AN: I do a lot of fast-forwarding, mainly because the chapters are snapshots in my mind. This chapter, unlike the others, takes place very soon after the previous one. As I mentioned before, I'm not entirely happy with the last chapter, but this one seemed to turn out pretty well and I hope it makes up for any shortcomings in Chapter 4. This was fun to write!
PS: I'm not using titles for the chapters, but if I did, this one might be "Whatever Can Go Wrong, Will..." Those of you that have kids will understand all too well.
Troll markets reflected the setting in which they were hidden and always were situated under a bridge of some kind, either crafted by hands or formed naturally by the world itself. Nuada and Wink had been to troll markets in deep forests, where vendors and performers had set up their stalls in the trees and on swaying walkways stretching in between. They had visited one hidden in Death Valley, under a natural arch of stone, where the bazaar had been nestled among boulders, sand and scorpions.
This one, its entrance hidden in the basement of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, reflected San Francisco's eastern waterfront. The market itself was directly beneath the west end of the Bay Bridge. Since the tunnels which Nuada and Wink used to travel swiftly and unseen under the city ran underneath the Ferry Building, it was quite easy for them to make their way to the entrance to the troll market, then along the waterfront to the sealed door of the market itself. The chatter and bustle of human herds in their cherished trains was more than sufficient to camouflage any noise he or the troll might make. It was fully sufficient to mask any noise a battalion of metal-armored mountain trolls in a mating display might make.
"Are we there yet?" the girl asked in Troll, trotting to keep up with Wink's longer paces.
"No," he replied, slowing his walk a little to make it easier for her to keep up. When Nuada didn't slacken his stride, however, the troll reached out and picked up the girl, setting her in the crook of his mechanical arm. "No stealing from this place," he rumbled to her. "Goblins are far more attentive to their wares than humans."
Orchid nodded solemnly, clutching her satchel close to her. The gauntlet on her arm squeaked as she did; Wink had advised her to leave the hammer behind, but she had begged to be allowed to keep the arm. The bag itself appeared mostly empty, holding only a few bits of junk, the marbles and a few carrots. The girl crunched on one of the carrots as they went further into the tunnels leading to the troll market. A floppy canvas hat covered her head and drooped down to partially veil her face, its wide brim stained with whatever else had been in the dumpster with it. She kept pushing the brim back up irritably to see, but obeyed her instructions and kept it on. More rags had been pieced together to form a sort of cloak to hide the lines of her shape, the hem of it soaked up to her shins with the waste water of the sewer.
Nuada strode ahead of the two, his attention split between the conversation behind him and the surroundings all around them. The slime and water of the lower levels eventually dried away, silencing the faint spatter of their walking. His thoughts were on the human child, and the complications he and Wink were about to walk into. A human in a troll market would be more conspicuous than a lump of coal among pearls, and, Balor's peace not withstanding, few fey would react graciously to a human in their own territory. He had finally settled the matter of the gauntlet by reminding Wink that it would help the girl to blend in. They were in need of more supplies, but they could have left her behind as always.
Why had he granted the human's boon, he wondered to himself. Was he falling under some kind of spell, that he tolerated this skinny creature so much? Did Balor's own weakness begin this way, silent and subtle, with no indication that anything was different until he realized one day that such things he would have fought against violently in the past were strangely just... acceptable? Nuada's face was grim as he considered just how soft he was getting. Soft was the last thing the fey needed from him.
But accepting her oath of service, haltingly given with Wink's prompting, had settled some of the problems with which he wrestled. Time would tell him, he was certain, of what additional complications it spawned.
They stopped before the gigantic clockwork door, paired with a smaller circle inset with many dials and gears. Nuada stroked his fingers over the glyphs, calling to the purpose of each one with his magic. With a clicking whir that grew in intensity, the gears shifted and began to spin. He stepped back, looking up at the massive door as the mechanism clattered noisily, each toothed circle - the smallest one larger than Wink's head - scraping against its brothers as they turned in a slower copy of the lock's dance.
Wink set the girl down with a quiet reminder not to wander. She nodded obediently, but her eyes were huge as she looked at the wonders of the troll market. As crowded as any human market, the troll market's inhabitants were of every shape and color and size imaginable, from the brightly hued wee fey that fluttered overhead to the massive piatek that occasionally snapped at the flying sprites with its black beak. The murky, salty odor of the bay overlaid the complex tapestry of other odors of skin, beasts and different kinds of fairy food. A symphony of a thousand voices, ranging from trills and squawks to liquid melodies blended in a cacophony of trade.
The troll patted Orchid gently on the back to move her forward as they entered the market. The door ground and groaned as it slid shut behind them. The two fey glanced at each other, both wanting this trip to be over as soon as possible. "I'll go to the metalworks," Wink said, glancing briefly at the human that was slowly edging away from them. "Once I have what I need from there, I'll find you."
The prince nodded shortly. Splitting up and finishing their business quickly was their best chance of avoiding problems. It wasn't ideal, but Wink was better able to handle the girl's curiosity than he was. "Be careful," Nuada said to Wink, a single warning look down at the fascinated girl.
The troll followed the prince's eyes and reached out with a sigh to draw her back from a vendor and customer bartering viciously over an especially large and well-preserved karkinos shell. The manticore, the venomous tip of his brick-red tail spraying clear, foul liquid as it whipped back and forth, was furious with the vendor of rare spell components. His fanged, human mouth growled at the scaly catoblepas who wore a supercilious sneer on its canine face. The human stared at the two creatures, her mouth open in a small 'O' of rapture.
"Welcome, visitors..." came a musical, seductive voice. Both fey turned to see a large stone pool raised from the ground. Lounging on one end was an ethereal womanly shape, seemingly sculpted from living water, which gave the prince a coy smile as his attention was caught. The watery form rippled and assumed another shape, that of an equally ideal fey body. Her liquid hands beckoned to Nuada and Wink as she gave a watery purr, "You look like you've traveled a very long way. Come and rest for a while... I can refresh your minds and bodies for a very reasonable fee."
The prince shook his head, just as he'd done every time she'd propositioned him. There had been many fey maids, not just Elven ones, who had vied for a prince's attentions over the centuries. Nuada was curious about sporting with the water sprite, but not especially anxious to add that experience to his list of leman.
Fortunately, the siren's proposition was answered by another. A savage-looking abarimon pushed past the Elf, his face slack with befuddlement as he stumbled towards the pool. She swam away, writhing her body enticingly at the humanoid as he clambered over the side, his backwards-oriented feet scraping against the stone as he toppled headfirst into the water. The undine laughed with a sound like a gentle brook, then dove under the surface to enjoy her newest catch.
The abarimon might survive the experience, but Nuada doubted it. Not with the pool's other occupant lying on the other end. An eyeless maiden rested her cheek against the rim of the stone pool, only her shoulders and the tops of her pale breasts showing above the water. Flame-red hair trailed over her body, painting ribbons of scarlet in the water that waved gently as she turned her head. "Sweet, sweet child..." she whispered, "come to me, and we'll play."
The lamia's words were soft and gentle, but both the prince and his bodyguard knew better. Wink looked down to see Orchid moving dreamlike towards the pool as the low words caught the child's attention and held it in bindings of stone. The troll stopped her from answering the bewitching enchantment; accidentally bumping a nearby iron-shod redcap. "Not this time," Wink said, pulling her back. The girl didn't seem to hear his words; her eyes were fixed on the water demon.
The lamia's rich pink lips parted in a smile, revealing rows of narrow, razor-sharp teeth. She lifted herself up onto her hands on the edge of the pool, the wet tresses of her hair failing to fully cover her nude form. Her lower body was that of a serpent, the rose and gold scales starting as a sprinkling of shimmer along her breasts and turning into a more alien hide as one's eyes traveled down to her stomach. A pearlescent fin with metallic gold spines trailed down the back of the lamia's body to the tip of the tail that rose out of the water. The empty sockets were still fixed on Orchid. "Give me the child, great warrior," she coaxed, "and we can splash for as long as you wish."
"No," Wink repeated, drawing the girl back. Still, the child seemed unaware of him, which was no doubt part of the lamia's spell. The sooner he got her away from the lovely monster, the better.
"Please," she begged in a multilayered trill, holding out her arms beseechingly. "I'm so hungry... it smells so tender and sweet. You and the pretty Elf, then, and only a bite. A single bite of the child... please..." The redcap looked up at the lamia, then turned to view the trio with narrow, black eyes.
The two fey turned and walked away, ignoring the lamia's pleas. She called after them until they were nearly out of sight, then finally let out a piercing screech of frustration. The surface splashed as she dove into the water to share the siren's companion. The lamia bit savagely into the abarimon locked in the oblivion of the undine's embrace, and dark green blood squirted and curled at the bottom of the pool.
The screech startled the child and she blinked several times. "Wha... What was that?"
"A lamia," Wink told her. "She eats whoever she can catch, but she prefers children most of all."
Particularly human children, Nuada recalled. He glanced around to make sure nobody else had noticed the lamia's fixation. With the oversized hat and ragged cloak hiding most of her face and body, and her gauntlet displayed openly, Orchid could pass for a smaller troll species to a careless observer. A very careless observer. Nuada looked around once more, quite casually, but alert to anyone looking in their direction. He found none; the market seemed to bustle as normal, but a single thread of suspicion wound its way down his spine regardless. Something wasn't right.
"She was gonna eat me?!" Orchid squeaked.
"Come now," Nuada admonished his friend, a bit of dark humor playing along his deliberately light words. "The lady did say she only wanted a bite."
The girl edged closer to Wink, clinging to the troll's wide belt. She still tried to look around at everything at once, but her fascination with the troll market was now tinged with fear. Good. With any fortune at all, she would not have to learn caution the hard way. Nuada didn't envy his friend in the slightest as he took his leave.
Wink nudged the girl along, keeping his hoofed paces slow enough to let her take in the wonders of the fairy world. They passed by a large black buggane selling preserved skyfins, her tusks gleaming against the painfully bright red of her mouth. Orchid halted frequently to get a more careful look at a new wonder or other strangeness, and Wink patiently prodded her forward when the vendors or their wares were too dangerous.
Nearly to his goal, a huge metalworker's stall and shop set up next to a forge, Orchid gasped and tugged at Wink's hand. "Can I go see those, please?"
The troll looked; the vendor in question was a chickcharney, a rotund, ugly creature with both fur and feathers. However, chickcharneys were not especially dangerous, if one was polite to them, so he nodded. "Just a short look," he reminded her as she darted to the tables, following her more slowly. Arrayed on many-colored, glittering swaths of cloth were cages of all sizes, each one containing a fantastical creature. The chickcharney dealt in exotic pets and other black market acquisitions, though his dealings were of such common knowledge, the term "black market" was a very loose one indeed.
The fey looked up as the girl approached, a detached smile parting his rigid lips. "Greetings, little trollkin, what do you seek today?" he chirped in Troll, his lips clacking together as he formed his trills.
"Just looking, sir," she replied, peering into the cages. "Anything pretty?"
The chickcharney preened, his round face splitting in a much warmer smile. "Pretty and rare, my dear. Look at this lunabird here," he said, lifting the dark woven shawl that covered a triangular cage. A soft glow came from within and Orchid stared in wonder at the lovely bird inside, its white plumage shining like the moon itself. The vendor chirped again as he reached for another cover, "Or perhaps something more volatile is to your liking?" Another shawl was pulled away to reveal a different bird with two heads, its feathers in hues of ruby and garnet. Tiny false-sparkles of fire trailed from the edges of each one, drifting from its tail to vanish before touching the bottom of the cage. "This be a firebird, direct from Russia itself. I caught it with the aid of a rusalka who needed a bit of help enticing a domovoi into her river..."
The girl reached out to touch the bird and the chickcharney covered the cage quickly again. "Now, now, now," he warned. "No touching the merchandise without showing me something to barter. And no touching that until the deal is done; firebirds are touchy creatures and I won't have it losing its temper around my other wares."
A frown crossed the girl's face. She wanted to pet something, her eyes falling on a miniature cat with sinfully long, silky fur. The tiny beast blinked two pairs of eyes at her briefly before going back to grooming both tails with long swipes of its tongue. Orchid pulled out the bag of marbles and showed it to the chickcharney, "Can I buy the kitten with some of these?"
He took one of the marbles she offered to him and inspected it. The marble made a clicking sound as he tapped it against his beaklike lips, then shook his head. "I'll not trade a nekomata for these glass orbs, trollkin. Nope, nothing less than fairy steel or Elven silver for that little beastie, but if you're looking for small and adorable, I do have one of these..."
The chickcharney reached under the table and brought out a smaller cage. He lifted the veil proudly and Orchid bent down to see the occupant. It was a pale blue, spiderlike fairy with four legs and a pair of small arms. Small ragged wings on its back fanned the air rapidly. It raised one hand to shield its tiny eyes from the light and chittered. "What's that?" she asked.
"It's a tooth fairy," the vendor replied in a low voice. "I found a colony of them in Germany and they keep multiplying every year. Not exactly legal in the strictest sense, you know, and hard to transport, but I could find it in my hearts to trade you this little darling for a dozen of those glass balls, the red ones, that is. Would you like to pet it?"
Orchid's Troll wasn't quite good enough to decipher more than half of the chickcharney's twittering, but Wink understood everything. He caught the girl's hand as she was reaching out to touch the tooth fairy. The small mouth opened to reveal hard little teeth that gnashed at the sight of her fingertips. "Nice try, but she doesn't want it," he rumbled, scowling at the vendor. The chickcharney gave him a stiff smile and the tooth fairy's cage vanished back under the table.
"Can't blame someone for making an honest living," the vendor chirped.
The troll chuffed as he picked the girl up and set her back on his shoulder. "Be careful of everything around you," he said to her, "and the small things most of all. They're harder to see when they come after you."
"But it was cute," she said, twisting around to look longingly at the exotic pets as Wink walked away.
"Cute and hungry," he told her. "A breeding pair of those things could wipe out everyone in a city." And they had. Long ago, an arrogant bodach had lost a pair of tooth fairies that he was studying. In less than a week, not a living creature remained in that section of forest, except for the swarms of fairies that never ceased eating. Since then, it had become illegal for fey to transport such dangerous creatures from their natural colonies.
"Nothing here is safe, is it?" she asked sadly.
"Depends on what you mean by safe," he chuckled. "That nekomata is a harmless ball of hair, if you get them when they're young like that one."
"What're we getting here?" she asked as he stopped. Assorted clockworks, components and parts crafted from every metal imaginable were displayed on the broad, curved tables.
"Parts," he replied, inspecting the wares with an artisan's eye. "Replacement pieces for my arm and yours, a cleaning kit to replace the prince's old one..." the troll's voice trailed off as he noticed a particularly interesting find. Wink hailed the vendor, an orange-skinned goblin half his size, and pointed. "Let me see that."
The goblin fetched the box, its outside covered in gold scrollwork, but a tarnished patina stained the crevices and curls of the design with black. It had a large, squared base, and the box itself was half the size of the base, standing a troll's handspan high. The peaked lid opened silently on hinges and the entire pillar followed soon after, slowly fanning open to display small parts and fine tools, with enough variety in the parts to craft a dozen toys or, with some ingenuity, more dangerous items. The goblin gave Wink a friendly smile, "'Tis a good choice, sir, especially with a little one to train in metalworking. I have no other finer than this, so I'm afraid I can't part with this treasure for less than a hundredweight of Elven silver."
"It's a toy kit," Wink rumbled, "not a forest god."
"A forest god wouldn't be so amusing to your kids," the goblin retorted. "Every piece in that kit was handcrafted by the best goblin smiths and backed by me own personal guarantee. No matter what you make, or how roughly its treated, it'll always pull itself back together. There's a very specific order to undo your work for the pieces to cease fixing themselves."
The forge nearby hissed, a wave of almost painful heat shimmering out of its belly as another goblin opened the door to toss some small, dark stones into it. Wink shrugged, his tone bored, "Still, only toys," he reached into the thick, piatek-hide pouch on his belt and withdrew a rainbow-sheened clump of ore, arranged in cubic crystals. "This and a weight of good quartz."
The goblin scoffed harshly. "Forgive me, sir, but I think you've mistaken me for a brownie," he fanned open the many drawers of the kit to display their shining contents more prominently. "I'm certain you misheard me say goblin craftsmanship and personal guarantee. Won't be just toys you can make, but practically any clockwork you can imagine. Fiftyweight of Elven silver, and I'd be beggaring myself to let it go for that."
"For fiftyweight of Elven silver," Wink replied, "I expect a kit that magically refills its parts and does the crafting for me. Fiveweight of quartz, and some blue stones from the human world." He pulled out six pieces of turquoise and showed them to the vendor.
The goblin's eyes glittered with avarice just before he shuttered his expression. "Not shiny enough," he said dismissively, his beady eyes following Wink's hand as the stones went back into the pouch. "Truly, what cruelty do you hold for poor, defenseless goblins scratching out a living for their kin? I know this will serve you well, sir, and for your little one's sake there, I could let my own children go hungry and sell it to you for twen- no, thirtyweight of Elven silver."
"How can your children go hungry when goblins can eat things that even trolls won't touch?" Wink asked with a laugh. "The quartz, ore and stones, and threeweight of-"
"Why not trade the human on your shoulder?" came a rough shout from behind him.
Wink turned suddenly, the barter forgotten as the goblin hastily closed up the kit and moved it to safety. The crowd of market patrons was slowly moving back like a retreating tide to frame a trio of fey. The one in the center was a redcap, baleful black eyes glaring at Wink with a bucktoothed scowl. His feet were encased in iron boots and several iron spears bristled from his back. Next to him was a spindly, vaguely elastic ootragh almost as tall as the troll was, the yellow skin sickly and leprous-looking. Behind them crouched a malicious velgen, its six hands flexing knifelike black talons. The dark brown membranes on either side of its head fluttered as it buzzed harshly. The troll kept a careful eye on that one.
"We're just here to do some shopping," Wink said carefully, reaching up with his good hand to steady Orchid in place. "I'm not looking for trouble."
The redcap snarled, "No, you brought it with you." He yanked out one of his spears, pointing it at the girl on Wink's shoulder, "Give it up and you can keep shopping, cave troll. We'll play with it for a while then let the lamia have her turn."
"No," Wink growled. "She's no threat to anyone here. Leave us alone."
The smaller goblinoid stalked forward, hissing poisonously, "Any human is a threat, and so is anything connected with them. My own mate was crushed under the wheels of a human car; my children died before they were even birthed. That thing," he spat, stabbing the spear in her direction, "is the enemy, and you brought it among us!"
Wink's massive shoulders shuddered a little. "I have my own sorrows," he replied, "but harming a child will not erase them."
"Maybe not for you," the ootragh slurred. "Your heart turned to stone when you swore it to the prince; but the rest of us still feel, and we thirst for revenge." He wavered slightly in place, like a strand of seaweed on a slow current. The velgen buzzed angrily, its atonal language difficult to understand, though the continued flexing of its claws was relatively clear.
"More to the point," the redcap lunged for the opening the ootragh had provided, turning to the crowd around them. "What is Nuada doing in the company of a human, even a small one? Did he not lead the campaigns against the humans, and soak their fields with blood?" Wink glanced around quickly to see several faces were hostile and several more were nodding with the redcap's accusations. "What hope have we, if he has turned into a human lover like the king?"
The restless muttering of the crowd gave Wink a bad feeling. He turned his face a little to whisper to Orchid, "Be ready to slide down my back and hide." She nodded, her face nearly white as the malice of the redcap and his companions filled in the gaps left by her imperfect grasp of Troll. He raised his head, addressing the redcap in a voice that carried across the crowd as well. "You are fortunate that I'm hearing your treacherous words, not your prince," Wink said almost mildly, his metal fingers flexing like the velgen's claws.
"He's not my prince," the redcap sneered. "A true prince would not have abandoned us to the humans!" Louder mutterings from the crowd; one nguruvilu barked its support of the mutinous accusations. "Nuada has taken a human pet for his own and betrayed us!" the redcap shouted.
Wink rolled his shoulders, feeling his muscles tighten for battle. Orchid slid down his back, dropping to the ground and ducking under the goblin's table. "Say that again," he growled, his massive mechanical arm coming up to crush the redcap's skull-like face.
"You follow a traitor," the redcap said, giving the troll a toothed grin full of malice. "Which makes you one too."
With a roar of fury, Wink charged into the trio. The crowd scattered and recoiled, but his intent was on the three. The velgen tried to dodge, but the back of Wink's mechanical hand hit it with a crunching sound and it sailed up and over the heads of the crowd. The ootragh flowed out of the way of the redcap, who'd drawn a second iron spear and hurled them both at the troll. One bounced off the hard leather armor Wink wore, while the other buried itself deeply into the troll's shoulder. The pain didn't register in the slightest as Wink brought his metal hand back down in a hammer-swing.
The red goblin crouched and rolled sideways, barely avoiding the fist that made a small, crack-rimmed crater in the ground. He leaped up while Wink was bent over, coming down with another spear onto the troll's bristled back. He stabbed it downwards again and again, opening up several bleeding wounds before Wink snatched the goblinoid off his back. The troll slammed the goblin down onto the ground, the iron shoes clanging as the redcap impacted.
Behind Wink, the velgen boiled out from the shattered market stalls, the membranes buzzing furiously as it skittered, using its six arms and four legs to move like an impossibly fast spider. Wink's grip on the redcap loosed when the velgen sliced those claws over his shoulders and neck, sending sheets of dark blue blood down the troll's body. Wink grunted, only a bare acknowledgement of the pain, and twisted around to bat the velgen off his back. In his distraction, however, the redcap was able to wriggle free. He drew another of his iron spears and jabbed it down into Wink's foot, just above the hoof, and wrenched it viciously sideways. The troll bellowed, firing the metal fist at the redcap and knocking the goblinoid back to the ground.
Orchid slapped the goblin metalworker's leg from under the table, yanking his attention down. She pulled off her hat, looking up at the goblin with a pleading expression, "Help him!" she cried.
The vendor's face turned a light peach color from shock. He looked about furtively, then dropped down in a crouch to speak to her. "Human," he whispered, "You should stay still and make no sound."
"He's my friend," the girl said, "Please!"
The goblin shushed her quickly, sneaking another glance around before bending his head to her again. "I don't know why the prince's guard is protecting you, but it'll go easier for him if he doesn't have to worry about your safety. Be quiet," he advised her, reaching up to push his wares forward on the table. The weight dragged the display cloth forward as well, lowering it across the front of his table like a curtain. "And put your hat back on," he whispered, standing quickly and moving away.
The velgen and redcap double-teamed Wink mercilessly, each one using their superior speed and agility to distract or confound the troll while the other opened up yet another slash in the troll's blue-gray skin. Wink's many practices with Nuada had acclimated him to faster opponents, and he took the wounds without complaint, watching the other fey fall into a pattern of attack, a pattern he could anticipate with a metal fist.
A brutal punch sent the velgen flying again, this time towards the forge. Its buzz turned into a high-pitched screech as its clammy skin sizzled against the hot metal. It dropped down behind the smithy and didn't rush back in again.
The redcap threw another spear, staying out of the range of Wink's immediate grasp. It clanged harshly off the troll's metal arm as Wink batted it away. The redcap drew another spear - the last one - and readied itself to attack.
Long, rubbery tendrils lashed out and wrapped around Wink's legs and arms, and he glanced back to see the ootragh where it had fled when the fight had first begun. The elastic limbs stretched out towards him, boneless fingers and arms and tentacle-like legs, to hinder the great troll's movement. Its soft, formless face was contorted in something that might have been hate. "Do it now," the ootragh slurred, "I cannot hold him long." The redcap gave a shrill, evil laugh and charged for the troll. Wink pulled mightily at the tendrils, but they banded around his arms and hands, not strong enough to hold him immobile, but enough to throw off his reactions.
Orchid shrieked, "No!" and scrambled out from under the table. She drew back her gauntlet, not stopping in her rush as she punched the ootragh's soft body, the fist sinking in like she was hitting a pillow. The creature made a sibilant sound and retracted one of its tendrils, freeing one of Wink's legs. The ootragh whipped it around her legs and yanked her off her feet. Orchid twisted on the ground, reaching to dig her metal fingers into the dirt and pull herself closer to the ootragh. There was a faint look of alarm in its black, pitted eyes as she struggled to get back into the fight. "Leave him alone!" she screamed at it, hurling herself at it again.
The girl grabbed for one of the tendrils that still bound Wink, throwing herself forward to bite the tentacle. Cold flesh like slimy rubber parted between her teeth, squirting a fluid that tasted faintly of fish and soap into her mouth. The ootragh shrilled in pain and she punched at its rubbery form again. Another tendril released Wink's mechanical arm, retracting to wrap itself around her arms and chest. The ootragh's strength was no match for a cave troll, but more than enough for a young human as the tendril wrapped around Orchid and squeezed roughly, driving the breath from her body.
Wink, his arm freed, met the redcap's charge with a mighty roar and a single blow of that hand, knocking the goblin back again. Behind the redcap, the velgen was beginning to stir. With an angry buzz, it crawled out from behind the smithy.
Wink turned to see the ootragh and gave a savage growl. He kicked his still-bound leg away from the ootragh, jerking the stretchy fey off-balance. Surprise loosened the ootragh's coils, and Orchid managed to yank her right arm free. She lifted the gauntlet in a mirror of Wink and brought the metal fist down as hard as she could on the ootragh's head. A shudder ran through the tendrils and the creature went limp. The girl fought to breathe, her eyes widening at the velgen, "Wink!" she gasped out a warning.
The troll swung back around, catching the velgen as it leaped onto him. The black claws drew shallow slashes across his skin and Wink squeezed the velgen, hearing chitin and bone crack under his fingers. The spidery creature screeched again, its triangular head whipping from side to side. The redcap got to his feet, looking at the situation before him. The rictus mouth stretched in a victory smile and he turned to pull an unfinished red-hot sword from the forge. Wink's eyes narrowed at the goblinoid and he bellowed a challenge to him. The redcap saluted him mockingly, then charged.
But not at Wink.
The redcap brought the sword up to his shoulder in a two-handed grip, his black eyes aflame with hate, and lunged for Orchid, still entangled in the limbs of the unconscious ootragh.
Wink dropped the velgen and whipped his body around, lashing out with his right arm. The velgen, partially broken, surged back up, its long talons aimed to stab deeply into Wink's throat. A flash of white moved within the crowd. The metal fist closed over the redcap's head and the fingers tightened convulsively. The goblin's skull collapsed with a thick pop, sending dribbles of blue-green brain matter squirting from between the troll's fingers. The sword fell from its dead hand to sizzle against the earth.
The velgen's buzz dropped to a low whine, the talons going slack. Wink turned his attention back to it, and they both looked down to see a lethal spear of Elven silver running through its body from left hip to right shoulder. The membranes on its head fluttered weakly once, then the velgen collapsed.
Nuada let its body fall, setting one foot on the head to draw his spear free of the corpse.
A ghastly silence had fallen over the market. Every fey stared at the two corpses, velgen and redcap. Wink opened his hand and let the dead goblinoid fall to the ground. His chest heaved with exertion and the first sensations of pain, and he pulled at the ootragh's tendrils, peeling them off his body.
"To attack my vassals is to attack me," Nuada said, his commanding voice ringing out in the silence. His eyes blazed with fury as he turned onto the crowd. "Do any of you dare to continue such treachery?"
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Nuada turned his attention to Wink, his enraged eyes hardening at the many wounds on his friend. "Can you walk out of here?" he asked the troll quietly.
Wink nodded slightly. The shallow cuts were beginning to draw closed, but the deeper wounds on his back and neck would take longer to seal themselves up. He discarded the tendrils, then shook the redcap's gore from his hand.
"Then go at your own pace, my friend," the prince told him. "Let me be the one to guard your back."
The prince spared a sideways glance at Orchid, the girl struggling to free herself from the ootragh. She finally dragged herself out of the loops and stood unsteadily, her hat forgotten on the ground behind her.
An angry muttering rippled through the crowd. It quelled as Nuada turned his fierce glare back onto the spectators. The girl ran to Wink's side, tucking herself under his good arm, as if to help support the much-heavier troll. He cupped that hand around her shoulder, leaving a smear of troll and goblinoid blood on her clothes. Taking a breath to steady himself, Wink trudged slowly towards the entrance back to the human world, the crowd parting before him.
Nuada followed, outwardly composed, but inwardly alert to another attack. He had heard Wink's roaring, and that sound had brought him racing from across the market to find his friend beset. The prince gauged the reaction of the crowd, and the situation of the fight itself. The muttering of the crowd disturbed him, not because of the possibility of more assassins, but because the additional complications of accepting a human into service had just emerged.