Temple Hill - Drew Karpyshyn [46]
Fendel gave Corin the quick once over, then added. "It wasn't designed for someone your size, my broad shouldered friend. The spreader will bend the bars enough for Lhasha to slip through, but you might have a tight squeeze."
"Maybe I should just go in alone," Lhasha said. "Corin can wait for me on the roof."
Corin flatly refused.
"I still think this is a trap. We only go if I'm with you every step of the way."
The gnome squinted one eye and tilted his head to the side, measuring the warrior's girth.
"You should fit, Corin-barely-but you won't be able to wear any armor."
"Just so long as I can bring my sword."
"Anything else you need to show us?" Lhasha asked.
"Sorry, Lhasha. This is kind of spur of the moment. I don't have much else. If I had a tenday to put something together…" After a brief pause, the gnome snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute! There is one more thing. Not an invention exactly, but it might come in useful."
From his belt the gnome pulled a large, oddly shaped earring carved from a solid chunk of grayish white stone.
"Jewelry?" Lhasha said, a little taken aback. "You know I love to make an impression, Fendel. But that thing…"
"Not much for style," Fendel admitted. "But its not for parties. The earring is carved from a very rare kind of gemstone I, uh, stumbled across. Audimite, I call it."
"I still don't understand."
"Audimite has some rather unique properties." He handed the earring to Lhasha. "Go stand on the far side of the room, and clasp this to your ear. Corin and I will stay here."
Lhasha did as she was told.
Fendel put a hand on Corin's shoulder and pulled him down so that the gnome was able to bring his mouth close to the taller man's ear. The gnome leaned in so far that Corin could actually feel hot breath tickling the tiny hairs inside his ear. In a voice that was so faint it was almost imagined, Fendel whispered, "I think Lhasha's gaining weight."
From the other side of the room, Lhasha shouted out an indignant response.Tm in the best shape of my life, you blind old coot!"
"You heard that?" Corin exclaimed in disbelief. Even with the acute hearing of her elf heritage there was no way Lhasha should have been able to pick up Fendel's voice from that distance.
"Yeah I heard it, and I hear you, too. No need to shout."
"I wasn't shouting," Corin answered in a calm voice.
"You're still shouting," Lhasha countered. "You're so loud you're going to make my ears bleed!"
"Lhasha-love," Fendel said, still whispering. "The Audimite amplifies sounds. Take the earring off."
Lhasha did as she was told.
"How's this?" Fendel asked in a normal voice.
"Much better," she replied, rubbing her ear where the earring had been. "I thought Corin was going to blow my eardrums out."
"Yes, there are some dangers to using audimite, but if you need to eavesdrop from a safe distance, it can be pretty handy."
"Sorcery," Corin said. "Are you a cleric of Gond, or a wizard in disguise?"
"Oh, I assure you," Fendel said with a sly smile, "I'm a legitimate follower of the Wonderbringer. There's nothing in Gond's teachings that forbids us from working something of the magi's art into our creations. The High Artificer might not approve, but he rarely approves of anything I do anyway."
From the first time he'd seen Fendel's odd farming contraption, Corin had suspected something more than simple mechanical engineering in the gnome's work. For a brief second, Corin let his mind turn to thoughts of the metal hand Fendel had promised him. He had been skeptical about the possible results, but if the wizened inventor planned to infuse the creation with some type of magical enchantment…
Lhasha brought the warrior's thoughts back to the here and now by quickly, and none too subtly, changing the topic from the role of wizardry in Fendel's craft. "The sooner we