Blood 47

**Chapter 47**

Verna is in her cell when Leoma comes by with Millie the cleaning woman in tow. Millie is ordered to clean the place up, which she does with much whining and griping and insults toward Verna, all of which hurt her feelings terribly. This uses up three pages, and we learn that Jagang will be in town the next day, and that Millie managed to slip Verna a death dildo. As soon as Millie leaves, Verna stabs Leoma in the leg and demands that her collar be taken off.

Suddenly we're back with Richard, who is traveling via sliph. This is a rapturous experience although he can't tell how long it takes or how far he has traveled. The sliph spits him out in the Grove Woods – now isn't that convenient – where he meets a whole herd of Misters on their way to the sliph's well. Each one taps his *yabree* with their own, causing the weapons to hum, before jumping into the well. Richard doesn't react at all to this strange behavior, instead asking a random Mister where he's needed.

Mr Mister sends him off thataway, where he runs into Merissa. She greets him cordially, and he says that his *yabree* *“sings of need.”*

Yeah, I'm thinking Richard has cracked as well. Lot of that going around.

Merissa mentions *“The queen,”* asking if Richard is ready *“to help her? To free her?”* and Richard seizes this like a drowning man on a lifeline. Merissa explains that the old queen is dying, and the new queen needs to move on and establish a new colony. Richard is all in favor of this, especially when Merissa says that he's the only one who can help. She says that it must be before he has two *yabrees.*

Merissa then leads Richard to a big dome, from which emerges a red, reptilian creature resembling a dragon (although Richard notes that it is *not* a dragon). This entity, the Mister Queen (hereafter the Missus) communicates via scent because why not. The Missus wants to go elsewhere, so Richard directs her to the sliph and she and the Misters disappear.

Merissa decides this is the perfect time to start behaving like a total moron, and shoves Richard off the top of the dome. Richard catches the edge of . . . something . . . but loses his *yabree* and snaps out of his hypnotized state. Nice job there, Merissa. \~/

Merissa tries to roast Richard with a jet of fire, but misses. Actually, let me quote the full passage:

*“Leaning over to see him hanging there, Merissa threw a bolt of fire down at him. He swung his feet in, and the flames just missed him. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, he knew.”*

Gripping.

Richard struggles to find a better handhold, and Merissa . . . makes the same mistake twice. She literally shoots flame at him again and misses. Awesome. \~/ Anyway, Richard manages to grab onto a big curved rib supporting the interior of the dome and starts climbing down it as Merissa angles for a better shot at him. As he climbs, Richard manages to deduce that his *cloak of invisibility* is problem, since he has nothing better to think about while climbing frantically down the underside of a ruined stone dome to escape a murderous sorceress.

Merissa appears in a doorway, flinging lightning and black anti-lightning, just as Richard reaches the ground. Merissa chats as she continues trying to kill Richard, revealing that Kahlan is in Tanimura, and that Richard has accomplished whatever it was Jagang wanted him to (presumably transporting the Missus to America, though why Jagang would want that is a mystery) and she is now free to murderize him.

So Richard goes invisible and the chapter ends.

Drinks: 2

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