Problem is an understatement. Raistlin hurries towards where he left Need, cursing himself. She'd said to leave her - she'd wanted to have a talk with Guts, and he'd been heading towards the makeshift healer's tent, and she'd said she would be fine, just set her on the rock near the big man's camp, and he'd simply assumed she wouldn't allow herself to be carried off by those strange little creatures. Gnomes, apparently. Not like any gnome he's ever seen.

There they are, skittering - too fast. He hitches up his skirts and breaks into a brief run, one that leaves him fighting off a cough as he skids to a stop, using the Staff of Magius to keep himself upright.

"Stop - " He doubles over briefly, concentration broken. Then he catches his breath and tries again, summoning the magic, letting it flow over the syllables he speaks as if they were a spell. Power makes his words more than a simple request.

"Stop! Put her down!"