As they approached the forest they seldom looked at the ground. They weren't following anyone. If they continued on their course they would pass the adventurers, but they would travel through the clearing. The noise of the dwarves' argument would cover the approach of the savage humanoids.
The dwarves and the goblins would have a grand fight, and Trap wanted to see it. He thought of Ripple somewhere to the east and knew he could not long delay, but Halmarain had kept them moving and away from everyone and he was bored. Even though he was worried about his sister, he knew they had to hide until the goblins passed. Since they could not continue on the trail of the kobold for a while, he would just see a little of this battle.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two rings. He slipped the first one on his finger and looked at himself. He was still visible. Careful not to move his feet, he pulled off that ring and slipped it into his left pouch.
When the other was on his finger he could not see himself. Good enough. He hurried through the forest until he had a perfect view of the clearing.
Three of the dwarves were still sitting on the ground. Two were stomping up and down, arguing with each other. The sixth was leaning against a tree, pulling off his right boot. He had his back to his companions. His back was to Trap as well. The dwarf turned the boot upside down, shook it as if removing a stone and reached one hand inside, checking it. Then, carefully balancing on one foot, he raised the other, doubling his body as he held the boot, ready to slide his foot into it.
With his back to Trap, his posterior presented a wide soft target no kender with a hoopak and a pouch of stones could resist; particularly not a kender who wore an invisible ring. In a flash, Trap had a stone from his pouch and had sent it zinging across the fifty feet that separated him from the dwarf.
The stone struck the dwarf on the soft part of his right buttock. Startled, he gave a cry and spun as he fell. He lost his hold on his boot and it went flying out in the tall grass. While his companions stared at him, he scrambled to his feet with a roar. When he turned around, Trap realized he had hit the dwarf leader, Tolem.
Trap clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. If one stone was that much fun, then more might be even better, he decided.
His first missile forcibly caught the attention of the leader. The second, hitting another dwarf on the knee brought all the dwarves to their feet. The kender choked back a gurgle of laughter as he watched the stolid demi-humans running about in a circle.
Magic rings could be fun! Who would be his next target? he wondered, and decided on a stout fellow with faded black clothing and a dark, dusty beard. He flung his third stone, but the dwarf moved out of the way. The small rock struck the leader again, hitting him on the toe of his right foot. Since he had not put on his boot, the rock hurt and he hopped around in a circle. The others scurried for cover.
Trap's fingers were scrabbling in his pouch for another stone when the last dwarf disappeared behind the trunk of a tree. He sighed for the lost opportunity. Before he could give full rein to his disappointment, he heard breaking twigs and the rustle of bushes that alerted him to the arrival of the goblins.
They strode into the clearing, all unaware that six angry dwarves were hiding behind the boles of the nearest trees and undergrowth. Thinking the goblins were the cause of their recent discomfort, the dwarves attacked with shouts and war cries.
Tolem, wearing both boots, dashed out swinging his war axe before he was close enough for a killing blow. He clipped the point of the nearest goblin's spear.
The humanoids were caught by surprise, but always alert when traveling, they recovered quickly. One thrust a spear that the largest dwarf blocked, but the big goblin had put all his force behind the attack and the point penetrated the metal shield. The dwarf and the humanoid danced around each other, trying to separate their defensive and offensive weapons.
The other dwarves were wading in with their axes. The battle was fast and furious when Trap heard more breaking twigs behind him.
"Wheel find kender."
Trap turned to see Umpth and Grod approaching, looking around them as they walked. Apparently they had not connected the sound of the battle with any personal danger. Neither gully dwarf was armed, not that they could have made effective use of their weapons if they had been carrying them.
Trap sighed, turned away from the battle and hurried toward the Aghar. As soon as he was out of sight of the clearing, he removed his ring.
"I guess we had better leave," he told them regretfully and led them back to Halmarain.
"Maybe they'll kill each other off and we'll be free of them," the little wizard said, though only after she had argued with Trap over his little escapade.
He was shocked by her attitude. "That's not nice! In fact it's mean. I don't blame them for following us," he said. "They want their necklace and I don't see why you won't give it back. I can't believe you want anything bad to happen to them."
"No," the little wizard admitted. "And I really don't want to see them killed, either, I just want to get away from them. I'll return the necklace if I can, only I don't think I'll be able to, and I can't even explain it to you right now, because I'm not sure what I suspect is true… No, don't ask me, I'll tell you when I've thought it over."
"It was a great fight," Trap said softly, wishing he could go back and watch.
Chapter 23
The kender, the two gully dwarves, and the wizard rode for several hours after leaving the woods where the dwarves and goblins fought. The night passed without incident, but adventure overtook the group the next morning before they had been on the trail for an hour.
A wide but shallow stream ran across their trail. Since they had not seen any sign of the kobolds for several hours the evening before, and had not found any marks that morning, Trap and Halmarain split up, each taking a gully dwarf with them as they rode up and down the banks. Trap had only been riding downstream for ten minutes when he found confused tracks. He gave a shrill whistle to call Halmarain back.
"They crossed here," Trap pointed out the marks to Grod. "See, there's Ripple's print. She was standing off to the side for some reason. Beglug gave them a hard time. See how he fought crossing? You can see where he dug in his hooves, and here's blood too, he must have bitten one of the kobolds, and I hope he did," the kender said as he surveyed the muddy bank.
"Lava Belly no like water," Grod said.
"No, not cold water," Trap amended. He reminded the Aghar of the fun the merchesti had in the warm bath in Orander's kitchen. Since Beglug came from a much hotter world, nothing cold pleased him.
Halmarain came trotting up, and they gathered at the spot where the kobold had crossed.
"Wheel get wet," Umpth complained. He had made the same objection at every stream. "Wheel no like water."
"Magic wash away," Grod added.
"Don't be ridiculous," Halmarain snapped. She had been ready to cross, but she pulled up her mount and frowned at the stream.
Trap turned away to hide his grin. The little wizard would rather die than admit she gave Aghar magic any credence, but the hesitation of the gully dwarves had affected her.
"I'll just find out," Trap said.
While the others waited on the western bank, he dismounted and removed his boots. Directly in front of him the bottom of the stream was rocky. A wide slab of rock stretched halfway across, and the rest of the way the smaller rocks had been smoothed by the running water.
"It's fine," he called back.
Umpth dismounted and walked behind his pony. He picked up the wheel, still attached to the travois, and splashed through the stream after his mount.
Halmarain waited until the others had safely crossed before she urged her pony forward. Their trouble came from her hesitation. The pack pony edged up to the stream to get a drink. It was just lowering its head when a huge bullfrog gave a croak and jumped between the pony's rear hooves. Startled, the beast with the packs plunged to the left, just upstream from the rocky ford. The pony took one leap and landed up to its shoulders in mud.