Matt nodded. “That would make sense, yes.”
“But how?”
“Because there’s suddenly a chance that you’ll be able to break out of here.”
“Why…” Arouetto’s eyes glowed. “Of course! Because you are here with me!”
“Right.” Matt nodded. “Neither one of us is all that much of a threat alone, but together, we’re a time bomb!”
“A time bomb?” Arouetto frowned. “What is that?”
“I’ll tell you when we have more time,” Matt said. “Right now, I think we’d just better turn our attention to going back to the real world.”
Arouetto turned to look at his villa sadly. “It will be regrettable, leaving this charming place.”
“I don’t mean to push you,” Matt said. “If you want to stay-”
“No, no!” Arouetto turned back to him in alarm. “The company of real living people is far more important than this comfort. Of course, it would be pleasant to have both-but we never can, you know, Lord Wizard. One thing can only be gained at the price of another.”
“Yes, I know,” Matt said softly, “but you’re wise enough to learn the price before you’ve bought it. I know a lot of people who get what they want, then discover what they’ve lost in the process-when it’s too late to get it back.”
“It seems to be a Law of Compensation.” Arouetto gave him a conspiratorial smile. “And I am ready to yield this treasure, to gain my freedom.”
“Maybe you’ll win King Boncorro’s favor,” Matt said. “Maybe he’ll build you a villa just like this, and you can commission sculptors to make these statues for real.”
“That would be wonderful, of course,” Arouetto sighed, “but no other sculptor could craft these statues, exactly as I have imagined them-for no other sculptor has my mind, and we cannot truly share and mingle our thoughts while we are alive, Lord Wizard. We must make do with the clumsy medium of words, written or spoken, and accept their imperfections.”
“Again, compensation.” Matt nodded. “Maybe we can figure out a way for you to come back and visit now and then.”
“That would be pleasant.” But Arouetto didn’t seem to care that ardently. “Still, as I have said, one must make a choice in life, my friend-and I will choose living people over lifeless marble in an instant.”
“Well, it might take a little longer than that,” Matt cautioned. “My spells don’t seem to have been working all that well in Latruria-in fact, I’ve been trying to hold down on the magic, and the reason I haven’t been willing to admit it to myself is that it might not work as well as I’m used to.”
“Certainly not,” Arouetto said. “You are a wizard devoted to Right and Good; your magic is based on Faith.”
Matt stared taken aback by the scholar’s instant understanding. Then he shook himself and protested, “But my spells worked before I believed in the power of religion in this universe!”
“You may have believed more than you know,” Arouetto explained. “Besides, even if you did not knowingly believe very strongly in God, you did believe in Right and Goodness, and their power to ultimately triumph.”
“Well, sure, ultimately…”
“Then, as I’ve said, your magic was based on Faith,” Arouetto said with satisfaction. “But Latruria is a land steeped in cynicism, even in doubt, at least so far as the powers of Righteousness and Goodness are concerned. Therefore your magic was weakened.”
Matt sighed. “That makes all too much sense. I wish my friend Saul were here-he’s a natural skeptic, so the jaundiced views of the Latrurian people would only strengthen his magic.”
“Is he a wizard, too?”
Matt felt a sudden gust of breeze, but answered, “Yes, though he even questions that.”
“Who questions what?” said a brittle voice. They spun, staring. Then a grin stretched wide across Matt’s face, and he advanced with open arms. “Saul! What a sense of timing!”
After the glad greetings and the introductions, Matt had to try to explain to Arouetto why Saul wore a barbarian horseman’s loose trousers and short tunic, why it was tucked into his pants instead of hanging over, and why he wore rider’s boots when he didn’t ride much.
“Inquisitive, isn’t he?” Saul asked.
Matt shrugged. “He’s a scholar.”
Then he tried to explain their predicament to his friend-and to Arouetto why Saul wore nothing but blue: light blue shirt and dark blue trousers. Matt did notice that the shirt bore a closer resemblance to homespun than to chambray, that the trousers were obviously monk’s cloth instead of denim, and that their blue wasn’t the real softness of indigo faded, but some local substitute. Still, he had to admit that Angelique had done a very creditable job of imitating blue jeans and chambray in a medieval setting. He was tempted to wonder why she had bothered-but then, he knew Saul. Then they settled down to some serious plotting.
“Ortho the Frank knew you were in danger,” Saul explained.
“Ortho? Why was he tuned in?”
“Mostly because Alisande has marched into Latruria with Ortho and a small army, to come and get you.”
“A small army!” Matt cried, appalled. “Hey, no! I don’t want to cause a war!”
“No, just to fight in ones that other people start,” Saul said with sarcasm. “So she was already in Latruria and making pretty good speed toward Venarra, when Chancellor Rebozo, whoever he is, sent word to Alisande that you were no longer in Latruria.”
“I’ll just bet he did!” Matt fumed. “He hoped she’d get the idea that if I wasn’t there, mere was no point in marching farther south. She didn’t just pack up and go home, did she?”
“Without you to bring back? No way! She sent word that she might as well pay a courtesy visit, as long as she had gone that far. Then she talked Sir Guy into calling for me.”
“How’d you find me?”
“Ortho guessed that you must be in some sort of alternate magical pocket universe, and I thought of the physicists’ idea that the higher dimensions are hidden inside the other three. So I went into a trance and fished around with my mind, trying to get outside the three-dimensional frame of reference-but I wasn’t having any luck, until I heard your voice saying, ‘I wish Saul were here.’ I zeroed in on that.”
“I’d like to say it wasn’t necessary,” Matt said, “but I’m afraid it was. Hate to have you pulling my chestnuts out of the fire again, Saul.”
“Don’t mention it-life always gets more interesting when you’re around.” Saul looked up at Arouetto, and Matt could almost see the chip settling onto his shoulder. “So you’re a scholar, huh?”
“I am,” Arouetto said, “though your friend seems to think the word ‘student’ is more apt to what I am. For myself, I see no difference between the two.”
“Older usage, yeah,” Saul admitted. “Any particular reason why you don’t call yourself a philosopher?”
“An excellent one-that I do not know enough, and am too poor in judgment.” Arouetto’s smile warmed. “It is Knowledge I love, Wizard Saul, not wisdom.”
“Well, at least you know it-in contrast to a few philosophers I could name. And you’re not a professor?”
Arouetto looked surprised. “What would I profess?”
“Whatever your major area of study is,” Saul snapped.
“Greece and Reme? There is too much of them to know, for one man to have the audacity to profess his opinions about them!”
“Your humility does you credit,” Saul grumbled, “but it’s very frustrating when I’m trying to work up a good argument. Okay, Scholar Arouetto-if we want to get back to the real world, where do you think we should aim for? Merovence, so we’re outside King Boncorro’s jurisdiction?”