I had a very hard time trying to keep my enthusiasm hidden as I poled us through the marsh. We had to stick close to the dryer areas that the normal waterways allowed, because if we went deeper, there wasn't a pole long enough to get us through some of the open areas. I wasn't even sure if there was a bottom to some of them, considering some of the large things I knew swam through them.

None of the creatures and monsters that I knew were in the overhanging trees tried to attack us. I wasn't shocked by this, since the Hag never complained about being attacked. I was pretty sure they were as scared of her as I was, so staying away from her was the smartest thing they could have done. They must have known that choice would save their lives.

When the large dock for the village came into sight, I almost yelled and changed it into a cough. The Hag glared at me and I ducked my head as an apology. I knew better than to draw attention to myself like that and admonished myself for it. She nodded her head and looked back towards the dock.

The Hag was wearing her disguise necklace and she looked like her old and wrinkly self with the wild hair. Even though I knew she was still the terrible beauty underneath, her current visage was easier for me to accept as the one that did those horrible things to me. My beauty restoring flesh had been dined on a lot this past winter and my brain wanted to attribute it to the old hag and not the pretty one. It was an odd feeling to have.

There was a tall and skinny kid that was about six feet tall that waited for us at the dock. I wasn't sure how it was possible for her to send word ahead of us to let them know she was coming, though.

Maybe she'd tell me if I asked? I thought and glanced at her to see her shake her head. I guess not.

“Where's your tying rope?” The kid asked and looked at the end of the boat.

“Grouper.” The Hag said and the kid nodded. They would try to eat anything that looked like food.

“I'll git another from the store and be right back.” The kid said and took off.

I almost laughed at the flailing limbs the kid had as he ran like his life depended on it.

“You could learn a thing or two from him.” The Hag said.

_______________

You have a chance to chat. What will you discuss?

A) The boat. B) The kid. C) The potions. D) Your skill. E) The Hag. F) The weather.

No real good choice there. I'll go with the kid. I choose B.

_______________

“I would only learn how to die quicker.” I commented and watched the kid disappear inside a small wooden building. “Even on dry land, he's off balance. I can't imagine what he would be like in a boat.”

The Hag gave me a stare that said to shut up, so I did. “I meant mentally.” She said and waited for me to counter, and I didn't even think of a counter for her statement. If she wanted to think someone else had more smarts than me, I wasn't going to argue about it.

The Hag nodded and we waited for a few minutes for the kid to return. To my surprise, the idiot tied one end to the dock and then jumped into the water right beside us. The Hag immediately reached out and grabbed onto the dock to stop the boat from rocking and I lunged to grab the two cases of potions that started to slide from the jostling.

“I take back what I said.” The Hag said as the kid grabbed the end of the boat and pulled himself partially onto it with us and shook the cases of potions even more. He tied the other end of the rope onto the knob on the end of the boat, then let go and swam over to the shore.

I waited for the boat to stop rocking before I let the cases go and fixed them to stay stacked without falling. The kid had run back down the dock to us, then grabbed the end of the rope tied to the dock.

“SLOWLY!” The Hag yelled and several people near the dock turned to look.

“Sorry, miss Hag.” The kid said and slowly pulled the slack out of the rope and then pulled us in tight to the dock. He looped the excess around the post and looked into the boat. “Do you need help with...”

“No.” The Hag spat. “I can't have you drop them in your clumsiness and waste all my hard work.”

I locked my brain down and didn't correct her and say that it was all my hard work. I hid those thoughts behind being very careful about handing the boxes of potion up onto the dock. The height difference was only to my waist; but, the boxes were big and heavy. They were full of liquid, after all. The Hag let out a growl as she looked at me.

“I'll be careful!” I said and moved to the front of the boat, braced my legs on the edge, then slowly lifted the top wooden case. I got it to the right height and turned just enough to get the corner onto the dock, then I carefully pushed it onto the dock. I let out the breath I was holding and then repeated the process for the second box. The Hag actually moved over the other two boxes to me and I didn't have to do it myself. I transferred them to the dock as well.

The Hag jumped up from the boat and looked down to the end of the dock. “Boy! Go get me that cart.”

I scrambled up and out of the boat to do as she bid and the tall kid beat me to it. I winced and waited for the Hag to hit me for not being quicker. When she didn't, I widened my eyes, because she was looking at the other kid and not me.

His name must be Boy, too. I thought to myself as the kid came back with the hand-pulled cart.

“Load the cart, David.” The Hag said and neither of us moved, since we were both named Boy. She turned to look deep into my eyes. “David.” She said, almost in a growl. “Load. The. Cart.”

Me? You meant me? I asked myself, completely shocked.

“Now.” The Hag said through gritted teeth.

I hopped and quickly loaded the four crates onto the hand-pulled cart. The Hag waved at the handles and I took the position, then pulled the cart as we followed the boy all the way down the dock to the mainland. My feet wobbled a little when they hit solid ground, which was something I wasn't quite used to. Thankfully, the feeling only lasted a second and I walked normally after that.

“MOMMA!” The tall kid yelled before he opened the front door of the general store.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO YELL, KARL!” A woman yelled back as she came out of the back room and looked out through the front door. “Oh! Customers!” She said and her face changed from anger to a pleased smile. “What can I do for you?”

“Where's Mack?” The Hag asked and the pleased smile disappeared from the woman's face.

“Dad's taken ill.” The woman said. “I'm Diane and I'll be running the store until he feels better.”

“Did he tell you that I was raising the price of my goods?” The Hag asked.

Diane took in a quick breath and glanced at me with worry in her eyes.

_______________

You have a choice to make. Will you do the right thing?

A) Say no. B) Say yes. C) Shake your head. D) Nod your head. E) Make a scene. F) Run.

She looks scared, so I'm pretty sure she thinks that the Hag is trying to scam her. In fact, I think the Hag is trying to scam her. I thought and glanced at the smile on the Hag's face. She is. I shook my head. No, I can't let her make other people miserable. I choose C.

_______________

I shook my head and did my best to not smile at Diane's instant relief.

“No, my father didn't mention any price increase.” Diane said and her smile returned. “In fact, he said if you didn't bring enough this time, he would pay you even less.”

The Hag let out a huff that was more growl than anything, knowing that Diane was trying to scam her right back. “All right, I won't increase the price this time.”

Diane kept her smile. “How many do you have for us?”

“We have a case of health potions and three cases of healing potions with us.” I said. “I don't know how to count past ten, so I don't know how many are in each.”

Three gasps met my words and Diane's and the kid's surprised faces looked back at me. The Hag's face was a solid blank mask; but, I could feel her simmering anger.

“I'm too busy with chores and gathering ingredients to learn more than that.” I said with a laugh. “We've got a lot more cases back home, too.”

“That's good, because that's not going to be enough for us.” Diane said and the Hag relaxed.

“We just need to buy another boat and we'll have the rest of the cases here by tonight.” I said.

“I think old Simon has a boat or two available.” Diane said. “He's closed right now, though.”

The Hag let out a grunt of dissatisfaction. “I didn't want to stay overnight.”

“We could make another run and...” I started to say and the Hag shook her head.

“No, it would be a waste to go all the way and only come back with four more cases.” The Hag said.

“Carry in the ones from the cart and I'll mark them down.” Diane waved at the large wooden counter. “I'll need to take one of each right away.”

The Hag opened her mouth to speak and Diane held up a hand to stop her.

“I'll pay and not just give you store credit.” Diane said and the Hag nodded.

I brought in the cases and Diane marked them down and counted them, out loud, as she pointed to each potion vial. I stared at her as she taught me how to count all the way up to thirty six, right in front of the Hag, and I remembered everything she said. She did the other three cases and I told her which one was the case of general health potions.

“I know. Thank you.” Diane said and took out a silver coin and ten copper coins. “A silver for the healing potion and ten copper for the health one.”

The Hag took the money with a grumble, because she had hoped to get more money for them. She walked over to the closest shelf to see the condition of some of the vegetables and things they had. I glanced around and was amazed at all the things I could see. Ropes, lanterns, clothing, oats, chicken feed, horse feed, bags of seeds, and a whole bunch of stuff that didn't have labels.

“How's grandpa?” Spencer asked in a whisper.

“Not good. He's been sick ever since he caught that snake in the shed.” Diane said and put the two potions in her pocket. “I just hope these potions help.”

_______________

You have a chance to change how things go. What will you do?

A) Offer help. B) Stay quiet. C) Ask about him. D) Show off. E) Be smart. F) Leave.

I'm pretty sure Diane and Karl think I'm dumb, so... I choose E.

_______________

“It depends on the color of the snake.” I whispered to them without looking at them.

Diane caught her breath and then she pretended to check something on the shelf I was looking at. “It was green with yellow diamonds on the back.”

I winced at the thought of handling it without cloth covered hands. “Number one isn't going to be enough and four will only heal the wound, since it only works on flesh and not poison.” I whispered and dug into my pocket. I looked around and saw that the Hag was bent over and rummaging through a big bag of potatoes, so I pulled out a small vial and slipped it into Diane's hand.

“What's this?” She asked, surprised to see something she hadn't seen before.

“It's number three. Snake counter juice. You can't give it to him all at once, though. Only three drops, wait an hour, then six drops, then an hour and ten more drops.” I whispered. “If he doesn't get better, do it again tomorrow and then give him number one, wait an hour, then number four.”

Diane held the small vial in her hand and it disappeared from sight. “There's only two doses.” She said, barely above a breath, and I nodded. “This... this is why you can count to ten.”

I nodded again. “She's going to kill me for losing my only snake juice.” I whispered and walked away from her and over to the Hag.

“We'll be back tomorrow to shop for more goods.” The Hag said without looking at her.

“I... I look forward to it.” Diane said and I glanced at her just before we left the shop. She had the vial clutched to her chest and nodded to me. I nodded back and followed the Hag over to the small two story inn.

I was looking forward to staying inside an actual building for once. I might even get to sleep in a bed of my own. I thought and let a smile grow on my face.