by Des Pensable
‘I’m sure you will,’ Granddad said. ‘Can you maintain your shape indefinitely?’
‘No. I can only maintain my form for an hour or two at a time. It seems to be dependent upon the size of my source,’ Rob replied.
‘Not good enough I’m afraid,’ said Granddad gravely. ‘You’ll have to go as a Logicon and be sure to practice as a newman as often as possible, as I’ve heard that shape changers that remain in one form for long periods of time become like that form.’
‘Which body shell shall I take?’ asked Rob.
‘Take the old one, it’ll attract less attention. You can be a personal servant to Melanie. She’ll enjoy that,’ said Granddad.
‘One more thing, Rob! You have a lot of knowledge locked away inside your mind that you can’t normally remember. Alpha is the key. If you wish to know anything ask it, and it may be able to unlock something hidden. As always lock away any information that may be dangerous if you are caught. If you haven’t sealed off your discrete client list, do it now. You have five minutes to get anything you need and meet me beneath the staircase.’
Grandad mumbled a phrase and Rob’s eyes turned black and his expression changed to one that was less friendly and a little bitter.
‘The time has come. Allow Rob to be in control. You must show great restraint and stay well hidden, or you’ll ruin the plan,’ Grandad warned.
‘He’s too soft, friendly and trusting. He’s not ready. He won’t survive in a hostile environment. You’re sending us to our deaths,’ said the black eyed Rob, quite displeased.
‘The situation calls for peaceful deception, not your violent aggression. Why did you kill the priest? That will cause all sorts of problems.’
‘The priest was a self-confessed murderer and in fact punished himself for his own crimes.’
‘Maybe he was but it’s not your job to be his judge!’ grandad replied testily.
‘Anyhow, please give him a chance. Allow Rob to get a good control of the shape shifting ability, to get to know the locals and to adapt to the environment there. Be patient. Wait for events to unfold. Only reveal yourself if there is no other option.’
‘Okay, I’ll play it your way for now, but I will be surprised if we don’t die within a week,’ said the black eyed Rob.
‘Forbearance is needed,’ counselled Grandad.
Rob’s eyes reverted to brown as Granddad walked out, leaving him alone in his workshop.
Rob glanced around one last time. This was his home; his sacred place; his security, and he had to abandon it. He was now a criminal on the run. He wandered around aimlessly looking at his tools, the items under repair, his unfinished pet projects and the spider web in the corner that he had meant to remove.
Logic dictated that they had no more value. They were a part of his past. He tossed the small bags of gems and rings that Granddad had given him into the cubic body shell, changed to the Logicon form, slid into his new home and walked off without looking back.
Arriving at the stairwell he saw all the family gathered there, shocked looks on their faces. He lowered the body shell to the ground, slithered out the waste exit hole and reformed into his naked newman shape. His mother hugged him with tears in her eyes.
‘I’m sorry mother. I’ve become a criminal. I have to go away for a while. Granddad is going to try to get the charges dropped. When he does I’ll be back. I’m going to find father and tell him how much you miss him.’
‘Listen Rob, there’s something I’ve never told you. Your father named you at birth. He said it had some special significance. You will need to travel under an alias to protect your identity. He named you Aquitain. Please use it, and here’s a belated present from him. He said that it’s the most useful thing you’ll ever receive and worth a king’s ransom.’ She handed him a ball of clay about the size of an orange.
Rob was surprised but also pleased. His father had cared enough about him to give him a special name. He would use it with pride. He wasn’t so sure about the present. What good was a ball of clay? He would have to examine it in more detail later, so he stowed it in his body shell.
‘Mother, from now on I will be Aquitain the Logicon, servant to Melanie the Magnificent.’
Melanie came running down to them with a pack on her back. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I have a new name too. I am now Zephira, gem merchant of Wolfram. Remember it, my little metal servant!’
‘Don’t get too carried away with yourself,’ said Rob.
‘Ha ha!’ Melanie laughed, ‘I told you how he’d react.’
They all laughed a little, hugged Rob and he changed shape into his Logicon form and slid into his body shell.
‘Here Melanie,’ said Granddad. ‘It’s a present from me to help keep you safe,’ and he handed her the thick black belt. ‘Rob’s got some rings for you as well, and here’s a special amulet of forbearance. Get him to wear it. It should stop him from blacking out.’
‘Bye all,’ Rob farewelled them using mindspeak as he entered the small room under the stairwell. Granddad had opened a temporary gateway to another world there. He waved goodbye, held Granddad’s and Melanie’s hands and stepped through to another place, far, far away from Panmagica. Rob immediately recognised where he was. It was a small garden near a stone cottage on an island in a warm tropical sea, where he had spent holidays as a child.
Granddad beckoned Rob and Melanie to follow him to a cairn of rocks. He spoke an arcane word over the cairn and a large rock at the base of the pile glowed with magic symbols.
‘Rob, memorize these symbols so that you can use them if you ever have to gate between worlds. They are the universal coordinates of this island. If you need a secure sanctuary you may use it, but limit your time here to an absolute minimum. It is deep within Yith territory. Remember also, that if we ever have to flee from Panmagica you will find us here.’
Granddad pulled out a scroll from a pocket within his gown and started chanting in the wizard tongue. Shortly another gateway appeared before them.
‘Go through there. It’s a world called Mudrun. It’s a strange place, but I’m sure you’ll find it interesting. Seek High Wizard Featherdown, he’s a good friend of mine. He should be able to help you find Alin Amber, your father’s agent. Don’t tell anyone that you entered their world through a temporary gateway.
‘One final thing! If you get in a very tight situation and don’t think you will survive, allow yourself to black out.’
‘But you’ve always said I mustn’t allow that to happen Grandad,’ Rob said, quite surprised.
‘You’re a good lad Rob, but there might be a time when you need to let your dark side run free. I hope not, but it may be your only chance at survival. Take care and luck be with you both. I will contact you by a message in your dreams.’
Chapter 5 Welcome to Mudrun
Zephira the gem merchant, wearing leather armour and carrying a backpack and her companion Aquitain the Logicon, stepped through the gateway to a remote alien world like none they had ever experienced before. It was bright and sunny and alive with strange sounds.
The air was hot and humid and reeked of the sweet smell of decaying vegetation mixed with the perfume from colourful flowers. There were birds and insects everywhere. They saw butterflies for the first time, some as big as a newman hand, fluttering in every direction.
Aquitain noticed a small heap of loose rocks in the centre of the small open patch of jungle where they stood. Lying on top was a wooden sign bearing the words Twin Towers, written in black above an arrow that pointed toward the dense jungle undergrowth, just paces away.
He used his power to detect magic, and a set of location symbols appeared on one of the larger rocks at the base of the heap. ‘Great!’ he thought. ‘A teleport marker.’ He memorized the symbols in case he needed to teleport here sometime.
‘By the Powers it’s humid here,’ remarked Zephira as she unloaded her pack onto the ground and began stripping off her leather armour to put on something more suitable.’
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‘Aren’t you embarrassed I might watch?’ said Aquitain in a strange mechanical voice.
‘What! Be embarrassed by a slime ball in an iron box? You’ve got to be joking.’ Zephira laughed, then suddenly realised that he had used the Logicon voice. ‘It doesn’t sound like you Rob. Can’t you make it sound a little more like a newman voice?’
‘Maybe with a little practice,’ said Aquitain, looking around them. Suddenly he froze. ‘Mel ... I mean mistress Zephira, we have company, behind you.’
Zephira, already half out of her armour, spun around and saw a large black jungle cat sitting at the edge of the trees, watching them.
‘It doesn’t look too hungry, otherwise it would have attacked,’ she said, carefully sliding the armour back on and reaching for her sword. The cat sat patiently and watched.
‘What do we do now?’ asked Aquitain, a little unsure.
‘Go and shoo it away,’ she suggested. ‘You’re made of metal. It can’t hurt you.’
‘Thanks mistress, I am supposed to be your assistant not your personal bodyguard.’ He stomped off towards the cat waving his metal arms and shouting ‘Shoo. Shoo,’ but it didn’t budge.
He stopped about three paces from it waiting for it to react, but it just sat there looking at him as if trying to decide what he was. Moments later there was a blur as the cat morphed into a naked young newman woman with honey brown skin, yellow eyes and long black hair down to her waist.
She said something to them which was obviously in a local dialect, as the crystal translators they were carrying did not respond.
‘Do you know galactic trade common?’ he asked, and she responded immediately in the same language.
‘Where are you from?’ she asked. ‘This world is restricted you know.’
Aquitain was stunned. To his newman eyes she would be considered very beautiful. To his Logicon outlook that was secondary to the fact that she was a real shape changer.
‘Err .. I’m Aquitain. My mistress is Zephira of Wolfram. She is a gem merchant from afar. She is here on business.’ He replied in a mechanical tone of voice.
‘What are you?’ she said with a distasteful look on her face.
‘I am a Logicon and I’m at your service, cat lady.’
‘My name is Miranda. I’m a druid and part of my job is to investigate strangers and keep out off-worlders. What is your business here?’ she asked.
Aquitain bowed.
‘It’s very nice to meet you Druidess Miranda. We are here to visit our good friend High Wizard Featherdown. I believe he’s located nearby.’
‘Oh. You’re friends of the High Wizard. I’m sorry, I didn’t know,’ she replied.
‘That’s quite alright,’ said Aquitain. ‘I wonder if you could show us the way.’
‘I suppose I could.’ Miranda reached down to a small pouch on her right leg and pulled out a ball of cloth. She flung it out like someone emptying crumbs off a tablecloth and the ball turned into a loincloth which she donned, covering the lower half of her sumptuous body.
‘There is a dress code. This is in case we meet anyone on the track,’ she said smiling at Zephira.
‘A good thing too,’ said Zephira. ‘You’d drive any males mad with lust.’
Miranda smiled and set off towards the edge of the jungle. Aquitain hurried along until he was walking beside her, and noticed ahead of them a narrow track wide enough for two. Zephira picked up her backpack and followed a few paces behind.
‘Are there many druids like you on this world?’ he asked, trying to make his voice sound a little less mechanical.
‘Why should I talk to a metal box?’ asked Miranda.
‘Perhaps it would be interesting to tell your friends that you talked to a walking metal box today.’
‘Ha. That’s a joke. No one I know would be interested. I work alone in the jungle. I look after the animals and plants. I’m not interested in metal boxes.’
‘Perhaps you would be if you knew me better,’ said Aquitain.
‘Ha. That’s highly unlikely,’ she said as they walked up a small rise and saw buildings in the distance. ‘See those buildings, that’s the town of Twin Towers. See those two wizard towers, the one to the right belongs to High Wizard Featherdown and the other on the left to his colleague Archwizard Granwell.’
‘By the Powers,’ said Zephira. ‘There’s two archwizards here. Whatever for?’
‘There’s a permanent gateway here. The one that you two should have used to arrive here,’ replied Miranda.
‘Oh. That would explain it I suppose,’ said Zephira. ‘Thanks for your help. We’ll get going.’
‘You’re welcome,’ said Miranda. ‘By the way I wouldn’t go trying to shoo away the jungle cats around here. If you see them at all, they’re after you for a meal.’
‘Thank you for your help Druidess Miranda! It’s been a pleasure to meet you and I hope we meet again soon,’ said Aquitain, trying to exude a happy tone.
Miranda smiled. ‘Unlikely, box. As I said before, I spend most of my time in the jungle far from here.’
‘You wouldn’t perchance know of a druid called Alin Amber would you?’ asked Aquitain.
‘I know of him. Why do you ask?’
‘Well, we are interested in meeting him. We know a mutual friend,’ said Aquitain.
‘I don’t know where he is at the moment, but if I see him I’ll tell him about you,’ Miranda replied. She looked around, removed her loincloth, stored it in her leg pouch, changed form to a black jungle cat and casually walked back into the jungle.
‘Well aren’t you a real ladies man,’ said Zephira mockingly.
‘I wonder if she was really a woman,’ wondered Aquitain aloud. ‘After all if she was a true shape changer she could have been a male posing as a woman.’
‘Forget it slime ball, she’s a druid. Who cares if she’s really a male or female.’
‘It is important,’ said Aquitain, still thinking about her. ‘It’s a matter of how she expresses her individuality. Does she feel female in a female body or male in a male body? Does it change her way of thinking? These are things that I will have to explore.’
Zephira dropped her pack. ‘Listen, dear cousin, I don’t really care at the moment. I’m hungry and you’re supposed to be my servant. How come I’m carrying all the gear? Pick it up and walk behind me!’ and she strode off towards the buildings in the distance. Aquitain gave her a rude gesture with his metal hand, which admittedly didn’t look very rude, coming from a Logicon, picked up her pack and lugged it along, walking a respectful three paces behind her.
They each plodded silently along the dirt track towards the buildings, immersed in their own thoughts.
‘It all happened so quickly,’ thought Zephira. ‘I was reading a book on the lawn outside the mansion a few hours ago and here we are on another world on the other side of the universe. It just seems wrong somehow. Maybe I’m still there dreaming.’
Aquitain had different thoughts. ‘I wonder if there’s a swamp nearby. I’d love to get out of this body shell and feel and taste the mud and water.’
As they closed in on the outermost buildings the jungle abruptly gave way to cleared and fenced land. Inside the fences were strange looking creatures munching grass. Aquitain assumed that this must be a farm, and the animals some type of domesticated farm animals. He had never seen a farm before but he had read about them.
‘I can smell sea water,’ said Zephira excitedly. ‘Maybe this town’s near the edge of a sea. Oh. I hope so. You’ve never seen one have you? They’re magnificent. Water as far as the eye can see, and it’s salty. The smell is just wonderful. Quick, hurry up, I want to paddle my feet in it.’
They hurried into the small town, passing through it to the High Wizard’s tower residence. Several of the locals paused to watch them pass but nobody talked to them. On approaching the large iron clad wooden front door, a face on the large door knob said in several languages ‘I’m sorry, High Wizard Featherdown is absen
t at present. Please leave your name and business with the innkeeper at The Ugly Bear Inn.’
‘Damn,’ said Zephira. ‘Typical country town. We’ll probably have to wait a week for him to show up. At least we’re by the seaside. Listen to those waves. I think we’d better get a room at that Ugly Bear Inn and find out when the wizard’s due to return.’
They retraced their steps and after asking a local for directions found the Inn and went inside. Both of them were somewhat apprehensive about whether the innkeeper might be concerned about Aquitain’s unusual body shape. However, he was quite polite, stating that it had been a long time since they were honoured by the presence of a Logicon, and wishing him a pleasant stay in flawless galactic trade common. It seemed they would not have to wait long to see the High Wizard, as he was due back the following day.
Zephira asked about local customs regarding the mode of dress for men and women, and the carrying of weapons. It appeared that the Druid Council set a minimum dress code that applied to all sentient males and females of each kind.
Newman men and women outside the towns were required to wear a loincloth when in the presence of members of their own kind. In the towns they had to wear a full robe from neck to knee. Owing to the hot weather most wore a simple one-piece robe, but a loose shirt and pantaloons were quite acceptable. Both men and women wore sandals on their feet and wicker hats while out in the sun.
All weapons were legal to own but not usually carried around the town, as there was rarely any need for them. However, they were carried if people ventured out of town into the jungle, as it was wild and dangerous. Most people in the town only ventured out into the jungle for hunting trips that were organised by professional hunters living in the town.
Having secured lodgings, Zephira couldn’t wait to visit the sea. So after they had stowed their baggage in their room, they headed off for the nearest beach, about ten minutes away.
The sight of the sea and the beautiful golden sandy beach had an hypnotic effect on Aquitain. The water somehow called to him, and it took quite a lot of mental control to stay sitting in his body shell watching the waves pounding in with their rhythmic crashing and booming, while the taste of the sea lingered in the salty air.