Llelwyl left her boot on me for several seconds, extending the excruciating pain of being constantly smashed.  Each shift of her weight, no matter how minute, was horribly obvious to me as it made her press down harder on one already flattened part.  It got even worse when she turned without lifting her foot, forcing me to rotate with her and grinding me into the rough floorboard.  Every sort of pain imaginable assailed me during that second, and I wished my mind would just shut off so I would not have to feel it.

When she finally moved her foot, giving me a reprieve from her enormous weight, I emerged in the middle of a shouting match.  “- killed him!” Sondra was yelling.  “Don’t act like you didn’t know he was there, you stepped right on him just like you threatened to do not even a minute ago!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Llelwyl shouted back.  “I’m nowhere near that guy from the jar, I couldn’t have stepped on him!”

“I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about the shrunken human!”  Sondra was yelling so loud her voice cracked.  “You know, the one you’re always saying is useless and we should toss away?  You just fucking murdered him in cold blood!”

“I did?”  Llelwyl was quieter, trying to restore some sense of calm.  “Oops.  If it’ll make you feel better, now you can take the one Margret just freed.  Maybe he’ll be more useful than a puny warrior.”

“That.  Is not.  The point,” Sondra replied through gritted teeth.  “You just killed a member of the party and you don’t even think it’s a big deal!”

“Um, because it’s not?” Llelwyl retorted.  “He wasn’t a member of our group.  He’d have to have contributed at some point to be one, and he never did!  Now, grab your new tiny person and let’s get moving before the witch wakes up.”

“He did contribute, though,” Bushwack corrected her.  It sounded like she was in a state of deep shock when she spoke.  “He went up against someone a thousand times his size to buy me enough time to free you.  If it weren’t for him, you’d still be trapped in a jar.”

“I think you’re vastly overstating his effect,” Llelwyl replied.  “He couldn’t have been more than a minor annoyance for her like he is to us.  You were the one who saved us, I didn’t see him breaking any jars!”

“No, you’re wrong,” Bushwack shot back, her voice regaining its fire as she continued.  “He saved your life, and as thanks you squashed him, and… I’m just now realizing that, compared to you, I’m not much bigger than him.”

Llelwyl scoffed.  “Are you suggesting that I might step on you, too?”  Silence answered her, so she continued, “Bushwack, that’s absurd, we’ve been friends for years!  You know I’d never step on you.”

“Why not?” Bushwack asked sternly.  “Seriously, what’s stopping you?  Your feet are longer than I am tall.  It seems all it’d take is me annoying you a little and you wouldn’t hesitate.  If the only thing keeping you from killing me is that we’re friends, I’m not sure I feel safe travelling with you anymore.”

Llelwyl tried to divert the conversation, saying, “I think you’re getting a little worked up over this.  Let’s take the orb back to the wagon and they can catch up after they’re done mourning their squished mascot or whatever.”

Margret took a thunderous step forward and drew her weapon.  “Give me the orb and start walking back on your own,” she ordered.  There was an edge in her voice I had never heard before, and I got the feeling she would not hesitate.

“Have you not been paying attention this whole time?” Llelwyl asked.  “I’m holding an Orb of Power.  You can’t stop me.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Margret was calm and self-assured while she stared the elf down.  “I also know that you don’t know how to use it.  By the time you figure it out I’ll have caved in your skull and taken it anyway.  Now give it to me and get walking.  We’ll take you back to the city, but after that we’re done.”

Llelwyl looked at her in stunned silence.  “Sondra, do you feel this way too?”

“She’s being kinder than I would be.  You get to live with her plan.”

“What about you, Bushwack?  Are you ready to throw away our friendship over a human smaller than my pinky?”

“I wasn’t friends with a murderer, and I’m not going to be.  When you get back to the wagon, move my half of the loot out of your bag.  I’ll want to count it before putting it in with Margret’s.”

“Unbelievable,” Llelwyl muttered and took a step forward.  “A useless shrunken human managed to turn all my friends against me.”  She shoved the orb into Margret’s outstretched hand and turned toward the door.  “I can’t wait for one of you to beg me to come back so I can tell you to pound sand.”  When she left she slammed the door, then the cabin was silent.

Margret stowed the glowing orb in a sack, then the three remaining women looked at each other while they tried to decide what to do.  “Should we take this guy with us, then?” she asked at last.

“No, Lell would just smash him, too,” Sondra answered.  “She’s out of control, and I don’t want to give her another opportunity to kill someone.  Just put him in one of the empty jars so the witch doesn’t know he got out.  We can come back for all of them later.”

While Margret bent over to scoop him into her hand, Bushwack spoke up.  “What about the shrunken human?” she asked.  “It seems inappropriate to leave him here.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Sondra replied.  “I think he would’ve wanted me to.”  The floor shook violently with her heavy steps, and after a few footfalls she came to a stop towering above my flattened body.  She knelt over me, and as she looked down I saw streaks from tears that had run down her cheeks.  I did not know whether they were from rage, grief, or a mix of the two, but they were still flowing.

“I’m really sorry things ended like this,” she said, her voice wavering.  “You just wanted help, but you ended up helping us more.  And now you’re dead because of it.”  She started sobbing and covered her mouth, then wiped away tears with the heel of her palm.  “I don’t know why she did it, but I know it wasn’t an accident, and I promise you she’ll pay.  Once she’s gone for good, I’ll bury you somewhere nice.”

I wanted to move something so she would know I was alive, but my whole body was still pulverized from its time under Llelwyl’s boot.  It hurt watching her weep for me, and I felt like I was deceiving her by letting her think I was dead.  There was nothing I could do about it, though.  Llelwyl had so thoroughly crushed me that I could not even move my fingers, and it would be hours until I could stand.  No doubt there would be questions about how I supposedly came back from the dead, but I could handle those when she was no longer grieving.

Sondra reached down and picked at my feet with a fingernail to pry me off the floor.  When there was enough for her to grab, she pinched my legs between two fingers and peeled the rest off.  The pain of coming unattached from the wood grain barely registered, as did the discomfort of my flattened form being held upside down.  She gingerly placed me in her palm and turned away, stifling another sob with her other hand.  Her palm was wet and salty, and I realized I was laying over a thin layer of her tears.

She clutched me near to her chest and stood, moving slowly so I would not slide around.  Sondra placed her other hand on top like a roof, and I figured it was as much for my protection as hers.  Her careful steps did not jostle me at all, and I only knew she took them because of the weak vibrations that came through her body.  In the warm darkness I closed my eyes, hoping that if I focused I could pull my body back together quicker.

“Ready to go?” Margret asked.  Even with Sondra’s hands muffling her voice, I knew it was her.

Sondra sniffled and replied, “Yeah, I’m ready.”  Her voice still sounded weak, like she might break down at any moment.

“Hey, listen,” Bushwack said, “I wish I could say this to him, but I’m sorry I was so hard on him.  I don’t know what came over me, but it was like a dark force clouded my mind.  The things I said probably pushed her toward this, and if I’d been more accepting of him, she might not have stepped on him.”

“You know what?” Sondra began, her voice regaining a shadow of its former strength.  “I don’t care.  You didn’t smash him, so as far as I’m concerned, you’re fine.  She had it out for him since we found him, and I know she was just waiting for an opportunity.  Sure, you could have been nicer to him… but you’re not the reason he’s dead.”

“I know, I just…” Bushwack started, then trailed off.

“Please, don’t say anything else,” Sondra said.  “I want to be left alone for a while.”

The walk back to the wagon was slow and somber.  The others respected Sondra’s wishes to remain quiet, though I suspected they all had a lot to say.  Without the same sense of urgency it took longer to reach the wagon, and I suspected they moved slowly so they could stay with Sondra.  At the very least I was comfortable.  Though her hands were skinny, Sondra’s palm made for a good cushion, and her pace kept me from being jostled too much.  It was almost like gliding on a cloud aside from the dull, lingering pain of being crushed.

Fortunately, Llelwyl had not made off with the wagon while we were gone and it was still in place.  I was not sure how Sondra would get into her spot without uncovering me, but without even being asked they stepped up to help.  Margret grunted loudly, and I felt the familiar rising sensation of being picked up.  She had lifted Sondra bodily so she would not have to climb in and I could remain nestled in her hand.

“There.  Take all the time you need,” Margret said, and the heavy thuds of her boots got quieter as she walked away.

Words can’t express how disappointed I am to see you back.  Kirinhalut wasted no time before intruding into my already busy thoughts.  When you’re miraculously revived, come up with a reason why the orb did it or you’ll be spending your first eternity in my shoe.

Speech was still beyond my capabilities, but I could still think back at her.  How does it feel to get so close and be denied the orb?

Even Kirinhalut’s thoughts dripped with derision.  You’re stupid, even for a mortal.  Your band of do-gooders brought it right to me!  I’ve been planning this for six centuries, I can wait a few more days for the group to split further.  Maybe I can make the brunette jealous of the blond, or push a little harder on the pixie.

“It’s getting dark, should we stop and make camp?” Margret asked from the coach position.

“No, let’s keep going,” Sondra answered before anyone else could.  “If we ride quickly, we can make it to Gorbatov before midnight and get situated.”  She did not have to add the benefit of not having to deal with Llelwyl for another night.  Once we were underway, I felt my body tingle as it began to pull itself back together.  Hopefully, I would be good as new by the time we arrived, and my apparent resurrection would not surprise them in public.