David Cook - Beyong the Moons

“Aaahh!” Teldin screamed as first pain, then numbness seized his arm. His fingers spasmed, releasing Eversharp, which clattered to the floor. The neogi clung on and, with a vicious tug, threw the farmer to his knees. The overmaster twisted the human’s arm, triumphantly forcing his prey to the floor until the little neogi towered over Teldin. The farmer stared up into the neogi’s face, its blood-soaked jaws still clamped on his arm and its little eyes gloating with victory.

“First section! Prepare to fire!” echoed Gomja’s voice over the din. Teldin had forgotten the giff, and a wild notion of rescuing Gomja leaped into his pain-racked mind. The human clung to it, refusing to surrender. His fingers touched his spear haft and weakly wrapped around it.

As Teldin struggled to strike a blow, the corridor erupted in a blast. A wind of steam and debris whipped past the battling pair, and the floor buckled, flinging the two apart. Teldin’s ears were numb, nearly deaf. As the vapor roiled away, the farmer looked down the corridor, searching for the overmaster or umber hulk. The neogi was huddled in a ball across the hallway; all that remained of the umber hulk was a black smear that covered the floor, walls, and ceiling. Something wet loosened from the ceiling and hit the floor with a plop .

The overmaster gaped at the carnage. “Dead-my lord-servant, the neogi said slowly. It almost sounded sorrowful. “Killed it meat did.”

Teldin didn’t wait for the distracted creature to recover, knowing he could not allow the risk. With a desperate lunge, the yeoman thrust Eversharp, catching the overmaster just below the head. The startled neogi gave a squawk of surprise as the human bore down with all his might, driving the spear cleanly through the gray flesh. The legs flailed madly while the overmaster futilely bit and snapped at the shaft. Teldin gripped the lance with both hands to keep the squirming neogi from tearing free. Slowly the death-struggles ceased, until only random spasms shook the dying form. His energy spent, the cloakmaster sagged beside the slain foe.

“Sir!” came Gomja’s voice, muted in Teldin’s ringing ears. The giff lumbered down the hall to where the human lay sprawled. “Sir, you’re alive!”

Teldin weakly pulled himself up as confirmation. “Gomja,” he mumbled with heart-felt relief, “what are you doing here?” The farmer slid back to the floor, and the giff gently eased Teldin to his feet.

“Counterattack, sir. We’ve cleared nearly all of Mount Nevermind.” Cradling Teldin in one big arm, Gomja paused to issue orders to the impatiently waiting gnomes. A squad quickly hurried down the hail to the door at the other end and, with an amazing assemblage of tools and devices, set to work on cutting open the portal. Teldin vaguely wondered if any of them had tried the handle first.

" …attacked by surprise here. Nearly all the neogi were ashore, so there wasn’t much resistance,” Gomja was saying. The human had missed most of the explanation, but he really didn’t care. The giff guided his weakened companion forward. A cry of triumph rose from the gnomes as the door-the entire bulkhead, frame and all-fell in with a crash. Weapons brandished with reckless abandon, the pot-helmed little warriors rushed into the chamber, ignoring Gomja’s shouted commands for order and discipline.

Luck was with the gnomes, for the room was deserted. It appeared to be the bridge, for in the center of the room was a large chair that Teldin guessed was the captain’s. A long table, spread with charts, stood to one side, and three huge, round portholes dominated the wails, offering a broad view of the lake beneath the ship. Through a single porthole Teldin could see the deck of the Unquenchable not far below. A stream of gnomes scurried down the pier, carrying huge bundles on their backs, while another line hurried from the dreadnought to fetch another load.

Elsewhere on the crater floor Teldin saw the gleam of metal sparsely punctuated by sudden clouds of steam. A scattered line of neogi and their iordservants were being driven away from the gates of Nevermind. Teldin could barely distinguish the shiny forms of the gnome warriors in their pot-topped armor, though their absurd war engines- bizarre catapults and throwing devices-stood out clearly. The gnomes seemed to be winning, perhaps because of their sheer numbers, but the neogi were making an orderly retreat. The farmer weakly wondered why the invaders were retreating toward the far end of the crater.

Suddenly the deck lurched under Teldin’s feet, though not from an explosion, as he had first thought. “Aha!” cried the gnomes with glee. One of their number, nicknamed “Salaman” for Teldin’s benefit, who was an old, puffy-faced fellow with eyes more sagacious than most, who sat in the chair with a look of intense concentration on his face. The deck quivered again, causing the gnomes to cheer once more. Teldin stared back out the porthole for a clue.

At first Teldin could see nothing extraordinary, certainly nothing that would cause the tinkers to break into cheers. Then he noticed the ship’s shadow below them. It moved, rippling over the broken crater floor. The Unquenchable was no longer where it had been; the neogi ship had shifted to port, and the lake’s blue water was coming closer.

“Attention,” began one of the senior gnomes, or so Teldin judged from the little tinker’s wrinkled face, bushy, gray eyebrows, and incongruous gray braids, “upon making contact with the water, artifice engineers will begin dismantling the spelljamming helm and transfer it to the Unquenchable before this ship, which our naval engineers have determined is unseaworthy, sinks-”

“Sir,” Gomja called from across the room, “are you able to walk, sir, or would you like me to arrange a litter? We can’t stay on this ship too much longer.”

“I can walk," Teldin insisted. Even though his legs felt like lead, his streak of familial stubbornness refused any aid. He took two steps and pitched forward as the ship jerkily lowered. Gomja quickly came to his side.

“Let me help you, sir. We have to hurry.” Teldin shot him a quizzical look, too fogged to understand Gomja’s meaning. “The gnomes plan to land this ship beside the Unquenchable , sir. I don’t think deathspiders float very well.” Lending support to Teldin, Gomja stopped near the crew of tinkers busily disassembling the captain’s chair. “How long will it take you to get the helm out?”

The gray-braided supervisor looked up and popped an oversized jeweler’s loupe out of his eye. “Well, the whole frame attachment is counter-buckled to the-”

“I asked how long, Section Three,” Gomja groused. The gnome paled and earnestly held up five fingers.

“Five minutes, Sergeant Gomja,” the gnome briskly said.

“Make it four.” Without waiting for a reply, Gomja guided his friend to the door.

“What was that all about?” Teldin asked in a shaky voice as the giff led him down the hall.

“Just a little discipline, sir,” Gomja cheerfully replied. “Oh,” Teldin commented, unconvinced. There was a loud splash and the deck bounced as the deathspider hit the water. Recovering from the jolt, Gomja hurriedly lifted the weakened human from the floor and urged him toward the gangway. The hull creaked and groaned as the water quickly seeped into the lower hold.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we’d better hurry,” Gomja explained, scooping Teldin up before the human could protest. The giff cradled his frail friend in his massive arms and set out at a jarring sprint for the upper decks.

“What about the gnomes? What was that thing they were working on? The helm, you called it?” Teldin painfully asked as they bounced along.