Well, all considered....

Astra (native of current parallel Terra)

"Hey!" the gray skinned girl snaps, "Is it like you have anything else to do? Any better leads than what you'd had before we'd shown up?"

"Well, probably not," I drawl, more than a little bit put off by this gray skinned . . . woman! "If nothing else you and your friends ARE the last possible lifeline we have here! Our funds are gone. Our horse is gone. Let us not talk about the chances of ever returning to our old stations in life and . . . No, nothing better to do, really."

Do not exactly care for this young gray girls tone of voice, but at the bottom of it all, she's rather right.

As we trudge along after this rather strange group, Fred tries to unobtrusively hang back a bit by my side.

He makes a small gesture with his head towards the strangers and a raised eyebrow. Mouths the word "run"?

He's frowning after that mouthed question, as if he's not giving good odds on us being able to escape. That or . . . running would really be a bad idea.

Now, I've only really known this knight for a short time (and . . . my feelings towards him aren't exactly clear, truth be told, that kiss had . . . been nice) but I can cipher out the meaning of the gesture easily enough. Basically, he's asking me if we should actually trust them. That or make a break for it?

Honestly, in the condition I am (with child . . .or children) I rather believe I'd move slower than he is capable. Probably an easy catch, but chances would be much better than before when we'd been cornered in the stables.

After all, even IF these strangers are the authors of our present dilemma (only having the clothes on our backs) it would still be better to follow and listen to what they have to say! If nothing else, they have the upper hand!

And . . . maybe we can talk them into . . . hiring . . .us as servants?

Quiet a step down from a warrior princess and knight, but then again it would keep body and soul together. AND . . . I'm in a family way....

....

Wonder what kind of . . . mother I'll be? What kind of father Fred will be?

Honestly . . . I'm of two . . . minds on the whole thing....

Well, one thing at a time, Astra.

Well away from the first spot they'd chosen when it was discovered that that particular area was a display case, of sorts. Do not know what the unfortunate locked away and rotting (literally) within the crow's cage, but the corpse is ghastly!

Sigin

"Let's . . . find another spot, shall we?" I say, swallowing a little bit to keep the bile down. Both Betty and Ragan look positively ill, keeping down their lunch barely.

My, I must have gotten used to the much more humane treatment of criminals back in Aqualaria under Queen Astra's reign! Used to be I could . . .

No, whatever else you can say about what passes as "law and order" in this realm, it's barbaric!

But . . . I'm afraid that I also recognize . . . .

It's a rather ghastly corpse, but enough still remains for me to recognize who the person had been.

....

It's rather hard to take, really. But then again this now dead man (or seeming man) really isn't the old friend I've come to admire and cherish.

Still, best not tell the demifoxes that their quest to free themselves of their unwanted shapes had been well nigh doomed from the start for even MORE reasons than what we Champions had known.

See, if even their forms NOT had become permanently locked by the Key Component residing in their (and their unborn kits by what Inquirer tells about what she detected with the wand) it was doomed. No, not besmirking the honesty of the now departed. It's possible that Malachi had been sending the desperate demifoxes right into the clutches of a fiend. Could have been some vast plot to fool Astra and Fred here into handing over the most powerful magical artifact I've ever seen, but . . . Well, the key to either demi-fox's restoration (true hope or not) lay within the native Synizn.

....

The body in that crow cage is . . . if I don't miss my guess from what I saw of his face . . .

The native Synizn is dead, quiet a while before the demifoxes had even arrived in this fell city of Wallants. Of course we can guess what that means.

Malachi unknowingly had sent the desperate demifoxes on a wild goose chase before she expired.

Well, we soon find out that after we find another spot for our "picnic" that . . .

"You . . . smashed the Crystallic?" I sputter, coughing a bit from having nearly choked on my drink. "By Heaven! You're lucky to be alive!!"

Fred (native of current parallel Terra)

"Oh, and why's that?" I ask, rather taken aback by the explosive tea episode that this rather dandy-ish dressed fellow had when we'd gotten to that part of our tale.

After all, if these strangers ARE from Synizn, then sooner or later they'll ask for the Crystallic and want to know just what the blazes happened to it when we fail to produce, eh? Just was cutting to the chase, 'tis all.

....

Sigh, it is just this. As a D'Honaire (a family name I fear as a demifox I no longer can lay claim to, alas) I have always lived by honor. Honor or nothing. This of course means . . . I'm . . . rather not good at lies.

Not in the practice, as it were. Would fail miserably, I fear.

Truth is best, then. And hope to the heavens that....

"Because, old chap." the Doctor answers. "The Crystallic is . . . was a rather powerful artifact. You . . . could have unleashed a magical explosion that could have levelled an entire city! That . . . time warp spell that had you in it's grip must have been . . . massive to absorb the energies unleashed before releasing you both, unscathed."

Blinking, seeing that this stranger (this Doctor who's last name I've yet to hear)....

"Oh," I whisper, swallowing.

Level an entire city? Is that possible?

Well, the . . . . legends of the Old Ones had said to dabble in powerful arts....

By now, from our discussion with these strangers, at least I had become convinced that these strangers were indeed not only friends of the still absent Synizn (off somewhere on a critical unnamed mission) sent by him to find us but . . . more. The are NOT the authors of our dilemma (i.e. they didn't have others steal from us so that we'd be in such a position that of COURSE we'd agree to whatever offers of salvation they made), but . . . honorable. Call themselves "Good Samaritans" (whatever a "Samaritan" is, exactly).

Well, they're also mages (some mages as well as non-humans) and I'm . . . still kind of wary of those from THOSe quarters, but . . . I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides, as for distrusting non- humans? I mean, it's not like I'm in a position to be judgemental. To be picky.

I'm . . . not human any more....

Well, anyway...

Was still trying to compose myself (as well as Astra, who's tail is standing up on end in reaction to what could have happened) when our strangers . . . turn out to be potential benefactors! The wages are . . . generous....!

God, even as a KNIGHT I never made that much money from the allowance my father paid me to keep me . . . properly in my station in life....

"You . . . wish to hire us as native guides for how much?" Astra sputters, unconsciously touching her distended stomach, as if to cradle her unborn children. "What exactly is . . .are the terms?"

Inquirer

"Well, it kind of involved . . . but harmless," I begin, pulling out one of the the crystal block we'd just collected so far.

It's not the block that is Aeryn-Pip, but rather Jake Chambers. Young boy had been a bit mouthy, but given a chose between the two...

Pretty much think that Aeryn-Pip would be a bit more difficult to calm down before we could get her to bear witness to our good intentions for these demifoxes....

Yeah, we could just "blockify" them and call it a day for them, without even "by your leave", but I've got a sneaky suspicion about what kind of fallout that would have in the future, when this is all over.

1. See, it has to do with what kind of future some of our quarry will chose for themselves after the Rules and Agents are done with them.

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