Man From Mundania (2 page)

to be more goblins in Xanth than there used to be; no one

was quite sure why, but it did make for trouble.

Then the Heaven Cent had brought Electra to Dolph.

She had to marry him or die, so Dolph agreed to be be-

trothed to her too. That had happened at about the time

Dolph discovered that Nada was five years older than he,

so it might have been an easy decision for him to make.

But in the end he had realized that he loved Nada, so that

betrothal had remained.

Thus their quandary: they all knew that Dolph had to

choose between the two girls before he came of age. If he

chose Nada, he would honor his word to the naga folk,

and as a prince he was bound to keep his word. But Elec-

tra would die. None of them wanted that.

Three years had passed, while Electra used her talent

to charge the Heaven Cent. The three girls had become

fast friends. So they accepted the situation as it was: un-

resolved. Electra loved Dolph, and Dolph loved Nada.

Nada didn't love Dolph, and Dolph didn't love Electra.

How was this picklement to be settled? No one knew, but

it remained a favorite topic for conjecture. Fortunately it

would be several more years before Dolph Came of Age,

so the matter wasn't pressing yet.

6 Man from Mundania

"Didn't you know a Boy, once?" Electra asked. She

had been born more than eight hundred years before—-

maybe closer to nine hundred—and had slept through all

those centuries until Dolph kissed her awake. So her phys-

ical age was fifteen, and she looked twelve; indeed, she

was still a child in all the ways that counted, except for

the spell that made her love Dolph- But because of that

spell, she understood something of love and had a lively

curiosity about it.

"Yes," Ivy said, remembering. "I knew Hugo, the

Good Magician's son. He was five years older than me."

"The right way around!" Nada said. They all knew that

a boy could love a girl who was five years younger, but a

girl could not love a boy five years younger. That was

Nada's plight. She could marry Dolph, when the time

came, but couldn't love him.

"Oh," Electra said, understanding. "So when the Good

Magician disappeared, so did his son!"

"Yes. Hugo wasn't much, but he was nice, and he could

conjure fruit. Only he usually conjured rotten fruit."

"Rotten fruit!" Electra exclaimed, laughing. She

plucked a cherry from her pie and tossed it at Ivy. "Have

some rotten fruit!"

"Oh, so that's the way it is!" Ivy cried with mock out-

rage. She plucked a fragment of peach from her own pie

and threw it at Electra. "Have a peach of pie yourself!"

But Electra, childishly canny, ducked, and the piece hit

Nada.

"Oho!" Nada said. Her pie was lemon meringue, but

there were no lemon pieces to throw, so she threw me-

ringue instead.

In a moment they were engrossed in their very most

favorite sport: a food fight. For some obscure reason this

was frowned on at the castle, so this was a golden oppor-

tunity. When Stanley returned, all three were thoroughly

spattered. The dragon offered to lick them clean, but at

the first lick Electra dissolved into titillations of ticklish-

ness, and that set them all off in helpless laughter.

Fortunately there was a hot spring nearby. The three

plunged in—only to indulge in a fury of splash-fighting,

Man from Mundania
         
7

with piercing screams, while Stanley prowled in a circle

around them, ready to help steam them clean. If it hadn't

been for him, every predator in the region would have

been there, attracted by the delicious sounds of shrieking

nymphs.

It was fun, being girls.

They camped for the night in a nest of pillows within

the circle formed by Stanley, who curled around and caught

his tail in his mouth. Ivy had told him the story of Uro-

borus, the giant serpent who circled the Mundane world

(which it seemed was round) and grasped its own tail, and

Stanley liked the notion, so now he slept that way himself.

He was long, but really not that long; he could not hope

to circle the world. It didn't matter, because he was only

doing it for the feel of it. Meanwhile, they were quite safe,

which was the point.

When they got tired of walking, they took turns riding

on Stanley. It was an art to remain perched while he

whomped along, but they had had time to practice it. First

the rider would be low, then riding high, then low again.

Wheee! Electra took special joy in this, not ashamed to

yield to her juvenile impulses. Ivy and Nada, being more

mature (and in dresses), were obliged to pretend that it

really wasn't all that special.

As they approached Corn-Pewter's cave, they paused for

a consultation. "Should we try to hide our identities from

him?" Ivy asked. Com-Pewter was really an "it" but it

was easier to ascribe masculine evil, so they called it

"he."

"He'll never be fooled," Nada said. "He'll know we

didn't come here just to giggle."

"But maybe if we can hide our talents—"

Nada shrugged. "We can try. But I don't think it will

work. He certainly knows about Ivy."

"Unless he's overconfident, so doesn't check, and—"

Ivy's eyes flicked meaningfully toward Electra.

Nada nodded. "When I change form, try to escape,

distracting him—"

Now Electra nodded. "Gotcha."

8 Man from Mundania

"All else is bluff," Ivy said. "Maybe we'll pull it off

without violence."

"Maybe," Nada agreed, seeming less confident.

"Stanley, you go hide in the jungle," Ivy said. "After

the invisible giant passes, sneak up and follow us, but

don't let yourself be seen. That machine in there is devi-

ous, and we may need to be rescued if things go wrong."

Stanley nodded. He was only a dragon, but in Ivy's

presence his ferocity and intelligence were enhanced, and

he understood her perfectly. He ceased whomping and

slithered into the brush beside the path. In a moment his

sinuous green body merged with the foliage and disap-

peared. He would be watching.

They looked on, chatting innocently, in the way girls

had when innocence was the last thing on their minds.

The ground shook. "There's the invisible giant, right

on cue," Ivy remarked. "Get ready to spook."

The ground shook again. They paused, gazing wildly

around. "What's that?" Electra cried, her hair flaring

slightly. She was very good at spooking.

There was another shake. "It's the invisible giant!" Ivy

cried in seeming horror.

"EEEEEEEK!" Nada and Electra screamed in perfect

unison.

"Run!" Ivy cried,

The three broke into a run, right toward the cave. That

was the way Com-Pewter set it up: first travelers got onto

the D-tour, then they were herded by the invisible giant

until they took refuge in the cave—where they were trapped

by Com-Pewter. They were walking into it deliberately,

this time.

Just before the slow-moving giant came into sight (as it

were), they reached the cave and plunged in. It was dark,

but in a moment a light showed deeper inside, so of course

they went toward it. Soon they were in Com-Pewter's main

chamber.

There he was: an odd collection of wires and colored

metalware, with a big glassy screen sitting up in the center.

Words appeared on this screen, written in light:

G&EETWGS, GIRLS.

Man from Mundania
         
9

The three tittered uncertainly. Ivy put her finger to her

mouth as if nervous, which really was not much of an

exaggeration. "What is that?" she asked, staring at the

screen.

l AM COM-PEWTER, YOUR HOST, the screen said. TO

WHAT DO I OWE THE HONOR OF THIS VISIT, PRINCESS IVY?

So much for secrecy! Ivy decided to get right on with

it. "I have come for the magic mirror you stole from Cas-

tle Roogna."

i STOLE NO MIRROR! the screen printed angrily, i WON

IT.

"You stole it!" Ivy retorted. "And I want it back!"

DID NOT! the screen replied.

"Did too!"

DID NOT!

Ivy realized that Com-Pewter, who was of the techno-

logical persuasion, could continue this argument forever.

Machines were like golems: it didn't bother them to repeat

things indefinitely. Ivy, being just about grown-up (except

for the matter of a boyfriend), could no longer indulge in

such activity; it wasn't dignified.

"You lured a traveler here, who was using the mirror

with my father's permission, and you only let him go be-

cause he left the mirror," Ivy said stoutly.

CORRECT. I PLAYED A GAME WITH HIM AND WON. THE

MIRROR IS MINE.

"The mirror is not yours!" she snapped. "It wasn't his

to give away! He had borrowed it, and he was going to

return it when he finished his mission. So you stole it, and

you have to give it back."

I WON IT AND I DON'T HAVE TO RETURN IT.

"Yes, you do!" Ivy said. "Or else!"

OR ELSE WHAT?

"Or else my father. King Dor, will have to do some-

thing."

YOUR FATHER DOES NOT KNOW YOU ARE HERE.

This machine was entirely too clever! "Well, then, /

will have to do something."

DO WHAT?

" VVi teiw to \2&a. A& YBHTOE b-ask. fcy fas»l>. w kfj crook.''

10 Man from Mundania