over to inspect it, announced that it was a well.
'Deep at that,' he said. He leaned over and peered down into it. 'Smells bad, too.'
North of the well stood what appeared to be the only building to have escaped the destruction of the Cataclysm. It was finely constructed of pure white stone, supported by tall, slender columns. Large golden double doors gleamed in the moonlight.
'That was a temple to the ancient gods,' Raistlin said, more to himself than anyone else. But Goldmoon, standing near him, heard his soft whisper.
'A temple?' she repeated, staring at the building. 'How beautiful.' She walked toward it, strangely fascinated.
Tanis and the rest searched the grounds and found no other buildings intact. Fluted columns lay on the ground, their broken pieces aligned to show their former beauty. Statues lay broken and, in some cases, grotesquely defaced. Everything was old, so old it made even the dwarf feel young.
Flint sat down on a column. 'Well, we're here.' He blinked at Raistlin and yawned. 'What now, mage?'
Raistlin's thin lips parted, but before he could reply, Tasslehoff yelled, 'Draconian!'
Everyone spun around, weapons in their hands. A draconian, ready to move, was glaring at them from the edge of the well.
'Stop it!' Tani's shouted. 'It will alert others!'
But before anyone could reach it, the draconian spread its wings and flew into the well. Raistlin, his golden eyes flaring in the moonlight, ran to the well and peered over the edge. Raising his hand as if to cast a spell, he hesitated, then dropped his hand limply to his side. 'I can't,' he said. 'I can't think. I can't concentrate. I must sleep!'
'We're all tired,' Tanis said wearily. 'If something's down there, it warned it. There's nothing we can do now. We've got to rest.'
'It has gone to warn something,' Raistlin whispered. He huddled in his cloak and stared around, his eyes wide. 'Can't you feel it? Any of you? Half-Elf? Evil about to waken and come forth.'
Silence fell.
Then Tasslehoff climbed up on the stone wall and peered down. 'Look! The draconian is floating down, just like a leaf. His wings don't flap-'
'Be quiet!' Tanis snapped.
Tasslehoff glanced at the half-elf in surprise-Tanis's voice sounded strained and unnatural. The half-elf was staring at the well, his hands clenching nervously. Everything was still. Too still. The storm clouds massed to the north, but there was no wind. Not a branch creaked, not a leaf stirred. The silver moon and the red cast twin shadows that made things seen from the corner of the eye unreal and distorted.
Then, slowly, Raistlin backed away from the well, raising his hands before him as if to ward off some dreadful danger.
'I feel it too.' Tanis swallowed. 'What is it?'
'Yes, what is it?' Tasslehoff, leaning over, stared eagerly into the well. It looked as deep and dark as the mage's hourglass eye.
'Get him away from there!' Raistlin cried.
Tanis, infected by the mage's fear and his own growing sense that something was terribly wrong, started to run for Tas. Even as he began to move, though, he felt the ground shake beneath his feet. The kender gave a startled cry as the ancient stone wall of the well cracked and gave way beneath him. Tas felt himself sliding into the terrible blackness below him. He scrabbled frantically with his hands and feet, trying to clutch the crumbling rocks. Tanis lunged desperately, but he was too far away.
Riverwind had started moving when he heard Raistlin's cry, and the tall man's long, swift strides carried him quickly to the well. Catching hold of Tas by his collar, the Plainsman plucked him from the wall just as the stones and mortar tumbled down into the blackness below.
The ground trembled again. Tanis tried to force his numb mind to figure out what was happening. Then a blast of cold air burst from the well. The wind swept dirt and leaves from the courtyard into the air, stinging his face and eyes.
'Run!' Tanis tried to yell, but he choked on the foul stench erupting from the well.
The columns left standing after the Cataclysm began to shake. The companions stared fearfully at the well. Then Riverwind tore his gaze away. 'Goldmoon…' he said, looking around. He dropped Tas to the ground. 'Goldmoon!' He stopped as a high-pitched shriek rose from the depths of the well. The sound was so loud and shrill that it pierced the head.
Riverwind searched frantically for Goldmoon, calling her name.
Tanis was stunned by the noise. Unable to move, he saw Sturm, hand on his sword, slowly back away from the well. He saw Raistlin-the mage's ghastly face glistening metallic yellow, his golden eyes red in the red moon's light-scream something Tanis couldn't hear. He saw Tasslehoff staring at the well in wide-eyed wonder. Sturm ran across the courtyard, scooped up the kender under one arm, and ran on to the trees. Caramon ran to his exhausted brother, caught him up, and headed for cover. Tanis knew some monstrous evil was coming up out of the well, but he could not move. The words 'run, fool, run' screamed in his brain. Riverwind, too, stayed near the well, fighting the fear that was growing within him; he couldn't find Goldmoon! Distracted by rescuing the kender from tumbling into the well, he had not seen Goldmoon approach the unbroken temple. He looked around wildly, struggling to keep his balance as the ground shook beneath his feet. The high-pitched shrieking noise, the throbbing and trembling of the ground, brought back hideous, nightmarish memories. 'Death on black wings.' He began to sweat and shake, then forced his mind to concentrate on Goldmoon. She needed him; he knew-and he alone knew-that her show of strength only masked her fear, doubt, uncertainty. She would be terribly afraid, and he had to find her.
As the stones of the well began to slide, Riverwind moved away and caught sight of Tanis. The half-elf was shouting and pointing past Riverwind toward the temple. Riverwind knew Tanis was saying something, but he couldn't hear above the shrieking sound. Then he knew! Goldmoon! Riverwind turned to go to her, but he lost his balance and fell to his knees. He saw Tanis start to run toward him.
Then the horror burst from the well-the horror of his fevered nightmares. Riverwind closed his eyes and saw no more.
It was a dragon.
Tanis, in those first few moments when the blood seemed to drain from his body, leaving him limp and lifeless, looked at the dragon as it burst forth from the well and thought, 'How beautiful… how beautiful…'
Sleek and black, the dragon rose, her glistening wings folded close to her sides, her scales gleaming. Her eyes glowed red-black, the color of molten rock. Her mouth opened in a snarl, teeth flashing white and wicked. Her long, red tongue curled as she breathed the night air. Clear of the well's confines, the dragon spread her wings, blotting out stars, obliterating moon-light. Each wing was tipped with a pure, white claw that shone blood- red in the light of Lunitari.
Fear such as Tanis had never imagined shriveled his stomach. His heart throbbed painfully; he couldn't catch his breath. He could only stare in horror and awe and marvel at the creature's deadly beauty. The dragon circled higher and higher into the night sky. Then, just as Tanis felt the paralyzing fear start to recede, just as he began to fumble for his bow and arrows, the dragon spoke.
One word she said-a word in the language of magic-and a thick, terrible darkness fell from the sky, blinding them all. Tanis instantly lost all grasp on where he was. He only knew there was a dragon above him about to attack. He was powerless to defend himself. All he could do was crouch down, crawl among the rubble, and try desperately to hide.
Deprived of his sense of sight, the half-elf concentrated on his sense of hearing. The shrieking noise had stopped as the darkness fell. Tanis could hear the slow, gentle flap of the dragon's leathery wings and knew it was circling above them, rising gradually. Then he couldn't hear even the flapping anymore; the wings had quit beating. He visualized a great, black bird of prey, hovering alone, waiting.
Then there was a very gentle rustling sound, the sound of leaves shivering as the wind rises before a storm. The sound grew louder and louder until it was the rushing of wind when the storm hits, and then it was the shrieking of the hurricane. Tanis pressed his body close against the crumbled well and covered his head with his
