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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tom Cashel" data-source="post: 395418" data-attributes="member: 321">The DOOR from EVERYWHERE, part 5Dalabrac Bramblefoot: A Fireside TaleA lute plays discordant notes quickly as the halfling half sings the tale.I took several hits as we battled the orcs.  Somehow I managed to stay airborne through the fight, and when the opportunity to flee and regroup came I did not hesitate in taking it.  I grabbed Van’s body, hoping that someone would grab Kaemris’.  Then we fled into the forest.The lute reaches a crescendo and then falls into to a quieter, more serene melody.I was relieved that both Lucius and Artemus survived, and when they emerged from the underbrush I gave praise to all the gods of good fortune.  With his magics the illusionist created a small hut amidst the trees.   He assured us that it was safe and we could rest there without disturbance.  I did not know whether or not to believe him–these human mages are not to be trusted, my friends!  Sadly, I had nowhere safe to go, and numbers are a form of safety.  We laid the bodies on the bunks inside and began to make plans.  The druid and the illusionist were going to get some rest, and myself being sustained by my magic ring, would drink a potion of invisibility and take flight over the valley, looking for the lost humans.Soft soaring notes creep into the melody.I flew over the remains of the palisade and across the seemingly endless orc encampment.  Their fires spread below me like a swarm of fireflies.  I could hear the clanging of steel on steel.  They were in conflict–testing one another for the right to rule!!  If I could find the children quickly I could flee without notice.Soon I came upon two great trees.  I’m not a druid, but I think they were oaks.  Beyond them was a lake.  I continued on past them looking for cages.  By the end of the valley I didn’t see any.  I turned about and headed back to the great trees.  Suspended underneath their enormous branches were five cages.  I came closer to inspect.The first two were filled with humans, but there was a halfling and a dwarf too.  The halfling did not look like Hin, so I kept looking.  The third cage was occupied by some filthy goblins.  I cut the rope suspending the cage to see if it would fall in the lake or onto the shore.  Well, it fell into the lake and sank.  Poor goblins.  It was in the fourth cage that I found the children.The tune shifts into a triumphant march.I drew closer, right up to the bars.  They did not look hurt.  The girl was crying, and it made me sad.  I spoke to them, telling them that I was there, invisible.  They were startled at first, and being uncomfortably cloaked in magic I could understand.  I assured them that we could get them out soon.  The humans heard this, maybe the halfling clued them in, and started to yell for help.  I quieted them with promises that I would be back.  The tempo picks up as he sings in time.I flew back to the cabin, and called for my friends to come out and help.  With the aid of a spell of invisibility to cloak them both, they took to the air behind me as I flew back to the children.  It was a long flight, the longest I’d ever taken.  I was not sure if the cloak would hold up, but it did!  Soon we were under the tree and working out a way to free the prisoners.</blockquote>

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