Dragonlance 02 - Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis

kill that kender.”
    Whistles sounded from the street behind them. With no more hesitation, the companions followed the knights through twisting, rat infested alleys. Saying he had business to attend to, Tas disappeared before Tanis could catch hold of him. The half-elf noticed that the knights didn’t seem at all surprised by this, nor did they try to stop Tas. They refused, however, to answer any questions, just kept hurrying the group along until they entered the ruins—the old city of Tarsis the Beautiful.
    Here the knights stopped. They had brought the companions to a part of the city where no one ever came now. The streets were broken and empty, reminding Tanis strongly of the ancient city of Xak Tsaroth. Taking Sturm by the arm, the knights led him a short distance from his friends and began to confer in Solamnic, leaving the others to rest.
    Tanis, leaning against a building, looked around with interest. What remained standing of the buildings on this street was impressive, much more beautiful than the modern city. He saw that Tarsis the Beautiful must have deserved its name before the Cataclysm. Now nothing but huge blocks of granite lay tumbled about. Vast courtyards were choked and overgrown with weeds turned brown by the biting winter winds.
    He walked over to sit down on a bench with Gilthanas, who was talking to Alhana. The elflord introduced him.
    “Alhana Starbreeze, Tanis Half-Elven,” Gilthanas said. “Tanis lived among the Qualinesti for many years. He is the son of my uncle’s wife.” Alhana drew back the veil from her face and regarded Tanis coldly.
Son of my uncle’s wife
was a polite way of saying Tanis was illegitimate, otherwise Gilthanas would have introduced him as the “son of my uncle.” The half-elf flushed, the old pain returning forcibly, hurting as much now as it had fifty years before. He wondered if he would ever be free of it.
    Scratching his beard, Tanis said harshly, “My mother was raped by human warriors during years of darkness following the Cataclysm. The Speaker kindly took me in following her death and raised me as his own.”
    Alhana’s dark eyes grew darker until they were pools of night. She raised her eyebrows. “Do you see a need to apologize for your heritage?” she asked in a chill voice.
    “N-no …” Tanis stammered, his face burning. “I—”
    “Then do not,” she said, and she turned away from him to Gilthanas. “You asked why I came to Tarsis? I came seeking aid. I must return to Silvanesti to search for my father.”
    “Return to Silvanesti?” Gilthanas repeated. “We—my people did not know the Silvanesti elves had left their ancient homeland. No wonder we lost contact—”
    “Yes,” Alhana’s voice grew sad. “The evil that forced you, our cousins, to leave Qualinesti came to us as well.” She bowed her head, then looked up, her own voice soft and low. “Long we fought this evil. But in the end we were forced to flee or perish utterly. My father sent the people, under my leadership, to Southern Ergoth. He stayed in Silvanesti to fight the evil alone. I opposed this decision, but he said he had the power to prevent the evil from destroying our homeland. With a heavy heart, I led my people to safety and there they remain. But I came back to seek my father, for the days have been long and we have heard no word of him.”
    “But had you no warriors, lady, to accompany you on such a dangerous journey?” Tanis asked.
    Alhana, turning, glanced at Tanis as if amazed that he had intruded upon their conversation. At first she seemed about to refuse to answer him, then—looking longer at his face—she changed her mind.
    “There were many warriors who offered to escort me,” she said proudly. “But when I said I led my people to safety, I spoke rashly. Safety no longer exists in this world. The warriors stayed behind to guard the people. I came to Tarsis hoping to find warriors to travel into Silvanesti with me. I presented myself to the