The bogling scurried along behind the guards as they dragged Lenoa to the Stockade. It watched as they dragged her to the blocks, stuffing a sack over her head to muffle the screaming. It hid within the grass, scampering along until it reached her. It climbed the wooded block (not unlike itself), but was unable befriend it or gain its assistance. It thought aloud its desire to help. Though nothing happened, Lenoa seemed to calm just slightly.
The bogling dropped down back into the grass, following one of the guards that had imprisoned her. They entered the large, stony castle and navigated odd corridors. They descended a flight of steps followed by another flight of steps until they were somewhere cold, damp. The guard used words with another guard, handed over a bunch of metal, and took a seat.
The bogling continued to watch for some time, seeing the guard do various things. Of most interest, the guard took the metal bunch and used it to open a room with metal bars. The metal bunch appeared to free things that were trapped. Once the guard returned to his seat, the bogling wasted no time in climbing the chair and into the guard’s pocket. It looped the keys onto one of its wooden limbs and escaped the cloth fold as quickly as it had entered.
The bogling noticed the guard staring at it as it landed on the ground, and fled as the guard began to give chase. The bogling dashed between one of the metal bars, leading the guard to rush into the bars and fall to the ground shortly after. The bogling did a joyful dance in celebration of its victory.
“Hey little fella, what’cha got there?” a kindred voice asked from on high.
The bogling looked up to see a scraggly man with a dangling pendant staring down at him. It canted its head as it wondered if the big thing was important, or possibly, a tree.
“Trying to find your friend, huh? Wish I could help, but I’m stuck in here, you see. If you’d be kind enough to let me borrow those keys, I’d be happy to return the favor.”
The bogling’s resin drop eyes spun in spirals while it danced from left, to right, to left again. It stopped, and swung one its arm-limbs to toss the keys. The metal did little more than slide off the bogling and fall to the floor. The bogling lowered its head.
“Aw, no worries little guy. You did great! C’mon, let’s go help your friend.”
The man scooped up the keys in one hand, and the bogling in the other, and unlocked his cell. The bogling watched from the man’s hand as he dragged the unconscious guard back into the cell. After changing garbs, the man locked the guard in the cell and escaped with the bogling into the courtyard.
The bogling jumped down into the grass and dashed to the block where Lenoa had been held, finding it empty. The bogling jumped at the block, batting at it with its timber limbs. It tried to climb the block before the man plucked it up.
“Sorry little guy, no one’s here. We’ll have to look for your friend somewhere else.”
The bogling watched the man’s face turn flush as a dagger came across his neck. Behind him stood a very displeased Lenoa.
“Unhand the bogling, now.”
The man released the bogling, who dropped to the ground and sprinted to Lenoa’s leg, scaling it with some tenacity until it reached the loving cradle of her clavicle. It hugged her, as much as a small wooded creature can hug.
The bogling glanced behind Lenoa to see a guard covered in what looked like black metal cats. Uninterested in such a peculiar sight, it turned back to the odd man-friend, whom had just been released. It waved to the odd man-friend, who stole the dagger away from Lenoa before turning it on her. The bogling’s sap curdled as it felt what she felt. It slid down her sleeve and into her pocket.
“You are dead,” she cried in disbelief.
“You first,” the scraggly farmer wearing Amir’s face replied.