Legacy of Steel

6

Autumn came in its time and brought with it the days of harvest and gathering. Everyone worked hard, from the grannies who shelled beans to the youngest children, who could pick nuts and gather apples. After the blistering hot summer of three years before when the crops withered on the vine and the people went hungry the following winter, no one wanted to miss a single opportunity to put food aside for winter.

With the balmy winds of autumn, however, came a chilling frost of dark tidings and evil rumors. Connersby was not close to any of the major roads through Coastlund, and news sometimes took a while to reach the village. Thus it was autumn before the people heard the first real news of the dragon, Malystryx. Vague rumors had drifted through Ansalon during the year of a great red dragon that landed on Misty Isle, but most people considered the story of a dragon from another land a mere fireside tale. That autumn showed them differently.

Other news, equally as foreboding, trickled into the village as the season passed, news of troubles and disasters, of a strange new bard known only as the Herald, of the growing activity of frost wights in the south and the increasing influence of Khellendros to the north. The war with Chaos was over, but Krynn's troubles seemed to move on, with or without the gods.

Sara had been so busy during the cool days of autumn, she had heard little outside news of any sort. That changed one evening with the arrival of the traveling cobbler.

Known In the region only as Bootjack, the cobbler was mall man with a pointed beard and agile fingers. Some said he was part kender, because of his broad smile and loved of talk. Others thought he was part dwarf because his short stature and the wonderful ability of his fingers. He never told. He made any kind of footwear from slippers to fancy dress boots, and his workmanship was unequaled. He traveled in a small red wagon through the villages of Coastlund, the Vingaard Mountains, the plains of Solamnia, gathering news and sharing tales and making shoes.

He up Sara's lane near dusk, leading his cart horse, a little plump mare favoring her front leg. Sara saw him coming and came to greet him.

"How did you know I needed boots?" she said, smiling at him as she swung open the gate of a small corral.

"How did you know I needed help for my horse?" he replied with a laugh.

It was a trade easily done. Sara provided the leather for a pair boots, and Bootjack provided the labor. While she examined his mare, he leaned over the fence and launched into his latest news.

"I just came back from Palanthas," he said, shaking his head. "The place just isn't the same since that sorcerer came in and leveled the Tower of High Sorcery. Can you believe that?"

It wasn't a real question, Sara knew. Bootjack rarely gave his listeners time to make a reply. He launched into a long recital of the city's woes from the dropping population and shrinking trade to the disappearance of the books from the Great Library of the Ages and the destruction the Tower of High Sorcery.

"Many of the temples are empty, too," the cobbler said, shaking his shaggy head. "A few clerics hold out, but with the magic gone and the gods vanished, most don't feel it's worth the effort." He clicked his tongue loudly, drew a small flask out of his vest, and took a long swallow to lubricate his dry throat.

"That big, evil-sucking dragon doesn't help either. He's lurking up there in the north, scaring off the locals, and giving the shipping fits. I hear tell he's spreading the northern wasteland farther and farther south. Some say he's just waiting to pounce on Palanthas."

Sara ran her hands down the mare's leg. The well-trained animal calmly lifted her foot for Sara's inspection. Although the woman looked busy, her attention was focused almost entirely on Bootjack's words.

"Of course, that isn't the worst of it. I heard from some Dark Knights in the city a few stories that will curl your hair. That red beast of a dragon, Malystryx? She charred the Misty Isle. Burned everything to a crisp. Then last spring, I heard, she crossed over to the Dairly Plains. It's anyone's guess what she plans to do there."

"Sounds as if this dragon is more than just a rumor," Sara managed to say as she drew a hoof-pick from her belt and began to clean the mare's hoof. The news of the dragon was disheartening, but something else he had just said sent an electric spark sizzling through her mind.

Bootjack threw up his hands. "More than a rumor! I wish to the absent gods she was just a rumor. I heard tell she's bigger than Khellendros and twice as wicked. No one can stop her. And what if there are more like her? One of those knights I talked to said even Riverwind has gone to the Dairly Plains to see this dragon for himself."

Sara gently dropped the mare's hoof to the ground and straightened. There, he had said it again. Almost fearfully, she asked Bootjack, "You said 'Dark Knights' told you all of this. What knights? I thought all the Dark Knights had left Palanthas during the Summer of Chaos."

He started, surprised by her question. "What? Oh! Not really. A few Solamnics are there and some of the Knights of Takhisis. They have an unspoken detente at the moment. Both groups stay out of sight and don't cause trouble." He paused and rubbed his whiskery cheek, "Come to think of it, things look to get a little tougher for the Solamnics. Seems I heard a rumor that most of the Knights of Takhisis are leaving Palanthas for Neraka."

Sara stiffened. Her hands tightened in the mare's stiff mane. "Why there?" she asked. Why at all?

"The council of the Last Heroes gave the knighthood control of the area around Neraka, you know. Seems they may be regathering there."

Sara leaned against the mare's warm side and tried to stifle the sudden chill that settled in her stomach. "I thought they no longer existed as a group. Their leader is dead, their queen is gone. Most of their ranks were slaughtered." Despite her wish to sound casual, her voice rose higher with every word.

Bootjack lifted his skinny shoulders in a shrug. "Well, that's true enough. But there are a few still lurking around. In fact, I heard tell they have a new headquarters and are looking for recruits. Can you believe it?" He glanced at Sara and saw in surprise that she had turned as pale as milk. He patted his round belly, pleased he had spread some news that elicited such a response. It wasn't often he got to shock someone down to her bootstraps.

Sara didn't want to believe it. The world had suffered enough from the Knights of Takhisis. Let them stay dead and buried. And yet what if Bootjack was right? Could it be possible someone was reorganizing the dark knighthood?

The thought plagued Sara through the dinner she served Bootjack and remained with her for days afterward. Her mind roved far on the news she had heard, and she pondered its portent in her silent thoughts. She wondered if she should talk to Cobalt about her fears, then decided against it. She wanted to be certain of her facts before she brought up the subject. There would be time to talk to him later.

Six days after Bootjack dropped off her new boots, fetched his mare, and went whistling on his way. Sara dragged herself out of bed from another miserable night of internal debate and made a decision. Wearily she rode her horse back into the mountains to tell Cobalt her plans. She found the dragon absorbed in digging up a large tree for no more reason than he wanted the exercise. While he dug and tore at the roots and played in the dirt, she ran through her sword drills and tried to find the words that would explain her emotions without angering her friend.

It was hard enough trying to explain them to herself. She felt beset by a complicated welter of feelings about the Dark Knights-anger, resentment, frustration, intense dislike, even outrage that they would consider reforming their sinister organization. She firmly believed the knighthood should have died out with its founder, Lord Ariakan. But how could she explain all of this to a blue dragon, a servant of Takhisis?

Maybe-if the rumors were not true-she wouldn't have to.

When the tree finally crashed down and Cobalt stood over it like a triumphant gladiator, Sara laughed and put away her sword.

"Come talk to me," she said, wiping her forehead and sitting on a flat boulder.

Cobalt flopped down on the ground beside her. A coating of dirt and bark covered his legs and chest, and a branch with a few leaves still clinging dangled from his horns. He bent his neck to take a close look at her. "You look worried, Sara. What is bothering you?"

"I've heard some disquieting news," she said, each word deliberately slow. "I need to go to Palanthas for a few days to learn more."

"I shall go with you."

"No not this time. I don't want you anywhere near Khellendros. I plan to go as a craftswoman to sell my weaving .If all goes well, I'll be back within two weeks."

The dragon's head dropped lower, and his eyelids slid halfway down to hood his golden eyes. "What is so important that it sends you across the mountains to Palanthas?"

"I have heard that the Knights of Takhisis may be regrouping in Neraka. I want to know for sure."

"Why? Surly you do not wish to rejoin them."

"I just have to know. For my own peace of mind." Sara decided not to say any more than that now. Once she knew the truth, she could decide how much of her feelings to tell him. It was possible he would take offense at her attitude and leave her. That possibility truly worried her. she had become quite used to his companionship and would miss him horribly if he left.

Cobalt's gaze locked into hers, and he studied her for a long time before he replied. "Be careful, Sara. If you are not back in two sevendays, I will come looking for you."

She nodded, her heart grateful for his concern. "You be careful,too. No stealing cows while I'm gone. And stay out of sight." She reached up and scratched his eye ridges gently. "I'll miss you," she added in a voice barely above a whisper.

He crouched on his belly and watched her mount the old horse for the ride back down the trail. He continued to stare at the spot long after she had ridden out of sight.

"I'll miss you, too,"you, too," he said sadly.