Part 32 (1/2)
”I don't care if if makes him explode,” Pia said, sounding hysterical. ”The trees are drowning, and we've got to save them.”
Edsel stepped in. ”Maybe I can finesse this,” he said quietly to Pia. This came under the heading of supporting her completely. Then, to Humfrey ”What she means is, there is a crisis we want very much to alleviate, and we hope you will be able to provide us a means. Is there some way we can accomplish our objective?”
The Good Magician oriented on him. The gnome's direct gaze was disconcertingly savvy. ”Well put. What you require is the magic locket, which is one of the stray artifacts with imbued talents from the ancient city of Hinge. Hitherto only bracelets have shown up, but now so has the locket. Put the Demon CoTwo therein, and it will lessen his power sufficiently to eliminate the melting, without putting all Xanth into deep freeze.”
”Magic locket?” Pia asked.
”You have seen it,” Humfrey informed her gently. ”The half demon children have it. Borrow it from them for your purpose. Now consult with my a.s.sistant to arrange your Service.”
”That may be complicated,” Edsel said. ”You see, we-”
But the weathered old eyes had already returned to the tome. The Good Magician had tuned them out.
”This way,” Wira murmured. They followed her out of the cramped study and down the stairs to another chamber. A man and woman, each in the neighborhood of thirty, stood to meet them as they entered.
”This is the Good Magician's a.s.sistant. Magician Grey Murphy, and his wife, Princess Ivy.” Wira said. Then, to the others: ”Edsel and Pia of Mundania, here as exchange visitors.”
”Glad to meet you.” Grey said, advancing to shake hands. He was a nondescript person, who would have been unremarkable except for his magic. ”I was raised in Mundania myself. I was frankly glad to get away from it, not just because of Ivy.”
The princess smiled. She had long greenish yellow hair and blue eyes. ”I visited it, but do prefer it here in Xanth. Sit down; we must talk.”
They took seats on the large toadstools in the room. ”We are supposed to see about our Service for our Answer,” Edsel said. ”But we can't stay in Xanth for a year, much as we might like to.”
”Humfrey knows that,” Ivy said. ”He always knows, and things always come out well. Your service can be performed in as little as a day, but it is vitally important.”
Pia began to relax. ”A day we can handle. But why would anything important be left to Mundanes? We hardly know anything about Xanth, really. We depend on our Companions to keep us out of trouble.”
”Breanna and Justin have not deserted you.” Ivy said. ”This just happens to be something rather special and private.”
”And especially suitable for Mundanes,” Grey said ”Because you have so little direct connection to Xanth.”
”This is a peculiar qualification.” Edsel said.
”It is a peculiar mission,” Grey said earnestly. ”Are you familiar with the concept of temporal paradox?”
”You mean traveling back in lime and murdering your grandfather?” Edsel asked.
”Yes. Any change to a person's own present status would be as difficult. But here in Xanth the rules are different. We can, in our fas.h.i.+on, travel in time, and we don't necessarily honor the laws of paradox. That's what makes this mission so awkward.”
”You want us to travel in time?” Pia asked, alarmed.
”Not you.” Grey said. ”Me. But I am concerned that I may do something that changes Xanth's present situation, and might not know it.”
”How would you know it?” Edsel asked. ”To you in the present, whatever existed would seem to have always been the case.”
”Exactly. I might retain a memory of the other situation, but no one else would believe me. And if I did something that caused Ivy not to exist-” He shuddered.
”Whatever would possess you to take such a risk?” Pia asked. ”a.s.suming it's possible, which I doubt.”
”I must bore you with a bit of spot personal history,” Grey said. ”My father is Magician Murphy, who makes things go wrong. My mother is Sorceress Vadne, whose talent is topology. Several centuries ago Murphy tried to wrest the throne of Xanth from the legitimate king, for which he was retired to the Brain Coral's Pool for indefinite storage. Vadne resented Millie the Maid's appeal to the Zombie Master, and topologically converted her to a book. For this she too was banished to the Pool. During the Time of No Magic the two escaped Pool confinement and made a deal with Com Pewter: he enabled them to go to Mundania. where they could not be apprehended. But there was a price: they had to give their future child to Pewter, lor lifelong service. I am that child.”
”But how could you be committed to such a thing?” Edsel asked. ”You didn't even exist ”
”People of honor fulfill their deals,” Grey said. ”Pewter performed a real service for my parents, that enabled them to live good live in Mundania, and enabled me to exist. We recognize that debt.”
”But people can't he traded for favors,” Pia said.
Grey shrugged. ”Those who feel that way should of course refuse to make such deals. But if they do make them, they should honor them.”
”So you serve Pewter?” Pia asked, unpleased.
”No. My service was pre-empted by that to the Good Magician. Since this is a permanent position, the matter has become moot.”
”So you found a way to wiggle out of it.” Pia said.
”Technically, yes. But I do feel I owe Pewter something. Hence our present agreement. I will perform a significant service for him, that only I can do, to make up for the service he lost. Because of the delicate nature of it, he is amenable to this, and will consider the deal my parents made to be complete.”
”Plea bargaining,” Pia said.
”Or accepting reality.” Ivy said. ”Pewter knows he's never going to get Grey full time, and this is a lot better than nothing. Grey's good will is essential.”
”And the Good Magician goes along with this?” she asked.
”He prefers to have me free of potentially awkward obligation. This will free me.”
Edsel was getting quite curious. ”Just what is this significant, critical thing you will do? That maybe involves paradox.”
”I will conduct a creature of Pewter's creation to Xanth's past, so she can learn something Pewter wishes to know. The journey would be extremely difficult to accomplish without my a.s.sistance, because my talent of nullifying magic is necessary at some points. However-”
”You could change Pewter's past-and therefore his present,” Edsel said, catching on. ”You might even cause him not to exist.”
Grey nodded. ”This is not a mission a person would send an enemy on. As it is. I do feel I owe him a favor, and I am amenable to acquitting it in this manner. He knows he can trust me to do my best to accomplish it, without trying to nullify him. I have my own reasons to see that the present situation is maintained ” He glanced at Ivy. who smiled back.
”How do we fit in?” Pia asked.
”We need to provide more background first,” Ivy said.
”The danger of inadvertently changing the present is unavoidable,” Grey said ”I will not do so intentionally, but the effect could be just as severe if I made a mistake. But it will be very difficult to avoid that risk, because not only will I be in the past, where the consequences of my actions will not be immediately apparent, but when I return to the present, others may not believe that any change has occurred. So it probably will not be possible to correct it.”
”I'd be extremely nervous,” Pia said.
”I am. But this is a necessary risk, if I am to acquit my obligation. So we hope to establish a safeguard. We believe that though regular Xanthians will not be in a position to know whether any change has occurred, Mundanes who have no historical connection to Xanth may be more objective. They should be able to see any changes, because they are not affected.”
”That's us!” Pia said.
”How?” Edsel asked.
”Com Pewter can set up a liaison, a mental connection between us, so that the two of you will be able to tune in on what the two of us in the past are doing. Then if you see Xanth changing around you, you can notify Pewter, who will send in another person to go to the past to try to change it back, or get me to change it back. If you see no change, we will know that I have succeeded in avoiding incidental mischief.”
”And that rea.s.surance is just as important,” Edsel said. ”To know you have succeeded cleanly.”