Left alone to her own devices Ariadne's nails tapped a staccato rhythm upon her throne as she considered the next stage of her great plan. The trick of her scheme did not lay so much in the taking of the castle, although that was the greater ambition as time went on. The heart of her current plans was to effectively put the Goblin King out of commission long enough to utterly destroy any credibility he currently had as ruler of the Labyrinth. While Ariad was not above taking things by force she was well aware that sometimes the easiest way to get what one wanted was to play using the current rules at hand. Never mind that she intended to take gross advantage of the standing nature of the game. Winning by way of minor technicalities, after all, was still binding in the world of the Underground. Never mind if her tactics weren't exactly fair.
Ariadne's callous musings were interrupted as her refined ear caught the sound of Junk People and scraping feet on dirt. My my. Was it nearly dusk already? Naturally Ariadne was quite aware of the limited time she had to extract the information she wanted from the dwarf but then again she only wanted to know one tiny little detail before their meeting with Jareth occurred. Any other nuggets of information Ariadne could squeeze out of the hog faced gritty little worm of a gentleman, otherwise know as Hoggle, was icing on the proverbial cake.
Jack spent the majority of the trek across the Arid Flats in silence. After sometime he even disposed of the pitchfork, as Hoggle seemed quite on his way at this point and smart enough to not try anything stupid. The two Junk People followed; waddling along under their piles of junk and muttering to one another in a disgruntled voices and keeping their distance from both Jack and the dwarf.
The Junkman kept a wary eye on Hoggle, but he let his mind wander during the walk, not wanting to get caught in some inane conversation with the dwarf; as tempting as that was. Hoggle, for his part, seemed to return the favor.
Thus, it was some relief to enter the Tunnels, knowing that the end of the journey was near. Jack had no problem navigating the maze-like Tunnels, and at a few points clamped a warning hand on Hoggle's nubby head, as if to remind him that he'd best be on his...better behavior.
It didn't take long to find the Lady's larger chamber of junk. Obviously she'd heard and sensed them coming, so Jack wasted no time making some sort of redundant introduction; instead he gave Hoggle a sharp little shove towards Ariad's makeshift throne. "He cooperated brilliantly Lady," the Junkman offered, sounding almost disappointed. "And, I believe he will cooperate further," he added, this time with no less than a blatant threat in his tone. Folding his arms over his chest, Jack regarded Ariad with his usual sort of languid, but nauseatingly admiring demeanor. He was not expecting much in the way of favor for his task, but he knew she had to be pleased to have had the dwarf brought to her just as she'd ordered...and before sunset to boot!
"Ah, Jack. You've brought me a present I see. As usual your timing is quite excellent. Junk people are so seldom reliable these days." The dark lady drawled.
"As for you my little man; how kind of you to grace use with your presence. Now shall we get down to business?" Ariadne was all politeness and charm but it was obvious to anyone with even a smidgen of sense that a dangerous maniacal edge awaited just under the surface of her pleasant tone. The time was nearly at hand.
"Tell me, Hoggle is it?" Ariadne didn't bother to wait for the dwarf to confirm his name. "Just how does Jareth produce those lovely little crystals he enjoys playing with so much?" Naturally being well versed in magical applications Ariadne already had a competent understanding of what allowed Jareth his versatile use of crystals in his magical work. However there was a specific detail regarding how Jareth went about materializing the crystals themselves that interested the witch.
Ariad leaned forward in her chair and rested her chin on one crossed arm. For all appearances she looked tranquil but if one was paying particular attention they would have noticed the steady tapping of the Lady's foot at the base of the throne. This was a clear indication that if Hoggle wasn't careful to be forthright in his response the witch was liable to loose her patience with him.
So that be yer game ye horrible hag. Hoggle thought to himself darkly. If there was one thing the Dwarf hated it was false respect. At least when Jareth wanted something from him the Goblin King was true to his character about getting it. Being openly patronized by Jareth might have been annoying, even frightening at times, but it was honest. While Hoggle was quite aware just how careful he would have to tread at this moment he was just as skilled as Araidne was at feigning an accommodating persona.
"Cor. Is that what all this be about?" Hoggle waved his hand idly at her. "Well Your Ladyship there weren't any cause te pull ol' me away for THAT bit O' information. But, huh, seeing as I'm here and all..." Hoggle was trying to figure out how he could offer forth a satisfactory answer without actually telling Ariadne anything that she could really use.
"As for Jareth, Ma'am. I don't think anyone rightfully knows how he does ANYTHING." Hoggle replied with a snort.
Ariadne teeth ground ever so slightly upon hearing the dwarfs response. She really hadn't wanted to resort to violence but then again the tried and true methodes we always the most practical at times like these. "I see."
The lady had moved back into full attention and was now sitting up a little too straight upon her throne. The better that Ariadne's posture was while seated, the less genial she was liable to be and at that very moment Ariadne looked poised enough to skin a cat alive with her teeth.
"Well Jack..." The witch said testily. Her words were sharp and fast again which meant she was annoyed. "Obviously our friend here has no further information for us. My my, such a shame. I was so hoping he'd have more to say on the matter...but never a mind. You know Jack, I don't think I've ever told you of my fondness for plastic beads. It's so hard to find more modern materials in the Underground these day and I do so enjoy the lovely durability of plastic Jewelry particularly since it's so rare to find..." A frightening smile appeared once again upon the Lady's lovely face.
Damn. Hoggle thought quickly as the urge to take a step back overwhelmed his flight over fight instincts. The dwarf audiably swollowed when he heard Ariadne mention plastic beads. Had she perhaps seen Sarah's bracelet upon his wrist? Even if she hadn't the mentioning of plastic was uncanny and the dwarf quickly put both hands behind his back as if to keep his most prized posession out of her reach. Hoggle would willingly go to hell before he let this witch get her claws on aything that had once belonged to Sarah.
"huh. Right..." The dwarf said lightly shuffling his feet. "Yes. Well! If that be all I suppose I'll just be heading on home now...lots O' work te do...ye know how it is.." Hoogle chuckled nervously as he did infact take a step backwards towards the exit.
"Oh no no no. We couldn't possibly let you leave that quickly. Seize him Jack, and since the dwarf is of no further use to me as he has already avidly claimed...strip him of his pretties and detain him some place untill we can conclude our business with his Majesty."
Ariadne knew full well the dwarf had a reasonably good idea of what she wanted to know. If polite inquiry didn't work perhaps a little bit more hands on persuasion was required to scare him into being a tad more forth coming.
Jack stood back from Hoggle as the dwarf had his audience with Ariad; leaning a shoulder up against the entryway of the room with typical casual flair, arms crossed, a hand straying to scratch at the stubble on his chin now and then. He appeared uninterested and rather off guard, but in fact he was paying extremely close attention and quite ready to snatch the dwarf should he attempt to make a foolish escape. He'd played this role many times for the Lady, and he played it very well indeed.
The Junkman offered a snort at Hoggle's vain attempt at ignorance. The act probably would have worked on many others, but not in this room. Jack didn't think particularly highly of the dwarf, but he did not underestimate Hoggle's cleverness. Ariad had been wise to snatch him up for information, he knew a lot, but getting it out of him was obviously going to be no easy task.
"Plastic beads my Lady?" Jack replied; brows arching as he played smoothly along with her. "Why, no...I don't believe you've ever told me of this particular fondness...how very interesting." Of course, Jack would have brought her hundreds of thousands of plastic beads had that been the truth; and he would even have had the foresight enough not to mention that such things were favored by children and cheap tarts up in the Above.
Jack's gaze flickered to the dwarf's wrists as Hoggle quickly wrapped them around his back upon hearing Ariad's 'fondness' for such a thing. A childish looking plastic bracelet marked itself amongst the dwarf's other adornments. Saying nothing, but flashing a smirk, the Junkman remained were he was; that was until Ariad ordered him to intervene in the situation. "Gladly my Lady," he muttered with satisfaction.
"Chatty time's over old boy," Jack snapped; taking a surprisingly quick step forward and snatching Hobble by the frayed hem of his shirt and bodily dragging him backwards. "'I've got just the place in mind for you chum, and once we get you all nestled in and cozy like...I think I'll take a look at your assortment of lovely pretties..."
As he drug Hoggle off, Jack lifted his gaze to offer Ariad a dark smile.
Ariadne ticked her tongue as Hoggle was being dragged from the large room. "Such a shame..." It was clear that the dwarf was far too wise on Ariadne for her to effectively question him herself. Such was the price of having presence of being. She was however deeply certain that at the hands of Jack the dwarf would be far more willing to speak candidly when one considered the two gentleman were on more equal footing and that Hoggle was more afraid of what Jack WOULD do to him rather then what he knew Araidne COULD do instead.
If necessary Ariad supposed she could always have Jack guess where the Goblin King was most vulnerable. The draw back there being that if Jack didn't know where to strike Jareth he could either kill the Goblin King outright or risk the chance of Jareth retaliating. Both scenarios were HIGHLY undesirable. At this point it would be mostly impossible to strip Jareth of his magical abilities, that however didn't mean he couldn't be maimed to the point of making those abilities VERY difficult to effectively operate.
At any rate, Ariadne was running out of time. Lucky for her, plans could always be adapted to fit her needs. Hopefully Jack would alleviate the problem for her by finding out what she needed to know.
---
Sometime later, and further into the scattered and darker depths of the tunnels, Jack stood in front of what appeared to be a makeshift cell, and in fact that was just what it was.
The cell itself had been there for sometime, used quite often during Ariad's initial take over of the Arid Flats, it had been inhabited by a number of Junk People in those days, most of whom were no longer living. Ironically, and Jack did love this, the cell was constructed of junk. Although that should come as little surprise given the nature of the Tunnels themselves. And although it looked just as haphazard as the rest of the junk structures, it was quite well built and sturdy. There were no bars, but a series of small square shaped openings in the front side; the rest of the sides were fully closed and literally attached to the surrounding junk walls with surprise, even more junk.
Jack stood facing the wall with the openings, but his attention was on the ground in front of him, where Hoggle's 'pretties' were spread out in a neat line of inspection; silly trinkets and baubles most of them. But Jack wasn't called "The Junkman" for nothing, he knew his junk, and more importantly his pretties.
Crouching down on his heels, Jack began a swift and adept inspection of the pretties; holding each one up, turning it over, even giving a few of them a bite between his teeth to test some sort of supposed validity. "My, my Hoggle," he mused as he went about his business, "...this is a whole bloody lot of trash you've accumulated here..." Then again, Jack wasn't one to talk, and his interest in the items couldn't be denied.
At the end of the row of pretties was the plastic beaded bracelet that had caught his and obviously Ariad's attention earlier. It was by no accident that Jack had left that one for the last. And so it came as no surprise that he paused rather dramatically when he reached the plastic bracelet; picking it up preciously between forefinger and thumb and holding it up so that Hoggle, at his cell 'windows' could clearly see it. "Ah but this, this is a special type of pretty isn't it Hoggle?" Jack wheedled with a wry grin. "You would trade this for all your pretties now wouldn't you?" Jack's gaze danced between the bracelet and Hoggle's face with a sadistic sort of pleasure. "Hrm yes, I do think,...and this is just an educated guess of course, that this lovely little pretty once belonged to a lovely little girl didn't it?"
The Junkman shook his head in pity, still dangling the bracelet. "How silly, what we do for girls...what we hang on to, to remember them eh? Silly indeed, that they tend to go on with their own vapid lives without us hrm? It's so easy to forget us ungainly types isn't it Hoggle?" There was at least a slight bit of understanding behind those words, but then in an instant Jack turned cruel.
He snatched the bracelet up into his palm and made a sharp move towards the small cell windows. 'Spill it Hoggle!" He hissed; baring his teeth. "Or I swear I'll tear this piece of trash to bits and spread the beads around every corner of this blasted Kingdom!" For emphasis he produced the bracelet again and gave ti a nasty yank in two separate directions.
"Arrrrgh! All right! All right!" Hoggle shouted miserably. "Not that it be any O your business or nuthin buts maybe I do know a thing er two about His Majesty. So what? It ain't as if it's going to help ye any...Cor. You lot are acting as if y'are intending to take over the castle. Well I tell you one thing to that end...getting rid O Jareth won't help you achieve what ye really want Jack Basil despite the satisfaction I suspect you intend te get out of besting His Majesty. As soon as that she-devil Ariadne gets her claws on the Labyrinth's power you can bet your an my life'll be over. I did what I did befores because Sarah was me friend...probably the only REAL friend I ever had up te that point. AND she still be my best friend to this day which is a hell O' a lot more then YOU can probably say about that harpy woman ye be serve'n back there."
" I's don't really see what you're all tight about anyways. It weren't like anyone round here did anything nasty te you...You and that rat Jareth er enough O' like to give me a stomach ache." The dwarf muttered under his breath huffily.
"What you be wanting from me anyways? How does that witch in there THINK Jareth does his tricks? O wave of the hand and presto! Simple as that. I'm just O dwarf I dunno how it works...the important thing is that it does!" The dwarf spat.
Hoggle watched in horror as the Junkman virtually destroyed Sarah's bracelet right before his very eyes. "You really are a right cruel bastard Jack..." Hoggle muttered sullenly in low tone.
Hoggle snorted. "Anyone with eyes can tell which hand His majesty prefers. If ye watch him enough ye learn that most of his bite come from his right side. Likes I already said a wave O' the hand and presto."
"Go ahead take the whole lot of it. No matter what I tell ya, ye'll probly do it anyways..." At this the dwarf sighed and plopped himself down on the ground, It appeared the Hoggle had finally had quite enough of the whole ordeal. "You want te hurt Jareth it's as simple as hitting em in the right place...assume'n ye can even get close enough te do that."
"Do save your compliments Hoggle, flattery will get you nowhere," Jack replied dryly; utterly dismissing the broken bracelet scattered on the ground now that it had served its purpose.
Ah, but yes, things were now getting somewhere. The Junkman listened intently as the dwarf offered, finally, a bit of useful information. Of course, it made sense; although it didn't entirely solve the whole mystery of 'how' the Goblin King produced the crystals, it did provide him, and in turn Ariad, a clue as to exactly where Jareth's vulnerable spot was.
"Never you mind the getting close bit, that'll be taken care of," Jack muttered; crouching down next to the window again so he could see Hoggle seated on the ground in miserable defeat. Jack propped an elbow on the little window's edge, his usual casual demeanor back in full form now that things had taken a turn for the better. He flashed a snarky half smile. "Keep talkin' little man...you're on a roll, as we say in the Above and besides, you're less likely to end up a lawn ornament in front of my home the more useful talk I hear out of you..."
"I ain'ts got it in me te tell you nothing else. Besides I'm willing te bet Is already said enough as it is. Jareth'll have me throat for sure assume'n ye and that witch don't save em the trouble." The dwarf snorted again as he crossed his arms and grumbled to himself.
"Mark my words Jack I knows His Majesty better then anyone in this here Labyrinth and maybes anywhere else. Ye kick Jareth when he's down and you'll be liable to lose alot more then ye bargained for if he ever gets himself back up. They're aint no such thing as a free shot round here. But I ain't gunna say no more. Do what ye might to me..." To this end the dwarf was resolved as refused to say anymore nor even look at the Junkman.
"Save the advice dwarf," Jack shot back testily. But all in all, he was happy enough to have at least gotten what he had out of Hoggle. If Ariad wanted more from him, she could damn well interrogate the stubborn pain in the ass herself; and Hoggle wouldn't even know what hit him when she got her claws into him. Actually, Jack found that thought rather appealing, now that he'd conjured it up in his mind. Perhaps he should hold back some information worth being interrogated for...
Pulling himself out of that rather...lurid musing, the Junkman stood; offering Hoggle a satisfied smirk. "Right, well...we'll see if your little confessional was enough for the Lady's liking or not...no promises mate, she's a fickle one." He looked down at the ground; kicking at the stray plastic beads still littering the area. "In the meantime, you enjoy your cozy little home there, and if you have the time, hah, you might consider what it'll be like to be torn to shreds by a pack of Junk People...," Jack shrugged; obviously playing it all up, "Eh, who knows maybe we'll just leave you there to rot...might be a better option..."
With those parting words, Jack turned and strolled out of the small corner chamber. He traversed the maze of tunnels to Ariad's chamber with a sense of accomplishment. No, it hadn't been all that much, but he'd learned to savor even the small victories in this world.
---
He found the Lady at her usual place; appearing as icy calm and still as ever. "The braggart talked," he stated dryly; stopping a few feet from her makeshift throne. "It's not much my Lady, but I think it will give us the upper hand..." Jack then proceeded to tell Ariad the extent of Hoggle's useful given information regarding Jareth's weakness. "It's his right side...always has been...," he concluded with a hint of self blame, "...I should have noticed it all along..."
Ariadne's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as jack relayed the information provided to him by the now detained and miserable Hoggle. That being said the dark Lady's expression remained unchanged making it impossible to tell if she was actually displeased with Jack's oversight or not. "It is enough Jack. Of THAT I am quite sure."
Ariadne's eyes narrowed even further as her hands clenched into tight fists once more before she automatically released them and stood. "Come we must haste! I want to arrive on the bluff first. It would be...most unbecoming...to be late to our own party. We must make with our plans immediately! The time is at hand. Ha ha!"
Ariad clapped her hands together sharply and as if on cue a tall (or taller then the average for a junk person) came forth. There was an almost Chinese look about the creature's features and it was indeed wearing a trash can lid for a hat adding to the effect. The junk persons height and shine to his junk indicated the creature had more status then most of the rest and the various bottles and colorful jars was a clear indication that the creatures chief obsession was magically related.
"Go and prepare yourself Jack, fore this is your time more than my own. It would not do to have that fool Jareth catch us unaware." The junk person bowed to Ariadne and offered her forth one of his many potions for her to take from him.
"Oh and Jack...one more little detail before you go." Ariadne paused as a wicked smile curled upon her lips. "If by chance you happen to fail in your endeavor upon the bluff with our dear Goblin King...I can simply not be responsible should he decide to kill you out of retaliation. While Jareth does not have the taste for blood I do so admire in a being such as he and myself, he is not above striking his enemies down in vicious...vicious...manners." At that statement Ariad dismissed him so that Jack could get into proper position out of sight upon the bluff before either of them arrived.
It was hard to say if Ariadne's perspective of Jareth was accurate. But even if the Goblin King proved to be not quite the unsavory character the Lady painted him as, there could be no doubt that the definition of vicious DID greatly apply to her own twisted grasping nature.
Ariadne's chilly and unsettling reaction to the information that Jack had extruded out of the dwarf was unexpected...and yet it most certainly wasn't. The Junkman should have known to expect something like this; she was pleased, but she was also ruthless. Her plans were falling into place, and there was little time to waste.
Jack stood with a prominent frown on his face as the taller, Chinese inspired, Junk Person came lumbering by to the Lady's side; his bottles rattling. To Ariad's suggestion to prepare, Jack nodded dully; turning to leave the room with something of a lacking enthusiasm.
When she spoke up again, he arched a brow as he looked at her over his shoulder. The threat in her tone was not to be missed; nor was the devious sort of amusement she was getting out of it. "I wouldn't expect any less of you my Lady," Jack replied coldly, "...nor Jareth. The prospect of death does not frighten me..." With that, he left the room.
Jack spent less time than one would expect preparing. He wasn't a very nervous or methodical man by nature; things happened, and he knew what he was capable of. On the prospect of dying by Jareth's hands, it was true he wasn't really frightened...but he didn't exactly cherish the thought either. Being dead would be the only solace to be had if he was bested by the Goblin King; he wouldn't want to face the humiliation...nor Ariad's disappointment for that matter.
Jack had lived far longer than a human being was intended to, and with that sort of jaded foresight, one began to grow a little excited at the prospect of even a possible death; it was something new...something he hadn't experienced yet. Now, that certainly didn't mean he was about to welcome it with open arms...
Smoking habitually in the chaos that was his living room, the Junkman sat in a sort of meditative silence; casually moving large items of furniture around the room just to get a little loose with his thoughts. He then spent a few moments looking at himself in the oddly shaped mirror on his wall; considering if possibly going to his death unshaven and bedraggled was a bad thing or not. Deciding that it would be grossly out of character to appear otherwise, he shrugged on a craggy looking leather jacket, tore off his necktie and left his home in the fading light of dusk...possibly for the last time.
The designated bluff was not too far away, and Jack reached it before any others...as was planned. Crouching down behind a rough outcropping of rocks on the higher ground, he waited; keenly scoping out the area for his soon-to-be weapons against the great and mighty Jareth.
---
Hoggle was feeling right sorry for himself as he rotted away in the cell of Junk back in the tunnels. Getting his jewels taken away was one thing but watching Jack destroy the only gift he'd ever gotten from someone in his life was infinitely worse. "I'm sorry, Sarah. Buts I dinta know what else te do..." The dwarf muttered miserably to himself.
Hoggle couldn't help but feel as if something horrible was happening somewhere in the Labyrinth and that it was all his fault. "Damn that Jack! Damn that witch Ariadne! And...damn me, too!" Hoggle whimpered as he glanced over at the spot Jack had allowed the plastic bead to drop. hoggle had half a mind to try and reach through the bars of his prison to collect the broken bits of Sarah bracelet but he already new he was to far away.
"If only Sarah were here. She'd know what te do." Hoggle lamented.
It didn't take long for whispers of Hoggle's capture and detainment to spread among some of the more brazen Junk People. In general most were wise enough to keep the information quietly to themselves for fear of Jack or Ariadne putting their heads on stakes is retaliation of their loose tongues. Still for those who listened for such interesting information the tidbit was indeed intriguing.
"So that stuffy little dwarf man finally got what was coming to him. Serves him right too! Doesn't know what's good fer him! But Agnes knows!" The junk woman cackled darkly to herself as she made a slow trek to go pay a little visit to the prisoner himself.
Hoggle was just starting to doze off into a moderately depressed, (what else better was there to do after all?) when he heard the tell tale sound of pots rattling. Great the poor dwarf wasn't even going to have the privilege of a decent nap because the blasted junk people were more active in the late even hours.
"Awrrr, go away! Fer cripes sake don't Is deserve any common curtsey round here..." Hoggled grumbled as he huddled against the nearest junk wall.
"Complain, complain, complain, that all your ever good fer, that's for sure. Ha!" Crooned Agness the Junk Lady as she maneuvered her way near the bars to glare at Hoggle through the slots. "Right nasty predicament ya got yer self into here, eh Sonny?"
Agnes cackled where she stood causing her junk to clatter.
"Shut up, you. If it aint bad enough I'm stuck in this pit, I don't need a lecture from you thanks. Don't ye have some trash heap te be picking through?" Hoggle muttered indignantly.
"Well if yer going to take THAT attitude with old Agnes then you can forget about me doing YOU any favors..." The junk woman said huffily a she began to turn away. "Ungrateful old git. I come all the way over here to help that pimple nosed fart out and he throws it back in Old Agnes' face. Servers him right to sit there and ROT!"
Hoggle's eyes went wide as he realized Anges had actually been serious about doing him some good and instantly began to back track. "Wait! Wait, I'm sorry! Don't leave me here for THEM ta get me!" Hoggle wasn't above many things, and was perfectly willing to engage in begging when it came to preserving his miserable insignificant life.
"Ah now THAT's more like it..." Agnes grinned slyly and turned back to peer at the dwarf.
"So what'll it take fer you to spring me from this joint?" Hoggle asked tactfully as he got to his feet and came to the bars.
"Sorry dwarf man. Agnes knows better than to stick her nose too far in where it don't belong. But a...I suppose if ye had something to exchange I could certainly consider passing yer where abouts on to someone who could spring you from that there cage..." Junk people were all about bargain hunting. Agnes would have likely passed the information on to someone regardless but if she got something personal out of the deal to add to her personal collection of junk then all the better.
Hoggle narrowed his eyes as the shrewd Junk Woman as he considered his options. As it currently stood Jack had stripped him of all his valuables and the dwarf knew better then to suggest that Agnes take something back from jacks haul. Then something occurred to him. There were always the plastic beads to barter with. Hoggle figured Jack would have no real interest in the broken bits of Sarah's bracelet and now that it was pretty much destroyed there was no point in Hoggle keeping it.
"Er...how do ye feel about beads Agnes?" Hoogle inquired carefully.
"Hmmm. I suppose that depends on what kind ye be talking about. Why you thinking of making a trade?" Agnes replied suspiciously.
"Maybe so. It just so happens that I know where to find some top notch PLAA-SSSST-ICK beauties right from the Above. If ye be willing to go fetch me some help ye can have the whole lot of em." Hoggle offered.
"What color?" the question seemed unorthodox given that Junk People usually weren't that picky but Agnes was a top notch bargain hunter never the less.
"Erum..." Hoggle struggled to think up something more creative to capture Agnes interest and failed opting instead to just be straight about it with her. "Pink."
"Well why didn't you just say that to begin with!?! You've got yourself a trade. Just point em out and I'll be on my way.
Hoggle stared at Agnes slack jawed before recovering as he pointed out where the beads had been scattered in the dirt. Agnes made something of a show picking them all up but in a matt3er of minutes the Junk Woman had collected up her toll and was carefully making her way out into the maze. Cackling all the way.
"Oh God I can't believe I'm relying on a JUNKLADY te save my sorry hide." Hoggle was as good as lost as far as the dwarf was concerned and settled back against the wall to contemplate his fate.
