The Second Generation

“Attack the powerful Lord Gargath?” asked the chief in what was practically a whisper. “Face the wrath of the Graygem’s master? No!” He shuddered, holding his child close. “At least now our children have one parent.”

“But if all the tribes fought together,” Sturm argued, “that would be... how many men? Hundreds? Thousands?”

“If there were millions, we would not go up against the Master of the Graygem,” said the chief.

“Well, then,” said Dougan sharply, “why did you try to stop us back there on the beach? Seems to me you would be only too glad to rid yourselves of the thing!”

“Lord Gargath ordered us to fight any who tried to take it,” said the chief simply.

Reaching their village—a scattering of thatched huts that had seen better days—the warriors dispersed, some taking children to bed, others hurrying to look into steaming pots, still others heading for a stream with baskets loaded with clothes.

“Dougan,” said Tanin, watching all this in astonishment almost too great for words, “this doesn’t make any sense! What's going on?”

“The power of the Graygem, lad,” said the dwarf solemnly. “They’re deep under its spell and can no longer see anything rationally. I’ll lay ten to one that if s the Graygem keeping them from attacking Lord Gargath. But us, now”—the dwarf looked at the brothers cunningly—“we’re not under its spell.”

“Not yet,” mentioned Palin.

“And therefore we stand a chance of defeating him! After all, how powerful can he be?”

“Oh, he could have an army of a couple thousand men or so,” said Sturm.

“No, no,” said Dougan hastily. “If he did, he would have just sent the army to attack the villages, kill the men, and carry off the women. Lord Gargath is using the power of the Graygem because that’s all he’s got! We must act quickly, though, lads, because its power will grow on us the longer we stay near its influence.”

Tanin frowned, considering. “How do we get the Graygem, then?” he asked abruptly. “And what do we do with it after we’ve got it? It seems to me, we’ll be in worse danger than ever!”

“Ah, leave that to me!” said Dougan, rubbing his hands. “Just help me to get it, lads.”

Tanin kept on frowning.

“And think of the women—poor things,” the dwarf continued sadly, “held in thrall by this wicked lord, forced to submit to his evil will. They’ll undoubtedly be grateful to the brave men who rescue them ”

“He’s right,” said Sturm in sudden resolve. “It is our duty, Tanin, as future Knights of Solamnia, to rescue the women.”

“What do you say, Little Brother?” asked Tanin.

“It is my duty as a mage of the White Robes to help these people,” Palin said, feeling extremely self-righteous. "All these people,” he added.

“Plus if s a matter of honor, lad,” Dougan said solemnly. “You did lose the bet. And it will be a few days before the gnomes have the ship repaired....”

“And the women will probably be very grateful!” struck in Sturm.

“All right, we’ll go!” said Tanin. “Though I’d rather face a dragon than fight the power of some sort of weird rock.”

“Ha, ha, dragon!” repeated the dwarf, with a sickly grin that Tanin was too preoccupied to notice.

The brothers and the dwarf walked up to the chief, who was hanging laundry out to dry and keeping an anxious eye on the stew pot to see that it didn’t boil over.

“Listen to me, men!” Tanin called loudly, motioning the warriors of the village to gather around him. “My brothers and the dwarf and I are going to go to the castle of this Lord Gargath to take the Graygem. Would any of you like to come along?”

Glancing at each other, the warriors shook their heads.

“Well, then,” Tanin continued in exasperation, “will any of you go with us as our guide? You can come back when we reach the castle.”

Again, the warriors shook their heads.

“Then we’ll go alone!” Tanin said fiercely. “And we will return with the Graygem or leave our lives in that castle!”

Spinning on his heel, the big man stalked out of the camp, his brothers and the dwarf marching behind. As they left, however, they encountered dark looks from the warriors and heard muttered comments. More than a few shook their fists at them.

“They certainly don’t look pleased,” Tanin said. “Especially since we’re the ones facing all the danger. What is it they’re saying?”

“I think it’s just occurred to them that the women will probably be very grateful,” Dougan answered in a low voice.

Chapter Five A Matter of Honor

Sturm later maintained that Tanin should have realized what was going on and kept the dwarf out of the game that night. Tanin retorted that Sturm should keep his mouth shut since he slept through the whole thing. But Palin reminded them both that they were all under the influence of the Graygem at the time, so it probably wouldn’t have made any difference anyway.