same. He had no idea what it did.
Maybe there was some sort of clue on the ring?
Tas turned it over, nearly dropping it in his haste. Thank the
gods Caramon was so hard to wake up!
It was a plain ring, carved out of ivory, with two small pink
stones. There were some runes traced on the inside. Tas recalled
his magical Glasses of Seeing with a pang, but they were lost in
Neraka, unless some draconian was wearing them.
“Wha… wha…” Caramon was babbling. “Kender? I told
him… don’t go out there… liches….”
“Damn!” The red-robed mage was heading for the door.
Please, Fizban! the kender whispered, if you remember me at
all, which I don’t suppose you do, although you might – I was
the one who kept finding your hat. Please, Fizban! Don’t let
them send Caramon off without me. Make this a Ring of Invisi-
bility. Or at least a Ring of Something that will keep them from
catching me!
Closing his eyes tightly so he wouldn’t see anything Horrible
he might accidentally conjure up, Tas thrust the ring over his
thumb. (At the last moment he opened his eyes, so that he
wouldn’t miss seeing anything Horrible he might conjure up.)
At first, nothing happened. He could hear the red-robed
mage’s halting footsteps coming nearer and nearer the door.
Then – something was happening, although not quite what
Tas expected. The hall was growing! There was a rushing sound
in the kender’s ears as the walls swooped past him and the ceil-
ing soared away from him. Open-mouthed, he watched as the
door grew larger and larger, until it was an immense size.
What have I done? Tas wondered in alarm. Have I made the
Tower grow? Do you suppose anyone’ll notice? If they do, will
they be very upset?
The huge door opened with a gust of wind that nearly flat-
tened the kender. An enormous red-robed ‘figure filled the
doorway.
A giant! Tas gasped. I’ve not only made the Tower grow! I’ve
made the mages grow, too! Oh, dear. I guess they’ll notice that!
At least they will the first time they try to put on their shoes!
And I’m sure they’ll be upset. I would be if I was twenty feet tall
and none of my clothes fit.
But the red-robed mage didn’t seem at all perturbed about
suddenly shooting up in height, much to Tas’s astonishment.
He just peered up and down the hall, yelling, “Tasslehoff Burr-
foot!”
He even looked right at where Tas was standing – and didn’t
see him!
“Oh, thank you, Fizban!” the kender squeaked. Then he
coughed. His voice certainly did sound funny. Experimentally,
he said, “Fizban?” again. Again, he squeaked.
At that moment, the red-robed mage glanced down.
“Ah, ha! And whose room have you escaped from, my little
friend’?” the mage said.
As Tasslehoff watched in awe, a giant hand reached down –
it was reaching down for him! The fingers got nearer and
nearer. Tas was so startled he couldn’t run or do anything
except wait for that gigantic hand to grab him. Then it would
be all over! They’d send him home instantly, if they didn’t
inflict a worse punishment on him for enlarging their Tower
when he wasn’t at all certain that they wanted it enlarged.
The hand hovered over him and then picked him up by his
tail.
“My tail!” Tas thought wildly, squirming in midair as the
hand lifted him off the floor. “I haven’t got a tail! But I must!
The hand’s got hold of me by something!”
Twisting his head around, Tas saw that indeed, he did have a
tail! Not only a tail, but four pink feet! Four! And instead of
bright blue leggings, he was wearing white fur!
“Now, then,” boomed a stern voice right in one of his ears,
“answer me, little rodent! Whose familiar are you?”
CHAPTER 16
Familliar! Tasslehoff
clutched at the word. Familiar…. Talks with Raistlin came
back to his fevered mind.
“Some magi have animals that are bound to do their bid-
ding,” Raistlin had told him once. “These animals, or familiars
as they are called, can act as an extension of a mage’s own