Trenton met them outside the inn shortly after sunrise, as they had planned.
"I hope everyone had a good sleep last night," he said to them.
Tony nodded. He wrapped the long scarlet cloak he bought yesterday a bit more tightly around himself.
"These high elevation mornings are a bit cold, aren't they?" Trenton smiled at Tony. "But it warms up quickly."
Kevin glanced at Tony. He smirked, ready to verbally pounce. Just as he was about to quip, Tony glared over at the feline. "I know what you're thinking, Kevin," the bull whispered ominously. "What did I tell you about making clothing jokes?"
Kevin continued smirking. "Fine then," he replied, feigning an insulted look.
"Trenton, are you certain those fishermen don't mind taking us across the lake?" Cindy asked as they started walking toward the shore.
Trenton shook his head. "They were the ones at the gathering last night who actually came up with the idea. It's their way of thanking you all for your help yesterday."
"That's very kind of them," Sharon said.
"Kindness breeds kindness," Trenton replied. "I'm assuming that you're ready to go?"
They approached the docks on the lake. A pair of fishermen were already up and preparing their boats for the journey. They noticed the party approaching and greeted them with handshakes and expressions of thanks. Motioning the four to the pair of boats, they climbed in first, preparing their paddles for the trip.
Cindy turned toward Trenton, and shook his hand. "Thank you for all your help. It was much appreciated."
Trenton bowed slightly, telling the young woman, "It was my pleasure."
The party stepped into the boats and waved back toward Trenton as they started across the lake back to the cabin.
Crystal shuddered at the chill in the night air. Small beads of sweat rolled down her wrists and palms from the battles she had just finished, causing her sword to slip a bit in her hands. She slowly pivoted around, scanning the stone walls and ceiling of the dark, large room she was in, futilely looking for the noise that just startled her. Her right foot bumped into something soft and heavy. She jumped back, looking at the troll's body she had nudged. Releasing a relieved breath, she continued her scan.
A voice then spoke softly, ominously. "Crystal, my love. Too bad for you."
She pivoted, looking toward where she believed the voice had come. Readjusting her grip on the sword, she stood prepared for whatever her unseen opponent might throw at her.
Crystal barely heard the small crackling noise directly behind her. She spun around in time to see the dangerous blast of magical energy speeding toward her. She knew instantly that she had no hope of dodging it. The familiar face of the wizard behind the spell had an evil, unearthly smile on it. As the energy bolt approached, in slow motion it seemed, Crystal screamed, briefly noting another face, grinning maniacally, beside the mage. That other face looked eerily familiar, but the spell exploded in front of her before she had a chance to figure out who--
Crystal bolted upright out of her covers, still screaming.
"Crystal! What's wrong?!?"
Crystal choked her scream short and looked for the source of the question. Lisa was kneeling right next to her bed, an expression of concern on her face. Crystal, noting the friendly face, reached out toward Lisa and grabbed her in a big hug.
Lisa, stunned by the sudden emotional and physical outburst, embraced the distraught woman cautiously. Crystal sobbed uncontrollably into Lisa's shoulder.
"Had a nightmare, I take it?" Lisa asked, sympathetically. Crystal, between sobs, nodded her head against Lisa's shoulder. Lisa pushed Crystal away slowly, gazing into her eyes. "Well, it's over now. Please just relax a bit."
Crystal's eyes, still glistening with tears, shone with a fear Lisa had never seen before.
"That must have been one heck of a nightmare," Lisa commented.
Crystal nodded slowly, recovering slightly from her initial reaction. There was a knock at the door. Lisa rushed over and opened it.
Rich and Scott waited on the other side, concern evident on their faces. "What happened?" Rich asked, rushing into the room as Lisa opened the door. Noticing Crystal's distress, he hurried over to her and took her hand in his, patting it softly.
Lisa explained, "She just had a bad nightmare. Give her some time to recover."
Crystal, still breathing heavily, nodded. "I'll be fine in a moment," she finally said through choked back tears.
"You know what the nightmare was about?" Scott whispered to Lisa, as he stepped into the room.
Lisa shook her head. "Haven't the faintest. But she's obviously been disturbed by it," Lisa whispered back.
Crystal had stopped crying, but was still visibly uneasy. Rich let go of her hand and walked over to the short table in the room. He poured a mug of water from the pitcher and offered it to Crystal.
Scott and Lisa sat on the other bed, watching Crystal closely. Rich, after giving her the drink, sat at the foot of Crystal's bed. Crystal's hand shakily guided the cup to her lips as she took a sip of the cool water.
"I-I'm sorry for waking all of--" Crystal began.
"No problem. It's morning already," Rich interrupted.
Crystal hadn't noticed the morning sunshine during her sobbing. She nodded. "You're right." She tried to smile a bit at her mistake, but the smile still had signs of anxiety.
"Anyway," she continued, "I'm feeling better now. Thanks, all of you." She grinned weakly at each of them in turn.
"Don't worry about it," Scott replied. "We're here for each other."
"Speaking of each other, where's Doug?" Lisa asked Rich.
"He was still sleeping. He apparently didn't notice Crystal's scream," Rich shrugged.
At that moment, the door creaked open and Doug stepped in, still yawning. "What happened?" he asked Rich, leaning against the doorway. "I woke up and you and Scott were gone. So, I figured you might be here."
Rich stood up. "Never mind, Doug. We'll tell you what happened as we get ready." Turning back to Crystal, he added, "Meet you outside in about half an hour, okay?"
Crystal nodded as the men left for their room.
A while later, they were on their way back to the cabin. The ground which had been covered in a delicate frost was starting to warm quickly in the morning sun. A few birds chirped and sang lightheartedly in the forest surrounding the road the party was on. Only a few small puffy balls of cloud floated harmlessly in the gorgeous turquoise sky. In other words, the day was nearly perfect. However, the party's mood was far from it.
Rich glanced at Crystal who still looked a bit disturbed from the morning's events.
"If you wanna talk about it--" he started.
Crystal cut him off. "Not yet, Rich. I'm still trying to figure it out."
"Don't tell me that you believe in that predictive dream stuff," Doug replied from in front of her, without turning around.
Crystal glared at his back. "I didn't believe in it until this morning. Now, I don't know what to think." She sighed.
"Let's not talk about it then," Lisa suggested. "Let's talk about that party Caladone had last night."
"Thank you very much," Cindy yelled and waved at the fishermen who were leaving. They waved back as their boats glided silently back toward their town.
"Feels like forever since we were back here," Kevin said, starting up toward the cabin. He was happy to be back on solid ground after the hour-long trip across the cold waters of the lake. The party of four made their way slowly back up to the cabin. As they entered, Tony started up the stairs.
"I'm going to change into something a bit more comfortable," he said, ascending the stairs. "I'll be back in a little bit."
Kevin followed him up the stairs. "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed.
The two women watched them go up into their respective rooms. Sharon noticed Cindy's eyes following Tony into his room.
"He looks quite dashing in that outfit, doesn't he?" she whispered to Cindy, as Tony shut his door.
Cindy turned to stare at Sharon with a sheepish look in her eyes. "Who are you talking about?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"Oh, you know who I'm talking about," Sharon replied.
Cindy, realizing that she had been caught in the act, just blushed slightly.
"Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to," Sharon said quietly, winking at the elf. "Now, how about we also change? Something a bit more our style perhaps?" Sharon tugged on Cindy's sleeve as she started for the stairs.
"Okay," responded Cindy, smiling a bit.
A few minutes later, the four of them had congregated in the living room.
"So, what should we do now?" Tony asked.
"That's a good question, really," Sharon replied. "It's not like we're in a big hurry currently, but we still don't know where Paul is."
"Speaking of Paul," Kevin interrupted, "what do you guys think of that story about that King Paul?"
Cindy shook her head. "I don't know what to think of it. I mean, it's the history of this valley, so it must be true. The real question, though, is whether or not the Paul we know is the same Paul in that story."
"That's exactly what's bothering me too," Sharon added. "If you do the math, in the twenty-four odd years that passed here, a little more than four years passed in our world. That's just enough time for someone to complete his undergrad work and start some graduate work. At least if he's quite bright and motivated."
"True," Tony said, scratching the back of his neck. "What do you know about Paul's past, Sharon?"
"Very little, actually," she admitted. "He talked very little about his past, except his undergraduate years. I don't recall hearing anything about family or high school even."
"That's a little strange. If he had his memory erased, that would make sense then why he wouldn't talk about that," Tony said.
Kevin shook his head at the suggestion. "We know very little of Brad's family or his past, and we live with the guy. Sometimes, people don't talk about their family or past because they don't want to, or they want to separate themselves from either or both. Just because a person doesn't talk about something cannot imply that it doesn't exist for them."
"Good point," Tony conceded.
"The problem with all this, though, is that everything seems to fit so well if the two Pauls are the same," Cindy commented.
"I know," Kevin agreed. He scratched the back of his neck in thought. "But then his motives don't make sense."
"What do you mean, Kevin?" Sharon asked.
Kevin stood up, staring out the window. "I mean, why would he do this if he is the old king? Why would he bring us along? Won't it have just been easier to go alone, instead of bringing along a bunch of people who end up looking for you and trying to thwart your plans?" He paused before adding, "Quite simply, if he is this king, why are we here then?"
The others thought about this for a moment.
Kevin continued, pacing behind the furniture as he spoke. "There's also the problem about how he regained his memory about this place. It's not like this world or how to get to it was advertised in the local newspaper. While the coincidences connecting our Paul with King Paul seem to be huge, I'm not convinced of the connection because of these problems. The whole picture just doesn't make sense, you know?" He leaned forward against the back of one of the couches.
"Those are excellent questions you raise, Kevin," Cindy replied. "I really wish we could have found out more."
"I really think we got almost all we could out of Trenton," Sharon responded. "Remember that the story about King Paul is twenty-five-plus years old. Stories that old tend to get a little warped and many of the details get lost. I really believe that we got as much reliable information out of him as we could have."
Tony sighed. "Well, let's wait until the other group comes back. Maybe they have some additional information."
"Ha! My seven beats your six!" Kevin exclaimed, jumping from his seat and celebrating with a strange little dance. Tony shook his head in mock embarrassment at Kevin's antics as the cat collected the piles of playing cards in front of them.
"You know, you're being much too competitive for War," Tony scolded playfully.
Kevin smiled. "Yeah, but it's either be bored playing War or try to enjoy playing it."
"You know, you could play something else if it's boring," Sharon suggested from the living room.
Kevin finished rearranging his cards. He and Tony laid down their next cards. "Yeah, but War can be so much fun!" Kevin retorted.
Tony nodded at the two women in the living room. "Particularly when Kevin's playing," he added.
Sharon just shook her head, smiling. She turned back to Cindy. "Are they always like that?"
Cindy nodded. "Yes. Trust me, that's about the most normal thing I've seen from them in weeks."
Sharon laughed. "Seriously?"
"Yes. You really have no idea what happens when they get involved."
"Sounds like there are a few stories you're just itching to tell me," Sharon ventured, readjusting herself into a more comfortable listening position on the sofa. She winked at Cindy.
Cindy thought for a moment and was about to play along, but was interrupted by a cheery "Honey! We're home!"
Kevin and Tony looked up to the north door on the second floor. Scott, followed closely by the others, had finally returned.
"So, the fact of the matter is that we still don't have a good idea where Paul might be," Crystal summarized. She stared outside toward the lake which was turning deep blue as the sun fell behind the hills.
Everyone had changed into more casual clothes and was sprawled around the living room, enjoying the evening. They had been talking about their experiences of the last two days, sharing the knowledge they had obtained and trying to put it all together. Three hours and a meal later, they still seemed to have more questions than answers.
"Well, there is that old castle down in the southern part of the valley," Sharon suggested. "You think he decided to go there?"
"Perhaps," Kevin replied, rubbing his sore feet. "But wouldn't that be assuming that our Paul and the king in the stories are the same person?"
Cindy stood up from her seat. She walked into the kitchen and started searching for something in the drawers.
"Also, the castle's at least a two day walk from here," Doug added, stretching his arms along the back of the sofa he was sharing with Lisa. "With our limited time, we might not want to spend that many days following a dead end."
Scott sighed. "Yeah, that's a good point." He glanced over at Tony. "What's on your mind, Tony?"
Tony held his sword up, examining it in the fading light of dusk. He had been wiping and polishing the blade for the last half hour, futilely trying to take his mind off of the battle at Arapatta. He had been listening off and on to the conversation around him, but had been silent for some time.
"Nothing much, really," he replied, wearily sighing as he slipped the blade into its scabbard. "Just personal problems, you might say. But I am curious about the whole King Paul story. I don't know what to make of it, really." He placed the sword across his lap. Kevin, who was seated right next to him, watched him with interest.
"Care to explain our earlier conversation, Anthony?" Cindy strolled into the living room, holding a box of matches.
"Well, I just can't believe that the Paul we know is the same person as the king in the story. Like Kevin said, the general parts of the story fit into what we know of Paul, but it's the details that are confusing."
"Yeah, that was exactly my problem," Kevin added. "Like we talked about before, something about the story seems fishy."
Cindy started lighting the candles around the living room, slowly illuminating the cabin. The others silently watched her.
As the last candle flared up, Scott returned to gazing out across the lake. "But at least we have some sort of a lead, though."
Rich stretched out on the couch he was on, looking at the ceiling. His head lay in Sharon's lap. "Yeah, that Kyther guy. We should visit him tomorrow. He might be able to help us figure out how to piece together everything." Sharon lightly scratched the top of his head, eliciting a small purr of satisfaction. He whispered to her, "Thanks. I needed that." She smiled back.
"So, we make a visit to Kyther tomorrow, then?" Crystal summarized.
"Do we all have to go?" The grievance came from Doug. Everyone stared at him. He hastily explained. "What I mean is, is it a good idea for all nine of us to go visit this guy? Isn't nine people for a simple information visit just a bit excessive?"
Tony hesitantly nodded at this logic. "Yeah, that is a good point. Nine of us in one group is a lot of people. We might look a little threatening in that large of a group."
"Okay, so who wants to go tomorrow, then?" Rich asked. "I would like to."
"Count me in," Lisa piped up. "I like strange men, especially if they're huggable." As if proving her point, she grabbed for the nearest man, who happened to be Doug. Doug's struggles and protests to the spur-of-the-moment Lisa-style cuddle went mostly unanswered by the rest of the group who either decided to ignore them, didn't know what to do, or found the situation quite humorous.
"Lisa, dear. Please let go of Doug's neck. He's turning blue," Cindy reproached after a few moments.
"Oh," Lisa replied, releasing her iron grasp. Doug gasped for air. "Sorry about that, Doug. I haven't really hugged anyone since Mikey before we got here."
Kevin turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "I think I would like to stay behind, if no one minds. I would like to practice a bit more."
"Same here, actually," Tony added. He looked back down at the sword in its scabbard lying across his lap. "Plus, I wouldn't mind a little bit of time alone."
Kevin glanced over at Tony. The bull's eyes shone lightly in the flickering candle light. Whether it was a trick of the light or held-back tears, Kevin couldn't tell.
"Crystal?" Rich asked.
"Well, if those two boys wanna practice, someone better be here for them to practice with. I'll stay back."
"I'll go," Sharon said, adding, "Better than spending too much more time with those two fellows." She pointed toward Tony and Kevin, obviously joking with them.
Kevin put on a hurt look. "You don't enjoy my company?" Kevin replied, faking a insulted tone.
"I enjoy being around you as much as I enjoy being around other hairball producers," she retorted, smirking. Rich looked up into Sharon's face, his mouth wide open in an expression of false offense. She noticed his gaze, smiling. "Well, I guess that means that I actually like being around Kevin." She thought for a moment as Rich continued to look dismayed. "But not as much as I like being around you, Rich." She glanced over at Kevin, who was attempting to use the same face as Rich and failing miserably. "Nice try, Kevin." Smiling, she looked around at the others who were just staring at Kevin, Rich, and her. "Well, I just stuck my foot in its proper place, huh?" she sheepishly explained.
Rich smiled, and after a small pause, he moved the conversation back on topic. Looking at Doug, he asked, "I take it that you don't feel like going, Doug?"
Doug took a deep breath after coughing slightly to clear his still slightly constricted throat. "Normally, I would love to, but I'd rather let the rest of you go. You all will remember the details better than myself."
"So, that leaves Cindy and Scott."
"Sure, I'll go," Cindy stated.
Scott nodded. "Might as well."
"So, that's five of us going--" Kevin started. Scott suddenly leapt up from his seat.
"What's wrong, Scott?" Lisa asked.
He scanned out the windows of the cabin from his position. He could have swore he heard something outside, but he didn't see it right away. He scanned the now nearly dark landscape for some movement, some sort of reassurance that the sound he heard was real. After a few seconds of intense searching, he started sitting down again. He was halfway down when the glimmer caught his eye.
"I asked what was wrong, Sc--" Lisa started again.
Scott leaped from his seat began running up to the stairs. "We're under attack!" he yelled as he ran. "Get your weapons!"
"What are you talking about, Scott?" Rich asked, nervously looking out the window.
The little light left at dusk highlighted what looked to be a large number of creatures coming right toward the cabin from the edge of the clearing near the lake. "Oh my...!" exclaimed Rich as he noticed the small army of skeletons approaching.
With a flurry of activity, the living room was evacuated as all members of the party ran up to gather their weapons. Tony pulled his sword out of its scabbard as he joined the exodus to the upper floors. As Tony, who was taking up the rear, started ascending the stairs, one of the large windows overlooking the lake shattered. He spun around, guarding and slowly retreating up the staircase.
Scott yanked his sword out of its sheath, discarding the scabbard in the third floor hallway. He watched as the skeletons started streaming into the cabin. Many of them had crude weapons, mainly clubs fashioned from tree limbs, but a few carried short swords. Waiting for reinforcements, Scott watched the skeletons as they surveyed the cabin. Another one of the picture windows broke, letting more of the undead creatures in. They totaled almost twenty on the first floor already, with more still coming in.
"It's obvious that someone here loves us enough to send their very worst," Kevin quipped as he watched the creatures stream in. "So, now what do we do?" he yelled up. Everyone besides Tony was on their respective floors, waiting for some direction. Tony had moved up to the second floor, awaiting the onslaught.
Rich shouted at Cindy. "You know how to dispel the spell that forms undead creatures, right?"
The elf nodded. "Yes, but it takes time to cast."
"Then start, and we'll protect you."
The skeletons had noticed the group and started toward the stairs. There seemed to be an unlimited supply of creatures outside.
"Okay, everyone," Rich shouted to the rest of the group. "Cindy's attempting a dispel undead spell, but she needs time. Let's give her some. Cover your eyes, everyone." He quickly cast a light spell. Sending the light orb upward toward the ceiling, he added, "Time to beat up on some skeletons!"
Crystal and Lisa smiled at each other and charged down the stairwell. They dashed headlong into the advancing skeleton pack coming up the stairs, scattering bones and weapons around. Tony, surprised by the sudden attack from the pair of women, followed closely behind. Rich, levitating in the middle of the open area over the living room started shooting magic orbs at the creatures on the first floor. Just due to the density of the beings on the floor, he was able to strike at least one each shot, occasionally disrupting the magical force that held the bones together, effectively killing the skeleton.
Kevin took up refuge on the second floor, chucking daggers with amazing accuracy at the marauding pack of undead, every now and then disarming or disabling one of them. Scott had followed Tony, Lisa, and Crystal down the stairwell, helping them clear out the beings in the kitchen area. Doug guarded the third floor hallway, making sure that Cindy, who was kneeling and beginning to cast the spell, would not be disturbed during the spell's casting. Sharon, feeling useless in the battle, guarded the second floor near the stairwell, rod in hand.
Tony ducked a high blow from his boney adversary, countering perfectly with a low powerful sword strike that dispersed the skeleton's parts around the kitchen. He caught sight of Scott next to him, having some significant trouble with his current opponent.
"Kevin!" the minotaur shouted, hoping the feline could help.
The feline looked down and stared quizzically at Tony, who was engaged in another battle and didn't have time to explain. Luckily, Kevin quickly noticed Scott's predicament.
Scott was getting further into trouble after trying an overhead chop on his enemy, which the enemy had blocked by swinging its club upward, deflecting the blow. Scott's sword resonated from the collision, causing him to temporarily lose his grip on it. The skeleton raised its club, using the momentary disarming to bash Scott's head. On the down swing, though, the skeleton's right arm shattered thanks to a perfectly thrown dagger, causing the blow to strike Scott's right shoulder instead of his head. Scott yelped in pain at the pounding, but during the moment the skeleton's unfortunate loss of limb provided, Scott reacquired his grip and managed to sweep the creature's legs out from under it. The hit caused the skeleton to crumble into a pile of bones at Scott's feet.
With his opponent finally vanquished, Scott tenderly touched his now bruised shoulder. He had just enough time to grimace slightly before the next skeleton initiated its attack on him.
Lisa was having troubles of her own. She had attacked straight out from the bottom of the staircase along the wall, taking out skeletons left and right, but had lost track of where the others on the first floor were. By the time she realized that she might be in trouble, she had her back to the wall, surrounded on the other three sides by opponents.
"Lisa!" Rich exclaimed, noting her plight from his elevated position. "Duck!" He shot off four quick bursts of magic in Lisa's direction. Lisa had heard the shout, but didn't have much choice in the matter, attempting to fight off three opponents simultaneously. At the last moment, she noticed the orbs of energy coming her direction and ducked.
The magical blasts hit the crowd of enemies around her. The blast of magic didn't prevent the sword strike from one of the skeletons from hitting her, though. The weapon's momentum caused the tip to pierce her left arm, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from her as the magical explosions rang around her.
"Lisa!" Rich yelled, panicked that he hit her. As the bones flew around, clanging against the remaining windows and other kitchen fixtures, he was relieved to see her standing back up and retreating quickly, moving closer to the staircase and the others.
Tony continued overwhelming the skeletons he faced. It was getting to the point that he was actually able to defeat another skeleton every five or ten seconds. His mind was remarkably calm and relaxed for the amount of physical exertion he was expending. I don't care how many of these things I have to destroy, he thought as, with a powerful swipe, he split another skeleton's wooden club in half. None of them are going to kill us!
Abruptly, though, every skeleton fell apart where it had been standing. The din of battle rang in each of the group's ears as the sudden silence was only punctuated with the heavy breathing of the warriors.
"Thank you, Cindy," Rich complimented from his lofty perch. He floated back up to the third floor, comforting the mildly exhausted elf.
Crystal called up from her kitchen location, "Can we get a healer of some sort down here? A couple of us have a few injuries." She reached for one of the towels in the kitchen and pulled Lisa by her good arm with her, wrapping the injured left arm in the cloth.
Rich called back down, "Be right down." He looked at Cindy again. Addressing her, he asked, "You gonna be all right?"
Cindy nodded, still breathing heavily. Rich patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Excellent job, Cindy." Rich bounded past Doug and rushed down to his duties on the first floor.
Cindy glanced up at Doug. Doug looked back at her, bowing slightly and thanking her. He half-smiled at the elf and walked toward the staircase. "I'll let you recover alone, okay?" he said quietly as he descended.
Cindy shivered a bit as he left, due partially to the cold the broken windows had let in. But the majority of the reason she shivered was because of the experiences she had during the casting of the spell.
While she had been casting it, she had felt something or someone strange invading her thoughts. It was a strange sensation and one that had almost scared her enough to break her concentration. But the feeling had not lasted long. It was almost as if someone had been scanning her thoughts. She slowly stood up from her kneeling position and hugged herself, unsure about what to do next.
"Great," Kevin started complaining, "now our only good place to live is ruined." He glared at the piles of bones and weapons lying around the first floor and outside. He idly kicked one of the bones in question, causing it to ricochet off a few other bones, slightly scattering the piles, and almost knocking over one of the candles.
"You know, you could be helping instead of complaining," Tony reprimanded the cat. "Then you wouldn't have to complain anymore." Tony stooped down, plucking out the sword in the pile of bones Kevin just kicked. "Plus, you never know when you might hit one of these when you kick a pile," Tony added, holding up the weapon.
Kevin sighed. He hated it when Tony was right about doing chores. Scott passed in front of Kevin, handing the feline a broom.
"Start sweeping the bones and glass out the windows," he ordered.
Scott then leaned on Kevin's shoulder. Whispering, he thanked Kevin. "Thanks for helping me back there. You probably saved my life."
Kevin nodded. "No problem, Scott. Anything for a friend."
"Just don't let the ladies know that I was ever in trouble." Scott grinned. "I do have a reputation to keep up."
Rich and Cindy were coming down the stairs when Sharon, picking up some of the bones scattered in the stairwell, stopped Rich with a hand upon his shoulder. Her eyes conveyed a sense of sadness and embarrassment. "I'm sorry I wasn't much of a help here this evening." She looked at her feet, unsure of how to properly apologize in this case. "I just couldn't think of a spell that I could use that wouldn't possibly burn down the cabin."
Cindy patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Sharon. The important thing is that you would have helped if you could." Cindy continued down to the first floor.
"You did what you could, Sharon," Rich added as Cindy left. He embraced Sharon. "Just don't worry about it right now."
Sharon just stood there, bones still in her arms, and accepted the hug. She tried to grin through her uneasiness, but the comforts given to her by Cindy and Rich did little to help her. She sighed as Rich released his embrace. Looking up at him, she replied, "Thanks. Well, shall we help clean this place up?"
The cabin cleaning took about an hour of hard work, as the party swept and picked up the remains of the skeletons and shards of glass that were scattered throughout the first floor. As each individual finished his or her chore, he or she sat down heavily in the living room.
"So, what was that all about anyways?" Sharon finally asked, landing haphazardly in one of the chairs.
Rich yawned, adding as he finished, "Probably Paul's minions trying to kill us off." He glanced up at the magical light still hovering above. "You guys mind if I kill the light spell?"
"Go right ahead," Scott replied, sitting down. "Everyone's pretty much done."
Rich made a quick gesture. The light died. The few candles still lit provided the only light in the cabin.
Kevin tossed the broom aside as he sat down heavily. "Why don't you cast that spell for us at night anyways, instead of us making a fire hazard?" He indicated one of the candles.
"It takes up some of my energy to keep those things going. Plus they only have a life span of about two hours, so I'd have to recast it a few times a night. I'm tired enough after tonight's battle that I didn't want to keep that going if we didn't need it." Rich smiled slightly. "You wouldn't happen to be trying to kill me off slowly, would you?"
Kevin smirked. "Eh, I wouldn't be that subtle." He quickly produced one of his daggers from his shirt, juggling it nonchalantly in his right hand a few times. He put it back into the pocket in his shirt.
Rich chuckled. "I don't think you could be subtle if you tried."
Tony walked up behind Scott. "Hmm. Paul does know where we live, doesn't he? I hope this doesn't happen every night from now on." He glanced out at the piles of random bones in the clearing.
A breeze from off the lake blew in the broken windows. Crystal shivered. "It sure gets cold in the mountains at night."
The moonlight cut off as scattered clouds began to fill the night sky. It almost felt as though the weather was about to change for the worse.