CHAPTER 22
INTERCEPTED
Hob had been standing quietly near Ben's side ever since he and Gabriel had been rescued from Ringwald's prison, but when Ringwald leapt at Ben, Hob let out his own howl of rage and met the crazed gnome in mid-air over the Gnome Bones table. The table crashed to the floor and the game pieces scattered everywhere as the gnome and dwarf thrashed about wildly, kicking and punching. Gabriel and several Holediggers finally managed to separate them. When they pulled them apart, Ringwald's hair was sticking up in all directions. His left eye was already beginning to swell and a trickle of blood oozed from his nose onto his lip. Hob faired rather well during the scuffle, but his poor beard looked as if two old tom cats had gotten tangled in it. The dwarf glared at the ousted gnome king while he tried in vain to straighten his whiskers.
After the commotion died down and the game table and pieces were collected and taken away, Harry grabbed Ben by the arm. "Ben, you beat him! You actually beat him!"
"Do you know what that means," Bobo whispered to Harry while poking him in the side.
"That means it's over!" Harry answered. "We are free!"
"No it doesn’t, Harry. We are not free just yet."
"What do you mean? Of course we are!" Then it dawned on Harry what Bobo was talking about and he turned to stare at Ben. They weren't free. The old king was gone, but they had a new king now. Ben also realized the implications of winning the game and acted swiftly. He returned to the platform and retrieved the horn so that everyone could hear him.
"Quiet down everyone! Please, quiet down and hear me.”
The coliseum, still buzzing about what had just occurred, slowly began to settle down. In a few minutes, every eye was on Ben and every gnome sat on the edge of their seat to hear what he would say.
“Everyone here has witnessed the game of Gnome Bones that was just played between me and Ringwald. I won.” Ben paused a moment to let that sink in, then continued. “I beat him fairly and, according to your laws and traditions, the throne of Kahzidar is now mine."
There was thunderous applause from the Mudcrawlers in the upper levels. The Holediggers, however, looked shocked and confused. This was not part of their plan! Ben had given them a fine talk on freedom and then proclaimed himself as king? When the applause finally began to die down, the Mudcrawlers started shouting and pointing at Ringwald and his followers. They began chanting, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"
Ringwald and the handful of Stonebreakers who still supported him huddled together in a tight group. There was nowhere to run, nothing with which to fight. It was over. Ben raised his hands for the crowd to quiet down once more. When the noise finally subsided he called through the horn.
"Bring them to the platform!"
A group of Holediggers with long spears herded the terrified Stonebreakers to the base of the platform. Ben looked down at Ringwald. The gnome king was afraid, but still defiant and even had the nerve to spit at Ben. When that happened, Gabriel just barely managed to grab Hob by the back of his tunic as the dwarf, still angry about his beard, lunged once more at Ringwald. Ben raised the horn again.
"I have been told that, according to the ancient rules of Gnome Bones, it is customary for the loser to be executed."
There were cheers in the coliseum and, this time, when the Mudcrawlers took up their chant again, many of the Holedigger gnomes joined in with them.
"KILL HIM, KILL HIM," they shouted, stomping their feet to the rhythm of their chant. The noise was deafening. Ben raised his hands but this time it took quite a while to hush the crowd, especially the upper sections of the coliseum, where all of the Mudcrawlers were seated.
"No, we will not take his life," Ben continued, "but we will give him a choice. Ringwald may join the new Kahzidar, and live in peace as a free gnome, an equal to all the free gnomes and not a ruler. Or he may leave Kahzidar and, if he troubles no one, live out his life elsewhere in peace."
Ben looked down at the former gnome king and Ringwald glared back at him. The gnome's lips quivered, the scar across his face had turned a dark livid purple, and the veins in his neck and temples bulged and throbbed. With great effort, Ringwald managed to get a rein on his anger and snarled at Ben, "I will leave, but not because you offer me that choice, but rather because I am sick of this kingdom and all that are in it. But you and I shall meet again."
“You had better HOPE that we NEVER meet again!” Hob yelled down at the ousted king.
Ringwald glowered at Hob. At a loss for words, he kicked the soil on the arena floor and sent a shower of dirt at the platform. He then turned to go, but the Holediggers lowered their spears and barred his way.
Ben called down from the platform, “Raise your spears and let them pass. Make sure they are escorted out of the city too, but do not harm them.”
Ringwald and fifteen Stonebreakers who remained loyal to him, filed out of the coliseum as the crowd booed and hurled their shoes down upon their heads. Ben, saddened by their choice, watched them leave. Once they were out of the arena the crowd returned their focus on their new king and a complete hush fell across the great cavern. Ben raised the horn to his lips one final time.
"Gnomes of Kahzidar, I hereby abdicate my throne and turn the government of your great city over to Harry, Bobo, and the council they have assembled. I also offer my name to the remaining Mudcrawler, Holedigger, and Stonebreaker gnomes. All sunlighters will be cared for and returned to their homes as soon as the storm breaks. The old ways have passed away. Let freedom reign."
There were a few seconds of silence following Ben's short speech, and then the entire place erupted in cheers. Ben turned to Harry, who was now standing beside him. He had to shout to be heard over the applause and celebration. "Do you have the staff?" he asked the gnome.
Harry motioned to one of the former Holedigger gnomes on the ground below the platform. The gnome hastened up the platform to meet them. He was wearing a sling across his shoulder, which was attached to a tightly wrapped bundle of cloth. He removed the bundle and handed it to Harry. Harry peeled the layers of cloth back to reveal the two sections of the broken staff and the bright green spell catcher that was affixed to the top section.
“Is this it?” Ben asked Gabriel.
“Yes,” Gabriel nodded, “this is the staff.” The elf carefully wrapped the staff and secured the bundle across his back. "We really should be on our way now," he said to Harry. "We have a very sick friend waiting for us back at the Crystal Cave entrance and Ben has some very worried family members as well."
"I will get someone to escort you back to your friends and family," said Harry.
"I will lead them back to the cave entrance," Mueller volunteered. "I have no desire to become entangled in the politics that will take place here today and, besides, I have become quite fond of our dear friend Ben. He is the first true friend I have had in many long days."
"Great!" said Harry, "but don't you think you may need some protection from Ringwald and his crew? Letting him go is one decision I fear we may all may live to regret."
"No, he wouldn't go above ground and he is unarmed as well. They will probably go deeper into Kahzidar to avoid contact with other gnomes, but they will not travel too far from the city. They will eventually become hungry and will return to join us or they will be forced to live as bandits, stealing whatever they may to stay alive."
"I guess you are right. Ringwald will probably disappear for a few days to sulk, but I am confident we will see him again."
"It doesn't matter, he can harm no one now," said Mueller, turning to Ben and his two companions. "Are you ready to leave now?"
"Yes," Ben answered. "Lead the way and we will follow, just don’t go too fast."
Mueller led them out of the coliseum. As they were leaving, every gnome in the coliseum stood and cheered. Ben reflected back over the past twenty-four hours. He had braved a blizzard, survived a cave troll attack, infiltrated the dreaded gnome min
es of Kahzidar, rescued his friends, recovered Merlin's staff, and started a revolution that toppled a monarchy. That was the easy part. The hard part still lay before them; they still had to deal with Zoltan, the black dragon from Crag, son of Zog the Terrible.
Mueller lit a couple of rock busters and led them out of the city and into the tunnel that led up to the Crystal Cave. When they passed the fork that led down to the lake and waterfall, they came upon Ringwald, who was standing in the center of the tunnel and blocking their way. He was alone and had been waiting here, in the dark, for them to come along.
"What are you doing here?" Mueller asked.
"Did you think I would just let you waltz out of here?" Ringwald sneered.
"I don't see how you can stop us," said Mueller, looking around. "It appears that your cronies have deserted you."
"Let me take care of him," said Hob. "I still have a score to settle with him. It will take me weeks to get my beard back into proper shape."
Ringwald whistled and the Stonebreakers that were exiled with him came running up from the other tunnel, where they had also been hiding in the dark. There was no escape now. Ringwald stood between them and the Crystal Cave entrance, and his followers stood behind them.
"Well, that evens the odds a little," said Hob, rolling up his sleeves. "At least, now, it will be a fair fight."
"Hold on," said Gabriel. The elf laid a restraining hand on Hob's shoulder. "What is it you want, Ringwald?"
“What is it I want?” Ringwald asked, incredulously. “What is it I want?” he repeated, a little louder. “Well, I’m glad you asked!” he screamed at the elf. “And since you sunlighters are so dense and stupid I guess I’ll have to spell it out for you!”
Gabriel’s hand moved swiftly to the knife in his belt and there was a dangerous glint in his eye. Hob sensed the tension between the elf and gnome and knew that they were teetering on the brink of a nasty fight.
"I WANT MY KINGDOM BACK," Ringwald yelled at Gabriel, "but you," he screamed, pointing at Ben, "have ruined everything!"
"We can't give you your kingdom back," said Ben. "It is not ours to give. Kahzidar is..."
"I know," Ringwald snapped, interrupting Ben. "I know, I know, I know. Kahzidar is free, Kahzidar is free," he mocked, waving his arms in the air. "But not for long, because after I kill all of you, I will take that staff and learn its secrets. And once I know the secrets of the staff, I will become as powerful as Merlin! I will be king of Kahzidar once more, but I won't stop there. After Zoltan decimates all of the sunlighters in the land above I will conquer him and then…"
As Ringwald continued to rant and rave, he did not notice the look of terror that came over the faces of the other Stonebreakers. As he stomped his feet on the ground in frustration, he didn't even notice when the Stonebreakers turned and fled back down the dark tunnel, where they had been hiding. As he shook his fist in rage at Gabriel, he did not feel the hot breath on his neck, but when he finally paused to refill his lungs for another long tirade, he heard a low, menacing growl behind him and it was the last sound he ever heard.
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