Cube Route

by Piers Anthony

  They lived in the Nameless Castle, floating on a cloud. What a weird place for a castle! But some folk had weird tastes. It did suggest that they had more than incidental powers of magic. Maybe not Magician or Sorceress level, but maybe enough to enable her to find and recover the pouch. Then she would be able to carry on, on her own. With luck they wouldn't tell anyone else about her Quest. How could she get to that castle?

  She stared at the sky--and saw a cloud. Something sparkled above it, like light glinting from a shiny turret. Could that be it? The cloud seemed to be moving slowly toward the tall cone of Mount Pinatuba. It might even touch that peak before it moved on.

  If she could just get up there before the cloud passed, she might be able to jump onto that cloud and reach the castle. It was a long shot, but what else was there?

  She ran back toward Mount Pinatuba, but quickly realized that she did not have a hope of the ghost of a chance to reach it in time, because of the thickets at its base, and as for climbing it--parts of its cone were sheer smooth rock, too steep to climb. She had to have help just to get up it, let alone in time.

  What to do? She was desperate. She knew that no ordinary expedient would do, like locating climbing boots or circling the mountain to find a better route. If only she could bring Karia centaur out! But of course if she could do that, she wouldn't need to make that climb.

  What could make it up that mountain in a hurry? Goaded by that question, she looked around her with a new awareness--and spied a hole in the base of the mountain. Com-Bat's cave!

  Did she dare? She had to. If she could speak their language, she might make a deal. She put her hands to her mouth, forming a magic funnel, and yelled through it. "Hey, Com-Bat, you handsome rascal! Come here, and bring Pete."

  In a moment she saw the small flying figure. "What the #### are you up to, you moronic idiot?" he chittered. "You trying to wake my friend?"

  "That's what I'm trying to do, you winged chit." She put her cupped hands up again. "Hey Pete! I've got a deal for you!"

  "You're crazy! You can't outrun Pete. He's the fastest thing in the thicket."

  "That's what I'm counting on. Does he talk the way you do?"

  "No, he can't chitter. But he understands."

  "Then you can translate for me."

  "What, after he's eaten you?"

  "Tell him to listen to me first."

  "You're almost as nervy as you are crazy!"

  "Thanks." She raised her hands a third time."PETE!"

  In no more than a moment and a half there was a faint shudder in the ground, as if something heavy were approaching. Then the huge head of the serpent appeared. The mouth opened and a horrendous hiss issued, like steam from a mountain vent.

  "I tried to stop her, Pete!" the bat chittered. "Honest! I tried to protect your sleep."

  Cube was terrified. Therefore she performed as if nerveless. "You don't want to eat me, Pete," Cube said. "I'm not pretty enough to taste good; you can see that. You want to hear my deal."

  The huge serpent gazed at her with the sort of look she had seen before: part amazement, part dawning respect. He hissed.

  "He says this better be good, human," the bat chittered.

  She knew it. "I need to get up that mountain in a hurry. Before that cloud gets there."

  If there had been doubt that the serpent understood her, it would have faded as Pete turned his head to view the cloud, then the mountain. There was a hiss.

  "Pete says he can make it," the bat chittered. "What's your deal?"

  "My talent is summoning nickelpedes. You've seen it, Bat. I'll summon some to go after the nits and lice and things that bother every big creature. Life will be more comfortable then."

  "He'd like that," the bat chittered. "But what's in it for me, for translating?"

  "Some to keep you company in the cave, too, if you like. They're not tame, but if I tell them to treat a person or creature well, they will."

  Pete hissed. "I travel a lot; I can't carry them with me," the bat chittered for him.

  "Yes you can. You can carry them in a purse in your mouth, and let them out when you're ready for them." She brought out the Mundane purse Angela had given her; this was a good use for it. "And here are the nickelpedes." They were clustering by her feet. She picked up five. "Go with Pete, here, and tackle his vermin when he wants you to. Meanwhile, stay in this purse." They obediently climbed into the purse, and Cube held it up for the serpent. "Try them out, if you wish."

  "No, he felt your magic," the bat chittered. "He knows they'll do it."

  The serpent took the purse between his teeth, surprisingly delicately. His long tongue came out, wrapped around the purse, and hauled it into his cheek.

  "You'll have to take me to the cave, so I can leave some for you," Cube told the bat.

  Pete hissed. "Get on," Com-Bat chittered.

  Cube approached the huge body. She jumped, sprawling across it, then scrambled to get astride. "I'm not sure how I'll hold on," she said.

  "Hold on to the skin," the bat chittered.

  She tried, and found there was a halfway loose patch before her. She caught a double handful of it.

  Then Pete moved. One moment he was still, the next sliding through the brush with astonishing velocity. Cube had to draw up her legs to avoid getting scraped by the branches. In barely three quarters of a moment they were at the cave.

  She dismounted and summoned several more nickelpedes. "This is Com-Bat," she told them. "He is your associate. Help him guard the cave, and do not bother him or the serpent." They waved their claws, capable of gouging out nickel-sized disks of flesh, and scuttled into the cave.

  Pete hissed. "Get aboard," the bat chittered. "That cloud is getting close."

  Cube looked up and saw that the cloud was almost to the cone. That was too close; could they make it? She scrambled onto the serpent's back and grabbed skin.

  "This way," Com-Bat chittered, flying ahead. Pete slithered after him, forging through the thicket, then up the steep slope of the mountain.

  Cube hung on. She had a good hold, but now the serpent was really moving, and his undulations flung her from side to side. They were traveling up, and this made her handhold the only secure contact. She clutched it desperately.

  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 crevasse in the side of the mountain, wedged his sides against the sides of the crevasse, 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 passing 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 a
nd 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.

  "Hello, 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, embarrassed. "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, assuming 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 massive 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 ass, 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, hello," 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 passed--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 smal
l 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 passed 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."