Chapter 208: Hags and Dreams
"No, we can't do it. And before you ask why, it's because we're a White Circle. Using part of someone to track them isn't White Magic. It's grey at best and probably Black in this case. That's part of your man's breath in there, stolen by a sentient windstorm. In some cultures, your breath is part of your soul. This type of spell just can't be done by a White Circle." Titania wasn't happy telling Suzette ‘No', she knew how desperate the woman was for news of what had happened to Ozzy, but she wasn't going to shatter the circle. She'd been an outcast too long to want to go back to that. The spell would fail, things would go bad. "There are other ways you might look into."
Suzette was too tired to be angry. She wasn't sleeping well, and all of her old nightmares were back. Sleeping next to Ozzy kept them at bay. She felt safe with him. "Tell me about the other ways then."
Titania considered her next words carefully. "Do you know what a hag is?"
Suzette snorted. "Yes. It's someone who wants to get her hands on my boyfriend more than she wants to eat the porkchops he brings her every morning. I've known what Jenny is for a long time, and her guests popped up on my radar as soon as they joined the town. I have three hags living in town, and I can form a "Hag Hollow" if I wanted to. Whatever the hell that is."
"Oh. Well, that makes things easier to talk about." Titania hadn't really suspected how much a mayor might know about their town. She'd destroyed towns, but she'd never run one. And this town was stranger than most, and probably had a lot of strange options. "Well, a Hag Hollow is like a circle of witches, only with Hags. They form a pact between them, and agree to work together. Hags are fiercely territorial. Only one Hag per village or valley is normal. The more powerful the Hag, the more room they need. But if they form a Hollow, it keeps things under control and they can agree on how to use their pooled powers. Jenny might be willing to do some magic, and go look for Ozzy. It's worth talking to her. But I'd send your courier instead of you."
Suzette was curious about that. "Why, I'm the Mayor."
Titania sighed, and paused for a long time. She really wasn't good with people beyond yelling a lot. Giving advice was difficult for her. "You also have a temper, and like you said, Jenny has her eye on Ozzy. I don't trust the two of you to talk about him without problems. And before you start in complaining, you have to understand it isn't all Jenny's fault. She's just following her instincts. Hags are attracted to males with certain qualities."
"Ozzy is like a magnet to her. He's big, strong, and has a dark aura that's appealing to creatures like her. Plus he smells like meat and would be a good provider. Jenny has to eat ten pounds of raw meat and fish each day. Less than that and we learn firsthand why hags are feared."
"If you go to talk to her, she'll be talking with a rival. If Ben goes, then she'll feel like helping to get Ozzy back. If she asks for a favor, know that by paying her, you bind her to service. That's a good thing. Hags are like misbehaving children; They need firm boundaries and a strong hand on the switch."
Suzette handed the older women the bottle. "Can you do me a favor? Go tell all of that to Ben. If I should stay out of it, I should start right now. And lord knows I have more than enough to occupy my time. Georges needs me up at the new fort all day today and tomorrow."
Titania smiled. "I can do that for you honey, no worries. And I can help you with your chores too. Take the twins with you. They're bored right now and need a project. They work well together and both can carve runes if you show them what you need done. And that advice about boundaries and a strong hand? It applies to them as well. Don't let them start experimenting."
Ben knocked politely on the door, and was surprised when the young woman he'd seen a few days ago being tossed from a coach answered. "Greetings miss, we met the other day. My name is Benjamin. Would miss Jenny be around perchance?" The girl looked him up and down, licked her lips, and then smiled at him. "Sure, come on in and sit for a while. I'll fetch Jenny, she was down by the river catching some carp for dinner."
By 'fetch', the young hag meant 'yell out the window'. "Hey, Fish breath! Some handsome fellow here to see you. Best come quick before Gorpy cooks him inside of a pie or I drag him off to my bag."
Ben eyed the door, but held his ground. Jenny arrived a minute later with a string of fish she dropped into a bucket. An older woman was behind her. She pulled cookies from the over, tested them, and then set the pan on the rack. She looked over at Ben and froze, just staring and quivering. Jenny elbowed her in her ribs. "Knock it off. You touch him and you'll end up a burnt cinder."
Granma Gorpunkle shook her head and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to hurt a hair on the poor boys head. I just worry that he's afflicted by so many bad dreams. Nice boys shouldn't have dreams like that."
Jenny sat down across from Ben. "So, what's up, courier boy? I've been good all the time I've been in town and I've been making sure these two are as well."
Ben sat back and smiled at her. "Indeed, and the town has no complaints about you at all. In fact, Jenny, we see you as a valuable member of the community. You and the rest of the White Circle make us safer just by being around."
"But, as to why I'm here, I'm sure you heard about Ozzy disappearing. We have a clue to finding him, but need your help. This bottle has some of his breath. Titania thinks you might know a spell to find out where he is."
Jenny picked up the bottle. It contained part of the Butcher, she could feel him. She looked around at the other two. "There's a chore we can do for this nice little town. I'd like to help. Are you in or out? And if in, name your price."
Vivian grabbed an open bottle of Red Wizard Whiskey and drank out of it. "No fee, I want to see this Butcher with a huge bag for myself."
Granny Gorpunkle looked at Ben. "I want his dreams."
Ben was startled. "Excuse me?!"
The old woman waved him to stay seated. "Just the bad ones. Not the good ones. You have nightmares so bad they make me wake up in the middle of the night, hungry. Every damned night you run from that star spawn and see things mortals shouldn't ever see. I'm a Night Hag, bad dreams are meat and drink to my kind. Let me have you nightmares and I'll take them as payment."
Ben had been tormented every night since they had fought M'Fargle. "You'll take only my dreams of M'fargle, take nothing else, and leave nothing else? I will pay that price."
Granny handed him a cookie. "Eat that please, and come back for one each day. I only eat the bad dreams of those who eat my cookies. It's why I usually give them to the kids. Keeps me fed and lets them sleep better. Too many monsters in this world. Including this household."
Jenny thought a little. "I want to form an official Hag Hollow, and I want it recognized by the town. As long as we don't harm the town, you don't kick us out."
Ben stood up, but he smiled. "I'm sure Suzette will agree to that. You've been a good neighbor, miss Jenny. Things are a little weird in this town, you fit in fine. Is that all you need to find Ozzy?"
Granny handed him a second cookie. "Tell the Mayor to eat that before bed. She's having some bad dreams about missing her man. Those will help us to find him. She'll sleep better too."
Ben took the cookie. "She could use the sleep. Let us know when you find out something."
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