by Des Pensable
He ate the dried out burnt pieces as they tasted better to his Logicon taste buds, and she scoffed down the whole of the second layer and half the third, while he finished off the rest.
After the meal they sat side by side at ease, chatting about anything and everything until he started turning a little red. She noticed and apologised for not warning him about the heat of the sun on exposed skin on Mudrun, and moved behind him, said a prayer to the Lady, and touched him for the first time. He felt the tingle of magic pass over his skin as she healed the sunburn. She then sang a second prayer, one that gave him resistance against burning. This time the tingle didn’t come from the magic effect of the prayer, but the feel of her hands on his shoulders.
Now that she had used her magic on him, he felt that he had to impress her a little with his own, so he asked her to wait while he retrieved something from his body shell, the ball of chaos matter. He sat beside her and let her examine it, and she thought that it was just a ball of clay.
‘Let me show you some of my magic,’ he said, and placed the ball on the ground beside him, touching it with one finger while closing his eyes and imagining a tunnel shaped frame over their heads. A rod of mind clay extended along the ground on his side for two paces, then three arches grew over their heads and touched the ground on the other side, progressing along the ground until they joined together to form a framework. Thin white cloth then grew between the arches to provide a shady tunnel shaped shelter. He asked for her favourite colour and the white cloth changed until she said it was perfect.
They lay back on the sand in the shade and after a brief chat he drifted off to sleep, but she lay wide-awake. Even though she was a magic user herself she was very impressed with what he had done. She had never heard of anything like this being done nor expected anyone to do it. She relied totally on the magnificence of the Lady, and couldn’t really conceive of how anyone could do what he had done with pure mind power and a ball of clay.
She closely examined his face, his skin, his hair, his neck, his chest, his arms and his fingers and other parts. He had crafted all of these. He had modelled a pool of goo to look so convincingly like a newman that nobody would guess that he wasn’t. What he had done with the ball of clay was nothing compared to the shaping of his own body, and now he wanted to make himself a body of an eagle, which had to be immensely harder. It almost defied imagination. Even more, he could in theory create himself the body of a creature that didn’t exist, something mythical, proud and noble. That really excited her.
Miranda had never been this close and personal with a newman male, but then corrected her thoughts. He was a creature that looked, talked and even behaved like a real newman male, but wasn’t. She felt strangely excited by him. She gently touched him to see if he was real or if it was a dream.
She had no experience with newman men other than Quab, and was generally uncomfortable around them. She had often rested beside friendly wild animals. So by imagining him as a friendly wild animal she could feel comfortable with him. The only problem was, of course, she had never met a wild animal so charming, intelligent and powerful.
She examined his face again and quietly remembered what she had seen behind his eyes. He was pure and innocent now, but if, no, when, he managed to control this rage problem and his source grew, what then? What were his limits? Power corrupts. He could be very dangerous if his mind became distorted by rejection and loneliness. Power was always a double-edged sword and she was under no illusions that power used for creation one moment, could readily be turned to destruction the next. That concerned her.
What should she say to Quab? He had been a friend and mentor for years. If she told them of his potential power they might decide to act against him. On the other hand, if she didn’t then she would become a co-conspirator. She would be responsible for any damage he did. Perhaps she should go now while he was asleep. Maybe that was what he had planned. He was giving her a way out. She could leave before she became involved, before she cared what he did or didn’t do.
How absolutely strange this situation was. She had gone for months without ever seeing a man, and here she lay beside a creature that looked like man and in some respects was a man. She had talked more with this creature than anyone other than Quab for years. He was so easy to communicate with, and he had offered to help find her father.
They were so alike in some respects. Both of them had been a single child brought up by a strong-willed mother and no father. Both of them could shape change. Both of them had interesting and powerful skills and abilities. It was so confusing. She should leave, but she wanted to stay. The heat made her drowsy. She lay back and drifted off into sleep, undecided as to what to do.
Aquitain awoke refreshed, still in his newman form and with his hand touching the chaos matter, and saw her fast asleep beside him. He had revealed much more about himself than he had intended to. He couldn’t seem to help himself. It was almost as if he had had to expose his soul to her.
He was surprised that she was still there beside him. Druid women obviously had a different set of values to the woman that he knew in Panmagica. It occurred to him that she didn’t wear a loincloth, suggesting that she didn’t consider him newman but instead some strange sort of creature. Someone had suggested she was like a feral animal. She was obviously comfortable and trusting with wild and strange creatures like him.
He tried to imagine how she perceived him. It must be difficult for her. He was obviously a slime creature, but he could see his newman male form was affecting her. He could appreciate her beautiful body, as he had a clear mental image of what a beautiful newman woman looked like, but he had no feelings of passionate desire for her at all. His Logicon body had taken that away from him.
What was more important was that as a druid she could accept him for what he was, and therefore she would be valuable as a friend. He both wanted and needed her as a friend.
She woke a few minutes later to find him gazing at her face. She was a little embarrassed about being so close.
‘I’m sorry I fell asleep,’ he said. ‘I found my body prefers to rest during the day and be wide-awake at night. It probably has something to do with how they evolved.’
‘That wouldn’t surprise me at all,’ she replied. ‘There are many creatures that are nocturnal that do the same.’
‘Your hair was black when I first met you. Do you change its colour often?’ he asked.
‘It was black because I was spending much time as a jungle cat and trying to stay hidden. In the jungle, reds and oranges indicate danger. I generally use the red and orange colours in my hair to warn creatures that I will not tolerate their bad behaviour.’
‘So it’s a warning to me as well,’ he said.
‘Take it as you will,’ she replied with a smile.
‘It’s getting late. It’ll be dark soon. I don’t think we can do much more today. Why don’t we start again here tomorrow at dawn. I’ll catch us some breakfast and you can start trying to adjust your shape. I think that you’ve an awful lot of work to do, but I’ll help as much as I can.’
‘Where are you going to stay?’ he asked.
‘I’ll stay at Quab’s as I normally do. Those hammocks on his veranda are very comfortable, and I have free run in the sanctuary.’
‘Is Quab your ... er ... partner?’ he asked suddenly.
‘No. He’s my mentor and friend. We work together. That’s all. Why do you ask?’
‘I just wanted to be sure that he wouldn’t be upset at us spending so much time together.’
‘What about your woman friend Zephira? Will she mind you spending so much time with a wild naked druid woman?’
‘Zephira and I are cousins and best of friends, but that is as far as it goes. However, she might get a bit jealous,’ he replied with a smile.
‘Look why don’t you come back to my workshop tonight and we’ll work on modelling my body shape using the chaos matter. I also want to teach you something in return.’
&nbs
p; ‘I suppose I could come around for a while,’ she said. ‘But I might do a little flying first to loosen up my muscles.’
‘Good,’ he said, and mentally reformed their shelter into its normal ball shape. She stood and stretched and turned into a sea eagle, headed into the breeze and spread her wings. A short run and a hop later she was off the ground and into the air. A group of sea birds scattered, squawking raucously as she flew off out over the sea.
‘What a woman,’ he thought, as he headed up the sand hill towards his body shell. She circled around and watched him from a distance as he changed shape to a Logicon and slithered into the body shell. Moments later he disappeared, and reappeared at the front of Featherdown’s tower to meet Zephira coming out.
‘Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all the afternoon. You shouldn’t go out without telling Alpha where you are. We’ve got a problem.’
Aquitain gave the hand signal for a mindlink and she nodded, then they went into the tower and down to his workshop where he came out of his body shell, changed to a human, and used the chaos matter to form a robe around himself.
‘Chantalot the bard came around this morning especially to see me. I could see immediately that he had a problem. After a lot of coaxing he finally admitted that he was Featherdown’s brother and had been asked by Featherdown to get close to me so that they could find out about you. I was furious. If he hadn’t been so apologetic I could have killed him. He didn’t go to some town in the north of Mudrun but went to Panmagica instead, to check up on us.
‘Facit is dead. Your body was destroyed in the city incinerator. I’m so sorry Rob. I’ve been such a fool. I was sent here to protect you and I’ve made love with the enemy instead,’ and she burst out crying and hugged him closely.
If he had been anything other than a Logicon this might have been a huge emotional blow, but it wasn’t. He just moved on.
‘Why hasn’t Granddad contacted us? I can’t believe that this could happen without him telling us.’
‘I don’t know Rob, but there’s more. It seems that Quab went to see the High Druid asking about Alin Amber’s whereabouts, and he exploded. He knew about us. He wanted to know why we aren’t under arrest. He has sent a note to the Unity of Wisdom about us. We have three days at the most before we can expect a visit from them, most likely with an archon.’
‘Damn,’ said Aquitain, ‘I don’t think that will be enough time to learn to fly.’
He told her then about his eavesdropping the previous night. Zephira was quite annoyed with him for not trusting her.
‘Melanie, I’ve always trusted you with my life, but that doesn’t mean I trust your boyfriends.’
She cried some more and apologised again, and then there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find Miranda dressed in her druid robe. He could see that she had been crying.
‘Come in, come in,’ he said, opening the door wide.
‘What are you doing here, bitch!’ exclaimed Zephira.
Aquitain was shocked.
‘This bitch has a nymph for a mother that tortures wizards with sex until they die. What are you here for? Recruiting more wizards for mummy?’ said Zephira sarcastically.
‘Zephira, Miranda is here at my request. I don’t give a damn what her mother does or doesn’t do. She is a friend of mine and unless you get a civil tongue in your mouth leave immediately. I’ll not have you running her down in my presence.’
Zephira was shocked. Robbie had never spoken to her like that!
Miranda stood there proudly and spoke in a quiet voice.
‘What she has said is true. My mother is a nymph. She was once the most powerful newman druidess in Mudrun, but died in a battle and was reincarnated by the Lady as a nymph when I was a mere babe. She hates male wizards with a vengeance, and makes them suffer a death by extreme sexual activity, as is the way of all nymphs, but she was a good mother to me and still is. I am not my mother and you are mistaken if you judge me as anything but a devout and chaste priestess of the Lady.’
The two women glared at each other as Aquitain glared at Zephira, who reluctantly apologized, easing the tension a little.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Quab came back early. After you left I was flying back to the beach and I saw him. He was there watching us while we were there. He came to the wrong conclusions. I landed to talk to him. He was most unpleasant, accusing me of base things and we had a dispute, which I will not discuss further, but he did say something of importance. The Druid Council has ordered that you be taken into custody and delivered to them for interrogation. You must leave. I will not be a party to this idiocy, you deserve more than that.’
‘You slept with her didn’t you!’ said Zephira. ‘You bitch, you seduced him!’ she screamed.
Aquitain looked at her and there was a surge of magic - her mouth moved but nothing came out. He had used magic against his cousin for the first time in their lives.
‘We seem to have heard this conversation before, Zephira. Last time it was me that was amiss. This time it is your turn cousin. I will sleep with whoever I choose and it is none of your business. On this occasion nothing happened and nor could it. I am impotent as a eunuch. I am in a damn Logicon body that has no feelings or desires for newman women, no matter how beautiful they are, and from what you have told me about the destruction of my newman body I’m unlikely to have any in the near future, either. Ponder on that as you lay with your bard lover.’
Zephira looked at him with wide eyes, obviously shocked at his use of magic on her, and nodded silently.
‘Good. I hope we all now understand each other.’
There was another knock on the door, but before Aquitain could attend to it, it opened itself and in walked Featherdown and Quab. They stood side-by-side with glum faces. Quab looked like he had had a collision with a tree trunk and sported a respectable black eye.
‘I am here to make peace not war amongst friends. I have caused division where there should have been unity. I truly apologise for my errors of judgement,’ said High Wizard Featherdown.
‘I am truly sorry for my disgusting behaviour, Miranda,’ said Quab. ‘Please forgive me.’
Miranda replied, ‘It heartens me that the High Wizard should finally take responsibility for this folly. These people came here seeking nothing but sanctuary and you have treated them as villains. They are the grandchildren of your friend and yet you believe they are here to upset the world. Look elsewhere for your enemies; they are not in this room.’
‘Quab, I looked upon you as a friend and a mentor. From this day forth those positions are under review. If you ever dare to spy on me again, or speak to me as you did a while ago, I will rip your throat out.’
There was a short silence, then Featherdown spoke,
‘Good, now that we have that matter cleared up, we have another problem. I have been asked by the Druid Council to arrest Aquitain and have him delivered to them. However, I have already told them that he has left, and we will begin our search for him tomorrow. That means that you will need to disappear tonight. I suggest a hideaway of mine under an old ruin on the coast, some forty leagues to the north. It is well provisioned and well protected from scrying. It will act as an ideal safe house until your grandfather sorts out your problem in Panmagica.
‘Zephira is welcome to stay here and act as your eyes and ears. She could remain in her current position and act as liaison between us, and deliver supplies as necessary. As a measure of trust I have a list of teleport marker locations around the world for you to memorize, and as a peace offering I give you this page torn from the Yith half book on the bench over there. The book was given to me to give to you. You may also take anything from this workshop which might be of use.
‘As you have probably heard, there is a prophecy of a time of great chaos ahead. If you have time and the inclination, I would ask of you to translate some Yith tomes that may shed light on what happened just prior to the Great Storm. It may tell
us whether we are to expect another storm, or chaos of a different nature.
‘I will leave you for an hour to decide what you wish to do, then return for your answers. I am sorry that things have turned out the way they have. I will do my best to make amends.’
Chapter 14 The Ruin.
Aquitain turned to Zephira. ‘He has a point you know. You would be best helping me by watching my back from here. Granddad gave us two teleport rings; I will set up a teleport marker allowing you to visit me at any time. We will be just a thought apart.’
‘Will you be taking her?’ asked Zephira.
‘I am no one’s property to be moved around like a domestic animal,’ said Miranda indignantly. ‘I will be leaving now.’
‘Wait, Miranda. Please hear me out before you go. Zephira is worried about my safety. She is worried that I am too stupid to survive in a remote location by myself, and she may be right. I have never been alone outside a town for more than a few hours in my whole life. I would be very thankful if you could check out the dangers of the location for me and perhaps teach me enough basic skills to survive. I would also be very grateful if you could help me to learn to fly as an eagle. In return I will make you a magic item and teach you some mind magic.’
Miranda considered the proposal carefully. She was afraid she might get to like Aquitain if she stayed around him too much and that might be dangerous for him, but the prospect excited her deep down.
Zephira knew that what he had said was true. If Miranda didn’t go then she would need to, but that would leave them blind to any potential dangers such as the Archon. So she had to back him up regardless of what she thought about Miranda.
‘I’m so sorry Miranda. I apologize again for my rude accusations. I love Aquitain as a sister loves a brother. Please help him. He will get himself into trouble in no time if he stays in the jungle by himself, and I will spend all my time worrying about his safety.’
Miranda thought about Zephira’s comments and remembered what had happened when he went swimming in the sea this morning. He had been very lucky to escape with his life then. Leaving him alone by himself in the Mudrun jungle would be tantamount to murder.
