The Elf Wind rocked back and forth, cutting quickly through the dark, blue ocean waters. Tawmis heard a familiar groan and turned to see Blaz'tik finally regaining consciousness, the last of them to do so. "Glad you could join us among the living," Tawmis said, leaning against his bars.
"If this -tic!- is living," Blaz'tik muttered, "I much prefer being dead. My -tic!- head is pounding viciously!"
"The explosion back there at Grimrock would be responsible for that," Tawmis nodded. "We all got the wind knocked out of us."
"What -tic!- happened?" Blaz'tik asked.
"Well, you merged with the Undying One, as far as any one of us can guess," Tawmis began explaining. "He was using you, absorbing your magic, to make himself more powerful. We sort of stabbed him with something called the Dismantler - made, specifically from what Coy says," Tawmis gestured to the Ratling in the neighboring cage who looked less than pleased to be aboard the ship, "to destroy the Undying One. The result was a malfunction - and next thing we know, you were absorbing his magic. You made some portals, teleported us out. We landed near the Great Lake, and then there was an explosion. That's pretty much the last thing any of us really remember, until waking up on this ship."
"Slaver ship," Coy muttered, "by the looks of the materials down here with us." He heaved a deep sigh. "No doubt headed for the Gladiator rings. We will be sold as 'The Slayers of the Undying One' or 'The Destroyers of Grimrock.' We're bound to fetch a high price on the Gladiator market."
"But," Tawmis interrupted Coy's pessimistic tone, "now that you're awake, that's not going to be a problem, right?"
If Blaz'tik could raise a questioning eye brow, such as he had seen Tawmis do in the past, he would have. "How -tic!- do you figure?"
"Blaz," Tawmis began. "All that magic you absorbed. The spells you were casting. We have the most powerful mage in the world at our side! Let's melt these cages, take over this ship, and sail back home!"
"I'm," Blaz'tik stammered, "I am afraid -tic!- that will not be possible."
"Not be possible?" Tawmis stammered. "What do you mean 'that will not be possible'?"
"I am trying to recall my -tic!- spells... and... I can barely remember -tic!- how to cast a light spell!" Blaz'tik confessed.
"A light spell? A light spell?" Tawmis sunk down. "Yeah, that's just what I want right now. A light spell - to show how depressing our situation really is. How could you not know your spells?"
"I am -tic!- afraid that perhaps," Blaz'tik began to explain, "that the explosion -tic!- may have jarred my memory... or perhaps what I -tic!- learned from the Undying One was a fleeting thing... it's magic has -tic!- burned out and run its course."
Coy looked over at Tawmis and shrugged, "I told you it wouldn't be this easy."
Tawmis heaved a deep sigh. "Do you insist on reminding me when you're right?"
"No," Coy replied. "Because I'd be repeating myself all the time to you."
Tawmis lunged at Coy. "If these bars weren't here, my hands would be around your throat right now."
"If these bars weren't here," Coy retorted, "you'd have no reason to be upset."
There was a pause, and Coy finally asked, "Am I right?"
"Just shut up," was Tawmis' only muttered reply.
