"Oh, I couldn't accept that," Cube said, though it drew her like a magnet. "I have nothing to exchange for it."
"Are your nickelpedes tame?"
"For me, or for someone I designate." Cube glanced at her, surprised. "You can't want a nickelpede!"
"One could be useful," Lucidia said. "Sometimes men bother us."
Cube could well imagine. "Have a nickelpede," she said, summoning one. "This is Lucidia," she told it. "Be her friend." Then she exchanged it for the diamond.
"Your clothing is spoiled," Tala said. "My talent is sewing enchanted clothing. I could make you a fresh outfit."
"Would it make me beautiful?" Cube asked wryly.
"It would fit you well, and keep you warm."
"Want to trade a nickelpede for it?"
"Yes. But it will take me a little while to make the clothing."
"That's fine. Here's your nickelpede." Cube summoned another, and attuned it to Tala.
They walked on. Tala brought out a length of cloth she had carried somewhere, and began adjusting it, forming a dress. The material shaped itself marvelously in her hands; she really was good at this.
Lucidia stumbled. "Oops, she's getting peaceful," Oceanna said. "I'll wake her." She ran to a nearby stream and scooped up a ball of water. She shaped it into a model of a waterfowl and set it on her friend's head. The moment her hand left it, the water dissolved, soaking the girl.
"Ooo!" Lucidia cried. "Why did you do that?"
"To make you mad," Oceanna said. "You were getting peaceful."
"Oh." The girl brushed herself off ineffectively. "You succeeded."
Cube thought of Ryver. He would like this girl. Probably a lot, as they had similar talents. But Oceanna was so much prettier than Cube, that Ryver would probably never consider her again after seeing Oceanna. But that was selfish, and Cube refused to be that way. "I know someone you should meet," she told Oceanna.
"Oh? Who?"
Cube put her hand in the pouch. "Ryver," she murmured.
He slid out. For a moment he seemed dazed, trying to take all the details of the three girls at once. So Cube helped him out.
"This is Oceanna. She's good with water. I thought you should meet her."
"Water!" he agreed. "How?"
Oceanna returned to the river and scooped up another ball of water. "Here," she said, tossing it to him.
"Great!" he said, catching it and throwing it back. Then he scooped up a water ball of his own and tossed it to Cube. "Thanks."
Cube caught it and held it. Meanwhile Oceanna was shaping her ball into the form of a miniature dragon. It looked very realistic, but it was translucent. She held it up to be admired. It turned its head and switched its tail as if alive.
"That's great," Ryver said. "I can't do that." Then he stepped into the river and dissolved, disappearing into it. At the same time, the ball Cube held dissolved.
Oceanna stared. "And I can't do that," she breathed.
Ryver's head appeared from the water, followed by the rest of him, appropriately clothed. "So we have similar but different talents." He eyed her appraisingly.
"Yes. I can't wait to tell my boyfriend the ogre."
"The ogre," Ryver breathed.
"Yes. He thinks there's no one else like me. He'll be interested."
"Interested," Ryver agreed faintly. He approached Cube. "Maybe it's time for me to go back in."
Surprised, Cube held out the pouch. Ryver put in his foot and slid into it.
"That's a nice purse," Tala remarked.
"There's no point in us both walking when one can do it," Cube said, tucking the pouch away. "Why didn't he want to meet your boyfriend?"
"What boyfriend?" Oceanna asked.
"The ogre."
The others laughed. "That's just what she says to keep men polite," Tala explained. "Nobody wants to meet an ogre."
"Oh." Ryver had eyed her, but Cube had thought she would like it. Nobody ever eyed Cube that way.
Finally they left the forest. "We live in the North Village," Lucidia said. "That's another day's walk north. But maybe we can get a ride with a centaur. We're approaching their village."
Cube thought of Karia. She could get a faster centaur ride. But she didn't want to let that be known. She probably shouldn't have brought Ryver out, though that seemed to have been okay.
Tala finished the dress. "Try this on," she told Cube, giving it to her.
Cube pulled off her soiled clothing and tried on the dress. It fit marvelously well, and was supremely comfortable. It really did seem to be magic. "It's wonderful."
"I made it to keep you warm or cool," the winged woman said. "You won't have to worry about the weather."
"This is really much more than a nickelpede is worth," Cube said.
"I like making clothing. It's what I do. It was nice finding someone who was in need of a new dress."
"She made our dresses," Lucidia said.
"Then all I can say is thank you," Cube said gratefully. "I really like it."
"You're welcome."
Then the thread veered to the right, avoiding the centaur village. "Uh, it's been very nice meeting you," Cube said. "And I really appreciate the way you saved me from the Peace Forest. And the nice dress. But I'm not going to the centaur village. So I have to leave you now."
She was afraid they would ask where she was going, but they didn't. "That's fine," Tala said. "I have to fly now myself. Farewell, girls!" She spread her wings and took off.
"And farewell from me," Cube said.
"If you happen to pass the North Village, look us up," Oceanna said.
"Perhaps I will. I don't know whether it's on my route."
The two walked on toward the centaur village, while Cube and Diamond followed the thread east. It led to an enchanted path, and followed it to a camping site. Relieved, she settled in for the evening. She wasn't sure whether she had lost more than a day in the Peace Forest, but she wasn't on a fixed schedule. She and Diamond ate from the convenient pie tree, washed up, and prepared to sleep. She brought out the original water ball Ryver had given her and gazed into it reflectively. This ball survived, while the other he had tossed her had not. So he could do different types of balls.
Then Diamond's ears perked. She heard someone coming. Cube wasn't sure how she felt about that; she had met a number of nice people, but that wasn't guaranteed. She put away the ball, not caring to explain it to strangers.
It turned out to be a man and a woman of adult age. He had blond hair and golden eyes; she had aluminum hair and silver eyes. They turned in to the camp; they obviously planned to spend the night.
"Hello," Cube said. "I'm Cube, traveling generally north."
"I'm Trans Mitter," the blond man said. "This is my companion Ann Tenna. I can send message by projecting my image, and she can hear things from afar, when she focuses. So we work well together."
"I can imagine," Cube said. "My talent is summoning nickelpedes."
"No need of those here," Trans said.
"No need," Cube agreed.
They chatted amicably, then slept. Cube was glad there had been no problem. So far she had made it fairly well on her own. Still, there had been nervous occasions, such as the troll on the trolley, the Gap Dragon, and the Peace Forest. She had been lucky, but luck was fickle. She needed to do better at staying out of trouble.
In the morning Trans and Ann went their way, and Cube went hers, following the thread. Which now followed the path back the way it had come, west. Then north, toward the centaur village. Apparently it had made a detour to take her to the campsite. It seemed almost aware of her, which was strange. The Princesses had not said anything about that, and perhaps didn't know. Magic could have funny aspects.
She walked through the village, seeing the centaurs but not approaching any. They glanced at her only briefly, not noticing her any more than most men did.
The thread followed the enchanted path on north. Cube was glad of that, because it meant she would face no
awkward problems. She marveled again at the virtuosity of the thread, showing her along a route that a person could follow, even if it didn't always seem so at a given moment. It was as if it had been spun from the future, after the Quest was done, so knew where she had been, and marked that route. Maybe if the Quest had been for Ryver, there would have been a Ryver Route, going to different places, or a Princess Route for the three, or even a Drek Route for the dragon. But it was the Cube Route. Maybe after this was done, and she had her beauty and her man, if she got bored (but how could beauty ever be bored?) she would make a study of magic threads and try to discover how they flowed. This might be the Cube Route, but it was probably also influenced by her Companions. A perfect route would be a straight line, while one with too many people would be distorted, yet have its relevance. As this one did.
All this walking was a bit tiring, but also invigorating. Cube had never liked to think of herself as chubby, but others had called her that; now she felt her body redistributing flesh to make more muscles for walking and less fat to carry. It would not make her beautiful, because she lacked the bones and the skin and the features, but it would make her healthy, and that was worth something. The journey was also taking her to new places, and she was glad to see them; it was evident that she did not know enough about Xanth, but could learn by seeing it.
Still, around midday she was ready to rest, so she sat on a convenient bench and got the weight off her feet. Diamond seemed satisfied to get off her feet too. "You're good company," Cube told her, patting her head. "You don't complain, you don't rush ahead or drag behind, you don't criticize my decisions." The dog's tail wagged.
Someone approached from the north. It was another woman, reasonably good looking. Cube's route seemed to be strewn with women who looked better than she ever had. "Oh, a bench," the woman said. "Just when I needed one. May I join you?"
"Of course," Cube said. She was about ready for human company, though a handsome and attentive man would have been better. "The enchanted paths seem to have facilities where they are needed, in contrast to the others."
"Which are the opposite," the woman agreed, laughing ruefully as she sat down. "And you have a Mundane dog. How nice."
"This is Diamond. She's not mine; we're just keeping company for now. When she finds a place she likes, perhaps she'll stay there."
"That must be true for all of us."
Now Cube laughed, recognizing the truth of that. "I am Cube, on a private mission. My talent is to summon nickelpedes, but I don't do it unless there is need."
"I am Polly Graff. My talent is to detect lies."
"That must be useful."
"Sometimes. Not in this case; you haven't tried to lie to me."
"I'm not very good at it. The best I can do is to keep my thoughts mostly to myself."
"What did you think when you saw me coming?"
"Oh, that's not relevant."
"Yes it is. I'm trying to find out how well you lie."
Cube suppressed a sigh. "I half wished you were a man who would pay attention to me, instead of being yet another woman prettier than I am."
"You're right: you can't tell a lie. But you know, beauty isn't necessarily what you think."
"I think all my problems would be solved if I were beautiful."
"You do think that, but I just met a woman who would, if you'll excuse the expression, give the lie to that."
This was interesting. "A beautiful woman with problems?"
"I think so."
"But shouldn't you know so, since she couldn't lie to you?"
"Not in this case. She's a ghost."
"A ghost!"
"A lovely ghost. She has either just killed herself, or is about to."
This was more than interesting. "How could a beautiful woman ever want to die? She should be completely happy."
"I don't know. But I can tell you where she is. Maybe you can ask her."
"I'd like to, but--" Cube didn't want to say that she had to stick to the Route marked by the thread.
"She's in an inn south of the North Village. Right in your path, if you're going north. You'll arrive there around nightfall. That's where I stayed last night. The innkeeper tried to tell me all his rooms were taken, but I knew he was lying, and made him give me the one empty one. Then I found out why he was hiding it: because if others learned of the ghost, suddenly he'd have all his rooms empty. I saw the ghost, and felt her horrible unhappiness, but I couldn't learn more because my talent works on the living, not the dead. But you--you might have the inclination to get to know her, and find out who she is and what's the matter."
"Yes. I'm as wary of ghosts as the next person, but the mystery of a lovely woman who wants to die fascinates me. I'll check on her, if I possibly can."
"That's nice."
"But suppose I talk to her, and she lies to me? I don't have your talent."
Polly smiled. "I have discovered that often I don't actually need my talent. I can tell when a person is lying without it. Then I use it just to verify. Usually I am right. It's a kind of private game."
"How can you tell?"
"Well, an amateur liar will fidget. He'll avoid your gaze. There's a certain hollow sound when he talks."
"What about a professional liar?"
"He'll show none of those things. He'll be so smooth that you just naturally believe him. That's when you have to be wary: never believe a person just because he is convincing."
"But that means I can't believe either the clumsy ones or the smooth ones."
"That's right. Most folk are in between, and you can mostly trust them. It's the extremes that you must doubt."
"That may be too complicated for me."
"Well, it takes time to develop the touch. But give it a try; you might be surprised."
"Maybe I will."
"And pick up on the signals the dog gives. Dogs can smell lies. If you see her tail drop, beware."
"I'll do that."
"Well, I have to move on now, if I am to reach the centaur village by nightfall." Polly stood.
Cube stood too. "Same for me, going the other way. I left the centaur village this morning."
"Farewell."
"Same to you."
They parted, and Cube followed the thread north. "Was she right?" she asked.
Diamond's tail was high. That was encouraging.
By evening she saw the inn, and not only did the thread lead to it, it went inside. Could the ghost woman be part of her route? Ordinarily such a prospect would disturb her, but now she hoped for it.
She entered the inn. The innkeeper met her at the door. "Sorry, we're full," he said hollowly, fidgeting and looking away.
Cube glanced at Diamond. Her tail was low.
"What about the room with the ghost?" she demanded.
The man looked as if he had swallowed a bad prune. "Don't blab about that!"
"I won't," Cube promised truthfully.
The man became cunning, now that he had secured his secret. "What do you have in trade?"
"I can work for my board," Cube said. She was tired, but she knew inns were not free. "For me and the dog."
"Go to the kitchen. Do what the cook says. She'll show you the room when you're done."
"Done," Cube agreed. It was a fair bargain, considering.
The cook was a cheerful fat woman with a direct gaze and no fidgeting. "Good to have help. Here's food for you and the dog. Then you'll have to wash the pots and sweep the floor."
The food was good, the pots were greasy, and the floor was filthy. Cube did the best job she could, though she was really tired by the time it all was done. Diamond sniffed out a rat and growled it out of the kitchen, pleasing the cook. Then the cook showed her to the room. "You know it's haunted? The ghost won't hurt you, but she's sort of spooky."
"I know," Cube said. "We'll get along." She opened the door, and she and Diamond stepped into the room.
Chapter 8
Exchange
The ghost stood
in the center of the chamber, facing them. She possessed unearthly beauty of face and form, and her dress was elegant. But tears streaked her classic face.
Cube suffered half a welter of emotions. She didn't know what to do. But Diamond didn't hesitate; she went up to the ghost.
"A dohg," the ghost said, surprised. She reached down to pat Diamond. Her delicate hand passed through the dog's head, but Diamond wagged her tail.
"Her name is Diamond," Cube said, seizing this opening. "Mine is Cube. We'd like to stay the night here, if it's all right with you."
"I'm so lohnely," the ghost said. Then she focused a little better. "Yes, if you wish. I have no escape. I am Silhouette."
Cube walked carefully around the ghost and sat on the bed. She was tired and wanted to clean up and sleep, but this ghost woman fascinated her. Certainly she was well named; her figure was so shapely as to make any man who even heard about it drool. "Silhouette, are you alive or dead?"
"My body is alive, for now. My soul is dead."
"I don't understand."
"It is a long and dreary story. I took poison, but am not yet dead. I'm in a coma, and my soul is free to roam. But I have no way to leave this room, for this is where my body lies in my world."
"Your world?"
"I believe the last visitor called it Mundania. I gather this is an imaginary fantasy world, while my own is reality. So my spirit is in my imagination."
"This is Xanth," Cube said. "It is a magic place, and next to it is Mundania, where there is little or no magic. I am a traveler in Xanth."
"I think I'd like to travel in a fantasy realm," Silhouette said. "It would be so much nicer than what I know."
"You wouldn't want to exchange places with me," Cube said.
"Oh, but I would, if you can range freely amidst magic."
"But you're beautiful! How can you be unhappy?"
"How can I be otherwise? Appearance is nothing; my beauty has merely sealed my fate. You are far better off."
"Look at me! I am as plain as you are beautiful. My most ardent desire is to be beautiful."
"But you are free! That is what counts."