After many
more tankards of cider brewed libation, the family of Nip the Hobgoblin spent
their last night at the Faire campgrounds. Wagons, carts, caravans and wheel
barrows were all parked on the open grass area of the meadow. Campfires dotted
the night as did the stars in the sky. The din of the early evening's
festivities had calmed now to a purr of
quiet talks, a giggle and an occasional song or lilting tune on an stringed
instrument drifted through the stillness. But soon there was only the sound of snoring
and the night sounds of the forest nearby. All was quiet and the fae were at peace.
The moon was
at crone sliver which gave the stars a chance to sparkle even more brightly. No
clouds to cover the celestial show. No cover for the silent shadows that glided
across the night sky and came to rest not far from the campground.
And still the silence prevailed.
The sun would
soon peek over the horizon, the moon was still holding court in the sky and
something was waiting to change the fae's world forever. None of the sleeping
fae would ever have guessed that a change was in the wind, that is except for
Nip. After the most excellent day of his life, so far, he had a very hard time relaxing
and sleeping. He had been up most of the night with pangs of worry over his new
position one moment and exhilaration over his new prospects the next. Now that
he was to be the opener of the veil, he would have more responsibilities and
they were weighing heavily upon him already. He also wondered what would his very
own wagon from the Faery King and Queen be like and what would he wear to perform
his new job and how he would learn the task. So many thoughts so little sleep.
And so it
comes as no surprise that Nip watched with great interest as the slender
shadows of darkness streaked across the sky and landed in the forest to the
east. Mind you, he felt no alarm at the event, just interest. You see,
Hobgoblins are the most likely of the fae to have more interaction with the
humans, animals and spirits of the land. They also are the most grounded when
it comes to not being fooled or frightened. While all fae have "the
knowing" only Hobgoblins have the good sense that goes along with it.
A pixie,
brownie or sprite might have been caught unawares, a faery or sylph may have
reacted to the entities by taking flight, the troll or goblin may have attacked
but a young Hobgoblin such as Nip merely
observed, analyzed and kept an eye on the situation.
And besides,
Nip had better things to do than to call an alarm to something he hadn't figured
out yet. And so he started his indirect but purposeful route to the eastern
woods being careful not to be seen.
His first
sense of being close to whatever had streaked across the sky came when he
noticed the grass pressed down at the base of an old downed tree. The tree had
fallen into a cluster of boulders and was resting on its side. This tree looked as if it had been toppled
over for a long time judging from the lichen and moss growth, the moss was
growing on the wrong side of the tree. Only someone who spent their life in the
woods would have caught that error in camouflage.
Upon careful
examination, Nip could tell, that in fact, this was a ruse. Someone had gone to
a lot of trouble to disguise a new entry into the cluster of boulders. He
stayed back and watched and waited. The night's lack of sleep caught up with
him and much to his dismay he awoke to a tug on his tunic and looked up to see
the face of his sister.
"Get
down before they see you"."Who?", said his giggling sister. As
Nip grabbed her arm then he realized he must have been dreaming all along because
he was still by the campfire in the clearing. The fae were just beginning to
awaken to greet the day.
How could he
have been dreaming of the forest? It felt so very real. How could he have had a
dream like that, when he didn't even remember lying down to sleep? Scratching
his bald head, he stood up, stretched and looked toward the east where he had
seen the tree and had a feeling that it had not been a dream at all. He felt
that someone or something was watching him from the woods.
His Da
roused him from his mesmerized staring in the direction of the sunrise with his reminder to make
sure that they hurried along so that they would reach home before nightfall.
Too much work waiting at home to be dawdling and gawking.
And so the
Hobgoblin family headed towards their home in the woods far beyond the downed
tree and whatever had happened the night before.
I need a refresher; are you just posting this story or is it one of your own. I really like it.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! Another chapter in the charming tale of Nip the hobgoblin. Okay, was Nip merely dreaming or was it more than just a dream? I guess we'll have to wait to find out which I hope won't be too long of a wait.
ReplyDeleteOh Linda, this entire story is so charming. I love the way you weave a tale and cannot wait to know what truly happened the night before, for I fear it was not only a dream. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat part 2 ;o) Ok, was it a dream or not ??;o)) You can tell me ;o)
ReplyDelete