[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
any number of other long, sharp and pointy things.
And they all seemed to be falling toward Jeffrey.
The previously owned objects Hendrek had built his house with were
all weapons. What sort of person built a house out of weapons? By
now, Jeffrey was quite certain this was not the way the story was
supposed to go. But he was even more certain that if he stood his
ground he would be skewered at least a dozen times.
Jeffrey ran back into the woods with a howl. The wolf knew he would
have to look elsewhere for dinner. But it would be the tenderest
dinner of all.
Wuntvor worked diligently on his sturdy, new brick house. As nice as
it was to discuss shoes and the issues of the day with his two good
friends, it was even nicer to be alone for a change.
But wasn't the day growing suddenly cold? Perhaps it was only that
chill wind that had sprung up so suddenly. It was an amazingly
ferocious breeze, stripping the leaves from the surrounding trees.
Wuntvor was glad he would soon have a nice, warm house to protect him
from the weather. And then he heard another sound, a dry, hollow
chuckle, as cold in its way as the wind that had preceded it. Wuntvor
looked up. He thought he saw a dark figure walking between the trees.
Was someone coming?
FIFTEEN
There is another saying among those mages I am always talking about:
"If a man can stand tall and proud, he will not be afraid." And
perhaps there is some truth in this statement, for if a man can stand
tall and proud, with a good weapon or two in his hands, a trusted
banishment spell upon his lips, and his back against the wall, then
his fear might diminish considerably. Even better is the scenario
where he has two or three hundred trusted allies at his side, a
nearby trap door for hasty escapes, and no enemy approaching for
miles around. It gets better still when you add a tidy sum stashed
away in a handy retirement account, the love of a good woman and a
hiding place that no one else has discovered in hundreds of years.
Under such circumstances, fear could conceivably be controlled. But
don't count on it.
--The Teachings of Ebenezum, VOLUME LV
Wuntvor was suddenly afraid. There was something about this sort of
weather, something about that mysterious figure, that he should
remember. Everything around him seemed like ice.
127
128
Even his clothes were cold against his body.
Somebody coughed.
Wuntvor jumped. There was a rustling in the bushes.
"Oh, wow," another voice said.
"Aren't you going to say hello?" yet another voice demanded. "It's
getting cold out here!"
"Beg pardon?" Wuntvor replied as eight fairly short men emerged from
the shrubbery. He looked up as a distant scream echoed eerily through
the forest, as if a hundred lost souls cried their death agonies. But
then the day warmed again as suddenly as it had cooled, and the late
afternoon sun once more shone through the treetops.
"Weird weather patterns you have around here," one of the short
fellows muttered as he wrung his hands. "But that's not why we're
here."
"Indeed?" Wuntvor replied, somewhat dubiously. "Have we met?"
"Must he always say that?" one of the dwarves complained.
"Don't mind Touchy, there," the hand-wringer quickly added. "You
would recall us, if you were not under one of Mother Duck's spells."
"Indeed?" Wuntvor wasn't really trying to comprehend what these short
people were talking about. There was something about the cold wind
and the mysterious figure which somehow seemed much more important.
"I'm sorry," he added at last. "I don't remember."
"Of course not!" the hand-wringer agreed with him jovially. "You're
in a fairy tale. The very tale in which we have been promised a major
role!"
"This doesn't seem very major to me!" one of the others sniffed.
"Of course not, Snooty," the hand-wringer answered. "Our major role
hasn't started yet. This is more of a cameo appearance." He turned
back to Wuntvor. "But, we came to admire your new home!" He added in
a lower voice: "I'd introduce everybody, but what's the use? The way
things have been going lately, Mother Duck will have to start this
whole thing over again in a minute, anyway." He continued in his
louder, more forceful conversational style: "My this certainly looks
like a
- 129
sturdy ho- se. We were awfully glad to get the opportunity to see
it!" For some reason, the short fellow glanced at his wrist. "Look
how late it's gotten to be! Well, we have to run!"
The speaker waved as he and his fellows turned to go.
'That's it?" Wuntvor asked. "That's all you came here to tell me?"
"Why, of course!" the hand-wringing fellow called back over his
shoulder. "Still, if our appearance here serves to remind Mother Duck
that we're still around, eager to begin our part in this drama, that
couldn't hurt, either."
"Wait a minute!" Wuntvor called, desperation rising in his voice. For
he had suddenly remembered that that mysterious figure wanted to
capture him, but could only do so if he was all alone.
"What is it this time?" one of the others barked.
"Um--," Wuntvor fumbled, trying to think fast. "Wouldn't you like to
see the inside of my house?"
"If it's as boring as the outside, no way!" the same fellow added.
"It's enough that we have to go along with Smarmy's publicity ideas
here--"
"But we all agreed--," the hand-wringer interrupted.
"Only so that we didn't have to put up with your whining--"
"Oh, wow."
Somebody moaned. Somebody else coughed. A third somebody dropped
something, very loudly.
"Oh, dear," the hand-wringer said at last. "Well, if it's that way,
I'm afraid our humble selves really must be going."
Then they were still leaving? Wuntvor fought a panic that seemed to
sweep over him from nowhere. How could he make them understand?
"But I'm all alone!" he wailed.
The brashest of the fellows snickered. "Sure you're all alone, except
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]