I awoke in the morning to discover a wrinkled, olive green face with a long, hooked nose merely inches from my face.
“Eek!” I shrieked as I leaped to my feet.
“Whoa there, Lassie,” said the goblin, taking a few steps back. “Beggin’ yer pardon. I mean no harm.”
“What’s wrong, Iz?” said Myth as she clambered to her feet.
I was clutching my chest, panting furiously. My response came in gasps. “This… goblin… was… watching… me… sleep.”
Myth approached the goblin and crossed her arms across her tummy. “Why were you watching my friend sleep?”
Although Myth towered over the goblin, he did not back away from her. “Ain’t nothin’ sinister about it. Just tryin’ to work out why two flatties are campin’ out ’ere.”
To the traivellin fowk, flatties were non-traivellin fowk—be they humans, elves, or some other species.
The goblin bowed to me and said, “Beggin yer pardon again, Lassie.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You just startled me. I’m Izzy, by the way. And my friend is Myth.”
“A pleasure,” said the goblin, nodding to each of us. “Fowk call me Eye-Gouger.”
“That’s, um, an interesting name,” I said.
“Aye,” said Eye-Gouger, chuckling. “It’s the way o’ the traivellin fowk. Flatties would ’ave to be pretty thick to try an’ rook someone named Eye-Gouger.”
Myth was studying Eye- Gouger closely. “You look familiar.”
Eye-Gouger chuckled again. “Aye, flatties always say that.” He pointed to his eyes and went on, “Their eyes ain’t good. They canna tell one traivellin fowk from another.”
Myth reddened and mumbled, “That’s not what I meant.”
“No worries, Lassie,” said Eye-Gouger. “I’m only ribbin’ ya.”
“What brings you to Narrows, Mr. Eye-Gouger?” I asked.
“Journeyin’ with my convoy, ain’t I,” said Eye-Gouger. “I saw yer camp and came over to investigate. An’ I sees it ain’t nothin’ but a couple o’ flatties, queuin’ early for the fun.”
“Fun?” I said.
“Aye,” said Eye-Gouger. “Knee-Biter’s Magnificent Traivellin Fun Fair ’as come to Narrows.”
The Magnificent Traivellin Fun Fair. Oh! What a glorious event it was for the boys and girls of the Holdings. When the Fair’s vardoes set up camp outside the City Proper, it felt as if every holiday was happening all at once.
As a wee girl back in Dusk, I would positively shriek with delight when the Fair arrived. I would bounce around the house for hours, giddily waiting for the Fair to open. Daddy and Auntie Julie would wear themselves out attempting to reign in my enthusiasm.
Then, when night fell, the fun would begin. We would join the crowd making its way to the Fair, me bouncing with excitement. Daddy would hold my hand tightly to keep me from sprinting ahead. “Hurry up, Daddy,” I would order him as I strained to move faster. “I don’t want to miss a thing.”
We would enter the Fair, and there would be… Rides! Games! Sweets! The Fair had all the things that children loved best. My eyes would bulge as I twirled about, trying to take in everything all at once. My voice would become so rapid and so excited that no one could understand what I said. But Daddy and Auntie Julie would fathom what it was I meant to say. I wanted to ride every ride, play every game, and eat every sweet—all at the same time if possible.
And so, the night would pass. Me, screaming my little head off as the Twirly-Go-Round spun me about. Me, begging Daddy to win me a prize at the ring toss. Me, gorging myself sick on cryspes. And if Daddy or Auntie Julie told me that three cryspes were enough for one wee girl, then everyone at the fair would hear me voice my displeasure.
Then the night would end. Daddy would carry me home. Exhausted, elated, and bloated, I would bemoan my gluttony as a compact mass of cryspe glued itself to my tummy’s interior. Daddy would tuck me into bed. And I would dream happily of the Fair that had come to Dusk just for me. My Fair. Yes, I owned it. The traivellin fowk may have run it. But we children were its masters.
Overcome with excitement, I jumped up and down. Burbling, I said, “The Fun Fair! The Fun Fair is here! Oh, Myth! We have to go to it.”
Myth smiled at me and said, “It’s been a few years since I’ve gone to the Fair.” She looked sad suddenly. “I always loved going to it. But work had to come first. There would have been consequences had I skipped work in order to go to the Fair. And my family needed the money I earned. I used to become so jealous, seeing boys and girls waiting impatiently for the Fair to open as I walked to work.”
Myth shook her head, mourning silently for the childhood that had ended prematurely for her.
She looked at Eye-Gouger and said, “There’s a problem, though.”
“Oh,” said Eye-Gouger. “An’ what’s that?”
“A man named Ronnie Bridge has the citizens of Narrows riled up,” said Myth. “There’s talk of driving the traivellin fowk out of the Holding. Not coincidently, many pitchforks have been purchased in the City Proper recently. It isn’t safe for you to be here just now.”
Eye-Gouger swore. “It’s always somethin’ with Narrows. I’ve no desire to be spitted.”
“But the children!” I shouted. “They need your Fair. It’s the whole world to them.”
“Aye,” said Eye-Gouger as he spat. “The little laddies an’ lassies do need our Fair. ’Tis a point ya ’ave there.”
Sighing, he shook his head. “Stay or go, ’tisn’t for ol’ Eye-Gouger to say one way or the other. This is Knee-Biter’s show.”
He looked at us and said, “Listen, Lassies, I’d be obliged it ya’d do me a good turn.”
“What do you need?” I asked.
“Knee-Biter needs tellin’ about this. Will ya seek ’im out? He’ll be near ’is vardo. Tell ’im all ya know.”
“Of course, we will,” I said.
“Thank ya, Lassies. Find Ori first. Ya’ll need ’im to understand what Knee-Biter says.”
“Where can we find this Ori?” I asked.
“Oh, ya canna miss ’im. Just look for the beardless dwarf. Tell ’im Eye-Gouger sent ya. Tell ’im ’bout the troubles, an’ he’ll take ya to Knee-Biter.”
Eye-Gouger helped us pack up our gear. Once we had finished, Myth and I began to walk towards the vardoes and the Fair that was being set up. Eye-Gouger, meanwhile, stayed behind, keeping watch on the city gates lest a mob appeared suddenly.
“Of course!” exclaimed Myth.
She halted and looked back at Eye-Gouger. “I knew it! You mayn’t remember me, but I could never forget you.”