The first expedition to the Tower of Celesti ended somewhat ignominiously, with the otherwise intrepid heroes – Galen the Healer and Wren the Woodsman – hastily exiting at the bequest of a perturbed fire elemental. Given that they had been harried by psychotic cutlery and tea services, they could be hardly blamed to find an opportunity to regroup.

Wren, alas, decided that he had more pressing business elsewhere, than to try to lend his woodsy skills to the mismatched challenge of dealing with animate furnishings in a magic-saturated tower, and has not joined Galen's second foray into the magical building.

There has been time to rest up and recover from the experience, and now a new day promises more strange adventures in Celesti's Tower.

And so it is that Healer Galen makes his way back to Celesti's Tower – remembering well the way to get safely past the knocker, and not to accept any lumps from the sugar bowl.

He makes it back to the kitchen without incident, and it is pretty much back the way it was when he and Wren originally explored it. The cutting board is back in place (and the cleaver securely imbedded in it), the pot in its proper place, the hearth burning, with only the faintest hint of an elemental present amongst the flames.

The Mephitian looks around once, making sure that everything is back in their proper place. Then, assured that everything's back to normal (very, very relatively speaking), he looks at the hearth.

Well … since Wren's gone, I suppose Elemental Air arrows are out of the question, he thinks to himself. I don't even know how to string a bow. He sighs, and shakes his head. It'll have to be diplomacy, if I'm to get that gem.

There's a loud squeak back in the dining hall, and the sound of rattling cutlery, then rapid footsteps. A light-furred bat with platinum-grey hair, adorned in robes that mark her as an Elementalist of Air rushes into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her, and panting. "There you are, Healer Galen!" she squeaks. "I'm terribly sorry for being late. I hope I haven't missed much?"

Wynona's nose wiggles. "Nnngh. Smells … musty in here." She reaches for her nose, stifling a small squeaky sneeze.

Quick as a wink, Galen rushes over, pulls out a silk handkerchief, and offers it to her. "Quick, use this, it's clean. And don't worry about being late. You haven't missed a thing."

"And, you know what… " continues the healer, "… let me go and take down all these pesky herbs around here." He quickly walks around and starts to pull down the pungent-smelling collections of sage, thyme, and other culinary herbs strung throughout the kitchen. After collecting them all, he throws the bunch into an empty corner – furthest away from the hearth – then dusts himself off as best as he can. After having done so, he quickly walks back to the Air Elementalist. "Now then … are you ready?""

The bat nods. "Ah yes. Sorry about that. These pesky allergies of mine, you know. At least the worst of the season has passed." She looks around, curiously, then shudders when she notices the knife drawer rattling ominously.

"I heard those too, Wynona," says Galen. "Don't worry about them … they're locked and tight." He smiles, to comfort her. "So … tell me again: how far along are you on spell-casting? And what other things can you do again, non-magic-wise?"

"Well, insofar as spellcasting," Wynona says, "I'm a specialist in the element of air. So, if you need a little static charge here or there, or some gusts of wind, I'm the one to ask. I have pretty good hearing, and, naturally, I can also fly. Er … I'm probably not your best choice in a fight, but I really hope nothing comes to that."

"Nor I," says Galen. "Trust me, I don't want to get into any fighting any more than you do. I'm going to do what I can by talking and reasoning to the inhabitants around here." He pauses. "But just in case … I go first, and you behind me. And if a fight does come out, you try whatever spell you think can hinder the opponent, like, a gust of wind that makes them blink, or anything. I trust you."

Wynona nods. "That's my specialty!" she squeaks cheerily. She then looks around curiously. "Quite a bit of enchantment in this place, really. You can hardly walk anywhere without bumping into something that might bump back!"

"Yes, yes, I know," says the healer. "I even have one as a friend." He opens his knapsack, and shows the contents to her. "Miss Teapot, this is Wynona. Wynona, this is Miss Teapot."

Wynona stifles a squeak of alarm at the sight of the animated teapot. "Cheerio!" toots the teapot from Galen's knapsack.

"Don't be alarmed. She's helped me a bit before," continues Galen smiling. "And she makes a wonderful spot of tea."

"Oh," Wynona says, calming herself. "Sorry. I had a violent run-in with a bowl of sugar and a spoon on the way in."

The teapot tut-tuts. "Sugar is being so disagreeable with the master not around to set her straight!"

Galen's smile fades immediately. "How many lumps?"

"I didn't want any," Wynona says, "but the bowl was so insistent, I decided to take just one to be polite. I then spent some time dodging a giant spoon and trying not to crash into anything while flying around the parlor, until I finally got an opening and came up the stairs."

Wynona wipes her brow. "No harm done, I suppose. I'll just be a little more careful. Now then … what are we up against here?"

Galen sighs. "Okay … at least he didn't hit you. That's what I was worried about." And you were able to dodge him too, via flying … might be useful if we come across any high-ceilinged terrain, he thinks to himself.

"Well," says the Mephitian. "Currently, we need to get a ruby gem that's in the hearth over there – " He points to it. " – except in the hearth also resides a fire elemental that looks reptilian, stands tall all the way up to the ceiling, is bulging with muscles, and politely asked me to leave the last time I was here." He pauses. "I believe fighting or intimidation tactics to be out of the question."

"Oh," Wynona responds. "Yes, that does sound rather intimidating. If I were a Water or Fire Elementalist, I might be able to give you more bargaining power. In any case, I'll try to assist in whatever you have in mind."

Galen nods, gratefully. "Thank you … em … since you are well-versed in the arcane arts more so than I, can you tell me anything you know about fire elementals, or possibly any spells you know that might have some degree of effect on it?"

"Well," Wynona begins, "the term 'elemental' varies greatly, and actually covers a great many different magical entities with superficially similar properties. Given that you have one here that is still around, what with Mage Celesti gone, that rules out a number of the less impressive possibilities. In any case, an elemental tends to draw its energy from some body of its particular element, thus anchored in the physical realm. A fire elemental would be anchored to a source of fire. An earth elemental to a stone or to the earth itself. A water elemental would be anchored to a body of water. And an air elemental – well, they tend to get around quite a lot, since air is everywhere we might be, after all!"

"If it were a matter of an outright fight," Wynona continues, "spells of the opposing element – that is, water to fire, air to earth, and vice versa – have the most effect. Damage-causing spells of the same element might actually strengthen the elemental. But spells of any element, used in creative enough ways, can still be useful when dealing with them."

"That said," Wynona notes, "magic is still highly unpredictable, and with this much magic saturating the tower, spellcasting isn't necessarily your only recourse to deal with whatever you might find here."

Galen stands and listens silently to her, slightly nodding his head at certain points. "I see … I see." He looks back to the hearth, then back to Wynona. "I saw coals in the hearth … on one hand, I'm wondering how they could remain burning for so long without having been spent. However … theoretically, do you think that (if the fire elemental is harnessing its power to those coals), then stopping the fire will end the elemental's hold onto this plane?"

"Mmm … yes, most probably," Wynona says. "One should note that when magic is involved, the normal laws of nature tend to get bent. Of course, another possibility is that someone – or something – is actually replenishing the coals now and then. I did notice a few … ah … animates present in the tower. There might be one responsible for keeping the fire going, and perhaps there are some stores of coal somewhere in the tower. But, sorry to digress. Yes, probably stopping the fire would interrupt the elemental's hold on this plane, and merely weakening the fire would similarly weaken the elemental."

Galen's eyes blinks at the mention of other 'animates', but he waits till the bat is done speaking. "Okay, and thank you for clarifying to me that magic's not the only way to deal with magic. And, I do have two questions," he says. "One: do you know any Air spells designed to either 'take' air out of a certain space, or 'add' a lot of air into a space, all at once?"

"And two: what other animates?"

Wynona blinks. "Well … for one … yes, I can generate gusts of wind to blow air about or draw it from an area, though I should warn you that air spells generally do not allow for precision, and quite often leave a considerable mess when used in close quarters." She frowns apologetically. "And as for your second question, I am referring to the sugar bowl and the spoon, the cutlery … I suspect there's a great deal more, too."

"Ah. Okay, then," replies the healer. "For a moment there, I thought you meant you saw something else around here that I haven't seen yet. I'm sorry." He strokes his chin. "Well … tell you what. I'm going to talk to the fire elemental, and ask him if we could have the gem. If that doesn't work, however, we may have to take it by force… "

"… in which case," he continues, "I'm thinking that, using your magic, we'll need to either take the air away from the hearth to end the fire, or add so much air that the coals burn themselves out. If we're going to take the air away from the fire, we may as well look around here and see if there's some sort of cover – a snuffer – that's large enough for us to use to put over the coals, to help further cut off their air supply. What do you think?"

Wynona nods. "Well, that'd be one way of doing it. I'd say that pot over there looks like a possibility for a snuffer … uhm … but I don't know if it's another animate." She leans closer to it, and her ears twitch. "Oh. It is," she says, dropping to a whisper. "It's sleeping."

"A good thing, too," says the Mephitian. "It nearly devoured a cohort of mine – Wren – but spat him back out in the nick of time."

Galen smiles. "And you have extremely good ears."

Wynona nods politely, though her eyes widen a bit at the thing about "devouring," and she takes a few respectful steps back away from the pot.

Galen sighs, and shakes his head. "I don't like the current options very much. Let me see if Miss Teapot has any ideas we can use." He opens his knapsack, and places the Teapot on the table. "Hello again, Miss Teapot," says Galen, smiling. "Could you please help us out here? Do you know the fire elemental in the hearth?"

The teapot whistles, "Oh yes! Very helpful fellow! Heats me up in no time!"

"Ah, so you do know him," says the healer. "Okay … do you know anything about him, like, his likes, dislikes, how he likes to be addressed, do you think he'd be willing to give up the gem in his hearth if it meant bringing the Master back, and such? It would really help us out."

"Oh!" the teapot says, "Well, he's not terribly fond of water, I know. I have to be careful not to spill anything on his coals while I'm being heated up. He'll heat up just about anything for you if you ask nicely enough, and he's fair enough a cook, or so I imagine. I don't eat anything, myself."

Okay … mentioning food recipes might put him in a good mood, thinks Galen to himself. "And do you think he'd be the type," he asks out loud, "who would lend me or Wynona the gem in his hearth, if we asked him politely enough, and gave him enough good reasons to give it to us?" He pauses. "Or do you think he's a disagreeable sort?"

"Well," the teapot ventures, "I do believe that the elementals in the tower are supposed to be guarding the gems for some reason having to do with the master being gone away for so long. I don't suppose they have much choice in the matter, really."

"He might very well not mind you having the gem, per se," the teapot adds, "but he's doubtless obliged to be difficult about it."

"Oh dear," says the Mephitian. His tail lowers a little bit. "I think I'm seeing how this works, now." He rubs his eyes, then nods at the Teapot, smiling tiredly. "Thank you, Miss Teapot. Thank you for your help." And he proceeds to put her back into his knapsack.

"Not a trouble at a-mph!" the teapot whistles as she's put away.

Galen looks to Wynona with a weary gaze. "Any thoughts?"

"Oh? I was just thinking what a wonderful conversation piece a talking tea service would make," Wynona squeaks, blushing faintly. "But, really, I don't know just what to think yet, myself. I haven't had much of a chance to look around. I imagine that a fight with a fire elemental could get quite ugly. And if diplomacy is totally out of the question … " She glances to the hearth, then lowers her voice considerably. "Do you suppose he might simply be listening to us right now, as we discuss what to do about him?"

Galen's eyes turn as wide as saucers. Oh, fewmets.

After a few moments, the Mephitian swallows. "I am afraid you may be right." He face-palms. "It's my fault. I should have known to have carried the conversation downstairs, out of earshot. Galen, you stupid fool." He sighs. He motions Wynona to go downstairs with him.

Wynona follows along, opening the door for Galen, and carefully checking (ears first) to make certain there are no killer utensils waiting to ambush them. They make it back to the stairs, however, without incident.

The two are walking down the stairs … then Galen stops. He quickly pulls out Miss Teapot, and holds her in front of him, gently. "Miss Teapot … in case your sugar friend is up and about, can you please tell him not to attack us?"

"Oh, most certainly!" the teapot answers. Of what Galen can see of the bottom level from here, all is much as he left it. The front door is closed, so only those who have got the word about the "secret knock" (or who can figure it out themselves) can enter easily. The central table still sports the remainder of the tea service, including the troublesome sugar bowl (with its spoon returned to normal size).

Galen nods. "Thank you, Miss Teapot." He turns his head back to look at Wynona. "We'll go to the table, and talk about how to do this. It shouldn't take long. I just want us to make sure we have a strategy before we go back upstairs."

Wynona nods, then whispers to Galen, "Animates are somewhat notorious that way. They tend to become unstable over time, if not monitored – or, that is, you might say that they go 'wild'. It really depends on each one. Basically, they have a personality imposed on them by the wizard, but over time, they develop their own."

"So I've noticed," answers Galen. The two adventurers seat themselves at the table. Galen places Miss Teapot on the table, then takes off his hat, places it in front of him, then runs a hand through his white head-hair. "More tea, please, Miss Teapot, for the both of us? And no lumps?" he asks. Dagh, I miss my mateh, he thinks glumly to himself.

The teapot is very cheery as she herds over a couple of teacups, and pours steaming cups for both of her guests. (The teapot itself didn't seem unduly hot in Galen's knapsack, and nothing was spilled. Magic is funny that way.) Wynona keeps a wary eye on the sugar bowl, then blows lightly on her cup. "Ahhh," she sighs, as she breathes in the vapors. "This does wonders for my sinuses."

After having taken a long, slow sip from his own cup, Galen looks at Wynona, and smiles to himself. He enjoys watching her breathe enjoy her tea. I won't interrupt her for now, he thinks. Her help so far has been invaluable. Let her clear her senses and relax … before we go back up. His smiles lessens a little at the last part of his thought. He takes another sip.

Nothing disturbs the moment taken for tea, not even the sugar bowl, which seems to have been sufficiently chastised by the teapot for now. It's hard to tell, but somehow the teapot looks as if it might be smiling.

After the restful moment has passed, Galen stretches in his chair, then looks to Wynona. "Well," he asks, "ready for us to talk about the plan? Or do you want to rest a little more?"

Wynona says, "No time better than the present? So … what's the plan?"

The healer sighs. "Well … because of me, chances are very good that the fire elemental has heard everything I said up there. Additionally, according to Miss Teapot," here he nods to the Teapot, "the elementals are supposed to guard the gems anyway, so asking him to give it to us will most likely not work. Meaning… " He drops off. He sips a little more tea.

"… We'll have to take drastic measures," Wynona finishes with a groan. "Well … distraction might help. One thing that I'm concerned about is how to get that gem, considering it's sitting right in the middle of that flame. Even if we put out the fire, it is bound to be fairly hot – and given that it's held up so well in a flame for so long, it might even be magically so. You may want some sort of container to put it in. Preferably one that won't bite."

Galen blinks, then nods. "Hmm … good point, there." He thinks for a moment … then looks at the teapot most curiously. A hint of a smirk is on his lips. "Miss Teapot," he asks, "does your lid open?"

"Of course!" the teapot answers, demonstrating while making an "Ahhhhhh!" noise. The lid then closes again. "Must, in order to refill me! In fact, I do think I'm running low."

Running low? thinks Galen. Running low of –

The Mephitian bolts out of his chair. "Of course!!" His face is beaming, and his blue eyes sparkle. "How could I have been so stupid?!?" He looks down at the Teapot. "Miss Teapot, where do you fill up?"

"Well, there's a pump in the kitchen," the teapot says, "and it's enchanted so that it doesn't need priming. But it's a bit hard to spot in all the clutter unless you're looking for it. The fire elemental doesn't much care for water, so he tends to stack things in front of the pump whenever he's tidying things up in the kitchen."

"Either that," the teapot says, "or in a pinch, I suppose you could visit the water elemental."

"Hmm, okay, okay." says Galen, obviously excited. "We can't take you up there to be filled up, as the fire elemental may see us and guess what we're up to. However, you yourself can surely go up there to get refilled, right?" He then does a double-take. "Water elemental?"

"Oh, certainly!" the teapot says, "though it'd be so kind of you to at least give me a lift up to the next floor. I have such trouble with stairs."

Galen nods. "Of course, of course." He quickly picks up the Teapot, and takes her up the stairs, up to the last step.

Just before he lets her go, however, he realizes something. He turns around and shouts to Wynona. "Wynona! Can you come up here and wait with me? I don't want that sugar attacking you again!"

Wynona flinches, as she had been following right behind Galen (albeit fairly quietly). "Certainly," she squeaks. "My thoughts exactly."

The healer breathes a sigh of relief. "Good." He then turns back around, crouches down, and gently lets the Teapot go. "Okay … how long should it take you to fill yourself back up, Miss Teapot?" he asks her.

"Oh, no more than a few minutes," the teapot whistles, "depending upon how ornery the kitchen staff is about helping me."

Meanwhile, the teapot cheerily bumps and hops along, making light sloshing noises along the way, at last disappearing into the kitchen.

After watching the teapot hop away, Galen turns to Wynona and speaks to her, in as low a whisper as he can. "Okay … here's the plan."

Wynona nods, swiveling her ears to listen attentively.

"… I'm going to go into the kitchen. You stay at the kitchen's doorway, and prepare any air spell of yours that can 'take' air away from the hearth area. Do not go into the kitchen: I don't want the fire elemental to know you're here, and if a fight does break out, I don't want you to get hurt… "

"So, after Miss Teapot comes back, filled up, I'll put her in my knapsack, and go into the kitchen. I'll address the fire elemental. I'll talk to him about cooking recipes, anything that can distract him or make him think that I'm not going to try to attack him. When I ask him, 'What do you think about jarka figs?' you cast your spell at the hearth… "

Wynona nods, making mental notes of this.

"… at that moment, that's when I'll take Miss Teapot out of my knapsack, try to get around the fire elemental, and douse the hearth. If everything goes as planned, the coals will be doused, and the elemental will disappear, after which, we can place the gem in Miss Teapot."

Galen closes his eyes, takes a breath, and opens them again. "… if anything goes wrong, I'll try to escape from the kitchen. I'll probably duck under the table to escape whatever the elemental throws at me. But, if worse comes to worst … do not go in after me." He pauses. "It's better that one of us leaves this tower … than neither of us."

Wynona gulps at this. "If you say so," she squeaks. "But I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't come to that. Oh! Here she comes… "

Just then, there's a cheery whistle from the direction of the kitchen door, as the teapot hops again into view, sounding more full as it sloshes around. "Hello again! And I have a piping hot brew of tea, ready to serve!"

Galen eyes the pot, and nods. "Good, good." He gently picks her up. "Okay … now … Miss Teapot?"

"Yes?" Despite the teapot being full of "piping hot" tea, and steaming visibly, the pot itself is merely warm to the touch.

"I'm going to put you back in my knapsack now," says the Mephitian. "And until I take you back out again, please do not say anything, or make any noise. And after I pull you back out, I want you to be ready for me to dump the water out of you, so make sure you don't keep your lid shut up if I turn you upside down after you're out of the sack." He thinks for a moment, then adds, "Don't worry about wasting the water; we can fill you back up again, and have more tea later. Okay?"

"Oh dear!" the teapot replies. "Well, whatever you say, then!"

Galen nods, graciously. "Thank you, Miss Teapot." He puts her back in his knapsack. Then looks to Wynona. His face is grim. "Ready?"

Wynona takes a deep breath, and nods, giving Galen a determined look.

The healer gives a nod back. Despite the situation, he smiles a little at the bat's slightly fierce look. "Here we go," he whispers, and then he heads off, through the doorway, and into the kitchen.

The kitchen is just as Galen left it, the fire still burning in the hearth, the cutlery still rattling menacingly in its drawer, the pot still "snoozing" in its place.

Galen looks at the hearth, and the dancing flames within. He looks over himself for a moment – laces tied, sleeves pulled back, hat on tight, knapsack loosely closed – then takes a deep breath. Here goes.

"A-hem," starts Galen. "Excuse me, Mister … Hearth," he continues. "May I speak with you?"

The fires within the hearth build up suddenly, and within them forms a reptilian, somewhat humanoid shape, sculpted of flame, brilliant red, and possessing a seeming solidity that flame generally does not. "How may I serve?" the entity rumbles with the voice of crackling embers and roaring flame.

Galen's eyes widen a little as he appraises the entity, then he composes himself again. "Well … I was actually wondering, if you could help with something," he says. "I'm trying to make a fruit pie to bake in the oven, but I'm not too sure what fruits I can use that will still retain a soft, juicy center when baked. Do you know of any fruits I could use?"

The elemental furrows its brows. "Cinaros are in season this time of year, and should be fairly easy to work with for the inexperienced cook."

Galen blinks again, taken aback. Wow … cinaros? Okay, I'll have to remember that for later. "I see, I see," he says. "And what do you think about jarka figs?"

"Jarka figs?" The elemental furrows one brow again, contemplating. "If you can come by them, then … " Just then, however, Galen catches the sound of some arcane words from the next room – and the elemental apparently does, too, jerking his head to look toward the door. "What?" he angrily roars, but then a powerful gust of wind rushes out of the room, then collapses back inward with a loud clap that nearly deafens the skunk! There is a large cloud of smoke that obscures all vision!

Oh, DAGH!!! mentally shrieks the healer. He peers all around, desperately attempting to see through the smoke … all in vain. It suddenly dawns on him that he is blind, in a room, with a now-probably-very-angry fire elemental.

He thinks desperately, and determines that the best thing to do, is to drop on all fours, and quickly roll out of the way from where he was standing before, in front of the elemental.

Although Galen is agile enough to act quickly even in such surprising circumstances (after all, he was the one who knew about the code word – not the elemental), he nonetheless finds that his memory of the layout of the cluttered kitchen wasn't quite so perfect as he would have liked. There's an alarmed cry from his knapsack, which suddenly feels much lighter, as the teapot rolls free, and he can hear an echoing roar of the angry elemental. His eyes sting painfully, and he can hear Wynona's voice squeaking, "Oh, goodness!" and then some roaring noises and some more panicked-sounding squeaks from the direction of what must be the kitchen door. At the very least, this helps Galen to better gain his bearings, and for him to realize that he's still very close to the hearth – and that the fire is not altogether put out.

Oh, DAGH IT DAGH IT DAGH IT!! It must be after Wynona!! thinks the Mephitian desperately. However horrible the thought is, however, he realizes that it gives him an extra few seconds or so. Precious seconds to find the pot. "Miss Teapot! Where are you?" he shouts, not caring if the elemental hears him.

"Over here!" the teapot calls out, just off to Galen's right, sounding as if it's within arm's reach.

"Set me loose! Set me loose!" something else cries out. It sounds like the voice of the psychotic cleaver. This is followed by a maniacal cackle. Yes, that's the cleaver, all right.

"Come to my voice!" says Galen, reaching out to the right and sweeping slowly with his arm. "And do not listen to that cleaver!!"

He can hear the pot rolling, and then something smooth and warm bumps against his hand. "Here you go!" the teapot whistles.

Galen grabs the teapot and pulls it toward him. Cradling it in one arm like a swaddled infant, he quickly uses his free arm to push himself off the ground. He stands back up, at a half-crouch, scanning quickly with tear-filled eyes through the irritating smoke for the hearth.

Galen is able to force his eyes open enough, despite the pain, to notice the dim glow of the hearth – and the brighter glow of the ruby resting within the still-glowing coals.

He also notices, out of the corner of his eye, the cleaver wriggling from its spot on the cutting board, and it looks like a few utensils have crashed into it during the smoky explosion, allowing it to work itself at least a little bit free. It may not stay properly contained for very long…

Having been able to spot the hearth and the glowing coals, Galen runs at a half-crouch as fast as he can to it, silently cursing to the cleaver in words his mother never, ever would have taught him. After an seeming eternity of running through hot, blinding smoke and the dark possibility of tripping or hitting any furniture, he makes it to the hearth.

Quick as a wink, he grabs the teapot with both hands, and holds her over the hearth's flames. He turns her over. "Open your lid NOW, Miss Teapot!" he yells.

"Oh?" the teapot replies, but obliges. The tea rushes out, dropping onto the coals, and letting off a hot steam that hits Galen full-force in the face. "Oh my!" the teapot cries out. "He's going to be so upset with me!" There is a loud roar from behind Galen somewhere, though not nearly so loud as earlier – more like a rush of air than the roar of a bonfire. The kitchen is quickly engulfed in darkness, save for the solitary light provided by the enchanted ruby resting in the ashes.

Galen feels a surge of triumph – which is quickly engulfed by the darkness. Blast it!! That cleaver is trying tofree itself, and the only light I can see by is from this ruby! Thinking desperately, he formulates what he thinks he must do. "Miss Teapot?? I'm so sorry about this, but I'm going to have to use you to scoop that ruby into you, and then I need you to keep your lid open. All right?"

In the darkness and smoke, it's hard for Galen to see, but he hears an "Ahhhh?" from the teapot, and the sound of the lid creaking open.

As quickly as he can, Galen scoops into the coals with the Teapot, and the ruby along with it. Then, he quickly turns around, and, with the teapot's lid kept open, he quickly scans the premises, using the ruby's glow as a light source. He is desperate to find that cleaver.

A glint of light off metal reveals the cleaver's location. It is wiggling in the cutting board – and then, it's free! "MWahahahahahaa!" screams the cleaver, as it hurtles toward Galen!

"WHAT THE – !" Galen screams, instinctively raising his free arm!

But just then, there's a clap of thunder, as a bolt of cerulean energy shoots across the room, impacting the cleaver and sending it flying!

"Hurry!" Wynona shouts from the dining hall, a nimbus of crackling blue energy glowing about her outline – and, incidentally, lighting the way for Galen for the time being.

Galen spots Wynona, marvels at her luminescent form for a split-second, then runs off as fast as he can, following her light.

Although he stumbles over several toppled (and ambulatory) bits of cookware and utensils on the way over, Galen, amazingly enough, manages to make it out of the kitchen, just as a glowing shape starts to form again in the hearth. Wynona slams the door shut behind him. "That was close!" she squeaks, then wastes no further time in dashing on down the stairs.

Galen dashes down the stairs to, and doesn't stop until they've reached the tea table. Once there, he places the teapot on the table, and grasps the table edges with both hands, supporting himself while he pants. His tail has acquired a fairly amusing bottle-brushy effect. After a few moments, he looks to Wynona, and gives a big nod. "Thank you … thank you."

Wynona wipes her brow. "Oh! Quite welcome!" she squeaks, then flashes a grin when she notices the glow in the teapot. "You did it!"

Galen slowly shakes his head, grinning back. "No… " He nods to both Wynona, and to Miss Teapot. "We did it. We got this one… " He looks at the ruby again, still grinning. "… and we have three more to go."