[Hookbill the Goomba]

The anything but jolly Santar stepped forwards, shaking the stairs as he went, but not really caring, it would seem. Smilog held desperately onto the railings and began to wail, "Hay, you'll knock us all off!"

"I don't care," said Santar, "You, Smilog, deserve death! But as for Roggie, here!" Santar roared a loud and terrible roar, shaking from head to tow. "You don't know who I was, do you?"

"Of course not," said Roggie, eying up the stairs and wondering weather he could out run the shockwaves created by Santar's footsteps. "But, we must be going. We have a Middle Earth to save, you see."

"I worked in your casino!" cried Santar, bashing his staff against the stairs as hard as he could and making them shake terribly. Smilog was almost sick. "I was one of the first to work at your casino! Yet one day you came up to me and said, 'sorry, you, I'm afraid you're too fat to work here' and you cast me out. Well, ever since then, I've been plotting my revenge."

"And eating chocolate," noted Smilog and immediately wished he hadn’t as Santar hit him across the face with his staff and then advanced towards the group. The manic man's face was growing as red as his cloak and he stared down at Smilog with terrible eyes.

Wondering what to do, Tollin quickly raised his morning star and prepared to strike the man if he came any nearer. But Santar stopped and laughed, "You fools!" he cried, "I cannot be stricken down with mortal weapon!" Tollin did not believe this and struck him anyway, the head of the morning star got stuck in Santar's fat and began to get sucked in. Panicking, Tollin tried to wrench the weapon free, but like quicksand, the more he struggled, the more it got sucked in. Eventually, he let go and Santar took up the morning star and removed it, before casting it back at Tollin. It missed and nearly fell over the edge of the stairs if it had not hit Smilog in the chest as he tried to escape.

"You used to work for me, Dwarf," continued Santar, "after I left the casino, I started up my own place and you served drinks. But one day you got a letter and up and left just when the police discovered I'd put those toxins in the drinks. I was put in prison for twenty years!"

"Twenty years?" cried Smilog in horror, then confusing, "wait, twenty years? I've not been gone that long."

"Erm..." said Santar, "I think there was a time vortex involved in there somewhere... but it matters not! I am here to destroy you! You too Tollin! I know of you!"

"I have no time for this," said Roggie as he threw a metal bar from the stairs at the face of Santar and ran for it. Tollin and Smilog followed on as quick as they could, but thye soon heard the roar of Santar as he thundered after them with unquenchable fury. Solom galloped alongside Smilog and waved at him before leaping onto his face and trying to rip his beard off.

"Hay! You!" cried Smilog, taking the creature off his face, "go away!" Solom saluted and dashed off and began to hug Santar's arms very tightly. The three vagabonds bounded up the stairs at full tilt, as the stairs rapidly began to fall apart behind them. Santar called out in a loud cry,

"Elves, attack them!" and all of a sudden, a cloud of goblins poured out of secret caverns and hollows in the walls and began climbing onto the stairs. Before Smilog could point out that these were not elves, but goblins wearing silly green outfits, Tollin grabbed him and dragged him up the stairs. The goblins were getting closer, but the travellers were nearing the top of the stairs. There was a rock platform and a long thin bridge. The bridge of Kazad Zoom. It was suspended right across the centre of the now dark chasm, the depths of wich were uncknown. It was a slender bridge without kerb or rail that spanned the chasm with one curving spring of fifty feet.

Tollin stood his ground on the stone platform as Smilog dashed across the bridge followed closely by Roggie. When he got to the other side, Smilog saw that Tollin was grossly outnumbered, so he dashed back and drew his axe and began mercilessly hacking away at the goblins. They kept coming thick and fast, arrows flying over their heads and swords clanging and bones shattering as Tollin's morning star (which he had picked up after it hit Smilog) swooped through the ranks.

Suddenly, the Goblins stopped fighting and began to retreat in fear, something had spooked them and they were afraid. Roggie crept behind Tollin and looked at the goblins as the fled in the wake of something that was slowly coming up the stirs. The thunderous noise of Santar’s feet was getting closer and he finally came to the platform and stood before them larger than life (almost literally). He raised his staff and a great torrent of lightning issued forth and just missed Smilog's head. "This is a foe beyond any of you," cried Roggie, "Over the bridge, fly!"

Tollin and Smilog ran with all their speed over the bridge and came to a second platform, before them were some stone stairs leading to a great metal door with a large plaque over it saying "Doom". The enemy reached the bridge. Tollin and Smilog turned to see Roggie stood in the middle of the span, leaning on his sword in his left hand but in his right, his whip of fire shone pale red. His enemy halted, facing him and his cloak stretched forth as he removed it menacingly. Santar raised his staff and lightning whined and cracked. But Roggie stood firm.

"You cannot pass," he said.