text: [Themes: fantasy, humor, fantasy, serious]
  
  You really don't want to start all over again with finding or building another home. You're comfortable here and don't want to move. So if this one last thing means you get to stay here, then so be it.
  
  "Very well, I'll help, but what if I can't get in anyway?" you ask.
  "Well, we might have to come back to reassess a new plan. I'm almost sure that you will be able to get in though." Isabella says.
  "I sure hope so, because as much as I want to keep my home and perhaps even not mind the revenge bit, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to be in a perpetual stalemate where I'm sharing this place with you. I'd rather just pick up and leave I think."
  "Understandable, and that's certainly your choice if it comes to that, but let's keep positive thoughts. So, are you ready to go?"
  "What, now?"
  "Well sure. The night is still young and I figured you wanted to get this over with as soon as possible."
  "I suppose you're right, but I think I'm going to need at least a little time to explain this Lisa."
  "What for? Just say you're leaving and will be back in a day or two. It isn't like she's going to leave you and I'm sure she'll be satisfied if you tell her she can eat those two girls I saw chained up. Ghouls are easily distracted and appeased, I'm sure you well know."
  "Yeah and I'm sure that YOU well know that I treat Lisa as an equal, not like some pet!"
  "Of course you do. Very well, talk to your child then, I will see you in the (ugh) sewers."
  
  Isabella takes her leave and you're about to head back to the meat room, when you notice blood puddles and small trails in the hallway. You follow them to a small dead end to another tunnel you've been recently working on and that's where you find Lisa huddled in a corner chewing on a bone and making a weird (yet relatively quiet) noise. Almost like she's crying, but not quite.
  
  She looks up at you mournfully.
  
  "Lisa, I'm not mad if you were listening to us." you say.
  "You're leaving with her aren't you?" Lisa asks.
  "I have to if we want to keep our home. Don't you want us to keep the home we've made here?"
  "I...I don't want you to go. I need you...can't...can't I come with you?"
  "Lisa, it's going to be really dangerous. I mean I'm sure you remember my stories about Ral. We're going to be going up against him and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt."
  "But I could help! I want to help! Please let me help!" Lisa says grabbing your arm with fanatical dedication in her eyes.
  
  It's against your better judgment, but if you leave her here she could just get into trouble anyway. Perhaps even more without you close by and her probably getting depressed about the situation.
  
  If you take her with you, at least you can keep an eye on her and she'll be happy. It's one more factor to worry about, but if you're really serious about trying to treat her like an equal, keeping her contained like pet (or child as Isabella said) isn't the way to go about it. Besides Lisa isn't defenseless.
  
  "Very well, but you REALLY need to obey all my commands during this task. Seriously, you can't go wandering off in search of food or any else of the sort. You need to follow all my orders to the letter. Understand?"
  "I do! I do my love! Oh thank you! I'll be a big help! You'll see!"
  
  Lisa showers you with a lot of affection and as usual she goes for the crotch immediately. You half think about stopping her since this is going to take awhile and you're supposed to be on your way to Ral's, but you feel like Lisa deserves a reward for dealing with all this (And hell, so do you) so...
  
  Later, you meet Isabella who is still standing in the sewers close to your secret wall.
  
  "About fucking time. Don't tell me, I already know what you were doing...aaaand I see we now have a loadstone with us. Fantastic!" Isabella remarks when she sees Lisa behind you. Lisa looks down a bit when Isabella calls her out.
  "Look, she can be of help. It's going to take us a couple days to get to Ral's so it might be useful to have someone that can at least scout around during the day while we sleep in the ground."
  "More like give ourselves away. Fine, I suppose she would be useful fodder if worse comes to worse. Let's go, we've already wasted..."
  
  You place one hand on Isabella's shoulder and spin her around when she turns her back on you.
  
  "Let's get one thing fucking straight. Lisa is NOT fodder. She's not a minion, she's not my fuck toy, she's not a child, she's not a fucking pet! Lisa is my fucking mate. She came because she wants to help me and I want her to help me. This, what we're doing right now? Is to help you. However, if you keep insulting Lisa and being a general bitch to her, you can go do this on your own and both of us will find some place else to live. I'm putting up with a lot of things and I'm not trying to step out of line against my so called betters, but I'm not going to put up with how you talk to and about her! AGH SHIT!"
  
  Isabella quickly grabs your wrist twists it and throws you to the hard floor face first. Lisa, rushes to attack, but is easily slapped aside into the nearby wall as Isabella applies pressure to your arm and shoves her knee into your back.
  
  "First of all, don't you EVER fucking touch me again uninvited! You lost that privilege a long time ago. This is your ONLY warning about it. Second...fine. I apologize. I was not behaving in a way befitting of my class. I won't insult your lady again. Glad to see that it really was true love."
  
  Isabella gets off you and you wince a bit in lingering pain as you stand up. You then go over to Lisa and ask if she's okay, to which she replies that she is. You then both follow Isabella who has walked ahead of you.
  
  Things are silent for more or less during the journey out of Holgard. It's sort of a weird silence and soon after you're making your way through the forest, you make conversation.
  
  "So, while I can imagine what happened, what did you do with the family you found in that root cellar?" you ask
  "Oh them? Well I had to rebuild my strength after being stuck underground for weeks, so after they told me what happened, drained all of them." Isabella remarks.
  "Yep, figured as much."
  "Honestly, I might have kept three of them alive under normal circumstances, but it wasn't the normal circumstances and I do have a weakness for children's blood."
  "Did...did the children taste sweet?" Lisa suddenly asks.
  
  Isabella smiles a bit.
  
  "Yes, the children did taste sweet. Their blood usually does though unless they're horrible greenskins. Rather go hungry than drink their blood, no matter what age most of the time." Isabella remarks.
  "Some greenskins aren't bad, but they're always very tough. They are an acquired taste and even the dead sometimes taste better than the average hobgoblin." Lisa remarks.
  "I'm sure you have a very versatile palate Lisa, not many can boast such a talent."
  
  Isabella's remark could be taken as a backhanded compliment at best or a sarcastic insult at worst, but Lisa seems to take what she said as a benign praise, so you let it go.
  
  Eventually dawn starts to arrive and you and Isabella take shelter in the ground. Lisa herself never seems to require as much sleep, so she'll be still be wandering around for some of the day (Though still probably trying to stay in the shade which shouldn't be a problem due to being in a forest).
  
  You aren't sure if you should have her do a little scouting while you're asleep or have her protect your resting area though.
  
  > scout ahead
  One of the reasons you brought her along was so she could help and you already had the idea of letting her scout ahead so you might as well let her do it.
  
  "Lisa, while we're asleep, I want you to scout ahead. Don't go too far, but don't attack anything, no matter how tasty it may look to you. Unless it's a random animal I guess. In any case I want you to come back when you're done and just wait here until we wake up." You command.
  "Yes, my love." Lisa responds.
  "Okay, I'll see you this evening." You say and kiss Lisa before digging yourself a shallow hole to sleep in. (Lisa helps pat down the dirt to make sure you're completely covered)
  
  Later...
  
  You are forcibly pulled from your sleep and into the sunlight!
  
  You weren't pulled out by hands either, it was some magical force that dragged you out. You're still mostly covered in dirt and partially asleep but the sun is burning your face and eyes.
  
  "ARRGHAGH SHIT!" you shout and start trying to scramble for cover, but only get a ball of flame in your face.
  
  Several mages stand around you, but making very sure to stay out of your way. You try to lunge for one of them, but are magically shoved to the ground
  
  "Destroy that lesser one before the greater one wakes up. I want to speak to her personally and she's going to have an even less pleasant reaction when she's up." The oldest one says.
  
  You have no idea what is going on besides the fact that you're being attacked and are fairly helpless against your assailants. The sunlight is burning you and sapping your strength, you're near blind and you're struggling against a magical force that's trying to keep you pinned to the ground.
  
  Despite your decreased vision, you make out the shape of Lisa standing among the robed mages. It can be surmised that these mages did something to her to cause her to lead them all back here. You try to re-enforce your will upon her so she helps you again, but with all the pain you're in, it's very hard to concentrate.
  
  You feel a sharp spike go into your chest. It's some sort of magic blade that you see glowing a bright purple when you look down at your chest, then it disappears and two more appear to finish you off through decapitation.