Chapter 1 (sample)
Pada

 

   "Not a good idea, Laine.” Tanlen didn't even raise his head. He was too busy trying to fit the last piece. Besides, this conversation took place so frequently the old man could argue alone.
   "Pada, you say the same every time." Laine hoped now that she was older, her father would agree to the idea.
   "You're a Tinker, and this is Tinker Town, you should be used..." The old Gnome didn't finish his sentence. A gear flew off and ricocheted against the rear wall; then a spring fired off and hit the ceiling. A cable came loose and flailed its way directly at Laine. She managed to back away from the stinging menace, tipping the chair backward and landing on her rump.
   "Pada, I think..." A second cable whipped at her face.
    The old Gnome dived under a table. "Down! Girl"
   A third cable came loose and made its try at Laine. The machine gained a life of its own, hell-bent on causing as much damage as possible before the pressure of the steam let loose. The Gnome under-the-table tried to reign in the building force; one knob came off in his hand, every try failed. Laine reached under the table and bear-hugged the old Gnome to the point he lost his breath.
   "This is going to hurt!" and out the small window, she went with the Gnome still clutched to her bosom.
   Both Laine and her passenger got the wind knocked out of them but they escaped the maniacal machine. While they were still on the wet leafy ground, smoke began pouring from every knothole of the workshop; thrashing and crashing noises came from inside, a loud clang, a belch of steam, and then silence.
   "Well," the old Gnome snickered, "That went well."
   "Pada, your specs are broken," pointing to the goggles on the Gnome’s head.
   "Ah, Ill fix'em later.” The Gnome stood brushing the leaves off his pants.    "Let's eat.  Getting attacked by a gadget makes me hungry."
   That's Pada. Tanlen Green Tinker, Son of Salpos, Heir to the Green Tinker Clan. That is the way you're supposed to introduce him. Amborlaine's (referred to by most as Laine) adopted father. To Laine he was Pada.  In the common tongue, it means Father. Tanlen is the man that adopted and raised  Laine twenty years ago.
   Amborlaine knew she'd been adopted. It would be impossible to keep that a secret. Early on it grew clear that she wasn't a Gnome. She didn't sport a bulbous nose or white hair and she outgrew her father at about five years old, though in all other senses Amborlaine was Gnomish. She ate the same food, played the same games, went to the same school and most important of all she learned the same skills-- the skills of being a Tinker.