Trapspringer's Tale
Copyright (C) 1996 by Blake Sorensen

	Once in an age, the gods of Krynn gather in the Khalkist
Mountains in a place known as Godshome.  They have no worry of
intrusion by the mortals, for none could possibly approach them
without their knowing.  
	The last time such a gathering occurred was
just prior to the Cataclysm, when Gilean realized that the Kingpriest
was tipping the balance to far to the side of good.  All of the gods were 
in attendance, in one form or another, including the Queen of Darkness.
Although still unable to enter the world, she spoke through a retainer
called forth from the Abyss.  

	While the gods argued over the course of 
action that would best restore the balance, a lone kender mapping the 
area perceived the wondrous forces at work in the clearing ahead.  So 
involved in the discussion were the gods, that only one took note of his 
presence, and he said nothing to his fellows.  Indeed, Gilean was 
aware of this kender named Trapspringer, and also of what the final 
outcome would be.  
	As the kender entered the clearing, moving as 
unnoticeably as only a kender can, he saw the assembled gods, in their 
myriad forms, and knew he was witnessing something more exciting 
than any kender in history.  As his eyes roamed around, they came to 
rest on a book, laying on the ground next to a wizened man in red robes.  
Thinking it perhaps had maps, and not wanting the man to forget that he 
had laid it down, Trapspringer moved forward, picked up the book, and 
opened it.  Gilean knew the potential consequences of allowing a 
kender to skim the _Tobril_, but as the other gods came to a difficult 
agreement, so had he known drastic measures were needed.  
	As the kender read, he began to change.  The knowledge in the Tobril had 
made Gilean from a mortal into a god, and was now having a similar 
effect on the kender.  
	After some time had passed, the gods were finally 
agreed - the world must be taught a lesson.  This was the compromise: 
the gods of good would send thirteen warnings to the Kingpriest of Istar.  
If he was swayed from his course of action, then disaster could be 
averted, if not, then the gods of evil demanded that the world be 
sundered in a horrific cataclysm.  
	As the other gods returned to their 
home planes, Gilean finally approached the kender, and retrieved his 
tome.  The kender was startled, but returned the book, after an 
explanation of how he had found it abandoned on the ground.  The god 
and newly elevated demigod then parted, and Trapspringer returned to 
his maps, with only a vague recollection of the event.
	In any case, the warnings came and went, as Gilean knew 
they would.  The Cataclysm struck, tearing the land apart, forming new 
oceans, and raising new mountains.  Despair walked the land after this, 
as people struggled to come to terms with what had occurred.  Even the 
normally irrepressible kender race was in shock, many having lost 
friends and relatives when the Blood Sea was formed, dragging parts of 
Goodlund under water.  
	It has been said that nothing is as depressing as 
a sad kender, but now this race echoed the sentiments of all the people 
of the world, which merely deepened the depths to which people fell.  
The gods of evil had known this would be the case, - the balance had 
swung heavily in their favor, further than Paladine and the other gods 
of good had expected.  
	Fortunately, Gilean had anticipated this, and 
had planned for it.  The new demigod kender, Trapspringer, made his 
way through the broken lands to his home of Kendermore, where he 
discovered the state his fellow kender were in.  Through his assurances 
that the lost friends and family had gone on to a new and greater 
adventure, and his general good cheer, he managed to bring the other 
kenders back to their normal selves.  
	As another kender hero has stated, "It's the small things that 
make the difference."  Seeing the kender back to normal, (and having to deal 
with the trouble that usually brings) forced other races to worry about 
something other than themselves, and so were distracted from their problems.  
The outrageous stories were being told in taverns again, and people were 
remembering how to laugh.  
	It took many years, but 'Uncle' Trapspringer, as he came to be known, 
made his way to other kender settlements, spreading a small light of hope and 
good cheer wherever he went.  Although the dark times were to remain that way 
for some time,they were not as evil a time as they could have been, thanks to one 
curious kender.  
	He still roams the land, giving his aid to those who 
need it, swapping stories and maps with other kender, and generally 
making a nuisance of himself, but he still instills a renewed sense of 
hope wherever he goes.  The kender celebrations known simply as 
Trapspringer Days are in remembrance of this hero, though not even 
the kender realize why he is so admired.  And indeed the festivals are 
impossible to attend and remain sad, which is perhaps all that can be 
asked of a party.  So, have some Kenderlager (only if you watched the 
preparation closely), pull up a blanket, listen to the stories, and 
remember how one irrepressible kender brought a ray of hope into a 
broken world, and you never know - Uncle Trapspringer himself may
wander by.