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The Never Ending Quest - Episode 41807

With Fred and Alric gone and Checkers asleep, Astra and Minestus were alone, with Minestus transformed back into the form of the old man. Astra feared this, as the only brake on the dragon's mischief came from his desire to maintain his charade as an old man.

Astra had good reason for fear. He wanted to acquire the magic Checkers had unleashed, and to master it. It appeared to him that she knew a lost form of magic that lay hidden in the tome. Knowledge was power to dragons as well as men, and he was on the verge of having a monopoly on potentially vast areas of it. His state of mind was that of someone who had drawn the winning combination for a rich lottery, and he was now eager to cash the ticket.

He did not make any pretense at small talk when Astra awoke. "Fred and Alric have returned to get the horses, as we had arranged yesterday." Belboz resisted the temptation to interject a misleading taunt about Fred going back to his 'beloved Rowena.' What he had in mind for Astra would be taxing enough, and he needed her to be alert and undistracted. He continued, telepathically, so that Checkers might not overhear it if she awakened, "Your time with Checkers is now down to sixty hours. If you do not get some results by sundown, the day after tomorrow, then she will have an unfortunate encounter with the dragon, and Belboz will not be in a position to rescue her."

Astra responded, "What results are you looking for? You are asking me to 'find the magic,' but I am not a mage. Please give me something so that I can get you what you want."

Minestus signalled back, "She read something from the tome that I have overlooked, in a language of which I have not yet mastered." He was hiding a weakness - he could understand very little of the language. "You can get her to translate something from there. As for your ignorance of the arcane arts, you need not fear. I will be with you."

"I thought that your problem was that she is wary when you are around?"

"My form will not be in the room, of course." Belboz lay his hand on the back of her neck. His hand felt as cold as ice. She flinched. "I will be able to see everything that you see, and hear everything that you hear. I have also taken a precaution. The book is now locked. The edges of the pages are stuck together. To unstick them, you say the word 'affirm.' To stick them back, you say the word 'deny.' I will insist that you lock the book after you are finished. I would not want Checkers to read from it without us around."

Astra noticed the choice of words that Minestus chose to lock the book - these were words that she would not normally use, but not so obscure that they could not be worked into a conversation. Astra placed her right hand to her forehead. She had a tremendous headache, as she always did from these telepathic sessions.

Minestus noticed her pain. "The next two and a half days will exhaust you. The tap that I placed on you does that. For breakfast, I will serve you a loaf of bread coated with little seeds. These seeds will help keep you awake and dull the pain that you are feeling now."

Astra replied by voice, "Thank you."

The old man smiled. Telepathically, he said, "There is one effect of the tap that I placed on you, that you may wish to know. I may need to distract Checkers' attention." Astra felt a sudden pain all over her body. She felt as if she were on fire. She tried to scream, drew a breath, but could not force it out. And then, just as quickly, the pain stopped. "You will have another bout of 'madness' if I feel that things are going badly."


Checkers awakened to the smell of fresh baked bread, ham, and oranges. Her wings and back ached. Although the dragon lurked further in the caves, she did not feel an acute fear. Apparently Belboz was secure enough in this part of the caves, and had dwelt here for a long time. Whatever understandings he may have had with the dragon were something that she had to watch for, but she could not affect in any case.

She was looking forward to the return of Fred, who had left hastily and somewhat mysteriously during the night. She was concerned for Astra - dark circles started to appear under her eyes, and she appeared to be under a great burden. Belboz, on the other hand, appeared to pick up a new vitality from yesterday's events. Checkers herself felt like one feels when a great storm has passed. This was a time for healing, and recovery of one's strength. She did not know that this particular storm was a typhoon, and that she was merely in the eye of it.

  1. Belboz left Checkers and Astra alone on some excuse.
  2. Belboz gave Checkers and Astra something that neither expected.

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5/6/2004 1:37:58 AM

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