A Bit of a Shock

"I regret that I cannot tell you that, since my master did not tell me."

Fred had by now recovered sufficiently to say: "If he knows that much about us, then I imagine that he also must know why we are here."

"That also I do not know. He asks that you should come with me to meet him, where no doubt he will tell you more."

"With what he is dangling in front of me, I can hardly refuse." Astra said. "But I would understand if you thought that we might be being lured into a trap, Fred. So if you'd rather not accompany me, we could arrange to meet again later."

"Don't be silly. Of course I'm coming with you. Besides, this is a famous philosopher that we're going to see, not some villain."

It did occur to Astra that they only had Wei's word that he was from Tao Tse Mung, and that it was just possible that he was lying. But that didn't seem very likely.

As Wei led them on what he told them was only a short further journey to the philosopher's abode, Fred asked him: "So why did that Chou fellow want to kidnap Velus? I find it hard to believe that he's very valuable."

1. "But he is. He is a member of a very rare breed, as any expert on dogs - of whom we have many here - could tell you."
2. Wei revealed that he possessed another unexpected piece of knowledge. "Any mage would pay a lot to get his hands on a dog that was really a boy. The real worry is how the mage who hired Chou found out about your arrival and Velus's true nature, of course.
3. "I've no idea why Chou should have wanted him."

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