The Lutin Chronicles Chapter 9 One of our Unicorns is Missing by Oren Otter Five years ago, Kayrok and his Omega company came to the southern edge of the Forest of Darkness. It had been rough at the start, but they worked hard and built up everything around them. There had been some serious setbacks. They had been attacked by other lutins, gnomes, tragso, rocks and even a cyclops. Most often, they worked to turn the enemies into allies, or if that could not happen, prisoners. There had been disease, sabotage, death and other serious setbacks, but there were also good times. They ate very well, the work was making them strong, and there were fiendships previously unkown to their kind. Where else might gnomes and lutins be working side by side, or a dwarf marry a tragso, or a unicorn raise children with a werebeast? Where else could a goblin find the opportunity to build a steam train? Or compose a series of balads? Or be a doctor? Perhaps the most pleased of all was Thnad. After five years, he had finally gotten the courage to ask Rugi for a magical charm that would turn him into a fox. It was purely external, of course. He did not have the senses of a fox, nor the instincts, nor the speed, nor the agility, nor the digestion, nor the voice of a fox. He was a lutin in a fox' skin. But for Thnad, it was more than enough. He was happy in the shape of a fox. Rugi had even rigged the charm so that Thnad would retain the tail in lutin form. For him, it was bliss. The lutin-fox jumped and danced around Camp Dimtorch, showing off his improved body to everyone. "I can't remember ever seeing any lutin so happy." said Kayrok, smiling at the sight. Sytet also smiled. "I remember feeling like that the first time I turned into a bat." "Really?" "Well, the second time, actually. I had no idea what was happening the first time. I was scared stiff. The second time, I flew and soared. it was wondrous." "How is your flying these days?" "Painful, Captain." Sytet replied. "And how is your own hand?" "A little better." said Kayrok, though it still hurt like Everdark most of the time. In the last two years, the commander had become a proficient southpaw out of necessity. "It throbs a lot, especially at night. But then I remind myself that Smallbeard is alive. I'd gladly do it all over again if I had to. A hand is a small price to pay for a man's life." "True." "I wonder," said Kayrok. "If I got one of those charms from Rugi, would it fix my scar?" "No, Sir." Sytet replied. "I had already considered it. The transformation is superficial. When you removed the charm, your scar would return." "Oh well." "Speaking of transformation charms, look over by the supply cabin." "Oh? Who is that lovely young lady? She looks like she might be Feather's sister." "Just watch." Sytet had already played out the next scene in his head. Brul had just come out of the pass. He spied the young woman and approached her. His body language oozed sexuality as he spoke to her in a deep tone. "Hey, baby. Are you new around here? I could show you around if you like, maybe show you a good time." "Thanks for the offer." said the woman in an equally deep tone. "But like I've told you before, Brul, I'm not a fruit." "Holy gods in Stormhaven!" exclaimed Brul. "Angu? Is that you?" "Angu of the Stabsmany tribe, at your service." "You look good! So, uh... that's a no, then?" Angu rolled his eyes. A steam train rolled into camp. Some workers got off to go dig in the pass. Others got on to head home, or to other parts of the federation. Point was one of the many arrivals. "Point, how goes the harvest?" asked Kayrok as the Cyclops drew near. "Very well." Point replied. "The gnome workers are settling into their new homes up in Point Grove, and we've had a few others come in from up north when they heard there was work to be had. I think one of them might have been a leprechaun, even." "Really?" "I just wish they would call me 'point' like you do. They insist that it's impolite to call their boss by his first name. They'll only call me 'Lord Gravelsong'. I think I might even prefer 'Disappointment' to that." "Your name is 'Gravelsong'?" Kayrok supressed a laugh. Sytet just smiled. "Yes. And this is exactly why I never told you." "Consider it forgotten." said the commander. "I'll be glad when we can get a rail line put in up to the grove." said Point. "It's a very long walk." "We've never been able to justify the expense until now." said Sytet. "But I'm sure that with the new settlement, it won't be a problem." The ground rumbled. Kayrok thought for a moment that it might be blasting, but a warning whistle would have sounded for that. Into the camp from the north end strode a giant. It was a female giant, standing about fifteen feet tall. She wore a loincloth below and a broad leather band over her breasts. Her hair was long and colored a very light blue, though it looked as though it hadn't been brushed in a very long time. In the middle of the camp, she stopped and looked around, as if searching for someone. "Can we help you, Miss?" asked Kayrok. The giantess looked around at eye level before realizing the owner of the voice must have been lower down. "Oh. Hello. I am looking for my brothers." "Would they happen to be one who's exceptionally large, even for a giant and one who's slightly smaller but fancies himself the better looking of the two?" "I see you've met them. Yes, those are my brothers, Alnatak and Alnalam." "I believe they're both in there." said the lutin, pointing to the pass entrance. "They should be coming out, soon. Their shift just ended." "Thank you. May I wait here?" "If you like." The giant woman sat in front of the CQ next to the soldiers. Even sitting down, her head brushed the eaves. "I am Captain Kayrok." said the lutin commander. "And you are?" "Oh, I beg your pardon. My name is Mintaka." "You are very well spoken for a giant." Sytet observed. "I have always had a knack for languages. Yo sa'id al yen el tolia rekung." Sytet's ears perked. "You speak Kofak?" Mintaka nodded and smiled. "Vel eho a'iden dewa'i so rui." Sytet answered. "But how did you know?" "You have classic Kofak features. It's not hard to tell." The next person to enter the camp was Urik. He was in his unicorn form, and nearly trampled Thnad on the way in. "Sir!" he called. "Pferdchen!" chimed Mintaka. Urik paused momentarily to regard the giant who had just addressed him as 'pony' in the native language of his own Moonscream tribe. "uh... yes. Sort of." Then, turning to Kayrok, he said "Sir, Mara is missing again. Have you seen her?" "Teleported in her sleep, did she?" "Possibly, Sir. I don't know." "Don't worry. She'll come back. She always does." "I just hope it's soon." said Urik. "We really need her at home right now." * * * Mountainshade was no longer the scrabbling little village it had been under the rule of Pythonus. The completion of the railroad meant that it was now no more than an hour from any municipality in the Federation. Splim's restaurant had no small effect in building up the community, and certainly, the fact that it was a mere ten minutes from the pass didn't hurt. But what really brought people in was Udge's school. The philosopher had a hard time selling the idea at first. Most lutins thought that a formal education was a waste of time. But when Ravenpelt and Thistle started bragging about how brilliant their little daughter Orchid would become once she began school, the other parents' competetive spirits kicked in. Even Rockfoot and Apple, though their son was only a year old, had moved to Mountainshade in anticipation of his beginning school and becoming freakishly brilliant at whatever it was he was going to do. The little hide tents had been replaced with cabins of log and stone. Some gnomes, who had moved to the lutin city as part of a goodwill initiative, had even built an apartment complex which boasted actual glass windows. The forest had been cleared, but not completely. Enough trees remained around the town to give it a forest feel, but without the dankness or darkness. It was a clean, well-lit place. Every seventh day, the school was used for worship by the followers of Vertarbna. No longer was Onju the only one. Ravenpelt's near death experience had turned him into a very religious dwarf. He and his family were now faithful followers. Through them, James the nilbog also became a follower. Onju had converted Udge and Jora early on by way of the success of his prayers, and Kayrok for the same reason attended services regularly. They were all rather surprised to find that the gnomish god, Sakt-Wan-Sul, bore some striking similarities to Vertarbna. After thorough research, the two congregations discovered that they had been worshipping the same deity all along and merged into a single church. Udge was pleased to have been part of all that built Mountainshade into what it had become. It was good, but there was more he wanted to do. The school had not been created only for children, but for adults as well. There was so much to be taught and learned. Cooking. Plumbing. Tanning. Sewing. Metalworking. Glasswork. Jewelry. Pottery. Astronomy. Magic. Mathematics. Music. There was so much knowledge among the people of the federation, but to make their little nation strong, that knowledge had to be spread around. But despite his trying, Udge could not convince the adults to commit to learning or teaching. "Perhaps you're trying too hard." said Splim as he talked with Udge over a hot bowl of noodles and nightshade sauce. "How do you mean?" "Well, you're trying to appeal to people's higher natures. That's all well and good, but you have to remember, we're goblins. Most of us were brought up in a society where people think of their own immediate needs and wants first." "But we're not like that here." "Not completely, but the change doesn't happen overnight, or even over several years. People are still going to think of their stomachs more than their brains." "So what do I do? Serve cookies while I lecture on long division?" "That's actually not a bad idea. It'd get people in the door, for sure. Tell you what: what would you like to teach first?" "Oh, I don't know. Writing, I suppose." "All right. You advertise that you're starting a class on writing. Tell everyone there'll be hot chota and cake. I'll advertise that everyone from your class who can write a certain phrase of the day gets a free meal. It'll be great publicity for both of us." "Like you need publicity." Udge laughed. "Hey, smart customers are successful customers, which are wealthy customers, which are spendthrift customers. Either way, I can't lose." The door opened. A unicorn stuck her head in. "Hello." said Mara. "I'm just checking to see if Urik is here." "Yeah, he was looking for you this morning." said Splim. "I think he went down to Dimtorch." "Where did you end up this time, Mara?" asked Udge. "Someplace east of Point Grove. I teleported right into the tent of a small village's chief. I think they might believe I'm a goddess." she said with a grimace. "Welcome home." said Splim. "If we see Urik, we'll let him know you're okay." * * * Urik had gotten home before Mara. Micho was there to meet him at the door. "How has it been?" he asked. "Terrible." replied the pony. "She's been kicking everything. Trees, fenceposts, the side of the house... ME..." Urik sighed. "I'll go try to talk to her again." He stepped into the house and changed back into a lutin by removing his magic chain. He put on one of his tunics and stepped out into the yard. Karen was there, among her brothers and sisters. In the last three years, he had sired five more children, all of whom had been born within forty-eight hours. After the zebra twins had come Jiran, the donkey. Then there was Benji, the hippocampus. Rose, the nightmare, had been next. Then Albert the clydesdale and Unu the pegasus. They were all on the small side, no doubt owing to Urik's own smallness in his original form. All of them were there. Rose and Unu were perched in a tree. Benji was mostly submersed in his pond. The rest stood some distance away, not wanting to be too close to Karen right now. Karen had grown into a lovely mare, but when angry, her loveliness was matched by her firey temper. "Karen, honey, are you still angry?" Urik asked. "Of course I'm angry!" "WHY are you angry? I did just what you said. You told me you wanted to be married. You asked me to go find you a husband. I did that. Thunderhoof is the finest horse in all of Rider. He cost me a lot of money." "But he's stupid!" "He's not stupid." "Yes he is! He can't even talk!" "Of course he can't talk! He's a horse!" "I'm a horse and I can talk." "But you're also a person." Rose turned to Unu and muttered "I'll bet you a fork of hay that Dad gets kicked before this is over." "What's 'bet?'" asked Unu. "Never mind. Let's just watch the drama." "I want a husband who can talk." Karen demanded. "But the only horses who can talk are right here in our family." "Then I want to marry Micho." "ME?" said Micho from the doorway. "Leave me out of this." "You can't marry your brother." "Why not? Regular horses do it." "You're not a regular horse." "Which is why I'd rather marry my brother." At this point, the conversation started to degenerate. Voices were raised, as were tempers, until Karen flew into a rage and kicked her father. Urik got up and took a rope from a hook near the back door. Knowing what was coming, Karen turned to bolt, but Urik was too fast. He lassoed her, pulled her sideways to the ground and hog-tied her, then spanked her rear-end soundly. When he let her up again, she was whimpering and her lip was quivering. "Go to your stall." Urik ordered. Head bowed, Karen complied. Not until Karen was out of sight did he bend over and let out a moan of pain. "Are you okay, Dad?" asked Benji, pulling himself from the water. "I'll be all right." "For the record," said Micho. "I do NOT want to marry my sister." "Thank you." said Urik, stumbing into the house. "That's good to know." * * * "Mintaka!" cried Alnatak as he ran to greet his sister, nearly knocking over the lamppost and stepping on two goblins who fortunately happened to be a norker and a nilbog, and thus survived without injury. "Alnalam! Come see who is!" "Brother! It's good to see you!" said Mintaka in her own language. "But brother, you should be careful where you run." "Why? Oh. Yes." answered Alnatak in the same tongue. "I sometimes forget how easily smaller people can be injured." Alnalam joined his siblings. "Sister! It's good to see you! What brings you this far south?" "Concern." "About us?" "Yes, brothers. I worry about you." "But we are fine. We eat well, we have a lot of money, we have comfortable tents..." "True, there are no giant women around here." Alnalam noted. "Listen." Mintaka urged. "I have spoken with Algene." "The seer?" asked Alnatak. "Yes. Algene the seer." "How in the world did you get an audience with Algene?" "He had to take a trip to Yamato. I was his bodyguard and interpreter. But that's not important. He told me that next summer is going to be very, very hot." "So?" asked Alnatak and Alnalam in unison. "So you're far to the south and you're living in tents. When it gets hot, you'll get sick." "You worry too much." said Alnalam. "We have been here four summers already. When it becomes too hot, we shelter in the pass. It is always cool there." "He told me that you would not believe me. He gave me six signs to convince you that you're in real danger." "And what are these signs?" inquired Alnatak. "First, there will be a battle with a castle in the sky. Second, a horse will be the messenger of death. Third, a solstice feast with no food. Fourth, you will mine live clams. Fifth, a new lake will swallow people. And sixth, the lutins will build a bridge over the fires of hell." Both of her brothers laughed. "Nothing like that has happened, sister." said Alnalam. "How could it?" said Alnatak. "None of those things make any sense! A castle in the sky? A feast with no food? And is death riding a horse, now? I think Algene is the one who has been in the sun too long!" "If these signs come to pass, will you two come with me to the north?" Alnatak laughed. "If these things happen, I will personally go find you a glacier and build you a house out of ice." * * * Rugi was very pleased with himself. It had been a very productive morning. The muse had been very kind to him today. In just a few hours, he'd invented three new magical items. The first was a series of chalkboards. Writing on any one of the boards would cause the rest to display the same thing. The second was a magical compass which could be used for tracking just about anything. That one didn't seem as useful, since the object being tracked had to have a spell put on it, and if one was to cast a spell upon it, one had to have the object in the first place. The third was a talking tablet which could translate writing into speech and speech into writing. This could be incredibly useful, but being deaf, he had no way to test it. Having taken a moment to relax, Rugi looked down at his hands and realized for the first time that his fingers were blistered. He'd been working so hard, he hadn't even realized they hurt. Taking his last invention with him in hopes of testing it, Rugi headed down to the clinic to get his fingers patched up. * * * "Urik?" called Mara. "Are you home?" "Mara!" Urik sprung up from his chair to run to his wife and immediately regretted doing so. "Urik, what's wrong?" "Karen kicked me." "She did? That little terror. I'll have to..." "I already punished her." said Urik. "You're hurt." said Mara. "You should go see a doctor." "I'm fi... ine." said Urik with a wince. "You're not fine." she said, laying down. "Get on. I'll take you to Dimtorch." * * * Far away, a strange man walked along a winding mountain road. The day was dark, with thick overhead clouds hiding the sun, perhaps holding it for ransom. Drops of rain were beginning to color his woolen cloak. There were some small buildings up ahead. The man decided to investigate and perhaps find a place to take shelter from the rain. The village which he came to was a strange mix of small, ornate houses and shabby hide tents. No lights were lit. No hearth fires emitted smoke. The town was devoid of any people. Entering one of the houses, the man found furniture overturned. Scraps of clothing littered the floor, covered in dust. The food was gone, save a few moldy bones and dessecated scraps. There were footprints and handprints all about. They looked goblinoid in appearance. He was so intent on one particular handprint that he did not see the enormous ham hand whack him from behind. * * * "You'll be happy to know that your rib isn't broken. Just a little bruised." said Hornbeam. "Try not to bend too much. I recommend a hot dip in the trading post baths. That ought to make it feel better. Tonight's transformation ought to heal you completely." While Hornbeam was delivering his instructions, Rugi walked in. He carried a slate in his hand, on which he stopped to write something. The slate spoke. "Gudd moaning, home beam, earache and morrow." it said. "Good morning." said Mara. "What a nifty new invention you have." Rugi had never been able to read Mara's lips. The idea that he might now be able to communicate with her directly was exciting. He read the slate. "Gad mourn eeng. Watt an iffy noon venison you have." Obviously, there was some tweaking to be done. "Say, Rugi," Urik began. "Do you have anything that might help me find a missing unicorn?" Rugi read the slate. "Dojo has everything at night shelby finger uniform?" Okay, so it would take a LOT of tweaking. Rugi ditched the magic slate for the pen and parchment he always carried in his pocket. "I have something." he wrote. "But I would need to enchant the unicorn. That would not work because she is already enchanted." "I see. Well, what about her earring?" "Her earring is a charm. It is also enchanted." "Oh. right. Duh." "I have a suggestion." said Hornbeam. "Why not use a tiny stone or crystal chip? I could make a tiny incision and insert the chip under her skin where she wouldn't even feel it." Urik asked, "What do you think, Mara?" "A tiny nick to give my husband peace of mind? Gladly." * * * Roderick Keeble was a man who enjoyed his work. Smoking meats was messy, but the delicious smells that emanated from his smokehouse made the whole city seem a little brighter, and knowing that there would be enough food to last through the toughest winter made the snows so much easier to bear. Roderick was usually a good-tempered gnome. But this was getting ridiculous. Ever sice Jun had taught the miners the stone to flesh spell, the entire federation had meat coming out of their ears. The past year had been difficult to keep up with. He'd had to hire three other people just to keep up with what was coming in, and yet he'd had to lay them off again because no one was buying his meats. Every butcher and grocer in the area had the same complaint. And when the train rolled in loaded with meat cubes, Roderick lost it. "No, I absolutely will not accept delivery!" said the smoker. "The storehouse is full! I have no place to PUT more meat! And that storehouse was built to store food for up to FIVE YEARS!" "I was told to bring it here." said the engineer. "What am I supposed to do with this cargo?" "Like I care! Just don't leave it here!" * * * The traveler awoke to a severe headache. Standing over him with a nasty frown and even nastier fists was a large yellow goblin. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked the goblin. The stranger pulled back his hood to reveal a face with a single grey eye. "I came because I was needed." he said. "We don't need any of you goose-stepping goons around here." "Goose... No. My name is Algene. I'm a seer. I came because I had a vision of some people in trouble. I came to help." The goblin immediately softened. "Algene? THE Algene? That is different." He helped the cyclops off of the floor. "My name's Quargle. I'm a bugbear." "Forgive me, but you don't look very... ursine." "No, no. Not a REAL bugbear. Other goblins call my kind bugbears because we're big and hairy. If you're a seer, then you must know what happened here." "Not yet." said Algene. "I was about to look into the past when you hit me." "Sorry about that. Go ahead then. You'll want to take a look if this place is to make any sense." Algene closes his eyes and looked... * * * Alnalam was having a grand time today. Smallbeard had asked him to lay lengths of pipe between Dimtorch and Spiritfell. This was an easy job for a giant, requiring plenty of muscle and not a lot of brains, so he was able to work unsupervised. Alnalam was enjoying the quiet time out here in the forest as he pulled his wagon along, laying a length of pipe, going a few more yards and then laying another piece of pipe. After a few minutes, a train pulled up next to him and stopped. "Hey, Giant!" called the conductor. "Could you do me a favor?" "Okay. What favor?" "I've got a ton of these meat cube things with orders to get rid of them, but nobody wants to take them. I can't go back with a full load. Could you... make these disappear?" "I not wizard." "No, not like that. I mean... just get rid of them. Make them go away." "Oh! I get it!" Alnalam picked up the entire car. "You no worry. I get rid." Several minutes later, he returned with an empty car, which he carefully reconnected to the train. "Thanks, buddy!" said the engineer, flipping him a gold coin. "I happy to help! You need more blacks go away, you call Alnalam!" * * * Algene found himself in a clean, well lit dwarven household. A pudgy little woman with a cute little soul patch on her chin stood over a stove, stirring the contents of a pot whose contents filled the air with the savory aroma of meat and tomatoes. The woman's skin bore a tiny tinge of green. Her ears were slightly pointed, her nose just a little too long. A hobgoblin, obviously. In the next room, two children played. One manned an ornate little wooden castle while the other came against it with a little wooden dragon. Both children shared the same hobgoblin features as their mother. The door opened, and in came a muscular little man covered with dirt and grime. He, too, had the classic features of a half-goblin. "Daddy!" cried the children as they rushed to hug him. The man embraced his son and daughter warmly. "I have something for you." said the man. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two sparkling blue stones. "We hit a huge pocket of sapphires, today. There's one for you, Laughter, and one for Cheerful." "Thank you!" said the children excitedly, rushing to the window to hold their jewels up to the sunlight. "How was work today, Hardy?" asked the little woman from the kitchen. "Fulfilling." said the man, stretching his arms out for an embrace. "But never as fulfilling as coming home to you, my dear Tulip." "Ah, ah! You're filthy, love. Go get yourself cleaned up, then come back for your hugs and kisses." "At once!" Hardy agreed. But as he was headed up the stairs, a noise stopped him. A horn sounded outside. "What could that be?" asked Tulip. "I'll go see." said Hardy. "You and the children stay here." Out in the town center, several of the dwarf men gathered. Algene noticed that every one of them manifested some trace of goblin lineage, but all of them dressed and spoke like dwarves. "Goblins are coming." someone reported. "Some are bugbears, but others we haven't seen before." Into the town ran Quargle. "Hardy!" called the goblin. "Hardy, he's coming!" "What's this about?" asked Hardy. "Are you here to collect protection tax again?" "No. Listen, they're coming here. You've got to get out, quickly!" "Who's coming?" "The Lutins. There's a wizard with them. He's coming to claim the mine." "Claim the mine? That's ludicrous! We've paid you all these years to keep exactly this sort of thing from happening." "There's nothing we can do! He's raising an army, Hardy. He's uniting the lutins and he's claiming key sources of wealth in order to fund them. Get your wife and get out before he gets here!" "I'll do no such thing." said the dwarf. "This is our town. We will defend it to the death." "I only hope you have that option, then." The half-dwarves waited. A company of green-skinned lutins marched up the pass into the town. Among them, on the back of a warhorse, was a large figure who could only be the wizard. "I hereby claim this place in the name of the wizard Nasoj!" cried the lutin commander. "You'll do no such thing!" declared Hardy. The village and the mine belong to us! We'll not leave it for any man!" The commander conferred with the wizard. "The mighty Nasoj agrees to your terms." he declared. "He what...?" Hardy began. The wizard raised a hand. Energy radiated from his fingertips. The half-dwarves screamed as their bodies began to distort. Inside the house, the same thing was happening to Tulip and her children. Their clothing squeezed their enlarging flesh until it tore and shredded. Hands turned into hooves. Faces stretched impossibly. Screams turned into whinnies. "The great Nasoj has decreed that since you refuse to leave, you will stay here as beasts of burden to work in the mines until your death." Hardy reared. He tried to run, but ropes darted out from among the lutins like snakes and caught hold of him. Soon, all of the dwarf-ponies were being dragged into the mine and a lifetime of slavery. Algene blinked and came out of his trance. "You all right there, seer?" asked Quargle. "Just a little shaken. So what happened since Nasoj took over? Where are the miners?" "Gone." said the bugbear. "They tapped the mine completely out, then they left. Only I stayed behind." "Why you?" "Come." said the Goblin. "I'll show you." * * * The sun was going down. Urik lay down on his floor mat, comforted by the knowledge that whatever happened tonight, Mara wasn't going to become truly lost even if she did teleport in her sleep. The unicorn was especially tired, having made a very long trek that morning. She lay down next to her husband and closed her eyes. As the last rays of sunlight faded over the mountains, Urik changed, becoming hairy and grey. He transformed into a chimpanzee. Not his favorite form. Mara smiled and kissed him, letting him know that she didn't care what he looked like. The two of them closed their eyes and were soon fast asleep. Urik had no idea how much time had passed when he awoke to find Mara gone. He jumped up and rushed over to the magic compass. It told him that Mara was somewhere to the west. He immediately went to look for her. * * * The stables were inside the mine itself. Inside, the people of the village lay in the form of ponies. Their bodies were all emaciated. The wood of the stalls was severely damaged from hungry ponies gnawing on it. "I've tried to feed them." said Quargle. "I stayed behind when the others left. I brought hay up the mountain every day. But one day, the hay was just gone. They've been starving since. I promised to stay with them until the end, but they don't die. They just suffer and suffer. Nasoj fixed his curse so that they can't die as long as they're inside the mine." "I'm so sorry." said Algene, looking into the tortured faces of the starving ponies. "You can help me." said Quargle. "The people are bound here by their curse. They can't leave. But Nasoj left a key that could set them free just in case he ever wanted to kill them. I've looked for it for years, but I just can't find it. Please, seer, help me find the key, so that these poor men and women can die." "I'll find your key." said Algene. "But not for death." "Please." begged Quargle. "These people have suffered enough." "I will help, but only if they promise to stay alive." The cyclops pulled a sack from under his cloak. In it were a large number of crackers. "Is that...?" "Elfin bread. A three-year supply for one man. Give every one a single bite. It will sustain them until we are able to reach the grasslands beyond the mountains." Quargle complied and began feeding the ponies while Algene went into his trance. Several minutes later, he came out again and announced "The key is hidden in a cleft in the rock behind the grocery store." The ponies nickered weakly. Finally, freedom was coming. * * * "We can't give the things away." said Point to Kayrok as they shared a dinner of turkey cube. "Everyone is sick of eating our meat cubes. The grocers won't take them. The butchers won't take them. The traders won't take them. Even the tragso have stopped taking them." "What about that count that Mara met?" Jun, who was sitting at the next table, snorted. "As if! The man hates goblins with a passion. Once he learned that Mara was married to one, he never wanted to see her again. I'd like to GIVE him something all right." "Why Jun, I thought you were a pacifict." "Yes, Sir. But that doesn't mean I'm opposed to a severe tongue-lashing." "I'm at a loss." said Kayrok. "I suppose we could build a food bank and just smoke the things from here to kingdom come." Nearby, Gerf was playing with a toy he'd bought at the trading post. It was a wooden figurine of Takka the trag. One of the dwarves had constructed it so that it could be folded into a rock and unfolded again into a trag. "Now you're stone!" he said, folding it up. "Now you're flesh!" And he unfolded it. "Yay!" Folding it again, he said "Now you're stone again." "Hang on." said Kayrok. "Is the spell reversable? Can we turn the meat back into rock?" Jun thought for a moment. "Theoretically, any spell is reversable with the right components." "See if you can figure out how to do it. It would sure be handy to be able to turn them from food into building material before they all rot." "I'll get right on it, Sir." * * * Urik had lost all track of time. He had been following the compass for hours. Always, it pointed west. He had passed several small villages. Some of them had been lutin, some other varieties of goblin. There had even been a small giant camp. Then, deep in the middle of the woods, he found her. She was tied to a tree, though there didn't seem to be anyone around to have tied her up. "Ooh! Ooh!" he called. "Urik?" whispered Mara. "Is that you?" Urik nodded emphatically. That was one advantage to being a chimp. He could understand speech pretty well. "Don't come close! They'll see you!" Urik looked around. Seeing no one, he cautiously approached his mate to untie her. "Urik, what are you doing? No! Shoo!" They scampered down the tree trunks as easily and as quickly as squirrels. They were wood elves. Not the pretty kind of wood elves, but the hard-edged kind whose skin actually looked like the gnarled, wood-grained bark of a tree. There were six of them, and all of them had weapons pointed at Urik's heart. He knew better than to try to move faster than an elf's weapon, and he himself carried nothing more deadly than a compass. His long chimpanzee arms went up in surrender The elves tied up the chimp. As luck would have it, they had no sooner finished tying him up than the sun rose. Urik stood before the elves naked, bound, and every inch their natural enemy. "Vertarbna..." he whispered. "...help!" * * * Mintaka had made herself at home in a building in Cephas which had at one time been intended as a warehouse. With many of the dwarves moving to Refuge, Cephas had quite a few empty buildings, and this one was perfect for a giantess. She had woken from a nightmare in the early hours of the morning and been unable to get back to sleep, so she opened a book which Qlin had given her. It was a book of basic math. Mintaka had expressed an interest in Udge's program of adult education, and thought it would be good to improve her mind. "Billy has five potatoes. He gives two to Betty. How many potatoes does he have left?" The giantess thought hard. Five... and two... five, six, seven. No. That's not right. Potato. Kartofel. Pom du terre. Zogo. Billy eem nuk zogo. Es fwa ket a Betty. No, no. She wanted to solve the problem, not translate it. Billy has five potatoes. Five take away two. Deux. Mbili. Dos. Ni. Two from five. Potato. Po. Ta. To. Tato. Tato. No, focus, Mintaka! Billy has two three four five six... En gaba nux potalen fo Betty. Mu casha potalen Billy gera? Mintaka threw the book against the wall. Her brain hurt. Why did it always do this? She was so smart when it came to languages. Why couldn't she think about anything else? She wanted to, so badly. Five potatoes. She held up five fingers. One. Ket. Trey. Nne. Quinco. Kartofeln. Pom du terre. Potalen. No... the numbers... Mintaka started to become dizzy, now. Her mind was screaming at her. CHU PAO NISASO TOKA BILLY? SO PONADA EEMA BILLY? KOA! POMMA! UCHA! BILLY! Mintaka struggled to focus enough to curl two of her fingers. "ONE!" she shouted over the din of the voices in her head. "TWO!" Stop it! Halten Sie! Pa chk! AR NUO! "THREE POTATOES!" cried Mintaka. And with that shout of triumph, she passed out. * * * High in the trees, Urik was marched, still naked and bound, into the presence of the elfin chief. His captors forced him to his knees and pushed his head down into a bow. Urik did not resist. Fighting now would help no one. The chief was frightening. He looked very much like a tree himself, with long, green hair and dark, woody skin. He wore armor made of wood, though Urik suspected it was as strong as steel. The chief stared at Urik with a look of disdain. "What is your name, spy?" he demanded. "Dimtorch of the Bearfin tribe." "Strike him." Urik's guard kicked his cheek. Hard. "Do not lie to me, goblin. I am no babe to be toyed with. Your name." "Urik Moonscream. But I am no spy." "How did you transform yourself into an ape?" "I am a wizard." Another kick. "I will not warn you again. I know when you lie. Your every muscle betrays you to me. Your very thoughts are my informants. Now answer the question." "I am under a curse." "You are a werebeast?" "Yes." Urik prayed that the elf would not pick up on the omission. "Why were you with my unicorn last night?" "She is not your unicorn." "I captured her. She is mine." "She is my wife." The guard got ready for another kick. "No. He is telling the truth. Or at least he thinks he is. What would a unicorn have to do with a goblin like you?" "She loves me." The chief examined Urik's face for signs of falsehood, but found none. "What could you possibly offer her?" "Since I'm naked, I thought it would be obvious." The chief sneered. "Who is your master, goblin?" "I serve Captain Kayrok Fireseed." said Urik. "A mighty warrior and king of kings." "And where are you from?" "The Alpha-Omega Federation. An alliance of many nations. You'll ask me what our strengths are, next. Since I can't lie, I will tell you. We have an army that is thousands strong. We have fighters which only grow stronger when you try to slay them. We have giants, including the largest giant in the land. We have ogres and cyclopses. We have warriors who were literally carved from stone. We have the most powerful wizard in the entire lutin army. We have a thurge who can fashion any magical weapon you can imagine. We have mind-mages and soldiers able to control lightning. We have werebeasts like me. And to top it off, we have a strategist who is not only brilliant, he is completely incapable of mercy or compassion. Look in my eyes. You know it's completely true. You want to pick a fight with us? Go ahead. I dare you." The chief's eyes betrayed a hint of fear before he managed to mask his feelings. "Lock him in a cage like the monkey he is." said the chief. "Oh... and castrate him." Moments later, a blood-chilling scream rang throughout the forest. * * * "Mintaka! Mintaka, wake up!" The giant opened her eyes. Before her stood Smallbeard, with Bess the goat by his side. "Hanwil." she said. "Gre thi ongrob fliz?" "Don't understand a word." "Hello. What are you doing here?" she clarified. "I heard shouting. I came to see whether you were all right." "No." said the giantess. "I hurt my brain." "What were you doing?" "Subtracting potatoes." Smallbeard giggled. "It's not funny! It may seem like nothing to you, but to me, it's hard! I can only think of one thing. When I try to think of anything else, my mind drags me back to that one thing. I'm just so... so..." "Naaaha." said Bess. "Yes. Naaaha." Smallbeard glanced between the two females. "What did she say?" "It wasn't polite." "So... did you do it?" "Do what?" "Subtract the potatoes?" "Yes. There were three." "Well, then," said the dwarf, heading toward the door. "Sounds to me like you're not completely naaaha." Mintaka stared after Smallbeard and bess for a moment after they had gone. Then she picked up the book. "Number two. Rosie the dog has a litter of puppies. There are six girls and two boys. How many puppies are there? Ko nesca Chenzia eya?" * * * Kayrok had just come back from checking the progress on the pass. In the clearing, by the lamppost, stood a little pony foal with yellow fur, orange hair and a pair of little wings. She looked lost. Kayrok walked up to her and knelt. "You must be Urik's little girl." he said. "I'm Captain Kayrok." "Where is my mommy and daddy?" asked the foal. "I don't know." replied Kayrok. "I haven't seen them today. Did they say they were going somewhere?" "Uh uh. They're just gone." "What's your name, little girl?" "Unu." "What a lovely name. I had an aunt named Unu. Well, Unu, if you're trying to find someone, the best place to go is Splim's. Everyone shows up there eventually. Why don't we go there? We'll look for your mom and dad, and I'll buy you some cake." "Okay!" said Unu, brightening. * * * Onju had fallen asleep at his desk, something not normal for him. He awoke with a gasp. "Kayrok!" he said to no one. "I have to warn Kayrok!" * * * "There you are!" Rose the nightmare bore a look halfway between relief and fury as the stormed into the restaurant. "I have been looking everywhere for you!" Unu shrank under her sister's whithering glare. "It's all right." said Kayrok. "She's been with me." "But she shouldn't have wandered off like that!" "She's just worried about your parents. Do you know where they are?" "No. Nobody's seen them since last night." As if on cue, Onju ran in. "Captain... I..." seeing the fillies, he paused. "I need to talk with you privately, Sir." Kayrok cast a glance at Splim, who tilted his head toward the kitchen door. Once the two were away from the girls' ears, Onju took a deep breath and began. "Sir, I had a dream this morning. It was about Urik and Mara." "What about them?" "They had been captured by wood elves, Sir." "Are we talking the pretty kind, or..." "No, Sir. The nasty ones." "Oh." "Urik is seriously injured. The elves have forced him to reveal our company's strengths. They are planning to attack." "Attack? What have we done to them?" "They're wood elves, Sir. It's enough that we exist." "I've learned not to take your dreams lightly. Inform Sujan. Tell him to send word to Takka, Lo-Mahle, Greenstar and Pentagruel that we have reason to suspect an imminent attack. Then find Point and tell him to put the western towns on high alert. Third, find Booli and have him come stay with Urik's children until he returns." "Yes, Sir." "And Onju, not a word about Urik and Mara. As far as the children know, they're just lost. Understood?" "Aye, Sir." Out in the dining hall, Rose wondered if she ought to tell them that horses have exceptional hearing. * * * Mara watched Urik in his cage, her heart aching for him. The sun was setting. She prayed that Urik might assume just the right form. As night fell, Urik shrank. A bushy tail sprang from his butt. Enormous incisors dominated his mouth. Urik became a squirrel. Those guarding him were shocked, having expected him to become an ape once more. There was no chance of catching him. Urik the squirrel ran to Mara the unicorn and both teleported away, leaving an empty rope to fall to the ground. They appeared instantaneously at their home north of Camp Dimtorch. Mara examined her husband briefly and was relieved to discover that the transformation had healed him completely. "Stay here." she told him. "I'm going to go tell Kayrok about the elves." Either not understanding or not complying, Urik jumped onto her back instead. "All right, then." she said. "Hold on tight, dear." Mara stepped out of the door, turned right, and galloped as hard as she could. * * * Kayrok was filled with relief when he saw Urik and Mara alive and well, but his heart began sinking when Mara related to him the details of the encounter. Qlin, who listened closely to everything, offered his opinion. "Wood elves are rash, but not impulsive." he said. "They'll take their time preparing for battle." "What strategy are they likely to employ?" "Very little. The cardinal flaw of wood elves is overconfidence. They're going to run into battle fully believing that they can trample us flat simply because they're elves and we're goblins." "A belief that unfortunately, from what I know of elves, may be justified." "They will most likely attack us at Spiritfell." said Sujan. "It's in the woods, whjich is their element. It's small, weakly defended, and unlike Moondark, is out in the open. The city wall is made of wooden poles, which their weapons would quickly demolish." A train was pulling up, carrying the leaders of the northern communities. Jora, Onju and Jun walked over to join Kayrok. "Is there any way to take the battle away from civilisation? Meet them out in the woods?" asked Kayrok. "Inadvisable." said Sujan. "Wood elves are at their most dangerous in the forest." "What if we built a mock-up city?" said Jora. "Someplace we can be fighting in relative safety but where there won't be any civilians." "We don't have that kind of time." Point noted. "Or do we?" asked Kayrok. "Jun, did you find a spell to turn flesh to stone?" "I did, Sir. I found it in the old Tragso ruins. The wizard used it to turn Takka's people into rocks. All I'd need is a little lime, water and loam." "Not a problem." "We can build a city out of surplus meat cubes." said Kayrok. "It won't take us that long to build with meat. Then Jun and as many as he can teach the spell to will turn the meat into stone." "It will take us several hours to transport that many meat cubes to the western frontier." said Sujan. The train engineer, whose train was still sitting at the stop, raised his hand and sheepishly said "Um... no it won't." * * * When the first group of builders arrived at the spot where Alnalam had dumped the meat cubes, they were stunned. This was not one trainload. Apparently, the engineer and Alnalam had struk some sort of deal and the giant had piled up at least ten cars full. "Thank Vertarbna we found these before they spoiled." said Kayrok. Jora gagged at the thought. "Everyone, grab a block and get stacking." Rose watched the village take shape from her vantage point in the trees. Kayrok had a good plan, but there was one drawback. It would only work if the elves attacked it instead of some other target. Rose would make sure that happened. * * * Rose knew a thing or two about elves from listening to her mother's stories. It was a common misconception that elves never slept. In fact they did sleep, but required very little time actually sleeping. Most elves simply spent the majority of the night in a medetative trance, but during that time, they would require one or two hours of actual sleep. And anyone who slept could dream. That was where Rose's special talents came in. She perched in a nearby tree and waited for the chief to fall asleep. When the lights in his hut went out, she waited several minutes, then felt about with her mind. He was indeed sleeping. It was time to go to work. In his dreams, the chief saw the city of Mountainshade. In it, two lutins conversed. "The elves may come at any time." said one. "It's very likely they'll kill the king when they do." "They won't be able to get him." said the other. "For the king has been safely hidden in the house in the center of Steadfast." "The one with the red door?" "Exactly. They'll never get to him there." "Why do you say that?" "The elves wouldn't dare invade Steadfast. It's stone walls are impregnable, and it's guarded by giants." "You're right. What am I worried about? Wood elves would never be brave enough to attack Steadfast." The chief knew this wasn't right. His mind would never call wood elves cowardly, even through the character of a loathesome goblin. The elf whipped around and caught the one invading his dreams by the throat. Rose gasped for breath as his hand squeezed her windpipe. "I know what you are." he breathed menacingly. "Go and tell you master that I am chief Agarwaen of the Tawarhelma. We fear no goblin, troll, cyclops, ogre or giant. I will come for him in exactly two days' time. Let him prepare. It won't stop me. My army is ten thousand strong, and we will find him no matter where he hides. His head will grace my throneroom wall." Rose found herself gasping for breath as she returned to full awareness of the real world. Heart racing, she took off into the night sky. Many arrows followed her. One lodged in her right thigh. Another found it's way into her neck. Rose was in intense pain, but she forced her wings to keep flapping until she was safely back among goblins. When she arrived at the rapidly constructed fortress which she had dubbed Steadfast in Agarwaen's dream, she collapsed to the ground amid her friends. Hornbeam immediately ran to attend. "You're lucky to be alive." said the medic. "This arrow almost hit a major artery." "The elves..." she rasped. "They're coming here in forty-eight hours." She proceded to tell them everything while Hornbeam worked to patch her up. When she was done, Kayrok looked very grave. "Ten thousand. I had no idea. I was expecting perhaps a thousand at most. Suggestions, everyone?" The place was silent at first, then Jora offered "I have a bard spell I could try." "We can send the nilbogs in first. They can buy the rest of us time." "I have an idea involving my electric powers." said Foon. "They don't yet know about us." said Smallbeard. "We could pretend to be hostages as bait for a trap." "I have an idea." said a deep voice. Everyone turned to stare at Mintaka. "I know." she said. "I'm as surprised as you. But can you make a spell to protect someone from a bad medicine?" "Anti-poison spell? Sure. that's easy." said Jun. "Rugi," said Ruku, who suddenly realized the thurge couldn't hear him and so stepped in front of him. "Rugi," he signed. "Does a charm have to be solid, or can it be a liquid?" "If it's a liquid it's technically a potion, but yes, I can do that. Why?" "What about the spell you put on the charms for Urik, Thnad and Angu?" "Yes, though a permanent spell would take time to prepare." "What about one that lasts two hours?" "I could have that ready in a day." The wheels were spinning in Kayrok's head. "Point, go to Mountainshade. Tell Splim that I need him to prepare the hugest banquet ever. Big enough for the whole federation and then some." The cyclops had no idea what Kayrok was planning, but he didn't need to. "Yes, Sir." he said, and took off for Mountainshade. "All right, everyone." said Kayrok. "We have an additional two days to prepare. I think I have a plan. I want all of your ideas, and if they're as good as I think they are, we may be able to get through this battle with very little loss of life. That ought to make you happy, Jun." "It does indeed, Sir." All right. Here's what we'll do..." * * * It was the middle of the night on the third day. The small town of Steadfast sat ready in the middle of a clearing. It was surrounded first by a shallow, muddy moat, followed by a hastily constructed wooden fence, and then the stone wall topped with bars of iron. The lutin army stood ready atop the wall wearing animal skin hoods to look their fiercest while the three giants stood behind them. Agarwaen stood at the edge of the clearing at the head of his ten thousand elf army. "This is your only chance to surrender!" called the chief. "If you do, your deaths shall be swift and painless. I personally hope you do not." Alnatak shouted back. "Blow it out your ugly pointed ears!" "Very well. CHARGE!" The first elves to hit the moat almost didn't notice that they were shrinking. The very mud of the moat had been enchanted by the thurge. Ears vanished. Brown skin turned green. Armor tuned into shells. Half the elfin army had transformed into turtles, thanks to the magic mud, and being turtles, they were hard pressed to clean themselves. Once they realized what was happening, the other half of the army leapy spryly across on the backs of their transformed comrades. Reaching the pine branch wall, they set about dismantling it quickly. Having just encountered the enchanted mud, they never expected the lutins would try the same trick twice, but the branches had been coated with enchanted sap. Over two thousand elves were transformed into mice, and being mice, were very much stuck to the tar. Some of them might have struggled free, if the sap had not also been treated with a powerful topical sedative. The remaining twenty-five hundred dared not show any sign of fear, once the wooden wall was down, they charged the stone wall. They could not have known that safely hidden away behing that wall, Foon was releasing massive bursts of electricity into the iron bars, which were all connected to a rail leading straight to his hand. Again, the enemy's numbers were halved as elf after elf fell to the ground stunned, knocked out, or worse. Those who did make it over the wall plunged their weapons into the lutin soldiers. As they did, they realized too late that these were not lutins at all, but fakes. Within each one was a balloon which, when ruptured, released a powerful sleeping gas, courtesy of Gitch and Hornbeam. Slightly more than six hundred made it past the fourth line of defense, but they were inside now, and they were more than enough to conquer this city. Behind a nearby building, ten nilbogs waited. Each one had been coated with oil. "Light them." Sujan ordered. Ten flaming nilbogs ran out to attack the elves who happened to be covered in beads of wood. The more the elves tried to kill them, the stronger the nilbogs became. After several long minutes, diring which most of the elves had abandoned their armor and wooden weapons, someone shouted "They're nilbogs! Heal them! HEAL them!" But even though the nilbogs beat a hasty retreat at these words, the healing spells of the medics did nothing. One cannot heal while actively taking damage, and the nilbogs were still on fire. Three hundred thirteen elves lay on the ground writhing in pain from severe burns. The rest continued to advance. It was now the giants' turn. Alnatak, Alnalam and Mintaka came forward to do battle. All of the bows had been consumed with the nilbogs' fire, and what metal weapons there were did only surface damage to the enormous fighters. Most of the injury came in the form of blows from the elves' hard, wood-like fists. But the elves didn't know that the giants were coated with a paralyzing digitalis cocktail, another contribution from Gitch. The giants were protected by their own personal defense spells, but the elves had no such protection. More than a hundred fifty elves fell over, unable to do anything but stare straight ahead, before Sujan ordered the giants to retreat. From a prison building, the voices of gnomes and dwarves rang out. "Help us!" they cried. "Set us free! Save us! Let us help you!" Agarwaen nodded to one of his lieutenants, ordering his with but a look to take a group of elves and liberate these potential allies. Norebo, in the role of the jailer, threw the keys on the ground. "Take them!" he cried. "Take the keys, take the prisoners, take all you want! Just don't kill me!" Norebo turned and ran like a coward. The elves poured into the building, ready to fight whatever guards may be inside. Once they were all through the door, the blue-skinned psychic, Umba, used his telekinetic power to shut the door, lock it, and block it from the outside. The dwarves and gnomes then filed out of their cells through doors in the outside wall. The lieutenant, furious, put a key onto the door lock, only to have it crack in two, as it was merely painted low-grade plaster. Not quite seventy elves remained. Agarwaen was now within sight of the red-doored house, and could see Kayrok inside. He and his few remaining soldiers pressed forward. "STOP!" shouted Point as he stepped before the elfin chied with an enormous bladder-bag. "What is this?" "I am a cylops. I have the power to foresee my own death. I know I shall die in this battle, so I have determined to take as many of you with me as possible. This bag is filled with a highly explosive gas, which I am about to detonate in three... two..." For about forty elves, courage had been stretched to its limits. They had come here as ten thousand and were now less than a hundred. Some of them made it as far as the sleeping gas cloud. Some made it past the electrified railing. A few even avoided the better mosetrap. None made it past the moat. "Just kidding." said Point. "It's skunk stink." He threw the bag and ran, causing it to burst open on contact with the elves, releasing a foul odor which left twenty of them on their hands and knees throwing up, thanks to their incredibly sensitive elfin noses. Agarwaen, whose chin was now covered in his own inner filth, bellowed at Kayrok. "I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" Kayrok seemed unmoved. Eighteen elves pressed forward, many of them now too groggy to face the lutins, tragso, dwarves and gnomes who now came to defend their leader. "Now!" shouted Sujan. As one, the lutins and their allies plugged their ears. Jora played a lilting melody on his magic flute. Agarweaen felt weak and sleepy, but he pressed on though nine of his remaining companions fell into a deep slumber. Only eight remained besides the chief. These were the toughest, nastiest, smartest wood elves who had avoided or toughed out everything the goblins could dish out so far. Barga took one out with a mace to the knee. Azpat took another with a poisoned dart. Zin and Zan fought together, Zin holding a sword in one arm while Zan swung an axe with the other. Zin blocked the weapon of an elf soldier while Zan used the axe to remove his hand. Mipo took one out with a sweep of a staff. Owlscreech got lucky with a well-aimed arrow. Five elves made it to the house where Kayrok hid These were the ones who could not be taken down. As Agarwaen reached for the door, Sujan cried "We're done for! Retreat!" "Let them go." the chief elf ordered. "We shall deal with them later." His heart overflowed with hate and rejoiced at the thought of what he was about to do to this goblin scumbag who had just decimated his army. He noticed too late that Kayrok, who was calmly waiting for him, was not opaque. Kayrok was using a sending spell, and as the door opened with an odd scraping sound, the image of Kayrok turned to him and uttered one word. "Surprise!" The door had been rigged with flint and steel, and the entire building was filled with the powder made of sulpher, saltpeter and charcoal. The five remaining elves were blown clear to the edge of town. Bleeding profusely, face nearly gone, arms and legs all severely broken, Agarwaen departed the conscious world. * * * The elf chief awoke. He was dressed in a white linen robe. His wounds had all been healed. He had been cleaned while he was out, and was sitting in the middle of what appeared to be a human or gnomish hospital. "Ah, good. You're awake!" said Hornbeam. "Glad to hear it." "What trickery is this?" Agarwaen demanded. "No trickery. Just good, old-fashioned medicine. Well, that and a parasitic nilbog named James. I'm afraid we might not have gotten your face quite right. There wasn't much left to work with." "Where are my men?" "I'm glad you asked. We managed to save most of them. They're out here." Hornbeam opened the infirmary door. Outside in the camp, nearly all of the original ten thousand elves were dressed in white robes, restored to full health and eating sumptuously. "Welcome to Camp Dimtorch." said Kayrok, walking up. "Please, be our guest for a good, hot meal." "What trickery is this?" demanded the elf. "Why are you doing this after you tried to kill us?' "We're not trying to kill you, Agarwaen. And I sincerely apologize for whatever infractions my people may have committed against you in the past. YOU attacked US. We did our best to defend ourselves with a minimum loss of life on either side. Now by rights, I should make slaves of all of you and force you to work in my mines, but we have all the workers we need, so it really wouldn't benefit us, and I'm sure you'll agree that it really wouldn't benefit you. So you are free to go." "You are being a fool. I will return and kill you." "I wouldn't advise it, because if there's a next time, I won't be pulling any punches. Go home in peace, after you've had a hardy meal. Oh, and by the way, check the food for the smell of almonds. Just in case." As Kayrok took his leave of Agarwaen, he went to Sujan. "Do you have the casualty report?" he asked. "Yes, Sir. Loss of life was minimal on both sides. Of the elves, a grand total of fifty-one could not be saved." "And on our side?" "Four gnomes, three dwarves, one tragso, two bhuka and eight lutins." "That's eighteen too many." remarked Kayrok. "I believe you will find the next item of news more disturbing. Brang was among the casualties, Sir." "Oh no." "As was Onju." Kayrok's heart skipped a beat. Onju? Surely not Onju! Onju was a devoted servant of Vertarbna. Surely there must be a mistake! "Check again." said the captain. "Sir, I have already triple-checked the..." "CHECK AGAIN!" Kayrok barked. "That is something i simply cannot accept. * * * Algene sat quietly and rested in the shade of the mountain while his transformed friends grazed in the grassy meadow. "You've saved them all, Algene." said Quargle. "I can't possibly thank you enough." "Where will you go?" asked the cyclops. "I don't know. The grazing here won't last forever, and I can't take care of them all over the winter. We just don't have the food. But where can we go that anyone might be willing to take care of a hobgoblin pony? They're enemies of Nasoj. Full goblins hate them for being half dwarf. Full dwarves hate them for being half goblin. Where in this world could there possibly be a place for them?" Algene smiled. "I have good news." * * * "Onju?" said Brang as he stared at the marvelous city before them. "Yes?" answered Onju, eyes also straight ahead. "Are we dead?" "I think so." "Is that Stormhaven?" "I think it is." "It's so big!" The two lutins walked slowly forward toward the city gate. The city's majesty only seemed to increase as they pulled closer. "Welcome." said the gatekeeper, who appeared to be a beautiful female lutin in a flowing white dress. "I'm Onju. This is Brang." "I know. We've been expecting you. Please, enter." "Onju?" said Brang. "You know what? I don't feel sleepy. Not even a little!" "That's great." said Onju, distractedly. His eyes were fixed on the person coming to meet them at the gate. He was covered with light like the sun, and his skin bore severe scars. "Vertarbna!" he whispered, feeling so overwhelmed with joy that he nearly collapsed. Vertarbna reached out his eternally injured hand to steady the lutin. "But Master, why did we die now?" asked Onju. "There was so much to do." "Your work is done." said Vertarbna. "Kayrok must face the tests that are to come without your guidance, else the changes which must take place cannot happen." Onju nodded. It all seemed so simple now. His heart still felt concern for Kayrok and all of his friends, but he understood that everything would turn out just as it needed to. "And now," said Onju's god, "Enter into my rest, my faithful sons."