Reaching for the Snatch

It's the fifth day of travel and so far, so good, with the Party making fair time and managing to stay on the right desert ‘path'. The repellent nightmare Hag, (who somehow, simultaneously seems to also be the toe-curlingly hot; Hetzabah} has ‘visited’ four times, attempting but failing each time to invade the dreams and corrupt the mind of the phenomenally skilled, Halfling tracker; Liga Bur.

Despite their open space, temporary tent living, their defences are sound. After carefully and evenly spacing Pardrik's (two-hundred-and-six) bones, carefully all around the marquee, the Elven Arowe trances while his companions set up and organise for the next day. This way, Pardrik can roam freer than he’s been able to do in a hundred years and Arowe can stand watch over his Halfling friend, undistracted.

A few hours later, as semi-expected, Arowe feels the, now familiar, twitch of the enchanted, mummified hand draped around his neck, signalling the phantom Hag's appearance. Gracefully, spinning around, he sees the revolting looking old woman and the pitch-black, bat-winged horse drift through the canvas wall, but the (clearer-than-he's-ever-been) ghost of Pardrik is already standing/floating in the way.

"Begone wretched Hag! I won't let you have this one!"

Arowe’s and the ghost guard's echoey shouts rouse the others from their slumber and Liga Bur finds himself awake and instantly immune from the Hag's dream haunting. Poor Pardrik though, is ‘killed’ yet again, but this time by the Nightmare horse’s flaming, ethereal hooves, rather than the terrifying Hag herself.

After this though, something else unexpected happens; something different. Previously the Hag would flee frustrated at this point, but this time Arowe suddenly feels real heat and smells the smoke and fire issuing from the hellish horse, before he even realises what's occurring. Both the Hag and her large Nightmare actually materialise physically within the tight confines of the sectioned off tent, instantly hemming Liga Bur and his riding dog in, as well as Arowe himself. And then they strike! Not at their original Halfling target, but instead at his vigilant Elven guard!

Arowe weirdly feels no rage towards the Nightmare horse or the Hag though; it’s as if every ounce of his anger is still reserved for his ‘oath-bow’ sworn target and he has none left over. The only emotion he can dredge up is disappointment that he’s not facing Sir Briefadel. This soon changes to genuine fear though, as the massive horse's fiery hoof smack down on his shoulder and the hideous Hag's maw widens as she advances on him. The battle is, thankfully for the Elven archer, soon joined by the armed but uncharacteristically unarmoured Fortu as well as Henshaw and Barbella. Flashing sword blades and reckless crossbow bolts fill the crowded, suddenly claustrophobic space.

Unaccustomed to fighting within such close quarters and choking on the acrid smoke bellowing from the black horse's mouth, Arowe only manages to get a few, ineffectual feathered shafts off before he realises that he's in serious trouble! The two powerful supernatural creatures are solely targeting him and they want him dead! Using the slight flexibility of the tent walls, he manages to slide past the constrained horse-bat-thing and flee to the healing, harmonious words of Rifkin in the next tent section, while Fortu, Barbella and Henshaw hold the Hag and the demon horse at bay and continue to defend Liga Bur.

The Halfling's also desperate to flee but he can't easily escape the tent or get past the Nightmare horse or Hag. Mir Hundur finds his natural claws and jaws ineffective against the Hag and Liga Bur looks at his small, silver Kukri with concern. Can he even hurt her with this?

Inspired by some inner voice, Fortu shouts over at him.

"Forget the knife; Grab her magical ruby heart! Snatch it from her!"

Two things instantly happen. Liga Bur, though appreciating the good idea, realises that, although the chain the ruby hangs on isn't that secured, considering the height difference between the Halfling and the Hag, it's a hard ask. The Hag though, still senses the potential danger and fearfully grips the large ruby to her plump breast, before she and her evil mount fade back into the ethereal plane and escape.

The keen sensed Arowe realises that he’d also spotted something odd in the confusion...

"You were right Rifkin. The Hag's precious ruby does contain a Human eye! It’s hard to tell through the red of the ruby but I think it was a blue one!”