Vale of the Vole Part 9

"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."

"Three?" Ivy asked.

"Centaurs need three reasons for doing things," Esk told her. He felt a mild and foolish gratification at this chance to show that he did know a bit about the breed.

The child considered. "That's right; I'd forgotten. We were going to Magician Humfrey's castle because he didn't answer his mirror, and I wanted to share another punwheel cookie with the Gorgon, and Stanley wanted to wrestle the moat monster. Three reasons. Now we know Humfrey's gone, so we don't have three reasons anymore."

"Where iv the mapmaking centaur?" Volney asked.

"Oh, she's doing a detail map of the Gap Chasm," Chet said. "It is very convoluted."

"Stanley needs to see the Gap Chasm!" Ivy exclaimed. "He's going to take it over again any year now, so he needs to keep updated."

Chet nodded. "That is true."

"And that's three!" she cried jubilantly. " 'Cause Chem's at the Gap Chasm!"

"She does have a point, Uncle," Chex said, smiling. "We need a map, and to fetch my dam, and to take the dragon to the Gap Chasm."

"So it seems," he agreed.

"And we can learn all 'bout each other on the way!" Ivy said. "Oh, this is fun!"

"Never become temporary guardian for a little Sorceress," Chet said with resignation.

"And now let me see if I can make Chex fly," Ivy continued with unabated enthusiasm. She ran to Chex. "Lift me up!"

Chex, bemused, a.s.sisted the little girl in mounting. "Now flap your wings," Ivy directed. "Real hard,"

"Really hard," Chet and Chex said together.

"Oh, pooh, you centaurs are all alike! Just do it!"

Chex spread her wings and flapped them. There was indeed muscle on her chest; Esk tried not to stare at the way her b.r.e.a.s.t.s rippled as she made the effort.

"That's it!" Ivy cried. "Harder!"

Chex flapped harder-and an expression of surprise crossed her face. "I have more lifting power!" she said.

"Sure you do, 'cause that's my talent. Enhancement. Now take off."

It almost seemed that it was going to happen. Chex's front legs lifted from the ground. But no matter how hard she flapped, she could not get the rest of her body up; she remained standing on her hind legs.

"That's enough!" she gasped, dropping back down. "I'm winded!"

"Awww," Ivy said, disappointed. "Maybe you need to exercise some more."

"Perhaps I do," Chex agreed, flushed with her effort. "But for the first time, I came close! It was a wonderful feeling."

"It does seem odd that you should have functioning wings that don't quite do the job," Chet said. "Perhaps they require magic enhancement."

"I thought the Good Magician would know," Chex said.

"Sure he does!" Ivy said.

"Surely," Chet and Chex said together.

Ivy didn't even bother to say pooh. She jumped down and skipped off to the gaming monsters. "Time to get moving, boys!" she cried, wading into the melee. "We're going to the Gap!"

That got Stanley's attention immediately. The engagement broke up and the two lined up for the trip.

The party proceeded north, again cutting its own trail. Once a sleeping flying dragon woke, belching fire. Tangleman leaned over it and opened his mouth. The dragon gazed at the huge wooden teeth and scooted away. Another time a small tangle tree-one in the vegetative state- menaced them as they pa.s.sed. Stanley reared up and puffed steam at it, and the tree quickly wilted back.

"I could get to like this sort of travel," Esk mumured.

"Yeah, it's real fun with them," Ivy said.

"Yes, it's really," both centaurs called.

Ivy stuck out her tongue. Esk buried a smile. He liked the little girl, even if she was a princess.

By nightfall they were near the Gap. They camped by a spring and posted no guards; they needed none in the present company. Esk noted with private satisfaction that Ivy was just as secretive as he was about natural functions; the centaur way was not the only way. In fact, Ivy was a fine antidote to the centaur att.i.tudes.

In the morning they reached the Gap. It was a monstrous crevice whose faces descended clifflike to a narrow base far, far below. Esk felt dizzy just peering into it.

"We shall have to travel along it until we find a way down," Chet said. "That may require some time. There are bridges across it, but my sibling should be down inside it."

Volney sniffed the ground. "No need to vearch," he said. "The old vole holev remain; a large one will take uv down."

"Voles are very good with tunnels," Esk explained to the others as Volney moved along.

"But he's going away from the chasm," Ivy protested.

Then Volney found what he was sniffing for: the cavelike entrance to a large tunnel "You may wivh light," he said as he plunged on in.

"I saw some lightning rods close by," Ivy said. She dashed off to pick them. They glowed more brightly as she held them, enhanced by her magic. Soon everyone who wanted one had a glowing rod, even Tangleman. They trooped down after the vole.

The tunnel was long and dank, and branched many times, but they followed Volney with confidence, and eventually came out at the base of the Gap. The vole hole had saved them a good deal of trouble.

"Now to find Chem," Chet said. "Stay with us, Stanley; we don't want Stella to find us and take us for prey."

"Stacey," Ivy said smugly.

"What?"

"Her name is Stacey Steamer," Ivy said.

"But she's listed as Stella."

"But I named her, same as I named Stanley. I can't help it if the a.s.s who made the Lexicon got it wrong."

"The a.s.s didn't get it wrong; he listed both," Chex said. "There's an ambiguity, that's all."

"But when I'm here, my name is right," Ivy said.

Chet shrugged, unable to refute that. Again the little princess had gotten the best of the centaur. Esk enjoyed that, privately.

Again Volney's nose simplified things. "They went that way movt revently," he announced, pointing west.

They traveled west, and in due course came upon Stacey and Chem. They were exploring an offshoot of the chasm, one with jagged walls angling upward. Chem was projecting an image of it and comparing the details to the real one, so as to match them perfectly. She was a lovely brown-maned, brown-eyed creature with a family resemblance to Chex.

Chex embraced her dam. "My, how you've grown, dear!" Chem exclaimed.