Helpless, held in place by the freezing spell, Kaldre expected the goblins to attack and hack him to pieces, but they backed away, down the mountain. It was then he realized that less than half the goblins had been creeping up the spur.

Where were the rest of them?

All kender love travel, and my Uncle Trapspringer was no exception…

As they journeyed north, Trap felt the warmth of the sun on his left cheek, while his right was cooled by a late afternoon breeze. Soon they should begin looking for a place to camp for the night. He was looking about for a stream-they should camp near water-when he saw a snake gliding over the grass. The reptile's intended victim was a bright blue bird who tugged at a worm.

"Oh, no you don't," Trap shouted and forgot he was leading his pony. He released the reins and scampered up the gentle incline. He picked up a rock, flipped his hoopak up and set the stone in the pouch. His aim wasn't as good as it should have been, but he did startle the snake.

"Your pony!" Halmarain cried, pointing down the slope. Trap's mount, freed from the restraints of the reins, had left the trail and wandered off down the slope toward a smooth stretch of range grass.

"Hey, where are you going?" Trap shouted at the animal and dashed after it.

The pony saw the kender chasing it and trotted away. It stopped just long enough to grab a bite of grass and chewed as it moved off again.

"Come here," Trap laughed, not at all irritated with the animal. It seemed to be teasing him, playing a game, and he was willing to take part in the fun.

"Will you stop clowning around and catch that pony?" the wizard yelled at him as the rest of the party approached an area of low bushes and boulders.

Trap turned his head to answer. Definitely not a good idea, he decided. While he had been looking back over his shoulder, he had stepped into a shallow swale of loose rock. He lost his footing and fell sprawling. By the time he regained his feet he realized the pony had trotted farther away.

"I won't be long, he's stopped-" Trap forgot what he'd been saying. He had reached a clump of bushes and out of it came a goblin. The kender stared at the humanoid, who seemed as surprised as Trap, for a long, uncertain moment. Trap recovered first.

"Hello. Would you mind helping me catch my pony?" he asked brightly. "Do you live here? Maybe you know where the rocks are. The grass hides them you see, and-"

"Kill kender, eat pony," the goblin interrupted with a snarl and stepped forward with his spiked club raised.

"No. I don't think so. I don't like that idea at all," Trap said, dancing back just as a second goblin appeared from concealment behind a second bush. Then he paused.

"Eat pony? Wow! That would be interesting. What does pony taste like?" He would not want to make a meal of his mount, but the question intrigued him.

It also intrigued the goblins. Their battles were usually against their own kind, kobolds, or humans, and neither of the two had ever found themselves in conversation with their enemies. They exchanged puzzled looks, apparently not knowing whether they should answer, or how.

Their confusion gave Trap just enough time to slip a hand into his pouch and fumble for one of the two rings he carried. When he had slipped one on his finger, he looked down at himself. He was still visible, so he knew he must be wearing the one that let him take giant steps. He took one step backward and nearly fell over the cliff behind him.

"Wow! That was close. Not such a good idea," he told himself as he teetered on the edge and looked down at the drop of thirty feet. Bruises were not interesting at all.

The goblins stared at his sudden removal from the reach of their weapons, but an enemy running away was something they understood. They howled and chased after him. One stumbled on the uneven ground and fell on his face, but the other skidded across the stones seemingly too intent on his prey to fall.

Trap heard a shout from up the mountains and saw more goblins. He heard Halmarain cry out, Beglug wailed, and then came the high pitched scream of a kobold. He saw one of the small humanoids racing for cover.

For a brief second, Trap stood on the edge of the precipice, wondering what was happening. Kobolds and goblins again. Up the slope he saw a goblin stagger into sight with a kobold spear in his chest. A hundred yards away the goblin who had suggested eating his pony was chasing the kender's mount. The animal trotted back toward the trail. The other goblin charged Trap as Ripple screamed his name.

Since he wore the magic ring, Trap knew he was in no danger and had planned to tease the goblin, stepping out of the way. He knew he was being attacked, but he was not at all angry about it. When Ripple called to him, he lost all interest in the game. His sister needed him, and he had no time for his attacker.

Holding his hoopak in front of him like a spear, he stepped forward, using the force of his giant step to drive the sharp, metal-tipped point through the humanoid's belly. The goblin's spear had been pointed at him and Trap had twisted to avoid the point, still it clipped the shoulder of his tunic. When the goblin fell backward, Trap jerked his hoopak free and looked around.

He had decided his first course of action would be to rescue his pony, but if his sister was in trouble, he wanted to get to her. What to do-which way to go? Would he reach Ripple faster if he caught his mount? No, he decided, but he was not going to allow the goblin to eat his pony either.

He reached into his pouch, hoping to find a sharp stone, but the only shapes his fingers found were round, smooth creek stones. He pulled one out and was setting it in the sling of his hoopak when he realized he had one of the glass flame balls from Deepdel.

"Great! Even Better," he told his hoopak. "Do your best," he murmured as he swung the weapon and let fly with the glass ball. He had aimed for the broad back of the goblin, but he had not reckoned on the uneven ground. In its attempt to catch the pony, the goblin had leaped up onto a pile of boulders, and the flame ball caught it on the back of its thighs. The liquid and powder flew when the glass broke, spreading the fire down the back of its legs and onto its buttocks.

The humanoid took two steps before it realized it was on fire. It gave a howl and a leap, hitting the ground hard as it landed in a sitting position. As it rolled on the ground, Trap dashed past on his way to find Ripple.

One of his giant steps took him past the burning goblin. The second brought him into a collision with a humanoid who stepped out of the brush and directly into his path. The force of Trap's magic steps knocked the goblin side-ways and off its feet. Its helmet flew off and its head hit a rock with a sickening crunch.

Trap fell between two bushes and landed so hard he was stunned. He lay on his side, wondering what had happened to him. Nothing felt broken, but he was several moments getting his breath. He stood up, still weak and a little dizzy. An interesting feeling, he thought; one of those experiences he would not have missed but one he had no desire to repeat.

Somewhere ahead was his sister and she would not have shouted for him if she had not been in trouble. He staggered, found himself bouncing about all over the mountainside, and fell sprawling again before he remembered he still wore the magic ring. What he needed, he decided, was the other one so he would be invisible.

He sat up, dug in his pouch and found the second ring. When he stood he could not see his own feet. He spotted his hoopak that he had laid on the ground while searching for the ring and picked it up. When he lifted it off the ground, it too became invisible. With the weapon in his hand he raced up the trail.