A long, thin boat glided past us. Three paddlers pulled the boat soundlessly through the water. Their muscled arms pulled hard, their heads stuck above the side of their boat. They looked familiar somehow.

“Gnomes!” I said.

The boats glided through the water. They put as much space between us and them as they could.

“Help! Over here!” Chastity waved. The gnomes seemed not to notice as they paddled past. To ignore a stilt is second nature to a gnome, if I remember correctly. I raised my head over the side.

“Brothers! Save us,” I shouted in the language of my youth. The words sounded strange in my ears. Pain seared down my neck from the effort. The last Gnome in the last boat turned around and looked. I waved. He spoke to the others in his boat. The paddlers stopped. They reversed their strokes. Their boat spun around and soon it glided along side us. The other two boats followed and stopped a safe distance from us.

“Ouruth gibbin. It that happened?” The gnome in the front of the boat spoke to me. His brown eyes flickered over my neck. He gazed at Ragnar and Reese. I tried hard to understand the language of my race. My neck hurt burned. I stared at him.

“Isthmith from, shighth be?” he asked.

“I am Telle Smellme. I’m from Pusstown,” I said. The gnomes in the boat looked at each other. They muttered back and forth.

“Do you speak Twaddlese?” Chastity asked.

“We do,” he said.

“We have been hurt by a dragon,” she said. The gnomes in the boat ducked at the word and frantically looked in the sky.

“It’s alright. We killed it, it was very small apparently.” she said. Their heads all turned at once. Their mouths opened in disbelief.

“You killed a dragon?” they all asked together.

“It was young,” Drexel said.

“You must come with us at once.” The leader turned and called to the other boats. They paddled to us. Drexel and Chastity helped them tie ropes to our raft and soon they were pulling us upriver.

We glided peacefully behind them. Their paddles splashed in quiet rhythm. A cloud of stenchflies buzzed behind us. Ragnar barely breathed and Drexel had to keep the flies from laying eggs in his rancid wounds. The wound in my neck itched. I finally clawed at the skin. Chunks of dead flesh came away. I forced myself to stop scratching after that. Chastity poured water over Freya’s head to keep her cool.

The banks became marshy. The trees gave way to bushes. Tall green stalks stuck out of the water. We came to a bend in the river. The banks vanished under black water, thick with reeds. Rather than follow the sluggish river, the paddlers pulled us into the swamp. The sharp smell of rotting plants overpowered the stench of our own putrid wounds. The reeds bent under our boat and popped back up behind us. Our pace slowed. Swarms of Burrbiters soon covered us.

“Sticknits! I hate them,” Chastity said. She squashed a bug on her thigh.

“Burrbiters,” I said.

“What?” She waved her hand through the horde of bugs around her head.

“These are called Burrbiters,” I said.

“Burrbiters are fatter and slower, easy to kill. These are sticknits. They hurt more when they bite too,” she said.

A tiny ball of fire burned into the back of my hand. I looked and saw a tiny burrbiter. I tried to swat it but it was gone in an instant.

“Oh,” I said. A red bump grew where the bug had been.

Ragnar was covered in the sticknits. Drexel gave up swatting. The sticknits competed with stenchflies for Ragnar’s skin. His body looked like a moving mass of crawling bugs.

“At least cover him!” I said.

“With what?” Drexel asked. I looked at the pile of rotting bandages in the back of the boat. Ragnar’s own clothes were burned and rotten. I pointed to the sail that hung in shreds off the mast. Drexel sighed and pulled down a few strips. He lay them over Ragnar. The reeds thinned we glided through the swamp. The swamp gave way to an open bay. Fresh spring water bubbled up from the far side. A hill rose above the water at the end of the bay. Small, clay houses dotted the land. At the top of the hill was an small stone castle.

“It’s a gnome town!” I said. Chastity looked across the water. A breeze blew. The paddlers picked up their pace. The gnomes in the front waved their arms.

“Its Peep!” They said. As soon as our boat hit the land, the gnomes jumped from their boats and shouted.

“We need help!” They said. That was one sentence I remembered perfectly in Gnomish. Faces appeared from behind bushes and houses. Our approach had been watched by the entire town. Gnomes jumped from hiding and ran to our boat. Dozens of hands carried us uphill, through the town. Curious faces pressed through the crowd.

“Urgush dragon mish kryll!” was a phrase I heard over and over.

They took Ragnar into a small house. Then Freya. They took me into the next house. They carried me through the kitchen to a room with a bed. They lay me down.

“Wait for Gnird,” an old gnomish woman said to me. Her brown skin was speckled with white age spots. She pulled the bandage from my neck.

“You will be fine, Gnird will see to that,” she said. She couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes.

There was a knock at the door.

“That’s him now.” She left and returned with a fat gnome in a brown frock. He looked down at me. His forehead sloped back from his brow. Rolls of fat wrinkled above his eyes. He bent over me and held a stone cup to my lips. I drank. The liquid was bitter. I swallowed twice and pushed the cup away.

“You will sleep soon. Then we’ll look at your wound,” he said. I started to reply but he put his finger to my lips.

“Sleep,” he said. I took his advice and closed my eyes.

I don’t know how long I slept. The pain in my neck woke me several times. It burned. More bitter drink poured into my mouth and I went back to sleep.

One day, I felt coolness on my neck, instead of the usual searing pain. I opened my eyes. A gnome stood over me. She was beautiful. A female gnome with a broad nose and smooth sloping forehead dabbed my neck with a cool sponge. Her eyebrows curved deliciously over her brow.

“You’re doing much better,” she said. She smiled.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Gnancy. I’m your nurse,” she said. She dipped the sponge in a basin by the bed.

“How long have I…” I turned my head to face her.

“You’ve been resting for several weeks,” she said. She wiped my neck with the sponge. The slow strokes wiped the pain away.

“We were worried about you.” She brought the sponge down my chest.

“You are a very lucky gnome.” She extended my arm and put my hand in her lap. She wiped my arm with long, slow strokes. Her lap was warm. “And very brave,” she said. She worked the sponge over my arm and back toward my neck.

“Thank you for helping us,” I said. She smiled. She dabbed the sponge on my neck. Her brown eyes sparkled. They were so clear they looked wet. My heart pounded in my chest.

“You are so beautiful,” I said. She looked away.

“Ouch!” Pain shot up my neck. She stuck the sponge into my wound and scrubbed.

“Hello Gnird, I was just cleaning the wound,” Gnancy said. I jerked my head and saw the fat gnome walk into the room.

“Excellent!” He looked at my neck. “I’m glad to see you’re awake!” A smile squeezed between his plump cheeks.

“My friends…” I said. Gnancy looked at Gnird.

“A strange group,” he said. He didn’t look me in the eyes. “The green ones, elves, we don't see many of them. And that manimal, an odd one indeed,” he said.

“What about the stilts?” I asked.

“You just get better,” he said. He poked at my neck. I winced.

“It’s healing well. Gnancy, that will be all. Gnelda can feed him lunch,” he said. Gnancy bowed and left the room. I stared after her. The old woman appeared.

She came with a tray. There was soup and some greens, and a hard roll. After Freya’s cooking it seemed a little plain. The soup looked familiar. The smell reminded me of my mother’s cooking. Gnelda helped me sit up. She propped me up in the bed against some pillows.

“How brave!” Gnelda said. She spooned the bland soup into my mouth. “So, you’re a dragon slayer.”

“How are my friends?” I asked between swallows.

“Plenty of time to talk about them later,” she said. Her voice was scratchy. She must have been very old. She broke off a bit of bread and stirred it into the soup. It tasted sweet. I swallowed it without chewing. I was hungrier than I realized.

“Where did Gnancy go?” I asked.

“She’s very busy. She lives in that house up on the hill,” Gnelda said.

“Will she be back?” I asked. The old woman held a spoonful of soup in the air. The side of her mouth pulled into a smile.

“You’re fond of her, are you?” She stuck the spoon into my mouth before I could answer.

“Don’t you worry about Gnancy,” she said. She pulled the spoon out.

“You spoke in your sleep.” She wiped my chin. “We couldn’t understand most of what you said. Just the mumblings of fever I suppose,” she said. I nodded. I had no memory of saying anything.

“But there was one word we could understand.” She passed me a glass of milk. I took a sip. I looked at her. “Pusstown,” she said. I spat the milk out through my nose. I choked and coughed.

“There, there,” she said. She wiped my chin again. “We didn’t know there were any survivors of the incident,” she said.

“Incident!” I said. She held the spoon in front of my face but I pushed it away. “May Kraken’s horn rip those smoogers apart!” I said. My neck began to hurt.

“Smoogers?” she asked. She frowned.

“Barkskins! Yellowtoes. Goblins! The animals that killed my family,” I said.

“Oh dear. Were you speaking a Goblins language in your fever?” she asked. Her thin eyebrows raised.

“I’m not hungry!” I said. I pushed the tray onto the floor. The bowl shattered and soup sprayed across the floor.

“This must be very hard for you.” She didn’t seem upset at all. She took the sponge from the basin and cleaned the soup. She swept the dishes onto the tray and turned to leave.

“You’ll be fine, young gnome,” she said. She left the room. After that there were no more visits from Gnancy. Gnelda fed me, and Gnird stopped by to inspect my neck. My strength slowly returned.

“You have visitors,” Gnelda said. I looked past her to see Chastity and Drexel. Drexel ducked as he walked into the room. Chastity wore a very tight robe. Somehow she had squeezed into gnomish clothes. Her breasts practically popped out of the top. Chastity ducked a second too late and her forehead hit the beam across the doorway with a dull thud.

“That’s stilts for you. Quick to judge, slow to learn,” I said. I laughed loudly. Drexel smiled.

“I’m still getting used to the size of the town,” she said.

“And I never judged you, Telle.” She rubbed her forehead.

“No, I guess you didn’t. Ragnar is another story,” I said. Chastity and Drexel exchanged looks.

“How are the others?” I asked.

“Freya is on her feet. Reese should be up in a few days,” she said.

“How is Ragnar?” I asked.

“They haven’t let us near him. We have no idea,” Chastity said.

“But you look great, Telle!” she said.

“I’m getting better,” I said. Chastity reached into a front pocket.

“I brought you something.” She pulled out my idol of Kraken and handed it to me. I brought my right hand to my forehead and then extended my arm.

“May his horn miss you,” I said.

“May his horn miss you,” she replied. Drexel smiled. I placed the statue next to the basin on the table.

“Peep is a great little town,” Chastity said.

“They think we’re heroes,” Drexel said. He smirked.

“We killed a dragon, didn’t we?” I asked.

“A very young dragon. An adult would have eaten us all,” he said.

“I feel pretty eaten,” I said. Chastity put her hand on my forehead.

“Poor Telle.” She pouted her lips together. I felt a little tingle.

“We’ve got to go to some honorary dinner tonight. It’s a rehearsal for some party. They say you’ll be up and about in a few more days,” Chastity said.

“That’s more than they’ve told me!” I said. They laughed and left the room. I looked at Kraken on the table and said a prayer for Ragnar. Their visit had worn me out. I went back to sleep.

“Today you leave the bed!” Gnelda announced. She pulled down the covers. She helped me into some clothes that fit. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and was happy to feel the floor under my feet. Everything was the right size. I got to my feet and wobbled a bit.

“The town is having a celebration of life tonight,” Gnird said.

“Goddess Flownia has shown you great kindness.” He tightened the bandage on my neck. My mouth watered. Savory smells came from pots on a small stove. I said a prayer to Kraken before I ate at the table. I felt good. The others didn’t seem to notice. They chatted about the gossip of the town we were in, Peep. The spoke of some false goddess, Flownia. I nodded politely.

“In Pusstown, we fear the horn of Kraken, the one true god.” I said. The conversation stopped. Gnird cleared his throat.

“Yes, well. Tonight will be a celebration of life, and thanks will be given to Flownia,” he said. She looks after the gnomes of Peep. I just nodded and finished lunch. These people were heathens.

Sounds blasted through the evening air. Gnomes blew through wooden tubes and metal horns.

“Hooray for the dragon slayers!” Gnomes cheered as we passed. Gnird was carried on a platform.

“Reverend Gnird, bless me!” Gnomes ran to his platform. He smiled and patted several on their forehead.

“Flownia calls you!” he said. We stopped by several other homes and one by one, Freya, Reese, Chastity, and Drexel joined the parade. Freya wore her leather wrap. Her usual frown looked very somber amidst the celebration. Chastity and Drexel grinned. Jenna wore some gnomish clothing that was a bit baggy on her. She had a patch over one eye. Reese joined us, still greasy, but much healed. We were lead to a dinning hall with long tables.

Ragnar was nowhere to be seen. I sat with the others at a long table.

“You look better than the last time I saw you,” Jenna said.

“Will it heal?” I asked. I looked at her patched eye. Without a word she lifted the patch. Angry red scars wound into a knot over the shriveled socket.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Well. Has anyone heard a thing about Ragnar?” she asked.

“Nothing.” Freya said.

“Oh, he’s probably fine. I heard this party is for him,” Chastity said. She smiled.

“Drinks!” Reese said. I turned and felt my heart jump inside my chest. Gnancy stood at our table with a tray full of mugs.

“Gnancy!” I said.

“Please, join us,” Jenna slid over to make room at the table. Gnancy handed out the silver mugs and sat beside me. Blood rushed to my face.

“Telle, have you met Gnancy?” Chastity asked. She could tell i was blushing.

“She took care of me,” I said.

“I cared for all of you,” Gnancy said. Her wonderfully thin lips turned up in a bashful smile. She wore a scarf over her head that nearly covered her entire forehead, and a blue and red checked dress.

“To Gnancy!” Reese raised his mug. He tipped it back and drained it in one swallow.

“Ahhh! Telle, you’ve got to try this!” He slid my drink toward me.

I grasped the metal handle and took a sniff of the brown juice inside. A sharp smell burned my nose.

“Open your throat!” Reese said. He swiped Jenna’s drink and tossed the liquid back into his throat.

“To Gnancy!” I said. She blushed as I swallowed the entire contents of my mug. The voices and singing in the pub vanished. I heard my own heartbeat. Heat from my stomach spread through my body. The world slowed to a stop. I looked from side to side. Reese looked at me. His mouth moved. I heard nothing. Then the heat retreated back from my head and into my stomach. The sounds of the room returned.

“Are you all right?” Freya asked. I smiled.

“I’m great!” I said.

Reese handed me another mug. I swallowed and again the warmth spread through my body. Happiness spread from my belly into every part of my body.

Freya looked into her mug and frowned.

“What is this exactly?” She asked Gnancy.

“It is a traditional drink for the celebration of life,” she said. The music blared. There was cheering. Gnird stood upon a platform at the front of the hall. A giant blue curtain was behind him. Gnomes crushed around the stage. Gnird laughed and shook hands. I looked at Gnancy. Her brown eyes shone in the lamplight. I felt the same tingling over my skin that I felt when I looked at Chastity. Only this was much stronger. My heart pounded.

“Gnancy!” I shouted over the noise of the party. She looked at me. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her face toward mine. I felt her breath on my face.

“You are beautiful!” I said. She smiled and then quickly turned her head. A young male gnome stood near.

“Telle! Meet my brother, Gned.” I let go of Gnancy.

“Gned. Hello.” I reached out and patted his shoulder. My breath was heavy, as if I’d been running.

“He’s been pestering me like a sticknit to introduce you!” Gnancy said. Gned looked at me eagerly.

“I want to hear about the dragon!” he said.

“They say you killed it with this!” He held my dagger in his hands. He offered it to me.

“Gnancy said I could give this to you,” he said. I took the knife. Freya stared at me. I set it on the table.

“To Telle, the dragon slayer!” Reese shouted. He put another mug in my hand and we both drank. I barely felt the heat of the liquid this time.

I mumbled a bit about the fight to Gned. He listened with rapture. Freya frowned. She sat perfectly still. The only thing that moved were her eyes. They darted back and forth, scanning the room. Jenna seemed equally unhappy. Drexel was nowhere to be seen. Chastity drank with Reese and me, and laughed at the other Gnome's jokes. As we told Gned about the fight, Gnancy let her hand rest on my knee. All the blood in my body rushed to that spot. I became dizzy.

“More drink!” Reese shouted. His face was out of focus.

“I’ll be right back.” Gnancy got up and vanished in the crowd. The blaring horns were so loud I heard nothing else. Gned took Gnancy’s place beside me and leaned into my ear.

“Mr. Smellme, you’re so brave!” I smiled and nodded.

“I need your help,” he said. I turned to face him. I put my hand on his shoulder.

“Anything,” I shouted over the shouting and laughter.

“Gnancy is in trouble. She’s married to a terrible man named Gnorman,” he said.

“Married!” Blood rushed to my head. The drink swirled and gurgled in my belly.

“he mistreats her,” he said.

“What?” I asked. Before he could say more, Gnancy returned with another tray full of drinks. She set it on the table. Reese handed me a mug and took two for himself. I drank. The room wobbled a bit. I turned to face Gnancy. Before I could speak to her, the music stopped and the conversation died down. Gnird stood before us all.

“It is time for the ceremony!” he announced. There were cheers. He smiled and waited for the cheering to stop.

“Friends! We are here in the name of our goddess Flownia, to celebrate life!” He raised his hands. There were more cheers. Gnancy and Gned clapped.

“Our friends slew an evil creature!” He waved his hand across the table. From nowhere, Flowers flew threw the air and landed all over us. There was clapping. Reese jumped onto the table and kicked his legs out in a dance. He stepped into a mug with his left hoof. It stuck. He slipped and landed on his back. The crowd laughed merrily.

“One of their companions is now with Flownia. Blessed Ragnar, tonight we send you on your way!” He pulled the blue curtain open. A white urn sat on a pedestal. Gnird picked up a giant hammer. He raised it over his head. Music started to play. He brought the hammer down. The urn exploded. The air filled with a cloud of white powder. It looked like ashes.

“No!” Freya shouted. She jumped onto the table.

“You burned him?” She dove over the heads of the crowd and sailed into the side of Gnird. He toppled off the platform.

“You cooked my friend!” Freya screamed.

There was more shouting and yelling. Reese and Chastity were silent, mouths agape. The music stopped suddenly. Freya shouted from within the swarm of people onstage.

“Barbarians!” I heard her fist connect with flesh. I got up and the ground wobbled underneath me. Gnancy looked up at me. Her beautiful thin lips were pinched in worry.

The drink swirled in my belly.

“What’s this!” I reached out and pulled the scarf off her head. A yellow bruise stained her brown forehead.

“Ish true about the husband then?” I asked. I stood and staggered forward.

“Be calm Telle.” She took a step backward. She held her hands up in front of her.

“I wanna know why your Gnorman’s gotta do that!” I shouted. There was crashing from the platform. Panicked gnomes piled on the floor as they stampeded out the door.

“It was not for you to decide!” Freya’s voice cut above the noise. Her hands appeared over the heads of the crowd in a blur.

“Everybody stop!” I shouted. I grabbed the dagger off the table. I tried to grab Gnancy but she ducked out of the way.

“Telle,” she said.

“Don't try to protect him,” I shouted. I spit on the floor to show my disgust, but it mostly just dribbled down my chin.

“I’m Telle Smellme. I survived Pusstown while you had your stupid powder parties!” I swiped my dagger in the air in front of me. The panicked crowd that had been running from Freya turned and scrambled to get away from me.

“Bring me Gnorman and I’ll cut his head off!” The floor heaved underneath me.

"Now this is a party," Drexel said from somewhere nearby.

There were screams. The gnomes pushed and shouted. They rushed to get away from me. Gnancy vanished in the crowd. I looked for her face but I only saw the faces of confused and frightened gnomes. I was surrounded by them.

“Bring me Gnancy! Bring me Gnorman the wife beater,” I shouted. The crown spun around me. The floor bucked and swayed. I took a step to the left. The crowd jumped back.

“Kraken doesn’t care about your Flownia,” I said. I pointed my knife at the crowd. "His horn should tear her apart!

"She hides in the sky while gnomes die!” I threw my dagger at the wooden ceiling. The knife hit, handle first, with a thud. It dropped to the floor. “Bring me that wife beater! I’ll kill him myself! Ill kill him like a stuck boar, bring me some dogs!” There were more screams.

“Hold on, little Telle.” Reese burst through the crowd and fell on his face at my feet.

“Freya’s kicking ass back there. We gotta go.” Reese looked up at me. I reached for the dagger.

“Who you calling ‘little,’ Reesh?” I waved my dagger at him. He burst into laughter. I grinned and then laughed with him.

“He’s gone crazy!” Shouts and warnings came from the crowd. I felt a tug on my hand and looked over.

“Come on, Telle.” Jenna looked at me. Her ears waved toward me gently. I let her lead me to the door. The gnomes cleared out of our way. I tripped a few times, but Jenna helped me up. She guided me to the house where I had been staying and led me into bed. Her ears dangled over me as she tucked me in. I fell asleep.

The next morning I staggered into the kitchen. Gnird sat at the table with his head in his hands. He held a slice of meat over his right eye.

“You’re not welcome here any more,” was the first thing Gnelda said to me. She stood at the stove and stirred a pot of gruel. My head throbbed. My mouth felt sticky and hot. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in, Gned,” Gnelda said. The door opened and Gned stepped into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he said. Gnird grunted and pulled the steak away from his face. His eye was a deep purple. The lids were swollen shut. He flipped the steak around and put it back against his eye.

“I wouldn’t let Freya see you using food in that way if I were you,” I said.

“Out!” he shouted. His voice echoed in my head. He pointed at the door without looking up.

“Take your halfbreed, tootalls and greenies and go!” he said. I looked at Gnelda. She stirred the pot and refused to look at me.

“Thank you for caring for me,” I said. Gnelda kept stirring. Her face became flushed.

“Come on, Telle.” Gned held the door open. I walked out. He followed me. Gnelda left the stove and walked to the door. As she closed it behind me, she whispered through the crack.

“Goodbye, Telle Smellme,” she said.

The door shut with the click of a latch. Gned led me through the town. Gnomes stopped what they were doing as we passed. They stared at me in silence. I couldn’t tell if they watched me with contempt or curiosity. We walked downhill through Peep. He led me to the place we’d first landed. At he water I saw several boats and my companions standing by them. Before we were within earshot, Gned stopped. He pointed to a house at the top of the hill. A lantern burned in the top window, even though it was daytime.

“That’s where Gnancy lives. She wanted me to tell you to never come back here again,” he said. I felt myself start to choke up.

“I’ll be back to make things right,” I said. I looked at him.

“No, really... don't.” he said. He turned and we walked to the boats. A group of young male gnomes stood by two boats and my companions stood by two others.

“We're gonna give you crazy people a lift upriver. Chastity mentioned you were lookin to go to Heedon Springs. We don't like to go up that far, but we cant just turn you loose in the swamp. Three gnomes and two of you to each boat,” Gned said.

Freya and Drexel slipped into the middle of a boat. Jenna ran to a boat with Chastity. That left me and Reese. I boarded the boat. Reese climbed in. He stumbled as he lowered himself into the seat. The boat tipped all the way to one side. Two gnomes jumped onto the far side to keep it from capsizing. Gned got into my boat along with two other gnomes. They pushed off and paddled us into the swamp. They tried not to look at me and nobody spoke. We passed Rivermonger’s raft. It sat on the beach. Strips of the sail hung in the still air. Stenchflies still swarmed on chunks of rotting flesh. The floor was brown with dried blood. The raft retreated behind us as the quiet splash of paddles brought us through the reeds.

The paddlers worked quickly. Thankfully, the sticknits could not keep up. It seemed a much shorter trip through the swamp this time. First trips through strange lands are always the longest. Soon we were on the open river heading upstream.

“We can get you to Heedon Springs in three days.” Gned said. He started to turn around and then caught himself. “I almost forgot.” He reached into a small bag at the front of the boat. “Here.” He slipped me my dagger."Please keep it in your belt"

“Thanks,” I said. He nodded and turned to face the front. His ropy gnomish muscles flexed as he paddled up the slow water, toward Heedon Springs.