At first Zoot had thought that she was talking about the guy who had been injured though as she continued it was apparent that she meant those words to be delivered to Sirocco so he relayed it too his brother who nodded a few times as he collected some of his things.

He was gone soon thereafter leaving with Sirocco to the injured man. That of course left Nell alone with Zoot who explained that he had to go back on watch for the witch.

He took up a place by a gnarled elm tree and sat in one of the low hanging branches as he gazed out at the area. Nell would not that the way she came here was the only approach to the cave entrance or rather the easiest given all the trees around here and there was no way that riders could reach here though those woods at any speeds.

All in all the place was pretty well defended against intrusion and any approach would be noted especially with a river behind them, the cave located in a horseshoe shaped bend in the river so that the gnomes did not have to worry about anyone approaching from behind them.

Nell stood beside the elm tree and took in the scenery. The river was especially pleasant looking. It almost made her think it might be worth taking up hiking to see sights like these. Zoot seemed to be watching the path Sirocco had brought her by very intently. She gaze intently at it too for a moment. She really should be heading back but she suddenly felt nervous to know she would be going back alone. "Well, if you have no need of me at the moment then I'd best be heading back before it gets too dark." She looked back to Zoot who was still watching the path. "Is the path safe? I don't know of any other way to get back to school than this..."

"Hmm ... oh, the path, yes, it's safe. It's the only means by which the witch can approach on foot. She has shown no talents in the arts of swimming or flying so if Gertrude is going to come here ..." that's as far as he got before the branch upon him suddenly broke beneath his weight as he moved rather quickly to a blow that suddenly materialized as if from nothingness.

He hit the ground with an 'ofph' escaping his lips as he landed painfully on the seat of his pants, a ray of crackling black energy materializing just as a tall woman had. She was easily 6' in height and had blotchy tan skin. Her hair had been long, gray and unkept beneath a black hat. Her attire had been old too with several patches on it and her teeth were crooked and yellow with age.

The woman's eyes were pure black though other than that she appeared to be human.

Nell gasped and took a step away from the decrepit looking old woman. It was plain to see that she was the aforementioned witch Zoot had been watching for. Apparently she had not needed to use a path at all to reach this place. The girl's instincts told her to run but she knew if she did that Zoot would most likely be eaten by the witch. "Who are you? Where did you come from?!" Nell didn't really need to know the answer to those two question but she was hoping to draw the woman's attention long enough for Zoot to get to safety. She hoped the ploy would work.

But the woman did use the path. Her new invisibility spell was nice, and though she faded into existence when she attacked breaking her enchantment it had allowed her to get as close as she had. She did turn her head away from the downed gnome, perhaps thinking that she had hit him rather than an instinctual reaction occurring that allowed the gnome to react to danger before it had even been evident.

In any case her black eyes fell upon Nell as she smeared. "My Pappie's penis is where I'm from!"

She waved her hand as if dismissively sending a telekinetic blow at Nell to knock her off her feet as she lethargically approached. "You may call me Gert or Gerttie ..."

Nell's brows with instant dislike at the witch's turn of phrase. She didn't have time to ask any further question because some invisible force shot out from the witch and knocked her to the ground. "Oof!" Nell fell flat on the ground, smacking her head on the hard earth once again. Her head was going to be lumpier than a sack of potatoes when this day was over. She propped herself up on her elbows and glared up at the witch. "Gee, I hardly think that's the most polite way to introduce one's self, Gert. What the Hell do you want?"

The witch approached, a grin on her face as she regarded Nell. "What I want? Why your friend of course," her eyes flickered in the direction of the gnome but did not see him. Her smile slipped off of her features though as her eyes widened.

"WHERE IS HE?"

She frantically looked about her for his whereabouts taking her focus off of Nell for the moment.

Nell stood up while the witch's back was turned, picking up a handful of dirty and gravel as she did so. She was glad that Zoot had managed to get away but now it was her time to do the same. She started for the path, edging by the witch as quietly as possible. The cave would probably have been a safer direction to run in but she didn't want to lead the witch into the gnomes home. Still, it didn't seem the witch was after her so maybe if she could just move casually passed her then she could get away too. If the witch did decide to come after her she would get a handful of rocks and dirty thrown in her face.

The witch seemed to look for the gnome for a moment and just as Nell thought that she would pass by without molestation she felt another stinging blow against the small of her back, powerful enough to knock her off her feet. With a wave of her hand the dirt road of the path melted becoming a thick mud.

"Where ya going, girlie?"

The witch stepped closer slowly. It seemed to occur to her that if the gnome was hiding then Nell could help her draw him out. She turned rather quickly though using her hand to deflect one of Zoot's darts, the same sort that he had used on Nell not long ago.

Her other hand crackled with purple electricity that she hurled at Zoot though the gnome deftly avoided it. "Run! Use the potions!"

Nell had mad the mistake of turning her back to the witch and was knocked to the ground by another energy attack as assault of her carelessness. Still, she managed to catch herself before she could crash face first into the hard ground. Instead, she landed on her hand and knees and began to sink into a puddle of thick mud. "What?!" The witch must have don't something to the ground to turn it to mud so suddenly.

Nell scrambled to get back to her feet, knowing the mud was meant to delay her and give the witch another chance to capture her. Nell did not want that woman to touch her gnarled and blotchy hands. Thankfully Zoot had reappeared to defend her. She got to her feet and did as the gnome instructed and made a dash back to the cave. She found her way back to the little room with the potions as quickly as she could but once she had it there she hesitated. What had Zoot told her about the potions? She couldn't remember. "Oh Blast! I should have asked more questions." She grabbed one of the bottles at random and downed it as quickly as she could. She waited impatiently after drinking it and hoped that it was something useful and not some gnomish poison.

The witch grew closer though Nell was able to buy some time by unleashing her handful of dirt. The crone cackled in annoyance as she staggered back a step or two as she rubbed at her eyes. While she was doing so Zoot reappeared launching another dart at her though this one struck true. The poison though failed to take effect though it did cause her to stagger a little.

Getting back to the cave now with the head start provided by her distraction was possible even slowed by the terrain as she was. Though Nell had been busy quaffing a potion right now the witch cleared her eyes and gazed around.

Zoot had disappeared again and thus she saw nothing out of the ordinary. As it was she floated a few inches off of the ground and headed in the direction of the cave.

The potion made Nell's stomach feel a little queasy though it had not been poison. She hiccupped causing smoke to waif out of her mouth as a rumble went though her belly as if she had swallowed something that was trying to claw it's way back out.

She would then see an inky shadow spreading across the floor of the cavern as the witch drew near.

Nell held her stomach as it began to churn with the effects of the potion. For a second she wondered if she had actually drunk a potion at all or if that made merely been gnomish brandy. The she hiccuped and smoke began to curl up out of her month and she suddenly understood why her stomach was upset. She saw the advancing darkness on the floor and knew her time to be amazed was up. She closed her mouth tightly and turned to wait for the approaching witch, ready to unleash the fire growing in her belly the second the hag came into view.

Bit by bit more of Gertrude came into view as she floated into the room. She dropped down on the stone floor when she was inside, her head wheeling in the direction of Nell who had plans of her own as she belched forth a gout of flame.

Gert threw up her hands to instinctively ward off the blow for whatever good that would do her as flames licked at her body. She cried out in pain, her clothes aflame, she raced out of the chamber and out of the cave.

She fell face first into the mud she had generated earlier, put out the flames but had been in such incredible pain that she continued to retreat slowly since the mud hindered her and the pain made it so she could not muster the will to concentrate on her levitation.

Though Nell had to admit it felt kinda awesome to shoot flames from her mouth like a fire-breathing dragon it did leave her stomach feeling rather queer. Still, it seemed to have worked. She scared off the witch. She grabbed another potion bottle just in case and followed the witch out to make sure she was actually gone. She stopped at the entrance to the cave and watched the witch retreat slowly down the muddy path. She let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the cave wall. "Phew... That was close... I hope Zoot is alright..." She slumped down to the cave floor and rubbed her belly absently. She hoped the potion she drink was only temporary and that she wasn't going to be belching up anymore flames.

"Flames ... ah, the elixir distilled from the essence of a dragon that my brother worked on ooh some years back when his beard was barely formed." Zoot said. He had been dirtied from his fall and he had lost his hat revealing his bald head. He had hair upon the back and sides of his head. He gazed up at her, his right arm dangling at his side and awkwardly twisted.

"Was it the red one or green?"