[i]Thwock![/i] [i]Thwock![/i] [i]Clink![/i] Things were proceeding... [i]Slowly[/i], at best. Althhough the freezing of the spikey protrusions had indeed had some effect, it wasn't to the extent that the druid girl had hoped. Perhaps her magic just wasn't strong enough? Or perhaps the wood, despite its appearance, was tougher than it looked? Regardless, stopping now was a no-go! But what could she do? A moment of contemplation, before a proverbial candlestick lit up above her head. Quickly moving one hand to her hip, she unhooked the sickle that hung there, brandishing the curved and shiny blade like some kind of mad dentist. With sudden swift and carefully aimed strikes, she began to sweep her instrument down at the frost-covered poles, cutting into their sides, one by one. It wouldn't take much really - if she could just carve away enough chips and splinters, the integrity of the pole would become weakened, and more susceptible to breaking off when struck with her staff, pure brilliance! Well, in her mind at least. Unfortunately, the two pigs were none too happy with either of their respective situations. The female shook her head and snorted in discomfort after having gotten dirt in her face - not that it actually had accomplished much, since she was used to trekking through mud and underbrush, with goop and klegg going every-which-way, but having it delibaretly thrown in her face was apparently somehow insulting... The sow flared her nostrils and narrowed her eyes at the big red lumbering hulk, agitated and eneraged at him. With an slight rearing motion, she squealed loudly once more and charged again, thundering along the ground with her hooves kicking up dirt behind her as she rushed to get the lizaard back for his actions. Meanwhile, the male was done bucking and side-hopping. He had changed his approach to the unwelcome guest clinging onto his back. If trying to throw her off wasn't going to work, then scraping her off would have to do - and to that end, he was now charging full-speed towards a nearby, tall spruce tree, intent on colliding or brushing his side against it... And unless the archer on his back had legs made out of stone, getting your limb caught between a fast-moving mass of muscles, and a static pillar of several tons of weight, wasn't likely a recipe that would end well. The guard, over by the sidelines, had finally sprung to some kind of action. No longer standing idly by, he'd taken to run all the way back to the pyre, grabbing a thick, burning branch, then sprinting back towards the adventurers. Perhaps even he had a conscience? Or perhaps he just didn't want to get scolded by his superiors after these three gave their reprot to the guild and mentioned his apparent apathy towards their situation... Regardless, with a loud, raspy yell, he hucked the burning torch with all his manly might, launching it in a spinning motion towards the lizardman. With a thud and a sizzlign, crackling noise, it landed off to the side of the red reptilian. "[b]USE THAT![/b]" THe man's words rang out over the myriad of other noises... Though he failed to explain just what exactly what the purpose of this burning piece of lumber was for... Perhaps he assumed the lizard already knew? Meanwhile, back at the spikes, the druid had now managed to cause gashes and cuts in many of the white-laced spikes of wood. Nodding and dropping her sickle to the ground, she once again took hold of her staff with both hands. And with a battle-cry that was less than impressive, and far more too cutesy to intimidate anyone, she once again had at it! Strike after strike, clonk after clonk. However, this time, there wwere actual results. Te sound of cracking wood, the sight of the poles bending and becoming misshapen, the random piece of splintered wood-fragment going flying in a random direction. It was working! Encoruaged by her own success, she gathered all her strength and with a mighty, decisive blow to the gods-forsaken-palisade, she struck true once again and...! [b][i]CRRUNCH! CRACK![/i][/b] The tip of the spike she had been striking broke off, flying downards in a spinning fashion and landing hamrlessly at her feet. The dark skinned girl's eyes went wide and an expression of both joy, relief and wonder washed across her face. Not wasting time though, she immediately dove into the newly made gap with both arms, dropping the staff as well. With rough, hurried motions, she bent and pushed the nearby poles aside and apart, before finally, [i]finally[/i] reaching the tiny piglet stuck inside. It was like a pearl that had been hidden away inside a stubborn, unrelenting clam - frustrating and ridiculous to get to, but now it was finally within reach. Smiling, she gently took hold of the tiny creature's back and slowly hoisted it out of the prison. Setting it down on teh ground, up out of the ditch beside her, she let out a sigh and then closed her eyes once more. Almost at once, the piglet's eyes went wide and its eear perked and twitched. It looked around itself confused, then witnessed the scene unfolding before it... Then turned its head to see the human behind it. In an instant a panicked squee was unleashed from the babe as it barreled towards its parents... Well, barreled wasn't the right word... More like, clumbsily tripping forward... "[b]IT'S FREE! GET AWAY FROM THE PARENTS YOU TWO![/b]" The druid called, worry again spreading across her face as she watched her allies dance with senraged beasts. Hopefully, the sight and sound of their approaching offspring would steal their attention away from her comrades.