I panted in short, painful bursts. When we reached the entrance to the castle, Freya lifted me off the horse. She carried me inside. Two guards talked in the main hall. They stopped and stared at us as we passed. Robbard took us to the stairway that led to the dungeon. Went up the stairs instead of down. I exhaled for the first time since we’d entered the castle. We climbed the stone stairs. Sheesha’s feet padded up the stone. Reese’s hooves clacked against the floor. We reached the top of the stairs and entered a wide hall.

“Can you do anything for our friend?” She asked Robbard. “After all, you are the people who did this to him,” she said.

“I’ll send the physician once you’re in your rooms,” he said. He led us down the hall. More of the historic tapestries that we saw in our Inn hung along the walls. Each depicted glorious scenes of smooger pain. The last was an early scene of what Heedon Springs must have looked like long ago. A stone wall ran around a tiny town at the mouth of the river. Lengnil stared with conviction past the wall and into the distance. It was the only peaceful scene.

Robbard opened a broad wooden door. Freya carried me inside and set me on a bed. Reese collapsed on the bed beside me. The others filed in. Robbard left and shut the door behind him. Drexel put his ear against the door. When he was sure that Robbard was gone, he tried the doorknob. It turned in his hand.

“We’re not locked in. That’s a good sign,” he said. He sat on the bed next to me. There were enough beds in the room for everyone. Even Sheesha got her own bed. The wall was lined with wide windows. Red velvet drapes hung down from the ceiling. More depictions of Lengnil and the great smooger slaughter hung along the far wall.

“I could get used to this place,” I said.

There was a knock at the door. Drexel opened it. A skinny old stilt bowed and came inside. He took a long look around the room. He smiled at Chastity and brushed past Drexel. He walked around Freya as if she were a piece of furniture and reached the side of my bed. He untied the lacing of my vest. His old hands were surprisingly soft. He opened a small jar and dipped his hand into a greasy salve. He rubbed the warm greasy lotion onto my chest. The smell of rotten fish filled the room. He reached a wrinkled hand under my neck and lifted my head. Freya watched his every move. He produced a small vial and poured a thick syrup into my mouth. It tasted like rotten fish. I winced and swallowed.

“He will sleep soundly tonight. When he wakes, he will feel a little better, but his wounds are extensive. Only time can mend them.” He went to Chastity and whispered to her. He bowed and left the room. He never once looked me in the eyes.

“What was that?” Freya asked.

“He liked me,” Chastity said. She smiled. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of a strange cacaphony from outside. I hurt all over, but the pain was nothing compared to the day before. I winced when I hopped down from the stilt bed. Both ankles hurt. The searing pain in my chest was mostly gone. I went over all the bruises and cuts on my body. Everything seemed to be intact, except for my tooth. I ran my tongue over the hole in the front of my mouth. I pulled the Kraken Idol from my pocket and offered a quick prayer.

“Thank you Kraken for seeing me this far. Thank you for purging this land of smoogers long ago. I am the instrument of your will, like that stilt, Lengnil.” I put the idol away. I walked to the wall and ran my hand over the tapestry that hung there.

A pillar of smoke rose above a pile of charred smooger corpses near a picturesque spring. Lengnil held his staff high over his head. Blue fire engulfed a group of smoogers. It wasn't an original, but the detail was still there. I could even see the looks of pain and horror on the melting faces of the smoogers inside the ball of fire. I smiled and walked to the window. The ground outside the castle looked as if it were moving. I squinted and stared.

“Thats a lot of big pigs,” Drexel said. I spun around. He stood behind me and looked out the window.

“Who would have thought?” He asked. I looked back out the window. A wet sea of spotted pigs slowly moved east. I could barely see a patch of ground. The pigs were pressed together in a thick long line that stretched all the way to the horizon. They were huge. Each pig was as big as the house that Gnick and Gnelly lived in, at least. The deep beeping of the herd drowned out the sound of a thunderstorm.

“Hungry?” Drexel asked. He leaned out the window. He smiled. "Theres no way that herd is 50 miles long. Ten, maybe" I followed him out of the room. I walked gingerly down stairs. In the main hall were several long tables filled with food.

Chastity and Freya sat together in front of silver plates piled with slices of meat. Jenna was nearby. Guards brought more platters of food. Reese slouched over a bowl of food. He held a silver goblet in each hand.

“He’s at it early,” Freya said. I sat next to her at the table. Sheesha crawled under the table and lay at my feet. The food was great, but not as good as Freyas. I ate plate after plate of meats and pastries. I handed fistfuls of food to Sheesha under the table. Freya tasted several plates, but she didn't relax.

“Attention!” Robbard appeared. He stood rigidly at the head of the table. There was a clatter behind him. Then Falstaag stumbled into the room. His two swords bounced beside his great belly. His giant nostrils flared in his red nose.

“More drink!” He said. Two guards ran up, each with a jug of whiskey. Falstaag walked up to us. He stood next to Reese.

“Hey there goat boy. Are you having fun?” He asked. Reese didn’t look up from his bowl.

“My hand hurts,” he said.

“I’ve got just the thing for that,” Falstaag said. He grabbed a jug and tipped it back. He slammed in on the table next to Reese. Reese winced. He raised one of the goblets to his lips and swallowed.

“I’m just having wine this morning,” he said.

“Suit yourself,” Falstaag said. He took another pull off the jug. Then he pulled a chair back from the table and sat facing us.

“So now that we know each other, and everybody's relaxed, we can talk" Falstaag said.

"We know nothing of each other" Freya said.

Falstaag leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his belly.

“I know you killed Jehosophat. You know I’m the law in this town, whats more to know?,” he said. He ended his sentence with a loud belch.

Jenna looked at me. Her hand went for her necklace. Freya stiffened.

“You wouldn't really hand poor little me to to the dragon would you?” Chastity said. She pouted.

Falstaag cleared his copious throat. “Lets get one thing clear. I don’t work for the bitch dragon, and I was never in no mind to turn you over to her.” Falstaag said. “My only concern is keeping the peace in this here town.” He looked around.

"Thats a lie!" I snapped "He even told me he was handing us over to that thing!"

"I believe I also told you something about Reese that you believed just as much, you silly varmit." Falstaag replied calmly.

"So what is it then" Drexel said, "Extortion? we pay or you rat us out to the Dragon?"

"Be my guest" Gurdy grumbled, "Im ready to tear that bitch a new acid-hole"

"No, no, not extortion, nothin like that" Falstaag said through his jug.

"What's the problem, Falstaag? Tell us what you want!" Reese barked.

Falstaag wiped his glossy lip, "Im about to tell you, hold your horse balls, And I don’t see no problem here, do you Robbard?” He asked.

“No sir. I don’t see a problem,” Robbard said. He stood at attention next to reclining Falstaag.

“I see you people as a force to be reckoned with,” Falstaag said. Reese smiled for the first time.

“There’s a problem in Heedon Springs that I’d just as soon be rid of,” Falstaag said.

“Smoogers!” I said. "We're on it!"

“What?" Falstaag looked around. His right hand grabbed the handle of a sword.

“That’s your problem,” I said.

“Now why would you say something like that?” He asked. He got up from his chair.

“Isn’t that what you’re talking about? You need help killing the smoogers. We already doing that for Barry!” I said.

“Who says I need help with smoogers?” Falstaag asked. His thick lips curled into a frown.

“I just thought…” I began to explain.

“Telle” Freya said. Falstaag looked at Freya and then back at me. He took a deep breath.

“That’s how we wound up here, Falstaag" I said, "We were following smoogers. I followed a smooger practically right up to your castle,” I said.

“Smoogers, on my land, What’s this about smoogers?” His voice boomed through the hall. He looked up at Robbard. Robbard licked his lips with a quick dart of his tongue. Falstaag's thick neck and face turned bright red. He got up from his chair. He was three times as wide as Robbard and at least a foot taller.

“You sound surprised,” Jenna said.

Falstaag glared at Robbard. He drew one of his wide swords.

“Ah, we are attempting to look into the smooger issue, sir," Robbard said. "We're, ah, devoting more resources to..” He took a step back from Falstaag. Falstaag raised one sword in his massive arm, and brought it down with a powerful slash. The edge of the blade hit Robbard where his neck met his left shoulder. The steel cut through the leutentant with a clean, deep slash, ending under his right armpit. Robbard’s eyebrows barely raised as his body split in half and fell on the floor in a mess. Falstaag looked down at spreading pool of blood.

“I don’t pay you to make my land a smooger playground,” he said to the corpse. He looked around the room. “Cantick,” Falstaag said. A guard ran to the table. “You’re promoted to Leutenant. Clean up this mess,” Falstaag said. He sat back down in his chair. He handed his bloody sword to the guard. Cantick turned white. He reached for a napkin and started to smear Robbard’s blood across the blade.

“A Leutenant doesn't clean, you jackass. Make someone else do it,” Falstaag said. His left hand went to his other sword. Cantick nodded and left the room quickly.

Chastity's mouth hung open. We all sat frozen at the table. Even Grundy looked shocked.

“My men will find any smoogers left on my land as soon as the stampede is over,” Falstaag said. He hacked up a mouthful of phlegm and spat on Robbard’s upturned face.

"Ugh" Chastity said. She looked away.

"What did Gorgon hire you do do exactly?"

"We're supposed to investigate the Smoogers" I said faintly, watching Falstaag's spit roll into Robbard's open mouth.

"Well they aint here" Falstaag confirmed. There was shouting from a back room. Two guards ran out and dragged Robbard’s body away. Falstaag didn’t seem to notice them at all.

Freya was the first to recover from the shock of the gory spectacle. She didn't mince words. "We tracked the goblins to nearby this fortress, Falstaag. Not only that, but we know that the goblin attacks happen primarilly on the road to the west springs. The road you claim to guard."

"Now hold on, treehugger," Falstag belched, "We guard the Town. Not the west road, just the Town. We take some extra work doing escort service to the springs, but it's a whole different business."

"A dirty business?" Drexel asked politely.

"No, Damn you!" Falstaag bellowed, He slammed his jug on the table. "I would't let no filthy smoogers run around this area, just on the principal of the thing! Im a lover of Lengnil!"

"Well, thats a relief" I said.

"If that is the case, why havent you done anything about the attacks?" Freya said.

Falstaag took a deep breath. He pushed the jug away and leaned over the table.

“You’ve seen those monks around town? The ones with the eyebrows? ” He looked at Freya.

“If you want to know who's behind the goblin attacks on my road, you look at them."

"We know Black Tang's monks guard the East road. The East road doesn't get attacked by goblins, Falstaag" Freya said.

"Well why the hell is that then?" He boomed. He waved the jug around in a fervor. Whiskey arced across the room. "It don't take a genius! Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Yes Falstaag. You do." Freya said.

“Black Tang is an evil little munchkin,” Falstaag said. My heart jumped in my chest. He looked at me.

“No offense tiny,” he said.

“What do you mean Evil?” Jenna asked.

"He's sendin these goblins over to my road, just to make me look bad!" Falstag said, "He's tryin to cut into my credibility by having his little smooger flunkies attack tourists heading up to the west spring!"

"Black Tang is a smooger?" I asked

"Even worse than that" Falstaag replied, "He's a smooger-lovin Gnome". I started to heat up.

"That sounds unlikely" Drexel said.

"Go see for yourself!" Falstaag said, "That little bastard is into all kinds of nasty business. He just wants to get me out of the way so he can run this town himself."

"Why would the townspeople stand for him on the town council if he is so sinister?" Jenna asked.

"They don't know a thing about it! Besides, the townspeople got no control here, the tourists are the lifeblood of this town. He takes care of the tourists just fine. He don't want em to know how nasty he really is. I wouldn't be surprised if he put big momma Orka up to wrecking the livestock district the other day, just to make me look bad."

"Now you're just talking yourself in circles" Drexel said, "That dragon was taking revenge because some unrevealed person killed her son!"

"And you were seen talking to the dragon, Falstaag" Freya said.

Falstaag grated his teeth. "Im tellin you that kneebiter is in bed with ol' Orka. She hated Jehosephat, and he hated her back. Everything he did he did to piss her off, cause he knew she wouldn't kill him. After letting him live as long as she did, killing him would have been an embarassment for her. Yeah i talked to that monster. Not the first time, either. She lives in the mountains, way north of here. She aint supposed to come down. We give her a big donation every year so she won't mess with Heedon Springs. She claimed she was rampaging around to revenge her son, she 'sensed his extinguishing, at long last'. She was cryin crocodille tears. She told me I could either deliver his killers, or triple this years donation." He mopped the sweat off his brow with a rag.

"Donation? You give that thing a donation?" Grundy was livid. "That monster needs a decapitation, and you're givin her donations!"

"That explains why she targeted the poor district of the town and not the tourist areas." Jenna surmised. "It would have cut into her income"

"She hated her son?" Freya asked.

"Oh hell yeah." Falstaag said, "That bitch dragon is so ugly, she cant even get another dragon to mate with her. Who knows what poor sucker sired Jehosephat. He was never supposed to leave her nest up in the mountains, but he snuck down here and started makin a life for himself. By the time she found him, everybody knew he was her kid, and to kill him then woulda been like admitting she damed a dud."

"Who would have thought Dragons would care so much about appearances" Jenna wondered.

"He was real touchy about bein a half-breed, too" Falstaag chuckled, "He did everything he could to be a big shot, to prove himself. Bought himself the Lengnil Inns, cause big momma hated Lengnil. He scored a seat on the town council, who's gonna tell him no? Even that wasn't enough for him, he had to take it to the next level."

"What do you mean?" Chastity said

"He started tauting himself as the worlds greatest assasin! The ego on this guy..."

Drexels eyes widened. Freyas eyes narrowed. Falstag chuckled with deep slow clucks.

"I guess that means you all killed the worlds greatest assasin." He smiled.

Reese jumped off his chair, "Woohoo!" he cried

"Sit down Reese!" Freya ordered, "Remember what this man did to you. He is not to be trusted."

"What does it take to convince you people I'm the good guy and Tang's the bad guy?" Falstaag shouted.

"You have certainly convinced us that you don't like sharing your power over Heedon Springs with him" Freya said.

“He kills babies...” He said, raising an eybrow. He stared at Freya.

“Does that change your mind?” He asked. Drexel laughed.

“Sure he does. He probably eats them too,” he said sarcastically.

The rest of us looked at each other. Reese shook his head.

“I'll get down to brass tacks. Either you help me take out that evil kneebiter monk, or my guards take you to Big Momma. The choice is yours,” he said. He swallowed more whiskey.

“Did you say that Tang is a gnome?” I asked. Falstaag looked down at me.

“Yeah. He’s like you. He runs an ugly operation up there. He mixes with smoogers, and more.…” He belched, “All sorts of bad stuff goes on up there. Lotsa smoogers, though.”

Falstaag took another drink from his jug, but he kept one eye on me.

“Folks shouldn’t mingle outside of their race,” he said.

“Present company excluded,” Drexel said.

“Sure, whatever, treebait,” Falstaag said. Drexel’s cheeks flushed. Freya’s muscles tensed.

“Where's Tang from?" I asked.

Falstaag sat in thought. He looked me in the eye and said, "I hear he likes to have his smoogers kill other gnomes"

I jumped to my feet.

“What town is he from?” I asked.

“Huh?” Falstaag reached for another jug.

“Was he from Pusstown?” I asked. Falstaag pulled the cork from the jug. He tipped it back and swallowed. When he pulled the jug away he looked down. He scratched his head.

“He might have been,” he said.

“He killed my people!” I jumped to my feet. Falstaag was trying not to smile.

“It was something like that! Pulltown, Pusstown. Sounds about right."

He belched loud and long. A breeze of whiskey blew over me. My eyes watered. I looked back at the others. I took a deep breath. I remembered the shouting that day my town was destroyed, the screaming.

“I’ll help you,” I said. Falstaag looked up. He smiled. “I’ll help you kill Tang!” I said. I looked at the others. Freya looked back sternly.

“Hold on Telle,” Freya said. She looked at Falstaag. “We're done here, Falstaag. Stop filling his head with ideas. We have to discuss this, alone.” she said. Falstaag grinned. “Of course. Talk all you want. Nobody’s leaving during this stampede anyway,” he said. We left the table. Falstaag sat back in his chair and drank. The only sounds came from the servants scrubbing the floor. We filed up the stairs and back into our room. Drexel shut the door. I watched the slow tide of gilmic pigs moving across the land. I couldn’t wait to find Tang and ask him why he’d killed my family. Why he lived with smoogers. I would force him to tell me and then I would kill him.

“Telle, I know what you’re thinking,” Freya said. “But you have to understand, Falstaag was lying in there.” She put her hand on my shoulders. I turned around. Reese sat on the bed with his head in his hands.

“I don’t know what hurts more, my finger or my head,” Reese said. Chastity lay on another bed. Everyone but Jenna looked miserable.

“Every good lie contains a grain of truth,” Jenna said.

“He's trying to twist us into doing his bidding!” Freya said. She slammed her fist against the wall.

“He’s a coarse man,” Jenna said. She smiled, "But so strong"

“He was lying about the smoogers, about Jehosephat, about everything! I'll bet he's harboring those bandit goblins in the next room or something! We tracked em right to here!" Reese said. “They cut off my finger!” He stuck his wounded hand into the air.

“What he said about Tang trying to undermine his power made sense,” Jenna said. She walked over to the tapestry. “The town guard can hardly enjoy popularity if there are goblins terrorizing the population. Its possible the goblins just made their way to this fortress coincidentally, in panic, running from us"

"Theres no such thing as coincidence" Drexel reminded her.

“Didn’t Drexel already figure out that the town guard was working with the goblins, to force people into buying their special escort service for the west road?” Grundy asked.

“I thought so too,” Jenna said. “But that was before we knew about this henious Tang individual.” Her ears fluttered.

“Jenna, you should take nothing of what Falstaag said as fact. What are you thinking?” Freya asked.

“I found much of what he said convincing." Jenna said."If it is true about Tang, then by killing him, we take care of the goblin problem for Barry and the Tang problem for Falstaag at the same time. We could double our gains.,”

“And we could avenge Pusstown!” I said.

“First of all, Telle, Falstaag was very obviously lying about that, you played right into his hands.” Freya said. "And second, Jenna, it's appaling you are so eager to kill someone you know nothing about"

“Falstaag hardly needs to lie,” Jenna said. “He has us captive in his castle, if comfortably so."

“There is no way we are attacking that monestary,” Freya said.

“Why not?” I asked.

“What is wrong with you?” Freya asked. “Haven’t you noticed?” She asked.

“Every place we go, our list of enemies grows longer.” She paced back and forth. “This Tang has never done anything to us, and now we’re ready to kill him?” She threw up her hands.

"Ladies, calm down, please" Drexel tried to soothe Freya

“You’re the last person I’d expect to play politics,” Jenna said, shaking with anger. Freya’s muscles tensed. She turned to face Jenna.

“Politics?” She asked.

“Since when do you pick sides based on convenience?” She asked. “If half of what Falstaag says about Tang is true then you should have reason enough to take him down,” Jenna said.

"If one word of what Falstaag said is true, I'll eat my hat" Drexel replied, still trying to calm Freya.

“We dont have to make Falstaag an ally, Freya. But maybe there's no harm in letting him think such.” he said softly.

“I got a new plan" Grundy said, "We don't play ball with Falstaag, he brings us to the dragon and we rip her head off".

“You cant deny that we've found no goblins here,” Jenna said. "We simply need to proceed with Barry’s plan, so that we might have too many allies for the Bupinders to threaten us. With the information we have recieved, the next obvious step towards solving the mystery of the goblin attacks is to confront Tang."

“You are playing a dangerous game,” Freya said. She sat on the bed by the window.

“Do you really believe everything that bad liar said?” Freya asked. She looked resigned.

“Maybe he laid it on a bit thick,” Jenna said. “But you can’t blame him for trying to sweeten the deal,” she said. Her ears twitched again. Chastity looked at Jenna and laughed in a knowing way.

“You like him,” Chastity said. She pointed at Jenna. “You have a crush on Falstaag.” Jenna’s ears slapped back against the side of her head.

“I do not!” Jenna said. “I just respect the man.” She looked up. “He is strong.”

“He’s ruthless,” Freya said.

"He's an Asshole" Grundy said.

“Shut up!” Reese said. He lay back on the bed. “My head is killing me. Just shut your mouths for once!” He said.

“I like Drexel's plan" Chastity offered, "We make Falstaag think that we're gonna help him and then do whatever we want to do"

“Freyas not gonna complain about us swindling him, i trust" Drexel poked Freya, she let out an unwilling smile. "We’ll give him some snow job, and then go investigate Tang in an impartial way,”

“What do you propose?” Freya asked, cooling.

I propose you shut up!” Reese said.

“We need a plan,” Jenna said. "Everybody come together, these walls probably have ears". We huddled together while Reese slept. We whispered our ideas for the rest of the afternoon. Outside the gilmic pigs trampled the world. Lengnil slaughtered smoogers along the walls of the castle. We argued and laughed. Guards brought plates of food to the room. After Reese woke up, he uncorked another jug. We whispered under his singing and dancing until he was snoring again in bed. That night the physician returned. He frowned as he rubbed more rotten fish butter on my chest and gave me more syrup to drink. Overnight I healed a bit more. The next day the first thing I noticed was the lack of rumbling. A look out the window confirmed what I felt. The gilmic stampede had passed. We joined Falstaag in the great hall for breakfast.

“We want you to tell your men that we’ve escaped this castle and that we’re wanted felons,” Jenna said.

Falstaag frowned. He belched and then tipped back a jug. He passed it to Reese. Reese took a swallow and handed it back to Falstaag. Falstaag wiped the rim on his shirt, looked at Jenna, and then drank. Jenna waited for him to finish. Then she explained.

“We want to get inside. We will travel to the monastery as fugitives. By the time we get there, even the monks will have heard we’re on the run from you,” she said.

“Every monastery honors the right of sanctuary,” Freya said. “We will ask for sanctuary and learn what we can about Tang. You can accuse Tang of harboring known criminals. You will have every reason to launch an attack against them.” Freya leaned back in her chair.

“When you begin your assault, we’ll assist from the inside,” Drexel said. He picked at a piece of meat that was stuck between his front teeth.

“You beat Tang, then clear our names. No more Tang and no more smoogers,” I said. Falstaag looked at me. He nodded slowly. A smile spread across his beefy face. He laughed. His teeth were big, rotten chunks that splayed out across his gums. He leaned in close to my face.

“I like it,” he said. His sour breath blasted my face. His huge hand reached around and patted my back, nearly knocking me off the bench.

“We’ll need a week to get there and plan our move,” Jenna said.

“Cantick! Get your ass in here,” Falstaag said.

“No,” Freya said. “You can’t tell anyone, not even him,” she said.

“If the monks discover our plan, we’ll be trapped,” Drexel said. Cantick ran into the room.

“Yes, sir!” He snapped to attention next to Falstaag.

“It’s time to take care of these smoogers I keep hearing about,” he said.

“Yes, sir!” Cantick spun on his heels and left the room.

“I’ll have my men run around and look for any straggling smoogers on my land. When the troops are formed up you can make your escape,” he said. We all got up from the table.

“One more thing,” Drexel said. Falstaag squinted.

“Where is Tang’s?” Drexel asked. Falstaag sat back and laughed. His roars echoed off the stone walls.

“He’s up the road to the East springs, you know where Barry's is? The monestary is a few hours walk past Barry’s,” he said. "Don't go through the Town if my men are gonna be lookin for you, you won't stand a chance."

Drexel snickered.

"If you head due east from here you'll get to the West road." Falstaag explained,"Keep goin straight, stay in the barren fields and you can cross to the East road without ever hittin town."

"One more thing..."Falstaag said, his tone becoming grave. He pointed a thick finger at us, "Don't fuck me."

“Now, get outta here, my men will be looking for smoogers,” he said.

“Rumor has it they’re all over the place.” Drexel said as we left the room.

“Formation!” Guards shouted across the castle. Footsteps echoed past our room. We packed up our gear quickly. We made our way down the hallway and into the great hall. Outside, rows of guards marched across the bridge into the flattened grass where I’d been captured.

“I’ll be right back,” Freya said. She darted down a hallway in a blur. I looked around. The table was laid with slices of meat and plates of cheese. Reese grabbed a jug of whiskey and stuffed it into a sack that was slung over his shoulder. He emptied several goblets of wine. He handed Sheesha a piece of meat from the table. She eagerly swallowed. I found a turkey leg on a plate. I wrapped it in a napkin and stuffed it into my belt next to my dagger. Freya emerged from the hallway. She had two sacks tied to her back.

“Let’s go,” she said. She walked out the front doors and over the drawbridge.

The guards marched in the distance. They split into two groups and patrolled toward the road to the springs. The grass had been flattened by the stampede. I could see for miles. All around us were giant round gilmic turds. I climbed on Sheesha’s back. We began our march in the hot afternoon sun. The flies stung my neck. Sheesha was plagued by tiny bugs. I waved them off as best I could. Eventually we passed the west road and continued to march.

---------------------------

We didn’t break for dinner. I was glad for that turkey leg. I gnawed on it for a while and then gave Sheesha the bone. As the sun set, clusters of twinkling orange flames moved around the land behind us. Only when they were on the horizon did we make camp.

“No fire tonight,” Freya said. "I don't trust Falstaag to honor our arrangement". Reese muttered and uncorked the whiskey jug he’d brought. Freya opened the pouches she’d taken from the fortress.

“I made sure to supply us,” she said. She assembled a meal from the scraps of food she’d taken. It was delicious. I ate until I was too full to move. The laces of my vest cut into my flesh. I could not loosen the lacing any further. My belly hung against the laces like a ball of suet.

Reese sang drunkenly in the darkness. I lay down to sleep. The screams of my people filled my ears. I saw the flames. I saw my dying mother. I opened my eyes. The night was black. Reese was singing. I sat up. In the distance, the torches of Falstaag’s men still moved back and forth.

“Trouble sleeping?” Chastity asked.

“I can’t stop thinking about Tang,” I said.

“What about?” She asked.

“What if he's really from Pusstown? What if he's really the one that brought the smoogers there? Is he really black? If they call him Black Tang because of his skin color, then he must be pretty old,” I said.

“Old?” She asked.

“Gnomes turn darker as they age. I'm brown, I started out pink,” I said.

“How cute,” Chastity said.

"Falstaag bought our act hook line and sinker!" Reese sang.

"Reese, don't forget, we might actually go through with the whole thing if we find out Tang's behind the Goblin attacks" Chastity said.

"Or if he's really from Pusstown!" I said

"Yeah. Otherwise, Tang and Falstaag are just going to have a nasty fight while we sneak back to Falstaags and find the real smoogers." She giggled.

"Do you think Falstaag was telling the truth about the dragon?" Reese asked.

"Which dragon?" Chastity laughed, "Did you see Gurdy's face when he found out about the yearly donation?" She continued giggling.

"About the Assassin thing! Did we kill the world's greatest assasin?"

"Yeah I guess so" She replied.

"We all have prices on our heads, he must have been going for the bounty. Im surprised he even knew about it! And another thing, if he really was after us, how did he find us? Do you think he was just flying around the river and recognized who we were on the raft?"

"I guess so" Chastity said. She shrugged. "Telle, how old would Tang be if he really was black?"

“Over two hundred years,” I said. She gasped.

“Two hundred,” she said. “Humans don’t ever get that old.”

“Humans are the most boring race around,” Reese said. He went back to singing. Freya rolled over and put a sack over her ears.

We settled in for the night. I leaned over to Chastity.

“Thank you Chastity,” I said.

“For what?” She asked.

“For taking me in. Wherever I go, it seems like everybody hates me. All I've wanted for as long as i can remember was to escape from the smooger pit. Ever since I escaped the pit, all I've wanted was to go home, but I don't have a home anymore. I thought I could find a home if I found more Gnomes, but every time I do, they end up telling me to hit the dirt. You are more like a family than I’ve known since Pusstown,” I said. My eyes grew warm. Freya coughed. Chastity patted my head in the dark. I smiled and closed my eyes. We all had wild sex.

The next morning Reese moaned and refused to get up. Freya passed out food. We ate quickly. The brown trampled grass was slowly bending up from the earth. The grass was up to my knees now. It made it more difficult to walk. When I rode on Sheesha’s back the grass slashed at my shins. The air smelled foul. The gilmic scat let off a stench. Grundy took a deep breath.

“Smells like my uncle’s place,” he said. Nobody said anything. The buildings of Heedon Springs appeared on the horizon.

“Well, we're north of Heedon Springs, right where we should be." Jenna said. She shot me a look. From now on Grundy does the navigating,”

"Well its easy when the grass is all trampled," I said.

Grundy led us around the outskirts of the town. There were still a few pillars of smoke from the dragon’s attack. A trench ran around the entire city. The grass at the edge of the trench was burned, the ground was blackened. Smoke rose from the deeper parts.

“Looks like they built a fire pit to keep the gilmics out of town,” Grundy said. “Between the dragon and the stampede, I’d say Heedon Springs is having a bad time.”

We made our way to the road to the East Springs. The gravel crunched under our feet. We were now walking back toward Barry’s. After a few hours, the road forked. One led to his Barry’s, the other to Tang’s and the springs past that. Reese stopped at the fork.

“I’ll bet they’re having a huge party at Barry’s,” Reese said. It was the first thing he said that day.

“What is your problem?” Chastity asked. Reese stuck his wounded hand in Freya’s face.

“Maybe I’m mad because nobody asked me if I wanted to join sides with the people who cut off my finger,” he said. He turned and walked down the road to Barry’s.

“Reese, we haven't joined forces with Falstaag!” Freya asked.

"We're playing him like a sucker" Chastity said.

“Well, I wasn't even included in the discussion!"

"Reese you were spazzing out and dancing around the room all night" Chastity said.

"You were our cover, your songs drowned out our whispered plans" Drexel offered.

"Maybe im just tired. I'm tired of walking. I’m leaving,” he said.

“Some hero you turned out to be,” Jenna said. Her ears stuck in the air. Reese stopped and stood with his back to us. He stood for a moment. Then he shook his head and kept walking. I kicked Sheesha and she shot forward. I rode up to Reese.

“You saved our lives,” I said.

“So?” Reese turned to face me.

“I was tortured in that dungeon too you know, I'm not calling it quits,” I said. He picked a pimple on his neck with his right hand. He put his hand over his eyes and looked down the road.

“Come with me,” Reese said. He looked down at Sheesha. “Don’t you want to forget about getting hurt for a while?” He asked. I nodded. I gave Sheesha a nudge with my knee. She stumbled into Reese and dragged her slimy tongue over his arm. Reese smiled and scratched her neck.

“Reese, I really do. But I owe too much to Kraken to give up on my life's mission,” I said. I looked Reese’s in the eye.

“Do I owe something to Kraken too, you think, Telle?,” he said, sincerely.

“Maybe you do. Do you believe that Kraken got us out of that dungeon alive? Did he save us from the dragon? the Beetles? Did you feel him at our backs when we were fighting the smoogers? I know I did."

Reese thought about it, "I think I did, but I'm not sure." He looked me in the eye. "Telle if you believe it, I believe it too."

"In that case, Reese, its your duty, just like it is mine, to seek out these smoogers, wherever they are, and wipe our asses with their guts."

“Let’s go!” Freya’s voice carried over the road.

“Who knows who's balls she's going to start busting if you leave” I said. Reese looked back at Freya. He laughed.

“There’s still work for Satyrio to do, may His horn miss me,” he said, wearily. He polished his buckle. Reese and I walked back to the main road.

The sun was getting low. We walked down the road in tired silence. I nodded and slumped on Sheesha’s back. I heard the snap of Jenna’s ears. She froze and put up her hands. The rest of us stopped. Her ears fanned out from her head and cupped forward.

“Riders,” she said. “Wait.” She leaned forward. “sorry, A carriage.”

We ran off the road. There was no way to hide. We lay flat on the ground. I heard the pounding of hooves. Sheesha pricked her ears. I petted her and whispered in her ear. Reese pulled out his flails and lay them on the ground next to him.

A wagon appeared in the darkness. It was pulled by two wild horses. Sweat frothed on their necks. Stones flew in all directions as their hooves pounded the gravel. The driver struggled to hold on, on top of the wagon. The reins had fallen and were dangling under the carriage, flailing wildly. Freya leapt to her feet and shot into the road. The horses screamed and reared. The wagon rocked sideways. It nearly fell and then rocked back onto its wheels. Lightning fast, Freya slid under the carriage, grabbing the flailing reins and rolling out the other side. I got up with Sheesha and we ran after them down the road.

“Stay away!” A face appeared in the door window. An old stilt in a green silk scarf looked at us in terror.

Freya held the reins and dragged behind the carriage for a second. She pulled herself to the axle and lightly hopped up to the carriage car.

“We have nothing!” He said. He pulled a curtain over the window.

Freya climbed past him on the edge of the speeding car and handed the reins to the terrified driver.

“We are not thieves!” She yelled, dust in her eyes. She shook her head in disgust and crouched towards the runaway horses. She landed on one gently, hugged its neck, and fed it something. She did the same with the other. The horses soon calmed down and stopped a few yards off the road. Freya hopped off

“You'll never get away with this!,” the old stilt said from inside. He pulled back the curtains. He held a thin sword behind the glass window.

“We're not Theives!” Freya said. She looked up at him.

“The monks are guarding us,” he said.

“I don’t see any monks,” Reese said, running up.

“They are fighting smoogers back there, it really spooked the horses", the driver called down from the roof. "and thanks for the help."

“Goblins?” Reese asked.

“Yes, goblins. Back there.” He pointed back down the road.

“Now go before I’m forced to use this.” The old stilt inside waved his sword at Freya. The driver slapped the reigns onto the horses. The coach rolled down the road and vanished in the dark.

“Praise Kraken!” Reese said. He ran down the road. I kicked Sheesha in the side and she took off.

"Wait!" Freya said. We didn't.

Up ahead, long shadows moved in the dusk by the side of the road. It was a big fight. Clusters of combatants whirled and kicked at each other. A large smooger fought two stilts. Another group of smoogers kicked and punched at a lone stilt. He just barely blocked their blows. I pulled my lance from its sheath and lowered it. Sheesha ran for the smooger closest to me. He stood next to another smooger as they fought two stilts. I pointed the tip of my lance at his neck. Sheesha ran straight for him.

“My name is Telle Smellme!” I leaned into the lance. The smooger turned and looked at me. His yellow face stretched into a look of utter surprise.