| After what seems like hours of crawling through tight places, Astra
swears that a couple of times she almost got stuck! How Fred was able to
squeeze through those spots is beyond Astra!
Finally, the demi-foxes squeeze through the last dozen feet into the
relatively spacious interiour passage to the wyrm's lair! The duo's clothing
is dirt encrusted and torn in dozens of places. The foxes themselves should
be bruised and cut up as much as their clothing, but all they are is dirty.
Lycanthropy does have it's advantages.
The foxes sneak slowly into the lair, where they hear a deep, heavy
snoring. The enter and see the body of Minestus is spead out, sound asleep,
on a large mound of coins. Somehow, besides a large table of mage's equipment
on a huge oaken table and countless shelves full of scrolls, discounting
the large ugly glass figure in one corner, this place is much less clutter
with treasure than the foxes would imagine a wyrm's lair to be! Maybe it
is due to the fact that the dragon concentrates on the study of magic,
instead of treasure gathering......
The dragon snorts and suddenly becomes fully awake as soon as the demi-foxes
creep through the thresehold of his lair. He blinks and then chuckles at
who he sees before him.
"Astra, my pet," the dragon chortles. "You came back! And not only are
you with child, you brought a friend! And darn it if it isn't good old
Lord Frederigo!"
Fred mutters something vile, and then.....invites Malachi in!
A flash of light and a clap of thunder blinds Fred. Astra, remembering
Malachi's warning about what to do AFTER inviting her in, grabs Fred and
ducks behind a large pile of coins!
The sounds of battle are deafening. The sights of battle probably be
even more impressive, but the demi-foxes know well enough to stay under
cover until the last primal roar and the last thundering lightning bolt
fades. Fred and Astra peak over the pile, and groan at what they see.
While Minestus had been defeated by Malachi, her victory had been Pyrric.
She lies on her side, gapsing and bleeding in dozens of places. Fred can
tell from his prior experience as a dragon slayer.....Malachi's wounds
are mortal and even the fabled magical healing powers of the dragon can't
staunch the flow of blood from THESE wounds.
"He....was stronger than I....expected," whispers the dragonness in
a pain glazed voice. "Much stronger. Fred, Astra, I'm.....cough....sorry.
It looks like I won't be able to help you after all.
"But don't make plans about enjoying the simple life yet." she continues,
a look of determination coming to her reptilian eyes. "I have a condidant
that....I think he can help you.
"The Crystallic is that glass figure over there," the dragonness waves.
"It's collapsable, magically, so it can fit in your pocket. Take it to
Synizn, and he can help you. Do it quickly, because you two only have two
weeks before your transformation becomes permanent!"
The dragonness then dies quietely, leaving the foxes in a bit of a problem.
This Synizn has been reputed to hang out at a group of taverns in the city
of Walants in human form, but......
-
 Were-foxes kind of stand
out in a crowd......
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