Magic Fingers

Astra stared down at him, pity and horror in her eyes. Vincent's eyes had turned inward, he was too busy wondering what had gone wrong to notice Fred's building hysteria. "Maybe I should have used the toad's foot instead of its tongue," he mumbled to himself.

"I CAN'T STAND IT!" Fred screamed and leaped from the table. Astra reached out to him but Fred held out his sharp knife hands threateningly and warned her to stay back. Vincent wondered what all the fuss was about. "I am no longer a man," Fred choked out, self-pity thick in his voice. "I am a monster, no longer fit to live." He raised one menacing finger and held it against his throat. "My only solace is that I succeeded in my quest and killed the evil dragon Minestus. Now, I too must travel to that dark valley of death."

Vincent's sudden cry of, "What did you say?!", startled Fred enough that he failed to slice his own throat and instead gave himself a close shave. "I, uh, well it's like, I mean..." Vincent stared at him with a burning attention. Fred suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Astra jumped in and explained it for him. "Lord Fred was sent to the Southern Caves to kill the evil dragon Minestus. I too had been sent there but had been captured. Fred freed me and killed the fire-wyrm. It was then that a dark force magically sent us to the Calamari Desert and shortly thereafter we came here." Astra looked at Vincent, wondering why he had reacted so. "So what's it too ya?"

Vincent sat down on a nearby chair and pulled a cherry cola from his magical bag. "The great dragon Minestus was not evil," he began with an air of sorrow. "He just fell in with the wrong crowd. All he ever wanted was to live in a simpler world, one without so much noise, so many roads, and all those godawful condos. Sure, he took people against their will and turned them into animals, but he always cared for his animals. He made sure their lives were as happy as anyone's." He looked up at Astra. "I can assure you young lady, it was not he who imprisoned you, wrapped you in chains. That was the work of Zardoz. A more evil and wretched man you will not meet. He is the very embodiment of scum and villainy. And he played Minestus like a fool. He did not deserve to die. Zardoz...now he deserves death a hundred times over."

Fred thought over what Vincent had just said and he wished that he could bring this Zardoz to justice, make him pay for his crimes. Evil wizards were on the top of the Hit List for every knight in the Kingdom, even more than dragons were. "Oh, if only I had HANDS!" Fred cried out in frustration. And then something wonderful happened. A golden shimmer glowed from around his knife fingers and when it disappeared a pair of normal, wholesome skin and bone hands were in their place.

"Hmmmm..." Vincent gazed at the hands. Fred was speechless. Astra beamed with joy. "Can you do something for me, Fred?" Vincent asked. Fred nodded. "Wish that you had a pair of scissor hands." Fred vigorously shook his head 'no'. "Oh come on, give it a try." Fred took a deep breath and made the wish. Sure enough, his scissor hands reappeared in a golden shimmer. Almost immediately Fred wished for his normal hands and once again they replaced the wicked knives, taking their rightful place at the ends of his wrists.

"Now this could come in very handy," Vincent said absently. "I always knew Minestus would come to a bad end if he didn't leave Zardoz's company, but his death is no less unfortunate. Zardoz must pay." Turning his full attention on the brave knight and the amazon princess that fate had brought to his door, Vincent smiled and asked,

1. "How would you two like to begin a new quest?"

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