Flamin' 'Ell!

Hell had broken loose, and we were watching the demons fry.

Hordes of Ssala swarmed the burning arena, battling their tormentors with an anger I'd not realised the gentle people possessed.

I looked down at Jade then nodded at the raging scene.

“You cause this?”
She was still a bit wobbly after her fall.
“Wh- no..?”
I gave her a quick smile.
“C'mon.”

I moved off, expecting her to stick close, but before she could follow, a section of the seating smashed into her path, right between us. It had been tossed by a raging Haruk who was busy fending off several Ssala - the group apparently too intent on fighting to care about the imminent risk of being burned by the swiftly spreading fire.
I ducked more flying debris and went to help Jade shift the heavy looking seating section but she'd already shoved it out of the way on her own.
Impressive.

“Where were we?”
“Heading towards the others...”
“Ah yeah.”

We ran along the seating level, heading towards Jay who we could see down on the arena floor, avoiding various dinosaurs, Haruk and Ssala. To get to him we had to descend a staircase which took us underneath the now burning seating section, passing more Ssala and wounded Haruk on the way.

We shot back out into the light and the – hang on, what's the word Seymour uses about the canteen during especially hungry dinner times? Pandemonium, that's it.
Yeah, so... We shot out into the light, and the pandemonium, and ran up to Jay who now had an arrow trained on a dinosaur.

“No! Jesus, don't shoot the dinosaurs!”
He looked at me with a raised brow.
“I don't go by that name any more, and you're welcome.”
“What?”

But I didn't hear the answer, 'cause I was distracted by Jade tugging a piece of leather dangling from one of my armbands - one of the adornments the Haruk had thought would look nice on their dolly.

She was staring at something, practically open-mouthed.
I followed her gaze.

Lumbering towards us in the midst of the madness were two dinosaurs – not the small vicious Velociraptor types, or the hammer-tailed cousins of Ankylosaurus (one of my favourites as a kid) who had several times been set against us in decorative gear worn over their own natural armour, no, these were the biggest dinosaurs I'd seen in the arena. Gigantic, noble, and brachiosaur-like.

“Yeah.” I said to Jade. “They're big.”
“No, look...”

I looked again, and noticed the huge beasts were wearing bridles, and had riders - namely White Wolf and Phil.
Jay laughed and lowered his bow.

FeBuggure waved at us.
“Afternoon” he called casually down.

As I was trying to work it out, Plisken rolled wonkily out of the fray in his now pretty bashed up sphere, and clambered out, grumbling. I was glad he was all right.

“Hey, Plisken...” It was difficult to take my eyes off the dinosaurs, so I didn't, much.
"Hello."
“Yeh hi. Did you know-”
“That you could ride dinosaurs?”
“... Yeah.”
“Oh, yes. The Ssala have often talked about it in the evenings...”

It was pretty surreal - Phil rocking up and calmly greeting us from the back of a brach, while demonic tribespeople warred in a flaming, dinosaur studded, gladiator arena beyond.

White Wolf plodded up on his own enormous steed.
“Well!? Get on! We have to collect the others and get out of here.”

“What about Cass?” I asked.
The grin fell off Jay's face. “Why? Was she here?”
“Not today, I don't think, but-”
Plisken was on one knee, tightening the laces on his barbarian-style boots.
“One step at a time, son, one step at a time.”

He stood, commanding and resplendent against the blazing backdrop, right up until the wind caught his loin cloth and it lifted.
Jay looked away “Oh God.”
I quickly became very interested in the back of my hand and then Jade's feet.

“COME ON!” Yelled White Wolf.
“Well how the smeg do you propose we get up there, then?” Called Jay

Phil grinned and unfurled a rope ladder from his saddle, it rolled satisfyingly down the dinosaur's side.
“All right. No-one likes a smart-arse.” Jay was smiling again.
“Up the ladders, guys, but I am NOT going behind Plisken.”

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