Enough was enough! Determined to get on with his real purpose for leaving England, Piers headed off to one of the market areas in Rinn Fada.
Piers: Don't dawdle, Hera. Step lively!
Hera: My heels...
Piers: I don't want to hear about your blood...blasted heels--or your stockings. When we get to town, I expect you to find some appropriate attire for the country. This is not London!
Hera: Yes Sir!
Piers: Don't be pert, Hera.
Hera: I don't see any clothing stores here, Piers.
Piers: Try that consignment shop over there.
Hera: A second hand store? In this fusty old place?
Piers: Rinn Fada is a well established community with a good...
Hera: All right. All right. I'll look.
Piers: No, no, Clouseau! This does not belong to you. We need to put it back on the shelf! There's a good pup!
Clouseau: Arf! Arf! Mine! Mine!
Mulder (rushing into the pub): Woooof! ...That BEAR almost ate me!
The elixir shop didn't have any Potent Cure elixirs on hand, but Piers found an old alchemy book from the last century. He decided to buy it. Some of those early scientific studies offered amazing insights and surprisingly effective results. Hera managed to find a few items at the consignment store.
In the meantime, she had an idea and presented it to Piers.
Hera: Piers, I can sell these rare flowers for 600 and 400 simoleons. It could help pay for a cure at the science lab.
Piers: Hardly, Hera. That cure is $3,000!
Hera: We can afford it, can't we? Bunter is arriving soon with more funds. (Bunter is Piers' valet and right-hand man.)
Piers: True. ...Very well. But you'll need to entertain yourself and the pups while I...(sigh)...submit myself to whatever the lab techs will be doing to me this time!
Piers once again climbed the stairs of the old community campus to get to the college science lab. He was not looking forward to what would happen. He'd heard bad things about this cure process. (So had I!)
Screams of pain and indignation could be heard throughout the building. Piers wondered if the local medical staff were maybe having a little too much fun at his expense.
Meanwhile, Hera took the pups over to the park. The locals didn't seem so bad, once you got to know them. They certainly loved the pups.
In fact, there were several pets around.
But then it started to hail, and Hera and the puppies had to run for cover. Where was Piers?
Piers had finally been released from his torture. But he still wasn't quite his former self yet. His hair hung like vines from his head, and his body...well, he was just a mess! Piers couldn't let Hera see him like this. He phoned to say he'd have to meet her at home.
Hera gathered the pups and her purchases and called a taxi while Piers rushed home by himself. He had to scrape rotting leaves from his body; then he burned them in the fireplace. After that, he scrubbed green algae from body parts where algae should never grow. (It took me two trips into CAS and an Error 12 to fix Piers! )
Just as Piers finished his clean up, there was a knock on his bedroom door.
Hera: Piers? Are you all right now?
Piers: Yes. You can come in.
Hera: Oh! I am so glad you're back to normal!
Piers: Well, normal for me anyway.
After congratulating Piers on his cure, Hera was anxious to model all her consignment shop bargains.
Hera: And they're all appropriate for country living.
Piers: Very good.
Piers: Hera!
Hera: Ha ha! It's very comfortable.
Piers: Hmm. That one will have to do for home wear...agree?
Hera: Very well. If you insist.
Hera: This one's a bit warmer.
Piers: Ahh. The red heart is...eye catching.
Hera: And I think the red jeans are a good match. I was lucky to find them.
Piers: Indeed.
Hera: This outfit would be perfect for riding, but it's a little snug across the, uh, seat. Not sure I could actually get on a horse while wearing it.
Piers: Yes, there might be some difficulty. But it's very attractive.
Hera: A simple dress, for country dancing...you know, just in case.
Piers: Excellent planning! ...Maybe we could give it a spin now. Would you care to dance, Hera?
Yes, she would. And they did.
Dance, that is.
