And Then There Were Five

"All right then girl, go!" Diana said. It seemed that what she had done under Exotica's enchantment had shaken her enough that she was at last willing to accept Fred as the leader of their little band and abide by his decisions.

"Goodbye then," Sara said. She resolutely turned her back on them and walked out of the temple.

"I wonder if we'll ever see her again," Sofia wondered.

Fred thought that it was unlikely, as he did not put Sara's survival chances very high, even though she had seemed better able to look after herself than any of the other women apart from Diana. But he tactfully said: "Perhaps."

So the party was now reduced to the wounded Fred, Diana, the seemingly entranced Exotica, Sofia and Imelda. Fred knew that the last two were likely to be of little help in any crisis. He could only rely on Diana; and maybe not even on her if she was so susceptible to Exotica's - or rather Yrrlassrhye's - magic.

"What did you mean when you told Sara that she had no part in what was to occur?" Diana asked Fred. "What is to occur?"

He shook his head in confusion. "I don't know. Just for a moment there, when I was speaking to her, I thought that I did, but now it's gone again."

1. Exotica emerged from her trance once more.
2. Then Fred spotted something and added: "I see something. Deeper in the temple. There is something that can help us. We have to... aargh... move deeper into the temple..."
3. Fred's medical condition started to deteriorate.
4. The withdrawn Imelda startled them by speaking for the first time in some while, though it was only a single word: "Look!" She was pointing at Exotica. Fred saw that the princess's appearance was starting to change.
5. There was a scream from somewhere outside the temple. Fred suspected that it was Sara.

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