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Chapter 4 by Nemo of Utopia Nemo of Utopia

Time to escape.

Sort Of...?

There's this one kid in the village who is just as abused by the 'Heroes' as you are, "Justin the Beaver of Timberlake", an orphan and cutpurse who is the most junior member of the village's laughably tiny Thieves Guild. He's an OK kid, he's never hit you or done anything else nasty and during the summer he feeds you wild carrots sometimes. You've watched him grow from a gangly youth of 12 years when you were a foal to a strong young man of 17, and the heroes are getting less and less willing to cut him slack or give him handouts...

Well, you're not sure what is going on but you just woke with the scent of live smoke in your nostrils and someone outside your stable/paddock screaming: "Raiders! There's a Rebel warband in the west fold!"

Suddenly, five dozen arrows slam into the walls and roof of the stables, and the scent of smoke grows far-far stronger! One pierces a crack between the boards and you realize why at once, they're fire-arrows! They are trying to burn down the stable-barn with you in it!

You thrash and crash against the walls of your cell like a mad thing, terrified. Your every instinct says to run, but there is nowhere TO run unless you can get out, and your cell is LOCKED!

And here's the point that the Checkove's Gunman mentioned earlier comes into play: You've managed to do 2 HP worth of damage to yourself trying to batter down the door when there's an all mighty shattering CRASH from the other side and the door flies open while someone suspiciously Justin shaped in a sweat-stained tunic and pants dives out of the way!

You run for the exit but gain control in time to realize that Justin is busting the locks off all the horses and ponies stalls, and he needs help if he's going to get them all out in time! Burning to **** us not something you've had to experience so far, let alone dying of smoke inhalation but with a terrified whiny that would translate into common as "Dammit, I can't believe I'm doing this!" You rush back into the burning stable and start smashing the weaker locks with double kicks of your hind legs while Justin takes the strongest ones with a long-handled twelve pound sledge he got somewhere!

At last the other horses and ponies are free and you rush up to "Justin the Beaver of Timberlake" and wordlessly bid him to climb on your back and hold on tight. He doesn't understand at first.

"Go you damn stupid pony! The others are out, I'll respawn, go!" He shouts at you but you block his path again and toss your head trying to get him to climb on... He finally does a few seconds later, but those were crucial seconds you lost to his non-comprehension! You run pell-mell for the exit, but the stable is fully engulfed in flames at this point and a big section of the roof caves in ahead of you!

Atempt A -Defying Leap Over The Caved In Wreckage, Try For The Other Exit, Or Lay Down To Die? (You Know Something Justin Does Not Seem To, You Too Will Respawn...)

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