'And I,' returned Dougan, clenching his fist, his face turning a fiery red beneath the black beard, 'have drunk ten stout humans underneath the table and not only did I lead them to their beds but I put their night-clothes on them and tidied up their rooms to boot!'
'You won't do that to us!' vowed Tanin.
'Wanna bet?' roared the dwarf with a slight slur.
'A wager, then?' cried Sturm.
'A wager!' shouted Dougan.
'Name the rules and the stakes!' Tanin said, sitting forward.
Dougan stroked his beard thoughtfully. 'I'll match you lads one on one, drink for drink — »
'Ha!' Sturm burst out laughing.
' — drink for drink,' continued the dwarf imperturbably, 'until your beardless chins hit the floor.'
'It'll be your beard and not our chins that hits the floor, dwarf,' Sturm said. 'What stakes?'
Dougan Redhammer pondered. 'The winner has the very great satisfaction of assisting the losers to their beds,' he said, after a pause, twirling a long moustache around his finger.
'And loser pays the tabs for all,' added Tanin.
'Done,' said the dwarf, with a grin, holding out his hand.
'Done,' said Tanin and Sturm together. Each shook Dougan's hand, then the dwarf turned to Palin, his hand outstretched.
'I want no part of this!' Palin said emphatically, glaring at his brothers. 'Tanin,' he said in a low voice, 'think of our funds. If you lose, we — »
'Little Brother,' Tanin interrupted, flushing in anger, 'next journey, remind me to leave you home and bring along a cleric of Paladine! We'd get preached at less and probably have more fun.'
'You have no right to talk to me that way — ' Palin retorted.
'Ah, it must be all three of you,' Dougan interrupted, shaking his head, 'or the bet's off. There's no challenge in a dwarf outdrinking two humans. And it must be dwarf spirits. Why, the lad might as well be drinking his mother's milk as that elf water!' (ELF WATER — a name dwarves use for wine, which they can't abide.)
'I won't drink that — ' Palin began.
'Palin' — Tanin's voice was stern and cold — 'you are shaming us! If you can't have some fun, go to your room!'
Angrily, Palin started to rise, but Sturm caught hold of the sleeve of his robes.
'Aw, come on, Palin,' his brother said cheerfully, 'relax! Reorx's beard! Father's not going to walk through that door!' He tugged at Palin's sleeve until his brother slowly resumed his seat. 'You've been studying too hard. Your brain's gone all cobwebby. Here, try some. That's all we ask. If you don't like it, then we won't say any more about it.'
Shoving a full mug over to his brother, Sturm leaned close and whispered in Palin's ear, 'Don't make Tanin mad, all right? You know how he sulks, and we'll have to put up with him from here to Lord Gunthar's. Big Brother's got your own best interests at heart. We both do. We just want to see you have a little fun, that's all. Give it a try, huh?'
Glancing at Tanin, Palin saw that his brother's face was grim and unhappy. Maybe Sturm's right, Palin thought. Maybe I should relax and have some fun. Tanin was more than half serious when he said that about leaving me home. He's never talked that way before. It's just that I've been wanting them to take me seriously, to quit treating me like a kid. Maybe I have gone too far…
Forcing a laugh, Palin lifted the mug. 'To my brothers?' he said huskily, and was pleased to see Tanin's green eyes brighten and Sturm's face break into a broad grin. Putting the mug to his lips, Palin took a drink of the infamous brew known as dwarf spirits.
The taste wasn't bad. It was pleasant, in fact, a kind of dark and earthy flavor that brought visions of the dwarves' underground home of Thorbardin to his eyes. Rolling it on his tongue, Palin nodded in pleased surprise and swallowed…
The young mage wondered suddenly if a fireball had exploded in his head. Flames shot through his mouth. Fire burst out his ears and nose, roared down his throat, and seared his stomach. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see. He was going to die, he knew it… any moment… here, in this filthy, godforsaken tavern…
Someone — Palin had the vague impression it was Sturm — was pounding him on the back and, at last, he was able to gasp for air.
'I do enjoy seeing a man enjoy his liquor,' said Dougan seriously. 'My turn now. A drink to the young mage!' Putting his mug to his lips, the dwarf tilted his head back and drained it in one long swallow. When he reappeared, his eyes were watery and his large, bulbous nose bright red. 'Ahhh!' he breathed, blinking back his tears and wiping his mouth with the end of his beard.
'Hear, hear,' cried both Sturm and Tanin, raising their mugs. 'A drink to our brother, the mage!' They, too, drained their mugs, not quite as fast as the dwarf, but without stopping for breath.
'Thank you,' said Palin, deeply moved. Cautiously, he took another gulp. The effect wasn't so awful the second time. In fact, it was pleasurable. Palin took another drink, then another, and finally drained the mug. Setting it down on the table amid cheers from his brothers and Dougan, the young man felt warm and good all over. His blood tingled in his veins. Tanin was looking at him with approval and pride, Sturm was filling his mug again. Dougan downed two more mugs in a row, Sturm and Tanin drank theirs, and then it was Palin's turn. He lifted the mug to his lips…
Palin was smiling and he couldn't quit smiling. He loved Tanin and Sturm better than anyone else in the world, and he told them so, until he broke down and cried on Sturm's broad shoulder. But no! There was someone else he loved — that was the dwarf. He staggered to his feet and went round the table to shake the dwarfs hand. He even made a speech. Fast friends… firm friends, like his father and his father's friend… old Flint, the dwarf… He went back to his chair, only there seemed to be four chairs now, instead of just one. Picking one, Palin sat down, missed and would have ended up on the floor if Tanin hadn't caught him. He drank another mug, watching his brothers and his new friend with tears of affection streaming down his face.
'I tell you, lads' — Dougan's voice seemed to Palin to come from a long distance away — 'I love you like my own sons. And I must say I think you've had a wee bit more to drink than you can handle.'
'Naw!' Sturm cried indignantly, pounding his hand on the table.
'We can keep up with you,' Tanin muttered, breathing heavily, his face beefy red.
'Damnrigh',' said Palin, striking the table — or he would have if the table hadn't suddenly and unaccountably leaped out of the way.
And then Palin was lying on the floor, thinking this was an interesting place to be, much safer than up there in four chairs, with tables jumping… Glancing around blearily, he saw his staff on the floor beside him. Reaching out, he caressed it lovingly.
'Shirak!' he slurred, and the crystal atop the staff burst into light. He heard some commotion at this;
high, shrill voices jabbering and chattering somewhere in the background. Palin giggled and couldn't quit giggling.
From somewhere up above, he heard Dougan's voice come floating down to him. 'Here's to our beds,' said the dwarf, 'and a sound night's sleep!' And if there was a sinister note in the gruff voice or more than a trace of triumphant laughter, Palin discounted it. The dwarf was his friend, a brother to him. He loved him like a brother, his dear brothers…
Palin laid his head on the floor, resting his cheek on the staff's cool wood. Shutting his eyes, he slipped away into another world — a world of small creatures in brown robes, who lifted him up and ran away with him…
CHAPTER TWO
The world heaved and shivered, and Palin's stomach heaved and his skin shivered in agreement, misery loving company. Rolling over on his side, he was violently sick, and he wondered as he lay on whatever it was he
