Page 90 of Tiger's Trek
“Yes!” Nik nodded excitedly.
“Is this possible?” Polina asked.
“Stranger things have happened,” Pasha said. “Why don’t you stay here, lad, and let me see if I can find out more.”
The three had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity when Pasha finally pushed his way back through the crowd to their sides. “Okay. Here’s what I learned about them. A group of underwater creatures called the vodnik brought the black tiger here. He was recently sold to a high bidder who has arranged the big match between him and the other three cats for a high-stakes game. It seems he owns all of them. There’s no word on any of them changing to a human form. Sorry, lad.”
“Can you get me in to see them?” Nik leaned in. “Just tell me where to go. You know I could get in on my own with the tunic and boots.”
Pasha rubbed the back of his neck. “The contenders are very heavily guarded, son. By magic. Magic that could very wellsee throughother magic, if you take my meaning. It’s dangerous. Not even I would risk trying to pull off something like that.”
“You’ve got to, Pasha. Please! They... they’re my family.”
“Oh, won’t you help him?” Pushka asked.
“He does seem rather sincere, pumpkin.”
Pasha looked at the three hopeful faces and said, “Very well. I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter23
ONE CANNOT SHEAR A NAKED SHEEP
Not wanting to waste a single moment, Danik and Veru set about the first task immediately. Taking the wooden cup, the list of instructions, and their bags, they headed out to the summer porch in search of the white knight. They didn’t have to look long before they came upon him.
“Let me see this list,” he said. “Ah, it’s as I feared. She’s given you tasks impossible to accomplish.”
“But are they truly?” Veru asked. “Just show us where the water is found, and we’ll take it from there.”
“That’s the problem. My emblem is the dawn. The water she’s referring to is the place where the sun crests upon the water at daybreak. That could be any place around the world at any time, for the sun casts its light upon the water for but an instant. I fear by the time you traveled to any one location, it would have moved on to the next one, and so forth. It would take you eons to fill the barrel, if you even could.”
Zarya took the cup and dipped it into the well, then lifted it to his mouth to drink. Tiny, unseen holes at the bottom of the wooden mug dribbled water over his hands and breastplate quickly enough that by the time he pressed the edge to his lips there was nothing left inside but a few drops.
“See here? The cup is riddled with tiny slits. She’s made certain you will fail.”
He handed the container back to Danik, who tried his luck. Just as with the knight, water streamed out the bottom in thin rivulets. “Deceitful old woman,” he said, watching as the contents quickly drained before his eyes.
“Yes,” Veru said. “She’s a crafty one.” Pacing, Veru clasped her hands behind her back and bit her lip.
“You have an idea,” Danik said.
“Maybe.” She turned to Zarya. “There isn’t a certain place where your emblem rises, then? Nothing in particular she’s referring to?”
“I wouldn’t think so. It could be a stream, an ocean, a lake, anything really.”
“Right. So long as it’s water.” Veru stopped. “Her instructions specifically say to take the cup and dip it into the water,thenfill the barrel. It doesn’t say we have to use the cup to fill the barrel. It also doesn’t stipulate that the barrel cannot be moved. So, here’s what I’m thinking: We bring the barrel with us, find a stream or a lake that the rising sun will touch, dip the cup, then fill the barrel using whatever means we can, and bring it back. Will that work?”
The knight pulled off his helmet and rubbed his jaw. “The fastest way to find the dawn would be to use my mirror. It’s how I make my way home when I must replenish my energy.”
“Your mirror?”
“Yes. It’s how I traverse realms quickly to serve the needs of my mistress. When I cast my mirror down, it becomes a body of water near a distant shore where she wishes me to go. Most every town and city are built near water. I simply state my destination, then I wait for dawn’s light to create a passage between.
“You see, my horse travels along daybreak’s band of light. But without my armor, I fear the fiery rays would burn your fair skin and leave you blind. I dare not expose you to that danger. Only the magic binding us to this servitude protects us from harm.”
“I’m not giving up,” Veru said. “If we can accomplish her tasks, then you and your brothers are to be freed as well.”
“Though I am grateful for your kindness in thinking of us, it is likely your generosity that has caused her to create tasks that are so very difficult. I fear the two of you are doomed along with us to continue on in this half-life until you pass from this mortal realm.”
