The Ruby Pendant
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 53661
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"Not only that," Solbert went on. "It has to be a real land because it is
possible that they will insist on taking us with them, and will only let
us go free once they have seen that it really exists. I hope that we can
persuade them not to do that, as it would delay us by weeks if not months,
but it is a possibility. Another reason why it has to be real is that they
may question each of us about it separately, looking for inconsistencies
in our accounts, in an attempt to discover if I was telling them the
truth. Since the island is real, we will each be telling the same story -
apart from Jan, of course, who can truthfully say that he has never seen
it."
"I suppose that makes sense," Fred conceded. Astra managed to get a few hours of fitful sleep. Early the next morning the captain came to see her again. With him was a small, wiry sailor aged about thirty. Looking at him, Astra could readily believe that he might moonlight as a thief when in port, for there was a certain shiftiness about him. But most of her attention was not on the man but on what he carried: a good-sized ruby on a chain of what appeared to be gold. She found that she was salivating at the sight of it, and she had to repress an impulse to snatch it from him. "Here," he said, holding it out to her. She took it and hung it round her neck. The effect was immediate. From feeling tired and nauseous, she was suddenly overflowing with energy. Her gratitude to the man, combined with temporarily being slightly "high", were such that she would probably have kissed him even if she had not struck a deal. She bent down (for she was the taller by a good six inches) to give him a kiss that he would never forget. It was only when the captain said "Ahem!" some thirty seconds later that she released the man. He had a slightly bemused but very happy expression on his face. "I take it that the pendant has done the trick then," the captain said. "I would ask that you wear it inside your clothes rather than visibly, at least until you are some miles away from the port." That confirmed Astra's suspicion of how the item had been obtained, but she certainly didn't intend to make an issue of it. "Very well," she said, tucking the pendant inside her clothing. "After you have breakfasted, you will be taken ashore," the captain told her. "Laski here was not the only crew member to go ashore yesterday evening. Others were sent into the taverns, to chat to the locals and see what they could find out about the local mages. We have identified several who might be interested in you, and have already managed to arrange a meeting with one of them. If that does not prove fruitful, then we will contact other mages."
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JH
11/20/2005 2:52:14 AM
Extending Enabled
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