The goblin beneath the illusion of the Wise Man walked toward the precarious seat of his makeshift throne, the gnarled staff in his hand wobbling slightly as he steadied it on the carved stone ground. The illusion magic was itchy today—a prickling sensation that made him want to scratch his eyes, but scratching would ruin the effect.
Gotta hold still, he reminded himself. Wise men don't scratch.
Bespelled to resemble an ancient human, Peagle's job was to offer convoluted advice, oftentimes incorrect advice, to the runners. His partner Wooser, perched on top of his head, was grumbling to himself, squirming in discomfort.
"This is the worst," Wooser muttered softly. "Why does the King always pick me for the weird ones?" He adjusted his imaginary feathers with a grimace, trying to look as regal as a hat-bird could.
"She's noticed us," Peagle muttered under his breath, the gravelly tone not quite masking his anxiety. "Remember, keep it cryptic. No laughing, no goblin jokes."
"I'm the bird!" his partner hissed back. "All I do is cryptic! This is my thing."
Peagle sighed inwardly. He was not convinced.
The girl approached with a bit of a spring in her step, her shoes tapping softly on the stone path. She paused when he turned to sit on his 'throne', her eyes flicking over his illusion of the strange, hunched figure of the Wise Man and then to the bird hat atop his head. A faint smile tugged at her lips, but her expression remained polite.
"Excuse me, please, but… can you help me?"
Peagle straightened… or tried to, as much as his illusion allowed. He raised his staff theatrically, the carved head wobbling slightly in his grasp. "Oh, a young girl," he said, his tone ponderous.
On top of his head, Wooser made some comical catcalls, and it was all Peagle could do not to start laughing. The girl blushed adorably, a small smile tilting her lips upward.
This isn't the usual type of Runner, he thought to himself. This one actually seems… nice.
Peagle glanced down at the Dwarf, his brow raised. "And who is this?" he asked.
Of course, he already knew Hoggle. His presence in the Labyrinth was almost as common as the stones themselves. What was surprising was that Hoggle seemed to be helping the girl.
The girl looked down at Hoggle, stepping nearer to him and putting her hand on his shoulder. "My friend," she replied.
Peagle could see the look of utter shock on Hoggle's face. Dwarves were known to be on the grumpy side, but Hoggle had an extra dose of grumpy to him. Peagle didn't know a single dweller of the Labyrinth that would have named Hoggle their friend. But this girl did.
The girl chose her words carefully, asking the way to the castle.
"You want to get to the castle," Peagle mumbled, doing his best to appear addled.
Wooser leaned forward, a wealth of sarcasm in his tone. "How's that for brainpower, huh?"
Peagle watched as Hoggle stifled a laugh. "Be quiet!" he said as he rolled his eyes.
"Ah, nuts!" Wooser muttered.
The girl seemed torn between letting out a giggle and asking a question. Peagle decided to let her off the hook for the moment. "So, young woman… the way forward is sometimes the way back."
She appeared to be considering his words, her eyes going somewhat distant and thoughtful.
Then Wooser had to ruin it. "Ah, will you listen to this crap." Even Hoggle was rolling his eyes at this point, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
Just you wait, Hoggle… I'm gonna ask Kingy if he'll put you in the Wise Man costume next time… or maybe make you the bird hat…
He bantered a bit with Wooser, noting that Hoggle's patience was reaching its end point. "Quite often, young lady, it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact…"
"We are!" interjected Wooser.
Peagle glared upward. He heard the girl murmuring that she wasn't getting anywhere at the moment. The trouble was… Peagle wanted to help her, but it was against the rules.
Maybe if I pretend to fall asleep, she won't ask any more questions…
That seemed like a good plan. At least this way, he wouldn't be tempted to actually tell her which way to go.
Wooser knew what Peagle was up to, telling the girl "I think that's your lot. Please leave a contribution in the little box."
Peagle held out a donation box to the girl while still feigning sleep. It was supposed to be something of a lesson, that things can seem wise and yet be foolish. And sometimes, people paid for the privilege of being misled.
For a moment, the girl considered the bunch of trinkets she had attached to her waist. Inwardly, Peagle was surprised… Hoggle would never part with his trinkets, so the fact that the girl had them was extraordinary in itself. At Hoggle's protest, she passed over the trinkets, her eye catching on a ring around her finger.
Peagle didn't understand much about humans in general and girls in particular, but it seemed that this one had a measure of sadness in her eyes as she looked at the ring. He could see that the ring evoked memories, and not good ones, just by her demeanor. On the one hand, it meant something to her… but on the other, it was a source of grief.
Visibly steeling herself, she removed the ring. "Well, I guess I can spare this." With a sigh, she put the ring in the box, then turned away. Hoggle, who had watched the proceedings with incredulity, followed after her.
"You didn't have to give him that," he said plaintively. "He didn't tell you nothing."
As Peagle watched them move further into the Labyrinth, they kept up their illusion, only shedding them when it was clear that the girl wasn't doubling back. Wooser hopped down from his perch on Peagle's head.
"What the hell, Peagle? I've never heard such a load of crap in all the years we've been doing this!"
Peagle glared at Wooser as he shed the 'Wise Man' illusion. "You think this is easy, eh? Trying to think up advice that doesn't really take them anywhere?"
"I didn't say it was easy," replied Wooser. "But you can usually come up with something better than 'the way forward is the way back', or whatever the hell it was you were saying."
"I guess I was just… surprised," said Peagle. "She was nice, this one. I just didn't have the heart to steer her wrong."
"I get it… but it's our job," said Wooser. "We're supposed to confuse them."
"Look," Peagle retorted, "our job is to appear wise, not to actually help. And if you ask me, we nailed it."
Wooser's eyes narrowed at him. "So that's it… you wanted to help her."
"Didn't you?"
Wooser didn't have an answer for that.
They wandered through the hedge maze, almost aimlessly. Hoggle's mind was turning in a thousand different directions. He could bear it no longer, and finally asked the question that had been hovering on his lips for the last ten minutes.
"Why did you say that about me being your friend?"
"Because you are," she said softly.
As he thought about it, he realized that he didn't have any friends. And somehow he got the feeling that she didn't either, otherwise she would not have picked him as a friend. He felt an inexplicable sadness that's such a young, charming girl should have no one but a grumpy dwarf to call friend.
"Friend… I like that," he said quietly. "I ain't never been no one's friend before."
Before he could say anything further, he realized that they were moving to the section where Ludo was tied up. Right on cue, the rockcaller beast let out a blood curdling roar. Hoggle made a great show of being afraid, turning to run away in spite of Sarah's protests. He almost stopped in his tracks when she asked him if he was her friend or not.
More than you knows Sarah, he thought.
She had grabbed at his sleeve but he was too quick for her. "Hoggle is Hoggle's friend," he said as he dashed the other way. He quickly dodged into an opening nearby. He had thought she would follow him, but she didn't.
Yet another blood curdling roar sounded out across the Labyrinth. Had to admit, Ludo was doing his job. This was the first time the rockcaller was participating in a Run. He had been so excited. Hoggle waited for a few moments then cautiously peeked around the corner of the entryway. He just caught the last glimpse of Sarah going towards the sound. Curious, he followed.
Author's Notes:
You might recall from the beginning of this story that the ring Sarah gives the Wise Man is one that her mother gave her for Christmas, along with a bunch of other shallow presents. Sarah's sadness was a mix of not wanting to part with something from her mother, along with the realization that the gift had meant nothing in itself.
