The Earthrin Stones 1 of 3: Inheritance of a Sword and a Path

by Douglas Van Dyke

  “Wrong. Something is wrong with your logic.” Mel looked at Trestan with raised eyebrows.

  Trestan now stood more confused than ever. “What floor should I ask for? I thought that you just said that third floor to a human is second floor up in a gnome’s view of things?”

  “Oh, you forgot to convert for size.” Mel explained, “These devices are built for gnome floors, not human floors. Humans are twice our height! Two gnome floors equal one human floor. I’m sure that whoever bought this was reminded that they had to ask for the proper floor in terms of not only gnome floors, but the size between gnome floors. You have to go up two gnomish floors for every human floor.”

  About this time, Petrow, Trestan and Cat were wishing they had started writing all this down to keep track of things. Salgor just rolled his eyes and shook his head as Mel went on. “So, to go up one human floor, you ask the device for ‘two’. If I asked it for three gnomish floors up, I would find myself stopping between human-sized floors, specifically floors two and three in human terms, before I would find myself falling again because there was nay door there with bars to hang on to. If you want to go to the third floor…pardon me, the fourth floor in human terms…you ask for ‘six’. Cut the number six in half, and you see that this propels you upwards three floors…to human level four. Am I clear on that point?”

  Finally the whole explanation was ridiculous enough that Petrow started to burst out laughing. Trestan quickly followed suit. While the two young men were finding this all amusing, Salgor was quick to realize a flaw in the gnomish design.

  The dwarf motioned to the device and asked, behind a devilish grin, “So all these things are built the same, with nay concept of whether they are in a human-sized building or a gnomish cave?”

  “Aye,” Mel replied. “It is the same concept either way. Objects all weigh a certain amount. The device is given a floor to shoot for, it is smart enough to be able to weigh the person or object it is lifting, and then provides sufficient force to propel them up to the right level. So whether the object is five pounds, or a two hundred pound man, the device senses the weight and tosses them up to the requested floor.”

  “But my question is,” Salgor leaned forward. “The device doesn’t know how many floors there actually are above it, does it? What happens if you ask for a floor that is too high?”

  Mel gulped, “Well, mind you, riding lifts are still considered safer than riding horses. All lifts should have a number posted which will inform you the safest height you can be lifted to without hitting the ceiling. Also, if you ever do find that you weren’t able to get a hold of the floor you wanted, remember to say ‘zero’ again before you hit the bottom. Then the device can catch you and set you down easy. But generally, the device isn’t smart enough to know how high you can actually go, since it is designed to be portable and re-used elsewhere. Gnome lifts are always set to a maximum height of fifteen levels.”

  Salgor spoke again, “My question remains, what happens if you ask for a floor that is too high? Let’s say I moved the device over here where there is a low ceiling and asked to go to fifteen?”

  Mel winced, “Well, gnomish engineers expect people to use their devices properly, and at their own responsibility. The machine would weigh you and would provide sufficient force to throw you upwards fifteen gnomish levels. Needless to say, you would hit that ceiling rather hard.”

  Trestan and Petrow stopped laughing.

  After Mel’s discussion regarding how the magical lift worked, the party had a discussion on where to go next. The discussion soon degenerated into an argument lasting over half an hour. Mel wanted to use the lift and explore the upper levels quicker. Cat and Petrow agreed on expanding their search to higher levels, though they viewed the device from different angles. Cat was a bit frightened about the use of such a device, but willing to try it out. Petrow lost more and more fear over the device, for the more he dwelled on it the more he realized how valuable it must be. Whether or not they used it, he felt that if they survived their adventure they should take it with them to see what kind of cash they could get for it. The mere idea of taking the dangerous item along caused several protests from the others.

  Mel offered the most caution, “Be warned that unless you have a special magical cover over that disk, it can hear everything people say. If someone says a number or a word that could be interpreted as a number, the device will react to that and launch whatever is in front of it.”

  Petrow quieted, and Mel felt that his point had gotten across. Nevertheless, the young handyman kept stealing glances at the item, appraising its value. Salgor refused to have anything to do with the magical lift. The dwarf reacted with typical stubbornness, vowing to not move one step closer to the device. Trestan voiced his willingness to go along if the others did, but he preferred to finish exploring the ground floor first. In the end, Cat decided to do things her way. Though she was more scared than she would admit, she approached the device. Remembering to clear it by saying “zero”, she stood upon the lift.

  “Two,” she said, ever so softly that for a moment they doubted the device heard the request.

  With a scream, she suddenly launched into the shaft. The others could not see from their vantage point, but Cat rose two standard gnomish levels, (which in human terms was one level), and was quick to grab the handles at the opening there. Once she safely swung herself inside the doorway on the second floor, the screaming noise turned to whooping and hollering of pure excitement over the thrilling ride. The others listened as Cat let out her excitement.

  “Who’s next to join me?” Cat’s voice called down to them. “It’s fun! I only went up to the next level. It’s really not that bad when you experience it yourself.”

  Mel stepped closer to the metal plate. “I’ll go last. I will stay behind and make sure that everyone gets up safely. I’ll make sure the device is cleared before any approach, and I’ll call out ‘zero’ if I see you falling because you weren’t ready to grab the handles.”

  Salgor was quick to protest. “We need to keep together! I will not use that infernal magical contraption.”

  Petrow chided the dwarf, “You are going to let a little gnomish toy block you from getting your axe on that wizard?”

  Salgor glared at the blue-eyed man, “You are trying to tempt me. I don’t need that gnomish catapult to get my hands on him.”

  Trestan mustered up the courage to approach the platform next. He called up to Cat that he was going to be the first one to follow her. Mel cleared the disk, and the young smith stepped onto the plate. Trestan hesitated, taking in a deep breath to steady his nerves. Without being asked, Mel took the initiative and called out ‘two’. Trestan’s eyes went wide, and he half-turned to argue that he wasn’t ready. There was no time to speak before he was tossed up the shaft by the power of the device. Mel watched from below, but all Petrow and Salgor could observe was a scream coming from up in the shaft. The scream started to get louder and closer. Mel shouted out “zero”, a bare second before Trestan dropped back into view. Although the shaft was rather narrow, the young man was splayed out with arms and legs as far as he could stretch to catch on to the walls as he fell. The armor coverings over his knees and elbows scraped metal on stone as he came sliding back down towards the ground. The fall was stopped abruptly but easily, and Trestan drifted down the last two feet to rest easily on the platform. With a bit of heavy breathing, and panic in his brown eyes, he unsteadily got back to his feet. Trestan looked up the shaft at the door where Cat peered down as she waited. He smoothed his mustache, as if the close call had somehow messed up the long whiskers.

  “Not bad,” Mel spoke, being careful about what words he used. “Try again. Two!”

  Trestan tried to hold up a hand to stop the gnome, but again he catapulted upwards. This time, he succeeded in grabbing the bars by the sides of the doorway. Cat also reached out a hand to help. He was easily able to get past the doorway and into the hallway on the second level. He was also breath
ing heavy, and looking pale. Cat smiled at his reaction. Before long, the young man was also smiling and laughing to himself. A glance around the new floor revealed a hallway which branched to several doors.

  There was some time before the next person could be convinced to ascend the open shaft. Petrow insisted he was willing and able to go, but he wanted to be the last one up. Mel Bellringer wanted to stay behind as much as possible to help the others. Salgor Bandago refused to use the magical device at all. Finally, the dwarf was convinced to follow the rest of the party, but he did it his own way. The dwarf cleared the magical device with his bellowing voice, and then got his fingers into the holes around the sides of the metal disk. As Mel had stated, the lift was a thin metal disk, and easy to carry and move around. The dwarf dragged it away from the shaft, setting it in a corner of the room. The stout axe warrior produced a length of rope and a grappling hook. He threw up the hook, and waited for Cat and Trestan to secure it. The dwarf planned to go up the shaft the old-fashioned way, and he didn’t want the magical device under him when he did so. In stubborn defiance of using the magical conveyance, the dwarf warrior climbed hand over hand up the shaft under his own power. Mel stood underneath, shaking his head at the dwarf’s mistrust for handy magical items.

  Once Salgor was safely up, Mel prepared to go next. The gnome dragged the metal plate back to its proper spot. “Are you sure Petrow? I should go last to make sure you get up safely.”

  Petrow put on a disarming grin. “I’ll be fine. If I fall, I call out ‘zero’. Besides I have something in mind.”

  The gnome shrugged and used the lift to get up to the second floor. Once up, he stood near the entryway in case Petrow had any troubles. Cat, Trestan and Salgor were already checking out the hallway connected to the shaft. When Petrow appeared in the doorway, Mel noticed a rope tied to his belt which led back down into the shaft.

  “What is that rope doing there?”

  Petrow gave a sheepish grin, “Well, I just can’t leave this behind. I’m going to find what I can get for it.”

  The young man turned around and started pulling on the rope. Before long, over Mel’s stream of protests, the other end of the rope appeared. Petrow had tied it around the magical metal disk. The young handyman undid his knot, but started to strap the disk to his backpack.

  Trestan, Cat and Salgor were scattered along the length of the hallway. Each one also tried to talk Petrow out of it. Salgor actually opened up a rotted door, using it as an extra shield in case the magical device sent anything flying at him.

  Finally, Trestan said the wrong word, “Petrow! Just put it down. We have other things to worry about!”

  Trestan had spoken the word ‘to’, but the gnomish device could not discern the difference between that and the number two. Propped on its side, and strapped to Petrow’s back, it began to launch him parallel to the floor. The backpack and disk ripped away in one direction, while Petrow was catapulted across the floor in the other direction. The young man flew several meters before hitting the ground and sliding to a halt. He had been lucky that he wasn’t facing a wall when the wrong word had been spoken, or he would have had more bruises to show for it. As it was, he had to finally admit to himself that carrying the disk might be more trouble than it was worth.

  Trestan ended up being the closest to where the device landed. He shushed everyone as he cautiously approached it. The young man said ‘zero’, and proceeded to separate it from the remnants of the backpack. Once done, Trestan carried the disk into one of the rooms. A short distance inside the door there was a stone bench which butted up against one wall. Trestan set the device on its side, putting one edge on the bench and leaning it against the wall. He secretly found the humor that, by setting it on its side, he had now turned it into a Horizontally Mounted Pushing thingamajig, instead of a Vertically Mounted Elevation whatchamacallit…as Mel had referenced earlier. Once done, he turned his back on the device and left the room.

  No sooner had he returned when everyone reacted to a fearful sound. Mel was yelling out for help, but the sound faded away for some reason. Trestan and the others glanced frantically around the hallway, but no immediate sign of the gnome was to be found.

  Cat pointed to a small opening in the stonework, set against the wall near the floor. “Last I saw he was ducking for cover into there when Petrow was thrown across the floor.”

  Trestan and Cat rushed to the small opening. A rusted grate once covered the hole, but now sat propped against a wall nearby. The opening itself seemed to be either for ventilation, drainage of chamber pots, or maybe some other type of disposal used by occupants in times long gone. As soon as the two companions checked the opening, they saw an interior slick with grime, sloping down. They could hear Mel’s voice echoing for help from the depths of this new shaft.

  “This is too narrow for everyone but me,” Cat lamented. “Oh, where did he end up?”

  * * * * *

  Mel slid down a coating of slick grime in darkness. He yelled until his tiny lungs emptied, took a sharp breath, and screamed again. A light became visible, and he reached out for it. There was a momentary jolt as he caught the edge of a portal out of the shaft. He hung there for a moment, wondering where he was. There was a good light source coming from a room past a rusty grate, although he could not see much of the room beyond. Fearing the dark depths of the tunnel more than the lit room, he prepared a means to open the grate. He had a small amount of room to work with, as there was a cubby space between the grate and the slick ramp. His small stature barely fit.

  He reached into one of his many pouches and retrieved a small bottle. He set the bottle closer to the rusted metal grate and uncorked it. Careful not to get any of the substance on himself, he then poured the potion on every corner and edge he could cover. He used up the whole supply as he worked. Smoke wisps curled up from the bars, as well as a hissing sound. The visible effect wasn’t that the metal wore down, but rather that it seemed to get very cold and changed color. Soon the edges were brittle, and a shove from Mel knocked the barrier away. The gnome crawled through and got to his feet.

  He was in a large room, with an upper balcony looking down from the floor above. A great part of the floor had been marked by magical writings, many of which Mel had heard about or seen firsthand from mystical tutors. Curiosity caused him to pay more attention to the runes and design despite the presence of other things in the room. It wasn’t everyday that one saw these exact markings, and the presence of them here was quite alarming. The rest of the room was laid out properly for the ceremony, and someone had gone through a lot of trouble to have everything prepared and on hand.

  That someone was quietly watching him with cold yellow eyes. Revwar held staff in hand, his fingers wrapped around certain sigils along its length. The elf did not make a threatening move. He simply stared back at the small, unexpected intruder. There was the impression of amusement on the wizard’s lips, probably the result of watching the gnome wriggle through that small passage after screaming his head off. It was the eyes that betrayed the true menace building within the elf.

  The others all stood nearby, and all had been paying attention to the small opening which had been the source of so much noise. Bortun had a stance akin to an animal, one with muscles taught and tensed to spring. Loung Chao stood calmly, with arms folded in front of him. The Tariykan warrior stood lightly and well-balanced on his feet, obviously ready to move fast if his reflexes needed it. Savannah positioned further away than the others, but due to the miracles granted by her goddess, that was scant comfort.

  Since Mel was given time to speak, he did what came naturally. He put on an easygoing grin and started a conversation. “Pardon me for dropping in like that, it was quite accidental.”

  Four pairs of emotionless eyes stared back at him. Since Mel wasn’t going to get anywhere that way, he thought he’d try another tactic. “Sure you’ve got all those symbols done right? It can be very bad if you summon in that tough of a demon and you don’t hav
e all the proper protection in place. Hope you’ve studied up on it a lot.”

  “I have a good memory, gnome,” Revwar spoke. His voice was never raised above the level of normal conversation, yet as always he spoke with enough clarity that he could be understood plainly at a distance. “I had almost forgotten you from when we rode by your little wayside camp. We could have killed you there to silence your tongue, but a dead witness is sometimes more proof of passage than a live one. You sided with that band of troublemakers attacking our camp. You have an annoying habit of sticking your nose into our business. I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name, and I’m curious to know.”

  Mel was only too happy to introduce himself. “My name is Mel Bellringer. I am from the Bellringer family: makers of fine bells, chimes, gongs, and other acoustical instruments. I also dabble in magic, and am a devoted follower of Daerkfyre.”

  The gnome sorcerer showed no nervousness, but he knew that he was in big trouble unless his friends found him fast. The other band looked as if they would injure or kill him at any moment, so during his introduction he slipped one hand down by his belt. As he got a good grip, he pulled the lightening wand from his belt and brought it to bear against his enemies.

  “And I’d like to introduce my little friend, the zap-wand!”

  Mel then spoke the command to fire the wand, as the other band exploded into motion.

  CHAPTER 23

  Intense light burst from the tiny wand the gnome held. Thunder echoed loudly in the large chamber, and the roar resonated up the shaft to reach the ears of the gnome’s companions. The wand’s magical blast surged directly at Revwar, for Mel’s priority was to take out the other caster quickly. The elf had prepared for such a tactic when his group had first heard the ruckus in the shaft. Revwar already had his left arm partially raised, and he brought it up further as if his forearm could block the deadly magical attack. When the blast hit the arm an outline resembling a shield flashed into visibility. The flash illuminated the scowl held on the elf’s face. The shielding spell protected Revwar from the blast, although streamers of the wand’s bolt reflected in jagged patterns throughout the room. Black spots appeared on walls even as some items were knocked from their tables as the fading energies impacted sporadically. Revwar’s group kept low in the face of the deflecting energies, but no harm touched them.