Something was definitely going on here, something totally unexpected.
There was no shot of a Gedemondan, of course. He hadn’t expected one, and for one to have been there would have been as radical a change in their culture as had happened in Glathriel. The book indicated that one could now climb their mountains if it were just for sport or passage and that Dillians had an actual trail network through there all the way to Palim and the Sea of Storms and through Alestol to the Sea of Turigen, giving them access to much of the Well World in spite of their less than hospitable neighbors. But, the book also warned, do not expect to see a Gedemondan at any point, and those who damaged their land or strayed off the prescribed trails or took anything with them had a tendency to suffer mental torments of one sort or another or, in cases of gross transgression, to simply disappear.
Well, it was nice to know that at least the Gedemondans hadn’t changed much.
He wondered idly if the shadow might be a Gedemondan. It was certainly large and heavy enough. The Gedemondans could also play tricks with one’s mind and had other strange powers and abilities, but overall, he doubted it. Their religion, their culture, the focus of their entire race required isolation. Sending one out into the world would be as radical a change for them as, well, the Glathrielians.
Maybe it was a Gedemondan, after all. It fit, and he hadn’t really found much evidence of more mobile cultures who could perform the kind of vanishing act this one could. Several could blend in, chameleonlike, with their surroundings, but that wouldn’t explain the speed and variety of places this tail had been or the wide-open spaces where he’d felt the thing nearby and yet could see nothing out of the ordinary.
Well, there was no way to get around the tail, particularly when he was stuck here. This invisible follower had also scotched his idea to just take a hike west, maybe to Jorgasnovara, a nontech hex that might well be a place to shake anyone. What difference would it make, though, if the shadow just followed at a discreet distance and remained invisible?
Better to get out by sea if possible. Such creatures as this had to eat and sleep; either they’d miss the boat or they would become more obvious, and more manageable, out in the middle of the ocean. He was pretty sure that a Gedemondan would have a tough time if forced to swim, although, damn it, the big bastards could probably walk on water by now.
He slammed the book shut. Damn it, he just couldn’t stay around here! He didn’t want to live in a damned tent out in this perennially lousy weather, and that was what would happen within another week. It was time to move, to do something, no matter whether it made a major difference or not. The colonel had been delaying and hemming and hawing about sailing opportunities but had yet to come up with anything concrete. Tomorrow he’d give the old bastard an ultimatum. Come up with something now or it was farewell. Damn it, if Jorgasnovara was any sort of option, he’d take it. If not, he’d use the Zone Gate and go back into Ambreza and get the hell out of there somehow via Glathriel to the Sea of Turigen. He could certainly work that out with the Ambrezan Zone ambassador, and that would shake up any tails and meddlers! If nothing else, this damned shadow would have to follow him through the Gate, where he’d be perfectly satisfied to sit and wait awhile for it, or give it up.
At least it would be doing something. God knows where Mavra is by this time, he thought sourly. Probably doing better than I am, anyway.
The shadow was there in the hotel lobby. He could feel it, even though, as usual, he could put neither face nor form to it. It was another reason why he felt he had to bolt. He’d shaken it once and was certain he could do it again. The watcher depended too much on its invisibility or whatever it was using; it hadn’t been subtle in any other way, and that would be its undoing.
The colonel was his usual oozy self, and that didn’t apply just to his external appearance, Brazil thought. In this case at least, the Well’s oddball sense of humor—some sort of reflection, probably, of an early puckish programmer—had simply made the outside match what was already there inside.
“I can’t wait any longer, Colonel,” he told the Leeming. “I believe that this is farewell for us. I will be leaving very soon.”
The colonel was visibly upset, as shown by his sudden involuntary imitation of a gelatin mold. “But—but just give me a few more days, Captain! The ship is almost completed. These things take time, you know, and one cannot will a complex ship into seaworthiness!”
“It doesn’t matter. Either I’m on a ship within the next day or I’m out of here,” Brazil said flatly. “And since, as you say, you can’t materialize a working ship going anywhere near where I want to go, I’ll be making other arrangements.”
“Indeed? What other arrangements, if I might be so bold? I mean, there is considerable ocean between this continent and anywhere else.”
“I have other possibilities. They’re just more work, that’s all. I’ve been getting too soft and lazy here, and too broke. No, Colonel, it won’t do. I’m gone.”
The colonel, still quivering, was also thinking furiously. “Well, give me until tomorrow morning at least. One more night. That is not asking too much, I think. If I do not come up with anything useful, you can still leave.”
Brazil frowned. “And what makes you think you can come up with something in so short a time when you haven’t been able to come up with anything for weeks?” he asked suspiciously.
“Oh, well, ah, we have been waiting for the ship to be completed to go where you wished to go, have we not? And if you leave on your own, you will have to make a very circuitous route, is that not so? While it is true that I might not be able to get you near your destination, I can certainly get you on the same continent. Let me look at what ships are in. What I find might not be very comfortable, but at least it will get you somewhere closer. Agreed?”
A half smile crept over Nathan Brazil’s face. “I believe I understand things perfectly now, Colonel. In fact, I feel somewhat chagrined that it took me this long. Tell you what—you go and see what you can come up with and then contact me back here. If I’m still here, we’ll talk some more. If you find that I’ve checked out, forget me. That is the best I can do.”
“I—I think you are being very unreasonable, but I will try and find something with all speed, I promise you. Wait for my call. Until tonight at least.”
“We will see, Colonel. We will see.”
He watched the creature slither off and knew that he didn’t have much of a window of opportunity. Within minutes the colonel would be calling in, reporting to whoever had sent him here, telling them to find him some kind of passage in a hurry, but something slow and sure to wind up going in the wrong direction. Others would be dispatched to put a close watch on him in case he did try to leave.
Of course, there was also the shadow, but somehow he didn’t think that whatever it was worked for the same people who obviously employed the colonel. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but as usual, he knew to trust his instincts.
The girl seemed surprised when he went back toward the room, but she followed. He’d gotten into the habit of using the stairs with her most of the time, not because it was easier for her but because he’d felt he was getting soft and needed the exercise. Well, he’d get his exercise now, that was for sure.