Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: hutch@ibeam.intel.com (Steve Hutchison) Subject: [AU] Water Music Message-ID: References: Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1993 00:53:45 GMT [ADMIN] This is a joint bit from Chris Meadows, myself, and a bit from Penny. It comes immediately after Andrea tells Jay about her and Sheryl's past, Jake gets rousted by imps and goes off to see an ugly war, and Andrea notices that 'Raf and ar'Elya are not human (though why she ever thought they were, well)... Anyway it was all ground together before Chris left on break, but we had to get some other stuff done before we could post it. It was shaping up to be perfect travelling weather. There was a cool breeze blowing from the north that promised to help them on their way. The sky overhead was an artist's canopy in deep blue, upon which some painter had spattered cumulus clouds and more carefully delineated cirrus clouds with deft strokes. It was perhaps ten in the morning, by the position of the sun, as they broke camp. "We have to get going," 'Raf said, folding the yurt into an impossibly small package. "The folks back in Generica will be worried, and there's still your house to take care of, after all." Andrea didn't really want to go back just yet, but there were people waiting to help her with the house, and she had to stand by her end of the deal. And there was Jay and Sheryl to consider. So they set off on foot for Generica, which Andrea estimated to be at least several days of hard walking away. 'Raf (in his centaurlion shape) and Clyde led the way, followed by Jay and Sheryl, who were too lost in each other to pay more than a passing attention to the scenery. After them walked Kardia and ar'Elya, leaving Andrea to bring up the rear. Actually, both Kardia and ar'Elya had asked Andrea to walk with them, but she had declined, saying that she needed time alone, time to think. Andrea had received a quadruple shock over the last several days. She had been cursed, been nearly killed, watched Sheryl forge a new emotional bond to Jay, and learned that ar'Elya, 'Raf, and 'Raelf were some sort of multi-dimensional beings for whom eating was closely related to intercourse and reproduction. It was almost too much for a normal person to take. Fortunately, Andrea was more than just a normal person. So Andrea walked about twenty feet behind ar'Elya and Kardia, alone with her thoughts. She was trying to sort out her feelings about these new changes she'd been going through. First, there was this curse thing that had turned into some kind of perverted blessing. Raykor had shown up and zapped her with it, but through help from Enn Piecy, Sheryl, ar'Elya, and 'Raf, it had been subverted into something less of a curse and more of a blessing. But how did she feel about it overall? Well, her body had been changed, without her approval. She felt -- violated. And yet, once the initial shock had passed, Andrea began to see that there were advantages. She could hold a true, two-sided conversation with Sheryl for the first time in over ten years. She NEVER wanted to give that up. And there was the amazing feeling of FREEDOM when she was running at a dead gallop -- it was nothing like she'd ever known before! So maybe, all in all, this change was for the good? She wanted to think so, but it was HARD...it felt so STRANGE to her, to have another shape. It was sometimes like she was two different beings, human and unicorn. Was this how natural shapeshifters felt? Come to think of it, how did 'Raelf and ar'Elya deal with the dozens of personalities they had inside of them? Did they have troubles too, in the beginning? They must have found some way to handle it. She hoped she could. And then there was Jay and Sheryl's unexpected bonding to think about. Well, actually, she'd given it a great deal of thought already. Like her own sudden change, she guessed it was something she was going to have to accept. There was nothing she could do about it, and seeing how happy Sheryl was, she wasn't sure she could have brought herself to act even if there had been a way to change it. Kardia had accused her of being jealous. Andrea thought, tried to analyze her own feelings. WAS she jealous? Of Jay, certainly. He was rapidly occupying the position SHE had owned for the last ten years; a little jealousy was only natural. But upon reflection, Andrea also realized that she was at least a little bit jealous of SHERYL, too, which startled her. Why would she, how COULD she be jealous of Sheryl?! Well, perhaps her new unicorn aspect had something to do with it...and perhaps, also, the fact that she'd been alone for the last ten years of her life, never allowing herself to form any sort of emotional attachment to anyone save for Sheryl. Now Sheryl was finding another, stronger(?) emotional bond, and where did that leave Andrea? Enough of that! Andrea admonished herself harshly. That kind of thinking only led to self-pity, and she couldn't afford it. Sheryl did't deserve it, anyway. To take her mind off of this problem, she turned to the third new thing she had to think about. ar'Elya had explained a great deal about the 'kan -- how they lived by absorbing other beings, body and soul, into some kind of a gestalt consciousness. This made Andrea shudder, just a little. What if they suddenly decided she'd make a tasty snack? Nonsense, Andrea told herself. They wouldn't do that; their aura alone revealed that much. Besides, ar'Elya had said that, in normal circumstances, they would only do it if the person was about to die, and only on that person's consent then. The whole idea was somewhat disconcerting. And yet, some morbid, perverse part of Andrea's inner self wondered what it would be like, how it would feel to be a part of such a being...Probably pretty boring, after a while, Andrea told herself. Especially for one who valued her individuality, as she did. Or...did she? If so, how could she be jealous of Sheryl for her new friend? Andrea sighed. No use thinking too much. Just take things as they come, that was what she ought to do. She shook her head and walked up beside Kardia and ar'Elya. They were talking about various things of little consequence, such as the color of the sky, what species of trees were in this forest, things like that. To her surprise, Andrea found herself drawn into the conversation, the sort of conversation she had been unable to share in very often during her quest for Sheryl's cure. She thoroughly enjoyed it. And then Andrea became conscious of movement in the brush, but when she turned to look, she saw nothing. Until her eyes shaded to blue and she looked with the sight of a unicorn. It was other unicorns, two or three of them on either side of the party. They were the younger ones, barely mature -- young mares and stallions, intensely curious about these strangers in their woods. They were eyeing Sheryl intently, yet none of them got any closer, and they generally kept back where they were partially shielded by the undergrowth and trees of the forest. Sheryl didn't seem to notice them, or was ignoring them if she did. Kardia apparently noticed the rustles, too. "I keep seeing something out of the corner of my eye -- but every time I turn to look, there's nothing there." "It's just -- " Andrea looked again and lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's just the unicorns." "What?" Kardia asked. ar'Elya looked slightly amused. "Yes, we have visitors," she said. "They're curious about Sheryl -- they've never seen one of 'the Breed' with a human before." Kardia stopped looking. "'The Breed?'" "The local unicorns' name for themselves," ar'Elya explained. "There ARE local unicorns?" Kardia asked in a hushed whisper. "Oh, yes," Andrea whispered back. "Some of them came to visit us early this morning. That's why Jake was such a slugabed, the sleep spell they used was still on him." Kardia nodded, understanding. "They must have developed some sort of magical camouflage to prevent them from being seen unless they want to be." Andrea nodded. "I wonder if I could do that if I tried? I'll have to experiment with it. Certainly would be a useful skill." "So there ARE local unicorns," Kardia mused. Later that day, the forest ended as the trail they followed came out along the river. The unicorns stopped at the forest's edge; even with their magic, they would probably be seen in the open. "I wonder if this river flows into the Cerupthon?" Andrea tried to remember what little she knew about the geography of this area, which wasn't much. "I believe she said she does," ar'Elya said. "Then maybe we could use it to reach Generica that much faster." "Oh?" Kardia asked. "Yes...back when I was in Selactica, Fujiko and I went canoeing all the time, with Sheryl." She grinned, remembering. "They had some great rapids up there..." "You took Sheryl in a canoe?" Kardia asked, surprised. "Oh, yes," Andrea said. "She's very good about lying in the bottom of the canoe and not moving. She only tipped it over...hmm...twice. We're bound to come to a settlement before long, and maybe we can rent or buy a couple of canoes...I think I have enough gold..." "What about Clyde?" ar'Elya asked. "I think he's a little big for a canoe, don't you?" "Hmm, yeah, I'd say you're right. We'd probably need a raft for him. Maybe they'll have something like that, too." "All we can do is keep walking along the river and see what shows up," ar'Elya said, smiling mysteriously. [Meanwhile, back in the branches... ] "C'mon, Clyde, you gotta meet them sometime. Besides.." "But 'Raf, I ain't no virgin, dey'll skewer me." "That's just a folk tale. They'll only skewer you if you're rude to them or if you attack them, or if you're really really evil. I don't think any of those ... hello. They're here." 'Raf grinned happily, looking at a tree where Clyde knew there wasn't anything. "I don' see nuthin," Clyde replied, shying back and forth from his front hooves to his rear hooves. <> 'Raf was talking in that weird magical speech, and in reply there was a rustle of noises that Clyde could almost understand. After a moment, a gleaming-white shape moved from behind the tree, into the small clearing. Blue eyes blazed a challenge. <> The deadly horn bobbed down and up, once, in affirmation. <> The unicorn shook his head and nickered, and Clyde was surprised to find that he understood most of it ... "Who put phefr on yvggyr one, who put phefr on big?" << Some nasty name of Raykor, used to hang with this Raoh dude. >> The unicorn's blazing blue eyes widened and he reared. He neighed something a bit too fast for Clyde to catch, then disappeared. "What was dat last t'ing he said?" Clyde asked 'Raf, as they went back out to the river's edge. "They know the name of the dude cursed Sheryl -- they're gonna tell the rest of their Herd, and so on. Stallion was so shook up he almost forgot to say goodbye." Clyde grinned to himself as they came out into the open again. About a half-mile upriver, they could see the rest of the group, hiking along the bank. "Race ya," he challenged, and was gone. 'Raf dug in his paws and sped after him. They overshot the group, and continued on, as Clyde discovered that 'Raf was more maneuverable even though Clyde was faster. He also discovered that the ground was full of gopher and muskrat holes but he managed not to break a leg in the fall. "Good goin', dude," 'Raf said, not even breathing hard. Clyde panted resentfully, massaging the sore knee joint on his front left leg. "Ya ... huf ... cheater ... huf ... howcome ya ... huf ... ain't even ... huf ... winded? ... " "Exercise, I eat right, I cheat like nobody's business," 'Raf said in reply as he examined the leg. "Mild strain. I'm gonna fix it up, but not all the way, so it'll be able to heal stronger. You take more care next time, watch for terrain. If you'd broken that leg we'd have to shoot you, dude." He watched carefully and started laughing when Clyde realized what he had said. After a few minutes, and a quick patch-job, they looked around and realized that they were easily three miles ahead of the others. "So what we gonna do now, 'Raf? I wanna keep moving a little, or dis leg's gonna go all stiff." "Maybe ... Hm. Right. Wanna help me find some river transport?" "Sure. What we lookin' for?" "A raft for you and me, and two canoes. There oughta be a place..." Clyde was the first one to spot the small outpost, a four-sided shack about the size of a small barn, abandoned and half-fallen-in. They approached carefully, 'Raf doing some kind of spell beforehand, juggling a bunch of marbles that he pulled out of midair. They glowed and darkened and he seemed satisfied, because he led them forward into the outpost. "Nobody lives here for at least four years," 'Raf said, and pushed the protesting door open, then jumped back as the side of the building decided to collapse. Inside, a disgruntled family of skunks threatened them with malevolent and startled glares, but a few quiet words from 'Raf made them calmer. Clyde carefully pushed aside a tree that had started to grow up inside the outpost and revealed three frames of bent wood, covered with dusty, tattered cloth. "Oh, man," 'Raf chortled, "This'll do for the others. Help me haul them out here into the open." They pulled the three dead canoes out into the grass. The bottoms had rotted where they had been left in contact with the ground, but it didn't seem to bother 'Raf much. The gold centaurlion pulled a needle out of a bandolier and started sewing characters into the torn canvas, singing to himself in a rhythmic language made up of gutterals and clicks; the letters sparked and sputtered in the sunlight like cheap fireworks. With each tiny detonation some section of cloth re-attached itself, a rip mended, until finally there were two complete canoes, covered with thick canvas gleaming with a red lacquer. He added similar markings to the frames, on each rib and spline. "Good thing Kardia didn't bring any of that cloth," 'Raf said to Clyde, and the young centaur stal grinned at the thought of the canoes dissolving into shreds and tatters in the water when Kardia sat in them. "So what are we gonna ride in? I'm too big for one of dese," Clyde said, lifting up a canoe that was slightly smaller around than his own barrel horse-body. "We make a raft," the centaurlion replied, returning to the fallen outpost building. "This place isn't strong enough to last through next winter, and with ... aha." He pointed. There were four fairly large poles, about two hands across, that were planted for supports. "See, we just convince the skunks to move out, then cut down these four poles, lash 'em together into a square, and frame that wood from the side panels into a deck, a little structural integrity field, a few well-chosen wards, and it'll work fine. Trust me," 'Raf grinned. Clyde looked at the mama skunk as she feasted on the worms uncovered by their moving the canoes, and wasn't at all certain this would work. About an hour later, they were joined at the riverbank by the rest of their party. Clyde was grinning inanely, and 'Raf looked disgruntled. "What's going on?" Andrea asked. "Whew, what's that stink?" "'Raf got skunked." Clyde horse-laughed. "Hey, I got the raft built," 'Raf protested. "Just talk to them nice," Clyde snickered. "Mama Skunk got real friendly _after_ she squirted him good." "She apologized," 'Raf said, "And I got rid of the stink on my fur, and besides, we built her a shelter for her and the kittens." "Squirt," Clyde snickered again. "PHeeeeeewwwa!" "Let's just get going," 'Raf said, "Before I decide to try out whether Centaur really tastes like Horse." Two canoes were floating alongside the bank of the river, oars shipped. There was also a big raft, which flickered with a pale green light. ar'Elya raised an eyebrow at 'Raf. "Structural integrity fields?" "We weigh a lot." Sheryl hopped into the first canoe and nickered happily. She lay down in the middle of it and gazed at Jay. "Go on, climb in," Andrea said. "You take the front, and I'll take the back and steer. Ever been in a canoe before?" "Some," Jay answered. "I grew up in a river town, remember?" "Good. Okay, well, just paddle when I tell you and don't rock the boat and we'll be okay." Jay nodded. "I can do that." "Good." Andrea pushed the canoe off into the river, and stepped into it. As they pushed out into the stream, she noticed Kardia and ar'Elya doing the same, and then 'Raf and Clyde on the raft. "Let's try and stay together," 'Raf called out. "We don't want to get separated by the currents." "Right!" Andrea yelled back. She lifted one of the paddles, dipped it into the water, and pushed. <> They glided silently downriver, at times under a canopy of trees, other times under the open sky. The only sound for a long time was the dip of the paddles in the water. Andrea took the lead, alternating right and left strokes, sometimes slowing the canoe down so the raft could catch up, and keeping an eye out for rapids (Sheryl was disappointed that they weren't going to go through any). They stopped for lunch in a clearing by the river. After pulling their boats up out of the water, 'Raf brought out a picnic basket (now where did he get THAT?!), spread a tablecloth out on the ground, and opened the basket. "From ar'Elya, she has the bottomless pouch," he said in reply to Andrea's puzzled stare. "Silverware first," he continued, bringing out forks, knives, and spoons, and passing them out. "Lex sent a note -- he and Little Rat made all the food today." Andrea caught herself eyeing 'Raf and ar'Elya nervously, and scolded herself. Just because they're different doesn't mean you should be afraid of them! she told herself. In fact, didn't you mention something like that to ar'Elya the other day? "And now, our main dish..." 'Raf pulled a covered dish out of the picnic basket with a sweeping flourish. Andrea found herself wondering what it would be, and also how the dish had fit into the picnic basket, which seemed to be too small to contain it. 'Raf muttered something in a foreign language over the dish, and the lid dissolved and steam started rising from it. "For the nonvegetarians in the group, this is a dish from a country called Mexico. It's in another world. Has some great surfing." He brought out some dishes and distributed them, then got out a serving spoon. "In the native language, it's called Arroz con Pollo, which means chicken with rice." He spooned it out onto the plates. It was a yellow rice dish, with pieces of chicken in it. Andrea tasted it. "This is very good!" "I'm glad you like it." 'Raf served everyone else, then brought out a tossed salad, corn, iced tea, and a fruit salad for dessert. Sheryl partook of everything except for the iced tea and the arroz con pollo, and everyone ate their fill. After lunch, when 'Raf had put everything away, Andrea was approached by 'Raf and ar'Elya where she was sitting on the riverbank. "Hey, Andrea," 'Raf said. "We need to talk to you a moment." "Oh? What about?" Andrea asked. "We think it would be a good idea if you were to get more used to using your unicorn shape," ar'Elya said. "What do you have in mind?" Andrea asked. "The bank is clear for...oh, the next ten miles or so," ar'Elya said. "We were thinking that it might be a good idea if you were to walk along the bank beside us for that distance." "By then it will be time to make camp," 'Raf said. "And then we can have a little fun." "Fun?" Andrea asked, a bit uncertain as to what she thought they meant. "Yeah. Ever heard of a frisbee?" Andrea shook her head. 'Raf mimed a sideways tossing motion, like shuriken or knives. "You throw it, like this, and -- never mind. I'll just show you later. Anyway, what do you think?" "But what about Sheryl and Jay? I think someone should ride in the canoe with them -- " "Don't worry about that," ar'Elya said. "Jay knows how to guide the canoe, and I believe 'Raf put some stability spells into the canoe." "Yeah, besides, we'll be right there, nothing bad's gonna have a chance to happen. No more rapids for a ... 'scuse," 'Raf stuck his head into the water, then pulled it out, "Nothing bad before middle of next day, there's a falls just before she gets into the Ceru. Go ahead, ya gotta practice bein' a corn sometime." "All right...I guess I can do that." Andrea stood back, concentrated, closed her eyes...and when she opened them, she stood on four feet, and had a horn. Jay gasped. "Hi, sister!" Sheryl nickered to Andrea. "Hello again, Sheryl!" Andrea replied. Kardia walked up, an apple in hand. "Hey, Andrea, you look nice." Andrea snorted. Of COURSE she looked nice -- she was ONLY a unicorn, the most beautiful creature ever known to man. "Want an apple?" Kardia offered. "I want one!" Sheryl nickered. 'Raf pulled a Rome Beauty from slightly thick air and tossed it to Jay. "For Sheryl," he said. Andrea took the apple from Kardia's hand. It tasted great -- better than she'd known an apple to taste in her human form, for sure. Maybe her sense of taste was different? Certainly her sense of smell was -- she could now smell the individual scents of the people standing next to her, and could even smell the nearby water. Kardia patted Andrea on the neck, then walked over to the canoe. "Time to go!" she called cheerfully. The others got to their canoes, shoved off, and Andrea started running along the shore beside them.