The Watchmen of Port Fayt
Page 23
The Goblin—Gray in hue, half the height of a man, pointed of ear and deceitful of character. The Goblin represents the very worst kind of demonspawn, building nothing for itself but robbing and otherwise preying on good, honest people. We can only hope that the League of the Light will one day prevail and sweep all such evil creatures out of the Old World. The Goblin is to be shunned wherever it is found.
The Imp—A peculiar creature, very small and pink-skinned. The imp is possessed of rather ugly features, with an oversize nose and ears and beady, untrustworthy eyes. Given to telling lies and defrauding anyone who crosses its path, the Imp is nevertheless mostly harmless, on account of its small frame and corresponding weakness.
The Ogre—Just as the imp might be considered a small, ugly human, so the ogre might be thought a large, ugly human. Its excessive bulk and weight, together with its meager intellect, mean that the ogre is best avoided at all times. Fortunately, it is among the rarest of all creatures and, we trust, will shortly be consigned to history books as a rather unpleasant and distressing aberration.
The Troll—Instantly recognizable due to its dull green skin. The Troll is a large beast, although generally less so than the ogre. Some have suggested that these creatures were not born of demons at all, but are in fact descended from rocks, perhaps brought to life by magic. There is no doubt that the Troll possesses little more intelligence than a rock, but the League of the Light maintain that to believe these creatures anything other than demonspawn is dangerous and deluded.
There can be no exceptions in the pursuit of the Way of the Light—nor should there be.
A big thank-you to my agent, Jane Finigan, and to all at Lutyens & Rubinstein. To my friends and colleagues for their help and support in all kinds of ways, especially those who read and commented on the manuscript, and to Anne-Marie Doulton for invaluable advice early on (“you have to write the book first”). To the incredible team at DFB—my brilliant editor, Simon Mason; Kirsten; Hannah; David; and Tilda. And last but not least, to Mark, Verity, and Katrina, whom I love, and who put up with a lot.
Conrad Mason was born in 1984. He studied classics at Cambridge University and now works in London as an editor of children’s fiction. The Watchmen of Port Fayt is his debut novel and the first title in the Tales of Fayt trilogy. You can visit him online at www.conrad-mason.com.
Text copyright © 2015 by Conrad Mason
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by David Wyatt
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, by arrangement with David Fickling Books, Oxford, England. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. DAVID FICKLING BOOKS and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of David Fickling Books. www.davidficklingbooks.com
First published in the United Kingdom in 2012 by David Fickling Books, 31 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2NP, as The Demon’s Watch.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mason, Conrad, author.
[Demon’s watch]
The watchmen of Port Fayt / Conrad Mason.—First edition.
pages cm.—(Tales of Fayt ; 1)
“First published in the United Kingdom in 2012 by David Fickling Books … as The Demon’s Watch.”
Summary: Half-goblin boy Joseph Grubb takes the package he found in the Legless Mermaid tavern and runs away from his abusive human uncle and the shape-shifter who is too interested in something that does not belong to him—but his escape plunges him into Port Fayt’s criminal underworld and the assortment of elves, trolls, fairies, and humans who live there, as well as the Demon’s Watch, who are trying to save the port from a deadly threat.
ISBN 978-0-545-83308-0
1. Magic—Juvenile fiction. 2. Goblins—Juvenile fiction. 3. Orphans—Juvenile fiction. 4. Adventure stories. [1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Goblins—Fiction. 3. Orphans—Fiction. 4. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.1.M376Wat 2015
823.92—dc23
[Fic]
2015002017
First edition, September 2015
Cover art copyright © 2015 by David Wyatt
Cover design by Mary Claire Cruz & Carol Ly
e-ISBN 978-0-545-85941-7
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.