“I didn’t have any anticipation of what was going to happen.
One minute the stranger was eating soup; the next I found myself trying to fend
off six men.” Rina told Gervas after everything was over.
“We guessed that.” Gervas nodded. “They overpowered and
kidnapped you. Where did they take you?”
“There’s some caves up on the west side of the mountain – we
should probably go clean them out later. But anyway, that witch was there. My
stepmother’s sister.”
He roared into laughter. “When will you stop making people
mad?”
Rina groaned. “I think it’s settled now. I wasn’t tied up
very well, but she watched me at first, and said she wouldn’t make any deals
with me, and went on about her plans for me,” she shuddered.
“Turn you into a slug or something?” Gervas asked.
“Imprison me in a crystal. I’d be stuck. If I was a slug, at
least I could move. There was a long table with vials and rocks waiting to do
the job. So when I got the ropes undone, I knocked them over.”
Stunned, Gervas gaped at her. “Don’t you know how stupid
that was? Breaking all those magical things – you should have ended up as a slug.”
Shrugging she grinned. “I already said a slug would be
better than a rock. There were some terrific explosions, but it worked out all
right. Here,” she handed him something.
Gervas inspected the rock. Something inside it moved and
gave off faint purple sparks. “The witch?”
Rina nodded. “I think she got turned into a moose, or maybe
a gazelle, before she ended up in the crystal. Once everything settled down, I hiked
back. When’s our next quest?”
Gervas could only shake his
head and laugh.For more of Rina's adventures check out Silver and Gold.