"No, we can't do it. And before you ask why, it's because we're a White Circle. Using part of soone 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 so 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 about the other ways then."
Titania considered her next words carefully. "Do you know what a hag is?"
Suzette snorted. "Yes. It's soone 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 ti, 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 so 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 ti. 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 slls like at and would be a good provider. Jenny has to eat ten pounds of raw at 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 won the bottle. "Can you do 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 ti. Georges needs 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 experinting."
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 t the other day. My na is Benjamin. Would miss Jenny be around perchance?" The girl looked him up and down, licked her lips, and then smiled at him. "Sure, co on in and sit for a while. I'll fetch Jenny, she was down by the river catching so carp for dinner."
By 'fetch', the young hag ant 'yell out the window'. "Hey, Fish breath! So handso fellow here to see you. Best co 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 ti 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 mber 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 so 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, na 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 ?!"
The old woman waved him to stay seated. "Just the bad ones. Not the good ones. You have nightmares so bad they make 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 at and drink to my kind. Let have you nightmares and I'll take them as paynt."
Ben had been tornted 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 co 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 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 so 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 sothing."
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