Angus began the job of ferrying them across. Now the core party had to split, temporarily. Seqiro and Nona went with the first group of seven women, to enable them to communicate with the women of Oria, for the languages were not the same. The first job would be to establish a basis for translation. Nona would explain that these women had come to govern the world and see to the protection of the girls of Oria who would assume power as they matured. They would secure Nona’s village and adjacent castle, and Angus would bring the other women there.
Of course the telepathy stopped when the first group departed. But the understanding had been worked out, and Darius, Colene, and Burgess needed only hand signals to indicate their wishes. Burgess had become a creature of some attention; the folk liked to see him float and hurl stones. They brought him baskets of fruit to consume.
On the second trip, Burgess went with seven women. They had learned how to communicate with him, though it was rudimentary compared to what Colene, buttressed by Seqiro, could do. That left Darius alone with Colene for the night, and naturally she tried to seduce him, and as usual he declined. They could converse well enough, because of her developing telepathy, and of course they did know some words of each other’s languages. He hoped she did not know how infernally tempting her offers were.
I love knowing that, she thought smugly.
He made as if to spank her. She countered his bluff by baring her bottom. The sight was electrifying, because in his Mode women wore huge diapers to conceal their posterior contours. He turned away, lest he lose more than the game. She laughed and hugged him from behind. A stranger would never have realized that she was not a vessel of joy.
You give me joy, Darius.
But it was not the same. A transient emotion could not compare to a permanently joyful nature. That had been their problem throughout. If only this vessel of dolor were not the woman he loved!
I know I shouldn’t tease you, Darius. If you want to be with one of the local women tonight, I will understand.
Yes. And Colene would slice her wrists until he returned to her.
Touché!
But some day he would have that cute piece of flesh. Then he would make up for all the blocked temptation she had put him through.
Why wait?
This time he didn’t threaten her. He kissed her. That ended her teasing. For a while.
On the following day three more groups departed. Then two on the third day. On the next to last trip, one woman returned, bringing a report of the proceedings on Oria: verification that the enterprise was legitimate. Queen Hyacinth had made sure to confirm it, as a smart manager should. The reporting woman took the final trip out, satisfied to remain on Oria, and Darius and Colene went too. There was a date to have regular contact between the worlds at monthly intervals; more women might wish to go. But for now, it was done.
Darius and Colene stood on Angus’ hand and made formal bows of parting to the queen. They knew that Hyacinth had made the most of this opportunity, and gained prestige in a global sense. Her people had also been treated to the remarkable sight of a giant from Jupiter. They knew that such folk existed, but seldom was it shown so directly. Hundreds of the local large folk waved farewell.
Then Angus ascended and flew east. Most of the time of these trips was spent crossing the surfaces of the planets: this one, Oria, and Jupiter. But Angus was now thoroughly familiar with the route, and covered it efficiently.
“So are you sad to leave all these big, talented women behind?” Colene asked Darius teasingly. She was a head shorter than any of them, though the same size as they in proportion to her home world. It had been a mind-numbing experience to be among so many women whose magical abilities matched Nona’s, and many of them were quite young and attractive. But of course he wouldn’t say that to Colene.
“Yeah, sure you wouldn’t,” she said sourly. “But I guess it sort of puts Nona in perspective, eh?”
It sort of did. If he ever wanted to retire with a magical woman, this was the place to do it. However, he amended his thought before Colene could react, he had no wish for such a retirement, and in any event, he was needed in his own Mode.
They rode the filament, and the amazons were just as thrilled and awed as anyone else. None of them had expected to make such a journey in her life, until this sudden opportunity had appeared. What was the point, when most of the worlds were animus, as well as being the wrong size?
They crossed the enormous surface of Jupiter, and the amazons were impressed again. Then onto the other filament, and finally across Oria to their starting point.
The local region had already been pacified. The black and white cloaks were properly subservient and the barricades were down. Tall red-tunicked women were using their magic to generate food and other supplies, and to make quick repairs. Life was already visibly better.
They reached the castle. There they were reunited with Nona, Seqiro, and Burgess, who were being treated as royally here as they had been on the amazon world. Things were looking very good, and Nona seemed much happier.
The mission here had been accomplished, and enough time had passed so that it should be safe to return to the Virtual Mode. Colene was eager to resume their journey. So was he.
CHAPTER 10—MALADY
BURGESS liked traveling on the Virtual Mode, but did not like constantly encountering rough or sloping terrain, so that the others had to carve a path for him or haul him along on a wagon. He needed a way to travel without being a burden to the others.
He discussed it with Nona, while they waited for the remaining amazons to be brought across to their new hive. Communication between them was not good, but the problem was evident: he needed a way to traverse irregular ground, and to mount slopes. They experimented, and came up with something promising. Nona generated a long flat piece of material that was light but firm. She laid this on the ground, and he floated along it without difficulty. Then she took it to the countryside and laid it over the brushy, rocky terrain. He was able to float along it, but tended to slide off the side when it wasn’t level. She modified it to have ridges along the sides that enabled him to stay on. She made a second piece, which she set at the end of the first, so that he could cross from one to the other. While he floated along the second, she used her magic to float the first to the front, where it became a continuation of his path. It was working! He was able to traverse much rougher terrain than before, because the smooth, flat artificial path gave his air purchase. This would enable him to move much more readily by himself. Instead of undertaking the tedious job of filling in sand to make a path for him, they could lay down the artificial path.
But the problem of slope remained. The path was no help there; he could not get enough forward motion to propel him up it. He could come down it by pumping through less air, so as to touch the surface and drag, but that was slow. He needed a way to move at normal speed.