The two veteran acolytes examined the rock they had captured. Yvana squinted and furrowed her brow. “Didn’t our priestess mention that the shifting stones glow slightly and are warm to the touch? This looks rather like an ordinary garden rock…”
A shiver ran up Lyra’s spine, and her years of battle experience made her instinctively dive out of the tavern’s nearest window. Looking back, she saw out of the corner of her eye a large iridescent net fall on the room, trapping Yvana within.
“HELP ME, SARGE!” Yvana screamed. Lyra tried running back to save her, but before she could get to the door, there came the sound of robes ripping followed by the anguished braying of a terrified jenny. The real innkeeper emerged and grinned menacingly at her. “Did you really think it’ll be that easy? You’re hardly the first to try to steal my stone…”
Lyra turned and sprinted away as fast as she could. Barreling down the warren of streets, she searched desperately for the rest of her comrades. As she rounded a corner at top speed, she collided headlong with Mika running in the opposite direction, knocking them both out cold.
++++++++++++
“Are you really sure that was a good idea? She’s hardly going to warm to us once she finds out what we did to the others at the barn. We should just have left her behind.”
“And let the innkeeper turn her into another naked stable boy? Now look, I’ve heard of this priestess, and I don’t think she’s evil. She must have a good reason for sending them here.”
“Easy for YOU to say! You’re not the one who got assaulted, immobilized and kidnapped..”
The discordant voices floated at the edge of Lyra’s consciousness. Opening her right eye just a tiny crack, she could make out the carrot-haired witch standing just a short distance away. Realizing that her captors had foolishly left her untied, she sprang to her feet and launched an uppercut at the witch in a single fluid motion. To her surprise, she missed completely, striking the witch’s bosom instead, and the witch just turned and stared down at her instead of being knocked senseless to the ground. Then she noticed her small, delicate hands.
“Sprightly, isn’t she?” Ander commented casually.
“You know, with all these kids in our party we’re starting to look like an informal playgroup.” Audrey said tartly.
“Well, we can always change Luka into a golden retriever.” Tobi suggested brightly. “I think we could use a party mascot!”
“Hey, HEY!” Luka protested as he glared angrily at Tobi.
Mika walked towards Lyra, who was examining her childish body with consternation. Squatting down so he was eye-level with the diminished acolyte, he said gently: “Look, I’m really sorry about this, but we had to take some precautions. We don’t want to hurt you, and maybe we can even work together, but first can you please tell us what you and your comrades are doing in this village?”