Flame, Marionette, and Vila found themselves naked in their separate challenge course. This was a thick jungle with a single path leading toward their destination. It looked simple enough.
"I think pausing to fashion makeshift clothing would be a waste of time," Marionette said. "As long as the air is warm."
"Agreement," Vila said, liking the novelty.
"Warning," Flame said, sniffing. "I smell tiger." She had cultivated sharp senses, apart from her Glamor powers.
"They said there would be danger," Marionette said. "We had better prepare. What is the best defense against a tiger?"
"Avoidance," Flame said. "But I think we will not be allowed that luxury. The tiger will be lurking along the path we must traverse, and will pounce at its convenience. It is surely ravenous. We shall need weapons."
"Clubs?"
"And spears. Both can be fashioned from available wood. See, there are fallen branches."
They foraged for suitable wood, and soon had three clubs of assorted sizes, and three stout poles to serve as spears. They ground the ends against a stone to make reasonably sharp points.
"We are supposed to prevail without magic," Flame said. "So I will not use my Glamor powers. Even near-future sensing must be suspect and would perhaps disqualify me. But common sense precautions should suffice." And they would have to, as the Mistress knew.
Marionette raised a finger, thinking of something. "There are wild animal shows on Earth. We discourage cruelty, but animal trainers can make them do tricks like sitting on pedestals and jumping through hoops. I understand that the cracking of whips makes them take notice, and that a supposedly clumsy defense, such as a chair, is effective because the tigers don't know which of the four points of the legs to focus on, and hesitate. And a confident, aggressive manner can daunt them; they assume there must be some reason for it, and of course there is, if a man has a gun. We don't have a gun, but we could do the rest."
"We don't have a whip either," Flame said. "But maybe there is a substitute. How sharply can you clap your hands, Ette?"
Marionette clapped her hands. The report was startlingly loud. "One of my little talents," she said.
"That may be more effective than a spear," Flame agreed. "Let me make a four-pronged spear. It won't be very effective as a weapon, but if the prongs distract the tiger, we may not need a spear."
"Make it for me, daddy," Vila said. "So you can wield the real spear, just in case."
That did make sense, but might put the child at risk. "Can you do it without panicking? Tigers are big."
"With a Glamor daddy behind me? Sure."
Flame exchanged a glance with Marionette. Maybe it was feasible.
However, Marionette reminded Vila: they were supposed to be ordinary people, and shouldn't use Glamor powers for this challenge. She didn't add that Flame would not dare use her powers, even if their lives were threatened.
"Oh, sure," the child agreed, remembering. "I'm ordinary, anyway" She did have Glamor parents, so understood the situation. She was doing well, playing her role.
Flame fashioned a light bundle of sticks tied together by a vine, for the child to carry. Vila was right about one thing: if the tiger really went for her, Flame would be on it in an instant, with all of her Amazon-trained ferocity. But since she was supposed to be Warp, she hoped to be able to avoid revealing that training.
They followed the path through the jungle. Flame led the way, holding her spear, with the spears originally made for Marionette and Vila strapped to her back with vines liberated from an overgrown tree. Vila followed, and Marionette was last, alert for a possible rear attack.
There was a roar. Suddenly the tiger was charging them from the path ahead. There was no subtlety about it, no hiding and pouncing; maybe it knew they had no escape.
Flame stopped, spear ready. Vila walked around her, holding her bundle. And Marionette clapped her hands.
The tiger skidded to a halt, evidently nonplussed. It didn't know what to make of this. No screaming in fear, no desperate retreat, just this abrupt formation with the sharp sound. What was this prey doing?
"Back it off," Flame murmured.
Vila stepped forward, waving her sticks. Flame followed, keeping her spear ready.
The tiger considered briefly, then crouched, about to spring. And Marionette clapped her hands again.
The tiger retreated. It still wasn't satisfied that this prey wasn't vulnerable, but the sticks, sounds, and confidence was unnerving.
Step by step they drove it back. Every time it sought to spring, Marionette clapped, putting it off its focus. Finally it turned and bounded away, defeated.
They emerged from the jungle unscathed. The tiger had disappeared. "We did it!" Vila exclaimed jubilantly.
"So we did, dear," Marionette agreed. She stopped to kiss the child, then turned into Flame and kissed her. It was the kind of celebration expected of a relieved family. It seemed coincidental that no Glamor powers had been used.
"Berries!" Vila exclaimed. "Let's eat."
It was a good idea. They paused to make a light meal of berries, and to drink at the local stream. They could not be sure how far or long it would be before they encountered more of either.
The jungle gave way to a broad swamp with tufts of vegetation and occasional trees alternating with shallow open water. The path led straight into it. They would have to wade.
Marionette eyed it with misgiving. "There can be ugly things under mud."
"In the jungle there was only the tiger," Flame said. "No other threats we could see. I think they have set this up for one threat at a time. If we can identify it, we won't have to worry about any other. This is not a true wilderness."
"There it is!" Vila cried, pointing.
"A crocodile," Marionette said, shuddering. "Maybe ten feet long, with an armored hide. We aren't going to spook that with clapping or bundles of sticks."
"Especially not in its element," Flame agreed. "We need a new strategy."
"There are crocodile hunters on Earth," Marionette said. "Sometimes the animals have to be moved, for their own safety as well as that of human residents. The hunters use poles with loops of cord to tie their snouts closed so they can't bite. Then they can be hauled unwillingly away."
"You are one useful font of information, dear," Flame said, kissing her. She went in search of suitable vine.
In due course she had a pole rigged with a loop with a slip knot. Then she went after the croc.
It was almost too easy. She taunted it, and it charged, jaws snapping. She passed the loop over its snout and jerked it tight. Then hung on as it turned and charged away.
"Let it go," Monochrome advised. "If there's only the single one, we're done here."
Maybe so. But Flame fashioned another vine loop, just in case.
They crossed the swamp without further event. They had won bloodlessly, again, by being prepared. And again she had avoided using any Glamor powers.
There were fruit trees at the edge of the swamp. They picked and ate some.
The path led out of the swamp and to what appeared to be a bottomless gulf. A giant crack in the ground too wide to hurdle and extending seemingly endlessly to either side. Here and there a tree grew beside it, with some branches extending, but not nearly enough to enable any crossing. Perched in those branches was a flock of hawks.