| When three figures come into view, the captain of the watch follows
his instructions and orders the portcullis to be lowered. In the strange
situation in which the castle's inhabitants find themselves, any visitors
have to be treated as potentially hostile until proved otherwise. As the
figures approach, the captain recognises two of them as Duke Dredrick and
Lord Frederigo. His heart lifts. But then it occurs to him that the resemblance
could be a mage-induced illusion.
Fred 1 and Dredrick recognise the figure peering down at them from the
ramparts as being the captain of the watch. That encourages them, since
it is one more piece of evidence that this is "their" castle rather than
an analog. "Open up and let us in. Don't you know your lord," orders Dredrick,
hoping that he really is the man's lord. "Excuse me, My Lord," the
man replies, "but with the strange things that have happened lately I have
to be careful, and to check that you truly are who you appear to be. Please
would you tell me your daughter's name." "Fredrina," Dredrick says, affecting
a confidence that he doesn't really feel. What if this should prove to
be only a close analog? For all he knows, the daughter in the analog could
be called Ingrid. "And her birthday?" Dredrick thinks for a moment. He
has never been very good at remembering birthdays. "May the eleventh,"
he says. "My Lord, welcome back!" says the captain, relief on his face.
"Raise the portcullis!" he calls to the unseen men below.
-
 Meanwhile, Fred 1 has a
sinking feeling. HIS Fredrina's birthday is May the twelth. So this must
be Fred 2's castle, not his own, and Dredrick must be Fred 2's father.
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