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Authors: Rosemary Jones
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with a shake of her head at Ivy’s usual dismissal of the importance of baths. “But since I can’t cast fire spells, we have to hire someone else to cast them and store them in the ring. Of course, I can’t wear the ring either. Something about the fire spell turns my finger bright red!”
“So I wear the ring,” explained Zuzzara.
” ‘Dry Boots’ is what we ended up calling that combination of spells. Although the wizard who charged the ring used fancier words,” recalled Ivy.
“Dry Boots is what it is. Dry boots is what it does,” said Zuzzara. “Wizards can be too fancy at times.”
“Not me,” whispered Gunderal. She was still pale from the pain of having her arm strapped, but she used the fingers of her good hand to twist her curls back into their perfect, blue-black ringlets. Her potions were smashed, but her enameled hairpins and shell combs had survived the fall. She made two more twists of her hair, achieving a fetching topknot. “I just like to be warm, and clean, and well dressed.”
“An excellent preference,” Sanval agreed with a nod of approval at Gunderal. Ivy sighed and shook her head at the pair’s mad obsession with cleanliness.
“Zuzzara was talking about magic,” said Mumchance with a roll of his good eye at Gunderal’s grooming. “And even you, lovely Gunderal, can get carried away. You can’t just make it rain. When you call the rain, it has to rain with black clouds and lightning strikes, and a cold wind rising up from the earth. Has to rain until it floods, and we’re all floating away on the barn roof.”
“Just that one time,” said Zuzzara, stepping in front of Gunderal. She might fuss at Gunderal all day and night, but she always defended her when others did the same thing. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
Ivy let them chatter when they should have been moving because she knew the wizard needed time to regain some strength. But the delay still worried her. The water was definitely lapping over the edge of the riverbank.
“All I’m saying…” said Mumchance.
“Is that we had a magnificent rainmaking business until we had too much rain. You humans and demi-humans never learn to control your magicnot like dwarves,” said Ivy and Zuzzara and Kid all together. Gunderal giggled, a faint (lush of color coming back to her cheeks. Mumchance rolled his eyes.
“It’s an old argument,” said Ivy, “and it never quite goes away.” Zuzzara snorted.
“Well, Gunderal, my lovely wizard,” said Mumchance, “you’ve done even better this time. The river is rising, Ivy.”
“I know, I know,” said Ivy, “and it’s my fault, not Gunderal’s, that we’re sitting so low underground. If Gunderal feels well enough to move now, we need to find a way out. Mumchance? Kid?”
The dwarf nodded at Kid, who nodded back. The dwarfs
sense of direction underground was superb, but Kid came a i close second. Sanval started to say something, but Ivy laid a finger against her lips. Silence was needed now.
The dwarf closed his eye and cocked his head. He stomped his feet a bit, his boot heels ringing on the ground; and Kid stomped back, making the high sharp clicks of hooves against stone. Kid’s ears swiveled under his glossy curls, forward, back, and then flat to his head. Mumchance nodded left and then nodded right, and clucked his tongue. Kid whistled. The two opened their eyes at the same time and turned in the same direction.
“That way,” said Mumchance pointing off to the right. “There’s a tunnel entrance down there.”
“Maybe two, my dear,” said Kid, sniffing the air. “Big hole and little hole, running close together.”
Ivy nodded. Underground, Mumchance had the best sense of direction, but Kid often surprised them with his unerring instinct for the safest route or the quickest way to the surface.
Zuzzara bent down to pick up Gunderal. “I can walk,” whispered the wizard. “It’s not my legs that are broken.”
“What if you faint
“So I wear the ring,” explained Zuzzara.
” ‘Dry Boots’ is what we ended up calling that combination of spells. Although the wizard who charged the ring used fancier words,” recalled Ivy.
“Dry Boots is what it is. Dry boots is what it does,” said Zuzzara. “Wizards can be too fancy at times.”
“Not me,” whispered Gunderal. She was still pale from the pain of having her arm strapped, but she used the fingers of her good hand to twist her curls back into their perfect, blue-black ringlets. Her potions were smashed, but her enameled hairpins and shell combs had survived the fall. She made two more twists of her hair, achieving a fetching topknot. “I just like to be warm, and clean, and well dressed.”
“An excellent preference,” Sanval agreed with a nod of approval at Gunderal. Ivy sighed and shook her head at the pair’s mad obsession with cleanliness.
“Zuzzara was talking about magic,” said Mumchance with a roll of his good eye at Gunderal’s grooming. “And even you, lovely Gunderal, can get carried away. You can’t just make it rain. When you call the rain, it has to rain with black clouds and lightning strikes, and a cold wind rising up from the earth. Has to rain until it floods, and we’re all floating away on the barn roof.”
“Just that one time,” said Zuzzara, stepping in front of Gunderal. She might fuss at Gunderal all day and night, but she always defended her when others did the same thing. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
Ivy let them chatter when they should have been moving because she knew the wizard needed time to regain some strength. But the delay still worried her. The water was definitely lapping over the edge of the riverbank.
“All I’m saying…” said Mumchance.
“Is that we had a magnificent rainmaking business until we had too much rain. You humans and demi-humans never learn to control your magicnot like dwarves,” said Ivy and Zuzzara and Kid all together. Gunderal giggled, a faint (lush of color coming back to her cheeks. Mumchance rolled his eyes.
“It’s an old argument,” said Ivy, “and it never quite goes away.” Zuzzara snorted.
“Well, Gunderal, my lovely wizard,” said Mumchance, “you’ve done even better this time. The river is rising, Ivy.”
“I know, I know,” said Ivy, “and it’s my fault, not Gunderal’s, that we’re sitting so low underground. If Gunderal feels well enough to move now, we need to find a way out. Mumchance? Kid?”
The dwarf nodded at Kid, who nodded back. The dwarfs
sense of direction underground was superb, but Kid came a i close second. Sanval started to say something, but Ivy laid a finger against her lips. Silence was needed now.
The dwarf closed his eye and cocked his head. He stomped his feet a bit, his boot heels ringing on the ground; and Kid stomped back, making the high sharp clicks of hooves against stone. Kid’s ears swiveled under his glossy curls, forward, back, and then flat to his head. Mumchance nodded left and then nodded right, and clucked his tongue. Kid whistled. The two opened their eyes at the same time and turned in the same direction.
“That way,” said Mumchance pointing off to the right. “There’s a tunnel entrance down there.”
“Maybe two, my dear,” said Kid, sniffing the air. “Big hole and little hole, running close together.”
Ivy nodded. Underground, Mumchance had the best sense of direction, but Kid often surprised them with his unerring instinct for the safest route or the quickest way to the surface.
Zuzzara bent down to pick up Gunderal. “I can walk,” whispered the wizard. “It’s not my legs that are broken.”
“What if you faint
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