'I'm not feeling very good, Tanis,' I said, putting one hand to my forehead and the other to my stomach, for they both were acting very queer. 'I think I'll go lie down.'
I meant to leave, truly. I was going to get as far from that Silver Dragon Mountain as possible. Only I didn't tell Tanis that, because he and Laurana and Caramon had all been so glad to see me and were so nice about wanting me around. I didn't want to hurt their feelings.
But Tanis took hold of my arm and said, 'No, you're staying with me, at least until after the ceremony.'
That was awfully good of him, if inconvenient and uncomfortable for me. I decided maybe I could get through the ceremony, especially if Owen Glendower didn't talk to me, and I suspected that he wouldn't want to talk to me anymore than I wanted to talk to him. Tanis said all I would have to do was go up with him when my name was called out by Lord Gunthar as one of the Heroes of the Lance. I wasn't to say anything, just bow and look honored.
Then the knights would sing and go off to pray at Huma's Tomb and, since I wasn't permitted to go there (which I don't know why since I was there several times before, as you'll hear), I could leave and maybe we'd go have dinner.
I didn't feel at all hungry, but I told Tanis that would be fine with me. And I hid behind Caramon (six kender could hide behind him), so that Owen wouldn't see me, and I hoped it would all be over soon. I was so nervous I'd forgotten to ask Lord Gunthar about Fizban, who hadn't come anyhow.
The ceremony started. Lord Gunthar and all the dignitaries lined up in front of the dragonlances that stand all around the front end Upper Gallery. I heard the beginning of Lord Gunthar's speech. This was it:
'We knights come to rededicate ourselves to continue the fight against the evil that exists still in the world.
'For the Queen of Darkness wages unceasing eternal war against the powers of good. Though her dragons have retreated to hidden places, they continue to ravage the land. Her armies of goblins and draconians and ogres and other wicked creatures rise up from dark places to slaughter and burn and plunder.'
This was interesting and I began to breathe easier, but right then he started going on about the magic of the dragonlances that had been blessed by Paladine himself and how the magic dragonlances had been responsible for defeating the Dark Queen's dragons. The more Lord Gunthar talked like this, the worse the queer feeling in my stomach grew.
Then I was hot and cold, both at the same time, which might sound entertaining to you, but I can assure you it isn't. Take my word. It's very uncomfortable. Then the room began to bulge in and out.
Lord Gunthar introduced Theros Ironfeld and talked about how he forged the magical lance. Then Lord Gunthar brought forth Sir Owen Glendower.
'The first knight ever to use the dragonlance in battle.'
And someone gave a kind of strangled choke and tumbled down on the floor in what Tanis said was a fit, but which I think was a state of nervous prostration. At first I thought it was me, but I realized it wasn't, because I was on my feet.
It was Sir Owen Glendower.
That put an end to the ceremony real quick.
I could have left then, because Tanis let loose of me and ran over to Owen. Everyone was running over to Owen — to see him having his fit, I suppose. I'm sure it must have been exciting, to judge by the sounds he was making — gurgling and thrashing about on the floor — and I would have liked to have seen it myself, except I wasn't certain that I wouldn't be having a fit of my own any minute.
'Stand back!' cried Caramon. 'Give him air.'
Poor Caramon. As if he thought we'd suck up all the air in that big chamber and not leave any for Owen to have his fit with. But everyone did what Caramon said (they generally do, I've noticed, especially when he flexes his arm muscles) and they all backed up, except for Owen's son, who was kneeling beside his father and looking terribly worried and anxious.
Lady Crysania… (Did I mention she was there now?) Anyway, Lady Crysania (she was there) knelt down and put her hands on the knight's head and she prayed to Paladine and Owen Glendower quit flopping around. But I couldn't see that he'd improved much. He was lying still as death and his breathing sounded real funny — when he remembered to breathe at all.
'He needs rest and quiet,' said Lady Crysania. 'No, it would be better not to move him. We must keep him warm. Make a pallet for him here.'
They all piled up cloaks and furs and Theros and Caramon lifted the knight very, very gently and laid him on the pallet. Laurana covered him up with her own fur cape. Gwynfor sat down beside his father and held his hand.
Tanis said something in a low voice to Lord Gunthar. Lord Gunthar nodded his head and announced that this might be a convenient time for the knights to all go down to the tomb and pray and rededicate themselves to fighting evil. The knights thought so, too, and off they went. That cleared a lot of people out of the room.
Lord Gunthar next said that he thought all the other guests should go to dinner, and Caramon saw to it that the other guests did, whether they wanted to or not. That cleared out about everyone else. I couldn't go to the Tomb and I wasn't hungry and my legs felt wobbly, so I stayed.
'Will my father be all right?' Gwynfor was asking Lady Crysania. Theros Ironfeld was standing over Owen, looking down at the knight with the grimmest expression I'd ever seen Theros wear.
'Yes, my lord,' Crysania said, turning in the direction of Gwynfor's voice. (Lady Crysania is blind. That is another interesting story, only kind of sad, so I won't tell it here.) 'He is in Paladine's hands.'
'Perhaps we should leave,' suggested Tanis.
But Lady Crysania shook her head. 'No. I would like you all to stay. There is something very wrong here.'
I could have told her that!
'I've done what I could to heal him, but Sir Glendower's affliction isn't in his body. It's in his mind. Paladine has given me to know that there is a secret locked inside the knight, a secret he's been carrying by himself for a long, long time. Unless we can discover the secret and free him of it, I'm afraid he will not recover.'
'If Paladine's given you to know the knight has a secret, why doesn't Paladine just tell you what the damn secret is?' Tanis asked, and he sounded a bit testy. He gets put out at the gods sometimes.
Laurana cleared her throat and gave him one of Those Looks that married people give each other sometimes. One reason I've never been married myself.
'Paladine has done so,' said Lady Crysania with a smile.
And you may believe this or not, but she turned her head and looked straight at me, even though she couldn't see me and she couldn't have had any idea that I was in the room for I was being as quiet as the time I accidentally turned myself into a mouse.
'Tasslehoff!' Tanis said, and he didn't sound at all pleased. 'Do you know anything about this?'
'Me?' I asked, looking around. I didn't think it likely he could have been talking to any other Tasslehoff, but I could always hope.
He meant me, however.
'Yeeessss,' I said, drawing out the word a long time, as long as possible, and not looking at him. I don't like it when he looks so stern. 'But I promised not to tell.'
Tanis sighed. 'All right, Tas. You promised not to tell. Now I'm certain you must have told this story a dozen times since then so it won't hurt if you tell it — '
'No, Tanis.' I interrupted him, which was not very po lite, but he truly had it all wrong. I looked up at him and I was extremely solemn and serious. 'I haven't told. Not ever. Not anyone. I promised, you see.'
He stared at me real hard. Then his eyes crinkled. He looked worried. Kneeling down, he put his hand on my shoulder. 'You haven't told anyone?'
'No, Tanis,' I said, and for some reason a tear slid out of my eye. 'I never have. I promised him I wouldn't.'
'Promised who?'
'Fizban,' I said.
Tanis groaned. (I told you, he always groans when I mention FB.)
'I, too, know,' said a voice unexpectedly.
