The Restoration

The other two, however, were in much better shape. It seemed their transformations had been sparked by a different source. Shiva, the man knew, shared with Vincent the hubris of believing she could do no wrong, but her beasts had been transformed - not subsumed. Her victims could be restored fairly easily.

"First things first, though," he muttered. Holding the four leashes in one hand, he made a sweeping gesture with the other. A gust of sand and wind enveloped the green-clad man and his four monstrous charges, and when it died down, they were gone.

Then it all came back to him - slowly at first, but with increasing speed. The dragon. The beautiful woman. The mad doctor. The island. The transformation. And finally, the long days spent cooped up with monsters. With other monsters.

"And - and now I'm me again," he whispered. It was the first coherent words spoken by Lord Fredrigo D'Honaire in many weeks.

"You are," came a voice from behind. "And so is your companion." Fred spun to find an old man in a green robe smiling at him. But his eyes were only for Astra, who stood beside him clad in a simple dress. "Welcome back, Lord D'Honaire."

"Astra! Oh, thank heavens, you're all right!"

"I am! Oh, Fred, it's wonderful to see you!" The two stepped forward and embraced each other - perhaps a little more fervently than was necessary, but at the moment, neither cared.

"Ahem." The two were startled, having forgotten the man's presence. "Dreadfully sorry, but I thought some introductions and explanations were in order. My name is Sedge Windward, Licensed Wizard and Mage Without Portfolio."

"Well, Sedge Windward," Fred said with a smile, "You have our gratitude for rescuing us."

"Absolutely," Astra said, "I must confess I don't know what we would have done otherwise."

"Unfortunately, I do," Winward said, his smile vanishing. "Carnage Beasts are just what their name implies. Vincent thought he could control you, but he was playing with fire - just like Shiva."

"Wait," Astra said, another brief memory flashing in her brain, "There - there were more like us."

"Yes," Windward nodded. "They were the ones Vincent himself made."

"Have they been restored as well?" Fred asked.

1. "Indeed they have. Let's go meet them now."
2. "It's going to take longer to restore them, I'm afraid."
3. "Sadly, I was only able to restore them partially."
4. "Despite my best efforts, Vincent's work was too thorough. They're lost forever."
5. "I don't have them. Vincent intercepted us on the way back and retook them - I was lucky to get you away with you two."

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