| The group does not come up with any very satisfactory way to convince
Annafrid's parents that the much-changed girl is in fact their daughter
Hannah, still alive but who would before long be leaving this world forever.
As it turns out, however, this proves not to be a problem, since the village
is not where Annafrid remembers it to have been.
She looks down into the empty valley in front of her in shock and confusion.
She is sure this is where the village should be. "Could this be the wrong
valley?" Joan asks her gently. "No, I'm certain this is the right place.
I don't understand it." "Chelene said you had encountered this world's
version of Belboz," Jarlath said, "though you never told her just what
had transpired between the two of you. Supposing that for some reason of
his own he had given you a false set of memories? Maybe there never was
a Hannah?" "So that would mean my Fred memories were the true ones?" Annafrid
asks, looking unhappy at the idea. [12915] "Not necessarily," says Jarlath
quickly, sensing that Annafrid did not want to believe that she had once
been a man. "It could be that both sets of memories are false."
"In which case, I've no idea who I really am," says Annafrid with
a sigh. "Does it really matter, so long as both Jarlath and I love you?"
Astra says, and gives her a hug. Annafrid brightens. "I suppose not, but
it came as a bit of a shock."
"With no village here, we must hope to find one somewhere else before
too long," Joan says. "The journey will be a tediously long one if we can't
get horses, and we could do with more provisions. And I wouldn't mind having
a comfortable bed in an inn for the night, rather than sleeping in the
open. If this world corresponds closely enough to my own home world, then
if my memory is accurate we should find a village if we follow the river
flowing through this valley downstream some fifteen miles."
Meanwhile Prang attempts to trace the killer or killers of "his" dragon.
This would be easy if they had taken any of the dragon's hoard, for every
item bears a geas that makes it easily locatable by one suffiently skilled
in such matters. But whoever has killed the dragon seems to have taken
not so much as a single coin. Prang can hardly believe it. Surely even
the noblest knight would have taken something?
He tries another, much less reliable, method.
-
 This involves
locating the small amount of the dragon's blood that should be adhering
to the killer's weapon.
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