The Illustrated Dragonlance Reread

[bguy]

You are way too judgmental about Tanis. To begin with, Tanis is right. They are not betrothed (ask what the Speaker of the Sun has to say about that if you doubt me, he has full legal rights to decide it,).

Tanis's own actions say otherwise and show that he agreed that they were betrothed. Why else would he tell her he released her from her promises to him and asked her to release him from his promises if they weren't still betrothed? (There would be no need for him to formally break an engagement that didn't exist.)

Spoiler: Dragons of Dwarven Depths and Dragons of the Highlord Skies

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There are also these quotes from the Lost Chronicles books that make it clear that Tanis genuinely was engaged to Laurana.

"I noticed," said Tanis, "and I still maintain that breaking our engagement was the right thing to do-for her sake, not mine."-Dragons of Dwarven Depths.

"Here Tanis met again a young woman to whom he had once been engaged, daughter of the Speaker of the Suns, Laurana. She loved Tanis, but he no longer loved her. His love for Kitiara still burned inside him and he broke off their engagement because of his divided heart-though her brothers and father had not approved anyway, for Tanis had human blood in his veins."-Dragons of Highlord Skies

The first is a direction admission from Tanis that they were engaged and the second is a statement from the omniscient narrator that they were engaged (and that Tanis didn't break the engagement until his return to Qualinesti.) That seems pretty clear cut.

And as for the Speaker having the legal right to decide who Laurana marries maybe that's true under elven law but that doesn't make either Laurana or Tanis morally obligated to respect such a system. (And especially when it is denying them the right to marry due to racial discrimination.)

It WAS a childish liaison, disapproved by her entire family.

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And I might have some sympathy for Tanis not wanting to get with Laurana out of respect for her family's wishes but in the very next book Tanis changes his mind and decides he does want to be with Laurana after all, and as soon as he decides that he no longer worries about her family's feelings (which shows that was never really an insurmountable obstacle to Tanis.)

He is also right about the current situation, he did NOT go back for her, he was taken there pretty much against his will.

Of course just a short time before he was arguing (loudly in occupied territory) for the party to go Qualinesti.

Him leaving Qualinesti, as he believed, for good, was the end of their so-called betrothal, it is entirely one-sided to say that he "cheated" on her with Kitiara. For him, when he left, his "human" side was prevailing, I dont think it is at all reasonable to paint Tanis as a rogue who stole Laurana's heart and then left, ghosting her and cheating on her, especially when her family members made it entirely clear that he would not be welcome as her husband (and that was Gilthanas, the relatively nice brother; Paladine knows what Porthios would have done. Probably just have Tanis killed on the spot).

If you agree to marry someone and then never break the engagement you are still engaged to that person. Tanis agreed to marry Laurana and was still engaged to her when he first hooked up with Kitiara. If that's not cheating what is?

Also, is it canon that he came back to Qualinosti several times? I have the distinct impression, at least from the main novels, that he left Qualinosti for good after the confrontation with Gilthanas. Nothing in Chronicles seem to imply otherwise to my recollection.

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I don't think it's mentioned in the Chronicles themselves, but in both Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home and the novel "The Soulforge" it is mentioned that Tanis did periodically return to Qualinesti even after moving out of the city. (Indeed he met Kitiara for the first time while returning from one of his visits to Qualinesti.) And since per Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home he met Kitiara 9 years before DoAT, that means his last visit to Qualinesti was no later than 9 years previously.

Now I am making something of an assumption that Tanis stopped visiting Qualinesti after meeting Kitiara (hence the allegation of him ghosting Laurana for those 9 years). But if I am wrong about that, and he did visit Qualinesti in that period then that is even worse, because that means he was around Laurana after he had already started seeing Kitiara and still didn't come clean with her that he was in love with another woman.

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Also, he was not lying when he said he was divided, his first thoughts about choosing Kitiara were before he saw the fully sexually mature Laurana; as subsequent events will make clear

I don't knoiw. My impression was that his interest in Laurana didn't start to revive until the incident in his quarters when she was pulled right on top of him. (Which was after he had told her that his heart was divided.) But if you are correct, and he started feelings things for her again as soon as he first saw her in Qualinesti then I will drop the allegation that he was lying to her. But even if Tanis wasn't deliberately lying to her there, telling her that he still loves her is still a jerk move if he has decided he isn't going to be with her. Doing so isn't going to make things any easier on Laurana. It's just going to make her think that there is still hope for the relationship (after all he's telling her he loves her) and thus convincing her not to give up but to keep fighting for Tanis. (Which is exactly what happened.)

You are right about her equivalent age though, 19-20 sounds about right (remember legal adulthood was 21 in many countries up until very recently). And how old is Tanis? I don't remember, but I suppose 1st ed half-elves age slower than 2nd edition half-elves.

Tanis mentions earlier in the novel that he is 102 years old and suggests that is equivalent to a human of 30 years.

Laurana throws herself at Tanis despite them having been separated for 9 years and refuses to accept "No" for an answer when Tanis doesn't want to kiss her. She outright ignores the protest that any relationship the two might have would bring disgrace upon her family (with consequences that would extend far beyond Laurana herself). She accuses him of lying when he tells her he didn't return for her specifically, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

That's not the behaviour of a grown woman, especially not one from such a prestigious family that has a ton of pressure on it. It's the behaviour of an immature teenage girl experiencing rejection for the first time. The events of the next chapters only reinforce that.

For humans a 9 year separation would be a huge deal, but for elves it's really not that long a time period. (Certainly not long enough that it should have been obvious to Laurana that Tanis had abandoned her.)

Nor is a person trying to kiss their partner an immature act. Laurana wanted to kiss. Tanis didn't. Romantic partners will frequently not be on the same page in regards to when they want to express physical affection with each other, and Laurana did stop once Tanis made it clear that he really didn't want to be kissing her in that moment.

And Laurana seemed to genuinely believe that her father would be ok with her marrying Tanis. She's almost certainly wrong in that belief but that's not ignoring his objection, it is just her disagreeing with it. (And as mentioned above Laurana is under no obligation to submit to an unjust system that would deny her marrying the man that she loves simply because of his race.)

As for her claiming that Tanis was lying about coming back to Qualinesti, ok I'll admit that was a little immature, but she was obviously very excited to see Tanis again so having him then tell her that he wasn't there for her after all would definitely hurt. People often go into denial when hurt. (There's a reason denial is the first stage of grieving.)

So overall Laurana in these chapters is a young woman under immense stress who has just been dumped by the man she loves and expected to marry. Of course she's not going to be at her best or respond perfectly under such circumstances, but it's hardly fair to claim she was acting "incredibly immature" or to say that she "lacks the capability to understand anything that doesn't revolve solely around Laurana" simply because she didn't react with perfect equaniminty to being rejected. (And for Tanis to be frustrated with how Laurana was acting after how he treated her is really gross as his actions were far more immature and worthy of condemnation than anything Laurana did in these chapters.)

[Keltest]

Lets be clear here. Tanis did agree to marry Laurana, however they were both children at the time, even for half-elves. That's why Tanis calls it a game, while Laurana considers it serious; Laurana is still a child and mostly still thinking in those terms. There was legitimate romance going on, however Tanis both grew up and was forced to deal with the fact that the romance would cause serious problems for the royal family. Its not that Tanis stopped being interested (he still kept the ring, after all) he just didn't think it could happen without hurting everybody involved.

[bguy]

Lets be clear here. Tanis did agree to marry Laurana, however they were both children at the time, even for half-elves. That's why Tanis calls it a game, while Laurana considers it serious; Laurana is still a child and mostly still thinking in those terms. There was legitimate romance going on, however Tanis both grew up and was forced to deal with the fact that the romance would cause serious problems for the royal family. Its not that Tanis stopped being interested (he still kept the ring, after all) he just didn't think it could happen without hurting everybody involved.

And it’s fine for Tanis to decide that his relationship with Laurana won’t work and that he needs to end it. What’s not ok is his not telling Laurana that he is out. If he wanted to end things with her common decency would say he should at least tell her, so she can get on with her life. Instead he left her dangling for at least 9 years. (Or 22 years if he decided the relationship was over when he first left Qualinesti.) That’s a horrible way to treat someone that loved him and who he claimed to love as well.

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And again I’m very skeptical that Tanis was really worried about either his own safety or upsetting Laurana’s family if he pursued the relationship because very early in the next book he decides he does want to be with Laurana after all and as soon as he decides that then her family’s objections stop being a problem for him. Which makes it obvious that their objections were never really that big a concern to him.

[Forum Explorer]

Tanis did canonically take trips back to Qualinestri, but apparently, he never actually met any of the Royal family in those trips. His ability to actually do so is unknown.

I'm inclined to believe that Tanis basically left to 'find himself' and spent the odd 20 years basically being an adventurer/travelling merchant and hitting up border towns, and travelling the world. He pulled a very elvish move by procrastinating about the whole Laurana thing and actually talking to her. Mind you, 20 years isn't actually all that long for an elf, so from that prespective it's like going on a trip around the world for 5 years, and breaking an engagement when you come back. Which is a lot more understandable when you realize there really isn't any long distance communication available to him.

Mind you, Tanis is still a jerk and kinda pathetic. But that pretty much sums up his romantic relations.

[bguy]

Tanis did canonically take trips back to Qualinestri, but apparently, he never actually met any of the Royal family in those trips. His ability to actually do so is unknown.

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Per Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home Tanis was absolutely meeting members of the Royal Family on his trips to Qualinesti. It even states in regards to the trip to Qualinesti where he met Kitiara on the return trip that “Laurana was obviously as much in love with him as ever”, so obviously he saw Laurana during his visit.

[diplomancer]

That a princess cannot marry whomever she wants is as "unfair" as the fact that there are kings, princes, and princesses... but that's a whole other subject. I don't think literally anyone, apart from Laurana, thinks that she and Tanis are legally betrothed. And Tanis telling her that he "releases her from her vow" is but a charitable way of dispelling her delusion (once she refuses to accept the fact that it IS a delusion).

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once a princess gives away her royal status to pursue a man, so that her own family sees her as a "whore" (not my words, her father's), all bets are off, and I can see how Tanis, Gilthanas, Porthios, and pretty much everyone else, stops caring about whom she marries. By becoming THE greatest hero of the War of the Lance, at least to public perception, she gets some status back, naturally, as well as the freedom to choose her husband. If Kitiara had killed her at the High Clerist's Tower, elvish perception of her would be VERY different. As it is, the situation in Legends is explosive enough that Tanis believes that missing the funeral of Solostoran might put a lot of the alliances forged during the war in jeopardy

[Forum Explorer]

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Per Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home Tanis was absolutely meeting members of the Royal Family on his trips to Qualinesti. It even states in regards to the trip to Qualinesti where he met Kitiara on the return trip that “Laurana was obviously as much in love with him as ever”, so obviously he saw Laurana during his visit.

I feel like that contradicts what we've seen here, and Gil's reactions to Tanis earlier.

[bguy]

I don't think literally anyone, apart from Laurana, thinks that she and Tanis are legally betrothed. And Tanis telling her that he "releases her from her vow" is but a charitable way of dispelling her delusion (once she refuses to accept the fact that it IS a delusion).

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Again that is inconsistent with Tanis's statement in Dragons of Dwarven Depths where he describes himself as having broken his engagement to Laurana. He was talking to Flint in that particular conversation not Laurana, so there was no reason for him to describe himself as having been engaged to Laurana unless he genuinely believed he had been engaged to her.

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once a princess gives away her royal status to pursue a man, so that her own family sees her as a "whore" (not my words, her father's), all bets are off, and I can see how Tanis, Gilthanas, Porthios, and pretty much everyone else, stops caring about whom she marries.

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When Laurana was reunited with her people on Southern Ergoth their affection for her was obviously greatly diminished, but they still fully considered her to be a princess. (She still had private quarters in the royal residence, could see the Speaker in private whenever she wanted, was called "Princess" by the guards and so forth.) Since she was still their princess even after running off after Tanis it seems very unlikely that her family suddenly stopped caring about who she would marry.

I feel like that contradicts what we've seen here, and Gil's reactions to Tanis earlier.

How so? Nothing in the Tanis-Gilthanas interactions so far suggests that they haven't seen each other since Tanis originally moved out of Qualinesti. And frankly the idea that Tanis hated Qualinesti so much that he would never go back there for a visit in 22 years doesn't make any sense given that we have repeatedly seen him in this very novel lobby the party to travel to Qualinesti.

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What both Leaves and The Soulforge describe is a Tanis Half-Elven who was periodically drawn to return to Qualinesti and see his elven relatives only for him to always end up regretting it once he got there and quickly leaving again, and that seems much more fitting for Tanis's ambivalent feelings about his elven family and heritage than the idea that he just completed avoided Qualinesti for 22 years even when he was living literally just 3 days away from it.

[diplomancer]

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Again that is inconsistent with Tanis's statement in Dragons of Dwarven Depths where he describes himself as having broken his engagement to Laurana. He was talking to Flint in that particular conversation not Laurana, so there was no reason for him to describe himself as having been engaged to Laurana unless he genuinely believed he had been engaged to her.

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Whether a novel written 30 years afterwards with probably about a 100 different novels by dozens of different authors in between actually indicates what the writers thought was the legal situation between Laurana and Tanis is an interesting literary question. When Chronicles was first published, there was no such doubt. (I.e, this is a "han shot first" situation.) Laurana cannot have property, we know that from the Dragon Orb question. It is preposterous to say she could choose to marry a bastard over the will of her father, the King. Tanis might have mistakenly believed, at first, that she could, but Gilthanas makes the situation painfully clear, which is why Tanis leaves.

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When Laurana was reunited with her people on Southern Ergoth their affection for her was obviously greatly diminished, but they still fully considered her to be a princess. (She still had private quarters in the royal residence, could see the Speaker in private whenever she wanted, was called "Princess" by the guards and so forth.) Since she was still their princess even after running off after Tanis it seems very unlikely that her family suddenly stopped caring about who she would marry.

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Their supposed claim to the Dragon Orb, for which they were willing to go to war, was through Laurana. It did not serve their interests to fully disown her. We simply don't know how they would have reacted if no Dragon Orb was involved, but the shocking word her father (almost) used gives a strong indication of how they felt; also, the fact that they later raise no objection to her marrying a bastard (though a war hero) is also very strong indication of her status in the family. The situation is still explosive when Legends starts

Also, Sturm is the lawful-goodest of lawful-good characters, and he clearly does not think that Tanis is a rogue who goes around seducing young elf women and then dumping them, ghosting them, and cheating on them, even though he knows all of Tanis's score with Kitiara.Literally the only person that feels that Tanis has done something wrong towards Laurana is Tanis himself (because he is self-doubting that way, and because he is divided, and because he is a tender person who never wanted to hurt her).

[bguy]

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Whether a novel written 30 years afterwards with probably about a 100 different novels by dozens of different authors in between actually indicates what the writers thought was the legal situation between Laurana and Tanis is an interesting literary question. When Chronicles was first published, there was no such doubt. (I.e, this is a "han shot first" situation.) Laurana cannot have property, we know that from the Dragon Orb question. It is preposterous to say she could choose to marry a bastard over the will of her father, the King. Tanis might have mistakenly believed, at first, that she could, but Gilthanas makes the situation painfully clear, which is why Tanis leaves.

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Laurana absolutely can chose to marry a bastard over the will of her father. All she has to do is be willing to leave home to do so. (Which we know she was perfectly willing to do, since she did just that to be with Tanis.)

And that's why the legality of the Laurana-Tanis betrothal is ultimately irrelevent. If Laurana and Tanis want to be together they can be together regardless of her family's objections or elven law. It's just a question of whether they are willing to go against Laurana's family to be together, which Laurana already is clearly ready to do, and which Tanis is unquestionably willing to do by early in DoWN.

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Their supposed claim to the Dragon Orb, for which they were willing to go to war, was through Laurana. It did not serve their interests to fully disown her.

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That's a stretch. Laurana never claimed the Dragon Orb as her own property. The only person who claimed it was hers was Flint. (And frankly that claim was rather ridiculous. The orb was obtained as part of a team effort on a mission being conducted for the Knights of Solamnia. Thus logically the orb belonged either to the Knights or collectively to the party as a whole.) The Speaker pointing out that if the orb belonged to Laurana it actually belonged to him was just him refuting Flint's spurious argument. It wasn't the basis of the elves actual claim to the dragon orb (which was clearly based on nothing more than might makes right), so they didn't need Laurana to claim the orb.

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We simply don't know how they would have reacted if no Dragon Orb was involved, but the shocking word her father (almost) used gives a strong indication of how they felt;

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We have a pretty good idea because even after Laurana reclaimed the orb and ran away from her people (for a second time), Solostaran still invited her to return home. She didn't possess any dragon orb at that point (said orb being in a thousand pieces by then), yet he was still willing to let her come back, so obviously no matter how angry Solostaran was with her he still considered her his daughter and the Qualinesti princess.

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also, the fact that they later raise no objection to her marrying a bastard (though a war hero) is also very strong indication of her status in the family. The situation is still explosive when Legends starts

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How do we know that her family didn't raise any objection to her marrying a bastard? There is almost nothing in the canon regarding the circumstances of Laurana and Tanis getting married or the Qualinesti reaction to their marriage, so for all we know they did strenuously object to the marriage, and Laurana and Tanis simply decided to get married anyway. (Indeed it's flat out stated in Dragons of Summer Flame that Porthios had not approved of Laurana marrying Tanis, and he tells Tanis to his face in that book that he does not consider Tanis to be a suitable match for Laurana, so it's almost certain that Laurana and Tanis did get married over her family's objections.

Also, Sturm is the lawful-goodest of lawful-good characters, and he clearly does not think that Tanis is a rogue who goes around seducing young elf women and then dumping them, ghosting them, and cheating on them, even though he knows all of Tanis's score with Kitiara.Literally the only person that feels that Tanis has done something wrong towards Laurana is Tanis himself (because he is self-doubting that way, and because he is divided, and because he is a tender person who never wanted to hurt her).

How would Sturm know the details of the Laurana-Tanis relationship? Unless Tanis specifically told Sturm that he was still engaged to Laurana when he first hooked up with Kitiara, Sturm would have no way of knowing just how badly Tanis had treated Laurana. And why would Tanis share those kind of details with Sturm?

[pendell]

I wouldn't describe Laurana either as spoiled or immature. I would describe her as privileged. She's a young princess of the dominant culture in her society. I think her family has deliberately protected her from seeing the harsh realities of life and from the truth of the way elven culture feels towards people who aren't elves. She doesn't understand why there's any problem with Tanis -- she grew up with him after all. She's blind to her own privilege, and thus doesn't understand the challenges other people who don't have it face.

The closest analogy I can think of would be an interracial romance back in 1910s or 1920s America. The other dominant-culture people may put on happy faces around the girl to keep her from getting upset, but the message would be conveyed to her partner that his future involves dangling from a tree on a rope in the near future unless he gets the heck out of town. Tanis is intelligent enough to catch that signal, so he leaves town. That's why he's not sad to leave Qualinesti , and no one except Laurana is sorry to see him go.

And this isn't Laurana's fault. She may be a princess but she's essentially a prisoner of her role. While running away to follow Tanis IS definitely an immature act, I believe it will have the effect of opening her eyes to other races and peoples on Krynn, with the result she will grow into a truly compassionate young woman rather than a prisoner in a gilded cage who has no choice but to act out the role laid out for her by tradition.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[diplomancer]

I like Laurana. Really. But at this point in the story she is immature. She does not understand that her position of privilege entails certain duties. She believes that she can flaunt the duties and retain the privileges.

What she wants right now is for Tanis to abandon his dangerous mission, declare their love, and marry her. And she doesn't even realize that things simply don't work that way.

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Later in the story she will realize things don't work that way, and eventually decide that being with the man she loves, and even just doing the right thing, goes beyond her privileges and so she chooses to give them up (though it is telling and characteristic that her biggest mistake was, once again, putting her love of Tanis- as well as her deserved mistrust of him- beyond her duties to thousands of people and to all of Krynn ultimately)

[bguy]

I like Laurana. Really. But at this point in the story she is immature. She does not understand that her position of privilege entails certain duties. She believes that she can flaunt the duties and retain the privileges.

That's a little unfair.

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In the next book Laurana will tell Tanis that her work helping the refugees is the first time in her life that she's doing something meaningful and useful, so it doesn't appear she had any significant duties as a princess. (And that certainly tracks with what we see in this book. Her brothers are commanding troops in the field and leading secret missions while she's getting to do nothing more than act as a glorified receptionist.) It's hardly unreasonable for her to think that pursuing her love should take precedence over her "duties" when those duties seem so inconsequential.

Also, while we are use to the idea that royal children in a medieval society must marry for duty, there are indications in the Chronicles that in Qualinesti society even royal children are allowed to marry for love. Specifically in Dragons of Winter Night, Gilthanas seemed confident that he could marry Silvara (who as far as he knew was a Kagonesti escape slave) and that it would ultimately be accepted by everyone except Porthios (who could be ignored.) Now maybe Gilthanas is just so besotted with Silvara at that point that he's not thinking clearly, but given that he is older than Laurana and seems to be much more of a traditionalist than her, for him to believe he could marry Silvara (despite her much lower social class) suggests that he could actually do so. And if Qualinesti royal children are allowed to marry for love then it's understandable why Laurana would think she would be allowed to marry the man she loves, since there really isn't any reason for her family to deny her Tanis other than ugly racial bigotry.

What she wants right now is for Tanis to abandon his dangerous mission, declare their love, and marry her. And she doesn't even realize that things simply don't work that way.

Prior to my deployment to Iraq, my mom and sister both got extremely upset, and while I've never been married I heard similar stories from plenty of the married guys deploying with me about how their spouses had reacted. It's perfectly natural to get emotional and not want a loved one to go somewhere dangerous. It's not a sign of immaturity. It just means you have feelings and want your loved ones to be safe.

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Later in the story she will realize things don't work that way, and eventually decide that being with the man she loves, and even just doing the right thing, goes beyond her privileges and so she chooses to give them up (though it is telling and characteristic that her biggest mistake was, once again, putting her love of Tanis- as well as her deserved mistrust of him- beyond her duties to thousands of people and to all of Krynn ultimately)

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I know the authors probably intended for that particular mistake to be an example of Laurana placing love over duty but that's not how it played out in the actual text. Laurana, acting with severely impaired judgment due to intoxication and extreme exhaustion, foolishly but genuinely believed she could trust Kitiara and as such Laurana's subsequent actions weren't her consciously choosing love or duty because she genuinely did not see any conflict between the two. She thought she could slip away for a couple of hours early in the morning to see Tanis without it having any negative impact on her army, and if Kitiara had been honorable in her intentions then that belief would have been correct. (Her army was in a secure position with no significant enemy forces nearby, and most likely her troops would never have even known she was out of the city as they would have just assumed she was sleeping off the previous night's celebration.) Thus while Laurana certainly made a terrible mistake in trusting Kitiara, it was a failure of judgment rather than character.

[zimmerwald1915]

The closest analogy I can think of would be an interracial romance back in 1910s or 1920s America. The other dominant-culture people may put on happy faces around the girl to keep her from getting upset, but the message would be conveyed to her partner that his future involves dangling from a tree on a rope in the near future unless he gets the heck out of town.

That's more than a bit optimistic. The romance itself would have carried hostile undertones. If the woman was white and the man Black, she would have had the power to get him executed and both would have known it. If the man was white and the woman Black, he would have had unimpeded access to her time and her body, and both would have known it.

Furthermore, the outside pressure would have been a lot more overt. An anecdote: a friend of my grandparents had a Black girlfriend in the 40s, and an uncle high up in the Jewish Mob. He was given a death threat (for both himself and his girlfriend) by the uncle, and both of them had to go into hiding, first with my grandparents themselves for a while, then upstate. This was in the North, and a couple decades on from the nadir of race relations you highlighted.

[NRSASD]

Hey everyone, let's try to avoid dragging real world stuff into this. We don't want to agitate the mods.

I, for one, think we should drop the Laurana/Tanis topic at this point. Everything has been said.

[bguy]

I wouldn't describe Laurana either as spoiled or immature. I would describe her as privileged. She's a young princess of the dominant culture in her society. I think her family has deliberately protected her from seeing the harsh realities of life and from the truth of the way elven culture feels towards people who aren't elves. She doesn't understand why there's any problem with Tanis -- she grew up with him after all. She's blind to her own privilege, and thus doesn't understand the challenges other people who don't have it face.

Agreed. Indeed the text strongly suggests that her family even (grudgingly) tolerated her romantic relationship with Tanis for some time. Just consider this quote about Solostaran.

"It was only in later years, as he watched with growing unease the developing relationship between his beloved daughter and the bastard half-elf, that he began to regret his decision."

That quotes establishes that while Solostaran didn't like Laurana being involved with Tanis he also did not do anything to stop their relationship. (Since it only describes him as watching their developing relationship.)

Likewise with Gilthanas. Per Laurana's own words she tells Gilthanas everything. If she tells Gilthanas everything then it stands to reason that she would have told Gilthanas when she first developed feelings for Tanis and when she started dating him. And while Gilthanas did eventually angrily confront Tanis over his involvement with Laurana, that doesn't seem to have happened until Gilthanas found out that Laurana and Tanis had become engaged. Thus Gilthanas also appears to have tolerated the Laurana-Tanis romantic relationship until that point.

If her family did not (overtly) object to her crushing on and then dating Tanis, it makes a lot of sense why Laurana would think they would ultimately allow her to marry him.

The closest analogy I can think of would be an interracial romance back in 1910s or 1920s America. The other dominant-culture people may put on happy faces around the girl to keep her from getting upset, but the message would be conveyed to her partner that his future involves dangling from a tree on a rope in the near future unless he gets the heck out of town. Tanis is intelligent enough to catch that signal, so he leaves town. That's why he's not sad to leave Qualinesti , and no one except Laurana is sorry to see him go.

I have to disagree with the idea that Tanis left Qualinesti under any threat of physical violence. As described above Laurana's family certainly didn't approve of his romantic relationship with Laurana, but they appear to have tolerated it (if through clinched teeth) for a considerable amount of time (which they would hardly do if they were trying to frighten Tanis away from Laurana.) And as previously discussed Tanis was still allowed to and did periodically visit Qualinesti even after he had moved to Solace. (Which he would hardly be likely to do if he was under any real threat of physical violence while there.) So while there's plenty that's wrong with Qualinesti society, I don't think it's fair to treat them as a lynch culture that would actually physically harm Tanis for being with Laurana.

[Keltest]

Agreed. Indeed the text strongly suggests that her family even (grudgingly) tolerated her romantic relationship with Tanis for some time. Just consider this quote about Solostaran.

"It was only in later years, as he watched with growing unease the developing relationship between his beloved daughter and the bastard half-elf, that he began to regret his decision."

That quotes establishes that while Solostaran didn't like Laurana being involved with Tanis he also did not do anything to stop their relationship. (Since it only describes him as watching their developing relationship.)

Likewise with Gilthanas. Per Laurana's own words she tells Gilthanas everything. If she tells Gilthanas everything then it stands to reason that she would have told Gilthanas when she first developed feelings for Tanis and when she started dating him. And while Gilthanas did eventually angrily confront Tanis over his involvement with Laurana, that doesn't seem to have happened until Gilthanas found out that Laurana and Tanis had become engaged. Thus Gilthanas also appears to have tolerated the Laurana-Tanis romantic relationship until that point.

If her family did not (overtly) object to her crushing on and then dating Tanis, it makes a lot of sense why Laurana would think they would ultimately allow her to marry him.

Keep in mind that they were both considered children at the time. Ultimately, as Tanis grew older, they DID start overtly objecting to his relationship (one of the prelude books describes Tanis' childhood, and while he was not specifically attacked for it, he was told rather bluntly that it could never happen for real because politics and that he could either persuade Laurana of that himself or force her family to do it for him.) The fact that he was unable to do so himself, despite his efforts, is one of the reasons he felt he had to leave. He felt he owed too much to the Speaker to shame him and his adopted family that way.0

I have to disagree with the idea that Tanis left Qualinesti under any threat of physical violence. As described above Laurana's family certainly didn't approve of his romantic relationship with Laurana, but they appear to have tolerated it (if through clinched teeth) for a considerable amount of time (which they would hardly do if they were trying to frighten Tanis away from Laurana.) And as previously discussed Tanis was still allowed to and did periodically visit Qualinesti even after he had moved to Solace. (Which he would hardly be likely to do if he was under any real threat of physical violence while there.) So while there's plenty that's wrong with Qualinesti society, I don't think it's fair to treat them as a lynch culture that would actually physically harm Tanis for being with Laurana.

That depends on what you consider to be physical harm. While it is unlikely they would have literally lynched him, they would almost certainly have exiled Tanis (and probably Laurana, if they had both persisted in keeping it going) and a half-elf and elfmaid in the middle of the woods with no friends, family or town would be in very real danger, especially in the post-cataclysm environment that part of the world was still in. By leaving with Flint of his own accord, Tanis spared himself and Laurana that particular hazard.

[bguy]

Keep in mind that they were both considered children at the time.

Their early relationship seems to have been comparable to a high school romance. So yes, they would have been considered children at the time, but those kind of relationships can still lead to marriage (or pregnancy), so Solostaran and Gilthanas still showed a surprising amount of forbearance in tolerating the relationship as long as they did.

Ultimately, as Tanis grew older, they DID start overtly objecting to his relationship (one of the prelude books describes Tanis' childhood, and while he was not specifically attacked for it, he was told rather bluntly that it could never happen for real because politics and that he could either persuade Laurana of that himself or force her family to do it for him.)

I'm familiar with that particular book (Kindred Spirits), and it has three major continuity errors about the Laurana-Tanis relationship.

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First, it has the Speaker find out that Laurana and Tanis are engaged and confront Tanis about the situation. (Indeed that is the very conversation you mentioned.) The Speaker knowing that Laurana and Tanis were engaged is completely at odds with what was said in Dragons of Autumn Twilight where it was stated that the Speaker did not know about their engagement.

Second, it has Tanis break their engagement while he was still living in Qualinesti. (Which obviously contradicts DoAT.)

And third it portrays the Laurana-Tanis relationship as little more than a little girl's crush with Tanis basically just humoring her. That is at odds with DoAT (where even Tanis described their past relationship as romantic) and DoWN (where it is mentioned that Tanis fell out with Gilthanas once Tanis became attracted to Laurana) and is also debunked by the Lost Chronicles where we find out that Tanis had previously told Kitiara about his relationship with Laurana and had described her as his girlfriend. (Hardly the term Tanis would have used to describe Laurana if she had just been a little girl with a one-sided crush on him.)

With Kindred Spirits blatantly contradicting so much that had already been established about the Laurana-Tanis relationship, I would be leery of considering it valid canon on the subject.

The fact that he was unable to do so himself, despite his efforts, is one of the reasons he felt he had to leave. He felt he owed too much to the Speaker to shame him and his adopted family that way.0

That's true but again that is Tanis making a voluntary choice to leave rather than being forced out under threat.

That depends on what you consider to be physical harm. While it is unlikely they would have literally lynched him, they would almost certainly have exiled Tanis (and probably Laurana, if they had both persisted in keeping it going) and a half-elf and elfmaid in the middle of the woods with no friends, family or town would be in very real danger, especially in the post-cataclysm environment that part of the world was still in. By leaving with Flint of his own accord, Tanis spared himself and Laurana that particular hazard.

Exile seems unlikely. (It's mentioned in the books that the elves consider it a cruller punishment than death, so it is reserved only for the most egregious of crimes.) And there is absolutely no way Laurana would have been exiled.

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If she wasn't exiled even after running away from home twice: the first time to chase after Tanis (an act that was considered so disgraceful that she was publicly snubbed and considered to be a whore thereafter) and the second time with her stealing a powerful magical artifact (an act that the elves would doubtlessly consider to be treasonous) then there is no way they are going to exile her simply for falling in love with the wrong boy.

It would be more likely that they would simply be barred from ever seeing one another.

Also, did Tanis actually leave Qualinesti with Flint?

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The novel The Soulforge at least implies that he traveled to see Flint upon leaving Qualinesti. (Flint being the only person he knew in the outside world). So that would imply Tanis had enough survival skills to at least get from Qualinesti to Solace on his own.

[warty goblin]

Leaving aside the potential immaturity of assorted elves and half-elves, let us continue boldly onwards to

8: Doubts. Ambush! A new friend

The companions are awoken before dawn. Gilthanas, wearing chainmail and blue travelling gear, says they have been provided with supplies, and the elves can arm any of the companions that need weapons. Caramon points out that Tika needs a sword a shield, Gilthanas suspects that they don't have armor small enough for her, but will see what they have. Goldmoon asks after Theros Ironfield, and is assured that he is doing well, and the elves will take him with them when they evacuate.

Wargear is soon brought for Tika, armor and a richly worked sword and shield of the type favored by elven women. Gilthanas says that they belonged to his mother, and date back to the Kingslayer Wars, but he and Laurana agreed that Tika should have them, since she saved Gilthanas' life after all. Tika likes them, but has no idea how to don armor. Caramon eagerly volunteers to help, but Goldmoon takes matters into her own hands. Riverwind points out to the sulky Caramon that as Chieftain's Daughter, Goldmoon is well acquainted with arming men for battle, and for reassuring them as well. As a distraction, Caramon looks in the packs, and is displeased to see what looks like dried fruit. Tanis explains that it's elven iron rations, and is, in fact, dried fruit. Caramon is not exactly pleased about this.

The companions get under way before dawn. Tanis deliberately does not look back, wishing that his last visit to Qualinesti had been happier. He's surprised, and rather relieved, that Laurana did not bid them an awkward, tearful farewell.

As they move south, Caramon attempts to instruct Tika in the finer points of swordplay. Unfortunately he is substantially distracted; Goldmoon slit her skirts up to the thigh, revealing flashes of leg and fur-trimmed undergarments. Caramon is so absorbed by this pleasant sight, that he doesn't even notice that Raistlin has disappeared, until Gilthanas asks where he's gone. Caramon is about to go start searching, but Gilthanas points out that nothing could have happened to him in the middle of the marching party, he must have gone somewhere; Gilthanas is clearly implying that he left for nefarious purposes, but is interrupted by Raistlin returning. He says he only left to gather magical components and the herbs for his cough remedy. Caramon says that it's too dangerous to wander off alone, but Raistlin insists that his magic is secret, and goes to walk next to Fizban.

Tika in adventurer mode, by Larry Elmore. I'm with Caramon on this one, though heaven knows I'd want pants/other leg coverings of some sort if moving through the woods. Or do elven woods not have brambles?

When they stop for lunch, Fizban tells Tanis quietly that they are being followed. Gilthanas says this is ridiculous, and they need to reach the Sla-Mori by sundown. Sturm, still not trusting Gilthanas, takes rear guard anyway.

Sometime in the midafternoon, the party reaches a clearing, and Tanis falls back in alarm. Caramon draws his sword and gestures for Sturm and Raistlin to ready themselves. Tas asks excitedly what it is, but Tanis shushes him. Tas, ever thoughtful, claps his hand over his mouth, to save Tanis the bother.

There was clearly a fight in the clearing, not long in the past. Human and hobgoblin corpses lay sprawled out on the blood-soaked ground. Everyone looks around, and listens for signs of trouble, but can't hear anything except the sound of the nearby stream. Sturm points out to Gilthanas that this hardly meets the definition of no enemy for miles around, and steps into the clearing. Tanis stops him, thinking he saw something move. Sturm figures maybe one of the fighters survived, and continues on, unperturbed. The other companions follow more warily, swords ready. A low moaning can be heard, coming from under a pile of dead hobgoblins. At a word from Tanis, Caramon hauls the deceased hobgoblins off, revealing a groaning human underneath, covered in blood and apparently unconscious.

Goldmoon goes to heal the man, but Caramon stops her. Humans after all also fight for Verminaard, and there's little point in healing him if they need to go and kill him immediately afterwards. The man is wearing chainmail of good quality, if rather tarnished, and obviously high quality but worn and tattered clothing. He's got black hair, and looks to be in his mid thirties. He opens his eyes, thanks the Seeker gods for the rescue, and asks about his friends. Sturm asks whether his friends were the humans or the hobgoblins. The man responds that he was fighting the hobgoblins with the humans, then recognizes Gilthanas.

Gilthanas obviously recognizes the man as well, calling him "Eben" and wondering how he survived the fight. Eben starts to get up, taking a hand from Caramon, and asking how Gilthanas got away himself, then interrupts himself to shout a warning. Draconians!

Caramon drops Eben as the turn to see a dozen draconians emerge from the woods. Their leader orders the companions to surrender and submit to questioning by the Dragon Highlord. Sturm whispers to Tanis that according to Gilthanas, nobody was supposed to know about this path, Tanis ignores this and tells the draconians they don't take orders from the Highlord. The draconians rush to attack.

At the edge of the clearing, Fizban starts rummaging in his pouches, but Raistlin insists he doesn't cast a fireball, since it will incinerate everybody. Regretfully, Fizban starts trying to remember how a Web spell goes.

Tika, brand new (old) sword in hand, is having a major case of nerves. A draconian rushes at her, and she takes a huge swing at it. She misses the draconian completely, but comes alarmingly close to hitting Caramon, who pulls her behind himself, thwacks the draconian with the flat of his sword, then stomps on its neck. Seeing the way Tika is swinging her sword, he tells her to run off to the edge of the trees like a good girl.

Tika does not think much of this plan, or Caramon's tone, and decides to show him then and there. Another couple draconians rush Caramon, but Raistlin is beside him now, and Tika realizes she'd only be in their way. Also Raistlin is scarier than draconians. Everybody else seems to be engaged, and fighting alongside somebody else, except for Tas, who is using his hoopak to launch a barrage of rocks, and Fizban, who is now leafing through a book, muttering about web spells.

A bloodcurdling yell behind her nearly makes Tika choke in panic. She drops her sword in panic as another draconian launches itself at her. Getting a good two handed grip on her shield, she bashes it in the face, then picks up her sword and stabs the thing. It turns to stone, trapping the blade. Tas yells a warning to her as another draconian lunges for her. She catches its thrust on her shield, then proceeds to pound it over and over again with the shield, only stopping when she feels somebody take her arm. It's Caramon, who reassures her that they're all dead, and she did very well. It takes Tika a moment to recognize Caramon, then, rather embarrassed, she says she wasn't very good with the sword. Seeing her start to tremble, Caramon takes her in his arms, and says she was braver than many warriors he'd seen.

Tika looks up at Caramon, suddenly realizing that she really likes the feeling of being pressed up against him, so she grabs him about the neck and kisses him so fiercely her teeth draw blood. Caramon is only momentarily wrongfooted by this turn of events, then responds in kind with gusto, forgetting everything else in his desire for Tika. Tika, for her part is both enjoying things and starting to panic slightly. Things are definitely getting hot, with at least a 50% chance of heaviness, when Caramon is brought crashing back to reality by Raistlin's hand on his shoulder. The pair return, rather shellshocked, to reality; in this case Raistin giving Tika a cold look. She turns bright red nearly trips over a draconian statue, grabs her shield, and flees. Caramon clears his throat awkwardly and shakes a bit; Raistlin gives him a disgusted look.

Eben is being questioned by Sturm, Tanis and Gilthanas. He says he's fine, just got buried under dead hobgoblins during the fight; they must have figured he was dead and left him. Gilthanas expresses a certain amount incredulity over this story, but Eben insists that, as an expert swordsman, he killed six hobgoblins before being overwhelmed. He asks where they are headed; Caramon starts to say, but Gilthanas keeps him from blabbing, saying only that their route is secret, but they could use an expect swordsman. Cheerfully enough, Eben agrees, so long as he gets to fight draconians. He explains that he's Eben Shatterstone, from Gateway, apparently his family is rather famous - but this is interrupted as Fizban remembers how Web is cast, and everybody is blanketed in sticky thread.

At sunset, the companions reach an area of open grasslands, running between mountains. In the center of the pass stands the enormous fortress of Pax Tharkas, which is so big it stuns all the companions. Tika wonders about the men who built it, but Flint sadly explains that it was build in cooperation between elves and dwarves, long ago. Gilthanas says that this is correct; after the Kinslayer Wars Kith-Kanan left Silvanesti for Qualinesti, and, together with the dwarves, built Pax Tharkas between their two kingdoms. Now it is turned to a darker purpose.

Across the plain, the great gates of the fortress open, and an army emerges; ranks of draconians, hobgoblins and goblins. Overhead a great red dragon watches the army march; even at this great distance the companions feel the Dragonfear coming off the monster.

Gilthanas, voice breaking, says that the army is heading for Qualinesti. They must get inside Pax Tharkas and free the slaves immediately. Eben is astonished by this plan; Gilthanas clearly regrets saying so much in front of him. Eben asks how they mean to do it; just wait for the army to leave, then run up to the gates and thump the guards? Between him and Caramon, he figures they can pull it off, but Gilthanas reminds them that this isn't the plan, and points them to a narrow valley, saying they will take that way as soon as darkness falls. He stands up and moves off. Tanis follows him, asking what he knows of Eben.

Gilthanas replies that Eben was part of the party he was with when he was ambushed and left for dead. He had thought all the survivors were taken to Solace and killed, but since he survived, it's possible Eben did as well. Apparently Eben comes from the (now destroyed) town of Gateway, where his family used to be quite wealthy before falling on hard times. Since then Eben has been living as a mercenary. Tanis figured as much, and says Gilthanas made the right choice by bringing him along. Gilthanas says it was too dangerous to leave him, and they should keep an eye on him. Tanis agrees.

Gilthanas says that Tanis thinks he's untrustworthy as well, but he swears he's not a traitor. The only thing he wants is to destroy Verminaard and save his people. After seeing the dragon burn the elves alive in Solace, he'd gladly give his life - and, Tanis points, out, their lives as well. Gilthanas agrees that Tanis' life means nothing to him, the lives of his people mean everything. He moves off, as Sturm catches up.

The old man is right, they are being followed.

Commentary
Two important notes: fur-trimmed underpants sound tremendously uncomfortable as soon as one starts to sweat. And Tas gagging himself is entirely adorable and perfectly Tas.

The two big elements of this chapter are of course Tika's first battle, followed by Tika's first make-out session, and the building sense of distrust between Tanis, Gilthanas, Raistlin, and newcomer Eben, and learning that they're being followed.

I like the fight scene; we've had enough of them by now that there's no real point in showing what everybody's doing in detail anymore, so instead it smartly enough focuses on Tika, who's a very believable combination of scared as hell and determined to do well. Plus, given that the most popular form of shield in Dragonlance seems to be an all-metal round shield, it's about time somebody started using one as a bludgeon. Also this is notable for bucking the annoying cliche of the adventurer woman being the archer, putatively because it requires less strength*. Nope, Tika seems to prefer blunt force trauma at point blank range, with whatever's at hand.

As Tracy Hickman points out in a footnote, between Tika's "great legs", cooking ability, and propensity for smashing things with frying pans, Caramon's really a gonner. Speaking of which, I sort of like the Tika/Caramon romance so far. It hasn't occupied a huge number of pages (unlike Tanis' constant ladytroubles), and it isn't a symbol of some sort of tortured internal dilemma (yet). Caramon is interested in Tika, Tika is interested in Caramon. Tika is romantically inexperienced and nervous, Caramon is clueless because he's not the most subtle of people. All good, sensible stuff for a secondary character romance.


The 'who's a traitor' subplot on the other hand does less for me.

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We're supposed to wonder if Gilthanas, Eben or Raistlin is the traitor. The problem is that the right answer is obvious (Eben). We already established in Xak Tsaroth, that Tanis trusts Raistlin, even if he is sort of a jerk. Selling them out now just makes no sense of Raistlin, it would have made a lot more sense back when they were captured in Solace. Gilthanas is a jerk to Tanis, sure, but he's got an entirely reasonable and completely personal motivation for that. And he's also got an entirely reasonable character goal (saving his people) that could itself be milked for some decent conflict with the party, since he's clearly happy enough to sacrifice them to achieve it.

And Eben is a reasonably friendly dude they basically found in a ditch under suspicious circumstances. Quick! Who is going to sell you out? The jerk who nevertheless always comes through, the jerk who thinks you're not good enough for his sister and is trying to stave off genocide, or the rando dude you just met?

*Which is malarkey. All the power in a bow is muscle power. I instead suspect a certain cultural squeamishness about the ladyfolks stabbing people repeatedly in the spleen.

[JadedDM]

Fun fact: In the original module, Eben is a level 5 fighter. That makes him slightly weaker than Caramon and Sturm (who are level 6), but the same level as Tanis. His stats are unusual for a fighter: STR 14, DEX 13, CON 8, INT 15, WIS 7, CHA 15. His highest scores are INT and CHA, while his dump scores include his CON.

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When I ran this module, my players were immediately suspicious of Eben, because they read the books, so of course they were. :p

[Keltest]

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The fact that they try to play the tension along racial/familial lines as well doesn't really help. Yeah, Caramon would never mistrust Raist, but Caramon would never mistrust anybody. Gilthanas is the one leading the mission in the first place, so the idea that he would betray them is silly; if he wanted to sabotage the mission, all he has to do is get them lost in the woods around the fortress and just leave. Even if they find their way out, its going to be too late for the Elves and slaves. And Raist, as we have previously established, is more or less loyal to the party. They already played that subplot.

[bguy]

Leaving aside the potential immaturity of assorted elves and half-elves

Aww, you're no fun :)

Tanis deliberately does not look back, wishing that his last visit to Qualinesti had been happier. He's surprised, and rather relieved, that Laurana did not bid them an awkward, tearful farewell.

I read Tanis's reaction as a little more mixed here. He's certainly glad to avoid another messy emotion scene but it also reads as though he's also a little hurt/disappointed that she didn't come to say good bye to him.

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And Eben is a reasonably friendly dude they basically found in a ditch under suspicious circumstances. Quick! Who is going to sell you out? The jerk who nevertheless always comes through, the jerk who thinks you're not good enough for his sister and is trying to stave off genocide, or the rando dude you just met?

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I think the Eben as a traitor plot line would have worked if they had written him as one of the original Innfellows. He would be easy enough to include in the original party on the Xak Tsaroth mission and having an Eben who was a long time friend of the party and was with the group from the very start of the quest suddenly turn over to be a traitor could have been an actual surprise (and would certainly have meant more to the other characters as they would be being betrayed by someone they considered to be a friend.)

[Keltest]

Aww, you're no fun :)



I read Tanis's reaction as a little more mixed here. He's certainly glad to avoid another messy emotion scene but it also reads as though he's also a little hurt/disappointed that she didn't come to say good bye to him.

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I think the Eben as a traitor plot line would have worked if they had written him as one of the original Innfellows. He would be easy enough to include in the original party on the Xak Tsaroth mission and having an Eben who was a long time friend of the party and was with the group from the very start of the quest suddenly turn over to be a traitor could have been an actual surprise (and would certainly have meant more to the other characters as they would be being betrayed by someone they considered to be a friend.)

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Heck, even have him stay behind to distract the goblins in Solas. The story stays mostly the same, but now you have a connection, yet also some reasonable suspicion. And the division along racial lines makes more sense then.

[TripleD]

That art...

Some parts of Dragonlance have stood the test of time. Tika’s 80s perm is not one of them.

[warty goblin]

That art...

Some parts of Dragonlance have stood the test of time. Tika’s 80s perm is not one of them.

The really impressive part is the sheer amount of hair care product she must have been hauling around to maintain that level of bounce and volume. No wonder she doesn't have room for pants.

[Rodin]

I like the fight scene; we've had enough of them by now that there's no real point in showing what everybody's doing in detail anymore, so instead it smartly enough focuses on Tika, who's a very believable combination of scared as hell and determined to do well. Plus, given that the most popular form of shield in Dragonlance seems to be an all-metal round shield, it's about time somebody started using one as a bludgeon. Also this is notable for bucking the annoying cliche of the adventurer woman being the archer, putatively because it requires less strength*. Nope, Tika seems to prefer blunt force trauma at point blank range, with whatever's at hand.

*Which is malarkey. All the power in a bow is muscle power. I instead suspect a certain cultural squeamishness about the ladyfolks stabbing people repeatedly in the spleen.

One of the things I liked about the Deed of Paksenarrion (another fantasy series of similar vintage) is that the first thing we see when the titular character auditions for a mercenary company is a check of how strong she is. She's shown to be almost as strong as the male recruiter, who is himself a veteran soldier. That's because, guess what, a farmgirl in a medieval setting would have to be pretty strong. When she gets a longbow much later in the series, there's a little scene where one of her friends tries to draw it and fails. Not because she has super strength or anything, but because she's a good foot taller than him and the bow is sized accordingly.

Tika strikes me as being similar - she's very fit because she does a lot more than just waitressing for the inn. She's hauling stock up through the cargo hatch in the back of the inn and generally doing a lot of hard physical labor to help keep the place running. The depiction of her first fight is also similar - she forgets the strokes she had been drilled in and makes up for it with berserker panic.

[Slayer Lord]

Yeah, Tika's armor is....yeah.... Way too little protection for the legs and chest area. Pretty standard fantasy bikini armor. But what gets me is the helmet. I'm not sure if its because of the contrast with her ginormous 80s hair, but it just looks so cute and tiny on her head. More like a decoration or something they added at the last minute than anything functional.
Plus, horns don't belong on helmets you intend to go onto a battlefield with. It's purely decorative and something for the bad guys to grab onto. Also, didn't she get this armor from the elves? I'm all for going against the grain on fantasy stereotypes, but horned helmets just don't scream "elvish" to me. Are there any other elves in DL with horned helmets?
But for all my complaining about her wardrobe, her first fight is just great. Definitely one of my favorite scenes in the first trilogy.

Also: Paksenarrion is fantastic, and deserves more love. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a paladin fanboy. Well, maybe a little.

[warty goblin]

One of the things I liked about the Deed of Paksenarrion (another fantasy series of similar vintage) is that the first thing we see when the titular character auditions for a mercenary company is a check of how strong she is. She's shown to be almost as strong as the male recruiter, who is himself a veteran soldier. That's because, guess what, a farmgirl in a medieval setting would have to be pretty strong. When she gets a longbow much later in the series, there's a little scene where one of her friends tries to draw it and fails. Not because she has super strength or anything, but because she's a good foot taller than him and the bow is sized accordingly.

Tika strikes me as being similar - she's very fit because she does a lot more than just waitressing for the inn. She's hauling stock up through the cargo hatch in the back of the inn and generally doing a lot of hard physical labor to help keep the place running. The depiction of her first fight is also similar - she forgets the strokes she had been drilled in and makes up for it with berserker panic.

I often think the strength requirement for at least some forms of combat is overstated, particularly in actual-by-the-rules D&D. Sure being able to hit harder is good, but if you're hitting somebody not wearing armor, a three foot long sharpened bit of steel delivers a just obscene amount of cutting power anyway. You'll probably get a better cut with more work on edge alignment and technique than being able to deadlift another 20lbs. Now if you're smashing dudes in plate armor with a pole-axe, you're gonna want a lot of sheer strength, but that isn't what adventurers usually get up to.



Anyway, it's like ten billion degrees outside today, so it's a perfect excuse to stay inside and read Dragonlance

9: Suspicions grow. The Sla-Mori

They follow the valley for a bit, then a stream leading up into the mountains. Eben pulls Tanis aside, saying this route is insane, and trolls made the trails they're on. Taking Tanis' arm with a familiarity the half-elf finds jarring, Eben admits that Tanis has no reason to trust him, but does Tanis really know Gilthanas either?

Tanis starts to say something, but Eben goes on to explain that he and his companions had been hiding out and fighting draconians just fine, until the elves showed up and asked if they wanted to hit one of the Dragon Highlord's forts. They said sure, but started to get really nervous when the route the elves took was lousy with draconian tracks, which the elves said were old. That night they got attacked by draconians, and all during the fight the elves were calling out for Gilthanas, as if he wasn't there. Eben was captured, but escaped in Solace.

Tanis, deeply disturbed by this piece of information, says he's known Gilthanas for a long time. Eben says he just wanted to let him know, and heads back towards Tika; Tanis knows Sturm and Caramon heard everything Eben said. At this point, Gilthanas reappears, saying that they're close. Eben says he still thinks they should try the front gate, Caramon agrees, but Raistlin and Goldmoon are both clearly exhausted, and even Tas looks tired. Sturm suggests that they camp here, then try the main gate in the morning. Tanis insists they stick to the original plan, and camp when they reach the Sla-Mori. Flint tells Sturm to go ring the doorbell and see just how hospitable Lord Verminaard is feeling, and stomps off.

Tanis tells Sturm that at least the Sla-Mori may be enough to lose their tail. Sturm says whomever is following them is good, he's never gotten more than a glimpse of them.

Shortly thereafter, they emerge from the brush to find themselves in front of a huge stone cliff. Gilthanas walks along it for a ways, then finds a small alcove in the stone, into which he sets a crystal, then starts to chant. Fizban says he didn't know Gilthanas was a magic-user, Raistlin says he's just a dabbler.

The rock wall abruptly slides open with a gust of cold, stale air. Caramon asks what's down the hole, but Gilthanas says he only knows the elven stories, having never been there himself. Caramon asks what used to be in the Sla-Mori then, and Gilthanas says it was the tomb of Kith-Kanan. Flint suggests they send Raistlin in first to warn them of ghosts, Raistlin snaps that they should toss the dwarf in, since they like underground holes. Firing up, Flint says that's only the mountain dwarves, who exiled the hill dwarves - Tanis tells them to cut it the hell out, and asks Raistlin what he can sense. The mage replies that he feels great evil, but Fizban says he can also feel great good; the elves are not entirely forgotten yet.

Eben shouts that this is still crazy, and argues again for trying the front gate. Caramon points out that they already learned they can't fight the dead in Darken Wood, Gilthanas says it's the only route that will work, and if the're too scared - Tanis interrupts, saying there's a distinction between cowardice and sensible caution. But he says they should at least explore the tunnel, instead of risk alerting the entire garrison of Pax Tharkas trying the gate, Flint should lead, and Raistlin will need to lead the way with his light.

Raistlin lights his staff, and he and Flint head into the Sla-Mori. The others follow. Sturm asks Tanis if they should leave the tunnel open for their tail; Tanis says to close it almost all the way, but leave it open a crack as a trap. Gilthanas puts the gem into a niche on the inside of the tunnel, and casts another spell to close the door, pulling out the crystal and stopping it when it's still open by about eight inches.

Flint and Raistlin report back, the tunnel continues about 120 feet (or 12 ten foot squares, as the annotations point out, they're now in dungeon-crawling mode, so everything is in ten foot increments again), and there's a lot of dust, then a crossroads. There are tracks, but not of draconians or goblins, and the evil feels like it is coming from the righthand path. Tanis says they'll camp on the spot for the evening, and set double watches. Tika, even though she's exhausted, gamely says she'll take a watch with the others.

Tika makes up her bedroll, aware that both Caramon and Eben are watching. She doesn't mind Eben watching her, she's used to male attention, and he's even better looking than Caramon, but the memory of being in Caramon's arms makes her shiver. She forces her mind back to the present, and tries to figure out how to sleep comfortably in chain mail. Not that it matters, she's so exhausted she falls asleep right away, telling herself that she's glad she isn't alone with Caramon...

Goldmoon notices Caramon noticing Tika, and pulls him aside to have a word with him, "like a big sister." Caramon immediately responds that there's no way she's going to talk to him like Kitiara would, who taught him all manner of curse words and how to kick people in the groin during fencing contests when the judges weren't looking. Goldmoon is shocked by this description, since she assumed that Kit and Tanis... Caramon happily assures them that they sure did.

Feeling that this is really not where she had wanted the conversation to go, and explains to the utterly clueless Caramon that Tika's a virgin, would do anything to win his approval, and so he'd better take things very slow with her. Besides, waiting makes it even better. Caramon says she would know, and she agrees; having not slept with Riverwind yet. She says, half to herself, that it's probably pointless to maintain her tribe's tradition at this point, but they'll still wait for marriage.

Nothing alarming happens for the rest of the night, as the watches come and go. After breakfast, they head down the tunnel, to the crossroads. Riverwind examines the tracks, describing them as "human, but they are not human." There are also rat tracks, which end where the paths cross, while the inhuman tracks do not go down the lefthand corridor at all. Tanis wonders which they should go. Eben says they should go back, but Tanis says that's not an option, and he won't let Eben go back alone. Eben agrees its completely reasonable not to trust him, and he'll come, since he said he'd help.

Tanis asks if Gilthanas has any idea which way to go, but the elf says that there's supposed to many ways from the Sla-Mori into Pax Tharkas, so he only knew the route, but not where to go within the tunnels. Raistlin says that the evil comes from the right, so Tanis says they'll go left.

They follow the tunnel for some ways, before coming to an enormous hole in the wall. By the light of Raistlin's staff, they can barely see the outlines of an enormous hall beyond the gap. They enter the hall, which must have once been magnificent, though much of it has been ruined by the passage of time, and the Cataclysm. At the back of the room are a pair of massive bronze doors.

As they move through the hall, Caramon cries out, pointing at a great throne carved of granite, flanked by a pair of giant statues. On the throne sits the ancient skeleton of a man, though whether human or elven, none can now tell. The skeleton wears a crown, and its hands clasp a sheathed sword. Gilthanas kneels, saying that they have found the final resting place of Kith-Kanan, and are the first living things to set foot here since the disappearance of the elven clerics in the Cataclysm. Tanis too falls to his knees, saying something in elven, overcome with feelings he cannot entirely name.

A book about Kith-Kanan. Admit it, you're not even surprised about this one.

Tas thinks its a really pretty sword, and is scandalized when Tanis tells him not to take it. As Tas to investigate, Raistlin accompanies him, and casts Detect Magic on the sword, revealing it to be enchanted. Tas asks if its a good enchantment, but Raistlin has no idea, saying only that he for one isn't going to touch it. This leaves poor Tas in a crisis, investigate and displease Tanis and maybe be changed into something unpleasant, or let it go?

While Tas battles the demons of curiosity, the others search for any hidden doors, but find nothing. Gilthanas finds a map of Pax Tharkas carved on one of the bronze doors, which is slightly ajar. He and Raistlin study the map, while the others continue looking. Flint finally tells Tas to help, since he's a kender and he's supposed to be good at this sort of thing. Tas starts to head across the room, but stops, hearing a scraping sound from beyond the doors. Raistlin and Gilthanas fall back from a rush of foul air through the doors; everyone can hear the noise now, a low, squelching sound.

They rush to shut the door, but are thrown backwards as a random encounter monster bursts through them and into the hall. Tas wants to know what it eats, Flint pulls him out the way, yelling that it eats them.

Various people try stabbing the slug, but to relatively limited effect, its skin is very thick and rubbery. Then Tanis is distracted by a scream of "Tanthalas!" Laurana is standing at the entrance to the hall. The slug takes advantage of Tanis' distraction and shoots a stream of caustic saliva at him; the spray hits his sword and spatters his arm. His sword dissolves into melted slag, and Tanis falls to his knees in agony. Goldmoon and Riverwind rush to help him; Riverwind shoots the slug with an arrow that does nothing, Goldmoon casts a healing spell on Tanis' arm. Gratefully, Tanis looks around. The others are attacking the slug to little effect, his sword is a melted mess, and the slug is still heading for him.

Raistlin tells Fizban that this would be a good time for a fireball. The old wizard delightedly agrees, but can't remember how the spell goes, and Raistlin lacks the power to cast it. Tanis pushes Goldmoon behind him as the slug closes in, telling the others to flee. Sturm points out that the slug will just follow them. Raistlin casts a spell (clearly Magic Missile) at the slug, but it keeps plowing on towards where Tanis is trying to protect Goldmoon and Laurana. Tanis shoots it with an arrow, but it just bounces off.

He stumbles back, tripping over Kith-Kanan's throne. He scrambles for a rock or something to throw at the oncoming slug, but his fingers meet the hilt of a sword. The metal is shockingly cold, and Tanis nearly drops it in shock, but the slug is nearly on him, so he stabs the blade into its mouth.

Now in significant pain, the slug gives this hunt up as a bad job, and slithers off through the doors it entered by, trailing an unpleasant slime behind it.

The companions stand around in shock for a moment; Raistlin is coughing on the clouds of dust all this has stirred up. Tanis is looking around angrily for Tas, when the kender appears with the scabbard for the sword. Deciding that following the slug is not a good idea, Tanis orders everybody back down the tunnel. Back at the crossroads, they take a rest, and Tanis asks why Laurana is there. She says she just came, and Gilthanas says she's just going right back.

Laurana says she's doing no such thing; she's coming with Gilthanas, and Tanis, and all the others. Tanis says that this is crazy, they nearly got killed back there. Laurana, her voice breaking, says she knows, but Tanis told her that sometimes there are things worth more than life itself, and she can't bear to loose Tanis again. Gilthanas insists that she could have died, but Laurana says she was trained as a warrior like all elven women, and she did a good job following them. Even Sturm admits that she did a good job of that, but even then -

Raistlin interrupts this pleasant little argument to point out that they don't have time to waste, Laurana made her choice, it wouldn't be safe to send her back in case she was captured, and he really wants to get out of this musty tomb. Indeed, he can hardly talk for coughing.

This bit of logic annoys Tanis, so he yanks Laurana to her feet, and tells her that he and Gilthanas can't be helping her out all the time. She's acted like a spoiled child, and needs to grow up fast before she gets everybody killed. Laurana says she's sorry, but repeats she couldn't lose Tanis again, and she'll make him proud of her yet.

Trying to ignore Tika and Caramon's sniggering, Tanis tells Sturm and Gilthanas that they'll have to take the right hand path, and risk the evil. He buckles on the new sword, and notices Raistlin staring at it. The mage says its enchanted, and wants to know how Tanis got it. Tanis thinks back, he was next to the throne, looking for something to throw, and then the sword was in his hand, already drawn, and a hand touched his. Kith-Kanan gave it to him...

I really like this picture; pity I can't find a source for it. This is why I never go adventuring with a +3 Salt Shaker

Commentary

I'll admit, I'm not super-fond of this chapter. Plenty happens, but a lot of it is taken up with the slug fight. Which is a fine fight to be sure, but we just had a fight scene literally the last chapter, and this one feels taken straight off a random encounter table. Still, a giant acid-spitting slug is cool, and there are worse things to do then spend a couple pages slugging it out with a cool monster

Speaking of worse things, we get more of the people distrusting people subplot, which remains tedious. The only new tidbit we get is that Gilthanas wasn't present for the ambush like he said - if you believe Eben. Otherwise it's just the same thing as the last chapter or two, which is unusual for Dragonlance. Usually plot threads advance at a pretty decent clip.

On the other hand, Goldmoon's reaction to the description of Kitiara is priceless. It's also really one of the first things we learn about Kit as a character, as opposed to just being the absent object of Tanis' angst. And it's nice to see her spelling things out for Caramon, who's clearly just a bit clueless. Imagine, people helping each other with their romantic difficulties like adults. Maybe some of it will rub off on Tanis.

The biggest thing is clearly the reveal that Laurana had followed the party. I have a certain amount of sympathy for Tanis here. Quite aside from having been recently partially dissolved by a giant mollusk, he made it clear he wasn't interested, and Laurana doesn't respect that at all. Seriously, if you flip the genders around and put this in a substantially darker book this situation becomes (at least) borderline alarming. Because this is Dragonlance however, it's clearly supposed to sweet if more than a bit naive, so I'll read it like that.

On the other hand, there's a level at which I think Tanis is just being a bit unfair and venting his generalized frustration at Laurana here. He let Tika come along basically because she wanted to, motivated at least in part by having the hots for Caramon. Don't get me wrong, I like Tika and her considerable aptitude for blunt force trauma, but she's substantially less skilled than Laurana. If she gets to chase her mancandy around, why shouldn't Laurana? It's also a bit rich to lecture her about not getting help, when the others help each other basically constantly. At least when not engaging in their other favorite pastime; sniping at each other.

The other major development is Tanis getting a magical sword handed to him by the corpse of a long-dead legendary elven king. I do like the way Kith-Kanan is worked into the narrative though; there's clearly a lot more there, but we don't really get into it. There's a fine line in a fantasy novel between showing that there is a backstory and you didn't just make it up on the spot, and pummeling the audience with endless made-up history. For something as generally fast moving as Dragonlance, I think this about the right level. And of course there's a novel with all the details.

Spoiler: Future stuff

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The sword is relevant literally one time in the entire series. It's sort of an anti-climax.

Finally, I'd like to note that at this point the companions have been captured twice - once by the pathetic Toede - had two members substantially dissolved in acid, required two acts of divine resurrection, been played by a gully dwarf, required rescue by a mad wizard and a different gully dwarf even after a handy elf-shaped distraction, and have just been fought to a standstill by an overgrown living booger. The list of shame grows longer.

[JadedDM]

So, fun facts about the original module here. In the original 1E module, Laurana does not follow the party to the Sla-Mori. Rather, she gets kidnapped while still in Qualinesti. By Toede. On wyvernback! No, I am not making any of this up!

Yes, Toede and some kapaks swoop in on wyverns right in the elven capital, he grabs Laurana and takes off with her. The party can later rescue her once they get into Pax Tharkas. I guess it's pretty obvious why they changed that for the books.

Another fun fact: Laurana is only a level 3 fighter, making her the weakest person in the party, even weaker than Tika (as I said before, Tika is a Fighter 4/Thief 3). When I ran this game, I had to bump Laurana up a couple of levels just so she could contribute along with the rest of the party. To be fair, she's not meant to be a PC yet, just an NPC (and more of a load that the party must protect than anything), but there are so few female PC characters, that I had to make her playable much earlier as half my group were women.

[bguy]

Yeah, Tika's armor is....yeah.... Way too little protection for the legs and chest area. Pretty standard fantasy bikini armor. But what gets me is the helmet. I'm not sure if its because of the contrast with her ginormous 80s hair, but it just looks so cute and tiny on her head. More like a decoration or something they added at the last minute than anything functional.
Plus, horns don't belong on helmets you intend to go onto a battlefield with. It's purely decorative and something for the bad guys to grab onto. Also, didn't she get this armor from the elves? I'm all for going against the grain on fantasy stereotypes, but horned helmets just don't scream "elvish" to me. Are there any other elves in DL with horned helmets?

The picture of Tika? in a horned helmet is very different than most of the DL art concerning Tika (which has her in a considerably more elvish looking helmet that does not include any horns.)

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DRS...spring-dawning

http://www.larryelmore.com/store/DLS...ance--the-saga

Indeed are we even sure the woman in the horned helmet is supposed to be Tika? (I've never seen that image in any DL art book, and other than having red curly hair it looks pretty different from every other depiction of Tika I've ever seen.)

Raistlin interrupts this pleasant little argument to point out that they don't have time to waste, Laurana made her choice, it wouldn't be safe to send her back in case she was captured, and he really wants to get out of this musty tomb. Indeed, he can hardly talk for coughing.

Raistlin's arguments seem logical enough, but you do have to wonder if he had an ulterior motive in advocating for Laurana to stick around. (After seeing nothing but death and decay everywhere he looked for 5 years, Laurana, an incredibly beautiful woman with no trace of decay on her, must seem like an oasis in the middle of a never ending desert to Raistlin.)

I have a certain amount of sympathy for Tanis here. Quite aside from having been recently partially dissolved by a giant mollusk, he made it clear he wasn't interested, and Laurana doesn't respect that at all. Seriously, if you flip the genders around and put this in a substantially darker book this situation becomes (at least) borderline alarming. Because this is Dragonlance however, it's clearly supposed to sweet if more than a bit naive, so I'll read it like that.

Except Tanis didn't make it clear he wasn't interested. Quite the opposite in fact. Yes, he broke their engagement (finally) and told her he is in love with Kitiara, but then he told her that he is still in love with her as well and that his heart is divided between the two women. That's not Tanis saying he's uninterested; it's Tanis saying he can't make up his mind, and as such it's hardly unreasonable for Laurana to think that if Tanis loves both her and Kitiara then all she has to do is convince him that she is the better choice. (Which obviously requires her to be around him.)

On the other hand, there's a level at which I think Tanis is just being a bit unfair and venting his generalized frustration at Laurana here. He let Tika come along basically because she wanted to, motivated at least in part by having the hots for Caramon. Don't get me wrong, I like Tika and her considerable aptitude for blunt force trauma, but she's substantially less skilled than Laurana. If she gets to chase her mancandy around, why shouldn't Laurana?

Hear, hear!

So, fun facts about the original module here. In the original 1E module, Laurana does not follow the party to the Sla-Mori. Rather, she gets kidnapped while still in Qualinesti. By Toede. On wyvernback! No, I am not making any of this up!

Yes, Toede and some kapaks swoop in on wyverns right in the elven capital, he grabs Laurana and takes off with her. The party can later rescue her once they get into Pax Tharkas. I guess it's pretty obvious why they changed that for the books.

Spoiler

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The crazy thing is that the later game modules keep the novel plot point about Laurana being a pariah when she is reunited with her people; a plot point that makes sense in the novels but is insane in the modules since it means the Qualinesti are publicly shunning their princess for having been the victim of a kidnapping.

Another fun fact: Laurana is only a level 3 fighter, making her the weakest person in the party, even weaker than Tika (as I said before, Tika is a Fighter 4/Thief 3). When I ran this game, I had to bump Laurana up a couple of levels just so she could contribute along with the rest of the party. To be fair, she's not meant to be a PC yet, just an NPC (and more of a load that the party must protect than anything), but there are so few female PC characters, that I had to make her playable much earlier as half my group were women.

Yeah, Laurana gets a really raw deal in the original game modules since given D&D's racial and gender level limits at that time, she could never rise above 5th level.