Man From Mundania (48 page)

Man from Mundania

magic was false. Until that question was answered, they

could not rest easy.

Nada assumed her snake form, and they mounted their

steeds and flew back to Castle Roogna. But Ivy knew that

despite their seeming victory, it was not yet appropriate to

marry Grey. Magicians did not appear from nowhere^ and

certainly not from Mundania. She knew that her parents

would insist on learning the truth, and she knew they would

be right. Her quest with Grey was far from over; it had

only changed its nature. It was as if they had climbed to

what they thought was the top of Mount Parnassus, only

to discover that it was only a ledge, and that the real peak

remained as far above as ever.

Chapter 12 • Pewter's

Ploy

JJD

• lease. Grey, I really didn't want to admit

my ignorance there at the castle," Rapunzel said in his

ear. "I mean, I understand why you and Ivy need com-

pany on this trip, because betrothed couples aren't sup-

posed to go too far alone together, and Nada and Electra

didn't care to tangle with Com-Pewter again. But why are

you going to see the evil machine?"

Grey had not yet gotten used to having a tiny and beau-

tiful woman perched on his shoulder and holding onto his

earlobe with one doll-like hand. The parents had decreed

that he and Ivy had to be chaperoned until they got mar-

ried, which seemed to be their way of agreeing that the

doubt about that marriage was gone. Ivy had met their

ultimatum and proved Grey had a magic talent, with a

vengeance. In fact he was now eligible to be king some

day! But the parents shared Ivy's own concern about the

origin of that talent. Mysteries abounded in Xanth and

things that made no sense, but a mystery relating to the

betrothed of a princess was a serious matter. So little Ra-

punzel and her similarly little husband, Grundy Golem,

were the chaperones this time; size hardly mattered in this

land of magic. Grundy was riding Ivy's shoulder as she

walked on the path ahead, and evidently regaling her with

remarks, because every so often she giggled.

"Well, uh, it seems that this Com-Pewter is similar to

222 Man from Mundania

a machine I had in Mundania," he said. "Actually, what

I had was a computer, and all I used it for was word

processing—that's the Mundane term for writing papers. I

would type on this keyboard—that's, uh, do you know what

a typewriter is? Um, well, then, it's like a magic pen that

sort of writes the words for you; all you have to do is touch

the right keys, and it sort of saves the words and then

prints, uh, writes them all in one big swoop at the end."

"Mundania must be a very strange place," Rapunzel

observed, kicking her feet. She had petite feet and very

nice legs; he could just about see them from the comer of

his eye. He understood that she had elven ancestry, so

could assume the size of elves—or any other size, from

tiny to huge—without changing her form at all.

"Very strange," he agreed. "Anyway, I got a new pro-

gram for this computer—a program is sort of a set of in-

structions that tells it what to do, and—"

"Oh, the way Queen Irene tells Ivy what to do?"

"Uh, not exactly, but maybe close enough. This new

program changed it a lot. It started talking to me on its

screen, and uh, well, I guess granting wishes."

"That doesn't sound like Com-Pewter!" she exclaimed,

tossing her hair. That was quite a trick, because her hair

was as long as forever; in fact she had tied a hank of it to

his pocket button as an anchor in case she should fall. The

rest of it flowed out about her like a silken cloak. It was

dark at her head, but faded to almost white at the end of

the tresses, luxuriant all the way. Her eyes shifted colors

similarly, depending on the shadow. "It doesn't grant

wishes, it changes reality to suit itself."

"This, uh, program may have done the same thing. It—

well, I wanted a nice girlfriend. I really, well, I was pretty

lonely, there by myself in my room all the time, not much

good at anything, and—"

Rapunzel stroked his ear with a duster formed from

braided hair. "I understand perfectly. I was locked up in

a tower for ages. If it hadn't been for my correspondence

with Ivy, I don't know what I would have done."

"Yes, I guess you do understand! So the program, well,

it claimed to have brought Ivy—"

Man from Mundania
       
223

"But she was sent by the Heaven Cent!"

"Yes. To where she was most needed—and I sure

needed her! So I guess the computer was just taking credit

for that when it wasn't so. But it must have known she

was coming. And it did help; it made it possible for us to

talk together. It was, well, like magic. Ivy recognized it

as Com-Pewter. So when it turned out I had magic, she

remembered that, and figured Com-Pewter must know

something, so we're going to find out what it knows."

"But—but how could Com-Pewter be in Mundania?"

she asked, cutely perplexed. He couldn't see her face, but

the cuteness was caressing his ear like a warm earmuff on

a chill day. Grundy was a lucky golem!

"That is another mystery," Grey admitted. "I thought

it was a scientific program that accounted for the change

in my computer, but now I recognize it as magic. So we

have two problems: how can a Mundane have magic, and

how can there be magic in Mundania? They may be linked,

and surely Com-Pewter knows the answer to at least one

of them.''

"Thank you," she said. "Now I understand. Of course

you must ask the evil machine. But I hope it doesn't get

the better of you."

"Well, I do have, uh, magic, now, and if I can null

other magic, maybe I can null Com-Pewter. So we

shouldn't have much to fear."

"But if the machine knows about you and helped put

you in touch with Ivy, it may know how to handle you."

"Um, yes. I'd better warn Ivy before we go into its

cave." But Grey was not unduly worried because he knew

that computers could not take any physical action. How

could it stop him from just walking out, when its magic

couldn't work on him when he didn't want it to?

He walked faster, catching up to Ivy. "Hey, Rapunzel

thought of something," he said.

" 'Punzel's got a lot of thoughts in her little head,"

Grundy agreed. "But her hair stops most of them from

getting out, fortunately."

"Unlike Grundy's big mouth," Rapunzel retorted,

"which lets everything out, ready or not."

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Man from Mundania

Man from Mundania

225

Grundy put his thumbs up beside his ears, waggling his

fingers at her. She responded by sticking out her tongue

at him. Again, Grey felt the gesture though he couldn't

see it. This seemed to be just another incidental aspect of

the magic of Xanth.

'Hey, I thought you two liked each other!" Grey said.

'No we don't," Grundy said, glowering.

'That's true," Rapunzel agreed with her teeth clenched.

'But—"

'We love each other!" they exclaimed together, and

broke out laughing.

Ivy laughed too. "I guess you walked into that one,

Grey," she said.

"I guess I did," he agreed ruefully.

"They do that to anyone who hasn't known them be-

fore," Ivy continued. "Before they got together, Grundy

had a loud mouth and little thought, while 'Punzel had

vice versa. Now he thinks more and she talks more, and

they overlap quite a bit.''

"Oh, you told!" Grundy exclaimed, while Rapunzel

blushed. "And you said / had a big mouth!"

Ivy looked flustered. "What I meant by 'overlap'

was—"

Rapunzel could no longer stifle her giggle. "Gotcha!"

Grundy said.

Grey stifled a grin. So it wasn't just newcomers who got

teased! "But about what Rapunzel thought of—if Com-

Pewter knows about me, should we just walk into his

lair?"

Ivy considered. "I think Pewter wants us to come to

him. I have the feeling that we shall have to do some

dealing to get our information. So we have to go in. It

isn't as if my folks don't know where I am, this time."

Grey realized that the King of Xanth could probably

make a lot of trouble for the machine, if sufficiently an-

noyed. The machine surely knew that. Maybe that was

enough of a backup.

"But if push comes to shove," she continued, "we can

coordinate on some plan to overcome the evil machine."

"But he will overhear whatever we plan!"

She brought up her right hand, putting her two larger

fingers together with her thumb in the sign for no.

Now he understood! Grey nodded, not making a big

thing of it because he realized that someone might be

magically watching or listening. They did have a secret

language, thanks to that episode in Mundania! He re-

hearsed the signs in his mind, hoping he remembered

enough to be intelligible.

They resumed their walk. ' 'Was that a magic gesture?''

Rapunzel inquired softly in his ear.

"Not exactly," he murmured. "But if you see us mov-

ing our hands when we're with Com-Pewter, pay no atten-

tion so the machine doesn't catch on."

"Very well," she agreed, perplexed.

The path was devious, but in due course they arrived at

the cave of the dread machine. It seemed to be guarded

by an invisible giant, but they were not affrighted. They

knew that the giant was there only to stampede travelers