Xone Of Contention Part 16

They moved on, and came to a third exhibit. This was of a lowlands scene, with rolling hills and valleys. It was largely forested, with many odd trees.

"What are those?" she asked, pointing to several grossly fat-trunked growths.

"Beerbarrel trees. Their trunks contain beer They are rather popular in some circles "

"You mean people get drunk in Xanth?" she asked, surprised.

"Some do. I confess I do not understand what they see in such activity."

"You never drink?"

"I drink water, of course. Or one of the myriad flavors of soda from Lake Tsoda Pop. Or milk, or boot rear, or similar. But I would not care for an intoxicant."

"Me neither." she said. Actually she had had her flings, back when she had really been sixteen. But it had complicated her diabetes, and she had learned better. "That goes double for boys, I won't go near one who's drinking, because he's sure to get ideas."

"Ideas? Of what nature?"

"Of a s.e.xual nature."

"Oh." He seemed embarra.s.sed. Lovely man.

Then she saw a small figure half hidden behind one of the fat trees. "Oh look!" she exclaimed, delighted.

"It seems to be a little man, or an elf, or fairy." He peered more closely. "No, I think none of these. I don't believe I recognize the type."

"It's a leprechaun," Pia said.

"Really? I have never seen one before."

"Maybe they are confined to this particular forest in Xanth. Their range is very limited in Mundania, too. To Ireland, I think."

"Ire Land? Are they bad tempered?"

"No. just very shy "

They walked on to the next exhibit. This scene was the same as the prior one, except that there were some ponds in the low sections. Pia looked at Justin. "Does this mean anything to you?"

"The exhibit is very nicely done, but apart from that I see no special significance. Perhaps this is after a heavy rainfall."

They moved on to the next exhibit in the gallery. This was the same scene, but with several of the ponds linking into a lake. It was an attractive view, but some trees were being overtaken by the water; the bases of their trunks were covered. The leprechaun was back, and looking worried. "I guess I'm not one to make judgments," Pia said. "But maybe this is too much of a good thing. I mean, ponds and lakes are fine, but this was regular land."

"I agree. It is painful for me to see trees suffer." The next scene showed a still larger lake, and several of the trees were dead. "If this is meant to be uplifting," Justin said, "it is not so, for me."

"Let's move on."

They did so-and came to the steps to the surface. "We have completed a circuit!" Justin said, amazed. "I was so taken with the exhibits that I didn't realize."

"Me neither. So it's one big loop. Six illusion pictures of two scenes. And that's it."

"I fear I still do not understand the rationale."

Pia agreed. "Maybe I'm too bleeping suspicious, but I can't believe that this is all there is. Do you think it's a test, or something?"

"A test?" he asked blankly.

"To find out just how smart we are. See if we have the wit to figure out the real situation "

"I suppose that could be the case. I confess feel rather unintelligent at this stage."

Pia realized that Edsel probably could have figured it out. He was good at puzzles. She wanted to prove that she could figure out something on her own, before appealing to him for help. "There must be something we're missing. We have to prove we're smart enough to figure it out."

"This may indeed be a challenge. But my mind is not apt at such riddles."

"Let's see: we made a loop and saw six exhibits. They're in a big circle. Could there be something inside that circle?"

"That seems to be a fair possibility. But I saw no access to it."

"Right. No tunnels going anywhere. Just those illusion pictures." Then she had a bright idea-and was amazed to see a light bulb form and flash, about two feet before and above her face.

"You have a bright notion," Justin said.

"Yes." she said, recovering from her surprise "These pictures are illusion, right? So they're not solid. There could be something behind them."

"Behind them? I should think merely the wall."

"How do we know? There could be another pa.s.sage. We wouldn't see it, because it would be covered by the illusion."

"Why I believe you are correct. It is certainly possible."

"So let's go look." She forged on toward the first of the exhibits.

Justin followed. "Actually, there could be other pa.s.sages from this one, covered by illusion. But your notion is certainly viable."

They reached the snowy mountain view. Pia reached into it. The snow wasn't cold; there was no sensation, and no tingle of danger. She lifted a foot and stepped into it. As her head entered the illusion, she became blind; there was nothing but fog in view.

She backed out, and the pa.s.sage reappeared. "I'm not Breanna. I can't seen in the dark. That scares me. I mean, suppose there's a pit and a pendulum?"

"A pendulum?"

"Never mind. What I mean is that there could be something dangerous in there. Maybe not inimical, but not good to go into blind, like a drop-off. Because folk aren't expected to walk through the illusions. Anyway, it makes me distinctly nervous."

"A sobering prospect," Justin agreed. "It may be unfortunate we lack a rope, so that we could protect ourselves from a possible fall."

"Yes." Pia remained unwilling to give up on it, but what else was there to do? Then a second bulb flashed "Clothing!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"We could knot our clothes together to make a rope. Maybe not a long one, but maybe enough. I saw that trick in a movie once."

"A what?"

"Never mind. Let's try it."'

"I am afraid I don't-"

He was truly diffident, which was one big reason she felt free to try it. "We take off our clothes and tie them end to end to make a crude rope. One of us can hold it while the other goes ahead. So there won't be a fall."

"Why, I suppose that could work. But-"

She understood his reticence. "You feel it would be bad to see each other naked?"

"That is a matter of concern," he confessed.

"You've seen it before, haven't you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You have seen Breanna nude."

"Well, yes, actually. Technically. On occasion she has insisted on bathing in my presence. But-"

"I'm much the same, only a different color. Anyway, we'll be in illusion, so won't see much for long. Let's do it. We don't want the others to worry because we're taking too long." She found she was enjoying this. It was a kind of adventure. She was rather proud of her restored body, too.

"I suppose that is true. Perhaps Breanna would understand."

"Sure she will." Maybe too well, but Pia did not find it necessary to say that. She pulled off her blouse and stood in her bra.

Justin's eyes bulged dangerously, but he managed to squeeze them back into shape. That didn't bother her at all; she liked making an impression, especially when it was risk free. He visibly nerved himself and removed his own shirt.

Pia stepped out of her skirt.

Justin froze. He didn't move at all. After a moment, she inquired. "Justin - are you all right?"

He didn't answer. He just stood there, his eyes glazing over.

Then she realized: he had freaked out' She had overdone it. forgetting about the magic effect a girl's panties had on men in Xanth.

What was she to do? They needed all their outer clothing to make the rope. But if he couldn't function while her skirt was off, that wouldn't work.

She remembered something Breanna had said, nymphs ran nude all the time, and didn't freak out men, though they did attract considerable attention. So would Justin un-freak-out if she went all the way naked? Maybe so, but she did not care to risk it. Even if it worked, her purpose could be misunderstood. She did not want to make an enemy of Breanna. So what else was there?

Maybe she could hide her lower body under the illusion Then he would be all right, until they were through. Once they were through, they could dress again. That seemed to be the best course.

She walked into the picture, centering on one of the mountains The floor seemed level beneath the picture; her footing was firm. She could see the illusion up to her waist. Now she called again to him. "Justin!"

He blinked, and his eyes lost their glaze. "I heg pardon; I must have been thinking of something else. What were we doing?"

He had no awareness of the freakout. She would not enlighten him. "We were getting out of our clothing so we could knot it into a rope. I tried stepping in and it seems okay. How about you take off your trousers?"

Justin got out of his trousers. He stood there somewhat blankly.

"Okay, now let's tie them." Pia said. She suspected that though her bra was not freaking him out, it was having some effect, so he needed to be guided. It would probably be best not to lean forward. She rather liked this aspect of Xanth, now that she was working through it, it gave a woman control of a situation.

He knotted the clothing together securely, and had a clumsy kind of rope. "Now give me one end." she said. "And follow me through the illusion "

Pia held on to one end and stepped deeper into the scene. Justin clung to the other end, bracing in case he had to take her weight suddenly. Her face entered a higher mountain. It was like walking into pea-soup fog. She could not see her free hand two feet before her eyes. But the footing remained firm, and that was what counted.

Suddenly she was out of the fog, and standing behind the illusion scene. She saw the hacks of the mountains and glaciers.

Then the rope went slack, and Justin stepped out of the scene. Now it was his jaw that went slack as he froze in place.

Oh. that again. Well, they were safely through, and there had been no pit at all. Pia un-knotted the clothing and slipped her skirt back on.

"Justin," she said.

He returned to animation. "Was I woolgathering again? I must be more tired than I thought,"

"No problem. We are through the illusion without trouble, so can put our things back on." She handed him his trousers.

"To be sure." He put on pants and shirt while Pia put on her rumpled shirt. She wondered idly why there was no similar effect on women. The sight of his underpants hadn't freaked her out at all. Maybe women were simply more sensible, or maybe they had better a.s.sets. She could see it either way, preferably both ways.

Now they considered what next. There was another pa.s.sage opening out to either side behind the picture. Probably an inner ring, servicing the six settings. But was that all'?

They walked around the ring, seeing the settings from the rear. That was all. "I suspect that we have not yet fathomed the riddle." Justin said.

"I agree. There must be more. But maybe we have established that this is a safe place to spend the night."

"Should we return to the others?" Justin asked hopefully.

Pia was tempted, but uncertain "How can we be sure this is safe without a rear guard, until we know more about who set it up and why?"

"Alas. I fear you are correct."

"But maybe we should let them know we are working on it."

"Yes," he agreed eagerly.

They walked through the icy mountain scene, not making the rope now that they knew it was safe. Soon they mounted the steps. "It seems safe," Pia said "But there's more to check. Can you folk hold on a while longer?"

"Sure," Edsel said. "Breanna's fascinating."

"He's just teasing." Pia whispered to Justin. "He does that."

"Oh. Of course."

"Okay." Pia called. "We should be done soon."

They returned to the mountain image, and walked through it to the inner pa.s.sage. Pia walked along it checking the outer wall, while Justin checked the inner wall, looking for illusion-masked pa.s.sages. There were none.