Med Mithrandirs kommentar ser det ut som att gargoylen heter Spar och rogue heter Gorlen, och det är i mars 2009 av The Magazine of Fantasy och Science Fiction. Här är ett utdrag ur en översyn av ett senare problem som hänvisar till historien :
“Quickstone” appeared as a novelette in the March 2009 F&SF. The backstory of the maiden Gorlen deflowered (Plenth is her name) is told, which angered the priest of Nardath to curse both he and Spar. Plenth has not been mentioned in previous stories until now, and only now as a story within this current story. Otherwise, there are no females here. First appearance of Spar, the gargoyle who was cursed to trade his stone hand for Gorlen’s flesh and blood hand.
Uppenbarligen samlades berättelserna under rubriken Tales of Gorlen Vizenfirthe
The first Gorlen story was a novel, long since lost to time (written in the author’s teens and shredded in his twenties). In that novel of origins, the young bard Gorlen Vizenfirthe was given the typical task of saving the world. To keep him on track, one of his fingers was cut off and replaced with the stone finger of a gargoyle. As long as Gorlen kept on his quest, the stone was limited to his finger; but if he strayed, or tried to avoid his duty, the stone took over more of his flesh. By the time he had finished saving the world, the single gargoyle finger had become an entire hand. Assuming the corresponding gargoyle had seen similar transformations in its flesh finger, Gorlen sought this nameless goyle in hopes of arranging an exchange. The gargoyle’s name turned out to be Spar, but Spar had no ability to undo the magic of the priest who had done the deed in the first place. Together, they now seek this itinerant mage, hoping for restoration to their original forms.
