Caen chittered.
"No kidding," Davic growled. He shifted the sapling he'd been chewing to the other side of his mouth as he walked. "What's he doing, trying to run off all the food that pirate stuffed down us?"
"He might be trying to outrun the User," Bob commented.
"Now that's a cheerful thought," Davic grumped.
Caen let out an earsplitting whistle, followed by a high-speed clatter.
"What? Not again," Davic groaned.
"What does it matter what color his eyes are?" Aria asked, her fine brow wrinkling.
"It's a sign of the infection I told you about," Turbo explained. "Wayne's got it."
"You did not tell me you were bringing an unknown virus into my LAN," Aria said sternly.
"We didn't exactly know we were coming, Aria," Turbo growled. "Besides, what would you have done? Thrown him out into the Web to delete?"
"'Sprites carrying or suspected of carrying an unidentified infection shall be placed under quarantine upon discovery of their condition.'" Aria quoted haughtily. "Regulations of the Guardian Collective, Section Six, Paragraph Two."
"Impressive memory," Turbo noted acidly. "Maybe you also remember Section Two. It's the one about 'Duties and Powers of the Prime Guardian'."
"So you are invoking the privileges of your rank to protect a potential danger to my system?" Aria asked dangerously.
"Since you seem to want to follow regulations all of a sudden, yes."
"Excuse me," Bob interrupted. "But would one of you please explain why you keep insulting each other?"
"It is a long story," Aria sighed irritably.
"And it's none of your business," Turbo finished in a growl.
"It's our business if you two are too busy fighting with each other to notice the User," Bob pointed out.
"Which is right up the road," Davic added. "Caen picked up the User two nanos ago."
"I will lure them to us," Aria announced. "You had best stop up your ears." She took her flute from her belt.
"Do as she says," Turbo commanded. "Copland!"
Copland squawked out a few phrases.
"Later, Copland."
Copland produced a sound that suspiciously resembled a long-suffering sigh, then transformed itself into a pair of thick earmuffs.
Glitch burbled, and followed suit.
"Are you planning on changing form anytime soon?" Davic asked Caen.
Caen rattled.
"That's what I figured," Davic grumped. "Are you sure you haven't passed up a processor upgrade somewhere?"
Caen replied with a hiss that ended in several sharp beeps.
Aria's eyes widened, Bob's eyebrows shot up, and Turbo's expression darkened. There were murmurs from the keytools.
Davic rolled his eyes. "One of these cycles I'm going to find out who taught you to curse, and go see if he's still accepting students."
"You're bad enough already, Davic," Bob assured him. "You just aren't as…creative as Caen is."
Davic shrugged. "Maybe it comes with age. Caen's got a ninety-minute lead on me, you know."
Caen made a rude noise, then slid up Davic's arm, wrapped itself around the sapling Davic had been using as a toothpick, and snapped it in two. The halves of the sapling rose on a flickering blue glow, and abruptly jammed themselves into Davic's ogre-furred ears.
"Ow! Hey!" Davic clapped his hands to the sides of his head.
Bob burst out laughing, and even Turbo's angry frown lifted a little.
Davic wrenched the makeshift earplugs out. "You're going to pry every last splinter out of my head, Caen. Then I think I'll let Rubeus use you to play fetch with Fluffy. Then—"
"Devise your punishments later, friend Davic," Aria advised. "The Game is afoot."
Davic growled, but put his hands over his ears while Bob and Turbo donned their keytool-earmuffs.
Aria strode to the top of the nearest rise, and began to play her flute. The sound reached across the hills, echoing with loneliness.
Well down the road, the User's party stopped, and turned their heads to listen.
Aria swayed in time to her music, and the simple melody was suddenly supported by a harmony line.
Turbo stood glaring down the road, his jaw set.
Aria's feet lifted, and with her first few dancing steps, another voice joined the two already issuing from her flute.
Bob looked from Aria to Turbo and back, his expression puzzled.
Down the road, the User's Warrior took a step toward the dancing figure on the hill.
The music built, adding layers of countermelody to the harmonies. Aria finally took the flute from her lips and picked up a descant, her voice swooping and soaring among the other lines of the impossible music.
The User's Sorcerer blinked, then reached into its magical pouch, coming up with a pair of puffballs. These it hastily stuffed into its ears, while its Warrior, Archer, and Thief shuffled steadily toward Aria.
Davic harrumphed impatiently, and his club slipped out from under his ratty belt, landing on the same foot Bob had stepped on earlier. Davic yelped in surprise and pain, taking his hands away from his ears to rub his bruised toes.
Bob, catching a glimpse of Davic's movement out of the tail of his eye, turned. "Davic, no!"
Turbo, with his hearing dulled and his back to Bob, kept his eyes fixed on the User's party.
Davic hopped around holding his injured foot, nearing bowling Bob over in the process. Then the music reached his ears over the sound of his own swearing, and his eyes went wide.
"Davic, don't listen! Cover your ears!" Bob yelled. Caen and Glitch joined the sound, raising a mechanical din of static and feedback.
Aria, now quite literally dancing on air, whirled, her face shining and her eyes bright blue.
The User's Sorcerer dug into its pouch again, this time pulling out a slender wand.
Turbo, eyes on the other three members of the User party, glanced back at the Sorcerer an instant too late. "No! Aria, look out!" He drew his sword and sprinted up the hill toward the Elven Siren.
A spark flew from the Sorcerer's wand, and shaped itself into a bright red arrow as it flew.
Davic took a step toward the hill, his eyes on the glowing figure dancing above the ground.
Bob spun as Turbo neared Aria. His eyes jumped from the Prime Guardian to the magical arrow to the Sorcerer in the road, and his face darkened. Bob trotted purposefully up the road, unslinging his bow and nocking an arrow as he moved. He aimed and let the arrow fly in a single swift motion.
The magical arrow struck, and Aria fell with a cry.
"Aria!" Turbo yelled.