'No, no. Certainly not.'
Newt curled up on the spot and rested his head on my leg. 'Jealous. The entire notion is absurd. Although I don't see what you could possibly want with a troll when you've already been blessed with an accomplished familiar.'
He fell asleep, but I wasn't tired. The fire died, and I sat in the cool dark with Newt snuggled beside me and my new troll dozing across from me.
5
I'd helped a forest and gained a troll. Small deeds, but not bad for my first day as my own witch. The world, what little I had seen of it, was not so frightening a place, and when the dawn finally came, I found myself looking forward to the second.
Gwurm didn't speak much, but I'd never actually had someone to talk to before. I'd always been Ghastly Edna's listener. Now that I finally had a listener of my own, I discovered I had much to say. It didn't take long to tell him the details of my life. I spoke of Nasty Larry's curse, my parents' cellar, my schooling with Ghastly Edna, and her murder at the hands of men who had not been men. The tale spilled from my lips in a steady flow, and though I sensed a lack of interest on Gwurm's part, he was a polite listener.
The troll plucked off his ear and cleaned out some wax. 'If I understand correctly, you're ageless, practically invulnerable, and forever beautiful. But you must eat raw meat and don't like the sun.' He blew in the ear and dug some crust from the lobe. 'I don't mean to belittle your situation, but it doesn't seem like much of a curse.'
'I don't want to be beautiful.'
'And I don't want to be reviled and feared.'
Newt chimed in. 'And I'd rather not have been a duck.'
'Exactly. We are all given lots we would rather not have. Not that I'm complaining. There are many things I like about being a troll.'
'There's nothing good about being a duck.'
'It must be nice to fly.'
Newt grumbled. 'I can't fly.'
'Oh. Swimming?'
'I don't like deep water.'
'Sorry to hear that.' The troll plugged the ear back in place. 'In any case, none of us are true masters of our fate. Not the beginning of it anyway, and it seems to me that I was born under a worse curse than you.'
'Perhaps,' I agreed.
Not long after coming under Ghastly Edna's charge, I'd made the same observation. My mistress had quickly corrected me on that.
'Always remember, girl, that magic is aware. All things are in some fashion. Even those things we cannot touch like the wind, and the seasons, and gravity. But nothing is quite as aware as the magic. It plays with wizards and witches and magi, and make no mistake. It is we who serve the magic, not the other way around. And it will brook no disrespect. Always remember that your curse, while not terrible,
I couldn't claim to understand exactly what she'd meant by this, but I heeded the advice. I did not despise my curse, but I never considered it a blessing.
'Are you certain this road is the way to your destiny?' Gwurm asked.
'Your destiny is always wherever you go,' I replied. 'Usually a day or two ahead of you,' I added because it seemed a witchly turn of phrase.
He shrugged. 'If we keep going this way, we'll reach a settlement of men by late afternoon. Pik and I didn't go near it. It's a garrison town.'
A nagging desire to see this town came to me. We are all separated from everything else by mere dollops of space and teaspoons of happenstance. This town was but a day-and-a-half journey from my woods, but I hadn't ever considered it might be.
Ghastly Edna had described several towns for she had been to many, though all long before I'd known her. They seemed fantastic places full of the virtues and blunders of men. I knew the ways of nature and magic well, but I really understood nothing of civilization. It was terrifying, in a way I was unaccustomed, to not know what to expect, but exciting as well. It could be easy, even for witches, to become too comfortable with their place in the world. But being a good witch meant exploring not just the realms of magic, but of strange civilization.
Whether it was witchliness or simple curiosity that spurred me onward, I couldn't clearly say. But there was no denying my anticipation, though I hid it from my companions. I wanted to see this town. More importantly, I needed to see it.
It proved a disappointment. It was not a town, but rather a town-to-be. The half-finished fort sat in a grassy plain. A host of tents and temporary dwellings encircled it. A great many people milled about. They set off a touch of fear in me. Though I knew that there were real towns and cities where thousands upon thousands lived, this was the most I'd ever seen. I wanted to slink away and return under cover of dark ness, perhaps to steal a dog or a plump child for my supper.
'Oh, dear,' I remarked.
'What?' Newt asked.
'I have an appetite for human flesh.'
'And you're just discovering this now?'
I had spent much my life in isolation, but I'd never wanted to eat any of the people I'd met yet. There was something about this settlement and all its people. They triggered a long dormant predator in me, a desire to thin the herd.
'That certainly is a curse,' Gwurm said. 'Humans taste awful. I've only eaten one. Just a leg. I couldn't even finish it. Poor meat. Stringy and very dry. Then again, that might have just been my mother's fault. She never was a very good cook.'
I was not very hungry, and my unholy appetite was easy to push away. I decided to keep myself well fed while among people to minimize the temptation.
'Is this going to be a problem?' Newt said.
'I haven't killed anyone yet,' I replied.
Newt sighed. 'I told you. That last one was an accident.'
Before venturing any closer, I extracted a promise from my familiar that there would be no further accidents. While I was not as confident about it as I would have liked, I took him at his word. In any case, he wasn't going to get better without practice, and I could think of no better place for him to get some. It also was a good way to test the strength of my own newly discovered hunger.
Just before we reached the fort, two men came out to greet us. One was fat and sweaty. He looked a poor meal. I'd never eaten anyone, but an instinct told me he'd be all chewing and very little worthwhile meat. The second was thin and even sweatier. He was more of a midday snack. Neither tempted me much. Though they were shirtless and out of uniform, their rigid posture and exact way of walking put me in the mind of military men.
Neither seemed surprised or intimidated by Gwurm. Perhaps trolls were common in the region. Or perhaps these men just didn't care.
The fat man held up a hand. 'Halt! What's your business here?'
Newt ruffled. I stamped my broom to remind him of his promise.
'I have no business. I only wish to have a look around.'
'You're not a prostitute, are you?'
I shook my head slowly.
'Are you sure?' The thin one wiped his face. 'Because we've already got too many prostitutes as it is. Two for every man here.'
'Yes,' the fat man said. 'And the captain has said we aren't to allow any more. Strains the local economy, such as it is.'
'Leaves us broke too.'
'So don't bother lying about it, because this market is saturated, and I sincerely doubt you'd be able to earn a
