Fabian had been running for about fifteen minutes and he was pretty sure he had managed to shake the last of his pursuers. A number of the gold coins had fallen out of his hands as he had run, but he hadn't had time to stop and retrieve them. Nonetheless, he felt he had escaped with a tidy little haul.

After another fifteen minutes had passed and a few more gold coins had dropped out of his hands, he began to suspect he was running around in circles. Hadn't he seen that exact same tree with the brightly colored foliage at least twice before? "Stupid enchanted forests," he mumbled to himself. "I'm probably caught in some sort of magical loop. Well, I know how to fool this. I'll go back in the direction I came from! That'll teach this stupid enchanted forest what's what." He shoved the remaining coins into his pocket and turned himself around.

Thirty minutes later he emerged back in the clearing where the leprechaun and the pirates were currently engaged in some sort of argument. They immediately stopped in mid-sentence and turned to stare at him.

"Apparently those were three remarkably similar looking trees I saw. No magical loops after all. Well, nice seeing you fellows again. I'd best be on my way." He turned around and took off running again.

"Arrr! I'll give a reward of fifty pieces of eight to the man who brings me his head!"

He wasn't quite sure if the pirate captain or leprechaun had said this. He did hear the parrot squawk "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

The sound of a large number of feet trotting behind him suggested he was not doing as effective of a job of losing his pursuers this time.

"Psst!" he heard a high-pitched call from off to his left.

He turned to see a thin creature with large eyes, pale skin, and pure white long hair beckoning him over. Glancing over his shoulder he didn't see anyone else behind him at the moment so he paused to talk to the creature. "What do you want?"

"You look like you need a place to hide. I would like to help you." It proceeded to utter a chant in a strange tongue and a hole opened up in a large boulder nearby revealing an empty space inside. "Quickly, duck in here. You will not be found."

Fabian figured he didn't have time to argue, so he dove head-first into the entrance to the boulder. The creature followed him inside and with another chant sealed the boulder behind them.

Fabian now found himself in a tightly enclosed space with the creature. "Thanks, pal. Uh, why exactly are you helping me?"

"Because I think you are cute," the creature said.

"Well, that's nice," Fabian said. "Er, what exactly are you?"

"I am a wood elf. The Enchanted Forest has been my home for nearly nine hundred years."

"That's a long time," Fabian said. "Say, I bet you've managed to collect some valuable, um, I mean interesting stuff during that time."

"Oh, indeed I have. I collect cute things. Like you."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going," Fabian said. "Are you planning on keeping me forever?"

"That depends on how entertaining I find you," the wood elf replied.

"What do you mean by entertaining?" Fabian asked. "You're not planning on making me your sex slave, are you? I can't even tell if you're a man or a woman. Not that it matters to an open minded and tolerant individual such as myself."

"Oh, goodness no. I am still but a child. That sounds absolutely yucky. No, I would like to hear tales of adventure."

"Well, in that case you're in luck, because I happen to be Fabian the great hero and adventurer. This one time I single-handedly faced down a giant red wyvern. It swooped down at me from above when it thought I wasn't looking, but I'm super observant. I'm aware of everything that goes on around me at all times. I dodged out of the way and then scrambled up a tree, whereupon I was able to leap upon its back. It bucked and struggled mightily, but I held on and managed to climb up its neck and slit its throat."

"Wow, that sounds heroic," the wood elf said.

"It was very heroic," Fabian said. "Because, as I believe I already mentioned, I am a great hero. Did I mention that red wyverns are the most dangerous kind of wyverns?"

"This is fantastic news!" the wood elf. "If you can defeat a giant red wyvern single-handedly, then surely you can defeat one measly ogre."

"An ogre?" Fabian said. "I could take out an ogre blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back."

"Good! Then I shall take you immediately to the ogre's cave where my parents have been imprisoned for the past fifty years."

"You know, ogres are really beneath my talents," Fabian said. "I mean, I'm a busy man and the world needs my skills. You got a hydra threatening an entire kingdom or an evil demon lord threatening to destroy the entire planet, then I'm your guy. But an ogre? Waste of time. Why don't you get one of those pirates out there to do the deed for you?"

"But they're not cute like you."

"Not cute?" Fabian sputtered. "Nonsense. You just need to grow an appreciation for real men who have beards and scars and hooks for hands. Now if you don't mind, kid, I've got lots of important stuff to do and I need to get going."

"Not until you promise to kill the ogre that holds my parents captive. For a hero like you, it should only take a few minutes of your time."

"That's true," Fabian said. "Let me get this straight. I promise to kill this ogre and then you let me go? You got yourself a deal, kid." He figured he could always break his promise and walk right out of the forest once the elf let him out of the boulder.

The wood elf uttered another chant and Fabian felt a tingling sensation as a bright light glowed around him. "Now you are bound by your promise. You may not leave the forest until the ogre is dead."

"What?" Fabian said. "You magically bound me? Seriously? I'm a man of my word. When Fabian makes a promise, it's as good as done. I can't believe you would insult my integrity like this. Also, you seem to be pretty skilled at magic. Why don't you take out this ogre yourself?"

"The ogre wears a talisman that makes him resistant to all magic. That is why I need a great hero and warrior such as yourself to vanquish this monster."

"A talisman that makes him resistant to magic, you say. That sounds like it ought to be worth a lot of gold shillings. All right, kid. You win. Show me the way to this ogre."