different pattern. “A son,” she said. “He will leave you when he matures and go seek a wife among the human kind. He will never achieve notoriety, but his descendants may.”
“Thank you,” Bluebell said, sounding disappointed. Evidently she had hoped for more.
Aware of this, the woman peered more closely, tracing down a particular sparkle. “Let me see--there is one, far down the line, centuries hence--yes, she will consort with human Kings of Xanth.”
“Oh!” Bluebell exclaimed, brightening.
Then the old elfess threw the globe at me. Surprised, I stepped back, but it expanded to my size and englobed me. For an instant I was dazzled by the sparkles; then they were gone, and the globe was back on the stone.
The elfess' little face turned grim as she contemplated the sparkles. “Let's pass on this one,” she muttered.
“No, I want to know,” I said. “If I am to be ancestor to the consort of Kings, what it says about me should be known.”
The elfess grimaced. “You will be doomed by a cruel lie,” she told me. “Yet it is not the end. After your flesh has rotted, you will find true love.”
“Uh, thank you,” I said, no more thrilled than Bluebell had been at first. I didn't really believe in fortune-telling, but I didn't really disbelieve, either.
Then the gathering dissipated. The King bade me farewell, ironic as that might seem after the prophecy, and Bluebell climbed up to give me a parting kiss.
I went to Pook, who had been happily grazing for three days on the rich elf-sward and was fit and fat. He had not tried to leave, for that would have implied that he was not my true steed, and the elves might have become awkwardly suspicious. So he had stayed, and when the elven children had begged him for rides “in the name of the Barbarian Man,” he had obliged. I knew he was not yet tame, merely smart enough to play the role he had to. Just as I had been, up in the bower of the elf elm.
I mounted and rode away, pausing at the fringe of the glade to wave to the assembled elves. They waved back. Then, somewhat sadly, I moved on.
Xanth 8 - Crewel Lye
Chapter 5: Bundle of Joy.
I rode through the pleasant elf-kept forest, feeling better as the poignancy of parting passed. I had indeed spent three days with the elves. My body had completed its process of healing, and I was at full strength again. Maybe that had been one reason Bluebell held me so long--to send me out into the jungle fully ready, rather than partly ready. If so, she had done me a favor beyond my realization at the time. Surely the other elves would not have let me stay, once she finished with me; they were businesslike folk at heart. But if I ever encountered another such tribe, I would be sure to pay my respects; I liked their mode of entertaining travelers.
The map showed that I was approaching dragon country. But I couldn't skirt it to the west; the Elements of Earth and Air were there, marked unfit for occupancy. The map was accurate about the northern regions I had already traversed, and I believed it about the southern ones. That left the eastern side, and I decided to go that route. How nice to have forewarning about the dragons! Naturally barbarians boast of slaying dragons, but the closer a barbarian actually gets to a dragon, the less inclined he feels toward combat. I found myself in absolutely no hurry now. So I veered Pook east.
We traveled for a day without event. Things were quiet in the elven region; there weren't even any tangle trees. It occurred to me that in some respects the elven society was superior to the human one; it certainly wasn't this pleasant or safe in the vicinity of Fen Village.
But as we left the elven region, the terrain became rougher, and we came up against the river the map showed as originating in the south and flowing north, parallel to the more distant coast. I considered crossing it, but there were flashes of color in the water's depths, and Pook balked. He remembered the sharks in
“Thank you,” Bluebell said, sounding disappointed. Evidently she had hoped for more.
Aware of this, the woman peered more closely, tracing down a particular sparkle. “Let me see--there is one, far down the line, centuries hence--yes, she will consort with human Kings of Xanth.”
“Oh!” Bluebell exclaimed, brightening.
Then the old elfess threw the globe at me. Surprised, I stepped back, but it expanded to my size and englobed me. For an instant I was dazzled by the sparkles; then they were gone, and the globe was back on the stone.
The elfess' little face turned grim as she contemplated the sparkles. “Let's pass on this one,” she muttered.
“No, I want to know,” I said. “If I am to be ancestor to the consort of Kings, what it says about me should be known.”
The elfess grimaced. “You will be doomed by a cruel lie,” she told me. “Yet it is not the end. After your flesh has rotted, you will find true love.”
“Uh, thank you,” I said, no more thrilled than Bluebell had been at first. I didn't really believe in fortune-telling, but I didn't really disbelieve, either.
Then the gathering dissipated. The King bade me farewell, ironic as that might seem after the prophecy, and Bluebell climbed up to give me a parting kiss.
I went to Pook, who had been happily grazing for three days on the rich elf-sward and was fit and fat. He had not tried to leave, for that would have implied that he was not my true steed, and the elves might have become awkwardly suspicious. So he had stayed, and when the elven children had begged him for rides “in the name of the Barbarian Man,” he had obliged. I knew he was not yet tame, merely smart enough to play the role he had to. Just as I had been, up in the bower of the elf elm.
I mounted and rode away, pausing at the fringe of the glade to wave to the assembled elves. They waved back. Then, somewhat sadly, I moved on.
Xanth 8 - Crewel Lye
Chapter 5: Bundle of Joy.
I rode through the pleasant elf-kept forest, feeling better as the poignancy of parting passed. I had indeed spent three days with the elves. My body had completed its process of healing, and I was at full strength again. Maybe that had been one reason Bluebell held me so long--to send me out into the jungle fully ready, rather than partly ready. If so, she had done me a favor beyond my realization at the time. Surely the other elves would not have let me stay, once she finished with me; they were businesslike folk at heart. But if I ever encountered another such tribe, I would be sure to pay my respects; I liked their mode of entertaining travelers.
The map showed that I was approaching dragon country. But I couldn't skirt it to the west; the Elements of Earth and Air were there, marked unfit for occupancy. The map was accurate about the northern regions I had already traversed, and I believed it about the southern ones. That left the eastern side, and I decided to go that route. How nice to have forewarning about the dragons! Naturally barbarians boast of slaying dragons, but the closer a barbarian actually gets to a dragon, the less inclined he feels toward combat. I found myself in absolutely no hurry now. So I veered Pook east.
We traveled for a day without event. Things were quiet in the elven region; there weren't even any tangle trees. It occurred to me that in some respects the elven society was superior to the human one; it certainly wasn't this pleasant or safe in the vicinity of Fen Village.
But as we left the elven region, the terrain became rougher, and we came up against the river the map showed as originating in the south and flowing north, parallel to the more distant coast. I considered crossing it, but there were flashes of color in the water's depths, and Pook balked. He remembered the sharks in
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