"I think we are agreed that we wish to continue with the Quest," the centaur said, and the others nodded.
Just like that? "What"s so significant about these questions?" Cube asked.
"The first shows your integrity," Karia said.
"But it"s the only way I know." Actually she had lied to Yorick in Mundania, but that was following a script while dealing with an unscrupulous man. On her own, truth was best.
"Precisely," the centaur said. "We like that, and know we can trust you."
"The second shows your determination and courage," Ryver said.
"Well, I always had gumption; that"s just the way I am." But she certainly hadn"t felt very brave during the crisis.
"Precisely," he agreed. "If you had been some other way, we would still be underground."
"The third shows that you found the right course when you were on your own, despite the bad thread," Melody said, seeming unusually adult for her age.
"By remembering Nimby, and the Nameless Castle, and figuring out how to get there," Harmony agreed, just as seriously.
"And without knowing that Nimby is actually the Demon Xanth," Rhythm concluded.
"Who?" Cube asked, astonished.
"And of course the Demon Xanth does not like having the Demoness Fornax poking around his territory," Tessa said.
"Demons don"t," Metria agreed. "I should know, having irritated countless demons. Capital D Demons are worse."
"You told him something he wanted to know," Cory added. "So of course he helped you. And I suspect there will be no more interference from Fornax, for each Demon is supreme in his own territory."
"The Demon Xanth?" Cube asked, grasping a thin straw of understanding. Now that weird power of the dragon gaze was becoming intelligible, and the manner he did things.
"He knew you didn"t know," Karia said. "He doesn"t do favors for folk who know."
"I--I--" But Cube couldn"t formulate any coherent thought.
"Put us back in the pouch and continue the Quest," Ryver said.
"But--" Cube paused and tried again, this time getting it out. "But all of you shouldn"t go in. I might lose it again."
"Keep Diamond out," Metria suggested.
"And you," Cube said. "Because you could catch it if it fell into another stream."
The demoness shrugged, her shoulders and bosom rising off her body, then settling back. "This Quest does seem to be getting interesting enough to be worth my attention." She faded out.
"Very well," Cube agreed, enormously relieved and flattered. "If that"s the way the rest of you feel." She held out the pouch.
"We do," Karia said, sliding into it. Then the others did the same, until only Ryver was left. "You"re a lot of woman," he said as he approached.
"But not beautiful," Cube said ruefully.
"Not yet," he agreed, and slid into the pouch.
Oddly exhilarated, Cube turned to the dog. "Are you ready to continue?" she asked.
Diamond wagged her tail.
Chapter 11: Mooning.
They followed the revived thread onward. Soon it diverged from the route the prior thread had taken, and Cube was glad to see it. It picked up an enchanted path, which she was especially glad to see, and went northeast.
It was late in the day, so she stopped at a convenient camp. Diamond was good company, but that made her wonder. "You"re a Mundane dog," Cube said. "You shouldn"t have to wander around Xanth indefinitely. In time my Quest will be over, one way or another, and I"ll go home or get into romance, depending. You need to find someone who needs a dog like you permanently."
Diamond wagged her tail sadly. She knew.
As usual, someone else came to spend the night at the same camp. Cube realized that though the paths might not seem crowded, there were only so many camps, so that was where travelers were most likely to meet. This was a nondescript woman, somewhat dusty and tired from a day of walking.
"Hi, I"m Brenn," she said. "My talent is to change into a brick wall, but since this camp is convenient, I won"t bother tonight."
"I am Cube. I can summon and control nickelpedes, but I never do it mischievously. This is Diamond."
"That"s good." Brenn patted the dog. "Where are you going?"
Cube hesitated. She didn"t know where she was going; she was following the thread. She didn"t want to say that, because it would suggest her Quest. Yet it was a reasonable question.
"What have we here?" a voice inquired as a small black cloud formed between them. "A gold brick?" The cloud became a shining yellow brick, still floating.
"What are you?" Brenn demanded.
The brick expanded into human form. "Demoness Metria, not at your service. I"m keeping an eye on Cube so she doesn"t get lost."
Cube realized that Metria had been doing exactly that, and appeared in time to distract Brenn from her question. She appreciated that. "Thank you, Metria. I was just talking with Brenn, here, before we settle for the night."
"Don"t settle yet. There"s another mortal coming."
And there was: another young woman, who of course looked significantly better than Cube. "h.e.l.lo, I"m Kelsey," she said. As she spoke, her hair seemed to change color.
The other two introduced themselves, and so did Metria. "A demoness?" Kelsey asked, surprised. Her hair turned purple.
"She"s watching over Cube," Brenn said.
"But demons don"t care about mortal people."
"Of course I don"t care," Metria said. "But I promised someone I"d see her safely home, so I"m doing it. What is with your hair?"
"Oh, that." Kelsey hair turned light blue. "That"s my magic. My hair changes color with my emotions. I can"t control it; it just happens."
"It"s lovely," Brenn said.
Kelsey"s hair turned deep red, blushing. "It"s embarra.s.sing," she said.
"Another coming," the demoness announced.
It was another young woman. "h.e.l.lo. Is there room for one more?"
"I think so," Cube said, smiling.
They went through another round of introductions. The new one was Seren, who didn"t know whether she had a magic talent, but was disgusted with her name.
"What"s wrong with it?" Brenn asked. "It seems nice."
"My last name is Ity. People always say it as one word: Serenity. Then they pretend they are being very serene."
"That"s doesn"t seem too bad," Kelsey said.
"And my middle name is Dip. I tried to get it changed, but it"s locked in."
"Serendipity," Cube said.
"Yes. Others find that funny, but I don"t."
"But that could relate to your talent," Cube said. "Do you find things?"
"Sure, all the time, but never what I"m looking for. For example I was looking for a camp with several attentive handsome men."
"Instead you found us!" Kelsey laughed, her hair flickering yellow.
"Yes. I"m sure you"re nice people, but--"
"How old are you?" Brenn asked.
"Fourteen, I think. I was a foundling, about two when found in a cabbage patch."
"That"s why," Cube said. "You aren"t old enough to join the Adult Conspiracy. Those men would have betrayed it. So you found something else."
"If that"s my magic, I don"t like it."
Metria appeared. "If you"re a foundling, how do you know your name?"
"It was on the only thing I had, a broken pacifier." She held it up. Sure enough, on it was printed SEREN DIP ITY.
"I wouldn"t mind having a talent like that," Cube said. "Mine is summoning nickelpedes."
The girl looked at her. "That"s not very feminine."
"Exactly. It"s useful when I encounter a wild beast, but I"d rather have some other talent."
"Will, if mine is finding things I"m not looking for, I"d gladly trade it for yours."
"Too bad talents can"t be traded," Kelsey said.
"Or names," Brenn said.
Cube got the hint of a weird idea. "I wonder. Maybe the talent is a.s.sociated with your possession."
"The pacifier? I"ve tried to get rid of it, but it always comes back."
Cube"s idea got weirder. "I have something like that." She brought out the mirror. "I have tried to give this away several times, but it returns. Let"s see if we can trade."
"All right. I wasn"t looking for a mirror, but I wouldn"t mind seeing my face when I do my hair."
They traded items. Cube put the pacifier in a pocket, wondering how long it would stay there. "About the mirror--"
"What is this?" Seren demanded.
"It"s a rear-view mirror," Cube explained. "What you weren"t looking for."
"Actually this is okay," the girl said, admiring her rear, which was a pert one.
"Let"s see how long we can keep each other"s things," Cube said. "They may both be magic, and will probably revert soon."
"Okay."
But the two objects did not revert that evening. In the morning Cube still had the pacifier, and Seren still had the mirror. "Maybe they can"t be given away, but can be exchanged," Cube said. "If your talent really is connected, you won"t find what you aren"t looking for while you have the mirror."
"Does that mean I"ll lose the name?"
"Maybe. I don"t know how these things work."
"What else could I call myself?"
"Mirror," Kelsey suggested, her hair turning green.
"Mirror. I like it," the girl said.
They went their separate ways. Cube wondered whether her wild idea could be right: that the name and talent went with the pacifier. If so, they both might be hers now.
Ridiculous! Her imagination had made her believe something that couldn"t be. Still, she wondered.
Metria appeared. "You know, Seren, this path is heading toward Castle Roogna. But you"ve already been there."
"What did you call me?"