Epilogue
Hillhome became a ghost town in less than a week. What the battle had left standing had been leveled by the earthquake. Not a single family had escaped losing at least one member in the Battle of Hillhome, and most of them wanted to start anew elsewhere in the hillcountry, where the memories would fade more easily with time.
Diehards, like the Fireforges, whose families had been in the village since before the Cataclysm and whose homes had been at least partially spared from the devastation, chose to stay around and rebuild their town as best they could. Though her brewery was destroyed, Hildy stayed behind with Basalt and the promise of a life together.
And so with much dignity and tears the Fireforge family buried its dead, among them brother Bernhard, the valiant Aghar Garf. And Perian.
After the short service offering their souls to Reorx, Flint had wandered alone with his thoughts to a small crest overlooking Stonehammer Lake to the west and the remains of Hillhome to the east. The sky seemed too blue, the early winter air too crisp and … ordinary for a day when his heart was near to bursting, His memories of Perian were few but sweet; he prayed they would not fade with time. Suddenly he became aware of shuffling behind him.
“Old queen gone,” Cainker said sadly, coming up behind the gray-haired dwarf, a tear dripping down his filthy cheek. In his grief Flint had lost track of his subjects and was now reminded that they were likely waiting upon him for the direction of their lives.
“Yes,” Flint said softly. He looked with affection at the gully dwarf, but then he thought of something. “Old queen?” he asked.
“Sure. New queen Fester, she just fine!” Cainker bobbed his head enthusiastically.
“Hi, kingly guy!” said Nomscul as he joined them. “Good fight!”
“Thanks,” Flint muttered, growing more confused. “What’s this about Fester being queen?”
“Yup. She my queen! Me new king, you know.”
“New king?” Flint was too surprised to immediately do the sensible thing, which was to heartily endorse the idea.
“Sure. Now that you got no queen, it good idea.” Nomscul sighed, apparently with real regret. “You one nice guy, though,” he amended. “But just not work out as king. Real nice guy, all right!”
Flint chuckled, feeling a lump growing in his throat. He wanted to laugh aloud, and he wanted to cry, so he just stared in bemused wonder at the new king of Mudhole.
“Just not work out,” Nomscul said with a shrug.
The general stood high upon the temple platform, looking over the still-smoldering city. Sanction was not so empty as before, as thousands of ogres and human mercenaries gathered. Legions of hobgoblins formed vast camps on the ashen slopes around the city.
Across the valley, beneath the seething Temple of Luerkhisis, the rest of the general’s army was born—draconians, hatched by a corrupting process from the secretly hoarded eggs of good dragonkind.
The draconians pleased the general greatly, gathering as they did in well-disciplined companies of savage warriors, eager for bloodshed and war.
Indeed, his army grew daily, and this made the matter of armaments all the more vexing. One day, the shipments to the hidden cove had simply stopped, and they had never resumed. All of his attempts to contact the grotesque Theiwar, Pitrick, had failed, and the general disliked failure. He would not fail his Dark Queen, the five-headed dragon-goddess, Takhisis.
Yet the preparations would go on. He had enough good steel to arm many of his troops, and the rest would find other sources for blades, and shields, and armor. Still, the general knew, his army would be strong.
And soon, it would be ready.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MARY KIRCHOFF is the author of numerous DRAGONLANCE® works, including Kendermore, Wanderlust (with Steve Winter), Flint the King (with Douglas Niles), and The Defenders of Magic Trilogy. She is currently the Vice President of Publishing at Wizards of the Coast, Inc. She’d like to think she provides the impartial wisdom of Par-Salian, the courage of Laurana, the heart of Crysania, and the strength of Sturm (though she’s probably more like Crysania there, too).
One of the best-known and most prolific of the DRAGONLANCE® authors, DOUGLAS NILES has written numerous novels set in Krynn and other fantasy worlds. His DRAGONLANCE novels include The Last Thane, The Puppet King, Fistandantilus Reborn, The Dragons, The Kagonesti, Emperor of Ansalon, The Kinslayer War, and the Icewall trilogy: The Messenger, The Golden Orb, and Winterheim. His Watershed trilogy was published by Ace Fantasy, and his novel Fox on the Rhine (with Michael Doherty), an alternative history of World War II, was published by Forge. He has also designed many award-winning games for TSR, Inc. and other companies, including Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising board games.
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