Chapter 6: Hag Head
The mist swirled about the companions teasingly, as they made their way through Boggy Marsh. The stagnant pools of brown water they passed plopped occasionally and gave off a nasty smell of rotten dead things.
Mody wove her way around the pools of muck that were a constant feature of the marsh. Carefully avoiding soft patches and sucky mud, Paddy, Seamus and Mr. Elf followed cautiously, not altogether trusting their colorful guide.
Seamus suddenly stopped. “Do you hear that, Paddy?” he asked, quietly.
“I don’t hear anything,” Paddy said, grumpily, also stopping.
“That’s my point exactly,” Seamus replied, looking about nervously. “Ever since we came into Boggy Marsh, we have heard lots of strange noises. Now everything is quiet and still.”
“Seamus has something there,” Mr. Elf whispered, from behind. “I too just noticed everything has gone quiet.”
Mody trotted back to them. “Why have you stopped?” she asked.
“There’s no noise,” Seamus said. “No sounds at all.”
Mr. Elf looked hard at Paddy and Seamus, a worried frown creasing his angular face. “Your swords aren’t glowing and we can still see Mody, so we should be safe enough. Still, it does seem strange.”
“There are quiet places and quiet times here in the marsh,” Mody said, quietly. “I never really thought about it before, but now you’ve pointed it out, it does seem odd.”
“Probably no stranger than anything else about this miserable place,” the Aelf replied, shaking his head. “Well, let’s keep going, shall we? I don’t see any point in wasting time here.”
Mody led them into the mist once more, following a path only she seemed to be able to see. Minutes passed, as they walked on through the silence, each of them carefully scanning the mist for any signs of danger.
After the constant noise, which they had grown used to, the new total silence seemed sinister and frightening.
Suddenly, the mists cleared and the companions found themselves looking at a small house made from white stones. The house had a tiled roof, a single door and a single window. A light plume of white, wispy smoke drifted lazily out of a small chimney and blended into the mist, which was still visible above the house.
Standing near the door of the house was the ugliest old woman any of the companions had ever seen.
“Oh my!” Mody exclaimed.
“By The She, but that is the foulest thing I have ever seen,” Seamus breathed.
“Ugh,” Paddy added.
Mr. Elf turned and spoke sharply to Mody. “Is this another of your tricks, bird? So help me if it is, I’ll …,”
The old woman gave a loud cackling laugh that sent shivers down the spines of the companions. Still cackling, the old woman took a couple of shuffling steps forward, aided by a blackened stick she used to help her walk. Her dirty, moss colored robes shimmered and shifted, as though they were a living part of her.
The face that peered at them, from under a shock of straggly grey hair, was a sickly green color. Her eyes squinted, as she looked over each of the companions. A wrinkled and ancient hand, that looked like it could have been made of green wood, reached out of the sleeve of her robes to rub thoughtfully at her long pointed nose.
“Hmmm, Aelf, Leprechauns … and what have we here?” she said, in a dry raspy voice, while staring intently at Mody. An evil smile crossed the ugly creature’s face, and the companions saw she had a mouth full of sharp brown teeth.
“What do we do?” Paddy asked, not taking his eyes off the ugly old woman.
“Run!” Mr. Elf shouted.
Paddy, Seamus and Mody did just that. Almost as one, they turned and bolted, as fast as they could, back into the mist.
Mr. Elf had the bow off his back in a flash and loosed an arrow straight at the ugly old woman. Without waiting to see what happened, the Aelf turned and ran into the mist after his friends.
Mr. Elf caught up with the others quickly and took the lead in their flight through the mist. As a group, they burst through the mist into a clear area and then skidded to a stop. Paddy, Seamus and Mody slid straight into Mr. Elf’s legs, knocking him to the ground.
Right in front of them was the house and the ugly old woman. The ugly creature let forth a loud cackling laugh. She seemed truly amused at the sight of the companions sprawled on the ground in front of her.
“Now then …,” she said, in her raspy voice.
“Aghh!” Paddy shouted.
“Quick, back into the mist!” the Aelf yelled, as he untangled himself from the others.
Shooing the others in front of him, Mr. Elf guided them hurriedly back into the mist.
“How did she do that?” Seamus asked, between panting breaths.
“Magic, obviously,” Mr. Elf said, in a grim voice. “Keep moving, but don’t run this time. Let’s see if we can sneak out of this.”
“I didn’t feel anything,” Paddy said, shakily. “Normally when magic is used we can feel it.”
“There are many different types of magic,” Mr. Elf replied, quietly. “You Leprechauns can only feel the types of magic you are attuned to. This woman must be very powerful indeed.”
“What is she?” asked a frightened Mody.
“I was hoping you might be able to tell us,” Mr. Elf said.
“I haven’t seen anything like her before,” Mody said. “And I don’t want to see it again.”
“Why can we still see Mody?” Seamus asked, rubbing his arm where it had hit Mr. Elf’s leg. “And why aren’t the swords glowing?”
Mr. Elf stopped and looked at Seamus, as if seeing him for the first time. “I didn’t even notice. Something about that woman scrambled my thinking; all I wanted to do was run away.”
“That’s just the way I felt,” Paddy said.
“Me too,” Mody said.
“Good trick to have, if you live in here and want to be left alone,” Seamus said, thoughtfully.
“Yes indeed,” Mr. Elf agreed, considering the implications, “a very good trick.”
“So what do we do now?” Paddy asked.
“Mody, do you think you can still lead us to the rainbow? I’ve lost track of the direction,” Mr. Elf admitted.
Mody shook her head. “No, I don’t know which way to go now.”
“Right,” Mr. Elf said, as he shook his wings out. “Wait here a moment.”
Mr. Elf gently flapped his wings and flew quietly up through the mist. The others waited in the silence of the mist, not saying anything, but peering intently around them, hoping nothing would come at them.
Mr. Elf fluttered back down beside his friends. “The rainbow is over there to the left of us,” he said. “We’ve been turned around a bit, but we’re not too far off now.”
“Any sign of that house?” Paddy asked.
Mr. Elf frowned. “No, no sign of anything different anywhere around us. I think we should keep going for the rainbow. Mody, would you like to take the lead again?”
“No, thank you,” Mody replied.
“All right then, let’s go,” Mr. Elf said, shaking his head and taking the lead position.
Mr. Elf led them confidently towards where he had seen the rainbow. After a minute of walking, the mist cleared again and there was the little house and the ugly old woman.
“Enough of this foolishness!” the woman said, angrily, all trace of her earlier amusement now gone. “You cannot get away from me, so stop trying.”
The ugly creature shuffled toward them poking her stick into the ground angrily, and again her earthy robes shimmered and shifted, as though they were a part of her.
“And you can put those things away, my fine young Leprechauns,” she cackled.
Paddy and Seamus had pulled their magical swords from their sheaths, fully expecting to have to fight the ugly creature. Mr. Elf gave them a stern look and they sheepishly put the swords away.
“Now that you are prepared to behave yourselves, we can get the introductions out of the way. My
name is Hag Head, the witch.”
Hearing the word ‘witch’ attached to her name almost made the companions turn and run back into the mist.
“What is it you want with us?” Mr. Elf asked, evenly.
“All in good time, Aelf,” Hag Head replied, in her raspy voice. “There are only a couple of hours left before it gets dark. Were you planning to stay in Boggy Marsh overnight?” she asked.
“We had hoped to be out of here before it got dark,” Mr. Elf replied, honestly.
“The truly nasty things that live in Boggy March come out to feed at night,” Hag Head said, with a small chuckle. “You won’t be able to get out before darkness falls. How were you planning on avoiding the Urks, Wraiths and other night feeders?”
“Mody has been in the marsh at night and she’s been ok,” Seamus said, defiantly.
Hag Head looked at Mody and smiled. “Can you all go invisible without thinking about it?” she asked, quietly.
“Well …,” Seamus started.
“No, of course you can’t,” Hag Head interrupted. “I think it would be for the best if you all stayed in my house for the night.”
“Why should we trust you?” Mr. Elf asked.
“Yes, how do we know you won’t eat us?” Mody added, her head bobbing.
“I will promise not to eat you, nor to harm you in any way,” Hag Head replied, waspishly. “Do you think the others in the marsh will be as thoughtful, hmmm? My house is protected from unwanted visitors by my magic. You will be safe enough.”
“And what do you want from us?” asked a concerned Paddy. “Why do you want to help us?”
“Ahh Leprechauns,” Hag Head breathed, shaking her head. “Always looking for a way to negotiate for something more. Enough of this,” she said, sternly. “The offer has been made. Do you accept?”
The companions exchanged questioning looks.
To Paddy’s senses the witch woman was certainly ugly, uglier than any living thing he had ever seen, but she didn’t feel evil. Trusting in his feelings, he said, “We accept,” surprising everyone with his quick answer.
“Hang on a minute,” Mr. Elf said. “Don’t you think we should talk about it first?”
Paddy turned to the witch. “If we try to leave now, what will happen?” he asked.
“You will find yourself back in front of me,” Hag Head replied, evenly, a small smile creeping onto her hideous face.
Paddy nodded thoughtfully, while trying to ignore the sudden churning in his stomach. “So you won’t just let us leave?”
“No, I won’t,” Hag Head said, the smile spreading and becoming truly repulsive.
“But you need us to accept your offer to stay, don’t you?” Paddy said, bravely clenching his buttocks, as his bowels loosened. “Whatever it is you want can’t happen if we don’t accept.”
Hag Head nodded, letting the smile slip from her face. She was gaining a level of respect for this Leprechaun. “The magic that protects my house will not allow anyone to enter, unless they have accepted an offer from me.”
“I don’t see that we have much of a choice,” Paddy said to his friends, quietly relieved that whatever had been upsetting his stomach, seemed to be settling quickly. “We can’t leave. Even if we could, it sounds like it would be too dangerous, what with night coming so soon. The swords aren’t glowing and we can see Mody. I think we should accept her offer.”
“If Paddy says he accepts the offer, that’s good enough for me, I accept too,” Seamus advised.
“You do promise you won’t eat us?” Mody asked, skeptically.
“I do,” Hag Head replied, solemnly.
“Then I accept,” Mody replied.
Hag Head looked expectantly at Mr. Elf.
Mr. Elf scowled, his ears twitching violently. “It would appear the decision has been made,” he said, grumpily. “I have no choice, but to accept. So, I too accept the offer.”
“Good,” Hag Head muttered. “Follow me then, and be welcome.” The witch woman shuffled towards her house, her leafy robes shimmering, as if stirred by a gentle breeze. The companions followed slowly.
“I still don’t feel right about this,” Mr. Elf said, quietly.
“It might be easier to accept, if she wasn’t so awful to look at,” Paddy replied.
“Did you notice the big wart on her nose, with hair growing out of it?” Seamus asked. “She could do something about that, surely.”
“Shhh, now,” Mr. Elf said, as they neared the door. “I think you two should be careful not to upset her. She has an awful lot of very strong magic about her. It would be unfortunate, if she decided to turn you into frogs.”
Paddy paused and watched, as Mr. Elf entered the witch’s house ahead of him. “And I was just starting to like him,” Paddy said, under his breath.
Mody heard the comment and stopped next to Paddy. “I think that’s his way of showing he likes you.”
“How would you know about that? You only hatched from an egg recently, didn’t you?” Seamus asked, as he headed to the door. He didn’t understand how a hatchling would be capable of such an observation.
Mody considered the question with a puzzled expression on her face. “I have no idea,” she answered.