the dragon, glaring about. Exe- cute."
The little reptile appeared. The direct glare of a basilisk
could kill another creature, even a dragon.
BUT THE BASILISK CHANGES ITS MIND AND STARTS BACK
TOWARD THE GROUP, the screen said.
"Oopsy!" Grundy breathed. "Enter: The basilisk remembers where it was going, and heads back up the passage, tuning out all distractions. Execute."
The others relaxed as the nasty little reptile resumed its progress; surely Pewter couldn't change that.
AS IT ROUNDS THE FIRST TURN, the screen printed, IT
ENCOUNTERS A MIRROR, AND STARES ITSELF IN THE PACE.
Naturally when that happened, the little monster fell dead, for no basilisk was proof against its own fatal stare.
"Nevertheless," Bink murmured, "we now have the initiative, because we retain the tunnel."
There was another roar. "And the tunnel retains the dragon," Chester said, touching his bow nervously.
"Ah, but we also have the mirror," Bink pointed out. "Pick it up, turn it around, and it will confound the dragon the same way it confounded the basilisk."
"We can try it, certainly," Grundy agreed. "Enter: The centaur picks up the mirror, turns it about, and proceeds up the tunnel. When the dragon sees its reflection in the mirror, it will think that is another dragon, and will back off."
They watched the screen to see whether they had finally foiled the machine. They had not.
THERE IS THE SOUND OF RUSHING WATER, the Screen
printed. A RIVER is DRAINING INTO THE PASSAGE, AND WILL
WASH EVERYTHING OUT BEFORE IT.
They weren't getting anywhere. Every time they made a move. Pewter countered it. Yet Bink seemed positive.
"You know," he said conversationally, "they have some worse monsters in Mundania than in Xanth. Some of the birds, especially. We have ogres and ogresses, and drag- ons and dragonesses, and the like. But I remember one there called the egret, that had a long yellow beak. If we could get one of those on our side—"
"What good would that do?" Grundy asked. "The machine would just counter. We need to get out of here, not play with birds!"
"I suppose so," Bink agreed. "And you never can tell what those birds will do. The female of the species is twice as bad as the male; if we ever encountered a female egret we'd be lost."
What was he getting at? Of course they wouldn't sum- mon a female egret! "Let's just try to open another door out—one that can't be blocked by plants or dragons or water," Grundy said.
"Yes, I suppose that's best," Bink agreed. "Let's pro- tect it against plants and dragons and water." "And egrets," Chester put in. "And egrets," Bink agreed.
"Enter," Grundy said. "They discover a new passage, with no bad plants, no dragons, no water and no egrets. It leads straight outside. Execute."
The new passage appeared. It looked perfect. But the screen was ready. AND THERE, it printed dra- matically, IS AN EGRESS!
And a big bird with a swordlike yellow beak appeared. It took one menacing step toward them.
"Oops," Grundy said, dismayed. "I forgot to exclude the female of the species!"
"But the female is not an egress," Bink said smugly. "Pewter just assumed that, applying logic to the name. An egress is actually a form of exit."
"A form of exit?" Grundy asked. "But there's the bird!" "Egrets, male or female, are harmless," Bink said. "We won't take our turn to abolish it. All we have to do is walk out of the true egress." And he led the way.
The Pewter was helpless, for it could not act until they made another entry and gave it its turn. They simply marched physically out the egress, ignoring the bird.
A roll of confused symbols crossed the screen. / \ / \ « »t t^^WH. Then it got its mechanism straight. CURSES, the screen printed. FOILED AGAIN!
They had escaped—but somehow Grundy wasn't com-
pletely satisfied. Bink had found the way out. Bink was the true hero of this episode. He, Grundy, had failed again;
he remained a nonentity. He had suffered almost as bad a setback as Pewter had.
Chapter
The little reptile appeared. The direct glare of a basilisk
could kill another creature, even a dragon.
BUT THE BASILISK CHANGES ITS MIND AND STARTS BACK
TOWARD THE GROUP, the screen said.
"Oopsy!" Grundy breathed. "Enter: The basilisk remembers where it was going, and heads back up the passage, tuning out all distractions. Execute."
The others relaxed as the nasty little reptile resumed its progress; surely Pewter couldn't change that.
AS IT ROUNDS THE FIRST TURN, the screen printed, IT
ENCOUNTERS A MIRROR, AND STARES ITSELF IN THE PACE.
Naturally when that happened, the little monster fell dead, for no basilisk was proof against its own fatal stare.
"Nevertheless," Bink murmured, "we now have the initiative, because we retain the tunnel."
There was another roar. "And the tunnel retains the dragon," Chester said, touching his bow nervously.
"Ah, but we also have the mirror," Bink pointed out. "Pick it up, turn it around, and it will confound the dragon the same way it confounded the basilisk."
"We can try it, certainly," Grundy agreed. "Enter: The centaur picks up the mirror, turns it about, and proceeds up the tunnel. When the dragon sees its reflection in the mirror, it will think that is another dragon, and will back off."
They watched the screen to see whether they had finally foiled the machine. They had not.
THERE IS THE SOUND OF RUSHING WATER, the Screen
printed. A RIVER is DRAINING INTO THE PASSAGE, AND WILL
WASH EVERYTHING OUT BEFORE IT.
They weren't getting anywhere. Every time they made a move. Pewter countered it. Yet Bink seemed positive.
"You know," he said conversationally, "they have some worse monsters in Mundania than in Xanth. Some of the birds, especially. We have ogres and ogresses, and drag- ons and dragonesses, and the like. But I remember one there called the egret, that had a long yellow beak. If we could get one of those on our side—"
"What good would that do?" Grundy asked. "The machine would just counter. We need to get out of here, not play with birds!"
"I suppose so," Bink agreed. "And you never can tell what those birds will do. The female of the species is twice as bad as the male; if we ever encountered a female egret we'd be lost."
What was he getting at? Of course they wouldn't sum- mon a female egret! "Let's just try to open another door out—one that can't be blocked by plants or dragons or water," Grundy said.
"Yes, I suppose that's best," Bink agreed. "Let's pro- tect it against plants and dragons and water." "And egrets," Chester put in. "And egrets," Bink agreed.
"Enter," Grundy said. "They discover a new passage, with no bad plants, no dragons, no water and no egrets. It leads straight outside. Execute."
The new passage appeared. It looked perfect. But the screen was ready. AND THERE, it printed dra- matically, IS AN EGRESS!
And a big bird with a swordlike yellow beak appeared. It took one menacing step toward them.
"Oops," Grundy said, dismayed. "I forgot to exclude the female of the species!"
"But the female is not an egress," Bink said smugly. "Pewter just assumed that, applying logic to the name. An egress is actually a form of exit."
"A form of exit?" Grundy asked. "But there's the bird!" "Egrets, male or female, are harmless," Bink said. "We won't take our turn to abolish it. All we have to do is walk out of the true egress." And he led the way.
The Pewter was helpless, for it could not act until they made another entry and gave it its turn. They simply marched physically out the egress, ignoring the bird.
A roll of confused symbols crossed the screen. / \ / \ « »t t^^WH. Then it got its mechanism straight. CURSES, the screen printed. FOILED AGAIN!
They had escaped—but somehow Grundy wasn't com-
pletely satisfied. Bink had found the way out. Bink was the true hero of this episode. He, Grundy, had failed again;
he remained a nonentity. He had suffered almost as bad a setback as Pewter had.
Chapter
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