"Mommy!" Tricia cried. She ran to Budge and pulled on his armor. "Let her go!"

Gonzeelda's eyes bulged as she clawed at Budge's arms, trying to cause enough pain to be let free. Where had he gotten such strength? She'd never been bested by another orc before, let alone her own minion!

Tricia smacked Budge in the side of the head and the orc barely seemed to notice, for he was in another world. A deep trance of hatred had taken him over, and there was no stopping him.

"Budge!" Weiggs cried. "What you doing?"

He tried to reach for his brother, but one of the several trolls slashed a claw across his chest, slicing straight through his leather armor, and leaving long red gashes in his chest. Yelping in pain, he backed up and swung the axe sidelong, chopping a troll easily in two. The problem was, the moment it hit the ground it began to grow into two trolls.

"This no end!" Weiggs growled, taking another step back, and blocking an incoming attack.

The trolls pushed to get past their fellow monsters but there were too many of them, and Weiggs wasn't yielding at all.

"Tricia." Gonzeelda gasped, reaching for the girl. "Kill. Him."

The young hag child looked at Budge and lifted her hands up before her.

"Let mommy go!" She pleaded. "I'm warning you!"

Again, Budge didn't listen. He didn't care, nor did he know to fear the nature spells of hag.

"One last warning." Tricia screamed.

Lightning began crackling from her fingertips, and she was about to launch a lightning bolt, but at that moment, Budge looked up. He thrust his fist into her face, and she stumbled back over the edge of the cliff.

"Tricia!" Gonzeelda gasped, her vision going black. She knew she would be dead soon, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Weiggs saw Tricia fall. He dropped his axe and dove for the girl.

"I save you!" He shouted.

The trolls came on in a rush, but Weiggs was grabbing for Tricia. He caught her reaching hand and held her from falling hundreds of feet to her death.

The lead troll stood over Weiggs and slashed down, sending blood spraying the rock wall. The orc cried out as another troll joined in and began slashing his back as well. With everything in him, he knew he couldn't let go. He had to save the girl he thought to be his daughter.

"Hold. On." Weiggs gasped in between troll attacks.

He swung the young girl to the side, and then back the other way with all of his strength. Tricia flew up, landing on the mountain path, several strides behind the scene of violence.

Weiggs was as trapped as Gonzeelda, and the trolls were all focusing on him.

"Run!" Weiggs screamed. "Daughter, run!"

Tricia looked to Budge who still straddled Gonzeelda, but no longer choked her. She was either unconscious or dead. Fear and tears filled the little girl's eyes and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't just leave her mommy, or her two daddies. But one of her daddies had gone crazy.

"Daddy stop!" Tricia pleaded to Budge.

He didn't look at her, but instead, grabbed Gonzeelda by her hair, and started dragging her past the trolls.

"No!" Tricia screeched.

She tried to follow, but the trolls, now nine strong, moved to block her path. They giggled, and stared at her with their yellow eyes. Each one of them was more than four heads taller than the girl, and she was far too afraid to focus on using her nature spells.

Weiggs continued to scream with each troll attack, and soon he resembled raw meat, yet he still lived. One troll leaned all the way down and bit a chunk out of his side.

His cry of pain sent Tricia running down the mountain in terror. Weiggs closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No want to die." He whispered, feeling the pain of another bite. But he knew he had reached his end. The last thing he could do was die with dignity.

Weiggs pulled himself to the edge of the cliff, and used every last ounce of strength he had to throw himself over the side. He knew very little as he plummeted. His vision blackened, and he couldn't feel his legs, if they were even still there. He did manage to sob, and his last thoughts were of hope; that somehow Budge would come to his senses, and Gonzeelda would get away. And with that, the ground rushed up to meet him.

***

Budge continued dragging Gonzeelda up the mountain. As much hatred as he felt for her, he had known better than to kill her. His masters had warned him as much. Behind him, the orcess he had once called mistress' head hit a rock. For a moment her eyes opened, and she saw the blurry form of Budge. She wanted to grab him, and wring his neck, but she couldn't get up the strength. With another bump of a large rock, she faded back out.

The traitorous orc was more than halfway up the mountainside when he turned to find a cave mouth. The path ended there, and led inside. He grunted, turning Gonzeelda and pulling her into the darkness within.

They continued on for several minutes, until they reached a wide, circular chamber. On the floor were large clock hands; one for a second, minute, and hour. The time showed it as being in the hours of twilight; and indeed the sun outside was setting.

"What I do?" Budge whispered, looking at the clock hands and then a dais in the center.

He dragged Gonzeelda to the center of the room, and examined the dais. Now Budge had never been the brightest, but even he could tell there was some sort of time puzzle before him.

On the dais there sat a spinning green and blue ball. As it slowly rotated he stared hard at it, trying to think. But thinking hurt his head, and he didn't like pain.

With a great growl of anger, he smacked the spinning orb. The clock hands on the ground immediately began to spin. He watched the time change inside, but knew not where it would stop.

Finally, he reached out and smacked the orb again. The orb began to spin faster. He smacked it several more times, and finally kicked the dais in anger.

With a great thud the hands stopped spinning and a portion of the wall on the opposite side slid up, revealing a room beyond.

"I smart!" Budge grinned with his snaggle-toothed smile.

This time, the orc grabbed Gonzeelda's ankle and pulled her towards and through the door. As they entered the new chamber, the door fell down, closing them in.

In four corners of the room, blue torches came to life. Budge looked around, and then spotted a great anvil in the very center. He didn't know what it was for, but he decided it would be a good seat until his masters arrived.

Budge dragged Gonzeelda over. He tore the Soul Rupture pouch off of her waist and kicked her in the side of the head.

She groaned and opened her eyes.

"I'm going to kill you!" She hissed, and tried to sit up, but her head swung around loosely. Her throat was sore, and she felt as if she could not swallow.

Budge chuckled, and went to sit on the anvil, but before his boney behind could touch down, lightning crackled through the room and struck down on the opposite side of the orc's would-be seat.

He jumped back, and stared with wide eyes. A humanoid form in a black cloak appeared. Through the darkness of the hood, Budge could see the tiny pinpricks of light that formed the lich's eyes.

"Lord Reischerr." Budge bowed.

"You've done well." Reischerr pulled back his hood, revealing the white scraggily hair and rotting skin.

"Thank you." Budge grinned, stupidly.

"You traitorous piece of fetter!" Gonzeelda grumbled, getting to one knee and reaching for her dagger.

Reischerr's hand shot up and a blue beam of light struck the orcess. Her body froze in place, and she could not move it no matter how hard she tried.

"Damn you!" She shouted.

Lord Reischerr merely laughed. "So comical, orcs are. First one of you died by trolls, then another thinks they solved the trial of time, when in fact it was I who opened the door; for I was already here."

"You're going to pay!" Gonzeelda snapped.

The lich lord scoffed. "Budge, the Soul Rupture if you please."

Gonzeelda could do nothing but watch in horror as her once loyal minion handed her black leather bag to the undead creature.

***

Angon, Hero, and Gavin had just reached the base of Mount Chronos when a scream rang out from above. The trio stopped and looked up. Hundreds of feet above them, they saw something falling. Angon hopped back just in time to dodge the living missile. As it hit the ground, the scream ceased.

Gavin's eyes were wide as he walked around Angon, who stared at the grizzly scene.

"The woman orc's goon." Gavin whispered.

He kneeled next to the half-body of Weiggs, and examined him. His back was covered in deep lacerations, and they already seemed to be pussing green gunk.

"He was killed by trolls." Gavin said, turning to his companions.

"Wait!" Hero said. "He's not dead!"

Weiggs turned his head, weakly. "M-mistress."

Gavin dropped down to his knee beside the clearly dying orc.

"Mistress..." Weiggs whispered.

"Where is she?" Gavin asked.

"Up mountain." Weiggs whispered. "Save mistress... please..."

All light then left the orc's eyes. Gavin, took his hand and closed the dead orc's eyes.

"She's in trouble?" Angon asked.

Gavin stood up and nodded. "Maybe the trolls? No. She wouldn't fall to such creatures. She wasn't that weak."

"She killed my tribe!" Hero snapped. "We aren't going to save her, are we?"

"Highly unlikely." Gavin said. "But we'd better hurry."

Angon took off for the mountain path, with long leaping bounds, he reached the path and ran up.

"Fetter, Angon!" Gavin hissed, and jumped up. The elf and the druid both chased after him.

Angon stayed ahead of the pair as he continued running as fast as he could. He almost didn't see the tiny hag child. He jumped at the last moment, leaping over the girl. But as soon as he landed, spun on his heel and regarded her. She crouched, with her arms above her head, sobbing.

"You were with Gonzeelda." Angon said, crouching next to her.

"Mommy was stolen! Daddy Weiggs was killed!" She cried, her face dripping constant tears.

Gavin and Hero caught up, and Hero snarled at the girl.

"Her scent!" Hero growled. "She was there when my tribe was slaughtered!"

"Calm down." Gavin shook his head. "This child couldn't have killed them."

"She's guilty!" Hero snarled, causing the hag girl to cry and fall back on her behind.

"It wasn't her." Angon said. "It was Gus, the Walking God."

"Then we must hunt him down!" Hero said.

Angon and Gavin exchanged glances. Gavin sighed.

"In time, perhaps." The sol elf said. "But for now, we need to get to Gonzeelda. She is just as guilty."

"Don't kill mommy." Tricia whimpered.

Gavin kneeled down and took the girl's hand. "What is your name?"

"T-tricia." The hag whimpered.

Gavin stared hard into the girl's eyes. "We won't kill your mommy."

"What?" Angon and Hero both gasped.

"Let's just stop her first." Gavin nodded, picking up Tricia, and putting her on his shoulders. "Maybe we can end this peacefully."

Angon was perplexed by the Gavin's sudden kindess. But in truth he wanted Gonzeelda dead, and wasn't sure he was going to let a small child's feelings get in his way—And Hero, felt exactly the same.