Cafer and Alaron descended into the strange grayish light of the cavern. Although this was not the same set of tunnels as Gandr had destroyed ten years prior, it had a similar structure. The spaces were wide and tall. It seemed the gnomes either had not learned or were too prideful to adapt.

"The ceiling is so high! It is almost like being outside," the prince observed.

"Minus the sun, flowers, and open air," Cafer replied bitterly. He was already unhappy to be home. Four soldier gnomes came to meet them as they reached the end of the first hall.

"We are here to escort the prisoner to the king," one of them said in human-speak.

Alaron took a step back. He had not expected that kind of welcome. Cafer bristled, "You are mistaken. Prince Alaron has come to meet King Baak to talk of an alliance. You will treat him as an esteemed guest not some lowly prisoner. Now apologize!" he boomed.

The guard was taken aback. "Sorry, Prince Alaron. May I...escort...you to the King?" The gnome bowed briefly to show his respect.

Alaron stuck out his chin defiantly and stood straight. "You may," he agreed.

As the prince and Cafer walked behind the guards, Cafer whispered, "King Baak did that on purpose. He knows who we are and why we are coming. The king just did that to rattle your cage."

'Well, it is working,' Alaron thought.

As if he could read the boy's thoughts, Cafer responded, "Do not let him get to you. He will try the vilest tactics to get a rise out of you. He will want to know what you are made of."

"I am made of flesh and bone, Cafer," Alaron lamented, "and those things break."

"Well, now my boy, you must make them believe that you are made of stone."

The ground beneath them began to crimp as the hall in front of them accordioned and then stretched behind him. "What is happening?" The prince felt he would be squished at any moment.

"One of the guards is using his ground magic to speed us along. It is quite far to the King's throne room." Cafer stared straight ahead. Some of the gnomes they passed seemed wary of their presence while others were intrigued. Only a couple sneered outright. One extremely angry gnome bumped into the Prince, intentionally knocking him into the wall. The stone of the hallway pinched his back and then scraped across it as it stretched back out.

Alaron cried out in pain. The gnome, who had a flattened nose, smiled wickedly at the boy's pain. "Not so regal now, are you?"

"Grisley! You idiot!" Cafer yelled. He left the guards and hurried backwards down the hall to the prince. While moving stones did not hurt gnomes, stepping out of the magic bubble could be deadly to humans. Cafer was relieved to see the boy was alive.

Unfortunately, Alaron was injured. The stretching wall tore through his shirt and the skin on his back, leaving him a bloody mess. Cafer examined the wound. He took a cloak from his pack and draped it across the boy's naked back.

"I ought to kill you here and now," Cafer snapped at Grisley.

"He was in my way," Grisley growled back.

Glancing at Alaron, Cafer could see that the prince needed help. "I will deal with you later, Grisley," the former Councilman sneered. "With any luck, King Baak will hit you so hard that your nose will actually point inwards."

Cafer escorted the injured Alaron through a different cavern and down to the gnome's personal quarters. Bringing the boy over to a stone bed, Cafer made the prince lay down on his stomach. The gnome removed the bloody cloak and cast it aside. "It is a good thing that thing wasn't expensive," he muttered to comfort himself.

Using a bottle from his collection, Cafer poured a thick white liquid on Alaron's raw skin. The boy cried out in anguish. "What is that?!"

"Give it a moment. You will feel better," Cafer assured him.

A tingling sensation covered the prince's back and he relaxed enough to look around. He sat up slowly. His back no longer hurt. "That stuff is amazing!" The prince removed his tattered shirt. It was of little use to him now. The gnome wrapped a cloth around the boy's torso. Alaron winced as it was tied off.

Cafer dug through a chest of clothing and tossed him a shirt of spun silk. "Here. This has never worked for me, but it should fit you."

The prince gently slipped the garment on. It hung nicely on his frame and, more importantly, it was not in tatters. After adjusting the shirt to his liking, Alaron tucked it in and retied the sword to his side. "Thank you. Is this your room?"

The gnome surveyed the area. "This place is mine," Cafer acknowledged. "Before I moved into the palace, this was my home. It is where I have been living the past few years."

"You have as much treasure as the Empress!" Alaron gawked at the beautiful items that were stacked and organized in neat piles.

Cafer smiled. "Not quite, my boy, but I am the second richest gnome to the king. I have amassed quite a fortune over the years." There was a pleasure in his mentor's voice that Alaron had not heard in a long time.

"I am surprised no one tried to steal it while you were gone."

"Gnomes do not steal treasure from other gnomes. It is the only law King Baak has in place. The penalty is death." Cafer laid out this rule in case the boy might be tempted to take something he saw. It would not be a good idea.

"You mean there is not law against murder?" Alaron gulped. After his run in with Grisley, the prince realized just how strong the gnomes could be. He would need to be extra careful if these creatures could kill without any penalty.

"We do not usually kill one another.." was all Cafer responded.

Alaron nodded, trying to hide the fear he felt. He would not ask if they killed outsiders. The answer was obvious.

"They will not kill you, young prince. At least not until after we have spoken to King Baak," Cafer comforted him. "And we should not keep him waiting any longer. Are you ready?"

"No," the prince answered honesty.

"Ha! You will never be ready. We will go anyway." Cafer changed into fresh clothing for himself and smoothed his thin hair. "How do I look?" He asked with an overly large smile. The gnome's stone-like teeth looked particularly grey in the cavern's light.

"You look like a traveling salesman," Alaron blurted the first thing that came into his head. He had seen them occasionally come to the palace to sell their wares to the servants.

To his surprise, Cafer was pleased. "Good. Maybe I can sell the king on our plan to take over the world. Now, follow me!"

When they exited Cafer's cave, guards were waiting for them. 'It is just a show of power,' the boy reminded himself. With their escort, the pair journeyed to Baak's throne room.

The king sat on his large stone throne. The top of it had been recently carved to mimic his image. Alaron had a hard time looking at the king's face. With his large yellowed eyes and hooked nose, he looked like an owl. Baak's belly bulged over his trousers. Being king meant he had a lot of food, but not a lot of action. Alaron chose to focus on the gaudy crown that sat atop the gnome king's head. 'I want a crown like that,' he thought to himself.

The pair approached the throne and bowed. Baak looked down at them as his mouth formed into a moue. "I have seen enough," he announced. "Kill them!"