The Bog Witch

Tall Witch had little time for rest after retrieving The Horned Witch. Soon she found herself flying to the bog for the next witch. Now this place stunk. Really stunk. It stunk of decayed flesh, rotting vegetation, and who knew what else. There was little solid ground to land in without one becoming covered in the muck. Tall Witch cursed her luck as she went knee deep in the slimy gunk. She had to be careful though. Even a witch such as herself could drown in the stuff. How the Bog Witch lived her she never could figure out. Cursing under her breath she trudged on in the muck being careful of her footing. The Bog Witch was known to cast spells which fooled uninvited guests which included everyone. What seemed like a shallow pool of water could be deep and mixed with sludge that could very well suck you down if you struggled. 'That was how many people drowned that came here foolishly.' She thought to herself.

Tall Witch found The Bog Witch sitting upon a slime covered rock smiling at her. The Bog witch was a mottled green with sickly yellow eyes. Her clothing was moldy green and had algae covering most of it. Her teeth were black and rotting and open festering sores covered her sickly green body. Her fingernails were long and sharp and black with rot. The Bog Witch didn't seem to have hair on her head and if she ever did it was long gone now. The stench coming off her was horrible indeed.

"I see you made your way here alive sister. How can I be of service to you?" she rasped in a voice that sounded like gravel. That smile never left her face. Tall Witch explained her reason for visiting. The Bog Witch grinned even wider exposing more of those rotten teeth of hers.

"Come closer sister. I fear in my old age I don't hear as well as I use to. Come closer and tell me what our dear, dear, sister Muriel has to say." The Bog Witch implored. Tall Witch sighed and took one step forward. But Muriel was insistent on getting The Bog Witch to come join her. As she stepped forward she found herself submerged under the muck struggling to get free. For some reason the more she struggled the more she was pulled under. When she decided to stop thinking that it would ease her escape she found it was still trying to pull her under. Tall Witch's lungs screamed for air but she dared not open her mouth. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity she was free. As she cleared her eyes she found The Bog Witch laughing her ass off at her.

"Come now sister. Do not be angry. One does not receive visitors much as one would like out here. I meant no harm." The Bog Witch lied. It took considerable power not to kill The Bog Witch and drown her in her own muck right then and there. Tall Witch was one of Muriel's closest "friends" and would not take kindly to Tall Witch being killed. The only reason being is that if Tall Witch were killed then Muriel would have to do everything herself. Plus Witches were a rare breed. That was why Muriel had a fit when one died. It wasn't easy finding a willing person to denounce humanity and pledge to be a witch. Even those who did agree didn't always become witches. They were used as spies and assistants; nothing more. And one they fulfilled their usefulness…

The Bog Witch hopped upon her broom and took off still chuckling at Tall Witch's "accident." In all honesty she had wished she could kill Tall Witch. She had a most coveted position as Muriel's right hand. But killing a fellow sister was punishable by death. Under NO circumstances was a sister to kill another sister unless given direct orders from Muriel herself.

Cursing under her breath at her luck she followed behind The Bog Witch. She loathed her sister even though her sister had interesting spells to say the least. Bog Witch's spells were infecting spells. They could cause open wounds to become infected to the point the skin fell off to the bone. Nasty stuff. Not a pleasant way to die you can be sure of. And the infection spells acted very slowly. Painfully.

Bog Witch and Tall Witch made it to Muriel's clearing and The Bog Witch greeted her respectfully and then turned to greet The Horned Witch. Although she preferred not to associate with the other woman, Muriel's rule was that each sister will be shown the same respect as Muriel herself unless told otherwise. They could not afford to waste time in petty arguments over territories, real or imagined offenses and the like. And Muriel's rule was absolute. Tall Witch sat down to relax hoping that she would be granted at least a little rest before heading out once again to gather yet another witch. Tall Witch gazed lazily at the three other witches who were having a friendly competition using spells on some mortals that had foolishly wandered too close to the clearing. By the time they were done the humans were not even recognizable as humans anymore. They looked more or less like some sort of paste that had been smeared into the ground and neighboring trees.

Tall Witch was woken from her doze by Muriel herself to fetch yet another witch. The belligerent Bridge Witch whose intelligence rivaled that of a rotting piece of fruit. The Bridge Witch was nasty and quite aggressive and absolutely DID NOT TOLORATE VISITORS AT ANY TIME! So dealing with her would be risky. Bridge Witch was known to kill those whom she detested which was everything other than herself. Speaking to her would be no easy task as well. And Muriel had given her no offering to give to the Bridge Witch to incite her to join the others.

Tall Witch neared the Bridge Witch's territory and called the woman out by name. As soon as she dismounted she felt something slam into her back paralyzing her. She felt a heavy foot slam on her back and a bellowing voice say: "Who the hell are you? What brings you to Bridge Witch's territory!"