Lord Toede by Jeff Grubb Read Free Book Online Page B

Toede saw a look of concern cross
     Taywin's face, and she tottered, just slightly, on the slippery log. She bellowed, “Hang
     on, I have to turn around! Ifs worse than it looks.” She made a quarter-turn so she faced
     downstream, the opposite direction as Toede. “Here, take my hand,” said Toede, reaching
     out with one chained limb. The other, carrying the spear tightly like a dagger, was tucked
     behind him. Groag followed him out onto the beam a few careful paces. “No, you're rocking
     the log,” shouted Taywin. “Look...” The next word was hypothetically “out,” but Taywin
     merely screamed as she pitched backward, her large basket flying in the opposite direction
     and quickly disappearing in the rapids. Toede instinctively leaped for the key. However,
     his hands were chained together, with a second chain leading to those connecting his feet,
     which were in turn chained to a similar arrangement on Groag, who did not leap forward, at
     least not voluntarily. The result was that the chains pulled taut, pulling Toede's arms
     and legs backward suddenly, and pitching him headfirst after the falling kender. He
     dropped the spear, but did manage to catch the kender with a firm grip, snaring the top of
     her blouse between clenched teeth. This would normally have been an extremely embarrassing
     situation for both of them, but at the moment such proprieties were not the top priority.
     Groag, as Toede had oft pointed out, was not the brightest of hobgoblins, but as he saw
     the chain connecting him to the falling hobgoblin play out, he immediately realized what
     would happen to him. With a quickness gained by his several-months' tenure as a servant,
     he dropped to the log and held on for dear life. Nonetheless, Toede and Taywin splashed
     into the torrent and were immediately dragged back under the log and downstream. Toede
     still had his arms and legs pulled tight behind him, but Taywin was already grabbing him
     and pulling herself up the chain to shore. As soon as she had a firm grip on the chains,
     the submerged hobgoblin released his jaw-grip on her shirt-front. Slowly and painfully,
     Taywin clambered back up the sheer rock to where Groag stood. The hobgoblin on shore
     shouted encouragement and put out his foot for her to grab on to as she pulled herself up
     the final few feet. Taywin swept back her matted hair and spat water, trying to force air
     back into her lungs. “I owe you two my life,” she said between pants. Groag replied, “It
     was nothing, I... Oh! Toede!” and with that started hauling on the chain that had
     disappeared into the swirling white water and (presumably) was still attached to his
     former master. “Toede?” said Taywin, shaking her waterlogged head. “As in Highmaster ...”
     “Gotcha, you rat!” shouted the kender guard, as he smacked the back of Groag's head with a
     good- sized, more than adequately heavy rock. The guard's mouth was coated with drying
     blood, and his
    eyes burned with vengeance. “Teach you to take a shot at me!” Groag perforce dropped the
     chain and lost his grip on the log. The force of the water dragged Toede downstream and
     pulled Groag in as well. Taywin grabbed for him, but her fingers closed on empty air as
     the pair of chained hobgoblins disappeared in the torrent. “Serves them right,” muttered
     the guard, tenderly touching his swelling lower jaw. Taywin's response was most unladylike
     (and is best not quoted, as the main thrust of the tale had moved suddenly and
     precipitously downstream). The low falls below the fallen maple was little more than a
     bump, and after constricting into a still- smaller chute, passed through a pair of
     hydraulics and into a wide, fast-moving pool. Groag's head broke the water briefly, sank
     again, then crested a second time. Dog-paddling madly in his chains, he could barely keep
     afloat. Groag felt a tug from the connecting chain.