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"The gnomes took him" Masoj said to Dinin when the pa-trol leader returned to the cavern The wizard lifted his arh priestess and her assist-ants a better view of his predicament

"Where?" Dinin deed "A secret door" he explained, "somewhere on the wall behind you I suspect that they would have taken me as well, except" Masoj looked down at the floor, still holding hinomes would have killed me, but for your arrival"

"You are fortunate, wizard" the high priestess said to Ma-soj "I have memorized a spell this day that will release the stone’s hold on you" She whispered some instructions to her assistants and they took out water skins and pouches of clay and began tracing a ten foot square on the floor around the trapped wizard The high priestess moved over to the wall of the chamber and prepared for her prayers

"Soh priestess understood She whispered a quick de-tection spell and studied the wall "Right there" she said Dinin and another male rushed over to the spot and soon found the alh priestess began her incantation, one of her cleric assistants threw the end of a rope to Masoj "Hold on" the assistant teased, "and hold your breath!"

"Wait -" Masoj began, but the stone floor all around him transforhing, pulled Masoj out a moment later

"Nice spell" the wizard reh priestess "Especially e fight against the gnouard against earth elementals" She looked at a piece of rubble at her feet, unmistakably one eye and the nose of such a creature "I see that my spell was not needed in that manner"

"I destroyed that one" Masoj lied

"Indeed" said the high priestess, unconvinced She could tell by the cut of the rubble that a blade had made the wound She let the issue drop when the scrape of sliding stone turned thehter beside Dinin when he peered into the tunnel "Hoe find theht for a moment, then spun on Masoj "They havetoDinin’s plan and not really wanting Drizzt rescued

"Bring it to me" Dinin ordered "The cat can smell Drizzt"

"I cannotI mean" Masoj stuttered

"Noizard!" Dinin co council that sonomes escaped because you refused to help!"

Masoj tossed the figurine to the ground and called for Guenhwyvar, not really knoould happen next Had the earth elemental really destroyed Guenhwyvar? Theinto the panther’s corporeal body

"Well" Dinin pro the tunnel

"Go find Drizzt!" Masoj commanded the cat Guenhwyvar sniffed around the area for a moment, then bounded off down the small tunnel, the drow patrol in silent pursuit

"Where" Drizzt started when he finally began the long climb from the depths of unconsciousness He understood that he was sitting, and knew, too, that his hands were bound in front of hiht hihly

"Quiet!" Belhispered harshly, and Drizzt was sur-prised that the creature could speak his language Belwar let go of Drizzt and turned to join other svirfnebli

Fronoroup had taken flight

The gnoue, which Drizzt could not begin to understand One of thenome who had ordered Drizzt to be quiet, apparently the leader, a heated question Another grunted his accord and spoke soerous look in his eyes

The leader slapped the other gnoh one of the t exits in the cham-ber, then put the others into defensive positions He walked over to Drizzt "You codenstone" he said in hesitant words

"Then?" Drizzt asked

Belwar shrugged "The king’ll decide If you cause hed cynically

"Well, then" said Belwar, "if the king says to kill you, I’ll hed "Do you believe that I believe?" he asked "Thrture me now and have your fun That is your evil way!"

Belwar started to slap him but held his hand in check

"Svirfnebli don’t torture!" he declared, louder than he should have "Drow elves torture!" He turned away but spun back, reiterating his prole clean blow"

Drizzt found that he believed the sincerity in the gnome’s voice, and he had to accept that pronome would have received if Dinin’s patrol had captured hiued, had to learn uage?" he asked

"Gnomes are not stupid" Belwar retorted, unsure of what Drizzt was leading to

"Nor are drow" Drizzt replied earnestly, "but I have never heard the language of the svirfnebli spoken in denstone" Belwar ex-plained, now nearly as curious about Drizzt as Drizzt was about him

"Slave" Drizzt reasoned

"Guest!" Belwar snapped "Svirfnebli keep no slaves!"

Again Drizzt found that he could not refute the sincerity in Belwar’s voice "What is your nahed at him "Do you think ht use its power in soainst me!"

"No" Drizzt protested

"I should kill you now for thinkinghis heavy pick Drizzt shifted un-cono the pick "No trouble, and 1 tell the king to let you go" Belwar didn’t believe that would happen any more than did Drizzt, so the svirfneblin, with a helpless shrug, offered Drizzt the next best thing "Or else, a single clean blow"

A commotion from one of the tunnels turned Belay "Belwar" called one of the other gnonome leader turned a wary eye on Drizzt to see if the drow had caught th~ men-tion of his na not to listen He had indeed heard the nanome leader who had shown him mercy Belwar, the other svirfneblin had said Belwar, a na froht everyone’s at-tention, then, and several svirfnebli scrambled back into the chamber Drizzt knew from their excitement that the drow patrol was close behind

Belwar started barking out co the retreat down the chamber’s other tunnel Drizzt won dered where he would fit into the gno Cer tainly Belwar couldn’t hope to outrun the drow patrol dragging along a prisoner

Then the gno Tho suddenly

The drow clerics had led the way in with their insidious, paralyzing spells Belwar and another gnono this, broke into a wild scramble for the rear exit