Chapter 4
"Put him down, Fang," commanded Stone, seeing his dog with a struggling little man in his jaws. "We are not here to hurt or kill anyone."
"Ow! Really?" Aithrod, used his foot to scrape one of these cave-dwelling beings off his leg as the thing started to crawl up him. "Because right now, I'm so hungry that I'm ready to make a meal out of most of them."
"Make your way to the mouth of the cave." Stone used his staff to push the creatures aside. He still felt the pricks of their hoes and shovels at his back but tried to ignore them. He didn't want to hurt them, so he refrained from drawing his sword or using his crossbow. "I have a feeling this is their home and they consider us trespassers."
Just as he said that, a group of them rappelled down from the ceiling using ropes, with more ropes in their hands. They quickly wound them around Stone.
"Nay! Get off of me," Stone yelled. "I don't want to hurt you but I swear I will if I have to." He pulled at the ropes and pushed at the creatures. Fang barked furiously and snapped at the air. Thankfully, that scared the little people, making them pull back a little.
"Run while you still can!" shouted Aithrod, dashing for the mouth of the cave with an army of the cave-dwelling beings whooping and waving their weapons right behind him. They not only kept up with him, but passed him up, circling back around him.
Just when Stone thought they had no chance of getting out of here without killing some of them, someone else appeared in the cave. He saw a flash or blur of color, and a small man with pointy ears like an elf stopped in front of him with his hands on his hips. He had a pouch filled with something hanging at his side. This man was about waist-high to Stone, but twice the height of the cave-dwellers. This one reminded Stone of an elf.
"Who are you and what are you doing in this cave?" the man demanded to know. His voice was high and nasal sounding.
"Oh, nay. They're growing in size," Stone called out to his friend. Fang lunged for the man, but the elf was too fast for the dog. The elf zipped around in a blur, ending up sitting on Fang's back, yanking at his ears.
"Leave my dog alone!" shouted Stone, holding out his staff, meaning to knock the man off the dog's back if needed.
"Balderdash! What are you all doing here in my cave?" The elf was thrown off when Fang shook. The man landed on a stone ledge. When he did, his pouch fell from his belt. Lots of rocks fell out. Stone realized that these rocks looked very familiar. Especially since they were sort of sparkling a little.
"I've seen those stones before." Stone pulled another three of the cave people off of him. "Can't you make these things stop attacking us?"
"They're gnomes, and, nay, I can't," said the elf nonchalantly. "They have minds of their own. I don't control them."
"I thought you said this was your cave. So tell them to leave."
"It's not that simple, fool." The elf scooped up the stones and slipped them back into his pouch. "And what do you mean you've seen these stones before? I just discovered them in this cave, and I can assure you they are not found naturally here."
"Arrrgh," moaned Stone, pulling more gnomes from him, feeling their weapons hitting harder.
"Tell me!" commanded the elf. "Where have you seen these stones before?"
"I have a stone just like that in my pouch," Stone answered.
"You stole it from me!" The little man accused him, pointing at him with one gnarly finger.
"Nay, I didn't. I found it on the other side." Stone looked up to see Aithrod just about at the mouth of the cave. Fang ran in circles barking, snapping at the gnomes that continued to poke at him. The dog put down his head and tossed one of the small men with the pointed hats high into the air. The gnome made a squealing sound and his friends ran forward to catch him.
"Other side? Other side of what?" asked the elf in his high and mighty tone.
"Get us out of here and away from these gnomes and I'll tell you what you want to know," said Stone, trying to make a deal to be free of these pesky creatures.
"Oh, for Zoroct's sake!" The elf sped around the room so fast that the gnomes couldn't catch him. It took the attention off of Stone so he and his hound were able to make it to the opening of the cave.
"Hurry, Fang," Stone commanded his dog as he and Aithrod stumbled out of the cave and into the sunshine.
"Aaah!" Aithrod held up a hand to cover his eyes from the bright light. Since the gnomes weren't following them, they plopped down on the ground in the sand to rest. They seemed to be on some sort of beach. There was a sea of water nearby with waves crashing against the rocks and rolling onto the shore. Fang ran over to join them, turning to get in a few more barks at the troublesome gnomes that were no longer there.
"We're free," said Stone, wiping his brow and trying to catch his breath. Fang lay down by his feet.
"It's already morning?" asked Aithrod. "It was night when we left. How long were we in there?"
"I didn't think it was that long," Stone answered, shading his eyes with his hand and looking up at the sun. "And it seems more like midday than morning if you ask me. That's odd. I have a feeling we are far from home."
"All right, fess up."
Stone jerked backward as the elf appeared, perching himself atop a rock right above Stone's head.
"What are you talking about?" asked Stone.
"Tell me where you got that gemstone. And let me see it, too."
"Slow down, little fellow," said Stone with a chuckle.
Before he knew what happened, the elf was right next to him, glaring at him with narrowed eyes and his long, pointy nose.
"Don't call me little fellow. Ever! My name is Elric. I am a sage and deserve your respect. And for that matter, who in Belcoum's name are you?" He looked at Stone and Aithrod, as he backed away from the panting dog.
"I'm Stone Nightstalker," he answered. "Although I have no idea who Belcoum is."
"Hmmph. Fitting name for a stone stealer, I suppose. And Belcoum is what some of you from different lands call the devil." The elf's open palm shot forward. "Give it to me. Come on, come on, hand it over."
"I'm his friend, Aithrod Gabbencort, in case you're wondering. And Stone's dog's name is Fang," Aithrod said from the ground next to them.
"I wasn't wondering and neither do I care. Now come on, Stonestealer. I'm waiting." The elf's toe tapped the ground impatiently.
"Stone Nightstalker," he corrected him, shaking his head. "All right. Fine, I'll show it to you since you did help us escape the gnomes." Stone reached for his pouch. "By the way, what is this place called that we're in?"
"What do you mean?" asked Elric.
"We have no idea where we are," Aithrod explained.
"You don't know about the Quamm Caves?" asked Elric. "Any fool knows not to go in there unless you want to be attacked by gnomes."
"Nay, I meant the land. This whole area," said Stone, digging the gemstone out of his pouch.
"How can you not know where you are? You don't remember where you were going?"
"Well, it wasn't our choice to be in those gnome caves to begin with," said Aithrod, with a puff of air from his mouth. "We were in there because that is where the portal took us."
"Did you say, portal?" The elf's hand slowly lowered to his side. "Are you telling me that you came through a portal?"
"That's what he said. How can you not listen to what we say?" answered Stone, not caring that he was being cocky with the elf. Let him taste a little of his own medicine.
"From where?" the elf demanded to know. "Where were you before you came through the portal?"
"We were home. In our land of Taelgonoth." Stone got to his feet. "I'm sure you've heard of it. Now please tell us what land we are in and how to get back."
"Nope. I've never heard of Taelgonoth," answered Elric, even though Stone didn't believe him. "And you are in Mura, you big oaf. Just go back home the same way you came."
"Did you say, Mura?" asked Aithrod, getting to his feet as well. The dog did so, too, and hurried behind a large rock to lift his leg. "I don't know of any land named Mura, do you, Stone?"
"Nay, I don't." Stone shook his head. "And since it was the middle of the night when we walked through the portal and now it looks to be midday, I'd say our lands are far from each other."
"Don't know, don't care. Now let me see my gem, and then I'll be on my way." The elf's open hand shot out again.
Stone held up the rock, ready to let Elric see it, but something told him he couldn't trust him so he held back. He pulled his hand away and lifted up the rock between two fingers. "There," he said. "You see, it has a slight sparkle like yours do. It was stolen from the King of Taelgonoth and needs to be returned along with the rest of them."
The elf tried to take it, but Stone was ready for him and snapped close his hand and pulled it away.
"What is your king's name?" asked the little man, squinting one eye as he perused them.
"King Helix Kapion," Aithrod told him.
Elric's eyes opened wide, then closed to slits. He seemed to be furious about something. "Give me my treasure." Elric's eyes looked crazed. "It was in my cave and you stole it from me, now return it at once."
"Your cave? I get the feeling that the cave belongs to the gnomes and not you. I think you were there stealing from them," said Stone. "Tell me I'm wrong."
"Of course, you're wrong!" This accusation seemed to anger the little man even more. "And if I say the treasure is mine, then it's mine. Now hand it over. It doesn't belong to you." Stone wasn't sure that the elf wasn't going to start steaming from the ears or stamping his foot next.
"Nope. Can't do that." Stone quickly put the rock back in his pouch. Then he reached out with an open palm just like the elf had done to him. "But you can hand over my king's wealth. Now, give it to me, and be on your way."
"I'll do no such thing." The elf hugged the bag to his chest. "You two need to go back through the portal and get out of Mura before it's too late. You don't belong here. Now leave!"
Fang growled and showed his teeth.
"And take that mangy mutt with you." The elf turned to go, but Stone didn't want him to leave yet. After all, they were in a strange land with a million unanswered questions. They needed Elric to tell them what they wanted to know and also to guide them. Hopefully, the elf would even know where to find Rancor Ruse.
"Please, wait," said Stone. "I'm looking for a man. A thief named Rancor Ruse. I want to know if you've seen him."
"The only thief I see is you!" With that, the elf dashed away, moving so fast that it was only a second before they could no longer see him.
"Well, how do you like that?" asked Aithrod. "And what do we do now? I'm tired and hungry and thirsty and need to pee."
"There must be other people around here somewhere," said Stone, looking around but not seeing a soul. "I suggest we start walking and try to head for the nearest village or town." He ran a hand over the dog's head. "Fang can lead the way. Plus, I will use my tracking skills to find whoever passed through here lately."
"All right," agreed Aithrod, brushing dirt from his clothes. "And let's just hope we capture Rancor and find a way back through the portal before that irritating little elf returns."