38. Burned Gnolls and Bitten Bridges

Ala broke into a run as the sounds of the battle grew louder. There was a considerable way to go towards the bridge, yet, so she assumed Edwin and Dynaheir got cut off. She was right.
The Red Wizard was standing on a small dais in a large semi-circle of gnolls, with his back to the wall. Dynaheir was lying at his feet, unconscious once again. Ala stared at Edwin. Two orange jets of fire were streaming from his hands, crossing in the air, as he methodically guided both rays along the circle of his opponents. The half-elf noticed several bodies in front of the wizard already, and she could tell there would be more.
But however effective Edwin's actions were, the number of gnolls didn't seem to decrease. There were more and more of them coming from the direction of the keep. Their growls and barks drowned out the sound of the wizard's chanting, and they were forming a tighter circle. Once in a while, a single shape would come apart from the pack and jump to the dais. The moment it did, both flame jets hit the creature simultaneously, and a charred corpse hit the ground. But the example didn't stop the others from trying.
The girl watched, mesmerized. At last, she took a deep breath and dashed towards the dais, gesticulating madly to get the mage's attention. The gnolls' circle broke, confused by her sudden attack, and she used the distraction to climb to a cold, slippery stone, collapsing next to Dynaheir's prone form. Then a pair of hands roughly dragged her up, and she found herself face to face with Edwin. Instead of the usual scent of expensive perfume, the wizard was smelling of sweat, and his face was covered with dust.
"So," he said, brushing off his hands, "did you manage to get lost? (Got lost in the sewers, too, judging by the smell.)"
"What are you doing here?" Ala blurted out, kicking away a gnoll's arm that grabbed her ankle. "You were supposed to bring Dynaheir to the camp! Were you unable to maintain your disguise?"
"It was entirely her fault," the wizard's expression twitched. "And if you mention the word 'disguise' ever again, there will be consequences. (Preferably fatal ones.)"
"Yes, yes, whatever you say. Now, shall we get out from here or not?"
"How?" The wizard pushed the girl behind his back, and another streak of flame burst out of his outstretched hand, gusting at the nearest monster and singeing its mane. The barking increased. "The way is shut! (Wish that I could toss the witch to them. She will certainly prove a useful distraction Her only useful deed--and her last one. Blast this binding, cheating, insufferable contract!)"
"Stop sulking, Edwin! We'll cleave it! Take Dynaheir, and let's make it to the bridge!"
Edwin twisted a finger against his temple. "Are you mad?"
Curse the wizards and their stubbornness, Ala thought. Instead of answering, she simply picked up the witch's arm and began to slide off the dais. A second later, Edwin hoisted Dynaheir's other arm on his shoulder with a grunt, and raised his free hand, chanting a spell. A cloud of golden dust settled around them, and the nearest gnolls suddenly started to look uncertain, stumbling blindly in the mist. As the girl watched, one of the monsters tripped over his halberd and sprawled on the ground, his head crashing into the dais with a loud bang. His comrades wasted no time in tripping over his body, and soon, the dais was surrounded by the yapping furry mess with the distinct smell of the privy hole. The gnolls were no longer paying any attention to Ala and Edwin.
They ran.
Minsc was pacing the bridge restlessly, kicking pebbles with his feet. Back in Nashkel, things were very simple. Guard pretty Dynaheir, watch Evil Wizard, return to Rasheman and enter the Ice Berserker Lodge. These were the orders he had received. He never understood the orders, even as a little boy, but after his witch lent him Boo, things became simpler. The hamster told him when to charge, and that pretty much summed everything. Of course, he still made the important decisions himself, like giving flowers to a right girl, or choosing a sort of ale; here Boo had no vote. Sometimes, however, even Boo could not hold him from going berserk, and the ranger felt very sorry afterwards, especially if he did kill someone.
This time, he didn't. Pretty tree-lady, Jaheira, had stopped him with the Hand of Nature. That was very wise, he decided, because she had time to explain him everything while her spell worked, and Boo confirmed her words.
The Evil Wizard wasn't very evil, just very stupid, she explained. Edwin didn't want to save pretty Dynaheir, but the shadow-crawler, Ala, made him swear he would. Then Jaheira told him a very sad bit of news: they will not kick Evil Butts together! They will return to Nashkel, and then he and Dynaheir will have to leave the party. That made Minsc very sad, but also relieved, because he didn't want to travel with Evil... no, Stupid Red Wizard. If he did, some day he would probably kick his Stupid Red Butt, and even Boo would not be able to hold him off.
Now, Ala and Red Wizard had gone to steal his witch from the Gnolls, a deed worthy of any hero! Minsc regretted he couldn't go with them, but after little Imoen explained that Ala and herself had always returned safe and sound from such journeys, and they were very, very careful, he relaxed and went back to watching the bridge, just like Boo told him to.
"They are coming! Wait... there is a pack of gnolls on their heels! Ready yourselves for the battle!" Jaheira shouted.
"Minsc is always ready!" The ranger shifted a little to protect Imoen. A moment later, Khalid took his stand on the frontline, next to him. And then Minsc saw his Witch.
His pretty Dynaheir was no longer pretty. Her clothes were dirty, ragged and torn, her face sunken, and her hair oily and tangled. She was dangling between Ala and Red Wizard, too weak to run by herself. Evil, you will pay for this, d'ya hear me? They were running very fast, but the gnolls were moving even faster, and Minsc saw that his Witch would be in their hands soon. Boo, do something!
"We must cut the ropes!" Imoen suddenly screamed. "Edwin and Ala will hold on, but the gnolls will stay on the other side!"
"How are they going to do it, with an unconscious woman on their hands?" Jaheira snapped.
What are you saying, Boo? You can do it? Can you? Did you hear her right?
"Boo will cut the ropes," the ranger announced happily. The hamster nimbly sneaked between Khalid's legs and made for the other side. "Hold on to the bridge, little Ala! And hold my Witch!"
Go for the ropes, Boo!
Ala stopped on the middle of the bridge, panting. "We'll have to hold on to something."
"Do not worry about that," Edwin sneered. "In a second, there'll be plenty of gnolls to hold on to. You must thank my supreme skills for them not overwhelming us earlier. (No thanks to you. The way she insists on dragging this Witch around... one might think they were involved in an intimate relationship.)"
"Your dust only stopped those who stood directly in our way, so I can hardly call it 'supreme'. And I think we both know who was involved with whom. Now would you please hold on? I doubt you can swim in these robes."
Indeed, the bridge began to shatter. The first supporting rope burst with a dry sound of a broken twig, and gnolls rapidly moved back. The only monster who had dared to stay in place was now desperately clinging to the remaining rope. Another crunch, and the bridge was no more, just a ladder-like structure on one side of the cliff, with three figures hanging on it, a feet from the water surface. The waves caused by the shattering of the bridge were splashing the trio from head to foot.
"Move it, you two!" a familiar accented voice cried. Ala automatically started to climb. "No, you stay where you are, girl. Khalid and Minsc will drag you up."
The warriors grunted and groaned, but eventually Edwin, Dynaheir and Ala found themselves back on the solid ground, all three of them very wet.
"S-so," Ala said, her teeth chattering, "w-w-we've made it b-back. Alive." She looked at the group of gnolls on the other side. " Congratulations, everyone. I guess Tymora f-favours us."
"Congratulations?" Edwin repeated in disbelief. "Congratulations?! We are cold, tired, hungry, and, above all, the journey was for nothing!"
"You have done very well, Evil Wizard," Minsc patted the wizard on the shoulder, grasping a wet Boo with his other hand. The hamster mysteriously managed to return to his owner. "The real heroes need no reward. Oh, Boo, have you been going for the ears instead of the eyes again? Drop it, Boo, an Evil Gnoll's ear is bad! Here, have some nuts."
"Still, maybe Dynaheir is very rich or something," Imoen said uncertainly. "Then we could at least hope for compensation."
"I t-think we must get to Nashkel, first, before we could t-talk about a reward," Khalid said.
"Indeed, my husband," Jaheira nodded. "Dry yourself, children, and we shall go."
"All roads lead to Nashkel," Ala sighed. "Let's hasten to our inevitable death, then."
There was a moment of silence.
"What?" the girl grinned at the looks of disgust her companions gave her. "We're all doomed, you know."