Polychrome – Chapter 28
Chapter 28.
“So, Lord Erik, we head for the Nome King’s domain once we have landed?”
I turned and smiled at Zenga. She was easy to smile at, having the dark-coffee skin of most of Pingaree’s people combined with the sharper-cut features of her mother to produce a girl of striking beauty. “Yes and no, Princess.”
“You are far too young to speak in riddles,” she retorted, leaning on the rail next to me. “That is the province of wizened old wizards and priests.”
She was dressed in an outfit that I, being totally unversed in the ways of clothing, couldn’t give a name to, but it was some sort of protective clothing that was meant to allow someone free movement… and apparently to still be properly stylish as well. As she came from and was used to a very warm climate, it also wasn’t particularly modest, which did put some slight demands on my eyeball control. Fortunately, I’d had a great deal of practice with that around Poly.
“Old as your father looks, at least. Old enough so that I could have had daughters of my own who had children by now.” I couldn’t use the line that first occurred to me, which was “old enough to be your father”, since the way time flowed and the slightly-faerie humanity of these realms aged, she was still probably as old or older than me in actual years. “Still, it’s not exactly a riddle. Eventually I have to get to the Nome King, but first I have to find the key that unlocks his door.”
“And you know where to find this… key?” She studied me curiously. “I have no doubt there are a number of people that would like to find such a thing.”
I don’t doubt it. “I know, I think, how to go about finding it, even though I don’t know exactly where it is.”
She nodded, though undoubtedly that didn’t really explain much to her. “So first we are heading…?”
“… to the border between Gilgad and the Nome King’s lands. That’s the best region to search.” I glanced into the sky, noting that this time there wasn’t a sign of cloud; so far it seemed that our adversaries weren’t going to attempt another ambush at sea. “I don’t think I’ll say anything more until we’re on our way there.”
She blinked, then looked around the ship. “You … suspect a spy on the Pearl of Gilgad?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” I answered with a chuckle. “However, even an overheard word can turn out to be a danger under some circumstances, and in this case since you’re going to be following me regardless – you made that clear enough – I have no reason to take any risks in that area until we’re somewhere that makes it necessary that you understand what’s going on.”
Her head tilted and she gazed at me speculatively, curiously. “And yet certain things you have made no secret of. I’m not sure how to read you, Lord Erik.”
“Good.” I said, in a voice deliberately deeper with a slight higher-pitched secondary tone which I was pleased to note came out well; my Vorlon imitation was always a tough one.
Zenga blinked in confusion, and I laughed. “The point being that if people traveling with me can’t figure me out easily, then hopefully neither can my adversaries.”
“That makes sense.” She bit her lip – in what was I thought a clearly deliberate affectation that made her look younger and more innocent. “Could… I ask you another question, Lord Erik?”
“As I always say, you can ask any time; whether you get any answers, that’s a different matter.”
She made a very disrespectful face, which of course just made me grin wider. “Why did you let me come along? It was clear to me that you could have said no, and my father would in many ways have preferred it so.”
“Yes, that was fairly clear.” King Inga’s face had shown how worried he was, even if somehow his wife and daughter had argued him into it, and when it had become clear that she was, in fact, going, he’d taken Zenga aside and had a talk with her well out of earshot and mostly out of sight to everyone else.
Some of my reasons I wasn’t going to tell her yet, but there were others I could. “Well, the Prophecy said I had to pick up companions on my way, so I was expecting actually to get one at Pingaree. I suppose I’d originally expected Prince Inga – the books kinda get stuck in your head when you’ve read them so many times as a kid, and I hadn’t thought much about him growing up. Your brother didn’t seem at all interested in coming, either.”
“Nikki?” she said, using the diminuitive of Prince Nikkikut’s name. “No, Nikki’s into the books and studies. It’s all that Father can do to get him out of the library and into the sunlight most of the time. Except for fishing – he’s one of the best pearl-fishers his age.”
“And it was pretty clear to me that you weren’t unable to take care of yourself.”
She patted the hilts of the twin swords that hung near her hips, somehow staying in the inverted sheaths that crossed her back, the tips projecting over her shoulders. “My swordmasters say I’m one of the best. Father did have me trained from the time I was little; I think he was still remembering the time he had to survive the attack on his own.”
“So,” I continued, “I figured that I had good reason to have you along based on the Prophecy. Second, you’re a Princess of Pingaree; even though Pingaree is known to have only a small navy and no army to speak of, its defeat and eventual consolidation of Regos and Coregos gives your country a powerful reputation. King Inga, by sending his eldest child, is sending a message that he has chosen to cast his lot with me and the Rainbow Lord. This is a very significant political signal, and one that I hope will be useful.”
She glanced over my shoulder; I reached up, curious as to what she was looking at, and my fingers found the empty scabbard that was just visible to her. “You didn’t feel you needed protection?”
I laughed. “Not in that sense, Princess –”
“– please, call me Zenga.”
“Okay. Not in that sense, Zenga. Truth be told, I’d forgotten I lost the sword.” I’d lost it, of course, when I’d fallen five hundred feet into the sea. “And honestly speaking, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I keep breaking the swords. I’m surprised I haven’t broken my armor yet.”
She looked at me with an expression of wary suspicion, clearly trying to figure out if I was putting her on. “You do not look so… mighty as that makes you sound, if you will forgive me for saying so, Lord –”
“– Erik, if you’re insisting on ‘Zenga’.”
“Thank you. Then, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, you don’t appear so mighty as to have to worry about shattering your weapons and armor, Erik.”
That got a grin. “No doubt. And I’m not so much mighty as just different. But that’s one of the reasons I need to find the Nome King. He can almost certainly make weapons and armor that will survive my use.”
That was one aspect I’d thought about quite a bit. The sky fairies like those in the Rainbow Kingdom hardly ever touched mundane materials. The Nomes, on the other hand, had to tunnel through rock, work iron and brass and stone and so on. Even though a lot of what they dealt with was, of course, also magical, I was pretty sure that if they understood what I needed they could probably make me stuff that I couldn’t break no matter how hard I used it.
I could see she wasn’t quite clear on why I found my current material so fragile – obviously she wouldn’t be able to break my armor if I handed it to her and let her beat on it all day – but my matter-of-fact delivery seemed to convince her that I wasn’t just bragging. “And you think you can convince King Kaliko to help you, when he’s refused to take sides at all for centuries?”
I shrugged, but then nodded. “I can’t be sure… but yes, if I can find my key and get in front of him, I think I’ve got a good shot at it. He has to know that – like everyone else – in the end Ugu and Amanita are going to come for him. They’ll have to, to secure their realm permanently. He’s too powerful to take a chance on.”
“And you’re not telling me any more.”
“Nope. Not right now. Once we’re alone in the wilds, yes.”
“Well, then, I look forward to being alone with you.”
What? Was that a wink? I found myself staring, momentarily very discomfited, as Zenga swayed across the deck to where a practice area had been set up, drew her swords, and began warming up.
Inkarbleu came up next to me as I watched her practicing. “A man of deep policy is King Inga… or perhaps his Queen.”
“Huh?” I admit this wasn’t perhaps the most witty rejoinder. “How so?”
“A Queen is unlikely to encourage, nor a King agree to, the sending of their only daughter on such a dangerous expedition unless they foresee a potential for vast benefit in it.”
“Well, yeah. They want Ugu defeated and they understand I have to have political backing besides just the Rainbow Lord.”
Inkarbleu looked at me with an expression that made me feel like an idiot. “Hmmm… perhaps you are as naïve as you sound. How … refreshing, in a way. That political backing could have been achieved in a number of other ways, none of which would require risking his eldest and most beloved child.”
“I… suppose. But then what’s the point of sending her?”
Inkarbleu blinked, then smiled. “Perhaps… perhaps none at all, my Lord Erik.” He walked away, shaking his head and chuckling.
What the hell was so funny?
The Cluelessness is strong with this one.
As I said to Bibliotheca below, based strongly on my own experiences. It took a LOT for me to clearly recognize a woman was interested in me.
ROFL! I do love a good naïve, lovestruck puppy. If that’s what his obliviousness can be attributed to, that is, and not merely an inability to grasp the possibility that a gorgeous warrior-princess might actually intend to flirt with him. I’m not sure which would be more amusing/adorable. I wonder how Poly is feeling right aboot now. (Aboot intentional…’tis funny) Bit possessive perchance? Hmm… *evil laugh*
Equal parts cluelessness and inability to recognize that it could happen. Based on my own experiences; there were a couple of points where women made (from their point of view) full-power dives at me and I simply didn’t notice.
Yeah, I get that. It is nice to experience it as an observer, rather than being the clueless one, though… Heh. I’ve always been mystified by women’s definition of “obvious” though. I mean, if it isn’t obvious to me…is it really obvious? Of course I’m given to understand that in a discussion about this the answer becomes, if you’re in a relationship with the woman concerned, “yes, of course it was obvious, dear!” Because of reasons. *grin*
I don’t pick up on hints; my wife has come to realize that over the years. Even broad “it would be nice if X…” isn’t the same as saying “Do X now”.
I had that argument less than a week ago.
Mary complained that she had to do everything herself because I hadn’t helped with the decorations.
I said she hadn’t asked.
She said “I said ‘It’s time to put up the decorations.'”
I pointed out that this statement was not actually a request for help.
We have the opposite problem too. I’ll ask if it’s time to go. Mary for some unknown reason assumes this is me claiming that it’s time to go and complaining that she’s late.
That’s not what I said! Why would she think I mean that? If I thought it was time to go and was worried that she wasn’t ready I’d say “It’s time to go, are you ready?”
He is fixated on Poly right now. I hope this does not lead to confusion later because he has to focus to succeed.
Zenga can be distracting. But… well, _sore wa HIMITSU desu!_ ^_^
About the Nomes – I’m happy to say, “Called it!”
About Zenga vs. Poly – How does this end for Erik? Who does he go with? The book is titled “Polychrome”, but Erik doesn’t seem to fit well in the Rainbow Lands. I’m curious to find out.
It will be resolved, at least in the general sense, by Chapter 30, which is where the snippets end.
King Inga can’t afford to give Eric a new sword?
Yes he could but there’s a reason Eric didn’t ask him to do so.
The reason is touched on in the next chapter.
Watch out for those spoilers, or Drack will…
Oops. I guess he won’t.
Spoiler? What Spoiler? [Keeping an eye open for Ryk’s reaction}
Well, Inga could give him a purely mundane sword, but that wouldn’t survive contact with mystical adversaries. Erik needs something tough enough for him to wield without fear, and also magical enough to withstand magical assaults. That’s a tough order.
Hmm…I was wondering: would a sword made of mundane materials still enable Erik to wield it like a superhero? Y’know, smacking it into giants and launching them into orbit or the nearest equivalent? Or would its nonmagical nature make it simultaneously heavy as a normal sword, and ineffectual/neutral as regards his “True Mortal” abilities? Meaning, would he be better off using his fists against his enemies? Heck, on that line…okay I think I’ll stop now. Lol.
A mundane sword would survive Erik’s use, but would not have the advantage of being lighter and easier to use, and more importantly would be easily destroyed by magical effects unless Erik was concentrating on keeping his True Mortal aura extended to include the sword. A weapon that needs you to focus on protecting it is a weaker weapon in effect.
Aha! I was kind of trying to articulate that as a question, but couldn’t phrase it right. That does make me wonder what the whole “enchanting the mundane sword” thing does to Erik’s ability to True Mortal style wield it. I mean…iron is iron even if you slap magic all over it and inside it, right? Or maybe putting magic into the sword…ohhhhh! Duh! If it’s anything less than purely mundane, he can do whatever he wants with it. And magically enchanted iron may be iron, but it ain’t “True Iron” for lack of a better term. Hmmm…possibilities…someone get that man some giant magically enchanted metal wings, stat! Lol. :P I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to try that out, were I in his place, heh.