The White Shadow Saga: The Stolen Moon of Londor by A.P. Stephens

of various colors and sizes. It would be more than enough to
get them through the night.
    Randor looked like a statue as he stared
blankly into the dancing tails of the blaze. The air around him was
enveloped with the sweet smell of Goldtrine as its smoke swirled
upward. Geil bent down close to the wizard, placed the logs on the
ground, and tossed some of the smaller pieces in, sending red-gold
sparks up into the night.
    "Any thoughts on Beldas, Randor?" Seth
inquired. Though he hadn't had time yet to speak to the wizard on
the matter, he had no doubt that Randor would come up with an
answer from all the lifetimes of experience and knowledge he
possessed.
    "None at the present time," Randor answered.
"We do not need to be hasting about without a plan. We shall know
tomorrow; I promise you this."
    It bothered Randor greatly that he had not
found a solution for Londor's troubles. In his eight thousand
years, he had mended the problems of many kingdoms without delay,
but this situation was steeped in an evil much older and more
cunning than any he had ever seen. Whoever or whatever was at the
bottom of this diabolical plot against Londor was no stranger to
secrecy and darkness.
    Lorn attended to the roasting meat, feeling
of value for the first time since he left Beowulken. Juices
trickled down in long strands and met the fire with a hiss. The
dwarf thought about the drawing he had begun in Zelok's palace. The
charcoal in his satchel seemed to call for his hand to move it
deftly across the paper. His nerves calmed at the prospect of a
normal evening--something he had not seen in two long weeks.
    "Seems like a clear night," Gildan said as he
looked up into the canopy. His view fell to a gap within that
showed the lone moon creeping slowly across the black sky. He still
felt strange at seeing it alone in the heavens.
    "Fortunately for me, I missed the storms of
the elven valley," Randor said. He removed his hat and stroked back
his tangled hair. "Wretched weather, I should imagine."
    "Fourteen straight days of it, the elves told
me," Seth added.
    Arnanor was consumed with disgust,
miffed at not having his usual private tent and a royal battalion
surrounding him, at his beck and call. As regret began to gnaw at
him, he grew unsure why he had ever decided to enlist with such a
shabby company. No one knew where to begin the investigation, and
all in all, the motley group seemed most unpromising. To make
things even worse, now he had to follow the orders of a Randor.
Ultimately, though, the prince knew that it was his own choice to
be here, and he would see this journey through--even at the cost of
his own life. Though Arnanor was not concerned with the entire
world's suffering, he could not abide seeing the Northern Kingdom
fall into ruin. The rain still fell in his father's realm, and the
rivers flowed more wildly with each passing day. The icebergs were
melting rapidly, and a mood of impending disaster plagued the
prince's mind. He glanced at Muron and Geil, who seemed content
with their surroundings. May this night
end soon , Arnanor said to himself.
    "Why has the weather turned so inclement,
anyhow?" Lorn asked as he turned the birds on the fire. "Does the
moon have a role in this?"
    "Yes," Randor replied, blowing a great ring
of smoke into the air. "Much of the world--elves especially--relies
on the twin moons." He pointed up into the heavens, to where Beldas
should be. "For when Cadmor and Beldas are aligned with the God
Star, it releases the purest mana." All but Malander and Arnanor
listened to Randor. "Magic is manifested, giving the elves their
life force, wisdom, prosperity, and spirit." Seth had heard all
this earlier from Zelok, and he knew that Lorn had lost interest
earlier in the elf-king's words and no doubt was doing so now.
    "What will happen if we do not succeed?"
Muron asked. Although the scholars of the Northern Kingdom had
lectured him on what to expect if the source of power was not
rebalanced, Muron had never