The Crying Pennant

Part 28

  “If you see Biggs or Sid before me tell them I’ve gone back to the bedroom to pray on the bed.”

  “May the Lord be with you.”

  “And with you.” With gave Fawh a sugar lump.

  “Thanks, that’s very nice but could you make it a Candarel lump next time, I’m trying to lose weight,” said Fawh.

  With turned and made his way back to the bedroom.

The mask was sticking to his face and his legs were trapped. He tried to move but felt sluggish. Sid took the mask off and looked down. Biggs was lying on his legs. The dwarf prodded his friend but to no avail, then he looked around. They had tripped into a laundry chute and fallen about six metres into a half empty laundry basket, “Ooh mae poore head. Eh Biggsy, please wake up.”

  A door opened and he heard footsteps, so covering himself with a sheet, he waited. He felt the basket begin to move and felt some doors being bumped open by the basket, then he was tipped onto the floor. Now freed from Biggs’s weight, Sid stood up and rubbed his head and back, “I don’t think this dwarf’s made for falling.” He bowed to look at Biggs and tapped him on the cheek but Biggs did not stir. “You couldn’t be second in charge of anyone now, and by the way you stink of goblin you goblin stinker. I’ll reconnoitre this area and leave you to kip a bit more.”

  Sid looked around, he was in the laundry where there were big boiling pots, sinks and airers full of sheets, clothes and cloths. He walked over to the door on the opposite side of the room and peeped out to see a small hall with another door in the opposite wall which was slightly ajar. Crossing to the door he looked out and saw the entrance hall. “Biggs and I must have fallen down a laundry chute while we were pretending to look for Fawh,” he thought.

  The little dwarf put the goblin mask on again and made his way through the hall.

  Ugbash was sitting, talking to the receptionist. “My son is a court jester. He works in the wrong place. I’ll go ‘an speak to Osminiun his pay-master. So’s it’ll mean he hires a fat clown who can juggle instead of my son who is a thin jester who isn’t funny and can’t juggle.”

  Quietly passing the goblins, Sid ascended the stairs to the bedroom.

  “Sid, are you all right?” asked With as he climbed off the bed.

  “Apart from me poore head and back, I’m as fit as a dwarf.”

  “I’ve got some bad news for you, the others got captured but I got away.”

  “Biggs is sleeping his bruised head off in the laundry.”

  “What a mess, now we have to rescue even more people. I tell you what we should have done first.”