Wanderlust

Chapter 15

Tasslehoff stretched out beneath a small night-stand, licking his paws and smoothing out his fur. His tail flicked back and forth casually. It was an engaging feeling, and he was just a little rueful that kender had no tails.

He still could not believe what he and Selana had witnessed in the laboratory. A talking coin, who represented the evil god Hiddukel! He could hardly wait to tell Tanis and Flint about it, particularly now that Selana had flown away. She'd flashed him one more telepathic message before she'd disappeared through the loophole in the mage's chamber.

"Tas, I'm going to follow him and get my bracelet back," she'd said, giving Tasslehoff no chance to talk her out of it, since she flew from sight and range right after.

So, in a mouse-induced panic, Tas had skittered out of the evil mage's laboratory, run partway down the hall, then slipped under the first door he came to. He found himself in a bedchamber. Probably a spare, unused room, he decided, because the fireplace was cold and several leaves swirled about in the comers whenever a breeze gusted through the tiny window. Still, a few rugs on the floor made it cozy enough and it seemed like a good place to pause and decide what he should do next.

Tas's first decision had been to shed his mouse form for something the mage might not be looking for. Most people seemed to like cats, so Castle Tantallon now had a white, brown, and turquoise cat with an unusually long shock of hair at the back of its head.

He also thought he would do well to wait a minute or two before moving around too much, just in case someone was watching the hallway. Tas washed himself, cat style, wondering all the while if he really would be cleaner when he changed back to his normal shape.

He soon began considering his situation strategically. Few people realized that kender were capable of analytical thought. In fact, they were quite good at it under the right conditions but, because they were so easily distracted, they rarely managed to carry an argument through to a logical conclusion. Tas discovered that lying under a nightstand, licking one's paws, and purring softly were all conducive to clear thinking.

Tasslehoff posed himself a question: If I were an evil wizard in league with Hiddukel and I found myself in this situation, what would I do? The mage would be guarding the bracelet now, that much was certain. And they had lost a big advantage by revealing both that the bracelet was what they wanted and that they could change shape.

Tasslehoff decided it was time to switch plans. He and Selana had failed to get the bracelet back, but Flint and Tanis were still prisoners somewhere in the castle. The captives had seen things under the castle-the zombie, for instance, which the wizard undoubtedly wanted to keep quiet from the knight, at least. That put the dwarf and the half-elf in considerable danger. Tas was certain he would never have a better opportunity to rescue them than while the potion was still effective, so he had better hurry.

He remembered that after the shadow monster had expired, he and Selana had seen the mage walking to the keep from the jail, so Flint and Tanis probably were being held captive there.

Tas finished his washing, stood, stretched, and padded to the door. He eyed the space under it, gauging its height. As a mouse he'd slipped under with no trouble, but why be a mouse again when there were so many other diverting forms he had yet to try.

In the blink of an eye he transformed into a two-foot-long, tan, brown, and gold fox snake. The stone floor felt nicely cool under his belly. Tas flicked his tongue experimentally a few times, then poked his head under the door and swung it slowly to look both ways. The hallway was clear.

His first effort to move forward was less than successful. His body twisted and jerked and rolled over, and he banged his head on the bottom of the door, but did not move forward. This is not as easy as snakes make it look, Tas concluded. After a few more abortive efforts to master a crawl, he managed to roll right side up again, but still was not in the hallway.

At last he realized that he was taking an altogether wrong approach. Crawling required arms and legs. Instead, he had to figure out how to slither. He thought about how a snake wiggles its way through a meadow. Without really understanding how he did it, he suddenly found himself making swift progress sideways and forward at the same time, until he was under the door and right out into the hallway.

Tas's curiosity about snakes was quickly settled- besides, people tended to startle and shiver and try to chop snakes in half whenever they ran across them-so he transformed himself again as soon as he was clear of the doorway. This time he settled upon an orange-and-ivory spaniel. He trotted down the corridor with his tail in the air, sniffed under doors, scampered down a winding staircase and through an open doorway into the main corridor. The way out was just down the hall to his right.

Tasslehoff ran to the exit and leaped up to plant both front paws on it. He pushed the latch up with his nose, and the door swung open. Once outside, Tas ran straight toward the jail. The front door stood open, so he trotted inside.

Two soldiers straddled a bench in the front room, rolling dice between them. Tas knew he'd come to the right place when he recognized Tanis's bow and Flint's axe on the floor behind them.

On the other side of the room, a door made of riveted iron bands led to the jail cells. The spaces between the bands were large enough for Tas to walk through, but the door would have to be unlocked to let Flint and Tanis out.

During his travels, Tasslehoff had encountered very few locks that he couldn't open with his picks. He had enough experience to know that the locks on most jail cells were not very good. But just in case, he looked around for a ring of keys. He spotted one hanging on a large hook on the wall, behind the two dice rollers.

Tas assumed that the older-looking of the pair was winning, because the pile of copper coins in front of him was quite a bit larger than the other soldier's. They seemed preoccupied with their game, so Tas trotted past them toward the iron door. At that moment the losing player must have made a particularly bad dice roll because he swore loudly and flung the dice across the room. Both guards looked directly at Tas.

"Whose dog is that?" asked the older guard. "I've never seen it before."

"I don't know," the second replied, "but it sure is a strange color. And look at that ridiculous shock of hair on its head. Hand me your knife, Duncan. I'm going to cut some of it off."

Duncan pulled a small knife from a scabbard tucked in his belt and extended it to his companion, but a threatening growl made them both pause. Duncan remarked, "I don't think he likes your idea, Jules."

"I'm sure he doesn't have the slightest idea what we're talking about." Jules took the knife.

"Rrrrr, rowff!" Tas bared his teeth.

Jules and Duncan regarded the dog with raised eyebrows. Both guards kept their sight locked on Tasslehoff while Jules handed the knife back to Duncan. Tas wagged his tail and smiled as best he could. Duncan handed the knife to Jules, and Tas growled.

Duncan flashed a hearty grin. "He's a smart one. If I didn't know better, I'd wager he understands every word we say."

Tas barked and trotted forward. Both men petted him warmly, and Jules even drew a scrap of dried meat from his pocket and offered it. Tasslehoff had not eaten for some time, and he gobbled it hungrily. He was surprised to realize that its flavor wasn't as strong on his long dog tongue as it would have been on his sensitive kender taste buds. After another round of petting, the guards retrieved their dice and resumed their game.

The kender-spaniel lay on the floor beneath the bench. Tas stayed there for a minute or two, until he was sure the guards were absorbed in their gambling again, then he stood and, under the pretext of exploring the room, slipped through the iron door.

Tas saw immediately that the back area of the jail had five cells. Each was closed by a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands. A small, barred window in each door let the guards peer through and into the cells. There were two cells on each side of the building and a fifth at the end of the hall.

Slowly Tas walked past the doors, listening at each for the sound of familiar voices. He heard Flint grumbling behind the second one. "That wizard fellow is pure evil. He's not going to let us out of here alive, after what we've seen. Do you think there's a chance Tas and Selana escaped that vicious shadow thing?"

Good old Flint, Tas thought, wagging his tail happily. Tas checked the gap between the door and the floor. The paving stones were rough and uneven, leaving substantial gaps in places. He glanced back over his shoulder: Jules and Duncan were still absorbed in their game. In a sudden impulse, Tas swirled himself into a hermit crab. This ought to be fun, he mused as he scuttled beneath the door.

Flint Fireforge looked toward the door when he noticed a clicking sound coming from that direction. A crab, with its spidery legs and clacking claws, was not at all what he expected to see. "Great gods! What in Reorx's forge is that awful thing?"

Tanis, who sat on the floor with his back to the wall, was more down to earth. "It looks like an old crab to me, but if you leave it alone, it probably won't bother us." Nonetheless Tas was amused to see Tanis rise to his feet.

"It's already bothering me," muttered Flint. "Anyway, I'm not going to tease it, I'm going to step on it." As the dwarf approached, Tas paused and then charged forward with his claws raised and clacking ferociously. The surprised dwarf skipped back to where Tanis stood. "Did you see that? It rushed me!" The two men stared with slack jaws.

"That does it. No big bug is going to push me around, today of all days. Move over by the door, Tanis, and get ready to cut it off in case it tries to make a break for it."

As Flint closed in, trying to keep one hobnailed boot poised and ready to stomp at all times, Tas had all he could do just concentrating on becoming a kender again. But he managed it with inches to spare. Amidst a whirlwind of color, the tiny crab was transformed into Tasslehoff Burrfoot, lying on his back and laughing so hard he clutched his sides.

"Ooh, Flint, you should have seen your face when I charged you! It was worth your weight in steel!"

Flint was hardly amused. He grabbed Tasslehoff by his vest and yanked him onto his wobbly legs. "What's going on here, kender? What kind of tricks are you up to?"

"No tricks, Flint. I'm here to get you out." Tasslehoff smoothed out the rumpled front of his vest and stepped back. "How did you like my entrance?"

Tanis peered through the window in the door to see whether the guards had noticed the ruckus, but nothing had changed in the outer room. He turned back to Tasslehoff. "What is going on, Tas? How did you do that?"

"Selana had a potion of poly-something-or-other, and we split it to keep from being recognized." Tas wiped the last remaining tear of laughter from his eye. "It's really great. You should try it sometime. I've been a bird and a spider and a mouse and all kinds of things."

"Where is Selana, anyway?" asked Tanis, peering through the small window in the door again, as if expecting her.

Tas became more somber. "It's a long, complicated story, but we were separated and now she's gone up into the mountains to follow that mage-he has the bracelet. I'd give you the details now, but I don't know how much longer this potion will last. Let's get away safely first. I'll tell you the whole story later, while we're on our way to rescue Selana."

Tanis and Flint nodded. "What's the plan?" Flint asked.

"Just watch." Once again Tas was immersed in swirling lights and turned back into an orange-and-ivory spaniel. He stepped up to the door and began barking, whining, and scratching at the heavy wood.

In the front room, Duncan and Jules interrupted their game and peered around, looking for the dog. "Sounds like he's back by the cells, Jules. Go see what the problem is and bring him out here." The younger guard got up reluctantly, but only after scooping the few remaining copper pieces he had left into a small purse, which he tucked into his belt. With the ring of keys from the wall, he unlocked the iron door and stepped back into the cell area. A moment later he was peering through the cell door and scratching his head.

"Hey, you two, how did that dog get in there with you?"

Flint said, "He crawled under the door." Tanis nodded and Tasslehoff kept right on barking.

"That's impossible," Jules stated flatly. "There's no way that dog could have gotten in there under the door. The crack isn't nearly big enough."

Flint's eyes narrowed down to tiny slits, and he waved his hands at the door. "You and I both know the door's locked, so you tell me how he got in here."

Duncan stepped back to join Jules. "How in hell did that dog get in there?" he wondered aloud, peering into the cell.

"We told you, he crawled under the door," Tanis repeated.

Flint added, "Get him out, would you? He's making an awful racket."

"If he crawled in, why doesn't he just crawl back out?" asked Jules.

"He's a dog, not a scholar-maybe he hasn't thought of it," Flint snorted. "It's obvious he doesn't want to be in here any more than I do. Can't you let him out so a fella could get a little sleep?"

"Yeah, sure."

Jules was reaching for the key when Duncan stopped him. The older guard drew his sword and stood opposite the cell door. "Now let him out."

Up to this point Tanis and Flint had no real idea what Tasslehoff had in mind, but they knew that the prospect of rushing two armed and armored men was not good. When the door opened, they stood placidly while Tas pranced out into the hall. Jules slammed the door shut and as he locked it, Duncan leaned in close to the window and said, "Enjoy your peace and quiet, boys."

While everyone's attention was focused on the door, Tanis noticed a pale flash of light behind the guards. A quick glance at Flint told the half-elf that his friend had seen it, too.

When Jules and Duncan turned to walk back to the front room, a pair of shrieks followed by a tremendous growl confirmed what Tanis suspected. He rushed to the door and looked through the window. To the left he saw Jules and Duncan cowering against the last cell door, short swords held shakily in front of them. To the right he saw one of the most frightening sights on Krynn: a monstrous, green, stoop-shouldered, slavering troll. Black hair hung in greasy clumps across its wart-covered face and long, pointed nose. Two bulging eyes glowed like black coals. Spittle dripped from yellow fangs that were too long for the beast's mouth.

The nightmare creature extended one immensely long, knobby arm and plucked the key ring from Jules's white hand. It fumbled with the keys for a moment, two-inch-long black fingernails clacking against the metal. It found what it wanted and unlocked the prisoners' door. Flint and Tanis slipped into the hall. The troll pointed into the cell and snarled. Immediately the two guards rushed inside. The troll slammed the door behind them and locked it.

Tanis and Flint darted to the outer room. The troll shambled in after, bending its massive frame nearly double to get through the doorway. Stepping around the corner to get out of sight from the cell, Tas changed once more, this time returning to his normal shape. The iron door was locked and the keys neatly hung on their peg on the wall.

"Here," said Tas, scooping up their respective weapons from the floor behind the bench. With a satisfied sigh, Tanis slung his bow over his shoulder. Flint slipped his well-used axe into the loop on his belt and patted it tenderly, as if welcoming it home.

Tanis crept forward and peered out the front door. "It looks clear. Let's try not to look as if we just broke out of jail. And Tas, don't smirk so much."

The trio strolled out into the sunshine, hands in pockets. Stepping lively, they crossed the courtyard directly toward the gate in the inner bailey and from there to the outer, main gate. Within minutes, they were safely across the bridge and headed for the mountains.