note that Belzor apparently likes his worshipers in a state of befuddlement."

"Yes, isn't it," Kit agreed. "What about Caramon? Will he be all right?"

Caramon wore a foolish grin on his face. He was humming a little song to himself.

"The effects will wear off in time," said Raistlin. "But don't count on him for any action for a good hour or so.

Sit down, my brother. This is neither the time nor the place for dancing."

"What's been going on in here?" Kit asked Sturm, who had saved front row seats, right next to the arena.

"Nothing of interest," he said.

There was no need to lower their voices, the noise in the chamber was deafe ning. Affected by the smoke,

people were giddy, laughing and calling out to friends as the priests directed them to their seats.

"I arrived early. What's the matter with everyone?" Sturm gazed about in disapproval. "This looks more like

an alehouse than a temple!" He cast Caramon a reproving glance.

"I'm not drunk!" Caramon insisted indignantly and slid off the bench onto the floor. Rubbing his buttocks, he

stood up, giggling.

"Those braziers burning outside. They're giving off some sort of poisoned smoke," Kit explained. "You didn't

get a whiff of it, did you?"

Sturm shook his head. "No, they were just preparing the fires when I entered. Where is Tanis? I thought he

was coming."

"The kender got himself arrested," Kit replied with an easy shrug. "Tanis had to go rescue him from jail."

Sturm looked grave. Although he was fond of Tasslehoff, the kender's "borrowing" distressed him. Sturm was

always

lecturing Tas on the evils of theft, citing passages from a SoIamnic code of law known as the Measure. Tas

would listen with wide-eyed seriousness. The kender would agree that stealing was a terrible sin, adding that he

couldn't imagine what sort of wicked person would walk off with another person's most prized possessions. At

this point, Sturm would dis cover he was missing his dagger or his money belt or the bread and cheese he was

intending to eat for lunch. The missing objects would be found on the person of the kender, who had taken

advantage of the lecture to appropriate them.

In vain, Tanis advised Sturm that he was wasting his time. Kender were kender and had been that way since

the time of the Graygem, and there was no changing them. The aspiring knight felt it his duty to try to change at

least one of them. So far he wasn't having much luck.

"Perhaps Tanis will come later," Sturm said. "I will save him a seat."

Kit caught Raistlin's eye, smiled her crooked smile.

Once they were settled, with the drugged Caramon seated between Kit and himself, where his twin could keep

a firm hand on him, Raistlin was free to inspect his surroundings. The inside of the arena was very dimly lit by

four braziers which stood on the floor of the arena itself. Raistlin sniffed carefully, trying to detect the odor that

had first warned him of the presence of an opiate. He smelled nothing unusual. Apparently the priests wanted

their audience relaxed, not comatose.

The brazier's light illuminated a large statue of a hooded snake, which loomed at the far end of the arena. The

statue was crudely carved and, in direct light, would have looked grotesque, even humorous. Seen by the

flickering firelight, the statue was rather imposing, particularly the eyes, which were made of mirrors and

reflected the light of the fires. The gleaming eyes gave the giant viper a very lifelike and frightening aspect.

Several children in the audience were whimpering, and more than one woman screamed on first sighting it.

A rope stretched around the arena prohibited entry. Priests stood guard at various points, preventing the crowd

from venturing inside. The only other object in the center of the arena was a high-backed wooden chair.

"That's some big snake, huh?" said Caramon in loud tones, staring glassy-eyed at the statue.

"Hush, my brother!" Raistlin pinched the flesh of his twin's arm.

"Shut up!" Kit muttered from the other side, digging her elbow into Caramon's ribs.

Caramon subsided, mumbling to himself, and that was all they heard out of him until his head lolled forward onto

his broad chest and he began to snore. Kit propped him against the granite riser of the seat behind them and turned

her attention to the arena.

The outer doors slammed shut with a resounding boom, startling the members of the audience. The priests called