The two energies seemed to strive together, the red light and the gray, and then the gray began to dim. Peering upward, tears streaming from his eyes in the bright light, Palin thought he caught a glimpse of a gray, sparkling jewel tumbling from the air to land in Dougan's hand. But he couldn't be certain because, at that moment, the red glowing hammer fell from the air as well, plummeting straight down on top of them!
Clasping his aching arms over his head, Palin hugged the floor, visions of his head being split open and his brains splattering everywhere coming to him with vivid clarity.
He heard a resounding clang.
Timidly raising his head, he saw the hammer, glowing red in triumph, lying on the floor at Dougan's feet.
Slowly, trembling, Palin stood up, as did everyone else in the room. He was hurting and exhausted; Tanin had to come help him or he would have collapsed. But Palin smiled up at him as his big brother clasped him in his arms. "My magic's returned!" he whispered. "It's back!"
"I'm back, too," said a voice. Glancing around, Palin saw the dragon was gone. In its place, crouched on the floor, his hands over his head, was a thin, middle-aged wizard dressed in black robes. The wizard sat up, staring around him as if he couldn't believe it. "I'm back!" he cried out joyfully, patting his head and his neck and his shoulders with his hands. "No rabbit ears! No dragon's breath! No minotaur muscles! I'm me again!" He burst into tears.
"And you lost the bet, dwarf!" the dark-haired beauty cried out suddenly, getting to her feet. "The hammer fell!"
"Yes!" shouted the women. "You lost the bet! The men are ours!"
"Dougan…" growled Tanin ominously.
The women were closing in on them, eyes burning with the fire of love instead of the fire of battle.
Dougan raised the hammer above his head. His face was stem, his black eyes flashed as red as the glowing hammer. The voice that spoke was no longer the voice of the dwarf with the flashy clothes, but a voice as ancient as the mountains it had carved, as deep as the oceans it had poured.
"Women!" the god called out in stem tones. "Listen to me! The power of the Graygem over you is broken. Remember now your children and your husbands. Remember your brothers and your fathers! Remember your homes and those who love you and need you!"
One by one, the women looked around in dazed fashion, some putting their hands to their heads, some blinking in confusion.
"Where are we?" asked one.
"Why are we dressed like this?" asked another, staring at the tiger skin.
"How dare you?" cried the blonde, slapping Sturm across the face.
Only the dark-haired beauty seemed sad. Shaking her head, she said with a sigh, "I miss my family," she said softly. "And I remember him that I love and am betrothed to marry. But it will start all over again. The eternal wars. The fighting, the bleeding, the dying…"
She turned to the god, only to find no one but a flashily dressed dwarf, who smiled at her in understanding.
"Think a moment, lassie," said Dougan kindly, patting her hand. "You've read the books, remember? And so have they." He pointed at the others. "You have knowledge now. No one can take that from you. Use it wisely, and you can stop the senseless wars. You and the others, with the help of your menfolk and your children, can make this island a paradise."
"I don't know who you are," the dark-haired beauty said, gazing at the dwarf in wonder, "but you are wise. We will do as you say. And we will honor you always, in our hearts and our prayers." (And so the islanders prayed to a dwarven god, becoming the only humans, as far as any one knows, to once again worship Reorx, the Forger of the World.)
Bending down, the woman kissed Dougan on his cheek. The dwarf's face flamed red as his hammer.
"Go along with you now!" he said gruffly.
Arms linked around each other's waists, the women ran, laughing merrily, from the room, and the brothers soon heard their joyful voices outside the castle walls.
"As for you — " Dougan turned upon the black-robed wizard.
"Don't scold me!" begged Lord Gargath meekly. "I've learned my lesson. Truly. I will never have anything to do with gems as long as I live. You can believe me!" he said, glancing up at the empty ceiling with a shudder.
"And we'll expect to see you at the Conclave," said Palin severely, retrieving the Staff of Magius. "You'll be a renegade no longer?"
"I'm looking forward to the next meeting!" Lord Gargath said eagerly. "Is there anything I can bring? A cake, perhaps? I make a marvelous devil's food…"
AFTERWORD
Dougan and the brothers returned to the gnome ship without incident. In fact, the warriors were so happy to have their women back with them, their families once more reunited, that they returned the armor and their swords. (The chief had decided the armor was too hot anyway, and he thought the sword a primitive weapon compared to a spear.)
The gnomes had repaired the damage to the ship. Indeed, they discovered that having one end smashed in improved the steering immeasurably, and they were quite excited at the prospect of returning home to Mount Nevermind and smashing in the prows (or stems) of the remainder of the gnomish fleet.
One small incident marred an otherwise idyllic cruise (not counting constantly ducking the sail, being hit by falling fish, and wondering whether or not they were going to sink before they reached land, due to the leaking of the smashed-in prow… or stem…).
Dougan was lounging on the deck one night, contemplating the stars (the constellation, Reorx, was missing) when suddenly he was accosted by the three brothers.
"Sturm, get his arms!" Tanin ordered, leaping on the dwarf from behind. "Palin, if his beard so much as twitches, send him to sleep!"
"What is this outrage! How dare you?" Dougan roared, struggling in Sturm's strong grasp.
"We risked our lives for that rock," Tanin said grimly, glaring down at the red-faced dwarf. "And I want to see it."
"You've been putting us off for days," added Palin, standing beside his brother. "We at least want a look at it before you take it back to your forge or wherever."
"Let me loose!" Dougan swore an oath. "Or you'll see nothing ever again 1"
"Do you agree to show it to us?"
"I promise!" muttered the dwarf.
Sturm, at a nod from Tanin, let go of the dwarfs arms. Dougan glanced around at them uncomfortably.
"The Graygem?" the brothers said, gathering around.
"Well, now, lads." The dwarf appeared highly uncomfortable. "That's going to be a bit of a problem."
"What do you mean?" Palin asked nervously, not liking the expression on the dwarf's face. "Is it so powerful that we can't look at it?"
"Nooo…" said Dougan slowly, his face flushing in the red light of Lunitari. "That's not it, exactly…"
"Well, then, let's see it!" Tanin demanded.
"The… uh… the fact is, lads," stammered Dougan, winding his black beard around his finger, "that I've… I've misplaced it…"
"Misplaced it!" Sturm said in amazement.
"The Graygem?" Palin glanced around the boat in alarm, fearing to see its gray light beaming out at them.
"Perhaps, 'misplaced' isn't quite the word," the dwarf mumbled. "You see, I got into this bone game, the night before we left the island and…" His voice trailed off miserably.
"You lost it!" Tanin groaned.
Palin and Sturm stared at the dwarf, too stunned to speak.