Chester The Court Jester

 

“If the records were kept by elves, how were you able to read them?” Writer Lady asks.

“The scrolls my scholars discovered were written in our language. A rudimentary dialect but our language nonetheless.” Lady Gray explains.

“We have no proof this place of magical learning ever existed here much less if any remains can be entered. There's no information regarding the language that was used there. Keeping that in mind, it's not necessarily correct to assume no one can read what may or may not be found within its walls.”

One corner of Captain Ozar's mouth turns up in a grin.

“We may or we may not be able to read it.” Lady Gray admits.

Writer Lady continues to recap everything she's been told as she considers the next step, “The Graylands are under attack, weakening you as a result, and Excalibur is missing. We may have the means to defeat the attacker but if what is needed does exist it probably requires an interpreter. The one thing we know for certain is that the only thing between the bad guys and us in addition to your current defenses is a self-proclaimed mercenary who works for baked goods and his trusty pile of hand grenades.”

“How far out are we?” Tinkletoes asks.

Daemon holds up his arms and spreads them apart halfway.

“We're about two miles away, that's what I thought.” Tinkletoes agrees. “The enemy is to the west. Castle Gris is to the west of them. They’re lookin’ the other way. The enemy’ll never see us comin’.” He looks at the woods surrounding them. They are a deep green. Branches of various color and size lay on the ground. The self-proclaimed mercenary spots something purple next to his bag. It's a tiny flower. He watches as a light dusting of magic sprinkles the ground beneath the bloom making it momentarily radiate a brighter shade of purple. Tinkletoes looks at Dobby. “You sure about the door we came in through? It doesn't look much like the Graylands here.”

Dobby Cat turns from his position watching campfires burn in the distance and approaches Tinkletoes. “We’re in the right place, let me show you something.” The self-proclaimed mercenary follows the ginger tabby northwest into an area of the woods partially devoid of color. The trees and ground are in the grayscale Tinkletoes finds more familiar. Strips of gray hang down in some places revealing the vibrant woods he was squatting in moments earlier reminding him of partially unrolled wallpaper in the process of being hung.

“Lady Gray’s powers are weakening revealing the Graylands’ true enchantment and beauty.” Dobby Cat says.

“She dyin’ or something?” Tinkletoes asks.

“No. According to her soldiers, she’s not. When Excalibur is here it uses its own magic to help power her glamour. The sword is not here. It hasn’t been for a while now. Lady Gray has been trying to hold up the glamour by herself for too long. She's exhausting her power.”

“She's growing weaker?” Tinkletoes asks.

“Yep.”

“It's about time we gave her some help then isn't it?” The self-proclaimed mercenary says with a grin.

“Help! Help!” The creature calls out as he runs along the passageway.

“There's No Escape Pilgrim.” TP calls as the faerie closes in.

“We've got you now.” Aunt Purdy calls. She’s standing at the other end of the corridor. Peter and Paige flanking her on either side.

The pointy-eared creature stops before reaching the end of the line. Raising one hand, it sends a burst of magic to the wall directly to its left. A multi-colored, sparkling rectangle appears on the wall creating a door, it bursts through the opening to find Dylan and Furnatche standing on the other side.

“Gotcha.” Dylan says.

Furnatche yips in agreement.

The creature puts its hands up in surrender as it walks towards the boy and the baby dragon. It steps past the pair and stops behind them.

“TP's coming. Wait here.” Dylan instructs.

The creature nods. The moment Dylan and Furnatche turn their backs it raises a hand and wiggles a finger at a spot on the wall a short distance away, as a door appears the creature begins running. Bars appear over the door blocking the creature’s exit.

“Not so fast.” Peter calls.

TP appears fluttering in the air next to the creature.

“It's a He.” The faerie announces. “He's not going anywhere.” Sparkling rope encircles the creature's hands and feet. “Not now.”

“It's about time,” House says. “All that rearranging was making my floors crawl.”

Dylan thinks for a minute, “When you changed your interiors did that make your floors crawl too?” He asks.

“No Sweetie. It's different when a building controls her own changes.”

The boy shrugs and turns his attention back to the action.

“What is it?” Paige asks, looking at TP.

“He's a hobgoblin. His name is Chester.” TP pulls a Jester hat out of the air and puts it on the prisoner's head. “He's the jester from Lady Gray's court.”

“I thought only queens had courts.” Paige says.

“In Faerie we do things however we like otherwise it's bor-ing.”

“Let me go.” Chester says.

“No,” TP giggles. “This is too much fun.”

“Tell us who you are and why you're here.” The nine-year-old girl instructs.

“But we know.” TP comments.

“I want to know more.” Paige says.

“We don't need to know more,” the faerie counters.

Paige gives TP her determined look.

Never, nevermind.” TP says looking at the floor.

"My name is Chester and I'm Lady Gray's court jester. I'm a hobgoblin,” the short creature says.

“Why are you a jester?”

“What?” Chester asks.

“Aren't hobgoblins mean, mischievous creatures that wreak havoc wherever they go?” Paige asks.

“Not all of us.”

“Your kind does. Diomedes has been telling us about all the different creatures he's seen in Faerie. You match his description of the bad ones.” She says.

Chester's reddish brown color fades a bit as he looks at the floor. “I wasn't good at doing hobgoblin-y things. My fam...I was banished. I wandered Faerie for quite some time when Captain Ozar stopped me on the road to Castle Gris. After we had spoken for a bit I was taken to Lady Gray. She took me in, giving me food, shelter, and a safe place to live. I did the only thing I knew how to do to thank her. I told her stories. Her ladyship found them entertaining. With a bit of practice I discovered I could make her laugh. One day, she offered me a permanent place in the castle as her court jester. Now she needs help. Help! Help!” Chester calls.

“We know silly.” TP giggles. “Writer Lady and the others are already in Faerie.”

The hobgoblin stops yelling and thinks about what TP has said. “Are they brave?” He asks.

Peter looks at the others before answering. “Yeah.”

“Are they strong?” Chester asks.

“Most of them.”

“Are they smart?”

“Some of them?”

“It’s going to be okay.” Aunt Purdy says. “You can go home now.”

The hobgoblin shakes his head. “More magic. Lady Gray needs more magic. We have to find Excalibur NOW!” Chester cries.