The pooka did not talk, but they understood perfectly, and their glances could convey much.
"Why, you are correct," Justin said, surprised. "There are five of us-seeking six Rings. We are missing a Ring holder! That is surely a complication, unless someone else volunteers." He shook his head. "Oh, dear, I fear this will delay my marriage to Breanna. She will not be pleased." In fact she would probably generate such a black cloud of ire that Castle Zombie itself would shake on its mushy foundation. It was enough to make a man wonder whether they shouldn't have eloped.
In such manner their journey to Castle Roogna passed. In due course they spied its orchard and moat and turrets and all. The ghost horses deposited them at the drawbridge, went to sniff noses briefly with Soufflé the moat monster, then were gone in a ghostly stir of invisible air.
Justin and Unpun introduced themselves to Soufflé who was all the guard the castle needed on a quiet day like this, and walked on into the castle. No one met them; they were unannounced, and the castle ghosts had probably been reassured by the presence of the ghost horses. Had they been hostile intruders it would have been another matter; the castle had its own ways of dealing with those.
They found Princess Ida's little chamber. She was entitled to much fancier lodgings, but preferred to live simply. Her talent was the Idea; whatever she believed would come true, did come true, if suggested by someone who did not know her talent. Most folk did know her talent now, so it didn't get much exercise. But she also had Ptero, and that made all the difference. That was her moon, whereon all the characters who ever existed, or would exist, or might exist, stayed, waiting their turns for lives in regular Xanth.
"Why, hello, Justin," Ida said, rising from her simple chair to greet them. A ball the size of a cherry bomb circled her head. It hid shyly behind her hair the moment Justin looked directly at it. "But I don't think I know your friend."
"He is Unpun Zombie. He knows where-"
"Oh, Punny's friend!" she said. "She came here last year, hoping to wait until there came a way to restore him to full life."
"Yeth!" Unpun agreed.
"And have you found a way?"
"We have, perhaps," Justin said. "We have come for the Ring of Idea."
She looked at him with surprise. "What use could you have for that?" Her moon was evidently curious too, for now it swung back into sight.
"We need it to obtain the Swell Foop. Unpun says that Punny has it. When I get it, I can use it to restore Unpun to life, so that he can resume dissipating puns. That seems straightforward."
"Yes, it surely is," she agreed. Justin knew then that it was true, for Ida did not agree to things she did not believe, and what she believed was true. It did not matter, in this case, that Justin knew her talent; he was not originating the concept, merely repeating what he had learned from Unpun. The zombie evidently did not know.
"We shall need to go to Ptero to find it."
"I will help you go," she agreed. "Lie down on those cots." She indicated two beds in the chamber. Perhaps their visit had not been entirely unexpected. She brought out a bottle. "Sniff this soul remover; it will release your souls for the journey."
"Buth I can'th go there," Unpun protested.
"Yes you can," Justin said immediately. "You must lead me to Punny."
"Noo!"
"If he does not wish to go-" Ida said, concerned. Her little moon clouded over; evidently it did not like stress.
"He does want to go," Justin said. "It's just that he can't stand all the puns that have accumulated around her. So I must be guided by his objections. It's the only way."
"That is sad," she said. "I wish I could help."
"Comth with me," Unpun said.
"I will sit beside you and hold your hand," she said, doing so. "But I can't-"
"Comth with me!" the zombie repeated. "You are a nize woman. I like your touch."
"But Unpun, I can't-"
"Yeth you can!" Now the zombie was echoing Justin's response to him. "Your touch gives me strength." Indeed, he was speaking better now. "Come with me to Ptero! I can handle it then."
Ida looked at Justin, startled. "Do you suppose-?" Her moon paused momentarily in its orbit, similarly surprised.
Justin was as startled as she was. Everyone knew that Ptero was the one place Ida could not go. But was it true? "We just assumed," he said. "But where was the proof? Unpun needs your company." The zombie clearly believed it was possible. He did not know of the limitation on her talent. Maybe she could go to her moon.
"But Ptero orbits me," she said. "How can I go?"
"It is only the soul that travels," Justin said. "Your soul can go, while your body remains here, just as ours do."
"Come with me," Unpun repeated.
"I believe-I believe I will," Princess Ida said, her smile radiant. It illuminated the little moon, banishing the last of its clouds. "I have always wanted to visit my worlds, but never thought-"
"Doubt is death," Justin said. "We'll all three go. Lie between us, and hold our hands." He spoke as positively as he could, because he wanted Ida to have this chance to do what she had always wanted. As long as Unpun believed she could, she could. They had to seize the moment.
Ida moved another cot between them, and lay on it. The moon adjusted its orbit so that it would not bang into the bed. They held hands. "Now orient on Ptero," she said. "After sniffing the bottle. You will be disoriented at first, but when you see Ptero you will know where to go." She passed the bottle to Justin, who sniffed once and lay back.
He found himself riding out of his body. In a moment he saw the other two doing the same. They were both rather shapeless. "This way," he called. "Take my hand." They were holding hands in their bodies, but not with their souls.