A Happy Ending - or Is It?

Exotica left off kicking the curled up, prone form of Elaine, looking rather shamefaced. Adele looked as if she would be happy to continue dishing out punishment, but Fred stepped forward and pulled her away.

Elaine shakily sat up. She was considerably the worse for wear. Her face was puffy and bruised, and a trickle of blood ran from her lip. No doubt she had more bruises elsewhere on her body, hidden by her robe. Her severed ring finger dripped blood.

"That's better," Sigin said. "Elaine's spell on me worked perfectly, but what she didn't know - what none of you knew - was that I am a weretiger, but unlike most were-creatures I can choose when to transform. All that Minestus did was to trap me in my weretiger form, since he knew that I could not perform magic when in that state."

"I thought that you were supposed to be a dragon-mage," Fred protested.

"A mage, certainly. When, long ago, people started whispering that my magical powers were so great that I must surely be a dragon rather than human, I did not disabuse them of the notion.

"Anyway, things seem to have turned out rather well. Minestus and Belboz are no more. Don't protest, Adele. I know that your father was not evil in the beginning, but that pernicious ring had corrupted him just like it did with you and Elaine when you wore it. But now the ring is no more."

It occurred to Fred that that was not true. As no doubt Sigin was well aware, in twenty-four hours or so it would emerge from its journey through his digestive system. He decided that it would be wiser to say nothing, as he feared that Adele and Elaine might still wish to possess it. He would just have to hope that Sigin had enough self control not to be tempted to wear it, but would destroy it once it emerged.

Sigin went on: "Now we should leave, and quickly. This cave system is no longer a safe place to be, now that the battle between Elaine and Minestus has destabilised it."

"First, what about me and Matthias?" Astra asked, a little ungrammatically. "Please will you restore my arms and his voice?"

1. "Of course."
2. "I'm sorry, but there may be a problem with that."
3. Before he could reply, there was an ominous rumbling sound from the roof of the cave. "It's about to collapse!" Fred exclaimed. "I must magic us out of here at once," Sigin said.

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