lamar had said to Palin， "You do understand the significanceof the gnome？"
alin had not understood the significance at that moment， nor hadTasslehoff 。 The kender understood now。 He sat in the small and boringroom in the Tower of High Sorcery， a room that was pretty much devoidof anything interesting： sad-looking tables and some stern-backedchairs and a few knick-nacks that were too big to fit in a pouch。 He hadnothing to do except look out a window to see nothing more interestingthan an immense number of cypress trees ？more trees than wereabsolutely necessary， or so Tas thought ？and the souls of the deadwandering around among them。 It was either that or watch Conundrumsort through the various pieces of the shattered Device of TimeJourneying。 For now Tas understood all too well the significance of thegnome。
Long ago ？just how long ago Tasslehoff couldn't remember， since timehad become extremely muddled for him， what withleaping forward to one future that turned out wasn't the proper futureand ending up in this future， where all anyone wanted to do was sendhim back to the past to die梐nyhow， long ago， Tasslehoff Burrfoot had，through no fault of his own （well， maybe a little） ended up quite byaccident in the Abyss。
Having assumed that the Abyss would be a hideous place where allmanner of perfectly horrible things went on梔emons eternally torturingpeople， for example桾as had been most frightfully disappointed todiscover that the Abyss was， in fact， boring。 Boring in the extreme。
Nothing of interest happened。 Nothing of disinterest happened。 Nothingat all happened to anyone， ever。 There was nothing to see， nothing tohandle， nothing to do， nowhere to go。 For a kender， it was pure hell。
Tas's one thought had been to get out。 He had with him the Device ofTime Journeying梩his same Device of Time Journeying that he had withhim now。 The device had been broken梛ust as it was broken now。 Hehad met a gnome梥imilar to the gnome now seated at the table acrossfrom him。 The gnome had fixed the device梛ust as the gnome was busyfixing it now。 The one big difference was that then Tasslehoff hadwanted the gnome to fix the device， and now he didn't。
Because when the Device of Time Journeying was fixed， Palin andDalamar would use it to send him桾asslehoff Burrfoot？back in time tothe point where the Father of All and of Nothing would squash him flatand turn him into the sad ghost of himself he'd seen wandering aboutNightlund。
"What did you do with this device？" Conundrum muttered irritably。 "Runit through a meat grinder？"
Tasslehoff closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the gnome， buthe saw him anyway梙is nut-brown face and his wispy hair that floatedabout his head as though he were perpetually poking his finger into oneof his own inventions， perhaps the steam-powered preambulatinghubble-bubble or the locomotive， self-winding rutabaga slicer。 Worse，Tas could see the light of cleverness shining in the gnome's beady eyes。
He'd seen that light before， and he was starting to feel dizzy。 What didyou do with
this device？ Run it through a meat grinder？ were exactly the samewords-or very close to them梩hat the previous gnome had said in theprevious time。
To alleviate the dizzy feeling， Tasslehoff rested his head with its topknotof hair （going only a little gray here and there） on his hands on thetable。 Instead of going away， the uncomfortable dizzy feeling spiraleddown from his head into his stomach， and spread from his stomach tothe rest of his body。
A voice spoke。 The same voice that he'd heard in a previous time， in aprevious place， long ago。 The voice was painful。 The voice shriveled hisinsides and caused his brain to swell， so that it pressed on his skull， andmade his head hurt horribly。 He had heard the voice only once before，but he had never， ever wanted to hear it again。 He tried to stop hisears with his hands， but the voice was inside him， so that didn't help。
You are not dead， said the voice， and the words were exactly the samewords the voice had spoken so long ago， nor were you sent here。 Youare not supposed to be here at all。
"I know，" said Tasslehoff， launching into his explanation。 "I came fromthe past， and I'm supposed to be in a different future？
A past that never was。 A future that will never be。
"Is that…… is that my fault？" Tas asked， faltering。
The voice laughed， and the laughter was horrible， for the sound was likea steel blade breaking， and the feel was of the slivers of the brokenblade piercing his flesh。
Don't be a fool， kender。 You are an insect。 Less than an insect。 A moteof dust， a speck of dirt to be flicked away with a brush of my hand。 Thefuture you are in is the future ofKrynn as it was meant to be but for themeddlings of those who had neither the wit nor the vision to see howthe world might be theirs。 All that happened once will happen again， butthis time to suit my purposes。 Long ago， one died on a Tower， and hisdeath rallied a Knighthood。 Now， another dies on a Tower and herdeath plunges a nation into despair。 Long ago， one was raised up bythe miracle of the blue crystal staff。 Now the one who wielded that staffbe raised up梩o receive me。
"You mean Goldmoon！" Tasslehoff cried bleakly。 "She used the bluecrystal staff。 Is Goldmoon dead？"Laughter sliced through his flesh。
"Am I dead？" he cried。 "I know you said I wasn't， but I saw my ownspirit。"You are dead and you are not dead， replied the voice， but that will soonbe remedied。
"Stop jabbering！" Conundrum demanded。 "You're annoying me， and Ican't work when I'm annoyed。"Tasslehoff's head came up from the table with a jerk。 He stared at thegnome， who had turned from his work to glare at the kender。
"Can't you see I'm busy here？ First you moan， then you groan， then youstart to mumble to yourself。 I find it most distracting。""I'm sorry，" said Tasslehoff。
Conundrum rolled his eyes， shook his head in disgust， and went back tohis perusal of the Device of Time Journeying。 "I think that goes here， notthere，" the gnome muttered。 "Yes。 See？ And then the chain hooks onhere and wraps around like so。 No， that's not quite the way。 It mustgo …… Wait， I see。 This has to fit in there first。"Conundrum picked up one of the jewels from the Device of TimeJourneying and fixed it in place。 "Now I need another of these redgizmos。" He began sorting through the jewels。 Sorting through themnow， as the other gnome， Gnimsh， had sorted through them in the past，Tasslehoff noted sadly。
The past that never was。 The future that was hers。
"Maybe it was all a dream，" Tas said to himself。 "That stuff aboutGoldmoon。 I think I'd know if she was dead。 I think I'd feel sort ofsmothery around the heart if she was dead， and I don't feel that。
Although it is sort of hard to breathe in here。"Tasslehoff stood up。 "Don't you think it's stuffy， Conundrum？ I think it'sstuffy，" he answered， since Conundrum wasn't paying any attention tohim。
"These Towers of High Sorcery are always stuffy，" Tas added， continuingto talk。 Even if he was only talking to himself， hearinghis own voice was far， far better than hearing that other， terriblevoice。 "It's all those bat wings and rat's eyeballs and moldy， old books。
You'd think that with the cracks in these walls， you'd get a nice breeze，but that doesn't seem to be the case。 I wonder if Dalamar would mindvery much if I broke one of his windows？"Tasslehoff glanced about for something to chuck through thewindowpane。 A small bronze statue of an elf maiden， who didn't seemto be doing much with her time except holding a wreath of flowers inher hands， stood on a small table。 Judging by the dust， she hadn'tmoved from the spot for half a century or so and therefore， Tas thought，she might like a change of scenery。 He picked up the statue and wasjust about to send the elf maiden on her journey out the window， whenhe heard voices outside the Tower。
Feeling thankful that the voices were coming from outside the Towerand not inside him， Tas lowered the elf maiden and peered curiously outthe window。
A troop of Dark Knights had arrived on horseback， bringing with them ahorse-drawn wagon with an open bed filled with straw。 The Knights didnot dismount but remained on their horses， glancing uneasily at thecircle of dark trees that surrounded them。 The horses shifted restlessly。
The souls of the dead crept around the boles of the trees like a pitifulfog。 Tas wondered if the riders could see the souls。 He was sorry hecould， and he did not look at the souls too closely， afraid he'd seehimself again。
Dead but not dead。
He looked over his shoulder at Conundrum， bent almost double over hiswork and still mumbling to himself。
"Whoo-boy， there are a lot of Dark Knights about，" Tas said loudly。 "Iwonder what these Dark Knights are doing here？ Don't you wonderabout that， Conundrum？"The gnome muttered， but did not look up from his work。 The device wascertainly going back together in a hurry。
I'm sure your work could wait。 Wouldn't you like to rest a bit and comesee all these Dark Knights？" Tas asked。
"No，" said Conundrum， establishing the record for the shortest gnomeresponse in history。
Tas sighed。 The kender and the gnome had arrived at the Tower of HighSorcery in company with Tas's former companion and longtime friendGoldmoon梐 Goldmoon who was ninety years old if she was a day buthad the body and face of a woman of twenty。 Goldmoon told Dalamarthat she was meeting someone at the Tower。 Dalamar took Goldmoonaway and told Palin to take Tasslehoff and the gnome away and putthem in a room to wait梞aking this a waiting room。 It was then Dalamarhad said， You do understand the significance of the gnome？
Palin had left them here， after wizard-locking the door。 Tas knew thedoor was wizard-locked， because he'd already used up his very bestlockpicks in an effort to open it without success。 The day lockpicks fail isa day wizards are involved， as his father had been wont to say。
Standing at the window， staring down at the Knights， who appeared tobe waiting for something and not much enjoying the wait， Tasslehoffwas struck by an idea。 The idea struck so hard that he reached up withthe hand that wasn't holding onto the bronze statue of the elf maidento feel if he had a lump on his head。 Not finding one， he glancedsurreptitiously （he thought that was the word） back at the gnome。 Thedevice was almost back together。 Only a few pieces remained， andthose were fairly small and probably not terribly important。
Feeling much better now that he had a Plan， Tas went back toobserving what was happening out the window， thinking that now hecould properly enjoy it。 He was rewarded by the sight of an immenseminotaur emerging from the Tower of High Sorcery。 Tas was about fourstories up in the Tower， and he could look right down on the top of theminotaur's head。 If he chucked the statue out the window now， hecould bean the minotaur。
Clunking a minotaur over the head was a delightful thought， and Taswas tempted。 At that moment， however， several Dark Knights troopedout of the Tower。 They bore something between them梐 body coveredwith a black cloth。
Tas stared down， pressing his nose so hard against the glass pane thathe heard cartilage crunch。 As the troop carrying the body moved out ofthe Tower， the wind sighed among the cypress trees， lifted the blackcloth to reveal the face of the corpse。
Tasslehoff recognized Dalamar。
Tas's hands went numb。 The statue fell to the floor with acrash。
Conundrum's head shot up。 "What in the name of dual carburetors didyou do that for？" he demanded。 "You made me dropa screw！"More Dark Knights appeared， carrying another body。 The wind blewharder， and the black cloth that had been thrown carelessly over thecorpse slid to the ground。 Palin's dead face looked up at the kender。 Hiseyes were wide open， fixed and staring。 His robes were soaked in blood。
"This is my fault！" Tas cried， riven by guilt。 "If I had gone back to die， likeI was supposed to， Palin and Dalamar wouldn't be dead now。""I smell smoke，" said Conundrum suddenly。 He sniffed the air。 "Remindsme of home，" he stated and went back to his work。
Tas stared bleakly out the window。 The Dark Knights had started abonfire at the base of the Tower， stoking it with dry branches and logsfrom the cypress forest。 The wood crackled。 The smoke curled up thestone side of the Tower like some noxious vine。 The Knights werebuilding a funeral pyre。
"Conundrum，" said Tasslehoff in a quiet voice， "how are you coming withthe Device of Time Journeying？ Have you fixed it yet？""Devices？ No time for devices now，" Conundrum said importantly。 "Ihave this contraption about fixed。""Good，" said Tasslehoff。
Another Dark Knight came out of the Tower。 She had red hair， croppedclose to her head， and Tasslehoff recognized her。 He'd seen her before，although he couldn't recall where。
The woman carried a body in her arms， and she moved very slowly andsolemnly。 At a shouted command from theminotaur， the other Knights halted their work and stood with theirheads bowed。
The woman walked slowly to the wagon。 Tas tried to see who it wasthe woman carried， but his view was blocked by the minotaur。
The woman lowered the person gently into the wagon。 She backedaway and Tasslehoff had a clear view。
He'd assumed that the person was another Dark Knight， maybe onewho'd been wounded。 He was astonished to see that the person in thewagon was an old， old woman， and Tas knew immediately that the oldwoman was dead。 He felt very sorry and wondered who she was。 Somerelation4？f the Dark Knight with the red hair， for she arranged the foldsofthe woman's white gown around her and then brushed out with herfingers the woman's long， flowing， silver-white hair。
"So Goldmoon used to brush out my hair， Gaidar，" said the woman。
Her words carried clearly in the still air。 Much too clearly， as far as Tasconcerned。
"Goldmoon。" Tas felt a lump of sadness rise up in his throat。 "She isdead。 Caramon， Palin ……"。 Everyone I love is dead。 And it's my fault。 I'mthe one who should be dead。"The horses drawing the wagon shifted restlessly， as if anxious to leave。
Tas glanced back at Conundrum。 Only two tiny jewels remained to bestuck on somewhere。
"Why did we come here， Mina？" The minotaur's booming voice could beheard clearly。 "You have captured Solanthus， given the Solamnics asound spanking and sent them running home to mama。 The entireSolamnic nation is yours now。 You have done what no one else hasbeen able to do in the entire history of the world？
"Not quite， Gaidar，" Mina corrected him。 "We must still take Sanction，and we must take it by the time of the Festival of the Eye。""The 。 。 。 festival？" The minotaur's forehead wrinkled。 "The Festival ofthe Eye。 By my horns， I had almost forgotten that old celebration。" Hegrinned。 "You are such a youngling， Mina， I'msurprised you know of it at all。 It hasn't been celebrated since the threemoons vanished。""Goldmoon told me about the festival，" said Mina， gently stroking thedead woman's wrinkled cheek。 "That it was held on the night when allthree moons梩he red， the white， and the black_converged， forming theimage of a great staring eye in the heavens。 I should like to have seenthat sight。""Among humans， it was a night for riot and revelry， or so I have heard。
Among my people， the night was honored and reverenced，"Gaidar stated， "for we believed the Eye to be the eye of Sargas， our god梖ormer god，" he added hastily， with a sidelong glance at Mina。 "Still，what has some old festival to do with capturing Sanction？
The three moons are gone， and so is the eye of the gods。""There will be a festival， Gaidar，" said Mina。 "The Festival of the NewEye， the One Eye。 We will celebrate the festival in the Temple ofHuerzyd。""But the Temple of Huerzyd is in Sanction，" Gaidar protested。 "We areon the other side of the continent from Sanction， not to mention the factthat Sanction is firmly in control of the Solamnic Knights。 When will thefestival occur？""At the appointed time，" said Mina。 "When the totem is assembled。
When the red dragon falls from the skies。""Ugh，" Gaidar grunted。 "Then we should be marching to Sanction nowand bringing with us an army。 Yet we waste our time at this fell place。"He cast a glance of enmity at the Tower。 "Our march will be furtherslowed if we must cart along the body of this old woman。"The bonfire roared and crackled。 The flames leaped up the stone wallsof the Tower， charring them。 Smoke swirled about Gaidar， who battedirritably at it， and drifted in through the window。 Tas coughed， coveredhis mouth with his hand。
I am commanded to bring the body of Goldmoon， princess ofthe Que-shu， bearer of the blue crystal staff， to Sanction， to theTemple of Huerzyd on the night of the Festival of the New Eye。
nere a great miracle will be performed， Gaidar。 Our journey willnot be slowed。 All will move as has been ordered。 The One God will seeto that。"Mina raised her hands over the body of Goldmoon and lifted up hervoice in prayer。 Orangish-yellow light radiated from her hands。 Tas triedto look into the light to see what was happening， but the light was liketiny pieces of glass in his eyes， made them burn and hurt so that hewas forced to shut them tight。 Even then he could see the glare rightthrough them。
Mina's praying ceased。 The bright light slowly faded。 Tasslehoff openedhis eyes。
The body of Goldmoon lay enshrined in a sarcophagus of golden amber。
Encased in the amber， Goldmoon's body was once again youthful，beautiful。 She wore the white robes she had worn in life。 Feathersadorned her hair， that was gold threaded with silver梱et all now heldfast in amber。
Tas felt the sick feeling in his stomach rise up into his throat。 He chokedand clutched the window ledge for support。
"This coffin you've created is very grand， Mina，" said Gaidar， and theminotaur sounded exasperated， "but what do you plan to do with her？
Cart her about as a monument to this One God？ Exhibit her to thepopulace？ We are not clerics。 We are soldiers。 We have a war too fight。"Mina stared at Gaidar in silence， a silence so large and terrible that itabsorbed into itself all sound， all light， snatched away the air theybreathed。 The awful silence of her fury withered Gaidar， who shrankvisibly before it。
"I'm sorry， Mina，" he mumbled。 "I didn't mean？ "Be thankful that I knowyou， Gaidar，" said Mina。 "I know that you speak from your heart，without thinking。 But someday， you will go too far， and on that day I willno longer be able to protect you。
This woman was more than mother to me。 All I have done in the nameof the One God， I have done for her。"Mina turned to the sarcophagus， placed her hands upon the amber， andbent near to look at Goldmoon's calm， still face。 "You told me of the godswho had been but were no more。 I went in search of them梖or you！"Mina's v癷ce trembled。 "I brought the One God to you， Mother。 The OneGod gave you back your youth and your beauty。 I thought you would bepleased。 What did I do wrong？ I don't understand。" Mina's handsstroked the amber coffin， as if smoothingout a blanket。 She sounded bewildered。 "You will change your mind，dear Mother。 You will come to understand……""Mina 。 。 。" Gaidar said uneasily， "I'm sorry。 I didn't know。 Forgive me。"Mina nodded。 She did not turn her head。
Gaidar cleared his throat。 "What are your orders concerning thekender？""Kender？" Mina repeated， only half-hearing him。
"The kender and the magical artifact。 You said they were in the Tower。"Mina lifted her head。 Tears glistened on her cheeks。 Her face was pale，the amber eyes wide。 "The kender。" Her lips formed the words， but shedid not speak them aloud。 She frowned。 "Yes， of course， go fetch him。
Quickly！ Make haste！""Do you know where he is， Mina？" Gaidar asked hesitantly。 "The Toweris immense， and there are many rooms。"Mina raised her head， looked directly at Tas's window， looked directly atTas， and pointed。
"Conundrum，" said Tasslehoff in a voice that didn't sound to him like hisown voice but belonged to some altogether different person， a personwho was well and truly scared。 "We have to get out of here。 Now！"He backed precipitously away from the window。
"There， it's finished，" said Conundrum， proudly displaying the device。
"Are you sure it will work？" Tas asked anxiously。 He could hearfootsteps on the stairs， or at least he thought he could。
"Or course，" Conundrum stated， scowling。 "Good as new。 By the way，what did it do when it was new？"Tas's heart， which had leaped quite hopefully at the first part of thegnome's statement， now sank。
How do you know it works if you don't know what it does？"Tas demanded。 He could quite definitely hear footsteps。 "Never mind。
Just give it to me。 Quickly！"
alin had wizard-locked the door， but Palin was 。 。 。 wasn't hereanymore。 Tas guessed that the wizard-lock wasn't here either。 He couldhear footsteps and harsh breathing。 He pictured the large and heavyminotaur， tromping up all those stairs。
"I thought at first it might be a potato peeler，" Conundrum was saying。
He gave the device a shake that made the chain rattle。 "But it's a bitsmall， and there's no hydraulic lift。 Then I thought？
"It's a device that sends you traveling through time。 That's what I'mgoing to do with it， Conundrum，" Tasslehoff said。 "Journeyback through time。 I'd take you with me， but I don't think you'd muchlike where I'm going， which is back to the Chaos War to be stepped onby a giant。 You see， it's my fault that everyone I love is dead， and if I goback， they won't be dead。 I'll be dead， but that doesn't matter becauseI'm already dead？
"Cheese grater，" said Conundrum， regarding the devicethoughtfully。 "Or it could be， with a few modifications， a meat grinder，maybe， and a？
"Never mind，" said Tasslehoff， and he drew in a deep breath to givehimself courage。 "Just hand me the device。 Thank you for fixing it。 I hateto leave you here in the Tower of High Sorcery with an angry minotaurand the Dark Knights， but once I'm stepped on， they might not be hereanymore。 Would you please hand me the device？"The footsteps had stopped， but not the harsh breathing。 The stairswere steep and treacherous。 The minotaur had been forced to halt hisclimb to catch his breath。
"Combination fishing rod and shoe tree？" guessed the gnome。 Theminotaur's footsteps started again。 Tas gave up。 One could be polite foronly so long。 Especially to a gnome。 Tas made a grab for thedevice。 "Give it to me！""You're not going to break it again？" Conundrum asked， holding it justout of the kender's reach。
"I'm not going to break it！" Tasslehoff said firmly。 With a another lunge，he succeeded in nabbing the device and wrenched't out of the gnome's hand。 "If you'll watch closely， I'll show you how itworks。 I hope，" he muttered to himself。
Holding the device， Tas said a little prayer in his heart。 "I know you can'thear me， Fizban …… Or maybe you can but you're so disappointed in methat you don't want to hear me。 I'm truly sorry。 Truly， truly sorry。" Tearscrept into his eyes。 "I never meant to cause all this trouble。 I onlywanted to speak at Caramon's funeral， to tell everyone what a goodfriend he was to me。 I never meant for this to happen。 Never！ So， ifyou'll help me just once to go back to die， I'll stay dead。 I promise。""It's not doing anything，" Conundrum grumbled。 "Are you sure it'splugged in？"Hearing the footsteps growing louder and louder， Tas held the deviceover his head。
"Words to the spell。 I have to say the words to the spell。 I know thewords，" the kender said， gulping。 "It goes …… It goes …… Thy time isthine …… Around it you journey …… No， that can't be right。 Travel。 Around ityou travel。 …… and something， somethingexpanses 。 。 。"The footsteps were so close now that he could feel the floor shake。
Sweat beaded on the kender's forehead。 He gulped again and looked atthe device， as if it might help him。 When it didn't， he shook it。
"Now I see how it got broken in the first place，" said Conundrumseverely。 "Is this going to take long？ I think hear someone coming。""Grasp firmly the beginning and you'll end up at the end。 No， that'swrong，" Tas said miserably。 "All of it's wrong。 I can't remember thewords！ What's the matter with me？ I used to know it by heart。 I couldrecite it standing on my head。 I know because Fizban made me do it……"There came a thundering crash on the door， as of a heavy minotaurshoulder bashing into it。
Tas shut his eyes， so that he wouldn't hear what was going on utsidethe door。 "Fizban made me say the spell standing on myhead backwards。 It was a bright， sunny day。 We were in a greenmeadow， and the sky was blue with these little puffy white clouds， andthe birds were singing， and so was Fizban until I asked him politely notto。 。 。 。"Another resounding crash and a sound of wood splintering。
Thy time is thy own。
Though across it you travel。
Its expanses you see。
Whirling across forever。
Obstruct not its flow。
Grasp firmly the end and the beginning。
Turn them forward upon themselves。
All that is loose shall be secureDestiny be over your own head。
The words flooded Tasslehoff's being， as warm and bright as thesunshine on that spring day。 He didn't know where they came from， andhe didn't stick around to ask。
The device began to glow brightly， jewels gleaming。
The last sensation Tas felt was that of a hand clutching his。 The lastsound Tas heard was Conundrum's voice， crying out in panic， "Wait！
There's a screw loose？
And then all sound and sensation was lost in the wonderful and excitingrushing-wind noise of the magic。
