Exton

The archers cover their backs as the team cuts their way through Underdark. passing into the woods seems to give them some breathing room. As the group moves cautiously forward, the child slips from Ob's back.

Feeling the slight weight gone, the gargoyle turns and holds out his hand. The child shakes its head.

"You can't stay here."

The child smiles. "I won't. I am going home."

"What do you mean?"

The child looks around. "I mean, I can go home now. The Priest and Guard kept me from using my magic. Now I can help others escape these people. I can find Ghaunt and..."

Ob touches the child's hair. "I am sorry. Ghaunt is gone. When we recued my sister, Ghaunt gave his life to help us."

Tears well in the child's eyes. A dark fleshed hand settles on the little one's shoulder. Ob looks up to find the pair from the dining hall. The child looks up, then smiles sadly at Ob.

"Then we will do what Ghaunt would have. We will help others get away." The small hand curls around Ob's finger. "Thank you Stone Dragon. May we meet again in better times."

The child looks up to the pair waiting behind it. "When you are ready, I will send you home."

They nod and Ob calls out to stop them. "Wait! Do you have a name?"

The child smiles, "Call me Link."

"You are male?"

The child laughs. "I can be whatever I want to be now. I am an elemental."

At Ob's confused expression the child begins to shimmer. "Right now... I am a Gate."

The shimmer broadens, engulfing the child and growing larger. The waiting pair clasps hands and runs through. The shimmer fades, shrinking until Link stands before them again. He grins at Ob. "Tell your sister, Bal-Char kills many things. For me, it... freed me. You gave me the freedom to use my true abilities. Tell her... I thank her."

The child begins to fade, becoming mist and then nothing. A soft voice sighs through the dead treetrunks.

be safe...