by J.A. Sprouls
Chapter 7
Wicket and Tally came back into the Captain's cabin with an armload of things that could be possible gifts to the Wind Hag. They began setting them down on the table. As they were doing this, Pill asked a question that had been bothering her for a long time.
"If there is a Wind Hag here and she controls the wind, then who was responsible for the wind storm that brought us here in the first place? I haven’t heard of a Wind Hag in the Gulf. If there had been one then wouldn't we have heard of her? For that matter, if there were Wind Hags elsewhere wouldn't we have heard of them too?"
Piteque looked at her like she was crazy but answered her anyway. "There are Wind Hags everywhere. There are different ones for different regions. Some are nicer than others. I've heard tell that some of the ones who live near the oceans can be very testy and can make a real doozy of a storm. See, the main problem you are gonna have is the Wind Hag here isn't gonna be pleased that some other Wind Hag's storm brought you to her region. You don't cross regions. That's a major no-no in the Wind Hag handbook. So she might not do anything outta respect for the handbook. Then again, she might be so mad at the other Hag that she will send you back just to show you she's not gonna stand for some other Hag entering her territory, even if it was just with a storm. Most other Wind Hags don't grant audiences with the humans. It's belittling to their rank and stature above the humans to deal with them. But this Wind Hag isn't so picky. She likes humans most of the time and they amuse her. She likes to be amused. So there are plenty of Wind Hags all around and they are all somehow related to each other. It's just some don't advertise themselves."
"Oh, so it was some other Wind Hag that sent us here. Maybe she didn't like the Wind Hag here and this was her way of getting even with her for something." Pill offered as way of explaining their presence.
"I suppose that could be the case. Most Wind Hags don't like humans so they send wind storms up just to irritate them. But they generally remain in their region and don't go into another's. So I'm not sure just why this happened." Piteque said.
"Okay, let's get back to the task at hand. Piteque, would you please take a look at the things Wicket and Tally brought up and see if any of them is good enough to be used as a gift to the Wind Hag." Pigtail tried to get the attention back to their plight.
Piteque went over to the table and started to look at everything. He grabbed a few coins and sniffed them. "What the heck are these?" He asked.
"They're coins, money. It's what we use to buy things with." Pill offered.
"Money, bah, the Wind Hag has no need for money. If she wants something she just takes it. These are useless. She might like the fact that they are shiny. I'll put them in the 'maybe' pile, okey dokey?" He grabbed a cannon ball but couldn't lift it, so he rolled it about the table looking interested.
"Why the heck did you two bring a cannon ball up here? I don't see how the Wind Hag would like it, unless she plans on throwing it at us for offering her something so lame. And since cannon balls are very heavy I would prefer not to have one thrown at me." Pigtail said in a harsh whisper.
Then Piteque grabbed the necklaces and was looking at them. One was made of shells, another of gold and jewels and the last one was an ornate cross. He seemed to really like the necklaces.
"What are these for?" He asked as he held them up to the light to study them better.
"They are necklaces; you put them around your neck and wear them. They are a type of ornamentation. Women wear them and it adds to their beauty." Wicket told him.
"Nice. Anything that can help her look better has to be a plus. Yes, you should take these to her but don't tell her they will add to her beauty. She might take that as an insult. Yep, I like these and so will she, I think." Pill wondered if he added that last bit just in case the Wind Hag didn't like them in the least bit. Piteque turned to Pill and put his hands on his hips and just stared at her. It was rather disconcerting. Finally she couldn't take it any longer and asked him, "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Where's my honey? You promised, I delivered, so where is it?"
"Hang on just a minute. You haven't told us when and where we are to meet the Wind Hag. I promised that you could have the honey when you told us all we needed to know. So fess up and tell me everything I need to know." Pigtail scowled at the little twig.
"Fine, but can I have another drop of honey so as to refresh my memory?" Piteque pleaded.
"Okay, one drop, but only one, not a drop more, got that Pill?"
"Yes, sir, just one drop, I promise." Pill took the jar of honey and dipped her finger into it again to get a drop out and then put the drop into Piteque's mouth.
He sat there smacking his lips and rubbing his tummy. "That's soooo good, may I have another?" He asked.
"No, I said one drop and one drop you got, no more." Pigtail was getting irritated with the Knarl and wished he would hurry up and tell him when and where the meeting would take place. He really wanted to get back to the Gulf.
"Fine and dandy," Piteque said in a huffy tone. "You're to come with me to the mesquite tree and I'm to take you down to the Wind Hag's chambers. That's to happen at sunset today. So you just sit back and wait until then. I'll come back and get you at sunset and I'll take you down to see her. Now give me the honey." Piteque demanded.
"I wouldn't give it to him if I was you. He might not come back and get you. It's no bark off his limb if you go see her or not so once he gets his honey he might just forget about you. And missing a meeting with the Wind Hag would be a very bad thing." Lark told Pigtail in a whisper. She didn't want Piteque getting mad at her too.
"Okay, we will all wait here until sunset and that includes you Piteque. You may have half of the honey now but you won't get the rest until you actually take us to the Wind Hag. This way I can be sure you're going to take us to the meeting." Pigtail added the last part just to show Piteque that he was on to his plan. This, of course, ticked Piteque off.
"You don't trust me. That cuts me to the quick. Here I am trying to help you and you go and think the worst of me. I think I might cry." Piteque was being overly dramatic and it was obvious he didn't really feel hurt. This was mainly due to the fact that he kept looking at Pigtail and giving him a sorrowful look and the quickly turning away and giggling.
"Wicket, Tally, I want you two to think of some way of getting us back to the Gulf, just in case the Wind Hag turns us down. We'll need a good quick way to get home, so think good and hard at how we can do it. And remember that the ship goes with us. Leaving it behind is not an option. It's worth too much money to leave behind, got it?"
Wicket and Tally drew themselves up to full their height and saluted the captain. They were both secretly thrilled with being given such an important job. That meant the captain didn't think they were screw-ups after all. They took off down below to get some paper and quills so they could start devising a plan. Pill and Lark went back out on deck to start playing and Pigtail and Piteque were arguing about the honey and breaking promises.
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