Page 145 of Tiger's Quest
I took the amethyst-colored Scarf from around my neck, which caused it to shift to turquoise. “Soft cushions please, and could you make the tent just a bit larger?” I asked.
The turquoise threads immediately shifted and stretched. Several of them wove large cushions of various colors and another piece broke off and began looping through the end of the tent. A few moments later, we were able to sit comfortably on large cushions in a tent that had doubled in size. Mr. Kadam quietly watched the busy threads, in fascination.
I struggled briefly to get out of my coat. Kishan helped and stroked my arm. I shoved his hand away, but Kishan only grinned and reclined on the cushions.
Mr. Kadam asked, “Does it work like the Golden Fruit except it creates woven things?”
I shot Kishan a warning look and replied, “Sort of, yeah.”
Mr. Kadam mumbled, “‘India’s masses shall be robed.’”
“Huh, I guess wecouldclothe India’s people with this thing.”
Funny that that hadn’t occurred to me before.
“Wait a minute. Didn’t the prophecy say something about ‘chief’s disguise’ too?”
Mr. Kadam rummaged through some papers and found a copy of the prophecy.
“Yes. It says here, ‘Discus routs and ‘chief’s disguise can stave off those who would pursue’. Is that what you’re referring to?”
I laughed. “Yep, that makes sense then. You see, the Divine Scarf can do a couple of other things too. I mean other than making clothes and weaving things. It can gather the winds like the god ’s bag.”
Mr. Kadam exclaimed, “Similar to the bag of winds Odysseus received from Aiolos? Ulysses’ leather bag tied with a silver cord?”
“Yes, but it’s not leather. Silver cord would work, though.”
“Perhaps sent by one of the gods of wind? Vayu? Striborg? Njord? Pazuzu?”
“Don’t forget Boreas and Zephyrus.”
Kishan interrupted, “Could you two speak English, please?”
Mr. Kadam laughed. “Sorry. I got carried away for a minute.”
“Do you want to show him now, Kishan?” I asked.
“Sure.”
Mr. Kadam leaned forward. “Show me what, Miss Kelsey?”
“You’ll see. Just watch.”
Kishan took the Divine Scarf, mumbled, “Disguise,” and twisted it around his body. It lengthened and turned black with swirling colors.
“I want to see if it will work without me saying a name out loud like the Golden Fruit does,” he said from beneath the folds of fabric.
“Yes. That’s a good idea,” I responded.
When Kishan took the Scarf away from his face, I was unprepared for what I’d see. It was Ren. He’d taken Ren’s form. He must have seen my stricken face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to shock Mr. Kadam by showing him his own face.”
“It’s okay. Just change back quickly, please.”
He did, and Mr. Kadam sat there dumbfounded. I couldn’t speak. Seeing Ren sitting there—even knowing it was really Kishan— was extremely difficult. I had to tamp down all the emotions that surfaced.
Kishan quickly took over for me and explained, “With the Scarf, we can take the form of other people. Kelsey changed to look like Nilima, and I became you. We need to test its range and try different forms so we can figure out the Scarf’s disguise abilities and limitations.”
