by Rick Cook
"Oh, do not be afraid, mortal. I cannot harm you. I am bound to this well."
"You play beautifully."
"It is the song of heart’s desire." said the creature.
Around the pool, frogs croaked and trilled in crescendo. There must be thousands of them, Wiz thought distractedly, but he could see none of them in the moonlight.
"When Ali Suliman held here… did you know Ali Suliman?" the creature asked. "No? Before your time I fear. A most refined gentleman and a truly great sorcerer. Such a delightful sense of humor. Well, when Ali Suliman had this place things were much different. The palace was ablaze with light and filled with guests. Often Ali Suliman would bring his—special—guests to this pond to hear me play and discourse with me."
The thing sighed gustily and shook its shaggy head. "All is changed, alas. Few mortals come here now and fewer still hear my music."
"I’m sorry," said Wiz, abstractedly.
The being waved its flute in a dismissing gesture.
"The music is not important. It is the desire it represents that matters. The longing, the yearning in the mortal breast." He gazed at Wiz with opalescent eyes. "I can fulfill that desire," it said with utter conviction. "I can give you the one thing you want most. That is what matters."
The hair prickled on the back of Wiz’s neck. The creature was so compelling that Wiz did not doubt for an instant that it could do what it said. In the back of his mind he knew he shouldn’t be here listening to this, but the promise held him.
"Your heart’s desire, mortal," the creature crooned. "Your heart’s desire." The frogs croaked louder.
Wiz licked his lips. "How do I know you can deliver?" he asked.
"Oh, by magic," cackled the being, its pupilless eyes like opals in the moonlight. "By magic."
"What is my heart’s desire?"
"Why a woman, mortal. A woman not far from this very place."
"What do you want in return?"
"Merely a game, mortal. It grows lonely here and time must be passed."
"What kind of game?"
"Why any kind you chose. Would you have a race? Will you wrestle me?"
Neither one sounded like a good idea to Wiz. The furry haunches were powerfully muscled and the thing’s chest was broad and deep.
"No, nothing physical."
"Then something magical?" The creature made a swipe with his hand and left a glittering trail through the night air.
"I—I don’t practice magic," Wiz stammered.
The creature grinned disquietingly. "A pity. A true pity. Well then, what about a game of the mind? The riddle game? Yes, the riddle game."
Like a lot of programmers Wiz took inordinate pride in his problem-solving ability. He firmly believed that any riddle could be solved by a combination of logic and careful examination. Besides, by using truth tables it is possible to construct some mind-boggling riddles, and Wiz had a lot of experience with truth tables.
Wiz licked his lips and found they tasted metallic. The invisible frogs redoubled their croaking.
"All right. I’ll play your riddle game. Who goes first?"
The thing on the rock chuckled, an eerie, burbling sound. "Oh, there is only one riddle in the riddle game, mortal. And I am the one who asks it."
"Oh." That wasn’t the way the game was played as Wiz remembered it, but now he was committed. "Ask then."
The thing on the rock blew a thin airy phrase on its flute and began to sing:
"Black as night, white as snow
Red as blood from the death-wound flow
Precious as gold
Worthless as dross
Cold beyond cold
Gained without loss
Higher and deeper and wider than all
At fingertips always, gone beyond call
What am I?"
The frogs fell silent in chorus. Wiz racked his brains trying to come up with something that fit. Precious as gold, worthless as dross… Something that was valuable only to one person? Gained without loss? Wiz’s mind ran itself in tight little circles as he tried to imagine what cold possibly fit.
"The answer, mortal," the creature leaned forward, his yellow eyes glowing with unholy light. "I will have the answer or I will have thy soul."
"Give me a minute," Wiz muttered. "Just give me a minute, okay?"
"You do not have a minute, mortal, not even a second." The thing stretched its arms toward Wiz, its fingers spreading like talons. "Answer or you are mine, mortal. Now and forever!"
Panic crushed Wiz’s chest. His mouth tasted like metal and his lips were dry. The thing’s hypnotic eyes rooted him to the spot as firmly as one of the rushes. He could not run, he could not cry out. He could only tremble as the creature moved closer and closer in its mincing gait, hooves tapping on the rock.
"Leave him!" Moira’s voice rang out. "You cannot have him."
The pressure released and with a great gasping sob Wiz fell to the ground. He twisted his head and saw the hedge witch standing behind him.
"But he agreed," the creature howled, dancing up and down on the rock. "Of his own free will he agreed to the bargain!"
"The bargain is invalid. He is under an infatuation spell and has no free will on this."
Wiz simply gaped.
"He made a bargain. A bargain!"
"Trickster and cheat! There could be no bargain and well you know it. Now be off with you! Seek other prey."
Moira threw her arms wide and her cloak billowed behind her like wings in the moonlight. With an awful shriek the creature whirled and dove into the pond. The frogs cut off in mid-croak and waters parted soundlessly to receive him.
"Mortals, mortals, cursed mortals," the thing’s words came faintly and wetly from the pool. "Doomed and dying mortals. One day soon the World will see no more of you. You will vanish like the dew on the grass. Doomed and dying mortals."
Wiz heard the words but he didn’t look. He huddled in his cloak and dug his fingers into the sod as if he expected to be dragged into the pool at any second.
"Oh, get up," Moira said angrily. It’s gone and you’re safe enough for now.
"What in the World ever made you agree to play the riddle game with the likes of that?" she asked as Wiz picked himself up. "Don’t you know you could never win?"
"He promised me my heart’s desire," Wiz said numbly. "He said he could give it to me by magic."
"By magic!" Moira mocked. "You blithering, blundering fool, don’t you know by now to stay away from magic? It’s bad enough I have to leave people who need me to come on this idiot’s errand, but I have to babysit you every second."
"I’m sorry," Wiz said.
"Sorry wouldn’t have saved you if I had been a moment later. You blind fool!"
"Well, you said this place was safe," Wiz said sullenly.
"No, you ninny! I said the wards would keep out most of what was outside. They do nothing against things which already are within the grounds." She stopped, drew a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.
"Listen to me. There is no place in the Wild Wood that is safe. Do you understand me? No place! You cannot let down your guard for even an instant and if you see or hear anything that even vaguely hints of magic, run from it! Don’t investigate, don’t stay around it, just get away and let me know."
"I’ll try," Wiz said.
"You’ll do more than try if you want to live to reach our destination. Now come with me." She turned on her heel and stalked away with Wiz following.
Moira fumed all the way back to camp. She was furious with Wiz, and, she reluctantly admitted, furious with herself for letting him storm off. Her orders from Simba were to get him to a place of refuge and she had nearly failed because she let her dislike for him overmaster her judgment.
He has spirit, she admitted grudgingly, even with that whipped-puppy air of his. Spell or no, he really would have gone off on his own. Moira couldn’t allow that. I must be more civil to him. The thought did absolutely nothing for her mood.
<
br /> They ate dinner in uncomfortable silence. The food did little to lighten the atmosphere. The cakes were overbaked and the meat was almost raw on one side for lack of turning. The meal was over and they were settling down for the night before Wiz could summon up the courage to ask the question which had been gnawing at him ever since he recovered his wits.
"Moira, what did you mean when you said I was under a spell?" Wiz finally asked.
The hedge witch looked annoyed and uncomfortable. "Patrius placed you under an infatuation spell."
"Infatuation spell?" Wiz asked blankly.
"The spell that makes you love me," she said sharply.
"But I don’t need a spell to love you," Wiz protested. "I just do."
"How do you think an infatuation spell works?" Moira snapped.
"But…"
"Oh, leave me alone and go to sleep!" She drew her cloak about her and rolled away from him.
Four
Beyond the Fringe
Wiz woke from a dream of home to rain on his face.
Judging from the sodden state of the campfire, it had been raining for some time, but the water had only now filtered through the leaves of the tree they had slept under.
He spluttered, rolled over and wiped the water out of his eyes.
"Awake at last," Moira said. She was already up and had her pack on her back with her cloak on over everything. "Come on. We need to get going."
"I don’t suppose there is any sense in suggesting we hole up someplace warm and dry?"
Moira cocked an eyebrow. "In the Wild Wood? Besides, we have a distance to travel."
Wiz pulled his cloak free of his pack. "How long is this likely to last?"
Moira studied the sky. "Not more than one day," she pronounced. "Summer storms are seldom longer than that."
"Great," Wiz grumbled.
"It will be uncomfortable," she agreed, "but it is a blessing too. The rain will deaden our trail to those things which track by scent." She looked up at the leaden, lowering sky.
"Also, dragons do not like flying through rain."
"Thank heaven for small favors."
Their breakfast was a handful of dried fruit, devoured as they walked. They picked their way through a gap in the ruined wall and struck off into the forest.
It rained all day. Sometimes it was just a fine soft mist wafting from the lowering gray skies. Sometimes it pelted down in huge face-stinging drops. When it was at its worst they sought shelter under a tree or overhanging rock. Mostly it just rained and they just walked.
At first it wasn’t too bad. The rain was depressing but their wool cloaks kept out the water and the footing was. However as the downpour continued, water seeped through the tightly woven cloaks and gradually soaked them to the skin. The ground squished beneath their feet. The carpet of wet leaves turned as slippery and treacherous as ice. Where there were no leaves there was mud, or wet grass nearly as slippery as the leaves.
At every low spot they splashed through puddles or forded little streamlets. Wiz’s running shoes became soaked and squelched at every step. Moira’s boots weren’t much better.
Wiz lost all sense of time and direction. His entire world narrowed down to Moira’s feet in front of him, the rasp of his breath and the chill trickle down his back. He plodded doggedly along, locked in his own little sphere of misery. Unbalanced by the weight of his pack, he slipped and fell repeatedly on the uneven ground.
Moira wasn’t immune. She was also thoroughly soaked and she slipped and slid almost as much as he did. By the time they stopped for a mid-afternoon rest they were drenched and muddy from falling.
Unmindful of the soggy ground, they threw themselves down under a huge pine tree and sprawled back against the dripping trunk. For once Moira seemed as out of breath as Wiz.
Under other circumstances—say as a picture on someone’s wall—the forest might have been beautiful. The big old trees towered around them, their leaves washed clean and brilliant green. The rain and mist added a soft gray backdrop and the landscape reminded Wiz of a Japanese garden. There was no sound but the gentle drip of water from the branches and, off in the distance, the rushing chuckle of a stream running over rocks.
Abstractly, Wiz could appreciate the beauty. But only very abstractly. Concretely, he was wet, chilled, miserable, exhausted and hungry.
"Fortuna!" Moira exclaimed. Wiz looked up and saw she had thrown back her cloak and pulled up her skirt, exposing her left leg and a considerable expanse of creamy thigh lightly dusted with freckles.
"Close your mouth and stop gaping," she said crossly. "I hurt my knee when I slipped crossing that last stream."
"How bad is it?" he asked as he scrambled over next to her.
Moira prodded the joint. "Bad enough. It is starting to swell."
"Does it hurt?"
"Of course it hurts!" she said in disgust. "But more importantly I will not be able to walk on it much longer."
"Maybe you should put some ice on it."
Moira glared at him.
"Sorry. I forgot."
"What I need is a healing poultice. I have the materials in my pouch, but they must be boiled and steeped." She looked around and sighed. "We are unlikely to find dry wood anywhere in the Wild Wood this day."
"There are ways of finding dry wood even in a rain."
Moira looked interested. "Do you know how?"
Wiz realized he hadn’t the faintest idea. His apartment didn’t even have a fireplace and his method of starting a barbeque involved liberal lashings of lighter fluid followed by the application of a propane torch.
"Well, no," he admitted. "But I know you can do it."
"That I know also," Moira snorted. "Were I a ranger or a woodsman I would doubtless know how it is done. But I am neither, nor are you."
"Can’t you use magic?"
She shook her head. "I dare not. A spell to light wet wood is obvious and could well betray us. Besides, I threw away my fire lighter."
"What are you going to do?"
"I can walk for a while longer. As we came over the last rise I saw a clearing that looked man-made. We shall have to go in that direction and hope we can find someone who will grant us the use of his fire."
"That’s dangerous."
"Less dangerous than using magic, if we are careful. We will approach cautiously and if aught seems amiss we will depart quietly. Now, give me your hand."
Wiz pulled the hedge witch to her feet and for a brief tingling instant their bodies touched down the whole length. Then Moira turned away and started off.
Mercifully, the going was easier in the new direction. There were no hills to climb and the rain gradually slacked off. Moira started to limp, but she refused Wiz’s offer of assistance.
As afternoon faded to evening, they threaded their way through the dripping trees until at last Moira motioned Wiz to stop and eased forward carefully.
There, in a rude clearing hacked into the forest, stood a cottage. Some of the felled trees had gone to build the dwelling and some into the split-rail fences around the field. Knee-high stumps still stood among the crops. The cottage was roofed with shingles and the chimney was stone. A thin curl of smoke hung low over the field. It was crude and Spartan, but to Wiz it looked beautiful.
"Hallo the house!" Moira called without entering the clearing.
"Who calls?" came a man’s voice from the cabin.
"Two travellers seeking a fire."
"Show yourselves then."
Moira limped into the clearing with Wiz following. Ostentatiously she reached up and threw back the hood of her cloak. She nudged Wiz and he did the same.
The householder stepped into the door of the cabin. He was a stocky middle-aged man with a full black beard shot with streaks of gray. Wiz noticed that one hand was out of sight, possibly holding a weapon.
"Advance then, the two of you," he called. Wiz and Moira picked their way across the field to the cabin door.
The man stood in the door, just ins
ide the threshold. "I will not invite you in," he said stolidly. Moira nodded and stepped forward. He backed away to let her enter.
She turned and they both looked at Wiz, but neither Moira nor the householder bade him enter nor made any motion to him. They looked and Wiz looked. Finally he got tired of it and stepped inside.
"Welcome," said the peasant, smiling. "Welcome, Lady." He nodded to Wiz. "Sir."
The cottage was a single large room with a fireplace at one end. There was a ladder leading to the loft and at the loft trap Wiz saw three wide-eyed children peeking down.
The furniture was plain and obviously home-made, built to last rather than for comfort. A spinning wheel stood in the corner next to a bag of wool. The smell of smoke and wool oil filled the house.
"Seat yourselves, please." Their host gestured to a high-backed bench to one side of the fireplace.
"What was that all about?" Wiz asked as they sat down.
"What?"
"The business at the door."
"There are things which can take human form and deceive all save the most clever. But few of those can enter a house unbidden. In the Wild Wood only the foolish or very powerful invite a guest within."
"Umm," said Wiz.
The cottager settled himself on a similar bench across from them. "I am called Lothar," he said.
"I am called Moira, a hedge witch. He," she jerked a nod at Wiz, "is called Sparrow. We thank you for the use of your fire. I have injured my leg and wish to brew a healing poultice, if you will allow it. If you or any of yours have ills that I may treat I will be happy to do so."
"You’re welcome to the fire, Lady, but none of us are in need of healing."
Moira looked skeptical but said nothing.
"You are also welcome to spend the night within if you so wish," Lothar said grandly.
"Thank you, Goodman. We would be most grateful."
Moira produced the small bronze kettle from her pack and Lothar called the children down from the loft. He sent the oldest, a boy of about ten, to fetch water. While Moira laid out her kit on the rough plank table the other two children, a boy and a girl about eight and six respectively, watched in awe.
When the water was fetched, Moira selected several leaves and roots from the packets in her pouch and put them to simmer over the fire. Meanwhile Lothar bustled about fixing a meal.