entrance while Toede ducked in and searched through his meager belongings.
Taking the sword was out of the question, unfortunately, but the dagger would be just fine. Nicely weighted, it would suitable both for throwing and for use in tight combat, while the blade was fine enough to slip between the ribs of an opponent, be he human or kender.
Perfect precaution, thought Toede, slipping it into the oversized dwarven boots he had been wearing for a year (Krynn time). Or maybe more than just precaution. Given an opportunity, perhaps he would extract a little vengeance on his own. Kronin had caused his death, after all. The first of many, and the beginning of all his troubles.
Not that Kronin would be alone on his list of vengeance. Groag had suggested that ill-fated hunt, after all. And Miles had been all too quick to strike him down, earlier.
Toede realized he would have to keep expanding the list as he went along, but Kronin, Groag, and Miles would do for now.
There was a knock, and Taywin stuck her head in, looking like a shaved chipmunk. 'We're starting! Come on!'
Toede smiled and walked out of the hut to join the others, limping only slightly from the additional weight in his boot.
A kender moot, or at least this kender moot, differed from most regular kender festivals chiefly in that during
the moot there were tables set up. They weren't much in the way of tables, in that they were only a foot off the ground, and the kender had to sit or kneel on the hard-packed earth, but at least they kept the food within a set boundary.
Already several of the revelers were using the tables as impromptu dance platforms. Toede identified two polkas and a reel, dancers bouncing between tables and sending dishware and bits of the feast in all directions.
Typical kender behavior, Toede thought.
There were already several makeshift song groups warming up, Toede noted, including not a few rehearsing ribald choruses regarding the social habits of elves. A white-haired kender elder, his hair spun into an elaborate braid that ran to the small of his back, was leading two tables in a call-and-respond contest. The lyrics of this drinking song shot from one table to the other like a shuttlecock. Those at the first table would shout 'Oly-Oly-Oly- Ay!' and those at the second table would respond 'Oly-Oly-Oly-Ay!'. Then the first group would shout 'Aley-Aley- Aley-O!' and the second group 'Aley-Aley-Aley-O!' The kender at both tables would spend the time between responses drinking as quickly and as much as they could. This continued until both sides passed out.
Toede suddenly understood why Taywin's poetry might be considered sophisticated among these people. Then again, so might limericks about the Dark Queen's consorts.
Miles escorted Toede to the main table, situated on a patch of earth slightly higher than the rest, with a wall of woven grass behind it to frame the utmost important personages at the feast. These personages were Kronin's cronies, and in this case, leaders of the rebellion.
Miles was on the end, then Rogate and Bunniswot (both looking terribly uncomfortable and oversized). Then Toede, seated in the place of honor on Kronin's right. Then Taywin on his left, along with a pack of kender politicos-clan leaders and the like. The entire group was seated on one side of the table looking out over the assembled tribes.
Just what Toede had in mind for a pleasant evening- watching a hundred kender gorge themselves.
As Toede was duly escorted to his place of honor, Kro-nin rose to greet him. The kender leader always reminded Toede of a white-tufted squirrel, his childlike but ancient face looking as though it had walnuts stored in its cheeks. Toede pulled out his all-purpose let's-be-nice-to-the-local-ruling-class smile and warmly took the kender's extended hand.
'It is good to see you again, Toede,' said Kronin.
'And you as well,' beamed Toede. 'Especially under such pleasant circumstances.'
'More pleasant than last time, eh?' joshed Kronin, elbowing Toede in the ribs. The hobgoblin had to fight with all his willpower to avoid pulling the dagger and stabbing the cheery little freak right where he stood.
Instead he said, 'At least the food is better.'
'It should be,' smiled the elder kender. 'It came from your forest.'
'It's not my forest,' smiled Toede, adding, 'Anymore.' But he added silently, At the moment.
Toede looked for some clue behind Kronin's eyes, some telltale glint that this moot was in fact a ruse, a trap, or a stratagem. Yet if there was revenge in Kronin's heart, it was carefully concealed, for Toede could discern no apparent clue. This worried him further.
Toede remained standing as Kronin motioned for the kender horde to quiet down.
'Welcome to the moot, all the clans of kenderdom!' There was polite applause. Someone yelled 'Toast!'
Kronin continued without pause. 'I want to thank all and sundry for coming on this festive occasion, in particular our human guests.' Rogate and Bunniswot nodded to general clapping. 'Especially our honored guest, the Highmaster-in-Exile of Flotsam, Lord Toede.' Toede nodded to decidedly less applause, and there was another shout for 'Toast!'
'His highmastership spent a few brief days with us almost a year ago,' Kronin added, 'and was responsible for saving the life of my lovely daughter.' More applause, though this was mostly for Taywin, who waved at the assemblage.
Kronin motioned to Toede that now he was expected to utter a few words. The hobgoblin cleared his voice. 'My only regret is that I was not here long enough in days of yore to get to know every one of you wonderful kender.' Greater applause to this compliment, and Toede sat back down, thinking, And I further regret not having a team of talented torturers with me at the time.
During Toede's small speech, Kronin rescued from the table a wooden goblet that he now held aloft. 'I give you the first toast of the evening.' There was wild applause, and Kronin looked pensive, as if summoning some ghost of a memory. Then he proclaimed, 'Drink deep the cup of life, for time will sup it if you do not.' It was an appropriate toast, and there were cheers and the clinking of mugs.
Kronin turned to the hobgoblin, clacking goblets with him. Toede nodded politely. 'A good toast,' he said. Kronin smiled. 'It should be, you wrote it.' Toede's smile froze for an instant. Then he said smoothly, 'True, but you seem to have caught the nuance of the passage perfectly. I have never heard it recited better.' He added the mental note that, until he himself had read the dratted thing, he had best assume that every smutty or hedonistic statement uttered around him was a quote from his supposed book.
Kronin did not seem to notice Toede's tightened facial muscles. 'When I first read the book, I couldn't believe you were responsible for it. It's so… deep. Thoughtful. Intelligent.'
Toede tried to unclench his teeth. 'Surprised?' he asked.
'Very,' responded Kronin, ignoring the color crawling into Toede's face. 'I mean, in our limited dealings, you struck me as a bully, a lout, and a simpleton. No offense meant.'
'None taken,' said Toede, aware of the drag of the dagger in his boot.
'And yet, such clear, precise thinking, masking itself in sensual analogy…' Kronin shook his head. 'It only makes me wonder why you didn't put such thoughts into action earlier, before you got yourself killed.'
'Retirement gives an opportunity for reflection,' smiled Toede.
'Exactly my conclusion!' said Kronin. 'I would no more think of you saying such things, or even sitting down here with us, than I could imagine a badger singing sopera. This only confirms a personal theory I have about your tyrannical rule.'
'Oh?' said Toede.
'Your heart wasn't in it,' concluded the kender elder, slapping the table. 'You could not reconcile your own conscionable beliefs with the dragon highlords who created your position and supported your regime. So as a result, you sought to appear as the bumbling, hedonistic, groveling petty tyrant that everyone thought you were. Whereas, in reality, you were the very opposite.'
There was another call for a toast. Kronin rose to address the crowd.
That does it, Toede thought. I'm going to kill him. This time for sure. The only question is when. A true smile blossomed on his sallow face.
