Onward

"Are you ok?" Zan allowed his hands to be put behind his back once more as Gandr donned the angry gnome's, Grisley's, appearance.

"I am fine. I just need some answers. The gnomes lied to me. I want the truth." After another long walk, Gandr placed two more stones on the walls of a passageway heading back toward the main catacombs and the throne room. They also glowed green before melting into the walls.

"I wish you would tell me what those are for," Zan said as he watched.

"We are almost out. Hurry!" Their pace, which was already strenuous, became almost a run. The strange light of the tunnels was slowly being replaced with daylight from an outside opening. Just about the time Zan thought they were in the clear, a gnome came out of nowhere and ran straight into the Guardian. The heavy gnome knocked Zan to the ground.

"Watch where you are going!" The gnome yelled as he looked down. "Hey, wait…You're a human!" He looked up at Gandr, "and you have my face!" Sure enough, Grisley was looking an exact copy of himself.

"I can explain," Gandr held up his hands and took a step toward Grisley. Then without warning, the halfling hit him across the jaw and knocked him out cold. "He had it coming," he told Zan.

Unfortunately, Grisley's outburst brought those watching outside their exit into the tunnel. The pair were spotted. It only took a moment for the gnomes to size up the situation and see that something was amiss. But Gandr was already working on their escape.

"Time for the back-up plan." He closed his eyes and brought his hands together into a ball shape. Then he flattened his palms quickly as his hands clapped together. He did this four times in quick succession and with each motion the ground shook slightly. The third and fourth times, the tunnel not far behind them where Gandr placed the stones exploded violently. Smoke and dust filled the passage as chaos ensued.

"Run!" Gandr grabbed the human and they pushed past the soldiers as the gnomes tried to contain the damage. The whole passage groaned and rumbled as it began collapsing in on itself. The halfling and Guardian escaped out of the entrance just as it turned to rubble.

"What have you done?!" Zan was aghast.

"Keep going. They will be chasing us soon." Gandr brushed the dirt from himself as he ran. "I collapsed their eastern stronghold. I have noticed weaknesses in its construction before. They dug too tall and wide. I would have told them as much, but they would have just called me crazy or accused me of being a traitor, which I guess I am now." Gandr grinned. "Do not worry about the gnomes. We are rock based. They will not get crushed."

"But the prisoners! You have buried them!" Zan thought about the centaur and the elf.

"I placed the burst stones far from the dungeon. Those caverns are natural and far more sturdy. They can take the west passage to get outside. They will be safe. And lest you accuse me of further atrocities, only male gnomes were in those barracks. They keep the women and children, few as they are, safely stowed elsewhere." Gandr stopped to breathe. Zan came up beside him.

"You gave your plan a lot of thought."

"The gnomes do not exactly value deep thinking; they value action. In that way, Cafer and I are the same. Neither of us fit in, which is why I thought I could trust him. I was wrong. I should have known I was not one of them. I am a half-breed born of violence. I was merely their tool." Gandr began his walk again, this time trying to hide the sadness he felt. All the emotions he was feeling were annoying, but despair was the worst.

"None of that is your fault." Zan laid a hand on Gandr's shoulder. "You cannot let them define you. You have to make your own path. I am not a typical human…"

"That is an understatement," Gandr said with a slight smile. He wiped his eyes.

Zan acknowledged him with a nod. "The Fates made me a Guardian long ago when I was left for dead. I did not fit in before they saved me, and I sure do not blend in now. Silver eyes and an ageless face are not exactly common in the land of humans, you know. But I think I have found my place in the world. My job is to serve the Fates and protect the Empress." Zan grimaced, "Neither of which I am doing a fantastic job right now…My point is you, too, have a place somewhere."

"Thanks," Gandr felt encouraged. He closed his eyes and frowned as his happiness faded. "We need to get off the ground. I think I can sense something moving in our direction. And if I can sense them…"

"They can sense us," Zan finished. "Where should we go?"

"The place I like least…" he pointed toward a wide stream. "Gnomes hate water. They will not find us in there."

The man and gnome forded the stream. Gandr's face was tormented at first, but he managed to calm himself. "Let's walk upstream for a while," he said through gritted teeth.

Just then out of the water, a long serpent leapt directly at Zan's head. Neither he nor Gandr had time to react as four fangs emerged from the serpent's mouth and aimed for the Guardian's neck. A watery hand intercepted the beast and batted it on shore. The serpent writhed under the force of the blow. Recovering quickly, it took a second strike at the human only to be thrown clear of the water once more by a large wet arm. Realizing dinner would be harder to catch than expected, the reptile slithered away hungry and frustrated.

Inside the stream, two large hands lifted Gandr and Zan high into the air. A large watery face of a woman took shape in front of them.

"Uh oh, it is a water nymph," Gandr groaned. Although she had saved them from the serpent, the nymph held them tightly and looked displeased. She said something in the ancient tongue and Gandr quickly refuted her, "No, no! I am not chasing him. I am helping him."

The nymph raised one watery eyebrow in disbelief. "What did she say?" Zan asked with a small smile. The gnome got the impression that he knew more than he was letting on.

"She wants to know why every time she has seen the gnomes lately, they have been chasing humans." Gandr told him. "Can you please tell her we are friends before she squeezes the life out of me?"

Zan's eyes flashed silver. The nymph had seen other humans! "The gnome is with me! We are trying to find the other humans. Have you seen them?"

Using Gandr as translator, the nymph recounted her adventure with two young humans only a few weeks prior. Being a very detailed creature, she happened to mention that the Empress lost her shoes and part of her dress in the tussle with the gnomes.

"So that is how the gnomes got her clothing! But how did it come to us at the palace so quickly?"

Gandr shrugged, "If the package was small enough, King Baak probably paid a leprechaun. Those creatures have no scruples and can transport anywhere in the blink of an eye."

The nymph pursed her lips and made a slapping sound against the shore like a tapping foot. They were interrupting her tale.

"My apologies, good lady. Please continue." Zan bowed his head for his body was still encased in water. The nymph finished her tale, and the males talked about what to do next.

"I don't think we should go to the elves. It sounds like Her Majesty escaped from the gnomes more recently than she would have seen the elves." Zan stroked his chin.

"I agree. We should head for Dew Mountain." Gandr nodded decisively.

"Which way do we go?" The Guardian wished he knew more of the topography in the land of magic. "Just keep going north?"

"I do not know, exactly. I have never seen a map with the mountain marked." In fact, the gnomes only showed him where to go when they needed him to complete a task. They feared with too much information he might turn on them.

The nymph spoke emphatically with a gurgle. Gandr spoke back with his eyes opened wide. The nymph nodded. Zan felt the watery hand tighten around him. "Wait, what's going on?" He looked concerned.

"Hold on tight!" Gandr responded.

'…To what?!' Zan never got out the words before they sped head long down the stream.