Teldin and Cwelanas left their ales untouched, and instead sat staring into each other's eyes. CassaRoc watched them both for a moment, then took a long draft of his ale. 'Women,' he said under his breath.
'I thought I'd never see you again, said Teldin, breaking the awkward silence between them. 'I thought you were out of my life forever.'
'And I, yours,' Cwelanas said. Her red lips glistened, and her eyes sparkled with gold. 'I felt lost without you after you left me on Krynn. I've been through so much since we saw each other last-you don't know how much I've thought about you.'
Teldin could focus only on Cwelanas, on the light playing over her soft, silken hair and the cool smoothness of her skin. He had been alone for so long on this seemingly endless quest that true companionship-even love, he thought- had become barely a consideration. But Cwelanas had stirred his heart from the moment he had first encountered her aboard the Silver Spray, her father's elven ship, docked at the quays of Palanthas.
Since his last day on Krynn, Teldin had eventually fallen under the guile of Rianna, who had betrayed him; and had come to love Gaeadrelle Goldring, whom he still loved as a friend; and Julia, whom he had lost to the gods. After Julia's death, he did not know for sure if there would ever again be room in his heart for love.
He looked into Cwelanas's sparkling eyes. Perhaps, through all his adventures on his haphazard quest, this was the woman that he truly wanted. She had been there for him at the beginning, and as he gazed into her eyes, he realized that his feelings for Cwelanas were strong, and that they had been there since the start, and he had been too dense to understand them.
Something opened in him then, a warm flicker of hope deep within his chest. If there could be room that had not been destroyed by the fear of his friends and lovers turning against him, betraying him for the power of the cloak, then there was room only for one… room enough for Cwelanas. 'How did you come here?' Teldin asked simply. Something flickered behind Cwelanas's golden eyes. To Teldin, they seemed wide and beautiful, two enchanted wells that he could drown in; but he noticed that their luster was slightly dimmed, and she kept her eyes averted from him as she talked.
'It was shortly after we left you at Sancrist,' Cwelanas began, 'when we were attacked by pirate ships that swooped down on us from wildspace.
'My father was injured in the attack. I saw him go down under the blade of a buccaneer, and that was the last I saw of him.'
'Why did they attack?'
'Oh, Teldin.' Cwelanas hesitated, and her eyes filled with tears. 'Oh, Teldin, because of you, because they wanted that cloak of yours.'
Teldin stared into his memories, recalling his long-ago conversation at Crescent with Julia and Djan, of Teldin's way with verenthestae-what Djan had described as a force exhibited in people whose very existence seemed to sow the patterns of destiny and fortune for themselves and others.
Cwelanas wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and took a gulp of ale. She touched Teldin's hand. 'It's not your fault, Teldin. I didn't mean that. They somehow found out about your cloak, and they finally tracked us down on Krynn. They kidnapped me. They tried to get it out of me… where you were heading, what the purpose was for your quest.
'I told them nothing, Teldin. I could not betray you. Even- even though they tortured me…'
She lifted one sleeve. Teldin grimaced at the long burn scars running up one arm. 'Cwelanas,…' he said.
She shook her head and rolled down her sleeve. She held her arm tight against her. 'I–I wouldn't tell them anything, Teldin. I would not have them kill you, not after they killed my father.'
The room was silent. Some of the warriors had heard Cwelanas's tale before, but it was still a tale of tragedy and dishonor, and all respected her for what she had been through.
'I was on board their ship for weeks, I think, perhaps even months. I was kept locked in a cargo hold, and when I was not being questioned, or assigned slave duties throughout the ship, they… they shared me… with the crew.'
Her eyes grew distant. Teldin's jaw clenched tightly and his hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. ^, They finally made a mistake,' she continued, 'and I escaped from my chains in the hold. On deck, I overpowered the second mate and killed him with his own dagger. I went through the ship carefully and slit the throats of all those who had…
'They finally caught me, just as I was about to kill the captain. They threw me overboard, into the phlogiston. I cannot describe the sensation when I finally succumbed to the flow. I floated there for I don't know how long, until I was found by the Spelljammer.
'They tell me I'm lucky. Once they brought me aboard- I have CassaRoc to thank for that-I thawed out quickly. I must not have been out there for very long. I don't feel very lucky. 1 still see them in here.' She rubbed her forehead. 'I still hate them. And my father… I cant ever be sure what happened to him.''
Teldin glanced at CassaRoc. 'We intercepted a report from a neogi messenger,' CassaRoc said. 'One of their mages had spotted something in the Flow. It wasn't long before our own scouts made out her shape not far off the port bow. We intercepted her before the neogi could, and we took her to the Tower of Thought.'' He laughed. 'A few of my ales brought her around soon enough.'
Teldin watched Cwelanas and felt pride, mingling with awe, at her strength during the trials she had lived through. Something nagged at him, though, the sheer coincidence of her reappearance as his quest was coming to an end. Coincidence?: he wondered. Cwelanas was stronger than he had ever known, and he knew now that she was supposed to be here, at journey's end, to help fulfill his still unknown destiny. No. It was not coincidence. It was verentbestae.
He pulled her to him and held her gently in his arms. 'I will get you out of this, Cwelanas,' he said. 'We will get out of this together.'
Chaladar again cleared his throat, this time louder. CassaRoc Stood. 'All right, we get the point, paladin.' 'To Teldin he said, 'Sorry, Cloakmaster, but it looks like your reunion will have to wait. We have to get you out of here. It would be best if we could smuggle you out, but it looks like we'll have to take our chances outside, and probably make a run for it.' He turned to his companions. 'Any ideas?'
No one answered the warrior. He looked questioningly around the room. Suddenly, the little warrior with the slingshot stepped away from the bar, sloshing his ale onto the floor. His mouth agape, he pointed toward Teldin.
'Emil?' CassaRoc said. 'Emil. are you bewitched, son?'
Emil blinked and scratched his head. His eyes were wide with confusion. 'CassaRoc, sir, look at him. Look!''
CassaRoc turned and faced 'Teldin. 'What in the name of the gods..!'
The Cloakmaster was standing beside Cwelanas, and as the warriors in the room watched silently, his face shifted its features. He became shorter, thinner, and his apparel changed hues and texture to resemble a plaid cloak and ill-fitting clothes.
Emil jabbed his finger toward Teldin, 'Its me, sir! He's j-j-just like me!'
CassaRoc, suspicious, scrunched up his face and looked Teldin over. 'Is this a spell of some kind?' he asked. 'Are you a magic-user?'
Teldin smiled and looked at his now puny body. He had deliberately chosen the least dangerous warrior in the room in order to appear unthreatening. He knew that his shape-shifting ability was sometimes feared, but he hoped that this display would prove his good intentions, his trust in CassaRoc s people. And he hoped it wasn't misguided.
'No, it is not a spell,' 'Teldin said. 'It is merely another property of the cloak. Ishow this to you to prove my trust, tor I am grateful for your rescue today. Now, if your Friend Emil here doesn't mind-'
'Emil the Fierce!' Emil said, a wide grin on his face. 'Oh. I am honored you chose me to imitate, Mr. Cloakmaster, sir. You don't know what this means to me, you really- '
CassaRoc quieted him with a gesture. 'You're talking like one of those gnomes, son. Now slow down.'
'Okay, sir, okay.'
“Now, Teldin, what do you suggest?”
Teldin thought for a moment. 'It might be best it we stagger this, try nol to call attention to ourselves in one large group. Let's try to get to the tower in threes and fours. “I`ll go out as Emil- '
'Oh, yessir, yessir, you bet, this sure is- '