"We'll have to tell the others, you know."

Narmora considered. "Yes, I suppose so-although I don't know how they'll react." It was clear she was thinking primarily of Boпndil.

Tungdil smiled encouragingly. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise."

She smiled roguishly, and for a moment there was something дlflike about her after all.

On receiving Tungdil's summons, the rest of the company hurried to his chamber, where he told them of the turn of events. "Which means we'll be able to defeat the magus after all," he finished, waiting anxiously for their reaction.

"Strictly speaking, I ought to kill her," Ireheart said slowly. He showed no sign of making good on the threat.

"Strictly speaking," Tungdil corrected him, "you ought to kill half of her, but which half would that be? Is the left side human and the right side дlf, or the other way round? What if it's top and bottom?" He sighed. "Seeing as she's agreed to save Girdlegard, I think Vraccas will let us spare her. There's no other way."

Furgas was hugging the half дlf and looked worried, which seemed natural to Tungdil, who realized what a risk Narmora was taking in pitting herself against such a formidable foe.

"Furgas and Rodario will stay here in the firstling stronghold until we-"

"She's not going without me," the prop master said flatly. "Besides, someone with my technical ability would be an asset."

"And you're bound to need a first-rate impresario," added Rodario. A moment later, it occurred to him that the company had no obvious use for his talents, so he settled for looking handsome and putting on a winning smile.

"He's right, you know," said Boпndil unexpectedly. "The enemy won't be able to concentrate with his incessant jawing."

The other dwarves smiled, save for Goпmgar, who seethed quietly in the corner until he finally erupted. "Gandogar is in the Gray Range already," he hissed. "He'll be the one to forge Keenfire, just wait and see! You'll never be made high king." He looked scornfully at Narmora. "I don't know what you're relying on her for. She's only half an дlf." He flounced to the door and stormed out.

"Fine," said Bavragor, breaking the strained silence. "Narmora can half kill Nфd'onn, and we'll do the rest." Whipping out a tankard that he had smuggled from the tavern, he took a long sip.

The tension dissolved and they laughed in relief.

The following morning Queen Xamtys and her entourage of chieftains and elders accompanied Tungdil and the others over the shimmering bridges and deep into the stronghold's passageways and galleries that reminded the secondlings of home.

Bavragor kept stopping to inspect the masonry, tapping on the walls, running his fingers over the stone, and stamping critically on the floor. "It's certainly not superior," he said with unusual diplomacy, "but it's still very good."

At length they came to a vast steel door inlaid with runes of glittering gold. The queen recited the formula and they entered a chamber whose every detail Tungdil recognized from its counterpart in Ogre's Death. At the center of the room were eight rails, and around them a jumble of vats, pulleys, and gears. The engineers soon got the machinery going, and the air filled with hissing, steaming, and rattling, not to mention a smell of hot metal and grease.

"You've taken good care of the equipment," observed Furgas. "No rust, no dust. You could have been out of here in minutes, whenever you decided to go."

"I should have done this cycles ago," Xamtys said regretfully. She gave instructions for two convoys to be made ready for departure-the first for her own delegation, and the other for Tungdil and his friends.

Djerun had made a full recovery and was allocated a carriage of his own. The firstlings had repaired his armor over-night and it looked almost as good as new. Owing to his great height, they decided to remove the seats from the wagon so he could lie down on the floor. That way he wouldn't run the risk of beheading himself if the height of the tunnel changed.

The rest of the company were spread over two wagons: the five dwarves and the ingots in one, and Andфkai, the players, and the gems in the other.

She looks tired, thought Tungdil. He went up to the maga. "How are you feeling? You said yesterday that you nearing the end of your strength."

Andфkai tied her blond hair with a strip of leather to stop it from blowing in her eyes during the blustery ride. "Are you prepared for the truth?"

"You don't have to lie to me."

She sat down on the side of one of the wagons and watched the bustle. "My magic will soon be exhausted. Unless we pass through a force field, I won't be able to replenish my stores."

"Is that why wizards like to keep to their realms?"

Her eyes settled on Tungdil's bearded face. "Yes it's our secret weakness. As you've seen, we can still use our magic outside the enchanted realms, but we can't store it effectively. Straying from the force fields turns us into leaky pouches that lose their contents even when they're not in use. It takes only a powerful charm or two, and our energy is spent" She glanced at Djerun. "I don't like the idea of being defenseless when my magic runs out. That's why I learned to fight and why I always keep Djerun with me."

Tungdil thought for a moment. "Maybe we could see to it that Nфd'onn runs out of magic too."

She shook her head. "The spirit inside him has lent him extraordinary powers. I'm sure it won't work."

The dwarf caught sight of Narmora and remembered her trick with the lamp. "Narmora can use magic, can't she?"

"Not exactly. I don't know much about the дlfar, but they don't use real magic. It's more a case of innate abilities: the power to conjure up darkness, extinguish fire, influence dreams-small things that strike fear into human hearts and add to the дlfar's aura of power."

"But things have changed, haven't they? Sinthoras broke through your magic shield."

"That was cunning, not magic. Remember how the дlfar in the desert warded off my magic with amulets? The amulets were a present from Nфd'onn to protect them from the magi. Sinthoras tied his to an arrow and broke my spell." Andфkai rose. "We may as well get going." Their vehicles were ready, and the queen's wagon had been lowered onto its rail. "You mustn't rely on my intervention, Tungdil. I need to conserve my strength."

"I'll tell the others," he promised. Don't you worry, Keenfire will be forged, with or without your magic, he added silently to himself.

They joined Xamtys at the top of the ramps. The queen was studying a map. "I can't wait to find out what it's like in the tunnels," she said excitedly, stroking her downy cheeks. "Just think of the looks on their faces when I arrive; those menfolk won't know what's hit them." She jumped into the wagon and released the brakes. "Fashion Keenfire and make haste for the secondling kingdom. We'll be waiting for you." The wagon rolled away and vanished through the mouth of the tunnel. "May Vraccas be with you!"

"And with you!" Tungdil called after her. He climbed up the next ramp and took his seat in the wagon. The map of the tunnels, given to him by the queen, was tucked safely beneath his chain mail. Boпndil took his place next to him, while Bavragor and Balyndis sat together, laughing and joking, on the bench behind.

"Keep it down, can't you?" Boпndil said crossly. Leaving without his brother made him irritable and uneasy, and he felt thoroughly out of sorts.

Rodario made a few scribbled notes, then replaced the cork on his inkwell. He took particular care to seal the bottle tightly so as not to spill its recently thawed contents all over his clothes. "My, my," he said excitedly, "what an adventure! We should build a contraption like this for our theater. The audience could experience for themselves the thrill of traveling through a tunnel like the heroes of our piece."