Ch. 1 An Unexpected
Party on the Arizona Hills
Flip Bancroft is a midget (4’6”), late of Virginia where he served
as a Confederate cavalryman, now living in a prospector’s shack in Arizona with
his partner of all of three weeks, James Gandell. On the 21st day of
their partnership, James reveals that he is not from Richmond, but from another
world and has invited six Indians, who are not really Indians, to join them for
dinner. One of them is Princess Oakah Thorishield. Gandell wants Flip to go
with them.
Ch. 2 Roasted Dead
Flip and the six “red men” (5’ tall with reddish skin) set out to
find a cave that serves as a portal to the planet Aik’joom, only to be beset at
the cave by a throll (savage green men almost 10’ tall, with third arms)
cooking one of the “red men” they had left behind.
Ch. 3 A Short Rest and then Adventure
Flip and company are rejoined by Gandell in the hills on Aik’joom,
with Gandell revealing himself to be a magician. Gandell wants to lead them to
a town of thelves (like throlls, but only 8 ½’ tall and with average
intelligence) hidden in the hills, called Korandell. However, on the way there
they are ambushed by 10 thelf sentries.
Flip accidentally critically injures one because, unbeknownst even,
seemingly, to Gandell, Flip has extraordinary strength and athletic ability
while on Aik’joom. Despite Gandell’s
protestations, they are taken to Korandell as prisoners.
Ch. 4 Prisoners under
the Hill
While in the hillside
prison of the thelves, Gandell reveals more fully to Flip their purpose
here. In the home of the thelf leader,
Tars Tarrond, they hope to find a map showing the secret entrance to the
princess’ home city of Erebor. The Thorishields always ruled Erebor until years
ago when a great Martian dragon took it over. To prove his worth to Princess
Thorishield, who has been skeptical of, if not hostile to, Flip from the start,
Flip breaks out to find the map himself.
He befriends a thelf named Sola (and her six-legged hairless dog, Woola)
who gains him an audience with Tars.
Impressed, Tars offers to let him see the map. But he has no intention of releasing his
prisoners and has Flip returned to his cell.
But Gandell and company have managed to spring themselves by then and
they all race into tunnels from the prison to escape. The thelves don’t follow because the tunnels
are where the white goblins live.
Ch. 5 Riddle of the
Watch Dog
While fighting their way
through the white goblins, Flip is separated from the others and encounters
Woola again. At first he can’t imagine
how Woola found him, but he soon discovers that Sola and Woola were hurled into
the caves via a pit for having aided Flip.
Sola is injured from the fall and sent Woola for help. Flip and Woola come to Sola’s rescue just as
a creature called Gollum is about to attack her. Despite Gollum’s ability to turn invisible,
Flip beats him up and takes the ring that allowed him to do so.
Ch. 6 Out of the Fight
and into Friendship
Flip, Sola, and Woola
are reunited with Gandell, Thorishield, and the others and escape the caves to
daylight, only to find that Tars and a company of thelves have been waiting for
them. It turns out that they had
intended for Flip and company to enter the caves, as it serves as a gauntlet
for criminals to prove their innocence by surviving. Tars allows them all to go on their way, with
Sola and Woola joining the company.
Ch. 7 Lodgings and Child-Rearing
Gandell takes them next
to the hall of Beorn, a shapechanger.
Beorn has seven children and is amazed at how good Flip is with
kids. Tenderness and compassion are lost
skills in child-rearing on Aik’joom and Beorn asks Flips to stay behind as his
nanny. Gandell, at this point, leaves
the company, as Beorn has told him about business to the south that needs his
attention. Beorn uses shapeshifting to
fool the princess into thinking Flip has changed his mind about staying, and
then impersonates the princess to fool Flip into thinking they don’t want him
anymore. Luckily, Woola helps them see
through the deception and Beorn, ashamed, allows them all to leave.
Ch. 8 Captives of the
Spiders
While traveling on the lightly-wooded
plains, Flip and company (still missing Gandell) are accosted by another tribe
of thelves, this one led by Lorquas Ptomel, that uses trained spiders. All but Flip, who eludes them invisibly, is
captured. Later, while freeing her, Thorishield
speaks openly for the first time and Flip learns that the princess likes him
and respects him, but that her culture does not openly display such feelings.
Ch. 9 He Learns about
Barrels
While snooping around in
the thelves’ caves, Flip discovers a way for them all to escape via an
underground stream. Initially, he hopes
to hide everyone in barrels, but there is no way to fit Sola in a barrel and
Woola cries when stuffed inside one.
Unwilling to leave either of them, Flip comes up with a new plan. He tricks the thelves into getting drunk, springs
the others, and then they only have to fight their way out past the spiders to
escape.
Ch. 10 Welcoming the
Champions
Flip and company reach
Lake-Town, the first community of red men Flip has seen. The princess gains an audience with the
townmaster, only to discover both Tarrond and Ptomel are already there ahead of
them. The thelves don’t want to make
waves, as they need Lake-Town for trade (and, although this is the smallest
lake Flip has ever seen, it is the biggest lake the red men and thelves have
seen), but over the next week that Flip and company stay in town to stock up on
supplies, the thelves try to discredit the princess until the townmaster asks
them to leave so as not to make trouble.
Flip and the Princess are now friendly with each other, to the shock of
all other red men. She makes Flip her
personal champion.
Ch. 11 On the Doorstep with
Oakah Thorishield
Flip and company cross
the desert around Erebor and, en route, Oakah tells Flip more of the planet’s
history. How it had once been an arid
desert world, barely inhabitable, until her ancestors in Erebor invented
weather controlling machines. The
machines have not been maintained since the dragon came and chased everyone out
and Oakah fears the environment is already suffering from droughts caused by
machine failure. Little do they know,
though, that Tarrond and Ptomel are sneaking after them along with five of
their best warriors, including the more throll-like Tal Hajas .
Ch. 12 Prisoners with Information
Flip and company reach
Erebor and settle into the outer city to make camp and quietly fortify against
the dragon. The thelves meanwhile, have
had a disagreement. Tarrond only wants
to observe from a safe distance how well the company does against Smaug, but
Ptomel means to sneak in to the inner city ahead of the company and warn Smaug
himself. Tarrond and the two warriors loyal
to him withdraw while Ptomel moves on, only to be captured by the dragon Smaug
in the inner city. Ptomel, of course,
squeals like a pig to save his life.
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