"Oh," said Scowarr, hurrying to the half-elf's side. "Come on now; I'll help you get up."
"No. Here," Tanis said weakly, offering the three strips of cloth from Brandella's shirt. 'Tie his arms and legs. Then gag him."
Little Shoulders took the three pieces of cloth and immediately went to work as Tanis lay nearby, trying to shake off the pain and lethargy.
"How is this?" asked Scowarr, showing off the elaborate knot binding the mage's wrists.
"Good."
Kishpa began to stir.
"Hurry!" urged Tanis. "You've got to finish before he can cast a spell."
Scowarr quickly stuffed a strip of cloth in the mage's mouth and frantically began tying Kishpa's legs.
"What are you doing?" demanded Brandella, climbing out of the hollow tree stump. Fear vied with anger on her face.
"Making sure I don't get turned into a tree or a fish," said Scowarr.
"Is this necessary?" she demanded, turning toward Tanis.
The half-elf managed to rise to his feet, but his legs were wobbly. "If we're going to get a head start, it is," he said.
"A head start to where?" she asked, examining the fabric that held Kishpa helpless. Tanis gave her a warning look, but she gestured him away. "Perhaps we must bind him, but I will make sure his bonds aren't too tight. A head start to where?" she repeated.
'To the place where the old Kishpa is dying," he explained. "It's on the way toward Solace. I have been thinking; maybe we have to be close to that spot. Maybe that's why he couldn't bring us out of his memory: we're too far away."
She softened at the mention of the ancient mage and looked down into her Kishpa's face. "I'm so glad you grew old," she whispered.
"It's so much better than the alternative," agreed Scowarr, who obviously had no idea what she was talking about.
"Come," said Tanis. "We can't waste a moment. You know now, as well as I do, how close to death our old friend is. Our trip will take time, and he has precious little of that left."
"I'm coming," she replied. But she didn't get up, for Kishpa had opened his eyes.
With the gag in his mouth, all he could do was make unintelligible sounds.
She kissed him on the forehead. "I'm sorry," said Brandella. "I can't help you."
He tried to speak again, shaking his head and imploring her with his eyes.
"I love you," she said, "but Tanis is telling the truth. Listen to me: I heard your ancient, brave heart beating, and I spoke to you. I sensed your presence all around me. You're dying, remembering how we used to be. Except that I will be no more when you… when you die. You didn't want that, so you sent Tanis to get me. I know it sounds impossible, but it's true. I wish you could believe it."
Kishpa grew wild-eyed with frustration and made more sounds that she could not understand. He obviously wanted her to remove the gag. She shook her head and stroked his hair, as black as hers but straight.
"I'm going with Tanis to the place where you're dying, nearly a hundred years in the future," she whispered. "He hopes that the magic will work better there. No matter what happens-" She couldn't say anymore. She simply leaned over him, hugged him, and kissed his eyes.
He was choking on the gag, trying to talk to her, but Tanis pulled her away.
Kishpa began thrashing on the ground, trying to get free.
"Let's get going," Scowarr urged.
"You're not coming," Tanis replied.
"He's eventually going to work himself out of his bonds," said Little Shoulders. "When he does, what he'd do to me if I were here would not be funny. And funny is my life's work. So I'm going with the two of you."
26
Travelling at night was unheard of; the roads could be deadly. A person could just as easily fall into a ditch and break a leg in the darkness as fall into a pack of thieves. Tanis, Brandella, and Scowarr had no choice, however. They had to brave the blackness. With only one torch to light their way, they set out to the east. They hadn't gotten far, though, before Brandella ordered, "Stop!" "What is it?" Scowarr asked anxiously. His light brown hair stood up in bunches all over his head. Tonight he looked more like a comedian than the savior of Ankatavaka.
Brandella gestured. "Lean the torch closer to Tanis."
The puzzled half-elf stood still as Little Shoulders dipped the torch in his direction.
"Just as I thought: blood," Brandella said reproachfully. "How come you didn't tell me?"
She cut him off, saying, "Never mind. I know. You didn't want to worry me. Or the wounds don't hurt. Or some other silly excuse. Well, we're stopping right here and now and cleaning those wounds so that you don't die on us."
"There's no time-" Tanis attempted again.
"Quiet!" she ordered. This was no introspective weaver; Tanis saw the Brandella who had rained arrows on the attacking humans-was it less than a day before? "You risked your life for me; the least I can do is risk my future for you," she said briskly. "We're stopping!"
There was no use arguing. Tanis let her inspect the cuts and clean them with yet another piece of cloth-this one gleaned, under protest, from Scowarr's new suit.
"At least the cuts no longer bleed," Brandella said, working so close to the wound that Tanis felt her breath on his skin. "Still, I wish we had salve."
"It's all right," Tanis assured her. Her hands were warm, and her touch was gentle-that was medicine enough for the half-elf.
Finally, Brandella declared them able to continue on their way. They marched throughout much of the night, stopping only for the weaver to check occasionally on Tanis's wounds. Eventually, though, exhaustion began to overwhelm them.
"We'll make better time in the morning if we get some sleep before dawn," Scowarr suggested after he tripped and fell over a boulder on the side of the trail. He rubbed the shinbone he'd barked against the granite.
"He's right," conceded Brandella.
Reluctantly, Tanis agreed. They found a flat, grassy stretch of ground just off the trail and settled in for a short rest. Scowarr offered to take the first watch.
He promptly fell asleep.
Tanis bolted awake. A sound had penetrated his slumber. Blinking his eyes in the gray misty dawn, he saw that the torch had gone out. He sat up and listened again, wondering what had awakened him. Was it an animal in the brush? Could it simply have been a dream? Had Scowarr snored too loudly7
"Snored!" Tanis expostulated softly. "Scowarr!"
The slender human only shifted and murmured. The sound that had awakened him came again from farther down the trail, echoing in the cavernous forest. It was a scream, faint but unmistakable.
"Get up!" Tanis cried, leaping to his feet and grabbing his sword.
"Huh?" Scowarr mumbled. He stared with glassy eyes. "I wasn't asleep!"
Brandella rose cautiously to her feet. She could have been a deer, her feet moved so silently through the glade. She said nothing, but her eyes were questioning.
"Follow after me, but keep quiet," Tanis said. "Don't show yourselves if you can help it." And with that, Tanis took off at a dead run down the trail.
He left the scabbard behind; his exposed sword glowed red with anticipation. Trees flashed by as he raced down the path. The screaming was louder now. He was getting close, and he slowed. The cries seemed to be coming from just beyond the bend.
The trail turned, and so did he-right into a band of four goblins who were attacking the dwarf, Mertwig, and his wife, Yeblidod. She was screaming, and pelting the orange creatures with rocks. Mertwig was bleeding, but he continued to battle the beasts. However, there were simply too many of the creatures for the game dwarf. He swung his powerful battle-axe, yet it was not enough. He had been stabbed several times, and a long. broken goblin tooth protruded from his right leg. Nevertheless, he fought on.