"And he was sly about it, " Ripple said. "It seemed as if he was enjoying it. " Both kender shook their heads over the idea.

"No, we can't leave Halmarain, " Trap said with a sigh. "Even if she can control Beglug, she still can't saddle a pony. If you want to, you could go back to Solanthus. I'll return as soon as I can. "

"If you're staying with the wizard, so will I, " she sighed. "We'll go back together later. " She gave him a small smile. "Dumping manure on more dwarves would be fun, but not without you. "

Trap smiled back. He understood his sister's feelings. They had grown up together and had shared most of their adventures. They had spent most of last evening telling each other tales of what they had done while they had been separated. A chance remark in their conversation reminded Trap that the kobolds weren't the only ones on their trail.

"I'll climb that hill and see if the dwarves are following, " he told his sister.

While she led the string of ponies east through the valleys between the hills, Trap rode up a steep slope and dismounted near the top. He climbed to the summit where he could check their back trail. In the distance he could see the road that led south from the gate of Solanthus into the mountains. It was hardly more than a track, used only by hunters and dwarves, but it was not empty. Six small, stocky figures sat on their ponies and appeared to be in an argument. They were waving their arms, pointing in several directions. While he watched, three of them started riding south, two seemed inclined to head east, and one wanted to go west, but after some hesitation they followed the first three.

From Trap's position on the heights he had a good view to the east. The morning rain had left the air crystal clear. He was standing on the last steep slope. Two miles further on the hills gave way to rolling country. For fifteen miles, most of the area ahead appeared to be range land. Further on, they would enter a dark forest if they continued directly east.

"We should travel as fast as we can, " Halmarain said when Trap brought her the news about the dwarves and the terrain to the east. "The dwarves will learn their mistake quickly enough. Then they'll be on our trail again. "

"Why don't we just give them their necklace?" Ripple asked again. "It isn't right to keep other people's property. "

"That from a kender, " Halmarain sighed. She reached in her bag and pulled out the string of disks. Ripple called it a necklace, but the little wizard didn't think it had been created to be a piece of jewelry unless it was meant to be an emblem of rank.

"Can I look at it?" Trap had turned in the saddle and eyed the disks wistfully.

"Just don't put it in your pouch by mistake, " the little wizard said as she handed it to him.

Trap fingered the disks, enjoying the feel of the metal in his hands. The drawings were intricate, and on many disks he could not tell which were sketches and which were runes. He looked at each disk, flipping it over to see a different drawing on each side. He was so intent on his inspection he had not realized Halmarain had ridden on ahead leading Beglug's mount and the pack pony. Even Ripple had passed him.

"Grod see. "

"Gee! Sure! Why didn't we think of you. Yes, you look at it and see what you can make of it, " Trap said. "You're a dwarf, maybe you can make sense of it. "

"Pretty, " Grod said and removed his helmet. He was attempting to put the string of disks around his neck when the kender stopped him.

"No. Stop. It's not for wearing. Look at it and tell me what the drawings mean. "

Grod frowned, replaced his helmet and began inspecting the disks. He worked at the task for ten minutes and removed his helmet again.

"Stop that. I told you. I said you couldn't wear it, " Trap snapped, impatient with the dwarf. "We need to learn about the drawings. "

"Only know one, " Grod said, handing the string of disks back to Trap.

"You know one? Show me. " The kender gave the necklace back to the gully dwarf. He didn't really believe Grod could understand what he could not, but even Aghars were dwarves of a sort.

Grod listlessly flipped through the disks. "Only see high place like ball, " he said, pointing to one of the disks.

"High place like ball… " Trap took a grip on the disk that the gully dwarf showed him. He squinted at it and grinned. "You're right! It's one of the mountains we saw near the southern tip of the Vingaard Range, " he said. "Why would they put that picture on a disk?"

He flipped the disk over and inspected the back. Another tiny drawing was of a cliff they had passed when they had rounded a spur of that very mountain. He remembered the striations on the rock, and on the disk some were darker, as if outlining a door.

They had passed close to the entrance of a dwarf mine and had not even known it! Trap urged his pony to a trot and rode up to pace Halmarain.

"I know what one disk means, " he told her and showed her the drawing of the mountain on one side and the hidden door on the other. Honesty demanded he give Grod the credit for discovering the secret.

"Of course I would have recognized it right away, but I was working my way through the drawings and I hadn't come to that one. "

"I think the rest of the disks are the same, with mountain peaks on one side and entrance details on the other, " Trap said. Once he understood the purpose of the disks they were not too difficult to read.

"That's not good news, " the wizard said.

"What? Why? I think it's wonderful. We could visit lots of mines and caverns and-"

"That's why its not good news. Dwarves are jealous of their secrets. We can't even give the disks back. Those Neidar would believe we had memorized or copied all the information and could raid their mines if we wanted to. Returning the necklace would not save us. They'll kill us if they can. "

While she was speaking they followed a little valley out of the hills. Beyond lay the rolling grassland. Halmarain urged her pony to a trot.

"You said there was a forest ahead. We must reach it before the dwarves find our trail. Our lives and the rest of Krynn may depend on it. "

"Gee, riding at full gallop would be fun, " Trap said.

"No, I'm wrong, " she said, shaking her head decisively as she reined in her mount. "We shouldn't travel across that open country in daylight. There are too many people on our trail. "Let's find a place to camp, rest until sunset, and cross the plain tonight. "

"But-"

"Don't argue with me, " the little wizard snapped. "Somewhere ahead is danger greater than you can imagine. If I'm right and Draaddis Vulter is behind our troubles, he will have spies everywhere. "

Trap found another sheltered valley and the group slept through the day. Twilight found them threading their way through the hills and they reached open country just before dark.

"A lot of things can see in the dark, " Ripple had told Trap while they were saddling the ponies. He had grinned at her and said nothing, because Halmarain had arrived with her bedroll.

But by the middle of the night Trap decided traveling at night was even more boring than plodding along during the day. As far as he could tell, the grassy plain that stretched east from Solanthus to the border of Lemish was completely empty.

From time to time, just to relieve his boredom, Trap reached out to pluck a leaf from a bush as he passed it. He twirled the stems in his fingers, raised them almost to his nose to get a better look and threw them away when he lost interest. As he passed a particularly large clump of shadows, he reached down to pluck another leaf.

"Oops, " he said as he felt something that was definitely not foliage. He had plucked a feather.