Part IX -- Fellow Ship
Luke was dead.
It took a moment for the significance of this to sink in. Skywalker was gone. He would never join the dark side. Nor would he fight another battle against the Empire or complete his Jedi training. If he reported this to the Emperor, the monarch would be beside himself with sadistic glee. He'd always wanted Skywalker dead but favored turning him to the dark side as an alternative. The Empire was rid of the threat Skywalker represented.
So why did Vader feel like part of him had just died with him?
He stared at Luke's lifeless form, emotion swirling within him. Gently he turned Luke's head to the side to examine his profile. Yes, he'd inherited some of his mother's features. The eyes and hair belonged to Anakin Skywalker, yes, but no amount of Tatooine-farmboy DNA could mask the Nubian regality in that chin and mouth.
Padme... Vader closed his eyes and shuddered at the agony and joy that name brought. Was that what had been lost along with his son? That memory of his beloved, her laughter, her touch, the completeness he'd felt around her? Or the memory of Anakin Skywalker, once as brave and confidant a hero as this boy had been? Both had lived on, in some small way, inside him, weaknesses in his devotion to the Sith Order. Meeting Skywalker again had rekindled those sparks of light. Had his death finally managed to snuff them?
Why did he regret that so? Wasn't this what he had wanted all along? To shed his past entirely? Wasn't there no room for love, for compassion, in the Sith Order? Skywalker's death was for the best, wasn't it?
By the stars, this was his child! His flesh and blood! How could he be so callous about this? His son was dead!
With a sob he leaned over Luke's body, face pressed to his chest, hands clutching his body, sobs wracking him. Desperately he wished Luke alive, knowing full well his son's life was beyond his grasp. He hated the painful emotions Luke's presence ignited, yet he longed to feel them again. He wanted no more reminders of his past, yet he desired to relive those memories. His soul was cruelly wrenched from one extreme of that paradox to another as he wept for his child.
Then he heard it. A faint sound, like a double-strike on a distant drum. Had he imagined it? No, there came another, identical to the first.
He sat up, on the verge of panic. Luke was alive! He had a pulse! But he wasn't breathing, and Vader couldn't resuscitate him. Stars, what was he to do?
"Lord Vader!"
Jenny was staring down at him from atop the Gap Dragon's head, wet and bedraggled but fine. She slid down the monster's neck and landed beside her Companion.
"Jenny!" he exclaimed, standing, relief washing through him. "You have to help me!"
"What..." she began, then saw Luke. "Oh no, he's dead!"
"He's not dead! His heart's still beating! Jenny, you're the only one who can do this! Put your mouth over his and blow into his lungs!"
She recoiled. "I can't!"
"You must!" he screamed. The notoriously unflappable Sith Lord was gone, replaced by a frantic father.
"But I fall under the Adult Conspiracy! Any kiss, even one like this, is against the..."
"Conspiracy be damned! My son is dying!"
Her eyes were wide as she got a glimpse of Vader at his most frightening. "Metria..."
"Isn't here! You're Luke's only hope, Jenny!"
This was totally unlike him. He never panicked in an emergency, simply did what needed to be done. But the threat of losing Luke was more than he could take. More roughly than he meant to, he took Jenny's shoulders and pushed her beside Luke.
She made up her mind. Taking Luke's face in her hands, she opened his mouth and put her lips over his, breathing into his throat.
Tense seconds dragged on as Vader, Sammy, and the Gap Dragon watched Jenny try to revive Luke. Rain continued to pour down around them, but they hardly noticed.
Metria showed up in the middle of the crisis, becoming fully human as she hauled herself onto the ledge. For once Vader didn't order her to do something about her nudity.
At last Vader turned away. If he hadn't been revived by now, he was most likely gone for good. "Enough, Jenny," he ordered through a tight throat. "I apologize for my brusqueness..."
"No, Vader!" Metria exclaimed. "He's coming around! Look!"
He whirled to see Luke's chest jerk. Jenny turned the young Jedi onto his side as he coughed up water and struggled for breath.
***
"You finally let somebody kiss your son and it's the %%%%ed underage elf?!" Luke heard Metria exclaim as he coughed and gasped, recovering from his near-drowning experience.
"Well, you weren't around to do anything," Jenny pointed out.
"Oh, who cares?" The demoness grabbed Luke and embraced him tightly, planting a huge kiss on his lips. "Don't scare me like that again, Moonwalker!"
"Yeah, whatever," he replied. "Just..."
"Yes?" she breathed.
"Please..."
"Anything."
"Get some clothes on."
She frowned but complied. "I suppose you'll want to thank Jenny. She saved your life."
Luke smiled at the elf girl gratefully. She was a kind, sweet child, ever ready to help anyone and not just her assigned Player. And her action was heroic, especially since he was her Player's competition. How in the galaxy had she gotten stuck serving Vader as a Companion? He was the complete opposite of her. Maybe the Dark Lord wanted to corrupt her, too.
"Thank you, Jenny. I owe you."
She blushed. "Don't thank me. Thank Lord Vader. He told me to save you."
Stunned, Luke stared at Vader. He hadn't! But of course. He wanted him alive for the Emperor. He was hoping to capture him during the course of the game so he could turn him to the dark side. It was a purely self-serving action.
"Oh," he replied. "Well... thanks."
Vader took several minutes to reply. "Good to see you functional again, Skywalker."
Jenny and Metria stared at the Sith Lord in surprise, as if expecting something more out of him. Luke wondered what had gone on between the three of them while he was unconscious. Perhaps it didn't matter.
"How are we going to get out of here?" he said at last, looking up the sheer cliff face.
"Maybe our gothic friend here can hitch us a ride with his dragon friend," suggested Metria.
"The Gap Dragon has moved on," Vader replied, nodding downstream. Sure enough, the beast was rapidly paddling out of sight.
"Probably making sure his family's all right," Jenny replied. "He has a mate and son, you know."
"Will they be all right?" asked Luke.
"I'm sure they will," Jenny replied. "The Gap Dragon and his ilk are tough beasts."
"Luke started this mess," Metria pointed out. "After all, it was his idea to annoy Fog-Face Fracto. So let him figure it out."
"Uh..." Luke glanced at the cliff again. It looked unscaleable. "Maybe we can ask Sammy to find us a boat," he suggested lamely.
Sammy meowed, then ran to the edge of the stone ledge and leaped to a narrow path that was little more than a long thin jut in the side of the cliff face. Surprised but willing to check the option out, everyone followed, though the path was so narrow they had to go single file and practically hug the canyon wall.
The path ended at a second ledge right at the water line, where a bored-looking troll waited in a small wooden booth. Bobbing in the waters nearby, tethered to the ledge, was an assortment of small boats.
"I wasn't being serious," Luke said, puzzled.
"The game must have provided this," Jenny replied. "Though there must be a challenge embedded in it somewhere."
The troll looked up. "Whaddaya want?"
"I assume this is a troll booth," said Vader.
"It is if you want to rent a ship," the troll grunted in reply, waving at the boats.
"Those are ships?" Luke asked doubtfully.
"Got a problem with that?" the troll snapped.
Luke decided not to argue further. "How much to rent a... er... ship?"
"Whatcha got?"
Luke fumbled around in his pockets. He hadn't a credit on him or anything else of value.
"I've Mundanian money, but nothing else," Vader said.
"That'll do," the troll surprised them all by saying. "I know folks who do trading with Mundania."
Vader handed over a hundred-credit bill. The troll held it up to the light, nodded, and tucked it away. "Take a ship," he grunted.
"Which one?" asked Jenny.
"Your choice."
Luke knelt and studied the boats. Each one had a name emblazoned on the side. But what odd names -- Friend, Relation, Partner, Comrade, and Fellow.
"This must be a challenge," he murmured.
"My guess is that we need to select a ship that fits our group," Jenny offered. "The wrong ship will probably sink or fall apart or direct us into a sea monster's mouth."
"Friend Ship," Vader noted. "No, none of us are exactly friends."
"Aren't I your friend?" asked Jenny.
Vader eyed the elf girl a moment, then said "In a sense, but I doubt Metria or Luke consider us friends."
Jenny was a friend, Luke decided. The jury was still out on Metria. But he didn't consider Vader a friend. "So that's out. So's Relation Ship."
"You two can ride in it," Metria pointed out.
"Luke has yet to accept the fact that I'm his father," Vader said. "The Partner Ship, perhaps?"
"Luke and Metria are partners, and you and I are partners," Jenny observed. "It may work."
Luke inspected the Partner Ship. "Nope. It's only a two-seater."
"The Comrade Ship?" asked Jenny.
"Comrades are people working together for the same cause," Metria said. "We're fighting against each other for the prize, so we're not comrades."
"The Fellow Ship, then," Luke suggested. "We're a fellowship, like it or not, for we're traveling together for the time being."
Everyone murmured agreement and carefully stepped into the boat. The troll came out of his booth and untied the tether, using his foot to push them down river and on their way.
"Here, someone take an oar," Metria ordered, picking up a gold oar that lay on the bottom of the boat and holding it out.
"I will," Vader volunteered, taking it. "The Players should do the hard work, in my opinion."
"Fine by me," Luke replied, taking the silver oar for himself.
They floated on down the temporary Gap River, using the oars to keep in the middle of the river and away from rocks and other hazards. After a time they passed a heavy ledge on which perched the Gap Dragon, a female of his species, and a tiny (compared to the adults, at least) hatchling. Vader and Jenny paused a moment to wave at the dragons. Luke wondered at that, seeing as the male had tried to kill them, but decided not to ask. He'd have to get Jenny alone later and ask her what had gone on while he'd been incapacitated.
A long green body with an armored back and a long toothy mouth surfaced and glided toward them, licking its chops, eyes agleam.
"An allegory!" shouted Jenny.
"No, that's an allegation," Metria corrected.
"Who cares?" Luke cut in. "All I know is it looks hungry." He raised his oar and struck the creature's back. It hardly noticed the blow.
"Let me," Metria suggested. "Be right back!" She transformed into what must have been a fine female specimen of an allegory (allegation?), with vibrant green scales, a lithesome body, a muscular tail, and a spectacular toothy grin. She splashed into the water and swam away from the boat, winking at the beast as she passed it.
The effect was astounding. The alle-whatever turned on its tail and pursued Metria with a different sort of gleam in its eye. Luke decided not to inquire further.
"Keep on the lookout for a centaur," Jenny told the others.
"Right," Luke replied. "Uh, what's a centaur look like?"
Vader looked ahead, as if trying to make out an object in the distance. "There is something ahead."
"Chem Centaur?" asked Jenny.
"No," Vader replied. "Something dangerous."
The Force confirmed it for Luke, too -- a hazard lay ahead. "I sense it too. Around this bend."
Jenny thought a minute. "There's a tribe of goblins that lives near the Gap. Maybe they're further downstream planning an ambush. Do you want to pull to shore or continue?"
"There's no way we can get to shore in time," Luke pointed out.
The Fellow Ship sailed around the bend. There were no goblins in sight -- but a long stretch of frothing white rapids awaited them.
"Pull in the oars," Vader advised. "There's nothing we can do but ride this out."
The boat bucked and dipped in the churning foam, soaking everyone in spray. Of course, it was still raining, albeit less severely, so the extra moisture made little difference.
"Oh-ooooooohhhhhhhh," moaned Jenny, clinging to the side of the boat. "I'm going to be sick."
"Watch out!" cried Luke.
The current grabbed the Fellow Ship and flung it up against a jut of rock the size of a bantha. The boat tipped alarmingly, nearly spilling the three of them out before righting itself. Sammy was now clinging to Luke's scalp like a bad hairpiece, his fur on end.
"What's all this?" demanded Metria, materializing in the center of the boat. "The minute I leave to do some stork business you all get in trouble again..."
"Get some clothes on!" ordered Vader.
"Okay, you don't have to be such a grouch," she grumbled, clothes appearing on her body.
At that moment the little boat ground to a halt. The bottom splintered apart as the rock the Fellow Ship had beached on punched through the wood. Water gushed in.
"Oh great!" Luke exclaimed. "What else can go wrong?"
As if in answer a hideous fanged head and horny shell broke the surface of the water. The beast chomped the air with a loud SNAP before clawing its way through the rapids toward them.
"Allegation snapping turtle," Jenny noted. "A crossbreed of an allegation and a regular snapping turtle. The normal snapping turtles will snap anyone they see, but an allegation snapping turtle needs a good reason to do so."
"Let's hope it doesn't find one," Luke replied, grabbing an oar to fight the beast if necessary.
Unfortunately, it found reason. "You are intruding on my territory! I'll have to snap you!"
Vader came to the rescue. "This is the Gap Dragon's territory, not yours. And he has permitted us to pass through here."
The turtle thought a moment. "You are Mundanian and have no business in Xanth! I'll have to snap you!"
"We are authorized to be in Xanth so long as we are playing the game," Vader retorted. "And we haven't made an error that would bar us from the game yet."
But the beast was persistent. "You rented a ship from the troll booth and have damaged it! I'll have to snap you!"
Uh-oh. No getting out of that.
"Look!" Metria shouted. "On the shore!"
"Centaurs!" Jenny exclaimed.
Two creatures were galloping down a cliffside trail that was only half a meter above the water line. They had powerful animal bodies, four hooves, swishing tails of hair, and human torsos, heads, and arms emerging from where their necks should have been. One had a chestnut body and brown human hair to match, with a well-proportioned female torso rivaling Metria's. The other was a muscular male with gray hair and a dappled silver body.
"Hellooooooo!" shouted Luke, waving his oar to attract their attention.
The centaurs slid to a halt. Only then did Luke see they were both carrying bows and quivers of arrows. He gulped as the female readied an arrow and aimed at their party. What did he do wrong?
The arrow whistled through the air and bit deep into the side of the boat. A lucky miss! But more would surely follow. He reached for his blast-her (thankfully, it would work against this attacker) before seeing the rope attached to the arrow. Both centaurs pulled the line taut and tied the loose end around a secure boulder.
"Thank you!" shouted Luke. They had just made a safety line for their party. But it was low enough that they would still have to wade through the water to get to shore. That left the turtle to contend with.
"I'll have to snap you!" it snapped, grabbing the side of the Fellow Ship in its claws.
Luke drew his blast-her and pointed it at the turtle. "If you're a female, you'd better back off. This is a blast-her. I'll blast you with it if you try to snap us."
It gave a gurgling laugh. "Nice try, land-lubber! I'm male!" He lunged.
Vader brought his oar down hard on the turtle's head, and he fell back into the water with a snort. But he came back for another attempt. By then, luckily, Luke had had another brainstorm. He flipped open Jenny's pack, dug around, found the sticks of reverse wood, and broke off the end of one. This he jammed into a notch on the weapon where a scope would normally go, and he again brought it to bear.
"I've added reverse wood to this," he warned. "Now it's a blast-HIM! If you snap any of us, I'll blast you!"
The effect was incredible. The turtle paddled away so quickly he almost left his shell behind.
"Hooray, Luke!" Metria cried, embracing Luke.
"Yeah, whatever," he replied, prying out of her arms. "Let's go."
Metria popped to shore, of course, while the others waded slowly through the rapids, clinging to the rope for support. Sammy rode on Vader's shoulder, glaring distastefully at the water. It seemed an age later when they finally reached the shore and were hauled out by the centaurs.
"You travelers are brave to challenge the Gap Chasm unguided," the female noted.
"We do have guides," Vader replied. He nodded his head. "Vader Mundane and my son Luke Mundane, Players in a game. These are my game Companion Jenny Elf, her cat Sammy, and my son's game Companion Demoness Metria."
Luke wanted to protest the "son" part but kept silent.
"I'm Chem Centaur," the female introduced. "This is Chang Centaur, my uncle. And it seems that it was no error that we crossed paths. You see, Chang has been searching all of Xanth for you."
Luke was dead.
It took a moment for the significance of this to sink in. Skywalker was gone. He would never join the dark side. Nor would he fight another battle against the Empire or complete his Jedi training. If he reported this to the Emperor, the monarch would be beside himself with sadistic glee. He'd always wanted Skywalker dead but favored turning him to the dark side as an alternative. The Empire was rid of the threat Skywalker represented.
So why did Vader feel like part of him had just died with him?
He stared at Luke's lifeless form, emotion swirling within him. Gently he turned Luke's head to the side to examine his profile. Yes, he'd inherited some of his mother's features. The eyes and hair belonged to Anakin Skywalker, yes, but no amount of Tatooine-farmboy DNA could mask the Nubian regality in that chin and mouth.
Padme... Vader closed his eyes and shuddered at the agony and joy that name brought. Was that what had been lost along with his son? That memory of his beloved, her laughter, her touch, the completeness he'd felt around her? Or the memory of Anakin Skywalker, once as brave and confidant a hero as this boy had been? Both had lived on, in some small way, inside him, weaknesses in his devotion to the Sith Order. Meeting Skywalker again had rekindled those sparks of light. Had his death finally managed to snuff them?
Why did he regret that so? Wasn't this what he had wanted all along? To shed his past entirely? Wasn't there no room for love, for compassion, in the Sith Order? Skywalker's death was for the best, wasn't it?
By the stars, this was his child! His flesh and blood! How could he be so callous about this? His son was dead!
With a sob he leaned over Luke's body, face pressed to his chest, hands clutching his body, sobs wracking him. Desperately he wished Luke alive, knowing full well his son's life was beyond his grasp. He hated the painful emotions Luke's presence ignited, yet he longed to feel them again. He wanted no more reminders of his past, yet he desired to relive those memories. His soul was cruelly wrenched from one extreme of that paradox to another as he wept for his child.
Then he heard it. A faint sound, like a double-strike on a distant drum. Had he imagined it? No, there came another, identical to the first.
He sat up, on the verge of panic. Luke was alive! He had a pulse! But he wasn't breathing, and Vader couldn't resuscitate him. Stars, what was he to do?
"Lord Vader!"
Jenny was staring down at him from atop the Gap Dragon's head, wet and bedraggled but fine. She slid down the monster's neck and landed beside her Companion.
"Jenny!" he exclaimed, standing, relief washing through him. "You have to help me!"
"What..." she began, then saw Luke. "Oh no, he's dead!"
"He's not dead! His heart's still beating! Jenny, you're the only one who can do this! Put your mouth over his and blow into his lungs!"
She recoiled. "I can't!"
"You must!" he screamed. The notoriously unflappable Sith Lord was gone, replaced by a frantic father.
"But I fall under the Adult Conspiracy! Any kiss, even one like this, is against the..."
"Conspiracy be damned! My son is dying!"
Her eyes were wide as she got a glimpse of Vader at his most frightening. "Metria..."
"Isn't here! You're Luke's only hope, Jenny!"
This was totally unlike him. He never panicked in an emergency, simply did what needed to be done. But the threat of losing Luke was more than he could take. More roughly than he meant to, he took Jenny's shoulders and pushed her beside Luke.
She made up her mind. Taking Luke's face in her hands, she opened his mouth and put her lips over his, breathing into his throat.
Tense seconds dragged on as Vader, Sammy, and the Gap Dragon watched Jenny try to revive Luke. Rain continued to pour down around them, but they hardly noticed.
Metria showed up in the middle of the crisis, becoming fully human as she hauled herself onto the ledge. For once Vader didn't order her to do something about her nudity.
At last Vader turned away. If he hadn't been revived by now, he was most likely gone for good. "Enough, Jenny," he ordered through a tight throat. "I apologize for my brusqueness..."
"No, Vader!" Metria exclaimed. "He's coming around! Look!"
He whirled to see Luke's chest jerk. Jenny turned the young Jedi onto his side as he coughed up water and struggled for breath.
***
"You finally let somebody kiss your son and it's the %%%%ed underage elf?!" Luke heard Metria exclaim as he coughed and gasped, recovering from his near-drowning experience.
"Well, you weren't around to do anything," Jenny pointed out.
"Oh, who cares?" The demoness grabbed Luke and embraced him tightly, planting a huge kiss on his lips. "Don't scare me like that again, Moonwalker!"
"Yeah, whatever," he replied. "Just..."
"Yes?" she breathed.
"Please..."
"Anything."
"Get some clothes on."
She frowned but complied. "I suppose you'll want to thank Jenny. She saved your life."
Luke smiled at the elf girl gratefully. She was a kind, sweet child, ever ready to help anyone and not just her assigned Player. And her action was heroic, especially since he was her Player's competition. How in the galaxy had she gotten stuck serving Vader as a Companion? He was the complete opposite of her. Maybe the Dark Lord wanted to corrupt her, too.
"Thank you, Jenny. I owe you."
She blushed. "Don't thank me. Thank Lord Vader. He told me to save you."
Stunned, Luke stared at Vader. He hadn't! But of course. He wanted him alive for the Emperor. He was hoping to capture him during the course of the game so he could turn him to the dark side. It was a purely self-serving action.
"Oh," he replied. "Well... thanks."
Vader took several minutes to reply. "Good to see you functional again, Skywalker."
Jenny and Metria stared at the Sith Lord in surprise, as if expecting something more out of him. Luke wondered what had gone on between the three of them while he was unconscious. Perhaps it didn't matter.
"How are we going to get out of here?" he said at last, looking up the sheer cliff face.
"Maybe our gothic friend here can hitch us a ride with his dragon friend," suggested Metria.
"The Gap Dragon has moved on," Vader replied, nodding downstream. Sure enough, the beast was rapidly paddling out of sight.
"Probably making sure his family's all right," Jenny replied. "He has a mate and son, you know."
"Will they be all right?" asked Luke.
"I'm sure they will," Jenny replied. "The Gap Dragon and his ilk are tough beasts."
"Luke started this mess," Metria pointed out. "After all, it was his idea to annoy Fog-Face Fracto. So let him figure it out."
"Uh..." Luke glanced at the cliff again. It looked unscaleable. "Maybe we can ask Sammy to find us a boat," he suggested lamely.
Sammy meowed, then ran to the edge of the stone ledge and leaped to a narrow path that was little more than a long thin jut in the side of the cliff face. Surprised but willing to check the option out, everyone followed, though the path was so narrow they had to go single file and practically hug the canyon wall.
The path ended at a second ledge right at the water line, where a bored-looking troll waited in a small wooden booth. Bobbing in the waters nearby, tethered to the ledge, was an assortment of small boats.
"I wasn't being serious," Luke said, puzzled.
"The game must have provided this," Jenny replied. "Though there must be a challenge embedded in it somewhere."
The troll looked up. "Whaddaya want?"
"I assume this is a troll booth," said Vader.
"It is if you want to rent a ship," the troll grunted in reply, waving at the boats.
"Those are ships?" Luke asked doubtfully.
"Got a problem with that?" the troll snapped.
Luke decided not to argue further. "How much to rent a... er... ship?"
"Whatcha got?"
Luke fumbled around in his pockets. He hadn't a credit on him or anything else of value.
"I've Mundanian money, but nothing else," Vader said.
"That'll do," the troll surprised them all by saying. "I know folks who do trading with Mundania."
Vader handed over a hundred-credit bill. The troll held it up to the light, nodded, and tucked it away. "Take a ship," he grunted.
"Which one?" asked Jenny.
"Your choice."
Luke knelt and studied the boats. Each one had a name emblazoned on the side. But what odd names -- Friend, Relation, Partner, Comrade, and Fellow.
"This must be a challenge," he murmured.
"My guess is that we need to select a ship that fits our group," Jenny offered. "The wrong ship will probably sink or fall apart or direct us into a sea monster's mouth."
"Friend Ship," Vader noted. "No, none of us are exactly friends."
"Aren't I your friend?" asked Jenny.
Vader eyed the elf girl a moment, then said "In a sense, but I doubt Metria or Luke consider us friends."
Jenny was a friend, Luke decided. The jury was still out on Metria. But he didn't consider Vader a friend. "So that's out. So's Relation Ship."
"You two can ride in it," Metria pointed out.
"Luke has yet to accept the fact that I'm his father," Vader said. "The Partner Ship, perhaps?"
"Luke and Metria are partners, and you and I are partners," Jenny observed. "It may work."
Luke inspected the Partner Ship. "Nope. It's only a two-seater."
"The Comrade Ship?" asked Jenny.
"Comrades are people working together for the same cause," Metria said. "We're fighting against each other for the prize, so we're not comrades."
"The Fellow Ship, then," Luke suggested. "We're a fellowship, like it or not, for we're traveling together for the time being."
Everyone murmured agreement and carefully stepped into the boat. The troll came out of his booth and untied the tether, using his foot to push them down river and on their way.
"Here, someone take an oar," Metria ordered, picking up a gold oar that lay on the bottom of the boat and holding it out.
"I will," Vader volunteered, taking it. "The Players should do the hard work, in my opinion."
"Fine by me," Luke replied, taking the silver oar for himself.
They floated on down the temporary Gap River, using the oars to keep in the middle of the river and away from rocks and other hazards. After a time they passed a heavy ledge on which perched the Gap Dragon, a female of his species, and a tiny (compared to the adults, at least) hatchling. Vader and Jenny paused a moment to wave at the dragons. Luke wondered at that, seeing as the male had tried to kill them, but decided not to ask. He'd have to get Jenny alone later and ask her what had gone on while he'd been incapacitated.
A long green body with an armored back and a long toothy mouth surfaced and glided toward them, licking its chops, eyes agleam.
"An allegory!" shouted Jenny.
"No, that's an allegation," Metria corrected.
"Who cares?" Luke cut in. "All I know is it looks hungry." He raised his oar and struck the creature's back. It hardly noticed the blow.
"Let me," Metria suggested. "Be right back!" She transformed into what must have been a fine female specimen of an allegory (allegation?), with vibrant green scales, a lithesome body, a muscular tail, and a spectacular toothy grin. She splashed into the water and swam away from the boat, winking at the beast as she passed it.
The effect was astounding. The alle-whatever turned on its tail and pursued Metria with a different sort of gleam in its eye. Luke decided not to inquire further.
"Keep on the lookout for a centaur," Jenny told the others.
"Right," Luke replied. "Uh, what's a centaur look like?"
Vader looked ahead, as if trying to make out an object in the distance. "There is something ahead."
"Chem Centaur?" asked Jenny.
"No," Vader replied. "Something dangerous."
The Force confirmed it for Luke, too -- a hazard lay ahead. "I sense it too. Around this bend."
Jenny thought a minute. "There's a tribe of goblins that lives near the Gap. Maybe they're further downstream planning an ambush. Do you want to pull to shore or continue?"
"There's no way we can get to shore in time," Luke pointed out.
The Fellow Ship sailed around the bend. There were no goblins in sight -- but a long stretch of frothing white rapids awaited them.
"Pull in the oars," Vader advised. "There's nothing we can do but ride this out."
The boat bucked and dipped in the churning foam, soaking everyone in spray. Of course, it was still raining, albeit less severely, so the extra moisture made little difference.
"Oh-ooooooohhhhhhhh," moaned Jenny, clinging to the side of the boat. "I'm going to be sick."
"Watch out!" cried Luke.
The current grabbed the Fellow Ship and flung it up against a jut of rock the size of a bantha. The boat tipped alarmingly, nearly spilling the three of them out before righting itself. Sammy was now clinging to Luke's scalp like a bad hairpiece, his fur on end.
"What's all this?" demanded Metria, materializing in the center of the boat. "The minute I leave to do some stork business you all get in trouble again..."
"Get some clothes on!" ordered Vader.
"Okay, you don't have to be such a grouch," she grumbled, clothes appearing on her body.
At that moment the little boat ground to a halt. The bottom splintered apart as the rock the Fellow Ship had beached on punched through the wood. Water gushed in.
"Oh great!" Luke exclaimed. "What else can go wrong?"
As if in answer a hideous fanged head and horny shell broke the surface of the water. The beast chomped the air with a loud SNAP before clawing its way through the rapids toward them.
"Allegation snapping turtle," Jenny noted. "A crossbreed of an allegation and a regular snapping turtle. The normal snapping turtles will snap anyone they see, but an allegation snapping turtle needs a good reason to do so."
"Let's hope it doesn't find one," Luke replied, grabbing an oar to fight the beast if necessary.
Unfortunately, it found reason. "You are intruding on my territory! I'll have to snap you!"
Vader came to the rescue. "This is the Gap Dragon's territory, not yours. And he has permitted us to pass through here."
The turtle thought a moment. "You are Mundanian and have no business in Xanth! I'll have to snap you!"
"We are authorized to be in Xanth so long as we are playing the game," Vader retorted. "And we haven't made an error that would bar us from the game yet."
But the beast was persistent. "You rented a ship from the troll booth and have damaged it! I'll have to snap you!"
Uh-oh. No getting out of that.
"Look!" Metria shouted. "On the shore!"
"Centaurs!" Jenny exclaimed.
Two creatures were galloping down a cliffside trail that was only half a meter above the water line. They had powerful animal bodies, four hooves, swishing tails of hair, and human torsos, heads, and arms emerging from where their necks should have been. One had a chestnut body and brown human hair to match, with a well-proportioned female torso rivaling Metria's. The other was a muscular male with gray hair and a dappled silver body.
"Hellooooooo!" shouted Luke, waving his oar to attract their attention.
The centaurs slid to a halt. Only then did Luke see they were both carrying bows and quivers of arrows. He gulped as the female readied an arrow and aimed at their party. What did he do wrong?
The arrow whistled through the air and bit deep into the side of the boat. A lucky miss! But more would surely follow. He reached for his blast-her (thankfully, it would work against this attacker) before seeing the rope attached to the arrow. Both centaurs pulled the line taut and tied the loose end around a secure boulder.
"Thank you!" shouted Luke. They had just made a safety line for their party. But it was low enough that they would still have to wade through the water to get to shore. That left the turtle to contend with.
"I'll have to snap you!" it snapped, grabbing the side of the Fellow Ship in its claws.
Luke drew his blast-her and pointed it at the turtle. "If you're a female, you'd better back off. This is a blast-her. I'll blast you with it if you try to snap us."
It gave a gurgling laugh. "Nice try, land-lubber! I'm male!" He lunged.
Vader brought his oar down hard on the turtle's head, and he fell back into the water with a snort. But he came back for another attempt. By then, luckily, Luke had had another brainstorm. He flipped open Jenny's pack, dug around, found the sticks of reverse wood, and broke off the end of one. This he jammed into a notch on the weapon where a scope would normally go, and he again brought it to bear.
"I've added reverse wood to this," he warned. "Now it's a blast-HIM! If you snap any of us, I'll blast you!"
The effect was incredible. The turtle paddled away so quickly he almost left his shell behind.
"Hooray, Luke!" Metria cried, embracing Luke.
"Yeah, whatever," he replied, prying out of her arms. "Let's go."
Metria popped to shore, of course, while the others waded slowly through the rapids, clinging to the rope for support. Sammy rode on Vader's shoulder, glaring distastefully at the water. It seemed an age later when they finally reached the shore and were hauled out by the centaurs.
"You travelers are brave to challenge the Gap Chasm unguided," the female noted.
"We do have guides," Vader replied. He nodded his head. "Vader Mundane and my son Luke Mundane, Players in a game. These are my game Companion Jenny Elf, her cat Sammy, and my son's game Companion Demoness Metria."
Luke wanted to protest the "son" part but kept silent.
"I'm Chem Centaur," the female introduced. "This is Chang Centaur, my uncle. And it seems that it was no error that we crossed paths. You see, Chang has been searching all of Xanth for you."