the other end of the line and then Dragon dropped my phone and stomped it with a worn heel of a rather nice pair of leather boots—the dwarves do make the best boots.
"Um, that was my phone."
"And the man I was talking to is in a little bit of trouble I'm afraid."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Time to go pay him a visit."
What could I do? Whatever was going on there was no way I could even think of going up against this man. A fight would leave me totally dead, and I really didn't fancy being quite that dead.
Instead, I said, "All right, if you insist. We'll take my car."
"Ah, cars. I've heard so much about them. It will be fun to ride in a vehicle powered by a combustion engine. Lead on."
So, I led on. I turned to Mithnite and nodded at him. The poor lad was as confused as all hell, not knowing what was what, but he held it together and just walked ahead of us.
At the car, I unlocked it and said, "Stand back while I start it up. It's a bit temperamental. Mithnite, you get in the back. It's only fair to give up the front seat to our guest. Come on, in you go."
"Okay." Mithnite got inside and I closed the door. "Let me get the engine warm and then we can head off. It gives off noxious fumes when first started and you aren't used to them, so keep away until I give the signal, okay?"
"As you wish. How exciting." He took a step back, looking amused, concerned, and interested at the same time.
I got in, hardly believing how he'd changed from all-powerful sage to excited child in the face of a new experience. I started the engine, put my foot on the clutch, crunched into first gear, released the handbrake and got the hell out of there before he realized what was going on.
I'd just left the most powerful human being in the world stranded by an old, abandoned coal mine that was a portal to the dwarven realm. I hoped he wouldn't be cross, but right then all I cared about was getting away from what I knew in my heart was nothing but trouble. And I still hadn't worked out where his new old body had come from. Man was he powerful.
A Sidekick
"Wow, you are one seriously hardcore dude, you know that, Spark?" said Mithnite, sweating and hyper as he clambered from the back seat into the front.
"Careful! Hurry up and put your seatbelt on." I kept glancing in the rearview mirror, expecting to see an elderly man with white flowing hair and too much dwarven leather chasing after us like something from the Terminator, but all was quiet as we weaved our way out of the Welsh mountains.
The sun was low now, almost gone, and the mist rolled down the hills into valleys, temperature dropping dramatically as in the blink of an eye the sun gave up and dusk settled over us like a damp shroud.
We drove towards Cardiff in a sullen mood, unable to shake the strange encounter, the craziness of the day, and above all else, the knowledge this was far from over. What did Dragon want with Dancer? More to the point, what was he going to do with him? And us, what about us? Had I dragged Mithnite into something he had no hope of ever getting out of? Did I?
"At least we're rich," said Mithnite, the first words either of us had spoken for some time as we got close to the city.
"Damn, I'd totally forgotten." No wonder my shoulders felt so tired. The weight of the gold in my jacket pockets was substantial, but I'd put it down to sheer exhaustion, not being rich. We were almost off the country lanes so I pulled over before we hit the busy city and parked up in a small picnic area where people could stretch their legs and admire the view.
We got out and sat at a rotting picnic bench while I emptied my pockets. Only then did it hit home just how much this was all worth.
"You know we're in serious trouble, right?" I asked Mithnite.
"I know. But how cool is this? I went to the dwarf HQ, met a princess, met Dragon, although I can't say I like him," he added hurriedly, "and besides, look at this."
I felt a pang of guilt for getting him involved. He was
"Um, that was my phone."
"And the man I was talking to is in a little bit of trouble I'm afraid."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Time to go pay him a visit."
What could I do? Whatever was going on there was no way I could even think of going up against this man. A fight would leave me totally dead, and I really didn't fancy being quite that dead.
Instead, I said, "All right, if you insist. We'll take my car."
"Ah, cars. I've heard so much about them. It will be fun to ride in a vehicle powered by a combustion engine. Lead on."
So, I led on. I turned to Mithnite and nodded at him. The poor lad was as confused as all hell, not knowing what was what, but he held it together and just walked ahead of us.
At the car, I unlocked it and said, "Stand back while I start it up. It's a bit temperamental. Mithnite, you get in the back. It's only fair to give up the front seat to our guest. Come on, in you go."
"Okay." Mithnite got inside and I closed the door. "Let me get the engine warm and then we can head off. It gives off noxious fumes when first started and you aren't used to them, so keep away until I give the signal, okay?"
"As you wish. How exciting." He took a step back, looking amused, concerned, and interested at the same time.
I got in, hardly believing how he'd changed from all-powerful sage to excited child in the face of a new experience. I started the engine, put my foot on the clutch, crunched into first gear, released the handbrake and got the hell out of there before he realized what was going on.
I'd just left the most powerful human being in the world stranded by an old, abandoned coal mine that was a portal to the dwarven realm. I hoped he wouldn't be cross, but right then all I cared about was getting away from what I knew in my heart was nothing but trouble. And I still hadn't worked out where his new old body had come from. Man was he powerful.
A Sidekick
"Wow, you are one seriously hardcore dude, you know that, Spark?" said Mithnite, sweating and hyper as he clambered from the back seat into the front.
"Careful! Hurry up and put your seatbelt on." I kept glancing in the rearview mirror, expecting to see an elderly man with white flowing hair and too much dwarven leather chasing after us like something from the Terminator, but all was quiet as we weaved our way out of the Welsh mountains.
The sun was low now, almost gone, and the mist rolled down the hills into valleys, temperature dropping dramatically as in the blink of an eye the sun gave up and dusk settled over us like a damp shroud.
We drove towards Cardiff in a sullen mood, unable to shake the strange encounter, the craziness of the day, and above all else, the knowledge this was far from over. What did Dragon want with Dancer? More to the point, what was he going to do with him? And us, what about us? Had I dragged Mithnite into something he had no hope of ever getting out of? Did I?
"At least we're rich," said Mithnite, the first words either of us had spoken for some time as we got close to the city.
"Damn, I'd totally forgotten." No wonder my shoulders felt so tired. The weight of the gold in my jacket pockets was substantial, but I'd put it down to sheer exhaustion, not being rich. We were almost off the country lanes so I pulled over before we hit the busy city and parked up in a small picnic area where people could stretch their legs and admire the view.
We got out and sat at a rotting picnic bench while I emptied my pockets. Only then did it hit home just how much this was all worth.
"You know we're in serious trouble, right?" I asked Mithnite.
"I know. But how cool is this? I went to the dwarf HQ, met a princess, met Dragon, although I can't say I like him," he added hurriedly, "and besides, look at this."
I felt a pang of guilt for getting him involved. He was
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