I stumbled toward our guesthouse. The wine sloshed in my belly. My fingers tightened around the back of the stilt’s neck. I had him bent over. I kept his head by my chest. He tripped and hopped, trying to keep his balance. I practically dragged him.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked.

“Shut up,” I said. The others followed.

“Telle. Think about this,” Freya said.

“Just you wait Freya. This beamducker has something to sing for us,” I said.

Sheesha barked from inside the cottage. I kicked the door open.

“Watch the wire,” Drexel said. I saw the thin metal strand that stretched across the doorway. I shoved the stilt into the room, sticking my foot out. He tripped over it, missing the wire, and flopped onto the floor in the middle of the room. Sheesha barked at him loudly. He cringed.

“Down girl,” I said. She sat and licked her chops. The stilt stood and tugged at the ends of his moustache. Grundy shut the door.

“What’s this about Telle?” Grundy asked.

“Just listen,” I said. I looked at the performer. “Sing.” He straightened his body and looked around. He grimaced and rubbed the four red marks on his neck that my fingers had left. He looked at everyone.

“It’s an…honor to be invited for a private performance for the magnificent Twaddle Six.”

“Just sing,” I said. He cleared his throat and struck a pitch.

“Hmmm….” He looked upward. Then his eyes opened. He smiled and began to sing.

“The son of the love between two species,

He took a long fall and broke into pieces,

Our Satyrical hero, died I know,

Facing the Kraken, with the others in tow,

Lengnil had tricks and weapons and a monster,

It took all they had, it took all they could muster,

But the pieces of Reese were left in a cluster,

In the ancient tomb, with the dust on the floor

It wasnt' a temple to Smelly's chagrin,

But that’s what happened when the Six stumbled in,

With Satyrio I know…

He came from afar with his brave companions.

The son of the love between a woman and stallion.

A friend to the people, he could fight a battalion.

But his life would be lost in the tomb near the Kraken.

He chose to lend a hand, He chose to lend a hand

the hero and his band

moved through the tomb, defending man....

Oooh, this is the tale of the courage of a great young Hero!

it was the end of Satyrio"

He stopped and bowed.

“How did you know that story?” Freya asked.

“I don’t know the story. It’s just a song. The songwriters gave it to me, I didn’t write it,” he said.

“What songwriters?” Jenna asked.

“Barry has a circle of writers, the best writers around. They do all our material,” he said.

“When did they give you this song?” Freya asked. The singer licked his lips and looked around the room.

“Answer the question,” Grundy said. He stood and walked toward the man.

“Please, don’t tell Barry you heard the song. They said it wasn’t ready yet. They gave it to yesterday. I don’t know how long they’ve been working on it,” he said. He held his hands together in front of him. “Don’t tell Barry,” he said. “I’m supposed to be the next Cloda. I can’t make Barry angry now,” he said.

“Nobody can be the next Cloda,” Grundy said.

“That’s right. Get out.” I threw a wineskin at him, forgetting to cap it first. It hit his yellow shirt, spraying everyone in crimson.

“I usually receive a donation for my work,” he said as he backed toward the door. I grabbed the handle of the Goblinizer. It pulsed eagerly.

“I can’t wait until they sing about the bard who lost his guts in the guesthouse,” I said. The dagger throbbed in agreement.

The performer bowed deeply several times and slipped out the door without a word. Drexel passed another wineskin around. I sprayed a thick stream of wine down my throat.

"That just dont make no sense" Grundy said.

“Does that mean Barry knows we have the pearl and the staff?” Jenna asked.

"You all almost told him at dinner." Drexel said, "But you're right, Grundy, this is odd. His writers must have known about Reeses death days ago."

“How did he know?” Freya asked. “And why did he make a show of having us tell him our story at dinner if he already knew it?”

“Maybe he didn’t like the fact that we weren’t telling him everything we know,” Chastity said.

“He was testing us,” Jenna said. The room began to spin. I swallowed another mouthful of wine. Sheesha lay on the floor panting.

“Good girl, Sheesha,” I said. I staggered toward her. She raised her head and licked my face. “This dog knows how to bite shmoooger,” I said. I pulled her to her feet and climbed on her back. I pulled out the Goblinizer. “Let’s get a shmooger,” I said. The blade flew around at the end of my arm. I could not control it. Sheesha barked and fancy walked around the room.

“Telle,” Freya said. I saw at least two of Freya spin around the room. She looked annoyed. I slipped sideways off Sheesha’s back and hit the floor. The room spun around me.

“He just needs one more drink,” Drexel said. I felt the red liquid spray down my throat. The voices faded out. I thought of Kraken. I belched. I thought of Gnancy, the gnomish girl I’d met in Peep. I smiled and fell asleep.

I awoke to Grundy’s snores. His chiseled face came into focus inches in front of mine. His arm lay across my chest. I jerked upright. He grunted and rolled over. I looked around the room. Grundy and Drexel shared a bed with me, the others were in the 2 other beds. Freya slept on the floor. I yawned loudly and staggered over to the bathroom. As I stepped over Freya, I accidentally stepped on her hand. In a flash her other hand grabbed my ankle. I watched the room spin before me and felt my back slam into the floor.

“Sorry,” I said. I looked up at Freya’s frowning face. Her right forearm pressed against my throat. She squinted at me with glazed eyes.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Nothing. I stepped on your hand and now you’re choking me,” I said. She eased up on my neck and looked back and forth.

“Right. Sorry about that. Try to watch where you’re stepping.” She sat back and yawned.

I rubbed my throat and leaned away from Freya. My head throbbed from the wine. My mouth felt like a plate of Tang’s gruel. I began to retch.

“Oh no you don’t,” Freya said. She clasped one hand over my mouth, lifted me off the ground, and stuck my head out the window. I retched. A night’s worth of fun splashed across the stones outside our guesthouse. Freya hauled me back in.

“You really shouldn’t drink Telle,” she said.

“That is the truth,” I said. The others snored around us. “I dreamt of Gnancy last night,” I said.

“The girl from Peep with the husband who beats her?” Freya asked.

“Gnorman,” I said. “I wonder how she is.”

“She should learn to fight,” Freya said. Chastity yawned. Drexel sat up.

“That was fun,” he said. He winked at me. He shook Grundy’s leg. Grundy rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Drexel smiled. He looked at the door and blinked. He checked his pockets quickly. A look of relief came over his face for a moment, but then he blinked again.

“The pearl! Check to see if it’s still there,” he said.

“What?” Chastity asked.

“Somebody tried to rob us,” he said. Freya’s head snapped around.

The door to our cottage stood ajar. The wire lay on the ground. The tiny knife was covered in blood. A trail led away from our cottage.

“It’s still here, with the staff,” Chastity said. She patted her bag.

“I didn’t hear a thing,” Jenna said.

“I knew we should have posted a guard,” Freya said, "But it looked like your trap frightened them off"

“Who would sneak in here?” Drexel asked.

“The only way to find out is to catch the person who did this,” Freya said.

“I can track that blood trail,” I said. “I hunted for the smoogers for years.”

Freya nodded.

“Jenna, you go with Telle. Drexel, see what you can find out. Grundy, ask some of the bards if they have any more songs regarding us, I want to know how much Gorgon knows. Chastity and I will stay here and guard the Pearl,” she said.

Jenna washed her face.

“Let’s go Telle,” she said. Her ears shivered. She rubbed the beads around her neck. I took the Goblinizer off the shelf where it sat next to Reese’s buckle. I stuffed it in my belt. Outside the door, the blood was in pools that appeared a few feet apart. I could tell that the thief, had been wounded on the right foot and was human, but wasn’t much taller than me.

The sun shone brightly overhead. My head throbbed. I swallowed hard. Sweat trickled down my back.

“You don’t look so good,” Jenna said.

“I’m fine.” I said without looking at her. I stared down at the blood. Faint drops lead toward Barry’s house.

“Are you sure about this?” Jenna asked.

“It is a clear trail.” I said as I climbed the steps to Barry’s.

I walked into the main lobby where we’d eaten with Barry. The remnants of breakfast sat on the tables in the main dining hall. We followed the traces of blood to a grand marble staircase. I trudged up the stairs. Jenna followed close behind. At the top were two guards with shiny pikes and perfectly fitted armor. The guard on the left had a gold helmet with a feather plume on the top.

“I’m sorry sir, you must be lost.” The guard with the plume said.

“I need to get past you,” I said. My mouth tasted sour. The guard winced when my breath hit his face.

“Sadly, you’ve missed breakfast, which was downstairs. I’m afraid I can’t let you up here under any circumstances.” He looked at the other guard.

“What’s your name? Do you know who I am?” I asked

“I am Second Lieutenant Ibram, sir.” His smile flattened.

“I am Telle Smellme, of the Twaddle Six. Now let me past,” I said. His mouth curved downward. The other guard looked at Ibram and back at me.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Smell-me. It’s an honor to meet you, but I simply cannot let you pass.” I slowly reached for the Goblinizer.

“What are you hiding back there?” I asked.

Jenna stepped forward.

“There was a report of an injury. We’re here to aid the victim,” Jenna said. She looked up at the stilt guards. Her ears spread out from her head.

“You mean princess?” Ibram asked. He looked surprised.

“Of course I mean princess,” Jenna said. She looked at me from the corner of her eye. The guard looked nervous.

“We’re really not supposed to let anyone into Barry’s quarters, ma’am, not even his own mother” he said.

“It was Barry who asked us to treat her,” I said. I leaned toward the guard and looked up at him. “Princess is in worse shape than you think. Barry doesn’t want anyone to know about it,” I said. The guards looked at each other. The Lieutenant nodded.

“Be quick about it,” he said. He looked at the other guard.

“Sergeant, go find Barry. Tell him we need him here,” he said. The other guard snapped to attention and then clambered down the stairs.

I walked past the Lieutenant. I followed the smears of blood down the hall.

“Look at all this stuff,” Jenna said. The walls were hung with silk tapestries. Dizzying patterns of inlaid marble ran down the length of the floor. The hall ended at a marble wall. On the right were two ebony doors. One stood slightly ajar. The trail led past those doors. I pulled a silver ring and the door swung silently outward.

For a second, Jenna and I stood and stared. The floor was made of tiles cut from green and blue jewels. The walls were lined with ivory shelves. The ivory could only have come from the tusks of giant creatures. The shelves were covered with sparkling crystal figurines. One shelf held a diorama of multicolored statuettes. In the center was a statuette of Cloda. Clapping bards and dancing jesters, jugglers and musicians celebrated around her.

“Over there,” Jenna said. In the center of the roomwas a puffy round bed. A canopy hung from above. Fake wheels ran along the bottom and rails ran down the side. The bed was made to look like a huge wagon. A figure moaned from behind the canopy. I ran and pulled back the netting. Princess blinked at me. She sat in the bed. Her foot oozed blood onto the white linens.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“This is where Barry and I sleep,” she said. She looked down at her foot.

“We’re here to help you with that,” Jenna said. “Can you tell me how you hurt yourself?”

“I was supposed to tell you to come to breakfast. You didn’t answer the door so I tried to come inside. Then something hurt me. I thought Barry would get mad, so I hid in bed,” she said.

Jenna frowned. She tore off a strip of cloth and dabbed at the wound.”

“Ouch,” Princess said.

“It will stop hurting soon,” Jenna said.

“Search the drawers. See if there is anything that can help her in there,” Jenna said. Her ears pointed to a wide chest of drawers. It was made of dark red wood with black stripes. On top of the chest were six statues. One of each of the Twaddle six, made in crystal. We were each posed as if we were in battle. Jenna’s statue leaned back with her hands outstretched, as if she were casting a spell. Freya’s was in a crouch, ready to leap. Drexel’s statue crept forward. Reese swung his flails overhead. I was falling to the ground with a ridiculous expression on my face. What we were fighting hadn’t been made yet.

I pulled the top drawer open. There were mounds of silk underwear, scarves, and socks of every color.

“He never lets me look in those,” Princess said.

“I’m looking for a bandage,” I said. I pushed the underwear aside. I opened the drawer below. More silk socks and shirts. I threw the clothes on the floor and felt around in the drawer. In the back of the drawer I felt something square. I pulled it out. A long, thin box made of silver sparkled. I took out the box.

“Barry is going to be really mad,” Princess said. She jumped off the bed. She took a step forward on her wounded foot and yelped. She fell. “Help!” She cried. Her voice echoed down the hall. I ran toward her.

“Telle,” Jenna said. The Goblinizer was in my hand and driving down toward Princess. She looked up and screamed again. I clenched my teeth and turned the blade. The handle struck the back of her head with a thud. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped to the floor. I tucked the blade back in my belt, but not without nicking my waist first. I grunted.

Jenna carried Princess back to the bed.

“Just what do you think you are doing?” The Lieutenant’s voice came from the door. I looked up. Barry’s clothes were scattered on the floor at my feet. Jenna emerged from behind the canopy. Captain Ibram gripped the handle of his sword.

“Just taking care of Princess,” Jenna said, tucking her in.

“I was looking for a bandage,” I said. The captain looked at the door and back at us.

“Stay where you are,” he said.

“I’ll help you pick up,” I said. I stuffed a handful of socks back in the top drawer. I hid the silver box behind my back.

“You will stop what you’re doing and wait for the Sergeant to return with Barry,” he said. He looked to the left and right in a panic.

“Is that sword really necessary?” Jenna walked toward Ibram. He rattled his sword.

“Stop,” he said.

“Barry doesn’t have to know anything,” Jenna said. “You don’t want to get into trouble now do you?” She asked.

The captain looked at the mess on the floor. He looked at princess.

“What did you do to her?” He asked.

“Just cleaned her wound like Barry asked,” Jenna said. Her ears wagged back and forth. She mumbled something and slowly raised her arms.

“Why don’t you just sit down and take a break?” She asked. The guard nodded. He sat with his back to Barry’s dresser.

“Maybe you can clean up for Barry. We’ll go find him,” she said. The guard began to fold the silk shirts that lay around him.

Jenna and I walked out into the hall. We started to walk to the stairs. Her ears shot up.

“Barry’s coming with the sergeant,” she said. She grabbed my arm and we ran the other way. We ran past the bedroom. The captain was busily stuffing Barry’s clothes back into their drawers. The hall was a dead end.

“Princess, wounded?” Barry’s voice bounced off the walls. I reached for the Goblinizer.

“No fighting yet, theres not enough doors in this hallway for the size of the mansion” Jenna said, her ears twitching. She faced the end of the hallway. Her hands ran along the smooth marble wall. She touched something and I heard a click. The lines of a door appeared in the marble. She swung open a narrow door. We shuffled inside and she quickly shut the door.

"Oh dear how did you get in here" a withered stilt said. "Guards! Guards!"

My knife flew into my hand and I jumped at him. In a flash I climbed his shirt and had the Goblinizer to his throat.

"Shhh.." I whispered, "Take your pants off"

He did, with difficulty. I held on tight.

"Underwear too, Im not fooling around" I said, "And crouch down".

As the old, bespectacled stilt silently obeyed, I beckoned Jenna over.

"Use his clothes to tie him up and gag him." I whispered. We worked to bind him.

It was dim inside the small room. A strange glowing shape on the floor lit the room slightly. There was a journal on a desk, and a statue covered in tarp.

"Is there another exit to this room?" I asked the stilt. He shook his head.

Then I heard familiar voices.

"Where were you this morning Chastity?" Freya asked, from somewhere nearby.

“Barry has a team of masseuses on his staff. I love this place" Chastity said.

“Chastity?” I asked.

"What’s that smell, anyway?” Chastity asked. Her voice sounded muffled

“Telle threw up outside the window this morning.” Freya’s voice said from below me. She sounded muffled. Her voice sounded like it was coming from the floor. I looked down. I squinted at glowing floor, where there was a glowing, swirling window in the shape of an S. I looked at Jenna. Her face was lit from below by the strange window. I looked around the dark room.

“He's a terrible drunk,” Freya said. Her voice came from the S, this time I was sure.

“No kidding. He’s really falling apart since he found out about Kraken,” Chastity said.

"It's not just Kraken. He couldn't hold his liquor in Peep either" Freya said.

“Freya?” I asked. “Chastity, where are you?” I knelt and put my hands over the S. Nothing happened.

“Concentrate,” Jenna said. “Don’t look at the S. Look at what’s behind it,” she said. I stared at the floor. The edges of the S drifted in and out of focus. Through the window I saw Freya and Chastity. They lay back on chairs in the room of our guesthouse.

“I think Telle is getting better,” Freya said. “I thought I was going to have to hurt him in the tomb, but he’s calmed down.”

“How could anyone worship a silly thing like that anyway?” Chastity said.

"Telle's a little lunatic" Drexel said, "But I love the way I can check my reflection in his shiny head"

"Not everybody can be a beautiful elf" Chastity said, aloof.

"Do you hear that?" Freya asked

"Hear what?" Chastity said.

"Guys can you hear me?" I said into the 'S' window.

"I think I hear Grundy singing Cloda's ballad, 'dream of better things', with some people outside" Freya said.

“Who would have guessed that Grundy was such a Cloda fan?” Chastity said.

“It’s those quiet ones that have the strange secrets.” Drexel said from the left. He was out of view of the S shaped window.

“What is this floor thing?” I asked the stilt. I went to take off his gag, but Jenna stopped me.

“It’s a scrying rune,” Jenna said. “Barry has some way of seeing into that room. These things need an anchor...there must be an artifact, or another rune in the cottage.”

“Why are they talking about me like that?” I asked. In the faint glow I saw Jenna’s face turn slightly red.

“We really shouldn’t be spying on our friends Telle,” she said. She put her ear to the door. I climbed to the desk, and peered at the Journal in the Dim light. The last entry read, "Drexel arrived back in the guest house with little news. He lays down. Freya, Chastity, and him gossip about the others."

“Don't make any noise,” Jenna said. She stood still. “They are still out there.”

"It's so nice to be back at Barry's" Chastity said from the floor.

"I think Barry Gorgon is less trustworthy than Falstaag" Freya said.

"You just don't like all this attention" Chastity said.

"I honestly dont think he cares if we live or we die" Freya said.

"Im with ya on that one" Drexel said, in a tired voice.

I crept over to the statue under the tarp. Drexel’s snores came from one side of the S shaped window.

“Barry is yelling at the guards,” she said.

"I've been thinking about it," Drexel said from the floor. "If you really look at it, we're as good to Barry alive or dead, as long as he can make people think we're heroes"

"I wish Drexel would keep it down" Jenna whispered. I tugged curiously at the tarp over the statue.

"How do you mean?" Freya said.

"Well, he'll sell plenty of statues either way" Drexel said, "His profit is only contingent upon our fame, not upon our health. He probably sold twice as many Cloda dolls after word got out she was dead."

"Barry doesn't only care about profit" Chastity said. Drexel lauged.

I pulled the tarp off and shrieked.

"Quiet!" Jenna whispered. She turned around and shrieked.

I almost said a prayer to Kraken I was so shocked by the thing under the tarp. It had very lifelike eyes. It appeared to be a statue of Cloda, but the skin and hair was porous and lifelike. Her body was posed as if she was singing the creshendo of a soulful song. She wore the same outfit as in Spanton.

"Oh my heavens" Jenna said, "its taxidermy"

"What?" I asked. Jenna slowly walked over and touched the thing.

"This is really Cloda" Her voice was hushed. Her ears trembled.

"Oh my lack of a god" I whispered. I touched the skin. It was cool and leathery.

"We've got to get back to the others" She said, running back to the door, and putting her ear to it. "I can still hear Barry, but its very faint"

“What’s he saying?” I asked.

“I can’t tell. I think he closed the door to his room. Now’s our chance,” she said. She opened the door. I covered my eyes and blinked in the bright light. We crept down the hall, past Barry’s room.

“And make sure the bards don’t sing any more songs until Barry gives the word. We can’t repeat last night’s debacle,” Barry said.

“Yes sir,” the guards both said.

“We are very close on this,” Barry said. Barry mumbled something else that I couldn’t make out.

Jenna stopped outside the door to Barry’s room. Her ear cupped the door.

“Shouldn’t we get out of here?” I asked. I looked down the hall. It was empty. Jenna held up her hand and listened. Her eyes widened in a look of utter fear.

“Run!” She said.

We sprinted down the hallway and then into the main lobby and out the doors. Some people applauded us as we ran outside. We were out of breath by the time we got back to the guesthouse. I threw open the door. Freya jumped to her feet. Chastity blinked and yawned. I looked around the room. On the mantle, directly facing Freya and Chastity, sat the golden belt buckle that Reese loved to wear. A shiny metal square with a huge, thick S in the middle.

“Outside,” I said. “Now.” Chastity looked at Freya.

“Still think he’s getting better?” She asked.

“What’s the problem?” Freya asked.

“No problem,” Jenna said. She looked at the belt buckle and then at me. Her ears waved back and forth.

“It might be nice to take a walk is all,” she said. She flapped her ears against her head with a clap. “A long walk. Bring all your things,” she said. Freya looked Jenna up and down. Jenna moved off to the side, out of sight of the buckle. She held her hands in front of her and glared at Freya. She mouthed the words.

“Can’t talk.” Freya nodded. She nudged Drexel awake. He grunted.

“We’re taking a little trip,” she said.

We gathered our things in silence. Drexel woke Grundy up.

“We’re taking a walk,” he said. Grundy was too groggy to argue. He picked up his things and walked out the door. As we left, Chastity reached for the buckle.

“Leave it,” Jenna said.

“But it’s all we have to remember him by,” Chastity said.

“We won’t be gone that long,” Jenna said. Chastity frowned. She took her hand off the buckle and left it on the mantle. We made our way quietly passed the bards. Most of them were still asleep in the grass. The bladder balloons lay among them, still coated with morning dew. The awake people bowed and cheered for us as we quickly walked past. We jogged past the mansion and out the front gates. The guards smiled and waved goodbye. When we reached the road to Heedon Springs, we told them what we’d found.

"Stuffed? Cloda was stuffed?" Grundy was furious.

"That is a real pisser" Drexel said,

"It was repulsive, but maybe it was intended to be respectful" I said.

"I wonder how he got her body" Drexel said, suspiciously.

“Why would Barry want to spy on us?” Freya asked. “What does he have to gain by that?”

“When we were sneaking out, I heard Barry talking,” Jenna said. A bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

“I heard him say he was close...” she said, shaken. She stopped to collect herself.

“Close to what?” Grundy asked.

“He said he was close to fulfilling his contract with ‘our friends in the Government.’” Jenna said.

“The Bupinders?” Freya asked.

“Who else could it be?” Drexel said.

“And Reese was helping him!” Chastity said.

“I cant believe it,” Freya said.

“A traitor. I should have known it,” Grundy said.

“That explains why he waited a day to come out with us when we went to fight the goblins,” Drexel said. His greenish skin turned slightly red. “He had me fooled,” Drexel said. “He seemed so..."

"Earnest?" Jenna asked.

"...stupid.” Drexel shook his head. His lips were pressed together so that his mouth was a thin green line.

“Barry knows how to find good actors,” Chastity said.

“Are you sure about what you heard?” Drexel asked, looking back down the road to see if we were being followed. Jenna flapped her ears as we walked.

“Im completely sure,” she said.

"Barry Gorgon is contracting for the Bupinders?" Drexel said. "Did he say what kind of contract it was? Why is he helping us if he's working for them?"

I pulled out the silver box.

“Maybe this will have some answers,” I said.

“What’s that?” Drexel asked. His eyes lit up.

“I took it from Barry’s room,” I said. “Princess sprung your trap and we followed her there.”

“Princess was in Barry’s room?” Grundy asked.

“That is another discussion altogether,” Drexel said. Grundy frowned.

“I’m beginning to take a real dislike to this Barry,” he said.

Drexel took the silver box. He turned it over in his hands. He ran his fingers across the bottom and found a small hole. He stopped walking. He pulled a silver pick from a pouch on his belt and slid it into the hole. There was a click and the top of the box popped open. He pulled the pick out and a needle shot from the latch near the top of the box and a drop of green liquid dripped off its end, harmlessly.

“I just saved someone’s life,” he said. He held the box out to me. On black velvet was a beautiful beaded belt. It looked familiar.

I grabbed the belt. The smooth beads caressed my fingertips. Stunning patterns woven with tiny colored threads and vivid glass beads danced across the belt. A silver clasp across the front was shaped into the symbol of Kraken, with his proud horn jutting upward. The beads made symbols that danced around the belt. They were the same we’d seen in Lengnil's tomb.

“There is power emanating from that artifact.” Jenna’s eyes were closed. She reached for the belt. I pulled it away. Freya snatched it from my hand and handed it to Jenna with a frown. Jenna muttered and chanted.

"That's Kraken's symbol" I said, "This must have been made by those smoogers in 'Town'.

“Yes. This belt was made by amazing artisans. It has the magic ciphers. Though I doubt it’s makers knew the meaning of these symbols, their craftsmanship more than made up for their ignorance. This belt has power, indeed, power to change the wearer.”

“It’s a toy,” Chastity said. “Could it make me thinner?” She asked.

“It doesn’t look like a toy to me,” I said.

“That’s not all that was in the box.” Drexel slipped out a folded piece of parchment, handing it to Freya. She read aloud:

“To the magnificent Barry Gorgon. I, your humble associate, Jehosophat Gorkon, happily send you this gift. It was taken from Tang, my former associate. I send it to you as per the terms of our agreement. Let it be a demonstration of my steadfast nature, and appreciation for this wonderfully lucrative contract. Simply notify me of the location where I am to find the rebels, and the Crown's will shall be done. Sincerely and with the warmest regards, Jehosephat Orka.”

“Town Councilman Orka! That’s the son of the black dragon!,” Grundy said.

“Was, Grundy, was the son of the black dragon,” Drexel said.

“So the dragon’s son was working for Barry too?” I asked, "Its funny how he's all dignified sounding in the letter, like when he first approached us. He was all class at first, but when he got a little dagger in him, he reverted right to growls and roars."

"By all Chau, it was Barry who sent the dragon to assasinate us." Freya quaked.

"Lets keep walking" Drexel said. We started again down the road towards Heedon Springs.

“I don’t get it,” I said. “It was Cloda who sent us to Barry. Isn’t she against the Bupinders?” I asked.

“Was,” Jenna said. Her ears hung limply. “Cloda was against the Bupinders.”

“You mean she switched sides?” I asked.

“I mean she’s dead, and you've never met her.” Jenna said.

“Now why would you say that?” I asked.

Jenna reached for the belt. She put it around her waist.

“Now I know where I’ve seen that belt before,” I said.

Jenna’s face became blurry. The outline of her body shifted and melted. She grew taller. Her arms and legs stretched into the limbs of a stilt. The features of Cloda emerged from her face.

“I’m saying that we never met Cloda in Spanton.” Cloda’s voice said. “It was Barry, or one of his men, wearing this belt.” She reached for the clasp and removed the belt. Her arms and legs shrank back to normal size. Grundy sat in the gravel and looked down.

“Barry set Cloda up to die, and now he’s doing the same to us,” Jenna said.

"But why?" Drexel said, "Why would he set up Cloda? I thought Cloda was his protegee?"

"Perhaps she thought he was her ally only to be stabbed in the back" Freya suggested. "Much like ourselves."

"You think he killed her?" Chastity asked.

Jenna set her pitch for a speech, "I think she was killed in Buba, then the government returned her body to Barry, Barry set a trap for us in Spanton, used this belt to imitate her, gain our trust, and set us up for the ambush on the river." She seemed satisfied with herself.

"Hey, thats right, you all are in trouble with the Bupinders" Grundy said

"There's a price on all of our heads" Chastity said, "Especially Drexel and Freya, they took out some of the town guard during the Buba uprising"

“The Bupinders hired him to kill us,” Freya said. "He's been trying to kill us...the whole time!"

“But if he can make us famous first," Drexel said, "then he gets even more out of selling our statues and stories once we’re dead.”

“Did he know about Tang then?” I asked. “And why did he send us out to kill Goblins? That seems like a waste of time.”

“Barry must have known that those goblins worked for Falstaag. That’s why he hired us to kill them. He expected us to die at Falstaag’s hand, and once we managed to survive that, he suggested we go against the dragon.”

“A guaranteed death,” Grundy said.

“Exactly,” Drexel said, “In fact, he probably thought the dragon’s son would be enough to kill us. It almost was.”

“That’s why he wants us to fight Orka herself. That’s one battle we’re sure to lose,” Freya said.

"Barry has created the ultimate win-win situation." Jenna said, "He has been setting us up to be enemies of the rest of the town council. If they kill us, he collects a reward from the Bupinders. If we kill them, thats less power-players in Heedon Springs he has to deal with"

"We were so blind" Freya lamented.

“What do we do?” Chastity asked.

“Maybe we can get the other power-players to help us gang up on Barry" Grundy said, "Sometimes the truth has a way of fixing things. That’s all I’m suggesting,” he said.

“We haven’t known the truth since we got here,” Jenna said.

“I dont think anyone is going to help us in this situation" Freya said.

“Lets turn around right now and go slay that bastard" I suggested.

“Falstaag,” Jenna said.

“What?” Freya asked.

“He’s the town guard. We show him what we know, and together we stop Barry,” she said.

“If he will even talk to us. His men seemed to fall apart at Tang’s,” Freya said.

“He’s our only hope,” Jenna said. “Maybe we can get him to stop Barry before he can talk to the dragon.”

"No, lets just go back right now and stab Barry in his treacherous ass" I said.

“It’s worth a try,” Grundy said.

"If Barry was the one impersonating Cloda in Spanton, we need to be careful" Jenna said, "His magical songs were as powerful as the real Cloda's"

"Not to mention his contingent of armed guards" Chastity said.

"Barry isn't going anywhere" Freya said. "Falstaag may be desperate enough for allies right now to overlook our double-cross and lend his men to our struggle here. We keep towards Heedon."

I mounted Sheesha and we marched toward Heedon Springs. I noticed as we walked the road that the endless pastures of brown grass were speckled with green shoots that reached up from the ground. Saplings pushed toward the sky. It was as if a season had changed within the past few days.

“I didn’t know anything but grass could grow here,” I said.