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"Before I leave, there is one part of your story where I would appreciate some clarification. How did this Lord Fred bring you to the beach? And how did he himself arrive in Hespan? A suspicious mind might think that this was no more than a cover story for the real reason for the two of you being in Hespan."

"I did not go into details, because it is the hardest part of my story for anyone to believe, even though it is true. Fred told me that he had been on a quest to kill a dragon, but that he was frightened, and so he asked a wizard to send him somewhere else. He was sent to Corona beach, where he found a potion that was supposed to fulfil one's greatest wish. He wished for the most beautiful woman in the world, and that brought me to him. It is possible that he was lying, of course. For one thing I certainly am not vain enough to consider myself anything like as beautiful as that. But he was clearly responsible for my arrival in Hespan, however he did it and whatever his motive."

"Where is Lord Fred now?"

"After he sold me, Gilder asked him where he wanted to be deported to, and he said Caibu. That was the last that I saw of him."

"If he went there, it would be hard to trace him, and even if we found him it would take a very long time to get his testimony back from so far away. Are you sure that this man really exists?"

"You can easily check with Gilder. It would have been stupid for me to make him up."

"And whatever else you may be, khanomam, stupid you are clearly not. Thank you for your answers to my questions. Now I will bid you good day."

With that he bowed to her, then turned and left, leaving Astra to ponder their meeting. She suspected from his questioning that he had not believed at least some of her story, but she could not be sure, since he had never let any sign of what he was thinking appear in his facial expression or tone of voice.

The rest of the day passed slowly, the only real event being a visit from the doctor who was in charge of her case. She was unable to find out from him anything additional to what she had already learnt from the nurse about her condition.

Boredom seemed likely to become a major problem, with nothing to occupy her mind beyond worrying about what might happen to herself and Hesht. The nurse offered to lend her some books, but since Astra could not read the local language she turned the offer down. She accepted a second offer, of a sketchpad and some pencils. She had never really had any artistic leanings, but she would see whether she could produce any drawings that were recognisable.

She spent some time flexing the muscles in her arms and her good leg. Severe muscle wastage in her injured leg seemed inevitable, and some loss of muscle tone in the rest of her body, but she wanted to keep the latter to a minimum.

1. The davar's chat with his old friend... [58937]
2. Unexpectedly, Astra has another visitor.
3. Meanwhile, back in Darvazde Yepenhan...

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