Conundrum

the Indestructible had used to escape her. Now he could keep that little bolt hole a secret. He might need it, once she had helped him gain control of the Indestructible. Yes, once he thought about it, this was infinitely better. He had one less gnome to deal with. If he did things right, he might not need the dragon after all.

But of course, by the time he realized this, it was too late. Charynsanth was coming. The ground began to tremble beneath his feet, and the last loose stones, released by the shaking, rattled down the face of the landslide. He had two choices now, and neither of them seemed exactly safe. Red dragons were notoriously unpredictable. She might rush out and, seeing him, flame him without a second thought. But if he hid and revealed himself only after she emerged from the tunnel, he might surprise her, and then she might flame him without a second thought.

Finally, he decided that the wisest course would be to stand his ground and show no fear. It had worked at their first meeting. He mustn’t show weakness now, he concluded, so he folded his hands into the sleeves of his robes and waited.

This was not so simple a task as it might sound. To stand before an open tunnel from which an angry red dragon was about to emerge was a trial of the spirit. He trembled, sweated, and changed his mind a dozen times, even before the dragonfear struck him like a hammer blow to the chest. Then he heard the roar of Charynsanth, nearly blowing his robes off. Sir Tanar’s light gray wizard’s robes began to darken with moisture.

Finally, she appeared, her long serpentine neck writhing cautiously from the shadows. “Well, wizard, I see you were as good as your word. Except for the promised morsel. Where is it? Your kender only whetted my appetite.”

“Unfortunately, he was buried while opening your door,” the Thorn Knight answered, but this time his voice quavered with fear. He swore under his breath and tried to get a rein on his emotions.

“A shame,” the dragon purred. “I do so want to trust you, but until then…' her voice trailed off in a bubbling snarl.

Sir Tanar staggered and stumbled over a rock, then scrambled to his feet, yawning uncontrollably. He shook the cobwebs from his mind, fighting off a sudden and powerful urge to sleep. His wizardry instincts screamed sleep spell! She was trying to ensorcell him.

Casting aside all his plans and schemes, Sir Tanar turned and fled down the rubble-strewn avenue. He had no power to fight this dragon, not even with the aid of the magical communication device-not out in the open anyway, where she could breathe her fire on him and use her natural armaments of claw and tooth, tail and wing. He needed cover from which to cast his spells.

Long used to athletic endeavors, Sir Tanar’s long legs served him well, as did the fear pumping through his veins. He dashed down the avenue, hurtling stones and dodging boulders like a Palanthian steeplechase runner. Seeing what appeared to be a dark alley-although in this place of monumental construction it was probably nothing more than a space between two buildings-he skittered to a stop and dove inside without looking back to see if the dragon was following.

He ran to the end of the alley without coming upon any crossways. The alley itself was far too small for the dragon to enter, so for the moment he felt safe. Dragging out the small flat box, he set it on the ground, then knelt before it and opened it. He lifted the magical silver plate from its place, feeling its magic surge through him, giving him new strength and confidence. The words to a protection spell came to mind, and he opened his mouth to speak them.

But he never finished his incantation. A pillar of flame descended upon him from above, burning away robe, flesh, bone, wishes, desires, and regrets in one white hot instant. The flames splashed against the walls of the surrounding buildings, melting stone like candle wax. It flowed down the sides of the buildings and pooled in the alley, a little flame leaping up as it consumed the box. The silver plate, being magical, withstood the heat, but the molten stone flowed round it, encased it, then cooled and hardened.

But by that time, Charynsanth had already gone, knowing now where the gnome ship lay. There was only one place it could be. The little pool at the low end of the city.

Chapter 31

Conundrum rushed across the ship’s bridge and shot up the ladder into the conning tower, climbing through the hatch just as another blow rocked the Indestructible. A splinter of rock stung his cheek, drawing a trickle of blood.

Below him on the afterdeck, Commodore Brigg danced an angry jig around the shattered boom, hurling curses as he tried to shore up the rigging while under fire from shore. Doctor Bothy lay flat out on his back on the deck, a queer smile on his pale chubby face. Conundrum leaped down beside him.

“What’s happening?” Conundrum, asked as he knelt beside the prone doctor.

“What are you doing here? I pushed you below!” Commodore Brigg swore. “I need you in the engine room. We’re under attack!”

“By what?”

“That!” the commodore shouted, pointing to shore where Chief Portlost and Captain Hawser surged back and forth across the sand, engaged in mortal combat with a black-skinned giant. The creature was at least fourteen feet tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with a shock of hair and a patchy beard the color of fire. Its low, backward-sloping forehead and heavy outthrust jaw gave it a primitive, bestial profile, but a cunning light burned in its deep-set black eyes. In one hand, it wielded a broken-off stalactite as a club, using it to fend off the snapping claws of Captain Hawser’s mechanical crab. The two opponents circled one another, the crab darting in to snatch at the giant’s legs, the giant bashing back the crab with mighty blows of its heavy club, neither gaining an advantage.

Suddenly, the giant lunged forward, smashing down with its club. Captain Hawser jerked back on the controls, sending the crab skittering a dozen yards down the narrow beach. In that moment, the giant stooped and, lifting a boulder in one fist, hurled it at the Indestructible. It sailed through the air with uncanny accuracy.

Commodore Brigg pulled Conundrum down behind the prone doctor, using his portly bulk to shield them. The huge, heavy projectile bounced off the aft deck, rattling the ship to its timbers. But before the giant could follow up with another boulder, the crab scuttled back up the beach and renewed its own attack, driving the giant up toward the edge of the ruins whence it had appeared, suddenly and without warning, from the steamy fog a few moments before.

Watching this in horrified amazement, Conundrum asked, “What happened to Doctor Bothy?”

Frowning, the commodore answered, “When the first boulder hit us, it scared him to death, I think. He clutched his chest, smiled, and toppled to the deck, just as you see him. He looked at me and said one word-”Cured!”-before he breathed his last.'

The mechanical crab and the giant circled one another warily. Conundrum and the commodore crawled over to the wrecked boom. It lay half in the water, all but one of its bolts ripped from the deck by the giant’s boulder. “It’s hopeless,” the commodore said. “We’ve got to help Hawser and Portlost battle that thing, and to do that, we’ve got to be able to maneuver.”

“But that means…” Conundrum began, his voice trailing off in horror.

“We’ve got to cut him loose,” Commodore Brigg finished for him.

“We can’t!” Conundrum cried. “He’ll die.”

“If we can’t maneuver to help Hawser fight that giant,” the commodore said, “the professor will die anyway. This is something that has to be done. I don’t like it, but there’s no other way.”

Seeing Conundrum hesitating, the commodore patted him on the shoulder. “Send him the message and my heartfelt thanks.” he said. “The professor will understand. While you do that, I’ll find an axe.” He crawled away.

With his heart in his shoes, Conundrum found a hammer and began tapping out the commodore’s message.