"Beglug no like water, " Grod said.
"Here's what we'll do… "
Halmarain laid out the plan. Trap was disappointed that she used mainly her own ideas, but he had thought of water, and she had given him the best part of the action.
They rode east searching for a watercourse that flowed out of the northern end of the Garnet Mountain range. Half a mile after they crossed the track leading from the south gate of Solanthus toward the mountains, they found what they were looking for. A wide, shallow stream with a muddy bank crossed the path of the kobolds.
Leaving the gully dwarves to hold the ponies, Trap and Halmarain climbed a hill they thought the kobolds would pass and waited. When they were sure of the humanoids' course they scurried and slid back down the slope to join the gully dwarves. When they had tethered the ponies out of sight, they cut four bushes and carried them back to their chosen spot, firmly anchoring them along the path the kobolds would be taking. Luck was with them. The trail would lead the travelers around a rocky outcrop and they would not see the stream until they were within fifty feet of it.
"Now you remember what you are to do?" Halmarain asked Grod as Trap pushed the sharp end of a bush into the soft earth.
"Run, " he answered, his eyes big with worry. "Run, run, run. " He crouched down behind the bush, knocking it over as he tried to hide in its foliage.
"I wish I was sure of the direction you intend to take, " the little wizard said as Trap pushed the end of the bush into the ground again. In minutes they were crouching behind their camouflage. The kender and Grod were hidden on one side of the trail while Umpth and Halmarain were on the other side.
Trap knelt on the ground and waited. For the first two minutes he was full of anticipation, but then he started getting bored. He forced himself to stay physically still, but his mind was active, going over the plan of attack. His agile thoughts skipped through the plan and devised several new ideas.
"Halmarain, " he whispered, looking out from behind his bush.
"Stay down, " she hissed back.
"Oh, okay, I forgot. Look… I just thought of how-"
"Wheel think, " Umpth said softly. "Think kobold come. "
"Now?" Trap whispered.
"Now. "
In moments they heard a twig break, a rock clattered, and a curse in the kobold language came from close by. Trap peeked through the foliage. The first two kobolds were in sight. One was limping, raising his left foot to rub his ankle.
The other spotted the stream, pointed, and they both growled angrily. Trap started to rise, but Grod, who had listened with rapt attention to Halmarain and had obediently repeated everything she had said, put out a hand.
"Wait. Beglug must reach water, " Grod cautioned.
Trap dropped back to sit on the ground. He fiddled with the two rings he held, one in each hand, and began to juggle them.
"Beglug come, now time for ring, " Grod said, holding out his hand.
"You know what to do?" Trap asked the gully dwarf.
"Me tell two times, " Grod said impatiently. Actually he had repeated his instructions ten times. "Run, run, run. "
Trap slipped a ring on the gully dwarf's finger and he disappeared.
"Wait, that's not right, I'm supposed to be invisible, " Trap whispered, reaching out, trying to find the gully dwarf's hand. The kender was unable to locate the gully dwarf, so with a shrug he put the other ring on his own finger.
He hopped to his feet, forgot how far a step could take him and suddenly found himself on the other side of the trail, just beyond Halmarain and Umpth.
"Get down!" the little wizard hissed, but she could have shouted and the kobolds would not have noticed. The lead group of ten were gathered around Beglug. They had three ropes tied to his waist and two humanoids kept a tight hold on each rope. The rest of the band had not come into sight.
Beglug had seen the stream and instantly howled his displeasure. He jerked from side to side, then dug in his hooves, fighting to keep from approaching the water. When the merchesti started to struggle the others also grabbed the ropes. All the kobolds were struggling with the little fiend and they had no time to notice the kender.
"Wait until Ripple comes in sight and then we'll-"
Ripple had appeared around the rocky outcrop and Trap stood up.
"Ripple! We're here to rescue you!" Trap shouted, taking a giant step in her direction.
While the kobolds preferred to speak their own language, they understood at least a smattering of the national tongues of the lands in which they lived. The six kobolds that guarded the kender girl stopped in their tracks. The ten struggling with Beglug faltered as they heard the kender's shout.
"Oh, for Gilean's sake!" Halmarain stood up and glared at everyone in general. She spoke a word of command and the top of her staff glowed. With her right hand she swung it like a club and slapped it into her left hand. A ball of fire flew from it and landed near two of the kobolds that were struggling with Beglug.
"Trap, wait until you hear my story, " Ripple shouted back. She tried to take a step forward, but her hands were tied and she too was being led with a rope around her waist. She struggled.
Trap took a step in her direction, which brought him into a violent collision with the kobold who held her rope. The humanoid went flying, Trap stumbled, and as he tried to balance himself he stepped back, taking a second kobold with him. The kender's giant step carried him, along with the kobold, all the way to the stream where they slammed into two of Beglug's captors.
The force of Trap's magically enhanced steps threw him, the three kobolds, and Beglug into the stream. The merchesti, angered by having simply to cross the stream went mad in the cold water that flowed from the mountains. He rose, grabbed two of the kobolds, and slammed them together, knocking them senseless. The third, caught in the coils of the rope, tried to get away, but Beglug grabbed him and bit his arm. The kobold screamed and kicked. The little fiend dropped him and the kobold splashed through the stream, holding the bloody stump of its arm.
The injured humanoid's screams were almost hidden under Ripple's crow of triumph and the cries of the kobolds who had been guarding her.
Trap saw a large stone suddenly appear in mid air as Grod, wearing the ring of invisibility, threw it and knocked a kobold off its feet. A second attempted to run away and crashed into some invisible barricade. Ripple, though her hands were still bound, was kicking one of the smaller humanoids.
Trap had accidentally taken a small step in the direction of the other kobolds and he landed in the middle of the remaining seven who had been guarding the merchesti. By that time they had their spears and clubs ready, but they had not expected the kender, who stood in the middle of the stream, to suddenly sail into their midst. Trap bumped into two, knocking them sideways. The sharp, metal tipped point of his hoopak stabbed a third in the shoulder before he swung it to knock another down.
The other four charged him and Trap decided it was the better part of valor to retreat a step. His backward step took him completely across the stream. He was ready to cross the creek again when Halmarain shouted to him to stay where he was. She used her staff to throw another flash of fire and it landed in the midst of the quartet of angry kobolds.
The flames splashed against the legs of two and they danced up and down before throwing themselves in the stream. The other two found themselves facing Beglug who had shaken off the excess water and was ready to attack anything in sight.
The two remaining kobolds were not willing to face the little fiend without their fellows. They shouted to their companions and dashed across the stream. The kobold who had been guarding Ripple broke and ran, dashing up the side of the hill.
"Kobolds go!" the still invisible Grod shouted.