Fred Learns the Bad News

Fred did find Princess Exotica, though he wished he hadn't, as it was a gruesome sight. Her burned corpse hung from the wall like a Barbie in the hands of Drew Barrymore as the FireStarter! [Plagiarised from 18998] Because she was still chained he could not even bury her, as he did not have the stomach to cut off her hands as he would have needed to do to get her free.

He returned to Princess Astra and told her the news. "That's terrible!" she said. "And if your attempt to free Exotica was somehow detected by the dragon and caused him to fire off that blast of flame, which seems to be implied by the warning that you had from the future Velus, that must mean that any further attempt on your part to free me could provoke something similar and be fatal for both of us."

"Then I suppose all I can do is try to kill the dragon - which after all is my quest. Then I shall be able to free you and the other maidens, assuming that they survive."

"But look at you! You are badly burnt, so that you cannot even wear your armour. [19011] You would have no chance against the beast in your current state. Return home and recuperate, and return once you are healed."

"But that might take weeks if not months! What would happen to you in the meantime?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm a survivor," Astra said stoically.

1. Fred takes Astra's advice, and leaves the caves.
2. Fred decides he cannot possibly delay so long. He must take on the dragon now, and hope for the best. At least his sword is undamaged.
3. Before Fred can make up his mind, the dragon comes to check whether Astra survived his firebolt. He is in his human form, as the tunnel isn't wide enough for him in dragon form. (He has already discovered that Exotica is dead.)

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