{"id":401,"date":"2026-01-03T20:37:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/piers-anthony-xanth-21-faun-games-anthony-piers\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T20:37:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:37:31","slug":"piers-anthony-xanth-21-faun-games-anthony-piers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/piers-anthony-xanth-21-faun-games-anthony-piers\/","title":{"rendered":"Piers, Anthony – Xanth 21 – Faun & Games – Anthony, Piers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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\n\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>FAUN AND GAMES<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBY PIERS ANTHONY<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSynopsis:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe latest Xanth adventure by the author of more than 20 successive New<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYork Times bestsellers. For Forrest Faun, a young tree faun\u00a0 <\/span>searching<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfor a suitable spirit to save a magical tree, the astonishing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nworld-within-a-world of the tiny planet Ptero may be the place where he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwill find the answer to his quest. Piers Anthony puns his way into<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nquantum physics in this delightful journey.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThis is a work of fiction.\u00a0 <\/span>All the characters and events portrayed in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthis novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFAUN & GAMES<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nCopyright (D 1997 by Piers Anthony<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAll rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nportions thereof, in any form.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThis book is printed on acid-free paper.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. 175 Fifth Avenue<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNew York, NY 10010<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nTor Books on the World Wide Web: littp:\/\/w.tor.corn<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nTorQ is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nLibrary of Congress Cataloging -.\u00a0 <\/span>,- Publication Data Anthony, Piers.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFaun and gaines \/ Piers Anthony.-1st ed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nP.\u00a0 <\/span>cm.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nISBN 0-312-86162-I acid-free)<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI.\u00a0 <\/span>Title.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nPS355l,v3F38 1997 97-19362 813′.54-de2l CIP<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFirst Edition: October 1997 Printed in the United States of America<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Hey, Faun, how about some fun?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest Faun rubbed what remained of his night’s sleep out of his eyes<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand looked down to the base of his tree.\u00a0 <\/span>There stood a fetching nymph<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwith all the usual nymphly features: pretty face, flowing hair, perfect<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfigure, and no clothing.\u00a0 <\/span>But there was something amiss.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What do you mean’?” he asked as he sat up in a fork, still getting his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbearings.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n,.What do you think I mean, Faun?\u00a0 <\/span>Come down and chase me, the way fauns<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nalways do to nymphs.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen he had it.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re no nymph.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh, pooh!” she swore, pouting.\u00a0 <\/span>She dissolved into smoke and reformed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nas a luscious clothed demoness.\u00a0 <\/span>“I am D.\u00a0 <\/span>Mentia, out seeking routine<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nentertainment or mischief while my better half waxes disgustingly<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmotherly.\u00a0 <\/span>What gave me away?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“If I tell you, will you go somewhere else?” It was usually possible to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nget rid of demons if one made a suitable deal with them.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes, if you want me to.” Her bright yellow dress fuzzed, showing the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvague outline of her body beneath, with almost a suggestion of a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nforbidden panty line.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo there was a catch.\u00a0 <\/span>“Why wouldn’t I want you to?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Because I have dreadful information that will puzzle and alarm you and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nperhaps change your whole outlook.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThat seemed like adequate reason.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest, now fully awake, jumped down<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto the ground, landing neatly on his hoofs.\u00a0 <\/span>“What gave you away was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyour manner.\u00a0 <\/span>You were not acting like a nymph.\u00a0 <\/span>You were way too<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nforward and intelligent.\u00a0 <\/span>Much of a nymph’s appeal is in her seeming<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreticence and lack of intellect.\u00a0 <\/span>Now what’s this dreadful information?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Follow me.” Mentia whirled in place, so that her body twisted into a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntight spiral before untwisting facing the opposite direction, and walked<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\naway.\u00a0 <\/span>Her skirt shrank so as to show her legs as far up as was feasible<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwithout running out of limb.\u00a0 <\/span>But of course Forrest didn’t notice,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecause nothing a demoness showed was very real.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe led him across the glade to a tree on the far side.\u00a0 <\/span>“See.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest stared with dismay at the clog tree.\u00a0 <\/span>It was wilting, and its<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nclogs were falling to the ground.\u00a0 <\/span>That could mean only one thing: it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad lost its spirit.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs it happened, the clog tree’s spirit was Forrest’s friend: Branch<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFaun.\u00a0 <\/span>They had known each other for almost two centuries, because their<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntwo trees were in sight of each other.\u00a0 <\/span>Almost every day Forrest would<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndrop out of his sandalwood tree, and join Branch in the glade between<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem to dance a J’lg or two.\u00a0 <\/span>With luck, their ‘igging would attract the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfleeting attention of a nymph or three, who would join ill, jiggling.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWith further luck, jig and Jiggle would lead to a pleasant chase and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncelebration.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut this morning Branch’s tree was in a sad state.\u00a0 <\/span>It wouldn’t fade so<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsoon if its faun were merely absent; fauns and nymphs shared an<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nawareness with their trees that alerted them instantly if harm came to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\neither.\u00a0 <\/span>Let a human forester even come near such a tree with an axe,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand its faun would have a fit.\u00a0 <\/span>Let a faun split a hoof, and his tree<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould shudder.\u00a0 <\/span>Such reactions were independent of distance; a faun<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould run far away from his tree, and still be closely attuned to it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThey felt each other’s pain.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Are you trying to ignore me?” Mentia asked warningly.\u00a0 <\/span>Demollesses<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould handle almost anything except that.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No.\u00a0 <\/span>You’re right.\u00a0 <\/span>I am puzzled and alarmed by this dreadful scene. Do<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou know anythin, about it?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No.\u00a0 <\/span>I just happened to note it in passing, so I looked for the closest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncreature who might be tormented by it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe glanced at her.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re one crazy organism.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you,” she said, flushing red with candy stripes.\u00a0 <\/span>The color<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nextended to her clothing and hair, and traces of it radiated into the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nair around her.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe clog tree’s distress meant that Branch was in serious trouble, if<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnot dead.\u00a0 <\/span>What could have happened?\u00a0 <\/span>Branch had been fine yesterday. In<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfact he had encountered a nymph from a lady slipper tree whose slippers<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngave her special fleetness, just as the sandals from Forrest’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsandalwood tree gave him excellent footing, and the clogs from Branch’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntree protected his hoofs.\u00a0 <\/span>They had had quite a merry chase.\u00a0 <\/span>Because<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat was what fauns and nymphs did; they chased each other until they<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncame together, and then they celebrated in a manner that children were<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnot supposed to see.\u00a0 <\/span>Because it did tend to get dull just sitting in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\none’s tree all the time.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn fact, Forrest now remembered, the nymph, clad only in her slippers,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad led Branch a chase right out of sight.\u00a0 <\/span>Meanwhile her friend from an<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\noak tree, named Kara 0ke, had done some very nice singing to background<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmusic of wind through trees, so Forrest had had his own distraction.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNaturally he had chased her, and naturally she had fled, but not too<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nswiftly, because she was still singing her oak song. So he had caught<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nher, and they had celebrated in the usual fashion, while she continued<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsinging.\u00a0 <\/span>That had been interesting, because she had sung of every<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndetail of the experience they were sharing, making it a work of musical<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nart.\u00a0 <\/span>Then she had returned to her tree, satisfied that her song worked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere weren’t any other nymphs around at the moment, so Forrest had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreturned to his own tree and settled down for the night.\u00a0 <\/span>And now his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfriend was gone.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So what are you going to do about it?” Mentia inquired.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDo?\u00a0 <\/span>She was right; he probably should be doing something.\u00a0 <\/span>But what?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What do you think?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I think you will follow their footprints, so you can find out what<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhappened to them.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Now that’s really sensible,” he agreed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe demoness turned smoky black.\u00a0 <\/span>“Darn!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe set off in search of them.\u00a0 <\/span>He had no trouble following their tracks:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nher slipper prints, which were hourglass shaped, in the manner of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnymph herself, and his clog prints, which were forceful and furred. They<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlooped around other trees, as she made cute dodges and diversions. It<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas the chase that counted; fauns and nymphs loved lo run almost as much<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nas they loved to dance.\u00a0 <\/span>The better the chase, the better the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncelebration at the end.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest remembered a nymph once who had been in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na bad mood, because her tree was suffering a fungus infestation, and had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsimply stood there.\u00a0 <\/span>This was of course a complete turn-off, and no faun<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad touched her.\u00a0 <\/span>Any nymph who wanted nothing to do with any particular<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfaun had only to refuse to move, and he would leave her alone. Sometimes<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na nymph teased a faun, pretending disinterest, then leaping into pursuit<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe moment he turned his back. If she caught him, it was her advantage,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand he had to do whatever she wanted.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course that was exactly the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsame as what he wanted, but other fauns would taunt him unmercifully for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngetting caught.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nMentia, floating along beside him, was getting bored.\u00a0 <\/span>“Are you ready<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfor me to depart?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes,” he agreed absently.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Good.” She remained where she was.\u00a0 <\/span>He realized that he should have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nurged her to stay-, then she would have been sure that he was up to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnothing interesting.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe tracks veered toward the Void.\u00a0 <\/span>That was the nearby reion of no<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreturn.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course every faun and nymph knew better than to enter it,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecause there was no way out of it.\u00a0 <\/span>Anything that crossed the boundary<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas doomed.\u00a0 <\/span>Only special creatures, like the night mares, could escape<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit, because they weren’t real in the way ordinary folk were.\u00a0 <\/span>They had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvery little substance.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Don’t float too near the Void,” Forrest warned the demoness.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe changed course to approach the boundary, then paused.\u00a0 <\/span>“Say, you are<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na cunning one!” she said with admiration.\u00a0 <\/span>“You knew I’d automatically<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndo the opposite.\u00a0 <\/span>It almost worked, too.\u00a0 <\/span>But I’m only a little crazy.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYou have to be a lot crazy to venture into the Void.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Maybe next time,” he muttered.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe nymph was clearly teasing Branch, by passing flirtingly close to the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfringe of the Void.\u00a0 <\/span>Her prints almost touched the boundary, then moved<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\naway, then came close again.\u00a0 <\/span>The menace of that drelid region added to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe thrill of the chase.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest had done it too, and knew exactly the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsteps to take to be sure of never straying across the line.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen his sandals balked.\u00a0 <\/span>He stopped, perplexed; what was the matter?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHis sandals were magic, and protected his hoofs from harm, and if he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwere about to step somewhere harmful, they stopped him.\u00a0 <\/span>Yet he saw<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnothing ahead to be concerned about.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So what’s with you?” Mentia asked.\u00a0 <\/span>“Tired of walking?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I didn’t stop,” he explained.\u00a0 <\/span>“My sandals did.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Say, I’m getting to like you.\u00a0 <\/span>You’re almost as weird as I am.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That’s impossible.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you.” This time her flush of pleasure was purple with green polka<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndots, and it extended down her legs and out across the ground around<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nher.\u00a0 <\/span>“So why did your sandals stop?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m not sure.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe it was a false alarm.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nStill, his sandals had never yet been wrong.\u00a0 <\/span>So he dropped to his furry<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nknees and examined the ground before him.\u00a0 <\/span>It was ordinary. There were a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfew smiling gladiolas, the happiest of flowers, and beyond them some<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhorse radishes were flicking off flies with their tails. He thought of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nasking the nearest horse if it knew of anything harmful here, but he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndidn’t understand plant language very well, and in any event all it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould say would be “neigh.” So finally he got up and made a detour<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\naround the place.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh, well,” the demoness said, disappointed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut now he couldn’t find the trail.\u00a0 <\/span>Both sets of tracks were gone. So<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe turned back-and that was when he saw it.\u00a0 <\/span>A splinter of reverse wood<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\non the ground.\u00a0 <\/span>He was sure of its identity, because the gladiola<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nclosest to it was drooping sadly.\u00a0 <\/span>And right across it was a lady<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nslipper print.\u00a0 <\/span>The nymph had inadvertently stepped on the splinter.\u00a0 <\/span>It<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhadn’t hurt her directly, because it was lying flat.\u00a0 <\/span>But it must have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\naffected the fleet magic of her slipper, so that she had lost her sure<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfooting.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You see something,” D.\u00a0 <\/span>Mentia remarked astutely.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNow he saw the clog-print next to it, and realized the awful truth. The<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnymph had lost her balance, because of the reversal of her slipper<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmagic, and teetered on the edge of the boundary of the Void.\u00a0 <\/span>Branch had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncollided with her, caught by surprise by her sudden stop.\u00a0 <\/span>And the two<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad sprawled into the Void.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.\u00a0 <\/span>They are gone.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIt was a freak accident, the kind that would happen hardly once in a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncentury.\u00a0 <\/span>The reverse wood splinter might have been blown there recently<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nby an errant gust of wind.\u00a0 <\/span>It would have been harmless, except when it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncame into contact with something magical.\u00a0 <\/span>Then that abrupt reversal<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBranch and the nymph were lost.\u00a0 <\/span>They would never get out of the Void.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd their trees would suffer, for without its spirit a magical tree<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nslowly lost its magic and became, dreadful destiny, virtually mundane.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIt was a fate, many believed, worse than extinction.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m sorry,” the demoness said.\u00a0 <\/span>“That means that you won’t be<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nentertaining me any more.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest had no idea where the nymph’s tree was, but knew it was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsuffering similarly.\u00a0 <\/span>He hoped there would be another nymph free to join<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit and save it.\u00a0 <\/span>Meanwhile, he did know where Branch’s tree was. But<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwhat could he do?\u00a0 <\/span>He could not care for two trees; the relationship<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndidn’t work that way.\u00a0 <\/span>He was bound to his sandalwood tree.\u00a0 <\/span>He knew of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nno fauns looking for trees.\u00a0 <\/span>There were more trees than amenable fauns<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand nymphs, so that some trees that might have flourished magically<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecame ordinary.\u00a0 <\/span>It was sad, because the right trees had much to offer<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntheir companion spirits, but true.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen he thought of something.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a vanishingly tiny chance, but<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmarginally better than nothing.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re a spirit,” he said to the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndemoness.\u00a0 <\/span>“How would you like to adopt a tree?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You mean, become a tree dryad, so that I would live almost forever and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nalways protect it?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.\u00a0 <\/span>It’s a worthy occupation.\u00a0 <\/span>It doesn’t have to be a nymph. Any<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncaring spirit will do, if the commitment is there.\u00a0 <\/span>And the clogs would<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nprotect your feet.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Commitment.\u00a0 <\/span>Protected feet.” She tried to look serious, but smoke<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstarted puffing out her ears, and finally she exploded into a hilarious<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfireball.\u00a0 <\/span>“Ho ho ho!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen again, maybe the notion had been worse than nothing.\u00a0 <\/span>Demons had no<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsouls, because they were the degraded remnants of souls themselves. They<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncared for nothing and nobody.\u00a0 <\/span>“Sorry I mentioned It.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOh, I’m not!\u00a0 <\/span>That was my laugh for the day.” The smoke coalesced into<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe extraordinarily feminine female woman distaff luscious shape of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngirlish persuasion with the slightly translucent dress.\u00a0 <\/span>“A tree nymph!<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYou are a barrel of laughs.” She formed into a brown barrel with<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbrightly colored pancake-shaped laughs overflowing its rim.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest ignored her as well as he could, and headed for his home tree.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHow could he have been so stupid as to make such a suggestion to a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndemoness?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe followed.\u00a0 <\/span>“The oddest thing is that my better half well might have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nagreed, were she not otherwise occupied.\u00a0 <\/span>She has half a soul. But also<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na half mortal child, so she’s busy.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m the half without the soul.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs if he couldn’t have guessed.\u00a0 <\/span>“You could share the soul of the tree.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The soul of a shoe tree,” she exclaimed, her laughter building up<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nanother head of steam.\u00a0 <\/span>“A clog sole.\u00a0 <\/span>Protecting my feet.\u00a0 <\/span>Oh, hold me,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsomebody; I think I’m going to expire of mirth.” Her body swelled until<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit burst and disappeared, leaving only a faint titter behind.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThis time, it seemed she really was gone.\u00a0 <\/span>But Forrest didn’t chance it;<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe walked directly back without looking around.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen he returned and looked at the clog tree, his heart sank into his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstomach.\u00a0 <\/span>The poor thing was so droopy and sad.\u00a0 <\/span>It was all that<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nremained of his friend Branch.\u00a0 <\/span>He had to do something to help it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe walked up and put a hand on the trunk.\u00a0 <\/span>“Have confidence, clog tree.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI will find you another spirit.\u00a0 <\/span>Just give me time to do it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe tree must have heard him, because its leaves perked up and became<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngreener.\u00a0 <\/span>It knew him, because he had been near it many times, and was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe friend of its faun.\u00a0 <\/span>It trusted him to help it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe had promised, and he would do his best.\u00a0 <\/span>Some folk thought that fauns<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand nymphs were empty-headed creatures, incapable of feeling or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncommitment, but those folk were confusing types.\u00a0 <\/span>The creatures of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFaun and Nymph Retreat had no memory beyond a day, so every new day was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na new adventure.\u00a0 <\/span>But that was the magic of the retreat; any who left<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthere started to turn real, which meant they aged and had memories. Some<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npreserved their youth by finding useful jobs.\u00a0 <\/span>Jewel the Nymph had taken<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\non the chore of spreading gems throughout Xanth, so that others would<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhave the delightful challenge of finding them, and later she had married<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na mortal man and become a grandmother.\u00a0 <\/span>Many others had adopted magical<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntrees, just as Forrest had.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a kind of symbiosis, which was a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfancy word meaning that the two got along great together and helped each<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nother survive. The trees kept the fauns or nymphs young, because trees<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlived a long time and their spirits shared that longevity.\u00a0 <\/span>The fauns or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnymphs protected their trees, bringing them water in times of drought<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand harassing woodsmen who wanted to chop the trees down.\u00a0 <\/span>Nymphs had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvery effective ways to distract woodsmen, or to persuade them to spare<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntheir trees. Sometimes a nymph would even marry a woodsman, if that was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwhat it took. But her first loyalty was always to her tree.\u00a0 <\/span>Fauns had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nother ways, such as setting booby traps or informing large dragons where<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na nice man sized meal could be had near a certain tree.\u00a0 <\/span>One way or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nanother, they protected their timber, as well as enhancing the natural<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmagic of the trees.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut the sudden loss of Branch left the clog tree in trouble.\u00a0 <\/span>Such<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrelationships were not lightly made or broken.\u00a0 <\/span>A faun who lost his tree<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndied, and a tree who lost its faun turned mundane, an even sadder state.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo he had to find a replacement.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“If only I had the faintest notion how,” he said in anguish.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a swirl of smoke.\u00a0 <\/span>It formed into a large pot labeled SEX.\u00a0 <\/span>“I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshould have thought a faun already knew how,” it said. “But I suppose I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould show you, if-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe should have known that the demoness hadn’t really gone.\u00a0 <\/span>She was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstill hoping he might do something entertaining.\u00a0 <\/span>“How to find a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsuitable spirit for the clog tree,” he clarified.\u00a0 <\/span>“Naturally you have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nno better notion than I do.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Naturally not,” the pot agreed, its label changing to KETTLE as it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nturned black.\u00a0 <\/span>“I would never think of going to ask the Good Magician<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHumfrey.\u00a0 <\/span>The last time I suggested that, I had to guide a stupid<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngargoyle there, and he wound up saving Xanth from whatever.\u00a0 <\/span>Actually<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat adventure did have its points; it certainly was interesting.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe kettle formed back into the luscious lady shape.\u00a0 <\/span>“So there’s no<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npoint in suggesting it, especially since the Good Magician charges a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyear’s Service for an Answer.\u00a0 <\/span>So you might as well abandon all hope and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\njust let the stupid tree die.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’ll go see the Good Magician!” Forrest exclaimed.\u00a0 <\/span>Then he realized<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat she had tricked him into reacting, just as he had tried to trick<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nher.\u00a0 <\/span>He had said it, and the clog tree had heard; its leaves were<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecoming almost wholesome.\u00a0 <\/span>Now he had to do it.\u00a0 <\/span>But a year’s Service?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I can’t leave my own tree that long,” he protested belatedly. “And I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndon’t even know the way there.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You need a guide,” Mentia said.\u00a0 <\/span>“I need to go bother my better half<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsome more, but I can find a friend to show you the way to Humfrey’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncastle.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I don’t want any friend of yours!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Excellent.\u00a0 <\/span>You will find her just as lusciously annoying as I am. I’ll<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbe right back with her.” The demoness popped off.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAgain, he had said the wrong thing.\u00a0 <\/span>But he was now committed to going.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHow would the trees fare during his absence?\u00a0 <\/span>He didn’t want them to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsuffer, but there didn’t seem to be much of an alternative.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut there might be a way to get some help on that.\u00a0 <\/span>There was a cave<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnearby, where a nice cousin of Com Pewter dwelt.\u00a0 <\/span>She was ComPassion,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand she loved everybody, because a love spring flowed in her cave.\u00a0 <\/span>Her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npowers were limited, but she would do any favor she could manage for the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlocal folk.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe she would be able to help the trees.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nUnfortunately, there was a complication about dealing with her, which<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas why he normally stayed clear.\u00a0 <\/span>But at the moment he didn’t seem to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhave much choice.\u00a0 <\/span>He would just have to hope that it would work out all<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nright.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe fetched his knapsack, which he always used when going far from his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntree, and ran through field and dale until he came to Passion’s cave.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nLovely purple flowers grew at its entrance, and the scent of the air was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsweet.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOh, no!\u00a0 <\/span>He had in his haste forgotten something important.\u00a0 <\/span>It was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nusual to bring a little gift to Passion when visiting her.\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nexactly to put her in a good mood, because she was always in a good<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmood.\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn’t just protocol, either.\u00a0 <\/span>It was that a gift tended to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmake her feel that she should do something in return-and he really<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nneeded that return favor.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhat could he find for a gift?\u00a0 <\/span>Passion’s main weakness was that she<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncouldn’t do anything physical.\u00a0 <\/span>She couldn’t walk out of her cave and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsee the sights or pick the flowers.\u00a0 <\/span>So sometimes folk brought her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstories of the things outside, to keep her informed.\u00a0 <\/span>But he suspected<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe would need more than that.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen he remembered something.\u00a0 <\/span>The chips!\u00a0 <\/span>Passion loved chips. What she<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndid with them no one knew, but she truly valued them.\u00a0 <\/span>He knew where<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsome nice chips grew.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe ran to the glade where the chips were.\u00a0 <\/span>Sure enough, there was a nice<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnew crop of them.\u00a0 <\/span>Chips of every kind grew in profusion. Which ones<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould please her most?\u00a0 <\/span>He pondered briefly, then went for a Potato<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChip.\u00a0 <\/span>The moment he harvested it, he felt the urge to speak, and his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwords were really salty.\u00a0 <\/span>He also felt extremely thirsty. He quickly put<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit into his knapsack and sealed it shut.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAcross the glade was a brown region.\u00a0 <\/span>He went there and harvested a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChocolate Chip.\u00a0 <\/span>It smelled good enough to eat, but he didn’t dare take<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntime for that now.\u00a0 <\/span>If he ate one, he might get a hunger for more, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbe unable to stop.\u00a0 <\/span>So he popped it quickly into his bag.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOne more should do it.\u00a0 <\/span>He looked around, and saw an old block in the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncenter of the glade.\u00a0 <\/span>So he went and took a chip off that.\u00a0 <\/span>It was very<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstubborn and didn’t want to turn loose, but when he touched it he got<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstubborn too, and finally did pry the chip off the old block.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe nerved himself and entered the cave.\u00a0 <\/span>It was very nice inside. He<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nknew that it was really a rather ordinary cave, but the overflow from<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe love spring ran through it, and some of the water evaporated and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsuffused the air.\u00a0 <\/span>That was part of the complication.\u00a0 <\/span>He would have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntried to breathe through a cloth or something, but that would be<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nimpolite, and impoliteness was bad form when one came begging a favor.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo he took it in stride, and his stride was good.\u00a0 <\/span>He reached the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncenter, where reclined a device fashioned of passion wood.\u00a0 <\/span>fle stopped<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand took a breath.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBefore he spoke, a screen lighted.\u00a0 <\/span>Who is there,?\u00a0 <\/span>it inquired in neat<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncursive script.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Forrest Faun,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“From the nearby sandalwood tree.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWHY DEAR BOY HOW VERY NICE TO SEE YOU.\u00a0 <\/span>THE SCREEN SAID WITH A SWEET ROW<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOF HEARTS ACROSS THE BOTTOM.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Uh, likewise, I’m sure,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>This wasn’t going well.\u00a0 <\/span>“Uh, I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbrought you a gift.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe screen glowed brightly.\u00a0 <\/span>Why how ve thoughtful of you, dear boy! And<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe hearts grew larger.\u00a0 <\/span>V y If T T y Not well at all!\u00a0 <\/span>“Uh, here they<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nare.” He fumbled in his bag and pulled out the Chocolate Chip.\u00a0 <\/span>“A sweet<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfor the sweet.” He found another chip and fumbled it out.\u00a0 <\/span>“A salt for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe salty.” oops; that wasn’t right. So he rushed on to the third: “And<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na chip off the old block for the stubborn.” Worse yet!<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhy dear boy, I believe you are flustered the screen said, smiling.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Uh, yes,” he confessed.\u00a0 <\/span>He was two centuries old, but felt like an<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nadolescent elf.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHow ve sweet.\u00a0 <\/span>The screen turned Valentine pink.\u00a0 <\/span>And what is your<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrequest of me, dear boy.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest launched into his story of the fate of Branch Faun and the need<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto save his tree.\u00a0 <\/span>“So I must go ask the Good Magician what to do,” he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nconcluded.\u00a0 <\/span>“But I can’t even leave my own tree that long, safely.\u00a0 <\/span>So I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthought maybe you could, well, sort of change reality to make the trees<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nall right, for a while, if you wanted to, until I get back.” Suddenly it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nseemed rather stupid.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo all this is just to help a tree?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes,” he confessed, feeling woefully inadequate.\u00a0 <\/span>The whole notion was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nridiculous.\u00a0 <\/span>He would have to find some other way.\u00a0 <\/span>“But I guess you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhave more important things to do.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m sorry I bothered you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDear boy, you have such a generous spirit, I really like you.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou must save the tree.\u00a0 <\/span>I will help you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You will?” He was amazed.\u00a0 <\/span>He had thought it so trivial, as far as<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nanyone else was concerned, but now it seemed important again.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYes.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course I have my price.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDread surged back.\u00a0 <\/span>What changed reality would she require of him?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYou kpow I have a romantic nature, bUt that I am a machine.\u00a0 <\/span>I can only<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndream of love, not actually experience it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.” This sounded worse.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut I can on occasion approximate love, if I have a cooperativ(?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npartner.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe could?\u00a0 <\/span>What was she going to make him do? \u00a0<\/span>But he was stuck for it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nKiss my mouse.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But you don’t have a mouth, ComPassion.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNot mouth.\u00a0 <\/span>Mouse.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI have a mouse, she explained patiently.\u00a0 <\/span>I want you to kiss it.\u00a0 <\/span>What<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nterm do you not understand?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But-a mouse?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA small living creature, usqfulfor going where I am unable to go.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn this case, romance.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe thought it would be romantic for him to kiss her mouse?\u00a0 <\/span>“I- if I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhave to-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBe than1\/2f&l I managed to exchange the donkey I had recently for the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmouse.\u00a0 <\/span>It was an asinine creature.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe certainly wouldn’t have wanted to kiss her asinine creature. “Okay.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen the cave chamber shimmered, and he knew she was changin(i reality.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIt became a lovely glade surrounded by red, green, purple, yellow, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\norange trees, with their assorted round fruits of similar colors, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nflour plants growing in the center.\u00a0 <\/span>From the far side came the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nprettiest nymph he could remember seeing, with thick lustrous brown hair<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat spread out to form a cloak for her body.\u00a0 <\/span>But it could not conceal<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe elegant curves of that graceful form as she walked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe came up to him as he stood somewhat bemused by the change. He had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnot expected a reality shift of this magnitude.\u00a0 <\/span>And what was the nymph<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndoing here.?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I am Terian,” she said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Kiss me.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But I’m supposed to kiss a-a mouse,” he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I am that one.\u00a0 <\/span>I am the Mouse Terian.\u00a0 <\/span>I am older than I look.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You’re the mouse?” He stared at her.\u00a0 <\/span>“But you’re beautiful!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you.\u00a0 <\/span>It has been forty millennia since I have had a compliment<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlike that.\u00a0 <\/span>Others have thought me to be primitive or crude.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh, you are neither of those things!\u00a0 <\/span>You are the loveliest creature I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncan imagine.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you.\u00a0 <\/span>Now you must kiss me, for I can’t kiss you.\u00a0 <\/span>I don’t know<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhow.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Like this,” he said enthusiastically.\u00a0 <\/span>He folded her lithe and softly<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyielding body in his arms and kissed her firmly on her luscious lips. At<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfirst she was hesitant, but then she got into the feel of it and kissed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhim back.\u00a0 <\/span>What had been a halfway experimental effort became a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfull-fledged delight.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAfter a wonderfully long time he felt obliged to break it off.\u00a0 <\/span>For one<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthing, he had forgotten to breathe.\u00a0 <\/span>He looked into her deep brown eyes.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh, Terian, that was the greatest kiss I ever had!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you.” Then she turned and walked back across the glade.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAstonished, he just watched, not knowing what to make of it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe scene shimmered, and the cave returned.\u00a0 <\/span>He was staring at the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nscreen, where the words Thank you were scripted.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I don’t understand,” he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nMouse Terian could not stay.\u00a0 <\/span>I can alter reali only so much. Perhaps<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsome day someone will go out into the field and harvest me a cereal port<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nso that I can make better se of the mouse.\u00a0 <\/span>But he did enjoy your kiss.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd so did I He was slowly and uncertainly recovering his grip on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreality. “She-what is she like, really?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA mouse ran up on top of the wooden frame holding the screen and stood<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\non its hind feet for a moment, facing him.\u00a0 <\/span>Here.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo Terian really was a mouse.\u00a0 <\/span>He truly had kissed a mouse.\u00a0 <\/span>Transformed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nby a temporarily local change of reality, but nevertheless a mouse.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYet a detail didn’t fit.\u00a0 <\/span>“But she spoke to me!\u00a0 <\/span>In sound.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI am rather proud of my sound system.\u00a0 <\/span>As the words appeared on the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nscreen, they came in sound too.\u00a0 <\/span>I was the one speaking.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo it could all be explained.\u00a0 <\/span>It had been crafted from sound and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntemporary reality.\u00a0 <\/span>It hadn’t really been a lovely nymph.\u00a0 <\/span>Still, it had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbeen impressive.\u00a0 <\/span>“I think you are getting close to the feeling of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nromance, ComPassion,” he said sincerely.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThank you.\u00a0 <\/span>Wait until I complete my next upgrade.\u00a0 <\/span>Then more than<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nkissing will be feasible.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThat was somewhat daunting.\u00a0 <\/span>“Is-is that all?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYes, unfortunately, for now.\u00a0 <\/span>Take the two disks beside me and set one<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nin each tree.\u00a0 <\/span>They will alter the trees’ reality slightly, so that your<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nabsence will seem like only a day.\u00a0 <\/span>They will not wither or wilt. But<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou must be back within a month, or the effect willfade, and then they<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwill suffer.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you,” he said gratefully.\u00a0 <\/span>He picked up the two small wooden<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndisks and tucked them carefully into his knapsack.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAny time, dear boy.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a pleasure.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe made his way outside.\u00a0 <\/span>The fresh air cleared his head of the fumes<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfrom the love spring.\u00a0 <\/span>He realized that in that ambiance he had wanted<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto experience the romance, and that must have helped the effect.\u00a0 <\/span>What a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwoman Terian had seemed to be!\u00a0 <\/span>Some day she would surely make some male<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmouse excruciatingly happy.\u00a0 <\/span>And once ComPassion was fully compatible,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshe might make the notorious Com Pewter happy too.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a swirl of smoke before him.\u00a0 <\/span>Two parts of it descended to the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nground and formed into feet.\u00a0 <\/span>The rest became a smoky nymph figure.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“This must be the faun,” she said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Of course it’s me, Mentia,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Who else would it be?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dark face frowned.\u00a0 <\/span>“I am not Mentia.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\noops.\u00a0 <\/span>Demonesses could be troublesome when annoyed.\u00a0 <\/span>“I apologize.\u00a0 <\/span>I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthought any creature that lovely had to be Mentia.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh you did, did you’?\u00a0 <\/span>Mentia’s crazy.\u00a0 <\/span>Consider this.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe form shifted and reassembled, becoming so exquisite that it was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndifficult to look at her without flinching.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You’re right,” Forrest said, shielding his eyes with one hand. “That’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntwice as lovely as she was.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And only half as lovely as I could be, if I cared to make the effort.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWell, come on, faun; I don’t have all week.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Come on?\u00a0 <\/span>Where?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“To Humfrey’s castle, of course.\u00a0 <\/span>Where else did you think?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA dim bulb flickered.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re Mentia’s friend!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Hmph.\u00a0 <\/span>An exaggeration.\u00a0 <\/span>But yes, I am Demoness Sire, and I did owe her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhalf a favor.\u00a0 <\/span>So I’ll guide you there.\u00a0 <\/span>But that’s all.\u00a0 <\/span>No round trip;<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat would require a whole favor.\u00a0 <\/span>And I’m not going to make you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndeliriously happy enroute, so forget about that too.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I wasn’t even thinking of it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe looked disappointed.\u00a0 <\/span>“You weren’t?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThis could be more mischief.\u00a0 <\/span>“Well, I was trying to suppress the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthought of it, with imperfect success.\u00a0 <\/span>I am a faun, you know.\u00a0 <\/span>We’re<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrelated to the satyrs.\u00a0 <\/span>We have similar urges, but more self control.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe considered.\u00a0 <\/span>“Suppose I looked like this?” She became somewhat more<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nluscious.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Please don’t, because then I would be thinking of it all the time.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Suppose I became like this?” The scant clothing on her form shrank,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncausing parts of her to bulge dangerously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Then I would be so overwhelmed I’d be constantly grabbing for you, just<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlike a satyr, unable to help myself.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe nodded, satisfied, and sagged into a lesser form.\u00a0 <\/span>He was learning<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhow to handle demonesses.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But first I must see to the trees,” he added.\u00a0 <\/span>“Then I’m all yoursor<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould be, if I weren’t struggling not to think of it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nD.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire looked even more satisfied.\u00a0 <\/span>She drifted beside him as he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwended his way back to his home glade.\u00a0 <\/span>“Is it true that nymphs & fauns<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhave very little magic, apart from their longevity, emptyheadedness, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ninsatiable urge to pretend to summon fleets of storks?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Flocks of storks,” he responded shortly.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Flocks.\u00a0 <\/span>So it is true, cute-horns?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Not exactly.\u00a0 <\/span>The magic of nymphs is to become phenomenally attractive<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto males when they run and bounce, so that any male who spies a running<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnymph is compelled to pursue her though he knows he can’t catch her. The<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmagic of fauns is to run fast enough to catch the nymphs, and to make<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem desire to celebrate when there is physical contact.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Fascinating,” she said, sounding bored.\u00a0 <\/span>“Does it work on other<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfemales?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Why, I hadn’t thought of that.\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose if they removed their clothes<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand ran-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I mean the animal magnetism.\u00a0 <\/span>Do real women get hot when a faun touches<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, we don’t chase real women.\u00a0 <\/span>They know too much, and they aren’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nas well shaped.\u00a0 <\/span>In addition, they often regard fauns as misshapen, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nare repelled.\u00a0 <\/span>So there’s no way of knowing-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So they tend to avoid contact.\u00a0 <\/span>But if it should happen, what then?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe dropped to the ground and put her arms around him.\u00a0 <\/span>Her upper<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsection pressed into his chest in two firm places, and her lower section<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npressed his fur in one firmer place.\u00a0 <\/span>“Is this sufficient contact?” Then<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nher eyes grew large and dreamy.\u00a0 <\/span>“Oh, it’s true!\u00a0 <\/span>Suddenly I want to get<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmuch closer to you.” The three places increased their pressures.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest struggled to disengage.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re not a woman, you’re a demoness.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIf I tried to celebrate with you, you would just dissolve into laughing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngas.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n, ‘True,” she agreed, dissolving into puffs of vapor that spelled out HA<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHA.\u00a0 <\/span>“But nevertheless also true that your touch inspires a certain<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlust.\u00a0 <\/span>So I shall make sure not to tease you from too close.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you.” It had been all he could do to stop from trying what she<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad been teasing him to try.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Unless I change my smoky mind,” she said, reforming into something<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nluscious.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe went to the two trees, and tucked a disk into the lowest cleft of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbranches of each.\u00a0 <\/span>The trees did not seem to change, but he trusted<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nComPassion.\u00a0 <\/span>They should be all right.\u00a0 <\/span>He fetched a spare pair of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsandals, just in case, and put them in his knapsack.\u00a0 <\/span>“Now I am ready to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\no.\u00a0 <\/span>Which way’?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“South.\u00a0 <\/span>He lives below the Gap Chasm.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The what?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Do-ri’t tell me you don’t remember!\u00a0 <\/span>The forget spell wore off it years<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nago.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It isn’t that I don’t remember.\u00a0 <\/span>It’s that I never knew.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh.\u00a0 <\/span>Well, it’s a huge cleft in the ground that is impossible to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npenetrate unless you know how.” She pursed her lips as she spoke the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwords “cleft” and “penetrate,” as if suggesting something naughty.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest had no idea what nuance she was nuancing, so he ignored it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Will you tell me how’?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Of course not.\u00a0 <\/span>That’s more of a favor than I owe Mentia.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe had thought as much.\u00a0 <\/span>Still, limited guidance was better than none.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nMaybe he would be able to ask along the way.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest stood at the brink of a monstrous abyss that was yawning despite<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe fullness of day.\u00a0 <\/span>So this was the dreaded Gap Chasm!\u00a0 <\/span>It was indeed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nimpressive.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So how do you suppose you will get across this impassable abyss?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDemoness Sire inquired.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I suppose I will have to find a place to climb down into it, cross the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbottom, and find a place to climb up the other side.\u00a0 <\/span>We fauns are good<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nclimbers, because of our hoofs.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Ixnay, faun.\u00a0 <\/span>The Gap Dragon ranges the depths, eagerly waiting for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nidiots like you to try just that.\u00a0 <\/span>He’s a six legged steamer, and chomps<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfirst and asks questions later.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, maybe I can find a bridge across it.\u00a0 <\/span>There must be one<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsomewhere.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Several.\u00a0 <\/span>One’s invisible.\u00a0 <\/span>Another is one way.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“One way?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Whichever way you’re going, it’s going the other way.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest had encountered a one way path in his day, so he knew how that<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nworked.\u00a0 <\/span>“Well, I’ll keep looking.\u00a0 <\/span>There must be some way that folk<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncross it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“There is.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And you won’t tell me.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That would be a smidgen over my half favor.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo he walked west along the brink.\u00a0 <\/span>After an indefinite time, he heard a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nscrambling in the brush.\u00a0 <\/span>He turned toward it, holding his sandalwood<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstaff protectively before him.\u00a0 <\/span>It would kick anything that turned out<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto be dangerous, giving him time to run to safety.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn two and a half moments he spied an odd animal caught in briers. It<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlooked like a male werewolf, but couldn’t be, because that would have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nchanged to human form to pick away the prickly vines.\u00a0 <\/span>As it was, the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npoor creature could hardly move, and more beiers were reaching for it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThey would soon coil completely around and prick it to death so they<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould feed on its blood.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest didn’t like briers much, so he decided to help the animal.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Could you use some assistance?” he called.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe not-werewolf looked at him.\u00a0 <\/span>“Arf!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest wasn’t sharp on animal languages, but he had a nodding<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nacquaintance.\u00a0 <\/span>That sounded like canine for “yes.” So he used his staff<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto clear a path through the briers.\u00a0 <\/span>They whipped around, striking at<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit, trying to stab it, but couldn’t hurt the wood.\u00a0 <\/span>The staff gave them<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nincreasingly hefty kicks in return, until they gave up.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe reached the animal, and carefully pried the briers from its body.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSoon it was free.\u00a0 <\/span>“Now follow me out, and stay close to my staff,” he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsaid.\u00a0 <\/span>The animal nodded.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen they were safely out of the brier patch, Forrest turned to the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nanimal.\u00a0 <\/span>“If you don’t mind my asking, who are you, and what kind of a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncreature are you?\u00a0 <\/span>You seem like only half of a werewolf.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof!” the animal replied.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So your name is Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh, come on, you’ll never get it that way,” Sire said, appearing beside<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem.\u00a0 <\/span>“You are wasting my time.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest hardly spared her a dark glance.\u00a0 <\/span>“You could save your time by<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntelling me how to cross the Gap Chasm expediently.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe ignored that.\u00a0 <\/span>“His name is Woofer.\u00a0 <\/span>He’s a Mundane dog.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest was amazed.\u00a0 <\/span>“A Mundane creature!\u00a0 <\/span>I thought they were extinct.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No such luck.\u00a0 <\/span>There’s more than a slew of them north of Xanth.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe faded out in disgust.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest looked again at the dog.\u00a0 <\/span>“Well, Woofer, I’ve never met a real<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndog before.\u00a0 <\/span>So you’re Mundane!\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose that means you are of limited<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nintel-urn, that you don’t care to talk much.\u00a0 <\/span>So I’ll phrase yes\/no<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nquestions.\u00a0 <\/span>One bark for yes, two for no.\u00a0 <\/span>Okay?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Are you friendly?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n‘Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Do you have friends?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Are you lost?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Can you find your way back to them on your own?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Then I had better help you find them.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m not making much progress on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmy own anyway.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Disgusting,” Sire said somewhere in air.\u00a0 <\/span>“I’ll never get through this<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nchore.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You know what you can do about it, demoness.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That would be unethical.\u00a0 <\/span>Half a favor is half a favor, not half a whit<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmore.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Where did you last see your friends?” Forrest asked Woofer.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dog bounded to the brink of the chasm and pointed upward with its<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnose.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Over the pit?\u00a0 <\/span>Can they fly?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n” Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And you couldn’t keep up with them, running on the ground.\u00a0 <\/span>Or maybe<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou could, until you got into that brier patch.\u00a0 <\/span>And they didn’t realize<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou were caught, so don’t know where you are.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n” Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But maybe when they realize that you’re gone, they’ll fly back the way<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthey came, and find you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof!” Woofer agreed, brightening.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So let’s wait here until they come.\u00a0 <\/span>Then you’ll be all right.\u00a0 <\/span>Xanth<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nisn’t very friendly to a Mundane creature alone.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo they waited by the brink, gazing out, watching for flying creatures,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwhile D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire faded in and out, her disgust expanding to its farthest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nboundaries.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest took some balm from his knapsack and spread it on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWoofer’s scratches and punctures, and they started healing.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen Forrest’s sharp eyes spied two things in the air.\u00a0 <\/span>They might be<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbirds, but they didn’t fly like birds.\u00a0 <\/span>“Maybe that’s them,” he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsuggested.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof!” Woofer wagged his tail.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo Forrest waved violently, to attract their attention.\u00a0 <\/span>The shapes<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nveered toward him.\u00a0 <\/span>Soon they showed up as two humanoid figures: a young<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nman and a young elfin woman.\u00a0 <\/span>She had wings, while he flew without<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwings.\u00a0 <\/span>Evidently they were a couple.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWoofer bounded across to meet them as they landed on the brink.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe young man hugged him, and the young woman kissed his nose.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen they turned to Forrest.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Hello,” he said, feeling abruptly awkward.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof!” Woofer said, returning to him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You helped Woofer”” the man asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“He was caught in the brier patch.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But those scratch something awful,” the woman said.\u00a0 <\/span>“He’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nunscratched.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I used some balm,” Forrest said.\u00a0 <\/span>Then, still feeling awkward: “I’m<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nglad he’s safe now.\u00a0 <\/span>I’ll be on my way.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Woof woof.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But you are safe now, aren’t you’?” Forrest said to him.\u00a0 <\/span>“These are<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyour friends.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I think he means that you helped him, so he wants to help you back,”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe man said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Let’s introduce ourselves.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m Sean Mundane.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m Willow Elf,” the woman said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m Forrest Faun.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And so you won’t have to wonder, I really am Mundane,” Sean SAId.\u00a0 <\/span>“I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvISITED Xanth, and fell In love wIth Willow.\u00a0 <\/span>We-well, we ran afoul of a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlove spring without realizing it at first.\u00a0 <\/span>She’s large for an elf and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nflies because she associates with a very large winged elm tree.\u00a0 <\/span>I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreturned to Mundania with her, and she found it a really weird place.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen wtien we came back to Xanth, suddenly I could fly.\u00a0 <\/span>We don’t know<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwhat happened, but it’s great.\u00a0 <\/span>Now we’re just enjoying it. We hope to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmarry soon.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest realized that they were as curious about him as he was about<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem.\u00a0 <\/span>“I’m an ordinary tree faun.\u00a0 <\/span>My neighboring tree lost its faun,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nso I am in search of a replacement faun for it, so it won’t die or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecome-” He hesitated.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Mundane,” Sean said.\u00a0 <\/span>“No affront; I know how awful that seems to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nXanthians.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course you don’t want that to happen.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So I’m going to ask the Good Magician for advice,” Forrest continued.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Though I understand that he charges a year’s Service for an answer, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI have to be back with my tree in a month.\u00a0 <\/span>And I can’t even find my way<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nacross this crevasse.\u00a0 <\/span>So I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSean and Willow exchanged a Significant Glance.\u00a0 <\/span>Then she spoke. “You<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhelped Woofer, and we appreciate that.\u00a0 <\/span>So maybe we can do you a return<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfavor.\u00a0 <\/span>I don’t know how to solve your dilemma, but I think I know who<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmight be able to help.\u00a0 <\/span>I’ll call her.” She lifted a whistle she wore<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\naround her neck and blew on it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn barely a moment there was a crashing in the brush as something huge<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncharged through it.\u00a0 <\/span>“A dragon!” Forrest exclaimed.\u00a0 <\/span>“You had better fly<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nout over the gulf.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“A dragon ass,” she corrected him.\u00a0 <\/span>“Friendly.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIndeed, now he saw that the dragon was striped and had the head of a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndonkey.\u00a0 <\/span>It was forging through the brier patch, not even noticing the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbriers.\u00a0 <\/span>And on it was a young woman half a shade lovelier than D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nin her seduction mode.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Disgusting!” the demoness agreed, forming beside him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dragon ass came to a stop before them.\u00a0 <\/span>“We heard your whistle,” the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbeautiful woman said to Willow.\u00a0 <\/span>“How may we help?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“This nice faun helped get Woofer out of trouble,” Willow explained.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“We’d like to help him in return.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe woman turned her graceful gaze on Forrest.\u00a0 <\/span>“I am Chlorine. My<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntalent is poisoning water.\u00a0 <\/span>This is my friend Nimby, whom I love more<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthan anything in Xanth, and to whom I owe everything.\u00a0 <\/span>His talent is<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmaking the two of us anything we want to be.\u00a0 <\/span>We travel around, looking<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfor good deeds to do.\u00a0 <\/span>Who are you, and why are you worthy of a favor?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I am Forrest Faun, and I’m not worthy of any favor.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChlorine glanced at Willow.\u00a0 <\/span>“That’s not true,” the winged elf girl<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsaid.\u00a0 <\/span>“He’s trying to find a replacement faun for a tree that will fade<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nor die otherwise.\u00a0 <\/span>He needs to get across the Gap Chasm so he can go ask<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe Good Magician’s advice.\u00a0 <\/span>And he doesn’t have time to serve a year<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthere, because the tree will last only a month.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe woman’s gaze returned to Forrest.\u00a0 <\/span>“I gather you’re not the smartest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfaun in Xanth, but you mean well.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThat summed it up nicely.\u00a0 <\/span>“Yes.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So we’ll help you,” she decided.\u00a0 <\/span>“Won’t we, Nimby?” She leaned forward<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto hug the dragon’s neck.\u00a0 <\/span>They seemed to be the perfect combination: a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbeauty and a beast.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNimby nodded yes.\u00a0 <\/span>“I love you,” Chlorine said, kissing his neck. “You<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngave me back my tear, and so much more.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest gathered that there was more to that relationship than showed on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe surface.\u00a0 <\/span>Why should such a lovely woman care so much about such an<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nugly dragon?\u00a0 <\/span>But that was the same kind of a question others asked<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nabout uns and nymphs with trees: why did they bind themselves to such<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nunresponsive plantsT There was no point tryin, to explain the wonders of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe relationships to those who lucked any basis for understanding. Maybe<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNby protected Chlorine from other dragons, though he did not look very<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nformidable.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe he just had a nice personality.\u00a0 <\/span>Or maybe it was that<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngreat beauty was attracted to great ugliness.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChlorine straightened up and looked at Forrest again.\u00a0 <\/span>“Get on behind<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nme,” she said.\u00a0 <\/span>“We’ll take you across the Gap.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest looked at the daunting vast void.\u00a0 <\/span>“But how?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe smiled, and the local scenery brightened.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’ll see.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo Forrest walked to the side of the dragon, and scrambled up on its<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nback.\u00a0 <\/span>But his perch seemed insecure.\u00a0 <\/span>The dragon’s small wings were<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nright behind him, and Chlorine’s remarkably contoured backside was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbefore him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Put your arms around me,” Chlorine said.\u00a0 <\/span>“And hold on TIGHT”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n.\u00a0 <\/span>‘But-‘ , She reached back and caught his hands, drawing them forward<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nuntil his hands touched across her small waist.\u00a0 <\/span>He clasped his fingers<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntogether. His face was almost in her flowing hair, which smelled of new<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmown hay.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dragon strode forward, directly toward the brink.\u00a0 <\/span>His head dropped<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndown into the chasm, disappearing from view.\u00a0 <\/span>Then the main body crossed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe edge, turning at right angles.\u00a0 <\/span>They were going down into the gap!<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe sky seemed to whirl as they changed orientation.\u00a0 <\/span>Terrified, Forrest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nclung tightly to Chlorine, expecting to plummet into the awful depths of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe chasm.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut it didn’t happen.\u00a0 <\/span>He found himself jammed tight against Chlorine’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshapely back, his thighs against her hips, his face buried in her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfragrant hair-and they weren’t falling.\u00a0 <\/span>Instead they were moving down<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe vertical wall, as if it were level.\u00a0 <\/span>Chlorine’s hair wasn’t even out<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nof place.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Bye,” Sean said, waving.\u00a0 <\/span>He was floating beside them, but angled<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndifferently, because to him down was still down.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It was nice meeting you,” Willow said.\u00a0 <\/span>She was flying similarly, her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwings beating with a gentle cadence.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest felt the wind from them,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand knew it was going down, but it was like a level breeze to him.\u00a0 <\/span>He<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas anchored to the wall, and it had become his ground.\u00a0 <\/span>The experience<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas weird, but not unpleasant.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You can relax a little,” Chlorine said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOh.\u00a0 <\/span>He loosened the near death grip he had on her body.\u00a0 <\/span>It really<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwasn’t necessary.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSean and Willow waved again, then flew away.\u00a0 <\/span>There was a woof as Woofer<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfollowed them, running along the land beyond the chasm.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you!” Forrest called to them, remembering his manners. “And you,”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe added to the woman and dragon.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It’s just what we do,” Chlorine replied.\u00a0 <\/span>“Nimby and I have such good<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfortune that we try to share some of it with others, when the others are<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndeserving.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But I’m just trying to help a neighboring tree.\u00a0 <\/span>That’s not anything<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nspecial.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It’s something generous and nice,” she said.\u00a0 <\/span>“The fact that you don’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nregard it as worthy of comment suggests that you are decent and modest.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThat’s the type of person we like to help.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe was getting quite curious about her and the dragon.\u00a0 <\/span>“If I may ask-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What’s with the damsel and dragon ass?” she finished for him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nm just a somewhat dull, plain, indifferent girl with not much of a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntalent.\u00a0 <\/span>But Nimby makes me beautiful and smart and healthy and nice,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand now we live in the Nameless Castle where a full staff of servants<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntakes care of our every whim.\u00a0 <\/span>Once a month we go out around Xanth,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlooking for good deeds to do, in this minor way sharing out- happiness<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwith others.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The dragon lives in a castle?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe laughed, causing his linked hands on her soft but firm belly to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshake.\u00a0 <\/span>“Oh, Nimby changes to handsome princely man form for that,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecause he wouldn’t fit very well in some of the passages in dragon<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nform.\u00a0 <\/span>And while I love him in any form, when it comes to sharing my<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbed, I prefer him as a man.\u00a0 <\/span>More cuddly, you know.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe thought the dragon could become a man?\u00a0 <\/span>That had to be delusion,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbecause everyone knew that each creature had only one magic talent, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNimby’s was walking along vertical walls as if they were horizontal.\u00a0 <\/span>So<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshe must have a fond imagination.\u00a0 <\/span>Her notions about her own body and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npersonality were the opposite: she credited the dr,igo with- naking her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbeautiful, when it was plain that she was stunningly lovely on her own.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nStill, she and the dragon were doing him a favor, so it would be best<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnot to disparage her notions.\u00a0 <\/span>“That’s ” he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnice, “You don’t believe me, do you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I didn’t say that.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You didn’t have to.\u00a0 <\/span>But you don’t.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I mean no offense.\u00a0 <\/span>But yes, I don’t quite believe you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That’s good.\u00a0 <\/span>I don’t want to be believed.\u00a0 <\/span>Can you believe that Nimby<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand I are married, and that we spent a month on the far side of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmoon, reveling in honey?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I do find that similarly hard to believe.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Wonderful!\u00a0 <\/span>I could probably tell you anything, and you wouldn’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbelieve it.\u00a0 <\/span>So I can be completely candid.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, I wouldn’t say that.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“If I told you who Nimby really is, you truly wouldn’t believe me. So I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwon’t bother.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nMaybe that was just as well.\u00a0 <\/span>The farther they rode, the less sense<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChlorine was making.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs they continued down, D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire reappeared.\u00a0 <\/span>“I trust you are having<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfun?” she inquired, glancing significantly at his hands.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes, this is a remarkable experience,” Forrest agreed.\u00a0 <\/span>“I have never<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nseen such a chasm before.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I meant hanging on to Miss Water Poison, who looks good enough to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndrink.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChlorine glanced at her.\u00a0 <\/span>“Haven’t you got some better errand elsewhere,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndemoness?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSire smirked.\u00a0 <\/span>“No.\u00a0 <\/span>I-” Then she looked surprised.\u00a0 <\/span>“As a matter of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfact I do.\u00a0 <\/span>” She faded out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThey reached the bottom of the gulf, for the dragon’s big feet made for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nswift progress.\u00a0 <\/span>They turned the corner and walked across the level<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbottom.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest looked up, and saw the rim of the chasm impossibly far<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nabove, and a couple of gnat sized specks that might be Sean and Willow.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen he remembered something.\u00a0 <\/span>“Isn’t there supposed to be a Gap Dragon<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndown here, that eats anyone who get caught?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“He’s not in this section at the moment,” Chlorine said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Did you want<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto meet him?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No!\u00a0 <\/span>I want to avoid him.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“His name is Stanley Steamer, and he eats only folk he doesn’t know.\u00a0 <\/span>I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould introduce you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thanks all the same.\u00a0 <\/span>I’d rather not.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“He has a really cute son named Steven Steamer.\u00a0 <\/span>All the girls swoon<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nover that baby dragon.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m not a girl.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe laughed again.\u00a0 <\/span>“Very well.\u00a0 <\/span>No introduction.\u00a0 <\/span>But if you should<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\never meet him, just say that Nimby sent you, and he won’t eat you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh-you mean dragons don’t eat the friends of dragons?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Something like that.\u00a0 <\/span>The winged monsters, especially, are very<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhonorable.\u00a0 <\/span>They protect their own, and the friends of their own.\u00a0 <\/span>But<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndon’t abuse the privilege.\u00a0 <\/span>They have to make their living, you know.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBy eating most folk they encountered.\u00a0 <\/span>“I won’t abuse it,” Forrest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npromised.\u00a0 <\/span>So was this more fantasy on her part, or was it valid?\u00a0 <\/span>He<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhoped he never had occasion to find out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThey reached the far wall of the chasm, which wasn’t far off, because<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe gulf was narrower at the base than at the top.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest knew that if<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe cared to ponder hard on that, he might conclude that this meant that<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe walls weren’t quite vertical.\u00a0 <\/span>But that intensity of thought wasn’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nworth the effort, so he didn’t reach that conclusion.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe trip up was like the trip down, only now “forward” was toward the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndistant sky.\u00a0 <\/span>The dragon seemed to have no trouble walking on the wall,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand Forrest did not feel any great pull of gravity holding him back.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nJust the supple form of Chlorine’s body as he kept his handslinked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You must be hungry,” she said after a bit.\u00a0 <\/span>“Have a dough nut. They’re<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvery filling.” She made a quarter turn, and put a big spongy nut to his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmouth so he could take it without letting go of her.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe opened his mouth and took it.\u00a0 <\/span>It tasted very good, rather like fresh<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npie crust, and was surprisingly filling.\u00a0 <\/span>“Thank you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You are welcome.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest looked ahead and saw a dark cloud approaching.\u00a0 <\/span>“That looks like<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFracto, the worst of clouds,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“I hope he doesn’t decide to wet<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\non us.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“He wouldn’t dare,” Chlorine said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHowever, the cloud came floating toward them, growing bigger and uglier<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nby the moment.\u00a0 <\/span>Until Chlorine tapped Nimby on a scale.\u00a0 <\/span>“Mischief at<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntwo o’clock,” she murmured.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dragon lifted his head and glanced at the cloud.\u00a0 <\/span>The cloud<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nblanched, and then changed course, scudding swiftly away.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest blinked. \u00a0<\/span>Surely he hadn’t seen that.\u00a0 <\/span>How could one glance from<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na comically stupid looking dragon dissuade as mean a cloud as Fracto? It<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmust be an illusion.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe the woman’s craziness was spreading to him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThey reached the top and bent around it.\u00a0 <\/span>Things were on the level<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nagain.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dragon stopped.\u00a0 <\/span>“This is as far as we’ll take you,” Chlorine said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“There is a magic path right ahead.\u00a0 <\/span>Follow that, and it will lead you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsafely to the Good Magician’s castle.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you,” Forrest said, sliding down to the ground.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And don’t be concerned about the Year’s Service,” she told him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Humfrey won’t require it of you.\u00a0 <\/span>So you will be back with your tree in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntime.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I will?” he asked, astonished.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.\u00a0 <\/span>And I think happier than you have ever been.” She shrugged.\u00a0 <\/span>“But<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nof course I don’t know the future, so I could be wrong.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe seemed so reasonable in her madness!\u00a0 <\/span>“Thank you,” he repeated.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you for everything.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe smiled, lighting up the local scenery again, and waved as Nimby<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstarted off into the jungle.\u00a0 <\/span>He didn’t seem to need a path. Forrest<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nturned and followed the magic path.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a moment he thought of something else, and turned back.\u00a0 <\/span>A moment<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwasn’t long, so he had plenty of time to catch them and ask his<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nquestion.\u00a0 <\/span>But when he returned to the brink of the Gap Chasm, there was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nno sign of damsel or dragon.\u00a0 <\/span>He followed Nimby’s tracks to the jungle’s<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nedge-and there they stopped.\u00a0 <\/span>It was as if the creature had simply<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvanished without walking farther.\u00a0 <\/span>Could he have flown?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNo, there was nothing in the sky.\u00a0 <\/span>They were simply gone.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThat was one curious pair of creatures!\u00a0 <\/span>How could he query a vanishing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndonkey-headed dragon?\u00a0 <\/span>Oh, well, he had forgotten his question anyway.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes, they are really gone,” D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire said, fading in.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What happened to you?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I had a sudden urge to busy myself elsewhere.\u00a0 <\/span>It didn’t fade until you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngot free of Miss Poison.\u00a0 <\/span>So I never got to see whether any bumps in the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nterrain caused your hands to bump up to her bumps.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nYet another evidence of the odd woman’s power.\u00a0 <\/span>She had banished a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndemoness!\u00a0 <\/span>“Well, I no longer need your guidance, so you can continue<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyour business elsewhere.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe shook her finger at him, and the shaking progressed down her arm and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthrough her body.\u00a0 <\/span>“Nuh-uh, faun.\u00a0 <\/span>I have half a favor to complete.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You have done so.\u00a0 <\/span>I am now on a magic path leading straight to the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nGood Magician’s castle.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe nodded, and the nodding spread down too.\u00a0 <\/span>“So you are.\u00a0 <\/span>But there is<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na further complication.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I don’t want to hear it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Good.\u00a0 <\/span>The Good Magician always has three preposterous Challenges<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npreventing a querent from entering his castle.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Preventing a what?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“A querent.\u00a0 <\/span>A person who comes to make a query.\u00a0 <\/span>That’s you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So how do I handle those Challenges?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Sorry, that information is beyond my obligation.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked at her, annoyed.\u00a0 <\/span>Then he realized that that was what she<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwanted.\u00a0 <\/span>“Thank you.\u00a0 <\/span>I appreciate the information.\u00a0 <\/span>Now I am better<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nprepared to handle the Challenges.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Curses,” she muttered.\u00a0 <\/span>“Foiled again.” She faded out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe ran along the path, making excellent time.\u00a0 <\/span>By some process he did<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnot understand, it seemed to be earlier in the day than it had been when<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe first reached the Gap Chasm, so that he wouldn’t need to spend a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnight halfway there.\u00a0 <\/span>He wasn’t hungry; the dough nut seemed to have fed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhim for a long time.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIndeed, in the afternoon he reached the Good Magician’s castle. This was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nan appealing edifice, for those who- night like that type, with red<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbrick walls, green tiled roofs, and a bright blue moat.\u00a0 <\/span>In the moat was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na peculiar monster.\u00a0 <\/span>It had the top of a man, and the body of a winged<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nserpent, and it was huge.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a drawbridge, and the bridge was in the lowered position,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncrossing the moat.\u00a0 <\/span>Somewhat hesitantly, Forrest approached the bridge.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n” You’ll be sorry,” D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire murmured behind him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Then go away before you enjoy it too much,” he said shortly,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlengthening his stride.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nImmediately the moat monster swam toward the bridge.\u00a0 <\/span>“Come into my<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngrasp, faun face,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“I haven’t eaten in days.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest stopped.\u00a0 <\/span>The human portion looked fully strong enough to grab<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhim and dispatch him, and the serpent portion looked capable of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndigesting him.\u00a0 <\/span>There was no way he could avoid those arms.\u00a0 <\/span>on the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnarrow bridge.\u00a0 <\/span>So this must be a Challenge.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked around, but the moat seemed to circle the entire castle. He<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncouldn’t try to swim, because the monster would catch him that much<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\neasier.\u00a0 <\/span>How was he going to get past?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA nonchalant man of indifferent persuasion came walking around the moat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Do I perceive a problem?” he inquired.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I am trying to cross the moat without getting grabbed and gobbled by<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe monster.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Now that is a very interesting statement.\u00a0 <\/span>Why do you wish to do that?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Because I need to talk to the Good Magician.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Indubitably.\u00a0 <\/span>Why do you wish to talk with him?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I need an Answer to a Problem.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>The man nodded.\u00a0 <\/span>“Has it occurred to you that you may be misdirecting<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyour energies?\u00a0 <\/span>You can’t change the circumstance, but you can change<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyourself.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe you can solve your problem yourself, just by developing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na better attitude.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest glanced at him.\u00a0 <\/span>“Who are you?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I am the castle psychologist.\u00a0 <\/span>It is my business to talk to querents<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand try to enable them to solve their problems the old fashioned way: by<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthemselves.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“If I could solve it myself, I wouldn’t be coming here,” Forrest said<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nshortly.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nNow are you sure of that?\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps all you need is an adjustment of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nattitude.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest’s mood had not been great when he arrived at the castle, and it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas deteriorating.\u00a0 <\/span>“I think all I need is a way across that moat.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Why do you feel that way?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest’s ire was approaching the blow-off point.\u00a0 <\/span>“If you’re not going<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto help, I wish you’d go away so I can concentrate.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I think we need to get at the root of your hostility.\u00a0 <\/span>Did you have bad<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nparenting as a child?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I never had parents!” Forrest snapped.\u00a0 <\/span>“I’m a faun.\u00a0 <\/span>We all get<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndelivered to the Faun & Nymph Retreat, where we stay until we go.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n‘.”Do you want to talk about it?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI ‘No!” I The psychologist shook his head.\u00a0 <\/span>“I’m afraid we have a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndifficult case here.\u00a0 <\/span>This may require many fifty minute sessions.\u00a0 <\/span>Why<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndon’t you make yourself comfortable, and we shall proceed.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA bulb flashed over Forrest’s head.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re part of the problem!” he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nsaid.\u00a0 <\/span>“You’re another Challenge!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“By no means.\u00a0 <\/span>I am a Solution.\u00a0 <\/span>But you have to be amenable to It.\u00a0 <\/span>Now<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI can help you, but you have to really want to change.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I don’t want to change!\u00a0 <\/span>I want to get across that moat!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“This hostility is doing you no good.\u00a0 <\/span>I won’t be able to help you if<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou don’t develop a better attitude.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest considered.\u00a0 <\/span>If what the man said was correct, he was a Solution<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrather than a problem.\u00a0 <\/span>But how could he help, when he just kept trying<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto distract Forrest, or to make him give up his quest?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest forced a moderate expression to his face.\u00a0 <\/span>“Exactly how do you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhelp people?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I encourage them to talk about their feelings, in this manner explating<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem.\u00a0 <\/span>In the colloquial sense, I am called a shrink: one who shrinks<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe head, making it intelligible and less burdensome.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA shrink!\u00a0 <\/span>Suddenly Forrest saw a possible way.\u00a0 <\/span>“You know, I have<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nproblems.\u00a0 <\/span>But as you say, they are complicated and will take a long<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntime to shrink.\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand,.\u00a0 <\/span>I suspect that the problems of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthat” moat monster are simpler, and can be shrunk in much less time. Why<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndon’t you help him first, so that there won’t be a backlog’?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Why that is an appealing idea,” the psychologist agreed.\u00a0 <\/span>He turned to<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe mer-dragon.\u00a0 <\/span>“say there-let’s talk.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What for’?” the monster asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I can see that you are troubled.\u00a0 <\/span>I wish to alleviate your concerns and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nenable you to feel good about yourself.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Of course I’m troubled,” the monster said.\u00a0 <\/span>“I’m a monster!\u00a0 <\/span>Have you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nany idea how dull it gets being confined to a circular moat?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes, I can appreciate that.\u00a0 <\/span>But you can’t change the moat, you can<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nonly change yourself.\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps if you developed a better attitude about<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit, you would feel less troubled.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I would?” The monster was interested.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest sat back and watched while the two talked.\u00a0 <\/span>And as they did, the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmonster gradually shrank in size.\u00a0 <\/span>The shrink was doing his job.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n, ,You cunning knave,” Sire murmured behind him.\u00a0 <\/span>“You figured it out.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, I didn’t want to get shrunk myself,” he agreed, satisfied. “So I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthought I’d get the monster shrunk instead.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen the monster was too small to reach the bridge, Forrest walked<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nacross to the castle.\u00a0 <\/span>He was feeling halfway satisfied.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen he arrived at the inner shore, he discovered a set of metal tracks.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBeyond them was a blank wall.\u00a0 <\/span>The tracks and wall continued to either<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nside, with no room around them; they marked the only level ground<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\noutside the castle.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo he picked a direction at random, and started walking between the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntracks.\u00a0 <\/span>Something swirled before him.\u00a0 <\/span>“I wouldn’t do that, if I were<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou,” it said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Fortunately I’m not you.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Are you still here, D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire?” he inquired irritably.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I have not yet quite fulfilled my half favor,” she said, taking<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nluscious shape.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe had to stop walking, lest he collide with her form and get pressed in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthree places again.\u00a0 <\/span>“Why wouldn’t you walk here, if you had the awful<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmisfortune to be me?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Because the locomotive is coming, and there’s no way to avoid it.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Locomotive?” This was a new word to him.\u00a0 <\/span>“What is that’?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“A great huge enormous giant crazy machine that thunders along these<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntracks, squashing anything in its path.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh-like a big dragon?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No.\u00a0 <\/span>More like a train of thought.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked at her.\u00a0 <\/span>“You can be pretty irritating.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It’s the flip side of my nature.\u00a0 <\/span>Those who are most capable of driving<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na man wild with longing, also are capable of annoying him beyond<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nendurance.\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose I could demonstrate.” Her clothing began to fuzz.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest closed his eyes to avoid being freaked out by the sight of her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nunderclothing.\u00a0 <\/span>He knew she had no intention of playing nymph & faun<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwith him; she just wanted to drive him mad with desire.\u00a0 <\/span>That was how<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndemonesses entertained themselves: tormenting ordinary folk.\u00a0 <\/span>“So what<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould you do, in my place?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I would get quickly back to the landing area.\u00a0 <\/span>Very quickly.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest heard an ominous rumbling.\u00a0 <\/span>The tracks were shaking, and giving<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nout sounds of incipient power.\u00a0 <\/span>He turned, opened his eyes, and saw a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbright light in the center of a black blob coming toward him. He ran<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nback toward the bridge as fast as he could.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe blob expanded into a frighteningly large black onrushing machine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nJets of white steam sprouted from it, and big puffs of roiling smoke<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npoured from a chimney at its top.\u00a0 <\/span>A piercing whistle came from it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFor-rest dived for the bridge.\u00a0 <\/span>He rolled and got his hoofs out of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nway just as the monster engine thundered across, as Sire had predicted.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe would have been squished flat, if she had not warned him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Thank you, demoness,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“You saved me from an uncomfortable<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nexperience.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe appeared above him, her skirt threatening to show too much of her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlegs.\u00a0 <\/span>“Well, it would have been a waste, to have you squished into<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\noblivion when I was only one and a half challenges away from completing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmy half favor.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“To be sure,” he agreed.\u00a0 <\/span>He forced his eyes away from her knees, or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwherever, and climbed back to his feet.\u00a0 <\/span>“Now what would you do, if you<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwere in my place?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I would board that train before it gets moving again.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe realized that once it had missed him, the locomotive had puffed to a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstop not far along the tracks.\u00a0 <\/span>Behind it were hitched several cars, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe door to one was open right before him.\u00a0 <\/span>It had many windows, in a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrow somewhat above the level of his head.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo he put a hand on a rail and stepped up the steps, into the end of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlong car.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe whistle blew again, and the crazy engine puffed and resumed motion,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstruggling to haul the cars along behind it.\u00a0 <\/span>The steps folded up behind<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest, sealing him in.\u00a0 <\/span>He was on his way somewhere.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Of course I am not in your place,” Sire murmured invisibly in his ear.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Mentia might be able to handle this situation, but I doubt I could.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What do you mean?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut she had faded out.\u00a0 <\/span>He was on his own again.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was only one way to go: on into the main portion of the coach.\u00a0 <\/span>It<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwas lined with plush seats, all of which were filled with unmoving human<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfigures.\u00a0 <\/span>They looked like statues, for their eyes never blinked.\u00a0 <\/span>That<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmade him nervous.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe walked along the center aisle until he found one seat that was empty.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe coach was shaking and its floor was heaving as it got up speed, so<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit was hard for him to keep his feet.\u00a0 <\/span>So he sat in that one free seat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe heard a sound beside him.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a young human woman, sobbing into a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhankie.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest had no good notion how to deal with human women, as he had not<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nencountered many.\u00a0 <\/span>His sandalwood tree was in a part of the forest where<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhumans seldom wandered.\u00a0 <\/span>But it bothered him to be so close to someone<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthis unhappy.\u00a0 <\/span>Since there was no other place to sit, he decided that he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwould have to try to deal with whatever was bothering the woman.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Hello,” he said.\u00a0 <\/span>“I am Forrest Faun.\u00a0 <\/span>Is there something I can do for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nShe turned her head and looked at him with her tear-rimmed reddened<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\neyes.\u00a0 <\/span>“Eeeeek!” she screamed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThis set him back slightly.\u00a0 <\/span>“Eeeeek?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“A satyr!\u00a0 <\/span>As if I didn’t have trouble enough already.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOh.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m not a satyr,” Forrest said firmly.\u00a0 <\/span>“I am a faun.\u00a0 <\/span>We are a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nrelated but less aggressive species.\u00a0 <\/span>We chase after only willing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnymphs.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHer eyes began to clear, and her sniffles to snuffle out.\u00a0 <\/span>“You don’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npursue innocent maidens?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Definitely not.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, all right then.\u00a0 <\/span>I am Dot Human, and my talent is making spots on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe wall.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m sorry.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI ‘Sorry?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That you don’t have a decent magic talent.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course I don’t have a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntalent at all, being only part human.” He didn’t count his natural faun<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntraits as a talent.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I have a decent talent.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But you said-“<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’ll show you.” She focused on the back of the seat before her.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA picture formed on it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest stared.\u00a0 <\/span>“But that’s not a spot!\u00a0 <\/span>It’s a picture.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It’s lots of little spots.\u00a0 <\/span>Dots.\u00a0 <\/span>All different colors and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nintensities. So, taken together, they make up the picture.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked closely, and saw that it was true.\u00a0 <\/span>The picture was composed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nof a multitude of tiny dots, so closely set that the moment he blinked<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthey fuzzed back into the picture.\u00a0 <\/span>“But that’s a good talent. I thought<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nyou meant spot-on-the-wall as a euphemism for having a worthless<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntalent.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No, it’s a good talent.\u00a0 <\/span>But it’s not doing me any good.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Why not?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Because I’m stuck here behind the locomotive, going crazy.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Crazy?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That’s what it does to you.\u00a0 <\/span>Didn’t you see all those other folk on<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthis coach?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“They look like dummies.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That’s because they have gone completely loco.\u00a0 <\/span>There’s no hope for<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthem; they’ve crashed.\u00a0 <\/span>But I’m not completely loco yet, so there’s hope<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfor me.\u00a0 <\/span>That’s why I’m crying.” Her eyes began to brim again.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I don’t understand.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“By the time you understand, it’s probably too late.\u00a0 <\/span>The ei’fect builds<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ngradually.\u00a0 <\/span>Each lap the locomotive makes around the castle makes it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nworse.\u00a0 <\/span>You’re still fresh; you’re hardly crazy at all.\u00a0 <\/span>And I guess<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nbeing close to you makes me less crazy, for a while, until we both are<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\noverwhelmed.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest was starting to catch on.\u00a0 <\/span>“The longer we stay here, the crazier<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwe become?\u00a0 <\/span>Because of the locomotive?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.\u00a0 <\/span>I was pretty far gone, until you came in.\u00a0 <\/span>But it won’t last.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Then we must get off the train before it gets us.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“We can’t get off.\u00a0 <\/span>Why do you think I was crying?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I wasn’t sure.\u00a0 <\/span>But I hoped to help.\u00a0 <\/span>Why can’t we get off?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Because it won’t stop.\u00a0 <\/span>The windows won’t open, the doors won’t open,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nand even if they did, look how fast it’s going.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked out the window, and saw the wall rushing by at blinding<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nvelocity.\u00a0 <\/span>He looked across the aisle to the far windows, and saw the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nmoat passing just as swiftly.\u00a0 <\/span>“But it stopped for me.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It stops to let folk on, not to let them off.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Why didn’t you get off when it stopped for me?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I couldn’t.\u00a0 <\/span>The seat belt held me.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“What seat belt?” Forrest saw nothing of that kind.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The automatic seat belt.\u00a0 <\/span>It clasps you only when the train is<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstopping.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“So if someone else wants to get on, I’ll be belted too?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Yes.\u00a0 <\/span>It belts everyone, so no one will get hurt.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“But that’s crazy!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Precisely.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, we’ll have to get out of our seats while it’s moving, then stop<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nit.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I tried that.\u00a0 <\/span>The coach is locked up.\u00a0 <\/span>No way out of it.\u00a0 <\/span>The<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlocomotive won’t stop unless everyone is secured.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA bulb lighted.\u00a0 <\/span>“The Challenge!\u00a0 <\/span>It’s to make the train stop.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I guess so,” Dot agreed.\u00a0 <\/span>“But I have no idea how.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“And if I don’t figure it out pretty quick, I’ll go crazy, and become<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nanother crash dummy.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“That’s true.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest pondered.\u00a0 <\/span>He was starting to feel a bit unbalanced already, and<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe could only have been around the berid once or twice.\u00a0 <\/span>But there had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto be a way to get oft the train.\u00a0 <\/span>He just had to figure it out. Soon.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe saw no way, offhand.\u00a0 <\/span>The limited scenery zoomed by unabated. Even if<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhe could manage to open a window or door, it wouldn’t be safe to jump<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nout.\u00a0 <\/span>He had to get the train to actually stop, without fastening him<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndown with a seat belt.\u00a0 <\/span>That seemed impossible.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut there did have to be a way.\u00a0 <\/span>That was in the big book of rules, or<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwhatever.\u00a0 <\/span>He hoped.\u00a0 <\/span>So what was he overlooking?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere hadn’t seemed to be much way to cross the moat, either.\u00a0 <\/span>But he<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhad managed to use the psychologist to change things, so that it became<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\npossible.\u00a0 <\/span>Too bad there wasn’t another psychologist, to shrink the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlocomotive, until it couldn’t pull them along so fast.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThen another bulb started to light, but he managed to suppress it before<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe woman saw it.\u00a0 <\/span>There was another person, and she was it. She must be<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe key to escape.\u00a0 <\/span>She wasn’t a fellow trap-ee, she was part of the<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChallenge.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut her talent was merely spots on a wall.\u00a0 <\/span>Very good spots, but how<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncould spots stop a train?\u00a0 <\/span>Unless “Dot, can you make a picture outside<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe train?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, if there’s a surface close enough.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Can you make a picture of a door through that wall?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I suppose.\u00a0 <\/span>But the wall is moving.\u00a0 <\/span>It would carry away my dots.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“No, we’re moving.\u00a0 <\/span>The wall is still.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Oh.\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose that’s right.” She focused on the wall, and in a moment<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\na picture formed.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a door.\u00a0 <\/span>It seemed to be right opposite their<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nwindow, unmoving.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Very good,” Forrest said.\u00a0 <\/span>“Now can you make that door open?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe door slowly opened, revealing a nice garden beyond.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Now can you make a similar door in our window, and open it?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dots quickly formed a door, and it opened.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Now all we have to do is go through those two doors, and we’ll be<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthere,” he said with satisfaction.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It won’t work,” Dot said sadly.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut he tried it anyway.\u00a0 <\/span>He reached across her and put one hand through<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe nearer open door.\u00a0 <\/span>And banged his knuckle.\u00a0 <\/span>“ooooh!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe brought his hand back.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The window’s still there,” Dot explained.\u00a0 <\/span>“So is the brick wall. So is<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe motion.\u00a0 <\/span>All I do is pictures, not changes.\u00a0 <\/span>It just looks<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ndifferent.” The pictures faded out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest sighed.\u00a0 <\/span>The doors were illusion; the window and wall were<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreality.\u00a0 <\/span>He should have known.\u00a0 <\/span>It had been a rather crazy idea.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nCrazy.\u00a0 <\/span>That figured.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe sat back and pondered some more.\u00a0 <\/span>He didn’t want any more<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n‘deas, he wanted something that worked.\u00a0 <\/span>What could he come crazy I\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nup with, before his mind lost its common sense?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe still thought it related to Dot, and her talent.\u00a0 <\/span>How could her<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ntalent stop the train?\u00a0 <\/span>Not with illusion, but reality?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWhat he really needed was information.\u00a0 <\/span>Like a manual of instructions,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto know how to stop the train.\u00a0 <\/span>But of course that was another crazy<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nnotion, because mere pictures couldn’t provide that.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOr could they?\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe it was worth a try.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Dot, just how detailed can your pictures be?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Infinitely detailed,” she said proudly.\u00a0 <\/span>“I can make dots so small they<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\ncan’t even be seen individually.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Then let’s make a special picture.\u00a0 <\/span>Of a manual.\u00a0 <\/span>On the cover it says<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nI,OCOMOTIVE OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.\u00a0 <\/span>Can you do that?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Sure.\u00a0 <\/span>But that doesn’t require much detail.” The picture appeared in<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe window, a book with the required words.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Very good.\u00a0 <\/span>Now can you open it?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe cover turned, in much the manner of another door opening, revealing<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe title page inside.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Show the contents page.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAnother page turned, and CONTENTS showed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForrest leaned across to read it.\u00a0 <\/span>Near the bottom of the page was a<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlisting for Chapter 10: STOPPING.\u00a0 <\/span>“Turn to page fifty,” he said,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreading the indicated page number.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe pages flipped across, stopping at 50.\u00a0 <\/span>But the print was too small<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto read.\u00a0 <\/span>“Can you make the page larger?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe image expanded, until it filled the whole window, and the print was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nlegible.\u00a0 <\/span>Forrest read it avidly: TO STOP LOCOMOTIVE IN ITS TRACKS, PULL<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nTHE CORD ABOVE THE SEAT.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked up.\u00a0 <\/span>There was the cord, that he hadn’t noticed before. He<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreached up and pulled it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a squeal as the train hurtled to a stop.\u00a0 <\/span>Seat belts jumped<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nout to clasp the two of them, as well as all the dummies in the rest of<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe coach.\u00a0 <\/span>oops-he had forgotten that detail.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You did it!” Dot cried.\u00a0 <\/span>“You stopped the train!”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Can you show the contents page again?”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe pages turned back.\u00a0 <\/span>He found the chapter for SEAT BELTS, and turned<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nto that page: TO RELEASE SEAT BELT, PUSH BUTTON THEREON.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSure enough, there was a button.\u00a0 <\/span>He pushed it, and the belt unclasped<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nhim and disappeared on either side.\u00a0 <\/span>Dot did the same.\u00a0 <\/span>“You figured it<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nout,” she said, pleased.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Let’s get off this crazy train before it starts again,” he said,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nstanding.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut she shook her head.\u00a0 <\/span>“Thanks, no.\u00a0 <\/span>This is your Challenge, not mine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nMy job is on this train of thought.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe had suspected as much.\u00a0 <\/span>“Thanks for your help, anyway.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It was a pleasure.\u00a0 <\/span>You’re a nice person.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe walked along the aisle to the end of the coach, where the door had<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nfolded down into steps.\u00a0 <\/span>He stepped down and off.\u00a0 <\/span>As soon as he did,<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe steps folded up again, sealing the train, and it started moving<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nagain.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Well, I guess you got through that one,” D.\u00a0 <\/span>Sire said, fading into<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nview.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“You can go any time, demoness.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHe waited while the train rolled out of the way.\u00a0 <\/span>Beyond the tracks was<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nan open door in the wall just like the one Dot had pictured.\u00a0 <\/span>He crossed<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe tracks and put out a cautious hand, just in case the doorway wasn’t<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nreal.\u00a0 <\/span>His hand didn’t bang.\u00a0 <\/span>He stepped through.\u00a0 <\/span>He had won the second<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nChallenge.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSuddenly he was horribly frightened.\u00a0 <\/span>He reeled, staggering back through<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nthe door.\u00a0 <\/span>His fear abated.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Read the full book by downloading it below.<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD EPUB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Preview \u00a0FAUN AND GAMES \u00a0 BY PIERS ANTHONY \u00a0 Synopsis: \u00a0 The latest Xanth adventure by the author of more than 20 successive New York Times bestsellers. For Forrest Faun, a young tree faun\u00a0 searching for a suitable spirit to save a magical tree, the astonishing world-within-a-world of the tiny planet Ptero may be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-piers-anthony"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}