"I fear that is so," the centaur agreed. "Yet there must be some way for smart or creative people to escape it. There is so much illusion here, maybe we could fool it."
"So far, ifs been fooling us, not we it," Tandy said. "Unless we can wish away that wall-"
But Smash's Eye Queue had been cogitating on this problem, and now it regurgitated a notion-the one he had flirted with before. "If we could escape into another world, one with different rules-"
"Such as what?" Chem asked, interested. "Have you got something on your hairy mind?"
"The hypnogourd."
"I don't like the gourd!" Tandy said instantly.
"And the fact is, even if we all entered the gourd, our bodies would remain right here," the centaur pointed out. "The gourd is a trap itself-but if we did get out of it, we'd still be in the Void. A trap within a trap."
"But the nightmares can go anywhere," Smash said. "Even to Mundania-and back."
"That's true," Tandy agreed. "They can go right through walls, and I think some can run on water. So I suppose they could run through the Void, and out again. They're not ordinary mares. But they're very hard to catch and hard to ride, and the cost-" She smiled ruefully. "I happen to know."
"They would help us if the Night Stallion told them to," Smash said.
"Oh, I forgot!" Tandy exclaimed. "You still have to fight the Night Stallion! You sacrificed your soul for me-" She clouded up. "Oh, Smash, I owe you so much!"
The centaur nodded thoughtfully. "Smash placed his soul in jeopardy for you, Tandy. I can appreciate how that would affect you. But I'm not sure you interpret your debt correctly."
"I was locked into that horror, deprived of my soul!" Tandy said. "I had no hope at all. The lights had gone out on my horizon. Then he came and fought the bones and smashed things about and brought out my soul, and I lived again. I owe my everything to him. I should give back my soul-"
"No!" Smash cried, knowing that she could endure no worse horror than the loss of her soul again. "I promised to protect you, and I should have protected you from the gourd, instead of splashing in the lake. I'll fight this through myself."
Chem shook her head. "I do see the problem-for each of you. I wish I perceived the answers as clearly."
"I have to meet the Stallion anyway," Smash said. "So when I have conquered him, I'll ask him for some mares."
"That's so crazy it just might work!" Chem said. "But there's one detail you may have overlooked. We have no hypnogourds here."
"We'll use your map again," he said.
The centaur considered. "I must admit it worked for your Eye Queue replacement vine, and our situation is desperate enough so that anything's worth trying. But-"
"Replacement?" Tandy demanded.
"Chem will explain it to you while I'm in the gourd," Smash said. "Right now, let's use the map to locate a gourd patch."
The centaur projected her map and settled on a likely place for gourds while Tandy watched skeptically.
Then the party went there, though the way took them deeper into the Void.
And there they were-several nice fat hypnogourds with ripe peepholes. Smash settled himself by the largest. "You girls get some rest," he advised. "This may take a while. Remember, I have to locate the Stallion first, then fight him, then round up the mares."
Tandy grabbed his hamhand in her two delicate little hands. "Oh, Smash-I wish I could help you, but I'm terrified to go into a gourd-"
"Don't go in a gourd!" Smash exclaimed. "Just stay close so you don't get walled off from me and can't bring me out in an emergency," he said gruffly.
"I will! I will!" Tandy's eyes were tear-bright. "Oh, Smash, are you strong enough? I shouldn't have hit you with that tantrum-"
"I like your tantrums. You just rest, and wait for the nightmares, by whatever route they come."
"I know I'll see nightmares," she said wanly.
Smash glanced at Chem. "Keep an eye on her," he said, disengaging his hand from Tandy's.
"I will," the centaur agreed.
Then Smash put his eye to the peephole.
Chapter 13. Souls Alive
He found himself emerging from the cakewalk onto a vast empty stage. He landed gently. There was no vomit. There was a new scene.
The floor was metal-hard and highly polished; his feet left smudge marks where they touched. The air was half lit by a glow that seemed inherent. There was nothing else.
Smash peered about. It occurred to him that if the Night Stallion were here, he could spend a long time looking, as this place seemed infinitely extensive. He had to narrow its compass, somehow.
Well, he knew how to do that. He started tromping, unreeling his string behind him. He would crisscross this region for as long and as far as it took him.
Smash advanced. The string became a long line, disappearing in the distance behind. It divided the plain into two sections.
This could take even more time than he had judged, he realized. Since the girls were waiting outside the gourd in the Void and would not be able to go in search of food or water, he wanted to get on with it quickly. So he needed some way to speed things up.
He cudgeled his Eye Queue again. How could he most efficiently locate a creature that didn't want to be located?
Answer: what about following its trail?
He applied his eye to the floor. Now that he concentrated, he saw the hoofprints. They crossed his projected line, coming from the right rear and proceeding to the left front. There would be- no problem following that!
But his curse, in its annoying fashion, caused him to question the simplicity of this procedure. The hoofprints were suspiciously convenient, crossing his line just at the point he thought to look, almost as if they were intended to be seen. He knew that tracking a creature was not necessarily simple, even when the prints were clear. The trail could meander aimlessly, looping about, getting lost in bad terrain. It could become dangerous if the quarry knew it was being tracked-and the Dark Horse surely did know.
There could be tricks and ambushes.
No, there was no sense playing the game of the Night Stallion. The trail was not to be trusted. It was something set up to delude an ordinary ogre. Better to force the Stallion to play Smash's game-and if the Horse did not know of Smash's hidden asset of intelligence, that could be a counter ambush. A smart ogre was quite different from a stupid one.
Smash stomped on, following his straight line, halving the territory. This should also restrict the range of the Stallion, since it could not go any place Smash had already looked-as he understood the rules of this quest-and therefore could not cross the line.
Yet the territory still seemed to be infinitely large. He might tromp forever and never come to the far side. For that matter, he hadn't started at the near side, either; he had simply appeared within the range and begun there. He also realized that halving the total territory did not necessarily cut the area remaining to be searched. Half of infinity remained infinity. Also, unless he knew which half the Stallion was in, he had gained nothing; he could spend all his time searching in the wrong half, his failure guaranteed.
Smash pondered. His Eye Queue was really straining now, and probably the eyeballs of it were getting hot in their effort to see the way through infinity. One thing he had to say for the curse: it certainly tried to help him. It never really opposed its will to his own; it sought instead to call his attention to new aspects of any situation encountered, and to provide more effective ways of dealing with problems. He had discovered how useful that was when he had tried to function without its aid. Now he needed it again. How could he figure out a sure, fast way to proceed?
The vine came up with a notion.
Smash put the ball of string into his mouth and bit it in half. He now had two balls, each smaller than the first but magically complete. He took the first and rolled it violently forward.