1: The Light of No Tomorrow

"I'm with Varla. Let's get out of here."

Bobby staggers to his feet. Though the magic's worn off he's still quite shaken. Back on Earth he's had episodes exactly like this, and magic had nothing do with it. In many ways, those were much worse. Only Terri's ever seen him like that; he's talked to Sheila about his anxiety attacks but she's never witnessed them first-hand. Sheila! Bobby dashes out the gates to make sure his sister's okay.

"... out, out!" Hank's words continued where he had left off, before he realised it was too late and that a good number of them can already been affected. Still, he shooed everyone, and reminded himself to be more vigilant, beginning with a guarded survey of the courtyard itself as they regrouped, and then by ducking his head out of the exit first before anyone else.

Upon hearing Bobby's voice, Sheila gives a quick look around here and then heads back to meet her brother. "Bobby! Let's get out here. I don't like this place."

"Everyone else hide. I stink at it, so I'll stay here and see what's what. You all can back me up if it turns into a fight."

Presto, breathing hard, catches up to the others. "Sorry, I...not a jogger. Just...ok. Alright. Everybody link hands, try to form some kind of circle."

As they form up, Presto chants the precise combination of runes and draws the second, underlying set in the air. Blue light follows his fingertips and hangs motionless in the air. As the runes begin to spin and surround them, he links hands with Diana to his right and Eric to his left. As the crashing through the trees gets louder, the world goes light, everyone experiences a sense of vertigo, and the familiar smell of burnt wagons reaches their noses. The world reappears in front of their eyes. They're in a small glade surrounded by natural rock about 20 yards from Presto's tower. Safety.

Presto sighs. "Ah...well. Not what I thought I would be doing this afternoon, heh. Come on, let's get inside. I'll get something strong to drink for us all."

"By the Ivy Mansion, you did it," Malchor Harpell said with an actual smile on his face. "Why did those orc bastards do all this?"

Only after they had successfully teleported to Presto's Tower did Hank finally let his guard down, somewhat. The glow of his magical bowstring faded as he released his 'grip' on it. Your arrows aren't needed for now, he communicated. With the combined might of the entire party here, Hank was slightly less wary of another orc raid, but made straight for the caravans to see if help was needed. Varla and Lorne seemed to be taken care of by the others. "Any ideas Presto?" Hank called out to his friend in reply to Malchor's question.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but that smelled like a trap to me. Well, a trap and burnt troll." Eric grins.

"Oh we all knew it was a trap before going in but there was no way we weren't rescuing our friends! Anyway, whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!"

Bobby helps wherever any heavy lifting is needed.