The more he pondered it, the more certain he became that it was true. Nada was a False Companion. She had not tried to torpedo him, because he wasn't far enough along to make it really count. Too soon, and he would just come back in another game and take another Companion, or take her again, when she wasn't False. So she would wait, hoping that he would wash out on his own. But if he didn't, and was about to win the prize, then she would arrange to betray him, making him forfeit his victory.

Now that he knew this, he could antic.i.p.ate that betrayal, and reject her advice at the critical time. If she said the left fork had the prize, he could take the right fork. The key was in judging just when she was going to pull her act of betrayal. Forewarned was forearmed, but it would still be tricky.

Still, it hurt to know that she was now his secret enemy. He had given up on trying to see her panties, but had hoped to win her favor. Now that was impossible. "Brother!" he muttered. "She's like another virus, lurking to destroy the one she's with."

"Good thing you switched Companions, eh?" Sherlock said.

"I didn't switch for that reason," Dug said. "I didn't realize-" Then he got the point "Kim! Now she's got the False Companion! She's in trouble!"

"It means she'll lose," Sherlock agreed.

"Unless she can play again, and get back into it. But by that time I may have won the prize. It's not fair."

"So?" Sherlock inquired.

Dug came to his decision. "So I'm going to find her and warn her, or take back my False Companion! I'm not going to let her take the fall for me."

"You'll have trouble finding her. You'll likely have to go off the game routes."

"I know. It'll be rough. Not right to put you through that So I guess this is where we part company. I'm sorry we didn't find any good places for your folk to settle. But maybe you can go down to the Good Magician's castle and ask him. Jenny can tell you how to get there, I'm sure."

"Forget it" Sherlock said. "I'm not leaving you yet I just, wanted to be sure you'd say what I thought you'd say."

"But this is no longer the game, really," Dug protested. "If I mess up, I'm just out of it But if you get in trouble, your people will suffer. You've got more at risk than I do."

"More to gain, too. How do we know where I'll find a good place? It may be in the middle of some area you never were slated to cross. I might as well take a look at it and a party of three can travel better than a party of two."

"Especially when one gets sick," Dug agreed, relieved. "Glad to have you along, then." He turned to Jenny. "Where do you think they went, and where can we best intercept them?"

"Sammy will know," she said.

The cat jumped down. "Wait for me!" Jenny cried, dashing after him.

They were on their way.

Chapter 14: FOUNDRY.

Kim was sweaty-hot, stinging-scratched, and worn-out fatigued. This might be a game, not quite real, but it felt distressingly real right now. Bubbles Dog did not seem much better off, though she didn't complain. "Oh, we'll just have to rest," Kim said.

She found a spreading tree with wide ridged roots radiating out She sat down, leaning back against the trunk, and pulled the dog into her. "What did I get you into, Bubbles?" she asked rhetorically. "You're old; you don't want to struggle through wilderness like this! Maybe I should have left you in that floating bubble."

Bubbles whined, her tail dropping low.

Kim hugged her. "No, I couldn't have done that! You needed someone to adopt you, and I guess I needed a pet I never had a dog before. I'm glad I found you."

A huge serpent appeared. Its head changed, becoming human. "Oh, there you are," Nada said. "I thought I'd lost you."

"We're just so tired," Kim confessed. "This perpetual jungle! Are you sure there isn't some easier route to the Good Magician's castle?"

Nada's face was unreadable. "There may be. But there are complications. The direct route would require us to cross the Kiss-Mee River, and though it has now been restored to its original friendly contours, that can be awkward."

Kim thought about swimming through Kiss-Mee water. There could indeed be complications! Would they be kissing water, fish, or each other? If she were still traveling with Dug she might have risked it "Better avoid that," she said.

"So I have been trying to find a path north of Lake Kiss-Mee," Nada said. "But I am unfamiliar with this region, so it is difficult."

Kim was beginning to miss Jenny Elf and her cat Sammy, who could find things. He would have found them a safe, walkable path. As it was, they just had to struggle through. Still, it seemed harder than it had to be.

Then she spied something through the trees. It was a cloud in the sky, but not a rainy one. It might even be smoke. Was it true in Xanth, as in Mundania, that where there was smoke there was fire? And where there was fire, could there be civilization? Travelable paths? Anything seemed better than this endless jungle!

Kim hauled herself back to her feet "Let's investigate that smoke," she said.

"I'm not sure that is wise" Nada demurred.

"Why not?"

"It may be a smoker dragon."

Ouch! Kim hadn't thought of that. Then her impulsive nature got the better of her. "But it might not be a dragon," she said. "Let's go see, carefully.**

Nada shrugged, which was impressive in her natural form, and slithered out in the direction of the smoke. Kim and Bubbles followed.

Before long it was apparent that the smoke was coming from the chimney of a little house in the wood. "If that house is made of candy, I'm going to be a mite suspicious," Kim muttered.

It turned out to be a normal house, with wooden walls and a thatched roof. Still, that did not guarantee that its occupant was friendly. But Kim was so tired that she did the easy thing: she hoped for the best. She approached the door and knocked, while Nada waited nearby in serpent form.

The door opened. A woman stood there. She was absolutely repulsive. She opened her warty face. "Yes?" she said in a voice like gravel in a gearbox.

Kim glanced down at Bubbles. The dog hadn't barked. That suggested that this woman was not a menace. She might even be a decent person, under all mat piled-on ugliness. "I'm-I'm a traveler, looking for an easy route to the Good Magician's castle," Kim said hesitantly. "I wondered if-"

"Why, you poor girl the woman graveled. "You look so tired and hungry! You must come in and have a bit to eat!"

Kim glanced again at Bubbles. Still no objection. She decided to trust the dog's judgment. "Thank you," she said. "I'm Kim. This is Bubbles. May she come in too?"

"Of course, dear, if she's housebroken."

Kim realized that she didn't know about that "I-" she started doubtfully.

"Oh, that's all right; I'll clean it up if there's a problem. I'm Ma Anathe. I love to have visitors, but I receive so few."

They entered the house. It was larger inside than outside, which was possible in a magic land. It was neatly arranged, and clean.

"Let me serve you some gruel," Anathe grated, as if rocks were caught in a grinder. "It is simple, but all I have."

"I'm sure it will do," Kim said doubtfully. She took her place at the wooden table.

Anathe set a wooden bowl of gruel before her, and another down on the floor for Bubbles. The dog lapped hers appreciatively, once again rea.s.suring Kim. So she took the wooden spoon and tried a cautious sip-and it was good. It definitely was not gruel and unusual punishment.

"Now, about your trip to the Good Magician's castle," Anathe graveled. She seemed to have only those two tones: grate and gravel. "You must get on the enchanted path-"

"I can't" Kim said apologetically. "I'm-I'm a Player in a game, and I have to take my chances."

"Oh, so that's why you are so far into nowhere!" the woman grated. "That's why you are visiting old Anathe Ma! You're desperate."

Kim considered her response. Some diplomacy was in order. "It is true. But if I had known how nice you are, I would have visited anyway."

"That's sweet of you to say," Anathe said sourly. "I don't know much about this game, but I know better than to interfere with demons. If they say you can't use the enchanted paths, then you had best avoid them. That means you will have trouble crossing Kiss Mee."

"Yes," Kim agreed. The gruel was making her sleepy. She saw that it had the same effect on Bubbles, who was going into a dognap.

"Unfortunately that will route you past the foundry," Anathe continued. "The centaurs may be difficult. They don't like strangers there."

She continued to talk, but Kim was just too tired and sleepy to listen. She put her head on the table and slept.

She woke to the sound of Nada Naga's human voice. "What have you done with her? I warn you, if you have hurt her-you're not one of the game challenges, so you have no call to-"

"Hush, woman!" Anathe granted. "Your friend is just sleeping. How could you let her get so tired? And her poor dog, too-that animal is too old for prolonged adventure."

Kim was about to raise her head, to rea.s.sure Nada. But something made her wait. She had not chosen Nada as her Companion; Dug had. She had gone along when he offered to trade, but she had never been quite sure this was legitimate. So while Nada certainly seemed to be a nice person and a competent Companion, Kim had just the slightest guilty tinge of doubt about her. Would Nada do the same job for her as she would have for Dug? So she was curious how Nada would react when Kim seemed to be in trouble.

"Did you give them a magic potion?" Nada demanded. "The demons won't like it if-"

"No potion!" Anathe graveled. "Just good, simple gruel, with a tiny drop of healing elixir. It was all I had. They were both ready to collapse when they came here. I couldn't let them go on like that. If you're supposed to be helping them, you should be ashamed."

Nada stroked across the chamber to the table. "Kim! Are you all right?"

Now Kim lifted her head. She felt somewhat refreshed. It had indeed been good gruel. "I'm all right. I was just so tired, I must have fallen asleep."

"Are you sure?" Nada herself look unsure.

"Yes. Anathe is very nice. Her gruel is very good." Kim reached down to pat Bubbles, who was now also awake. The dog wagged her tail.

Nada did a visible rea.s.sessment. Then she turned to Anathe. "I think I owe you an apology. I a.s.sumed-"

"Don't bother," the woman grated. "I understand. Everyone thinks that I must be as evil as I look. It is why I live alone."

"Appearances can be deceptive," Nada agreed awkwardly.

"Yes. Few would believe you are a serpent woman."

Now Nada was startled. "How did you know that?"

Anathema smiled. The effect was horrendous. "There are old pine needles in your hair, but none on your clothing, so you weren't rolling on the ground. You must have been in another shape. A werewolf would have walked over the fallen needles, but a serpent would be right down in them. I knew that a lovely young woman like you would not be guarding a person unless she was sure of her power. I have heard about the naga folk. You must have been in serpent form, and just changed."

"True." Nada brought out a comb and ran it through her l.u.s.trous gray-brown hair. Several needles fell out, as well as some bits of thread. "There are those who see me in serpent form and are horrified."

"At least you can change your form."

Nada nodded. "You have no magic to compensate?"

"My talent is making good gruel."

There didn't seem to be much help there. "Well, thank you," Nada said. "We must be on our way."

"Yes. I was just telling Kim the route. You must try to get past the foundry without aggravating the centaurs."

"We shall try," Nada said.

"But how can we repay you for the gruel?" Kim asked, standing.

"The pleasure of your brief company was enough," Anathe graveled. She bent down to pat Bubbles' head, and the dog wagged her tail. Then, in a murmur only Kim could hear: "Be watchful, girl; I fear something is afoot."

They left, and resumed their travel west. There was a path from the house, which made it much easier. Kim continued to feel better, as if the gruel had a developing effect as it was digested. Bubbles, too, was more alert.

Then Kim realized something. The dog had accepted Ma Anathe's pat. She had shied away from all others before, except for Kim herself. Bubbles had been right that the woman was not evil, and the dog even liked her, in her nondemonstrative fashion. That was most interesting. Especially since Bubbles was just as cautious about Nada as she was about anyone else.

And Anathe Ma had warned her about something. Kim might have dismissed it, but she trusted the dog's instinct. Anybody Bubbles trusted enough to receive a pat from had to be taken seriously. But what should she be watchful for? She didn't know, and probably Anathe had not known either; it was just intuition. But it aligned with Kim's own. Something was subtly not right.

All she could do was follow the advice: to be watchful. That she would.

The path wound along through the forest as if it had not a care in the world. Sometimes it made a straight rigid backbone, while at other times it practiced sinuous curves. It flirted with a big tangle tree, but stayed just out of reach. Once it set a couple of muddy puddles for unwary feet.

Bubbles hesitated, looking nervous. Kim was learning the signs; the dog was shy about most people, especially strangers, and barked when there was danger. She ignored most objects, but distrusted those that were unusual. So there must be something unusual here.

She saw a patch of flowers beside the path. But they were strange, even for Xanth. They were grotesquely ugly, and they smelted worse. Yet she recognized them as roses. They had the general configuration of roses, but somehow gave the opposite impression. Perhaps that was because they were the color of barf with the smell of puke. Beyond them were regular roses, pretty and sweet-smelling; only one circular patch was ugly.

Kim paused. Could this be a garden cultivated by Anathe? But the woman did not have an ugly house or personality, and her gruel had been good; why should she have ugly roses? There must be some other explanation.

Then she saw a single small chip of wood in the middle of the ugly patch. It looked like a fragment of the heart of pine, the kind her dad had used to start a fire hi the fireplace, because it had so much clotted sap that it burned like a torch.

Suddenly it clicked. "Reverse wood!" she cried. She stooped to pick it up.

"Be careful!" Nada exclaimed. "That could be dangerous!"

"Not to me," Kim replied. "I'm a Mundane. I have no magic. As far as I know, reverse wood reverses magic, not mundane things."

Nada looked doubtful, but did not protest. Kim picked up the chip, and sure enough, it did not hurt her or change her perception. But the roses that had been in its vicinity were already changing, becoming as lovely as the ones beyond the range of the chip. They were magic blue roses, with chocolate perfume; the magic had been reversed by the wood.

She held the chip down for Bubbles to sniff. The dog evinced no fear of it; apparently it had been the reversed roses that had bothered her. She was evidently Mundane, like Kim, so that chip didn't affect her directly.

That sent Kim into a brief spell of wondering. If Bubbles was of Mundane origin, how had she gotten into that floating bubble? Mundania did not have any magical trash disposal. Well, maybe sometime she would learn the answer.

Kim tucked the chip into a pocket. She was sure it would come in handy, in due course. After all, this was the game; things didn't happen just by accident. Maybe a dragon would try to toast her with fire, and the wood would turn it to cool water. The chip was surely the key to an upcoming challenge.