Impulsively he reached for her and hugged her close. “Thank you. Willow,” he whispered.
Her arms wrapped about his body and she hugged him back. He felt the warmth of her body burn into him, and he welcomed it.
“High Lord!” Questor was pulling urgently on his arm.
He released Willow and glanced about hurriedly. The G’home Gnomes were stirring in their sleep, rubbing their eyes and stretching their furry limbs. Some were awake already.
“Is it time to leave, High Lord?” Fillip asked, coming drowzily to his feet.
“Yes, is it time, High Lord?” Sot echoed, rising with him.
Ben stared at them, remembering what had brought him here in the first place. Abernathy suddenly leaned close.
“High Lord, it will be difficult enough for five of us to slip away unnoticed. We cannot hope to take an entire company of gnomes in the bargain!”
Ben glanced about once more. Mist and smoke were beginning to dissipate. The sky was growing lighter. There were signs of life in several of the stone huts. The entire village would be awake in the next few minutes.
He looked down at the anxious faces of Fillip and Sot.
“Everyone goes,” he said quietly.
“High Lord…!” Abernathy tried to protest.
“Questor!” Ben called softly, ignoring his scribe. Questor stepped close. “We need a diversion.”
The wizard went pale. The owlish face twisted into a knot.
“High Lord, I have already failed you once…”
“Then don’t do so again,” Ben cut him short. “I need that diversion — as soon as we’re through the gates of this cattle pen. Do something that will distract the Crag Trolls. Explode one of their kilns or drop a mountain on them. Anything — but do it!”
He took Willow’s arm and started across the compound. Bunion and Parsnip were ahead of him at once, clearing the way, creeping through the fading dark. Furry, ferret-faced forms squirmed and bunched close as he went.
He caught a glimpse of a lean, misshapen figure approaching the compound gates. “Bunion!” he warned with a hiss.
The kobold was through the gate in an instant, shoving free the chains from their rings. He caught the surprised troll before the creature knew what was happening and silenced him.
Ben and Willow rushed from the compound, Questor and Abernathy a step behind. The G’home Gnomes poured through after. Shouts of alarm broke through the stillness almost immediately, deep-throated cries that shattered the sleep of the Crag Trolls. The trolls stumbled from their huts, grunting. The gnomes scattered, stocky forms moving much faster than Ben would have thought possible. He drew up short. There were Crag Trolls at every turn.
“Questor!” he yelled frantically.
Brilliant white light exploded overhead, and Strabo appeared. The dragon flew across the valley breathing fire everywhere. Crag Trolls scrambled frantically for cover, and G’home Gnomes screamed in terror. Ben stared in disbelief. Where had the dragon come from?
Then he caught sight of Questor, arms thrust out of his robes and windmilling madly as the wizard stumbled back. He saw at the same instant that Strabo had only one leg, that the wings were not centered properly on the barrel-shaped body, that there were odd clumps of feathered plumage about the leathered neck, and that the dragon’s fire lanced earthward but burned nothing. The dragon was a fake. Questor had given them their diversion.
Willow saw it, too. She seized his arm, and together they broke for the valley pass that had brought the little company in the previous night. The others followed, Questor bringing up the rear. Already the illusory dragon was beginning to fade, bits and pieces of his body disintegrating as he flew back and forth above the astonished trolls. Ben and his companions dashed through their midst. Twice they were intercepted, but Bunion dispatched the attackers with a swiftness that was frightening. They gained the defile in moments, the way before them clear.
Ben risked a final glance back. The dragon had come apart completely, pieces of magic falling into the mist and smoke like a broken puzzle. The trolls remained in a state of complete confusion.
The little company dashed into the shadows of the defile, and the trolls, the fires, the valley, and the madness were left behind.