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What is My Bag

In the back shed of her Pine Tavern, she has her apothecary where she was experimenting with an old medicinal absinthe recipe. Many of the Lenape meteus or besons have been using her healing teas for years. They are their doctors and head shrinks. These doctors and their remedies are still preferred over many European trained physicians. Try finding a medicine bottle without an Indian on it. I think their magic is that they still heal your body and soul.

All humor aside, Karl is an adept psychologist. Beyond his skill as our bard, his fairy tales prescriptions are highly specialized to cure his patient's hearts and minds. As a mixologist, only Gramps excels him. Karl is always consulting the beson on their herbal mixtures. He likes comparing their recipes with those of the berserkers and ulfserkers from back home.

For various reason we found ourselves travelling with Karl, Bosco, and Nobbi.

We were following the trail northeast of the Disappearing Pond, traveling through the graveyard past an elder's circumvented mound—when Gast burst through the woods and grabbed Bjorn's sack!

Bjorn was in shock. He just stood still, looked both ways, and squinted in disbelief. The Great Horned Serpent was watching. He thought of playing a trick on Bjorn. Normally he would love to, but he has trouble kicking people when they're down. So he shook his head and sunk back into the creek between the dead cedars.

Karl was the first to run after him. He spent a lot of time cultivating that crop with Gramps.

Nobbi the whitetail deer ran past Karl, but he couldn't catch Gast either. If he could, he knew he had ten points to win any argument with him. Bosco kept stride with Karl. Bjorn just shrugged, and grew taller than the trees, and placed me on his shoulder.

Within a few steps we caught up with Nobbi and out paced him.

We were almost to where the Tuckerton Line passed Eagle's Nest Pond. The 4:00 was blowing its whistle for the brick company to hurry up and empty their cable car onto the train. I could hear the pistons begin to churn again. The train was at full speed when we got to it. Everyone gave berth to the 4-6-4 Baldwin to pass, but Gast jumped astride a passenger car and rode it like a horse, leaving Nobbi and us in its dust.

As Bjorn and I crossed in front of the pond, the Great Horned Serpent stretched out across the trail, tripping Bjorn. He could not pass up a second chance to screw with him. I went flying and turned into an eagle. I almost caught Gast, but he turned into a hummingbird with the shrunken sack in his mouth.

He flew down through the trees and turned into a hare as I pursued as a champion greyhound from Ong's Hat. I swiped his tail, and he almost lost the sack that began to enlarge and shoot out of his mouth.

At Forge Pond, he turned into a salmon and I chased him as an otter. I just missed him at the Ferrago Forge's undershot wheel as we went over the falls.

I gave chase through the Cedar Creek's serpentine bends till we approached Dover Forge. As Gast went to leap over their falls, Bjorn caught him.

Bjorn, still in his gigantic form, took four steps cutting the corner from the Tuckerton Rail to Dover Forge. He passed over us watching us below. By the time we got there he had his fishing pole in the water waiting for Gast.

Gast regained his normal appearance and coughed up the sack.

When Bjorn saw his sack lying there, he shouted with joy. He got it back!

"Sometimes you don't know how much you love something till you lose it?" said Gast. "So, don't lose your daughter over the small things."

 

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We are releasing our second collection of Trollheim stories in print, named Trolling About. It will be available on this website at www.salemhousepress.com and Barnes & Noble. Pick up your copy today, pretty please with sugar on top...

 

 

Make sure you pick up the first collection of tales too...