Henry the Millionaire

The man groaned. He remembered the nightmarish circumstances surrounding his unsuccessful encounter with the dragon. Where was he? The walls in this room appeared to be white, with a layer of grime coating them. He lay a on low cot on the floor. These details convinced him that he was not dead yet, although the lack of pain did not fit with his last remembered experiences. The man removed the sheet, sat up, and found out that he is not quite the same man that he was."

His hair is darker and curly. He is shorter than he was, and his skin has an olive hue. He feels his belly chafing against his ribs; he will need to work hard to get into shape. He is wearing nothing but a simple white robe. The design is ridiculous - The robe is held together with two sets of ties in the back, both in places that are hard to reach. Fred feels a bit of a chill from a draught of wind blowing across exposed skin in the back of the ill-fitting robe.

A young man comes into the room, carrying something that looks like a walking stick. He introduces himself. "Hallo, Henry - for that is your name now. My name is Sylvester the Healer. I am in, I hope, the last year of my apprenticeship to Doctor Zeno the Wise at the University. How my apprenticeship turns out depends on you -- you are my final project, so I am trying to make your life as comfortable as possible."

The man's jaw dropped when he heard this. The thought flashes through his mind: "What happened?"

As if anticipating Fred's question, Sylvester continued. "I know that this will be difficult to understand. You fought an unsuccessful battle with the dragon in the caves of the Shreken. A local necromancer froze you in time, and sold your mangled remains to the University. I bought them "as is." I was able to undo the time-release spell and capture your soul, and most of your memories. The body needed a lot of work, unfortunately. I had to rebuild much of it from scratch, but I get a good deal on parts being a doctoral student. I think that you will find that it all fits together well."

"I have tried to anticipate your needs in adjusting to your new role. When I infused the soul into your body, I tried to find your motivation for living. You were in quest of gold dragon's eggs, and you muttered something about 'How sweet it would be to be a millionaire.' I do not have great wealth, but I have ways of acquiring the means I need - it is part of the coursework here. In your pack, which was a throw-in when I bought your body, I have placed one hundred bezants, and ten bonds, each a letter of credit authorizing you, Henry, to draw one hundred thousand bezants from any office of the House of Bartlebridge."

Henry's mind reeled. The University? Bezants? The House of Bartlebridge? Where was he? Henry asked Sylvester one question.

1. "Where am I?"
2. "What are your plans for me once this project is finished?"
3. "What is the worth of these million bezants?"
4. "When am I going to get a set of decent clothes?"

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