Chapter 9

The Ranger was unable to believe what he was hearing or seeing. The Bow was limp in his hand as he stared at the Cavalier. How the heck had Eric managed it? He had walking up behind Venger, looking unstable but determined, with his Shield on his right arm.

I have to get outta here! thought Hank.

The Ranger quickly fired an arrow and the cage door evaporated. He looked around in fear. How were the others going to get free in time? Without their weapons they were finished. Venger wouldn't ignore them for long.

But the Arch-Mage hadn't looked away from the boy in front of him. The Cavalier had walked between Venger and the portal on the far wall. The Arch-Mage had turned, and had his back mostly to Hank and the others, so they weren't in his direct line of sight.

'I said, "Did I miss anything"!' repeated Eric, staring defiantly up at Venger.

Hank raised his Bow, about to fire at the Arch-Mage. But he stopped. The others weren't free. The moment Venger noticed them they were goners for sure. And unarmed, they were easy prey.

And how did my Bow appear? he thought. Unless…

He suddenly looked up at the Thief on the platform, startled. There was something in the proud smile she was giving Eric that told him all he needed to know: There was absolutely no way in Hell that was Sheila!

Heart thumping wildly in his chest, Hank grinned. Why hadn't he seen it before? That had to be the Harlequin. She wasn't dead! She'd fooled the Arch-Mage into thinking she was the Thief and that's how his Bow had appeared. Somewhere in the room, the real Sheila, his Sheila, was hidden safely under her Cloak.

Hank's pulse sped up as he looked at his friends on the platform. They were trying to buy them time, to give them all a chance to get free, to give them a chance to fight. Every passing second gave them better odds of success. He had to free the others, without drawing attention to them.

Venger was still glaring at the Cavalier with such intensity that Hank doubted the Arch-Mage had even noticed anyone else, and Eric was carefully edging his way closer to the "Thief" on the platform.

As the Ranger turned to free Diana, he quickly looked around for the others, his senses primed. Bobby and Peter were both out of their cells. The Barbarian glanced desperately at Hank, and the Ranger pointed firmly to the Club then the cages. Bobby obviously wanted to argue, but he nodded. The Gladiator was already using the Trident to lever open the other cells. There was a huge commotion from outside the room too, and the sound of raised Orc voices.

Venger had taken a stride forward, pointing at Eric, utterly oblivious to anything else.

'YOU! Again you try and thwart me, Cavalier!'

'It's always a pleasure, Horn-head!' Eric said back to him. He was just below the Thief.

Venger gave a sour smile.

'How you escaped, I do not know. But you are weak from your stay in the Negative Plane; I can sense it! You have no strength to match me!'

Eric straightened his shoulders, shuffling ever closer to the platform.

'Oh, yeah!' he sneered. 'C'mon! Take ya best shot!'

Venger smiled with more confidence.

'As you wish, Cavalier! You will not deprive me of my revenge! Try to save her if you wish but I WILL destroy both you and the Thief!' He raised his hand again, and

"Sheila" suddenly spoke.

'Well, there's a little problem with that, you know.'

Venger stared from one to the other. Eric took the opportunity and took a quick step left, so he was standing right next to the girl. She reached to her face and pulled the Mask up, smirking like a deranged Cheshire cat. The Ranger grinned too. He'd been right. It was Gail.

The look of shocked disbelief on Venger's face gave Hank immense pleasure. But the Arch-Mage didn't stay surprised for long, and magic fire glowed in his red-clad hand. But the Cavalier had been watching too, and Eric moved between them, holding up his Shield.

Venger gave a painfully loud laugh.

'How endearing! The Cavalier defending his Harlequin! So be it, you will both feel the full wrath of my magic!'

With a gleeful growl, Venger cast a huge, thick burst of white light directly at Eric.

Hank gave the lock on Diana's door a frantic whack and it suddenly broke.

'Let's go!' he whispered at her. The Acrobat nodded, but she wasn't watching him. Instead she stared at the Arch-Mage.

'Hank! Look!' she said back, pointing.

The Cavalier staggered under the torrent of magic, the strain showing on his face. Hank realised in horror that Venger had been right, Eric wasn't up to it. He wouldn't last for long.

At one end of the hall, Peter had moved to Lorraine's cell. At the other, Bobby had managed to free Presto, and was now swinging his Club at Jamie's cage.

The Ranger pointed at Paul's cage, just beside them.

'Get him out,' he told Diana, 'as quick as you can.'

Eric had dropped to his knees, the magic in the Shield flickering, and Hank knew it was time to act. They were all taking their cue from him. They'd only gained a few seconds, and they weren't all free. But it would have to do.

It was time to fight.

He loosed a volley of arrows, but Venger hardly even noticed. Peter struck the floor with the Trident just afterwards and a sheet of lightning raced across the hall. But Venger still didn't stop, even as it hit.

The magic of the Shield was almost gone. Inwardly, Hank swore. They needed something more.

As he fired another volley, Hank looked for the Barbarian.

'Bobby, let him have it!' he ordered, pointing at Venger.

The young boy nodded, and swung joyfully at the floor, sending a wave of stone towards Venger, who staggered, his magic sputtering. Hank fired again and the flow of magic grew weaker, but not fast enough. Eric had screwed his eyes tight shut against the inevitable.

NO! thought Hank. I should…

There was a clang from behind him as the last cell door opened. Alison raced past the Ranger at full speed, ignoring the others and heading straight up to the platform. Then the Amazon turned to Venger, the Whip in her hand shining a fierce, bright blue. She swung it down with a howl of anger and an ear-splitting crack, slicing through the Venger's magic. Eric collapsed back to the floor, almost squashing Gail in the process.

Venger took a step back, exhausted from using so much power. A fleeting look of terror passed over his face as he looked around. Not only did he have the all young ones spoiling for a fight, but the Amazon was ready to attack again.

And Alison was unbelievably angry.

'You! Hurt! MY! SISTER!' she screamed at him, swinging the Whip back. It coiled on the ground, writhing like a live snake, it's magic almost to bright to look at. In the single second they stood there, Hank truly believed that the Amazon would have taken Venger's head off with a single stroke.

The Ranger quickly fired another volley and the Arch-Mage retreated towards the door. The Ranger was about to fire again, but a movement to his left caught his attention. Three soldiers and Captain Tursh had come running through the doorway, and were closing in on the other members of the group. One was right behind Jamie as he knelt on the floor, rapidly flicking through his Book.

'Diana! Presto!' called Hank. 'The Orcs!'

Presto quickly muttered a spell pointing his Hat at the soldiers, and two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke. The third had turned into a small chest of drawers (Regency style). Tursh the Orc Captain looked at the piece of furniture in surprise then turned and drew his sword, growling at the Magician.

Diana vaulted over, smacking into the Captain, who was sent careering backwards.

Paul the Rogue raced across, his Pack in his hand. He dived for Tursh, and there was a distortion and a slurping noise, as the Pack swallowed the Orc whole. Paul picked it up.

'Alright! Pa-pa-pack pa-pa-power!' he said with a smug smile.

There was a sudden, harsh shout from the door and Uni came racing in at top speed, heading straight for the Barbarian with a frantic bleat. There was the sound of stomping Orc feet from outside.

Bobby turned, raising his Club ready to make the incoming soldiers eat floor, but the huge door was slammed shut in their faces. Then Sheila, the real Sheila, pulled off her Cloak and stood nonchalantly in front of it, a broad smile across her face. Hank almost melted with joy. She was safe!

The Ranger turned gleefully to the Arch-Mage.

'Looks like you're on your own, Venger!'

'No!' bellowed Venger, disorientated and furious. 'NO!'

All twelve of the kids were watching him, weapons at the ready. They had fanned out in a rough line. Sheila was by the door, with Bobby and Uni close by, then Peter, brandishing his Trident with a smile. Eric had untied Gail's hands, and they stood close together beside Alison, just in front of the portal. Lorraine was on the far side, furthest from the door; then Paul, Presto and Diana were together in a group. Hank was still in the middle, with Venger right in front of him.

'How do you fancy your chances now?' called the Ranger with a rising sense of elation. Each one of the Arch-Mage's taunts was clear in his mind. Venger looked round at the young ones uncertainly.

'You may gloat now, Ranger,' he said. 'But you will never get out!' He raised his hand, aiming at the portal.

There was a cry of despair from one side that made Hank jump. He turned, and saw the Enchantress raise her Staff, bathing the room in a watery glow.

Then no one moved, not even Venger. He was frozen mid-gesture, pointing at the portal. Hank tried to release the arrow, but he was frozen too. His stomach lurched. What was going on?

'Enchantress!' growled the Arch-Mage. 'Release me!'

Lorraine walked right up to Venger, her eyes wide.

'You broke our agreement,' she said breathlessly. 'You had the Thief, but you didn't free me! Why should I free you now?'

Hank felt his insides go cold. Lorraine? The Enchantress? He could see the looks on the faces of her friends. Devastated was putting it mildly.

'Our agreement was for the weapons, not just the Pure of Heart!' replied Venger. 'It is you who breaks our Contract!'

Lorraine snorted.

'You've had your chance, Lord Venger. But I am going home!'

She walked over to Peter, looking up at him with big, dark eyes. Hank felt his own heart skip a beat, sensing the power of the Enchantress. She had never looked more beautiful, or more desperate. The Staff in her hand was glowing coldly.

'You could come with me, Pete,' she said. 'Leave them to their game and come home.'

'That's not our home!' said the Gladiator desperately.

The Enchantress shrugged.

'Anywhere is better than here!' she said.

The Ranger held his breath, remembering the first time he'd met Lorraine, high on the mountainside in the Grove. She had used her power then, and he had been unable to refuse her request for the Orchid. Peter would agree too.

'And you said you'd do anything for me,' Lorraine added.

'How can you do this?' said the Gladiator, obviously struggling to get the words out. 'You can't just leave the others like this!'

Lorraine glared back at him, the spell of her Staff growing brighter.

'I knew it!' she spat, her blue eyes livid with anger. 'I don't know why I even bothered asking!'

'But I'm…'

'No!' she replied, cutting him off. 'Don't you DARE use that as an excuse! You're not the leader any more, they're not your responsibility!'

'I can't leave them,' said Peter, his voice strained.

'But it's not "them", is it?' growled the Enchantress. 'It her! It's always her! She has everything. She's leader, you and Paul both worship the ground she walks on and her little sister trails around after her like a mad puppy! Don't bother to deny it, Pete! I've seen the way you still watch her.'

Peter was breathing hard, his face pale.

'I don't believe you would just leave us here,' he said. 'You can't abandon us.'

'Can't I?' she hissed, a cruel scowl across her face. 'You just WATCH me!' She turned and looked round at them all. Hank shuddered. She was going to leave, regardless of what Peter said. He could feel it.

'I hate this world,' she said, 'and if I have to buy my way home with your weapons then that's what I'll do because I hate you all too! This is all YOUR fault, and you started this because of HER!' She suddenly gave Peter a nasty smile. 'Shall I tell them?'

Without waiting for an answer, the Enchantress looked at Hank and, in spite of everything, he felt his heart pounding as she looked into his eyes.

'The poor Gladiator had just been demoted,' she said, 'thanks to that disaster with those lizard-things. He was feeling all sorry for himself and all worried about how our new leader will cope. Then Alison told Jamie to ask the Book about you. It told us all we needed to know.' She looked round at Hank's friends, a slight smirk on her face.

The Ranger gulped. This wasn't good.

'And then that stupid little man shows up to give us a lecture about Jamie's stupid Book, and tell us to keep away from the Orchid!' The Gladiator had turned a fine shade of red and was looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Lorraine swung round to glare at him. 'You never did know when to keep your stupid, fat, mouth SHUT, Peter! You didn't have to argue with him, you didn't have to challenge or insult him like that! We could have got home without all of this!' The next words were quiet, but Hank could still hear the resentment in her voice. 'But I know you only did it for Alison's sake! It was her first action as new leader, but you just couldn't keep out of it, could you? You didn't care what I thought!' Her eyes narrowed. 'And I realised what I had to do, to get home.'

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

'I was right, you know,' added the Enchantress smugly. 'You were all wrong and I was right! I'd always told you, we should never have trusted Dungeonmaster in the first place. So let him get his precious "star pupils" out of this! After all, they're the only ones he cares about!'

'That's not true,' said Peter finally. 'Please. We're all in the same boat.'

'But I'm not anymore!' she snapped. 'I've jumped ship and there's no way I'm going to jump back! It was a stupid idea anyway, trying to copy THEM!' She gestured at Hank with her Staff.

'But…'

'You believe what the Book says?' she said bitterly. 'You think only Heroes make it home? Well, I'm not waiting around to find out!'

'But…'

'I've had enough!' she hissed. 'I'm leaving and you can't stop me!' She glared venomously round at them all. 'You can all stay here and fight it out, like the mindless pawns of Dungeonmaster that you are.'

She turned.

'Lorraine, no!' shouted Peter. 'Don't go!'

The Enchantress walked towards the portal, and stepped through, without looking back. The portal zipped shut behind her, and there was nothing but an empty wall.

The instant she was gone, her magic stopped, and everyone could move again. Hank felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. And if he felt devastated and betrayed, how would Lorraine's companions feel?

Paul and Jamie had identical looks of disbelief on their faces. Eric had put his arm round Gail, and she had turned into his shoulder to hide her expression. Alison's eyes were bright with tears, but the anger she'd shown before was nothing compared to how furious she looked now.

Peter had covered his eyes with his hand, leaning on his weapon. Then he slowly turned to glare at Venger.

'What did you do to her?' he demanded, lifting the Trident to point it at the Arch-Mage. Venger paused, the arrogant smirk back on his face. He looked round at the shocked children.

'I did nothing to the Enchantress,' he said, enjoying the effect of every single word he spoke. 'Her own jealousy drove her to me. She told me of your plan to find the Pure of Heart, so I offered her a way home in exchange for your lives and weapons. It was I she met with in Recadia. And then she lead you to my trap at the Henge of Stones, as I had instructed her.' The smile turned particularly unpleasant. 'Why else do you think she did not use her powers then?'

Peter was shaking.

'That can't be true, she would never…'

There was a loud snort from the Arch-Mage.

'You are a fool, Gladiator! She despised you, all of you!'

Venger looked smugly round at the other children. The seething anger inside Hank was ready to burst out. The Arch-Mage deserved everything they could dish out at him, and more! He had been going to execute Sheila, just to see the looks on their faces. He had tormented Eric, he had thought he'd killed Gail; he had taunted and teased them all past rational behaviour. They were going to give him a Banishing he would remember for a very, very, VERY long time! Hank raised his Bow.

'Let him have it!' he shouted.

The instant the words left the Ranger's mouth, Venger laughed. Red and blue shards of magic went flying out in all directions, imbedding themselves in the walls of the building. Then there was a pulse of light and smoke.

Hank stared in disbelief at where the Arch-Mage had been. Venger had gone! He'd turned tail and gone! The anger and frustration inside was still there, and the Ranger fought the urge to shout, or swear, or loose off a volley of arrows. Then the room began to shake and Hank suddenly realised what Venger had done.

'The whole place is gonna go!' he shouted, spinning round. Chunks of masonry started to fall all around them. 'Bobby, an exit! Quick!'

The Barbarian rushed up to the wall opposite the door as took a swing. Dim, red sunlight flooded through.

'Everybody, let's go!' shouted Hank.

Bobby was out first, with the unicorn racing ahead. Huge, dark cracks appeared in the walls. Presto and Diana ran out, then Jamie, then Paul. Eric had taken Gail's hand, and was protecting her with his Shield. Alison ran behind them. Sheila dashed past, giving the Ranger a fleeting but beautiful smile.

Peter stopped by Hank to make sure everyone was out, and the Ranger could see he was shaking. The Gladiator paused and took one final, pained glance back to where the portal had been, then ran out of the castle.

The Ranger followed, just as the last piece of ceiling crashed to the floor.

---

They ran, down the path and past the town. The Thief looked back anxiously, desperate to make sure the Ranger was OK.

The rest of the castle started to crumble and collapse, but Sheila saw the Gladiator jump down, then Hank followed. Above him, a dark, vaporous image of Venger floated upwards to block out the sunset. Then, slowly, it drifted away.

Sheila gave a huge sigh of relief and turned to hug her brother again, more surprised than relieved. They had done it! They weren't home, but they were free. Wasn't it always the same?

She frowned, remembering Gail's words. They were fated to free the Realm of all evil. Were they really going to do that? Did that mean they couldn't get home unless they did? Were they really the Heroes the Realm needed? Lorraine had said the same thing before she left.

At the thought of the Enchantress, Sheila shuddered. Now she knew: the Enchantress was the one who betrayed them, and betrayed her own friends too. Lorraine had gone home, leaving her friends behind, all because she was jealous.

Jealousy. Now that was an emotion she could relate to. Her jealousy of Alison had nearly gotten the Harlequin killed, and Eric almost turned into a skeleton. And what would have happened if she hadn't found Gail?

Sheila shuddered again, remembering the image of herself, stuck on the platform in front of Venger. That was not something she would ever forget. Her jealousy had caused a lot of problems. There was a good chance Eric would never forgive her for setting him up, even if he hadn't really been one the prank had been intended for. He despised being laughed at. Guilt rose in her chest once more, coupled with fear. And what if he told the others? They would never trust her again.

Her brother had raced off chasing after Uni, who went to meet Jamie and Paul as they crossed the bridge. Sheila waited for Eric. The Cavalier watched her without expression, then stopped beside her, not saying a word.

'Eric, I want to say I'm sorry,' she whispered. An angry sneer crossed his face and, for a moment, she thought he would tell her exactly where to put the apology. But after a long pause, the Cavalier managed a thin smile.

'In-fighting and holding grudges won't help any of us,' he said softly. 'I think that lesson's pretty clear. And we're all out safely, with weapons.' He drew a deep breath. 'Do me a big favour. Next time, don't get me involved.'

Sheila smiled back, and pursed her lips. She had no right to ask, but…

'Will you do me a favour? Please don't tell the others the truth, about the Powder? Please let me explain to Hank in my own time.'

Again, Eric didn't reply for a while, but he eventually nodded once more.

'I'll make something up,' he said with a heavy sigh. 'Hey, I'll just blame Venger. Everyone usually does!'

'Thanks, Eric. I know I can trust you.'

'That's not what you thought a few days ago,' said Eric with a classic Cavalier smirk.

Sheila flushed. She should have known he wasn't going to make this easy!

'Well, I was wrong,' she said. 'You are reliable, and you definitely can keep a secret.'

'When I want to,' he corrected with a wistful smile, glancing at Gail.

Sheila nodded, looking round at the Harlequin as she walked arm in arm with her sister. Gail might be irresponsible and annoying, but there weren't many people in this Realm who had the nerve (or the stupidity) to pull off a stunt like that one!

'I told you, stop making such a fuss,' Sheila heard her say. 'Alison, my arm is fine and so is the rest of me. Don't fuss!'

'But he threw you against a wall!' replied her sister.

'I was pretending. Honestly, I am fine.'

'But Venger said you fell off the ravine! He said you were dead!'

This time, Gail laughed.

'He thought I didn't know how to fall!'

Alison looked startled then they laughed together, as if sharing a private joke.

'But he almost executed you!' persisted the Amazon, the smile still on her face.

Gail gave a dismissive wave.

'We knew what we were doing; it was easy! I knew the group's resident Knight-in-Shining-Armour was around, somewhere!' She turned, looking round, and her gaze resting slightly too long on Eric before she said:

'But you cut it a bit too fine for my liking, Sheila!'

The Thief blushed, but gave Gail a conspiratorial smile. It was only fair. If they wanted to keep it a secret, they should be able to. She owed them that.

'Yeah, Sheila,' said Presto from somewhere in front. 'You gonna tell us what happened?'

The Thief glanced at the Cavalier, her eyebrows raised, then waved him forward with a flourish.

'I think I'll let you explain?'

The Cavalier grinned and sped up, looking pleased at the opportunity for boasting.

'Well, I'm glad you asked that, Presto!' he said loudly, clapping the Magician on the back. 'Where SHOULD I begin!'

'Why were you unconscious?' asked Diana. 'And how did you wake up?'

'That's a very good question,' he said, his dramatic nature taking over. 'But that's not the real…'

Sheila ignored them, not caring what sort of story Eric made up. He wasn't going to tell them about Gail that was for sure! He would rather die than admit to the others that he had been caught kissing her; he'd get the teasing of the century if they found out!

Instead, the Thief paused, looking back across the river towards the Orc garrison. That town, it was full of goodies. They couldn't pass up an opportunity like that.

Sheila turned to say something to the others, but Hank was suddenly right behind her, standing very close. She caught her breath in surprise, and felt her cheeks burn scarlet as she looked up into those gorgeous, pale-blue eyes. But the guilt inside her wouldn't let her just enjoy his closeness. She had to tell him the truth, even if he hated her. She should never have been so stupid.

'Hank, I have to tell you something,' she blurted out. 'I've done something really dumb. This is all my fault.'

To her complete surprise, Hank nodded.

'You had something to do with the spell on Eric.'

It was a statement, not a question and Sheila couldn't speak. How do he know? The Ranger glanced at the Cavalier, as he was busy showing off to Presto and Diana.

'I've been watching you,' said Hank. 'I was watching when you talked to him and I saw the look on his face. You apologised, didn't you?'

The Thief managed a weak nod. He'd seen right through her, he hated her, he had to. But he smiled. Then the Ranger brushed his finger against her lips to stop her from saying anything. Sheila felt her knees go weak. The thought of anything else instantly disappeared.

'It doesn't matter what you did,' he said quietly, 'because now I understand something much, much more important. When I though Venger had hurt you, I realised I'd made a terrible mistake.' His voice wavered as he spoke. 'Seeing you lying there, and being unable to help when he hurt you was the worst thing I've ever felt. I would kill anyone who ever hurt you, Sheila.'

They looked at each other intently. The Thief wanted to say something, but found it impossible to breathe, let alone speak.

'I'm so sorry,' he said. 'I'm sorry I took advantage of you in the Temple. I'm sorry I turned my back on you. I don't know if you can forgive me for hurting you like that.' He raised a hand to remove a lock of hair from her cheek. 'And I shouldn't have pretended that nothing was wrong. I'm so sorry.'

Sheila caught his hand, tears starting in the corners of her eyes.

'When you just walked away from me,' she replied, 'after the Temple, I thought you didn't like me anymore, that I wasn't good enough for you. Then you shut me out, and hardly even spoke to me. I thought you didn't like me, that I'd done something wrong.'

Hank gripped her hand tightly.

'It was never that, Sheila. Please believe me. But you know nothing can happen while we're trapped in the Realm. We can't be together until we get home. I'm the leader, and we can't get involved the way I want. Just look at what happened to the others: Alison and Peter, Peter and Lorraine. It's too much of a strain.'

Sheila nodded.

'I understand, Hank. I really do.'

He smiled, the 'special' smile, and relief rushed through her.

'We could go back to how it was before,' she suggested. He was still gripping her hand, and all Sheila could think of was how beautiful his eyes were. Hank shook his head.

'But I can't now, not like that. I want you to know.'

'What do you mean?' she asked anxiously.

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

'I love you.'

For a few seconds she was unable to reply, the words just couldn't come out, she couldn't breathe. She could hardly stand…

'Greetings to you all, my pupils.'

'Dungeonmaster!' chorused Bobby and Presto in surprise.

'Impeccable timing as usual,' said Eric sourly as the eleven children gathered round. And for once, Sheila agreed with him. She had to hang on to Hank's arm to keep standing.

Dungeonmaster smiled at them, but all his attention was given to the other group. He bowed once more.

'Greetings, young ones.'

There was an embarrassed pause, as Alison looked round at her friends. Then she knelt down in front of the old man so she could look him in the eye.

'You were right, Dungeonmaster,' she said. 'I should have been a better leader, and we should have listened to you. I-I'm sorry.'

She hung her head, and the other four all did the same.

'Jealousy is a terrible thing, my pupils,' said Dungeonmaster sadly. 'But now you understand the truth.'

Alison nodded as she stood, and Peter put his hand on her shoulder.

'It's my fault,' he said. 'And I should be the one who apologises. I started all this.'

'There is enough blame for all to share, Gladiator!' said Dungeonmaster with the ghost of a smile. 'And those who are trapped in this Realm must shoulder the burden of survival. There is a place in this world for each of you; and sometimes a purpose that you cannot understand.'

The Dungeonmaster looked to Hank and Sheila.

'But now is not the time for these things,' he said. 'Soon you must say goodbye for the time being and go your separate ways. But the friendships made through these trials will last a lifetime.'

He smiled deviously at the Thief.

'And I believe you were about to make a suggestion?'

She blinked rapidly as everyone turned to look at her. There had been something, in the back of her mind, but then Hank had taken her arm and…Her heart quickened, and she blushed again. What had she been thinking?

'The town!' she said with a gasp, relieved to remember. 'We should all go and salvage what we can from the town. I saw some neat stuff when I was there earlier. It'll take a while, but it will be worth it, won't it Hank?'

The Ranger nodded, but looked surprised.

'We should get some supplies in,' agreed Paul, opening up the Pack. 'Venger took all our things out. And does anyone need an Orc, by the way?'

'Well, Gail can't go,' said Alison protectively. 'She's done enough.'

Gail opened her mouth to argue, but Eric interrupted.

'And I'm not going anywhere until I've had a decent rest!' he said with a sulky scowl. 'I've had a very tiring day!' Sheila was sure she was the only one who saw the charged look that passed between the Cavalier and the Harlequin.

'Yet your idea is a sound one, Thief,' said Dungeonmaster, his eyes twinkling. 'The abandoned town is a valuable resource for you. This opportunity should not be passed by. So leave the Harlequin and Cavalier to rest, and go!'

It didn't take more of a prompt than that. Alison fussed over her sister, who strangely didn't complain this time; then she walked beside Peter back across the bridge to the town. Uni trotted along between Bobby and Jamie with her head held high, and Diana, Paul and Presto walked behind.

Eric watched them leave and sat down a discrete distance from Gail, not even looking at her. But he was grinning. He waved lazily at Sheila as she and Hank walked off beside Dungeonmaster, then gave a huge, fake yawn.

'Thanks, Dungeonmaster,' said Sheila as they approached the empty town. The old man smiled once more.

'Let it never be said that I do not know when to disappear!' he replied, and gave her a slight bow. 'You have done well, Thief, you and the Harlequin both. Be sure to take the time to enjoy the rewards of success.'

Sheila gave a small giggle. The town was big, and would take a long time to search properly, at least a few hours. Privacy was in short supply in the Realm but for the next while she could have Hank all to herself. She had glanced round at the Ranger, and he was frowning in confusion. By the time she looked back, Dungeonmaster had gone.

'What was all that about?' asked the Ranger.

'Nothing! Don't worry about it!' replied Sheila, still giggling.

Hank looked back, still worried.

'Do you reckon those two'll be OK? We'll be away for quite a while and there might be Orcs…'

'Oh, stop worrying, Hank!' said Sheila, grabbing his arm firmly. She hugged him close, wanting to savour every precious moment they had until real life in the Realm butted back in. They had the next few hours to enjoy each other's company as they searched the town. She wasn't going to let him spoil it by worrying. 'Dungeonmaster said it would be OK.'

'Yes, but…'

'Don't you believe Dungeonmaster?' she asked in mock seriousness.

'Yes, but…'

'Hank,' said the Thief. 'Trust me, they'll be fine!'

The End.

And now that's it finished, you just HAVE to tell me what you think!

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Next: Interlude: A quiet rest turns into a nightmare for Presto when the Hat takes one of his rhymes too literally.

Also showing: Darkest Hour: (Standalone) Hank's stay in the Grotto of Darkness has had a strange effect on him, and when conflict arises in the group, he makes one bad decision that has far-reaching consequences.

Author's Notes.

On (mis) quotes.

"Only Heroes Make it Home" is taken from the front of the D&D DVD covers. Except it's "Only heroes will make it home" there.

"Fuzzy end of the lollipop" is from the film "Some Like it Hot".

"There's a place? A place in Hell, reserved for me, and my friends" is the title of a Smiths song.

"Pa-pa-pack pa-pa-power" is a misquote of Scrappy-Doo.

On Names.

Eric's middle names are taken from two separate stories: Victoria Bishop's "Lambs among Wolves" and Amy Rummi's epic "Legacy". I couldn't decide which to use, so I used both.

On Thanks.

I know I'm going on about it, but thank you all for helping me along with this one. Because if the complex structure, all the reviews/feedback I've had have been very helpful in keeping me on track.

Special thanks goes to Tiamat11: for your sterling support; and to Fayzalmoonbeam: for your suggestions and for helping me fit everything together.

On The End.

This is the last chapter here on (which you already know, since you're reading it) and it is the end. However, the story has a coda called "Aftermath", which is across in the Dungeons and Dragons section of the Adult Fan Fiction site.