“Where’d you learn that great dog trick?” Mendel asked. The gravel road crunched under Sheesha’s feet as we left the town of Heedon Springs behind.

“Trick?” I asked.

“Yah. How’d you learn to ride it?” He asked.

“The smoogers made me hunt with dogs,” I said.

“Smoogers?” His mouth hung open.

“Yeah. They brought me on their hunts. I had to spear wild Hooksnout Boars while they were on the backs of dogs. Either I’d get gored by a Hooksnout tusk, or I’d skewer dinner. Either way would have been fine for the smoogers. I ran with the Dogs, I slept with the dogs. When nobody was around I'd ride em better than any of the yellowtoes.” I spat into the gravel.

Freya seemed grim. "So you're sure this Gorgon person was in league with Cloda?" she asked Mendel.

"You can call him Barry, all his friends call him Barry" Mendel said.

"We are not his friends." Freya responded. "We had never heard of Barry Gorgon until recently"

"Well he knows you" Mendel said. "Its not too far now to his Estate. He's real excited you're coming."

"Does he ever speak of the Betrayal?" Freya asked,"Does he know who betrayed us in Buba?"

"Uh, Cloda's on a tour right now, she's been down south for months" Mendel replied. Freya looked at Drexel.

"You are sure he is a companion of Cloda?" Freya asked again.

"Companion? He taught Cloda everything she knows!" Mendel laughed.

"How did he know that we were in town, how did he know to send you to our Hotel room?" Freya was growing impatient.

"Barry's quite a guy, he's a big shot here." Mendel responded. He looked dreamilly away.

“Freya what was that staring contest about back at the East gate?” Drexel asked.

“Those were monks. I didn’t recognize their order, but there was something very wrong about them,” she said.

“We hardly need any more enemies,” Jenna said.

"They looked ready for a fight" I said "Do all monks fight like you Freya?"

"Monks kick ass, Telle" Reese said, "All they do is sweep floors and train up for fighting"

"Thats an exaggeration" Freya said, "Any good monk hates fighting. We train to achieve total kinesthetic awareness, to achieve unity in our mind and body. There is quite a lot of sweeping, though."

"I tried being a monk once" Chastity said, "Remember when I tried being a monk, Freya?"

"You did not have the discipline for it, my friend" Freya said.

"Hated it." Chastity said. "That was no fun at all. Drexel's band of crazies were much more fun"

"They were monks?" I asked. Drexel laughed hysterically.

"Those were Black Tang's Monks back at the gate" Mendel offered.

"Black Tang? What kind of Order are they?" Freya demanded.

"Uh Im not sure what you mean" Mendel slowly replied, "But Black Tang protects the road to the east springs, and some parts of town. He sells novelty items in town, too"

"He sells novelty items?" Freya asked.

"I couldn't tell you what kind of stuff" Mendel said. "He's a big shot, too though, he's on the town council. Not as big as Barry, you know"

"Is Barry on the Town Council?" Jenna asked.

"Oh sure, like I say, he's a big shot" Mendel always smiled when he spoke of Barry Gorgon.

"How many people are on this council?" Jenna asked.

"Just Barry, Black Tang, Falstaag, and Jehosephat."

Drexel spit water explosively. He thought for a moment, took another swig from his canteen, and spit it again.

"I wish I hadn't asked" Jenna said.

Mendel snapped his fingers and pointed at me, “You know what, Telle, I think Barry’s gonna love it,” he said.

“Love what?” I asked.

“The dog trick,” he said.

“I just told you…” I stared at him. He jammed his index finger into his nose. He was more than a knuckle deep into his right nostril. "and thats disgusting"

“Oh right. It’s not a trick,” he said. He pulled his finger out of his nose and inspected it. He looked up at me. “Sorry,” he said.

“No problem,” I said. I remembered when Gnick had first brought Sheesha from her cage, the weird walk he made her do.

“I’ll show you a trick,” I said.

“Fancy walk, Sheesha!” I gripped rolls of her baggy naked skin. She barked and raised her legs in a lurching prance. I squeezed her sides with my thighs to keep from flying off her back. She pranced around the group.

“Wooohooo!” Mendel shouted with joy.

“What’s wrong with her?” Drexel asked.

“Good girl. That’s enough.” I coaxed Sheesha back to a normal stride. She barked. Ropes of saliva dangled from her jowls. We traveled along the road. Brown grass on flat land stretched out in every direction. The scenery did not change at all. I felt as if I were wandering the same stretch of road over and over.

“I’m thirsty,” Reese said.

“We’re almost there.” Mendel pointed ahead. I squinted but could only make out more brown grass. I leaned back on Sheesha’s back and nearly slept as we trudged into nowhere.

"Why did that Gate back there say 'East Springs'" Chastity asked, "theres no more town out here"

Mendel gave us a local geography lesson, including rehearsed gestures. He spoke more clearly than in his casual conversation. "The city of Heedon springs is named after the two magical springs that are it's livelyhood. Northeast and Northwest of town, a few hours walk away, are the natural magical hot-springs. Big resorts up there, but not with shopping like in town. People usually stay in Heedon, and travel up to the springs for overnight trips. This gravel road we're on continues to the eastern springs, if you ever want to go up there." He bowed. "The road to Barry's is gonna be coming up on the right".

A dirt road branched to the right. We took the right fork. After an hour or so, I saw a house on the horizon. The sun hung in the sky overhead. We all sweated in the heat. Dust from the road turned to mud in the sweaty creases of my skin. Sheesha turned from pink to brown in the dust. The sounds of stringed instruments and cheering drifted over the brown grassland. Mendel quickened his pace.

“Almost there!” He said. We passed a tower with a guard. He raised a horn to his lips and blew. Another horn sounded from closer to the house. We approached a gate. Two men on horses wore sculpted leather armor over purple velvet shirts.

“Welcome Twaddle Six!” The guards said. Freya and I looked at each other in confusion.

“Welcome to Barry’s!” Mendel announced. A green lawn spread before us. The green of the grass was shocking compared to the dried brown grass that covered the land all around. At the head of the lawn was a giant hall and several houses off to the side. A fence ran around the houses. Jugglers, acrobats, musicians, singers, and dancers practiced and performed to small clusters of people all around. They were stilts, all of them. They wore colorful shirts. Some wore turbans, others wore floppy hats or scarves. Music and song drifted together. The murmur of a thousand conversations filled the air.

I caught snatches of poetry and bits of song as Mendel lead us through the crowd.

“I love this place!” Reese ran from group to group. He danced past a group of musicians.

Heads turned as I strutted by on Sheesha. Reese winked at me as he drank from a flask that some poets passed to him. I coaxed her into another fancy walk. Some stilts nearby cheered. “Reese. Telle. Calm down,” Freya said. Reese frowned and walked back to our group.

“Hold on there brother!” One of the poets called out. Reese smiled and tossed the flask back.

Horns blew from all around. People got to their feet and started moving to the front of the great hall. A tall, skinny, bald stilt stood on a balcony that overlooked the lawn. Next to him stood a handsome blonde stilt in regal leather armor.

"That's Minserve, he's kind of got your haircut" Mendel said to me, "He's one of Barry's personal assistants. The handsome fellow in the armor is his head guard, Yanter."

“People! Gather around. Barry is coming out! has an announcement!” He shouted over the crowd. The words had an effect.

“Barry’s speaking!” People said to each other. Poets suddenly jumped to their feet. Jugglers and magicians elbowed each other out of the way.

“Let’s get to the front,” Reese said. He ran into the crowd. There were cries as his hooves crushed people’s bare toes.

“You don’t even know who Barry is!” Freya called out after Reese. She scowled as he vanished among the stilts.

Sheesha sensed the excitement in the crowd and became nervous. She growled at anyone who came too close.

“Get away from me!” Jenna shouted up at the stilts. Her ears stuck straight out from the sides of her head. Drexel was nowhere to be seen.

A shadow appeared behind the curtains on the balcony. The excited chattering stopped. A wave of silence spread over the crowd.

“Barry!” A woman shouted. She was shushed by those around her. The curtains parted. A tall, thin stilt in a white shag vest and a tall white fur hat stepped out from the curtains.

“That’s Barry!” Mendel said.

“Be quiet,” A woman next to him said. Barry waved to the crowd. He smiled and nodded.

“Hello people,” Barry said. His voice was like brass velvet.

“Hello Barry,” everyone in the crowd said together.

“Nice. Very nice." He raised his arms over his head.

“Hello people!” His voice was louder.

“Hello Barry!” The crowd shouted back.

“People…” He lowered his arms. “Barry has some good news, and some bad news.” He furrowed his brow and looked over the crowd from the left to the right and back again.

“The good news.” He raised his arms again. “Is that we have some very special guests whom you’re going to be hearing an awful lot about.” Murmurs rose in the crowd. “These guests are called the Twaddle Six. They fight for Twaddle, the land that we love! They are heroes people. Real heroes. They will be staying in our little community for a time.” Cheers broke out.

The tall stilt who had announced Barry came out from behind the curtains. He stood next to Barry and shouted,

“Hooray for the Twaddle Six!”

“Hooray!” The crowd cheered back. In the mix of voices I heard Reese shouting along. I almost called out myself. The energy of the crowd flowed through me. Sheesha barked. To my right Chastity cheered. Even Freya looked a bit less stoic. Barry smiled as he looked over the crowd.

“That’s right people,” Barry said. “More on that later.” He smiled. I smiled with him. Everyone grinned. The corners of Barry’s smile slowly turned. His mouth flattened into a look of grim dedication. The mood of the crowd deflated.

“And now for the bad news,” Barry said. The crowd became silent. The only sound was Sheesha panting in the sun. I got dirty looks from the stilts around us.

“There is no easy way to say this,” Barry said. He scanned the crowd. His gaze paused on a few stilts just long enough to look them in the eyes.

“We have lost one of our own,” Barry said. He pinched his lips into a frown. Gasps broke out within the crowd.

“I have received word, that Cloda, the first lady of melody herself, is partaking of glory.” He hung his head. He looked like the words had drained him. Nobody said a word. The news slowly settled in.

“Partaking of what?” Chastity asked.

“She’s dead,” Freya said.

There was sniffing. Some of the poets were already in tears. Even the jugglers looked serious “She was attacked and murdered by the Bupinder army far down river. She was killed by the police.” Barry made a chopping motion with his hands.

“No!” The crowd erupted into anguished cries. Freya frowned. People all around us hugged each other and wept. Mendel held his head in his hands. His shoulders shook with sobs. The younger poets fell the ground and wailed. Barry raised his hands until the crowd was silent.

“All we know is that she did not slip away without struggle. The bodies of her assailants littered the ground where she was finally overcome. By the time she was beaten, she had vanquished nearly a hundred men at arms.”

Weak cheers rose up from throats choked with tears.

“Out of respect for her memory, there will be no feast this evening,” he said. “And singers, refrain from her songs this evening. Sing of the history of Heedon Springs, let us honor the land where Cloda originally found her fame,” he said. He turned and left the balcony. Stilts sat and quietly wept. Reese made his way through the crowd. There were a few shouts as he trampled on hands and toes.

“I can’t believe it.” He wiped his nose on his sleeve. His eyes were bloodshot. His pimples looked an angry red.

“We’ve got to talk to Barry,” he said.

“Cloda told us to talk to Gorgon, right Telle?” He asked.

“Thats why we're here Reese."I said.

“Mendel?” Jenna asked. She tugged at Mendel’s pant leg. He was despondent. Without looking at any of us he pointed to a gate in the fence that surrounded the buildings next to the hall.

“I’m not allowed in there,” he said.

“Drexel!” Freya called out.

“Yes?” He said from right behind me. I jumped. Sheesha barked and whipped around.

“Let’s go,” Freya said.

We walked through the crowds, past the great hall, towards the gate. The stilt who had stood beside Barry on the balcony had moved there. From below, I hadn’t noticed the fringes of dyed black hair on his balding head. When we approached the gate, he greeted us.

“You must be the Twaddle Six!” He swung the gate open.

“What is this Twaddle Six business?” Freya asked.

“There will be plenty of time for questions.” He turned and walked toward the building on the left.

“Barry doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” he said. We filed through the gate. Drexel swung the gate shut. We walked up a gravel path.

“My name is Minserve, I’ll be your guide whenever you’re at Barry’s estate,” the stilt said. He brought us through gold-gilded doors and into the main hall.

“Nice,” Chastity said. Her voice echoed off the walls. The floor was made of smooth polished stones.

“The animal will have to stay outside,” Minserve said to me.

“Nope,” I said. I gave Sheesha a little kick in the side. She barked. Her bark bounced through the room. I kicked her again, and pointed at the stilt. She growled and took a step toward Minserve.

“As you wish.” He pinched out a smile and bowed. He led us up a wide staircase. I dismounted and led Sheesha upstairs. At the top stood two stilt guards in fitted and polished leather armor. They looked straight ahead as Minserve led us past. Their gazes wavered when Chastity passed.

“Eyes front!” Minserve snapped. They frowned and looked ahead. At the end of a long hall were two rooms. Minserve opened the door on the left.

“Excellent work Shamston!” Barry said. Inside the large room, he held a doll of Cloda to the light.

“This is the best batch yet,” he said. Beside him was a fat stilt with ink-stained fingers in a pair of tidy brown leather pants and frilly shirt. The fat stilt held a box of Cloda dolls. At Barry’s feet sat a stilt girl. Her short blond hair was cropped like a boys. She must have been about 13 years at the most.

“Such a shame,” Barry said. “She was so…good.” He turned the doll in his hands.

“This will be the last batch then, sir?” The stilt said.

“The last of the Cloda’s, Shamston.” He handed the doll to the girl. She smiled and turned it over in her hands. The dolls looked very intricate. Someone had spend a lot of time on each one. Barry turned to us. “You must be the Twaddle Six,” he said.

“What is the Twaddle Six?” Freya asked.

“Take a good look at them Shamston. Take a very good look, you'll have your work cut out for you with some of them,” Barry said. He walked toward Freya. He pulled at the leather strip that wound its way around her body.

“That stays,” he said. She slapped his hand away. He chuckled and walked over to me.

“This, on the other hand…” He reached down and took hold of the cloth shirt they gave me in Peep. “This will never do, will it Shamston? Draw on hers for inspiration.” He nodded at Freya.

"Minserve, foolish man, what are you waiting for? Take their measurements!" Barry said.

“Yes sir.” Minserve pulled out a string and stretched it across my chest. Sheesha barked.

“Hands off, stilt!” I said.

“I’m just taking measurements. Not to worry,” Minserve said.

“This one needs help as well.” Barry walked up to Reese and tugged at his shirt.

"What are you doing all that measuring for?" Reese asked.

“Something more lively for the halfman, Minserve,” Barry said.

"Watch your language" Reese said.

“Yes sir.” Minserve ran to Reese and stretched his string across Reese’s chest. Barry leaned in to inspect Reese’s face.

“And don’t pick at those pimples,” he said. Reese flinched.

“Tell me what is going on,” Freya said. Her voice echoed down the hall.

“Of course, of course. How rude of me. Get out you louts!.” Barry clapped his hands twice. Shamston grabbed the box of Cloda dolls and waddled out of the room. Minserve was right behind him. Barry closed the door. “Welcome to the mansion of Barry Gorgon,” he said. He walked back to the girl who played with the doll. He absent-mindedly placed his hand on her head.

“Please, sit down.” He waved us to some chairs. Freya sat next to me. Reese sprawled out on the floor. Drexel drifted into the back of the room. “Barry is so glad you could make it.” He walked to a silver tray covered with little pieces of meat on bread. He poured wine from a crystal decanter into glass goblets and passed them around.

“I trust you had a pleasant journey upriver?” He asked. He took a snack from the tray and tossed it to Sheesha. She caught it in her mouth and swallowed it whole.

“There wasn’t anything pleasant about it. We…Ouch!” I started to say until a sharp pinch in my side stopped me.

“We had to avoid some unpleasant people in Spanton,” Freya said. She looked at me.

“I see,” Barry said. “Cloda has told me much about you. She respected you all greatly. She told me all about how you helped her in Buba. But what folly that was, eh?"

"Cloda said you were her Leader. Were you helping her to orchestrate the uprising?"

"Well, I've certainly helped her with orchestestration." He laughed sonorously, "I knew that girl when she was still singing sea-chanties with unwashed sailors."

"So you want to overthrow the Government too?" Reese said.

"Woah there young stallion," Barry cautioned "Such things are best discussed with winks and nods." He gave Reese a wink and a nod.

"It is good to hear that there are others that wish what we do. But is it true that you are a town official here? On the town council?" Freya said.

"Oh yes, but that doesn't take up much of my time. We all want the same thing, you can be sure of that" Barry said. "and Bread must rise before it can bake, eh Freya?" Freya frowned. Reese nodded in false comprehension.

Barry was staring at me.

"Did one of you get turned into a Gnome?” He asked.

“This Gnome was not involved in the resistance." Freya said. "He has simply been travelling with us."

"Yeah, Im not with them." I said, "But I'm still in big trouble I think."

“The Bupinder regime wants us dead,” Drexel said, "And the local guards are already looking for us"

"In an unrelated issue." Jenna sighed.

“Yes well…” Barry said. He took a sip from his goblet. “If Barry has learned one thing, the way out of trouble is to hide in plain sight. I have a proposal.” He put his goblet down.

“What are you talking about?” Jenna asked. Her ears fluttered.

“I’m talking about doing for you, what I did for Cloda,” he said

“Cloda is dead.” Freya said.

Barry made a pained face.

“Cloda was like a mother to that humble group of entertainers outside,” he said.

"She was betrayed in Buba. Someone informed the authorites of exactly what she was planning. Did she get word to you about it?"

“Im afraid not. Her talent was unquestionable, but she became impatient. She became unmanageable. She stopped taking my advice. We had built her up, certainly she was almost a household name. She should have been this country's greatest hero, but she became impatient. Her songs, her noble image needed more time to saturate amongst the people. With a few more years, we could have made her so popular with the commonfolk that one bad word against her by the Government would have resulted in peasant revolts across the countryside. ” He put his goblet down. "But she became impatient."

“There is only so much Barry can do.” Barry spread his arms.

“What is it that you propose for us?” Jenna asked. She fingered the necklace around her neck. She wore Ragnar’s explosive beads. Barry’s eyes brightened.

“The Twaddle Six.” He rubbed his hands together. “You each get a new name, new wardrobe. I will make you heroes of Heedon Springs.” He licked his lips. “Once you win the hearts of the people here, you will ride across the countryside, righting wrongs and being outstandingly heroic! We can have an entire network set up for your safety, and after some time, the people of this country will call you its Greatest Heroes! it will be too late for the Bupinders to act against you!,” he said.

“You’re beginning to sound like Cloda,” Drexel said.

“If only she had stuck with my plan.” Barry spun around to face Drexel. “But you.” Barry put his hand on Drexel’s shoulder. “I know you’re more sensible than that poor, wonderful, Cloda,” Barry said. “You are the heroes to carry on her work.” He looked us over. His eyes flitted back to Drexel, who looked skeptical. “You’ll be rich,” he said. He stepped toward Reese. “You’ll be famous,” he said.

“This is ridiculous.” Freya’s voice came from the back of the room.

“Ridiculous?” He asked.

“We are fugitives. We are wanted! And you propose to...advertise us as some kind of heroes?” Freya asked.

“Heroes receive very good treatment in this town,” Barry said. He stood behind Reese. “And it will be much more than just advertising, once you have proven yourselves, you will be very hard to remove. What the clientele of Heedon Springs wants, they get!” He picked a piece of lint off of Reese’s shoulder.

“How exactly do we prove ourselves?” Jenna asked. Her ears were folded back against her head. I could tell by the way they twitched that she was interested.

Barry walked to Sheesha and scratched her behind her ear. Her drool puddled on the stone floor at his feet. He looked at me.

“There is trouble in this town. For months now, travellers of the road to the western springs have complained of ferocious goblin attacks. What better way to get a foothold in the hearts of the people here, than to heroically resolve this goblin infestation?” My heart practically stopped.

“You want us to kill smoogers?” I asked. I squeezed the Kraken idol in my pocket.

“Kill is such and ugly word.” Barry smiled. “If you were to heroically resolve the problem, I’m sure the people of Heedon Springs would be extremely grateful,” he said. “And you might like the way they show their gratitude.” He patted Sheesha’s head as he walked back to the girl who sat on the floor.

“I’ll do it!” I said.

“Not so fast, Telle.” Freya stood perfectly still. “An Iron Chef does not kill for fun or profit,” she said, "I know what he means when he says'heroes'. This man would have us become mass murderers."

“We would be doing the town a service,” Drexel said.

“Barry knows you have grander ideas of public service.” Barry said to Freya, soothing her “You must understand, goblins are feral animals. If you can explain to them that they should stop attacking people on the west road, that would resolve the problem, but how silly even to consider it. Youll simply steer clear of the guards until the problem is dealt with. Then we can unveil you to the rich vacationers as heroes, and they would never stand for your arrest. This is just a small start, once you're known here in heedon springs, we can build to something spectacular!".” His eyes sparkled at Freya. He spread his arms out wide. “You will become great. You will be loved. Loved!” He dropped his arms and turned his back to Freya.

“Of course, if you don’t like my ideas, you’re certainly free to live a quiet life in Heedon Springs. Go underground. Work at an inn. We don’t know how vast and vile the Bupinder empire will become if it remains unopposed, but that’s hardly your concern is it?,” Barry said.

“I want to be a hero!” Reese said.

“Of course you do!” Barry said. “You aren’t the sort who stand by while evildoers spread across the land.”

We all looked at Freya. She sucked her teeth.

“Jenna?” She asked. Jenna’s let the beads fall against her chest.

“Why not?” She asked.

“Excellent,” Barry said. He clapped his hands. The door flew open. Minserve rushed into the room. “Minserve, show the Twaddle Six to their quarters. Have Shickle give them whatever they want from the armory." Reese loved hearing that. Barry continued, "Get Shamston working on the designs. We’ve got a lot of work to do!” Barry said. Minserve bowed and showed us out of the room. He took us back down the stairs and into a closed courtyard of buildings. We walked to a guesthouse. The cottage had four rooms, each with a huge stilt bed, and a main room off the entrance.

“Make yourselves comfortable. The lieutenant of the guard, Shickle, will be by shortly.” Minserve closed the door.

“We’re gonna be heroes!” Reese said. He grabbed Sheesha by the neck and wrestled her to the floor. Her wide, pink tongue slapped at his face. His pimpled cheeks glistened with saliva.

“Telle! We’re gonna kill smoogers!” He said.

“Have you people lost your minds?” Freya asked. “Who knows how much trouble we are in here already. Even if news of the price on our heads never gets this far north, We have an dead dragon on our backs!” She said.

"I still cant believe it about the dragon, well half-dragon." Jenna said. "He was a pillar of the community, apparently."

"It makes no sense", Freya said. "Why would a respectable Hotel owner, dragon or not, randomly try to kill us all in the middle of nowhere?"

"I dont understand how he was even able to operate as he pleased" Jenna said.

"He was probably just sowing his Dragon oats", Drexel said. "Dragons do whatever they want, don't they?"

"No they really dont" Jenna replied, "Dragons are fiercely protective of their territories. They only leave their zone of control to mate with or to destroy the neighboring Dragon, depending on their mood. A dragon that young should have been hiding deep underground, lest he get smelled out by a grown-up and snuffed out like a candle. Especially a half-dragon!"

"He was that young?" Reese asked.

"He was practically an egg!" Jenna said. "He couldnt have been more than a hundred years old or two"

"Holy crap" Reese said.

“Relax, nobody knows about the dragon,” Drexel said.

“We were chased here! Remember?” Jenna looked distraught.

“That was the old us. Not the Twaddle Six." Drexel said.

“We ARE the Twaddle Six!,” Jenna said.

"The town guard wouldnt dare barge into Barry's estate, lil Jenna." Drexel Said, stroking her ear. "Gorgon's got guards of his own!"

There was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Jenna asked.

“Lieutenant Shickle at your service.” Came a voice from the outside. Freya opened the door. A stilt in the purple shirt and leather armor and a hat with a feather stood at attention in the doorway.

“By Barry’s orders, I am here to instruct the Twaddle Six!” He shouted into the room. He stared straight ahead. He wasn’t much older than Reese. Drexel raised an eyebrow.

“Whatcha got for us?” Drexel asked.

“Yes. Do tell.” Chastity flipped her hair back and smoothed her dress against her body.

“I have some equipment, and arms for your approval! More will be forthcoming! You are to hear my instructions!” he shouted.

“Just relax,” Jenna said.

Quiet Jenna,” Chastity said. “I like to be ordered around.” She sauntered over to the guard. “Tell me what to do,” she said. He blushed.

“There are two springs, the East Spring and the West Spring. You are on the East road, which leads to the East springs. The West road is where goblin attacks tend to occur. You will leave at your leisure!" he said.

"He's quite the taskmaster" Drexel said.

“You’re not coming along?” She stroked the red feather that stuck up from his helmet.

“I must stay at the mansion ma’am. But I will oversee the smithy as they make more equipment for you.”

“Such a shame.” Chastity pouted.

“How long until our equipment is ready?” Freya asked.

“It should be finished within one week,” Shickle said. “Until then, please cooperate with Barry’s songwriters. It is vital that the performers have a full repertoire of ballads and fanfares for your triumphant return,” he said. Before anyone could ask another question, he snapped a salute, spun around on his heels, and left us alone with a slam of the door.

"Was he kidding?" I said

“There going to sing songs about us!” Chastity lay back on a chair and sighed.

“Fame and fortune!” Reese did a little dance. “Women! Now THATs what a rebellion is all about!” He jumped and clicked his hooves together.

“I’ll bet you never thought people would sing songs about you, Telle,” Chastity said to me.

“Thank Kraken. I knew I was he spared me for a reason.” I slashed the air with my dagger.

“Telle Smellme, dragonslayer, smoogerkiller!” Reese said.

“The avenger of Pusstown!” I said with another swipe of my knife.

“Telle, put that thing away,” Freya said. “And I don’t know what you’re dancing about.”

“Ever since Ragnar died you’ve become so mean, just like him” Chastity said.

“I’m trying to keep us alive,” Freya said.

“Well I’m trying to keep things entertaining,” Chastity said. She squinted at Freya.

“Stop your bickering,” Jenna said. Her ears dangled limply. “We have a week to think things over. Why don’t we see what develops?” She asked. Freya nodded. “Chastity?” Jenna’s ears twitched.

“Sure, we’ll see how it goes,” Chastity said.

“Fine. We wait a week and then decide,” Jenna said.

“I want to kill smoogers,” I said.

“Noted,” Jenna replied. “What about you?” She pointed her ears at Drexel without looking at him.

“I’ll agree if Freya starts cooking again,” Drexel said.

Freya smiled. We all laughed.

“Excellent,” Jenna said.

That night Barry let Freya use his kitchen. Freya cooked a meal that made all the days of gruel seem worthwhile. I surprised her by identifying the gilmic pig in her stew. Beyond that, I had never tasted anything close to the delicacies she heaped on our plates. We ate to the point of physical pain. Our conversation turned to groans as we held our stomachs and lay flat on our beds. It took both Chastity and Drexel to lift me up onto a stilt bed. Even Sheesha lay with her tongue on the floor. Freya had made a special meal just for her.

The next few days went by quickly. Songwriters asked us questions. Freya made sure we did not divulge too much. Mostly, I told them of my life in the pits. I talked about how much I hated smoogers. I described the spears I used to hunt Hooksnouts with. Reese loved the attention. He drank the poet’s wine and told them lies. Whenever he got too close to the truth, Freya delivered a careful kick or pinch to shut him up. Chastity drove the guards crazy.

On the fourth day, Shickle handed me a sharp pointed weapon.

“It’s a lance, sir,” he said. It had a handle on one end that tapered down to a long point at the other. It was made of polished wood. Scrolling ran the length of it. Carvers had made a design of Sheesha biting into the neck of a smooger while I skewered another in the belly. I ran my fingers over the design. I imagined the patterns turning green with smooger blood.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“And this, sir.” He handed me an armful of leather. I unfolded it. Polished black Leather straps criss-crossed, tying a sort of vest together. There were pant legs sewn on at the bottom.

“It’s from Barry sir,” Shickle said.

I thanked him and he left. I slipped into the uniform. The strings ran across my chest and belly, the pants fit well. It felt good.

I went outside to find the others. As I walked past the other guesthouses on my way to the grounds I heard a familiar voice.

“Stanley. I want a Cloda doll.” It was the woman I’d seen on the boardwalk when we’d first arrived in Heedon Springs. She was delighted by the entertainers.

“Of course, dear.” I passed the open door and looked inside. The man sat on the side of a bed next to the woman. She rubbed her pregnant belly.

“I want one for each of my friends back home,” she said.

“And you shall,” he said. He picked a piece of candy off the table beside the bed and popped it in his mouth. He glanced up and caught me watching him. I hurried past.

I left the courtyard and entered the grounds. Bands of stilts played music. Singers sang and jugglers juggled. Cloda’s name was on everyone’s lips. An altar of flowers and candles sat under the balcony from which Barry had delivered the sad news. Reese lay on the ground among a circle of poets. He tipped back a jug of wine. He laughed at a joke I didn’t hear. I walked over to Reese to show him my new clothes.

“Reese, what do you think?” I asked. He looked up at me. His smile changed to a look of complete horror. The other poets stopped talking and all looked up at me in abject fear. The music from all around us stopped. There was a scream.

“Run!” A poet said. People ran left and right.

“Reese! Whats happening?” I turned to ask Reese, but he was gone.

I saw a giant shadow racing across the estate lawn, toward me.

Shouts went up from all around us. The crowd was in a state of complete panic. In the sky there was monster. It’s wings pumped as it flew toward us. Its black scales glinted in the sun. Sheesha whined. I patted her head. My hand was shaking.

The sky darkened as a dragon passed in front of the sun. It was straight overhead, a beast ten times larger than the dragon that had killed Ragnar. Its huge scaled belly trembled. Three pairs of teats dangled off the fat middle. The long neck and horned head strained forward. Giant leathery wings beat the air. I was paralyzed with fear. I looked at the faces of the others. Nobody ran. There was nowhere to hide. When I looked back at the sky, the dragon had already passed over the Mansion. A fat tail hung off the body as the dragon flew toward the town of Heedon Springs. A sickening smell drifted over us. Then the dragon was gone.

Cries went up. Horns blared. I ran back to our guesthouse. When I arrived, the others were already there.

“Why is it here?” Reese asked.

"I dont want to think about it." Drexel said.

"Maybe its a coincidence" Chastity offered.

"Maybe it flys by here regularly" Drexel offered.

"Not judging by the crowds reaction" Freya said. "Jenna, any thoughts?"

"Well..."she seemed too frightened to think properly, "that one's a grown up"

“It seemed to be headed towards the town. That thing could probably level every building if it wanted.” Freya said.

"Maybe its just visiting family" Drexel offered.

I had a terrible thought. I pictured my mother's face when I broke the Kraken statue.

"What if thats Jehosephat's mom?" I said.

Silence.

"Black is a rather unusual color for a dragon" Jenna whispered.

More silence.

“We have no choice,” Freya said. Everyone looked at her. “We go back to town.”

“Suicide,” Drexel said.

“Unimportant,” Freya said. “We do not let a town suffer for our mistakes.”

“What mistakes? What suffering?” Jenna asked.

“I should have explained to the town guard what happened." Freya seemed upset. We did not murder Jehosephat, we commited no crime. I should not have run from trouble,” she said.

“But that’s all we do!,” Drexel said. “It’s the reason we’re alive.” He figdeted with his cloak.

“Why are we all bound to your code of honor of a sudden?” Chastity asked.

“What exactly to you propose to do?” Jenna asked. She tugged at the beads around her neck.

“No more wasting time. Let’s at least find out what that dragon is up to. We will try to speak with her and resolve any issue she has with us.,” Freya said.

“If..” Drexel stuck his finger in the air. “And only if we can. And we can't! You want to talk to her? You'll be an Iron Chef puddle before 'Hello'! I’m not marching to my death. Not for you, not for some town, and certainly not for that Jehosephat bastard,” he said.

"Surely not everything in this world exists only to kill without reason" Freya said, "If she is related to Jehosephat, she will want to deal with his killers. Once she knows that we acted only in self-defense, she may see things differently."

"You're living in a dream world" Drexel said.

"She might not know that we killed him. She might have come to kill him herself. We are assuming much right now. We should learn more about this situation and make sure it involves us. It should be safe enough to investigate, if we keep a low profile. If that thing did end up in town, the guards should be busy enough fighting it off or evacuating vacationers . I will approach the Dragon only if we deem it safe. Otherwise we simply return here."

“Well...Fair enough.” Drexel nodded.

“But we must leave now,” she said.

“I’m staying,” Reese said.

“No, you’re not,” Freya said.

“Shickle said I was getting special weapons and clothes,” Reese said. “I’m sticking with Barry’s plan.” He looked at me. “And so is Telle.”

“I like Barry’s plan.” I confessed. “So do I,” Chastity said.

Freya looked directly at me.

“Telle.” Her muscles tensed under her leather wraps. “Do you really want another town to be destroyed?” She asked. I thought of Gnick and Gnelly. Sheesha panted next to me. I put my hand on her bald neck.

“No,” I said.

“Do what’s right then,” she said. I felt the idol of Kraken in my pocket.

“I’ll go to town,” I said.

“Have fun!” Reese said. “It was great knowing you.”

I climbed onto Sheesha’s back. I slid my new lance into a harness that Shickle had given me.

“We’ll just see if we can help,” Freya said. “I don’t pretend to think we’re doing any good by dying.” She looked at Drexel. “At least come along. You can run at the first sign of trouble,” she said.

“Chastity?” Drexel asked. Chastity frowned.

“There can be no harm is seeing what is going on. For all we know that dragon is just flying around,” Jenna said.

“I’ll go with you. But I’m not turning myself in to any guards,” Chastity said.

“Thank you,” Freya said.

“If you need me, I’ll be killing smoogers on the East road!” Reese said. He waved goodbye as we marched onto the road toward Heedon Springs.

In the distance, a pillar of black smoke rose in into the sky.