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A small man, shorter than Glenn, stepped out from behind the gold-filled cast-iron kettle. He wore a Crayola green shirt with brown buttons that matched his brown trousers, and a brown bowler hat, which sported a green feather stuck into its brick-red ribbon. His boots were also Crayola green, and came to an upturned point at the toe. His curly red hair held wisps of gray. He had pale skin and freckled cheeks.
The diminutive man carried a club that, for some reason, Glenn thought of as a shillelagh. The weapon couldn’t do much damage as its size was proportional to what the man, barely three-feet tall, could wield.
Surprised, Stephi dropped the gold coins and stepped back. “Who are you?”
Rather than answer her question, the man straightened his hat and said, “Exactly who might you be, to be laying hands on me gold?”
Glenn noted the man spoke with an awkward Irish accent. Another of the game world’s quirks?
Stephi leaned forward and looked down at the man. “We found it first.”
The little man laughed at her, apparently unimpressed with the manner in which she towered over him. Nor did her impressive Appearance Score or feminine assets, each far larger than his head, have any impact. “Who said it’d ever been lost?”
“I think he’s a leprechaun,” Kirby warned.
Stephi looked back over her shoulder and asked Kirby, “What? Like with that kids’ cereal?”
“Maybe a little of that,” Kirby said. “But more like those Leprechaun movies.”
Stephi’s eyebrows scrunched together. “What movies?”
Glenn said, “Nobody’s supposed to be in these woods. Let’s just go, before the duke’s men show up.”
“And leave the gold?” Stephi put her hands on her hips. “We need it to get home.”
Kirby stepped up next to Stephi and took hold of her left hand. “You don’t wanna mess with his kind. It’s not worth it.”
Glenn wasn’t sure why Kirby was willing to forego a huge kettle of gold, but he trusted his friend’s instincts and advice. Although Kirby was only a junior high kid in the real world, he knew an awful lot about how the Monsters, Maces and Magic game world worked.
“Gurk’s right,” Glenn said to Stephi. Then he made eye contact with the little man, the leprechaun, if Kirby was right. The man’s emerald green eyes looked determined. Bushy eyebrows and prominent crow’s feet framing them emphasized that. His teeth, crooked as a rickety picket fence, suggested a hidden malevolence. “Sorry, sir. We just saw the rainbow and—”
Stephi yanked her hand from Kirby’s grip before Glenn could finish. “No, we’re not leaving. Don’t you want to get home?”
“Yer half breed companion,” the small man said, disgust dripping from his words, “has the right of it. I am a leprechaun, plain and true.” He stared up at Stephi. “It’s a rarity for yer people, or gnomes for that matter, to be interfering in me people’s doings.” He pointed his shillelagh up at Stephi and shook it. “Now, you, be off.”
“Don’t you shake your stick at me, you racist little man. I’m like ten times bigger than you.” She leaned forward, menacingly. “I’ll take that little stick away from you and—”
“Marigold,” Kirby said, trying to grab ahold of her hand again. Then he said to the leprechaun, “Please excuse her. She don’t understand.”
Stephi yanked her hand away again. Petie released a jeer call and flew down from the branches above, and dive bombed the half-goblin thief. Glenn ran forward and shouted up at Stephi, “Listen to Gurk. Let’s go before the duke’s men get here and arrest us.”
Stephi took a deep breath and gazed back down at the grinning little leprechaun. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but we need that gold. I’m sorry but...” She didn’t finish the statement. Instead she fired off a quick spell.
The leprechaun blinked once, then sneered. “Oh, that’s how ye want to play this, me lady elf?”
Her Slumber Spell had failed. Either the little man was able to resist magic, or he was a creature with too many hit dice to be affected.
The leprechaun rubbed his hands together and Glenn just knew it was going to be bad. The gnome healer charged the leprechaun, intending to bowl him over with his shield.
The little man sidestepped easily.
Kirby flung two darts at the leprechaun. One missed. The second struck, but fell away, leaving no damage.
Stephi’s eyes went wide, possibly sensing she’d gone too far. Drawing upon Kim’s warrior monk skills, her essence trapped within the soul gem, Stephi attempted a sweeping kick. The leprechaun nimbly leapt over the magic user’s booted foot.
The agitated leprechaun completed his spell and pointed at Stephi.
A flash of rainbow colors encased her, then disappeared. Along with it, Stephi was gone. Her blouse, pants and boots collapsed to the needle-covered ground. Her straw hat landed atop the empty garments.
Kirby’s face twisted in rage. “Nail the muther with your club!” he yelled, yanking his cutlass from its scabbard.