Excerpt: Lumperville (tentative)

"You really shouldn't say things like that," said Gustoff. And then he charged the stranger. In one swift move, he leapt toward the man and tackled him to the ground. The chaos and shouting that followed obscured what the stranger was saying as Gustoff wrestled with him on the floor. The men of Lumperville loved a good fight and though they were worried for their friend's safety, they also wanted to watch. Gustoff managed to pin the man to the ground and deliver a few heavy blows to his stomach. The stranger made no grimace or groan as Gustoff knelt on his kidneys. He did struggle, but he made no noise to indicate that he was angry - although he clearly was. Finally, Gustoff fought the man into submission and climbed off his chest. He grasped the hood of the man's cloak and proceeded to drag the man out into the snow that had begun to fall that afternoon.

Disgraced and thoroughly agitated, the stranger tried to extricate and untangle himself from his long cloak. The men stood in the glowing doorway of Solliwick's and laughed and laughed and laughed. When finally the stranger was able to stand up properly, he raised his hands to the heavens and began muttering soft, angry words.

"What are you doing?" shouted Benjamin. "Praying to the fates or something?"

The stranger didn't answer right away. He simply remained in that same position - his tall, thin body elongated toward the sky, his arms outstretched to the clouds as though imploring them for some grand favor. When he finished, he slowly lowered his arms back to his sides and then lifted one to point a long, thin finger at the men gawking from the doorway of the pub.

"You've made a grave mistake, men," he said, his voice, rather than having that soft quality to it, was low and menacing. "For you see, I'm a magician from Painesford and I've just put a curse upon your town."

To say the men weren't afraid of this declaration would be a lie. But they did all they could to keep their fear and apprehension from showing on their faces as the stranger continued to speak.

"I won't tell you what this curse is. Oh, no, I'll leave you for that to find out. And it won't be long at all. If I'm correct, the curse should take effect in the next few weeks. And when it does, you'll be sorry for what you've done to me."

With that, without saying farewell or imparting some piece of advice to the townsfolk, the magician disappeared. He flung his long cloak around him and he simply seemed to be eaten up the air. One moment he was there, and the next the men could only see the snow falling softly, illuminated in the light of the full moon. They stood there for a moment longer, almost expecting something more. But nothing else happened. The stranger seemed to be gone forever. All the men standing there agreed that what Gustoff had done was the right thing to do. No matter what the consequences of this curse, they had to defend themselves, and they all agreed that they couldn't have just stood there and let the magician deride their town and their friends. No. What Gustoff had done was right and there was no two ways about it.

But as each man returned to his respective home, kissed his wife and climbed into bed, the thought of the curse lingered in the backs of their minds like a song you heard at the pub and couldn't remember all the lyrics to. The magician had said the curse would take effect in a few weeks. Now began the long waiting game.