Tales of Uncle Trapspringer ll-3 Page 18

  They strode into the clearing, all unaware that six angry dwarves were hiding behind the boles of the nearest trees and undergrowth. Thinking the goblins were the cause of their recent discomfort, the dwarves attacked with shouts and war cries.

  Tolem, wearing both boots, dashed out swinging his war axe before he was close enough for a killing blow. He clipped the point of the nearest goblin's spear.

  The humanoids were caught by surprise, but always alert when traveling, they recovered quickly. One thrust a spear that the largest dwarf blocked, but the big goblin had put all his force behind the attack and the point penetrated the metal shield. The dwarf and the humanoid danced around each other, trying to separate their defensive and offensive weapons.

  The other dwarves were wading in with their axes. The battle was fast and furious when Trap heard more breaking twigs behind him.

  "Wheel find kender."

  Trap turned to see Umpth and Grod approaching, looking around them as they walked. Apparently they had not connected the sound of the battle with any personal danger. Neither gully dwarf was armed, not that they could have made effective use of their weapons if they had been carrying them.

  Trap sighed, turned away from the battle and hurried toward the Aghar. As soon as he was out of sight of the clearing, he removed his ring.

  "I guess we had better leave," he told them regretfully and led them back to Halmarain.

  "Maybe they'll kill each other off and we'll be free of them," the little wizard said, though only after she had argued with Trap over his little escapade.

  He was shocked by her attitude. "That's not nice! In fact it's mean. I don't blame them for following us," he said. "They want their necklace and I don't see why you won't give it back. I can't believe you want anything bad to happen to them."

  "No," the little wizard admitted. "And I really don't want to see them killed, either, I just want to get away from them. I'll return the necklace if I can, only I don't think I'll be able to, and I can't even explain it to you right now, because I'm not sure what I suspect is true… No, don't ask me, I'll tell you when I've thought it over."

  "It was a great fight," Trap said softly, wishing he could go back and watch.

  Chapter 23

  The kender, the two gully dwarves, and the wizard rode for several hours after leaving the woods where the dwarves and goblins fought. The night passed without incident, but adventure overtook the group the next morning before they had been on the trail for an hour.

  A wide but shallow stream ran across their trail. Since they had not seen any sign of the kobolds for several hours the evening before, and had not found any marks that morning, Trap and Halmarain split up, each taking a gully dwarf with them as they rode up and down the banks. Trap had only been riding downstream for ten minutes when he found confused tracks. He gave a shrill whistle to call Halmarain back.

  "They crossed here," Trap pointed out the marks to Grod. "See, there's Ripple's print. She was standing off to the side for some reason. Beglug gave them a hard time. See how he fought crossing? You can see where he dug in his hooves, and here's blood too, he must have bitten one of the kobolds, and I hope he did," the kender said as he surveyed the muddy bank.

  "Lava Belly no like water," Grod said.

  "No, not cold water," Trap amended. He reminded the Aghar of the fun the merchesti had in the warm bath in Orander's kitchen. Since Beglug came from a much hotter world, nothing cold pleased him.

  Halmarain came trotting up, and they gathered at the spot where the kobold had crossed.

  "Wheel get wet," Umpth complained. He had made the same objection at every stream. "Wheel no like water."

  "Magic wash away," Grod added.

  "Don't be ridiculous," Halmarain snapped. She had been ready to cross, but she pulled up her mount and frowned at the stream.

  Trap turned away to hide his grin. The little wizard would rather die than admit she gave Aghar magic any credence, but the hesitation of the gully dwarves had affected her.

  "I'll just find out," Trap said.

  While the others waited on the western bank, he dismounted and removed his boots. Directly in front of him the bottom of the stream was rocky. A wide slab of rock stretched halfway across, and the rest of the way the smaller rocks had been smoothed by the running water.

  "It's fine," he called back.

  Umpth dismounted and walked behind his pony. He picked up the wheel, still attached to the travois, and splashed through the stream after his mount.

  Halmarain waited until the others had safely crossed before she urged her pony forward. Their trouble came from her hesitation. The pack pony edged up to the stream to get a drink. It was just lowering its head when a huge bullfrog gave a croak and jumped between the pony's rear hooves. Startled, the beast with the packs plunged to the left, just upstream from the rocky ford. The pony took one leap and landed up to its shoulders in mud.

  "Quicksand!" Halmarain cried out, pointing to the floundering animal.

  Trap had been sitting on the ground, putting on his boots. He jumped up, one foot shod, the other boot in his hand. He threw the boot aside and dashed back into the stream. The two gully dwarves ran after him.

  Trap grabbed the lead from the screaming little wizard and pulled, but he only succeeded in pulling off the pony's bridle. Umpth and Grod, less finicky, plunged into the mud, tugging at the heavy straps that held the packs in place. The dwarves gave a couple of tugs, lost their footing at the edge of the quicksand pit, and sunk to their shoulders.

  "Deep mud," Umpth said, looking over his shoulder at the kender.

  "Deep mud!" Grod gasped just before his head disappeared. One grubby hand appeared out of the goo, just far enough for Trap to get a grip. With Halmarain's help he hauled the smaller gully dwarf out of the quicksand.

  "Quick! No hold up pony long," Umpth burbled. He had managed to splay his body on the surface and was not sinking so rapidly.

  "Can you use these?" Halmarain splashed through the water, carrying the leads from the ponies as well as the reins from her own mount.

  "Great! They'll work if we could get them under the chin straps," Trap said. "Umpth, can you?"

  "Good, need puller," Umpth announced with a sputter. His face had dipped into the mire and he had raised his chin. He waved one hand behind him, reaching for the leather straps.

  "Here," Halmarain threw the long, heavy leather leads to him. The ends fell just beyond him, the trailing lines across his back.

  Umpth fumbled for a moment, muttered something that was lost under the squeals of the terrified pony. The gully dwarf kept making unintelligible remarks as he fumbled again. He crawled halfway across the pony's back, causing the beast to sink deeper in the mire. Trap, keeping a tight hold on the Aghar's legs, was pulled out onto the mud until he too was sinking in the mire.

  "Me got you," Grod assured Trap who felt the dwarf's hands take a grip on his legs.

  "Wow! Big jiggies! This is interesting," he said, keeping his face up out of the marl. "I don't feel like I'm sinking, but I think I am. I wonder what's at the bottom of all this mud? I bet lots of interesting things have disappeared here, and if we could find them-"

  "You don't have time to explore," Halmarain snapped. "If we don't get Umpth and the pony out they'll drown in that mess.

  Trap sighed. He would never again travel with a wizard; she wanted to take all the fun out of everything. Still the gully dwarf and the pony didn't appear to want to explore the bottom of the marl pit, so he supposed he should rescue them.

  Umpth had almost disappeared before he raised a hand and waved it, signaling he had finished fastening the leads to the pony's girth.

  "Halmarain, pull the pony out," Trap said, taking a firmer grip of the gully dwarf's legs. He was being pulled back slowly when he heard a squeak from Halmarain and a splash.

  Grod released his hold on Trap long enough to haul the little wizard back to firm ground. Then he started tugging at the kender's legs again.

&nb
sp; "Give me those leads," the wizard commanded.

  The little wizard had been splashing about behind them. She had caught and brought her mount up close behind them and had thrown the left stirrup over the saddle, ready to tie the leads to the leather saddle girth. By now, they could only see the sinking pony's nose above the surface. In moments Halmarain had taken a strain on the leads and the strain on the others lessened as the wizard walked her mount slowly downstream, away from the quicksand.

  Trap, firmly grasping Umpth's legs, was a part of the chain that included Umpth and the pony. He felt as if he were being pulled apart, but he kept his grip. Soon he felt his feet dragging on the stones of the ford, and moments later his knees bumped across the rocks. He drew them up under him while Grod released him and moved forward to help him tug on Umpth.

  The kender and Grod found it easier to pull Umpth out of the marl. He still had not released his hold on the pony, but Halmarain's mount slowly pulled the foundered animal up and toward solid ground.

  In less than a minute the frightened animal reached firm footing and scrambled out of the mire. The kender and the gully dwarves scuttled out of the way of its thrashing feet.

  While the pony stood trembling, Umpth, for once, washed his face in the stream without being instructed. He raised his face, looked around as he blinked the water out of his eyes. His gaze locked on the wizard and he grinned.

  "Wizard become Aghar, " he said. "Join Aglest clan?"

  "Kender too, " Grod said.

  "Careful, " Halmarain snapped as she worked to wash away the clinging mud of the marl pit. "And you can get yourselves cleaned up too. "

  "Knew she say that, " Grod said, but even he wrinkled his nose at the mud.

  "And we should wash the pony and probably everything in the packs… " Halmarain said, then paused. "Where are the packs?"

  "In mud, " Umpth said as he took a casual swipe at his sleeve. "No pull pony and packs out. "

  "He lost our packs?" Halmarain stared in disbelief.

  "Gee! They're gone… everything… Still, Umpth is right, we couldn't have pulled out the pony and the packs too, " Trap said. "Maybe I can go back and get them, " he suggested hopefully. "You could tie a lead on me and-"

  "No, you won't, " Halmarain paled at the idea.

  "No! Now no wash packs and clothes, " Grod said, as if the loss had become a bonus. "Lost magic, " he said, feeling his clothing. "Dead squirrel stink too. "

  Trap and Halmarain considered Grod's loss a bonus, but the cooking pots had been lost along with the packs. Trap used Grod's helmet to pour water over the pony's hide and scrub the animal down while the others cleaned away the mud from themselves and their clothing. They worked for an hour.

  "At least it's sunny and hot, " Trap said as he pulled on his boots. "Our clothes will dry in no time, and at least we didn't have to wash Beglug. "

  Halmarain climbed into her saddle. "We'll need to buy more supplies when we get to Thelgaard. I hope Oran-der's magic purse is still full. "

  "Thelgaard, " Trap smiled. "Maybe it will be an interesting place."

  Chapter 24

  Trap was disappointed with Thelgaard. The city walls and most of the buildings were constructed of gray stone. No carving relieved the square buildings. Occasionally shutters flanked the windows, but they were weathered gray wood. The kender peered hopefully down every street, but the plain gray buildings were all the same and quickly became boring.

  They had left the ponies in the first boarding stable they found. Because the morning was hot, Halmarain and the gully dwarves had left their armor, weapons, and helmets behind with their mounts.

  Since the city offered little of interest, Trap didn't object to Halmarain's haste. She was shopping in a hurried frenzy, and Trap agreed that they should not waste time. They should get back on the trail of the kobolds again- particularly when there seemed to be nothing of interest in the city and the people seemed taciturn.

  "Thelgaard shuts its beauty behind its walls, " Halmarain told them. "The official buildings and the wealthier homes are decorated with great slabs of marble bought from the dwarves of Garnet. "

  "I haven't seen any marble, " Trap said, wondering if he could slip away from the little wizard and explore.

  "And you won't, " Halmarain snapped. "We're only here to buy supplies. We can't afford to attract attention. "

  "Left wheel, still no please wizard, " Umpth muttered.

  "Her still mad, " Grod agreed with a sigh.

  The gully dwarves weren't too happy. Before entering the city Halmarain had made them wash again and had cleaned their clothing so they looked like Neidar. In addition she had made them leave the wheel in the stable where they boarded the ponies.

  "She's not mad at you, " Trap said to the Aghar who walked behind him and the wizard. "She's just-"

  "She's just mad, " Halmarain interrupted. "Do you realize we've been traveling for days and days and we're only twenty-five miles from where we started? And we're worse off than when we left Lytburg. We've lost the little fiend and the gate stone. "

  "Grod and Umpth no do, " Grod said, pulling his blond beard in confusion.

  "No, and wizard no do either, " Halmarain sighed, for once slipping into the patios of the Aghar. "That's why I'm mad. "

  "Did you ever live in Thelgaard?" Trap asked, hoping for a story.

  "No, but Orander grew up here. He told me what little I know. "

  Trap sighed and followed the wizard as they moved from shop to shop. He found a number of fascinating things, but when he reached out to pick up a belt knife with an ornately carved handle, the little wizard grabbed his arm and kept him from touching it.

  "You can handle that, " she said, pointing to a bag of flour. "Also Grod can take a few of those apples, this salt, tea, these blankets… "

  Trap's arms were soon too full of mundane supplies to allow him to finger anything. He suffered the increasing load for an hour before complaining and even then Halmarain was still loading both the kender's and the Aghar's arms with purchases.

  "We've just about finished, " the little human said as they left one of the shops. "We just have to buy pots and-"

  They were standing outside on the street when two human youngsters, about eight years old, came running along the street and bumped into Halmarain, sending her spinning.

  "Look out, " she snapped as she regained her footing. Her voice was high as a child's, but her tone was that of an irritated adult.

  The youngsters spun around and stared at her. Seeing a figure the size of a child with the face of an adult, they paused a moment. Then the smaller of the two, who was much larger than the little wizard, marched up and glared down at her.

  "What are you?" he demanded with definite menace.

  "Some sort of freak, " the other said, reaching down to pick up a rock. He was drawing back his arm, getting ready to throw the stone when Trap stepped forward.

  "You're not very nice, " he shouted. Among the purchases he carried was a small bag of salt, which was heavy for its size. Since his hoopak was strapped to his back, he slung the bag of salt instead, connecting with the arm of the boy who was ready to throw the rock.

  As the boy backed away, Grod ran forward and picked up the bag of salt. In gully dwarf fashion he was not about to allow anything useful to get away.

  "Look out, its a dwarf!" the boy who had been menacing the little wizard cried out and ran off down the street. The other followed.

  "I'll tell my father, he'll take care of you, " the taller boy called as the two boys disappeared around a building.

  "We need to get off the street in case he does bring his father back, " she said and looked around for an inn. Two doors down, a faded sign board with the likely name of the Traveler's Haven promised food and drink as well as accommodations.

  "We'll eat if you three stay out of trouble, " the wizard said as she led the way through the door.

  Like the rest of the "Gate Quarter, " the section of Thelgaard that specialized in goods
for transients, the inn catered to travelers with leaner purses. Several tables and stools had new wood rungs and legs, showing they had been recently mended, doubtless after a brawl. Still, the scarred tabletops had been scrubbed clean.

  Three men who looked to be laborers were drinking at a table at the far end of the room. They were absorbed in their conversation and paid no attention to the three who entered.

  Halmarain led the way to a table in the farthest corner. When a stout young woman arrived with four mugs of ale, the wizard ordered enough meat rolls to satisfy even the Aghars' appetite.

  "Why were those boys so mean?" Trap asked when the server left the table to get the meat rolls.

  "Children can be cruel, " Halmarain said, shrugging off the incident. "Many people believe the gods use deformities to punish the evil, and that they should do so too-a man with a twisted leg, someone who's blind or who can't speak, the dim-witted or those who don't grow… "

  "But that's not right, " Trap said, frowning.

  "No, but that's why it's best for me to appear to be a dwarf on this journey, " Halmarain said sadly. "Just be glad you're normal for your race. "

  The server returned with their meat rolls and they concentrated on the food. Trap had finished eating and was working his way through his second mug of ale when the door opened and a group of five travelers entered.

  They were well armed with swords, bows, and several carried axes of strange, wicked styles. Several wore odd pieces of armor and all of them carried packs and bedrolls. They were all humans.

  With hard eyes they took in the room before taking a table not far from where Grod placidly munched on the last of the food and Halmarain shifted uneasily. Trap peered at them from over the top of his raised mug. He put it down hastily and smiled at the newcomers. They must have some lively tales, he thought, looking at the scarred armor and the weapons that showed use.

  "Hello, " he said when one of the adventurers looked his way.

  The human's eyes narrowed as he stared at Trap. He nodded and leaned forward, speaking to his companions in a low voice. All the three at the table in the corner could hear was the word "kender. " Then all five of the heavily armed men turned to stare at Trap and the one he had greeted gave him a crooked smile.