((OOC: Minor correction - *never* assume that Tommy is too shocked to say something.))"He'll heal, if and only if, he makes it out of that room alive!" responded the Dark Elf flatly. "As far as I'm concerned, it's gut check time for Venger! Let's see if The Big, Bad Dark Lord of the Realm can suck it up and save himself! You're still with us, Tommy?!"
Tommy grinned and mock saluted Sterling. "All present and accounted for, Sir!" Returning to his more normal tone of voice, he continued. "You don't actually believe taking Venger out was that easy, do you? I'll remind you that, even in the cartoon, his body was destroyed more than once, and he created that cell. I rather think we'd better get out of here before he gets his act together and reminds us why He Who Must Not Be Named picked Venger as his seneschal." He paused briefly with a perplexed look on his face. "Vanguard? Envoy?" He smiled and continued with more confidence, "Envoy. Anyway, why are we hanging around here talking? Even if the Big V is down for the count, we still have a castle full of guards to get past."
As Zakiyah questioned Sterling about why he and his friends had come after her, the Dark Elf answered, "It's the principle of the matter, Zak! It didn't sit well with us that Venger could just kidnap one of our friends and get away with it scot-free! There's a price you have to pay for doing something like that--Tuculcha paid it, and now it's Venger's turn! Besides, I never give up on my friends--even when I disagree with them!
As an afterthought, the Drow mentioned, "By the by, I have a little gift for you that a couple of mages and a familiar cooked up in their spare time. When we are safely away from this place, I'll give it to you!"
Once the adventurers reached the end of the stairs, the Drow noticed that Zakiyah had begun to zone out on him. Grabbing her by both of her shoulders, Sterling shook her back to reality, saying, "Zak! Don't you dare quit on me now, because I need you to find your book and your quill pen. Can you locate them? When we get out of here, I'm going to need you to draw me a portal back to the Swamp, but you can't do that without your items of power! Now where are they? Can you find them? Do you know?"
