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thought it undiplomatic to inquire.
When he finally spoke, Colin's voice was unusually soft and thoughtful. "You
were right, Old One. He knows we're coming."
"What can you see?" Clothahump asked anxiously. "Can you tell anything of it
at all? Size, strength, mental powers, anything that would be useful in
compiling a profile? Any indication at all of whom we are up against?"
"First that 'he' is accurate. There are too many signs of maleness for it to
be otherwise. And there are many suggestions of magic. A wizard or sorcerer of
some kind, surely. The forest fire that almost engulfed us may not have been a
perturbation after all. There is power at work here, enough to constitute a
threat on its own, without the aid of a perambulator."
Clothahump spoke quietly but firmly. "Is his power greater than mine?" He
waited silently for the rune-reader to reply. They all did. Even the skeptical
Mudge looked on anxiously.
"I cannot say that it is stronger," Colin finally declared. "Different
certainly, in a manner I can't describe or understand. I'm only a rune-caster,
not a sorcerer myself."
"What else do you see?" Dormas asked him.
"He will not let the perambulator go without a fight. We will be strongly
opposed. At that time one among us must take the lead. Only that one has the
ability and strengths to see us through the final confrontation. At that time
also, Wizard, your knowledge and experience will be of paramount importance to
our survival. All of us may have to sacrifice, but one of us will be the key.
Only he can counter what our opponent will throw against us." He looked up
then to stare at Jon-Tom. So did the others.
Well, he'd half expected as much. He and Clothahump were the prime movers in
this business. He was neither embarrassed nor intimidated by the stares of his
companions. He'd been through similar situations often enough in the past to
Page 104
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
have gained a certain amount of confidence. And it was too much to expect that
for once he'd be able to hang back and let bloodthirsty types like Mudge and
Colin do the heavy work. He sighed.
"You're not telling me anything I didn't already suspect. Are you sure you
can't tell us anything more about what we're going to have to deal with?"
Again Colin turned his attention to the runes. "I can see something but I
can't define it. The runes are rarely precise. It isn't something I'd know how
to handle myself. I can tell you that it will manifest itself in two ways. The
first will take the form of a magic only you can counter."
"More spellsinging." Jon-Tom grunted. "Well, I had to fight it out with
another spellsinger once before,
and he and I ended up the best of friends. If I have to go up against another
one . . ."
"The runes read in multiples."
"All right, then, if I have to go up against several singers, maybe I can
convert them the way I did the other one. They may end up as our allies
instead of our enemies."
"It'll be a wonder if you can turn these to friendships. I read no
accommodating signs in the pattern. You will have a tough time combating them.
The runes don't say if you'll survive the confrontation; so powerful, so evil
and destructive is their particular brand of magic."
Jon-Tom sat up a little straighten "I'll handle it. What form is the second
manifestation going to take?"
"That much, at least, is clear." The koala stared at him appraisingly. "The
runes say that you will have to do battle with your own greatest desire."
That set Jon-Tom back on his heels. He thought immediately of the dreamworld
he'd been drifting through not long ago, of the thousands of fans cheering and
screaming at him and the promise of a respected and venerated career in
government.
"But I've already done that. It was part of the illusion I experienced
earlier."
Colin looked back down at the fragments of wood and stone. "Maybe you'll have
to deal with it again. It isn't clear here, but that's the closest description
I can give. You must prepare to deal with that desire as best you're able."
"Will we be successful in the end?" Dormas asked somberly.
"The runes don't say. Finality of any kind is the hardest pattern to
interpret. The runes lead to a place and time of ultimate confrontation, but
that's it. Beyond that point nothing is visible." He started gathering up the
runes and the corners of the pouch.
"O' course, we don't know 'ow much o' wot you've said is certain an' 'ow much
a product o' your fevered imagination, fuzzball."
Colin glared at the otter but his expression quickly softened. "I could take
that for an insult, pilgrim, but I
won't. Because it happens to be the truth. The reading felt unusually good
here"-and he put one finger over his heart-"and here." He moved it to his
forehead. "Sometimes the casting is bad and I can sense it, but this one was
as accurate as they come." He glanced sideways at Jon-Tom. "I almost wish it
were otherwise."
"No, I'm glad you did the reading," Jon-Tom told him thankfully. "I'd rather
have some idea of what we're up against, even if your description did border
on the nebulous."
Clothahump was peering through the pass ahead. "There is no point in putting
off the inevitable. That is something that must always be coped with."
The attacks commenced soon after they started through the far end of the pass.
Landslides repeatedly threatened to trap and crush them in the narrow defile.
Each time the boulders came crashing down toward them Clothahump raised his
arms and bellowed a single powerful phrase. And each time the rocks were
blasted to fragments.
Page 105
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Not the ideal solution," the wizard said, apologizing for the dust that soon
covered all of them, "but I
promise you a good cleansing spell as soon as we have done with this."
Eventually there were no more landslides. Instead the clouds opened up and
they were drenched with a misplaced tropical downpour. It washed away the rock
dust but also threatened to wash them right back down the pass.
Again Clothahump went to work, raising his hands and grumbling about the
amount of overtime he was having to put in at his age. The flood rushing down
upon them was transformed into a vast cloud of warm steam. For ten minutes the
pass was turned into a giant sauna. Finally the steam dissipated enough for
them to proceed.
"Look at this," Mudge complained, fingering one side of his vest. " 'Ow the
'ell am I supposed to get these bloomin' wrinkles out?"
"I am responsible for preserving your life, water rat," Clothahump told him
sharply, "not your appearance. It would do you well to be more attentive to
the terrain ahead and less narcissistic."
The otter regarded his filthy, damp fur and bedraggled attire. "As you say,
Your Wizardship. I just 'ope we don't meet anyone I know."
"That's unlikely, pilgrim." The koala put a paw on the back of Clothahump's
shell. "How you holding up, old-timer?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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thought it undiplomatic to inquire.
When he finally spoke, Colin's voice was unusually soft and thoughtful. "You
were right, Old One. He knows we're coming."
"What can you see?" Clothahump asked anxiously. "Can you tell anything of it
at all? Size, strength, mental powers, anything that would be useful in
compiling a profile? Any indication at all of whom we are up against?"
"First that 'he' is accurate. There are too many signs of maleness for it to
be otherwise. And there are many suggestions of magic. A wizard or sorcerer of
some kind, surely. The forest fire that almost engulfed us may not have been a
perturbation after all. There is power at work here, enough to constitute a
threat on its own, without the aid of a perambulator."
Clothahump spoke quietly but firmly. "Is his power greater than mine?" He
waited silently for the rune-reader to reply. They all did. Even the skeptical
Mudge looked on anxiously.
"I cannot say that it is stronger," Colin finally declared. "Different
certainly, in a manner I can't describe or understand. I'm only a rune-caster,
not a sorcerer myself."
"What else do you see?" Dormas asked him.
"He will not let the perambulator go without a fight. We will be strongly
opposed. At that time one among us must take the lead. Only that one has the
ability and strengths to see us through the final confrontation. At that time
also, Wizard, your knowledge and experience will be of paramount importance to
our survival. All of us may have to sacrifice, but one of us will be the key.
Only he can counter what our opponent will throw against us." He looked up
then to stare at Jon-Tom. So did the others.
Well, he'd half expected as much. He and Clothahump were the prime movers in
this business. He was neither embarrassed nor intimidated by the stares of his
companions. He'd been through similar situations often enough in the past to
Page 104
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
have gained a certain amount of confidence. And it was too much to expect that
for once he'd be able to hang back and let bloodthirsty types like Mudge and
Colin do the heavy work. He sighed.
"You're not telling me anything I didn't already suspect. Are you sure you
can't tell us anything more about what we're going to have to deal with?"
Again Colin turned his attention to the runes. "I can see something but I
can't define it. The runes are rarely precise. It isn't something I'd know how
to handle myself. I can tell you that it will manifest itself in two ways. The
first will take the form of a magic only you can counter."
"More spellsinging." Jon-Tom grunted. "Well, I had to fight it out with
another spellsinger once before,
and he and I ended up the best of friends. If I have to go up against another
one . . ."
"The runes read in multiples."
"All right, then, if I have to go up against several singers, maybe I can
convert them the way I did the other one. They may end up as our allies
instead of our enemies."
"It'll be a wonder if you can turn these to friendships. I read no
accommodating signs in the pattern. You will have a tough time combating them.
The runes don't say if you'll survive the confrontation; so powerful, so evil
and destructive is their particular brand of magic."
Jon-Tom sat up a little straighten "I'll handle it. What form is the second
manifestation going to take?"
"That much, at least, is clear." The koala stared at him appraisingly. "The
runes say that you will have to do battle with your own greatest desire."
That set Jon-Tom back on his heels. He thought immediately of the dreamworld
he'd been drifting through not long ago, of the thousands of fans cheering and
screaming at him and the promise of a respected and venerated career in
government.
"But I've already done that. It was part of the illusion I experienced
earlier."
Colin looked back down at the fragments of wood and stone. "Maybe you'll have
to deal with it again. It isn't clear here, but that's the closest description
I can give. You must prepare to deal with that desire as best you're able."
"Will we be successful in the end?" Dormas asked somberly.
"The runes don't say. Finality of any kind is the hardest pattern to
interpret. The runes lead to a place and time of ultimate confrontation, but
that's it. Beyond that point nothing is visible." He started gathering up the
runes and the corners of the pouch.
"O' course, we don't know 'ow much o' wot you've said is certain an' 'ow much
a product o' your fevered imagination, fuzzball."
Colin glared at the otter but his expression quickly softened. "I could take
that for an insult, pilgrim, but I
won't. Because it happens to be the truth. The reading felt unusually good
here"-and he put one finger over his heart-"and here." He moved it to his
forehead. "Sometimes the casting is bad and I can sense it, but this one was
as accurate as they come." He glanced sideways at Jon-Tom. "I almost wish it
were otherwise."
"No, I'm glad you did the reading," Jon-Tom told him thankfully. "I'd rather
have some idea of what we're up against, even if your description did border
on the nebulous."
Clothahump was peering through the pass ahead. "There is no point in putting
off the inevitable. That is something that must always be coped with."
The attacks commenced soon after they started through the far end of the pass.
Landslides repeatedly threatened to trap and crush them in the narrow defile.
Each time the boulders came crashing down toward them Clothahump raised his
arms and bellowed a single powerful phrase. And each time the rocks were
blasted to fragments.
Page 105
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Not the ideal solution," the wizard said, apologizing for the dust that soon
covered all of them, "but I
promise you a good cleansing spell as soon as we have done with this."
Eventually there were no more landslides. Instead the clouds opened up and
they were drenched with a misplaced tropical downpour. It washed away the rock
dust but also threatened to wash them right back down the pass.
Again Clothahump went to work, raising his hands and grumbling about the
amount of overtime he was having to put in at his age. The flood rushing down
upon them was transformed into a vast cloud of warm steam. For ten minutes the
pass was turned into a giant sauna. Finally the steam dissipated enough for
them to proceed.
"Look at this," Mudge complained, fingering one side of his vest. " 'Ow the
'ell am I supposed to get these bloomin' wrinkles out?"
"I am responsible for preserving your life, water rat," Clothahump told him
sharply, "not your appearance. It would do you well to be more attentive to
the terrain ahead and less narcissistic."
The otter regarded his filthy, damp fur and bedraggled attire. "As you say,
Your Wizardship. I just 'ope we don't meet anyone I know."
"That's unlikely, pilgrim." The koala put a paw on the back of Clothahump's
shell. "How you holding up, old-timer?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]