They were moving swiftly along the beach. They passed Zed and Feline, and Feline waved. Hapless waved back, feeling giddy. “Really impressed!”
“You like her, don’t you.”
She had noticed. “Feline? Oh, yes. She may be my girlfriend.”
“May be? She is jealous of your attention to other females.”
How observant was this filly? “I suppose. When a woman has assets, I look. It’s a male thing.”
“If you like her, and she likes you, what is the problem?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but if I am to associate with the Quest I prefer to understand the other participants as well as is feasible.”
“Okay. It’s that Feline is curvy, very attractively so. Men notice. But she wants to be loved for something other than her curves. So I’m trying to do that. But, well, curves like yours don’t help.”
She laughed. He could only imagine what that did for her front. “This is universal female magic, but human males are particularly vulnerable to it. Centaurs don’t take it nearly as seriously, nor do they employ storks to deliver their offspring.”
“They don’t? How do they get babies?”
She told him, drawing a parallel to the way it was in Mundania. He was amazed and somewhat sickened.
“However, we have more serious matters to consider. The route to your Totem is one that challenges our resources. If I could fly high I could transport your non-fliers there, but that is my problem. It seems I need the Orb to abate my fear of heights, but that I need to abate my fear in order to reach the Orb. This is a catch-23 situation, or thereabouts.”
“A what?”
“In Mundania they seem to number their tosses and catches. It means a paradoxical problem. A person needs A to get B, but needs B to get A. My mind is centaurishly logical, and I do not see a solution.”
“Well, you have to think outside the box.”
“This means a non-logical solution?”
“Not necessarily. It means to come up with something nobody thought of before. And—” He froze, as an idea bulb banged into his forehead. It must have been fooled by his forward motion, and collided instead of floating.
Her head turned around to face him in that weird way she had. “Yes?”
“This is so crazy, maybe it’s not worth mentioning.”
She glided down until her hooves hit the ground, and she trotted on it before coming to a halt. “Those can be the best ideas.”
“It’s that maybe you should be blindfolded for flying.”
“But then I would not see where I was going.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“There may be something I am missing.”
Hapless tried to clarify it. “If you were blindfolded, maybe you would not see the heights, so would not fear them.”
“And I’d crash! Flying blind is folly.”
“Not if someone else guided you. If I rode you and called out where to go.”
She considered that. “This is so far out that it just might work. I never would have thought of it.”
“Of course you’d have to trust me, and you’ve known me only an hour or so. So it’s not something immediate.”
“Let’s try it now.”
“Well, if you really want to.”
“I don’t really want to, but I will surely lose my nerve if we delay.” She produced a bandanna from somewhere. “Blindfold me.”
He took the bandanna and tied it around her head, covering her eyes. “Of course you could just close your eyes.”
“I would open them involuntarily. This is better. I am now unable to see.”
“Okay. Try walking.”
She walked a few steps.
“Turn to the left. There’s water close by.”
“I feel it,” she said as her left side hooves splashed.
“But one pace to your right its dry.”
She moved rightward. “Dry,” she agreed.
“Now fly. The coast is clear.”
Faro spread her wings and flew.
“Veer slightly left.” She did. “Now we’re over the water.” He saw a ripple heading their way. “Climb! There’s something coming.”
She made powerful strokes and ascended. A green serpent’s head popped out of the water, snapping at where her feet had been a moment before. “Sea monster,” Hapless reported. “Now we’re out of its range.”
“This is working,” she said in developing wonder. “I can see the monster in my mind, but I’m not afraid of the height. I could fly across the water to land.”
“Maybe so,” he said cautiously. “For now, we’ll stay low.” But they were at about treetop height, which he suspected would freak her out if she realized.
“This is exhilarating,” she said, climbing higher. “But I could never do it without you. I need to be sure that someone is guiding me.”
“I am doing that. Curve to the right, so we don’t leave the land.”
She curved right. They flew on around the island. There were Zed and Feline. He waved to them again.
They paused to stare. Faro was flying well above them.
“Spiral down and land,” he told her. “I think we have done enough for now.”
She did so. He called out the proximity of the ground as they approached it, and she trotted her legs so as to strike the ground running. They landed a short distance in front of Zed and Feline.
Hapless reached forward and pulled off the blindfold.
“You flew blindfolded?” Zed asked, amazed. “I would have thought you would start out more cautiously.”
“I flew because I was blindfolded,” Faro said, exhilarated. “Hapless thought of it.”
“This doesn’t cure her fear of heights,” Hapless said modestly as he dismounted. “Just masks it, as it were. She still needs the Orb for her cure.”
“It will do,” Feline said. “Now you can leave the island.”
“Now I can,” Faro agreed. “Provided I have Hapless with me.”
Both Zed and Feline nodded. Neither seemed completely comfortable. Hapless wondered whether this was because Feline had her eye on him, Hapless, and Zed had his eye on Faro. They might not like Hapless and Faro associating too closely. But there did not seem to be much alternative.
“That brings us up to three fliers,” Nya said. “Faro can carry Hapless, and Feline too, in cat form. But Zed will be more of a challenge.”
“This is navigable,” Faro said. “We can make a harness to support him, then I can flick him light, and a dragon can haul him on a line. It may not be the most comfortable mode of travel, but it can be done.”
They looked at Zed. He shrugged. “If you can fly blindfolded, I can swing on a line. But I would hope to return to the ground soon.”
“Yes,” Faro said. “The ground is more secure.”
“That harness may be a challenge,” Zed said. “I may be made light, but I would prefer to have one that could support my full weight, just in case.”
“I have friends in the village who may be able to help with that,” Faro said.
“Village?” Hapless asked, surprised. “We flew around the island, and I didn’t see any village.”
“It is Eleven Elves, settled by ground-dwelling elves. As you know, there are many species of elves, the best known of which are the Elm elves whose strength is inversely proportional to their distance from their tree. These are separate, but they have their skills. They prefer to remain inconspicuous, to avoid mischief from passing dragons and monsters with too much time on their claws. But the elves are friendly, once assured there is no danger.” She glanced at Nya and Quin. “I trust I can reassure them?”
“Yes,” the two said almost together.
“We want no trouble,” Nya said.
“We’re on a Quest,” Quin said.
“Then let’s proceed to my stall,” Faro said. “We can make the harness this afternoon, and test it, and plan to depart tomorrow morning after a good ni
ght’s rest.”
That prospect appealed to all of them.
They followed Faro to the village. As they approached it, the little houses came into view: eleven of them, one for each elf family. The centaur’s stall was at the edge, much larger.
An elf came out to meet them. He was barely knee high to Hapless, but as he approached he shimmered and became man sized.
“This is Elmer Elf, who speaks for the village,” Faro said. “Whose talent is illusion. Elmer, these are my new friends. They are on a Quest, and seek no quarrel. They want only to get a good night’s rest so they can be on their way tomorrow. I will go with them, though it will be sad to leave you.”
Elmer eyed them. “Do I have their word to join us in peace? One looks human, another has cat ancestry, and two have dragon ancestry, by the look of them.”
Faro turned to them. “If you will introduce yourselves, and give your words, you will be welcome here, as I am.”
Hapless stepped forward. “I am Hapless Human. I give my word. My talent is to conjure musical instruments, though I can’t play one myself. The others are musically competent. We can serenade your village with a concert, if you wish.”
“That will be nice,” Elmer agreed.
Feline stepped forward. “I am Feline, half cat.” She changed briefly to her cat form. “I give my word. In fact, if there is any service I can do for the folk here, in return for your hospitality, let me know.”
“There is a rat who is raiding our granary. He’s too cunning for us to catch, and too vicious for us to kill.”
“I will spend the night in that granary. I think that by morning that rat will be permanently gone.”
“Thank you.”
Zed stepped forward. “I am Zed. I give my word. If that rat is not gone by morning, I will hunt it.” His bow appeared in his hands, an arrow nocked. Centaurs always hit what they aimed at.
“It is too cunning to show itself by day,” Elmer said. “Otherwise Faro would have gotten it.”
Faro smiled as her own bow appeared in her hands. “True.”
Nya and Quin slid forward together. “We are Nya and Quin,” she said. “We are half dragons. We give our word, and will entertain your children in our dragon forms if you wish, or simply remain clear if you prefer. We understand your caution.”
Elmer eyed them. “Just how tame are you in dragon form?”
“Completely. Our minds are unchanged, only our bodies. We will harm no one here.” Then both changed to dragons and bowed their heads.
“This will do.” Elmer raised his hand in a signal, and the other elves appeared. They had been there all along, invisible.
“Do you give rides?” Elmer asked.
Both dragons nodded. The tiny elf children approached them, at first cautiously, then more confidently. Soon they were climbing over the dragons. Then they were treated to a brief slow ride, on the ground. Flying would be too risky. It was clearly a rare experience for them. The dragons were more than earning their keep.
“But do not do that with any other dragon,” Faro warned.
The elf parents nodded appreciatively. They knew.
In due course they went to Faro’s stall, where Hapless and Feline set about making the harness for Zed. The elves had fine leather thongs that they skillfully wove into the harness, building it around Zed as he stood there. In a surprisingly brief time it was done.
“There will be a banquet,” Elmer announced. “In the interim you may play your concert, if you are amenable.”
They assembled in the central village square and Hapless conjured instruments. They played several lovely Elven melodies and harmonies, complete with Faro’s resonant drumbeats, and the elves were clearly charmed.
“How is it that your group plays so well?” Elmer asked Hapless. “Surely the members of your Quest were not selected for musical ability.”
“It seems to be part of my talent,” Hapless said. “I can conjure the instruments, and in my presence they play well. But I myself am abysmal. That’s my reason for the Quest: to find an instrument that I, too, can play well.”
“When you find it, you will surely play extraordinarily well. Your magic should guarantee it.”
“I hope so,” Hapless said with feeling.
The concert concluded to resounding applause. Then came the banquet, and it was like a concert of its own; the elves knew what they were doing, and there was plenty of food and drink.
“Do you know, I could see living in a village like this,” Feline said as she ate beside Hapless. “The elves are really nice when you get to know them. Faro is well off here. Oh, I know she has to get over her fear of heights; she’s incomplete without flying high. But apart from that she’s not suffering.”
Hapless could only agree.
Daylight remained after the banquet. The dragons gave the children more rides, and this time a few of the bolder ones accepted flying. They made short hops up over and around the village and back. It was an experience they would never get elsewhere.
“We really appreciate your hospitality,” Hapless told Elmer.
“I think we are the ones who owe you. We will never forget this visit, and we will be sorry to see Faro go. She’s a fine filly. But we knew she must seek her destiny.”
“I can’t speak for the future,” Hapless said. “We are not assured even of surviving the Quest. But if we do, and achieve our wishes, perhaps we can visit again.”
“You will be welcome.”
The dragons, tired, settled down to sleep in the stall. So did Zed. Faro gave Hapless and Feline a small tour of the area. Behind the stall was a fine acorn tree, and in it lived a tree fairy, Faro’s friend. This was Spelfie, who was visible only when someone was thinking about her. She was a pretty little thing, like a winged human child, but plainly adult. Her costume was scant, and Hapless suspected that Feline was not eager to have him look at it too closely. She wore a petite wood crown.
“Actually I’m only visiting,” the little fairy explained. “I used to associate with my own tree, but a jeweler cut it down to make a house. When he discovered that it was my tree, he was chagrined. So he made this crown out of its remaining wood, and that enables me to roam freely, no longer bound to a particular tree. But without that limitation, I ate too much junk food elsewhere, and got fat.”
“You don’t look fat,” Hapless said.
“This is how I look without the illusion,” Spelfie said, and became quite fat. After barely half a moment she returned to her slim appearance, but Hapless knew that Feline no longer resented her. That was a relief.
“Oh, look—there’s the opti-mist,” Faro said. “It sometimes appears in the evening.”
Hapless looked and saw a small cloud floating close above the ground. It brushed by them, and suddenly he felt much more positive. They had found their fifth Companion, enabled her to fly, and surely their Quest would succeed.
“It puts a positive slant on things,” Faro said. “That has helped me endure my confinement to the island. Oh, the elves are nice and the island is fine; it’s just that I so very much want to fly on my own without being crippled by fear.”
“Surely you will when the Quest is done,” Hapless said.
“And a rainbow!” Feline said.
There it was, arcing beyond the mist, raining little bows. Feline picked up a pretty red one and put it on her hair. It remained though the rainbow faded.
“There’s Julius,” Faro said, waving to a man beyond the littered bows.
“Hello, Faro,” the man said. He was clearly old, but spry. “I was just collecting some of these bows; there’s no telling when they might be useful.”
“These are my new friends Hapless and Feline,” Faro said. Then, to them: “This is Julius Saucier, from Mundania, so he doesn’t have a magic talent yet, but he can almost work magic with wood. He’s a creative carpenter. You should see the grandfather clock he made, with all wooden gears. He even made a wood crossbow; I don’t need it, of course, but it’s a nic
e instrument.”
“It’s been a real pleasure getting to know Faro and the elves,” Julius said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better place to retire.”
Retire? Unless he had found a special route to Xanth, Julius was dead. Hapless kept his mouth shut.
“I’m sorry, but I will be leaving tomorrow,” Faro said. “I’m joining a Quest.”
“We will miss you,” Julius said. “You prettify the local scenery.”
Faro smiled. “Thank you.”
They moved on. “I want you to meet my friend Corny.”
“Is that a nickname?“ Hapless asked.
“Not exactly.” She showed them to a field where a unicorn grazed. “Don’t try to get too close; she’s shy. It took me a while to get to know her.”
When they got close, Hapless saw that the unicorn’s horn consisted of a corncob. “Corny Unicorn,” Feline murmured.
They returned to the stall. “My feelings are mixed,” Faro said. “I am eager to join the Quest, but I’ll miss these sweet folk of the island.”
“You’ll be able to visit them anytime,” Feline reminded her.
“Yes. I depend on that.”
Faro went to stand beside Zed to sleep on her feet.
Feline joined Hapless for the night, sharing a blanket. “She’s such a nice filly, I really can’t resent her no matter how much you associate with her.”
Because he would be riding and guiding Faro. “I’m pretty sure she’s not my other girlfriend.”
“What, despite those matchless frontal curves?”
“I appreciate her for other reasons.”
That shut her up.
Chapter 8:
Fire Faun
In the morning they returned to Hapless’s pack with the box still anchoring the new path, such as it was. He picked up the pack and put it on, and the faint outline of the path remained. They all could see it, except Faro; they had had practice with paths, and she didn’t need to.
Several of the elves came to watch. This was a novel experience for them, too.
Zed got into the harness, and Faro flicked him light. The two half dragons changed to dragon form, with Quin donning the other end of the rope so that he could haul the main harness up. Zed was now feather light, so it wasn’t at all difficult.
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