Dragons of Autumn Twilight - By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Page 0,87

the pot with its clawed hands. The pot tilted precariously once again.

"Get over there!" Tanis shoved Caramon to the opposite side, hoping the warrior's weight would keep the pot stable. Sturm hacked at the draconian's hands, trying to force it to let go. Then another draconian flew over, gauging its distance better than the first. It landed in the pot next to Sturm.

"Don't move!" Tanis screamed at Caramon as the warrior instinctively charged into combat. The pot tilted. The big man quickly returned to his position. The pot righted itself. The draconian hanging onto the edge, its fingers oozing green, let go, spread its wings, and floated down into the mist.

Tanis spun around to fight the draconian that had landed in the pot and fell over Flint, knocking the dwarf off his feet again. The half-elf staggered against the side. As the pot rocked, he stared down. The mists parted and he saw the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth far below him. When he drew back, feeling sick and disoriented, he saw Tasslehoff fighting the draconian. The little kender crawled up the creatures back and bashed it on the head with a rock. At the bottom of the pot, Flint picked up Caramon's dropped dagger and stabbed the same creature in the leg. The draconian screamed as the blade bit deep. Knowing more draconians were about to fly over, Tanis looked up in despair. But the despair turned to hope when he saw Riverwind and Goldmoon staring down through the mist.

"Bring us back up!" Tanis yelled frantically, then something hit him on the head. The pain was excruciating. He felt himself falling and falling and falling. . . .

Raistlin did not hear Tanis's yell-the mage had already gone into action.

"Come here, my friends," Raistlin said swiftly. The spellbound gully dwarves gathered eagerly around him. "Those bosses down there want to hurt me," he said softly.

The gully dwarves growled. Several frowned darkly. A few shook their fists at the potful of draconians.

"But you can help," Raistlin said. "You can stop them."

The gully dwarves stared at the mage dubiously. Friendship-after all-went only so far.

"All you must do," Raistlin said patiently, "is run over and jump on that chain." He pointed at the chain attached to the draconians' pot.

The gully dwarves' faces brightened. That didn't sound bad. In fact, it was something they did almost daily when they missed catching hold of the pot.

Raistlin waved his arm. "Go!" he ordered.

The gully dwarves-all except Bupu-glanced at each other, then dashed to the edge of the hole and, yelling wildly, flung themselves onto the chain above the draconians, clinging to it with marvelous dexterity.

The mage ran over to the wheel, Bupu trotting along after him. Grabbing the Staff of Magius, he tugged it free. The wheel shivered and began to move once again, turning more and more rapidly as the weight of the gully dwarves caused the draconian pot to plummet back down into the mists.

Several of the draconians who had been perched on the edge about to jump into the other pot were caught off guard by the sudden jolt. They lost their balance and fell. Though their wings stopped their fall, they shrieked in rage as they drifted to the ground below, their cries contrasting oddly with the gleeful shouts of the gully dwarves.

Riverwind leaned out over the edge of the hole and caught hold of the companions' pot as it reached the wheel.

"Are you all right?" Goldmoon asked anxiously, leaning over to help Caramon out.

"Tanis is hurt," Caramon said, supporting the half-elf.

"It's just a bump," Tanis protested groggily. He felt a large lump rising on the back of his skull. "I thought I was falling out of that thing." He shuddered at the memory.

"We can't get down that way!" Sturm said, climbing out of the pot. "And we can't stay around up here. It won't take them long to get this lift back in operation and then they'll be after us. We'll have to go back."

"No! Don't go!" Bupu clutched at Raistlin. "I know way to Highbulp!" She tugged at his sleeve, pointing north. "Good way! Secret way! No bosses," she said softly, stroking his hand. "I not let bosses get you. You pretty."

"We don't seem to have much choice. We've got to get down there," Tanis said, wincing when Goldmoon's staff touched him. Then the healing power flowed through his body. He relaxed as the pain eased and sighed. "As you said, they've lived here for years."

Flint growled and shook his