Faun and Games (40 page)

She stopped immediately.
 
"I'm sorry, Forrest.
 
Do I have it wrong?"

"No.
 
I just don't want you as a nymph."

"But you said-in the night-"

"You're not mindless."

"Oh.
 
But I can pretend to be."

"I would know better."

She nodded sadly.
 
"So I can't be a nymph for you.
 
All I can do is

frustrate you."

.
 
"Yes."

"I truly apologize, Forrest.
 
If there is any other way I can make it up

to you-"

"No.
 
We must get on with our mission."

"Yes, of course," she agreed, chastened.

So they resumed their trek.
 
But in his mind he saw her again and again,

acting exactly like a nymph.
 
He had wanted so much to play that game

with her!
 
But to have her pretend to be mindless, and believe she was

satisfying him, when what he truly wanted was-no, he couldn't accept

that.
 
Neither would he ask her to do it while not pretending to be a

nymph, because that would imply some actual commitment on her part, and

he had no right to desire that.
 
She was just with him on an assignment,

to help him find a faun for a tree.
 
When this quest was done, she would

be free to go her own way, her service to the Good Magician fulfilled.

"Forrest, I see you are still depressed," Imbri said as they walked. "I

know it's my fault.
 
I wish-"

"No.
 
It's my fault." And he knew that was the truth.
 
He had no right

to soil her innocence with his unrealistic desire.
 
"I want to speak no

more of it."

"Of course," she agreed, chastened again.

No danger threatened them on the way, because the path was enchanted.

The scenery was mountainous, but the path wound around, remaining almost

level, so that this was no problem.
 
They could admire the view with

impunity.
 
Only when there was no alternative did the path climb to any

height.

In due course they came to Castle Roogna, which was in a forest in a

valley.
 
The path had climbed over a ridge, and the valley was laid out

for their view, like a large picture.
 
But there was something wrong

with that picture.
 
"What are all those lines?" Forrest asked, startled.

"I don't remember seeing them." For the valley was crisscrossed with

long colored lines that extended from hillside to hillside, as if some

giant had drawn them with a pencil.
 
Only the area immediately around

the castle itself was clear of the lines.

"I'm sure they weren't there in Xanth," Imbri agreed.
 
"But of course

this isn't Xanth; it's a smaller replica."

"Still, we haven't seen such lines elsewhere in Ptero.
 
I don't think it

can be normal."

"Do you think it could relate to the problem we are supposed to solve?"

she asked.
 
"Marginalization?"

"Marginalization," he repeated, pondering.
 
"They do look a bit like

margins.
 
As if somebody drew some lines to mark off the valley, then

drew some more lines 'ns'de those, and more farther inside, leaving less

space in the center.
 
It reminds me of a game I used to play as a faun."

She laughed.
 
"You aren't still a faun?"

Actually, he wondered.
 
The fauns of the Faun & Nymph Retreat were

shallow creatures, intent on only one thing, and the nymphs provided

that.
 
The fauns who left the retreat and sought useful employment

became deeper, but not by a whole lot; it was just that they now

realized that the pursuit of nymphs was not the only thing, though it

did remain the main thin .
 
Those fauns who chose to associate with

trees became deeper yet, but still were not by any means really serious

people.
 
On this quest Forrest had become far more thoughtful than ever

in his life before, and the episodes on Ptero had accelerated that

change.
 
Right up until last night, when he had actually held back from

doing what was natural, and this morning when he had declined Imbri's

offer to play nymph, despite considerable temptation.
 
No faun he had

ever heard of would have done that.
 
So he was certainly no longer a

normal member of his kind.
 
But that was too complicated to go into

right now.
 
"When I was young."

"What was the game?"

"We played it with stone knives.
 
We cleared a patch of dirt, and took

turns flipping our knives into it so that they stuck point first. Then

we extended the direction of the blade each way, making a line that

divided the patch into two sections.
 
Whoever missed the clear patch, or

didn't get his knife to stick in the ground, lost his turn.
 
The clear

patch kept getting smaller as it got subdivided, until finally it was

too small to hit.
 
The last one to get his knife into it was the

winner."

"But what was the point?"

"Just to win.
 
We had to have something to divert us when there were no

nymphs in sight.
 
That was it."

She glanced sidelong at him.
 
"Your horizons have broadened since then."

If only she knew how far!
 
"Yes.
 
Anyway, a game would look like that

valley.
 
It was hard to get the knife to fall just the right way, and it

got harder as the game progressed, so that usually just a slice was

taken off the edge of the remaining patch.
 
If this is a game, it's

about three quarters through."

"What kind of creatures could play such a game with the human territory

of Ptero?"

"Invisible giants?"

She nodded.
 
"If it is such a game, what does the winner get?"

"Castle Roogna," he said.
 
"And with it, dominion over all the human

beings of Ptero."

She nodded again.
 
"And you have to help Dawn & Eve save the human

territory from marginalization.
 
Now I think we know more about the

nature of the threat."

"Marginalization," he repeated.
 
"Pressing in of the margins.
 
Until

there is nothing left in the center.
 
That seems like something that

needs to be dealt with."

"Yet the King would be a Magician," Imbri said.
 
"How is it that he

could not fight this incursion?"

"Something must have happened to him.
 
We had better get down there

quickly, before it gets any worse."

"But won't the giants see us, and stop us from getting there? Especially

if they should suspect our mission?"

"Yes.
 
So we'll use Cathryn's blanket of obscurity." He reached into his

knapsack and brought out the little can.

"You are getting smarter all the time.
 
I wouldn't have thought of

that."

"Please don't compliment me."

She looked at him, surprised.
 
"Why not, when it's true?"

He would have bitten his tongue, but it was too late for that.
 
So he

told the truth.
 
"Because I already care too much for you, in your

present shape, and that just makes it worse."

She stared at him in astonishment.
 
Then she looked thoughtful.
 
"I w.

"II try to be more careful."

He held the can in front of him.
 
"I invoke you."

Nothing happened.
 
But that was the way it was supposed to be.
 
He put

the can away, and they started down the hill.

At the edge of the forest they came to their first line.
 
They halted

just short of it.
 
The thing was green, and marked the ground without

actually cutting into it, in the manner of a shadow.
 
It crossed rocks

and trees the same way.
 
It wasn't visible in the air, but its dark

green line showed against the leaves and branches above it, indicating

that it was a vertical plane.
 
"Do you think it's safe to cross it?"

Forrest asked.

"With the concealment of the blanket, it should be.
 
But maybe we should

move carefully, and not talk much, when we cross."

"I agree.
 
I'll go first."

.
 
"Why?"

"Because if it is dangerous, I don't want you hurt."

"But the quest is yours.
 
I should be protecting you, not you me."

Her logic was good, but it wasn't enough.
 
The thought of her in danger

because of him was not to be suffered.
 
"Please Imbri-let me go first."

"You idiot!" she cried.

That startled him.
 
"What?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might feel the same way about you?"

He considered.
 
"No."

"I know I'm just a day mare, but I have feelings too.
 
I don't want you

to be hurt any more than you want me to be hurt.
 
And what would I do if

I didn't see you safely through this quest?"

She was right.
 
"I apologize, Imbri.
 
Suppose we take turns trying the

dangerous things?"

"All right.
 
I apologize too.
 
I shouldn't have blamed you for caring

for me." She stepped forward and crossed the line.

Nothing happened.
 
Apparently it was dangerous in itself, or the blanket