The Dwarf Maidens Get a Surprise

"Why would the Dwarf King want an empty chest?" Berenice asked.

"I doubt that he would," Astra replied. "Regardless of the booby trap, it must be that someone has somehow succeeded in looting the chest. That's very bad news for us, as the King is sure to think that the contents going missing must be our fault. He won't believe us when we tell him that the thing was already empty when we found it. Which I fear means that we won't get restored."

"It seems a very strange way to get the chest returned anyway," Frederica pointed out. "Suppose we hadn't happened by. The chest could have remained untampered with for decades or even centuries. Why didn't the King just get his own people to bring the thing to him?"

"We can ask him when we see him," Astra said. "For, regardless of it being empty, the geiss means that we have no choice but to bring it to him. Besides, it's our only chance for being turned back, unless we happen to encounter a friendly and very powerful magician. Anyway, there's one good thing about it being empty. It makes it lighter, and perhaps we can carry it between us."

Dwarves are very strong, and it proved surprisingly easy for the girls to lift the chest, so that each could rest one corner of it on a shoulder. "It's not the right shape, but I feel rather like a pall bearer," Paula said.

1. They got out of the caves with the chest without any further problems. But they still had a long and perilous journey ahead of them.
2. To make it a perfect day, they ran into the dragon.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree