As Flint closed in, trying to keep one hobnailed boot poised and ready to stomp at all times, Tas had all he could do just concentrating on becoming a kender again. But he managed it with inches to spare. Amidst a whirlwind of color, the tiny crab was transformed into Tasslehoff Burrfoot, lying on his back and laughing so hard he clutched his sides.
"Ooh, Flint, you should have seen your face when I charged you! It was worth your weight in steel!"
Flint was hardly amused. He grabbed Tasslehoff by his vest and yanked him onto his wobbly legs. "What's going on here, kender? What kind of tricks are you up to?"
"No tricks, Flint. I'm here to get you out." Tasslehoff smoothed out the rumpled front of his vest and stepped back. "How did you like my entrance?"
Tanis peered through the window in the door to see whether the guards had noticed the ruckus, but nothing had changed in the outer room. He turned back to Tasslehoff. "What is going on, Tas? How did you do that?"
"Selana had a potion of poly-something-or-other, and we split it to keep from being recognized." Tas wiped the last remaining tear of laughter from his eye. "It's really great. You should try it sometime. I've been a bird and a spider and a mouse and all kinds of things."
"Where is Selana, anyway?" asked Tanis, peering through the small window in the door again, as if expecting her.
Tas became more somber. "It's a long, complicated story, but we were separated and now she's gone up into the mountains to follow that mage-he has the bracelet. I'd give you the details now, but I don't know how much longer this potion will last. Let's get away safely first. I'll tell you the whole story later, while we're on our way to rescue Selana."
Tanis and Flint nodded. "What's the plan?" Flint asked.
"Just watch." Once again Tas was immersed in swirling lights and turned back into an orange-and-ivory spaniel. He stepped up to the door and began barking, whining, and scratching at the heavy wood.
In the front room, Duncan and Jules interrupted their game and peered around, looking for the dog. "Sounds like he's back by the cells, Jules. Go see what the problem is and bring him out here." The younger guard got up reluctantly, but only after scooping the few remaining copper pieces he had left into a small purse, which he tucked into his belt. With the ring of keys from the wall, he unlocked the iron door and stepped back into the cell area. A moment later he was peering through the cell door and scratching his head.
"Hey, you two, how did that dog get in there with you?"
Flint said, "He crawled under the door." Tanis nodded and Tasslehoff kept right on barking.
"That's impossible," Jules stated flatly. "There's no way that dog could have gotten in there under the door. The crack isn't nearly big enough."
Flint's eyes narrowed down to tiny slits, and he waved his hands at the door. "You and I both know the door's locked, so you tell me how he got in here."
Duncan stepped back to join Jules. "How in hell did that dog get in there?" he wondered aloud, peering into the cell.
"We told you, he crawled under the door," Tanis repeated.
Flint added, "Get him out, would you? He's making an awful racket."
"If he crawled in, why doesn't he just crawl back out?" asked Jules.
"He's a dog, not a scholar-maybe he hasn't thought of it," Flint snorted. "It's obvious he doesn't want to be in here any more than I do. Can't you let him out so a fella could get a little sleep?"
"Yeah, sure."
Jules was reaching for the key when Duncan stopped him. The older guard drew his sword and stood opposite the cell door. "Now let him out."
Up to this point Tanis and Flint had no real idea what Tasslehoff had in mind, but they knew that the prospect of rushing two armed and armored men was not good. When the door opened, they stood placidly while Tas pranced out into the hall. Jules slammed the door shut and as he locked it, Duncan leaned in close to the window and said, "Enjoy your peace and quiet, boys."
While everyone's attention was focused on the door, Tanis noticed a pale flash of light behind the guards. A quick glance at Flint told the half-elf that his friend had seen it, too.
When Jules and Duncan turned to walk back to the front room, a pair of shrieks followed by a tremendous growl confirmed what Tanis suspected. He rushed to the door and looked through the window. To the left he saw Jules and Duncan cowering against the last cell door, short swords held shakily in front of them. To the right he saw one of the most frightening sights on Krynn: a monstrous, green, stoop-shouldered, slavering troll. Black hair hung in greasy clumps across its wart-covered face and long, pointed nose. Two bulging eyes glowed like black coals. Spittle dripped from yellow fangs that were too long for the beast's mouth.
The nightmare creature extended one immensely long, knobby arm and plucked the key ring from Jules's white hand. It fumbled with the keys for a moment, two-inch-long black fingernails clacking against the metal. It found what it wanted and unlocked the prisoners' door. Flint and Tanis slipped into the hall. The troll pointed into the cell and snarled. Immediately the two guards rushed inside. The troll slammed the door behind them and locked it.
Tanis and Flint darted to the outer room. The troll shambled in after, bending its massive frame nearly double to get through the doorway. Stepping around the corner to get out of sight from the cell, Tas changed once more, this time returning to his normal shape. The iron door was locked and the keys neatly hung on their peg on the wall.
"Here," said Tas, scooping up their respective weapons from the floor behind the bench. With a satisfied sigh, Tanis slung his bow over his shoulder. Flint slipped his well-used axe into the loop on his belt and patted it tenderly, as if welcoming it home.
Tanis crept forward and peered out the front door. "It looks clear. Let's try not to look as if we just broke out of jail. And Tas, don't smirk so much."
The trio strolled out into the sunshine, hands in pockets. Stepping lively, they crossed the courtyard directly toward the gate in the inner bailey and from there to the outer, main gate. Within minutes, they were safely across the bridge and headed for the mountains.
Chapter 16
"Tasslehoff, you great doorknob!" thundered
Flint, clomping downstream along the snowy shoreline, dodging shrubs and boulders and potholes. "What are you doing on that floe? You're going the wrong way! Get off there and come back here right this minute!"
"I'd love to," yelled Tasslehoff over the sound of the rushing water, "but I'm not too clear on how to go about it." He skipped from side to side on the small slab of ice, peering over the edge, visually measuring the depth of the water and the distance to the shore as he floated down the river.
As they had followed the river up into the mountains, the landscape had turned gradually from the greening of spring back to the ice and snow of winter. Tasslehoff had gone down to the bank of the river to scoop up a quick drink of water, but the land under his feet had turned out to be snow-covered ice. He discovered that when, with a great creaking and groaning, it had broken away from the shore.
"It's too bad I don't have some of Selana's poly-waddle-polydoodle-you know, that potion I drank to become a bird. Then I could fly off this thing," Tas called to them conversationally. "Did I tell you about being a bug and turning into a mouse and falling from the web when that enormous, hairy spider was chasing me?" Tas rubbed his thigh at the memory.