Ruha hissed her spell and hurled the stone. The rock disappeared with a thunderous crack. It reappeared in the same instant, shattering Cypress’s temple. The dragon’s wing tips stopped waving. His gruesome chin dropped as he watched the splinters of scorched bone flutter into the water below. He brought his head up and looked toward Baldagar Manor.
You!
Ruha barely managed to stuff the lasal leaves into her mouth before a fiery yellow sun burst inside her head. She heard Pierstar and his men cry out in astonishment, then felt herself sailing backward across the roof.
Chew the leaves, she told herself.
Even as the words reverberated through her skull, she slammed down and went tumbling across the roof. If the fall caused her any injury, the witch did not know it; she could feel only the anguish inside her mind, a fiery agony such as she had never felt. Swimming in boiling tar would have hurt less, or falling naked upon At’ar’s blazing face. She glimpsed Cypress’s murky figure swooping down toward Baldagar Manor; then she rolled one more time and came to rest on her face.
A lasal haze filled Ruha’s head, but the dragon’s fury was so great that the fog merely diffused the fire and did not drive it from her mind. The golden blaze became a choking yellow mist, not nearly as hot, but as thick as syrup. She heard screaming and realized it was her own voice.
That is but a portion of my pain. The building shook beneath Cypress’s weight, and the voices of screaming Maces joined with that of the witch. Soon, you shall bear it all.
“Not all.” Ruha found the strength to raise her head and saw the dragon standing in the middle of the roof, a cloud of dark acid billowing around his mangled snout. “You cannot make Yanseldara love you, and that pain I will never bear!”
Then I will make you bear another kind of agony.
Cypress’s tail thrashed in anger, smashing through the parapets and sweeping half a dozen men over the side. He stooped over, reaching out as though he had forgotten he had only stubs where once he had claws; then a window shutter slammed open.
Ruha’s world detonated: the sky went silver with lightning, meteor showers and ice storms chased each other down from the heavens, tongues of flame crackled through the air, crimson bolts and sapphire rays raced from every direction. The dragon’s stump disintegrated before her eyes; a deep, rumbling growl reverberated through her bones, and the roof of Baldagar Manor began to come apart. She leapt up to run for the parapets and felt the floor vanishing beneath her feet.
The witch landed amidst a shower of snapped planks and beams, her body erupting into pain despite the cushioning of the soft furniture favored by Elversult merchants. She lay a long time without moving, half-expecting Cypress’s scorched skull to appear above her at any moment. Instead, the yellow glow and fiery pain faded from her mind and, much to her surprise, so did the lasal haze—no doubt burned off by the ferocity of the dragon’s attack. At length, the terrible aching in her body also faded, and she began to realize that, other than the dull throbbing of a few new bruises, she had survived the fall uninjured.
Ruha clambered out of the debris and found herself standing amidst the ruins of the mansion’s top story, where the family’s servants and young children had once kept their chambers. She picked her way toward the front of the building, too dazed to think about what she was doing, and discovered that this floor of Baldagar Manor now held nothing but the shattered remnants of the inhabitants’ belongings, two dozen groaning Maces, and the smoking, mangled corpse of a ten-foot river monitor.
As the witch’s ears stopped ringing, she grew aware of a loud, chugging roar coming from the direction of the water. She rushed forward, then climbed over a collapsed wall onto what had once been a private balcony overlooking Hillshadow Lake. In the center of the lake, a murky green waterspout was stretching skyward, as though trying to grasp a small whirlwind with flashing ribbons of silver and black luminescence.
Ruha heard someone clattering over the collapsed wall behind her. She turned to see Pierstar Hallowhand’s battered form limping toward her, his eyes fixed on the waterspout in the center of the lake.
“What’s that?” he croaked.
“That?” The witch whispered an incantation and raised her hand, then started to spin her finger in the direction opposite the whirlwind. The vortex began to lose speed, and the two ribbons came apart. The silver light circled the shoreline once, then streaked away toward the Jailgates and vanished from sight. The black one was caught by the waterspout and dragged into Hillshadow Lake, where it darkened the water only briefly before sinking into the muddy bottom. “That was nothing—a fool for love, I fear.”
Epilogue
Even the Shou did not have a table with enough sides for all those at the Great Banquet of Apology, so the servants had set the platters of candied duck and ginger hart upon a round table and arranged seven chairs around it in evenly spaced intervals. Prince Tang himself welcomed each guest at the door, and when Yanseldara entered the room, he produced a long oaken staff with three gnarled fingers gripping the finest ruby from his personal treasury. He held it before him and bowed very low.
“I find this in dragon’s lair, Lady Yanseldara,” he said. “I am sorry that I must smash original topaz.”
Yanseldara accepted the staff with a sincere smile. “The topaz was ruined by Cypress’s touch, and I thank you for crushing it. I accept this magnificent ruby as a token of the new friendship between the Ginger Palace and Elversult. I shall treasure it always.”
Vaerana rolled her eyes, then leaned close to Ruha and, in a voice much too loud, whispered, “I’ll treasure it more if they really stop selling poison!”
The servants gasped, and Lady Feng shot an indignant scowl in the Lady Constable’s direction. Hsieh quickly stepped forward and smoothed matters over by personally taking Vaerana’s arm.
“If we are all here, perhaps we sit down.” The procession filed somewhat uncomfortably to the table, where the mandarin scowled and turned to Prince Tang. “I see seven chairs, but only six guests.”
The prince pointed to a chair with no goblet or flatware. “This is for Lady Ruha’s friend, Captain Fowler. It is most unfortunate he cannot join us.”
The explanation only drew a deeper scowl from Hsieh. “It is not for Princess Wei Dao?”
Tang’s jaw fell. “She dishonors Ginger Palace! I do not set place in her memory!”
Hsieh’s uncovered eye narrowed in what Ruha now recognized as a well-practiced expression of displeasure. “Wei Dao is Shou princess. Trouble she cause in Elversult is of no consequence to Emperor, so it is appropriate to treat her as well as you treat guests.”
Before the stupefied prince could respond, the mandarin spun to face Lady Feng, who was holding Winter Blossom on her shoulder and casting covetous glances at the golden serving platters. According to rumor, she had developed a distressing habit of sneaking off to Cypress’s swamp with the Ginger Palace’s finest tableware.
“I must offer condolences, Lady Feng,” Hsieh said. “Most High Emperor sends me to invite you to Tai Tung, but your son’s bad manners do not make that possible.”
Prince Tang looked first insulted, then relieved. He forced a grave expression and bowed to the mandarin. “Please to pardon, but I never honor Wei Dao at my table.”
“Then you never return to Shou Lung.”
Tang could not keep from smiling. He turned to Ruha and asked, “Perhaps you sit next to me? I never return to Emperor’s court, so perhaps you consider becoming my Princess?”
“I—uh—Brave Prince, I don’t know what to say,” Ruha stammered. Since his return from the dragon’s lair, Tang had shown himself to be a gracious and gallant man, but the witch was not in love with him. “I will be pleased to sit with you, but perhaps we should discuss the rest at another time.”
Hsieh frowned, almost angrily, and stepped toward the witch. “Surely you accept. It is great honor to be Shou princess!”
Ruha’s heart sank. Normally, the Harpers would not dictate
the person she married, but these were hardly normal circumstances; Storm Silverhand would look very unfavorably on starting trouble with the Shou. The witch glanced around the room and saw Vaerana watching her carefully, as though she expected Ruha to start a war at any moment.
It was Yanseldara who broke the silence. “Before Ruha decides, perhaps you should give her that message, Vaerana.”
The Lady Constable rolled her eyes, then turned to Ruha. “I almost forgot, Witch,” she said, a roguish grin upon her lips. “Storm sent for you this morning. Some giants up in Oak Dale stole a duke’s daughter, and she doesn’t think anyone else can bring the girl back alive.”
Ruha did not know whether to hit Vaerana or hug her. “When did you plan to tell me? After my wedding?”
“I don’t think Storm can wait that long.” Vaerana chuckled, then took something from her pocket and pressed it into the witch’s hand. It was the Harper pin Ruha had given to Captain Fowler. “I suppose you’ll be needing this.”
“I suppose I will.” Ruha pinned the signet inside her aba, then turned to Tang, who looked almost as amused as he did disappointed. “I’m sorry, Brave Prince, but I cannot stay. You know I am a Harper, and Harpers go where they are needed.”
If you enjoyed The Veiled Dragon, try these other exciting FORGOTTEN REALMS titles from TSR, available at fine book and hobby stores everywhere …
Experience the first adventure of Ruha, the Bedine witch!
The Harpers • One THE PARCHED SEA
by Troy Denning
An outcast among her own people, Ruha must join forces with a mysterious Harper from faraway Sembia to stop the evil Zhentarim’s plan to drive a trade route, paved with Bedine blood, through the dune seas of Anauroch.
The many adventures of the heroic Harpers are chronicled in the FORGOTTEN REALMS Harpers Series from TSR. The Harpers face their most dangerous foes in:
CRYPT OF THE SHADOWKING and CURSE OF THE SHADOWMAGE by Mark Anthony,
RED MAGIC by Jean Rabe, and look for
SILVER SHADOWS by Elaine Cunningham (coming in June 1996)!
Other FORGOTTEN REALMS titles by Troy Denning …
The Empires Trilogy DRAGONWALL
A fascinating look inside the enigmatic land of Shou Lung, distant home of some of The Veiled Dragon’s most intriguing characters!
The Avatar Trilogy WATERDEEP
(writing as Richard Awlinson)
The New York Times bestseller that takes us deep into the City of Splendors.
The Twilight Giants Trilogy
• THE OGRE’S PACT
• THE GIANT AMONG US
• THE TITAN OF TWILIGHT
A thousand years of peace with the giants of the Ice Spires is shattered by the rise of a new queen.
Welcome to the FORGOTTEN REALMS, the largest and most detailed of TSR’s fantasy worlds.
Look out from the high walls of Waterdeep, the sprawling, cosmopolitan City of Splendors. Beyond lies the Savage Frontier: the rugged mountains and endless forests of the Sword Coast, wilderlands that cloak the crumbling ruins of fallen kingdoms.
Travel with the caravans that cross these dangerous lands, heading east toward the kingdom of Cormyr, fabled realm of ancient forests, land of chivalry and romance. Stop over in the Dalelands, home of the crusty old wizard Elminster and birthplace of many heroes and heroines. Then continue onward to the distant highlands of Thay … and beyond.
In your travels, you will encounter many folk, from highborn to low. Among the beautiful and deadly Seven Sisters are Storm Silverhand, the silver-haired Bard of Shadowdale, and High Lady Alustriel, the gentle and just ruler of Silverymoon. A third sister is the Simbul, fey and wild-tempered Witch-Queen of Aglarond. There are four more sisters, each beautiful and powerful in her own way.
If you meet them on the road, do not meddle with the mysterious Harpers, who work to uphold freedom and the cause of good throughout the Realms. You may, however, share a drink with the eccentric explorer Volo, and pick his brain for a wealth of information about your next destination. Beware that sinister-looking fellow in the corner of the common room. He may be a Zhentarim agent, gathering information for a takeover of the Heartlands.
Should the surface world not prove exciting enough for you, make your way beneath Mount Waterdeep to traverse the miles upon miles of tunnels and caverns known as Undermountain—but beware its deadly traps and skulking monsters. If you survive these hazards, press on to the subterranean city of Menzoberranzan, home of the deadly drow and birthplace of the renegade Drizzt Do’Urden.
When you return to the light of the surface world, you may want to explore the crumbling ruins of Myth Drannor, a storehouse of lost magic and deadly monsters in the heart of the vast Elven Court forest.
From the dangerous sewers and back alleys of sprawling cities, to glaciers, deserts, jungles, and uncharted seas (above and below the surface!), there’s a whole world to explore in the lands of the FORGOTTEN REALMS.
About the Author
Troy Denning resides in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, though he spends most of his time wandering through the various fantasy worlds mysteriously locked inside his computer’s video monitor. Needless to say, his life has been much more colorful since the advent of super VGA.
When he isn’t roaming the Athasian deserts or tramping through the forests of Toril, Troy enjoys many hobbies, including all forms of skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, and Kyuki-do—a form of tae-kwon-do incorporating judo, boxing, and hapki-do. He has worked in molybdenum mines, seedy nightclubs, and other high-risk jobs such as game designing and editing.
Troy’s previous books include The Parched Sea, Dragonwall, and the New York Times best-seller Waterdeep. He is also the author of the DARK SUN® Prism Pentad series. The Veiled Dragon is his twelfth novel.
About the Author
Troy Denning is the author of The New York Times bestsellers Waterdeep, Star Wars: Star by Star, and Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost, and more than twenty other novels, including Pages of Pain, Dark Sun: The Prism Pentad series, and Dragonwall. He lives in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife, Andria.
FORGOTTEN REALMS, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries.
Star Wars is © Lucasfilm Ltd and TM. ©2005 Wizards
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