{"id":443,"date":"2026-01-03T20:39:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/piers-anthony-xanth-42-fire-sail-anthony-piers\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T20:39:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:39:44","slug":"piers-anthony-xanth-42-fire-sail-anthony-piers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/piers-anthony-xanth-42-fire-sail-anthony-piers\/","title":{"rendered":"Piers, Anthony – Xanth 42 – Fire Sail – Anthony, Piers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Spraints<\/p>\n

Lydell spied the rest stop along the enchanted path that led near the Good Magician\u2019s Castle. There was a man with a band saw working nearby, clearing more of the area; the saw was playing lively music while it cut the wood. Dell was relieved; it had been a long walk and he was tired. He hurried to the shelter, ready to collapse on a bed of hay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell hello, lad,\u201d a woman\u2019s voice said.<\/p>\n

He stopped, startled. \u201cUh, I thought it was empty. I didn\u2019t mean to barge in on you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, come on in,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m glad to have the company. I hate eating alone. I\u2019m Grania, Nia for short.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he saw that she was an older woman, heavyset with dark brown hair and eyes. \u201cI\u2019m Lydell, Dell for short. I\u2019m\u2014I\u2019m coming to see the Good Magician, if I can get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPast the three challenges,\u201d she agreed. \u201cHave some apple pie; I harvested it hardly half an hour ago. It\u2019s still warm.\u201d She handed him a slice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, thanks. But is there enough left for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I get hungry, I\u2019ll go pick another one. Sit down. Eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sat down and ate. It was a small thing, but he appreciated not having to forage for himself this late in the day. He didn\u2019t have much judgment about pies, and often got poor ones. This one was excellent. \u201cUh, are you traveling the opposite way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but I\u2019m heading for the same place, the Good Magician. I don\u2019t need to bore you with the dull details.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled. \u201cI\u2019m boring. I like dull details.\u201d He took another bite of pie.<\/p>\n

She eyed him cannily. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to carry the conversation when your mouth\u2019s full and the other person\u2019s talking.\u201d She laughed as he cringed, embarrassed. \u201cDell, I\u2019m a grandmother. I saw my son your age, and then my grandson. I know how it is. You\u2019re shy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSort of,\u201d he agreed, his awkwardness easing in the face of her understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will pass. Let\u2019s compare talents, since those largely define folk. Mine is making two spots on the wall, sort of like eyes.\u201d She focused, and two glowing eyes appeared on the wall behind her. \u201cIt\u2019s not much but it\u2019s what I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMine is changing the color, texture, or taste of things.\u201d He focused, and the pupils of the eyes became bright blue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWonderful!\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s not much either. I can\u2019t make things, just change some of their qualities, and it doesn\u2019t last longer than until I change something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will do. Well, now that we know each other, you may hearken to the dullness of my life, so you know it is safe to share the dullness of yours.\u201d She handed him another slice of pie, as he had just finished the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, thanks again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t always dull. We lived near Electri City, where the folk are full of energy and grow power plants for a living. I was the prettiest girl in my village, so naturally I married the handsomest lout, who was eager to summon the storks, who soon got the messages, and we had three goodlooking children. I was satisfied with that number, and saw no reason to signal any more storks.\u201d She grimaced. \u201cBad mistake. It turned out that he liked signaling for its own sake, even when the storks no longer paid attention. Who would have guessed? So when I balked, he got a mistress. Then I had the housework, and the children, and the dull neighbors; he had her. I suspect he had the better bargain. Our marriage had become a shell, worse inside than outside. Now I\u2019m wise too late; I\u2019d have been better off to humor him so he wouldn\u2019t stray. And now he\u2019s dead, maybe from overexertion with her, and our children and grandchildren have families of their own. They have no use for me; I rubbed too many the wrong way by not respecting their outlooks. So I want to do something to redeem my largely wasted prior effort, something worthwhile, for the rest of my life. Maybe find a project some good people are doing that I can contribute to, to help make it a success. That\u2019s what brings me to see the Good Magician. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll have an answer for me, if I can make it through the challenges and get to see him. Of course there\u2019s the year\u2019s service or equivalent he requires for an answer, but that will be worth it if my life has meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he agreed, chewing on the second slice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do you<\/span> want, Dell? Something similar?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I\u2019m not handsome, or smart, or bold. I\u2019m just pretty much nothing. Nobody notices me, and that\u2019s okay because I\u2019m hardly worth noticing. I\u2019ve had a lot of time to myself, and gotten fairly practical with ordinary things, like stones, materials, and stray pieces of wood, practicing my talent on them, making them look and feel different. But what\u2019s the point? Nobody cares. I\u2019ve had time to figure out obscure magic effects that work in both Xanth and Mundania, like perspective and equal and opposite reaction, but nobody\u2019s interested. I\u2019d like to find a decent life, doing some decent thing, preferably with a pretty girl in it with me. One who actually finds me interesting.\u201d He felt himself blushing, because he had never expressed that ambition openly before. There was something about her that evoked his naked feeling.<\/p>\n

She caught that. \u201cAnd you feel you don\u2019t deserve that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he confessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me tell you something about pretty girls,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause I was one, and I remember. They may look good on the outside, but not so much on the inside, like my marriage. I don\u2019t mean they\u2019re bad-hearted, but they may be sort of empty, as I was. As a girl I would not have cared about your talent or your thoughts, but now that I\u2019m old and experienced, I do. I can see that you do have things to recommend you. The best girl for you may be one who looks better inside than outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean naked?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nia laughed. \u201cNo. Naked is still the outside. I mean in the mind, the heart. External beauty fades in time\u2014don\u2019t I know it!\u2014but internal beauty lasts for life. Looks are important, because they\u2019re the first thing you see, but they certainly aren\u2019t everything.\u201d She smiled reminiscently. \u201cThere are exceptions. I once knew a hand kerchief. He was the chief of people who looked like hands made of silk or cotton. He was a decent chap, but his look was simply too far out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if all I can see is the\u2014the outside\u2014how else can I judge?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you have to take a bit of time to get to know her. That\u2019s something that does not come readily to the young, but it\u2019s smart to learn. Then ask yourself if you would still like her if she were not pretty. Be guided by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d he asked uncertainly. \u201cI really like pretty girls, at least to look at from a distance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA distance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I got too close, they would flash their panties at me, and when I came to, they would be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou freaked out!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I can\u2019t help it. Panties freak me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a young man. Even older men can freak out. It\u2019s the special magic of panties. It protects girls from molestation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. So I\u2019ve never gotten really close to a pretty girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis about that: my husband\u2019s mistress wasn\u2019t nearly as pretty as I was. But she paid him close attention, as if he were the most wonderful man in Xanth. She made him feel important, and she was a bleep of a lot better in bed. He wasn\u2019t the smartest of men, but he did relate to that. Men do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell caught on to something. \u201cYou\u2014you are paying me close attention, Nia. You don\u2019t interrupt me, and you respond perfectly to anything I say, even when it\u2019s nothing much. You take me seriously, you\u2019re interested, and you\u2019re sharing yourself just as if I were your equal. You make me feel almost important, at least in those moments.\u201d <\/p>\n

She laughed again. \u201cDid I mention that I got wise late? I am treating you with the respect every person deserves. If I\u2019d considered my husband\u2019s needs before my own, or even parallel to mine, he\u2019d never have left me, emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you never flash your panties at me, so I can actually have a conversation with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll let you in on another secret: part of the reason I don\u2019t flash you is that I\u2019m old enough so my panties probably wouldn\u2019t work on you. There\u2019s a significant difference between young and old panties. I don\u2019t want to risk that failure. I already feel older than I like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d he said, not knowing what else to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you find a young woman who isn\u2019t pretty, but who acts sensible, being more than a shell, give her more serious attention. She just might be worth your while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no young woman ever gave me the time of day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo pretty one, perhaps. But did you ever consider the others?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell was chagrined. \u201cThe dull ones? I never did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere is another female secret: the dull girls have feelings too. Some of them will give you a lot more than the pretty ones will, because they\u2019re realistic enough to know that there\u2019s more to a boy than his looks, and they\u2019re quite ready to settle for what they can get. It\u2019s vastly better than nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I were with a dull girl, and a pretty one smiled at me, I\u2019d go to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not, if you asked yourself that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould I still like her if she were not pretty?\u201d he repeated thoughtfully. \u201cI\u2019ve seen pretty ones who were stuck up, now that I think of it. I wouldn\u2019t like them, if I were not blinded, sometimes literally, by their appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it. Your lesson for the day. Ponder it in the background of your mind. Maybe you\u2019ll get smart earlier in life than I did.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t you, well, betraying your gender by telling me these things? Women have secrets they shouldn\u2019t reveal, just the way men aren\u2019t supposed to let women know how they, well\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow they try to get girls into bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d <\/p>\n

She considered. \u201cI hadn\u2019t thought of it that way. But you know it\u2019s not really Us against Them between the genders. We\u2019re all human beings, except for those of us who aren\u2019t. I suppose it\u2019s that you listen so well, and I know you will profit from my advice if you want to. I just have to share things with you. I\u2019m really on the side of the innocent versus the manipulators, whatever the gender. You must be getting fed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! You\u2019re teaching me so much about life. I\u2019m happy to hear anything you say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grania sighed. \u201cI wish my son and grandson had felt that way. Very well, here\u2019s one more: if a pretty girl ever comes on to you, don\u2019t just dissolve into goo. Keep in mind that she probably has a reason, and it\u2019s not that your manliness is sweeping her off her feet. She\u2019ll be wanting something you may not want to give. So find out what it is before you let her take you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo pretty girl ever came on to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo be suspicious when one does. Much of the mischief men do is because lovely women lead them on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will remember,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is mainly idle curiosity, so you don\u2019t have to answer. I don\u2019t much believe in coincidence, such as our meeting here and getting along so well together though we are quite dissimilar. What made you come here at this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it was just sort of a coincidence despite what you say. This traveling minstrel, Cool Hand Lute, came to our village, and of course we all turned out to listen to her, because things are dull and she was lovely and sang so well as she played her lute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCool Hand Lute!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a pun. She had very cool hands, and she could chill something by grasping it. Her lute was ice cold.\u201d He smiled. \u201cAn amorous lout tried to get hold of her, and she put her hand on his wrist and chilled him to the bone. Ice flaked off him as he stumbled away. It was funny. After that, no one tried to bother her. Anyway, she seemed to single me out, amazingly, and I was mesmerized by her attention. She was devastatingly beautiful up close, and her clothing wasn\u2019t snug.\u201d He hesitated, then said it. \u201cI don\u2019t think she even wore a bra. I almost freaked out. She asked me what my ambition was, and I was tongue-tied. Then she touched my hand, and that was the oddest thing of all, because it didn\u2019t freeze me or even cool me, it just made me suddenly want to be all that I could possibly be, as soon as I could. Which seemed impossible, because I\u2019m really nothing. So I came to ask the Good Magician. Because a woman led me on. Can you believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes? It\u2019s so foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Cool Hand Lute came to our village too, and singled me out, and touched me, and here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at her. \u201cYou too? But you\u2019re not a naive boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed I am not, and truth is, I sort of resented her blazing sex appeal. It was her touch,\u201d Grania said. \u201cIt gave us both the desire to fulfill our ambitions immediately, whatever they might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sent here?\u201d he asked, bemused.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it would seem. So it wasn\u2019t coincidence. Maybe it was just the minstrel\u2019s mischief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d he said, awed in retrospect.<\/p>\n

She stretched. \u201cNow it\u2019s about time for us to turn in. If you want to go wash up in the pond, I promise not to look. Then you can take that other pile of hay for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell realized that he was being managed, but it didn\u2019t bother him because it made things easier. It was what grandmothers did. \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nia lay on her pile of hay and rolled over, hiding her face. Dell knew he could trust her to remain that way and not peek. It really didn\u2019t matter, but he appreciated it.<\/p>\n

He went out to the pond, stripped, set his clothing aside, and waded into the water. He paused, letting the water settle to a still surface, looking at his face in the reflection. That was another kind of magic: water pretending that what was above it was also below it. A nice illusion. And of course illusion was terrific magic, used by many, many creatures and plants and things. <\/p>\n

So what did he look like? He had nondescript brown hair, brown eyes, and a forgettable face. No muscles to speak of. He was a nothing.<\/p>\n

He dropped down and splashed, washing himself. He felt an odd kind of freedom, knowing that he was naked and there was a woman who wasn\u2019t watching. So she was old; it still counted. He was being uncharacteristically bold, in his feeble fashion. Maybe it was just his wet (rather than dry) sense of humor, here in the water.<\/p>\n

He emerged and shook himself dry, then put his clothes back on. His imaginary boldness faded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m clean,\u201d he said as he reentered the shelter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nice.\u201d Nia lifted her head and opened her eyes. \u201cNow it\u2019s my turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, right.\u201d He lay on his mound of hay, closed his eyes, and put down his face. Would he have found it as easy not to peek if she had been a young thing? He hoped so, but doubted it. As she had said, there was a huge difference between young and old women. He would have been awfully tempted.<\/p>\n

He felt something in the hay under his head. A piece of paper? What was it doing here?<\/p>\n

Soon Nia returned. \u201cAll done. You didn\u2019t look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I didn\u2019t look,\u201d he said. But were his motives as clean as that implied?<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. I watched you. But you never promised not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was implied. I was doing what you did, honoring privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you did. I appreciate that. I thought you\u2019d be curious, even though I\u2019m no nymph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014I guess I was curious. But it wouldn\u2019t have been fair to look, especially after you didn\u2019t look at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou believe in fairness?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. And in keeping my word, expressed or implied. Sometimes that gets me in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know exactly how that it is. They call it compulsive honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d This was another subject he found awkward, because others regarded it as a fault in him. \u201cYou too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too,\u201d she agreed. \u201cI learned too late, as I said, not to push my honesty in people\u2019s faces. The social graces require finesse rather than candor. I could be meaner than a four-headed cactus in a drought, and I alienated people. So you should describe me as mature rather than fat, and I would describe you as lean rather than gawky, and we\u2019ll get along for the brief time we associate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell had to smile. She did have a way with awkward concepts. \u201cI\u2019ve already made people mad without meaning to. I wish I could have you in my head to say \u2018uh-uh!\u2019 when I\u2019m about to rub someone the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I wish you could lend me your youthful vigor when I need it. But we\u2019re both stuck with what we are, physically and mentally.\u201d She paused half a moment, thinking. \u201cThere\u2019s a place called Pair O Dice City, where everything is a game of chance. The houses are made of cards that might collapse at any time. I\u2019ve never been there, but it occurs to me that life is like that. It\u2019s one big game of chance, and some of us have better luck than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo even if we could trade our qualities, it probably wouldn\u2019t make much difference. Still, just in case there is any relevance, you might picture a little copy of me in your head, who can whisper uh-uh when you know it\u2019s called for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he laughed. \u201cAnd you can picture a bit of me in your body, so that when you need a little extra energy, there it is. Maybe we can help each other even after we separate.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded, smiling. \u201cWhy not? Next subject: What did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA piece of paper, I think,\u201d he said, remembering it. He brought it up to his face in the gloom. \u201cThere\u2019s writing on it. A message, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe someone dropped it and lost it. What does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n

He squinted at it. \u201cIt says \u2018Riddle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, read it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike me you are a spraint on the riverbank, understand and your halfway there.\u201d He looked up. \u201cWhat\u2019s a spraint?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nia laughed. \u201cOtter poop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m poop?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it means you aren\u2019t important, just as a turd by a river isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it does,\u201d he agreed. \u201cI\u2019m halfway where?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nia shook her head. \u201cI can understand the two of us being spraints, that is supremely unimportant folk. We are. But I don\u2019t see why understanding that makes us halfway anywhere. I suspect it\u2019s nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell peered at it again. \u201cYour,\u201d he said. \u201cThe note says \u2018your.\u2019 Is that right? Shouldn\u2019t it be \u2018you\u2019re\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe whoever wrote it down was careless. It might even have been a joke message, forgotten when the joke was done. Maybe we should just forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess,\u201d he agreed, pocketing the paper.<\/p>\n

They settled down on their beds of hay. \u201cWell, now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow?\u201d he asked sleepily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found a paper of my own, under the hay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother lost note!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps. Let me see.\u201d She peered closely at it. \u201cIt\u2019s a poem,\u201d she said, surprised. \u201cTitled \u2018Evil Whispers.\u2019 No capitals in the main text. That\u2019s weird. But it does rhyme.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, read it,\u201d he said, echoing her tone.<\/p>\n

Nia cleared her throat and read aloud.<\/p>\n

follow me now, through this world of dreams<\/p>\n

listen closely to the mournful screams<\/p>\n

each dark corner, just around each bend<\/p>\n

shadows of evil, each step closer to the end<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve led you astray, so many nights long past<\/p>\n

trembling and weak, hiding in the shadows I cast<\/p>\n

so follow me now, but hide me well my dear<\/p>\n

look not into my eyes, for <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the end of it is missing,\u201d Dell said. \u201cWhat is in its eyes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be able to guess it,\u201d Nia said. \u201cBut I just can\u2019t think of the obvious continuation, as if magically balked. That spooks me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way I feel when I\u2019m alone at night,\u201d Dell said, shuddering. \u201cSpooky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too, though I never cared to show it. It\u2019s not becoming in a person my age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, these two papers we found seem relevant,\u201d he said. \u201cAs if they are not coincidences, but messages to us. Mysteries to tease us. Does that make sense?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may,\u201d she said thoughtfully. \u201cThe Good Magician might have seen us coming, as it were, and left them for us to find.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why? We\u2019re just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust spraints,\u201d she finished. \u201cAnd nervous about what we face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why should he bother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may be laughable. But is it possible we are more important than we think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be embarrassed even to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo would I. So they must have been lost by travelers. So let\u2019s forget it and go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless that minstrel, Cool Hand Lute, left them where she knew we would find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that\u2019s an idea! Maybe she\u2019ll laugh her cool hand off when we actually show to bother the Good Magician.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he agreed, embarrassed for what was bound to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s overtime to sleep. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell fidgeted. \u201cI\u2014I don\u2019t know if I should say this, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d she asked a little too politely. She was plainly tired and growing impatient with him, and struggling not to show it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose messages. They make me even more nervous than I was before. Could\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpit it out,\u201d she said with suppressed ire.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould I sleep closer to you? Maybe even hold your hand?\u201d He was blushing furiously in the dark, expecting her derision for his childishness.<\/p>\n

She laughed. \u201cI thought you\u2019d never ask. I feel it too. Come on over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relief flooded through him. She had not ridiculed him! In fact she supported his feeling. \u201cThank you,\u201d he breathed as he picked up his bundle of hay and brought it to her side of the shelter. He lay down on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you<\/span>,\u201d she said, taking his hand. \u201cIt\u2019s okay for young folk to be nervous. Older folk are supposed to know better. So for the record, I am comforting you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was implying that she needed this reassurance as much as he did. He wasn\u2019t sure whether that was true, but was phenomenally grateful for the support. No one before had made him feel as much at ease in such a short time as she had. Certainly not his real grandmother. \u201cYou are,\u201d he agreed.<\/p>\n

They slept. He dreamed of seeing spots of otter dung along a riverbank, and of being afraid of them. He woke, found her hand still holding his, and was reassured. After that his dreams were easier.<\/p>\n

In the morning they took turns with natural functions, harvested more pies, then set off for the Good Magician\u2019s Castle, which was on a separate path. <\/p>\n

But there was an obstruction, or rather, construction. Large ants were busily working on a highway that crossed the path. It was guarded by enormous GI ants who looked too ferocious to challenge. They were supervised by belligerent Tyr Ants with noncommissioned Sarge ants marshaling the aggressive Milit Ants troops. Some were adult, Long P Ants while others were younger, Short P Ants, and some quite young, Inf Ants. Ten Ants were settling in at decimal intervals. Mut Ants initiated new ideas and methods of construction, but Err Ants made repeated mistakes. Some were even Tru Ants constantly going astray, while Devi Ants flatly refused to follow orders. <\/p>\n

Dell looked at Nia, and she looked back at him. Both of them were taken aback. Meanwhile, a squadron of Milit Ants was heading for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe these are Domin Ants. But this is an enchanted path,\u201d Nia murmured. \u201cThey can\u2019t actually hurt us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tyr Ant arrived. Dell faced it. \u201cPlease, sir. We are just travelers heading for the Good Magician\u2019s Castle. We don\u2019t want to interrupt your work, which we can see is formidable, but are uncertain how to pass without doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ant wiggled its antennae. Then it set out across the construction site. They followed at a respectful distance. Soon they came to the other side. \u201cThank you,\u201d Nia said.<\/p>\n

The Tyr Ant departed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey let us through,\u201d Dell breathed, relieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll it took was treating them with due respect,\u201d Nia said. \u201cNot everybody does.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked on. They came to a minor building with a large impressive facade that made it look far more formidable than it was. A sign said LIE BRARY. CHECK OUT HIGH-QUALITY LIES, USE, RETURN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, no thanks,\u201d Dell said. They walked on by. <\/p>\n

Soon they spied it, nestled within its moat, with the moat monster on guard. Its turrets reached toward the sky, where a high flat blade scraped out clouds: a sky scraper. The path led right to the drawbridge, which was down. It looked almost as if there were spraints on the moat bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see them too,\u201d Nia said. She took his hand briefly and squeezed it. \u201cHere\u2019s a wicked notion we rejected before, that maybe makes more sense by the light of day: Could the Good Magician have seen us coming, and planted those notes for us to find?\u201d<\/p>\n

He realized that she was repeating this for the benefit of the Good Magician, who might be listening, now that they were on his property. So he played along. \u201cWhy? It makes no more sense than it did last night. We\u2019re just spraints on the riverbank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd nervous about our own shadows. You\u2019re right. It still doesn\u2019t make sense to me either. We\u2019re probably just seeing what\u2019s on our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPoop. Confusion. Do we have dirty ignorant minds?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe so.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no response from the castle. That didn\u2019t mean the Magician wasn\u2019t listening. So maybe their little recital wasn\u2019t wasted. Maybe. Still, it was a huge assumption to think that they mattered at all to him. They were spraints!<\/p>\n

And yet those messages hadn\u2019t come from nowhere. Each indicated some serious thought and feeling. Was it safe to assume that they were meaningless?<\/p>\n

Dell looked at the path leading so invitingly down. \u201cWe just walk right in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t be that easy,\u201d Nia said. \u201cI have heard from many who tried to visit the Good Magician. Few of them ever got in; the triple challenges were too severe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I don\u2019t expect to make it,\u201d he said seriously. \u201cBut I have to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, same here. I would rather fail here than not try at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

So they were decided. \u201cDo we go together, or separately?\u201d He hoped she would elect to do it together, because he felt far more competent in her presence.<\/p>\n

Nia shrugged. \u201cShould we try it together and see what happens?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I guess we can find out.\u201d Dell was relieved again. Yes, he much preferred company. He strode along the path. She paced him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

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Book Preview Chapter 1 Spraints Lydell spied the rest stop along the enchanted path that led near the Good Magician\u2019s Castle. There was a man with a band saw working nearby, clearing more of the area; the saw was playing lively music while it cut the wood. Dell was relieved; it had been a long … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-443","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\/443","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=443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}