News and repsonses to it....

"How do I tell Emry this disastrous news?" Blondin wonders again, aloud.

Feeling that he really does not have a real choice in the matter in that he would lose too much by fleeing, he squares his shoulders and goes to break the bad news to Emry.....

And so he finds out, and he wish he hadn't...

The bruises and other injuries inflicted upon him in Emry's rage are...extensive and take a long time to heal.

In private.

Oh, he's in no danger of dying, and in a pinch he could be called into battle if the need arises, but he'll be sore for days here.

In public it's said that Blondin is meditating and wishes not to be disturbed.

See, as unworthy as "King" Emry might be, he still has garnered loyalty in his subjects and servants (like Blondin)....for that is the way of the Feudal mind set of this world, alas.

That seems that is the people's fate, at least for the moment....

And for those who might bring about a needed change?

"It's....really you?" Duke Dred whispers, looking first at his son and then back at Cederick.

Fred's mother is looking a bit goggle eyed hereself.

At first, he'd been....a bit...er....skeptical about Sir Rodney's claims, loyal subject though he was. That was before he and his wife had actually spoken with the objects of the wild stories he seem to be telling.

Took a while, but for the sake of brevity we'll not go into the long byplay.

Suffice to say the rightful king and Fred knows a few items about the duke and the D'Honaire family that....imposters would not know. But these two seem to know all the family skeletons in the closet are kept (by Fred being the Duke's son and Cederick knowing....by the connections he as the heir apparent).

Fred's parents still haev many questions, but the duke's last one was more rhetorical than anything else. He and his wife were convinced, despite the fantastic claims.

"Did....the other 'Freds' and 'Astras' also.....get transformed throughout their quests against their respective dragons?" Fred's mother asks, glancing down at her son and his love.

Joan

"Many did....but not all were of a permanent nature," I answer, smiling what I hope is a comforting smile to these poor souls, "Many of them were able to be restored as well, but some....."

I trail of for a moment.

"Some transformations were irreversible....and some had been transformed to long and too deeply to wish to return to what they were before," I finish.

The two troubled parents seem to know enough about the nature of certain magicks to understand that, so nod and see. Cederick, however, seems to have caught on to the unstated innner fact that I included myself in the later category.

"What...er....?" he whispers softly, trying to ask without being.....rude.

"I was named Fred before.....and I looked very much like your world's Fred before this." I answer back softly, gesturing a bit at myself as I am now.

Cederick blinks, shakes his head, and mutters something that I rather don't catch.

He'd been eyeing me before, speculatively, but I think I rather scared him off.

Just as well. I'm "in the market" back home "dating" various men I....find attractive, and while Cederick is still handsome enough (and such age difference on Terra Prime and her sister worlds aren't as unusual as back on worlds named Earth) , .....inter-dimensional dating is out of the question!

Heck, we're going to be straining the treaty we have with the Federation enough as it is by teleporting this and the other Duke Dredericks and Lady Champlians as it is for visits now and then with the ones back on Terra Prime (or Nantucket Earth)!

Andrea

Well, it's nice to see that the elder D'Honaires of this world are able to adjust, given enough time. Speaks well of them!

I'm VERY glad that they aren't calling for Dragon Synizn's death, despite the family's long tradition of dragon slayers. That would have made things much harder for us, say the least.

Having a dragon on your side, not having to hide his nature and abilities, will make this mission go much faster than it otherwise could take!

Anyway, the next step in our plan here is to do a two prong approach.

I, the satyres, and the other Champions will be going out now to rescue Exotica's mother from Emry.

Despite Cederick wanting to go, he and the Duke are going to be staying behind to set up the forces to fight the good fight against the forces that will be loyal to Emry.

Even if we take Emry out (capture or kill him) in the course of things, things will take a while to "put to right".

1. We soon decide on a relatively subtle approach in our rescue attempt.....

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