Day 268 (246th) ((back in time to Day 236))

Day 268 (246th) back to ((Day 236)):
As the sun rose, we removed as much of our presence from the Shrine as possible. Walking out the doors, we began to steel ourselves against what might happen as we entered Thantos. When we had left, none of us had any companions and none of us had changed to be more like our non-human ancestors. We could not be certain of how good our welcome would be by those who did not understand.
Within a few hours, we stood at the city's edge, watching life go on as usual. We had been there only a few moments when we heard someone shout.
"They're here! The Sisters have returned!"
The whole city seemed to stop and look at us. I wanted to vanish. I felt like every inch of me was being examined for various reasons. A living corridor formed, guiding us to the castle. We heard, among the cheers, people commenting on our appearance, our companions, and the tales, as they had heard them, of our adventures. A few, from what I could make out, did not sound anything like what we had done. My sisters were also troubled by some of the wild bits we could make out.
On the castle steps, Lord Carmon stood, as healthy as we saw him last. Alice dropped her things and rushed to him. She engulfed him in a crushing embrace. Carmon had to nearly pry her off in order to speak to her. Set picked up her abandoned pack and flung it between his wings. They were nearly oblivious to us as we caught up to her and stood beside them.
"Father, we have so much to tell you. Such wonders we have seen..."
"Yes, yes," Carmon interrupted, "I am certain of that. Let us go inside and you can tell me all about it."
He ushered us inside as one last cheer drowned out the sound of the door closing.
The castle was reassuringly the same as we had left it. Many servants we recognized, which gave us great hope. Carmon walked us into a parlor and invited us all to be seated. Dawn took her place on the back of Alice's chair. Bo laid out across the couch Lisa, Sarah, and Gretta shared. Set posted himself, head on my feet and body stretched before Anna and Callie, in front of the couch we shared. Carmon took in this sight as he sat in a large arm chair.
"Before you launch into your adventures, I am curious about your companions. They look larger and different since last I saw them. Set is much larger. Dawn is larger and brighter. Bo, it seems, has new additions to his physique."
We explained Bo's wings, Dawn's changes, and Set's growth. During this, clever Lord Carmon noticed our hooded looks at each other. He stopped us and asked. After a few moments of tense silence, Alice began to explain. Lord Carmon's eyes grew wider and he paled more as the whole story unfolded before him. It was evening by the time the entirety of it was lain out for him. He stood and paced as he worked it out.
"If I heard correctly, you were told that, sometime during this month, I will be poisoned and cursed unto death. To prevent this tragedy, the Faerie Queen brought you into the Faerie Realm, gave you the antidote to both poison and curse, and sent you back in time to around the moment of this occurrence to either prevent it or cure me at the appropriate time. Did I hear right?"
We all nodded. Nodding as well, he paced a bit more, still hammering out the information.
"My soon-to-be attacker, once this deed is done, has to watch me constantly to prevent my recovery and insure my demise. His or her vigilance is what keeps me so ill that a wizard I barely know is compelled to call upon you for aid as no one and nothing else will work."
More nodding. He sat down rather heavy as he weighed it all. He turned to Sarah and Lisa.
"Am I ill yet or did you arrive before the vile act?'
They looked at him closely.
"It has not happened, yet," Sarah quietly replied, "You are still healthy."
"There is no poison in you," Lisa stated, "We got here before it happened."
Carmon sat silently, the gears of his mind working the problem from every angle. His face darkened.
"Have you considered this may be a trap? This wizard may have turned evil and tricked you out of Crialas at its most vulnerable time. He's tricked one guardian to death. Who's to say he will not do it again?"
We could not bring ourselves to accept that option. We had come to know Mattis fairly well and felt it would take a lot to cause him to be evil. Our sister's death at his hands was fifty years ago. He had been duly punished for that by Greed himself. We told him how unlikely that scenario would be. He agreed, realizing he was grasping at straws.
We continued our talk over dinner. We were able to secretly check most of the household. None harbored any ill will against Lord Carmon himself nor Thantos as a whole. He told of new acquaintances that we could look at when they next met. He sent word to them of our wish to meet.
When dinner was over, we were taken back to the suite we had once occupied many months ago. We made a bed for Set near mine as the bed was not big enough for us to share. Mice and squirrels were still abundant enough for him to hunt at his leisure and Bo could also hunt without causing any problems.