DRAGONLANCE:

THE ORB OF STRIFE

by PJ

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Linsha Majere sat hunched over a large map, her chin resting on her left palm as she pondered the geography in front of her. The door of the study opened, admitting Phaelam Naebryl, a fellow Solamnic Knight and adventuring companion.

"You've been here all afternoon, Linsha," observed Phaelam wryly, walking behind the woman and resting his hands on her shoulders. "You need to take a break."

"We don't have enough time. The Dark Knights are planning something terrible with that Dragon Orb, I know it," retorted Linsha, closing her eyes while Phaelam squeezed the tension out of her shoulders. "Phae...please don't."

"You never could just sit back and relax," smiled Phaelam, moving to Linsha's left. "Do you want me to get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Some water, please," grinned Linsha.

"Coming up," nodded Phaelam, leaving the Knight alone with her map once more.

"I've got to get into Neraka!" murmured Linsha, studying the map intently, praying that she could find a hole in its defenses.

"Well done," nodded Mirielle Abrena, Governor-General of the Knights of Takhisis. "We can begin final preparations for the Ritual now that the Hall of Audience has been rebuilt."

"We await your order, my lady," bowed the Thorn Knight.

The Governor-General strode out of the Hall, met at one of the entrances by Jenni Uruth, a Knight of the Skull.

"The chamber is adequate?" inquired Jenni, following respectfully behind Abrena.

"Yes. Will you be prepared to execute the Ritual?"

"Yes," replied Jenni, her face flushed with eagerness.

"Good. Everything depends on you. Do not fail," reminded Abrena, disappearing around a turn in the passageway of the rebuilt Temple of Darkness.

Mistress Jenna looked up from the spellbook she was inscribing in when the door to the Three Moons opened. The quill pen fell from limp fingers as the woman stared at Dalamar, her former paramour.

"It's...been a long time," remarked Jenna weakly, licking her suddenly dry lips.

"That it has, Jenna. You look well," replied the dark elf, his eyes shifting through the many jars of spell components resting on the shop's shelves.

"Not as well as you, but then, humans do not age as slowly as elves," retorted Jenna, brushing a strand of silver away from her taut face.

"I require a few rare components. I will gather them and be on my way," said Dalamar, his voice cool, controlled.

"You helped the Solamnic Knights during their quest to find the Lost Tower."

"I did."

"Why?"

"A...friend was going with them, I wanted to help her."

"You mean Ayarlin Luassath."

"You do stay well-informed," noted Dalamar with an arched brow.

"Do you love her?" asked Jenna softly, her gaze lowered to the polished countertop.

"As much as I can care for anyone anymore," replied Dalamar acidly.

"The Thorn Knights visited the Tower of Wayreth."

"What did they want?" asked Dalamar, trying to conceal his interest.

"They bought some rather interesting components. Things you would use for a summoning spell, a very powerful one," said Jenna, raising her eyes to watch Dalamar.

"And they have a Dragon Orb," murmured Dalamar.

"Do you think Abrena will try to summon Takhisis?"

"Of course she will, it's an integral part of her Vision!" snapped Dalamar.

"Will you try to stop her?"

"I can't get directly involved."

"Still keeping a low profile?"

"It's the best way not to attract attention," smiled Dalamar. "Here, I'll take these."

"Thirty steel."

Dalamar poured out the coin from his money pouch, then gathered his components within his black robed arms.

"Don't be a stranger," called out Jenna from her perch behind the counter.

"Be well," bowed Dalamar before the shop door closed behind him.

Ayarlin shivered in bliss, sweat glistening over every inch of her pale, naked skin as she humped her pussy over Dalamar's erect cock. She tightened her arms around Dalamar's neck, sliding her bare breasts over his strong chest, her hips pumping, ramming her lover's shaft deep into her wet vagina. Dalamar dug his hands into Ayarlin's thick golden hair, covering her panting lips with his, sucking on her warm mouth. Ayarlin moaned softly, her crotch shuddering from a powerful orgasm, her cunt clasping firmly upon Dalamar's engorged member. The naked elf woman rested her right cheek on Dalamar's warm chest, her pussy moist with her sticky juices, the dark elf's tool still nestled within her slit.

"Something on your mind?" inquired Ayarlin, kissing Dalamar's right nipple.

"The Thorn Knights purchased some spell components from the Wayreth Tower. I think they're preparing to use the Dragon Orb to summon the Dark Queen."

"What?" exclaimed Ayarlin, pushing slick blonde hair out of her face. "How long ago was this?"

"Not very long, two days."

"They'll perform the ritual in Neraka," mused Ayarlin.

"Yes, the Dark Queen's presence was strongest there."

"I better go tell Linsha!" said Ayarlin, rising off of Dalamar, hopping off the large bed towards her discarded clothing.

Dalamar turned onto his side, admiring Ayarlin's lithe, naked body as she struggled into her light dress and boots.

"I have to go!" gasped Ayarlin, returning briefly to the bed to kiss Dalamar good-bye.

"Be careful."

"I will," nodded Ayarlin, twisting the ring of Teleportation that Dalamar had given her. The elf woman disappeared in a swirl of green light, transported a short distance outside the Tower. Dalamar rolled onto his back, pulling a thin silk sheet over his nude body, staring at the black canopy overhead, lost in thought.

"I knew it!" shouted Linsha, smashing her right fist onto the map table. "We have to go to Neraka!"

"I hate to remind you, but Neraka is only the headquarters for the entire Dark Knight order," said Phaelam acerbically.

"We still have to stop them from summoning Takhisis!" retorted Linsha.

"You should tell Lord Darach," advised Ayarlin.

"I will. We'll need fast transportation to Neraka."

"Can your boyfriend Dalamar help us?" asked Phaelam with a smirk.

"If we need him to," answered Ayarlin frigidly.

"We'll ask him for help as a last resort, I have to go see Lord Darach first," declared Linsha, marching out of the map room swiftly.

Abrena entered the Arcane Workshop that resided beneath the Temple of Darkness. She found Ulrym the Pale sitting on a high stool, staring into the depths of the Dragon Orb.

"Ulrym!" snapped Abrena sharply.

"What?" retorted the thin mage, swiveling his head violently to face Abrena.

"I told you that you could not come back here!" growled Abrena, walking up to Ulrym and jamming a finger against his weak chest.

"It calls to me!" protested Ulrym, his eyes fevered and wide, stubble adorning his chin and cheeks.

"Disobey me again and you'll never hear anything else!" warned Abrena darkly.

Ulrym reluctantly climbed off the stool, shuffling his way out of the workshop. Abrena snapped her fingers, drawing the attention of two Thorn Knights who were creating a series of healing potions.

"Watch the Orb. If that fool comes back, kill him," commanded Abrena, her gaze warily sliding over the pulsating Orb before she left the cluttered workshop.

The morning was crisp and bright when Linsha, Phaelam, and Ayarlin left the Knight's House. The trio watched the clear blue morning sky, impatient to begin their journey to Neraka.

"Where are they?" growled Phaelam.

"Lord Darach said they would come," replied Linsha, tugging a leather glove over her left hand.

"And so we have," announced a strong male voice from the street.

The two Knights and mage stared at the strangers who approached them. The one who had spoken was a tall human male with shoulder length silver hair and heavily muscled arms that strained against the fabric of his plain tunic. The second stranger was a willowy human female with matching silver hair and a delicate, heart-shaped face. Phaelam smiled stupidly at the woman, while Linsha and Ayarlin blushed under the male's cool gaze.

"My name is Cloud Dancer, and this is my consort, Tranquil Breeze."

The woman bowed politely.

"Those sound like Plainsman names," remarked Ayarlin.

"Yes, we have lived long in the company of the Plainsmen," nodded Cloud Dancer. "Are you ready to depart?"

"Yes," answered Linsha.

Cloud Dancer nodded again, extending his long, powerful arms, his flesh flowing like silver water. Tranquil Breeze mimicked her consort, her lithe form melting, growing, extending wide, reptilian wings. In the span of one gasped breath, the man and woman had transformed into towering silver dragons.

"Climb aboard, please," urged Cloud Dancer, lowering his snake-like neck to the ground.

Linsha and Ayarlin climbed onto Cloud Dancer's wide back while Phaelam mounted Tranquil Breeze. The silver dragons blasted up into the air, their wings stretched wide, catching a powerful ocean breeze and using it to ascend high over the sprawling city of Palanthas. Linsha clung to Cloud Dancer's neck fearfully, but as the dragon flew south, the young Knight relaxed, enjoying the smooth flight, her heart pounding when she gazed down at the surface of Ansalon.

The night had finally arrived. The Knights of Takhisis gathered within the enormous Hall of Audience, praying softly, facing the Gate of Takhisis that dominated the center of the chamber.

Jenni Uruth stood upon the Gate, her hands hovering above the Dragon Orb that rested on an obsidian pedestal before her. She prayed fervently to the Dark Queen, beseeched Her to return to Kyrnn, to take her rightful place as Queen of the World. Abrena stood a short distance away from Jenni on the Cleric's Bridge, her left hand clutching the hilt of her sword, her body tense and full of nervous adrenalin. The Dragon Orb flared violently, colors shifting and flashing within its heart. The Orb released a shaft of harsh white light that shattered upon the vaulted ceiling. Motes of light rolled across the ceiling, sparkling, pulsing with magic. The very air above the Knights started to shimmer and flow. A second beam of light snapped out of the Orb, tearing a hole through the fabric of reality, pulsing across the vastness of space, to wherever the Dark Queen now dwelled.

"The Orb is calling Her!" crowed Jenni triumphantly. "Takhisis will return!"

The assembled Dark Knights cheered loudly, shaking the cavernous walls with their cries. Abrena did not feel the joy of her soldiers, she looked up at the writhing tear in space, wary, and perhaps just a little frightened.

The silver dragons flapped and banked within the sudden storm that appeared over Neraka. The Knights and elven mage clung to their mounts as the dragons tried to keep level, beginning a gentle descent to the pinnacle of the Temple of Darkness. No rain fell, but the boiling black clouds above crackled with blue lightning, their thunder buffeting the air around the dragons violently.

"Where do you want to land?" roared Cloud Dancer over the booming thunder.

"That upper turret on the western side of the Temple!" screamed Linsha.

Cloud Dancer dove steeper, stretching his gleaming wings wide while he touched down on the turret battlement. A Dark Knight charged the dragon, slashing with a serrated broadsword. The silver dragon lashed out with his right hind claw, gutting the Knight without effort. Linsha and Ayarlin jumped off of Cloud Dancer, their hair fluttering around their heads as they waited for Phaelam to dismount Tranquil Breeze.

"We will watch from above until you are ready to be picked up," promised Cloud Dancer. "May Paladine guide you!"

Linsha waved farewell, watching the two silver dragons hurl themselves back into the tumultuous dark sky. Phaelam and Ayarlin checked the single door that led into the tower top guardroom. They waited until Linsha joined them, then all three readied weapons and burst into the room.

The guardroom was empty, but three smoking mugs still rested on the small table in the center of the room.

"That dead guard's friends must have ran for help," said Phaelam.

"We have to catch them!" replied Linsha, hefting her long sword, racing down a spiraling staircase after the Dark Knights.

"Give me the Orb!" demanded Ulrym the Pale from the entrance to the Cleric's Bridge.

"I've had enough of you, you little worm!" snarled Abrena, drawing her black steel blade.

Ulrym giggled, his mouth stained with white froth, as he extended his right arm and summoned his magic. Abrena charged the mage, her sword held high with both hands. Liquid droplets gathered inside Ulrym's open palm, then shot forward in a narrow stream, splashing over Abrena's black breastplate. The Governor-General gaped while the sizzling liquid ate through her armor, filling her nostrils with an acrid stench. Breaking out of her shocked daze, Abrena reached for her shoulders, releasing the leather straps that held her breastplate in place. The Dark Knight was too pre-occupied until Ulrym smashed the side of his staff against the left side of her head. Abrena staggered to her right, teetering near the edge of the Cleric's Bridge. The woman's right foot slipped, and Abrena fell, catching the edge of the Bridge with her gloved hands at the last moment. Ulrym left Abrena to her fate, striding towards Jenni and the patiently waiting Orb.

Jenni watched helplessly as the mad wizard walked towards her. She couldn't break her concentration upon the Orb, if she attempted to cast a spell or defend herself, the Ritual would be broken and the Orb would slip out of her control. The cleric stared impotently while Ulrym withdrew a ball of bat guano from a belt pouch, chanting over it before hurling it at Jenni. Jenni closed her eyes, begging Takhisis to save her right up to the moment when the Fireball burst. Jenni screamed, her flaming body shoved forward off of Takhisis' Gate into empty air. The smoldering corpse descended like a scorched leaf, but Ulrym didn't watch his handiwork, he approached the melted Gate, where the Dragon Orb rested, unharmed and placid. The tear in space closed in upon itself, the magic motes disappeared, plunging the Hall of Audience into darkness as Ulrym reverently picked up the Dragon Orb and carried it down the Cleric's Bridge, disappearing through the doorway into the ravenous void.

"Someone's coming!" warned Linsha, brandishing her sword, facing the opposite doorway of the large banner adorned room. Phaelam flanked Linsha, his own blade ready. Ayarlin stood behind the Knights, ready to cast spells when needed. A maniacal giggling preceded the grey- robed mage, his pale face split in a death grin as he stared into the depths of the Dragon Orb that beat softly within his cupped hands.

"The Orb!" hissed Phaelam.

"We don't want to hurt you, but we will unless you hand over the Dragon Orb!" warned Linsha.

"You cannot harm me! I am the Orb Bearer! I cannot die!" chortled Ulrym, drool covering his chin, staining the front of his robes.

"The Orb's driven him insane!" whispered Ayarlin into Linsha's right ear.

"What do we do?" asked Phaelam.

"Attack!" shouted Linsha, pounding toward the giggling wizard.

"Fools," grinned Ulrym, caressing the Dragon Orb, then stabbing a finger at Linsha. Snapping red flames sprouted from the wizard's digit, roaring towards the helpless Knight. Linsha closed her eyes, bracing for the fire that would wash over her...but never came.

The reek of burnt flesh curled within Linsha's nose, prompting her to snap her eyes open. Phaelam smiled down at her, his eyes wet with agony.

"It would have been nice to bed you at least once," whispered Phaelam before he collapsed onto the stone floor.

"Lucky girl!" cackled Ulrym, dancing in a little circle. He looked at the kneeling Knight, his crazed eyes narrowing cruelly. "But not so lucky next time!"

The Orb hummed with power, releasing an oily black fog that concealed it and its Bearer. When the sulphurous smoke dispersed, there was no sign of Ulrym or the Orb.

"Oh, Phaelam!" murmured Linsha, grasping the dead Knight's limp left hand.

"He was a good man," sighed Ayarlin, touching Phaelam's brow briefly.

"We better go before the Dark Knights recover," said Linsha softly, gazing down at Phaelam while she rose.

"What about him?"

"We leave him," replied Linsha regretfully, marching back the way they had come up the stairwell.

"Where did he take the Orb?" demanded Abrena, hands on hips while she surveyed the destruction to the Gate from below.

"We don't know. Location spells cannot detect the Dragon Orb, or its Bearer," replied the Thorn Knight.

"Send out dragon riders! Comb every inch of the mountains around Neraka!"

"It will be done, Governor-General," bowed the Dark Knight before departing.

"It's not over yet!" spat Abrena, her fiery gaze raised towards the jagged ceiling.

~~~~~~