Dragonlance - Chronicles 2 - Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret; Hickman Tracy Weis

Author:Margaret; Hickman, Tracy Weis
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780880381727
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 1985-09-14T23:00:00+00:00

Book Three

The Red Wizard and His wonderful Illusions!

Shadows crept across the dusty tables of the Pig and Whistle tavern. The sea breeze off the Bay of

Balifor made a shrill whistling sound as it blew through the ill-fitting front windows that distinctive whistle giving the inn the last part of its name. Any guesses as to how the tavern got the first part

ended on sight of the innkeeper. A jovial, kind-hearted man, William Sweetwater had been cursed at

birth (so town legend went) when a wandering pig overturned the baby's cradle, so frightening

young William that the mark of the pig was forever imprinted on his face.

This unfortunate resemblance had certainly not impaired William's temper, however. A sailor by

trade until he had retired to fulfill a life-long ambition of keeping an inn, there was not a more

respected or well-liked man in Port Balifor than William Sweetwater. No one laughed more heartily

at pig jokes than did William. He could even grunt quite realistically and often did pig imitations for the amusement of his customers. But no one ever-after the untimely death of Peg-Leg Al, called

William by the name "Piggy".

William rarely grunted for his customers these days. The atmosphere of the Pig and Whistle was

dark and gloomy. The few old customers that came sat huddled together, talking in low voices. For

Port Balifor was an occupied town-overrun by the armies of the highlords, whose ships had recently

sailed into the Bay, disgorging troops of the hideous dragonmen.

The people of Port Balifor-mostly humans-felt extremely sorry for themselves. They had no

knowledge of what was going on in the outside world, of course, or they would have counted their

blessings. No dragons came to burn their town. The draconians generally left the citizens alone. The

Dragon Highlords were not particularly interested in the eastern part of the Ansalon continent. The

land was sparsely populated: a few poor, scattered communities of humans and Kendermore, the

homeland of the kenders. A flight of dragons could have leveled the countryside, but the Dragon

Highlords were concentrating their strength in the north and the west. As long as the parts remained

opened, the Highlords had no need to devastate the lands of Balifor and Goodlund.

Although not many old customers came to the Pig and Whistle, business had improved for William

Sweetwater. The draconian and goblin troops of the Highlord were well paid, and their one

weakness was strong drink. But William had not opened his tavern for money. He loved the

companionship of old friends and new. He did not enjoy the companionship of the Highlord's

troops. When they came in, his old customers left. Therefore, William promptly raised his prices for

draconians to three times higher than in any other inn in town. He also watered the ale.

Consequently, his bar was nearly deserted except for a few old friends. This arrangement suited

William fine.

He was talking to a few of these friends- sailors mostly, with brown, weathered skin and no teeth-on

the evening that the strangers entered his tavern. William glared at them suspiciously for a moment,

as did his friends. But, seeing roadweary travelers and not the Highlord's soldiers, he greeted them

cordially and showed them to a table in the corner.

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