Maggie

Fred closed on the woman and spider. He still had Belboz's note about the flamebane mail rolled into one of his sleeves. He removed it. He quickly rolled it into a long, thin cylinder. He tipped one end into the flame of a torch on the wall. The tip of the cylinder glowed! He then thrust the smouldering cylinder downward, holding it close to the woman's leg. The heat and light of the cylinder frightened the spider and drove it off the woman's leg and into the dark.

Fred rose and looked at the woman in the face. "Are you hurt?" Fred asked.

The woman gasped a few times and then caught her breath. "No, no. I don't think that I got bitten," replied the woman. "Spiders are just, whew, scary, especially down here. You came by at just the right time! By the way, Lord Fred, I admire your quick thinking. If you had struck the spider it might have attacked me instead of running away."

"Miss, how did you know who I am? Do I know you?"

"I, uh, sometimes need to know things like that. And as heir apparent of the Duchy of Suffex, you are a man of some importance."

"Ah, fine. I am glad that I could be of service. And happy that I have a good reputation. What is your name, Miss?"

"Magpie. But you can call me Maggie."

"Good, Maggie. I need to free you from these chains. Who captured you? Was it Belboz? One of the dragon's minions? And are they close?"

"They did not give me names. It was a group of three men, about as tall as you. Not as handsome as you. They had scruffy beards and each had a tattoo on his right arm."

"That does not sound like Belboz, then. Am I in immediate danger?"

"I don't think so. They left me here to frighten me so that I would give them some information."

Fred examined the chains while he was talking. Her wrists were bound by iron cuffs, and chains were attached to her cuffs on one end and those links were threaded through a metal staple that was bound to the wall. Her legs were also cuffed, with a chain between the cuffs - but not bound to the wall. Best to unlock or break the cuffs. If that could not be done, it might be possible to find weak links and at least break the chains.

"How long ago did they capture you?"

"Sir, it is hard to tell down here. Not too long I think. Maybe two days?"

"Are you Allarian?" Fred assumed that she was, as she seemed familiar with Allaria and seemed to know him at least by reputation, but it was possible that she came from one of the small border principalities. She was silent and froze for just a few seconds.

She thought, "I have to get myself under control. I am making a mess of things. Why did I tell him that I knew his name? It is good to know who he is, but it is better to not to blurt it out! I recognized him from the miniature that the Baroness showed me, but he does not need to know that I knew. Of course I cannot say that I am working for Her Majesty's Secret Service, or tell him everything about my mission. But he might be able to help. I can't just lie. I better answer. He is going to get suspicious if I don't say something. Tell the truth as much as possible, but conceal what is necessary."

Her answer surprised him.

"Aqualarian, actually. South of the Shreken Range."

"You have come from a long way. Were you captured in Aqualaria and taken here?"

"No, sir. They found me in the caves."

"Really? I saw three silver coins by the junction of an underground stream and a larger river. Were those yours?"

"Yes! I was using them as trail markers so that I could find my way out if I needed to retreat suddenly. My torch betrayed me - I was in an area that is usually dark and I got their attention."

What were you doing here? It is dangerous."

"I could ask you the same thing. By the way, if you can find a thin piece of metal, I think that you can open the staple and slide the end of the chain off. If we can do that, I can hold your torch and we can figure out what to do with the leg chain."

"I have come to mete out justice to the dragon. He has been causing much misery in the north and someone needs to take care of it. But, um, this wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't think that the lair would be this big, and he has apparently added to it since a map that I had was drafted. This is like an underground city. So why are you here?"

"Funny about that. Those men were asking me the same question. But you have a good reputation, and I need to trust someone, so I will tell you as much as I can. But understand, there are some things that I won't be able to tell you."

"I understand. But the more information that you can tell me, the more I can help." Fred held up a light to the staple. He detected a seam on the clamp. He didn't really have a good pick. His sword was sharp, but was too big - its purpose was the fight a dragon. He looked down at his mail.

"Go on," replied Fred, "I am working on the staple."

"They accused me of being a thief. Which I guess I was."

"That would be a very dark pot calling the kettle black. I would not think less of you for trying to claim some of the treasure, although I am sad that you are driven to take such risks. Did you find his hoard?"

"I got close," she said. Fred picked at his suit of mail. Did the clothing that he wore when he entered the cave get transformed into the great flamebane mail by some enchantment of Belboz's? Or did he find the mail in the caves? The dim light and close air of the cave disoriented him just a little, and was playing tricks with his memory. He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. As he rolled the hem between his thumb and index finger, a link slid off. He was able to straighten the link. He had his pick!

She continued, "I was here for one specific thing. It is not something that I would melt down for the gold or silver, or sell. I am going to tell you, because you may need to know, and I think that I can trust you. It is an alabaster jar. It is the sort that a woman would use for storing perfume or ointment. It is pinkish-white, with alternating dark and light vertical strips. It is beautiful, but not the most beautiful thing in the dragon's treasury. I need to find it."

"Is it a family heirloom?"

Maggie paused. She said, "Well, honestly, no. I never owned it. I just need to retrieve it, and, uh, bring it back. If you could help, it would be appreciated."

Fred fiddled with the pick. Clink! The staple opened and Maggie's chains slid off. Her hands were free at least.

"Thank you, Lord Fred! Anyway, I was not expecting competition. There are two others that may be looking for this same item. One is a scholar and a doctor. The other is a woman that has recently joined him. I am not sure that they know exactly what they are looking for. They are aware that there is an artifact, but I don't think that know what it looks like. I am afraid that they are going to conclude that it is the same jar that I am looking for. I am almost concerned about them as I am about the dragon and his minions."

1. Fred is able to remove the leg cuffs, and Maggie can move freely.
2. Fred is not able to remove the leg cuffs.

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