He nodded. “But I am not yet free of the curse, which will manifest when I leave the environment of the pundemic. Meanwhile, you have inadvertently provided me with something I lacked: companionable associates. I value that. I suspect that if the Quest is successful, I will also find the release of my curse. Therefore I will continue, now of my own free will.”

  Apoca was touched. “That’s very nice of you. I hope it works out.”

  “It will,” Dolly said.

  “Now it seems we are three,” Nolan said. “Plus of course the baton. You four other ladies may depart at your convenience.”

  “I should toast your butt,” Aurora said. “You forget that I am with you because you are fated to pass the ideal place for our new anthill. I will stay with you until that occurs.”

  “Oops, sorry. I did forget.”

  “And she’s also a bit sweet on him, species be bleeped,” Nimbus murmured. “As am I, as foolishly.”

  “As are all four of you,” Apoca said.

  “And you too,” the nickelpede retorted. Then, for all to hear: “I am staying with Apoca. Someone needs to protect her from foreign bugs.”

  “Me too,” Vinia said. “How else are they going to find the paths?”

  “And me,” Ghorgeous said. “I want to see Thanx and Xanth maintain their diversity of talents, and I know I can help.”

  “I am gratified by your continued support,” Nolan said. “I could kiss you all.”

  A soft ripple coursed through the four, and Apoca. “In your dreams,” Ghorgeous said, and they all laughed. He might indeed receive some dream kisses.

  “So the Quest remains complete,” Dolly said, unsurprised. “Now I will acquaint you with the wider parameters, which are formidable.”

  They settled down to listen. Apoca knew this would not be entirely pleasant.

  “Your Quest is to handle the problem of the identical talents of all new babies. Talents are assigned by the Dwarf Demon of Talents, as you know. The question is why he has become derelict, as Demons are largely defined by their positions and will cease to exist if those positions are lost. He could be summarily replaced by a Demon Court if the matter comes to general attention. This would not be to his advantage.”

  Apoca wondered about that, now that the llama had clarified it. Whatever could have possessed the Demon to put its own existence at risk?

  “Demons, both capped and uncapped, along with most other creatures, lack, and seldom care about them,” Dolly continued, “but close proximity to souls can evoke a hunger for them that they do not necessarily comprehend. Souls are a mortal specialty, largely limited to the human contingent. This explains the inclinations of the two insectoid members of this party toward the human members. The proximity provides them with a previously unknown satisfaction.”

  That was interesting. Nimbus had come into contact with Vinia last year, and now was with Apoca. Aurora had encountered Nolan. No wonder they got along.

  “His position causes the Demon of Talents to be exposed to the nascent souls of prospective humans. The three dots of the procreative signal spell out the entire new person, including the soul. That evokes the hunger. Only those with souls are capable of true love, but those without souls can begin to appreciate its power when in the near presence of souls. Demon Talents has developed the capacity to love but does not properly understand it. Such understanding is not a matter of intellect but of emotion, another thing most demons and Demons lack. So his reaction is confused and inappropriate. He has developed a crush on a Demoness, a feeling she does not return. Thus he is out of sorts, distracted, and neglectful of his duty. That is why he no longer properly assigns the talents. They are locked on the last one he assigned before the neglect began.”

  “Wow!” Nimbus said. “That’s a whole lot I never dreamed of before, and not just about the talents.”

  “Dolly really does know her stuff,” Apoca agreed, similarly impressed.

  “The female is the Dwarf Demoness of Transcription. She translates the embedded message of the three dots to spheres of responsibility, one of which is the magic talent. That portion she relays to D Talents. The other portions, such as physical appearance, mental capacity, and emotional makeup, she takes to the responsible Dwarf Demons. When all are done, the baby is assembled and given to the stork for delivery. The process is complicated, and normally takes about nine months.” Dolly made a mental smile. “On rare occasion there is an error, such as extra fingers or the inclusion of two talents in the package.”

  “Such as your two types of kisses,” Nimbus said. “Or Vinia’s telekinesis and paths.”

  “Thus D Talents continues to neglect his duty while pondering how to make an impression on D Transcription. She, being similarly exposed to souls, has developed her own hunger, but not for any tryst with D Talents. She wants a soul of her own. That makes her desire as futile as his. But she does continue performing her duty.”

  “So now there are two frustrated Demons,” Apoca murmured. “Yet complexer.”

  “Normally the situation would be resolved when the neglect came to the attention of one of the full Demons,” Dolly continued. “But D Talents is cunning. He has cast a shroud of ignorance upon the issue, so that no other Demons are aware of it. The only ones who are conscious of it are the mothers of the new babies, and they, being merely mortals, don’t count. However, the Quest could make a sufficient scene to attract the attention of a Demon. Mortals may be as insignificant as grains of sand, but a party of six of them and a ghost coming to beseech a Dwarf Demon to do his job just might do it. D Talents, aware of that, means to see that no such scene occurs. He can’t take direct action in the mortal sphere because Demon Policy forbids interference in other Demons’ domains. But he can take indirect action that may be effective.”

  “Such as what?” Nolan asked, looking daunted but determined.

  “There are a number of routes leading to the domain of a Demon. Those with souls are capable of traversing them when they have assistance, such as special magic. These may not be entirely physical but may appear so when Vinia’s perception of the paths identifies them. You will select and follow the most likely ones. However, the Demon may arrange to nullify whatever path you select, making it become a false path. When you try a new path that has not been falsified, he may nullify that one also. Thus you may search forever without getting anywhere.”

  “But that would be cheating!”

  The llama nodded. “A Demon may cheat if he thinks he can get away with it.”

  “Are you saying that my Quest is impossible?” Nolan asked.

  “No. Merely that you must take a special step to ensure that the game is fair.”

  “This is not a game to me,” he said grimly.

  “It is a game to a Demon. Demons, being routinely bored by the immensity of their power, phrase key issues as games with each other. Normally they make wagers on the outcome of unpredictable minor events, such as the decisions of mortals. They do not interfere with the actions of the selected pawns because that would invalidate the randomness of the decisions. You, as mortals, may force a game on the Demon of Talents. That may be the only way you can succeed in your Quest.”

  Nolan, taken aback, was silent.

  Apoca spoke. “You mentioned a special step we must take. What is it?”

  “You must enlist the support of a full Demon to guarantee the fairness of the game. He will not intervene but may do that much.”

  “How can we ever do that? If we can’t even reach a Dwarf Demon, how could we ever reach a full Demon?”

  “You must go to Squid.”

  “Who?”

  “The alien cuttlefish girl who was the protagonist three stories ago. Her boyfriend is the Demon Chaos.”

  Now Apoca remembered. Squid, one of the five children rescued from a doomed alternate Xanth. She was said to be a nice girl, for all that she was actually a land-going alien sea creature. If she asked this favor of her boyfriend, who was incidentally the most powerful of all the Demons, he would surely grant it. It had to be her soul that had made him love her, as the llama had explained generally.

  “We’ll do that,” Nolan decided. “Thank you for your clarification of the issue.”

  “You are welcome, prince. You did rid me of the noxious pie rat.”

  And she had delivered the most competent discussion they could have found anywhere. The nature of their mission was now scarily clear. Apoca was moved. “Dolly, would you care to be my friend?”

  There was a sudden peal of thunder as the sky darkened. A storm had appeared without warning and threatened to soak them.

  “That’s Fracto!” Nolan exclaimed. “Always looking for a parade to rain on!”

  “Cumulo Fracto Nimbus,” Dolly agreed. “He hasn’t been here for ages. I wonder whether this could be coincidence.”

  “What else could it be?” Apoca asked.

  “An intervention sponsored by the Demon.”

  Apoca was not the only one taken aback. “The Demon of Talents made a deal with Fracto to wash us out?”

  “That would eliminate coincidence. I distrust coincidence when magic is involved.”

  “I will check this out,” Ghorgeous said, and faded. In barely four-fifths of a moment she was back. “Fracto has a Demonic map showing him where to go. It has to be a deal. He is supercharged with water and voltage. We need to get the bleep out of here.”

  “The paths are suddenly skewed,” Vinia said. “They are curling around in spirals. I’ve never seen that before.”

  Apoca gazed at the swirling weather moving rapidly toward them, lit by internal lightning flashes. The leaves and small branches of trees were already flying. “This is mischief.”

  Nolan looked about. “This is a level valley surrounded by the punfestation. It will soon be flooded, and the water could wash us into the sea. I can handle that, but I fear for the rest of you. Nowhere to hide.”

  “I know of a place,” Dolly said. “An invisible mountain adjacent to my pasture. The invisible giants go there to relax. We leave each other alone. They don’t step on me, and I don’t tell others of their hideout. You must keep the secret too.”

  “We will,” Nolan said, speaking for them all.

  “It has grottoes, but vermin inhabit them.” Dolly glanced at Nimbus, then at Aurora. “No offense intended.”

  “Lead the way,” Aurora said. “I will reason with the vermin, and if they don’t agree to share, I will toast them.” She fired a sample jet.

  “This way,” the llama said, and trotted across her pasture. They followed. So did the raging storm, its savage rainfall pursuing them like an ocean wave.

  They came to an invisible rise. The ground beneath their feet was solid, but they seemed to be walking on air.

  “Now I know why the spirals,” Vinia said. “The paths are looping around the mountain, to climb it!”

  The storm struck. Water sheeted down, instantly soaking them all. What bothered Apoca more was the lightning forming into a huge glowing bolt, pointing this way and that as if searching for its target. When it struck, it could blast a boulder into pebbles. As for the rest—she knew her figure had nothing to fear from the soaking. In her youth she had won a wettee shirt contest, and she had maintained her profile. Not that anyone was looking.

  “That’s what you think,” Nimbus said. “Aurora snapped a mental picture as she passed and is sharing it with Nolan.”

  “Why, that naughty bug!” But actually she was not much bothered. What was the use of having it, if no one ever saw it?

  “Aurora says he is salivating.”

  Just so.

  They came up to a cliff, made visible by the rain splashing against it. The path went beside it.

  “Here is the nearest grotto,” Dolly said, pausing by a dark hole outlined by the absence of plunging rain. “But the vermin may not want to share. They consist of assorted biting bugs and reptiles, all invisible. They can see each other, and us, but we can’t see them.”

  “We will reason with them,” Nolan said. “But it may take a moment, and the storm won’t wait.”

  Apoca got an idea. “Will it work?” she asked Nimbus as she flashed the notion.

  “It had better,” the nickelpede replied.

  “We will guard the entrance while you negotiate with the vermin,” she told Nolan and Aurora.

  Nolan, Aurora, Gent, Vinia, and Dolly crowded into the grotto, while Apoca, Nimbus, and the baton remained outside, facing the oncoming storm. Water poured onto them like a river waterfall, but it was the massive bolt of lightning they watched most closely.

  The bolt soon located them. It rose up, looped in the air to gain velocity, and zapped directly toward them.

  And sheared away at the last instant, smashing into the face of the cliff to the side. Invisible stone crashed down onto the path, striking invisible sparks.

  Nolan looked back. “What happened?” he called, alarmed.

  “The lightning bolt missed us.”

  “At point-blank range? You should have come inside with us.”

  “We were safe,” Apoca explained. “Nimbus Nickelpede is on my shoulder, and her name protected us. Because the cloud is Cumulo Fracto Nimbus, and he can’t hurt his namesake. It is in the Big Landmark Unwritten Rules Book. BLURB. Even the Mundanes know of it, though I think they mess up the definition.”

  “You’ve got nerve,” he said admiringly.

  She loved that, and not just because she did have nerve. So, it was apparent, did he.

  Now she could focus on what the others were doing in the cave. “Here is the replay,” Nimbus said, and put it on.

  The group entered the grotto cave. All manner of bugs were there, invisible but evident by their minds, which were intent on mayhem, because they did not like having their home invaded by visible folk. Some also were hungry for blood, literally.

  “You can tune in on the mass of minds,” Aurora told him. “That’s a general haze. Or on individual bugs, because each has a kind of self-image. So you can in effect see them, when you focus.”

  He focused. Sure enough, he began to make out individuals. His experience with Aurora facilitated the process.

  It was time to make his case. “We are seeking temporary shelter from the storm,” Nolan said, his message translated to generalized bug language by Aurora. “We want only to ride it out, then be on our way. We will leave you alone if you leave us alone. Peace?”

  The bugs flew forward in an invisible mass, teeth and stingers leading. It was to be war.

  Aurora sent out a moving shaft of fire that would have had little effect on man-sized creatures, but was devastating to small bugs. Their wings burned off and their bodies shriveled and curled up in the flash of heat. The cave floor was littered with their dead and dying bodies. They were becoming visible as they died.

  “I may have neglected to mention that my companion is a fire ant,” Nolan said. “I apologize for that omission. She can shoot down anything that flies. Now I proffer my offer again. Peace?”

  This time a mass of ground bugs charged, protected from fire a degree by the cool, damp floor. He saw their translucent flickerings as they moved. The ant would soon be worn out trying to burn such a mat.

  Nolan stepped forward and stomped the first wave with his boots. In one and a half moments the floor was a carpet of squished bugs. These, too, became more visible as they died.

  “Perhaps I also neglected to mention that I am wearing combat boots. I apologize again. I can stomp anything within range of my feet. I proffer my offer a third time, with the caution that if it is declined I will not make it a fourth time, as I will understand that the only way to achieve peace in this grotto will be to extirpate every invisible bug in it. That would be a shame, as I suspect that many of you are decent folk, like some I have known, who would prefer accommodation, but what must be, must be. Peace?”

  This time the bugs decided to be gracious.

  “We will settle in one corner of the chamber,” Nolan said. “Any bugs who wish to visit and converse will be welcome. Perhaps we will discover some common interests.” He smiled. “For example, do any of you lady bugs have mental images of how you would appear if you assumed human form? My friend Aurora would be happy to demonstrate the mental translation mechanism. It requires brief physical contact with one of us human visitors but is otherwise not stressful. We might even have a mock party.”

  The bugs hesitated, then cleared back from one corner of the cavern. Nolan and his company went there.

  At that point Apoca and Nimbus entered the cave, and the replay merged with reality. They joined the others in the corner.

  Then, hesitantly three doodlebugs approached. “We are at peace, right?” Nolan said. “Or at least an ongoing truce. Nobody tries to bite, nobody fires, and nobody stomps, right?”

  “They agree,” Aurora said. She was better able than he to pick up on bug thoughts from a distance, being a bug herself. For dealing with him she needed physical contact, but bugs were her type.

  “But aren’t doodlebugs the larva of ant lions?” Nimbus asked. “They eat ants!”

  “These are young, not-yet-mature lions,” Aurora said. “And they don’t eat fire ants.” She breathed a token jet of fire. Indeed, her kind was not prey to their kind.

  Nolan carefully put his left hand down on the floor beside the three. They walked over to it and climbed on. Now their thoughts reached him, a confused mishmash of intrigue and trepidation. They had been sent by the bug leader to establish relations but were understandably nervous about this dangerously booted monster.

  He tried to reassure them. “You know of BLURB? In exchange for our sanctuary here, we will teach you something nice.”

  “Like this,” Aurora said, her message reaching them now that all of them were in direct contact with him. “You are lovely creatures of your kind, or would like to be, when you mature, right? Here is the equivalent in the human kind.” She put on her nice human image, modestly garbed.