Everybody must get stoned

"What the heck?" Astra exclaimed most unroyally. "Pardon my French." Actually she didn't say heck, and it wasn't exactly French either.

"She was an evil witch," the young warrior explained. "She kept turning people to stone. You should see her courtyard. Guess all the petrification spells backfired on her."

"Well that saves us the trouble of disposing of the body," Astra observed. "Who are you anyway? I'm Astra."

The boy struck a heroic pose and said: "The name is Eisnevep. Retep Eisnevep."

Astra paused. "Bet you can't say that three times fast."

Retep made a face. "You win."

Astra smiled. "Well, looks like we defeated the evil witch, what now?"

"I know the drill," Retep said as he pulled out a piece of cloth and started cleaning his sword. He stopped and stared at it. "Well, will you look at that!"

It took a moment before Astra realized what was wrong. When the witch turned to stone, her blood on the blade had turned to fine sand and stuck to it. It was more like a giant file now.

"Keep it," she said quickly. "If I know these stories you're going to need a giant file later. Besides it makes one heck (still not French) of a conversation piece."

Retep nodded and slid the swordfile carefully into the scabbard. It made a grating noise. "Just don't draw it too often," Astra suggested. "Or you'll wear out the scabbard."

"Well, you killed the witch," she continued. "Wonder why I was brought here."

"You're not a native?"

"No, Nalsa just gave me fur because I was cold."

"You know Nalsa too? He brought us here and gave us some cryptic clues which, when I think about it, don't match this situation at all. Guess Sidaj was just a distraction."

"Whoa, whoa! Who's "we"?"

"My siblings an I."

"You mean there are other Esnip... Ripsen... members of your family here? So where are you hiding them?"

1. They go looking for Retep's siblings.
2. Retep tells Astra the cryptic clues. Maybe she can make sense of them.
3. They go to Sidaj's castle and watch Nalsa unstoning people.
4. Sunmut the faun turns up and invites them to tea.
5. Raymond Chandler comes bursting out of the forest with a loaded crossbow in his hands.
6. Nobody steps on a church in MY town.

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