“Riverwind!” Goldmoon yelled from where she had remained by the hole. The Plainsman ran over to the edge, Raistlin following. The gully dwarves, lined up around the hole, were having a wonderful time, thoroughly enjoying one of the most interesting events to occur in their lives. Only Bupu moved away from the edge-she trotted after Raistlin, grasping his robe whenever possible.
“Khark-umatr’breathed Riverwind as he looked down into the swirling mist.
Caramon tossed overboard the draconian he had been fighting. It fell with a shriek into the mist. The big warrior had claw marks on his face and a sword slash on his right arm. Sturm, Tanis, and Flint still battled the second draconian who seemed willing to kill regardless of the consequences. When it finally became clear that hitting was not enough, Tanis stabbed it with his dagger. The creature sank down, immediately turning to rock, holding Tanis’s weapon fast in its stony corpse.
Then the pot lurched to a halt, jolting everyone.
“Look out! Neighbors!” yelled Tasslehoff, dropping off the chain. Tanis looked over to see the other pot, filled with draconians, swinging only about twenty feet away. Armed to the teeth, the draconians were preparing a boarding maneuver. Two clambered up onto the edge of the pot, ready to leap across the misty gap. Caramon leaned over the edge of the pot and made a wild and vicious swing with his sword in an attempt to slash one of the boarders. He missed and the momentum of his swing set the pot rotating on its chain.
Caramon lost his balance and fell forward, his great weight tipping the pot dangerously. He found himself staring directly down at the ground far below him. Sturm grabbed hold of Caramon’s collar and yanked him back, causing the pot to rock erratically. Tanis slipped, landing on his hands and knees at the bottom of the pot where he discovered that the stone draconian had decayed into dust, allowing him to retrieve his dagger.
“Here they come!” Flint yelled, hauling Tanis to his feet.
One draconian launched itself toward them and caught hold of the edge of the pot with its clawed hands. The pot tilted precariously once again.
“Get over there!” Tanis shoved Caramon to the opposite side, hoping the warrior’s weight would keep the pot stable. Sturm hacked at the draconian’s hands, trying to force it to let go. Then another draconian flew over, gauging its distance better than the first. It landed in the pot next to Sturm.
“Don’t move!” Tanis screamed at Caramon as the warrior instinctively charged into combat. The pot tilted. The big man quickly returned to his position. The pot righted itself. The draconian hanging onto the edge, its fingers oozing green, let go, spread its wings, and floated down into the mist.
Tanis spun around to fight the draconian that had landed in the pot and fell over Flint, knocking the dwarf off his feet again. The half-elf staggered against the side. As the pot rocked, he stared down. The mists parted and he saw the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth far below him. When he drew back, feeling sick and disoriented, he saw Tasslehoff fighting the draconian. The little kender crawled up the creatures back and bashed it on the head with a rock. At the bottom of the pot, Flint picked up Caramon’s dropped dagger and stabbed the same creature in the leg. The draconian screamed as the blade bit deep. Knowing more draconians were about to fly over, Tanis looked up in despair. But the despair turned to hope when he saw Riverwind and Goldmoon staring down through the mist.
“Bring us back up!” Tanis yelled frantically, then something hit him on the head. The pain was excruciating. He felt himself falling and falling and falling. . . .
Raistlin did not hear Tanis’s yell-the mage had already gone into action.
“Come here, my friends,” Raistlin said swiftly. The spellbound gully dwarves gathered eagerly around him. “Those bosses down there want to hurt me,” he said softly.
The gully dwarves growled. Several frowned darkly. A few shook their fists at the potful of draconians.
“But you can help,” Raistlin said. “You can stop them.”