The Hob's Bargain

live. Hobs are tied most tightly to the soul. Spirit”—he hesitated—“spirit ties your body and soul together. It’s where magic abides and it can take on aspects of both your soul and your body. That’s why Touched Banar’s ghost looked like his mortal body. It’s why it was frightened as his soul was before it went on.”
    â€œSo the soul and the spirit are immortal and the body is mortal.” I said.
    â€œWithout the soul and body, the spirit usually dissipates after a while. If it doesn’t you get ghosts.”
    â€œSo I’m supposed to call a wandering spirit for a chat.” Hello, I’m Aren and you’re dead. Didn’t sound like fun to me.
    He nodded. “A ghost is a human or animal who has died, but has chosen not to go on to the spirit realms. Calling someone who has already gone on is an act of evil.”
    â€œAnd it creates wraiths,” I speculated.
    â€œOne way to get them,” he agreed. “Sit down.”
    I leaned my back against the garden wall and sank to my rump. The solid stone against my back was cold and damp. I crossed my legs.
    He crouched in front of me, gripping his staff. “Now think about the dead. Just ghosts. Wisps of memory and being left here where they no longer belong.”
    â€œThey must feel frightened,” I said, thinking about it despite myself. Banar had been frightened.
    â€œ Frightened ,” it agreed, settling at my feet.
    â€œWho are you?” I asked. The hob hadn’t told me what to say to the ghosts when they came. I didn’t really want to interrogate it.
    â€œMercenary,” it said, the whispery voice a little stronger. Fighting the war. Our side was losing and the man who hired us dead. No money in it anymore. Captain said, ‘Got to turn raider, boys. Lots of lords dead, estates left undefended. Find one of them.’” As it spoke, the wisps seemed to gather together and solidify.
    One of the raiders. I didn’t think it was one I’d killed.
    â€œIt’s time to rest now,” I told him. I didn’t want to know what he’d do if he figured out I was one of the villagers.
    â€œRest?”
    â€œYou’ve done your duty, soldier,” said the hob. “Sleep.”
    The ghosted started when the hob spoke, as if it hadn’t noticed him there. Unlike the earth spirit, it didn’t seem to troubled by the hob.
    â€œTime to sleep,” he agreed, though he didn’t do anything but rest at my feet.
    I whispered, “Sleep.” I didn’t know why I whispered, but it worked. The ghost faded away.
    â€œThat one was brighter than Banar was,” I said softly when it was gone.
    â€œThe new ones glow almost as if they were still tied to a soul,” said the hob, though he was looking uneasily around the garden. “The old ones can be shadows so dark even I can’t see them unless they choose.”
    â€œMistake, mistake, the mountain’s slave made a mistake,” crowed a voice from the wall over my head.
    I knew that tone, though I didn’t recognize the boy who bounced down on the ground in front of me. “Hob made a mistake. Hob made a mistake.” The singsong was unmistakable. The earth spirit’s servant wore the shape of a boy younger than Caulem. This one I didn’t know.
    â€œQuiet, shaper,” said the hob, his attention still elsewhere. “Your place is on the other side of the river.”
    The shaper turned to me with a bright smile, “Hob forgets a lot. Forgets my master is here , too. Forgets some ghosts are not so weak. Forgets old places have their dangers.”
    â€œThe shaper’s right,” said the hob, his voice lifeless with failure. “Being around humans makes me arrogant. I came here because I knew there were recent dead wandering—bound to be, after a battle. Should have thought there might be older spirits here.”
    Defeat was something I almost couldn’t associate with the hob. Not even being left alone with only a mountain for company had given him such melancholy. Nor could I see any reason for it. I looked around suspiciously.
    â€œThere’s a graveyard just over the wall,” I offered, because what he’d said made me wonder if he knew. “Caefawn?”
    The hob bowed his head and didn’t answer.
    â€œShow yourself,” I commanded the air at large.
    â€œHere I am,” chortled the shaper.
    â€œBe