Haven at the Gold Dragon Inn?

As they are herded off by the only slightly mollified tigress, the merry Shishin bid you farewell with much affection. As they wave goodbye and climb the mountain path into the mist, you can see the trees part as a lovely woman appears carrying a lantern.

"You are very clever to make the trees part for you. I am one of their guardians, and not many make it through. Come, it is getting dark, and there are many things in this mountain."

As she leads you along the path, she converses about her life and family, and the importance of a heritage. She is especially fond of all the industrious men in her life.

"All of my men, my father, my husband, my brother, my uncle, and my favorite cousin, live in nearby villages. In no particular order, their names are Dong Ju, Chow Yun, Hyun Do, Akira, and Yang Yang.

No two live in the same village, so they're spread out over Jeong, Otgol, Namak, Unhwa, and Gosan. They all have different trades, too. One is an artist, another a teacher, and there's a shaman, a monk, and a student.

Of course, my husband isn't related to the others except by marriage, but it should be easy for you, as adventurers to figure out the relationships to me, where each lives and what each does. Yes?"

I'll give you some clues:

1. The man in Gosan is the father of the monk and the shaman is the father of the man in Otgol.
2. Akira is the son of the man in Namak and Yang Yang is the artist's son.
3. Dong Ju is the father of the man in Unhwa and Hyun Do is the father of the student.
4. My cousin does not live in Otgol.

She gives a merry laugh.

"That's all you get, but I know you can do it!"

After about an hour's travel, the darkness has closed in, but you can suddenly see the end of the grove path and a smooth road leading down into an inn.

It reminds you so much of the Wayward Squirrel, you feel a bit homesick, but the lanterns surrounding this one do not have the warmth of the amber gold glow of the Squirrel's lights. It seems a bit ironic that they are lit blueish white, since the sign proclaims it to be the Gold Dragon.

The guardian stops at the end of the grove and bids you farewell. Suddenly you feel a bit lost in a strange landscape, and you hurry past a small cave and down the path as fast as you can.

As you pile into the inn, Klytie reaches for Junu's arm. "Wait!" she says softly.

"I'm hungry and tired, but what is it?"

"That cave back there, and the sound coming from it. Even this inn. It all reeks of goblin."

Junu looks puzzled. "I know you're a faerie, but this is Sinhae."

"I know, and they shouldn't be here. But, please, just for a moment, can we go back? I have a light spell. I need to know what's in that cave."

Junu studies her face and notes the worry. "All right. Let's check things out first."

As the rest of you enter the inn, you are greeted by a friendly man in a simple robe, who claps his hands for the servants to bring you refreshments.

You move forward, but Larianne stops dead in her tracks. Her face, which a moment before was lit with joy, falls as she sees Tanaka, sitting comfortably at the back table, with a beautiful Gisaeng on his lap.

Slowly, Larianne approaches the table. Tanaka looks up, surprised.

"Larianne, what brings you here? Were you worried about me? You didn't need to be. I'm in good hands with Sayirumi." He laughs. "But have a seat. Have a drink, since you don't even have to serve it!"

The beautiful woman named Sayirumi rises and bows to you. Everything about her is graceful.

"Please, all of you. Rest and refresh yourself as honored guests. Rooms are being prepared for all of you. I can see you are much in need of a good night's sleep."

Larianne, still stunned, flops down and takes the glass offered to her. She doesn't even notice Lappy back silently up and out the door.

Outside, the pup runs in search of his mistress' new friend, Klytie. He has to trace the path back to the cave they passed on the way to the inn. There he hears her voice, and Junu's as well. They seem to be speaking to someone far at the back.

He runs closer.

"There's someone asking for help," Klytie explains. "His voice sounds a little familiar, but he seems to be a...goblin."

"Get me out of this hole," the voice begs, "I must tell you things."

"Morrow? Is that you?" Lappy asks.

"Lappy? Thank the powers! That inn! It's full of..."

"Goblins," Junu finishes. "Yes, we know."

"No, you don't," Morrow says. "There's more, much more. But I'm running out of air down here, and you can't use even the smallest bit of magic."

"We'll get you out!" Lappy barks back.

Junu shakes his head. "I can't lift him with a melody. There's too many sharp rocks in the way."

Klytie agrees. "We can't get down to him."

"You can't, but the companions can. I'm too little to go by myself, but they shut almost all of us outside. I'll go bring help. Morrow, hold on!"

(OOC: This is a companions only challenge. Please see the OOC thread for this chapter for rules and details.)

IN COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nightshade heard the commotion and went out back to where the bard and the changling were.

“Ok, what is it THIS time? I thought we were here for the brat?”

He then hears the goblin’s voice coming from waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down in the hole.

“Of course you’d be stuck down there…. Let me guess, we can’t go down to help him and all that pleasantness in the Inn is a trap.”

Marrow’s voice sounded surprised and a bit alarmed as he and the two companions said in unison “Wait! You KNEW!!!!”

He rolled his eyes at them “beautiful women, lots of food and a warm bed… jee I wonder why I would think it was a trap” his tone dripping with sarcasm. The only treatment he got was the one he earned, and that one included lots of scolding faces and warning glances. Beautiful women swooning was never part of his luck package.

Well his little monologue wasn’t going to get that goblin out of the hole…. It did however scare the little spirit clinging to his leg and it started jumping up and down.

“Oh yeah, forgot about you” he said absent mindedly. Once he left the front door a little soot spirit clung to his leg, those usually lived around large furnaces so it was strange to find one outside the house and not in it. It was probably kicked out once the house was taken over.

“Hey fuzz ball, instead of spreading soot on my new clothes how would you like to help get your home back from those nasty women with their perfect faces and oversized rakes?” Nightshade asked the Sootball spirit. The changling shot him a warning glace and he finally started to feel more comfortable in his surroundings, yep that was his lot in life right there!

The Spirit looked angry at the mention of the invaders and rightfully so, it was by all accounts homeless now!!!! It started jumping up and down wondering what to do.

Nightshade pointed at the hole. “Get that out of there. That’ll be a good start. I need to get back to the inn before someone realizes I’m gone though so make it quick!”

The Sootball look down the hole and then jumped in merrily. Its soft body bouncing off the wall in a cute cloud of soot until it landed next to Morrow.

Seeing as how it was barely bigger than an adult’s palm with twig like arms and legs it’s attempt to push the goblin up were…. And this came as a surprise to no one except the spirit itself… Unsuccessful!

The little spirit didn’t give up though, it heaved and shoved with all its might... and failed again.

“I…. I don’t think this’ll work.” Morrow said eyeing the tiny spirit.

The little sootball wasn’t about to give up though! It bounced on the goblins head and onto the walls of the hole until it reached the opening. It didn’t stop and passed the group to the outside heading in the direction of the inn.

Nightshade wasn’t sure what to do then, he thought the spirit might expand or something but that was obviously not going to happen, he needed to think of another way to get the goblin out…. Ropes? The rocks looked sharp, really sharp! Fill the hole with water and float him out? Well can he swim? And where would he get the water?

He suddenly felt the ground rumbling under his feet and the sound of a mighty avalanche heading his way, he turned around and saw a stampede of hundreds… maybe thousands of little sootballs bouncing and rolling through the cave opening and heading for the hole leaving a trail of soot behind them!

They lined the walls of the hole covering the edges with their soft squishy bodies, then the second batch went down linking their arms and legs together to form a ladder for the goblin to climb out. There on the top of the ladder, bouncing around full of glee was the little sootball that had clung to Nightshade.

couple of disasters

Sorn ignored the prattling of the woman guiding them to the inn. He honestly didn’t give a damn about her family or how they were related. These people were surely testing his patience. Ignoring seemed to be the best way, or he would likely strike the lady with a lightning bolt and wind up in jail or something. Gods he was tired. They had been going since dawn, traveling and chasing silly creatures and he had performed some amazing magical feats. When they arrived at the outside of the inn, he noticed most of the animals were outside the inn, something was very fishy about this. The pixie kept stirring in his pocket and Sorn got annoyed—he was frustrated because he was tired. He picked it up by the wings—which if it hurt the creature it didn’t show it. “Why don’t you go get eaten?” he said surly, “Or help with the stupid goblin whilst we check this out.”

Dash flashed a crooked smile and cooed at his cat. “Go, check out the problem. Do what you can to help.” Eolus, the demon rabbit thing that belonged to Savio, was grooming Kara’s hair. He had just finished grooming Sorn’s long and soft hair, making his nightly rounds. After a final lick that seemed to deliberately get Kara’s mouth, he climbed down and followed Ari—having understood the directions Dash gave quite easily.

Conall tapped Cerac’s hand affectionately and followed after the other companions. Zhah waved to Sorn happily. He was glad finally have something the drow wanted him to do. The little pixie loved the surly man and longed to show it. Zipping ahead of them he trilled a little song which brought fireflies around them, lighting the way as they worked their way to the cave.

Ari heard the goblin’s pleas and curiously cocked her head. She listened for a few moments and then teleported directly below the goblin. (OOC: The teleporting is part of her body, like shape shifting which GR said was not magic) Sadly, she could not teleport the goblin—though that sure would be so much easier. Eolus, sleek as he was agile, ambled down the narrow opening with Zhah flying after him. The fireflies followed Zhah, giving them a little extra light. Conall alternated from looking down at the others and around the cave’s opening. It wouldn’t do for them to be ambushed.

When Eolus and Zhah arrived at Morrow’s location, Eolus perched on the goblin’s head. He looked to contemplating a bit of grooming but with a sneeze and a grumbling chirrup he climbed back onto the wall. Luckily his tail was long and it curled around the goblin’s waist as Zhah grabbed a piece of the man’s shirt to try and make sure he didn’t hit the jagged walls. Eolus started to climb, taking his slow sweet time as Zhah started to tug, whilst Ari pushed the goblin’s behind with her head. Ari’s nose wrinkled, she was not thrilled to be had the business end of a goblin, no matter how nice it was and whoever heard of a goblin’s rear being nice? Nice and ripe maybe.

Ari was also pretty sure Eolus was taking his time on purpose but what could she do about it? It was too dangerous to go fast and Zhah was having a hard enough time keeping Morrow from harming himself on the pointy rocks. He was too small to really be of much help and not to mention holding a shirt wasn’t exactly that secure.

They wiggled, shoved and tugged the goblin when Eolus suddenly stopped and there was a rather loud crunch. What, fireflies were tasty and all that pulling was hard work! Besides, it had kept landing on his nose. After he finished his snack he finally continued on until they reached the top where Conall grabbed the neck of the goblin's shirt to help pull him the rest of the way out. He then danced around in joy, which knocked Eolus back into the cave. A disgruntled Eolus worked his way back out of the cave and swiped at Conall. Then he turned his tail and mooned him. Ari was taking her time grooming herself, to remove the goblin smell from her. At least the goblin was out of the hole and she might have enjoyed watching Eolus get flung back into the cave, served him right.

Catnip Thieves Animal Rescue

Elethia and Mr. Scoots

After a long and weary journey, Elethia wanted to do nothing more than have a few drinks, pig out, and sleep for a week. Being ushered into the inn her eyes light up at all of the refreshments and food prepared for them. Digging in happily, she pauses when she notices that Mr. Scoots isn't with her. As she begins to search and call out for him, one of the inn workers informs her that their companions were not allowed in and had to be left outside. She returns back to her chair next to Aodh and Lizzy and stews unhappily about this unexpected turn of events. Poor Mr. Scoots. I hope that they at least provide food for them and shelter outside. I'm definitely pushing for us to head out in the morning since I don't like him being gone that long from my side. Elethia frets to herself

Elethia had a right to worry, but for another reason entirely. Mr. Scoots realizing that he wouldn't be under her watchful eye for the evening had begun to resume his stalking of Lizzys mouse. Before he could catch it, the wily little beast ducked behind a barrel and thwarted his plan. Grumbling to himself, he glares at Aodhs sprite when it seems to be amused with their antics.

Before long Mr. Scoots ears perk up as he hears something heading their way and fast. The companions not liking that their owners are inside, but not having a choice about it, prepare themselves for battle. Thankfully it's not a monster bounding towards them, but their friend Lappy. He's almost hysterical and clearly exhausted by the time he arrives to them. He tells them what's going on and gestures for them to follow him. Not liking this one bit, Mr. Scoots, the mouse Ratte, and the dark sprite Sliocach set out to follow him.

Grumbling the whole way, Mr. Scoots ponders how they're going to get Morrow out of his predicament. None of them are strong enough to pull him out so he knows they will have to have something else to help him out with. Ratte notices some fish netting that was left behind from a worker earlier in the day. Calling a truce for now, Ratte gestures for the cat to help him out with gathering it up. They then trudge along with the net the rest of the way while Mr. Scoots continues to inspect the net in case a fish managed to still be caught in there.

Arriving at the cave, the three companions peer in uneasily. Wanting to get this over with and fast, Mr. Scoots internally shrugs and trudges in. The other two eventually race off to join him. The cave is damp and the air quality is thin, but hopefully they won't be in there long. Not much light filters through the cave, but thankfully they all have pretty good night vision. The sprite arrives at the hole first and they can hear Morrows cries from down below. He seems to be getting weaker by the moment so Mr. Scoots knows that they have to act now.

Grabbing onto one end of the net with his paws, he finds a sturdy enough structure near the lip of the hole and proceeds to wind the net around it. Not knowing if this will be a good enough anchor, he yowls for Ratte to keep an eye on the end of the net and let him know if it's coming loose. Mr. Scoots then grabs the other end of the net and lowers it into the hole. As the net trails downward, the sprite then follows the length of it to the bottom where Morrow is.

Aodh and Slíocach

Aodh stared at his food rather gloomily. Yes, being in the warmth of a house again was fine and he loved the opportunity of taking a bath - in fact he had insisted on doing so before they had dinner. Leaving Slíocach outside however, did not sit easy with him. He was used to having his friend around.

The sprite in question had an immense time of fun, watching Mr. Scoots and Ratte play. Well, Ratte surely would not agree with this definition of the word play but ... who was he to care about that? His evening amusement came to a stop when suddenly Lappy appeared, quite out of breath and clearly distressed. Well... looked like finally it was their chance to shine! Helping Aodh and the others was nice but now and then the sprite yearned for some praise just for himself.

Slíocach floated behind Mr. Scoots and Ratte, towards the cave where Morrow was stuck. As soon as he saw the entrance, the sprite became uneasy. He did not like caves. They were always small and navigating through them was a pain, as often there was not enough room to levitate for him. Still in order to get the fame he had spotted on the horizon, the sprite bravely dove into the hole.

Leaving Ratte and Mr. Scoots to secure the net, Slíocach floated down along it, emitting a small glow, akin to a dark firefly.He did his best to alert Morrow to the net, nipping and pushing when the man seemed to falter. Failure simply would not do! There might have been gentler ways but a dark sprite was not known to be nice. Finally the small sprite floated out of the cave, followed by a disgruntled Morrow, who seemed not amused, yet was happy that he was finally out of his predicament.

The Traveler's Companions to the Rescue

May was thrilled to see the Shishin returned unharmed. That meant that the travelers would not be seeing the vicious side of the tigress. She slinked off into the darkness as the travelers passed through the trees on the wide path after solving all of the puzzles. Though she was beautiful and inspiring, May would be happy to not encounter the tigress again for some time. Some of those puzzles exhausted all of her mental power. As the travelers plodded along on the path to the inn, May realized just how physically exhausted she was as well. They had been through a lot on their way to this point, and they really hadn't gotten any adequate rest along the way. With her lute slung on her back and her bag hanging on one shoulder, May heaved herself up in to the saddle of her gray shire horse, Dapper. Always by her side since the death of her parents, Dapper had been a good friend. They had been on many travels together, though none quite as impressive as this one. May tuned out for a bit while the guardian of the trees leads them to the inn. She hadn't realized that about an hour had passed, but she was eager to get inside for some food, a beverage, and a nice rest.

Nikko had been given to Emma when she was only a child, her uncle rescued Nikko from a traveling circus. Because Nikko often picked the pockets of the vistors, after many complaints the circus had no choice but to get rid of her. Emma's mom thought it was not a good idea for such a young girl to have a monkey as a companion. Her dad on the other hand, knew that they were perfect for each other. Often mischievous, Emma would find small trinkets Nikko had "brought her". As the years passed, Nikko became Emma's best friend and constant companion. As Emma started learning spells, Nikko became very resourceful in helping gather the items she needed and became quite proficient in assisting Emma in most everything she did. As Emma looked forward to a drink with her friends she reminded Nikko to behave and that she would be out soon ...

She definitely was not pleased when her beautiful dog Ninja was made to stay outside! Having become too used to the companion's company at her side constantly, Willow paused to take off her glasses and stare at the Inn with the strange blue lights while using her shirt to clean the lenses. Kneeling to pet her friend behind the ears and put a little food in a bowl.. "I won't be gone long girl, give yourself a little rest on the porch and I'll be back soon with another treat". With a wag of Ninja's tail, Willow removed the travel bag from across her shoulders which held most of the supplies and laid it on the porch near Ninja hoping to make her feel more at ease. She then turns to the door of the Inn and takes a seat near her friends as a man in a simple robe assures them food and drink would arrive soon and someone named Sayirumi greeted them. "Maybe we should check on Junu soon if not return.." Mumbling more to herself then anyone else, she relaxed and took the stout offered.

The Gold Dragon was not quite what she expected. Upon seeing the blueish-white lights outside of the inn, May thought to herself, "Maybe they should have called this the Cold Dragon instead." The lights were not the most inviting. May carefully got down off of Dapper and made sure all of her belongings were still with her. Not knowing how long they would be here, May opted to tie Dapper to the hitching post outside instead of arranging for a stable. She made sure he could reach the trough of cold water while she went to the stable to search for a bale of hay to Dapper to munch on. Once Dapper was taken care of, May joined her fellow travelers inside for an oatmeal stout and whatever food her friends had ordered.

Chook and her companion, Bear walked up to the door of the inn. "You know I do not allow you to come into establishments like this. You know that you drink all the mead and then you run amok. Stay outside, go sit with Ninja and behave yourself." This said, Chook opened the door to the inn hoping that Willow had ordered her a beer.

Hearing just a simple bark from the door, Willow stood on high alert...."There is a problem" Swiftly at the door, she pauses looking at the puzzling site of all the companions preparing to leave with Emma's monkey Nikko swiftly untying Hoss' lead. Ninja and Bear were behind Lappy ready to depart as the plight of the goblin was quickly explained. Willow gave Ninja a special hug and whispered "Come back safe friend" getting a brief lick on the face then Oceahna leaned down to pick up Misty and began to pet her as the purring suddenly became quite loud.."Take care, we won't be able to talk from the cave.. Follow the rest and remember to use your claws when needed"

Dapper is quite content to be munching on some delicious hay. He had seen more excitement on this trip than in all of his other travels combined. It was nice to have a quiet moment surrounded by other companion animals. He paused from his munching for a moment to get a cool drink of water when he saw a puppy run toward a nearby cave. Dapper nickers to his fellow horses, Hoss and Cooper, beckoning them to pay attention as well. In case of danger, May had taught him how to unhitch himself from a post, and he used that skill presently to get closer to the cave, dragging the hitching rope behind him.

Kronus called Cooper over and whispered in his ear what he wanted him to do..asking him to be very careful in bringing up the 3 foot tall friend without harm. "You will have to get yourself into position to drop down the rope at the right time. All three of the horses will be doing this very same task...You'll have to work together ok?"

Before entering the Gold Dragon, Jed made sure Hoss was well brushed down and had plenty of feed and water and then tied him over by Dapper and Cooper. He was enjoying his cold beverage and relaxing with his friends, observing the goings-on between Larianne and Tanaka, and the elegant woman introduced as Sayirumi. Jed gave a bit of a start when he looked out the window and saw that monkey- "what was it's name? Sounds like cat in Japanese? Oh yeah, Nikko"- untying Hoss! He excused himself to go check it out, when he saw Kronus was already ahead of him, by his horse Cooper.

It wasn't a long trip to the cave following the others, Ninja looked back once to see her charge, Willow still on the porch watching and gave another wag of her furry tail hoping to relieve the worry seen on her charge's face. She had ropes in her mouth that she had dug out of the bag Willow left for her on the porch being as prepared as Willow usually is. As a human, Ninja loved her totally, she was wonderful but fairly weak compared to other animals. Ninja didn't know if just her or all Chow Chows but from the day they first met as a small pup, she has stored in her senses the smell, taste and feel of soft friendly hands of this one person, bonding and vowing to protect her forever. With a hint of mischief in her eye, Ninja gives a slight huff at the idea that her human actually thought she was taking care of her.. a strong, beautiful furred specimen!

Nudging Cooper when he got distracted at the lush grass, Ninja gave a yip and almost dropped the ropes at something suddenly jumping on her back until she realized it was only Nikka getting a free ride. Nikka, helping Dapper by holding his lose lead, then jumps from Ninja's back up to Hoss' as the companions make their way to the cave over a small dirt trail. Once at the cave, it was only a few steps before Lappy gives an excited bark and Junu points to a rather steep incline lined with many sharp rocks. Klytie remains back with the horses unable to fit in the small opening even before the incline. Light as a feather, Missy meows once then begins to climb down the inclines missing the sharp places by instinct or perhaps the familiar had some characteristics of her mage Protector even though magic was blocked. Nikka followed having taken the ropes from Ninja and tying it onto the horns of the horses' saddles.

The Goblin appears in a bad way once they descend, not speaking and the breath was too slow judged by Misty who put her whiskers up to his mouth not even getting a response from the obvious tickling sensation. The monkey easily managed to glide between rock and Goblin skin to pull the ropes around one at a time. With all three ropes secure, Misty climbs back up as Nikka and Junu sit on top of the Goblin's head for the ride. At Misty's meow, all three horses began to slowly move from the opening of the cave with Bear minding the rope making sure of no tangles. When the unconscious Goblin's head clears the opening, Junu and Nikka jumps down as Bear uses his claws to carefully grab his jacket, turning him over and Bear and Ninja get him in position for Cooper to again pull on the rope. The Goblin is slowly pulled onto the saddle of Dapper with Bear and Ninja assisting and Nikka mainly supervising jumping from one saddle to the other. Mindful of their charge laying over the saddle, they all make their way back to the Inn wasting no time, hoping Morrow will wake and be fine soon.

Back at the Inn, tapping her fingers on the table nervously, Willow takes another swallow of her now stale beer. "I hope they are alright, I assume someone will come get us if they need help?" mumbling to anyone in the general vicinity then stopping to see the other Protectors staring at the window as someone shouts "They're coming!"

Organized Chaos Rescue Vernon...oh, and Morrow

: Just as the Protectors were saying goodbye to the Shishin by the bridge, Lini the Lurie spied something clinging to blades of grass at the edge of the stream under the bridge. She squeaked and nudged Doom, her honey-badger friend and gave her a thought which caused Doom to look down in the grass. Doom made a grunt which caught the attention of Buttercup and Azure. “It’s a baby opossum, you have to save it Doom.” The faerie exclaimed.

The three companions followed Doom down the bank of the stream to the edge of the water and approached the small creature “He’s barely keeping his nose above water, grab him!” Buttercup fluttered down and looked for something to latch on to and picked up the tip of the opossum’s tail. Azure dove into the water and pushed the little creature from behind and paddled with his tail like his otter cousins had taught him. Doom stepped into the stream, got her muzzle under the small creature and lifted him up out of the water. She felt his little claws clamp onto her nose and slowly backed away to safety.

Once back up on the grass, Doom lowered her muzzle and shook the little opossum while Lini pulled him off of Doom’s nose onto the grass. The other companions gathered around. “He looks drowned.” Buttercup flittered down and landed next to the wet little creature. “He’s shivering. I hope he’s going to be alright.” She stroked his head and brushed some of his fur away from his eyes. “I will name him Vernon.”

At that moment, Vernon opened his eyes and stared at the four bigger creatures for only a few seconds, then performed the only skill he had mastered in his very short little life. He flopped over and ‘died.’

Doom plopped down on her rump and snorted, Azure made two full circles around Vernon, sniffing carefully and Lini nudged him once without success. Finally Buttercup blurted out. “Well...that's useful..." She turned to her friends, "Pay no attention to his histrionics, it’s all an act. Let’s get him up on Doom’s back so that he can dry off and get warm. We need to catch up to our companions before they get worried.” With a little effort, they had arranged the inert form of Vernon on Doom’s shoulders and were soon caught up with the rest of the Protectors. After a few moments, Doom could feel the small paws of her charge clutching the fur at her neck and she was confident that Vernon had made a full recovery from his ordeal.

As they got closer to their destination, Doom’s sensitive nose detected a familiar scent and she turned to Lini and made a soft grunt. Soon, all three quadrupeds ‘conversed’ in sounds that were a mixture of curiosity and concern. Eventually, they came to an Inn that reminded the companions of the Wayward Squirrel, except that there was a very odd sense about the place that worried all four animals and the faerie. Sensing that liquor was readily available, Buttercup made a mad dash for the entrance and headed straight to the bar. However, No amount of coaxing and begging from Frieda, Vaedelia and Teislyn could persuade the animals to enter the inn. They were content to huddle together outside and wait. After such a long day of travel, the four soon dozed off on the porch and didn’t even stir when Junu, Klytie and the small pup Lappy left the Inn.

But, when the pup returned requesting help, Doom, Lini, Azure and Vernon quickly assembled and trotted after Lappy toward the cave. They didn’t get 25 yards away when a flickering dim light fluttered up and flopped down on Doom’s back near Vernon. “I can’t sh-tay in that pla-(hic)-sh! It ssh-tinks of (hic) troll!” Buttercup may not approve of troll, but she certainly had no difficulty consuming large quantities of absinth and uzo, no matter who was serving it. "Ta-ally h-ho!" she belched before she flopped face forward into Doom's fur.

They soon came to the cave and were halted by both Klytie and Junu. “This is the only help you could find Lappy? What is this, a Mustelid family reunion?” Junu was not impressed with the rescue squad. “No, it’s too dangerous for such wee creatures. We’ll wait for some larger ones if you don’t mind. Thanks for your offer, but...no, just no.”

At this point, Buttercup sat up, hoisted Vernon down off Doom’s back and put him at Klytie’s feet. “Junu, look at this little guy,” Klytie gushed. She knelt down to have a closer look, as did Junu, and when Vernon got a good look at the two humanoids, he again demonstrated his considerable talent at performing his one skill and ‘died.’

The drunken faerie involuntarily pumped her fist in the air which caused her to flutter a bit off course. She scolded Junu and Klytie, “Now look what you did, you killed it. I suggest you take care of your mess.” While they knelt to try to figure out what to do with the baby possum, Buttercup rejoined her team. “Ok, lookie here. I may be a little woozy, but I have a plan.”

They sneaked past Junu and Klytie who were preoccupied with Vernon and entered the cave. Buttercup flittered over the hole, and provided just a little light. “Morrow, issh-its Buttercup, can you see me?”

Morrow looked up and saw her faint faerie-light. “Buttercup? Yes, I think I can see you. You’re very far away.”

Buttercup could see her light reflecting off of Morrow’s eyes and realized that the hole was quite deep. She flew up toward the ceiling of the cave and was disheartened that it was so low. Her addled brain took a moment to realize what that meant, but she soon came up with another idea. “Can you schwim?”

Morrow cleared his throat, “You’re a faerie, is this a trick? You know that faeries don’t like goblin folk very much?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that, except that I’m a little plastered right now, sho...is OK. You’re on the good side, right?” she hiccuped again.

Morrow just shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I came to warn the Protectors and I got in a bit of trouble for my efforts.” He coughed, the air at the bottom of the hole was very stale by now. “To answer your question…yes, I can swim. But how is that going to help me, don’t you have a rope?”

Buttercup gathered her companion friends around her, “I thought about making a ladder, but the ceiling is too low to get one down that hole--that would be long enough to get him out. Even as a group, we just don’t have the strength to pull or push him out.” She paused to catch her breath.

“There’s a little creek just up the road a hundred feet or so. There’s all this tall giant bamboo. Morrow can float. So, we’re going to make a pipe, fill the hole with stream water and float Morrow out.” She burped, lost altitude and smacked the ground. “After I pee.”

Buttercup may have been slightly 'plowed', but she had good ideas. Doom was in charge of gnawing down the giant bamboo, the pieces were fifty feet tall and eight inches in diameter. Lini and Azure were in charge of trimming off the branches and cleaning out the inter-nodal membranes while Buttercup looked for the smoothest path from the stream to the cave.

It only took five pieces of bamboo to make a pipe that worked. Each piece was tapered just enough so that they fit end to end, sealed with mud. Doom had to use her strong fore claws to dig a small channel in the stream bank to lay the final piece in place to get the water going down the pipe. They weren’t all that concerned about leaks once the water started flowing into the cave and down the hole, leaks were the least of the problems.

When the water was up to Morrow’s chest, Buttercup called down to him. “OK, now show me that you’re able to float before we continue. Lini and Aszure are ready to stop the water if you can’t do this.” Morrow tucked his legs up under himself and floated for the faerie’s inspection. “Alright, I’ll stay here and talk you through this.” She flopped down to the cave floor, sat on the ground and dangled her legs over the edge of the hole.

When the water was at his shoulders, his natural buoyancy lifted his feet from the bottom of the hole and Morrow began to float without effort. Still he wasn’t at ease yet. “Buttercup, why are you being nice to me, you know, trying to help me?”

Buttercup snickered, “What makes you think I’m being nice? You’re in a hole and we’re pouring water into it. Before, you were merely cold, damp, out of good air and in the dark. Now, you’re still all that and you’re wet too.”

“You make a good point.” Morrow was trying to be a gentle-goblin and make pleasant conversation, “But if you look at it from my point of view, I’m closer to getting out of this hole then I was twenty minutes ago, I call that helping.”

“You also have a point.” Buttercup was beginning to like this goblin, he didn’t argue back at her or threaten her when she teased a little bit. He seemed to have good manners, perhaps she might consider having a drink with him later. She wondered if goblin-folk liked sugar-laden,licorice-flavored, hallucinogenic alcoholic beverages straight out of the bottle or from a mug.

With nothing else to do but wait, Lini, Azure, Vernon and Buttercup waited by the hole as the water rose. Doom kept a vigil on the pipes outside to make sure that they stayed together. After an hour, the level of water had risen high enough for Morrow to reach his hands up to the edge of the hole, but he was still too low for anybody to be able to lift him up. Lappy, Juno and Klytie had gone back to the Inn to get some blankets to wrap Morrow in and returned just as the bedraggled goblin-friend crawled out of the cave with the help of the companions.

Doom trotted back up to the stream and removed the first pipe to stop the water-flow and spent the next few minutes arranging the bamboo pipes together into a neat stack at the side of the cave, then rejoined the rest of her friends as they strolled toward the Inn. Finally, Morrow had warmed up a bit, looked up at the small faerie and smiled. “Well, thank you Buttercup, thank you companions, for saving my life, I’m forever grateful.” He winked up at Buttercup, “Not bad for an inebriated member of the Fae.”

Buttercup winked back, “Only way to get any job done when there’s goblin around.”

A call to action, and gathering materials

Cosmo and Mee were outside enjoying some quiet time together. Mee kept her wings as tightly folded as she could manage. Their conversation was interrupted by loud, excited barking. Annoyed, Mee wished that puppy would stop making such a racket, and turned back to Cosmo. However, as Lappy neared and the barking continued, the pair suddenly understood what he was trying to tell them. His news that there was a goblin -- a reformed goblin, mind! -- in need of help and that everyone might be in trouble was enough to stir them to action. The pair went to join Klytie and Junu near the cave, while Lappy rounded up the other companions.

Savaan, the cricket, was trying his best to get the interest of a few local lady-crickets. Unfortunately they seemed a bit too giggly to be impressed by his sage words, and Lappy’s arrival provided him with a way to save face. Silme gave the cricket a lift to the cave. Sihr took a bit of persuading, but Lappy was a trusted friend. A brief but passionate plea accompanied by liberal application of puppydog eyes was enough to overcome her reluctance.

In short order they were gathered outside the cave. As the others entered to look for Morrow, Sihr hovered uncertainly just outside the entrance. It was dark in there, and damp, and worst of all she’d be unable to fly inside. Only magic kept her aloft. But everyone else was going, even the tiny cricket. For someone so small, he sure was brave. And when he wiggled his antennae at her and gave a questioning chirp, she set down at the entrance to the cave, curling tiny hands into fists. Everyone else was going to do this, and she couldn’t let them down. <Yeah, I’m coming.>

The companions easily found the hole. But how could they get Morrow up out of there? They were all so small. Looking down they realized there was no way they could just pull him up. Thinking frantically, Mee was struck by the ghost of a memory. She recalled an old family story about a distant cousin from an alternate universe who helped rescue her person, Gwyl, from a cave-in down in a gem mine. The method, while unconventional, might just work! But first they were going to need some supplies.

Mee really hated to disturb HeiYu, her friend was so exhausted from creating the gift and helping rescue the Shishin, but time was of the essence. So she reached out, but discovered that she couldn’t talk to HeiYu from within the cave. Quickly, she asked her new friends to gather a pile of rocks. Savaan, too small to carry more than a couple bits of gravel, soon decided the group was better served with him acting as cheerleader. It was hard being so tiny!

After the rocks were piled near the hole, Mee lead the group back outside of the cave and reached out again. She explained to a tired HeiYu what is needed and cautioned her to not attract any notice inside the inn. A balloon with a rope attached and a small basket suddenly popped into view. The balloon immediately started drifting skyward.

Companions to the Rescue!

Mee lunged for the rope that dangled down, and the others recovered from their surprise and followed suit. Sihr had the sense to go for the bottom of the rope, so she could tie it to the basket, but already the balloon was too high for the rope to reach the basket on the ground. Mee, Silme, and Cosmo clung to the rope above her, the latter holding on with his tiny teeth. But the balloon still threatened to float off into the sky. Savaan gathered himself and with a mighty leap jumped bravely onto Cosmo’s head. Fortunately, he weighed just enough to keep the balloon from flying away. Looking at Cosmo, Mee struggled not to laugh out loud at the look on his face when he found himself with what would normally be a meal sitting on his head while his mouth was otherwise occupied.

With the rope tied securely around the basket’s handle, the companions wrangled the contraption into the cave and over to the pile of rocks near the hole. Still holding tightly to the balloon they managed to put the rocks into the basket one by one. Silme peered over the edge of the hole looking down into the dim passage that would lead them to Morrow, and burped a few sparks. The brief light showed a twisty passage with sharp outcroppings that would endanger their balloon, despite it being made of fabric and not likely to pop at the faintest touch. A rip in the balloon, and their work would be for nothing. She wondered what the other dragon had in mind.

Even with the basket of rocks, the balloon still wanted to go upwards. Seeing that, Cosmo climbed into the basket on top of the rocks, with Savaan and Sihr jumping after. With them aboard, the balance was tipped in favor of gravity, and Mee cleverly guided the balloon with her wings. It was difficult, what with there not being a lot of room for maneuvering, but she was very agile. Wind from her wings pushed the balloon away from the walls and out of danger. It only took a moment for Silme to understand. The glass dragon was a bit more wary of the sharp walls -- the balloon wasn’t the only thing that would be damaged by banging into them. But a second set of wings was needed, and between the two of them they guided the strange vessel down to where Morrow was waiting.

It was a clever plan. A bit odd, yes, but it would do the trick. Morrow took one look at the strange contraption being carefully maneuvered down to him and started thinking he might prefer to stay trapped in this hole. He did not like it one bit. He was a goblin. He did not go flying attached to balloons. But he needed rescuing and it was the only option available. Morrow was heavy enough that the balloon would help lift him only if he were alone. Grumbling under his breath, the hapless goblin untied the rope from the basket, and looped it around his waist.

“You’d better not drop me,” he cautioned, as his feet left the ground. “And -- ow!” The goblin was not nearly as compact as the basket, and the poor creature had banged himself against an outcropping of rocks. He had to curl up in a ball to minimize further injury, and even then it was not nearly as smooth a trip going up as it had been coming down. Every time Morrow twitched, it threw the balloon off, and both Mee and Silme were hard-pressed to keep the balloon away from sharp stones that would rip it open. One bend in particular, where they had to go first over, then down to avoid a shelf that jutted out from the wall before heading over and upwards again, nearly got the best of them. Morrow had the good sense to stay as still as he could, but his eyes bulged as the balloon came dangerously close to the outcropping. His sigh of relief once they were past that point was understandable, though between it and a shift in position he earned himself another bruise.

Finally they reached the cave floor and Morrow was able to stand up and untie himself with a second huge sigh of relief. But Sihr, Savaan, and Cosmo were still waiting below. Once he saw that Morrow was safely out of the way, Cosmo started to climb his way out. Mee flew down to him and hovered nearby, helping as best she could when he reached some of the more difficult outcroppings. Meanwhile Silme flew down to carry Sihr and Savaan back up. The faeling, emboldened by a successful rescue and encouraged by the brave cricket, was only frightened instead of terrified and agreed quickly to the proposal. When the five companions were once more together at the top of the hole, they discovered that Morrow had already left the cave to report to Junu and Klytie. They hurried out together to meet their next challenge, whatever it might be.

[center

Fallen Angels Companions Gob'lin Up The Action[/center]]

As Lappy rushed back to the inn for help, he saw several Protector companions roaming outside the inn. Quickly he explained what was happening and asked for help. The Angels’ companions gathered together as Hope slipped into the inn. She quickly found Laurie, her human, and dug through her bag. “What are you looking for Hope?” Laurie asked. Hope pulled out Laurie’s notebook and indicated she wanted to borrow it. Laurie looked at her for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, but be careful. I can tell you’re up to something.” Geep poked its head out of Calie’s pocket, saw Hope, and followed her as she went back outside.

Hope set the notebook down so they could all see and flipped through the pages. She pointed out a drawing Laurie had made for the schematics of a fulcrum and pulley system. Moriel growled in agreement as the other companions noisily agreed in their own languages. Jinx, spotting a sturdy broom leaning against the outside wall of the inn, scampered over and dragged the broom back to the group. The rest of the companions spread out, searching for other supplies to help in their endeavor. Quickly returning with two sturdy ropes and a heavy bucket, they look at the paper again and, chattering among themselves, seemed to come to a consensus. Hope held up a small slop jar containing kitchen grease and smiles. Na’wa had returned with a beak full of thin reeds from the pond around back. Torchy looked at them with a confused look, but Jinx grabbed one, stuck it in his mouth and started breathing through it. Torchy smiled in understanding.

Geep ran up and down the broom handle, eager to set off. Jinx tossed his reed into the bucket and motioned for Na'wa to do the same with hers. He then climbed onto Torchy’s back before both he and Na'wa took off and flew towards the cave. Geep jumps onto Hope’s shoulder as Moriel lowers herself to her knees to allow them to climb up on her back and then--with a growl to hang on--loped off toward the cave as well. With a worried look, Calie exclaimed, "I don't like it when they leave us!" Jeice smiled and threw an arm around her and lead her back into the Inn, followed by the rest of the Fallen Angels. "Awe Calie, don't be such a gloomy gus!" Jeice laughs. "You know they got this!" The rest of the Fallen Angels nod in agreement and return to their table, wary and alert.

Upon arriving at the cave, looking relieved, Klytie and Junu look over the page that Hope has clutched in her hand, as well as the supplied the others were carrying. “That should work!” Junu exclaimed while Klytie began pushing the companions toward the cave. “Oh, please be careful with dear Morrow!” she cried, wringing her hands in worry. “We’ll wait outside so as not to crowd you while you work. Please hurry!”

The entrance to the cave was jagged, sharp rocks poking out every which-way. Moriel nudged Torchy gently, indicating the dangerous rocks, and Torchy nodded, using his controlled flame breath to melt the jagged edges of the rocks. Jinx, Geep, and Hope rushed into the cave with the reeds and ran to the back of the cave to find a small crack in a stack of jagged boulders, where they could hear Morrow pleading tiredly. Moriel and Torchy carefully followed them. Torchy gave a low growl as a jagged edge he hadn’t seen scraped over his back while he squeezed into the hole. Na’wa flew into the low entrance after them and settled, looking around with beady, calculating eyes.

The cave opened up somewhat after they got further inside. A distressed Geep began pulling at the reeds and placed them end to end. Jinx and Hope quickly connected them and then Geep, scrabbling, disappeared down into the small crack and headed straight to a defeated Morrow. Hope fed the breathing tube formed by the reeds through the crack until they were stopped by Morrow’s body. Geep, with eyes glowing, pushed the connected reeds to Morrow's mouth. With dawning awareness, Morrow grasped the end of the reed and, putting it in his mouth, sucked in a lungful of air. "Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes Geep!" Morrow stated as he stroked Geep's head. Taking another deep breath, Morrow heard the commotion up above him in the cave. "I hear your friends are here to help as well. They must hurry!" he murmured to Geep.

Moriel motioned Hope and Jinx over to the smaller rocks surrounding the hole and growled. Both Jinx and Hope quickly started removing the smaller rocks and put them into the heavy bucket. Na'wa swooped over to a large boulder--about half-way into the cave--and landed, giving out a squawk to get Moriel and Torchy's attention. They moved over to the boulder as Na'wa scratched something on the boulder with her beak. Looking at the drawing, they both nodded in understanding. Na'wa had drawn a picture of the boulder with a rope wrapped around it. One end had the heavy bucket tied to Torchy's shoulders and the other led toward and down the hole. Growling their agreement. Torchy and Moriel returned to see that Jinx and Hope had cleared out the smaller rocks. Grabbing the sturdy broomstick in her mouth, Moriel approached the hole that had been widened enough to slide the pole inside. Torchy approached the hole and motioned Hope and Jinx out of the way with his wings. Using one of the other rocks surrounding the hole as a fulcrum, Torchy grabbed the pole in his claws and pushed hard, putting all of his weight into it. The big rock popped out, widening the hole's entrance. Moriel, Jinx, and Hope worked together to nudge the big rock out of the way. Repeating this maneuver numerous times, the team finally created an exit wide enough for Morrow to fit through, though not without sustaining an injury or two along the way. Halfway through, Moriel had sliced her paw open on a sharp rock on the uneven cave floor and Hope would surely have blisters come tomorrow morning, but they forged onward for the sake of their mistresses and their friends.

Geep popped out of the hole and looked around to see what the other companions had accomplished so far. Returning to Morrow, Geep tried his best to reassure Morrow that rescue was imminent. Morrow sighed and sucked in another deep breath of dank cave air, waiting impatiently.

Having finally made the hole wide enough, the companions picked up the rope and buckets and headed back to the boulder where Na'wa was waiting patiently. Hope and Jinx quickly tied the heavy bucket, full of the removed rocks, to the end of the rope to work as an anchor. Then they passed the rope over Torchy's shoulders like a harness. Torchy, now standing on the near the entrance to the cave, waited on Moriel's signal. Moriel began to wrap the rope around the boulder but Hope reached up a paw and stopped her before it was wrapped completely. Hope held up the small slop jar and motioned toward the rope. Jinx chattered in excitement as he realized what she had in mind and Na'wa whistled in agreement. Swiftly, Hope and Jinx begin smearing the grease from the slop jar over the rope and when finished, gave the nod to Moriel to proceed with wrapping it around the boulder. Having accomplished all of that, Moriel then nudged Hope and Jinx to the other end of the rope, lying in a coil on the cave floor. Picking up the rope, Hope wrapped the end around her waist but didn’t tie it, signifying to Jinx what needed to be done. Rapidly measuring out a length of rope, Hope and Jinx tie a large knot, making a loop for Morrow to fit inside. Grabbing the finished rope, Jinx agilely climbed down into the hole but popped his head back out when Na'wa whistled for his attention. Running back up to Na'wa, Jinx watched intently as Na'wa gestured toward the hanging scale on Torchy's backside. Reaching back with one claw, Torchy pulled off the large scale--along with two others that were getting ready to shed. Jinx dragged the rope and scales back to the hole and disappeared down it once more. Motioning to Morrow for him to place the scales on his chest and back, with one to be held on his head, Jinx then looped the rope over Morrow's head and shoulders, over-top of the scales. After checking that the rope and scales were secure, Jinx then climbed up the rope to give the pull signal. In his hurry to climb out quickly, Jinx earned several scrapes on his sides. He clenched his teeth at the pain, but continued on, determined to get the job done.

Jinx and Hope positioned themselves at the entrance of the hole and grabbed the rope to help guide it. Moriel joined Torchy behind the boulder and grabbed the rope in her powerful jaws. Slowly but surely, they began to pull Morrow out of the hole, while Jinx and Hope made sure the rope didn't catch on anything. The grease on the rope helped it to slide around the boulder, making their job easier. Finally, Morrow rose out of the hole. The scales served as armor for most of his body, preventing lacerations and bruises to all areas except his arms and legs. The goblin could manage those, surely. Shedding the rope and scales, they all headed for the entrance of the cave. Upon exiting, Morrow threw himself to the damp earth, kissing it gratefully. Then, jumping up, he hugged as many of his rescuers as he could, thanking them profusely for his rescue. The tired companions start to settle down but Morrow jumped up and started running toward the Inn. "Got to warn them... we must hurry!" Morrow yelled back, as the companions swiftly followed behind him.

[spoiler=]As Abigail was entering the Inn with the other travelers, she heard a commotion at the door. She noticed that the Inn Keeper was not allowing any of the traveler’s companions inside the Inn. Upon hearing the sad squeaks of Patch, Shalinda’s rabbit, Abigail decided to let Rune out to be with him. After whispering Rune’s releasing incantation he materialized as a black rabbit next to Patch.

Rune hopped next to Patch, ‘Don’t worry,’ he mind spoke, ‘I’ll stay with you so we don’t get trampled on by all the other companions.’ Rune expanded his size and hopped protectively next to Patch while they joined the rest of the companions. The night air was cool and still, barely rustling the leaves of the nearby trees.

After a long day of running around after the crazy Shishin, Spike was finally resting on Kalyna's arm. He noticed the other adventurer's companions gathering outside of the Inn. Curious, he jumped from her arm into the air, and went to check it out. He could see Rune below him heading the same way as he flew silently through the dark sky to join them.

The fresh air was revitalizing, and the dark blue sky sprinkled with hundreds of stars of different colors and sizes. Spike flew through the night, enjoying every moment of it.

Rune looked up and watched as Spike silently flew through the starlit night sky. As Rune contemplated Spikes flight, a voice interrupted his thoughts and captured his attention. The voice belonged to a small dog, Lappy. Rune listened as Lappy told the companions about a goblin named Morrow, who’d fallen down a hole in a nearby cave. Lappy tasked the group of companions with a rescue mission of highest importance, for Morrow had information that the travelers needed to hear.

"Well let's go then," sighed Pistol loudly and said to the other companions. He knew he should have went to take a nap when he had the chance instead of following Levity to the Inn. He noticed all the others were just standing around looking a little confused. He didn't know about the other companions but he didn't want to be out here all night. He had to catch up on his favorite show The Walking Doofus. He loved when they offed the dumbest one at the end and hoped it was Joey this time. That guy really got on his nerves!

"We need to get organized here." Pistol said, "It seems the best way to do this is to pull him out." Pistol looked around the group and made a mental inventory of all the different talents that the companions had before deciding what each should do. "Spike and Patch, go gather a few torches to light our way into the cave. From what I can hear his incredibly loud mouth will help us find him but hey it would be nice to see down there."

"Rune and Jacob if you could find a rope, the longer the better that would be great and puhlease don't take all day. And don't be trying to morph into a rope. Rune. Last time you tried that you got stuck in the shape of licorice for days!" he chuckled at the dirty look he got in return.

That should do it he thought as they all headed off. A thought struck him and just in case he sent Yasha's rats to gather a bucket of old grease from the grill in the Inn's kitchen.

The three rats that had gathered together listened to Pistol and were shaking in terror. Their fear was not unfounded because Pistol was a cat and to them a viable threat. After realizing that Pistol was not interested in eating them, they calmed down enough to take note of what Pistol wanted.

The newest rat to the family, the one with the white tummy, felt the most at home here in Sinhae since he was born here. He directed the group of rats towards the backside of the Inn. The white bellied rat and the two black sewer rats stealthily entered the kitchen through a crack in a window frame.

Once inside the kitchen the rats scampered to the cook stove. The sewer rat couldn't help himself and diverted his path towards a bowl of left over stew. He started chowing down on the stew, leaning so far in that he fell right into the bowl. Screeching in shock, he quickly jumped out of the bowl, sending the bowl to the ground with a loud crashing noise. He shook his sticky wet body while the white bellied rat chastised him with a burst of violent chattering.

The two rats quickly located a small tub of warm grease, before someone could come investigate the noises. The rats brought the tub of grease out of the kitchen and pushed it all the way back to the group of companions. After all that hard work, the two rats laid on the ground, hardly able to catch their breath.

Rune transformed into a black eagle and flew with Jacob towards the side of the Inn.

Jacob looked down from his flight and saw the rats as they ran around the Inn and into the Kitchen. He squawked loudly, seemingly making comment on their tiny tiny bodies from his high vantage point. He followed Rune towards the side of the Inn where many food barrels were being stored.

Rune silently landed on a barrel and transformed into a grey monkey. Jacob, flying in too fast, tried to land on a wooden barrel. As he got close he began scratching at it with his sharp claws. The barrel, which was not very full, began to topple over from Jacob's weight. He started to peddle fast backward with his little legs frantically try to save himself from going over too but it was all too late. Rune could not help himself. He began to howl with laughter as a wide eyed, backwards peddling, squawking Jacob, toppled over with the barrel and landed amid a pile of long grain rice.

Rune quickly untied the rope that held the barrels together and coiled it up, leaving it resting on top of one of the upright barrels. Rune morphed back into a black eagle and lifted the rope in the air. Jacob flew beside Rune and took hold of the rope, helping Rune carry it back to the group of companions.

Jacob’s clawed feet held the rope tightly as he flew through the air towards the group of companions. After arriving at the group, Jacob let the rope go and it fell to the ground. He collapsed on a nearby tree branch, totally exhausted from carrying such a heavy object.

Rune simultaneously released the rope and morphed into a tiny grey fly. He zipped through the air and landed on Pistols shoulder. Pistol was completely unaware of Rune’s presence until Rune transformed into a giant snake and wrapped himself around Pistols body, giving him a playful squeeze.

The sudden feeling of being hugged tightly all over was more than Pistol could bear. He hated hugs and snakes, Yuck! "Get off me, Rune! You slimy little schmuck!" He yelled. He wiggled free and Rune then changed into a giant laughing face. He just sat there in the air laughing loudly. Pistol began to jump up and down trying to punch the big face in the air with his front paws but it darted maddeningly out of reach every time he struck out. He finally managed a swipe with his claws out and the big face Rune popped loudly and swirled through the air as it disappeared, the laughing however continued. "Pay backs are a bitch!" he yelled.

Rune slowly let his laughter fade into a menacing chuckle as he materialized as a black cat just beyond Pistol's reach. Rune sat on his haunches with the tip of his tail flicking in pleasure, perfectly mimicking a real blood feline.

Patch looked to Spike with big eyes and hopped along quickly toward the Gold Dragon. He found a bunch of bags that the travelers had discarded before entering the Inn and began to push his way through the tied closures. Once inside the bags, he found several people who had packed light rods. He also found some home baked chocolate chip cookies that had begun to dry out. He thought about leaving the cookies but couldn't resist their tantalizing buttery chocolate scent. He munched on cookies while slowly nudging the light rods into a small pile. Patch decided to share the cookies with Spike and saved one to give him upon his return.

While the fluffy bunny was searching through the travelers bags, Spike flew towards the trees that surrounded the Sinhaen Inn. Once he arrived, he stood on the top of a tall and leafy maple tree and, with his strong and sharp-edged beak, he cut off several branches of various sizes. He quickly wrapped them with his broad feet and placed the branches in the base of the tree, over it's prominent roots.

He knew he needed something else. Something that could be useful in a cave. 'Think Spike, think.' he thought to himself as he walked in circles around the tree's trunk. 'I got it!' Without hesitating, he rapidly took flight and approached to another group of trees.

These were different. Their branches were lower; their trunks thicker; forming a continuing treetop ceiling that blocked almost every moonlight beam. Spike lowered the pace and nimbly dodged the narrow spaces left between the trees. 'I know they are somewhere in here. These trees seem familiar,' he thought. He continued moving forward, until a mild and colorful glow reached his eyes. 'There!' Spike quickly approached one of the trees. There they were. Glowing mushrooms! Just like the ones in his homeland. Carefully, Spike pulled the mushrooms out of the tree's crust and roots and carried them in his mouth to the other tree, where he had left the branches. Once there, he grabbed the branches with his feet and returned with Patch.

Spike placed the branches and the colorful mushrooms on top of them on the ground, and with a laughing voice he said “Christmas tree! Christmas tree! Arhahaha!” The little rabbit, disconcerted with the parrot's joke, brought the chocolate chip cookie towards him. “Arh! Cookie! Thanks!” answered Spike, and started pecking the delicious biscuit.

Patch and Spike made their way to the cave and deposited their spoil of light rods and glowing mushrooms. They took a portion of rope and tried to tie it into knots around a light rod. They were almost successful, but they lacked the dexterity in claws and tiny paws to create an effective knot. Patch looked up at Spike, who was trying to tie a knot without ripping the rope with one of his sharp talons.

Rune watched, with a smile on his face, as Patch and Spike tried to figure out how to tie tight knots around the light rods. He changed into a monkey and gave them a hand in tying the light rods into the rope at random intervals.

Once they finished, Spike winked with a funny smile at Rune and Patch and gave them a big feathery hug. The super-rope was done!

'What else, what else… Oh yes!' he thought to himself and quickly ran to the fluorescent mushrooms. He collected them with his beak and broad feet, and gathered them together forming a glowing rainbow pile. One by one, Spike placed the colorful mushrooms around the hole the goblin was down. Maybe it was just his impression, but the cave truly looked like a discotheque. Green, yellow, blue, orange (and even magenta!) were the colors that painted the dark cave.

As Pistol tried to shake off his irritation at Rune, they all began to make their way to the cave, which Spike and Patch were lighting with the light rods and glowing mushrooms they had gathered up. The rats were chattering irritatingly at each other as they carried the old, smelly grease to the cave. Pistol laughed as he heard one complain of the smell. The smellier the better he thought and smiled. He really didn't like goblins, reformed or not.

The sewer rats drug and pushed the heavy container of grease all the way to the cave, not really sure why they were not trying to eat it yet. They were getting tired and they could all use a break and some food to build up their energy. The rats chattered amongst themselves about their plight but stopped chattering once they realized that Pistol was listening to them. They were still very wary of the cat who could talk but who did not seem interested in eating them.

They made their way into the cave which was lit up nicely. "Go down to the Goblin and smear that grease all over him." He told the rats with a smirk. He watched as they skittered down the cave.

The white bellied rat looked up in surprise and horror after Pistol told them that they were going to be wasting their pilfered grease on a goblin, who probably didn’t want to eat it anyways! After a look from Pistol the rats did as he asked and quickly took the grease back into the cave. The cave was still a bit dark, but the rim of the hole where the goblin, Morrow, had fallen was nicely lit by the glowing mushrooms.

A startled Morrow gasped as he felt a barely warm semi-liquid being smeared on him by tiny hands, “What’s that!?” He asked.

The white bellied rat scurried over Morrow’s arm and stopped to look up at his face. The rat winked at Morrow before he continued to spread smelly grease all over the goblin.

“Get off of me!” Morrow screamed in surprise as he felt the tiny feet of the sewer rats all over his body. “Help!” His raspy voice echoed through the cave. “I’m being prepared for a feast by a bunch of sewer rats!” Morrow yelled while he struggled in vain.

One of the black rats stood on Morrows belly and started chattering at him quite quickly. Morrow must have understood him because he immediately stopped struggling and seemed to relax a little bit.

Morrow was very verbose about his grease covered body and started to sound quite irritated.

Pistol looked at Rune and Jacob and said, "As soon as Morrow's all greased up you guys toss the rope around him and then all of you come back up here and help us pull the wanker out." Rune looked at him funny.

"What?" Pistol asked. "You can hear him whining from here!" All of the companions could hear the goblin complaining from down the tunnel as the rats smeared the smelly grease on him.

"What is that?" "What do we need this for?" "Why does it smell so bad?" Pistol mimicked in a nasally, whiny voice.

After spreading the grease all over Morrow, the rats scurried out of the cave as quick as lightening, carrying their grease container with them. Outside the cave the rats found a quiet spot and began to lick the grease container clean.

Rune changed into a big face again and stuck his tongue out at Pistol before quickly changing into a Ural owl and flying off with Jacob and the rope.

Jacob swooped down and gathered some rope up with his talons. He was managing holding his end of the rope because Rune was carrying the heaviest portion.

Rune carried the rope and dropped it portion by portion as he and Jacob made their way towards the ring of mushrooms around Morrow.

“Well, we didn’t really need the mushrooms after all,” Rune commented. “All you really have to do is follow your nose.” Rune let out a loud screech-laughter. Morrow complained bitterly about the piercing quality or Rune's laughter. Rune landed on the ground of the cave and changed into a small ferret. He moved the rope around the goblin’s body and tied it securely around his middle section. Rune pulled the rope extra tight in order to keep it securely in place. Morrow complained about that and the smell of the grease again, as Rune and Jacob flew out of the cave.

Jacob and Rune exited the cave and waited by the entrance. Rune morphed into a beaver and took the rope in his paws and stood ready to pull. "Okay, everyone. Let's form a line, grab the rope and pull, on the count of three." Pistol ordered.

"One, two and three!" He counted, and they all pulled until the rope tightened. Then it stopped. "Pull harder everyone!" he ordered. They pulled hard but there was no change. "Hey meathead!" he hollered at Rune. "Why don't you make like a bear and help us out here? Then you can make like the wind and disappear!" he chuckled.

Rune swiftly changed into a sun bear and after he did so, he leaned down and swiped his huge, hairy paw at Pistol who shrieked and jumped high into the air. The big bear that was Rune chuckled loudly and then grabbed the end of the rope in front of the other animals. He gave it one giant tug and the Goblin came flying towards them shrieking the whole way.

"Oh my! Oh heavens! Oh dear!" He cried. As he came into sight you could see that he was frantically

The Diamonds in the Rough

Lune sighed, deeply immersed in her dreams of a warm summer afternoon perched on a tree branch. Curling herself up more, she thought of the long journey ahead. The journey had barely begun, and she already couldn't wait to go home.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" a voice prods her ears.

In an instant, the ocelot was wide awake with her ears at high alert. Lune looked on to where the voice had come from, questioning the abrupt wake-up call, only to see the haste in the eyes of the pup. Without another thought, she went about waking the other companions at her sides, some having stirred from the commotion. One by one, they followed the pup. Their partners were a little bit slower to rouse, rubbing the sleep from their eyes as the commotion registered.

"This way!" Mira shouted, waving the others out of their room and down the hall.

"What's going on?" Alisandra asked.

"Can't you hear him?"

"Who?"

Beriothien's ears cocked up in the direction of the well as they got closer. The wolf sniffed cautiously. Milo stopped just behind Beriothien, but clopped his hooves in place in anxiety. Aria pushed in front of the all. Lappy explained the situation to both the companions and their partners, though some of the partners hesitated on letting the companions go on their own.

"Are you sure it's too small? I don't take up much room," Mira exclaimed.

"Mira..." Marion said, a little exasperated.

"No, I know, they can do it," she interrupted, then took charge as she did in the meadow. "I'd say that Basil and Lune need to go at the very least, since they are the smallest. However, you might need some strength too, so that includes Beriothien. At this rate, they might as well all go!"

"You're wasting time, Mira. They'll figure it out," Sophia said.

"No time to waste! No time to waste!" Lappy had reached the end of his patience and started running towards the cave. The companions all followed. Basil saw the direction Lappy was headed and flew ahead of the group. He could fly faster than the others could run.

When he reached the cave, Basil flew in to assess. He found the hole almost immediately and peered inside. The hole was not as deep as he would have thought--approximately 6 feet in depth and 4 feet in width, though it was deep enough to trap the 3'3" goblin.

"Are you all they sent?!" Morrow shouted at dragon. Basil, not appreciating Morrow's attitude, flared his nostrils and allowed a little smoke to rise from them. Morrow, sensing the dragon's anger, changed his tone, "All right, all right, I'm sure whatever you have planned will work! Just hurry! I tried climbing out, but the rocks are so jagged, they cut my hands."

The other companions caught up shortly after. The others peered down the hole. Well, hopefully this wouldn't be hard. They looked around for anything they could use as a rope, but found nothing. One by one, they all watched Lune and Beriothien's tails flick from side to side. Lune and Beriothien's eyes narrowed simultaneously as if to say "don't even think about it."

Milo headbutted Lune towards the hole's edge. Lune dug her claws into the ground, slowing her approach. Aria helped Milo push Lune. Lune continued to resist.

Instead, Milo tried to start pushing Aria. Aria stood her ground, but then hooked her paws around his neck. Milo lowered her into the hole. Aria wiggled one of her back paws, indicating for Morrow to grab on. Morrow grabbed for it, putting a foot on one of the jagged edges to boost himself up. Aria let out a small cry. One of the edges had cut her stomach. She held on tight, however.

Milo struggled to pull the two of them up. Though Basil was relatively small, he decided he might be the best way to link Milo and Beriothien. Basil wrapped his tail around Milo's leg, and dug his small claws into Beriothien's rump. Beriothien yelped and started running in the opposite direction, dragging the others with him. Basil beat his wings, hoping it would help.

Soon after, they had Morrow out of the hole. They all flopped to the ground momentarily to rest before heading--in some cases limping--back to the others.

[spoiler=The Sun will come out for Morrow]

Valera took a moment and paused while looking at Feng. The giant stone beast shot his master a glare, there was no way he was going to allow anyone to shrink him. Last time he shrunk to go through a tree tunnel maze it almost ended up in disaster since he started to return to normal size before he got back out.

"S'alright mate, you'er gunna be fine!" Val comforted Feng with a pat on his back. "Better git goin!"

The rest of the team's companion set off towards the cave. There was one slight problem, Gunther was reluctant to leave his master Akalia's side. Knowing the pygmy goat was to join them, without saying anything Feng gently caught Gunther off guard and carried him by the scruff of his neck. The dumb goat bleated out in panic as if to say, SAVE ME! THE GIANT OAF HAS ME! I DON'T WANT TO BE DINNER!

The stone beast gave one last evil glare at Val before setting off towards the cave with Gunther in his mouth. On his way Feng saw something sticking out of the brush, it appeared as if it was something oddly woven from thick straw. Whatever it was, it piqued his interest. Carefully pulling the object out of its partial hiding spot, Feng revealed the object as a thick basket for the locals to collect rice from the paddies. With a swipe of his paw, the giant beast tossed the basket onto his back where it got hooked on one of his spikes. How wonderful... Carrying both a basket and Gunther, what an image this was. Almost as if he was embarrassed, Feng hurriedly joined up with the others.

SilentOne glided above the companions as they started to head off towards the cave. The cool night air felt refreshing against his feathers and seemed to encourage clear thinking, which was needed with the stench of goblin so near.

Since he was a crow one would think the darkness would hinder him, but SilentOne was no mere crow. Long ago an elven mage had used powerful magic to alter him, giving him intelligence, long life, and night sight. So even in this dark cave the crow would be able to see as well as any cat, owl, or other creature of the night. However, pitch blackness completely absent of any light was as much a hindrance to him as it would be to any other night-sighted animal, he was altered, not magical.

SilentOne’s only real magical ability was his telepathic link to his companion, Verrek the Shade.

Verrek stood with the other land crawling members of the Chimeriad, that odd name they had for their pack. SilentOne had noted the Shade's unease at the sight of the inn and the stench of goblins. The crow didn't always know what his friend was thinking, but in this instance he was glad that he and the other companions hadn't been allowed to enter the inn. Verrek obviously didn't feel right about what he had seen inside.

With one last glance at his tall dark friend the crow swooped after the companions to rescue the one goblin who didn't stink to high heaven.

On the way to the cave SilentOne gazed down at the odd assortment of companions heading down the path. How in the world did they intend to get a goblin out of a hole filled with jutting rocks?

Feng was too big to fit in the hole and might shower the goblin with stones if he tried and ShimmerShadow was just barely too big to fit as well. Neither SilentOne nor the demons could fly the goblin out, and he doubted Gunther or Jasper could carry the goblin. If only they had some rope...

SilentOne halted in the air, fluttering his wings to stay aloft.

Locating a rope would be no trouble at all, he had seen a quarry nearby that had plenty sturdy coils used for hauling blocks of gray stone. Borrowing one to pull a single goblin out of a hole shouldn't be an issue.

Without a word the crow turned in the air and winged away to find a rope. With his sights set on the moonlit quarry the crow glided down past the treetops and landed atop a wooden scaffolding. There was a rope, coiled and hung on a long peg driven into the frame of the scaffolding he had landed on. The coil was large and heavy, obviously many meters in length, more than enough to tie into a harness for Feng and still reach the bottom of the hole.

Now he had to find someone to carry it, and the crow knew the perfect land crawler.

Taking to the air again SilentOne flew back towards the cave where he spied Feng. Gliding down silently the crow landed on the great stone beast's head and tried stretching his mind out to make contact.

Feng stubbornly ignored him.

SilentOne began beating his wings against the stone foo dog's head, hoping to annoy the brute into listening. Finally the crow felt the touch of a cold steely presence that chilled his hollow bones. That must be Feng.

SilentOne presented an image of the rope hung on the scaffolding and gave instructions then took to the air before the great stone beast decided to make a snack of his soul.

As if carrying Gunther wasn't a big enough pain in the ass, SilentOne thought swatting him in the face was a good idea...

With a resigned look on his face, Feng shook off the basket on his back and pointed at it to SilentOne with his incredibly sharp claws. A horrific steely voice entered the crow's mind, "Basket... Take it now!"

The crow flinched visibly at the sound of the voice inside it's head. Without a word it obediently landed on the handle of the basket and with great pains managed to get it into the air, flying low as it carried its burden to the mouth of the cave.

During this time Gunther continued to bleat and shriek as if his life was in danger. His cries fell upon deaf ears as Feng continued to ignore the pygmy goat's plight. With his patience growing thinner by the minute, Feng growled in hopes it would freeze the flailing pygmy goat. The deep growl reverberated through the tiny creature, Gunther was paralysed with fear. Good. It worked.

Now that one problem was sorted out for the time being, Feng set off in the direction he saw in the images SilentOne showed him. With a quick pace the stone beast and his current 'prey' reached the quarry in no time. The rope was in a spot he could get to easily. But how to deal with picking up the rope while holding Gunther?

Setting the pygmy goat down for a moment, the little creature shook in fear still not realising that he had been set free. Before Gunther could process the situation Feng was able to put his head through the centre of the coil to carry it around his neck. With wide eyes at his captor, Gunther started to take a step towards freedom. Freedom that lasted only a few seconds that is, before Feng scooped him back up again and set back towards the cave.

Finally returning to join the others in the cave, Feng sighed deeply. Soon, everything will be ok... Or will it?

Upon arriving at the cave, Feng set Gunther down beside the others. The pygmy goat's eyes shot open in panic. With a quick jump to get away, Gunther's plan backfired and his back leg got caught in the coil that was wrapped around Feng's neck.

Incredible panic had sent in, the goat ran, hopped, spun and flailed in hopes of detaching himself from the stone miscreant. The rest of the team watched in amazement as Gunther somehow managed to get the rope harnessed around Feng's chest. Was this part of the plan?

Out of breath, Gunther collapsed for a moment while Jasper proceeded to untie him. "Good job mate! Tying the rope to Feng was a great idea! I'll just go ahead... and get this tied off." With nimble fingers it took the dapper otter no time at all to get the rope tied tight to their giant stone anchor. Patting the tired pygmy goat on the head, Jasper then gave the rope a good tug to make sure his handy work was correct.

With a huff, Feng, who was now tied to one end of the rope, sat patiently awaiting to see what the other companion's plans were to free the goblin.

Now that they had the rope and a basket, a light in the dark would be helpful too, Shimmershadow thought. They had the elven light, yet perhaps, this special one was needed later, it had other benefits than only working as a source of illumination.

Some caves hold crystals, the young unicorn pondered. Perhaps, some useful stone was around which could be improved to work as a light source.

Because he had grown a bit over the last year, there was no way the unicorn filly would fit into the low-ceilinged cave. He looked around for help. Rhea and Kronos would fit and they would be able to understand his thoughts! So Shimmershadow conveyed pictures of lightish semi-precious stones to the little demons, asking for help.

Kronos and Rhea cooed excitedly, they had waited at the cave entrance for the adventure to begin at last, already bored as hell. They loved all kind of stones, bright and sparkling ones best. In their free time, they often hunted for them, and they had a good eye for detecting promising spots. So it was no wonder that after some minutes, the pair returned with a smooth round stone, apparently polished for years through water streaming from the ceiling of the cave. Carefully, they balanced the stone which was only as big as a marble between their four little hands.

Shimmershadow was delighted. He knew all of Myra’s work and since she often experimented with stones and other materials, he quickly recognized the stone as a small Iceland spar sphere. The unicorn knew it could cast a lot of light into a dark cave when pepped up a bit.

Island crystal is a transparent variety of calcite and remarkable for its double refraction and polarization of light, it could even be used for navigation. In myths, the stone was mentioned as a sunstone, and with some alchemistic flicks and strokes, the spar could be transformed into a prism which not only refracted the light yet was even able to produce a beam of light for a short time.

Every calcite was able to fluoresce red-orange under visible light due to its natural content of manganese. However, a brighter light would be more helpful in the dark cave. Again, the unicorn would need the help of the demons to put some things together here. All they needed now to succeed would be some drops of oil!

Crude oil, people called it petroleum these days, would be wanted for the glow. This should be no problem, the unicorn had seen oil casks stacked outside the inn. He sent the demons for some samples and after some trial and error, they returned with fingers dipped into the right one.

The unicorn let them put some drops into a half eggshell which he had found outside the cave, under a beetle shrub. It was an eggshell of the Domo bird, very hard and fire proof. After sending over the pictures for the further course of action, the demons placed the small eggshell bowl onto a protruding rock, conjured a little flame and heated the vessel. The oil began to shimmer like a cascade of rainbow beads and slowly, orange fume rose into the air.

“Evaporation, rectification, commixtion!” Shimmershadow as a faithful friend and fast learner, recited the alchemistic processes he had so often seen back home in the elven forest.

Evaporation was the converting from a liquid or solid state into a vaporous state with the aid of heat. It was a secret knowledge yet the unicorn thought this a case of emergency as far as he was concerned.

Before it evaporated completely, the filly asked the demons to wave the smoke into a delicate glass vial they had stolen secretly yet with glee from the inn and cork it.

The next step, rectification, was the process of purifying a substance by distillation. One method of distillation was the destructive one which involved further heating. No sooner said than done, the heating of the fume lead to a color change, it now glowed in a bright bluish-white.

“Now the last step, commixtion!” the unicorn encouraged, knowing his basic alchemy. Commixtion was the blending of different ingredients into a new compound. He knew the demons would be way too impatient to wait for the normal 14 processes through which the alchemistic substances have to pass before they were ready as medicine or ingredients, yet this was only a three step procedure so they should cope.

Rhea popped the cork and bathed the Island crystal in the bluish-white light like Shimmershadow had shown her through visualization.

The fumes circled around the crystal, then settled onto the surface to amalgamate completely with the formerly plain stone. It now glowed bluish-white as a whole and shed light for some metres around.

“Let there be light!” Shimmershadow jubilated and the little black demons cackled aloud, pleased with themselves.

SilentOne perched on the basket handle and watched the others go about their tasks. They had all the pieces now it was time to put them together. Nearby Jasper had gone back to drinking and lounging as he waited for the rescue to commence. SilentOne had seen the otter tie off the harness on Feng, now they needed the otter to do it again.

Taking flight the crow flew over to the coil of rope and caught the unused end and carried the trailing length over to the basket. Dropping the cord he turned in the air and landed beside the dapper otter.

"Hoy mate! Fancy a drink?" The Jolly otter asked offering his flask to the crow.

SilentOne cocked his head and considered the drink. Verrek never touched alcohol, at least not for as long as the crow had known him. What would be the harm in trying a bit himself? He ate carrion after all!

SilentOne dipped his beak into the flask's open top and felt the burning liquid trickle down his throat.

Shaking his head and puffing his feathers the crow flapped his wings and backed away, blinking madly at the powerful draft.

"Hahaha!" Jasper laughed leaning back on his stout tail as he took another swig. The crow shook his head a few more times clacking his beak at the taste; that stuff was more powerful than the fluids from three-day old carrion!

Marveling at the heat rushing through his body the crow locked his eyes onto the otter. They needed to get to work.

Hopping forward the crow gave Jasper a quick nudge with the wrist of his wing then grunted and flew over towards the basket catching the loose rope in one taloned foot and landing on the basket handle with the other. Hopefully the otter would understand that his knot tying skills were needed again.

Jasper took another swig watching the bird over the top of his flask. "Ah," he sighed bringing the flask down and stoppering it. "Yer all lost without me I see!"

Pushing himself up the dapper otter slid his flask into his waistcoat and strode over to the basket. Taking the rope offered by the crow he quickly and expertly tied the rope securely to the basket handle.

SilentOne grunted his approval then took to the air again and glided over to where the demons were ogling the brightly glowing stone they had helped create.

Feeling a bit impatient to begin the rescue the crow swooped down and plucked the stone away from Rhea and Kronos, causing the demons to shriek in dismay and anger. Turning in the air SilentOne dropped the stone towards Jasper who had looked up from his knot tying at the demons’ wailing.

Jasper caught the stone in his cupped paws. "My, what a shiny trinket! This should brighten up that dreary dungeon!" And with a flourish the dapper otter tied the stone to the basket handle using the stray bits of hemp at the end of the rope.

"And done!" Jasper announced, looking pleased at his handiwork.

With that Jasper hopped on the mentally exhausted goat and led him towards the cave. Looking back, he was happy to see that SilentOne, Kronos, and Rhea were following, basket in tow.

Shimmershadow observed the ground crew going down one by one in line at a slow pace because the passageway was unclear and seemed to bend shortly behind the entrance.

The unicorn’s task was to guide Feng in his pulling efforts when the goblin in question was

reaver @ Greenrowan

Reavers parting words

Sashi and Lorne arrived at the inn at full speed, both running. She wanted to yell to the others, but she saw her friends disappearing behind the doors, with the companions remaining outside. The girl believed this to be a bit strange and looked around for the mouthy Potch to fill her in on what was going on. The warrior was gasping a bit for air like Lorne, she then dropped down to one knee.

In between panting for breaths of air Sashi says to her friend "That was a close one my friend and I think we should call that a tie, what do you think?"

After arriving at the inn Ilaera soon found out that she had to leave Phaeri outside. She was sad about that, as she was not used to being by herself. Ever since the moment she had found the bird, they had been together, counting on each other.

She knew Phaeri hadn’t liked the idea either, as she had tried to go in with her, but Ilaera had to tell her that she had to stay outside with their friends. Since Phaeri hadn’t paid any attention to that, she eventually had told her that she had to stay outside to make sure the others would be safe and wouldn’t do anything stupid.

After that Phaeri had flown off towards one of the fences, where she had landed. Ilaera was then finally able to enter the inn.

Nighteyes didn’t have as much trouble with saying goodbye to Esme as some of the other companions had. Esme didn’t think about that too much, she knew she would be missed anyway, even though the cat didn’t show any affection.

She knew him well enough to know that he loved her as much as she loved him. Nighteyes just walked away and found a nice little spot to sleep at. Esme knew that he would wait there for her return.

Jettison had been a bit lazy in his stroll back, not really feeling the whole 'lets have a race' thing that Sashi and her companion were so in to. Gah he was tired. It seemed Potch felt similar, the bird was nestled in the ginger locks atop Jettys head, muttering words that sounded to be part of the song they sung together for the Shishin.

He stretched his arms in the air and just as he was about to drop them, he put one over each side of his raven. Keeping him from being able to fly, similar to the way one would carry a chicken.

Potch ignored it at first, but when the guy started to twist his body up and down the crow made an annoyed sound. "WHAT WANT?"

Snickering, Jettison bent down and set him on the ground. "I wanted ta' see if yer 'ead stayed in one spot whole yer body moved. Like th' hens do."

Now that he was free of the grip, Potch flapped and reset his feathers after the bit of ruffling from his annoying owner. "GO, DO JOB." He squwaked, not seeming anywhere near as sad to know the guy had to go inside with out him. This would give him some good bits of peace that he much desired.

"Well jeez, if I gotta'." The brit spat, holding his hands in the air with a overly dramatic expression. "S'like ya dun even care." Jett said as he walked up the steps, only turning back to give a sly grin before the door closed.

"DAFT." He muttered as quietly as he could with the limited range of level to his birdy voice before flying up to see if he could find food or one of the other animals.

Kenny scratched Blanco between the horns as he reluctantly ordered the little dragon to stay outside the inn.

"Not do di wobbly screamers. Okay?" he chided gently in dragonese.

"Yesse, yesse! Ussa issa larkies. Okee dokee!" Blanco replied petulantly.

"No no pulla flap-flap feather things or nippy miaow-miaow on di bum. No toastywarm sleepyplace, jus shivers an belly screams to miselva" the dragon added, sulking off to find the most comfortable place possible to sleep. Remembering a dry looking cave on the path in, he headed back to it.

Sashi lifting her eyes to search for Potch again, she doesn't see the bird, so she pats Lorne on the head "I will be right back, I am gonna find out what is going on."

The fox barks at her a couple times, grabbing her hand in his mouth gently he steps back not wanting her to go inside. The girl kneels down giving him a hug and whispering something in his ear, Lorne pulls back and swings his tail slapping the warrior in the face. Laughing Sashi stands as Lorne huffs and plops his butt on the ground.

At the inn, everyone was seated around a table, chit chatting with each other, having drinks, laughing, the usual teasing and chattering before a mission.

Once inside, Ilaera sat down at a table with her friends. She was still uncomfortable about leaving Phaeri outside, but she knew that the bird would be able to look out for herself. She believed the others quickly notices she wasn’t feeling well, because they were trying to get her to laugh. Jett was making his usual jokes again and she couldn’t help but laugh about them, which eventually got her to relax more and to enjoy the company of her friends.

"Ya know, it reminds me o' this guy in the cirque wif' me." Jettison was saying, continuing his musings as he leaned back in his chair. His arms rested over the back, fingers tapping against the wood. "I dunno' where ya get a pair o' claws like that, but I swear e' was a mutant or decided ta just wear a fuckin' lobster costume that looked damn near real."

Esme sat down at the table with her friends, she was relaxed and enjoyed the time together at the inn. It had been a while since the last time they had been able to do that.

She quickly noticed that Ilaera wasn’t doing as well when it came to separating from Phaeri. If only she could brush it off as easily as Jett. So she tried to cheer her up by telling her that it was just for a little while and that they would be back together soon enough.

Sashi pulls the door open and walks in, her eyes scanning the room for her friends, a smile curling her lips as she spots them. Making her way to the table, they are all sitting at, she sits and smiles, "What is going on?" she asks as she taps kenny on the back, nodding at the ladies and giving Jett's chair leg a kick

Jett was just about to speak up when he felt a kick to his chair, almost toppling him over because he had been leaning so only the back two legs touched the floor.

"Well thas' a loverly way ta make my 'eart fall outta my chest." He said, panting slightly after the loud thunk of the front two feet hit the hard flooring. "And hell if I know. Kenny still didnt come in, maybe e' knows?"

"Youll survive." She said in a bland voice, though still grinning at him. She looked around and saw the guy was right, it made her wonder what Kenny was up to.

Maybe it was good timing, or just Jett having heard his footsteps which made him wonder, but Kenny walked inside right then. He smiled and walked over, starting to get used to seeing Jett in discomfort while Sashi laughed and smiled. They were quite a funny pair.

"Well...now we wait?" He said in a questioning tone, not sure what to do with himself. At least everyone had settled around with a few drinks, so that would keep his mind from the worry Ilaera was obviously feeling. Maybe he could help distract her with some of his own tales.

[spoiler=Their companions get the job done]The companions are outside the inn, not amused they had to stay outside...well other than Potch. He was doing his best to pull a worm longer than himself from a small hole in the dirt.

After Ilaera had told her to stay outside, Phaeri had flown off towards one of the fences where she was still sitting. She looked into the direction of the now closed door of the gold dragon inn. She was not amused at all by how things went, she had desperately tried to get inside with Ilaera, as she was having a weird feeling about the inn. But because Ilaera had told her to stay outside with their other friends to make sure they would be safe, she had listened to that as she wasn’t sure some of those friends would be able to stay out of trouble. Even though she’d rather be in with Ilaera, she stayed on the fence where she was, looking and waiting.

When Phaeri heard some commotion behind her, she really tried to stay focused on the door of the inn, just in case Ilaera would come and get her any way, but eventually she couldn’t help it and she had to go and have a look since the commotion was still going on. She was curious about it, but she also wanted to make sure none of her friends had gotten their selves into trouble.

They all noticed some commotion going on a bit further and head over to see what’s going on. Phaeri did have to go and drag the raven in the right direction, he was so hard to keep focused on the job sometimes. Like owner like pet it seemed...

Upon arriving at the cave, Blanco found fairy missy, talky dim-woof and the magic stranger-man already there, jabbering in human talk. Curious, Blanco hissed for attention, and tipped his head inquisitively at the people.

They were obviously excited about something, gesturing to a hole at the back of the cave, and talking loudly at him. Even the dim-woof was too excited to talk like a normal animal, so Blanco went to the hole and called down, hoping for an intelligent answer. A weak but familiar voice drifted up, thank goodness goblins could speak some dragon as well as imp.

Somehow, even with minor distractions like worms, Potch was there next. He hobbled over and looked down the cavern, already thinking a bit of how they would help Morrow out of this. Man it really would be so much easier if he had thumbs like Jett, especially at times like these. How else was one supposed to help carry a human like guy, albeit small, but way larger than he.

The dim-woof had already left to get more help, so the little dragon flapped his wings to blow some fresh air down the crevasse to Morrow. He was lithe enough to climb down, but Blanco knew he was not strong enough to lift the goblin out by himself.

With the commotion started Nighteyes opened just one of his eyes. He was grumpy about being woken up again too soon for his liking. He turned his head and noticed the others were leaving to see what was going on.

He had no intention of following them, but he was rather curious about what was happening. He decided to walk over to what seemed to be a cave entrance. He saw how Lorne was already halfway down the path. He started to run, only to try and be at the entrance sooner. He couldn’t let Lorne have all the fun now, could he.

Lorne hearing the commotion with the sounds of some of his friends, he heads off to see if he can help out at all. The fox huffing at the lazy cat as he uses his nose to push Nighteyes a bit as the cat tries to dash by him. The fox is happy seeing all of his friends gathering and very curious now as to what is going on. Finding a place to sit outside an opening to a cave.

After arriving at the cave entrance, she noticed the others had gathered there as well, she was still unsure about what was going on, but then Lappy told them. After finding out the reason of all the commotion, Phaeri really wanted to try and help Morrow. He had been a great friend before. She thought Morrow might be able to lend her friend a hand later on as well. First they had to find a way to get him out of the hole he was trapped in though and she had no ideas for that.

Once he found out what was going on Nighteyes was a bit disappointed. He was sorry he had gotten up and ran all the way over just for this. He stared back at the inn wondering if the spot he had been in would still be as warm and cozy as before he left. Just as he was about to go back there, Potch started to talk about a rescue plan.

Though it hadnt been long since Lappy had given them an idea of what happened, Potch was still able to come up with something quickly. There wasnt much else that would work. Thumbs couldnt just appear, and Jett was at the In.

How he would have loved to see the guy crawling in to such a tight space instead of the critters. Just Jettys face appearing in his mind made him laugh that silly cackle. At least that cheered him up.

"NEED TO CARRY, YES?" He chirped, looking at each of his friends and hoping they understood. Once they all nodded he flapped his wings and said "TO CARRY, NEED ROPE OR SOMETHING LIKE." Pausing he hopped before adding a bit more "AND THING TO TIE ROPE TO, FOR CARRY."

"UNDERSTAND? WE FIND ROPE THING, AND FLAT FOR MORROW TO SIT ON. CARRY TO SAFE!" maybe it was how fast he was babbling on, or that it seemed louder than usual because of his level of seriousness surrounding the matter. He hoped that even outside of the Inn they may find such objects. None of the companions were all that large or strong, so they needed some assistance.

Phaeri was unsure if the idea would work, but she still flew off in search for ropes as he had requested that from her. She knew what a rope was, as Ilaera had asked her to carry it around many times before.

She flew off in the direction of the grounds, were they had chased the Shishins earlier on in hopes of finding rope there as she knew Ilaera had used it to tie up the Shishins.

Upon arriving at the grounds she looked around in search of the ropes that were used before, but they seemed to have vanished from sight. Eventually she gave up, thinking the Shishins might have taken the rope with them when they left.

She started flying back to the others when she spotted some tall trees with vines hanging down from them. She flew down towards those and grabbed the end of one of the vines with her beak. She looked at it closely. It wasn’t a rope, but as she pulled at it, she noticed that it was quite strong and therefor it was the only thing around that would work the same. She flew up, while in the meantime she started to pull the vine away from the tree. Eventually she heard a cracking noise. She dropped the vine into the tall grass and tried for a second vine. Potch hadn’t told her how many ropes he needed, so she tried to get a few, as she didn’t want to fly back and forth. She dropped them all in the same position and eventually she grabbed all of them at once into her beak again and she flew off with them in the direction of the inn.

~

Lorne was listening closely as Lappy tells them what is going on and that they are needed to help a friend in need of assistance. The fox takes in all the information that is given, the others then take off to do what is needed of them for this mission.

Lorne stands and enters the cave, his night vision working as he glances around. Taking in the different textures of the cave, noticing that some spots are bumpy and some smooth. The damp smell of the cave makes the fox sneeze a couple times, shaking his head afterward.

His ears tuning in on some very slow dripping water, and the skittering of bugs as the fox steps forward carefully and slowly letting all of his senses adjust to the dark cave. Moving foward easing into the cave the fox hears the chatter of a few bats they have woken. Lorne chatters softly at Blanco and then blowing outward trying to tell his friend to help out with some light if he can.

Blanco nodded at the sharpteeth pointynose. Lorne seemed to be asking him to breathe fire.

"Warmadi-toasties gobbla breathyair, stil ickle bit be okee dokee" he said.

Gathering up some small branches and leaves that had drifted into the cave mouth in his dexterous fore claws, the little dragon quickly built a small pile of tinder and set it alight with a fiery breath, illuminating the dark recesses of the cave. Once he was certain that even the two leggers could keep the fire going, Blanco headed out to see if he could help Potch bring back something to rescue the goblin with.

[color=medi

Misfit companions Rescue Morrow

The Misfits filed into the Inn, anticipating some much needed rest and maybe a good drink or two, although they were not expecting anything quite so comfortable as the Squirrel. But as Melody, Liath’s hawk, flitted down to land on her shoulder and Salem the cat came rubbing around Jilly's legs, a man at the door stopped them all. "Stop right there! Did you not see the sign? No pets allowed," he pointed, his friendly demeanor had diminished a bit, "Don't worry, they are more than welcome to enjoy our beautiful gardens and there are plenty of places to be found for them to settle down and rest. Out. There." As he pointed, the sleeve of his simple robe hung like a large, red exit sign indicating the door. The younger Misfits immediately spoke up in protest, drawing a significantly larger guard into the room. The bulky man was as tall and wide as the doorway being pointed at. The Misfits weren't easily intimidated, but a slight hand gesture from Eva and a look from Jilly sealed the deal. It was best to be gracious and follow protocol in this unknown place. Jilly bent down and scratched Salem's ear, "Alright my friend, stay safe out there, and try to keep everyone together and look out for each other. We don't know what's out there." Salem gave an irritated growl that quickly turned to purr at the scratches. He had been looking forward to a soft warm bed as well, but his irritation couldn't stand up to his affection for Jilly. "You too. Something smells fishy, and I don’t like it one bit." the cat warned. Eva patted Alfie and slung a pack of snacks over the back of her goat for the night. Anna gave a sharp whistle to ruffle Storm's neck fur before sending the wolf off. Liath gave Melody a scratch on the head and smoothed her feathers, and she flew off after the others. Miakoda paused and bit her lip anxiously as she debated whether to send Mutt off as well. He decided for her as he unwrapped himself from his hiding place as a ring on her finger and floated after the pack. It's okay. If anything happens, I'll contact you. shape-shifting minion pressed a feeling of calm and safety upon the mage’s mind. "Same," Mia thought back, trying to convey the same reassurance.

Storm paced restlessly near the fence outside the inn. The wolf whined. This was the first time he'd been away from Ana since they've met. This irritated him and his pacing would not cease. Alfie immediately went to work chasing his stubby goat tail and rubbing against the side of the inn, trying to make Eva’s pack of snacks fall to the ground. His efforts were mostly in vain. The goat bleated futilely, kneeling on the ground in defeat. Alfie looked at Storm pacing back and forth. Perhaps it was better the wolf was distracted. At least the wolf's mind wasn't on his treats... or him for that matter! Melody ruffled her feathers and chattered. If the hawks could eye roll, this one would have. She fluttered down from her perch in the trees, landing on Alfie’s head. In a flash, Melody had grabbed the rope and the food was untied from his back. The goat pranced in a circle in happiness and nuzzled the kestrel, unintentionally knocking her off balance. Melody squawked indignantly. Salem took a hard look at their lot. A wolf, a goat, a kestrel, a glorious cat of course, and a metal shape-shifting blob. What a motley crew. What could they possibly have in common to get them to stick together and look out for each other for the night? He was surprised the wolf hadn't eaten them all yet. Only Mutt would be unappetizing to the canine, the blob would only give him a nasty case of indigestion. The feline stopped himself mid thought. They really did have a lot in common: a sense of adventure, a need to right wrongs, and a great love for the Misfits. Salem swished his tail and began to circle around the companions. “Jilly says we should stick together. Safety in numbers!” He yowled at them. There’s a small grove of trees and bushes to our left. That should offer us extra protection. Mutt mentally offered to the group. “Good idea. Let’s head over then, everyone.” Salem announced. Reluctant to leave the vicinity of the inn, the companions headed toward the grove and hunkered down for the night.

No sooner had the motley gang settled in did Lappy burst into the grove, panting for air. “Come quickly everyone! There’s an emergency! Morrow is stuck in a hole!” “Morrow!? The goblin? What can we do?” said Salem, tired but eager to help. "Should we go get our Masters?" “No, no. There's no time, and not much they can do, I’m afraid.” Lappy responded. “We're the only ones small enough to rescue him without magic.” At this, Storm lifted his head, interest piqued. “Let’s look at the situation then.” Meowed Salem. I'll let Mia know what's up, Mutt disclosed to Lappy. Wordlessly, Storm left and returned shortly with a sizable coil of rope, dropping it at Lappy’s paws. “Thanks!” the dog barked at the wolf. “If everyone’s ready, we should get going. There’s no time to waste!” Mia has let the others know. They wish us luck. Jilly says to stay safe and be good, and Eva says, “Show’em what you’ve got, Alfie!!!” the shapeshifter paused. She may be drunk already... The companions turned to look at the goat. He only bleated happily in response, as if to say “Yup, that’s her!” Lappy led the companions to the cave where Klytie and Junu had discovered Morrow. “Oh boy.” Meowed Salem, peering into the hole Morrow got stuck in. It was one impressively treacherous hole outfitted with sharp rocks. “Morrow? Can you hear me?” “Hello? I hear you! Have you come to rescue me?” replied the goblin. “He’s not too far down, thankfully.” Lappy confirmed what the Misfits thought. Judging from his voice, he cannot be more than fifteen feet down, announced Mutt. Salem looked at the Misfits, trying to formulate a plan. He first turned to Melody. “Melody, you think you’d be able to fit in that crevice and tie the rope around Morrow?” The kestrel screeched affirmative. “Not to be rude, but,” Morrow interjected, breathing audibly, “do you think you can hurry up just a tad bit? I feel like I am running out of air in here.” “Yes, yes.” Someone definitely needed to go down and assist Morrow. Salem looked to the companions. Storm was visibly too large to fit through the hole, and so was Alfie. He then realized he was the only one fit for the job. The feline glanced down at the sharp rocks again, this time with extreme discomfort. If it makes you feel better, I can mold over the sharpest rocks to make your journey a bit smoother. Offered Mutt. “That’d be great.” Salem sighed in relief. Then, turning to the wolf and the goat, Salem suggested: “Storm, Alfie, there are some really sharp rocks down there, it’d be risky for you guys to go down. Do you think you can help pull Morrow back up?” The duo bobbed their heads up and down. Mutt entered the hole first, and Salem watched him carefully mold himself over the razor-sharp edges with ease. Once he knew it was safe, he nimbly jumped down on top of Mutt. The shapeshifter would then stretch out to the next jagged spot and the cat would easily jump and land on the smooth surface. Slowly, but surely, for what seemed to be an eternity, Salem reached the goblin. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought I would surely faint in here.” Morrow said, as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “Not quite yet, but Melody will be here soon with the rope. We’ll get you out in no time.” Assured Salem. “Okay Melody, we’re good to go!” At the summon, the kestrel had taken one end of the rope in her beak and began to flutter down into the hole, taking great care not to get the rope caught in the rocks. Since the bird had razor sharp vision, it was a matter of seconds before her eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the hole. She was able to reach Salem, Morrow and Mutt fairly quickly. Morrow was feeling rather weak at this point, so Salem and the small bird securely tied the rope around his waist. Melody chirped, once it was done. “I’ll be out soon!” The goblin croaked. “Definitely.” The cat meowed. “Melody, tell Alfie and Storm they can start pulling!” With a resounding screech, the kestrel fluttered out of the hole, signalling to the goat and wolf that they could begin. With a sugar high after eating Eva’s snack pack (which consisted mainly of oatmeal cookies), Alfie bleated excitedly and pulled a bit too hard. Before Salem could react, Morrow skyrocketed upwards and hit his head on a few rocks! “Ow ow ow!” The goblin complained, nursing his head. “Take care, will you? There is delicate cargo here!” Salem could barely suppress a snicker at Morrow’s comment, but carried on helping the goblin over the protruding rocks. Mutt greatly aided this process by covering himself over the sharp rocks and making them smoother. “Halfway there! Thank goodness, for I don’t know how much longer I can hold it in.” Morrow warned. Salem didn’t even have a chance to ask the goblin what he meant when terror struck. The goblin's stomach had been gurgling loudly, and before the cat could jump out of the way, an embarrassingly loud PFFFTPFFT sounded and a dense fog of stench shot in Salem’s face. “Holy bejesus!” The cat swore, engulfed in the terrible smell. His eyes began to water and his whiskers curled. Morrow blushed. “I’m so sorry! I get so very gassy when I’m stressed.” He said, sheepishly. cough “It’s...fine,” The cat tried frantically grooming the horrible odor out of his fur, but he was failing miserably. “Let’s just get you out of here before it happens again!” “Agreed.” said Morrow. And so the companions worked twice as hard to pull the goblin out before he released another stink bomb on the unfortunate Salem. All of a sudden the rope lurched and Morrow stopped his ascent suddenly. "Err, what happened?" The goblin asked as he tried to peer upward, but couldn't see in the dark. Salem called up to Alfie and Storm. "Keep pulling! We're only about 100 feet from getting out." But the rope did not move. Salem thought he could hear the grunt of the wolf and the bleating of the goat from above. He caught a glint as he noticed Mutt floating upwards. I will see what the trouble is He told Salem telepathically. Mutt came out of the hole and saw that Alfie and Storm were pulling with all their strength, but nothing was happening. Hold. Don't pull. The rope must be caught on something.* The shapeshifter floated back into the hole and followed the rope down. Melody decided to flutter along with him. "What's the holdup? My stomach is gurgling again..." Morrow groaned. Salem let out a mournful cry. "I hope it's nothing serious!" He then looked at Morrow. "What in the world did you eat earlier?" The goblin thought about it, "I think it was fish and beans. Oh, now I'm hungry! Can we please get out of here?" Salem jumped on the goblins shoulder. He did not want to be behind him should he pass gas again. Mutt and Melody discovered where the rope had wedged between two rocks. We need to carefully unwedge the rope without breaking it. This may take some timing. Alfie and Storm, when I give the signal, ease up on the rope for two seconds. Salem, have Morrow kick the rock in front of him. And Melody, grab the rope above the wedge and try your hardest to pull it out and free it. Salem told Morrow the plan. "I hope it works. I really don't want to stay down here any longer." Everyone got into place and waited for Mutt's signal. He flashed brightly and everyone heard him in their head, NOW Morrow kicked the wall as hard as he could and he swung outward. The wolf and goat let the rope go slack and Melody grabbed the rope with her talons and flapped her wings as hard as she could. The rope shifted slightly, but not enough. Alfie and Storm pulled tight once more on the rope. They heard the goblin yelp. "Ouch! I banged my knee on the stupid rock! Are we moving?" Salem sighed. "No, not yet." We almost did it. One more time. NOW The group repeated their tasks, and this time the rope came free enough from the wedge so that Mutt could slip under the rope and create a smooth surface for the rope to run over. Thankfully, the rest of the journey went without hitch, and Morrow was above ground before long. “Bless you!” The goblin thanked the companions and kissed the ground, happy to be free. He then tried to stand up, without success. His legs were wobbly from being cramped in a tight space for so long. “I’m sorry to have to bother you after all your help, but I think I need help getting to the inn...” Hearing this, Storm loped over and kneeled on the ground, as if to say, “Hop on.” “May I?” The goblin inquired. Storm grunted in agreement, so the goblin hopped on. With that, the Misfit companions rushed towards the inn without delay.

Companions to the rescue

Socializing in a room full of people, out in the open and not hidden in a quiet corner was still new to young Alia. She would have much more preferred to spend the evening outside with her companion, ‘Natch. That thought seemed to create reality and ‘Natch appeared in a nearby window, paws nervously pressed to the glass.

Standing Alia moved to the exit to see what had her friend so worried, gaining the attention of Garrick and Lark. Once outside Alia stooped slightly in practiced invitation for her little friend. When the manchu wouldn’t climb up Alia began to truly worry.

“What is it, ‘Natch? What’s wrong?” asked Alia as her eyes darted around. But her little friend lacked speech, though he was usually quite able to make himself understood. This time though, the effort wasn’t needed.

“If I may, we must move quickly. I freed Pony from the stable in case we need him.” Relaying the rest of the tale shared by Lappy just a few minutes ago, Felicia filled in the rest of the group. “Lappy needs us but as he said you must remain. We probably should not have even drawn you from the inn.” Her eyes moved to Lark and no words were needed. Felicia knew how worried Lark would be but knew even more keenly how much more that worried would have been had she found her friend missing.

Garrick stroked Pony’s forehead and muzzle. “Keep an eye on the little ones, Boy, and run them right back here at the first sign of trouble.” With a warm head butt, Pony breathed heavily and turned to allow the two smaller critters on his back.

*~*~*~*~*~**~

The trip to the cave was quick and while Pony waited outside Felicia and ‘Natch ran in to see what they could do to help.

The drop was too steep, even for little daredevil ‘Natch. He looked worriedly at Felicia for ideas and she in turn asked Lappy for as much information as he could share about his friend. Even if they made it down the rough sides to the bottom safely there was no way the two of them would be able to help him out on their own. Morrow was easily three times their size.

Hurrying back out to Pony, Felicia, studied the horse and his saddle. “Pony, boy. I think we’re going to need that.” Indicating the roll of leather sticking out of the saddlebag. Garrick worked on it each night when they made camp. The ranger was very tight lipped when asked what it was going to be used for but his constant attention meant it had to be something important.

Pony stepped back from the two smaller companions and shook his head strongly, his wildly flying mane adding more emphasis.

“Pony, we need it. The rocks inside the cave are sharp. The leather will protect us.” Felicia pleaded. “Garrick sent us to help. He’s trusting us not to fail.” Felicia felt a little bad but what else could she do. They needed to get Morrow out and she had no other ideas.

As Felicia was negotiating with Pony, ‘Natch naturally decided to take a more active role and had climbed a tree with a branch just over Pony’s back. The Manchu dropped down near the roll of material and began tugging to get it free.

“’Natch!” Felicia scolded. “We need permission first.”

But the little thief had the roll free and was looking back and forth between his two new friends waiting for the decision he knew was coming.

Pony huffed and shook his head again but did nothing more to stop them. Soon the companions had tied a rope to the horn on Pony’s saddle and dragged the free end along with the roll of leather to the mouth of the hole.

Felicia called down. “You’ll have to use the leather as best as you can to wrap yourself again the sharp sides! Then tie the rope around you!”

Once Morrow called back up that he was ready. Felicia sent ‘Natch to get Pony to begin pulling back on the rope. It was a slow process as the leather needed to be freed a few times, but eventually the goblin was brought out and freed of the rope and leather bindings.

I have been such a horrible captain cus of work. I don't get home til after 1am my time and by time Im done with real life pets...UGH! :( Im late again to post. Sorry

[Spoiler=jalapeno companions] “Bother, not another logic puzzle!” Springjoy says in a disgruntled tone. "They make me feel stupid!”

“I told you guys already!! These are easy!!!” Tea_Roll exclaims excitedly.

Terrena hands her a blank paper piece of paper and crayons, “Here! Just draw and leave the logic puzzles alone this time.”

“Why don’t we ever go to inns that have a kids menu with coloring pages?” pouting Tea_Roll takes the paper and crayons.

Excited to sit and rest , the Jalapenos all plop into a table near the back of the inn, at the table that has the least amount of light. Tea_Roll curls up in a corner and goes fast asleep.

“Finally! A place to get a drink! After all that has happened, we can use one!” Lovecraft groans. "Maybe the alcohol will help clear some things up for me." She wanders off to find some livations.

Spring springs to her feet, “We should have a cheer. We are very proud of our new Jalapeño!” She tips her glass glass at Kaiidth who is holding her baby, cooing him. The inn breaks out in cheers and congratulations from all the other protectors.

“FOOD!!” Tea_Roll exclaims, startling everyone, popping up from her nap, ”I’ll have a little of everything on the menu.” ……... “Our companions have never been really good at working together” TerrenaAnimula points out as she pets MediaNox.

After chugging from her mug, Lovecraft puts her drink down, “Yeah, remember last time? They ended up just going to the doctors office an sitting the whole thing out.”

Keeping Lovecraft from going on a tangent about past adventures Reaper puts an arm on Lovecraft, “Yes wifey.”

“Howie can lead the companions”, Kaiidth turns to him, “Howie, take Selawick, MediaNox, Spike, Lovecrafts cats and Tea_Roll’s dragon and get the Goblin out of the hole.”

“You’re dragon has no name? You better not name another one of your pets after me again!” TerrenaAnimula glares at Tea_Roll .

“And then give it all kinds of spiders stuff for it to collect”, Lovecraft mumbles with a smirk into her glass.

Picking up her dragon and holding him at arms length, looking at him, Tea_Roll announces, ”He hasn’t told me his name yet. Until he does, I shall call him Name Pending!!” smothering him into a hug, the dragon goes limp like a rag doll. “Okay, Name Pending. Timmy has fallen into a well! Go get ‘em out!” Cradling the dragon in her arms, she shoves a cookie into his face that he eats greedily. Putting him down on the floor he scampers out the door, purposely kicking dust into Spikes face as he leaves.

The Jalapeno’s companions are an odd bunch, just like the team back at the Inn. The other companions approach the cave, lead by Selawick, who is very fast for a mouse, being chased by Lovecraft's cats, good think he is fast. Name Pending hovers above the cave, Moon bathing. Selawick jumps over the hole and runs past Name Pending. One of the cats misses a step and falls into the hole, moments later Morrow screeches out in pain and yells, “who’s dropping cats on me!?!” The other cat continues on his pursuit but as he runs toward Name Pending, the dragon puffs up and while flaring hisses at the cat. Howie and MediaNox bring up the rear.

The cat in the cave on top of Morrow, looks up at its companions, and twitches at the sight of selawick who is very pleased with himself, and would be snickering if he could. Fun over, he scampers down to investigate followed by a second kitten. Even tiny caves are no problem for the mouse and cats. The other companions wait to see what the trio finds.

They all appear a moment later, a bit dusty but no worse for the wear. /there is excited squeaks from selawick and mewing from the kittens. The rest of the animals seem to understand.

A rope! The cats are saying, And hurry! Selawick demands. After a moment, howie nudges the others, and name pending reluctantly lets his tail hang down, huffing a little about the indignity. Medianox lowers down holding on the tail. Howie is next, and then the kittens. Before the first cat crawls down to take his place in the chain, he sticks his foot out and trips selawick for payback. HEY!! Marrow sounds annoyed. “Would you just get me out already?”

Chain complete, selawick scampers up the animals again and comes back, trying to get marrow to understand. Howie wines and marrow reluctantly gets ahold of the cats and holds on. Once his grip is secure, the little animal rope is lifted by pending, who would rather have his tail to himself. Safe above ground, marrow hesitantly offers his thanks by patting each of them on the head. I have to get to the inn now he says.

The animals scamper towards the direction of the inn. The cats a little less thrilled to chase selawick now, but plot thoughts in their heads. Cats are sneaky bastards. Name Pending is also having thoughts that being a dragon could easily eat them all and none be the wiser. That is for another story tho.

"See! They made it back in one piece!" Springjoy smiles, grabbing up Selawick.

Kaiidth pets her companion and shows him the baby. Happy he gives the new bundle a quick sniff and a tiny lick on the nose of approval.

"SERSIOUSLY!" Lovecraft says looking at the cats. "HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE NOW?!" she takes another drink from her glass of fine wine.

"Dearie," Reaper says, "I only see two cats. I think your drink has you seeing double," she smiles at Lovecraft.

Terrena leans over, "But there are six cats now."

"Shhhh!" Reaper urges. "This will be more fun this way," giving a sly grin.

"Name Pending!" Tea shouts. "Did you find me any cake while you were out there?"

Name Pending puffs smoke out of his nose at her and settles onto the seat next to her to nap.

"Guess not," Tea says disappointed. "I'm sure I will find more later." [/spoiler]

Please lock, dear.