Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story

by James Maxstadt

  Duke nodded.

  Two days later, the young man came in the door, and rushed to his grandfather’s side, plopping down in his normal chair, stylus and pad already out and ready.

  “Eager today, are we?” chuckled his grandfather.

  “Yes. What’s today?”

  Duke stared into the fire for a few moments. Then he looked at his grandson.

  “Today, I’m going to let you in on a secret. A family secret you could say, but one that only your grandmother and I know about.”

  The young man’s eyes got wide.

  “Are you going to tell me about when you got it?” he asked, and his gaze slid down to the gun still riding on the old man’s hip.

  “No, not that. That’s a story for another time. This is about something else. Something that you’re going to have to take care of one day.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “It is, and it isn’t. You’ll see. For now, hush and listen.”

  Duke leaned forward, elbows on the arms of his rocking chair, and started his next tale.

  FUN FAIR

  One particularly bright morning, I decided to surprise Lilly, so I rose early, and I mean early, not my usual right before noon. She finally gave me an easy way to reach her house, in that weird space that all the necromancers lived in. It was a small, smooth stone, and all I needed to do was rub my thumb across it, say, “Lilly”, and I transported there. It was a strange feeling, and not one that I was ever likely to get used to, but it worked, and I didn’t have to go to the watchhouse every time I wanted to visit her.

  I was cleaned, dressed, flush with money, and ready to spend the day with my girl. I activated the stone, and a moment later I was standing on the street outside of Lilly’s house, feeling slightly nauseous and light headed. Standing still and closing my eyes usually worked to help that feeling go away, so I did that, and then approached the door.

  I finally passed the point where I felt like I needed to knock when I showed up. Hell, Lilly was past that point with me since we first met. It took me a little longer, but then again, my house isn’t chock full of nasty little magical surprises ready to greet the unwanted visitor. Even with Lilly’s assurance that the wards, as she called them, would recognize me, I was still very hesitant to put them to the test.

  But today, my plans involved surprising her, so in I went. There was a light touch on my face as I passed the threshold, not unlike walking through a spider web, and that was it. To the untrained eye, which both of mine were, it looked like a normal home. I wasn’t sure at first where I would find her, but I heard a horrible noise and followed it to the kitchen. There, my beautiful, powerful, scary girlfriend was making herself breakfast and singing. Lilly can do lots of things very well, but singing…well, it wasn’t one of them. I swear I saw the egg in her hand crack before she hit it against the bowl in front of her.

  I stopped outside the kitchen and watched. She was enjoying herself, and I loved it. She gyrated and swayed as she sung what I was sure was one of the more current tunes that the minstrels were singing. It was a silly tune about a maiden turning down the advances of a suitor who only had carnal pleasures on his mind. Don’t ask me why it was popular, but I loved watching the effect it had on her.

  Finally, I thought I should announce my presence. As fun as this was, I didn’t want her to be embarrassed. Not that there was much that embarrassed Lilly, but still.

  “Ahem” I said, expecting her to look around and maybe blush.

  The reaction I got was nothing like that.

  With a screech she spun quickly around, arms flung out in front of her, eyes completely black, hair standing straight out from her head, and sparks erupting from her fingers.

  I barely enough time to think, “Oh shit,” before I was sinking through the floor, and feeling something decidedly hot licking at my feet.

  “Oh!” Lilly cried, “Duke!”

  Then she did something else weird with her hands, and I stopped sinking with half of me above the floor, but the other half still below and becoming rapidly well-done. She motioned again and I rose up, my feet beginning to cool off.

  “What are you doing?” she asked me, rushing to my side. “You should know better than to sneak up on me!”

  “I wasn’t sneaking,” I protested. “I came in completely normally. You just couldn’t hear me over the…ummm…music?”

  “Cute,” she said, but now did blush. “Not that I mind, but why are you here?”

  “Get dressed,” I said, and stepped past her to the counter where she was working. “I’ll finish making breakfast, and then we’re going out for the day.”

  She looked at me in surprise.

  “Really? You, Duke Grandfather, have come to take me on a surprise date?”

  “That’s right. Jeesh. Can’t a guy do something nice for his girl?”

  She gave me a peck on the check, and a quick, tight, hug.

  “You’re a man of mystery, Grandfather. I love it. But don’t sneak up on me again, alright?”

  She didn’t have to ask me twice.

  I refused to tell Lilly where we were going. I changed the subject when she asked questions, and purposely led her in circles a couple of times. Every time I did that, she’d punch me on the arm, I’d pretend it hurt, and we’d continue on, laughing.

  Eventually, I thought she had enough mystery and made a beeline for one of the gates. I was a city boy, through and through, and hardly ever found reason to leave, even for a day. I’d hear people talking about vacations in the country, or finding themselves in the wilderness, or other such claptrap. But for me, Capital City had everything you could want, so why leave?

  Today, there was something outside the walls that I wanted Lilly to see. The last time it was here, I was a young boy and my father took me. I still remembered the feeling of wonder and amazement, and I was hoping that I could give that same gift to her.

  We passed through the gate and under the portcullis with its sharp spikes ready to come down on the heads of any invading army. Since the border opening, ordered by His Royal Majesty, those spikes have stayed put, and the gate only got closed at night to keep out any wandering nasties. Even then, a legitimate traveler could appeal to the gate keeper and be let in. So far, the royal plan seemed to be working. We’ve had an influx of other races coming to live and work here, but not a single invading army had attacked.

  Of course, the last army to try to invade us was a couple of generations back, but I always try to look on the positive side of these things. Let’s just say that the new policy was a success.

  Lilly and I walked through the gate, and there it was, in a field outside the city walls. The Fun Fair had come back.

  The field was full of tents of all colors. Some striped, some solid, with flag and pennants on top, fluttering in the wind. There was the smell of animals and food, and the noise of kids screaming in joy. If you listened carefully, you could hear the voices of the barkers trying to cajole people to part with their hard-earned money for the chance to see something wonderful, exotic or disturbing.

  I stared at the scene, lost in the memory of seeing all this for the first time, holding on to my father’s hand. My mouth actually watered at the thought of some of the food to be found there, and I turned to Lilly.

  She was standing as still as I was, gazing at the Fun Fair in all its glory.

  “Wow,” was all she said.

  “I know,” I replied.

  I took her hand, coaxed her into a run, and laughing like kids, we ran to enjoy the fair.

  It was as good as I remembered it being from when I was a kid. Maybe better, because I got to watch Lilly as she took it all in for the first time. And first on the list was food! Yes, we had breakfast a short time ago, but this was different. This was fair food, and as anyone can tell you, it needs to be portioned out over the whole day. That way you maximize your intake without feeling ill.

  We needed to experience some of the thrill rides, which were seats attached to
a big wheel of some sort that was spun by a couple of trolls. You’d fly around, screaming at the speed of it. One of them even went way up into the air, and back down a steep hill, over curves and dips at a great speed. It too was powered by trolls, but the cars were pulled to the beginning point by a clever system of gears. Clearly, dwarven design at work.

  One of the other great draws of the fair was the exhibits. They were spaced in between the rides and the food, so that as you walked along, you could pick and choose which things you wanted to visit. Local farmers had livestock here to be judged by experts, who must have known something I didn’t, since all the cows looked like cows, and all the pigs looked like pigs to me. But it was my understanding that the winners could command much better prices for their animals’ offspring.

  Then there was the freak show. You have to try pretty hard in a place like Capital City to exhibit something that will cause the locals to ooh and ahh. We’ve seen a lot, and are a pretty jaded bunch. Most of these exhibits were people who could do things that would make the rest of us squirm, like drive a spike through their tongue, or swallow sharp objects. I’m sure there were tricks to them, but it was more fun to watch, and pretend it was all real.

  Exotic beasts were on display too; animals from far away, strange and dangerous. They were interesting to go see, even if most of them looked lethargic and uninterested in attacking anyone. Lilly felt sorry for them, and when she pointed out that they didn’t look happy, I agreed, so we didn’t go see any more of those.

  We came across one tent that advertised there were, “flesh-eating pygmies from the deepest jungles of far-away Yambizi” inside. Now that sounded more like it, so we paid our modest entry fee and went in, fully expecting to find people dressed in “native” costume, gnashing their teeth and making threatening gestures at us.

  Instead, we saw something entirely different.

  There was a roped off area, and within it was a large cage. The cage had branches, plants, old barrels and crates placed haphazardly here and there. Among those items were tiny people, dressed in loincloths and clothes made from leaves. They lay idly on the crates, or walked on the branches. Younger ones played games among the plants, while the older ones watched them. None of them were more than 6 inches high and none of them looked ferocious, or flesh eating in the least.

  I turned to mention this to Lilly and saw the look of horror on her face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Don’t you know what those are?”

  “Um, I think they’re supposed to be flesh-eating pygmies, but from what I can see, they don’t look very dangerous to me.”

  “That’s because you don’t know. Duke, those are Brownies.”

  Brownies are a pretty rare race, not seen by many, and out of those, not many who were left sane enough to tell coherent tales. Magic is in their blood, more than any other race. Some said they were part of the Faerie Court, but the Court denies any responsibility for them. Notorious tricksters, with a mean streak to match, they excel in way-laying travelers, robbing them of all their earthly goods, and sometimes their minds. Experts at illusions, at disappearing from sight, and all sorts of other nasty tricks, Brownies were a bane to any civilized society.

  How anyone could have caught and put them in a cage in the first place, and kept them there, was a mystery.

  I looked back at the cage.

  “No,” I said. “Couldn’t be. How would they keep them in a cage like that?”

  “I don’t know,” Lilly answered, “I’m trying to figure that out…”

  She had that far-away look in her eyes that I noticed she got when she was really working a problem. I learned to be quiet and let her work when she got that way.

  A few moments later, she was back with me.

  “Got it. Some of it anyway. There are unbelievably strong spells inside that cage. I’m guessing here, but I’m pretty sure that’s what’s keeping the Brownies inside and visible. Strong stuff.”

  “It would have to be, right? I didn’t think there was much of anything stronger than Brownie magic.”

  “Kind of hard to explain. Brownie magic isn’t so much that it’s stronger than others, although it is to an extent. It’s more that it’s…different.”

  “I don’t quite get that, but then again, I’m not a wizard. That’s your department. But if you’re satisfied that they can’t get out, then so am I. Come on, I can hear those turkey legs that we passed calling to me.”

  “You’re a glutton,” she said, linking her arm through mine. “But I’m glad you’re my glutton.”

  We walked out of the tent, but I noticed Lilly look back one more time as we did so, eyes narrowed.

  That night, we lay in bed together, both of us wide awake. I was awake because I lived up to Lilly’s assessment of me and made a pig of myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate like that, and I was paying for it now. Lilly restrained herself, limiting her consumption to a few items throughout the day, and to bites of mine when my satisfied grunting piqued her curiosity.

  She was lying awake for an entirely different reason.

  “Duke,” she finally said. “I think we need to go back to the fair tomorrow.”

  “Ugh. Look, I love it as much as the next person, more even. But I don’t think I can eat any more of that food. At least not right away.”

  “We’re not going for that.”

  I know my Lilly, and those narrowed eyes as we left the Brownie tent told me all I needed to know.

  “The Brownies, right?”

  “Yeah. Something isn’t right there. I need to take another look.”

  “I knew it,” I sighed. “I don’t suppose there’s any sense in me saying that it’s none of our business?”

  “None,” she replied.

  The next morning, Lilly was up and out early, leaving me to my own devices until she returned. When she did, she was ready and eager to get back to the fair.

  This visit was different than yesterdays. There was no time for lingering and looking at exhibits, riding the thrill rides, or even eating. Lilly headed straight for the tent where the Brownies were being held. We paid our fee, and went in again.

  Nothing changed since the day before. The large cage was still in the roped off area, and the little people still went about their lives inside of it. Lilly looked around, ducked under the rope and approached the cage.

  “Hey!” a voice yelled.

  I turned to see a man jogging toward us. He was young, of average size and build, and with the look of someone who had been living on the road for some time.

  “You can’t go in there,” he said when he neared. “That’s what the rope is for.”

  Lilly ignored him, squatted down so that she was close to one of the Brownies on the other side of the bars and took something out of her robe.

  “Lady,” the young man began, “I’m warning you.”

  I laughed at that, which caused him to turn to me.

  “Is she with you? She’s not supposed to be in there.”

  “Yep, she’s with me. But if you think I can make her do anything, you’re crazy. If I were you friend, I’d quietly stand aside.”

  “But she’s breaking the rules,” he said, and ducking under the rope, started toward Lilly.

  She glanced up at him, her eyes completely black, a snarl on her lips and sparks dancing around her fingertips. The young man stopped in his tracks and looked back at me.

  “Necromancer,” I said.

  He paled, ducked back under the rope, and ran off, presumably to get help.

  In the meantime, Lilly was holding the item she pulled out of her robe up to her mouth and was speaking into it. Her voice came back out of it, altered. It was high pitched and very fast, so fast that I couldn’t understand a word of it.

  But the Brownie in the cage near her could. He jumped when he heard the sound, and spun around to face her. He answered, his own voice as high pitched and fast. Lilly let him finish, and held the item up to her ear. Th
ey talked back and forth for a few minutes in this fashion, until they were interrupted.

  “Hey you!” another voice yelled, different this time.

  Lilly said one last thing to the Brownie, and then rose, sticking the object back in her pocket as she did so.

  “What?” she asked the newcomers.

  There were four men this time, including the young man who yelled the first time.

  “Come out of there,” their leader said.

  He was of middle age, slightly portly and with a mustache of epic proportions. It swept down around his mouth in a big brush that vibrated as he spoke.

  “I’m sorry,” Lilly said, “am I doing something wrong?”

  “Yes,” the man said, “and you darn tooting know it, missy!”

  Lilly looked taken aback.

  “I beg your pardon. I only wanted a closer look at the pygmies. They’re fascinating!”

  She looked back over her shoulder at the cage with such an expression of child-like wonder, that mustache man was slightly disarmed.

  “Well, look here,” he said, “I understand that and all. But what did you think the rope was there for?”

  “I thought it was to keep out anyone who would do bad things. I just wanted to see them better. They’re so cute!”

  She walked to the rope and Mr. Mustache held it up for her, and offered his hand to help steady her as she came under.

  “Well, no more of that, if you please, miss. The ropes are there for your safety and the safety of our exhibits. After all, we wouldn’t want to lose any pieces of you to those nasty, little cannibals, now would we?”

  Lilly giggled and blushed prettily, and took my arm.

  “Let’s go, dear,” she said to me. Then back to him. “Thank you so much for your understanding, Mr…?”

  “Fogwell, Miss. Philbert T. Fogwell, at your service.”

  He bowed to her, sweeping his arm across his body as he did so.

  “Well, Mr. Fogwell, I adore your fair. Especially the pygmies here.”