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The Blue Star	By : sinaline Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 1900 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the book(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
A/N: I have a feeling I left you all with a really nasty cliffhanger, lol? I promise I won't ever do it again...

Chapter Seven

Raistlin fought against the rising bile but managed to ask in between clenched teeth, "I have never heard of a place called Faerun... perhaps its to the East?"
"Nice try, wizardling, but I can sense your power from here. The potential is... tasty..." for a moment Wellint opened a mouth that stretched to an impossible width and housed a near innumerable amount of teeth.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Wellint glared at him, then tossed him aside. Raistlin rolled into the wall with a soft muffled grunt, before he gingerly sat up with his back leaning against the wall. Wellint shuffled into the next room and the door clanged shut and darkness deeper than anything he had ever experienced fell. Thinning his eyes, and a little more than irate, Raistlin began to chant with his hand arranged just as if he was holding his absent staff. When he finished chanting the staff solidified in his hands.
With a small humorless smile on his lips he then whispered, "Shirak."
With that the Staff lit up the room brightly and he climbed to his feet, using the Staff of the Magius as support. Leaning on it a bit as now his hip protested against the abuse and now the need to stand, he surveyed his surroundings. What he had taken for a lab was no more than a dark, dank, and dirty dungeon cell.
If anyone had been able to see his face, he was sure they would have seen an expression that meant, 'I'm so not impressed.' He walked to the door and tried the lock, and his lips compressed into a thin line. Finally he leaned on the staff in thought and took stock of the situation. He still did not have his magic due to an anti-magic shell cast on his cell, but his staff was in his hands... unfortunately he had lost his sword, although he had planned to give it Caramon in the end.
He patted his belt, noticing that it was a simple belt without the clasps and loops to tie spell component pouches on. Damn, he thought. Now, how in the Abyss am I supposed to get out of here?
He sighed and walked back to the pallet and sat down, staring at the door by the light of his staff.

Caramon, Tanis and Flint had made it back to the town North of Thorbardin. With a sigh, Caramon said, "I suppose our paths will again split?"
Tanis nodded, "I still have to head to Qualinesti, but you are welcome to accompany as far as the road headed that way. New Port is not far, our path will split there. Flint, where are you headed?"
The dwarf shrugged, "I may not be leaving. My family is from here. That young dwarf who keeps the bar is my nephew."
The two humans looked surprised, Caramon least of all, "Ah, Flint, he's directly connected to this entire thing..."
"Hardly surprising, considering my family has the most direct tales of the Blue Star," responded Flint. "I walked beside one of them before. A brooding bunch..." he shook his head in sorrow. "Your brother now has a serious responsibility."
Caramon's face fell as the weight of that statement filtered in, "I never should have left him alone..."
"Wouldn't have mattered anyway," mused Tanis. "It sounds like one way or the other he would have left."

Jafir paced in his tent, looking at the stranger's sword that lay on the pillows. It had been two days since he had sold out the Northerner and he already felt sick from the guilt of doing it. But if he hadn't, his first daughter would have had to be given to the monster. At least now the dreaded lotteries that demanded the women of all the Tribes as tribute would be over.
Prince Hassan came in and looked at the sword, "The craftsmanship is very fine."
"It is, I cannot feel that no one less than prince would carry it," said Jafir darkly.
"You still feel guilt over handing over the Northern Outsider?"
Jafir sighed and waved it off as un-consequential. Settling into the pillows and taking a deep breath of the smoke he then said, "I found him in the desert, his life was owed me. You were right after all. It was written..."
Hassan looked out over the desert, "Yes, and now that we are free of Wellint's dark influence we can also be free of the necessity to fear him?"
Jafir looked up at Hassan curiously.

Wellint shuffled back and looked into the dungeon cell. His eyes widened when he realized that the little prize that had fallen into his web was gone and not even his darkvision in the pitch black cell could find him. He slammed the door open and rushed in.
Too late he saw the motion behind him and turned towards it, pike held up in defense.
The room lit in sudden brilliance and Wellint covered his eyes in pain from light that lit the room as bright as the sun on the desert. "Put it out!" he ordered, slashing blindly around the cell.
"What in the Abyss are you?!" Raistlin asked in horror.
It might have been an elf at one point, but it was not anymore. Like a centaur, the top half of the man was elven, thought not of any elf he had ever heard or read about, but the lower half was of a huge black spider. "I am both the shame and the pride of my Goddess!" shouted Wellint. "One you will aid me in rejoining!"
"Sure, whatever," smirked Raistlin, now recognizing that the light was what caused the pain. "Not in my lifetime, demon."
"I will hunt you down and kill you! I swear by Lolth!" shouted the man-spider.
"You will have to find me first..." said Raistlin as he touched a rune that glowed brightly on the Staff now that the anti-magic shell on the cell that prevented all but the spell of light from working was gone.
With that, he was gone.
Wellint, eyes still burning but able to see from the sudden absence of the burning light, thrashed and screamed in rage. The drider forced himself to calm, then swore, "If it takes me four of my own lifetimes, mage, I will hunt you down and kill you for this!"

Raistlin came out of the teleportation, while still in the desert, just outside the citadel on the wind-swept mountain range. He breathed a sigh of relief. At precisely that point another of the demons, only slightly smaller rushed at him. This one was smaller, and held no signs of sentience. Not only that... it appeared to be human... even of the desert tribes.
Raistlin barely dodged the blow as the female version nearly took off his head by the sudden sweeping motion of the halberd. "How many are there?" he asked in surprise.
A tingling sensation swept him and as he cast one of his lesser spells that did not require any spell components to work, he noticed that his hands were again of the gold tinge. Interesting... it shows itself as armor by itself when I'm in mortal danger... but he pushed back his observation as the need to survive this battle pushed itself to the forefront of his mind.
He used his Staff to block the downward sweep, then rolled out of the way as another one joined its sister by shooting crossbow bolts at him. He had to block another blow and saw that he had left himself open for the other to shoot him.
At that precise moment when he was sure that the only time he would again see his twin, the impossible happened. Arrows took her in the soft underbelly and she screamed and fell. Raistlin twitched the muscle in his left arm that allowed his dagger to drop into his hand. With a sudden upward slashing motion, he sliced the belly of the one he was fighting open. She retreated and Raistlin turned to regard his sudden savior.
Jafir and a group of his men finished off the other one, and with a curt motion of his hand, two of the men went to hunt the other while Jafir helped Raistlin to his feet. Raistlin shook him off once he was standing. "I am deeply sorry, Raistlin," Jafir bowed slightly. "But for years we have been forced to sacrifice our daughters to Wellint in a bi-annual lottery. This year it was the daughter I showed you before..."
"So you sacrificed me instead?" stated Raistlin coldly.
"I knew that a full-fledged wizard would be too much for Wellint to resist. And I was right," Jafir looked up at Raistlin then gasped as he fully registered the gold tone of a Miiro and fell to his knees. "My lord Miiro! Forgive me I did not know!"
What is with everyone and the Miiro? wondered Raistlin. "Get up. Wellint is still in there, but I can tell you that his weak spot is daylight. It is likely the same with the spawn."
"Daylight? Truly?" asked Jafir in awe. "We only knew that he came to us at night, attacked only in the night... we figured it was because the darkness hid him..."
"Then wait until day and as you attack, open every window and door in the place and see how easily you take the citadel," Raistlin turned to walk away, but Jafir grabbed his arm. "What is it now?"
"I owe you an apology, and you will still die out there, Guardian or no," said Jafir. "Join us in the morning and then we will outfit you for the journey. Reylanna will scry the place to which you are going. We have heard tales of it, but no one who has journeyed there, save for your kin, has ever returned."
Raistlin gave it half a thought, and knowing that there would be no way for him to finish his quest, or even get back out of the desert as he had no real idea of where he was. "Very well."

For once since the trip in the desert went drastically wrong, Raistlin could sleep. And sleep he did. In the morning before they set out, he studied and recovered his spells, taking notes on what he had learned so far. He finally understood Marion’s need to keep a journal as he found more and more as he developed his attunement to the Blue Star that more required research. "Will I ever find the end of my journey?" he mused.
He snapped to full awareness when Jafir stood and motioned that it was time to move in on Wellint...
... Hours later they found themselves in the deepest part of the citadel. Here, even though every window had been opened and the doors left open or ripped off hinges entirely, the light only filtered in and still cast dark shadows in the corners.
Raistlin pushed open the door and the five men had to cover their noses from the rank smell within. Skittering sounds could be heard within and then giant spiders spilled out. Raistlin managed to wipe out the first wave with a flaming hands spell. The second wave, only getting the tail end of it was still living, but on fire, giant spiders. Jafir and his men fought against them, but two more fell from the poisonous bites of the spiders.
Taking stock of the situation, Raistlin realized that there was only three left, including him. Jafir was about to walk into the room, but Raistlin held up his hand, suggesting caution. "Wait," whispered Raistlin, then he cleared his voice and shouted. "Wellint! Come out. We have killed all of your guards."
"Ah, the wizardling returns," came the sibilant voice of Wellint from within the room. "But if you wish to kill me, you must come in here."
Raistlin cast dancing lights and then ducked into the room as arrows flew through the doorway, killing the other man with Jafir. In the time that it took Wellint to reload, Jafir was already in the room and circling with his sword.
There was a certain amount of familiarity with this arrangement, one warrior and one wizard, that Raistlin suddenly felt very confident with his abilities. "Shirak."
The staff lit the room brightly again, and blinded Wellint. Jafir leapt forward and speared the beast through the elven chest, then fell back, sword left where it was. Raistlin let the brilliance die a little bit so that he could see. Wellint was definitely dying. "You never answered my question," said Raistlin. "What are you?"
"I... am... what is called a drider," answered Wellint. "I am what happens when a drow fails his goddess. He becomes her glory... and her shame."
"Drow?" Jafir and Raistlin looked at each other as if to ask, What in the Abyss is a Drow?
"He claims to not be from this world," said Raistlin in explanation as Wellint finally died, filing the information away for future reference. "But, I suppose we will never know, now will we?"

It was a day's ride back to Jafir's camp, especially since there was only two men to lead back enough horses for the fifteen that had ridden out. When they reached the camp, many of the other men that had not been picked to go out were shocked when only Jafir and Raistlin returned. In way of explanation, Jafir said, "They fell fighting the spawn of Wellint... and Wellint himself. But Wellint is no more! We are free of the Lottery!"
Jafir led the way into his tents where Reylanna waited. Already, the subdued mourning process for those lost in battle had begun. Reylanna helped Jafir out of his dust covered clothes, then aided the harem as they stripped Raistlin's off again. Once they were bathed and clothed in clean robes, Jafir invited Raistlin to sit across from him. Raistlin accepted, but said, "There is no more strange creatures, or even humans or others, that you have a life debt to repay?"
"Only one," said Jafir. "You. You came into this camp owing me, Raistlin Majere. Now you leave it with my gratitude and my thanks for your help in freeing us to once again wander from oasis to oasis."
Raistlin breathed a sigh of relief, but Jafir was not done. "Now, I said that Reylanna would scry for you. Reylanna, come here and bring your bowl with you."
She came, her surprise at being summoned evident, "It has been many years since you last asked me to perform my Art within view of others."
"We owe him," said Jafir. "Now, what is it you seek, my friend?"
Raistlin murmured, "I seek the Blue Star."
Reylanna blinked, "Are you mad?"
Jafir cut her off with a motion of his hand, "He is not mad at all, my dear. Now, do as we ask."
She appeared a bit miffed, but calmed herself as she settled in front of the low rimmed bowl filled with water. Raistlin watched in rapt fascination as she cast her spell and looked into the bowl. Her eyes were focused elsewhere, but soon she spoke. "I see ice, so much ice.... a mountain chain of ice... high on this mountain there is a castle made of ice and stone... what you seek is there... wait... there is more..."
The two men looked at each other and Jafir asked gently, "What is it you see, my dear?"
She looked deeper, "Something moves within... wait... I can see it..."
With that she fell back on her heels, her face pale. "Winged death. I see only death."
She covered her face, and knocked the bowl askew. "Ask no more of me..." she then retreated to where the women stayed in the inner part of the tent.
The second wife walked in and laid some of the loose fitting robes in the same color of the sand and of the style of the desert people at Raistlin's feet. He looked at it for a moment until Jafir's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "That is for you. As well as a fast horse and supplies to aid you to the end of the desert and to the glacier. Ice and death... there unfortunately I cannot aid you. All I ask of you is to spend one more night with us and a day, for then we shall reach the next oasis. There, you can head South and our paths will separate. May the spirits of our ancestors and of the Prophet guide you to your destination, Lord Miiro."
Raistlin was surprised, but more than a bit relieved. Horses he could deal with... so long as he would not have to ride any more camels.
Again, he was treated as a guest in Jafir's tents. This time he wasn't drugged and so was able to almost relax. He supposed that if he did not have the curse of the hourglass eyes that he may have enjoyed the dance that Jafir's eldest daughter performed, although he appreciated her gracefulness and the subtlety of the story woven into the dance. He felt like he was being watched and turned to regard Reylanna. Blessing and curse? his gaze challenged.
Her response, which was a shrugged shoulder, said clearly, Give it time and you will understand.
Raistlin turned back to the dance, almost shaking his head in confusion but knew that it would be taken as an insult. He leaned onto his elbow that was cushioned by the pillows and settled himself for the long night ahead. If anything, he had to appreciate the desert tribes. While most called them barbarians, they were as refined as most elves, if Tanis was anything to judge, as well as all the human nobles he had met. If the fabrics said anything, Jafir was also a very rich man. Most 'barbarian' nomadic tribes, from his education, held little regard for wealth considering nature's wealth the most vital. So far he had seen gold rings, coins, and enough jewelry to pay for the entirety of Wayreth, not to mention the satiny fabric he lay on.
As much as he didn't like thinking of her, his short-lived interest in Miranda had taught him something of fabrics. He knew that Miranda's father would have traded his entire stock for a bolt of the cloth that Jafir dressed his wives and daughters in. Undoubtably, if Jafir traded with Northern and (come to think of it, the desert did border Silvanesti...) other, more 'civilized' nations, the fact that Jafir had a caravan probably did make him a very wealthy man.
Finally, Jafir's guests left after a too complicated, at least for a tired Raistlin to follow, set of gestures and salutations. Jafir turned to Raistlin and said to Reylanna, "Our guest in our tent looks wearied. Forgive me, I have kept you up. Please, recline there at the warmth of the brazier and my daughter shall bring you everything you need to be comfortable. Do you accept my gift?"
Raistlin inclined his head in thanks having learned that there was no refusal since it would be taken as an insult. Raistlin was even more surprised when the eldest daughter was brought out with her eunuch as a chaperone. The eldest was a privilege that only revered guests ever got. Lesser guests only got the younger wives or daughters, or, if it was an especially full tent, a mere concubine or slave girl.
With a nod from the girl, the eunuch smiled and left the partition of the tent, letting the final panel of fabric fall to seal them off from the rest of the tent for Raistlin's privacy.
The girl brought out a basin of water for Raistlin to bathe himself as well as a perfumed cone. While Raistlin did bathe himself, he drew the line on the musky cologne. "Please, sir, it is a gift from my father. He trades it to the Silvanesti from the Que-Kiri. Besides our horses and our horse stock, this is our livelihood..."
...Which meant if he turned it down grave insult would be taken. "For your father then, maiden," said Raistlin, hiding the resignation in his voice.
With that she helped him into the fine rich burgundy colored robes that were reserved for in camp and tent use, showing him how to properly wear them so that he could dress himself in the sand colored ones tomorrow. He had to admit they were much cooler then what he had been wearing. She tied the braided belt around his waist and then made his bed among the pillows. Then she looked like she was waiting for something. His mind, which although never clueless normally, drew a bit of a blank as he never quite did understand women... oh... "Isn't it forbidden for you to lay with a man until you are married?" he asked surprised.
She nodded, then said, "My father has given me to you, and you have accepted this tonight when my parents retired for the night... oh dear... you did not realize it, did you?"
"As simple as that?" he asked, surprised.
"What do you expect? Is there more to it than that, my husband?" she asked, puzzled.
"Typically, at least where I come from, there is," answered Raistlin. "Women are not simply 'given' away, at least without any sort of consent."
"Forgive us the misunderstanding..."
Raistlin sighed, "If I refuse, would I insult your father?"
He already knew the answer, and was not in the least surprise when she nodded her head, still looking at the ground. "Look at me," he said, bringing her eyes to meet his. "You see my eyes? I rather thought so, and from the look in yours you understand what they mean. Yes, like your mother, I see everything as it ages, withers, and dies away. I wish I could see your beauty, and I wish I could appreciate it. But I cannot even see it. Add to it than within a few days I ride South never to return. You will never see me again and will be left a young widow. Is that what you truly want?"
She looked down, shaking her head, "I want a husband, but I will not have one for long. At least, after you are gone, I will have the right as widow to choose my own future, but I will never forget the one who brought it to me."
"Very well," said Raistlin, thinking, These people have a sense of 'honor' like Sturm does... "Do we have to consummate this marriage, or can your next husband, assuming you want one, do that instead?"
She blinked, "Look at the color of the fabric."
He did, "White?"
"If you leave this tent tomorrow and there is no stain of blood on the bedding, you will have shamed me as it will appear that I shamed myself with another man before I wed," she said.
Raistlin found this entirely too ironic. "Why me?" he shook his head, and lowered it to the pillows. "I... have never been with a woman myself, my dear. My experience with your half of our species has been less than great."
"You are not that way?" she said, a bit of horror creeping into her voice as she moved away a bit.
"What? Oh no!" Raistlin shook his hands. "No, I'm not that way at all. It's just that I have no experience with women. I spent all my time in a library or a classroom learning of my magic, then I spent all my time traveling to find more magic. Then I was cursed with the eyes and found that I didn't like looking as much as used to."
At least, in retrospect, he didn't think he was that way. And so what if he was? Why was he justifying himself to her? He sighed as her hand strayed to his face to close his eyelids, "There's no getting out of this, is there?"
"No, there is not," she breathed. "It is only your eyes, no? Then feel, don't look."
He allowed himself to be pulled down into the soft, silky, fabrics of the bed and her clothes.

Next chapter: Raistlin leaves the desert behind from one extreme to the other; now he has to deal with a glacier!
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The Blue Star