Being the b-plot was number 8 on Voolio’s List. But this one wasn’t so bad; the guards were having a good time and so were Voolio and Gnom.

“And now, for the grand finale!” Voolio said. “Gnom the Great will attempt the fabled triple backflip from atop my head!” The guards’ attention, if anything, was multiplied. “Ready, Gnom?”

“Ready!” Gnom said, bracing himself for the stunt of a lifetime.

“Let’s do it!” Voolio said. “Three… two… one… g-” A rumble, much stronger than the already existing one, shook the whole mansion, knocking Gnom off his balance and sending him flailing to the ground. A muffled yell came through a wall down the hall, followed by a pair of crashes.

“Guards!” Susan said. “Investigate those sounds!” Her voice then crawled to a whisper: “And don’t let them get out with anything… sensitive.” The two house guards ran down the hall, leaving Voolio & Co. alone with Susan and Scrum.

Voolio knelt down to Gnom, who was still sprawled on the ground.

“You think they’re alright?” Voolio asked.

“They’ll be fine, they’re professionals,” Gnom said, dusting himself off.

“Not Vix,” the halfling said. “Knowing him, he probably just blasted a hole in the wall and the whole building’s about to-”

“Hey,” Voolio said, “was that hole in the wall there before?” He leaned down the hallway to see a fiery gash spilling refuse in the path of the guards.

“No, I don’t think so,” Gnom said.

“And you’re absolutely sure about that?” Voolio asked.

“Not entirely,” Gnom said, standing up.

“Gods damn it, we’re wasting time!” the halfling yelled, sprinting down the hall and drawing his skinny swords.

“He’s right,” the dwarf said, rushing in after him with bow in hand.

“What are you doing?” Susan asked angrily. She scowled at Gnom, Voolio, and Scrum alike, apparently asking two different questions at once.

“Right away, Susan,” Scrum said. “I’ll handle it!” And with that, he too was gone, leaving Gnom and Voolio alone with her.

“I guess we should…”

“I mean, it seems only right that we…”

“But it’s…”

“It’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be fine!”

“It’ll be fine,” they said together. Gnom went toward the hallway and Voolio walked straight to the front door.

“Oh,” Voolio said, “that’s what you meant.” He followed Gnom.

As they started down the place in the mansion that’s already been said too many times, Voolio heard the telltale signs of a kerfuffle. And Voolio loved a good kerfuffle. Amid the metallic pings of sword on sword action, he heard desperate yells.

“No, Vix! No more light blasts!”

“What about Super Duper-”

“No!”

“Is that?” came the dwarf’s voice.

“It’s Ballin.”

Voolio looked at Gnom and Gnom looked at Voolio and they both said:

“Who’s Ballin?”

Their question was answered by the emerging of their companions from around the corner, all carrying the unconscious lizard man by his limbs. All of their companions, that is, but Bauwls.

“Where’s Bauwls?” Voolio asked, surveying the soot-caked group. The hallway was beginning to warm up.

“She’s…” the half-elf said, “she’s in there.”

“In where?” Voolio asked.

“In the library.”

“What?” Voolio yelled, grabbing him by the collar before coming to his senses and putting him back down.

“She was trapped,” the half-elf said, who then began bawling his eyes out.

“Gnom?” Voolio asked.

“Mhm?”

“Ready to get hot?” he asked, smiling.

“Always am, Voolio!”

Voolio, with Gnom on shoulder, braced himself, thought about the danger of his next move, completely ignored it, then slammed his body through the rubble blocking the flaming hole in the wall. Standing up miraculously unscathed, they found themselves in what had once been a nook between two bookshelves. And there, laying on the ground behind closed eyes and a fallen bookshelf, was Bauwls.

“Gnom, pick her up!”

“Why me?”

“Just do it!”

“Ok!” Gnom lifted Bauwls with a strength that surprised even Voolio.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Voolio screamed over the fire crackling around them. The heat was unbearable.

Voolio jumped back through the hole and held it open for Gnom to pass. Once they were clear, they ran down the gurbahk⁴ past the foyer, and out onto the lawn without a second thought. There stood all their friends, accompanied by Scrum. Susan was nowhere to be seen.

Gnom set Bauwls down on the grass, which wilted with the heat. Her cloak was in shambles, but she wasn’t in too bad of shape, visually speaking, though her red skin was a shade brighter than usual.

The dwarf bent down and took her pulse.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” everyone yelled at once.

“Nothing.” He stood.

“Is there anything you can do, Salman?” the half-elf asked, kneeling beside her.

“No, but Ballin could, if he were able. Yes, he may be able to revive her if he were awake to do it.”

Voolio went to Ballin and slapped him in the face.

“Welp, that’s all I’ve got,” he said, backing away. Vix started to speak:

“I-”

“No!” yelled four or five of them.

“No, listen!” he said. “I can wake Ballin up to help Bauwls.”

“Why don’t you just heal her instead?” the halfling asked.

“No time for that, Dylk!” The half-elf scrambled to the ground and put his hands on Ballin’s chest. Beneath them glowed a rich, yellow light that radiated through Ballin’s body like ripples in a pond. When it reached his eyes, he sat up with a start.

“Ah, ah ok. Where am I?”

“You’re about to be in deep doo-doo if you don’t revive Bauwls,” Voolio said, lifting him with one hand.

“Oh, great Mother Tree! Bauwls! Is she alright?” He rushed to her on the grass.

“Nope,” Voolio said, “she’s totally dead.”

“What? I can’t help that! I can’t just bring someone back from the dead!” His hands trembled above her.

“Why not?” Voolio asked. “Just try it!” They all stood around him, waiting. Ballin sighed.

“I’ll try.” He took his hand to her heart and pressed them there. A yellow light appeared as it had from the half-elf, though Ballin’s light grew far brighter than his, forcing Voolio to look away. Then he heard Ballin mutter something beneath his breath.

“Moosa,” he said. “Moosa, save this earthly advocate. Save her so that she may teach your name to us all. Moosa.”

With the third Moosa, the light ceased. Then, as if waking from a long slumber, Bauwls’ eyes opened. And she spoke through cracked lips:

“What’s everyone looking at me for?” The mansion fell behind them.