The Hob's Bargain

earth is a real creature.”
    I shook my head. “I think he’s going to be there. It’s a little hard to hide a man with antlers and hooves. Someone is sure to notice him.”
    Tolleck laughed, but no one else did.
    â€œThe problem is belief,” said Kith. “People will do amazing things to ensure their survival. But the villagers cannot conceive of a creature powerful enough to destroy all the crops.”
    â€œI don’t really think a demonstration is in order,” I said dryly. “It’d be like one of the serfs approaching Lord Moresh and saying, ‘Excuse me, but I don’t think any of the rest of the serfs believe you have the power to cut off my head.’”
    â€œI’ll seek answers from the temple,” said Tolleck, rising to his feet. “Perhaps something will come to me. You were right to talk to me first. Give me a day or two to think about it before you do anything.”
    I rose when he did, and shook his hand. “Thank you.” I hope he knew I was thanking him for his support as well as for coming here.
    Tolleck started toward the door but stopped before he reached it. “You’d probably better let Merewich know about this. He’s been running the village longer than I’ve been alive. If anyone might have an idea about how to get them to… celebrate the earth, it would be Merewich.”

    I FOUND M EREWICH EATING COLD OATMEAL IN THE kitchen of his home. He was alone except for his wife, who rocked in the chair before the small kitchen fire.
    Creak back, creak forth, sigh. Creak back, creak forth, sigh. I was there for only a few minutes and it was enough to make me creak along with her.
    â€œTwo steps forward, one step back,” sighed Merewich after he’d heard me out. He sighed at the same time his wife did. “You’ve already talked to Tolleck?”
    â€œHmm.” I watched him eat the unappetizing gray stuff and noticed it was almost the same color as his skin. He needed a rest—perhaps Melly could send over one of the former serfs (whom she’d taken over like a hen with chicks). “I thought he might be the best one to decide if…well, if the ceremony might bring the wrath of the One God down upon our village.”
    â€œ Gods ,” exclaimed Merewich blasphemously. “I wouldn’t have thought about that, but I suppose if I can believe in hobs and earth spirits, I’d better worry about the One God, too.”
    He quit eating and rubbed his face briefly with his hands. “Right. I’ll speak with Tolleck. Perhaps you’d better go talk to Wandel. Tell him he needs to come up with some songs of praise, hmm?”

    I FOUND W ANDEL TRAINING IN THE SMALL ENCLOSURE behind the inn. I recognized some of the drills Koret was using for the patrol, but Wandel did them much faster than any of us. He saw me when I came through the stable door, but he finished his pattern before he acknowledged me. It was a long pattern, and it gave me a chance to study him.>
    What manner of man was he? Had he ever been the man I thought I knew—a musician with a talent for storytelling who could charm honey from the bees? Had he only been the king’s assassin and spy?
    His concentration was so intense I could almost touch it. I could see it. Like the ghosts in the woods, it looked like a foggy mist, but it clung to Wandel’s body, moving as he did. The ghosts had glowed, but Wandel’s spirit shimmered with fire and passion.
    â€œPeople,” the hob had told me last night on our way home, “have body, soul, and spirit. The soul is immortal, the body is not, but the spirit can be either.”
    Seeing Wandel’s spirit didn’t tell me anything about him I didn’t already know.
    â€œAren,” said the harper, wiping the sweat off his forehead with one arm.
    â€œMerewich sent me to you.” As soon as I tried to clear my sight, Wandel’s spirit faded from view. Apparently I had better control over this new facet of magic than I had over my visions.
    The harper listened to my story from beginning to end. A smile of awe grew on his face as I wound to a close.
    â€œThe Green Man,” he said softly. “Who’d have thought—but I suppose we have legends popping up all over. Why not the Green Man? I know a number of songs already, but I can come up with a new one or two.”
    I liked Wandel. He was the only other person in the