Hob Goodfellowe

The boy came to his senses  At first he felt dizzy, as if he’d been spinning in circles for fun like a small child. Rapidly the dizziness cleared, and was replaced with a dullish ill feeling deep in his gut. He thought he remembered snatches of a voice, grim and old and tough, saying words…

Moliagul’s face passed in and out of a wan flicker of a smile. He shrugged. A long moment of thoughts passed through his eyes. At last he came to a decision, and gave a small, tired sigh. “My master, the Prince Morholt does sorely want Athairdrost’s head to be less connected to the rest of…

“Now, what to do?” said the Thegn of Moliagul. He cast a glance over the unconscious Caewen, Fleat, Dapplegrim, and finally to the shadow-demon Fetch, bottled up in its glassy prison. The boy followed his gaze. The shadow-thing also seemed to be… well… sleeping wasn’t the right word… inactive? It was just a motionless blotch…

Once back with the men, the Thegn gave whispered orders. Swords were drawn and shields were readied. It was only at this moment that the boy realised he had no weapon. He asked for something–a dagger perhaps–but the Thegn rested a not unkind grip on his shoulder, and said, “Give yourself a few years yet….

They moved through Baght Town in a single file, under black cloaks, surcoats inside-out. They showed no sign nor sigil. They went without a word spoken. As the men neared the inn, the boy felt increasingly nervous. It wasn’t long until he felt that there might as well have been rancid water boiling in his…

The boy stumbled up the wooden steps of the guest house. He paused at the entry, only to lean against its frame and catch his breath for a few wheezing gasps. Alright. Alright. You can do this. He pushed at the door and slipped inside. Then, he cut through the crowd and went straight up…

But he was quick. By the time the soldiers did look up, he was already hiding behind a rain barrel on the other side of the cobbles. Breathing hard, he waited as long as he dared, then snuck down a crooked, narrow space between two buildings, and then into a gap behind the inn. There…

After a moment’s pause, the boy remembered his urgency and upped his pace again. He went up one narrow lane after another, across a horse-yard, and down a zig-zag slope of alleyways. The crowds were thinner here, though at one point he got tangled up with some fire worshippers performing a ceremony outside their brightly…

He tried to edge away, when fingers like bands of steel gripped his wrist. The man sitting to the right said, suddenly, “Here! Watch it!” The looked down. He was overflowing the cup. The foamy puddle was spreading on the table. A big growling red-bearded face turned to him. “You simple, boy?” The man who…