Now he did have to do some studying, because though his magic could change their forms, he had to get them right throughout, internally as well as externally. His clairvoyance was a good start, but it showed mainly what was, rather than why. There were no squid on Earth or Charm quite like these. Marionette guided him with the manual until he had it.
They went out onto the land. The air was chill and barely breathable, even for a Glamor. He put his hands on Marionette and exerted his magic, changing her to a squid with ten tentacles and a long spiraling shelclass="underline" an ammonoid.
She scrambled into the water. I'm good, she thought.
He focused on himself, and became another shelled squid. Suddenly he was drowning in air. He used his tentacles to haul himself into the water. Now he could breathe.
You have the manual? he asked.
In my shell.
He laughed. That didn't come out the way it would have in air, and he inadvertently propelled himself backward as he squirted jets of water.
I am signaling King Ammon-Ra, Marionette thought. The manual has a call button. He will send an escort party to conduct us to the castle.
More details she had picked up from the manual. Warp appreciated again how she took care of him by handling the details he was typically too impatient to tackle. He was bound to get into trouble without her guidance. She was worth so much more to him than just sex.
And don't you forget it, she thought, amused. She was one of Earth's Mistresses, a person of power, and they had been highly sexual throughout, but sex was the least of it. She was simply more woman than any normal mortal was.
While they waited, they practiced. Each had a central stubby tube that jetted water at high velocity, the recoil sending them forcefully away from whatever they were facing. They took in water, then squeezed it with a muscular bellows-like organ. Their shells were elongated, like spires, and blind; they could not see where they were going.
Evidently the jets were used to escape predators in front, and it didn't matter what lay behind, as it was open water. If something got in the way of the pointed shell, it would be speared.
Each of them had two giant eyes set outside the nest of tentacles. They were good ones; Warp could see detail that he knew his human eyes would not, in this murky water. They also had mouths with large hard bony beaks. They would be able to crunch shelled bivalves for food.
Then there were the colors. All the tentacles were highly colored, with seemingly infinite hues. They changed constantly governed in part by emotions. Surprise was yellow; annoyance was red. This did not depend on external light; the skin itself glowed.
It is emotional, camouflage, but mainly communication, Marionette thought. The Ammonoids speak via shifting patterns of color. Indeed, as she communicated, her nest of tentacles flashed intricately. She almost seemed to disappear behind the kaleidoscopic display.
Amazement, he thought. Sure enough, his own digits turned yellow.
So we must learn locomotion, and color communication, she thought. And manipulation. Straighten out your tentacles.
He tried, but they merely writhed erratically. How?
Each tentacle is equivalent to one of our fingers. The primary ones are the thumbs. Wiggle your fingers.
He tried, and suddenly the tentacles were responsive to his will. They also turned blue.
That is pleasure and control, she thought.
Well, now. He played with the motions and colors, gaining control. Warp had always been a quick study, which was one reason he seldom felt the need to do homework. Increasingly he was coming to like this body.
The king's escort party arrived: three male ammonoids jetting swiftly through the water. Their long pointed shells led; their tentacles trailed. They came up to where Warp and Marionette waited, and swung neatly around so that their eyes and tentacles faced them. The colors of one flashed brightly.
Flash green, Marionette's thought came. That means agreement. Then follow them.
Warp flashed green. The three rotated as one and jetted downward. Warp and Marionette did the same, following them.
They arrived at the castle. It consisted of long buildings resembling the shells of ammonoids, oriented around a much larger shell in the center. Water seemed to pass freely through them. It needs to be constantly fresh, Marionette thought. For breathing.
Oh, of course. No air down here.
They entered one of the tubes and zoomed through the tight pipe. Warp realized that this was ideal for ammonoids, but not for other types of creatures. If there were whales or large fish that preyed on ammonoids, they would be at a disadvantage in these long tubes, if they could navigate them at all. There were probably traps set for unwanted intruders, who would be largely helpless in these tight confines.
They came to the central shell. The escorts jetted out through exit holes, leaving Warp and Marionette alone in the chamber.
Turn Marionette thought.
They both did—and there was the king. He was immediately recognizable by his grandeur. He was larger than the escorts had been, and larger than Warp or Marionette. His shell sparkled iridescently. His tentacles were a royal purple. And he was a Glamor.
Address him, Marionette thought. Turn blue-green to acknowledge his rank, and introduce us. Here are the dialogue patterns. She sent them.
Warp followed her instructions, knowing he was as yet awkward in this mode. He flashed the required colors.
"Greeting, King Ammon-Ra. I am Warp, of the human culture, and my companion is Marionette, also human. I apologize for my clumsiness of expression. This mode is as yet new to me."
"Needless," the king replied graciously. "You have come to help, and we will do what we can to facilitate your mission."
"Appreciation. We wish you to join the Living Cultures Coalition, but understand there is a complication."
Communication was getting easier, but he still had a way to go.
"Confirmation. We do wish to join, but there is a rebel element that does not. That element abducted my daughter the Princess, who when she marries will become Queen, allowing me to retire. Recover her, and we can proceed."
"This is something you are unable to do yourself?"
"I am unable. As King I am not allowed to expose myself to unnecessary risk. Also, by tradition, the one to rescue an abducted princess must be a prince or equivalent figure. Then he can marry her and become King."
"I am a prince, but not of this culture. Do you have an Ammonoid Prince?"
"We do. But he declines to perform the rescue."
"Question?"
"It seems he was captured by this enemy before, and tortured. This left him unwilling to risk recapture."
"This is understandable. But if he has to be the one, what can we do to help? Could we persuade him?"
"Negation. Even if he tried, he would be so wary as to become useless. He could rule, nominally, but not venture into this particular danger. My daughter would be the actual ruler."
"Then what is our role in this?"
"You must emulate him, rescue the Princess, and bring her here to marry the Prince and become Queen."
"Emulate him? I have trouble emulating any Ammonoid, let alone a specific one, let alone a known Prince. Could I rescue the Princess in my own identity?"
The King's tentacles writhed in a colorful smile. "Not unless you wish to marry her. Your present consort might object."