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on the term 'key.' That also means a small island.”
    “An island that's a skeleton?”
    “I understand that some islands are fashioned magically by the skeletons of creatures of the sea called corals.”
    “Like the Brain Coral? I don't think—”
    “Other kinds of corals. They aren't smart, they merely form reefs or islands. Such an island might be termed a—”
    “A skeleton key!” Dolph exclaimed, catching on.
    “So perhaps we have merely to look on such a key to find the Heaven Cent.”
    “Great! Let's go there!”
    “Unfortunately—”
    Dolph waited. The skeleton's inability to formulate a complete thought in one effort might be because his head was hollow. Dolph was discovering that a certain tolerance made things easier.
    “—there are a number of such skeletal keys off the coasts of Xanth,” Marrow concluded. “We may have trouble ascertaining which one is correct.”
    Dolph considered. “Well, the message reads from west to east, so if I kept on reading east, that must be where the Heaven Cent is.”
    “I am not certain that makes sense.”
    “It makes Heaven Cents!” Dolph said. “What key is east of here?”
    “Well, in very general way, there is the Isle of Illusion—”
    “Then we'll go there!” Dolph exclaimed.
    “But we don't even know that the message is for us!” Marrow protested. “The Heaven Cent may relate to something entirely different!”
    “Non-cents,” Dolph said. “The Good Magician Humfrey always knew exactly what he was doing.” Though he wondered as he spoke how Humfrey could have been caught unawares by the holy smoke, if that were the case.
    “But such an obscure message, so well hidden—”
    “He did that so that only the right person could find it or understand it,” Dolph said confidently. “I am obviously that person. Tomorrow we'll go to the Isle of Illusion. Oh, my mother will have a fit!”
    “She certainly will,” Marrow agreed with resignation. It was evident that the skeleton, like Queen Irene, had not anticipated this development. That delighted Dolph; now at last he could make the Quest his own, forging into uncharted territory. Sheer adventure!

Xanth 11 - Heaven Cent
    Chapter 3. Vila.
    In the morning they set out for the Isle of Illusion. Dolph had planned to fly there, but when he became the roc he discovered that his wing muscles were quite sore from the prior day's exertion. He wasn't a real roc, and lacked the stamina of practice; also, his flight was relatively clumsy. If he worked at it he knew he could get better, but it wasn't worth it; it was easier to walk for a while.
    They followed the enchanted path north and then east when they came to an intersection. This was the path that Esk and Chex had used; he had seen them in the Magic Tapestry. Esk had seemed like a great guy, with his quarter-ogre ancestry. Then he got involved with that brass girl Bria and turned all mushy. Dolph knew that he would never get mushy about any stupid girl; he knew what they were like. Like his arrogant big sister! No boy in his right mind would have anything to do with any girl like that! Just because Irene bossed Dor around unmercifully, Ivy figured she had a duty to boss Dolph around. No, as far as he was concerned, the only good girl was one who was far away.
    “You knew Esk,” Dolph said after a bit. “Why did he stop adventuring and take up with that creature from the gourd?”
    “I was part of his adventure,” Marrow said somewhat stiffly. “I see no call to disparage my origin.”
    “I didn't mean you, bonehead! I meant Bria Brassy.”
    “We are both creatures of the gourd,” Marrow said, unmollified. It was not easy to hurt the feelings of someone as hardheaded as a walking skeleton, but evidently Dolph had managed it. He realized that he had been undiplomatic. Marrow was basically a good guy, and there was no reason to get him upset.
    Dolph pondered, and finally came to a very awkward conclusion: he would have to apologize. That was one