The Pen is not Mightier than the Sword, but Could Be Potent

To Astra's relief, Belboz placed the crystal back in a pocket.

"What is his purpose?" Astra wondered. Part of it appeared to be further torturing her, and in that it was working. She had a huge secret that she could not tell, and was a silent partner to some sort of scheme that was at the least mischevous, and could be far worse. Yet she had no way of telling the two victims. Who knew what he had done to Fred under the guise of "healing"?

However, Astra was not fully without hope. Belboz was arrogant, and prone to carelessness. He apparently had not noticed that Checker's stylus was quite sharp, and could be an effective, though limited, weapon against Belboz. She had grasped this potential weapon at least twice in his presence. Her problem was getting the two dragonslayers to see the truth. To do that, she would have to get Belboz to overplay his hand, and either get caught in a lie or angry enough to reveal his true personality. He would be very dangerous in that state, so she would have to plan carefully, and hope that she could take advantage of such an opportunity.

1. Fred wakes up, feeling refreshed and healed.
2. Checkers asks Belboz how the crystal works.

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