Still no answer. "They must be out," Cube called back to the centaur.
"That must be the case. We did not have an appointment."
"I suppose we'll just have to wait for them to return."
Karia looked thoughtful. "I wonder. There was a complication before you enlisted the Princesses, and the search for the dragon was remarkable. It occurs to me that we are encountering more complications than might be routine. Do you think there might be interference?"
"I haven't been on a Quest before. I don't know what is routine. Do you think something has happened to the person who lives here?"
"Perhaps it is my imagination, but it does seem possible. If so, we should consult."
"That wouldn't hurt." Cube brought out the others and explained the situation.
"We can find out," Melody said eagerly.
"We'll do a magic tracer," Harmony agreed.
"That will tell us," Rhythm concluded.
The three put their heads together, then made their music. Magic intensified. The air above them turned dark.
"There's bad magic here," Melody announced.
"Very strong magic," Harmony agreed.
"Too strong for us," Rhythm concluded.
"Too strong!" Karia said, startled. "But together you are the strongest Sorceresses in Xanth."
"Sure," Melody agreed.
"But this is stronger," Harmony added.
"Which means it must be Demon magic," Rhythm concluded.
"We have a demon with us," Cube said.
"Didn't you hear the capital D?" Metria asked. "The difference between a Demon and a demon is like that between the king of Xanth and a squashed ant."
"I don't understand."
Ryver and Drek looked at Cube, puzzled.
"She's from the back woods," Karia explained. "So I will explain. Metria is an ordinary demon, but there is another class. The capital Demons have the power of whole worlds. All of the magic of Xanth derives from the incidental leakage from the body of the Demon Xanth. The magic of gravity that suffuses Mundania and Xanth is from similar leakage from the body of the Demon Earth. There are more distant Demons of equivalent power. They seldom meddle in the affairs of mortal creatures; in fact they are rarely even aware of them. That is surely just as well, for they have the power to obliterate all of us on a whim."
"Half a whim," Metria said. "Or less."
Cube was amazed. "I never knew! But why would one of these--Demons--want to interfere with our quest? If we are so insignificant--wouldn't he either ignore us or squash us flat, like that ant?"
"That is a fair question," the centaur agreed. "I conjecture that a Demon contest may be occurring."
"Contest?"
"The Demons, being omniscient and omnipotent, are at times bored," Karia said. "So they engage in contests between themselves. An essential element of any contest is randomness; a game is no fun when one knows how it will turn out. One of the random factors--and I am not referring to the monster in Castle MaiDragon--is the activity of mortal beings. We are, as Metria pointed out, like ants to them, and rather silly in our minuscule mortal concerns. They may place a wager on our quirky actions, and watch without interfering. The winner is the one who correctly predicts the outcome of a particular situation. But sometimes, perhaps, they cheat."
"How could someone cheat, when everyone knows everything?"
"I gather that most Demons are not paying much attention. Or there might not be a contest at the moment. I understand that one Demon is not supposed to interfere in the business of another. That is, Demon Earth keeps his magic finger out of the affairs of Xanth, and Demon Xanth leaves Mundania alone. But if one does decide to interfere, he may do it surreptitiously, so as not to be caught."
"Now it's starting to make sense," Cube said. "If there is something about this Quest that a Demon doesn't like, but he's not supposed to mess in, then he might do something sneaky."
"This is my thought," the centaur agreed.
"I think you're on to something, Karia," Metria said. Then she paused as the centaur's eyes misted and she started drifting away. "Oops."
Cube snapped her fingers. "Centaur! Attend to us."
Karia's body dropped to the ground. "Did I do it again?"
"Metria spoke your name."
"I forgot," the demoness said, blushing. The blush spread across her face, then drifted off to the side, collided with a wall, and stained it dull red. "I said you're on to something. One year ago a Demon contest won Counter Xanth from the foreign Demoness Fornax. That is the land we're trying to make a safe route to, so it can be colonized. It figures that Fornax would like to leave it empty, so it's pristine in case she should win it back in some other contest. So she could try to stop us from making that route--but not openly."
"That makes sense to me," Cube agreed. "But it's a pretty big assumption, just because a prospective Companion is out of the house at the moment."
"Not so big," Karia said, "considering the trace of magic stronger than the Princesses can fathom. It may be that the Demoness reckoned without the presence of the Princesses, or our insight into the problem, so thought we would not detect her mischief."
"Not paying attention," Ryver agreed. "But if this is the case, do we want to continue? The next ploy may be deadly. We can't fight Demon magic."
That drew Cube up short. "Of course you others don't have to take such a risk. I'll carry on alone."
Ryver looked at her. "Despite the risk?"
"It's my job. I don't know whether I can do it without Companions, but at least I can try."
"I doubt there would be much risk to us," Karia said. "The Demoness would not want to be obvious, and a death on this Quest would be obvious. That might attract the attention of the local Demon, Xanth, and cost her a point. She wouldn't like that. I'll stay. But perhaps the Princesses should return home."
"Oh no you don't!" Melody cried.
"We want a dangerous adventure," Harmony agreed.
"And if this is it, so much the better," Rhythm concluded.
"If you idiots are staying, count me in too," Metria said. "I can't let you be crazier than I am."
"Then I'm in too," Ryver said, glancing at her décolletage, which in her supposed distraction had drooped to the very verge of Too Low.
They looked at Drek. The dragon's right ear wiggled. He was in too.
Cube found herself halfway choked up. "Thanks, folks," she said. "I hope it all turns out well."
"Now we need to track our prospect," Karia said. "Girls?"
Rhythm pointed into the cave-house.
Cube considered. "I think, in the circumstances, we had better go in. We'll apologize if we need to."
They entered cautiously. There was a smaller cave behind the front chamber. Karia was too large for this, so reluctantly went into the pouch. "But summon me if there is room, if I can help," she said as she slid out of sight.
The cave led back into the mountain. It soon lost the trappings of residence and became a winding tunnel. It became too tight for Ryver, so he too entered the pouch. Drek, however, had no trouble, though he was far more massive than the others, because his body was serpentine. He understood caves. Now he led the way, confident even in the looming darkness, with Metria following close after in the form of a small scudding cloud.
The Princesses made an incidental tune, and light formed around them, illuminating the passage so that Cube could see. That helped, though she remained not entirely easy about caves. She understood that they could be infested with goblins. Of course her nickelpedes could handle goblins, but might also gouge one of her Companions in the confusion.
At length the passage opened into a sizable nether cavern. The ceiling was a great dome, and there was a dark lake in the center. The air over the lake glowed, almost as if there were daylight, but the glow was from itself. "Who lives here?" Cube asked in a whisper, awed by the scene.
"It could be an old kraken retreat," Metria said, assuming human form. "There is probably
access to the sea, down where we can't see."
"She can't see the sea," Melody said.
"Neither can we," Harmony agreed.
"So we'll let it be," Rhythm concluded. They giggled.
"A kraken?" Cube asked.
"A giant sea weed," the demoness clarified. "Carnivorous. I see no sign of one now, but if I were mortal I would not be inclined to enter this water." She dissolved back into her cloud, shuddering.
The Princesses went to the edge of the lake. They put their fingers in, and tasted them. "Boot rear!" Melody exclaimed, delighted.
"A whole lake of it," Harmony agreed.
"More than we can drink," Rhythm finished.
"Boot rear?" Cube asked.
The girls exchanged a look. Then a cup appeared in Melody's hand. She dipped it into the lake, filling it. "For you," she said. Harmony took it and brought it to Cube. "Try it," she continued. "You'll get a kick out of it," Rhythm concluded, without ever leaving the paragraph. That suggested they were up to something.
Cube took a careful sip--and got nudged in the back. Startled, she accidentally gulped a big mouthful--and got booted much harder. The three Princesses laughed merrily.
"You asked for it," Metria said from her cloud. "Boot rear."
"Boot rear," Cube agreed somewhat sourly. Too bad Karia had not been there to warn her with a groan for the pun.
There was a bleat from the side, and in a moment a hoofed animal came toward them. Cube's nervousness dissipated as she got a clear view if it. "It's only a goat."
The goat was tangled in vines that surrounded it and dragged behind. It must have been eating, and gotten caught, and now couldn't free itself. "Let me help you," Cube said compassionately. She reached for it.
"Nuh-uh," Metria's cloud murmured.
"But this poor animal needs help," Cube protested.
"Poor animal, my smoky fundament!"
"Your smoky what?"
"Posterior, behind, bottom, rump, seat--"
"Donkey?"
"Whatever," the demoness agreed crossly. "That's a scapegoat!"
"A what?"
"If you touch it, it will be fine and you'll be the one in trouble."
Oh. Cube withdrew her hand. The goat, disgusted that its ploy had not worked, walked away, dragging its vines.
Meanwhile the Princesses had done another Find, and pointed across the lake. The person they were looking for was that way.
"But how can we get across?" Cube asked. "If a sip of that stuff brings a kick in the, uh, donkey, how much worse would it be to try to swim in it?"
"Fortunately we can fly," Metria said.
That was right; she had forgotten the winged centaur. There was now plenty of space. She put her hand in the pouch. "Centaur."
A hand caught hers, and Karia slid out. "What a lovely subterranean lake!"
"It's boot rear," Cube told her.
"Ugh!"
"I'll check out beyond the lake," Metria said, vanishing.
Soon they were on the way, with Drek and the Princesses back in the pouch. Karia flew across the lake in the direction indicated. They came to a tiny island. Two women and a dog stood on it. There was barely room for them. One woman was remarkably tall, the other quite short.
Karia circled the island, as there was not room for her to land. "Are you the residents of the cave?" she called.
"Yes," the shorter woman answered. "We heard a bleat, so came back to check--"
"The scapegoat!" Cube said. "Now you're the ones in trouble."
"Yes. It was caught on a sort of raft. We threw a cord and drew it in, but the moment we touched it, we were on the raft instead, and it was kicking itself out across the lake."
"It was a boot rear float," the tall woman said.
"Ugh!"
"That was our sentiment," the short one said. "We had no paddle and did not dare enter the, uh, water. It just kept going until it came here, where Diamond was stranded."
"Diamond?"
"The dog," the tall woman said. "She's a black Labrador from Mundania. We tried to pick her up, but instead the float tipped us off and kicked on, and we were stranded too."
"Diamond must have run afoul of the scapegoat here," Cube said. "Maybe it was on the island, and she tried to help. So it took the float."
"And then caught us," the short woman said. "Can you help us?"
"We can," Cube said. "But you may not like the method. You will have to enter this pouch." She held it up.
"We couldn't possibly fit in there!" the tall woman protested.
"It's magic. I'll bring you out as soon as we reach the shore. But first I need to know your names."
"Cory," the tall one said. "And this is my dear friend Tessa. And Diamond, of course." She patted the dog. Now Cube saw the white diamond on her chest, accounting for her name.
"I am Cube, and this is--is my centaur friend." That was a close call; if Karia had heard her name and drifted, they could have been dunked in boot rear. "Put your foot in this." She held forth the pouch.
"That looks like a dirty old sock," Tessa said as she got a closer look.
"Yes," Cube agreed. "But it's magic."
Hesitantly, tall Cory reached out with a foot and touched the pouch as Karia hovered close. "Oh!" she cried as she slid inside.
Then Tessa lifted her leg, but she was shorter and couldn't quite get there. Karia dropped lower, tilting, and then the woman's toe touched it and she slid in.
But the motion overbalanced them. Karia pumped her wings, jerking up, and Cube grabbed her mane with both hands, dropping the pouch.
"Oh, no!" she cried, seeing it fall into the lake. Already it was floating away from the island. How could she get it back?
Then the dog jumped into the water. The boot rear caught her, making her rise, and caught her again, propelling her forward. But she caught the pouch in her mouth, then turned and struggled valiantly back to the island. She dragged herself out, somewhat battered. But she had the pouch.
"Thank you, Diamond," Cube cried, relieved.
"Now I believe I can land, briefly," Karia said. "You take care of the rest."
"I will."
The centaur set her four hoofs carefully down on four sides of the dog. Then Cube reached down and took the pouch from the dog's mouth. "Now put your foot in, Diamond," she said.
The dog obeyed, and disappeared into the pouch. Karia took off, and winged rapidly back across the lake. She landed on the shore, and Cube slid off. She remained light from the flight, but could cope.
She held the pouch and put in her hand. "Cory." A hand caught hers, and she drew out the tall woman.
"Tessa." The short woman joined them.
"Diamond." The dog returned.
"We can't thank you enough," Cory said. "Normally we stay clear of the lake, but--"
"But we're soft hearted," Tessa said.
"I understand. I came to see you because I am recruiting for a special mission, a Quest. I can't tell you more unless you agree to join it, because it's supposed to be secret. But the Good Magician said that those who join will be rewarded."
The two exchanged a glance. "Why did you think we would be suitable?" Cory asked.
"We had a magic indication. It pointed to your cave-house, and then to here. One of you must have some talent or ability that we need."
"What we do, we do together," Tessa said.
"Perhaps it is both of them," Karia said. "Completing the roster."
"That might be," Cube agreed, surprised. "I can't really tell you more, unless you join, but maybe you could tell me whether you have any abilities that could help in a Quest."
"Does this by any chance involve travel to a strange region?" Cory asked.
"Yes!"
"Then we do have a talent that is relevant," Tessa said.
"Which of you has that talent?"
"Both of us," Cory said. "We share it, doing it together."
"Such a thing is known," Karia said. "Goblins and harpies share talents. What
is the talent?"
"Sidestepping," Tessa said.
"What is that?"
"It's hard to explain," Cory said.
"Easier to demonstrate," Tessa said.
Cube pondered briefly. "Can you show me?"
Both women nodded. They linked hands. "Take my hand," Cory said, extending her free hand.
Cube took it. Then the two women stepped backward--into the wall of the cavern. Cube followed, drawn by Cory's hand.
Cube looked around, astonished and rather nervous. "What is this?"
"This is the other realm," Tessa explained. "You can let go now; once we are in, physical contact is not necessary. Only for getting in and out."
"But we're in the rock!"
"We're in the other realm," Cory said.
"I don't understand."
"Yes, this is why it is easier to demonstrate than to explain," Tessa said. "But you need to understand it, to determine whether it would be useful for your Quest."
Cube was pretty sure it was useful, because the Princesses had pointed the way here, and the two of them would complete the roster of nine Companions. But caution was best. "Yes, I want to understand."
"It is, as far as we can tell, an alternate realm with nothing in it," Cory said. "So what we see is regular Xanth, showing through. But it isn't real, in this realm. That's why we can walk through rock, or trees, or whatever."
"So I see," Cube agreed, peering through the rock surrounding her.
"Once we conducted a young man through a rainstorm," Tessa said. "He was amazed that we didn't get wet. That was fun."
"A young man?"
"His name was Umlaut, and he was handsome," Cory said.
"He kissed us," Tessa said, smiling reminiscently. "We didn't know that he didn't exist, then."
"He what?"
"He kissed us," Cory repeated. "He had to stand Tessa on a rock to do it with her, and had to stand on the rock himself to do it with me."
"Uh, that's nice," Cube said, wishing a handsome man would kiss her. "But what I meant was, he didn't exist?"
"Well, hethought he existed," Tessa said. "And now he does. He's dating Surprise, who is Grundy Golem and Rapunzel Elf's daughter. But back then he didn't."
"It's complicated," Cory said. "And incidental. We had better focus on clarifying sidestepping."