Part 9 (1/2)
”Not anymore,” Volney said grimly. ”It hav been ruined by the demonv. Now it iv called the Kill-Mee River, and anyone who touchev it feelv like killing hiv neighbor.”
”Say, Volney, do you have trouble with your-” Ivy started.
”We three met on the way to the Good Magician's castle,” Chex explained quickly. ”We all have Questions, but the Magician wasn't there, so-”
”Why, we were just on our way to see Magician Humfrey ourselves,”
Chet said. ”He hasn't been answering his mirror, so we decided to go and see if there was any problem.”
”Perhaps we should find a place to settle more comfortably, so we can compare notes,” Chex said. ”We seem to have much to discuss.”
”Evidently so, cute niece,” Chet said. He eyed her up and down. ”You have filled out nicely since I saw you last.”
”I've been exercising to develop my pectoral muscles, but it hasn't enabled me to fly.”
”I can fix that!” Ivy exclaimed. ”Let me ride you instead of Chet, and-”
”Wait, Ivy,” the male centaur said. ”First let's get to a better place, as she suggested. Then we can discuss everything, and try everything, without blocking traffic.”
Traffic! Esk almost laughed. There was no other traffic on this path.
”Tangleman's close by,” Ivy said. ”He has a nice glade.”
”Who?” Chex asked.
”Tangleman. He's a tangle tree.”
”A tangle tree!”
”But don't worry,” the child continued brightly. ”He's reformed since Grandpa Trent turned him into a jolly green giant.”
They made their way to Tangleman's grove. They had to cut through the jungle, but the dragon whomped ahead; any potential predators vacated the region in a hurry. The two centaurs walked side by side, and Esk and Volney brought up the rear.
Tangleman's glade was indeed nice, maintained as only the tangle trees knew how. Tangleman himself was a huge green man with writhing tentacles for hair and barklike clothing. He looked formidable indeed, but grinned broadly when he saw Ivy and her party. Obviously they had maintained cordial relations for years.
There was another round of introductions. Then Stanley and Tangleman settled down to a game of Dumpings and Dragons, which looked more like a battle than a friendly contest, but since Ivy wasn't concerned, the others weren't.
They compared notes and details. ”So n.o.body remains in the Good Magician's castle,” Chet said, perplexed. ”We wondered, when we couldn't get through. But sometimes those mirrors get perverse, so we decided to check. Ivy likes to visit Hugo and the Gorgon anyway, and Stanley has a thing with the moat monster, so-”
”The moat monster's gone too,” Chet said. ”All the creatures have been released.”
”That is very strange,” Chet said. ”The Good Magician can be taciturn, but he takes good care of his environs, and he almost never lets a creature go before its term of service is done. It's as though they have moved out permanently.”
”Yes-but on very short notice,” she said. ”Things were interrupted in progress.”
”We shall have to tell King Dor of this,” Chet said. ”But it will have to wait a few days, because he and Queen Irene are away on business, up at the Water Wing. We were going to take a few days for the trip, but there doesn't seem to be much point, now.”
”Don't you want to verify what we have told you?” Esk asked.
”Verify a centaur's report? Whatever for?”
Chex smiled. ”He has not had much contact with centaurs, Uncle.”
”Oh.” Chet turned to Esk. ”A centaur's accuracy of observation is perfect, and a centaur's word is inviolate. It would be a waste of time to recheck my niece's findings; they represent the same information I would obtain.”
”Oh. Then I guess we can go on to Castle Roogna,” Esk said, out of sorts. He had known about centaur accuracy, but as usual hadn't been thinking clearly. Sometimes he regretted his ogreish descent.
”That, too, is pointless, until the King returns,” he said.
”You mean we should just wait here?” Esk asked.
”Of course not,” Chet said. ”That would be wasting time.”
”Then-?”
Chex laughed. ”We shall simply have to find something else to do for a few days,” she said.
”Let's figure out where Magician Humfrey is,” Ivy said brightly. ”Then we can tell my father where to find him.”
”You have a map that locates lost magicians?” Chet inquired wryly.
”Well, no, not exactly. But I know who does: Chem. She has maps for everything!”
”My dam!” Chex exclaimed. ”I haven't seen her in a year!”
”And my sibling,” Chet said. ”It has been longer than that, for me. She doesn't come around Castle Roogna often, now.”
”Because of me,” Chex said, casting down her gaze.
”Because our dam is just a bit conservative,” Chet said. ”I believe it is time to face that issue directly.”
”That was my conclusion,” Chex said.
”Of course. That gives us two reasons to go to see Chem.”
”But we need three.”