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Weeks before, Glenn witnessed what Ron’s spear did to a husk mummy. Nothing. Some creatures were immune to anything but magic, or silver. His cudgel was ringed with silver for just that reason.
The gnome healer charged again and swung his weapon. The little leprechaun dodged again, a sneering grin on his face. Kirby attacked too, and missed. Petie dove and pecked at the little man to no avail. The blue jay may as well have been a moth, being more annoying than anything else.
They’d bitten off more than they could chew. A lot more.
The leprechaun stepped back and uttered another spell. Glenn tried to nail him with the business end of his cudgel before the green and brown clad little man could finish. The little man got initiative, so Glenn failed.
The next thing Glenn knew, he was standing inside of a big cage, shaped like a magical bird cage, with half-inch thick bars that glowed neon green.
The leprechaun’s spell trapped Kirby in a cage as well.
“Yer friend is unharmed,” the little man said, walking over to his pot of gold. He lifted a coin and examined it.
“Mystical Cage,” Kirby said and threw himself at the magical barrier, and fell back, shocked and screaming, like he’d latched onto a car battery’s positive and negative posts. “Greater Sylvan Mystical Cage,” he groaned.
The leprechaun observed Kirby picking himself up off the ground and shook his head. “Silly goblin half-breed.”
Glenn threw his shield at the barrier. It earned the same result as the half-goblin thief.
“It won’t affect you the same,” Kirby said to Glenn, regaining his composure. Their cages were only five feet apart. “You’re a gnome, a woodland creature, like him.”
“Yer companion’s on the smarter end of things,” the leprechaun said to Glenn before tipping his hat to Kirby, “but like I said, yer elf friend is unharmed.”
“Then where is she?” Kirby shouted. He tested a finger on one of the glowing green bars.
Glenn heard the sizzling buzz as fast as Kirby pulled his finger back. The half-goblin thief shook it and put it in his mouth. Glenn dropped his shield and grabbed one of the bars. It didn’t burn. If felt cool and had the consistency of hard rubber. With grim determination he leaned into the bars imprisoning him and slowly pressed his body through.
Once free the gnome hefted his cudgel. “Where is she then?”
“I’m here.”
It was Stephi’s voice. A little bit faint, and muffled.
“I don’t know where,” she said. “It’s dark and I’m stuck under...some stupid blanket. Or a tent.”
Glenn looked around. He didn’t see her. Petie, trapped in his own tiny cage on a branch above, chirped and warbled.
Stephi’s straw hat, resting on her pile of clothes, moved. A lump like a kitten under a shirt flowed down one of the billowing sleeves. A tiny woman, slender with long wavy hair and pointed ears crawled out. She stood naked, revealing iridescent wings and enormous breasts, in comparison to her miniature size.
The little winged woman spun slowly, looking up and around. Eyes wide, her hands shot up to cover her gaping mouth.
Glenn’s jaw dropped too as he stared down. It was Stephi, no doubt about that, but she looked like Tinker Bell, only a little bigger—if “bigger” could be used to describe her. And she was naked! He tried to look away, knew he should, but couldn’t. Curiosity and her stunning Appearance Score...
The leprechaun rocked back and forth on his heels, a smug look on his face. “Well,” he said, “now it appears I’m in the vicinity of being ten times bigger than ye.”
Stephi stared up at him and his crooked-toothed grin.
From within his glowing cage, Kirby said, “You got fairyed!”
The dire shock of the situation kept Glenn from getting aroused. He finally managed to avert his eyes. “And you’re naked,” he said.
Stephi gasped and covered herself with her arms and hands. She looked around, grabbed her linen blouse’s sleeve and clutched it in front of her. Reaching down with her free hand she lifted what had been an ankle bracelet holding the alexandrite gem and cinched it like a belt around her waist.
Glenn took a step toward the leprechaun. “Change her back,” he demanded.
“Or?” the leprechaun asked.
“We’ll see if the silver in my cudgel will change your mind.”
“Don’t kill him, dude.”
Glenn didn’t know if Kirby had that much faith in him, or if it was a psychological ploy. Still, he curled his lip and said, “If he survives the coma, he’ll have to learn how to walk without kneecaps. Not busted. I’ll dig them out so there’s nothing there to heal.”
Apparently unimpressed, the leprechaun said, “Look, lad, ye can try and fail, and I’ll summon me rainbow and be gone. Or...” He tossed his shillelagh so that it spun once and he caught it by the grip end. “You perform me a service, and I change yer friend back to her original elf self.” His gaze darted to Stephi, staring up at the leprechaun and Glenn, her wings fluttering slowly. “Bountifully original proportions and all.”
Kirby leaned as close to the glowing bars as he dared. “Brain him. Leprechauns always weasel out of their deals.”
The leprechaun spun to face Kirby. “With yer kind, we might. Both bloods that flow in those mortal veins of yours. But not so with gnomes and elves.” He glanced down at Stephi. “Or fairies.”
Glenn didn’t know what to say. The chances of him pounding the crap out of the magical creature before he escaped seemed pretty slim. But if his word couldn’t be trusted... Kirby’d played Monsters, Maces and Magic dozens of times, or more. He knew the creatures from the Monster Guide, their hit dice, magical abilities, and how they were supposed to act.
“Ye might want to get to making that agreement right quick.” The leprechaun flipped his shillelagh again. “Before, as you and your half-breed companion warned, the duke’s, or whoever’s men arrive.”
Glenn bit his lower lip. He looked down at Stephi. “What do you want to do?”
“Like there’s a choice.” She stomped up to the leprechaun, dragging her shirt by the sleeve behind her. The little man was more than twice her height, but that didn’t seem to bother Stephi. She let go of her shirt’s sleeve and flapped her wings and flew upward, reminiscent of a butterfly, until she was eye to eye with the little man. She held position there, a little unsteady, like someone peddling their first bicycle with the training wheels just removed.
Glenn was going to say something to Stephi, but just hefted his club and tried to look as menacing as possible. Not really an effective ploy for a gnome healer.
“Speak fast, breakfast cereal boy, and it better be good,” Stephi said, leaning close. “Because if it ain’t, Jax’ll be digging knee caps from your dead corpse.”
“Redundant.” The leprechaun looked her up and down, and smirked. “And what might be the point of a gnome mutilating a dead body?”
Stephi glanced down. The little man’s trousers showed he was enjoying the scene.
“Really?” she said and frowned. In a flash, she flew down, performing a martial arts front kick.
After the solid strike she lost control and crashed to the ground, but mitigated the impact by rolling into it and coming to her feet. At the same time, the leprechaun grunted and staggered back, holding his crotch.
Glenn lifted his cudgel, and stepped forward to follow up on her attack.
Stephi held up a hand, signaling for him to wait.
“Let Jax at him,” Kirby urged. “He’s been itching for a fight ever since he pounded that husk mummy into a pile of bones and dust.”
“We don’t have time to wait for your eyes to stop watering,” Stephi said. Still a little wobbly in flight, the former elf fluttered upward until she was once again eye to eye with the leprechaun. “What do we have to do before you’ll change me back—and it better be good.” She pointed up into a tree above. “But first, you’re going to release my familiar.” She paused and pointed back to her left, her gaze remaining locked with the leprechaun’s. “And my friend.”