Dragonlance 03 - Dragons of Spring Dawning Read Online Free PDF Page A

at them. The pitching and tossing of the vessel at anchor, combined with his exhaustion from the past few days, made him nauseous. Seeing the faint green tinge of his skin beneath his beard and the dark shadows under his hollow eyes, Maquesta thought she’d seen corpses that looked better than this half-elf.
    “What do you mean?” she asked tightly.
    “I—I was captured by a Dragon Highlord … three days ago,” Tanis began, speaking in a low voice, staring at his hands. “No, I guess ‘captured’ is the wrong word. H-He saw me dressed like this and assumed I was one of his men. I had to accompany h-him back to his camp. I’ve been there, incamp, the last few days, and I—I found out something. I know why the Highlord and the draconians are searching Flotsam. I know what—who—they’re looking for.”
    “Yes?” Maquesta prompted, feeling his fear creep over her like a contagious disease. “Not the
Perechon
—”
    “Your helmsman.” Tanis finally looked up at her. “Berem.”
    “Berem!” Maquesta repeated, stunned. “What for? The man’s a mute! A half-wit! A good helmsman, maybe, but nothing more. What could he have done that the Dragon Highlords are looking for him?”
    “I don’t know,” Tanis said wearily, fighting his nausea. “I wasn’t able to find out. I’m not sure they know! But they’re under orders to find him at all costs and bring him alive to”—he closed his eyes to shut out the swaying lamps—“the Dark Queen.…”
    The breaking light of dawn threw slanted red beams across the sea’s rough surface. For an instant it shone on Maq’s glistening black skin, a flash like fire came from her golden earrings that dangled nearly to her shoulders. Nervously she ran her fingers through her closely cropped black hair.
    Maquesta felt her throat close. “We’ll get rid of him!” she muttered tightly, pushing herself up from the table. “We’ll put him ashore. I can find another helmsman—”
    “Listen!” Catching hold of Maquesta’s arm, Tanis gripped her tightly, forcing her to stop. “They may already know he’s here! Even if they don’t and they catch him, it won’t make any difference. Once they find out he was here, on this vessel, and they
will
find out, believe me; there are ways of making even a mute talk—they’ll arrest you and everyone on this ship. Arrest you or get rid of you.”
    He dropped his hand from her arm, realizing he hadn’t the strength to hold her. “It’s what they’ve done in the past. I know. The Highlord told me. Whole villages destroyed. People tortured, murdered. Anyone this man comes in contact with is doomed. They fear whatever deadly secret he carries will be passed on, and they can’t allow that.”
    Maquesta sat down. “Berem?” she whispered softly, unbelievingly.
    “They couldn’t do anything because of the storm,” Tanis said wearily, “and the Highlord was called away to Solamnia, some battle there. But sh—the Highlord will be back today.And then,” He couldn’t go on. His head sank into his hands as a shudder racked his body.
    Maquesta eyed him warily. Could this be true? Or was he making all this up to force her to take him away from some danger? Watching him slump miserably over the table, Maquesta swore softly. The ship’s captain was a shrewd judge of men. She needed to be, in order to control her rough-and-ready crew. And she knew the half-elf wasn’t lying. At least, not much. She suspected there were things he wasn’t telling, but this story about Berem, as strange as it seemed, had the ring of truth.
    It all made sense, she thought uneasily, cursing herself. She prided herself on her judgment, her good sense. Yet she had turned a blind eye to Berem’s strangeness. Why? Her lip curled in derision. She liked him—admit it. He was like a child, cheerful, guileless. And so she had overlooked his unwillingness to go ashore, his fear of strangers, his eagerness to work for a pirate when he refused to share