Jane and Ud on the beach

* You are restless today. *

The Cosm woman in a yellow linen summer gown paced the hard-packed sand on the edge of the shore in her bare feet. "There's an itch in the back of my mind that there's something out there but I can see nothing with my clairvoyance."

* Then sit and trance properly as I taught you and you will find it, silly girl. *

The woman sat down and crossed her legs. Dropping into a deep trance, her consciousness flew over the water toward the source of annoyance in her mind, and there he was. A boy, Sea Coyn by his looks, spread unconsciously on a ship's hatch, a long way from shore. She extended her reach to see a crippled ship, barely staying afloat, with many wounded. She saw the plan in the shipmaster's mind to beach the dying ship and send someone who was uninjured for help.

She decided the boy must be saved first. The experienced sailors on the ship would be at less risk than just a boy alone and unconscious.

* You will save him? *

"Yes. Is that not part of your agreement with the Sea Coyn?"

* Indeed it is and you are now one of my kin, so please, fetch him to shore. *

She flew over the waves for a long way before she spotted him. He looked like he was between ten and twelve, she guessed. For some reason, that made her feel nostalgic for something that was just out of her reach of her slowly-recovering memory. She lifted him in her arms, noting that he hardly weighed anything at all. Her body clairvoyance told her he was hungry and very thirsty and exhausted.

She landed on the beach next to Ud, the ancient spider monster with the personality of an indulgent grandmother. She smiled to herself at how strange and wonderful the world could be.

* Well, it looks like he just needs rest and food and we can return him to his people. How will you approach this? *

"The difficult part will be not frightening him," she said. "I believe I will blindfold him and let him awaken with his eyes covered. Then I can explain to him that we may look frightening but mean him no harm. It worked for you and me so it may work for him and us."

* What? No charms of peace or suppression? It's much easier. *

"Easier is not always better. The mental state of a patient is just as important as the illness or injury."

* There is merit in that analysis. Proceed. *

She created a pavilion on the beach with creation magic and furnished it with a bed for the boy and a chair for herself. She placed him on the bed, cleaned him and his clothes with a thought, and created a pitcher of water, a beaker, and a side table to put them on. She filled the beaker with water. Then she blindfolded him, dropped into his mind, and gently wakened him.

"Who? Who's there? Where am I?" His boyish soprano squeaked.

"Peace, child. We rescued you from where we found you, drifting on a hatch a long way from shore. You are dehydrated and need water first. I have some here. You must take small sips at first or you may throw it up. Once your stomach has made peace with the water, then you may drink it more quickly. Are you ready? I will lean you up first." She helped him to sit up. "Hold out your hand and I will give you a beaker with water. Remember, small sips."

She placed the beaker against his palm and waited for him to grab it with his fingers. "Do you have it? I will remove my hand now."

The boy took a sip and then another right after it.

"Take those sips slower, young man."

"My mouth is so dry," he countered.

"You must be patient like you were when you clung to the hatch that saved your life."

He took another sip and then counted out loud to twenty. The next sip followed. This repeated 12 times before she let him drink a little faster. He emptied the beaker twice.

"If you can keep that water in your stomach, we can move on to some food."

"Why are my eyes covered?" the boy asked.

"Some people might call me a monster. I wanted to warn you about that before removing the eye bandage."

"Is this the Fens?

"Yes, it is."

"Are you Ud?"

"No, I am not. Ud is here but she is outside this tent. She's too big to fit inside."

* Greetings, child. I am Ud. Many believe that Jane and I are indeed monsters. Our appearance is frightening. You may be scared when you see us, which is why we wanted to talk with you first. Just remember, we mean you no harm. *

"I am going to put the beaker on the side table. Now I will undo the bandage over your eyes."

"Aaaaa!" The boy started to move away from the woman. "You're a giant. Please don't eat me."

* I've heard that line before. * There was a sense of laughter from the spider monster.

"You're huge," the boy protested, looking up...and up at the woman.

"I noticed," she smiled gently. "It's really hard to find shoes that fit. No one makes them big enough. It is such a bother."

"That's...that's just silly," he said, giving her a very disgusted kid look. "You sound like my sister."

"What? Does your sister have big feet too?" She leaned over urgently, "quick, tell me, where does she get her shoes?" The boy laughed.

"How's your tummy feel?" she sat back and watched him with a light smile on her face, thinking about how children his age were resilient.

"I'm still thirsty," he said.

"But how is your stomach, young man?"

"Uh...alright?"

"Here," she poured a half beaker of water and passed it to him.

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"Thank you," he said and gulped the water down.

"You are welcome. What is your name, little one?"

"I'm Dimod."

"Well, I'm called Jane and you already know who Ud is. Can you tell me what happened to your ship?"

"Pirates. They attacked us."

"Where?"

"We were 20 days out of Kora-Kor and had just sighted the Cliffs of Gong. They came out of the north. They were not from Tirmara. They were dressed differently and talked funny. They rammed our ship, took our silks and spices, and tried to kill us. It's only cuz my dad's the best sailor in Inkalim that we got away."

"But you didn't. How did you become separated from your ship?"

"The halyard parted," Dimod explained even though Jane had no idea what a halyard was. "So dad gave me a line to run through the halyard tackle so we could get the spar back up. Well, I got up to the top of the mast when the wind shifted and a wave hit us just right. That knocked me off the crow's nest and I fell into the water because I forgot to secure my line to the stays when I was threading the new halyard. You know?"

Jane nodded, not understanding a word the child said.

"When I came up, both ships were too far from me so no one heard me. I saw the hatch so I climbed on it. I was on it for a day and a night."

"Well, you were out cold when I picked you up," Jane said. "How's your stomach feel?"

"Hungry?"

"Alright, let's see how some food does in your tummy." She leaned away from him and reached under her chair to pull out a tin of shortbread biscuits. The tin was colored with a red tartan, and stamped "MacNeal's premier selection --- made in Aberdeen. She opened it up and presented it to him, "just one biscuit for now."

"Not two?" He brightened up and smiled.

"Just one for now," she gave him a motherly look, the one for little boys trying to weasel more cookies than they were allowed.

"Oh, alright," he pouted.

"The ones with the red filling are really good," she advised. He considered his options and took one with the red filling.

"Ummff! Fuff ifss good!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, child," she said on reflex. She heard Ud laughing in her mind.

"May I have another one, please?"

"Let's wait a few minutes to make sure your stomach will keep that down." She smiled at him.

His face darkened, "I hope the ship's alright, and my dad."

"Ud? Are they still afloat?" Jane called out to Ud.

* They could use some help. The ship is getting lower in the water and they are still far from shore. I can watch Dimod and you can help the ship or I could help the ship and you can watch Dimod. *

"I should get them. They'd take one look at you and abandon the ship to get away from you."

* Oh, that's so unkind Jane. I'm not that frightening. *

"Oh yes, you are." Jane shot back.

"Is Ud really that scary?" Dimod asked.

"How brave are you?" she asked him with a smile.

"I'm brave enough to go to sea with my father," he boasted.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." She stood up. "Need help out of bed?"

"Why's the bed so far off the ground?" he looked over the edge of the mattress at the ground far below. Jane had forgotten to adjust the bed height for a Coyn child.

"Here," she bent down and picked him up in her arms. She walked out of the tent and right up to Ud.

"Aaaaaa!" He wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his head in her shoulder. "Is that really Ud? She won’t eat me, will she?"

"Yes, this is Ud. She is not going to hurt you or eat you. She's very nice and she's been helping sailors from Inkalim for many years. She hasn't eaten a single one."

He lifted his head and peeked at Ud's ten glowing red eyes on her cephalothorax.

* I am quite a harmless monster. Can't we be friends? *

"She's scary, Jane," he hid his head back into her shoulder.

* He's such a cute little human boy.* One of her furry pedipalps came up and mussed up his hair. * And you know what's so fun about humans is their feet. *

"Ud, behave yourself," Jane admonished the house-sized spider.

* Especially their cute little toes. * The pedipalp secured the feet. * Which are so ticklish! * The other pedipalp extended several soft hairs and started brushing the bottoms of Dimod's toes.

Dimod squealed and started laughing, "No, no, not my feet. Stop stop stop stop stop!"

* They are so cute when they do this. Don't you think so, Jane? *

"I'm going to take back everything I said about you being a nice monster, torturing a little boy like that! Tickling him to death. That's just so mean, Ud."

* Okay, I'll stop. *

"Very good," miffed Jane.

* For now. *

"Ud!" Jane glared at the monster. "Are you alright, Dimod?"

The boy reached over and covered his feet with his hands and said in a little voice, "please don't tickle my feet."

The glow in all ten red eyes blinked out and then came back on. * I will stop tickling your feet and toes, * the monster promised. A pedipalp snuck upward and goosed him in the side.

"Eck!" he squealed again.

* I make no promises about sides, necks, or knees. Human children are so much fun. *

Jane sighed. "Can I leave you with Ud, Dimod? She will take good care of you. I need to help your father's boat get to shore. What's your father's name?

"Kimkud, he's the ship's master."

* There are reefs off the shore here, Jane. Bring them to the inset where we had tea two days ago. It's all nice sandy sea bottom there and it's not too far for the children to bring the crew a few bighorn sheep. We will meet you there? *

"I will meet you there, Ud."

* Put Dimod in the indent behind my eyes, Jane. That's a comfortable spot for a human.*

"Hold on, Dimod," she shifted her grip to hold him up by the waist and placed him on Ud's cephalothorax.

"It's so soft and fuzzy!" Dimod ran his hands through Ud’s fur.

"See that depression in back of the eyes?" Jane pointed. "Go sit there. No matter how far and fast Ud might run, if you're in that spot you'll never fall off because it's magic."

"Magic?" His eyes grew round.

"Ud is a magic monster. She's very magical."

"Wow."

---

Sea Master Kimkud, at sea on a sinking ship

Kimkud could not decide if he was really awake and alert or if he was delirious and about to die of thirst or wound fever. A giant woman with silverhair bigger than any Cosm he had ever met, and he had met quite a few, descended to their sinking vessel from out of the sky. She scared him when she asked for him by name. She first insisted on seeing the worst of the wounded and did something to them that put them into a restful sleep.

Then she sat crosslegged on the quarterdeck, made a gesture with her hand, and the ship lifted out of the water and started traveling through the air. A line of land appeared eventually and the ship was flying toward it. One of the other sailors tapped his shoulder and pointed. Kimkud could not believe his eyes. There was a monster bigger than his 150 hand ship running on the water headed for the ship.

"We're going to die horrible deaths, I just know it," he said to the gathering frightened crew.

The giant lady glanced briefly and then smiled. "Fear not, Master Kimkud. It's just Ud come to meet us. She has her children bringing mutton for your crew since your stores have been spoiled."

"You're with Ud?" he asked.

"I am sorry. Did I forget to tell you that? My apologies, shipmaster. I forgot in my concern for your wounded. Please forgive me, but now I must concentrate and bring this ship down safely."

"Dad!"

Damn, he was now hearing things.

"Dad! Dad! Look at me!"

It was the voice of his eldest son, lost during the fight with the pirates. He would never be able to make peace with the boy's mother, who didn't want Dimod to go to sea at such a young age.

"Dad! Dad! Look! I'm riding a magic spider monster!"

He turned his head to see Dimod on top of the monster, waving and smiling.

He fainted and the crew couldn't rouse him before they came to shore.

---