The mountain shuddered. Pinatuba was aware of them, and not pleased. Of course nothing pleased this mountain, but this made her nervous. Suppose it decided to throw them off?
"You know us!" the bat chittered at the mountain. "Com-Bat and ComPete! We are coming to admire your peak."
The shuddering eased. Pinatuba was satisfied that these weren"t intruders. Did it know about Cube? How would it react if it caught on? She had heard that it was a pretty ornery mountain.
The climb became steeper. How could the serpent stay on without sliding down? She was virtually hanging by her hands. She saw into the sky, and the cloud was already touching the top of the mountain. Were they too late?
"Here!" the bat chittered. The serpent followed him into a vertical creva.s.se in the side of the mountain, wedged his sides against the sides of the creva.s.se, and powered on upward. Now they were traveling straight up, and Cube was hanging. She felt her grip slowly slipping.
Then they emerged at the top--and there was the interior of the crater, filled with water. Cube had forgotten about that; Nepherina had explained about the cone filling with water, and the stream originating from that. This was a huge lake.
On the far side of the crater, the cloud was just pa.s.sing the rim. They were too late!
But Pete launched from the rim and dived into the lake. Horrified, Cube hung on; she knew she"d drown if she lost her grip. The water surged around them, tearing at her body. She tried to scream, but water filled her mouth.
Then the serpent rose to the surface, and was undulating smoothly across the lake. Cube choked and coughed, clearing her lungs. Was the cloud still there? She couldn"t tell; her eyes were too teary.
Pete reached the far side and slithered up the rim. He crested it and stopped at last. Cube looked, blinking.
There was the cloud, just below, moving away from the peak. It was the right one; she saw the castle on it. "Thank you, boys!" she cried, and flung herself off the peak.
For two instants she fell through the air. Then she landed on the rear fringe of the cloud, and bounced. She was falling off the edge! She reached out, and her fingers caught fluff. She grabbed handfuls, swinging in closer, and in a moment was buried in cloud stuff. She scrambled up, and soon lay panting on the surface. She had made it.
She sat up, facing toward the mountain. There were the serpent and bat, poised at the rim. She waved. "Thanks," she repeated. The serpent flicked his tail, then slithered over the rim and out of sight inside the cone.
"h.e.l.lo, Cube."
Cube jumped, but managed to stay on the cloud. There was a lovely woman with greenish-yellow hair and perfectly fitting blue dress standing behind her. "Who--?" she asked somewhat stupidly.
"I am Chlorine," the woman said. Naturally her voice was dulcet. She made Cube seem absolutely drab in comparison. "You seem to have made some effort to reach us. Now you can make your case to Nimby."
"Nimby," Cube agreed blankly. "I--"
"Of course. This way, please." Chlorine led the way toward the castle. It wasn"t far, because this was not a large cloud.
Cube looked down at herself. Her clothing was a grimy mess, and her face and hair were surely no better. "But I"m not--"
"Yes you are," Chlorine said. And suddenly Cube was exquisitely garbed in a sparkling red gown that strove valiantly to make even her dull body esthetic. She felt clean, and her hair was fresh and fluffy.
"Uh, thank you," she said, not questioning her condition further. It was evident that these folk did have magic, plenty of it.
They came to the moat. Cube didn"t make the effort to question how a water-filled moat could be on the top of a cloud. Obviously it could be, at least in this instance.
She gazed into the water and saw her reflection. Her dress was lovely, of course, and she wore a matching tiara. If only her face weren"t so plain, and her body so dull. Chlorine"s dress enhanced her notable curves, while Cube"s dress lacked anything to work with.
"Before we meet Nimby," Chlorine said, "let me tell you something about him. I presume you don"t know his nature."
"I don"t," Cube agreed, embarra.s.sed. "I met a Mundane woman, Kim, and she mentioned you and Nimby, saying that you liked to go around doing favors. I need a favor really badly, so--"
"Of course. Nimby is a donkey-headed dragon who has the power to make himself or his companion be anything that companion wants. When I first met him I was, well, like this." Suddenly a rather dull and bitter-looking woman stood there, and the dress hung on her awkwardly. Cube remembered Fluorine, who had said she was Chlorine"s sister. That seemed likely. Then the original woman returned, filling the dress with deserved pride. "And my talent was poisoning water," Chlorine continued. "So you can understand that when I say I appreciate your situation, I truly do. I asked Nimby to make me beautiful, and he did. I asked him to make me smart, and he did. When I was smart I had much better ideas for self-improvement, and became a better person in every way I could think of. Later I married Nimby--"
"You married a dragon?" Cube had thought it was a prince, or something similar.
Chlorine smiled. "I asked him to make himself into a princely handsome man, and he did. But I still rather liked the ugly form he had first had, so usually he remains that way. Appearance isn"t everything."
"But it"s a lot," Cube said somewhat bitterly.
"Yes. Which is why I prefer to keep my enhanced form. But I don"t require it of Nimby, and he doesn"t require it of me. Sometimes we, well, relate when he is handsome and I am my old way, just for the variety. We know each other, you see, so it makes less difference. Once you have it, you don"t need it as much."
"Could he make me beautiful?"
"He could. But that would interfere with your Quest."
Cube realized it was true. She was good for the Quest because no one noticed her. If she looked like Silhouette or Chlorine, everyone would notice her, women included. Also, a.s.suming that Nimby would help her once, she could not take the aid for herself while her Companions were lost. Anyway, the Good Magician had already promised her beauty when she completed the Quest. "Yes, I must complete my Quest."
"Nimby doesn"t talk," Chlorine continued. "But he understands, the way many animals do."
"Yes, a big serpent helped me get up the mountain so I could catch this cloud. He could not talk human, but he understood, so we were able to deal."
"We saw. You really struggled to reach us."
"Yes. I"m desperate."
"Nimby will help, I"m sure. Just explain to him what favor you want, and if he is inclined, he will grant it. If he has a question, I will ask it. I understand him."
"That"s wonderful," Cube said gladly. "I don"t know what I would do otherwise."
"You may find Nimby somewhat strange, but don"t be concerned. He will not hurt you."
"I know dragons can be friends," Cube agreed. "When you get to know them."
"Exactly. You can trust him. Tell him anything you think he might need to know. Now we shall meet him." Chlorine led the way to the small drawbridge, and they crossed.
The castle was huge. Cube was amazed that such a ma.s.sive edifice could perch on so small a cloud without sinking it. There was chamber after chamber inside; this building could house an army if it wanted to. How had it come to be used for just a woman and a dragon? Was this another situation like that of Castle MaiDragon, with caretakers? That seemed to make the most sense.
They came to the main reception chamber. Just then there was the sound of a child"s cry. "Oh, that"s Nimbus," Chlorine said. "He"s gotten into trouble again. I must fetch him. Just go on in; Nimby is expecting you." She hurried away, and in a moment turned a corner and was gone.
Cube entered the chamber. There was Nimby--and he was indeed strange. He was a dragon a.s.s, with a donkey head and a dragon body striped diagonally with pastel pink and bilious green. He was big enough to be dangerous, but that stupid head and coloration made him seem laughable. She was glad Chlorine had warned her; she would not have wanted to offend Nimby by her initial reaction.
"Uh, h.e.l.lo," she said. "I"m Cube. Chlorine told me to tell you my situation. I have a favor to ask."
The dragon gazed at her. When their eyes met, she suffered sudden vertigo. It seemed as if she were falling into a whirlpool, spinning around, and seeing everything and nothing all at once. It also felt as if Nimby had drawn out half her soul. This was no ordinary dragon!
Then things stabilized. Their eye contact had broken, and she was not eager to renew it. So she plunged in. "I am on a--a Quest for the Good Magician Humfrey. I have nine Companions. They are in a pouch the Magician gave me, and I lost the pouch. I--"
Suddenly the enormity of her problem overcame her, choking off her words. Cube had not really allowed herself to consider it before, being intent on doing something about it. But now that she was telling it, it overcame her.
Chlorine entered the room, leading a three-year-old boy by the hand. That was evidently Nimbus, who would be her son. She took in the situation at a glance. "What do you need, Cube?"
"The pouch," Cube said. "I lost it. I--" She choked off again.
Nimby wiggled an ear. "Let"s go for a ride," Chlorine said.
The little boy charged the dragon and scrambled onto his back. Chlorine followed more sedately, leading Cube. There was a saddle Cube hadn"t seen before; in fact there were three of them, lined up along the dragon"s back. Nimbus took the first, Chlorine the second, and Cube the third.
Nimby moved. He walked through the wall, which seemed illusory. Cube reached out to touch it as she pa.s.sed--and it was solid. So the dragon could walk through walls as well as grant favors. What else could he do? Cube"s surprise was building into awe.
They emerged on the surface of the cloud. Then Nimby spread his small wings, which Cube also hadn"t noticed before; it was as if they had simply sprouted when needed. He lurched off the edge of the cloud and sailed through the air, spiraling grandly down toward the forest below.
"Nimbus loves to ride," Chlorine said conversationally, as if this were routine--as perhaps it was, for them. "Any excuse will do."
They glided toward Mount Pinatuba. The mountain reacted, sending up a warning puff of steam. How it did that with a water-filled crater Cube wasn"t sure. Nimby turned his donkey head and glanced at the mountain--and the steam dissipated and was no more. It was almost as if the silly-looking dragon had cowed the terrible mountain, surely not the case. Nothing cowed Pinatuba. Maybe they were friends, as was the case with ComPete the serpent.
They circled the mountain and found the stream that coursed down its slope. How did Nimby know where to go? Cube hadn"t told him where she lost the pouch. Maybe he had gotten it from her when their eyes met. Chlorine had rather understated the case when she said Nimby was strange. Cube had never heard of a dragon with the odd powers this one was demonstrating. The ability to make a person beautiful; to grant favors; to walk through solid walls; to fathom folk by a glance; to find a lost pouch. Maybe even to make an ornery mountain back off.
They came in for a landing in the thick forest. "Look out!" Cube cried as the dragon was about to crash into a tree. But then they pa.s.sed through the tree, and others beyond it, and came to the ground below. The boy was chortling. Oh--that phasing through solids ability, again.
"Nimby always does that," Chlorine explained. "Nimbus likes to crash."
They did not land on the ground. They sank into it. In most of a moment they were gliding under the ground as if it were so much fog. Yet Cube was sure that if she reached out, she would feel its solidity. This time she did not reach.
Finally the dragon came to rest in what seemed to be a glowing cave. Nimbus jumped off and ran around it, picking pieces of glow fungus from the wall. "Don"t bother with that," Chlorine called to him. "Fetch the lady"s pouch."
The boy veered to a glowing river that, as usual, Cube hadn"t noticed before. He plunged a hand into it, fished around for half a moment, and pulled out--the pouch. He shook it off, and brought it to Cube.
"Thank you, Nimbus," she said, unable to think of anything else. It was plainly the right one. Just like that, she had it back!
The boy remounted, and they moved through the ground again. They looped around and came to the surface. "This I think is where you get off," Chlorine said. "It has been a pleasure. We wish you well."
"Uh, thanks," Cube said as she got down. "I--"
But the dragon was already moving away, and then was gone. She was standing alone beside the stream, exactly where she had been when she lost the pouch.
There was nothing to do but go on. She jumped over the stream again, this time holding the pouch firmly in her hand.
She saw the thread, as before. But she didn"t trust it. It had tried to lead her into a forget whorl. She had better consult with the others, and catch them up on what had happened.
She paused at a reasonably open glade and put her hand in the pouch. "Everyone," she said.
Hands grabbed all of her fingers. They all slid out, landing in a circle around her. Metria was the first to catch her balance. "This must be some stretch," she said.
"Some what?" Ryver asked.
"Reach, length, range, extent, scope--"
"Extremity?" Karia asked.
"Whatever!" the three Princesses said together, laughing as they tried unsuccessfully to make cross faces.
"I have a problem with the thread," Cube said. "And that"s hardly the beginning."
Diamond Dog and Drek Dragon sniffed the thread. There was a bad smell.
"It has gone bad," Cory said. "They can tell, and so can we." Tessa nodded.
The three Princesses inspected it. "There"s that magic again," Melody said.
"The magic we saw at Castle MaiDragon," Harmony agreed.
"Demoness Fornax," Rhythm concluded.
"You caught on then?" Karia asked them. "Why didn"t you say something?"
"We didn"t want to worry you," Melody said.
"Or anyone else," Harmony agreed.
"And Mother might not have let us go on the Quest," Rhythm concluded.
That was surely the real reason, Cube thought. "Can you fix it?"
"Sure," the three said together. They sang and played and beat, and the thread quivered, vanished, and reappeared.
"Why did you summon all of us?" Karia asked. "Instead of just the Princesses?"
"It"s a long story, but you had better hear it," Cube said. She launched into it, telling of her loss of the pouch, her trip to the Nameless Castle, and Nimby"s rescue of the purse. "So you see, I almost got all of you into serious trouble," she concluded. "You may want to reconsider whether you want to continue with this Quest."
"One question," Karia said. "Did it occur to you that you could have summoned the Princesses, gotten the thread fixed, and continued on the mission without saying anything about the intervening loss of the pouch?"
"No, I never thought of that. It wouldn"t have been honest."
A glance circled around the group.
"Two questions," Ryver said. "Did you think of giving up the Quest and going home, instead of struggling to recover it?"
"No, I just couldn"t do that."
A second glance circulated.
"Three questions," Melody said.
"Do you know who Nimby really is?" Harmony asked.
"Or why he helped you?" Rhythm concluded.
"No, though I think he is more than he appears to be. I"m really very curious."
A third glance went around.