Five Portraits by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online

couldn’t refuse, so she went to meet the board woman. Who turned out to be quite nice, once she got over the shock of meeting a basilisk. She agreed to have Astrid join their mission, but insisted on much more formal clothing such as a bra, panties, and a dress. Astrid didn’t know about such superfluous things but had to trust the woman’s human judgment. She chose a dress with lovely reptilian sequins that reminded her of scales; it was the only one she could really be comfortable in. MareAnn was not easy with it, because the sequins were magic, but let it be.
    Thus it was that Astrid joined the Quest to eliminate the anti-pun virus. The dress turned out to be a devious asset, because whenever a sequin fell off it turned translucent, which for some reason made the man, Ease, freak out, and when the sequin was restored, it jumped them to a new location that might or might not be convenient. So it became quite an adventure. Along the way they added others to the Quest, including the machine Com Pewter, the girl in the tower Tiara, the long-haired man Mitch, and Art, an artist who was immune to poison. He promptly became Astrid’s boyfriend, because he could kiss her and be with her without suffering, though he was careful not to meet her gaze; there were limits. His ambition was to paint portraits of beautiful women, especially her.
    But most important of all, Kandy became Astrid’s second and best friend. That truly sustained her. They managed to complete their mission with the help of Merge, a remarkable five-part woman, but still had some mopping up to do.
    â€œAnd that is how I came to associate with these wonderful people,” Astrid concluded. “I am indeed a basilisk, and my direct gaze is instant death, but I am comfortable in this group, and we accept each other as we are.”
    â€œThat’s so romantic,” Ginger Goblin said.
    â€œAnd remarkable,” Truman Troll added. “I am glad to have heard it. But who is your third best friend?”
    â€œI have no idea,” Astrid confessed. “Nor what my mission in life is. I’m just trying to help these good folk accomplish their mission to exterminate the pun virus and restore Xanth to its natural state.”
    â€œI am not quite finished here,” Pewter said. “Your narrative has not quite filled out the chapter. You must have left something out.”
    â€œOh!” Astrid exclaimed, surprised, and half a bulb flashed over her head.
    â€œOur appreciation surprises you?” Truman asked.
    â€œSpeaking of Art and his Portraits reminded me,” Astrid said. “MareAnn said something about portraits that didn’t mean anything to me at the time, but now it is beginning to.”
    â€œPortraits?” Ginger asked.
    â€œMareAnn said that the Good Magician was in half a dither because though the Book of Lost Answers had been reassembled—I don’t know what that means, but I think it’s a sort of companion to the Book of Answers that is the huge musty tome he constantly pores over—there was an Answer left over and he didn’t know what to do with it.”
    â€œObviously it belongs in the Book of Answers, since it’s not lost,” Pewter said.
    â€œApparently not,” Astrid said. “The Book of Answers also has the Questions, but this one has no attached question. So it is the Question that is lost. That confuses, befuddles, and perplexes him. So he’s grumpy, and that annoys the Wives, who find him difficult enough to deal with already. That’s why they swap out every month, getting time to recover from his moods. They need to find the Question so that things can settle down to the normally irritating routine.”
    â€œWhat is the Answer?” Ginger asked.
    â€œFive Portraits.”
    â€œFive Portraits?”
    â€œYes. That’s all. I just realized that there are five beautiful women in our party, and Art means to paint them all when