"Information? That means learning new things. I like information," Trap said, thinking magic facts might be both interesting and good to know.

Beglug had been wandering around the kitchen, his head down as he inspected the floor, possibly looking for more glass shards. He bumped into Halmarain's stool and jumped back, snarling, claws bristling as he eyed the little wizard.

. "Get him away from me," Halmarain cried and made shooing motions at the merchesti.

"I'll get him," Ripple said. She jumped down and took the little fiend by the arm. He was willing enough to sit on the floor by her stool. "He was just scared, he didn't attack you or anything."

"Read us some out of that book," Trap suggested.

"This isn't a story book," the wizard said, slapping it closed with her two small hands.

"And you didn't make much of a story about Alchviem," Ripple observed as she shifted on her stool. "I don't like it here anymore and I want to leave." Her lowered brows were storm warning signs, though the little wizard didn't know it.

"I don't think you understood what I said," Halmarain frowned at the kender.

"Of course we know what you said," Trap was quick to come to the defense of his sister. "Opening the portal made a scar. Remember the scar on Marchon Bolo's hand, Ripple?"

"How did he get that?" Ripple asked. "I forgot."

"Trying to open a chest that belonged to-"

"Forget Marchon Bolo!" Halmarain ordered. "We have a problem. We must take the little fiend to a wizard powerful enough to-"

"-Bagbus Jumpdown!" Trap triumphantly finished his sentence.

"You're not listening to me!" Halmarain shouted in anger. Her habitual irritation suddenly made Ripple angry.

"Wizard's gizzard, loud and yelling," she snapped.

Trap grinned at his sister. He knew the game.

"Cannot listen, always telling," he added

"Stomps and shouts and gives orders," Ripple continued while Halmarain glared, her flush of anger deepening.

"Makes big noise too," Grod added, inexpertly capping without a rhyme.

Both kender laughed and Grod joined in with clapping hands, then Trap gazed at Halmarain.

"We did hear you," he said.

"You want to take Beglug to another wizard who might open a portal and send him home," Ripple said. "I think sending him back is a good idea if he doesn't like to wander, though I don't understand why he wouldn't like to see new places, but then I remember hearing of a kender who didn't like to wander either, still, I think Trap might be right and he might have a belly ache, but it seems to me that if you can open and read the books, you should be able to take the stone and open the portal and then-"

"Isn't a portal like a door?" Trap asked, interrupting his sister with a new idea. "I can open doors, all sorts of doors, even when they're locked like the one out in the passage-"

"Stop all this chatter!" Halmarain demanded. "I need the help of a master wizard. Salrandin, who lives just south of Palanthus would be the best, I think. But master wizards don't just come when summoned, so I must take the merchesti and the gate stone to him. We either do this or we kill the little fiend before he becomes large enough to be a danger."

"You can't do that!" Ripple bristled. "He hasn't done anything!"

"And I have to take Alchviem's books and open them for the other wizard." The little wizard stared at the kender who still appeared to be unconvinced. She sighed and explained. "As wizard's go, I'm not exactly on the top rung of the ladder. I'm just learning my art. The first spell I learned was one of reading magic, but that only allows me to read it. I can't use the more powerful spells… not yet."

"You can make more salt men," Trap suggested hope-fully.

Halmarain continued as if he had not spoken. "I know the command to open the books; I can read them, but it would take a wizard with far more power to use what I can read. If and when we find one, even he may not have the knowledge of Alchviem, so we need to take the books with us."

"You've stopped saying 'I' and you've started saying 'we,' " Ripple pointed out. "Are you inviting us to come with you?"

"I've just realized I can't do it alone," Halmarain said with a sigh. "It will even be dangerous to take that monster through the city, There's nothing like the merchesti on Krynn. Some idiot will realize it's an abomination and try to kill it. People often try to destroy what they don't understand."

"You could disguise him," Ripple said.

"That's a good idea," Halmarain said, nodding, thinking out loud. "We'll do that, but the journey will still be too hard and too long. I don't want to try to make it alone. The easiest way to reach Palanthus would be to travel west to Gwyntaar and take a ship from there… but the crew would soon see through Beglug's disguise. We'll need to travel overland, by horseback, ponies, I think."

"I love riding," Trap announced.

"I hope so," Halmarain said. "I can't saddle a pony, and even if I could, I could never get that monster onto a saddle. That's why you must go with me."

"We stay," Umpth announced. "New This Place now."

"Plenty good food." Grod added. "All stay This Place." The kender now understood that the gully dwarf was using his race's term for home. "Last This Place knocked flat."

"You're right. This would make a good place to live," Ripple said brightly. "That is, if you want to stay here, but think of all the things you'll miss seeing, and now that I think of it you can't stay here, because you couldn't get out to get more food, and I don't think starving would be interesting at all, but maybe Beglug could teach you how to eat wood and rocks… wonder how they taste?"

The gully dwarves traded speculating glances, scratched different parts of their bodies, and appeared to come to some sort of agreement.

"We go with them," Umpth told Grod.

"Find new This Place." Grod agreed

"I won't travel with gully dwarves," Halmarain snapped.

"Gee, I don't see why not," Trap said, staring across at Umpth and Grod. "I think they're nice, and they did help clean up the laboratory, and even if they do eat a lot-"

"You're just being mean. You know you like them, or you wouldn't have asked-did you ask them to help clean up after Orander fell through the portal? I forgot. Anyway, since we promised to help find them a new home after their old one was knocked down, we have to stay with them."

"You must go with me. I need you to take care of the merchesti. Even if I could watch him day and night, that monster doesn't like me. And I need you to look after it while I study my spells." She met Trap's eyes in the manner of a person squarely meeting an unpleasant subject. "I can't make the journey and look after it alone, so if you don't go with me I'll have to kill it before I leave."

"No!" Trap was outraged.

"If its dead, I can travel with a caravan, the way I did when I came south."

"Oh, Trap, we'll have to go or she'll kill Beglug!" Ripple cried.

"We'll go with you, if you promise not to hurt Beglug," Trap said. "Actually, we'd like to see Palanthus. Would we see other interesting places?"

"We'll stay away from cities," the wizard said. "We'll stay away from as many people as we can."

"Thorns and thistles, that sounds boring," Trap announced.

Halmarain took a deep breath, puffing herself up like a frog. Then her look turned cagey. She folded her little hands and stared up at the ceiling.

"Then I suppose you don't want any magic."

"Magic?" Ripple was instantly diverted.

"Aglest clan got magic," Umpth announced, but neither the kender nor the wizard paid any attention to him.

"If you help me get Orander back from the other plane, he will reward you with all sorts of magic," Halmarain replied.

"What kind of magic?" Trap asked. "Will he teach us spells?"