Helix smiled as he watched the two friends dance.<em>That one certainly is a free spirit,</em>he thought to himself.<br/><br/>-----------------------------<br/>"Marvelous. It will be a pleasure to have you along, good sir.  We ought to move our campsite though, that recent attack has made it painfully obvious this was a poor choice," noted the princess.  She began packing her meager possessions, and got some water from the creek to douse the campfire with.<br/><br/>------------------------<br/>The soldier bowed in appreciation. "Thank you sir. A group of us soldiers were patrolling the lower levels of the castle when we were attacked by a nasty beast. It proved too strong for us and we were barely able to harm it. It was gelatinous and gooey, so our weapons did little against it.  We believe it was released when the princess made her escape.  Any assistance you could give us would be greatly appreciated. "