I had learned by now that I am not much of a fighter, at least not in face-to-face combat. But I needed to help! I needed to save my friends!

What can a useless imp with only a dagger do? Against those horrible great beasts? "THINK!" I reprimanded myself. "There must be SOMETHING in your Bag of Tricks that could be useful!"

I mentally review the contents of my Bag of Tricks:
  1. gold book tied with purple ribbon -- not heavy enough to be used as a weapon, no time to read, ribbon too short and too weak to tie anything
  2. invisible book and pens -- yeah, right. That's just my imagination
  3. change of underwear -- definitely needed later, but not right now
  4. assorted nametags -- papercuts? not good enough
  5. 34 gold coins -- mine, mine, mine! Well, okay, I'd use them if I had to, but now's not the time to attempt a bribe
  6. 3 straws made from reeds -- spitwads? Nope, not good enough
  7. lock picks -- THAT'S IT! I'll find Lynn and free her!

I dropped to the floor, burst through the double doors and slammed them shut behind me to block out the sounds of the battle. "They'll do better without me underfoot." I half-heartedly reassured myself.

Then I listened for Lynn's voice ...

-- BG