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. Usually if
gnomes set out to put wheels under something that
weighs ten pounds, they'll wind up using fifteen or
twenty wheels and each wheel might weigh a ton...
then there'll be traction devices, and who knows how
many clutch and brake assemblies, and whistles and
bells and adjustable levers to adjust the adjustments, and
the whole thing won't move an inch under any circum-
stances."
"Or it might throw itself off a mountain, or dig itself
into the ground," the elf added. "Whatever that thing is,
it doesn't look like any gnomish thing I've seen."
Barter was busy. First snow shone on the high peaks of
the Kharolis Mountains, late harvests were being com-
pleted in the valleys, and people everywhere were pre-
paring for winter. The trading taking place now would
be the last until spring for most who came, and the vil-
lage was bustling with activity. Dwarves, elves, gnomes,
kender, and humans walked the ways and gathered at
stalls and pavilions. Bards, acrobats, jugglers, and elixir-
hawkers plied their trades. Warriors, farmers, crafts-
men, and clerics rubbed shoulders with wizards and
rangers, and the usual volatile peace of Barter held sway.
At any streetcorner, at any moment, there might be a
dozen separate swindlings, thieveries, fair deals and foul
going on simultaneously, but weapons were kept
sheathed and no blood flowed
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