| The befuddled stableboy eventually notices that three naked bodies
have appeared in the straw, and is suddenly wide awake. The man looks as
though he is one of the "Fred twins", as Fred 1 and Fred 2 are called by
the townsfolk. (Explaining about analogs was thought to be too difficult,
and potentially frightening. Some folk do wonder, though, why parents would
give both twins the same name.)
As far as the stableboy is concerned, all dwarfs look alike. He has
never seen one naked before, however, and is interested to learn that the
stories about the disproportionately large size of one particular part
of their anatomy are in fact true.
Most of his attention is given to the woman, though. She is tall and
strong, yet beautiful. She appears to be about six months pregnant. By
far her most noteworthy feature, however, is that she is as black as the
ace of spades, as the Walants saying has it. He remembers the stories of
his home village, about coal-black succubi who come to steal men's souls
away. But he is a man of the world now, he tells himself, and beyond such
superstition. Nevertheless, he decides that making an evil-warding gesture
with his fingers can't hurt.
The lad establishes that the trio are merely unconscious rather than
dead. Then he goes to seek assistance, since this is rather out of his
league. (Meanwhile, not that far away, Inquirer is wondering why her pouch
suddenly feels heavier. Could it be one of those gravity shifts that indicates
the final collapse of the slipgate system is near?)
Whilst the boy is gone...
-
 One of the three regains
consciousness. It is Tarin, since a dwarf's constitution is tougher than
a human's.
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