Verbal Fencing
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 16911
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Fred and Thessamar ix'latl, known as "Astra", continued to follow Velus,
who had claimed that he knew
where the dragon slept. [9] They both had their doubts concerning his
navigational skills by now, however. They had been
forced to retrace their steps too often to have any great confidence that
Velus really
had a grasp of all the hundreds of tunnels and chambers that made up the
Southern Caves.
But they had no real alternative to letting the teen-dog lead them and hoping for the best, for they knew that they could not hope to find their way unaided. The map that the King had given Fred had only covered the journey as far as the entrance into the caves. Fred had had no idea that the place would prove to be such a maze, or he would have thought twice about accepting his quest. What glory was there to be had if you had little chance of even finding your quarry, but instead wandered aimlessly until at last you exhausted your supplies and died of hunger or thirst? Fortunately he had sufficient supplies for some days yet, though they were now dwindling twice as fast as he had anticipated, since he had to feed Astra as well as himself. As to what Velus found to eat, Fred preferred not to speculate, but he seemed not to need to eat anything from Fred's pack. In contrast to Fred, Astra felt a little more cheerful than before. At least she now had a weapon, even if it was only the femur of the skeletal scribe whom Fred had destroyed. She hefted it as they walked, hoping that its antiquity would not mean that it would disintegrate if she attempted to use it as a club. After a long silence, Fred said: "We have discussed your name, Princess, but I too have a name. You know it, yet you never seem to use it when you address me." "Do not take it personally, Lord Frederigo. We of Aqualaria have always been distrustful of men. Yet once - not so long ago - I so forgot myself as to fall in love with a man, and he proved to be evil. So you will understand if I prefer to keep our relationship a cool one. Do not think that I am ungrateful for your freeing my from my fetters, though I confess I find it a little galling that I needed rescuing by a man." They continued walking, whilst Fred mulled over Astra's words. At least he had got her to call him "Lord Frederigo", even if he was probably still a long way from getting her to call him "Fred". Then the Princess spoke again: "I am curious about one thing, Lord Frederigo. Since I was cursed, almost every man I have met has stared at me. Yet you do not. Tell me: is it that you prefer to lie with men?" Fred turned a bright red. Then he said:
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JH
8/5/2001 7:26:32 AM
Extending Enabled
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