The sheer number of people made William want to turn and run away. Crowds made him uneasy, and loud, active crowds made that ten times worse. His back came up against Nathaniel's great bulk as he tried to back away.

"You don't like parties?" Nathaniel asked, looking down at his friend.

"Not really," William replied shakily. "Too many people make me really anxious."

"Here," he offered, "put on a mask and nobody will know who you are." He was referring to a table nearby with dozens of masks of various kinds piled up on it, apparently free for anyone to wear who needed a mask.

"That's not a bad idea," William admitted, moving to the table to pick out a mask. 

After some consideration (and a lot of nervous energy,) he finally grabbed a mask that looked like a goblin face, with a long curved nose with a wart on it. He strapped it on and concentrated on being a goblin instead of himself. To his surprise, the anxiety actually began to recede, making it possible for him to enter the fray of unstoppable and continually moving dancers and revelers.

He stuck to the fringes of the party, hugging the wall as he would have at any party or gathering. He was looking for passages leading out of there, not trying to join the party. 

A couple of beautiful ladies emerged from the whirlwind of dancers and moved towards him, which made him freeze in his tracks like a prey animal trying to avoid the notice of a nearby predator. It didn't work. The two ladies each grabbed one of his arms and tried to pull him out into the dance, laughing and saying that they wanted him to dance with them.

This made his anxiety peak higher than it was when the first entered the courtyard. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweaty, he was short of breath, and his eyes darted around searching for an escape route that didn't exist.

The girls swung him around, first one and then the other, then both at the same time. He was terribly nervous at first, and tried to pull away several times. But after awhile, he began to have fun and enjoy himself, forgetting about the crowds around him. He danced and laughed with the pretty girls, both wearing black lace masks that accentuated their beautiful eyes.

Now his heart was racing for a different reason. Two beautiful women flirting with him and dancing him around the courtyard would be enough to excite any man. And for awhile he was able to forget his anxieties, his depression, and just have fun.

It only lasted a short while, however. The song ended, the girls both gave him a kiss on each cheek,, and then disappeared back into the daunting crowd. As quickly as he could politely manage, he made his way to the wall once again, where his friends were still waiting for him. It was definitely time to leave this place.

Continuing around the courtyard, the only other egress they found was behind and to the left of the bandstand. Marking the entrance, they fled the masquerade ball and into darkness. It was so dark, in fact, that William had to keep a hand on one wall just to be sure he was going in a straight line.

The walls suddenly disappeared, leaving them with their back to the hedge row, and a low hill ahead with what looked to be cottages dotting the whole hill, some with lamps burning inside or on the porch, while others looked dark and deserted. All of them looked to be in poor repair.

The sky was a uniform gray of thick clouds, allowing only thing light through; just enough to see where they were going. William began to despair that this Wizard was even real, let alone the possibility that they would ever reach him. But that was the story of his life; despair. 

"Oi there," A high-pitched female voice called, "what are you doin' 'ere?"

A tiny woman, looking rather like a Muppet, had come out of one of the nearer shacks and was staring at them accusingly.

"What's this?" a male Muppet-ish man asked, coming out of another shack. "What do ye want?"

Within minutes there were dozens of small Muppet people pouring out of the buildings of the village, all asking questions of a similar nature.

"Ye don't belong 'ere," and "what do ye want then?"

"I don't feel very welcome here," Nathaniel noted, a note of anxiety in his voice.

They were being surrounded by a sea of tiny people and William was looking for a way out. Apparently size didn't matter to his anxiety of crowds.

"You don't belong here," more than one of them said.

"We don't want your kind here," more of them said.

"You're not welcome here," they were all speaking over one another in an overlapping wave of anger and dismissal washing over William and pushing him away, only there was no place for him to go. They were completely surrounded with no way out.

Panic overtook him. He began to shove his way through the crowded little people in a random direction, offering apologies as he did so; "Excuse my. Sorry. Let me by please."

Before he knew it, he was at the very top of the hill in the center of the village and still surrounded by a sea of disapproval and unwelcome. Once again he took off towards the far side of the hill, not even apologizing for now for pushing his way through them, just desperate to be gone from this place.

His foot caught on something and he went down to the ground. The little Muppet-people continued yelling, but now they resorted to kicking him and throwing things at him. William squeezed his eyes shut tight and put his arms over his head to protect himself. It was a primal need to protect himself more than thinking that he would really be hurt.

"Enough!" the monstrous roar startled everyone including William as Nathaniel shoved the little people away and grabbed William, picking him up and striding down the hill away from the unfriendly village. "You're okay," he assured William as he carried him away from the little mob.