text: [Themes: fantasy]
  
  You rush up to the bars of the nearest cage to you. In that moment, you decide that there's no way you're leaving anyone behind. If you're taking one, you're taking them all.
  
  "I'm here to save you." You say in a low voice, "all of you."
  
  "What... are you?" Asks the Oalkwardner in the cage, inching backwards.
  
  "I'm a friend, now let me get these bars off the cage."
  
  You grip the bars and pull as hard as you can, but they don't budge. This is real wood, not the Paper-Mache everything else in this place is made of. You're going to have to find another way to get through it. Maybe you can steal the keys off a guard or something. Or maybe...
  
  You sling your bag off your shoulders and go through the contents until you find what you're looking for. It takes a minute, and for a moment you fear it might have fallen out of your bag. But no, at the bottom of your bag, lays your lighter, untouched since the night you first woke up.
  
  Maybe, you can use this on lock of the cell! Because even that's made of wood, for some reason. Or maybe you should just play it safe and look for the keys...
  
  > go find a guard and steal the keys
  "I'll be right back," you say, turning around. There's an exit a few yards away, a neat gap in the wall with a spiral staircase behind it. You head up the staircase as quietly as you can and find yourself at a wooden door. You can hear muffled voices on the other side, probably the guards. Gently as you can, you turn the knob and open the door. Sunlight floods into the room, blinding you momentarily. Seems the door opens into the courtyard. Two guards stand on the other side, their backs turned to you, chatting about the weather.
  
  Ever so slowly, you inch out the door, getting closer and closer until they're in your reach. They still haven't noticed you. Then, quick as you can, you grab them, clapping your hand over their mouth. Before they have a chance to react, you dash back through the door, carrying them with you. Soon as you reach the edge of the stairwell, you throw them down onto the floor below, killing them instantly.
  
  You hurry down the stairs, taking them two at a time. After making sure the guards are thoroughly dead, you check their pockets for keys. It doesn't take you long to find them. Strangely enough, they're made of the same wood as the lock.
  
  "I'm back!" you say as loud as you dare.
  
  You dash to the first door and unlock it, then go to the next, and the next. Soon, every cell is unlocked, and you're surrounded by a bleary-eyed crowd of Oalkwardners, staring up at you.
  
  "What now?" one of them asks.
  
  "I'm getting you out of-" You start to say, but stop. Above you, you can just hear the sound of muffled voices. You put your finger to your lips, and creep towards the exit, where you can hear better.
  
  "Why is this door open?" one asks, "And where are the guards?"
  
  Crap! You must've forgotten to close the door behind you on your way back down!
  
  "I thought I heard something down there," Another voice says, "Let's go check it out, I've got a bad feeling about this."
  
  The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs resonates through the whole room. You ready yourself for a fight as the bottoms of Oalkwardner feet and red and yellow cloaks become visible on the stairs.
  
  "What on earth?" one of them says. They must've seen the dead guards at the bottom. You don't waste any more time. You charge into the room with the stairwell, screaming at the top of your lungs. Five guards stare at you from halfway down the stairs, too stunned to move, at least for a moment. You use it to your advantage, bounding up the steps and plowing through the first two before they even think to raise their weapons.
  
  Of course, the other three are a little smarter. They back out of your reach before you can take a swipe at them, and ready their spears for an attack. You stop ascending for a moment and assess the situation. They've got the high ground, and their spears are ready. You may be stronger than they, but a shaft of wood through the heart will still kill you, regardless of who's holding it.
  
  Without warning, The Oalkwardner in front leaps into the air towards you, ready to bring her spear down on your head. You leap backwards, nearly tumbling down the stairs, just avoiding what could've been a fatal strike. For a moment, you're both off balance, but you recover first, and drive your fist into her face.
  
  "Noooo!" one of the other Oalkwardners cries, and charges at you wildly.
  
  You step out of the way just in time, and he trips over his own feet, falling off the rickety spiral staircase to his doom. That's four down, now where's that last one. You look around wildly, just in time to see the edge of a cloak disappearing through the door at the top of the stairs.
  
  "Come on!" You call down to the prisoners below, "We have to get out of here, now! Up the staircase!"
  
  The prisoners obey, flooding into the room, and starting up the stairs after you. There are about two dozen in all, not as many as you might have thought, but still a substantial number to herd out of a fortress like this.
  
  As you lead them out into the courtyard, a high pitched shriek cuts through the air. It's an alarm, just like the one back in Arrorn! The entire courtyard is in chaos, people running this way and that, guards and civilians alike. The gateway out is on the other side, about a hundred yards away, sitting wide open. But it won't be for long, even from here you can see guards gathering by the big swinging doors, getting ready to push them closed and trap you inside.
  
  "Quick, to the exit!" You shout, breaking into a run. Everyone else follows as you weave through the crowd, trying your best not to trample any innocent people. (If, indeed, there are any innocent people in this place). It looks like you might just make it, until you've made it about halfway across the courtyard. Seemingly out of nowhere, guards on little ponies, like the ones that invaded Arrorn, flank your band of criminals. Slowly but surely, they're closing in, going ahead of you to cut you off. If you don't do something fast, you're going to be surrounded.
  
  There's no time to think though. No time to come up with a brilliant plan. Before you even quite realize it, there's nowhere left to go. The guards are in front and behind, to the right and to the left. You are struck with a strange sense of Deja Vu. This isn't the first time you've been in a situation like this, it happened back in Arrorn too! So if you just do the same thing you did before, you'll get out of it just fine.
  
  "Don't stop!" You cry, "I'll clear a path!"
  
  There's no time to pick out the weak link, so you just plow on forward, attacking the guard directly in your path. Soon as you get within range of the spears, you leap into the air and drive your foot into the guard's chest. He tumbles off the horse, screaming, and all the prisoners flow through the gap you've created. After you've ran a good thirty feet from the circle, you glance over your shoulder to make sure everyone got through. But to your horror, only about half have made it past the circle. The rest of the guards have closed in further, getting rid of the gap you created. More of them have to get taken out if you are to have any hope of saving everyone.
  
  Worse, there are more guards coming from the sides, and the doors are halfway closed. If you don't get the rest of the prisoners out quick, no-one will make it out at all.
  
  > cut your losses and lead those who are left out to freedom
  It hurts more than you could've ever imagined, leaving people behind like this. But there's no sense in you dying too. You keep running until you reach the gate and the others follow. As you pass through it, you notice a few of the Guards coming after you on ponies out of the corner of your eye. You're about to turn and fight them, when something shoots out from the shadows and knocks the first one off his horse. Then it takes down the second, and the third! Kralmer has come to your aid.
  
  "Let's get out of here, Human!" He cries, catching up to you, "We've gotta leave the kingdom as fast as we can! Go somewhere else, where they'll never find us."
  
  "Right," You say, "I hope we've got enough supplies..."
  
  "We'll survive, we can forage if we need to."
  
  "Perfect, you got somewhere in mind?"
  
  "Sure! I'll lead the way..."
  
  A week of walking later, you cross the border of the land you were in and into somewhere nicer. You and the former prisoners integrate into a nearby village. They all celebrate you as their hero, and come together to build you a nice, human sized house. After a few months of living there, it really starts to feel like home. You even get used to the food.
  
  As for Kralmer, his family just so happened to be amongst the half you managed to save. It's a good thing too, you're not sure he would've forgiven you if you hadn't managed to get them out alive. You have dinner with him most nights, and the two of you become quite good friends.
  
  The villagers are happy to have you as part of their community. After the brave deeds you committed, they see you as their last line of defense. If anything ever happens, you'll be there to save them.
  
  But that hasn't happened yet. For now, you've been blessed with some much needed peace...