He then kneltover Miranda touched her on the forehead and her eyes opened.
‘What’s happened?’ she asked.
‘I don’t want to know what you’ve been up to. You’re probablypretty weak but you look like you’ve been healed of the vile rot.You’ve also managed to upset the Princess of Moonmist pretty badly.Your little wooden princess friend here seems to think you need toleave here and hide somewhere to finish your healing. I don’t wantto know what you decide to do.’ and he walked away.
Miranda lookedat Tigerlilly and said.
‘You’re real. I thought it was all a dream.’
‘Yes. I am real. Ironwood told me to tell you that we need tohide because that horrible Princess Gemelica wants you dead.’ saidTigerlilly.
‘Okay.’ replied Miranda drowsily.
‘Ask Ironwood where I should hide.’
‘He said to go south from here and hide among the trees in theforest. As a druid you should be safe enough.’ repliedTigerlilly.
Miranda stifflyrose to her feet breaking away all the roots that had been givingher sustenance. She picked up Tigerlilly climbed through the fenceand hobbled weakly off to the south. The countryside consisted ofsmall lichen and moss covered hillocks poking out of slippery algaefilled patches of cold stagnant water. Although it was daytimehere, it was more reminiscent of a moonlit night on Mudrun.
As Miranda’smind cleared, she began to focus on her predicament. In her mindshe saw herself as a little Newman girl who had lost her memory.She noticed that she was covered in a ginger coloured fur and alook at her reflection in the water showed her that she hadcat-like body. This was a little confusing but then she rememberedthat when she was dreaming, the Aquitain monster that had saved herfrom the rats, had said that she really was a Newman girl but herspirit had been stolen from her body and put in this one.
She kept movingat a steady pace for more than an hour alternately getting soakedin freezing cold sulphur-smelling water then struggling overslippery damp rocks. As she reached the top of another smallhillock she was wondering how far it was to the forest when sheheard the baying of hounds behind her.
Fear spurredher onwards with new energy but after another twenty minutes shefell exhausted on the upward slope of yet another featurelesshillock. She had to rest but the hounds were getting closer. Whatcould she do? It was becoming useless. They couldn’t be less thanfive minutes behind her and she was almost spent.
Tigerlilly whowas wedged under Miranda’s slave collar and hanging on tightlybroke the silence.
‘Moonbeam there’s something in the water behind us to yourright.’
Miranda quicklylooked around. A Newman sized lizard-like creature was slidingalmost soundlessly out of the water. She heard it speak into hermind but couldn’t understand its language. Tigerlilly heard it tooand responded with mindspeak.
‘My name is Tigerlilly. Who are you?’
The creaturestopped still and seemed to be trying to decide what to do. Ittried another language but again Miranda couldn’t understand andagain Tigerlilly asked who it was. It then sent its name in mindtoken form and Miranda quickly guessed how to do it. It was like agame that she had played sometime in the past.
‘Send these images Tigerlilly.’ said Miranda.
‘<Image of Miranda> + <sound Miranda> + <imageof Tigerlilly> + <sound Tigerlilly>.’
‘The creature understood and sent a series of images back withthe following meaning.
‘It’s name was Burlop. We should not be afraid of it. It cansee from the collar that Miranda was a runaway slave and it canhear the hounds chasing us. There are other runaway slaves in ahiding place near here. It will lead us to them if we will trustit.’
Miranda knewshe had no choice. She could hear the hounds were closing in andthere was no time to lose.
She nodded andreluctantly slid into the cold water and swam along behind thecreature. It tossed a short length of rope back to her and sent animage of hands holding tightly onto rope then an image of itswimming with her being pulled behind. She held on tight and noddedand off it swam.
Tigerlilly gotquite excited in the water. She was giggling and swirling herlittle arms around playfully as if she was enjoying herself. Howcould a construct get excited? Maybe she thought it was a game andwas trying to play thought Miranda.
They were towedalong silently at a fast rate for about 10 minutes. Miranda couldhear that the hounds had reached the place where she had startedswimming. She could imagine them milling around sniffing everywhereand howling trying to get the scent of her trail. Burlop stoppedand sent images that they would have to travel under the water alittle way. He sent an image for her to take a deep breath and theywere dragged under.
They didn’tseem to go very deep or far before entering the mouth of anunderwater cave. Miranda was scared, she couldn’t see and wasfeeling very weak as the cold water was sapping her body heat. Ifthis was a trap she was dead. Through their mind link Miranda askedTigerlilly whether she could see. The little doll responded bypassing mental images of the tunnel through which they weretraveling. Fortunately they didn’t need to travel far before risingto the surface inside an air filled cave perhaps 30 paces wide.
There was lightin the area provided by two yellow magic balls and Miranda soonspotted two Newmans and a couple of creatures like Burlop standingwatching them. She released the rope and swam the last few paces inthe murky water until she could feel the muddy bottom with herhands and then stood up shivering.
One of theNewmans, an old grey haired fellow greeted her but she couldn’tunderstand him.
She said ‘Hellomy name is Miranda. Can anyone understand me?’
The old manreplied in halting Mudrun common.
‘Alf me named. Speak Mudrun. Long-time been.’
None of theothers could understand her at all. Frustrated, she askedTigerlilly to repeat what she said using mind tokens.
‘<Image of Miranda> + <sound Miranda>.’
This timeeveryone seemed to have a good understanding of what she said. Theyall stood around smiling and nodding. Burlop told the others withthe
