Land of the minotaurs

perhaps, in my own way, an unofficial cleric of the God of Neutrality. I am certain my appearance makes you think the latter, though the color gray is more the mark of my agreement with the gods Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari. It is the way they assure that I will not forget my place, or my vow.' He shook his head bemusedly. 'And they say the gods have no sense of humor. They have one. We just do not think their jests very funny.'

'You still haven't told me who you are or why you're here.' Kaz was growing tired of the gray figure's vague and confusing comments. 'Why've you been haunting us? What's all this talk of balance?'

The staff went tap-tap-tap again. 'So many questions, and so little I can answer. Your friend Huma was not half as questioning.'

The minotaur's eyes narrowed. 'That's where I know you from. I remember now! Huma said he met you before discovering the dragonlances!'

'There was a world out of balance then. The dragonlances were needed to restore balance, and the knight Huma became the catalyst. He was the most worthy one we could find within the time still left to us, and he proved to be better than anyone could have hoped. There are similarities between the two of you, you know. That was why I decided to keep an eye on you. I knew that even with the war over, there was still a danger, an imbalance. It is a gift, or perhaps a curse, given to me. I can know what the threat is, but am limited as to what I can do.'

'You knew the truth about our high priest?'

'I discovered it. You have no idea what the presence of the two dragons means to Krynn, Kaz. The dragons, good and evil, were supposed to depart as part of the peace created among the gods. It was a pact of the highest magnitude. Yet, because one egg, the egg of a silver dragon, was lost, the entire pact could unravel. The egg meant a dragon stayed behind. In an attempt to effect some sort of balance, the world allowed for another dragon, one of evil nature, also to remain on Krynn. Unfortunately, it was the red called Infernus, one of the deadliest of the Dark Queen's servants. You, already tied to this history, became our one hope.'

'What do you mean, 'already tied to this history'?' Kaz shifted uneasily. For some reason, he felt the gray man spoke the truth.

The staff tapped against the floor again. 'There was a mage who held a wounded dragon prisoner. He used threats to her eggs to force her to do his will…'

Kaz's head sank. 'I remember. The dragons should've been gone. It was just after the war. She and her mate had not left because they wanted to get their eggs back, the ones Brenn the Black Robe had stolen.' He raised his head again and glared at the robed figure. 'But Brenn fell victim to his own magic and, although the dragon perished, I brought her eggs to a place where her mate took them from me. They should be safe now, wherever they are!'

'The male silver was also wounded. You recall that. Because of his wounds, Kaz, one slipped from him. It slipped when it began to hatch, although he could not. have known that. He circled, but could not find it and assumed it had broken. That was not the case, however. Dragon young are hardier than other newborns. Dragon eggs are very sturdy, and the fall only cracked the egg and stunned the hatchling. When it finally woke and freed itself, it did not know where or what it was.'

'Ty…?' Fate was laughing at Kaz again. That was the name of the young female's father-the male silver.

The gray man nodded. 'The first intelligent creatures she saw, only days later, were humans, families moving on to new homes. Wanting to join, she reshaped herself without thinking. Although she was never with anyone long, the shape became so much safer to use that she soon forgot her birth form.'

'All right!' snarled Kaz, growing weary of all of this. 'So I'm tied to her past. That's all. You didn't have to involve me in all of this! I'm not responsible for what happened later.'

'No, you are not. You were chosen, by me. The Dark Queen will use this situation. Everything for which you fought side-by-side with Huma of the Lance will be lost. We will return to endless war, with the outcome this time questionable.' The gray man sighed again. 'Ansalon has not recovered sufficiently from the last war to suffer such another. I chose you because I believed you would understand that. I chose you because I believed you were the best hope there was of returning Ansalon… and your own people… to its proper path.'

'My father is dead… and I never wanted to be a hero.'

Tap-tap-tap. 'Kaziganthi de-Orilg, if I could, I would take your place, but I swore a vow to all three gods of magic, who, having removed themselves from the affairs of the others, have a vested interest of their own in maintaining the balance of the world… regardless of what their mages do. My power does not wane no matter which moon is dominant, but in return I must use care and I must always strive to help Ansalon, all of Krynn, remain in balance. I must guide others, and am never allowed to be the one who acts. Always it must be another.'

Kaz was not certain that he agreed with, or even understood, everything the gray man said, but, in truth, he agreed that Ansalon could not endure a return to war. 'Have you come to offer me a chance, then? Are you going to set me free and give me the means of facing Infernus?'

'Do you wish it?'

'Given a choice… yes.'

'I have spoken to the young dragon. She will abide for now, but only because she is lost in her own mind. If you desire to help, to restore the balance, Kaz, there is one thing you must do, whether you perish or not. You must awaken the dragon within her.'

Kaz grunted. 'I thought Infernus was trying to do that already.'

The gray man shook his head. 'No, he seeks only to release the form and power of the young one to do his bidding. He seeks to twist the silver into his servant. If you hope for victory, you must awaken the true dragon. You must stir Tiberia to be what a silver dragon is meant' to be. Only then can you possibly defeat the creature Infernus.'

'I won't be able to do anything as long as I'm like this,' Kaz retorted, indicating his chains with a rattle. 'Are you planning on releasing me?'

His ethereal companion looked away in what might have been outright embarrassment. 'You will know what the time comes.' The staff tapped against the floor again. 'The guard is stirring.'

The minotaur glanced at the door, hearing, in the distance, the movements of the sentry. He turned his gaze back to the gray man, but the human was no longer there.

'Typical mage,' he snarled under his breath. 'More damned trouble than help!' Still, his mood had lifted, his determination returned. He had battled ogres, mages, and even living statues, defeating all of them. He might fall to Infernus, but he was not going to go complacently to his death.

It would have eased his mind if he had been able to retrieve Honor's Face, but surely any strong minotaur axe could cut through the scaly hide of a dragon, couldn't it? There was one way to find out.

Something blotted out the light. The shadowed head of the guard covered most of the barred window as he glanced inside at the prisoner.

'Something the matter?' Kaz asked.

The sentry peered inside, then snorted. After one more quick glance, he shook his head and departed without a word.

Alone again, Kaz considered the gray man. From what little he now recalled of Huma's encounters with the figure, the gray man never said more than he needed to say. He did not promise that Kaz would succeed; nor did he promise that the minotaur would live, even if he somehow did garner victory. Huma had died even though he defeated the Dark Queen; the same might happen to Kaz. It was not a comforting thought, but it did not dissuade him. If he had one last opportunity even to slow down the dragon's machinations, then he would gladly take it. He wished the others were not involved. They might all perish. Even if the gray man mourned them also, he would immediately start searching for someone else to restore the balance. In some ways, his methods seemed almost as heartless as those of the dragon. Yet it was the gods who forced the mage to act as he did, the gods who interfered whenever they felt like it.

That was not quite the truth, and Kaz knew it. Paladine was not like that, and Kaz supposed that even the hands of the most powerful gods were tied at times.

'Paladine,' he whispered. 'Kiri-Jolith… and you, too, Habbakuk.' The three gods made up the pantheon honored by the three orders belonging to the Knights of Solamnia. Kaz respected these three the most for their