I awoke lying on the road. Mentus, Tytus and Jedstaff were leaning over me, each one's face lined with concern. My whole body was on fire, my right arm most of all. I was also aware of the brilliant sunlight in my face and the gnawing cold in my nose and lips.
"Welcome back," Tytus said when he saw that I was awake.
I sat up and rubbed the back of my head. "What happened? Last I remember, the Beast was leaping at me, his jaws open wide."
"Yes, well, that lines up with where we found you," said Tytus, helping me stand.
"Where?" I asked, gingerly rubbing my swimming head.
"Halfway down the Beast's throat," Jedstaff said, with an odd chuckle.
"What?!" I nearly fell over. Tytus caught and steadied me. "Th-that can't be... you're kidding..."
"I'm afraid not," said Mentus. "Fortunately, the creature was dead." He looked at me and an impressed smile spread over his face. "You killed it, you know."
I stared at him in disbelief, then looked to the others to see if it was a joke. But Jedstaff and Tytus also wore grins and were nodding their heads. "I can't believe it," I said finally. "How?"
"We're not exactly sure," Tytus replied. "After our battle with the mistress we found it dead and you missing. Jedstaff said he saw it coming at you, and we could only conclude that it had consumed you."
"And we were almost right," Mentus said wryly. "After examining the body, we found your legs sticking out of the creature's mouth. So we extracted you, fearing the worst."
"But here you are," said Jedstaff, smiling in his odd manner. "And the Beast is being picked apart by the vultures."
"Great," I said, still trying to clear my head. After a moment, I asked, "So what happened to that mistress woman?"
"She... escaped," Tytus said. "She saw the Beast die and had no reason to stay, so a little blast powder on our fire wall for a distraction, and she disappeared."
By now I was well enough to stand on my own. "What do we do now?"
"For now our mission is over," said Mentus. "Your uncle asked us to deal with the Beast, and we've done that. He really didn't need to ask us, it seems."
"Well if that's over," I said, "I suppose I should return to my village."
"You could do that," Tytus said. "But come back soon. We'll need you for our next mission."
"Really?"
Mentus grinned. "You're an honorary agent now, kid. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
"I'll come with you," said Jedstaff. "I've got a house to rebuild."
We all laughed on our way back into town.
