Tales of Uncle Trapspringer

bestial face.

'Hello,' he said softly. 'I don't know if you know about kender, but we're really very friendly. We enjoy adventures and seeing new places-Oh! You have a very large mouth!'

A maw opened, wider than Trap was tall, and roared until the rest of the kender's speech was smothered under the noise. The monster thrust the helpless kender back into the darkness. Trap's feet were dragged across the stone floor, then the monster released him and the kender fell on his back. In the darkness, Trap sensed rather than saw the arm reach past him. It swung about as if searching, then gave another roar of frustration and withdrew.

As suddenly as the gale had started, it stopped. Trap breathed the cool, moist air of the stone chamber again. He waited a moment, sat up, and examined himself, gingerly moving his arms and legs. Nothing seemed broken, but he could feel his bruises.

'Trap?' Ripple called.

'I'm here,' he answered. 'Wherever 'here' is…'

A moment later a light gleamed brightly from the tip of a short staff held by the tiny red-robed figure, and he could see again. He was in the chamber lined with shelves, but they were the only furnishings still in place. Books in red covers littered the floor along with broken glass, jars, and furniture.

In its search, the monster had overturned two of the big work tables and shoved them against a wall. The third lay in splinters. In the center of the room stood the small figure in red robes. She was glaring at Trap.

'A kender!' She spat out the words as if she found them distasteful. 'I might have known it would be a kender!'

In spite of its high pitch, her voice proved she was not a child. Trap thought she might be a small dwarf, though from what he had heard about dwarves she certainly was a pretty one.

'Hello, I'm Trapspringer Fargo,' he said courteously. 'What's your name? Are you Halmarain, the one the wizard was talking to?'

The kender stood and bowed.

'How did you get in here?' she demanded.

'Through a door in the passage,' he said, pointing in the direction they had come. 'By the condition of the lock and the hinges, you haven't used it in years, probably because you'd lost the key. It's easy to lose keys, people do it all the time-'

'Trust a kender to find a door even a pair of magicians had overlooked,' the little wizard muttered. She gazed around the chamber and pushed several books out of the way as she picked up a short stool and sat on it.

'Poor Orander,' she said, shaking her head and hunching her shoulders. 'I just hope he's still alive.'

'Why shouldn't he be?' Trap asked. He didn't understand this at all. 'Where did he go? One minute he was here and the next he was gone. What an interesting way to travel. When he comes back, do you think he might take us with him?'

'I wish you had gone instead of him,' the little wizard grumbled.

'I don't understand why you're so angry. I don't even know what happened,' Trap pressed.

'Just leave me alone and let me think.' She made pushing motions as if trying to get rid of him.

'I just want to know why you're so mad at me,' he said, following her as she stepped over the fallen books. 'I didn't do anything wrong, I just wanted to help. I don't understand what happened.'

'And you're not going to stop pestering me until I tell you,' she said, glaring at him. 'Master Orander, with the use of some magic stones was trying to open a portal into another plane.'

'I've heard of planes! A little anyway,' Trap said thoughtfully. 'I'm trying to remember…'

'What you remember is unimportant. What happened is that while he was holding the stones and we were creating a vibrating tone in a pitch that would take him into one world, you-you startled us and we opened a portal to an unknown destination. Now he's some place that could be dangerous-even deadly- and it's your fault.'

From the doorway Ripple, Umpth, and Grod stepped into the chamber. Umpth was still rolling the wagon wheel. The three silently stared at the mess. Ripple was the first to overcome her surprise.

'Was that magic?' she asked the little wizard. 'I thought magic was pretty. Still, it was different,' she added, as if she were considering Halmarain's feelings. 'But how can you see what you're doing in the dark? How do you know you're making the right magic? Can you see in the dark?'

'No, I can't see in the dark,' Halmarain snapped. 'That was magic gone awry, thanks to your friend here.'

'That's not fair! He was just trying to help,' Ripple defended her brother. 'Your song was pretty boring.'

'I'm sure she didn't intend to be rude,' Trap said. 'She sounds as if she was frightened by the dark-you remember how it was when we were little…'

Ripple, with ready sympathy, smiled at the little wizard and said, 'You don't have to be afraid anymore. We're here and we'll help you light all the torches again.' The kender girl looked around dubiously. 'Though this place is really a mess. How do you find anything? I hate to mention it, but you don't seem to be a very good house- keeper. Maybe you can cook, which would be very nice since I'm a little hungry. Do you mind if I explore this room? You have such interesting stuff.'

Halmarain stared at Ripple as if she could not find words. She shook her head and sat staring at the floor. The others walked about the room, inspecting the havoc wrought on the chamber. Ripple stopped and picked up something from the floor while Umpth pushed at one of the overturned tables that had been knocked against the wall. The gully dwarf jumped back with a cry. From behind the table came a wail.

Trap skittered over a pile of books to take a look; Ripple came right behind him. They stood gazing over the edge of the overturned table at a creature that shivered as it crouched on the floor. It stared at them with eyes enlarged by fright. The little monster was basically humanoid in shape and face, though it's skin was a deep gray- green. Its nose resembled a bird's beak. It's mouth was wider than any humanoid's and as it gave a defensive snarl, it exposed a mouth full of thick, strong teeth.

'What a strange creature. Is it an animal?' Ripple asked, looking back over her shoulder at the wizard. 'Is it magic? Did Orander make it?'

'What animal?' Halmarain snapped. 'The only living thing in here other than me came with you.'

'This didn't,' Trap said. 'I've seen something like it before-I forget where-but I certainly don't know what it is.' 'Don't know,' Umpth said.

'Wizard make, maybe,' Grod agreed with Ripple.

'Hello,' Trap said, extending his hand to the little monster. He introduced himself, Ripple, and the two gully dwarves. The odd little stranger just stared at him and whimpered.

Trap gave the creature a sufficiency of attention and turned away. As he looked about the room, he tried to figure out just where the magic portal had been. Then he realized why the strange creature was so familiar.

'I know!' he announced in triumph. 'It looks like the monster! The one that grabbed me and pulled me through the portal.'-he hurried back to look at the little stranger again-'Yes, it has the same face.'

The little wizard had remained sitting on her stool, her hands up over her face, but now she pulled them down and stared at Trap. In the meantime Trap had spotted an unbroken bottle on the floor and had picked it up. Inside were two dead and dried lizards. He stood, turning the bottle in his hands.

'Well? Tell me about this thing,' Halmarain prompted.

'There are two of them, and they're dead,' Trap replied as he gazed into the bottle. 'How did you get them inside? The neck is awfully small.'

'No, about the creature on the other side of the portal,' the little human insisted.

'Oh, that one, it was ten… maybe even twenty times larger than this one.'-he peered over the edge of the overturned table again-'Look, its shivering so it must have come from a hotter place and it was hot on the other side of the magic door… do you think you could open the portal and let in some heat? It is a little chilly in here.'

'You're right!' Ripple announced. 'I felt the hot wind in the passage and I bet it was blown through the portal and if the thing that grabbed you was so much larger, then this must be its baby.'

When Ripple suggested the origin of the creature, Halmarain rose and used her foot to push books and debris out of her path. She walked over to look behind the overturned table. Lying on its side, the width of the table made