Meanwhile, watching from afar....

The dragoness watched the antics of her pawns through the magical images provided by the mystical jewel the "facilitator" still wore on his person. Things are finally looking like this whole venture might actually work!

Just a bit earlier now, she'd thought the whole thing had been scotched and she'd have to try something new. From square one.

She'd not expected much but now?

Before now, instead of just transforming the man named Barnabas into something besides the waste of flesh that he was into something at least Nature would find useful she'd allowed the fool a chance to redeem himself. No. Actually, she'd done it just to see how he'd fall flat on his face as she'd perhaps just allowed him enough rope to hang himself. Surely, if nothing else it would have removed all doubt from her mind that the man totally deserved . . . no, NEEDED the transformation she had planned on inflicting upon him.

Besides, there had been (and still was) that outstanding debt to the druids. Why should she not eventually kill two birds with one stone? Pay off the debt with his transformation AND shell out some much needed vengeance.

Author's Note: Dragons MAY live very long lives, sage shall tell you, but . . .she cannot wait much longer! The grave is calling for her and without her mate. . . . she would soon surely follow! If by her own hands if nothing else, she would have to follow!

. . .

The dragoness had not been in the best of moods, shall we say. To have the very means of bringing her beloved back AND inflicting justice upon those who had played part in his downfall, only to have it apparently haveslip out of her fingers while she'd been attending to . . . certain things?

Before looking Barnabas up and catching up (magically and secretly) on things she had been in such a good mood!

The dragoness had sighed, glancing over at the unconscious and spell bound female silent form over in the corner, chained to the wall. Already over by her . . . nest lay part of her revenge plan, realized. With the magicks at her command changing the . . . .human brood into something much more evolved had been the work of a moment. Indeed, she shall enjoy raising the dragon slaying fool's children as her own after they hatch. Best start them afresh and new, you know!

Help those young ones to learn to be proper dragons and wash away that any lingering human . . . . stains.

It would be worth it, she had thought to herself as she gathered her scrying tools. Even if triplets (all female) would be something of a handful at times for her. She had been meaning to start a family before her mate got slain, you know!

Still gathering her tools in a happy mood, she recalled that rather intense mage battle. Had been challenging, but still she'd come out on top. Was good practice, really!

As for the mate of the fool, Belinda (sister of the long missing and presumed deceased Aqualarian princess)? The one who'd dared challenge her, Jarlath? Well, he had most regretfully expired in the course of things when the dragoness had kidnapped the family. He had been good in magery, mind you. Put up a good battle against her, it just hadn't not good enough!

Ah, but back to the task at hand, she sighed just before she had cast the spell.

Only a few moments of viewing had totally ruined her good mood, to say the least! Growling, the dragoness turned her ire upon Barnabas "the Sly" (or 'the foolish' as she felt about him now) and the rest you know.

She felt angry!

After all, only a FOOL would have hired Frost Giants to retrieve the item (ashes of her beloved mate) that had somehow fallen into the clutches of this mage of the northern snows! Granted, the treacherous mage had gotten greedy and hiked the price of the item but instead of going off to get the extra funds (surely the man could have gotten a loan from a local money lender . . . . she would have compensated the facilitator for the interest and principal . . . .she'd hinted as much early on in hiring him for just this contingency). But instead of swallowing pride he'd tried to strong arm his way to the item with muscle, and muscle given from Frost Giants at that!

. . .

Might as well have hired Ogres for the trouble you get from hired Giants, folks. Nasty bunch, giants of whatever type. That and stupid and greedy to boot (in her "learned" opinion), even the most intelligent branches of the lot!

Or so the dragoness had thought, at the time. Now? Not so sure is she.

Well, we already know about that, do we not?

Still, something about these female giants had begun to intrigue her.

She'd watched from afar as she saw them fleeing the mage's domicile (with a pet no less). She'd "poked" Barnabas with the beginnings of the transformation to "motivate" him to hurry to meet the females at their meet point. Done it with the hopes that somehow they'd succeeded against all odds.

Something was decidedly . . . off about them, the dragoness had thought. They weren't typical and she'd sensed that even in her rage towards Barnabas. That is why she'd not just transformed the fool without a second thought They had been actually going to shown up to show UP at the meet point instead of pocketing the item? Most odd.

Most would have gone off to resell the item to others. Surely the giantesses had known the true value of what they'd been sent after, right? Barnabas HAD hinted that the item was valuable (more so than what the man had promised to pay the females). Double crossing would have been in character for NORMAL giants.

But . . . .the giants had failed. Oh, it was intriguing they would do the courtesy of informing their employer of their failure AND to warn him about the mage they'd encountered. The smart (if less honorable) thing would have been to skip town and head for the hills.

There was a streak of . . . nobility to these two. Most odd.

A wish to continue to observe the giantesses had played (a small) part in why the female dragon had listened to the facilitator, and now she and the others were here. She might (after the giantesses are out of sight) transform Barnabas into a satyr, depending on what the fool did after . . . .this business was done.

1. Now, back to Barnabas and friends!

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