Layers of Lies and Terror from the Skies

"Oh, come off it. I only put on the bloody long gown because I was counting on you taking me back home to Camelyn. Most of the dresses I've been wearing the past three years have been this length, or shorter. It's much more comfortable. Easier to wash, too. It's warm enough and I've had no company other than my lover, so why would I care about modesty?"

"Perhaps if you cared a little more about modesty, you'd know who the father of your child is!" Fred sputtered as he finished tying off the tourniquet on Gregor's leg. Yaivaine gasped and seemed taken aback. Fred realized he had gone too far. She was still his King's daughter, after all. "Princess, I apologize. Please forgiv-"

Her gasp had not been one of outrage at his comment, though, but of shock and fear. Nor were her eyes glaring at him with anger or hurt, but were instead trained skywards. Fred looked up. A large raven had appeared above them, circling ominously.

"Belboz!" Yaivaine cried, dismayed.

"Impossible!" Fred spat. "The serpent lies dead before us even now!"

Yaivaine shook her head. "Belboz is a crafty and powerful maleficar. He cannot be so easily destroyed. Gregor surely knew this as well."

"But he said it was done!" [88302]

"He may have been delirious from the serpent's venom, or...he may have been referring to himself, thinking that he would not survive the poison." Yaivaine offered, shuddering. For the first time, Fred thought she looked genuinely scared.

Fred looked down at the stricken mage. Despite his efforts, Gregor remained unconscious and feverish. "We can't just leave him to die. We must give him a chance to recover, at least. Can't we get him to safety? How far into the caves is his lair?"

The raven was circling lower with each pass. "Too far to walk! Besides, there's no time to carry him. Come here, quickly!" Yaivaine said, kneeling before Gregor's prone form. She reached down his collar and pulled out a pendant that he wore around his neck, which looked like a polished white quartz crystal. "Take my hand, Fred." Fred did so semi-consciously, his eyes trained the entire time on the descending raven. As it fell, it seemed to be growing larger, changing in size and shape....Fred realized with a start that it...no, not it, he...Belboz...was shapeshifting into a dragon! Was Gregor right then, about Belboz being the dragon? Was this shapeshifting what Belboz had done to send his men fleeing in terror?

Yaivaine spoke a few unfamiliar words, there was a flash of light, and then, the three of them were elsewhere. It was a small living area obviously within the caves they had only recently escaped. Fred guessed this must be Gregor's lair. Yaivaine all but confirmed this by sighing and muttering "home sweet home" sarcastically. "We'll be safe here for now. Gregor has set up wards that protect this place from Belboz's magic. Come on, help me get him into bed."

Fred, however, was struck speechless for a moment. Finally stammering "Yaivaine! You can do magic!?"

1. "Yes, actually I am...well, I was Gregor's apprentice, as well as his lover."
2. "Just a little, Gregor taught me a few spells to use for emergencies, the spell to return here being one of them."
3. "Yes, but...Gregor dosen't know. I learned this magic in secret from Belboz. That's how I got involved with him at first. We only became lovers later on."

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