It was then that the cave went pitch black and they heard evil laughter. "Noo! No! It's too much!" raved Astra, angrily. "I demand to speak to Minestus!"
The laughter stopped, and a figure shimmered into view, somehow clearly visible even though it remained pitch black. It was a handsome, middle-aged man with a sardonic face. [94152 and subsequently] "And how may I help you ladies?" he asked.
Astra turned to where she knew that Lady Astra stood next to her in the darkness. "Let me introduce you to Minestus, the dragon-mage."
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"Pleased to meet you, Minestus," Lady Astra said politely. "You could best help us by setting us free."
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"Minestus and I have already met," Lady Astra told the princess. "But at the Allarian court he goes by a different name: Duke Zular."
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"But there's no-one there," Lady Astra objected. Astra wondered whether she herself was only hallucinating Minestus or if he had used some spell to keep Lady Astra from being aware of his presence.
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But there was no reply. Then the torch fifty yards away rekindled, and the princess saw that she was alone. Had she only hallucinated Lady Astra? Why would she hallucinate someone so annoying?
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"Pleased to meet you." But it wasn't Lady Astra's voice but Fred's. Then the light returned, and the princess saw that where the naked Lady Astra had been chained up was now the equally naked Lord Fred!
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"Well of course it's Minestus," Belboz's voice said irritably. "Why tell me the obvious?" Then the light returned, and the princess saw that where the naked Lady Astra had been chained up Belboz now stood.
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"Hello," Lady Astra said. Then the light returned. The princess saw that in the brief period of darkness Lady Astra's hair had somehow grown down to her thighs, while her toenails and fingernails were an inch long. The same applied to her, she realised.
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"Pleased to meet you, Minestus," three voices said in chorus. They were those of Lady Astra, Fred and Belboz.
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