"Oh-she's fallen prey to a hypnogourd."
A hypnogourd. Smash remembered encountering that fruit before. Anyone who peeked in the peephole of such a gourd remained mesmerized until some third party broke the connection. Naturally Tandy had not been aware of this. So she had peeked, being girlishly curious-and remained frozen there. Gently, the Siren removed the gourd, breaking the connection. Tandy blinked and shook her head. But her eyes did not quite focus. Her features coalesced into an expression of vacant, continuing horror.
"Hey, come out of it, dear," the Siren said. "The bad vision is over. It ended when you lost contact with the gourd. Everything's all right." Yet the girl seemed numb. The Siren shook her, but still Tandy did not respond.
"Maybe it's like the Eye Queue," Smash said. "It stays in the mind until removed."
"The gourds aren't usually that way," the Siren said, perplexed. "Of course, I have not had much personal experience with them, since I have lived alone; there's no one to break the trance for me, so I have stayed clear. But I met a man once, a Mundane, back when I was able to lure men with my music.
He said the gourds were like computer games-that seems to be something he knew about in Mundania, one of their forms of magic-only more compelling. He said some people got hooked worse than others."
"Tandy was raised in the caves. She has no experience with most of Xanth. She must be susceptible.
Whatever she saw in there maintains its grip on her mind."
"That must be it. Usually people have no memory of what they see inside, but maybe that varies also.
That same Mundane spoke of acidheads, which I think are creatures whose heads-well, I can't quite visualize that. But it seems they suffered flashbacks of their mad dreams after their heads were back in normal shape. Maybe Tandy is-"
"I'll go into that gourd and destroy whatever is bothering her," Smash said. "Then she'll be free."
"Smash, you may not have your body in there! I have never looked into a gourd, but I don't think the same rules apply as those we know. You could get caught there, too. It could be catastrophe."
"I will be more careful to avoid that trophy, this time," Smash said with an ogrish grimace. He applied his eye to the peephole.
He was in a world of black and white. He stood before a black wooden door set in a white house. There was no sound at all, and the air was chill. Faintly ominous vibrations wafted in from the near distance.
There was the diffuse odor of spoiling carrion.
Smash licked bis lips. Carrion always made him hungry. But he did not trust this situation. Tandy was not here, of course, and he saw nothing that could account for her condition. Nothing to frighten or horrify a person. He decided to leave.
However, he perceived no way out. He had arrived full-formed within this scene; there was no obvious exit. He was locked into this vision-unless he had entered through this door and turned about to face it without realizing, and could depart through it. Doors generally did lead from one place to another.
He took hold of the black metal doorknob. The thing zapped him with a small bolt of lightning. He tried to let go, but his hand was locked on. He wore no gauntlets; evidently he had left them behind. The electric pain pulsed through his fingers, locking the muscles clenched with its special magic. There was a wash of pain, literally; his black hand was now glowing with red color, in stark contrast with the monochrome of the rest of the scene.
Smash yanked hard on the knob. The entire door ripped off its hinges. The pain stopped, the red color faded, his fingers relaxed at last, and he hurled the door away behind him.
Before him was a long, blank hall penetrating the somber house. From the depths of it came a
horrendous groan. This did not seem to be the way out; he was sure he had not walked any great distance inside the gourd. But it did seem pleasant enough, and was the only way that offered. Smash stepped inside.
A chill draft rustled the fur on his legs. The odor of putrefaction intensified. The floor shuddered as it took his weight. There was another groan.
Smash strode forward, impatient to get out of this interestingly drear but pointless place, worried about Tandy. He needed to consult with the Siren, to work out some strategy by which he might find whatever had scared Tandy and deal with it. Otherwise he would have felt free to enjoy the further entertainments of this house. Had he realized what kind of scene was inside the gourd, he would have entered it years ago.
Something flickered before him. Smash squinted, and saw it was a ghost. "You trapped, too?" he asked sympathetically, and walked through it.
The ghost made an angry moan and flickered to his frontside again. "Boooooo!" it booooooed.
Smash paused. Was this creature trying to tell bun something? He had known very few ghosts, as they did not ordinarily associate with ogres. There were several at Castle Roogna, attending to routine hauntings. "Do I know you?" he asked. "Do we have any mutual acquaintances?"
"Yoowwelll" the ghost yowded, its hollow eyes flashing darkness,
"I'd help you if I could, but I'm lost myself," Smash said apologetically, and brushed on through it again.
The ghost, disgusted for some obscure reason, faded away.
The passage narrowed. This was no illusion; the walls were closing on either side, squeezing together.
Smash didn't like to be crowded, so he put one hamhand on each wall and pushed outward, exerting ogre force. Something snapped; then the walls slid apart and lay tilted at slightly odd angles. It would probably be a long time before they tried to push another ogre around!
At the end of the hall was a rickety staircase leading up. Smash pressed one hairy bare foot on the lowest step and shoved down, testing it. The step bowed and squeaked piteously, but supported his weight.
Smash took another step-and suddenly the entire stairway began to move, carrying him upward. Magic stairs! What would this enjoyable place think of next?
The stairs accelerated. Faster and faster they went, making the dank air breeze past Smash's face. At the top of the flight they ended abruptly, and he went sailing out into blank space.
Ogres liked lots of violent things, hut were not phenomenally partial to falling. However, they weren't unduly concerned about it, either. Smash stiffened his legs. In a moment he landed on hard concrete.
Naturally it fractured under the impact of his feet. He stepped out of the nibble and looked about.
He seemed to be in some sort of deep well, or oubliette. The circular wall narrowed above, making climbing out difficult. Then a shape appeared in silhouette, holding a big stone over its head. The figure had horns and looked like a demon. Smash was not especially partial to demons, but he greeted this one courteously enough. "Up yours, devil!" he called.
The demon dropped the stone down the well. Smash saw the dark shape looming, but had no room to step out of the way.
Then light flared. Smash blinked. It was broad daylight in the forest of Xanth. "Are you all right?" the Siren asked. "I didn't dare let you stay out too long."
"I am all right," Smash said. "How is Tandy?"
"Unchanged, I'm afraid. Smash, I don't think you can destroy what is bothering her, because the horror is now in her mind. We could smash the gourd and it still wouldn't help her."
Smash considered. His skull no longer heated up when he did that. "I believe you are correct. I saw nothing really alarming in there. Perhaps I should go into the gourd with her and show her that it's not so bad."
The Siren frowned. "I suspect ogres have different definitions of bad. Just what happened in there?"
"Only a haunted house. Shocking doorknob. Ghost. Squeezing walls-I suppose those could have been awkward for a human person. Moving stairs. A demon dropping a rock down a well."