Chapter 254: 79: Wee Bit of Breaking

"I don't know what we're supposed to be doing, but that doesn't look good!" Shrubbery exclaimed and pointed toward a small plaza several levels below.

Danika peered at the area she thought the dryad was pointing at, but she couldn't see anything especially alarming. MatchlessMinion leaned dangerously far over the low stone wall to get a better look and then asked, "Do they have people in cages?"

"I think so," Shrubbery agreed.

After a moment Danika found what they were looking at, although she'd have called them crates rather than cages. She'd assumed they were holding chickens or something, but the captives did look possibly humanoid on a more careful inspection. "I can't really see well enough to be sure," she admitted. "Want me to go down first?"

"Yes," MatchlessMinion said decisively. "But scout carefully and don't get caught before we catch up with you!"

Shrubbery giggled, and when they both turned to look at her she explained, "You make it sound like it's fine if we all get caught."

He rolled his eyes at her, but Danika laughed and instructed, "Don't you get caught either!" as she zipped over the edge.

She went invisible before she reached the plaza, and decided that since she didn't see any elves, that was good enough and zipped all the way down to the crates. They were sturdier looking on a closer inspection, and they were holding a gnome, a fox, and a tortoise. Even stranger was that they were all players, and the two that had visible guild flags weren't in the same guild.

She landed on top of the crate holding the tortoise who was actually named "Little Tortoise". Analyze Target told her that he was actually another gnome though. She craned her head around to examine the fox. The player named "Jakyl" was actually a fox. The gnome who looked like a gnome was named "Mench Frest", and he was doing something that involved plucking strands of his red-brown hair and tying what looked like small grey rocks into position around the slats of his crate.

She renewed her invisibility, and then risked a whisper, "Hey."

The human player who'd had his back turned toward the crates spun around and stared at the crates, startling both Danika and his companions.

Danika froze, and prepared to launch herself into the air at any moment, but the guy only asked the fairy mage beside him, "Didn't you say your silence would last for half an hour?"

The mage nodded. "It's still going," he assured his companion.

The man scratched his head but then shrugged. "OK. Let's hope that dwarf shows up for them soon."

When no one else said anything after another minute, Danika launched herself into the air and zipped away from the plaza until she reached Shrubbery and MatchlessMinion making their way down.

"One group of players has another group of small sized players in the crates, and under a wizard's silence spell," she reported. "Two gnomes, although one looks like a tortoise, and a fox. They said they're going to be turned over to a dwarf soon. I kind of want to rescue them, but what if they're criminals who were caught for a bounty?"

"So what if they are?" MatchlessMinion replied heedlessly. "We can rescue them, and then extort them for the bounty's equivalent." Shrubbery reached out and bopped his head lightly, but he acted as though he hadn't noticed and continued, "If they turn out to deserve it anyway, or just let them go if they seem alright."

Danika shook her head but agreed, "Alright. Should I go back first and try slicing the crates open? The human has really good ears by the way."

Shrubbery suggested, "I could be your distraction, and incite the plants in the planters around the plaza to grow and move around?"

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"Don't you have to touch them?" Danika objected questioningly. "I don't want you to get caught instead."

"You're not good at moving very fast either," MatchlessMinion added. "So unless there's a tree there for you to hide in, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'm not sure there are any trees in the whole city," Shrubbery admitted. "Everything seems like stone on top of more stone."

"I wasn't paying attention to where plants are, but are there any other places nearby where you could set up an ambush that we could lead them into if they chase us?" Danika questioned hopefully.

"Um, only the plaza squares on the levels below this I think," Shrubbery said doubtfully.

All three of them wracked their minds for something useful that Shrubbery could do in a snatch and grab operation for a moment, without quite daring to meet each other's eyes, until Danika asked suddenly, "How long would it take you to make a few of the plants in my garden look like a gnome, a fox, and a tortoise? The longer it takes them to notice they're gone, the better."

"I doubt we can get them out completely silently anyway," MatchlessMinion pointed out doubtfully.

Shrubbery laughed and said, "Just go snatch them, I'll start working my way out of the city, and you'll either catch up soon or get caught. If you get caught I'll contact the other guild members and arrange your rescue."

"OK," Danika and MatchlessMinion agreed in unison.

As soon as Shrubbery set off, Danika landed on MatchlessMinion's head and pointed out, "Your near invisibility lasts longer."

He silently held up his hand in an OK gesture, and darted along the street and over into the plaza.

The little gnome had been finished tying the little grey rocks to his crate and they arrived just in time to see him pee on them. Danika hadn't even realized that avatars could pee, but she didn't have long to think about it, because the rocks reacted to the pee as though it was a stream of fire poured on wax. The slats of his crate burned away in bilious clouds of noxious smoke.

Danika launched herself toward the other two crates and sliced them open with several well placed wind slashes, while MatchlessMinion began shooting the members of the guild who had captured the small players with some of his most quick acting darts.

The fox took immediate advantage of the new opening in its crate and leapt out, it almost instantly oriented itself and made a break for it. Little Tortoise reacted almost as slowly as a real tortoise, and MatchlessMinion darted over and dragged them out, and then turned and ran uphill.

"This way!" Danika shouted at the gnome as he kicked his way out of his crate, just as the last of the captors staggered over to the broken remains.

The woman had been hit by one of MatchlessMinion's darts, but she seemed to be recovering already, and she shouted, "Stop! Thief!"

Danika darted closer and gripped the gnome's arm and cast her invisibility on him before zipping upward and using her dazzling gleam to attract the woman's gaze for a long moment. She used her shape cantrip and her breath skill to create a round ball of sleepy cloud that she could throw into the woman's face without having to get close enough to get caught.

Then she turned and flew in the opposite direction that MatchlessMinion had run with the tortoise. She assumed that he would circle around and head for Shrubbery soon.

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