nap wouldn’t hurt anything. He’d done everything he could, the matter was out of his hands, Slith could deal with. . with. .

“Sir! Support Squadron reporting, sir!” A draconian materialized in front of Kang, saluted.

Kang sighed and opened his eyes. He wearily returned the salute.

Dremon, another sivak draconian, had been promoted to Chief Supply Officer when Yethik had taken command of Second Squadron. Dremon was the best reconnaissance soldier in the regiment, meaning that he was the best assassin, but he had broken his shoulder during one of the last raids at Celebundin and had never healed properly. He couldn’t do the stealth work required of a reconnaissance soldier, but Kang had found other uses for him. He had put Dremon in charge of security for the young draconian females.

“How are the babies?” Kang asked.

Dremon shook his head. “There’s something wrong, sir.”

“What, damn it?” Kang was on his feet. Fear shriveled his heart.

“I don’t know, sir.” Dremon looked helpless. “I don’t know anything about kids. The only kid I ever saw was a little human and, well, sir, I killed it. That was on that raid on-”

“Never mind about the damn raid!” Kang thundered. “What about the babies?”

“They’re listless and they won’t eat. We tried to give them some of the raw meat we’ve been feeding them but they just turn their heads away.”

“Are they warm enough?”

“Yes, sir. We’ve got them tied up snug as a bug in the sacks. They’re fretful, sir. All they do is whimper and cry.”

“Are they sick?” Kang was sick himself, sick with worry.

“I don’t know, sir. I really think you should come-

“Sir!” One of Support Squadron entered the room. “Subcommander Slim said to tell you that the temple is not abandoned, as we first thought. We’ve found six humans, sir. Females. They were hiding in the cellar. They call themselves Sisters of Paladine, sir. The subcomman-der wants to know what to do with them.”

Kang groaned. Just one damn problem on top of another. Clerics of Paladine! All he needed. He hoped to the gods that weren’t anymore that they had lost their magical holy powers, just as he had lost his. If not. .

“Did they attack?” he asked grimly.

“They tried, sir.” The draconian grinned. “One of them-a real old and wrinkled-up one-shouted out the name of her cursed god and waved some sort of medallion at us. Nothing happened. The subcommander took the medallion away and told her to sit down and shut up. Her screeching was giving him a headache.”

“Where are they?”

“Still in the cellar, sir.”

“Sir!” Another soldier entered the room. “First and Second Squadron are inside the temple grounds, sir.”

“What about the enemy?”

“Taking up positions outside the temple, sir. Looks as if they’re preparing to attack.”

“Man the walls. I know goblins. Their first attack will come too fast, before they’re organized. Should be no trouble holding them off the first time. The second time’ll be more difficult. Officers report to me in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir.” The runner dashed off.

“The female humans, sir?” said the soldier.

“The babies, sir?” said Dremon.

Kang put his hand to his forehead. Females and babies? Females and babies. .

“Females and babies!” he cried, triumphant. “That’s it! Don’t you get it?”

The two soldiers shook their heads.

“Females adore babies,” Kang explained. “It’s. . it’s born into them. Instinct.” He strode rapidly across the room. The soldiers ran along behind.

“Even draconian babies, sir?” Dremon asked, dubious.

“All babies,” Kang said firmly. “Baby lions, baby wolf cubs. Baby birds. Baby dragons. According to the bards, females-particularly human females-are always taking in baby animals and raising them. They can’t help themselves.”

“I hope the bards are right, sir!” Dremon said fervently.

So do I, Kang said to himself. So do I. All he said aloud was, “Bring the babies down to the cellar.”

After a hasty meeting with his officers, he left them to their work and hurried through the main temple building. It was empty except for an altar with the image of the god carved in marble. The god was portrayed as a platinum dragon, fearsome, wise, and benevolent. At least that’s how it must have appeared in the not-too-distant past. Now the statue of the dragon looked forlorn and slightly foolish. Or maybe bewildered, baffled. Kang gazed at it, experienced a moment of empathy. He knew how the beast felt. He himself was forlorn, bewildered, baffled. So much had happened in such a little space of time, so much had changed.

Kang patted the statue on the snout as he went by, not so much out of bravado, although the gesture would show his men that he wasn’t afraid of it, as out of a feeling of brotherhood. They’d both been abandoned, he and the statue.

The soldiers led him through the temple proper to a large outbuilding located behind the main building. Here were more living quarters and an enormous kitchen. Behind the kitchen, a large double door built into the ground stood open. They could hear voices coming from below the ground level. Kang clomped down the cellar stairs. The cellar was warm and dry and filled with food smells. The smells were ghosts, however. The cellar was, for the most part, empty. A single sack of flour remained, along with some wizened apples, a sack of potatoes.

By the sunlight streaming down through the cellar door, Kang could see Slith standing in the center of the room. He held no weapons, did not look particularly threatening. Six human females were gathered at the far end of the subterranean chamber, as far from Slith as they could manage. One of the human females, the eldest-a tall, stringy female with hair the color of Kang’s sword and a face so sharp it put his blade to shame-stood glaring defiantly at the draconian. The other females had gathered behind the elderly woman, whom Kang took to be their leader. She shifted her glare to Kang when he entered.

The females wore robes that had once been white but were now covered with dust from the cellar. Each wore around her neck a silver medallion, with the exception of the leader. Kang saw that Slith held her medallion in his hand.

Kang was nonplussed. He’d never had much dealing with human females before. He didn’t find them all that attractive, as did some of his kind. The only female he’d ever really come to know had been a Knight of Takhisis, a soldier, like himself. He had been able to talk to her. He had no idea what to say to a female cleric.

Technically the females were his prisoners, but he needed their help, and he would not gain that help by reminding them of the fact. Nor would he be likely to gain their aid by threats and coercion. He may not know human females, but he could size up a fellow officer, and he could tell by the old female’s proud and upright stance, her fearless gaze and defiant air, that this was not a commander who would be easily intimidated.

Outside he could hear his officers ordering their men to take up positions along the wall. That gave him an idea.

Kang marched forward. Removing his helmet, he held it under his arm and stood to attention.

“I am Commander Kang, ma’am, of the First Dragonarmy Field Engineers. What is your name and rank, ma’am?”

“What does it matter to you, Fiend?” the elderly woman said. “Kill us, and get it over with!”

“We have no intention of killing you, ma’am,” Kang returned. “Your name and rank, ma’am.”

The woman hesitated, then said grudgingly, “I am Hana, one of the blessed sisters of Paladine. I am head of our order. What’s left of our order,” she muttered.

“Sister Hana,” said Kang with a brief bow, “you and the rest of the females may consider yourselves as being under our protection.”

“As being your prisoners is what you mean!” countered Sister Hana.

“No, ma’am,” said Kang, and he turned slowly and deliberately to face sideways, leaving a clear path to the cellar door. “You and the others are free to go, if you choose to do so.”

The females appeared startled, distrustful.

“This is some kind of trick!” said Sister Hana.

“No, ma’am.” Kang gestured. “Slith, the rest of you troops, stand aside.”

Slith and the others shuffled sideways.

“I should warn you, ma’am,” Kang continued, just as the females were starting to make a hesitant move, “that a large goblin army has this temple surrounded. It is possible that you and the rest might be able to slip through their lines and escape. You should know that goblins don’t kill their prisoners. They enslave them.”

One of the younger females gasped.

“Quiet, Sister Marsel!” the older female snapped. “I knew it!” She glared at Kang. “It is a trick. You let us go and then your allies capture us!”

“You are wrong, ma’am,” Kang said quietly. “You have only to go outside and look to see that the goblins are not our allies. They are attacking us. We are outnumbered. We came here to use this temple to defend ourselves.”

The sounds of battle could be heard clearly. Above the clamor of arms and the harsh shouts and cries of the dra-conians sounded a long, thin, high-pitched, spine-tingling wail. The elderly woman paled and, for the first time, her defiance wilted slightly.

“A goblin battle cry, ma’am,” said Slith, standing at attention. “I take it you’ve heard that before.”

“I was in the War of the Lance,” Sister Hana said, more to herself than to them.

“As were we, ma’am,” said Kang, adding politely, “on opposite sides, I believe.”

She cast him a grim and dour glance. “The side of evil!”

“No, ma’am,” said Kang. “It was you who were on the side of evil.”

She drew herself up straight. “I fought in the name of Paladine!”

“And we fought in the name of our goddess. It all depends on your vantage point, doesn’t it, ma’am?” Kang said. The yelling outside had increased, so had the clash of steel against steel. “I would enjoy discussing the issue with you further someday, ma’am. Now does not appear to be the time, however.”

“Sir!” called Dremon from outside.

“Come down!” Kang yelled.

Dremon and the other members of Support Squadron came clattering down the stairs, their claws scraping on the wood, their weapons clanging and banging. The woman put out her arms, crowded the young women further back against the wall.

“Don’t be afraid, ma’am,” Kang said quickly, casting Dremon a rebuking glance that brought him and the rest of the men up straight and stiff. “These are some more of my troops. We carry with us a valuable treasure, ma’am. The greatest gift to come to our race. I ordered my men to bring the treasure down here, where it would be safe from harm during the ensuing battle.”

Carefully, gently, Dremon and the other draconians took the knapsacks from their backs. They placed the sacks on the cellar floor and lifted the fur-lined flaps that covered the babies. Bright eyes blinked in the light, snouts twitched. Small mouths opened in yawns and whines. Kang’s heart twisted. A week ago the babies would have squawked and squeaked and complained. Now they looked drowsy, listless, as Dremon had said.

“Oh, aren’t they cute!” Sister Marsel cooed.

“The sweet little things,” said another.

Kang cast Dremon a triumphant glance.

“Are they baby dragons?” asked Sister Marsel.

“Spawns of evil is what they are!” Sister Hana snarled. “Those are baby draconians!”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Kang.

“But I didn’t think draconians could have babies,” said Sister Marsel. She looked at Kang and blushed. “Because. . because there are no female draconians.”

“That’s true, ma’am,” said Kang, his voice softening.

“Then how. .?” Sister Marsel didn’t seem to quite know where this sentence was going.

“The babies were given to us in payment. Our queen sent us-”

“Tricked us,” Slith said beneath his breath.

Kang shrugged. “Perhaps she had a right. She was desperate. To make a long story short, we fought Chaos’s monsters in the caves of Thorbardin and defeated them. Then we found the babies. We saved them from death.

We paid for their recovery with our blood. This is the greatest treasure we have ever been given. You see, ma’am, these children are female draconians. Once our race was doomed. Now, we will survive.”

“Paladine prevent it!” Sister Hana cried.

“I don’t think he has much say in the matter anymore,” said Kang gravely. “Our queen left us here on our own and, from what we’ve heard, you’ve been abandoned by your god, as well.”

“Our god is with us!” Sister Hana retorted.

“I don’t think so, ma’am,” said Slith. He tossed her medallion into the air like a gambler tosses a coin, causing it to spin and flip. He caught it with a quick, overhand snap. “If your god were around, would he let me do that to his medal?”

“That will do, Slith!” said Kang in a rebuking tone. “It is not our place to mock the faithful. Give the sister back her medallion and apologize to her for mistreating it.”

Slith stole a glance at his superior to determine if he were truly serious. Seeing not the hint of smile, Slith sidled over to the sister and held out the medallion.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he said, “for any disrespect.”

The sister, white-faced, snatched the medallion from Slith and closed her fist over it tightly.

“Commander! Where’s the commander?” came a shout from outside.

“Down here!” Kang bellowed.

A soldier dashed down the stairs, came up with a salute. “Sir,” he said, “we have repelled the first assault. The goblins have retreated.”

“Only to regroup,” Kang said. “They’ll be back, soon enough, and this time they’ll be better organized. What do you think, Slith?”

“My guess is that they won’t attack until morning, sir. It’ll be dark soon. They’ll be wanting to fill their bellies and get a good night’s rest.” Slith shrugged. “They know we aren’t going anywhere.”

“That’s true enough,” Kang growled. “Perhaps you’re right. Set the watch. I want it doubled. I don’t want those sneaky bastards slipping over the walls to slit our throats in the night. And I want the men to have a hot meal. Roast those deer we shot.”

Sister Marsel made a sound. Sister Hana scowled, and the young female put her hand over her mouth. Kang noticed the pinched cheeks of all the women, the thin bodies. He glanced around at the near-empty cellar and guessed the truth.

“We will be pleased to share our food with you, ma’am,” he said gruffly.

“And poison us!” Sister Hana said, casting him a scathing glance. “We are not hungry.”

“Suit yourself, ma’am. Slith, you have your orders.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang looked anxiously at the babies. Kneeling down, he chucked one under the chin, tried to make her smile. She whimpered and turned away. Kang sighed deeply.

“You’re right, Dremon,” he said. “There’s something wrong. I’ll be damned if I know what.”

Kang cast a sidelong glance at the females. Sister Hana was leading them in a prayer to Paladine, speaking the words forcefully, loudly, and angrily, as if she was certain the god was around, he’d just chosen this moment to step outside. Four of the younger sisters were praying along with their leader, though they sounded hopeless and resigned rather than angry. One, Marsel, was only murmuring the words. Her gaze was drawn to the baby draconians.

Kang had been intending to wait respectfully until the prayer ended, but after the harangue had continued for almost ten minutes without pause, he felt he could wait no longer. “Uh, excuse me, ma’am,” he said diffidently. “There. . there seems to be something wrong with our little ones, here. We’re soldiers, ma’am. We don’t know anything about children. I was wondering if you, with your experience-”

“My experience! Hah!” Sister Hana turned her back on him. “We are going to keep praying, sisters! Pray that this evil be taken from our midst! Marsel,” Sister Hana said sharply, “you will lead us in the next prayer.”

“Yes, sister,” said Marsel dutifully and shifted her gaze away from the babies.

“Commander, sir!” Someone else was yelling outside. “Where’s the commander?”

“I’ve got to go,” said Kang to Dremon in an undertone. “Leave the babies down here. They’re safer here than anywhere else. Maybe the sight of them will soften their hearts.”

“What hearts, sir?” Dremon returned.

Kang just shook his head and dashed up the stairs to attend to the disposition of the defense.

Night blew in on a cold wind. The strange new moon lit the snow with a sick, bleak light. The moon looked lost and lonely in the sky, Kang thought, gazing up at it. It looked as if it were wondering how it had managed to find itself in this situation. He knew just how it felt.

He made the rounds, saying a word to each soldier on guard duty, urging them to keep careful watch, for it was in his mind that with the moon at the full, the goblins might not wait until morning to attack. Looking out over the wall, he could see their campfires blazing brightly, dark figures passed back and forth in front of the light. Tempting targets, but the goblins were out of bow range, and Kang’s men were short on arrows as it was.

The draconians were short on everything-arrows, rations. What food they had went first to the young. The deer they’d shot that morning would be the only real meat the men had eaten in a week. Kang was pushing them hard to reach their destination before the heavy snows of winter set in and blocked the mountain passes, leaving the draconians trapped, easy prey for the cursed Solamnic Knights.

“Excuse me, Commander,” said a voice at his side.

Kang turned. It was one of the women, the young one, Marsel.

“You shouldn’t be out here, ma’am,” he said quickly, and taking her by the arm, he hustled her away from the walls and into the safety of the temple.

“But why?” she protested, peering backward, trying to see. “The goblins aren’t attacking, are they?”

“Not now, ma’am,” Kang said with emphasis, “but they’re not above trying a lucky shot, and-no disrespect intended, ma’am-but in those white robes, you make a very fine target.”

“I guess you’re right,” said Sister Marsel, looking down at her robes with a rueful smile. “Do. . do you have a moment, Commander? I’d like to talk to you, if I may.”

Kang heroically put aside thoughts of stretching out beneath a warm blanket. “Did Sister Hana send you?”

“No.” Sister Marsel flushed. “She doesn’t know I’ve gone. She and the others are asleep.”

“Where I should be,” Kang muttered, but only to himself. “What can I do for you, Sister Marsel? Would you like some venison?” He brought out a choice morsel, a meaty bone, he’d been saving for his own dinner.

Sister Marsel eyed it, swallowed, licked her lips and said, “No, thank you. Well, maybe just a taste. .” She took the meat and began to eat ravenously. Halfway through, however, she paused, her face flushed. She handed the bone back to Kang. “I’m sorry. I took your supper, didn’t I? No, you eat the rest. Really, that was all I wanted.”

Kang ate what she had left him, tearing the meat from the bone with his sharp teeth.

“The babies wouldn’t eat,” Sister Marsel said. “Your man offered them some food. They wouldn’t touch it.”

Kang suddenly lost his own appetite. He tossed the uneaten portion down on the altar. Later that night, the cook would come around, gather up all the bones, throw them into the soup pot for breakfast.

“Could I ask you a question, Commander?”

Kang nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What did you mean when you told Sister Hana that she was on the side of evil. Was that. . was that a joke?”

“I’m not much given to jokes, ma’am,” Kang said.

Sister Marsel looked perplexed. “Did you mean it? That we are on the side of. . evil? I thought we were on the side of right.”

“We thought the same, ma’am. We believed that what we were doing was right.”

She shook her head. “Killing, murdering. .”

“Your Knights have killed countless numbers of us, ma’am,” Kang returned. “The graves of my men stretch from the Plains of Dust all the way to here.”

“You really care about them, don’t you?” Sister Marsel was astonished. “Sister Hana always said that caring was what made us different. That draconians and goblins don’t care about each other, that evil turns in upon itself.”

“I wouldn’t know about that, ma’am,” said Kang. “I know that I’m a soldier and that my men are my responsibility. During the War of the Lance, we fought for the glory of our goddess, just as your Knights fought for the glory of your god.” Kang shrugged. “As it turned out, we were both duped. Our queen turned tail and fled, leaving us to die, the cowardly bit-female. Your god did the same, or so I hear.”

“That’s what some say, but I don’t believe them,” Sister Marsel returned. “I think. .” Her voice softened. “I think Paladine has gone and left us in charge in order to test us, to see if we are able to take what he has taught us and use it wisely. He’s not the overprotective father, hovering over his children every minute to make certain we don’t hurt ourselves.” She smiled.

Kang, who had been drifting off to sleep, was jolted to awareness. “I beg your pardon, ma’am. What were you saying about children?”

“That’s really what I came to talk you about. I think that’s what’s wrong with the babies, Commander,” said Sister Marsel. “You can’t keep them cooped up in those sacks for the rest of their lives. You have to let them out to learn about the world, the good and the bad.”

“We tried that,” Kang said harshly. “They hurt themselves. One wandered off. No.” He was emphatic. “They are too precious to us to risk.”

“You sound just like my father.” Sister Marsel smiled and sighed. “He said the very same thing about me. Do you know what he did, Commander? He sent me to live with the Sisters of Paladine. He sent me here, to this temple, where I would be safe and protected from the world. Am I safe, Commander?” she demanded. “Am I protected?”

Kang cleared his throat, embarrassed.

“The world finds us, Commander,” said Sister Marsel quietly. “We can’t hide from it, not even in the cellar of a temple. We have to know how to face it. I don’t.” She lowered her head. “I don’t know anything. I’m stupid, and I’m afraid.”

She cast a glance out at the blazing bonfires. Every now and again, a goblin battle shriek split the air. Sister Marsel shivered. “I’m afraid because I feel so helpless.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid, Sister,” Kang said, “not by a long shot.”

“The babies could play in the cellar,” said Sister Marsel. “They couldn’t get into much trouble down there. They need exercise and fresh air.”

“Perhaps in the morning,” Kang said.

Morning. The goblins would attack in full force. Kang wasn’t at all certain he could hold them off. In the morning he and his men and their young might be dead. He said nothing of his own fears to the young human, however, and he made a silent vow that she would not fall alive into goblin hands. He’d seen what goblins did to their human captives, particularly their human female captives. Maybe she was right. Maybe they had been on the side of evil, but then he’d seen what Solamnic Knights did to the goblins they’d captured, he’d seen goblin babies carried on the ends of spears. Kang would protect this female from that savage and horrific part of the world at least. He would end it for her quickly. He hoped she would understand and forgive him.

“I had better go back now,” said Sister Marsel. “You’re tired and I’ve kept you talking. Besides, if Sister Hana were to wake up and find me gone, Paladine alone knows what she’d do.”

“Good night, Sister Marsel,” said Kang. “And thank you.”

He continued his rounds and then headed for his bed, taking one of the bunks in the upper room of the temple. He was looking forward to his bed. Kang was not one to lose sleep in needless worry. He’d done everything in his power to prepare. The morning would bring what the morning would bring. He did miss laying the burden of his problems in the lap of his Dark Queen. Now he had to shoulder the responsibility himself, he could not foist it off on his goddess. He thought over what Sister Marsel had said, about the gods leaving them to make of the world what they could. He wasn’t certain he bought it, but it was an interesting idea.

On his way to his bed, Kang gave the snout of the platinum dragon a rub for luck.

“Sir! Commander! Sir!”

Someone was shaking him by the shoulder violently. Kang started to wakefulness, peered bleary-eyed into a bright torch blazing above him.

“What? What? Huh? Is it the attack?”

He sat up, groggy and still half-asleep. He had a vague recollection of someone else waking him in the night. Slith, or so Kang recalled. Slith had been excited about something. Wanted permission to do something. Kang couldn’t remember what. He’d agreed to it apparently, because Slith had departed, but what it was he’d said or what it was he’d agreed to, Kang couldn’t for the life of him remember.

“I always said I could give orders in my sleep,” Kang muttered. “I guess it’s finally come to that.”

“Sir! Please! You have to come! You have to see this!”

The soldier had thrown open one of the shutters. Red streaked the sky, clouds massed on the horizon. There would be more snow today. Horns blared. His troops were shouting and clashing their swords.

Certain that he would look out the window to see a couple of goblin regiments bearing down on him, Kang could not for the life of him understand what was going on.

The goblins, it seemed, were moving backwards.

“What the-?” Kang blinked, rubbed his eyes.

“They’re retreating, sir!” the draconian said.

“What? Why?” Kang was astounded.

The draconian pointed. “See their general, sir. The big hairy bastard riding that great, hulking warhorse.”

“Yes.” Kang squinted into the sun. “Not much of a rider. He’s almost fallen off twice since I’ve been watching him.”

“Yes, sir!” The draconian was enjoying himself hugely. “That’s Slith, sir! He killed the general and took over his body! Slith’s the one who’s ordering the goblins to retreat!”

It all came back to Kang. Slith waking him in the night, asking for permission to carry out a raid. Kang had mumbled something. He couldn’t remember what. Slith had taken his mumble for a yes, however, as Slith was wont to do. Slith had saved Kang’s life more than once. He’d saved their entire force more than once. Now he had saved their race.

Kang watched, his heart swelling with pride, as Slith, magically attired in the body of the murdered goblin general, bounced up and down in the saddle and shouted orders in goblin for the army to run and keep on running. Fortunately, having fought with goblin troops for years, Slith knew exactly what to say to motivate them. Kang could not hear him, Slith was too far away. But Kang could imagine.

“It’s a trap!” the goblin-Slith would be shouting. “There are thousands and thousands of draconians holed up in the temple. They’re going to come out and cut off your ears and eat goblin meat for dinner! Run for it, boys! Run for your miserable lives!”

“Support!” Kang said suddenly, fumbling for his equipment. “We’ve got to support him! Make it look good. Quickly now!”

“Yes, sir,” said the draconian. “We’re all ready, sir. Look.”

The gates of the temple opened. Second Squadron under Cloth’s command rushed out, shrieking like demons freed from the Abyss. The sight and sound of the enraged draconians further panicked the goblins, who had probably not been too keen on this action in the first place. Those few who had been guarding the “general” threw down their weapons and abandoned their post, fleeing over the windswept ground in haste.

Their retreat was fortunate for, at that moment, Slith tumbled off the horse. Although a dumb animal, the beast was smarter than the goblins. It knew perfectly well that this being on its back was not its master. The horse kicked up its heels and galloped off. The draconian force surrounded Slith and, in case any goblins might be watching, Gloth made a good show of taking the goblin “general” captive.

“Mogu,” said Kang, “go tell the human females that they’re safe. The goblins have fled. You can give them the good news that we’re going to be leaving, as well. And tell Dremon to let the babies out to play in the cellar this morning. This glorious morning!”

Kang stationed First Squadron at the temple gate. Second Squadron marched back to the temple in triumph. The goblin army probably wouldn’t stop running until they reached Newsea. Slith was now starting to let loose of his goblin form, returning to his draconian self. Kang led the cheers when Slith entered.

“Brilliant idea, Slith!” said Kang, slapping his sub-commander on the shoulder. “Absolutely brilliant!”

“Thank you, sir.” Slith grinned. “I have to admit that I didn’t really intend to do that, sir. I went out just to see if I could find their general, maybe bring him back as hostage. And then it came to me that if I killed him and took his shape, I could-”

“Sir!” A draconian, breathless and panting, came dashing up. “You have to come-”

Kang waved him to silence. “Go on, Slith.”

“Sir!” The draconian ignored Kang’s command, actually laid hands on him and shook him. “Sir! You must come! She’s going to kill the babies!”

Kang had never run so fast in his life. He nearly pitched headfirst down the cellar stairs, caught himself in time. Reaching the bottom, he found a standoff.

Dremon stood on one side of the cellar holding Sister Marsel in a clawed grip, a knife to her throat. On the other side of the cellar Sister Hana held a sword over the heads of the draconian babies, trapped inside their sacks. The other females huddled in a corner, weeping and cringing. Draconians stood with their swords drawn in front of them.

“If she hurts a single scale on one of them, Commander, I’ll slit her from ear to ear,” Dremon said, as Kang entered. “We’ll kill the rest, too!”

“Keep calm!” Kang ordered, though the words caught in his throat. The babies were enchanted with the sword that threatened to end their short lives. They squeaked with delight, reached out small clawed hands to touch it. The sword, Kang noted, was a draconian weapon.

“There’ll be no killing if I can help it. Report!” he said harshly to Dremon.

“We received your orders, sir. I took off my sword and set it aside when I prepared to let the babies out. I never thought-” Dremon swallowed, then said, “She grabbed the sword before I could stop her, sir.”

“Sister Hana,” Kang said, speaking as calmly as he could manage. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Put down the sword. We will take the children and leave you in peace. We won’t trouble you anymore.”

“Your kind destroyed all I had!” Sister Hana cried. “My home, my family. Why should I spare yours? These babies are the spawn of evil. I will see to it that evil ends here, this day!”

She regarded Kang with a raw hatred, a hatred he found appalling and for which he was unprepared. He remembered feeling such hatred himself once, the time the dwarves had burned down the village he and the others had worked so hard to build. He had killed dwarves with his bare hands, then. For a soldier, killing is just another unpleasant job, like digging latrines or standing guard duty, but in avenging himself on the dwarves, Kang had enjoyed the killing. This female would enjoy the killing now, too. Killing the innocent babies.

“You won’t bring an end to evil, Sister Hana!” Sister Marsel cried. “Killing the children will only perpetuate it. These children have done nothing. They are innocent. Paladine teaches that every being on Krynn is given the choice of what path to follow-the path of darkness, or the path of light. It is not up to us to take away that choice.”

“There is no choice,” said Sister Hana. “Not for these fiends! They are bom of evil spells cast by dark clerics and wicked wizards. They are made of the eggs of good dragons, whose children were destroyed in order to produce these monsters.”

“What you say is true, ma’am,” Kang said, hoping to keep the woman talking while he figured out what to do. He had little hope of changing her mind. “I could offer excuses. I could say that we were not responsible for our birth any more than you are responsible for yours. I could say that we were never given a choice of what path to walk. From the beginning, we were made to walk the path of darkness. Even as babies, we were forced to fight each other for food, in the belief that this would make us strong soldiers. We were taught to hate, taught to hate humans and elves.

“After the war, I came to realize that it was the hate that was killing us. Hate kills everything. The only way we had a chance to survive was to stop hating and start living. That’s why I think the babies were given into our care.

“Dremon,” said Kang, after a moment’s pause. “Let the sister go.”

“But, sir-” Dremon protested, anguished.

“I said let her go!” Kang roared.

Reluctantly, Dremon released Sister Marsel. She staggered, weak-kneed, and caught hold of a post for support. She stood with head bowed, trembling. Sister Hana watched, suspicious.

“I make you an offer, Sister Hana,” said Kang, unbuckling his sword belt. “I am an officer. Perhaps I was the one who ordered the deaths of your family. Take your revenge on me, and welcome. Only let the children live.”

Sister Hana glared at him. There was no life in her eyes, only dead darkness. The madness of hatred had almost completely devoured her.

“I will give myself into your hands,” Kang continued, desperately. “You may slay me where I stand. I will not try to stop you. Slith, are you there?”

“Yes, sir,” said Slith.

“You are in command. My final order and one that I expect to be obeyed is this: When I am dead, you will take the men and the children and leave. These sisters are to be allowed to remain in this temple in peace. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” said Slith quietly. “I understand.”

“Now take the men out of here, Slith.”

“Sir-”

“That’s an order, Slith!”

“Yes, sir.”

Claws scraped, weapons were sheathed. The draconians slowly and reluctantly climbed back up the stairs. Kang was on his own, he and the children and the human females.

Kang placed his sword and his armor, his boot knife and other accoutrements on the floor. Walking forward until he stood within a sword thrust of Sister Hana, he lowered himself to his knees before her and held out his hands in submission.

“I offer my life in exchange for the lives of the children, ma’am. Let them go. Let them have the choices I never had. I would warn you of one thing, though, ma’am. When I die, my bones will explode. You should order the other sisters to leave now and allow them to take the children to safety.”

Sister Marsel started forward, reaching out her hand toward the babies. Sister Hana blocked her, cast her a vicious glance. “Don’t come near!”

“Don’t do this, Sister Hana!” Sister Marsel begged. “In the name of Paladine be merciful. Or has everything you taught us about Paladine been a lie?”

Sister Hana smiled then. A terrible smile. “Yes,” she cried. “It was a lie. It was all a lie! The god lied to me, didn’t he? He said my children died for a reason, and then he left. He betrayed me, he betrayed them. Death take us. Death take us all!”

She swung the sword.

Kang lunged to avoid the stroke, which would not only kill him but everyone trapped in the cellar, the babies included. He rolled over, to try as best he could to fend off the next attack.

He watched in astonishment to see Sister Marsel jump in front of him. She grabbed hold of Sister’s Hana’s arm, struck her a blow on her wrist. The sword fell to the dirt floor with a dull clang. Sister Hana sank down beside it, sobbing in anguish, her hands clenched.

Sister Marsel gathered up the female in her arms, cradled her, began to rock back and forth, murmuring soothing words.

Kang stood up awkwardly. “Sister,” he began, trying to find words to thank her.

Sister Marsel looked up at him and shook her head. “You better go,” she said. “Take the children.”

Support Squadron carried the children out of the cellar. First Squadron raided the goblin camp, picking up food and weapons left behind by the fleeing goblins. They returned to report that they now had supplies enough to last a month. While the rest of the regiment prepared to march out, Kang and Dremon took the babies into the upper room in the temple and released them from their snug prisons. The babies looked around in amazement at their freedom, then perked up and began to play. Some discovered their wings for the first time and began to jump about the floor, delighting in their ability to fly for a few short hops. Others climbed up on the bunks and took to leaping off, causing Kang’s heart to lodge in his throat. He valiantly fought back the desire to stuff them all back in their sacks again.

The draconian troops allowed the children to play until they were tired, then fed them hot soup made of the remnants of yesterday’s venison. The babies ate well and were now content to return to their sacks, where they soon fell sound asleep.

Late that afternoon the First Dragonarmy Field Engineers lined up in the temple courtyard, prepared to move out, to continue their march. Snow had started falling again, but this time Kang welcomed it. The snow would hide their tracks, throw off pursuit.

Kang had a debt to repay. He could not leave without first thanking Sister Marsel. He found her in the temple, standing before the statue of the platinum dragon.

“How is Sister Hana?” he asked.

“She’ll be all right. The others are with her.” Sister Marsel crossed her arms over her chest, shivered. The fires had gone out. The temple was cold.

“You shouldn’t stay here,” he warned her. “The goblins might return.”

“I know,” she replied. “We should have left long ago, left when the rest of them left. But Sister Hana said that someday Paladine would return and he would be disappointed to find us gone. There’s a village not far from here. They’ll be glad to take Sister Hana in and give her and the others a home.”

“What will you do?” Kang asked curiously.

Sister Marsel smiled wanly. “I need to climb out of my warm fur sack, don’t you think, Commander?”

Kang shook his head. She seemed very young and very fragile to go roaming about a world that was becoming darker and more dangerous every day. It was not his part to say so, however. The choice was hers.

“Good luck to you, Sister,” he said. “And thank you for what you did for us. We are in your debt, all of us.”

“If Sister Hana had carried out her threat, then everything Paladine taught us would have been a lie.” Sister Marsel raised her eyes to the statue. “It isn’t. I know it isn’t. I’m going to find the truth.”

Kang shrugged. He had already found his own truth. He left her standing beside the statue of the platinum dragon.

It was odd, but when he turned around to glance at them both again, the dragon didn’t look all that forlorn.