Bones of the Dragon (68 page)

Skylan slumped in despair. He did not want to play the game. He wanted to throw the board and pieces and himself in the sea. Let the dark water close over his head. He sank back against the timber and felt something jab him painfully in the buttocks. Skylan swore and shifted about to see what had poked him.

Sunlight gleamed on the blade of a small knife, the type used to gut fish.

Skylan picked up the knife, slender and brittle as hope, and secreted it in his boot. Making sure it was hidden, he turned to Wulfe.

“Roll five bones,” said Skylan.

S
ent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn with orders to deliver to Acronis, Tribune.

To Acronis, Honored Tribune of the Twenty-four, Commander of the Navy of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Dunumadi. Greetings!

I have momentous news. Our glorious god, Aelon, has blessed us far beyond my expectations. My men and I, disguised as traders, had landed on the shores of my homeland. We had made camp and were going to commence our mission to capture one of the Bone Priestesses when the god gave to me a great gift. Aelon dropped into my lap my arrogant and foolish young pup of a cousin, Skylan Ivorson, who, it turns out, is now married to Draya, Kai Priestess, the most powerful priestess of the Vindrasi.

And, by Aelon’s blessing, my stupid young cousin happens to loathe his new bride!

Praise be to Aelon. He has heard our prayers and answered them. I hope that I may soon present the Bringer with the Kai Priestess of the Vindrasi and that we will be able to “persuade” Draya to tell us what she knows of the dragonbone that Aelon, in his wisdom, caused us to find when we attacked the Hall of Vektia.

I will write again when I have firmed up the details of my plan.

I remain as always your servant in the blessed service of Aelon, Lord of Light, etc., and so forth, Raegar, Warrior Priest of Battle’s Glory.

Sent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn the next night.

To Acronis, Honored Tribune of the Twenty-four, Commander of the Navy of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Dunumadi. Greetings!

All is arranged. I have devised a plan to abduct the Kai Priestess. My stupid young cousin will deliver her into our hands, at which time I can slay him if you command it, Master.
I venture to suggest, however, we keep him alive. He is a godsend to us—a young hothead who will happily lead the Vindrasi people to ruination. If we kill him, the Vindrasi will merely choose another Chief of Chiefs, and this time they might select a wise old fox, not a yapping young kit.

My cousin is to bring the Kai Priestess to the Isle of Apensia. I chose this place because it will also give us the opportunity to strike a blow at the pagans who rule that island, reveal to them the awful power of the God of the New Dawn, and bring these heathens into the fold. (Either that or, as Aelon commands, slay the corrupt lest they corrupt others!)

I remain as always your servant in the blessed service of Aelon, Lord of Light, etc. and so forth, Raegar, Priest of Battle’s Glory.

Sent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn some time later.

To Acronis, Honored Tribune of the Twenty-four, Commander of the Navy of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Dunumadi. Greetings!

Again, I humbly apologize to your lordship for the disaster that befell my men and me on the Isle of Apensia. Clearly, these druids are very dangerous people and must be eradicated. However, all that for another time.

I have, as you commanded, returned to the Torgun. My kinsmen were overjoyed to see me, and they have welcomed me back with open arms, with the possible exception of my young cousin, who fears that at any moment I will betray him.

Through Aelon’s blessing, the Torgun’s Bone Priestess is a spinster named Treia, who is hungry for a man. She is not ill-favored and she is near my age, so none of my kinsmen were surprised to see me take an interest in her.

In truth, I find her to be an intriguing woman. She and I have much in common, and it is no punishment to me to spend time with her. Perhaps I flatter myself, but I have no doubt that I can make her do anything I want.

My cousin, the so-called Chief of Chiefs, is preparing to undertake a voyage to the ogre nation to retrieve the dragonbone. I will send you notice of our departure that you may be ready to intercept their ships. We can then recover the Vektan Torque ourselves, which will give us two of these valuable dragonbones.

I remain as always your servant in the blessed service of Aelon, Lord of Light, etc. and so forth, Raegar, Priest of Battle’s Glory.

Sent by fire, water, and oil, to the Watcher in the Temple of the New Dawn, done in haste, slightly garbled.

Acronis! Praise Aelon that you came safely through that terrible storm and that you managed to keep track of us! I have escaped the dragonship, faking my own death by drowning. I am in the Hall of their dead goddess. Send men to meet me. I have a plan.

Raegar

A
s
Bones of the Dragon
was going to press, Tracy and I were shocked to learn that our friend and the editor of this book, Brian Thomsen, had died unexpectedly of heart failure. Brian was only fifty-four, far too young to be taken from us.

Tracy and I first met Brian back in the mid-1990s when he came to work for TSR, Inc., the publisher of
Dungeons & Dragons
, in Lake Geneva. He became head of the book department. We soon learned that Brian was an editor who loved his authors and who wanted to see them be successful. Editing wasn’t just a job to Brian, it was a passion.

At one point in time, back in the late 1990s, TSR, Inc., was going through financial problems. I was writing a book for the Dragonlance series, called
The Soulforge
, the tale of the early years of one of the series’ most pop u lar characters, the wizard Raistlin Majere.

Since I lived close to the company headquarters, I called Brian to tell him I had finished the book and would bring the manuscript into his office. He suggested instead that I meet him for lunch in a local café and bring the manuscript with me.

Over lunch, he confided that he was worried about the company’s finances. He was afraid they might declare bankruptcy and, in that case, if the manuscript was in his office, it might be seized as an asset of the company. He didn’t want that to happen. He said he would keep it with him until the situation improved. I later found out he carried it around in his car!

The company did manage to carry on and
The Soulforge
was published. Brian would later joke that he was probably the only person ever to keep Raistlin Majere locked up in the trunk!

Brian remained my friend and mentor for years after he left TSR, Inc., to return to New York. He became a freelance editor for Tor Books, where he delighted in developing plans for his authors. One day he called me to say that he had an idea for me. He suggested I write a series of novels about dragons and that the first book be titled
Mistress of Dragons
. He said he thought that Tor would be interested in this series.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity. I asked him if he had any ideas on what the series should be about.

“No,” said Brian airily. “I’ll leave that up to you. I know you’ll come up with something great. Oh, and by the way, I’ll need a synopsis for three books in two weeks.”

Generally it takes me months to come up with a plot for a series, but I was excited about this and I worked furiously. In two weeks I had developed the outline for what would become one of my favorite series about dragons, Dragonvarld, published by Tor Books. The first book was titled, as Brian suggested,
Mistress of Dragons
.

When Tracy and I began working on the complex plot for Dragonships, we first thought of Brian, and we were pleased and excited when Tor became our publisher, with Brian as our editor. He provided invaluable guidance for the series. He was involved in all aspects of this book, from the wonderful art for the jacket to offering advice on the characters.

After he edited
Bones of the Dragon
, he called to tell us how much he enjoyed it. He also added, laughing, that the proofreader had liked it! Brian was enthusiastic about Dragonships, and both Tracy and I are deeply saddened by the fact that he will not be with us to guide our books through to completion.

Tracy and I would like to dedicate the series, Dragonships, to our friend, editor, and mentor, Brian Thomsen, with love and respect and admiration.

—Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
September 25, 2008