Read Online Man From Mundania by Piers Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

more than she had
    lost, if she had lost anything at all. This sign talk—it was
    making Mundania far less frightening, and she was no
    longer in as big a hurry to leave it. Of course she realized
    that only a few Mundanes used the sign talk. Still, it was
     
    a great discovery.
     
    They came at last to the nearest large village to No
    Name Key. Here they had to change buses again. They bid
    farewell to their newfound friends and went to the waiting
    room, where they slept on benches until morning. This
    was like trekking through the jungle in Xanth: it had its
    inconveniences, but really wasn't bad when one got ac-
    customed to it.
     
    In the morning they rode a smaller bus down toward
     
    what in Xanth would be Centaur Isle, but here was a group
    of a squintillion or so islets. They got off at No Name Key
    and walked to the region which Dolph had described.
    Though the key was small, it turned out to be a fair walk.
    At length they came to an ornate gate. This is it! Ivy
     
    signed. Where my brother was!
     
    Grey's face was studiedly neutral. She knew he still
    didn't believe in the reality of Xanth, and was wary of
    what they might encounter here. But he had agreed to
    bring her here, and he intended to see it through. She
    understood that determination in him and liked it; Grey
    wasn't much of a believer, but he was a decent person
    who kept rumbling along on whatever course seemed most
     
    nearly right to him.
     
    We must go in, she signed. Turn key is there.
     
    Grey walked to a box mounted beside the gate and
    pressed a button. Evidently this was a magic bell to signal
    those inside. Sure enough, a voice sounded from nowhere,
    speaking in gibberish. Grey responded.
     
    Tell him who I am. Ivy signed.
     
    Grey paused. Sure? he signed back. Actually he used
     
    Man from Mundania          51
     
    the sign for "agree," touching his forehead and then
    aligning his two forefingers together, because they didn't
    know the proper one, but she understood well enough.
     
    Yes. Princess Ivy of Xanth. There was no sign for Xanth,
    so she used "home." She actually signed "Prince Me
    Join Home." Some adaptation was necessary until their
    vocabulary of signs expanded.
     
    Grey grimaced, but evidently said it.
     
    There was an abrupt silence from the box. They waited
    nervously, knowing that Grey's last statement had had an
    effect—but what kind?
     
    Then the words came again. "If you are of Xanth, speak
    now."
     
    Ivy jumped. She understood! Com-Pewter must be here!
     
    "I am Princess Ivy of Xanth," she said clearly. "My
    brother, Dolph, was here three years ago. He was nine
    years old. You helped him; now you must help me."
     
    There was a pause. "With whom was Prince Dolph?"
     
    "He was with Nada Naga, his betrothed. She is my
    age."
     
    There was another pause. "Describe Nada."
     
    Ivy remembered. "Oh—she was in the form of a snake,
    because she couldn't keep her natural form here."
     
    Then the gate swung inward. "Enter, Princess Ivy."
     
    They stepped in. Grey gaping. It was obvious that he
    had never expected this to work.
     
    Turn Key came down the path to meet them, holding
    something in one hand. He was a big fat older man, just
    as Dolph had described him, only more so. He spoke gib-
    berish; then from his hand came words for Ivy: "What
    are you doing here in Mundania, Princess Ivy?" Appar-
    ently he had a box that could speak both languages.
     
    "The Heaven Cent sent me, but it was a mistake."
     
    "Ah, so Prince Dolph found the Heaven Cent!" the box
    exclaimed, after a pause for gibberish that Grey evidently
    understood. This did not seem to be the same as Com-
    Pewter after all; the box was a golem that translated the
    man's Mundane speech. That was a relief; Ivy did not
    trust Com-Pewter. "But why didn't he use it himself?"
     
    "He's grounded until he decides which girl to marry,"
     
     
     
     
    52          Man from Mundania
     
    Ivy said. "So I used it instead, only