Kender, Gully Dwarves And Gnomes

CHAPTER SEVEN

Surrounded by hundreds of admiring women reaching out to touch them and fondle them, the confused and embarrassed «rescuers» were captured by kindness. Laughing and teasing them, the women led the brothers and the dwarf from the vast entry hall to a smaller room in the castle, a room filled with silken wall hangings and large, comfortable silk-covered couches. Before they knew quite what was happening, the men were being shoved down among the cushions by soft hands, the women offering them wine, sumptuous food, and delicacies of all sorts… ALL sorts.

"I think it's sweet, you coming all this way to rescue us," purred one of the women, leaning against Sturm and running her hand over his shoulder. Long blonde hair fell down her bare arm. She wore it tucked behind one ear, held back by a flower. Her gown, made of something gray and filmy, left very little to the imagination.

"All in a day's work," said Sturm, smiling. "We're going to be made Knights of Solamnia, you know," he added conversationally. "Probably for doing this very deed."

"Really? Tell me more."

But the blonde wasn't the least bit interested in the Knights. She wasn't even listening to Sturm, Palin realized, watching his brother with growing irritation. The big warrior was rambling on somewhat incoherently about the Oath and the Measure, all the while fondling the silky blonde hair and gazing into blue eyes.

Palin was ill-at-ease. The young mage felt a burning in his blood, his head buzzed — not an unusual sensation around such lovely, seductive females. He felt no desire for these women, however. They were strangely repulsive to him. It was the magic he sensed, bum-ing within him. He wanted to concentrate on it, on his feeling of growing power. Thrusting aside a doe-eyed beauty who was trying to feed him grapes, Palin inched his way among the cushions to get nearer Sturm. The big man was enjoying the attentions of the attractive blonde to the fullest.

"Sturm, what are you doing? This could be a trap, an ambush!" Palin said in an undertone.

"Lighten up for once, Little Brother," Sturm said mildly, putting his arm around the blonde and drawing her close. "Here, I'll put your mind at ease. Tell me," he said, kissing the blonde's rosy lips, "is this an ambush?"

"Yes!" She giggled, wriggling closer. "You're under attack, right now"

"There you are, Palin. No help for it. We're surrounded." Sturm kissed the girl's neck. "I surrender," he said softly, "unconditionally."

"Tanin?" Alarmed, Palin looked to his oldest brother for help, and was relieved to see the serious young man getting to his feet, despite all efforts of the dark-haired beauty to drag him back down beside her. The dwarf, too, was doing his best to escape.

"Get away! Leave me be, woman!" Dougan roared, slapping at the hands of a lithesome girl. Struggling up from among the cushions, the red-faced dwarf turned to face the women.

"What about Lord Gargath? Where is he?" the dwarf demanded. "Using you women to seduce us, then capture us, no doubt?"

"Lord Gargath? Hardly!" The dark-haired beauty who had been making much of Tanin laughed, as did the other women in the room. Shrugging her lovely shoulders, she glanced at the ceiling. "He's up there… somewhere," she said without interest, caressing Tanin's bare chest. The big man shoved her away, glancing nervously about the room.

"For once you've made sense, dwarf. We better find this Gargath before he finds us. Come on." Tanin took a step toward a door at the end of the perfumed, candle-lit chamber, but the dark-haired beauty caught hold of his arm.

"Relax, warrior," she whispered. "You don't need to worry about Lord Gargath. He won't bother you or anybody." She ran her fingers admiringly through Tanin's thick, red curls.

"I'll see for myself," Tanin returned, but he sounded less enthusiastic.

"Very well, if you must." The woman sighed languorously, nestling her body against Tanin's. "But it's a waste of time — time that could be spent in much more pleasant pursuits. The dried-up old wizards been our prisoner now for two years."

"He's your prisoner?" Tanin gaped.

"Well, yes," said in the blonde, looking up from nibbling at Sturm's ear. "He was such a boring old thing. Talking about pentagrams and wanting to know which of us were virgins and asking a lot of other personal questions. So we locked him in his old tower with his stupid rock." She kissed Sturm's muscular shoulder.

"Then who's been taking the women hostage all these months?" Palin demanded.

"Well, we did, of course," said the dark-haired beauty.

"You?" Palin said, stunned. He put his hand to his forehead and noticed his skin felt abnormally hot. He was dizzy, and his head ached. The room and everything in it seemed to be just slightly out of focus.

"This is a wonderful life! " said the blonde, sitting back, and teasingly rebuffing Sturm's attempts to pull her down. "The Graygem provides all we need. We live in luxury. There is no work, no cooking and mending — »

"No children screaming — »

"No husbands coming back from battle, bleeding and dirty — »

"No washing clothes in the stream day after day — »

"No endless talks of war and bragging about great deeds "

"We read books," said the dark-haired beauty. "The wizard has many in his library. We became educated, and we found out we didn't have to live that kind of life anymore. We wanted our sisters and our mothers to share our comfortable surroundings with us, so WE kept up the ruse, demanding that hostages be brought to the castle until all of us were here."

"Bless my beard!" exclaimed the dwarf in awe.

"All we lack are some nice men, to keep us from being lonely at night," said the blonde, smiling at Sturm. "And now that's been taken care of, thanks to the Graygem…"

"I'm going to go find Lord Gargath," said Palin, standing up abruptly. But he was so dizzy that he staggered, scattering cushions over the floor. "Are the rest of you coming?" he asked, fighting this strange weakness and wondering why his brothers didn't seem afflicted.

"Yes," said Tanin, extricating himself with difficulty from the dark-haired beauty's embrace.

"Count on me, lad," said Dougan grimly.

"Sturm?" said Palin.

"Just leave me here," said Sturm. "I'll act as… rear guard…"

The women broke into merry laughter.

"Sturm!" Tanin repeated angrily.

Sturm waved his hand. "Go ahead, if you're so keen on talking to some moldy old wizard, when you could be here, enjoying…"

Tanin opened his mouth again, his brows coming together in anger. But Palin stopped him. "Leave this to me," the young mage said with a twisted smile. Setting the staff down carefully among the cushions, Palin lifted both hands and held them out, pointing at Sturm. Then he began to chant.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop!" Sturm gasped.

But Palin continued chanting and began raising his hands. As he did so, Sturm's prone body rose into the air, too, until soon the young man was floating a good six feet off the floor.

"Wonderful trick! Show us some more!" called out the women, applauding.

Palin spoke again, snapped his fingers, and ropes appeared out of nowhere, snaking up from the floor to wrap themselves around Sturm's arms and legs. The women squealed in glee, many of them transferring their admiring gazes from the muscular Sturm — now bound hand and foot — to the mage who could perform such feats.

"G-good trick, Palin. Now put me down!" Sturm said, licking his lips and glancing beneath him nervously. There was nothing between him and the floor but air.

Pleased with himself, Palin left Sturm in the air and turned to Tanin. "Shall I bring him along?" he asked casually, expecting to see Tanin regarding him with awe as well.

Instead, Palin found his older brother's brows furrowed in concern. "Palin," said Tanin in a low voice, "how did you do that?"

"Magic, my dear brother," Palin said, thinking suddenly how unaccountably stupid Tanin was.

"I know it was magic," Tanin said sharply. "And I admit I don't know much about magic. But I do know that only a powerful wizard could perform such a feat as that. NOT one who just recently passed his Test!"

Looking back at the levitated Sturm hovering helplessly in the air, Palin nodded. "You're right," he said proudly. "I performed a high-level spell, without any assistance or aid! Not even the Staff of Magius helped me!" Reaching out, he took hold of the staff. The wood was cold to the touch, icy cold, almost painful. Palin gasped, almost dropping it. But then he noticed that the dizziness was easing. He felt his skin grow cool, the buzzing in his head diminished. "My magic!" he murmured. "The Graygem must be enhancing it! I've only been here a short while, and look what I can do! I have the power of an archmage. If I had the gem, I'd be as strong as my uncle!" Palin whispered to himself. "Maybe stronger!" His eyes glistened, his body began to tremble. "I'd use my power for Good, of course. I would seize the Tower at Palanthas from Dalamar and cleanse it of its evil. I would lift the curse from the Shoikan Grove, enter my uncle's laboratory." Thoughts and visions of the future came to him in a swirl of wild colors, so real and vivid he literally reeled at the sight.

Strong hands held him. Blinking, clearing the mist from his eyes, Palin looked down to see himself reflected in the bright, dark, cunning eyes of the dwarf. "Steady, laddie," said Dougan, "you're flying high, too high for one whose wings have just sprouted."

"Leave me alone!" Palin cried, pulling away from the dwarf's grip. "You want the gem yourself!"

"Aye, laddie," said Dougan softly, stroking his black beard. "And I have a right to it. I'm the ONLY one who has a right to it, in fact!"

"Might makes right, dwarf," Palin said with a sneer. Picking up his staff, he started to walk toward the door. "Coming?" he asked Tanin coldly, "or must I bring you along as I'm carrying that great oaf!" Gesturing toward Sturm, he drew the young man toward him with a motion of his hand. Twisting his head, Sturm gazed back at Tanin in fear and alarm as he drifted through the air.

"Oh, no! Don't leave! Do some more tricks!" cried the women in dismay.

"Stop, young mage!" Dougan cried. "You're falling under the spell!"

"Palin!" Tanin's quiet voice cut through the buzzing in his brother's head and the laughter of the women and the shouts of the dwarf. "Don't listen to Dougan or me or anyone for a moment. Just listen to yourself."

"And what's THAT supposed to mean, my brother?" Palin scoffed. "Something wise that suddenly struck you? Did a brain finally make an appearance through all that muscle?"

He leered mockingly at Tanin, expecting — no, HOPING that his brother would become angry and try to stop him. Then I'll REALLY show him a trick or two! Palin thought. Just like my uncle showed my father…

But Tanin just stood there, regarding him gravely. "I–I

Name of the gods!" Palin faltered, putting his hand to his

head. His cruel words came back to him. "Tanin, I'm sorry! I don't know what's come over me." Turning, he saw Sturm, hanging helplessly in the air. "Sturm!" Palin snapped his fingers. "I'm sorry! I'll let you go — »

"Palin, don't —!" Sturm began wildly, but it was too late.

The spell broken, the young man fell to the floor with a yell and a crash, to be instantly surrounded by cooing and clucking women. It was a few moments before Sturm made his appearance again, his red hair tousled, his face flushed. Getting to his feet, he pushed the women aside and limped toward his brothers.

"I was wrong," Palin said, shivering. "I understand now. These women ARE being held in thrall…"

"Aye, lad," said Dougan. "Just as you were yourself. It's the power of the Graygem, trying to take hold of you, exploiting your weaknesses as it did theirs — »

" — by giving us what we want," Palin finished thoughtfully.

"That's what we'll turn into, the longer we stay here," Tanin added. "Slaves of the Graygem. Don't you see, these women are guarding it just as effectively INSIDE this castle as their men are outside. That's why nothing changes in here. The Graygem's keeping it stable for them!"

The women began sidling nearer, reaching out their hands once more. "How boring… Don't go… Don't leave us… Stupid rock…"

"Well, let's go find this Lord Gargath then," Sturm muttered, shamefaced. Try as he might, his gaze still strayed toward the blonde, who was blowing kisses at him.

"Take your spears," said Tanin, shoving aside the soft hands that were clinging to him. "These women might or might not be telling us the truth. That old wizard could be laughing at us right now."

"They said he was 'up there.' " Palin gazed at the ceiling. "But where? How do we get there?"

"Uh, I believe I know the way, laddie," Dougan said. "Just a hunch, mind you," he added hastily, seeing Tanin's dark look. "That door, there, leads upstairs… I think…"

"Humpf," Tanin growled, but went to investigate the door, his brothers and the dwarf following behind.

"What did you mean, YOU'RE the only one who has a right to the Graygem?" Palin asked Dougan in an undertone.

"Did I say that?" The dwarf looked at him shrewdly. "Must have been the gem talking…" "Oh, please don't go!" cried the women. "Never mind. They'll be coming back soon," predicted the dark-haired beauty.

"And when you do come back, maybe you can show us some more of those cute magic tricks," called the blonde to Palin politely.