where the rocks are. The grass hides them you see, and-'
'Kill kender, eat pony,' the goblin interrupted with a snarl and stepped forward with his spiked club raised.
'No. I don't think so. I don't like that idea at all,' Trap said, dancing back just as a second goblin appeared from concealment behind a second bush. Then he paused.
'Eat pony? Wow! That would be interesting. What does pony taste like?' He would not want to make a meal of his mount, but the question intrigued him.
It also intrigued the goblins. Their battles were usually against their own kind, kobolds, or humans, and neither of the two had ever found themselves in conversation with their enemies. They exchanged puzzled looks, apparently not knowing whether they should answer, or how.
Their confusion gave Trap just enough time to slip a hand into his pouch and fumble for one of the two rings he carried. When he had slipped one on his finger, he looked down at himself. He was still visible, so he knew he must be wearing the one that let him take giant steps. He took one step backward and nearly fell over the cliff behind him.
'Wow! That was close. Not such a good idea,' he told himself as he teetered on the edge and looked down at the drop of thirty feet. Bruises were not interesting at all.
The goblins stared at his sudden removal from the reach of their weapons, but an enemy running away was something they understood. They howled and chased after him. One stumbled on the uneven ground and fell on his face, but the other skidded across the stones seemingly too intent on his prey to fall.
Trap heard a shout from up the mountains and saw more goblins. He heard Halmarain cry out, Beglug wailed, and then came the high pitched scream of a kobold. He saw one of the small humanoids racing for cover.
For a brief second, Trap stood on the edge of the precipice, wondering what was happening. Kobolds and goblins again. Up the slope he saw a goblin stagger into sight with a kobold spear in his chest. A hundred yards away the goblin who had suggested eating his pony was chasing the kender's mount. The animal trotted back toward the trail. The other goblin charged Trap as Ripple screamed his name.
Since he wore the magic ring, Trap knew he was in no danger and had planned to tease the goblin, stepping out of the way. He knew he was being attacked, but he was not at all angry about it. When Ripple called to him, he lost all interest in the game. His sister needed him, and he had no time for his attacker.
Holding his hoopak in front of him like a spear, he stepped forward, using the force of his giant step to drive the sharp, metal-tipped point through the humanoid's belly. The goblin's spear had been pointed at him and Trap had twisted to avoid the point, still it clipped the shoulder of his tunic. When the goblin fell backward, Trap jerked his hoopak free and looked around.
He had decided his first course of action would be to rescue his pony, but if his sister was in trouble, he wanted to get to her. What to do-which way to go? Would he reach Ripple faster if he caught his mount? No, he decided, but he was not going to allow the goblin to eat his pony either.
He reached into his pouch, hoping to find a sharp stone, but the only shapes his fingers found were round, smooth creek stones. He pulled one out and was setting it in the sling of his hoopak when he realized he had one of the glass flame balls from Deepdel.
'Great! Even Better,' he told his hoopak. 'Do your best,' he murmured as he swung the weapon and let fly with the glass ball. He had aimed for the broad back of the goblin, but he had not reckoned on the uneven ground. In its attempt to catch the pony, the goblin had leaped up onto a pile of boulders, and the flame ball caught it on the back of its thighs. The liquid and powder flew when the glass broke, spreading the fire down the back of its legs and onto its buttocks.
The humanoid took two steps before it realized it was on fire. It gave a howl and a leap, hitting the ground hard as it landed in a sitting position. As it rolled on the ground, Trap dashed past on his way to find Ripple.
One of his giant steps took him past the burning goblin. The second brought him into a collision with a humanoid who stepped out of the brush and directly into his path. The force of Trap's magic steps knocked the goblin side-ways and off its feet. Its helmet flew off and its head hit a rock with a sickening crunch.
Trap fell between two bushes and landed so hard he was stunned. He lay on his side, wondering what had happened to him. Nothing felt broken, but he was several moments getting his breath. He stood up, still weak and a little dizzy. An interesting feeling, he thought; one of those experiences he would not have missed but one he had no desire to repeat.
Somewhere ahead was his sister and she would not have shouted for him if she had not been in trouble. He staggered, found himself bouncing about all over the mountainside, and fell sprawling again before he remembered he still wore the magic ring. What he needed, he decided, was the other one so he would be invisible.
He sat up, dug in his pouch and found the second ring. When he stood he could not see his own feet. He spotted his hoopak that he had laid on the ground while searching for the ring and picked it up. When he lifted it off the ground, it too became invisible. With the weapon in his hand he raced up the trail.
The first person he saw was Umpth who sat on the ground, one hand on the wheel and the other on his metal helmet.
'Wheel, make hurting stop… wheel, make hurting stop…'
Trap ran past the gully dwarf, who did not seem to be in any danger. He shouted for Ripple. The sound of his voice brought a goblin from behind a bush, his spear arm back and ready to strike. His small eyes searched for the source of the voice.
Trap slid to a stop and grabbed the spear out of the startled goblin's hand. The humanoid goggled as its weapon disappeared. His mouth was still open when the kender swung the heavy shaft and caught the goblin in the throat. The goblin was just collapsing, the stupid look still on its face when Trap ran by on his way to find Ripple.
A few steps further on he passed a bush that was half burned away. Up ahead he smelled smoke. He rounded a curve in the trail, skidded to a stop, and backed up two steps.
Halmarain was holding her staff in both hands, using it like a club. The end was glowing and where it touched a bush, fire sprouted. As she swung the staff in his direction a kobold stepped in sight behind her.
'Look out!' Trap called out. He had not indicated any direction, but she whirled around and struck the small humanoid on the head and shoulders with her staff. When the kobold ducked, the tip of the staff touched its clothing, and the staff set the kobold's sleeve on fire. The creature gave a squeal of fright and disappeared, the smell of burning cloth and flesh following it.
'Trap, where are you?' she asked, keeping her voice low as she searched the area. Her head moved in little jerks as she watched nervously for attacking enemies.
'Here I am, but where is Ripple?' Trap pulled off the ring and dropped it in his pouch. 'I don't see Grod and Beglug either.'
'I don't know,' Halmarain whispered. 'I haven't seen anyone since the goblins and kobolds attacked. You can't see ten feet in this brush. The gully dwarves ran away, I think.'
'Umpth didn't,' Trap pointed back down the trail. He could still hear the leader of the Aglest clan moaning.
'What's happening?' he demanded. 'Who is fighting who and why? Little jiggies! I didn't know we could have so much fun in the hills.'
He had just finished speaking when they heard running footsteps and Grod rounded a bend in the trail. He was breathing hard. The tears had left flesh colored tracks down his dirty cheeks. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
'No catch kobolds,' he said; each word came out as a gasp. 'Where Umpth?'
'He's back on the trail,' Trap said. 'Did you see Ripple? And where is Beglug?'
'You were chasing the kobolds?' the little wizard showed her disbelief.
'Go after kobolds,' Grod said. He was better able to get his breath. 'Kobolds catch Pretty Kender and Lava Belly. Goblins come. Kobolds run away. Take Pretty Kender and Lava Belly.' More tears trickled down Grod's dirty cheeks. 'Don't want them take Pretty Kender.'
'They took Ripple?' Trap pushed past the little human and the gully dwarf and ran up the trail.
'Where are you going?' Halmarain cried, forgetting to keep her voice down.
'To find my sister!' he shouted back.
Trap had begun his quest at a sprint, but he learned not even his anger at the kobolds for taking Ripple could
