Rift Sees the Chance for a Big Payday

Astra finally said: "Whatever we do, we had better not take too long about it. The Crystallic may have turned us back to human, but it hasn't undone my pregnancy." And she pointed to where a slight bowing of her belly was just visible under her clothes. "It looks as though Malachi was wrong in thinking I couldn't be transformed back whilst pregnant. The Crystallic must be even more powerful than she thought. Assuming my children will now be human," she went on, "I'd guess I must be about four or five months gone. Abortion is against my beliefs, so in a couple of months at the most my adventuring is going to have to cease for a while. I just hope there won't be too many babies. A fox litter may be five or six, but I doubt whether my body could cope with that - unless the Crystallic has even thought of that too (for I think there must be some strange sort of intelligence within it from what we've seen it do). I think we should seek out Synizn. He should be able to explain to us more of what the Crystallic is capable of, and perhaps the history of Minestus and Malachi."

From what he had heard, that empty bottle on the grass must be the Crystallic, thought Rift. Even if he himself could not control it, many a mage would pay a king's ransom for such a powerful artifact. Fred and Astra seemed so engrossed in their conversation, that perhaps he could grab it before they could react. Then he could either run for his horse, and hope to outdistance them, for he didn't fancy taking them on in a fight, or he could hope he could use the Crystallic against them.

Rift propelled himself from his lying position and grabbed the Crystallic...

1. And attempted to escape with it.
2. And attempted to use it.

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