Title: The Heartforge
Written By: Anargil and SolamnicKender (Mage and Knight)
Summary: After encountering Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Bethany and Sabrina are transported into Krynn. Now what?
Disclaimer: We don't own anything you recognize.
Chapter One: Topknots. Transported. The old woman.
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They were sitting in the back room of the dance barn when it happened. Sabrina absently glanced out the window and saw the unthinkable. A topknot. "Did you see that?" she asked in confusion, a slight nuance of excitement in her voice.
"What?" Bethany asked nonchalantly.
"A topknot! Out the window!"
Bethany raised an eyebrow, though she seemed slightly excited as well. Rachel scoffed. "That's crazy. It's just kids being stupid or something."
The topknot bobbed by again.
Sabrina and Bethany jumped up to go see. Rachel followed a moment later in order to ridicule them when it became apparent that there was no kender marching about below the window.
Bursting out the door, Sabrina and Bethany charged outside to where the kender would be. And came face to face with...
"How do you do? I'm Tasslehoff Burrfoot! Gosh, those are funny clothes," the kender said as he extended his small hand to them.
Rachel stood, dumbstruck, but Sabrina and Bethany did not hesitate, each reaching for Tas's hand. Their fingers barely touched his... when suddenly he flung his hand up and pointed up in the sky. "Look! A bird!" Bethany jumped back at the sudden movement, but Sabrina looked up at the sky, noting that the sun seemed slightly different. Glancing back to ask Rachel's opinion on it, she suddenly froze. Rachel had disappeared.
Bethany had hit the wall of the building when she jumped back. Turning around, placing a hand on her head, she jumped again. "Sabrina..." she moaned in an unnaturally high voice.
"What?!" Sabrina snapped, preoccupied by Rachel's disappearance.
"The wall!"
"What about the wall?" Sabrina asked, exasperated.
Bethany pointed in the direction of the wall, making a funny noise in her throat.
"What about the wall? There's no…" Sabrina stopped suddenly. "Oh," she said as realization dawned. The wall of the dance barn was gone.
They glanced around as power lines and cars along with all other signs of modern convenience disappeared before their disbelieving eyes.
"Look! A battle!" Tas shouted excitedly, pointing off into the distance.
Bethany jumped again at Tas's shout and Sabrina spun around towards the direction Tas had pointed. As they strained their ears, they could hear the faint sounds of screaming and the clashing of arms. "Let's go help!" Tas started toward the battle, an excited smile on his face.
"No!" Sabrina and Bethany both shouted, each grabbing one of Tas's arms and dragging him back towards a woodsy area behind them. As they were about to slip between the trees, both let out a sigh of relief, but Tas's shouts had not gone unheard.
"Look! Women! Get them! First one there gets first pick!"
Sabrina and Bethany looked at the advancing men, then turned on their heels and ran.
After a few moments, Sabrina's voice reached Bethany's ears where she was running ahead with Tas. "Uh...huffpuff... Bethie? puff I really...gasp can't run anymore! puff"
Bethany's eyes searched around frantically for somewhere, anywhere to hide... when she spied an old woman sitting in a bush. She stopped dead. "You might try hiding here in the bushes," the woman suggested helpfully.
"Uhhh... thanks, I think," Bethany said, shoving Tas into the bushes beside the old woman and running back to help Sabrina, who was hanging onto the branch of a tree, gasping for breath. Bethany spared a moment to ridicule Sabrina. "You know, that's REALLY pathetic. We haven't even been running for a minute!"
Sabrina cast Bethany a scathing glance. "No, really?"
A shout brought Bethany's attention back to the present problem. "I call the blonde-haired one!" shouted one of the pursuing men.
Bethany stood stock-still, aghast.
Grabbing Bethany's hand, Sabrina dragged her to where Tasslehoff stood in the bushes, jumping up and down, shouting in excitement. "Run! Run! Isn't this the most fun you've ever had in your entire life?! This is so exciting! What do those men want anyways? Hey, maybe we could help them!"
Sabrina and Bethany turned a light shade of green as the old woman gently tugged them down into the bushes. "Why can't we help them?" Tasslehoff queried innocently.
"I'll tell you later, dear," the old woman said hastily.
They all cowered in the bushes as the men ran past. "Why don't they see us?" Sabrina hissed to Bethany.
"Magic, duh," Bethany said in a regular voice.
"Shhh!" Sabrina shushed her frantically.
"There's no need to whisper, dear," the old woman said complacently. "It's not like we're in any danger." A man's head was lopped off and landed in front of them.
"Gross," Bethany said nonchalantly. Sabrina looked about to faint.
"I think it's time for a change of scene," the woman mused. She waved her hand and the landscape around them dissolved into crude, rough-hewn wooden walls. They were now inside some type of hut or cabin. The smells of herbs permeated the air; some pleasant, some not so pleasant.
Bethany frowned, wrinkling her nose. "I hate the smell of lavender."
Sabrina looked at Bethany sharply. "I would say it's a vast improvement to our last setting. At least there aren't any dying or dead people here."
Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Bethany said, "Sabrina, turn around. Look behind you."
Sabrina turned to see a human skeleton hanging on a stand behind her. She shrieked and jumped away, knocking over a chair and falling heavily to the floor. Bethany chuckled. So immersed in mirth was she that Bethany had forgotten all about the old woman who had transported them there. The woman's clawlike hand grasped Bethany's shoulder and she jumped and flinched away. Sabrina and Tas started laughing while Bethany glowered.
"Do it again!" Tas shouted out. "Do it again! Can I jump this time?" The kender bounced up and down excitedly.
"My," the old woman observed, "you are a jumpy lot. Had a brush with the slavers, perhaps?" The woman's eyes were keen and curious.
"Ah... slavers?" Sabrina repeated, confused. "No, no I don't think so."
"Well then, where are you from?" The woman asked.
"We're from Finchley!" Bethany piped up, quoting the Narnia movie and lying without a second thought.
Sabrina turned to her companion curiously. "Ah... um... we are?" she muttered quietly.
"Yeah..." Bethany hissed through clenched teeth.
"Right, of course! Finchley. We're two Finchlians!"
The old woman raised an eyebrow quizzically but did not comment. Bethany stepped on Sabrina's foot, trying to shut her up. "Ow!" Sabrina exclaimed. "Why'd you step on my foot?"
Bethany clapped a hand to her forehead, muttering "You obviously cannot comprehend the word 'subtle.'"
The old woman snorted in amusement as she bustled around the kitchen making tea. "You remind me, quite vividly, of someone I am acquainted with. It is rather amusing."
"Okay then..." Bethany commented sarcastically.
The woman simply chuckled and continued making tea.
"What's your name?" Tas asked Sabrina, having completely missed the sarcasting bantering between the three women.
"Ah... Sabrina. Sabrina Suzy-Q Castle," Sabrina answered.
Bethany groaned inwardly at Sabrina's utter innocence and trust when confronted with strangers. "And yours?" the old woman demanded, turning back to Bethany.
"How about yours first?" Bethany asked caustically.
The old woman looked surprised and amused. "Folks call me Weird Meggin," she said.
"Well, do you like that? Or do you want us to call you something else? Like Miss Meggin, or Mistress Meggin?" Sabrina said.
"How about Madam Meggin?" Tas piped up.
"Or Lady Meggin?" Sabrina added, the two of them grinning like fools.
"How about Miss Weird?" Bethany muttered.
Meggin laughed. "Yes, as I said. You and young Master Raistlin are very much alike."
"Raistlin?" Bethany squeaked, losing her composure completely.
Sabrina burst out laughing. "Well, there goes the Spock attitude down the drain."
"Oh?!" Bethany snapped. "And you're any better, Kirk?"
Meggin frowned, confused. "I thought you said your name was Sabrina."
"It is," Sabrina said.
"I get it!" Tas exclaimed. "Kirk is your last name! And Spock is yours!"
"Ahh, well..." Sabrina stammered.
"Sure, we'll go with that. Least complicated explanation," Bethany quickly replied.
"Well, I'm off!" Tas declared abruptly. "I have to see Flint!"
"Flint? Flint Fireforge?" Sabrina exclaimed.
"Oh, do you know him? I'll tell him you said hi. Gotta go!"
"No!" Sabrina shouted after the retreating topknot. "I didn't mean..."
TBC