Killer's ears pricked up, then drooped as Telemain shook his head.
"Without Killer we'd have to hunt for the Society of Wizards' building.
We'd probably lose more time than we gained."
Kazul shook her head irritably. "Well, if you human people didn't waste so much time arguing, we'd-oh, good, Cimorene's finished."
Turning, Morwen saw Mendanbar and Cimorene coming toward them.
Mendanbar's expression was even more unhappy than before, and Cimorene looked equally sober. "Ready to go?" she asked as they reached the group.
"Whenever you are," Telemain replied.
"Cimorene… ," said Mendanbar.
"Don't start," Cimorene said in a gentle tone. "One of us has to go, and you can't."
"If Telemain and Morwen weren't with you, I'd say let the wizards have the blasted sword," Mendanbar muttered. "It isn't worth the risk."
"Telemain and Morwen?" Kazul muttered. "What am I, diced troll food?"
Cimorene kissed Mendanbar's nose. "You'd say 'let the wizards have the sword, but you wouldn't mean it. Don't worry, I'll be all right." She turned to Morwen, her eyes suspiciously bright. "Come on, let's go before he thinks of another objection."
Morwen nodded and started off. The edge of the Enchanted Forest was only a few yards away, clearly visible as a sharp line where the bright green moss stopped and ordinary grass began. At the border, Morwen waited a moment for everyone to line up, then they all crossed at more or less the same time. Telemain had them walk several yards, to get away from the "field influences," before he was satisfied that his transportation spell would work properly. Then, frowning in concentration, he made a circling gesture and muttered under his breath. The trees melted and shifted, then solidified into an open field.
"One down, four to go," said Telemain.
10
In Which Telemain Works Very Hard
Telemain had to stop and rest for a while after the second transportation spell, and after the third he looked so pale that Morwen said, "We don't have to go on immediately, you know. We've got at least one more day, and probably two, before the sword reaches the critical point."
"It's getting late." Telemain puffed as if he had been running hard for a long time. "Still, I'm quite capable of casting another spell or two."
Cimorene glanced at the tall pines that surrounded them and dug an experimental toe into the spongy accumulation of needles underfoot.
"If you're sure it won't be too much-" "We're going to have to spend the night somewhere, and this looks like as good a place as any," Morwen broke in quickly. "Better than some."
"Boring," said Trouble. "It looks boring. Jasmine would love it.
Let's try for somewhere more interesting."
Kazul coiled her tail loosely around the base of one of the trees and stretched herself out on the ground. "It's comfortable, and there's plenty of room."
"I thought you were in a hurry," Telemain said irritably. "Do you want to find Mendanbar's sword or not?"
"If you wear yourself out doing transports, you won't be able to do the locating spell," Morwen said as Cimorene opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm not worn out!"
Cimorene closed her mouth and gave Telemain a long, thoughtful look.
Good, thought Morwen. Now if I can just get Telemain to agree to stop transporting before he falls over… "If we go on, where will we land next?"
"I'm not sure," Telemain admitted. "Normally, I transfer from here straight to the edge of the Great Southern Desert, but the interval is incompatible with the number of people and the mass I'm transporting on this occasion. Given the ratios, I would approximate a landing site at three-fifths of the normal distance."
"Do you know what we'd find there?" Morwen asked, ignoring Cimorene's puzzled expression.
"No."
"Then we're better off here," Morwen said in a tone intended to discourage further discussion. "It looks comfortable and quiet, and the next stop might not be either." She stepped closer to Telemain and murmured, "And we should be careful not to let Cimorene get too tired."
"Oh!" Telemain sighed in relief. "Of course. Very well, we'll camp here, and go on in the morning."
Cimorene glanced at Morwen suspiciously, but all she said was, "That's settled, then. Why don't you rest for a few minutes while we set things up?"
Killer's nose twitched. "Does that mean we'll get dinner soon? Because I'm hungry."
"Again? All those layers of spells must be affecting your metabolism," Morwen said. "Or didn't Cimorene's cook feed you properly before you left the castle?"
"Oh, he had plenty to eat," Scorn said. "He was gorging himself when we left, and he had nearly half an hour after that before Telemain brought him and the others to the house. You should have seen him, Morwen. He's worse than Fiddlesticks with a plate of fish."
"It's not my fault," Killer said in a plaintive tone. "I can't help being hungry. I just am."
"Well, we can't get anything for you to eat until after we've set up camp," Morwen said. "Telemain, is there a source of water around anywhere?"
Telemain directed her to a small pool a short distance away. As Morwen set off, Cimorene fell into step beside her. Once they were too far from the others for anyone to hear, Cimorene said, "I'm sorry I wasn't more help with Telemain, Morwen. I was so worried about Mendanbar's sword that I didn't see how tired he was until he snapped at you. How did you convince him to stay here?"
"I told him you needed to rest."
"You told him I needed to-Morwen! I'm not sick. I'm going to have a baby, that's all. I feel fine. "Cimorene hesitated. "Well, mostly.
Sometimes in the mornings my stomach gets a little queasy. But that's not the point."
"No. The point is that Telemain needs rest." Morwen pushed aside a low-hanging branch and looked at Cimorene. "Do you really want an overtired magician transporting you? I let someone do that. Once."
"What happened?"
"I ended up forty leagues west of where I wanted to be, and I had an upset stomach for a week afterward. No one had a spare broomstick, so I had to fly home on a borrowed rake. All forty leagues. In the rain.
It's the only time in my life I've been airsick."
Cimorene shuddered. "I can see why you'd want to keep Telemain from overextending himself. I just wish you'd thought of some other way to do it."
Pushing through a sweep of long, prickly pine branches, they found the pool Telemain had described. Morwen pulled the collapsible bucket out of her sleeve and filled it, and they started back to the others.
Just before they reached the camp, Cimorene paused. "Morwen, how tired is Telemain?"
"He could probably do one more transport without any problems," Morwen admitted. "Two more are definitely out of the question. And if we land in the middle of a battle or on top of a troll's hill-" "I see."
Morwen nodded. "I prefer not to take chances."
"But a smaller spell wouldn't be a problem for him, would it?"
"What did you have in mind?"
Cimorene blushed slightly. "Well, I did promise I'd call Mendanbar whenever I could. And even if I'd had room for a full-sized magic mirror in my pack, I wouldn't have brought one because they're too breakable. I was hoping Telemain…"
"I understand." Morwen thought for a minute. "The hardest part of Telemain's magic-mirror spell is making it permanent. He shouldn't have any difficulty with a temporary speaking spell, especially if he has a chance to rest first. Ask him about it after dinner."
"I will," Cimorene said with a smile.
Cimorene's cook had provided plenty of food for the people and cats, so dinner for them was fairly straightforward. After some initial grumbling, Killer nibbled at low-hanging pine branches and even admitted that they didn't taste too bad, once he got used to them.
Since there was not enough of anything to make a dragon-sized meal, Kazul left to forage for herself.