Ice and Steel | By : Skullbearer Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 3031 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1 |
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. |
Elly Stormrage- Cheers, my first try at writing smut that wasn't flame fishing.
Robin- Thanks.
Dedicated to Nemedaire, without who's excellent review and sequel suggestions I couldn't have broken through the block.
Ice and Steel
Chapter 4- Summer days and Travels
Yesterday was a million years ago
In all my past lives I played an asshole
Now I found you, it's almost too late,
And this Earth seems obliviating.
Marilyn Manson, Last Day on Earth.
The rest of that long summer passed peacefully, but not without interest.
Caramon and Raistlin's Day of Life Gift, a day spent in the Inn, where Flint drank Caramon, Tanis and Kitiara under the table and the two mages sat back in a corner sometimes laughing, sometimes talking quietly together, and sometimes just not speaking. Dalamar's gift, an enchanted gold and ruby ring, glimmered on Raistlin's hand.
Tanis and Flint had stayed in Solace instead of leaving, due to the latter being temporarily crippled with lumbago. As Flint was not a pleasent patient, this kept Raistlin occupied for the better part of a month.
Dalamar's own Day of Life Gift came a month after Raistlin's. They'd spent the day by the shore of Crystalmir lake, away from Caramon and his friends (who had become annoyingly prying during the last few months).
The Dark elf had been delighted by Raistlin's gift; a new set of fine black robes, as his own were in a very sorry state by now.
Yes, the summer had been very enjoyable for both of them, but in later years they rarely thought of it, for the memories that autumn brought stood out in their minds like a sheet of flame.
It had been Dalamar who suggested they go with Tanis to Haven, where he and Flint were going for the Harvest Home festival. Dalamar had heard Raistlin's tutor talk about a mageware shop in the lordcity.
If they wanted to become war mages, they needed spells and since they couldn't go to Wayreth to browse the library there yet, where better to buy spells than a mageware shop?
Raistlin had readily agreed, although he'd been rather reluctant to go as a group after he'd heard that Caramon would be travelling with them.
The atmosphere between the twins had cooled dramaticly in the last few months. Raistlin tolerated his brother when they had to be together and avoided him like the plague when they didn't.
But, as Dalamar pointed out however, there would most likely be footpads and robbers on the road, and they would post less of a target as a group that if the two of them went alone.
Eventually Raistlin had agreed.
The journey itself was uneventful, Raistlin rode in the wagon carrying Flint's wares with Tanis; Caramon, Strum, Tasslehoff and Dalamar walked while Flint sat in the back of the full wagon. Kitiara had decided to come too and alternated between sitting in the wagon and walking.
It was while Kit was sitting with Tanis that the first hint of the incoming disaster met them.
A group of about twenty people, all dressed in blue robes, was advancing slowly down the middle of the road.
The effect, whether intentional or not, was to slow all the travellers to a near standstill. From his higher view point Raistlin could see some foot travellers attempt to walk around the slow moving column, only to leap back away from them.
"What's this? What's going on?" Flint had fallen asleep in the wagon and the sudden stop had awakened him.
"Those priests up ahead," Tanis said, "they won't move off the road and no one can get around them."
Dalamar glanced at Raistlin and lifted an eyebrow, 'priests?' he mouthed. Raistlin shrugged, just as puzzled.
The priests were not only slow moving, the were also apparently deaf. The driver of the lead wagon was calling to the to move to the side of the road and the were ignoring him utterly.
"This is ridiculous." Kitiara snapped, "I'll go talk to them."
She stalked off, Tasslehoff on her heels.
"No, Tas, Kit! Wait-Blast!" Tanis swore and leaped off the cart, leaving Raistlin at the reins.
Raistlin took hold of them and started down at the leather uncertainly; he had no idea how to drive a wagon.
Dalamar caught sight Raistlin's slightly paniced expression and took hold of the horse's bridle to stop it.
A cry from up ahead drew all their attention. Tasslehoff had reached the priests, stepped forward to talk, then for some reason had seen fit to jump headlong into a hedge.
Judging by the yelps, it had thorns.
By the time Tanis, Kit and Caramon had untagled the kender and his pouches from the hedgerow, they'd learned that the reason for the kender's behaviour was that all the priests, every one, was carrying a venomous snake.
A peddler beside them explained that these were priest of Belzor, and the snake was his holy symbol.
"Snake charmers." Dalamar had smiled at Raistlin. "Not real magic."
Belzor, the peddler continued, was a god that didn't tolerate disrespect, and neither, he added pointedly, did his priests; who were rumoured to preform miracles.
"Belzor." Raistlin spoke under his breath, the name sounded familiar but he couldn't remember running across it in any of his texts on the gods.
When it came to him, he was amazed he'd forgotten it even for a moment.
When Raistlin was much younger, a woman had come to Solace, a widow Judith. She had done odd jobs about the town, among those helping Raistlin's own mother, an untrained seer lost in her own mind. She'd claimed to do the work out of a willingness to aid, but had also spent the time spreading word of a new faith, that of Belzor.
When Raistlin's father had been fataly wounded, she had claimed Belzor would save him.
When his father died, she had heaped blame for the failure on the young mage, denouncing him as a practicer of the demon arts and calling on the town to cast him out.
The town hadn't, rather demanding that if Judith was going to treat one of theirs like that, then perhaps she'd better leave.
She had, and with the loss of her carer and her husband, Raistlin's mother had fallen into a final trance and had starved to death.
Raistlin still blamed Judith for the loss.
He told Dalamar the tale when they had stopped for the night. The Dark elf had been unusally pensive, staying silent for a while before asking Raistlin if he had any spare clothes other than his robes.
What Raistlin answered that he had, Dalamar asked to borrow a set of them.
"Why?"
"Because," Dalamar said, smiling grimly, "If they can denounce a White robed child as a demonologist, then what do you think they'll do to a Dark elven Black robe?"
Those who have read the Soulforge will know what's coming, those who don't...will find out.
Skull Bearer.
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